We’re taking our inspiration, DIY projects and musings to Graceful Day Design.

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Once you get there, drop us a note – let us know what you’d like to see more of!

One of our photos was chosen to be used in an article featuring our wedding photography. It’s an international magazine – based in Bulgaria. Apparently it’s like the Bulgarian version of Marie Claire or Glamour. At any rate… I consider it a big “yay!”

Here’s the pic -

Here’s the link – http://www.lauraivanovablog.com/?p=1018

Stay tuned to see another photo from our wedding published (this spring). This time, in a well-known U.S. magazine.

Feathers & Frills on Etsy has some fantastic bridal headpieces. I love this dramatic rhinestone headband. It’d look spectacular at a traditional ballroom wedding with a simple strapless gown or a slinky 40s-style dress.

Love. It.

The prices are pretty amazing (the style is comparable to what my local Priscilla of Boston carries) and these pieces make me want to get married all over again!

Congratulations – and good luck!

I recommend consulting your local printshop and taking a class or two if you have the resources. But once you do decide to take it on, I recommend you work with Boxcar Press.

I used them to print our printing plates. Their professionalism and quality of product are pretty fantastic.

The prices are also quite fair (you know how some Etsy shops will charge $60 or more for a custom plate for an invitation or business card? Boxcar’s minimum is $30, and they charge by the square inch).

They have a highly comprehensive Q&A section and really know the business.

I love Vintage Glam Blog – it was in my daily blogroll while planning my wedding day… but now, Vintage Glam Blog has been rebranded – to Ruffled! The focus has now been divided between vintage and indie weddings, and will include weekly downloads and a free classifieds section!

I’m excited to see all the fabulous ideas, real weddings and projects.

Congrats to Amanda, I’m sure she put in a TON of work for this launch, I’m sure it’ll all be worth it.

I really wanted dramatic cake stands that:
a. didn’t break the bank
b. looked fantastic

I needed 5 and set my budget at under $60 for the whole bunch – virtually impossible, right?

Wrong.

We purchased 5 wooden discs – 1-12″ and 4-10″ – from our local home improvement store. Each cost about $5.

Then we found fence post caps – to serve as the bases. Each cost about $1.20

For the rise, we chose 12″ high carved decorative fence posts – they looked like miniature stair spindles – each costing about $.97.

We grabbed some 1 1/2 inch screws and just screwed the disc to one end of the spindle and screwed the fence post cap to the other end. Once this 5 minute task was completed, we hauled them outside and spray painted them our desired color (ivory).

2 coats later, they were done!

Since we were planning to place food (cake & cupcakes) onto the discs, and they’d been spray painted, I trimmed out some discs of paper to match the card box and guest book.

The final product took under an hour to make, and cost about $42 to make them all (the spray paint added about $6 in cost).

Oh, don’t mind the stupid carrots on our cake, our ridiculous caterer (Miel y Leche) decided to “surprise” us with them. Ugh. at least the cake was delicious.

Want more info/tutorial photos? Comment with interest. I’d be happy to recreate and photograph the process.

This dress would be absolutely perfect for a retro/earthy outdoor wedding. A nature preserve or rustic woods would perfectly offset this cotton dress. Yeah, it’s an eBay dress, but the price is right for a bride on a budget.

As I outlined about 18 months ago, my then-boyfriend (later – fiance, now – husband) visited a variety of jewelry stores (all together, eight) before settling on the one from which he would purchase my engagement ring.

He worked with them for several weeks to come up with the perfect ring. Here’s the process he went through.

First, he worked with the jeweler to choose the perfect center stone. Once that was decided upon, the jeweler chooses the other stones to match in color and clarity. My then-boyfriend knew that he wanted the ring to have 5 stones – 4 side stones totaling a carat and the 1.5 carat center stone. He was focused on cut, clarity and color.

After the stones were decided upon and my then-boyfriend signed off on them, they began the ring-designing process. Here’s how that went:
* Bring photos of other rings that he likes.
* The designer sketched out a few designs and he chose one that he liked.
* Designer creates a 3-D drawing of the ring in a CAD program, and presents to him.
* They discuss changes, and the designer makes them, and presents a second drawing.
* Once approved, they had a 3-D wax model of the ring made.
* Designer shows to him, he suggests further changes, and designer executes them.
* Once the proper design has been created in wax and agreed upon, the ring was made and set with the stones that he (my then-boyfriend) chose.

The process took several weeks – 8 or so, by my estimation, but I could be wrong.

He paid the remaining balance and then hung onto the ring for WEEKS – even bringing it to Mexico and back home, as he thought about proposing there, but ultimately decided not to – opting for a sweet, more intimate and personal proposal.

How he kept this secret, I’ll never know.

I really struggled with the accessories. I purchased a Haute Bride necklace that I didn’t actually wear, and didn’t find shoes until the day before the wedding. Of course we’d purchased shoes (3 pair!) for the wedding, but with an outside ceremony, and the fact that I was pregnant, I really didn’t want some skinny heels sinking into the ground every time I stepped out of doors.

The shoes – just some bright kicks I found at Famous Footwear (how uncool, I know!) – they were comfy for the entire day, and the color was nice and bright, so they fit the bill. Bonus: they were only $50.

The hairpiece – I ordered this lovely piece as a birdcage veil from Twigs and Honey on Etsy. Myra didn’t really “get” my concept of the veil that would sweep across the face (at the time, she didn’t get it, she’s since made dozens that echo that look) – but her work is so great, I decided to keep it and make it work. With a little repositioning, it turned out to be fantastic! The piece cost about $70.

The earrings – I ordered my earrings from Haute Bride. I love their delicate filigree look, and adored the art deco feel the invoked. Their styles have changed in the last year or so, but there are similar styles on their site.

The necklace – I was really on the fence on this front. My dear husband gave me a strand of akoya pearls for Christmas last year, and I really do love them. I look forward to the day, years from now, when I can give them to our daughter. But I also received another strand of pearls, just weeks before the wedding. The difference between the two was the clasps – and since the new strand had a white gold clasp, I chose to wear that one. In hindsight, my husband and I are both a bit sad that I didn’t wear the ones he gave me, because of the sentimental value, but either way, the pearls looked stunning on our wedding day.

The bracelet – my something borrowed, my sister Shaunessy let me borrow a 3-strand pearl bracelet with a brooch centering them. Thanks little sister!

All photos taken by Laura Ivanova - and cannot be reproduced or used, on the web or otherwise, without permission.

Oh my, I adore this lovely little bridal headband by Little White Dresser on Etsy – it’s lovely and sweet – vintage-y and of-the-moment. Oh, and the price – the “true star” headband is only $18! Headbands and flowing hair are such a gorgeous bridal look – I’m glad the combination is so popular right now.

I highly recommend you check out this and the other fabulous items in the shop.