Michelle Rago is an event planning and design company that also does flower design.  Their mission is to transform their client’s vision into a magical well planned event. I have to say that Michelle Rago Ltd. is one of the best in the wedding business. Their events are beautiful beyond words and their attention to detail is exceptional! They company specializes in destination events which can been seen from this featured wedding from the Bahamas. I adore the way that sand and shells are featured in all the details of the wedding. It truly gives the wedding a beachy feel in a sophisticated way. I think my favorite part is the escort card display. I love how the cards appear to be submerged in sand and the shells serve as a beautiful embellishment.

 The centerpiece pictured below is absolutely breathtaking with the orchids and shells. The colors mesh together perfectly. Actually, the whole color scheme of this wedding is simply perfect and plays off the turquoise waters of the Bahamas.

 After a 4th of July weekend, I thought this piece would be very fitting. A baseball themed wedding is a great take on a wonderful American tradition. This inspiration board almost takes a vintage feel with the bride’s dress and the lovely style of the flower girls. Are they not the cutest? The Peanuts and Cracker Jacks carry out the theme and are packaged with a quotation to the song Take Me Out to the Ballgame. I also love the idea of a waiter going round and passing out these cute little baseball candies and cookies. It reminds you of someone going down the isles at the game selling sweets. Then if you want to add a little whimsy you could wear baseball cleats as your shoes and get married on home plate. Too Cute!

Pics From:Rebecca Thuss, OneWed,Brides,

You think you have it all planned out – the perfect cake, the perfect florist, the perfect dress. But all it takes is one little off-kilter detail in the carefully planned orchestra that is your wedding to make it all go downhill in a heartbeat. No matter how strong a vision a bride may have about the way her big day is going to go, sometimes things just don’t work out. Ask these brides – they can tell you firsthand about the disastrous circumstances that caused their wedding plans to do a 180.

1. The Grillos: When The Grillos were planning their wedding, the pair thought they had taken care of everything. Florist? Check. Limo Service? Check. Best man? Check. Well, actually, they had to uncheck all of these items on the list last minute, because each of the above mentioned parties bailed out on the couple just days before the wedding. If you’ve seen the “Sex in the City” episode where Burger breaks up with Carrie on a Post It note, then you may be able to imagine the groom’s horror when his best friend emailed him the day before the wedding to tell him he wouldn’t be attending. (They had recently had a small tiff.) This on top of the fact that just days before both the limo driver and florist cancelled. While the bride was able to find last minute replacements for both, the new limo driver was apparently operating with a busted GPS system, as he wasn’t able to find her house to pick her up. Instead of calling her cell phone to ask for directions, the driver called the church, where the poor groom was waiting at the altar, thinking he was getting stood up not only by his best friend, but by his bride as well. Thankfully, the priest passed him a note explaining the situation and the bride arrived on time. Today the couple is happily married and the groom has even reconnected with his friend.
2. Disaster Dress : When your seamstress mother-in-law offers to make your bridesmaids dresses for free, your reaction would likely be one of joy. One less expense to thrust upon your bridesmaids and yourself and one less headache to worry about, you might think. Well, this bride found out that it wasn’t quite the lucky situation after all. True, she did ask her mother-in-law to craft an ambitious get-up for her wedding party—an exact replica of the navy, beaded dress Kate Winslet wore in “The Titanic” during the dinner scene. But instead of an imitation dress, the bride’s mother-in-law turned in a product that would make a vaudeville-era prostitute shudder – a sloppy, ill-fitting garment with droopy beads hanging off the front as if she had sewn on a handful of Mardi Gras necklaces. With this revelation coming just 4 hours before the start of the wedding, the bride, her mother, who is disabled and uses a scooter, her father, sister and two aunts headed for the mall. Luckily, they found 18 dresses that would work for the wedding party and scrambled back to get ready. The clueless mother-in-law never even brought up the fact that the bridesmaids weren’t wearing her designs.
3. Earthquake Wedding : Picture this: You are walking down the aisle in your church, about to become a Mrs., when you feel the ground start to shake under your feet. “It’s just nerves,” you tell yourself. But even though people told you it would be nerve-wracking, this moment when you are about to commit to another person for the rest of your life, you really thought it was more of a figure of speech. You had no idea it would be this bad! You are literally shaking and your knees are buckling beneath you! But wait – was that a piece of the church wall that just fell? And is the ceiling cracking? Oh no! Is your Maid of Honor bleeding? If you were this bride, who was married on May 12, 2008 in a church in Sichuan Province, China, then these would have been the very thoughts going through your head as an earthquake struck, destroying the church and halting the ceremony. The wedding party made it out physically unscathed, though mentally traumatized.
4. Heidi Shaw: This Australian woman was featured on a local morning news show in Perth for having one of the worst weddings ever. She and her now-husband had only 3 months to plan their wedding and at the last minute they were booted from their chosen venue. Well, damn it, the invitations had already gone out, so they scrambled to first find a new location for the wedding and second construct and send out new invites. This was the first hurdle. Then the day before the outdoor wedding there were crazy thunderstorms and the groom’s father fell and broke his leg so severely that he needed to have surgery to correct the bones. The groom wanted to cancel the wedding; the bride did not. Stressed, she walked herself down to the local pub and got sloshed. Waking up the next morning with a hangover, she decided the show must go on. But lo and behold the wedding photographer never showed up. And on second thought, neither did most of the guests, who had gone to the venue listed on the first invite. The bride salvaged the photo situation, by asking the guests that did show to use their digital cameras. Bent on having a good time, the bride turned her attention to the wedding recenption, but before she and her husband could have their first dance, her mother-in-law had an epileptic seizure, scaring over half of the guests who did show up away. After her mother-in-law settled down, the couple decided to just perform a few rounds of karaoke in lieu of their dance and call it a night. But things didn’t end before the groom managed to lose his wedding ring in the nearby lake! To end the night, the bride strapped on some diving gear and went to find it. Catastrophe, indeed.
5. Hava Nagila Gone Wild : At a Jewish wedding ceremony, dancing the Hava Nagila is one of the highlights of the reception, and this guest was ready to, as she says, “get her Hava Nagila on.” But when the song started, guests were horrified to hear a techno version of the classic hymn being pumped through the speakers. Though the bride and groom are supposed to be lifted into the air at the same time, the “lifters” at this wedding could only manage to lift the couple separately – completely breaking tradition! Worst part? The bride was dropped by her handlers on the way down, and she would have landed on her face if nearby observers hadn’t stuck out their limbs to break her fall.
6. Drunk and Abandoned Groom : This German groom got so drunk at his wedding that his own wife ended up leaving him before they even had time to consecrate the marriage. Though the groom was intoxicated at the wedding, his wife managed to at least get him in the car to take him home, but when he started feeling sick in the car, she pulled over and decided to leave his sorry self on the side of the road, passed out in a corn field. An ambulance found the man the next day and took him to the hospital for treatment. While this is certainly an undesirable turn of events, the angry bride did show up to pick him up from the emergency room and the two left together. No word on whether the marriage was annulled.
7. Arrested Groom : Another tale of drunk husbands, this one is so disastrous you wish you could have been a fly on the couple’s bedroom wall the next morning. This Wisconsin man got so wasted at his reception that he began to fight the guests. When the cops showed up to arrest him, he was seen literally trying to pin down several of his own guests in the lobby area. But best of all, before the cops showed up, the groom was allegedly chucking garbage cans at innocent bystanders and being belligerent all over the neighborhood. He even went next door to someone else’s wedding reception at the Radisson to make a little noise and start a few fights. When the cops did show up and try to cuff him, he resisted by striking out at an officer. Miraculously, he was let out of jail on a bond of just $150.
8. Car Towed: This is a story of one thing going wrong after the other. Well, actually, the wedding is about the only thing that went right on the wedding day. So, after this bride and groom get hitched in their small country town’s courthouse, they left the ceremony blissful to find that their car had been towed. They caught a cab to the tow lot, but while they were in the taxi, someone sideswiped it, leaving them on the side of the road to wait an hour while the accident was sorted out. (They were still asked to pay the cab fare.) After that, they finally made it to the car lot to get their vehicle, which costs so much they are forced to write a check they can’t cash. This, understandably, makes them nervous. They don’t want to get in trouble for bounced checks, after all, so they decide to quickly run into the small restaurant where they both work to pick up their checks so they’ll have money in the bank. But when they get there, the place is swamped with every townsperson and their mother clamoring for the blue plate special. Their boss sees them and frantically tells them to clock in and help out, which they, for some reason, do. Dog tired and defeated after their shift, they drive home. But on the way there, the car breaks down. The hubby fixes it up in a couple of hours while the bride waits once again on the roadside. Home, sweet, home, finally. Well, actually not any more. When the couple finally arrives back at their house, they find an eviction notice on their door. But they did at least live happily ever after.
9. Cheating Groom (click link for video): This bride looks so happy on her wedding day, standing at the altar, gazing lovingly into her husband’s eyes. Everything is going smoothly, and now her good friend Shirley is going to give a nice little reading. It’s 1 Corinthians – a popular reading for weddings, centered on the theme of deep love. But Shirley can only get so far before she has to stop. It’s just wrong to go on. She must tell the bride, here, now, and in front of everyone she knows, that last night she slept with the groom. He got her drunk and some things just happened. Hardly the time or place for this revelation, but we’re just wishing this clip was a little longer, because the cat fight was just heating up.
10. Busted Dress: This bride was getting dressed in her ever-so-expensive strapless wedding gown when the unthinkable happened — her zipper broke. Moments before the wedding was set to begin, the zipper got stuck and the bride, chest exposed, could not even escape from the garment to assess the damage. Her bridesmaids busted out an emergency kit from the wedding planner and got to work with some pliers. No cigar. Then they decided they would just sew the dress up around the zipper, so they sent a bridesmaid to the store for a sewing kit while the bride tried to keep herself covered. Luckily, her step-grandmother happened to be a seamstress and she was able to stitch up over where the zipper had been. But at the end of the night, the bride had to literally rip the dress off her body.

A wedding ceremony is a happy time that you want to spend with everyone you love dearly. That is why many brides want to honor love one’s that have pasted in their ceremony.   There are many options to honor your loved ones in your wedding. I personally did a couple different things. I carried a locket on my bouquet with my grandmother’s picture on one side and my husband’s grandmother and grandfather’s picture in the other side. I also, had the mother’s light a memorial candle instead of a unity candle. Both mother’s carried a little tapered candle up the isle that  they used to light the candles. My mother lit a candle for my grandmother and uncle and my mother-in-law lit the candles for her parents. We also, made a donation to the Cancer Society and the Heart Foundation in honor of our grandparents. They were subtle touched that meant a lot to my husband and I. I think the key is to find something that is meaningful to you and your family. So, here are just some of the options to choose from.

Bouquet Embellishments:  Some brides choose to embellish their bouquets to show remembrance for a loved one. One option is to add a locket to your bouquet. You can also tie a rosary around your bouquet. Also, if you have a ribbon or a piece of fabric from your loved on you can have your bouquet wrapped in it.  For example, one bride took a piece of her mother’s wedding gown and used it to wrap her bouquet.

Candles: Candles can be lit in remembrance. This is a wonderful to honor grandparents, parents, and close relatives that have passed. You can even have the officiant say a prayer for your loved ones as the candles are being lit. Another option is to explain the significance of the candle lighting in your program.

Photos: Placing photos of those you want to honor in a visible place at the ceremony or reception is another way to show remembrance. You can place a flower or a candle by the photos, or even a beautiful poem.

Music: This is a tried and true way to remember a loved one at your ceremony. You can have a family member or a wedding singer sing a dedication song for your loved ones. Another option would be to have the DJ make an announcement and play a song in remembrance of the ones you want to honor.

Symbols: Anything that reminds you of a loved one is fine: butterfly bouquet picks, for example. Or a picture-frame pin and photo pinned to a bouquet wrap ribbon, or a monogram pin in the letter of someone you’ve lost. A number of stores sell “In Loving Memory” brooches you can pin to a sash or ribbon.

Bells in Trees:This is one of my favorite options if you are having an outside wedding. You hang bells in the trees from ribbons. Then every time the bells ring it symbolizes the presence of your loved ones and how they are always with you.

Charitable Donations:The “donation in lieu of favors” is a time-tested way to honor someone you’ve lost to a physical illness. Individual cards or a framed table note will let guests know who was on your mind. Some brides set out real or enamel ribbons symbolizing the type of loss involved: pink for breast cancer, teal for ovarian or testicular cancer, and so on. (See Awareness Ribbons Meaning & Colors.) Another option: the bride and her bridesmaids wear awareness bracelets. You can buy the awareness charms individually and make your own, or source the finished bracelet from a number of sites.

A Moment of Silence:  Many couples take a second from their wedding ceremony to dedicate a moment of silence to their loved ones. The officiant can also say some words to member the ones you want to honor.

Seat of Honor: You can reserve seats for those you want to honor at you wedding. You can  add flowers or decorations to the vacant seat. The officiant can also mention what the seat represents to the bride and groom. Another option is to have your florist add a loose flower to your bouquet for each person you want to honor and you can place them on the vacant seats before you go to the alter.

Food:This might seem a little more lighthearted, but you can honor family members by including a famous cookie or candy recipe with your desserts, a signature appetizer on the menu, or a favorite sweet in a candy buffet (did a father love Hersey Kisses?). Include a small framed note that explains the connection.

Clothing: A touching way to remember someone is to wear one of their personal items. Brides have worn their mother’s or grandmother’s veils, or sashes made from the wedding dress. Grooms have worn their father’s tuxes or cufflinks. And let’s not forget jewelry: brides have woven a rosary, locket or set of pearls into their bouquet, and worn a father’s ring around their neck or on their thumb.

Programs:At the end of the wedding program, it is appropriate to add a memoriam line. For example, you might write “Today we honor those who could not be with us, especially the bride’s stepmother Alison Janet Brooks.”

Reference:Wed Smack

 When I think of Summer one of the first colors I think of is bright vibrant pink. Pink can be one of the most beautiful color pallets, when it is combined with various shades of pink and a dark brown contrast. Here the use of peonies and roses add texture and color to the flowers. I love how the wedding dress has a flower embellish that mimics the peonies in the bouquet. I am also a huge fan of cupcakes at weddings and these are amazingly beautiful!

Table Decor by Rebecca Thuss, Bouquet and Cupcakes from The Knot, Butterfly Place Cards from Martha Stewart, Wedding Gown from Carolina Herrera,and Outside Venue Decor from Brides.com

Paper Butterfly How-To

Tools and Materials
Spray adhesive
Decorative paper
Card stock
Template
Pencil
Scissors

Floaty Butterflies How-To
1. Spray-mount paper onto card stock or paper that’s colored on both sides; fold in half. Place butterfly template on paper with flat edge of butterfly’s body flush against fold; trace.

2. Cut out butterfly along inside of the traced line and cut out V-shaped notch along the folded edge. Open slightly. Slip notch over rim of glass to hold butterfly in place.

Butterfly Template

Aqua and Red weddings are beautiful, the colors contrast in such a way that it simply  takes your breath away. I love the impact that the colors have. I think my favorite part of this inspiration board is the shoes. I am a sucker for colored shoes with wedding dresses. It is such a great surprise during the garter toss! lol I also love the favors from Rebecca Thuss. Those favors are what made me create this board. LOVE THEM!

Favors by Rebecca Thuss, Bridesmaid Dresses by Jenny Kim Couture, Programs from The Knot Gallery,Shoes pic from The Knot, Table Setting and Program Pockets from Martha Stewart

Photography by Chrissy Lambert; Floral Design by Yvonne Chapman; Shot at the Loulu Palm Estate, Oahu’s North Shore; Chef + Food Stylist Michelle Nakaya; Stationery by Stacey Nomura

This beautiful ocean inspired wedding decor was featured by Pacific Weddings.The floral design by Yvonne Chapman is simply beautiful and captures the playful lines and colors of a day at the beach. I love the way the different colors of sand are combined in the vases to make beautiful lines that mimic the waves in the ocean. Here is how Chapman describes this design…

“When I think of sand, I am reminded of the playful energy and warmth felt at the beach… vibrant colors of orange and yellow signify the sun and the Mokara orchids give this table a whimsical feel,” says Honolulu designer, Yvonne Chapman of the eponymous Yvonne Design. Handblown glass vases stand tall in three modern shapes that mimic the sensuous qualities of the ocean. Modeled after traditional chemistry lab beakers, the stems of each vase rise delicately above vibrant arrangements of dahlias, calla lilies, roses, celosia, and hybrid ranunculus in bodacious summer hues. Mokara orchids, wired discreetly to each vase top, appear to float over the table. The artistic waves of the sand create a modern still-life with layers of sand in tangerine, sunny yellow and bright white. Playing off the “sands of time” theme, Stacey Nomura of Bradley & Lily Fine Stationery, created circular tags that read, “time of your life,” which are tied to miniature hourglasses. These unique parting gifts rest at each place setting and promise to be an interesting conversation piece among celebrants.

The design ties together perfectly and the vibrant colors really make the design. I have to say my favorite part is the use of the colored sand. It is breathtaking!

Sheridan and Bo had a beautiful wedding at The Biltmore, a Four Seasons Resort in Santa Barbara CA. Sheridan wore a strapless Elizabeth Fillmore gown with ruffle detailing on the bodice and skirt. The bride’s hot pink nails peek out from beneath her bouquet of peonies and orchids. The ceremony was all white, and to achieve a traditional look of a church floral designer Mindy Rice brought some of that ambiance to the oceanfront outdoor setting by creating beautiful floral arches where the couple would say their vows.The couple and their guests went from the subdued ceremony to a vibrant lunch reception. Eye-popping red linens and chair covers were paired with flowers in hot pinks and oranges. However, I think the beautiful aqual cake stole the show in the reception–not counting the bride of course. After the ceremony, Sheridan swapped her elegant cathedral-length veil for a one-of-a-kind fluorescent feather headpiece by Leah C. Couture Millinery which was too beautiful for words.

Pics and Wedding Story from Brides.com

Michelle Rago is known for taking their client’s  wedding vision and transforming it into a breathtaking fantasy. This Vermont wedding is no exception. Every detail is well attended. From the woodland inspired decor to the soft combination of delicate flowers, it is simply perfect.

Michelle Rago

I was browsing the Martha Stewart Weddings site and I can across this beautiful Tennessee wedding. At first I was looking at the details for ideas for an inspiration board but I had a whole page full of ideas by the time I was done. That’s when I decided that this wedding was too beautiful, it had to be shown in it’s entirety. I loved everything from the guest book quilt to the candy apples! I hope you enjoy! If you want to get more info on the wedding or see more pics just click the link above!