A great idea for the party on the dance floor

If you're having the best band ever at your wedding and you have that great group of friends who love to party, would totally jump on stage with the band (bands typically hate this by the way), love to sing along - here is a fun idea.

Photo Credit: Impressions Photography

When the song comes on that everyone loves to sing along to (really loud), when they've had a few cocktails and are having an amazing time... pass these out to everyone.

Yes, it is a plastic Microphone and its bound to bring great fun and hilarious pictures & video.

Want to give a hint for the fun to come? Update your wedding website with the lyrics to the microphone song(s) - but don't say why.  You can also print the lyrics on the back of your dinner menus.

Great sing along songs:

Living on a prayer, Bon Jovi

Don't stop believin, Journey

Brown eyed girl, Van Morrison

Benny and the Jets, Elton John

The hot new sing a long song: We are young, Fun

Quick Tip: Always make sure your photographer and videographer are prepared in advance for this kind of surprise because this, you will want to see again.

The little things

This made me smile. Enjoy the little things, such as the fact that the Martha Stewart craft app is free for a few days. I suggest downloading it now before it's $4.99!

Silver and Gold Starfish Escort Cards

I was trying to find a way to "fancy up" escort cards for a chic beach wedding this fall and I came across a pin this morning about spray painting shells. It looked a little too good to be true. But I figured I'd swing by good old Home Depot for some paint and try it out. You never know until you try right?
Well, this is how it went:

They turned out perfect!  I especially love the gold.  Although that starfish is a little on the funky side with its extra arm.

I used Rust-oleum Speciality Metallic Spray paint.  I think they were about $3.50 a can. It took about 20 minutes in the sun to dry well.
Level of difficulty: I did it, and didn't get angry or throw anything. So that makes it a 1 out of 5 (Five is like call in a handy man hard).
Confession: Now I want to spray paint everything. There's alot of paint left in these cans. Could be trouble.

Old Navy $1 Flip Flop Day

Tomorrow! It's like black friday to destination wedding brides. Get up early, be there when they open with all your bridesmaids, moms, and anyone willing to brave the never ending bins of foot thongs. For your guests will party so hard on the dance floor that they will gladly trade their Louboutins for another hour of the best wedding reception ever.
Tip: There is a 5 per person limit. This is an official bridesmaid duty day. Go when the store opens, go have coffee (or mimosa) and then head back for 5 more each.

Jag+Param=Adventure!

Jag & Param love to travel even more than we do! From trekking through Europe in style from Paris to Milan to the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, to travelling to India, to exploring their own hometowns of Calgary & Vancouver, they are always on the go!

So it was wonderful to meet up with them in London, England (their third hometown!) for their engagement YOU+ME session. We had a great time shooting them throughout the city. And our whole C+L team is excited to photograph their sure-to-be-adventurous 5-day wedding coming up soon! A few favs from our time in London...

How to make a faux lucite tray for about $7

There are some very cool lucite trays on Etsy like this one:

I found this blush & gold chevron lucite tray on Etsy

Today while tidying up in the studio I came across an acrylic box frame we had used for a last minute signature drink menu several years back. Then I came across a piece of glittery blue scrapbook paper and BAM! I had an idea I just have to share with you.
Here my friends, is the photo how to for a 3 minute $7 instant ceremony program tray!
You'll need:

• 8.5x11 acrylic box frame (about $5-$6 from any craft store)
• A 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper of your choosing.  The heavier cardstock-type papers are obviously going to look better (about $1 from any craft store)
• Paper Trimmer
• 3 minutes

Here is your paper.

Take your paper and trim it down to 8.5x11

Pull the inside of the frame out. You don't need to be strong, its paper.  But if you want to make your fiance feel like a macho man, you can ask him for help {insert giggle here}

Slide in the paper you trimmed {the 8.5x11 piece, not the scraps. Just in case you were confused or are well into your favorite bottle of DIY-time wine}

Put in your programs

Smile because you're fancy and you have money left over for another bottle of DIY-time wine after all your hard work.  Bring a coupon to the craft store and you can probably save 50% and get your maid of honor a bottle of DIY-time wine too.

Blush and Gold and Turtle Pond

Have you visited my blush & gold pinterest board {See it here}?  There's prettiness like this darling bridesmaid dress:

Source: eventjubilee.com via Kelly on Pinterest
After post edit: A great question was asked via comment by "Anonymous" about the above dress.  One of the things I love about Pinterest is that sometimes you do have some clicking to do to find the answers.  In the clicking through - you can come across some really great finds. The best thing I found about this one when I went to find the answer to where to find this dres...some of my favorite people in the world were behind this image and the inspiration shoot that it belongs with!

photography by carla ten eyck photography

floral design: datura: a modern garden

fashion styling: the white dress by the shore

beauty: dd nickel

paper: coral pheasant

And this stunning ceremony backdrop draped with white sheers and lush white, ivory and champagne flowers, and a trio of chandeliers.

Source: southernpiphi.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

I noticed that this image above was taken by Turtle Pond, who shot one of our destination weddings a few years ago (Here's a link to their wedding slideshow that Jamie shared with us).  They were such a  pleasure to work with! Here are a few shots from that wedding (Pink Shell Resort, Signature Florals, Kakes by Karen):

My Real Wedding from The Knot and The Nest.
My Real Wedding from The Knot and The Nest.
My Real Wedding from The Knot and The Nest.