HWB Hearts | Houston Wedding Blog

HWB Hearts: Chic, Classic Navy Blue

Listen up, sophisticated brides: Navy blue was MADE pour vous. Whether you like your navy nautical-cool (navy, white, red, gold) or New-England-classic (navy, ivory, green, silver), navy, aka the new black, is among the hottest “anchor” hues for 2012 and 2013 wedding palettes. Combo it with coral and cream for a totally modern color scheme. Or marry it with lilac and pewter, with accents of delicate lace. Our favorite navy touches include navy-blue wedding shoes, like Nina’s jeweled, peep-toe Elke pump in “True Blue;” a navy grosgrain ribbon belt for your classic wedding gown; tabletop touches like dark-blue glass bottles and votive holders; and all manner of b-maid bounty, from navy chiffon shifts to striped clutches. Are you planning a navy-based palette for your big day? Comment here!

Navy Bridesmaids Clutches Navy Bridesmaids Dress and Table Decor Navy Shoes Navy and Red Wedding Invitation Navy, Coral and Yellow Table Decor

Credits: Navy Blue Bridesmaid Dress (Photo: Yes My Bride) ~ Navy Blue and Red Invitation (Photo: Sarah Drake Design) ~ Navy Blue Wedding Shoes (Photo: Zappos) ~ Navy Blue and Coral Table Decor (Photo: JL Designs) ~ Navy Blue and Green Clutches (Photo: AO3 Designs) ~ Navy Blue Flower Rhinestone Decoration (Photo: A Bespoke Touch)

HWB Hearts: Crystal Wedding EVERYTHING

Here’s the thing about crystals: No matter how simply they’re used in wedding décor, once you get them next to a light source—whether fixture or flame—they just can’t help but sparkle. And that little flash and glow is what makes an occasion feel…special. There’s no occasion more special than your wedding. And no better way to make it shine than with twinkling crystal elements. Like these.

Crystal Manzanita Tree Crystal Silver Mist Chandelier and Crystal Wine Cork Place Card Holder Swarovski Crystal Votive Holder Crystal Mr. & Mrs. Place Cards and Snowflakes Wedding Cake Hanging Crystal Curtain and Crystal Tree Wedding Centerpiece

Photos (top to bottom, left to right): Isha Foss Events via Weddify ~ Overstock.com ~ Gallery 360 ~ Panache Bride ~ Tange Design ~ Sue’s Sweets ~ Designs by Hemingway ~ Camlie Inc.

HWB Hearts: Super Natural Bridal Beauty from Rae Cosmetics and Kiehl’s

Rae Cosmetics ~ Houston Wedding Blog

Photos: Rae Cosmetics

‘Tis the season…for dry, tight, chapped skin. Next thing you know, it’ll be the season for swampy heat and endless sweat.

That’s just life in the big city. Of Houston. And we’re OK with that. What we’re not OK with? Looking anything less than picture-perfect on our big, beautiful wedding day. So let’s skip ahead a few months to the coming humidity—a bane for many a Houston bride. If you’re planning to walk down that aisle, or pose for engagement or bridal pics during our steamy season, you have GOT to get your hands on goods from Rae Cosmetics. We love this awesome line based in Austin and created by local makeup pro Rochelle Rae, who formulated her heat- and humidity-resistant products for professional athletes—and ended up making makeup that happens to be perfect for Houston brides.

Our favorite bridal beauty products include Rae’s weightless, antioxidant-packed Surface Primer, which creates a smooth, matte canvas for wedding-day makeup, and Rae’s silky, triple-milled, SPF 15 Mineral Powder, which won’t crease or smear from humidity or sweat. Sweet. Also in our bridal beauty toolbox is Rae’s Lush Silk Mascara, with actual silk powder, which binds to water, making it heat- and sweat-resistant, while creating long, lush, smize-tacular lashes. One note: Mineral face makeup tends to have light-reflecting properties, so be sure to check with your makeup artist before having your face done for photos!

Kiehl's Cosmetics ~ Houston Wedding Blog

Photos: Kiehl’s

Of course, we all know that bridal beauty prep starts months in advance of the main event. One of the best products we’ve found for keeping skin soft, supple and dewy looking during winter’s cool, dry months is new Midnight Recovery Concentrate from natural-beauty fave Kiehl’s. More a serum than a moisturizer, this lavender-enriched oil is formulated to repair and regenerate skin while you sleep. And you better believe it does. Smooth on a few drops, and, voila—wake up with fresher, more elastic, more hydrated skin (P.S. contrary to what you may think, it’s excellent for oily skin—many blemish-prone gals report a reduction in breakouts when using it!). And the scent? Soothing and heavenly—perfect for the stressed-out bride-to-be. Pair it with Kiehl’s paraben-free Midnight Recovery Eye treatment as part of your pre-wedding bridal beauty routine, and get ready to glow, for real.

HWB Hearts: Hues by Heather

We’re pretty sure you’ve had your fill of Friday’s royal wedding, so we won’t add too much to the mix. Here’s our take. The ceremony? Sweet and touching, just as any wedding should be—this, despite the precise choreography and the zillions of dignitaries in attendance. The dress? We seriously adored it and thought it was perfectly fitting for both the setting and the woman wearing it (although we have an eensy bit of sympathy for those who thought the gown, by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, a bit austere).

But you know what we really loved? How pretty and natural and unfussy bride Kate Middleton managed to look, there amidst the soaring columns and royal crests and acres of gilded and velvet-covered everything.

Which, naturally, made us think of Heather Hughes, whose Hues by Heather is responsible for many a Houston bride’s picture-perfect, yet utterly natural-looking, wedding-day makeup. We asked Heather—who, BTW, does tons of TV, film and print, along with bridal—and she told us her brides want to look “fresh—not like they spent all day getting ready.” Along with subtly smoky eyes and a hint of sparkle, she’s giving brides loose, sexy updo’s accented with headbands, feathers and flowers. “It’s not about us coming in and ‘painting their face.’ We do want their fiancé to recognize them when they walk down the aisle,” Hughes says. And she wants brides to recognize their own loveliness when they reflect on their big day: “We want them to look back at their pictures 10 years from now and say, ‘Wow! I was beautiful.’ Not…’Oh yeah, I got married in ’87!’”

Plus, besides being insanely talented professionals, Hues by Heather artists are so sweet and nurturing, they make brides feel comfortable, calm and happy while getting their bridal hair and makeup done–and that, more than anything, is the key to looking beautifully, naturally, on your wedding day!

Photos: (clockwise from left) Robert Fuel; Adam Nyholt; Pink Posh

HWB Hearts: Pressing Events

We Buzzed on Pressing Events’ new CITYCENTRE store last week, but we just couldn’t get to all the stuff we love at AND about the new PE in that teeny, tiny newsletter item. So here we go.

First up, Emilie Sloan bags. How cute are designer Lisa Murphy’s fully lined totes, market bags and carryalls? The folks who put on the Academy Awards think they’re awfully cute, which is why they included Emilie Sloan in this year’s official swag. Pressing Events owner Nancy Billingsley Calvert is likewise a fan, and told us she “expects big things” from the collection, which, she notes, is already attracting brides and graduates in droves. These would make fabulous bridesmaid gifts, don’t you think?

Next: Kaas Decoupage. The renowned New York decoupage studio makes absolutely gorgeous decoupage plates with designs sourced from flea markets, antique shows and estate sales. If you’re a bride with vintage vibe, or a traditionalist with a passion for classic wedding commemoration, Pressing Events’ newly expanded line of Kaas plates is perfect for preserving wedding invitations, photos, collages…you name it. Then press it.

We also adore Pressing Events’ very impressive selection of stationery, which includes all our favorite styles from Crane, Elum, Smock, and Charleston, S.C.’s wonderful The Lettered Olive, among others. But PE’s forté is “one-of-a-kind, singular design,” Calvert points out—“much like a designer-original wedding dress.” If you’re looking for truly distinguished custom invitations, you must meet with Pressing Events’ Amber Anglin Fowler. Calvert regaled us with the story of how Amber searched Dallas without success for a store to produce the exact right custom invitations for her wedding last year…and ended up creating her own. “Though her mother grew quite weary of her quest, I must say she has found her home with us,” Calvert says. “Our brides love her!”

And we do, too.