how to be Blissfully & Royally Wed

I trust all of you made the sacrifice of waking up in the wee hours of the morning to watch the Royal Wedding live on television this Friday... or maybe if you're like me, you just didn't sleep at all! I'm a sucker for royalty and rags-to-riches stories. The marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William is comprised of everything a little girl dreams of: meeting a handsome prince who sweeps you off of your feet, proposes to you with his mother's famous engagement ring, and rides off with you in a horse-drawn carriage. ahhhhhhh...... Prince Harry, I'M STILL SINGLE!!

So for all of you who have found your handsome prince, or, like me, are still praying for him to come along, here are the top 10 ways to make your wedding royal:

10. Arrive in style:

Kate arrived to the wedding in on of the Royal Rolls Royce made almost entirely of glass! 

Get the look!

*visit weddingtrans.com to find Atlanta's finest event car rentals*

9. Make the walk down the aisle even more exciting with special details:

A red carpet extended all the way from the door of the abbey to the alter, about the length of a football field!

Get the look!

*go to Premier Tent Rentals in Atlanta for red carpet rentals!*

8. Make your mother feel beautiful on your special day. Her little princess is becoming a woman!:

The mother-of-the-Bride, Carole Middleton, wore a lovely baby-blue dress by Catherine Walker.

Get the look!

*make an appointment with Olive to find the perfect mother-of-the-bride dress today!*

7. Decorate with unpredictable detail:

Kate and William got married in the beautiful Westminster Abbey and had a traditional Catholic Ceremony. There were 1,900 guests and the historical church was decorated with beautiful 25-foot trees.

Get the look!

*go to your local nursery to find out how to decorate with trees!*

6. Just because the bridesmaids and flower girls are breathtaking doesn't mean they will take your spotlight, they will enhance it!

Kate's sister, Pippa, was the maid-of-honor and wore a beautiful ivory gown also designed my Sarah Burton. She walked down the isle with sweet flower girls who all wore halos of flowers in their hair.

Get the look!

*make an appointment with Olive to find the perfect white dress... for the bride or the bridesmaid!*

5. Understated flowers only accentuates the beauty of the woman holding them:

Kate's bouquet was comprised of lilly-of-the-valley, sweet William (how appropriate), hyacinth, ivy, and myrtle.

Get the look!

4. Look like yourself! Don't wear more makeup or wear your hair bigger than usual. The most beautiful brides are the ones who appear effortless:

My biggest surprise of the wedding: Kate did her own makeup! She looked so beautiful and very much herself with her natural makeup and flowing hair. 

Get the look!

3. Like makeup, your jewelry shouldn't be overwhelming. If your earrings, necklace, etc. is the only thing you see in the mirror, take it off. Your smile is always more important than diamonds or pearls:

The Queen allowed Kate to wear the Carteir "halo" tiera which was presented to Elizabeth by her father on her 18th birthday. Kate also wore diamond-drop earrings by Robinson Pelham, given to her by her parents. The earrings were inspired by the Middleton's new family crest.

Get the look!

*to get these Stella & Dot earrings for $44, visit Stellaanddot.com*

2. When looking for a dress, make sure it accentuates your best assets. Less is more; showing skin isn't the only way to be sexy, and a lot of embellishment takes the eye off of the bride. Keep it sweet and simple:

What does everyone look forward to most at a royal wedding? The dress, of course! Kate wore a beautiful dress made by Sarah Burton, the new head designer for Alexander McQueen. It has a sweetheart neckline corseted bodice with a v-neck, long sleeve lace overlay and satin bell skirt. It has a striking resemblance to Grace Kelly's wedding dress, my personal favorite.

Get the look!

*to look royal on your wedding day, make an appointment with Olive to find a dress fit for a queen!*

1. Above all, remember that the amount of money spent on your wedding doesn't make it royal; you're only a princess if you feel like one. So find a dress that makes you feel beautiful, look into your prince's eyes, and know that you have finally found your fairytale happy ending. You are riding off into the sunset with HIM, not the photographer, not the cake, and not your bouquet. A wedding can be royal, but marriage is worth nothing without a man who treats you like a queen.

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

Wed Green

I hope you had a great Easter and Earth Day! Olive celebrated both and had a blast doing so!

In honor of Easter and Earth Day, I'm dedicating this post to fuzing these two different holidays into a wedding trend.... here goes!

Easter is all about Spring. Spring is all about enjoying the Earth in all its splendor. So Easter and Earth Day have a natural connection, right? Well in the world of OLIVE, they do. Here are three easy tips to create a beautiful Easter/Earth Day wedding:

1. Give your guests the gift of GREEN by giving them each a tree seedling, flower bulbs, or seeds of any kind for them to plant and grow on their own. As they watch their colorful plant grow, they will be reminded of the beauty and growth of your marriage.

2. Decorate with eggs! Another one of those great ideas you should have thought of yourself, right? Not only are eggs so "in" right now, but they are also inexpensive, do-it-yourself friendly, and earth friendly! Here are a couple ways to use eggs in your decorations:

create a candle in the half-shell

hang from a tree

use for your centerpieces with chic nests

I KNOW! it's the most EGGcelent idea!

3. Use recycled/recyclable table settings. Find bamboo dinnerware and tons of other green products at greenfeet.com

I hope these green Easter tips help you plan your beautiful, pastel, and green wedding of your dreams! All love and best wishes from Olive this Spring! If you are planning your wedding or just planning ahead, make sure to make an appointment with Olive or Paisley Umbrella so all of your wedding dreams come true. You supply the groom, we'll supply everything else. 

BLUSHING BRIDE

Olive, along with all of the other Paisley Umbrella Designers and Weddings Unveiled Magazine are throwing a Boutique Bridal event on April 17th and everyone is invited! Come and get a preview of this season's hottest bridal trends! Only at Paisley Umbrella...

why didn't I think of that??

From the dress down to to the cake, weddings take a lot of mind-power to plan. I'm here to take some of that stress off your pretty little bride shoulders and give you some awesome ideas that will leave guests thinking "why didn't I think of that?!"


taking the outdoor wedding to the next level:

 Chandelier in the tree                         dancing in a field

horses, hey-bales and quilts

diamonds and pearls aren't the bride's only accessories anymore:

crochet wedding moccasins 

 peacock feather to the hair

 family heirloom

flowers that will never die

setting the table is fun again!:

the candy vase

 sugar-coated fruit: nature's delight

i spy with my little eye...

 nature meets creativity: blooming twigs

 tweet tweet

flowers in a cage

truly a joyful and colorful occassion

there's no way that cake can taste as good as it looks:

 paint my roses red

why do i love thee? cause you're a hoot!

 linked for life

 take a seat

tweet tweet

 maybe i went a little crazy with the birds...

inspiring ways to set off as a newly married couple:

 just around the river bend

for the couple who is always looking for a good time

I hope these original ideas help to get those creative juices flowing. I hope you feel special on your special day =)

REUSE

This post, I'm going to give you some great ideas for ways to reuse things FOR your wedding and how to reuse things FROM your wedding. Here goes!

Invited to a wedding and hate to just throw away the beautiful invitation? This is a GREAT wedding gift idea! Turn the invitation into a piece of art. I got this idea from my parents, who have some special wedding invitations they received as gifts after their special day.

The invitation on the left was framed by a friend who added pressed flowers into the frame. The invitation on the right was hand-painted by one of my mom's friends. These are both special to her and are currently in my parent's bedroom.

Donate your flowers. This is a great way to give back and make someone sick or lonely smile. Remember all those beautiful flowers you spent top-dollar for? well, after the big day, they are sometime forgotten about. Instead of just throwing them away, donate them to the church for Sunday's service, and then take all the smaller arrangements to a nursing home or hospital to be given to patients or lonely residents.

Not as sentimental as me? I'm one of those sentimental freaks who saves EVERYTHING thinking "one day, ill look back on this and have so many wonderful memories" or "one day, ill want to use this again". If you are thinking of me in disgust right now, then maybe you should be one of the loving, giving brides who gives her bridal gown away. Ever thought of it? I mean, what are you really going to do with it later anyway? Try it on 30 years down the road and reminisce about how skinny you used to be? So why not? There are many charities such as Brides Against Breast Cancer, Women's Dresses, and the I Do Foundation that will take you dress and give it to a Bride in need. Just for kicks and giggles, I've added a little video about Julia, a bride literally OBSESSED with her dress: just click on THIS LINK

Just like donating your wedding dress, you can also donate or rent your wedding decorations online. If you are running low on budget, or would like to help a money-tight bride, visit one of these sites for more detailes: educatedbride.com or wedcheaper.com.