Designer Duds

I have been scouring the net for the latest in beautiful bridal dresses and have found a few that I would love to wear at my own wedding. These are all designer gowns that are just exquisite and timeless. The designers that I have mostly researched for this entry are Monique Lhuillier and Amsale. They are my top two favorite. Their designs are very classy and sophisticated but very modern and contemporary at the same time! There are always little details to the dresses that make it stand out for a bride's wedding day.
These gowns are some of my favorites and some of the best ones I have seen recently. I especially love this last one with the feathers coming out of the back! It's gorgeous.. I remember last year while planning my sister's wedding, she tried on an Amsale gown at a department store here and she looked amazing in it! It was similar to the dress in picture #3 with an empire waist and around the bust there were beaded flowers. It was so elegant, but not the right fit for what she envisioned her wedding dress to be. Maybe I will be able to wear something like that for my big day! Only one can hope...

Why I love Tuesdays...

This is why I love Tuesdays... It's the only day of the week I have for myself and to do the things that I love the most.. which mostly involves event planning! These aren't my favorite flowers in the world tho.. I love orchids or a dahlia or i love cherry blossoms, which you can probably see from my sweetface logo! Well, I just wanted to share my little creation with you.. I know its not much but it kept me busy yesterday!

Happy hump day, everyone!

xoxo

Pink-y Swear!

I have an obsession with the color pink. I've always dreamed of a pink wedding.. not everything pink but you know pink, white, and navy blue. I love it all! I've been looking at pink weddings all day and I love MOST of what I've seen so far hehe...

Pink centerpieces are what I'm focusing on today. It's been done so many ways but there are ways to make them your own. I am so in love with flowers with big blooms like peonies, hydrangeas, and lilies. I've even seen pomanders of bright pink and red carnations (and I hate carnations) and it looked amazing! Yeah, I know what you're thinking... um carnations? But when they're group together tightly they look so good! Hang them on shepherd's hooks aligned on the aisle and your wedding looks divine!

pink, pink, pink! It's always on my mind. I find that so many different every day things inspire me. Working in Georgetown, everything around me is inspiration. A girls pink strapless dress, someone's gold ballet flats, or the unique storefronts along M street. It's all inspiration, you just have to pay attention!

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures like I've enjoyed looking for them! I Pink-y Swear I'll bring you more....

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

Venue Spotlight

The Gaylord National Hotel & Resort

This 2,000 room hotel just opened at National Harbor, Maryland in November and it is one grand hotel & resort. Walking into the lobby alone the chandeliers were incredible down to the floral displays on the tabletops. They used different heights of vases with water filled to the top and orchids floating. It is a very classy hotel that can meet the needs of all types of people. As you walk through the lobby you walk into the atrium which has an 18 story glass ceiling. It is just beautiful.

I took the liberty of giving myself a tour of the hotel and its grounds and took a few pictures during my visit! Lucky for me the doors to the Woodrow Wilson Ballroom was open and I took a few snapshots as well as the Cherry Blossom Ballroom which is a great little room that you can hold cocktails in! There is a club, Pose, on the top floor that is only open to hotel guests and it is supposed to be very high class. 

The hotel & resort is located just across the Potomac River and is easily accessible  via water taxi or highway. It has gorgeous views of the harbor especially during sunset. I've noticed that the hotel is offering some amazing deals, assuming because it is a new hotel and they're still trying to pass on the message of its opening. At National Harbor there are many delicious restaurants and most are open late for the nightlife crowd. 

The Gaylord National Hotel & Resort - view from the Potomac

Atrium view from inside the lobby

The Woodrow Wilson Ballroom

Another angle of The Woodrow Wilson Ballroom

The entrance to The Cherry Blossom Ballroom.. great for a cocktail reception!

The Cherry Blossom Ballroom

Invitations

I have been seeing a lot of new and innovative ideas when it comes to invitations and save the dates. There are so many ways that you can update a save the date just by using modern fonts and colors. Your save the date colors don't necessarily have to match your wedding colors or even your invite colors for that matter. Just use your imagination and they'll be sure to be a hit with your guests! 

I've found a new way to search for fonts that I'm very excited about! Well, I've been getting my brother to come up with a logo for Sweetface and he suggested i google "photoshop fonts", and I found so many great ones! If you are making your save the dates or invites all by yourself then thats a great way to find fonts that best match your style. There's anything from handwritten fonts to really nice calligraphy! I wish I was more of a photoshop pro but knowing me I'd become addicted! 

Here are some great invites I've seen lately and one special invitation that my sister's friend created using her wonderful creativity and photoshop skills! It's one of my favorite invitations that I've seen in awhile and just thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy these great invites....

-some pictures courtesy of etsy.com, elum, and chi burton-

Headpieces

I know its been around for quite sometime now but I think veils and headpieces are fabulous. The simplicity and the elegance the veils hold can make any bride look incredibly classy! There are different ways a bride can wear them. The veil can go over their eyes in a side sweep, it can be pulled back away from their face to cover only their hair, or it can be adorned with jewels and feathers to give it that extra flair. 

Your headpiece makes such a statement. If you choose to wear a classic veil, thats great, you can never really go wrong with a traditional veil (unless it's one from the 80's.. please stay away from those!!). I have seen many brides use their headpieces to show off their sense of style, straying away from the norm of a regular veil and putting pieces with rhinestones or flowers. I have found a few pictures on www.etsy.com. Etsy is a great website to find handcrafted items such as jewelry, bags, etc that are very unique and hard to find in stores!

I say that you should wear something that makes a statement and makes you stand out on your big day. You only get to do it once so why not pull out all the stops! And as you know, all eyes are on you..

Feel free to comment on what you think on the items I've posted or if you have any other ideas!

Color Combinations

Unique color combinations are a huge hit right now. I mentioned in my previous entry that I saw a tiffany blue with a hot pink matched with white and it was gorgeous for a spring day. I

 had this fabulous idea of putting together different colors from different destinations from around the world. I picked places such as Greece, France, Thailand, Hawaii, and India as some of my main sources of inspiration when it came to color combinations. The colors I found were just phenomenal and would be beautiful to add these colors as themes to weddings.  Did you ever think of pairing purple and yellow? Or an orange and pink? This is your chance to think outside the box when it comes to colors for your wedding. Make your wedding stand out with touches of bright pieces such as bright fabrics for the DJ table or 'stand-out' colors for the table numbers. you definitely want your wedding to stand out so using eye-catching colors is a great way to do it without spending a lot of money! Don't be afraid to play around with different colors. You want to make a statement on your wedding day and show your guests your unique style and flavor! I have put together a few swatch colors that you might find pleasing to the eye, especially for the summer months that are upon us! I hope you like them and feel free to comment and let me know if you have any great color combinations that I can feature on my blog!

Have a happy week!

TTFN,

A few budget ideas..

Wedding season is in full swing! I have already been to a few weddings this season and have been so lucky to see what the new and innovative ideas of 2009 are. I mean, who would've thought that 'tiffany blue' and hot hot pink would go so well together! And in this economy DIY projects save a bundle: baking your cookie favors, buying several packs of water crackers, or simply printing out your save the dates can save you $$$ that can go towards the honeymoon fund or being able to get that photographer of your dreams! Don't hesitate to budget a little more in certain aspects of your dream day so you can get your dream wedding dress :)

Have you thought about enlisting the help of your friends to help you out? A creative friend of my sister's made her invites and program fans and they looked stunning with the help of trusted Photoshop. Get friends to help you with baking your favors. It saves time, money and it's a great girls night!

There are really so many things you can do help save a couple bucks on you just have to think outside the box. Check out deals on craigslist barter or freecycle, just do your research!

TTFN,

xoxo

Sweetface Events

Welcome to the first official post of Sweetface Events! 

I'll tell you a little bit about myself before I start blogging.. My name is Nicole and am an aspiring event planner. I'm currently in school for event planning and hope to one day, very soon (as in the next year), be an official event planner in the Washington, DC area. I have a lot of experience from taking classes at school to being at an event first hand planning it from start to finish. It all started in 2006 when I graduated from the Advertising program at Sheridan College in Ontario, and I wanted something more. Advertising just wasn't cutting it for me anymore so I thought about it long and hard. I applied to the Hospitality program at Ryerson University in Toronto and came to learn that event planning was an aspect of hospitality! Who knew?! I had always loved helping plan and attend any kind of event so this was the perfect fit for me! From Ryerson I moved on to the Special Event Planning & Destination Tourism program at George Brown College which I will be graduating from in 2010. Event planning has been my passion for years now and I can definitely say my life revolves around it, just ask my family and friends! Well that's it for now, check out the 'About Me' for more info about me and my inspiration behind Sweetface Events.

TTFN,

xoxo