Designer Spotlight: Ti Adora

"Ti Adora by Alvina Valenta blends soft, vintage romance with the fresh, modern soul of today's bohemian bride."

I love the Ti Adora collection by Alvina Valenta because it not only offers beautifully sleek gowns, but also unique details that add flair for the free spirited bride. Enjoy a selection of my ten favourite gowns, and to view more of the collection, head to http://www.jlmcouture.com/Ti-Adora.

Friendly Inspiration: Grace

Welcome back to Friendly Inspirations! If you missed the ideas behind this wedding, be sure to take a look at the introduction here.

Grace's Friendly Inspiration:

The Colour Palette: Shades of soft purples and coral will be intermixed with white elements throughout the wedding.

The Invitations: This invitation suite features both the colour scheme and a hint of beach-inspiration with its sandy elements.

The Venue:

The Ceremony: The ceremony will take place on the Stinson State Beach, with its sunny atmosphere and views of the ocean.

The Reception: A short drive away is the Cypress Ridge Pavilion, a venue with a beautiful reception space full of high ceilings and hardwood details. The location also has exceptional photography opportunities, including backgrounds with cypress tress and a small lake. 

The Bride:

The Dress: This Ti Adora gown features a lace bodice with a flowy skirt and jewelled belt, perfect for a beach ceremony and an inside reception. 

The Look: The bride will hold a bouquet full of white, lavender, and coral flowers. To accessorize the dress, she will wear diamond earrings and a simple tennis bracelet. Her hair will be done in a half-up, half-down style with slight waves and a beaded veil.

The Bridesmaids: The bridesmaids will wear a coral ombre sweetheart gown, while holding a white and coral bouquet similar to the bride's.

The Groom & Groomsmen: To match the beach-ceremony, the men will wear dark pants and crisp white shirts. To stand out, the groom will wear a lavender tie to match the bride's bouquet, while the groomsmen will match the bridesmaids with coral ties. Each of the men will also wear a coral boutonniere.

The Ceremony: The ceremony will take place on the beach in front of two large decorated trees. At the base of the trees will be large lanterns with coral and lavender candles. The guests will sit on both white and coral benches, giving the ceremony some added colour. There will also be a unique "beach" sign for the couple. 

The Cocktail Hour: The cocktail hour will take place on the beach under a white tent. Set up under the tent will be cocktail tables with lavender tablecloths and white centrepieces. Drinks will be served, including custom lavender lemonade and grapefruit cocktails. 

The Escort Cards: Leading the guests to their seats will be a seating display with a lavender quatrefoil background. Holding the escort cards to the background will be lavender and coral pearl push pins.

The Reception: Inside the hall will be circular tables with white tablecloths and custom coral and lavender runners. The centrepieces will consist of clear vases filled with colourful flowers, accented with white candles in hurricane vases to add warmth. The place settings will consist of white plates and chargers, decorated with soft purple menus and a sprig of lavender.

The Cake: The cake will be frosted with white and lavender icing, decorated with coral flowers. It will sit atop a white china cake stand accented with coral ribbon.

The Guestbook: Guests will be encouraged to sign the guestbook with their "hopes for the couple...". Their responses will be hung from the same push pins as the escort cards, displayed in between lavender and coral flowers.

The Favours: To thank the guests for sharing in their special day, the couple will send them home with lavender sachets filled with fresh lavender that can be used for aroma or cooking. 

Next week, a warm summer night's wedding.

Friendly Inspiration: Elyse

I would like to apologize for the delay of this Friendly Inspiration. Moving into my final week of college has been very hectic. But without further adieu, here is Elyse's Friendly Inspiration. If you missed the inspiration behind this post, check it out here.

Elyse's Friendly Inspiration:

Colour Scheme: Shades of purple, with hints of cream, will be the basis for this wedding.

The Invitations: Light purple watercolour invitations will invite the guests.

The Venues:

Ceremony Location: The Chapel of our Lady, located in San Francisco, will the be location of the wedding ceremony. With its high ceilings, beautifully detailed walls, and incredible windowed backdrop, this church is sure to bring the "wow" factor.

Reception Location: Just a quick ten minute drive away is the de Young Museum, located in Golden Gate Park. The gardens in the back of the museum will serve as the perfect spot to celebrate the couple and dance the night away.

The Bride:

The Dress: This lace Ti Adora dress has a sweetheart neckline, a detailed back design, and a beautiful silhouette.

The Accessories: The bride will hold a hydrangea bouquet in multiple shades of purple. Her hair will be curled with tiny braids along the side of her head, accented with a simple veil. She will also wear amethyst and diamond earrings and deep purple pumps to match the bridesmaids' dresses.

The Bridesmaids: The bride's ladies will wear plum bridesmaids dresses with sweetheart necklines. They will hold cream and lavender hydrangea bouquets, along with wearing a simple amethyst necklace and diamond stud earrings.

The Groom & Groomsmen: The groom and groomsmen will wear cream shirts and deep purple ties with cream hydrangea boutonnieres. The groomsmen will simply wear black suspenders to match the pants, while the groom will wear a vest to stand out.

The Ceremony Decor: To work with the bright window of the ceremony location, the ceremony decor will be light and airy. The aisle will have a cream runner with purple calligraphy. The pews will be decorated with cream tulle and purple and cream flowers. The backdrop will focus on the window's garden views by accenting with simple hanging purple flowers and petals.

The Cocktail Hour: The cocktail hour will be held inside of the museum, surrounded by art. Tables with cream tablecloths and deep purple flowers will bet set up around the room where purple cocktails will be served.

The Escort Cards: Watercolour escort cards, similar to the invitations, will tell guests where they're seated with beautiful calligraphy.

The Reception Decor: A draped tent will be set up in the gardens of the museum, where rectangular tables with cream tablecloths and purple runners will be placed. The centrepieces will be composed of large purple hydrangea bouquets in milk glass urns surrounded by purple lotus candles and large iridescent candle holders. The place settings will be topped with the favours. The tent will also have a unique decorating feature: hanging lightbulbs.

The Cake & Dessert Table: There will be a small dessert table at the reception that will host the wedding cake, a three-tiered purple ombre ruffle cake with a cute couple topper, and other small desserts, like purple macaroons. The table will be set with a cream tablecloth, lavender overlay, and simple purple flowers.

The Favours: Sitting atop the place settings will be the guests' favours: succulents planted in teacups. There will be three sets of teacups, each with different purple designs.

This next weekend I will be taking a small hiatus, as I am finishing my college career with finals week. But not to worry; I will be back the following weekend with one of my final "spring" Friendly Inspiration posts!