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I returned from Vegas to a bit of warmth in Chicago and it’s put some pep in my step.  Here’s some spring-time inspiration to kick off your weekend!

{funky purple and orange living room and yellow and green vases; photos by Christina Schmidhofer via Desire to Inspire}

{spring-like garden bouquet tied with yarn, photo by Joshua Aull, floral by Adorations, via Weddingbee; single flowers in colored vases from Wohn Idee mag via She Walks in Beauty}

{orange and yellow bedroom with an office in a closet from Apartment Therapy; sunny yellow bedroom photo by Trevor Dixon via A Room Somewhere}

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This week I am in Las Vegas at the fabulous WPPI convention – many of the talented wedding photographers I feature on the blog are here as well, including someone whose work really resonates with me, Elizabeth Messina.

While obviously her panel class was geared towards photographers, while hearing Elizabeth talk about her art and showcase her work my thoughts naturally turned towards EAD and weddings.

I love Elizabeth’s work because she brings her own perspective to each photograph.  They are completely and innately her, while also being fully focused on the subject of the photo.  When I see a wedding that I love, it’s for the same reason – a unique perspective.

What are you doing to make your wedding your own?  What voice are you bringing to your event?  Are you truly representing your love and your relationship?

And related, to that:

What do you want to see here on EAD to help you achieve your goal of a unique and personal wedding?

I adore blogging real weddings, or inspiration photos that I find and treasure, and of course DIY projects from across the web. But what I enjoy the most is connecting with all of you and experiencing your planning process.

{Because every post needs pretty pictures: photography by Meg Smith, floral by Ariella Chezar, via Snippet and Ink}

So what I’d love to do is to hear what you’re looking for and where you are in the process.  What inspiration are you in search of?

{Polly Wreford via This Is Glamorous}

Are you trying to decide on your color palette?  Need an inspiration board to pull your look together?  Looking for the perfect centerpieces?  Struggling with the right venue, the right theme?

{Allison Miksch via Desire to Inspire}

Comment below (or if you’d rather, use the contact form) and tell me about you and what it is that you are looking for as you plan your wedding.  I’ll post as many of your questions as I can and hopefully get to know all of you better in the process!

This week, my interest is drawn towards beautiful china, as we saw yesterday with the teacups and today with a smattering of absolutely lovely porcelain pieces – delicate and light, porcelain is perfect to incorporate into your wedding tablescape or decor.

{Nymphenburg via Thoughtful Day}

{hand-painted porcelain teacup favors, photo by Marzena Wasilewska via Polka Dot Bride}

{porcelain birds from this French countryside wedding, via Paris Hotel Boutique Journal and Green Wedding Shoes}

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I adore the dainty, vintage look of teacups, and there are so many ways they can be incorporated into your wedding, a shower, or any party! 

{teacup flower arrangements created by Chelsea for Project Wedding – full tutorial here}

{teacup table decorations from Adam and Vicky’s Tea Party Wedding, photo by Rosie Parsons – view more from this wedding on Ruffled}

{flowers in teacups, photo by Weddings By Two via The Bride’s Cafe}

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“It is very very strange to me that people are styling their weddings into scenes solely for publishing.”
Marcy Blum via Twitter

“We didn’t have a theme.  We didn’t style our photos for a blog-worthy post.  We didn’t have bunting or wear fake moustaches.  It was simply a wedding celebration, surrounded by our nearest and dearest, in a beautiful space that was enhanced with gorgeous seasonal flowers and tasty food.”
Amy of ABCD Design

“It’s my hope that 2010 will mark a return to the classic and timeless… a shift from the right-now to the lasts-forever, a continued focus on the personal details that make weddings special, and a fascination with all things lovely and unique.”
Quote by me, from my post on top wedding trends for 2010

When speaking with brides or vendors, I’m often asked for my opinion on current wedding trends, qualities that make a wedding special, or what makes something “blog-worthy”.  Our industry is putting an increasing emphasis on showcasing styled photo shoots, amazing tablescapes, and unbelievable inspiration.  Gorgeous eye-candy to be sure (and heaven for a blog editor!), but how attainable and realistic are those results for those of you planning your weddings?  And what does “blog-worthy” mean, anyway?

I don’t believe that there is a magic formula for weddings and I am not a lover of all things trendy.  But I can tell you that when I review submissions, I am looking for weddings that have three things in common…

#1: Fabulous Photography

No matter what you bring to the table for your wedding, the end result should be captured by someone who will do it justice.  There are so many talented photographers in the wedding world these days (you can find a few thousand of them here) and their talent and skill are what brings a wedding to life for an editor – and the photos from your wedding are what you will cherish for a lifetime to come.

{Catherine and Payton’s wedding, photographed by A Bryan Photo}

{Carly and Dan’s wedding, photographed by Marie Labbancz}

{Holly and Matt’s wedding, photographed by Paul Johnson}

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Simple and classy – black and white weddings will never go out of style, but you can spice it up by using the colors in unexpected ways.

A black and white dessert table? Yes, please!

{Imbue Weddings via Polka Dot Bride}

Black and white bridesmaids dresses are the perfect accent to the bridal gown.

{NK Photography via Cathrin D’Entremont Weddings}

Be sassy in black nail polish.

{Brides UK via Peonies and Polaroids}

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Whew! To say that I’ve been overwhelmed recently is a bit of an understatement. A quick update of the last month:

• I’m a week overdue of sending out our Save the Dates…waiting for FMIL to send me addresses for her guest list
• On the same note, had a bit of a falling out with FMIL about the guest list…
• I asked 2 out of 4 of my bridal party
• Scheduled appointments with potential hair/makeup artists
• Scheduled appointments with potential florists
• Sent several emails to our potential Day-of Coordinator…only a few of them she actually responded to
• (Finally) Scheduled an appointment with our Day-of Coordinator

But the biggest reason for being away from the blog world for a while…

-We got a puppy!

Our Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, Nala, at 3 months!

{Read the rest of this entry…}

Nothing is more flirtatious and girly than silver and sparkles…

{sparkly silver Louboutins, photo by Erin Hearts Court via Once Wed}

{glittery silver skirt from Wai Lin Tse}

{vintage linens and silver cake knife from Charleston Weddings Magazine}

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Call me a romantic, but pink and red is one of my favorite color palettes. 

{pink and red flowers via Absolutely Beautiful Things, raspberry and light pink bedroom from Better Homes and Gardens}

{lovely bits and bobs of pink and red from Perfectbound via Oh Joy!}

{pink and gray with pops of red, from the archives, sourced here}

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I can’t say I was one of those girls who had dreamed about her wedding since she was little. So this left me at a loss for where to begin planning a wedding since I knew I did not want your traditional cookie cutter affair.

So I bought some wedding magazines and I logged on to The Knot and I discovered wedding blogs. Pretty soon I had so many clippings I didn’t know how to keep them all straight. I made a binder (I never used it!) I started a wedding file on three separate computers. I swear I’m an extremely organized person but the world of weddings was messing with my brain.

And one day I thought, why not start my own wedding blog? Even if no one reads it I could use it as a source to keep all of my thoughts and inspirations in one place. And thus, c is for charmed was born. It was a great way for me to interact with the many other wedding blogs and a great resource for the plethora of projects I wanted to do, but wasn’t exactly sure how or where to start.

I made an inspiration board a la Snippet & Ink:

I followed Weddingbee brides which led me to the perfect seating arrangement to compliment our ceremony…

{photo from Weddingbee}

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I’ve been incredibly inspired by unique use of color lately, and blue vases are rocking my world.

{Kitchen full of flowers from House Beautiful via In This Instance}

{Stalk flowers in sky blue vases from The House via Little White Book}

{Tulips in tall periwinkle blue bud vases from Studio Aanacht via Made by Girl}

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