Centerpieces

Are you looking for some ideas for center pieces? i'm not a huge fan of the intricate complex-looking flower arrangements. i think i like a more natural look. here are some ideas i found...

This would be a great ambiance setter. very romantic...

Sure, this is very simple. but with some scattered rose petals around, i think it would look pretty amazing.

If you're having a daytime outdoor wedding, or even a night reception, but you want to go really natural and green--you can make a mini herb garden as your center pieces. bonus: close friends and family take home the herbs after--no flowers wasted!

Tiny clusters of a few simple flowers in small glasses combined with some tall candles make a great simple centerpiece. you could probably do it yourself or have a friend put them together for you.

i'll post a couple more options a little later...

photojournalism

In case you're planning a wedding in Jerusalem, like i was, there's a great photographer named Yael Ilan. If you're looking for a more candid shot approach--photojournalism style--she's great.

This photo sample is actually from the wedding of a good friend of mine.

Michal Negrin

Michal Negrin is an Israeli designer. She has such gorgeous stuff. it's a bit expensive, but her stuff is beautiful, and quite good quality. she has many boutiques in israel, and all over the world. and i think you can also order off the web. these photos are from her bridal collection-- but she has tons of coloured jewelry as well. 

More hair ideas

If you can't decide whether you want to wear your hair up or down, why not go half way between? works great on curly hair. you just have to find a gorgeous clip to put on the side.

Guy's clothes

I like the less formal idea of both the groom and the bride wearing white, instead of the guy in a tux. the dresses in these photos are kinda cute too :)

But if he insists on wearing a suit, light ones can look great. and they look lighter and more summery.

Wedding bands

This could be a lovely wedding band if you want something a little different. i love the design.

It's by Michelangelo Stanchi. Personally, i think it would also be great if you could get half (ie. just one of the bands)--i'd wear that as an engagement ring...

still looking for the engagement ring?

A quite classic solitaire with some more interesting detailed work...

Or you could go for vintage inspired...
Or a very sleek, almost steel-ey look. but still classic. This one is by Anne Sportun.

You could even opt for a totally out-of-the-ordinary two-stone with a champagne diamond artsy ring...

Totally up to you.

flower theme invitations

or imagine this on your wedding invites...

another invitation design

This is a much simpler design. but gorgeous nonetheless. i'd use it. it'd be amazing for a blach and white theme event. or you could print in any other colour to match your wedding colours, whatever they might be. just put whatever words you want inside to replace the jazz concert invite...

Updo

If you're thinking of wearing your hair up, i think this is a simple, yet elegant option. and the flowers are gorgeous. particularly flattering for those of us with curly hair.

Invitations

I decided to make a special post about the invitations i mentioned before, by kenziekate. everything is hand done and hand assembled. and she uses great quality materials. which makes these a bit expensive. but it really depends what you're looking for and what your budget is.

here are a few that i love. but she's got tons more styles and colours to fit anyone's fancy. so take a look.

This one is called Aberdeen.

This one is called Aspen.

This third one is Cozumel.

And this last one is called Oslo.

They are all named after cities that inspire the design...

KenzieKate

More Luisa Beccaria. this time courtesy of Kenziekate's blog. she has great ideas, and i "borrow" things from her regularly... she also liked that white dress (middle)! and it's a larger image, so you can get a better idea what it looks like.

Check out her invitations too-they're gorgeous!

She has some long dresses too...

Same designer as the last post: Lela Rose

She has some really gorgeous long dresses too. I particularly like these three:

Lela Rose

Here are some more short options. These are by Lela Rose, who also has a bridal line. i find alot of her stuff isn't super wearable--it's more clothes designed for the runway. but i thought these were adorable and comfy looking.

Compromise... how about midlength?

Back when i was trying to choose a dress, i tried on a couple of calf-length numbers, and they were super gorgeous, and comfortable too. forget worrying about the dress dragging on the floor, or tripping on it. and it can still be really elegant looking. just check out these ones (more Luisa Beccaria, it's an awesome website :) just try not to drool...)

sarah jessica parker wore that one on the far left and it looked great! i'd wear one of these as my wedding dress, but they'd be great for bridesmaids too, depending on the style and formality of the wedding. i can't even decide which i like best! they're all beautiful, and really wearable too.

or you could go short?

These are adorable. If you're having a more informal event, any of these would be perfect! i'm particularly taken by the one on the left :)

Again, all from Luisa Beccaria. If you can't go short for the wedding gown, these would do well for bridesmaids too.

coloured wedding dress?

Luisa Beccaria has some amazing stuff in her past collections, and although it's not designed as bridal wear, i think some of her stuff would be great. either as a wedding dress, or for bridesmaids. have a look. i picked a couple of my favourites. here are the more bridal ones--particularly stunning if you're bold enough to wear some colour.

What to do with the hair...

i found this hairstyle at the knot (which incidentally has tons of great info and ideas) and i thought it was the perfect balance between natural and elegant... and it works great for curly hair :)

Chuppa

Again--we wanted a natural atmosphere. it's traditional to have a chuppa at a Jewish wedding. So we were thinking something along the lines of this for the chuppa poles. it gives a nice splash of colour, but still looks natural and down to earth. and i think even if you aren't Jewish and don't have a chuppa at your wedding, it's still a nice decoration idea... 

ceremony ideas

We wanted an intimate ceremony, something small and personal. i thought these photos had some great ideas. they looks so fresh and sweet. the ribbons hanging from above is a great idea--just adds a little colour to everything. and the simple arrangement definitely appeals to me. i really like these. 

Weddings...

You know, marriage is such a big thing. it's not just a little symbolic ceremony and a party afterwards. it's the start of a process of the life of two people. it's huge! to really know and understand how you want to live your life, and who you want to do it with--it's amazing anyone actually gets married. what i mean is, i think i'm pretty easy going, and i can get along with people very well. but to know that i want to spend the rest of my life with someone, that's about what the meaning of our life together is going to be, what our priorities are, how we interact in challenging situations, and how deeply we think about and process things. it's really not enough to just love eachother.

i focused alot on planning a wedding over the last few months. we just broke up, the wedding has been called off. i hate that i'm really hurt and that we can't work things out properly, and i miss him so much. but i've decided, i'm not going to let this destroy me. i know it's really hard, but i have so many good things in my life right now. my family has been wonderful, especially my parents, and i'm just thankful that this all happened before the wedding, and not after we were already married. i'm in my first year in med school, which i've dreamed of for a really long time. so i should just enjoy. enjoy school, enjoy being closer to my family, get to know the new city i'm in... so that's what i'm going to do--i'm going to enjoy cooking, and exercising, and meeting new people, and learning new things. i'm starting a fresh start. 

anyway, it occurred to me that all the research i have done, and photos i have collected--they might be of interest to people who are thinking about their own wedding. so i thought i'd post some of the stuff up, since it's no longer of great use to me. not in the near future anyway. so i'll try to put up a little more everyday. come back to check it out. i hope you find it helpful.

i'll start with the fact that we wanted a very down to earth wedding, outdoors, in a natural setting. nothing too extravagant, but we wanted it to be nice--well done, and nicely put together.

Why the title?

Well, i was trying to think of something that sounded neat, that had a kind of ring to it. i was thinking of flower or plant names--i often name things after flowers or plants, like trillium, orchid, bamboo, aspen... things like that. then i started thinking about teas, cuz i drink alot of herbal tea, and sometimes they have really cool names and combinations--things like red zinger, vanilla chai spice, mango passionfruit, tension tamer. and then i thought of the combination of teas that i made myself: peppermint-licorice spice. it may not sound so great at first, but believe me--it's amazing. sweet, flavourful, and refreshing. anyway, i named my blog after one of my favourite flavours of tea. you should try it.