Swoon Style and Home: August 2010

Yay or Nay: Wedding Program?

If you have been to a wedding or two, chances are you have been handed a program before a ceremony. Typically, wedding programs will give guests a play by play of the ceremony, including the order of the ceremony, a description of the different rites or traditions and the names and roles of the wedding party. Some programs are simple one sheet papers, while others are multi-page booklets with information to spare.

Some couples forego the program entirely, especially if they are having a very short ceremony. Others would never dream of it. In my view, programs are wonderful but are not always necessary. In most ceremonies, I would provide something for guests so that they know what to expect. As a guest, it is nice to have something to hold and read while waiting for the start of the ceremony and even during it. However, if the ceremony is short and sweet or the guest list is small and intimate, programs are hardly a necessity. The choice is entirely up to the bride and groom.

What are your thoughts? Wedding program: yay or nay?

See you swoon,

(image courtesy of The Knot)

Rings on her fingers and blue on her toes ...

Or red, or yellow, or pink, or green. Anything goes these days when it comes to bridal shoes! Gone are the days of brides being forced to choose between white or ivory or maybe, just maybe, a soft champagne. Many of today's brides are choosing to wear a bolder hue on their bridal shoes. After all, if the bride has a long wedding gown, the secret is hers unless she wants to share. Below is a slew of wedding shoes - in every color of the rainbow, including a perfectly lovely cream pair for the more traditional among us. Enjoy!

Which are your faves? While I love love love the different colors, I'm definitely a white bridal shoe kind of gal. Share your picks!

See you swoon,

Late Summer Inspiration

It's hard to believe that next weekend is Labor Day and the unofficial end of Summer. It always happens this way: around mid-May, it seems like there is so much time, and the next thing you know, another Summer is in the books. I hope you all had terrific summers, filled with happy memories.

To me, there is a very different feel between weddings that take place at the end of summer and those that occur earlier on. With Fall nearing closer and closer, the colors in late summer weddings are richer, a little bolder, a little less sweet and bright. I thought the following inspiration boards did a great job of showcasing different ways a late Summer wedding could play out color-wise. Enjoy!

What's your favorite board? I think I'm torn between the dusky pink inspired board in the middle and the last with all those rich neutrals.

See you swoon,

{above inspiration boards courtesy of (from top) Beach Wedding Guide, Polyvore, Beach Wedding Guide, Flickr and Wedding Aces}

Swoon Worthy Style Icon: Grace Kelly

Wednesdays are turning into "style icon" day here at Swoon. Last week, I blogged about Audrey Hepburn. Up today: Grace Kelly. How can you not love Grace Kelly? A Philadelphian by birth (yay!), she was a model of poise, grace and classic beauty from her early days as an actress to her later years as the Princess of Monaco. She had a cool iciness to her, which kept her from looking too sweet or too "girl next door." Yet, she was not so aloof that she appeared too patrician.

Here are some of my favorite shots of Grace Kelly and her timeless style, including her most famous wedding gown, from which brides today still draw inspiration (including yours truly!).

What's your favorite Grace Kelly look? Mine is most definitely her wedding gown. Timeless perfection ... and it doesn't hurt that she is carrying my favorite flowers, lily of the valley.

See you swoon,

Home Swoon Home: surviving showings

Showings are necessary evils when selling a home. You want as many of these as possible to get tons of traffic (and potential offers!) in your house. Living through showings can be a challenge. Last week, I blogged about the importance of staging your home when trying to sell. Once your home is staged properly, you need to keep it that way. Sounds easy enough, but keeping the home spotless and perfect on a day-to-day basis can create quite a headache.

Some tips for surviving showings include:

* Keep the home up on a daily basis. Assume you will get buyers in your house with no notice, so clean it and tidy it up each day before you head out the door. Remember this is temporary.

* Make a checklist. Both Jamie and I are huge fans of of checklists and checking things off of them. Making a list of everything you need to do each day before you leave the house will help you remember it all and give you a small sense of control in a situation in which you have very little control.

* Keep a basket in your main living area. If you run out of time to put things away where they belong, toss your stuff in the basket and hide it in the trunk of your car.

* Keep a basket of cleaning supplies on hand and use them each day. I have my vinegar-based cleaner, paper towels, a few regular towels, comet and some daily shower cleaner. Having everything all together in one place saves time and stress.

* Figure out where you will spend your time during the showings: ask a friend or relative if you can crash with her. Go to the mall. Stay later at work. Your realtor should be able to advise about how long to figure the showings will be.

* Finally, be grateful! The second I start to get weary of the cleaning and prepping, I remind myself that it is all for good: selling the house and getting into the next one.

Got any tips that I missed? Please do share!

See you swoon,

Swooning over short wedding dresses

Maybe because Mad Men is in full swing again I have the 1950s and 1960s on the brain, but lately, I've been obsessed with tea-length wedding gowns. I just love the sweet simplicity of the style. Sure, the shorter length is not for every wedding or for every bride: a tea-length (i.e., about half way between the knee and ankle) dress is better suited for a less formal affair and conjures up visions of whimsy and playfulness. If a cathedral length veil has always been your dream, then you may want to rethink a shorter dress: birdcage or shoulder length veils, flowers in the hair or no veil at all are the way to go with this style dress. You'd probably have to have your attendants in a similar length dress or something shorter. And the groom and his entourage would need to tone down their formality level too - perhaps with a quirky color choice, a suit instead of a tux or even sneakers instead of dress shoes.

Here is quick round-up of some seriously swoon-worthy dresses that are short on length but not short on style. I even found one of my beloved Audrey Hepburn, which I threw in for good measure (from the movie Funny Face).

Unlike a longer wedding gown, people will notice your shoes, so definitely make them count! I'll have a post on fun wedding shoes coming up next week.

What do you think: if you were wearing a shorter wedding dress would you do a veil or no veil? Do tell! {I'd probably wear one of those birdcage veils -- just because I find them completely adorable}

See you swoon,

CopyCat-alogue

If you are anything like me, the "big things" in decorating rooms are the easiest: paint colors, furniture, linens, rugs, etc. It's the details that throw me for a loop. What will look good on this table? What will finish the space? When is there too much stuff? I take a lot of inspiration from every day mail order catalogues. I love to flip through the pages after a long day at work and tab over the designs that I like. Many times I have used something I saw in a catalogue as a spring board for something in my own home. If you're stumped in your own space, give it a try. Below are my favorite catalogues for copying.

Pottery Barn