So looking forward to sharing Jessie & Josiah’s wedding with you! We’re branching out with their lovely New Hampshire wedding with Midwest connections. You won’t believe all the love in this day—so many hugs in one place! You’ll definitely want to look for the full story with all of Alix Klingenberg’s photographs on Monday as well as our latest from Maggie and The Long-Distance Bride. Happiest of Halloween weekends to all!
Let us be the first to tell you: Lauren & Robbie from openField Photography are the sweetest! You know the type: the cool, funny, relaxed photogs. With these two, your wedding day would be a blast and you’d have amazing shots to show for it. They’re simply the best. If you’re getting married in Indiana or Ohio, we highly recommend dropping them a line. Keep an eye out for more of their work here on C&B—we have a Real Midwest Engagement from them next week! Can’t wait!
In the meantime, be sure to check out our Best of Midwest Weddings Guide too. We’ve been busy, busy, busy updating with our favorites from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Michigan. We’re always listening for your ideas & suggestions (go on, you know you want to leave a comment!) and we would love to hear from you if you’re looking for Midwest planning tips & advice!
We loooove this week’s prize! A $20 gift certificate and 20 kraft favor boxes straight out of this month’s M&S ‘Handmade Love’ column. So, who is the winner of all this McMaster & Storm crafty goodness?
Amelia wrote to us with her sweet idea: “I’d love to use those boxes as wedding favors for my Thanksgiving wedding! I’d stuff them with little felt acorn ornaments I want to make. Or maybe caramel corn . . . if my fiance doesn’t eat it all first.”
Congrats, Amelia, on your wedding and the giveaway! Please email me at rebecca@cloverandbee.com and I’ll put you in touch with the lovely ladies at M&S. Just in time for shop update, too! You’ll all want to act quickly because the trinkets and treasures are going fast (some have already sold out, whoa!).
On top of all this, you won’t want to miss Kara & Darcy’s delightful M&S blog with it’s fresh coat of paint. The design by Katie Runnels is just divine (did you catch her cake topper for Grace Bonney in Martha Stewart Weddings? so sweet!). A little fuss and a whole lot of lovely flurry to read and enjoy!
Amy Hamilton’s fascinators have those perfect punches of color—a rich brown-centered poppy on white straw, flouncy ivory on black wool with butterflies. Every Granville Millinery hat and accessory is handcrafted using antique molds and trimmed with vintage details in Amy’s 19th-century Ohio farmstead. Just the perfectly timeless piece you could plan your whole day around, truly. (Midwesties, if you do, you must let us know!)
When it comes to classy gifts for the groom, we love Bird Dog Bay. What better way to start your life together than with a little luck? And why stop there, there’s always the groomsmen too! These tie & fly gift boxes are guy-friendly and gorgeous. As a local Chicagoan, Steve Mayer’s shop is as entertaining as it is sophisticated. While you’re browsing, don’t miss his story and style tips (”please throw away the ‘jorts’ (aka, jean shorts)”—thank you!). Hilarious and charming—two qualities you can’t help but love in a guy.
Dreamy bouquets, handsome boutonnieres, sweeping centerpieces and garlands, sweet nosegays, classic wreaths and tiny bud vases…with so many styles, colors and kinds, there are an infinite number of possibilities for wedding flowers. There’s the poetic, of course: every bud it seems has a meaning, a personality and history. And the practical: choosing by what’s in season can often make for the most economical of floral designs and, if regional, eco-friendly, too. In Stems for the Season, we talk with some of the finest Midwest floral designers about their favorite arrangements and beautiful flowers you can enjoy right now.
This stunning table setting comes to us from Natalie Walsh of Chicago’s Hello Darling. Kara Underwood, one of the amazing ladies behind the wedding design firm, Magnificent Milestones (love that play on words!), herself got married this September and was kind enough to share the rehearsal dinner photographs with us. On first look, we completely fell for the gloriosa lilies in these arrangements—so luminous and delicate at the same time—like butterflies have landed in the branches!
Natalie tells us, “Kara and I worked together to come up with a design concept and color palette which was modern yet very warm and inviting. The long table is absolutely my favorite to design on as it gives unlimited freedom to organic shapes and styles. Using the color palette of chocolate, burnt orange, red and gold I combined rich, colorful, textural blooms such as local dinner plate dahlias, velvety celosia and amaranthus, along with tropical mokara and cymbidium orchids, pin-cushion protea, black baccara roses, and mango mini calla lilies.”
“The arrangements mixed along the table with other sculptural elements such as driftwood draped with loose blooms, Manzanita branches with hanging candles and gloriosa lilies, rustic boxy pine planters, and an array of succulents. Each of the floral arrangements were designed in monochromatic textural groupings with unexpected embellishments of chocolate brown fern curls, red lipstick pods, and silvery green stone crop added throughout the designs. Graphic patterns of square votives and earthy glass lanterns lit the table.”
Such a fresh take on autumn! You can find more of Natalie’s lovely work for all seasons in her Hello Darling portfolio found here.
Good morning! We just love the wedding inspired by home & design—rich color, fresh combinations of fashion & decor, and, perhaps our favorite part, an event that is a part of your life and living for a long time to come. Timeless, heirloom style. Our newest series is a quick snippet of home-inspired wedding ideas…or wedding-inspired home ideas…okay, it’s both!
Today, a little pairing that’s rustic & glamourous—oak leaf “golden forest nymph” black label garland from ban.do for the wedding and Julia Rothman ‘Treet’ wallpaper (designed in Brooklyn, screenprinted in Chicago) from Hygge West for the home.
{For more wedding & home ideas, check out our At Home Style series, too!}
