Bring you mother, sister, maid of honor, fiancé…or the whole crew, and enjoy cocktails, gourmet nibbles, spectacular tablescapes, gorgeous cakes, a stunning bridal fashion show, door prizes and special treats. And while you’re at it, take advantage of the chance to chat one-on-one with some of the best wedding talents in the business.
Tickets for this once-a-year luxury showcase of the best in Houston weddings are only $20—that’s less than the price of a single manicure!—for a full FIVE HOURS of wedding ideas, inspiration and goodies galore. And guess what? They sell out. Every year.
We’ll definitely be there. Make sure you are, too!
Their client list—Colin Cowie Lifestyle, Versace, Bergdorf Goodman, Serena Bass, etc.—reads like a who’s who of arbiters of style and sophistication. They’ve provided spectacular props and furniture for everything from Hollywood film shoots to high-end social affairs. And now New York’s famed Taylor Creative Props has launched Taylor Creative Weddings—a special collection of furnishings, accessories and décor, along with design consultation services, tailored (if you’ll pardon the pun) just for weddings. Perhaps even YOUR wedding, Houston bride.
Taylor Creative has a distinctly modern aesthetic, marked by architectural edge, mid-century modularity, plenty of glass and chrome, and lots of sleek, bright white. But when paired with beautiful lighting and floral, these edgy pieces soften gorgeously, and evoke an atmosphere of sophisticated femininity and romance that makes us swoon.
Unfortunately, Taylor Creative does not warehouse items in Houston—BUT, they will send whatever you want via truck from New York (for the right price, of course). For the rest of us, the Taylor Creative Weddings’ site is a source of inspiration and ideas, and a GREAT resource to share with our phenomenally talented Houston wedding consultants, rental companies, florists or décor providers.
If you’ve spent any time researching Houston wedding floral vendors, you’ve almost certainly heard Lisa Tran’s name. For years, she has been one of the most sought-after florists in town for weddings and special events.
Now Tran has opened a linen gallery, dubbed Linen Gallery, which boasts a large selection of tablecloths, chair covers, and just about every other linen you might need to accent your special day. She’s also changed the name of her company from Floral Impressions (previously Wedding Flowers by Lisa) to Blooming Gallery. Both the linen shop and floral studio are now located at 1510 Delano in Houston.
Don’t let the name change fool you: Lisa still offers the same great service and level of quality that’s led Houston brides to have her handle all of their floral needs for years, and we’re guessing that her full-service linen shop will quickly become one of the most popular places to call for luxurious linens.
At Linen Gallery, Houston brides can choose from a large selection of unique linens that includes just about every design and color imaginable. That includes some gorgeous sequin designs that are sure to make your reception sparkle.
And if you can’t find linens that are everything you imagined, don’t worry. Lisa can hook you up with some custom-made linens designed just for you. Pretty fabulous, right?
Honestly, we’re not surprised: Lisa is known for taking her each of her brides to the flower market to make sure she gets exactly the flowers they want—in exactly the hue they want, and she’s committed to ensuring that Houston brides get exactly the linens they want. “Quality is all that matters,” Lisa tells us. “Most brides only have one wedding, so I want to give them service they remember when they talk about their wedding.” We’ll toast to that!
Simple, elegant, white-on-white wedding cakes are making a major comeback, especially for the coming spring wedding season…which is great news for cake toppers. If you’re leaning toward understated elegance, have a look at some of our top choices in toppers—a fine finishing touch for your perfect cake.
Crystal Initial
There’s something about the way crystals catch the light just so… Add sparkle to your cake with this sterling-silver-plated, Swarovski-crystal encrusted cursive initial topper, available in every letter of the alphabet.
Let's Dance
If you and your groom are part of dancing craze that’s sweeping the country, let this cake topper express your passion. The silhouette shapes are contemporary and cool, the polished silver look is sleek, the overall effect is energetic and fun!
Brushed Silver Monogram
Clean, simple styling and brushed silver give these monogram letters a hip, contemporary look we love.
Vintage
Vintage cake toppers are in vogue, and this off-white porcelain bride-and-groom style is one of the prettiest we’ve seen. We especially like luxe touches like the faux pearls, rhinestone-studded roses and 24K gold trim on the bride’s veil.
Love Birds
We are utterly in love with these handmade love birds. Customize your pair by choosing the groom’s tie style, bride’s veil style (birdcage, feather headpiece or full veil), and wing colors. Add-ons include a hand-painted bouquet and 6-inch-wide Spanish-moss nest.
We’re thankful for all of the great Houston wedding vendors, but this week, we’re especially thankful for the generous gang at Darryl & Co.
On November 8, the Houston-based events design firm teamed up with Rachael Ray to give 2,000 Wilmington, Ohio residents a Thanksgiving to remember. Many of these Ohioans have lost their jobs since the delivery company DHL Express closed up shop in Wilmington last year, and Ray didn’t think these layoffs should keep them residents from enjoying a tasty Thanksgiving meal.
Having worked with Darryl & Co. to coordinate a lavish wedding for several Houston brides at Minute Maid Park last fall, she knew just who to call to help her out. Naturally, Darryl & Co. was happy to pitch in and spruce up the Wilmington convention center for the big day. During their three days in Wilmington, they helped remodel a local food pantry and worked with “Design on a Dime” host Kahi Lee on dinner décor for the Thanksgiving feast.
Darryl & Co. staff in Ohio
Together, they designed five different centerpieces, using lanterns, amber votives, and tree branch candelabras. The tables were covered with linens in warm, seasonal hues like gold, brown, chocolate, and burgundy. “When you saw the sea of tables, they looked like a fall tree,” says Darryl & Co.’s Lee Capetillo.
A giant scarecrow designed by Darryl & Co. greeted guests as they entered. Inside were buffets filled with turkey, dressing, green beans, pumpkin pie, and apple pie and decorated with baskets filled with pumpkins and gourds. (Yum!)
“It was really, really fun,” says Capetillo. “The whole town was so supportive from the moment we arrived at the hotel, and we had lots of volunteers who helped us get the place ready.” In fact, Darryl & Co.’s crew made a few new friends with the volunteers, who were eager to help in any way they could. “Our visit was about much more than just setting us up for TV,” Capetillo says. “We made friends and became accepted as part of the town.” With that kind of generosity, we can see why Darryl & Co.’s staff are so popular.
The episode aired on November 25, but if you missed it, you can check it out on Rachael Ray’s website.
Room Decorated by Darryl & Co. for Rachael Ray Thanksgiving Dinner
There’s nothing quite as beautiful, quite as fresh, quite as romantic as wedding-day flowers. Until the end of the night when they droop and discolor and have to be tossed unceremoniously in the trash bin, that is.
If you’ve dreamt about wedding flowers that would look gorgeous and last practically forever, your dreams have now come true. Diane Phillips of DK Designs creates clay flower arrangements that are every bit as vibrant as the real thing, but will stay totally fresh looking throughout your event, and endure for ages beyond (with proper care—don’t get them wet or expose them to extended direct sunlight—and storage).
DK Designs’ custom creations include centerpieces, bridal bouquets, hair accessories, boutonnieres and wedding favors—all made from CLAYCRAFT by DECO Soft Clay. The designer also sells standard designs through her Etsy shop. These flowers are incredibly lifelike and richly colored—guests will think they’re real, unless you tell them otherwise.
We love, love, love this concept, and we love DK Designs. So does Martha Stewart. The queen of crafts featured DK Designs on her “Martha Stewart Show” April Fool’s Day episode, where Diane taught Martha how to make clay hydrangeas.
Check out these stunning examples for inspiration!
If you’re planning to use ballroom chairs (otherwise known as chiavaris) at your reception dining tables, Houston bride, make sure they’re dressed for the occasion.
Anyone who’s familiar with The Linen House knows that Jan Cancila and her crew are always coming up with new ideas and beautiful designs in wedding linen. We recently came across some of their gorgeous covers and accents, which bring out the elegance of ballroom chairs, rather than concealing the chairs completely.
How about the feminine, fabulous Ballerina Chair Cover? We adore the combo of buttons and bow—a perfect way to soften the look of formal ballroom chairs.
Ballerina Chair Cover
For taller chairs, this look, reminiscent of tuxedos, is lovely, especially in a muted aqua-and-gold palette and hip stripes-and-dots print.
Aqua-Gold
Check out this chair—it’s got its own bridal gown! OK, maybe not quite, but this cover is so romantic, so pretty, so perfectly suited for a wedding. Love the splash of color from the orchid accent!
Bar Stool Bridal Chair
Something a little less lush your style? These chair pads add color and drama, but retain the classic chiavari look.
Classic Chiavari Chairs with Cushion
Don’t see exactly what your hear desires here? The Linen House can create a custom chair cover just for you!
We go to a LOT of weddings. And the ones that we love most, the ones that linger longest in our memories, are those weddings where the wedding couple’s personal touch is on everything from flowers to food to favors.
One of the most elegant ways to personalize your wedding, Houston bride, is with a sophisticated monogram logo bearing the initials or names of you and your new spouse. Monogram logos can be used to put your imprint on wedding items including:
For versatile, memorable monogram logos, we adore Marry Monograms. For a very reasonable price, MM will create a downloadable JPEG-format logo that you can provide to your invitation designer, cake baker, favor-maker, dance-floor provider—pretty much any vendor whose product can be imprinted. Monogram style categories—MM has more than 200 standard designs available, and can do custom work as well—include Classic, Contemporary, Simple and Romantic, and many logo styles can include your wedding date or wedding locale.
Marry Monograms Dance
HWB tip: In the market for fun bridesmaids/groomsmen gifts or bachelor/bachelorette party favors? Use your MM monogram to customize clutches for the ladies and caps or T’s for the gents!
If you’re planning the kind of reception where let-your-hair-down, kick-your-heels-up dancing is certain to take center stage, you must check out this unique and incredibly cool dance floor from Holo-Walls.
Liquid Fusion Floor Tile
Liquid Fusion flooring tiles—a favorite of celebrity wedding planners like L.A.’s Mindy Weiss, who recently used them for a stunning all-blue reception—are each filled with two opposing bichromatic liquids. When dancers step on the tiles, the pressure causes the liquids to swirl into each other, creating a thrilling visual effect. Liquid Fusion tiles, which are available in Red/Orange, Blue/Sky Blue, Orange/Purple and other vibrant color combos, can be snapped together to form dance floors of varying sizes. They’re also great for creating impressive entry walkways and stage surfaces.
We think a Liquid Fusion floor would be perfect framed by modular banquettes and low cocktail tables at a reception with a sophisticated lounge feel, or surrounded on three sides by long, rectangular dining tables done up with chic, sleek linens. And how about a luminous liquid dance floor in the middle of a white-on-white reception room? Fabulous!
Liquid Fusion Tabletops
Like the idea of liquid, but not sure if you want a whole floor full of it? Holo-Walls also has Liquid Fusion tabletops, which look amazing on cocktail tables. Picture your guests sipping drinks and nibbling hors d’oeuvre at tables topped with liquid color that undulates at the touch of martini glasses. They’ll be talking about it for months to come, Houston bride.
A couple of weeks ago, the Wedding Buzz, our must-have weekly e-newsletter, featured a recipe for a fabulous, bright red Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail. Well, seeing as how you brides went ga-ga for this refreshing “ruby sipper,” we thought we’d offer up some more fun ideas for yummy cocktails that can be color-coordinated with your reception palette.
Matching a signature cocktail to your wedding reception color scheme isn’t just a cool design touch, it’s also a smart choice for brides on a budget. At your cocktail reception, instead of offering a full premium bar (at a premium price to you—or whoever is footing your wedding bill), have waiters tray-pass one of these eye-catching drink choices, or a custom-designed, color-matched mix of your own invention. Give your signature cocktail a cute name—the “Mike and Lisa Love-tini” or the “Together Forever,” for instance—and dress up trays with hand-lettered signs letting guests know what they’re sipping.
Photo Courtesy of White on Rice Couple
Green Scene
We love the tropical look of the Green Flash Cocktail, which we found on this happy couple’s great blog, along with the recipe. Concocted by a bartender at Club Med Columbus Isle in the Bahamas, the drink gets its pretty green color and sweet-citrusy flavor from a combo of Blue Curacao, Peach Schnapps and orange juice.
Photo Courtesy of Blue Cocktails Blog
True Blue
For a veritable library of blue-hued libations, you can’t do much better than the Blue Cocktails blog. Our favorite? The Blue Sapphire Martini, a tart, stylish blend of Bombay Sapphire, Cointreau, Blue Curacao and sour mix.
Photo Courtesy of Deep Glamour Blog
Purple Passion
We couldn’t believe our luck when we stumbled upon the oh-so-sophisticated Deep Glamour Cosmotini at the blog for which this jewel-toned gem of a cocktail is named. Check out the recipe, which includes purple-dyed tapioca pearls—a fabulous look for a wedding with a high-style, lounge-y vibe.
Photo Courtesy of Laylita.com
Well Red
More and more wedding palettes seem to feature the color red, whether it’s teamed with celadon or violet, tangerine or watermelon, black-and-white or gold. This lovely Valentine’s-Day-inspired fizzy cocktail from Laylita makes a gorgeous day or evening reception drink, and those blood orange garnishes? Perfection!
