Blackboard Place Cards

My friend Annette from Swanky Tables had a great find. Blackboard Place cards!I am a little in love with blackboards/chalkboards recently. Check out the Swanky Tables Blog for the DIY links! Happy Crafting!

La Di Real Wedding: Courtney and Kevin

We would love to share with you the very glamorous wedding of Courtney and Kevin. It was a beautiful day in May, and the perfect day for their Chicago wedding. Courtney wanted a Vintage Glam look for her wedding day. Take a look! Special thank you to the photographers at StudioThisIs for providing us with these photographs to share with you today. Courtney and her bridesmaids all got ready for the big day at W City Center, Chicago. Rosie and Robyn from RBombshell Beauty were there on site to do all of the ladies hair and makeup.


Courtney was stunning in her one shouldered silhouette wedding gown by designer Anne Barge.

Before Courtney could start her day, all of her bridesmaids signed her shoes with a message. The theory is that when the night ends the most legible message would be the next Bride to be!

How beautiful is this bridal party! All of the Bridesmaids were able to pick a dress that would be flattering to their figure instead of wearing the same gown. Courtney picked a color palette of metallic and pastels and then let the ladies shop!

And we can't forget about the gentlemen. Here is Kevin and his Groomsmen posing for some shots at the W city center.

Courtney and Kevin were married at Notre Dame De Chicago.

On their way out of the church Courtney and Kevin were greeted by their guests waving hand made ribbon wands.

After the ceremony Courtney and Kevin and their bridal party traveled to Union Station for some indoor and outdoor photographs.

Love this outdoor shot!!!

All day the bridal party rode in style in a Trolley from Windy City Trolley. Look at the shades!!

Courtney and Kevin's reception was held at the modern Latin restaurant Nacional 27.

Here is my cameo bending down to lift up Courtney's train, the photographer got me!

How stunning is this room shot of the event space at Nacional 27. The restaurant was transformed to Vintage Glam with the help of Frost Lighting, Classic Party rentals linens, and floral decor by Hello Darling. As you can see there are two levels of seating, tables and booths. All centered around the circle dance floor with gorgeous chandeliers and gobos illuminating the entire room. The palm leaves were added to style the room like an old Havana marketplace.

A few close ups of the floral designs. The dining tables were decorated with vintage glass, milk glass and silver vessels. Each table was unique with its glass and flower combinations. The table numbers, menus and escort signs were all custom designed by Float Paperie.

The unique vintage vessels were filled with different variations of peonies, succulents, stock, hydrangea, ranunculus, frilly tulips, dusty miller and brunia.

The tables were lit with silver and gold mercury glass votives, as well as crystal strand votives and luminaries.

Courtney and Kevin's wedding cake was custom designed by Take the Cake. This 4-tier wedding cake was covered in pearlized rolled fondant and white sugar flowers.

Here is a closer look at the sugar flowers. Since I know you can't see inside the flavors consisted of, white lemon zest buttermilk cake with two layers of raspberry conserve/cream cheese filling and one layer of cream cheese/fresh raspberries. That's not all, they also have chocolate fudge cake filled with one layer of each, chocolate fudge, salted caramel filling and cream cheese filling.
YUM!

The dance floor was filled all night long thanks to the musical styling of Fig Media!

We had such a wonderful time working with Courtney and Kevin for their Stunning Vintage Glam wedding day. We wish them happiness and health in their life together!



Baker: Take the Cake

Bridal Salon: Belle Vie Bridal Couture

Ceremony Site: Notre Dame De Chicago

Entertainment: Fig Media

Florist: Hello Darling

Hair and Makeup: RBombshell Beauty

Get Ready Location: W Chicago City Center

Lighting: Frost

Photobooth: ShutterBooth

Photographer: StudioThisIs

Reception: Nacional 27

Stationary: Float Paperie

Transportation: Windy City Trolley

Wedding Planner: La Di Events

The shine stops here, with Cynthia Sally

This summer was quite possibly the most hot and humid summer we have had in years. As I worked each wedding in the months on May through July I found myself keeping blotting papers in my pocket all day! My makeup just felt like it was melting off my face and each time I caught myself in the mirror I was very shiny. With the long wedding day hours I work I don't have time to be reapplying my makeup all day. So I reached out to my friend and fellow wedding professional Cynthia Sally for a makeup makeover.

When we met she asked me to bring my current makeup bag so she could look through it and detemine the problem. I was a bit scared to have her look at my bag, I dont really use one brand and some of the items I have in my bag are quite possibly past their experation date. (two years for most makeup, or as a friend once told me if your lipgloss smells like crayons its gotta go!)

But you have all been there with that makeup you love!

So after disceting my makeup bag she determined that I did not have enough steps to my base to make it last all day. I was just wearing a Mac Studio Fix pressed powder and bronzer, which both happened to contain light reflectors (Hello shine!!). Funny no on told me that when I bought it! So not the right choice for my skin type and long days!

So we were off to Sephora to find the best base makeup for me that would stop the shine! Here is my new makeup that we bought!!

Make Up For Ever Invisible Primer. Love this it really does do the trick!

Make Up For Ever High definition Foundation. I havent worn liquid foundation in many years and I really like this one. The pump keeps it from getting to messy.

Lorac wet/dry oil free powder. I am using this to set my foundation in place! I have to say the combination on these three products has solved my shine problem!! And I havent had to carry the blotting papers!

Cynthia also recommended the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. I am in LOVE with this. My eyeshadow goes on so much better and really lasts all day. Even though I came for foundation I am so glad I purchased this!!

So don't just take my word for it!! Here is the expert advice from the expert herself, Cynthia Sally on eliminating shine:

"Eliminating shine is no easy task but here are some tips to get you shine free:

Even if your skin is naturally oily, that does not mean that you should deprive it of moisture. If your skin does not get moisture, it will produce MORE oil to compensate for it. So moisturize every day, even if you feel that your skin is oily.

Use primers. Primers are especially nice for your eyelids to keep the eyeshadow on if you produce a lot of oil around the eye area. My favorite is Urban Decay's Primer Potion. For the face a primer with silicone in it will help absorb the oil so it doesnt come up on the surface. I recommend Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer.

Always set your foundation with a powder. If you still get oily throughout the day, use blotting papers to absorb excess oil so you dont keep layering powder over powder.

Do not use shimmer blushes if you have oily skin, use matte blush.

We cannot stop our skin from producing oil but we can sure do our best to hide it!"

Pretty in Pink!

Pinks and purples have been a big trend this wedding season. I have to say I am a BIG fan! These dusty colored roses scream romance. Our clients, Angie and Mike's wedding is featured above. From the bouquets to the cake, all of the flowers were stunning! They are so delicate and beautiful I wish you all could have been there to witness this event. All designed by the very talented Kio Kreations. Angie and Mike's romantic reception took place at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club in Lemont. For more details on the floral decor check out Kio Kreations Blog. For all of the details of Angie and Mikes wedding stay tuned!!