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. . . must confess, still a little caught up in the romance of it all, the stolen glances and secret smiles, the horse-drawn carriages and chantilly lace, the balcony kisses and moments so breathtakingly lovely, can barely stand it . . .
prince william & catherine, the duke & duchess of cambridge
detail of the exquisite wedding gown, put together by hand by sarah burton of alexander mcqueen, it is a perfect intermingling of tradition and modernity, with a bodice of ivory satin made of hand-cut english lace and french chantilly lace, over ivory and white satin gazar {a sheer, lightweight silk organza with a glaze-like sheen and moderate stiffness}; individual flowers were hand cut from lace and hand-engineered onto the ivory silk tulle to create the design, which features rose, thistle, daffodil, and shamrocks, the national flowers of england, ireland, scotland, and wales; 58 gazar & organza covered buttons ran up the back
the eight-tiered royal wedding cake was decorated with 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers, including 17 different blooms and foliage for their meaning and symbolism, known as the language of flowers
the veil was made of layers of ivory silk tulle and trimmed with hand-embroidered flowers, sewn on by the royal school of needlework at hampton court palace
the bridal bouquet included myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, hyacinth and sweet william blooms; in keeping with royal tradition, stems from a myrtle planted by queen victoria in 1845 were also added; according to tradition, the bouquet of a royal bride will be left on the tomb of the unknown solider in westminster abbey; the late queen mother began the ritual by leaving her wedding bouquet at the grave in 1923 in memory of her brother, fergus, who was killed in the first world war 
. . . and of course, with all of this week's talk of tiaras . . . kate's 'something borrowed' was the cartier halo tiara, made in 1936 and purchased by king george VI for his wife queen elizabeth {the queen mother} three weeks before he succeeded his brother as king; the tiara was presented to princess elizabeth, now the queen, by her mother on the occasion of her 18th birthday; the new princess catherine matched the tiara with earrings by robinson pelham, a gift from her parents inspired by the new middleton coat of arms
{p.s.} for the royal wedding reception, catherine changed into a second alexander mcqueen gown, and her sister pippa changed out of the stunning mcqueen into temperley london
{credits: one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven}
today's give-away is a hopelessly romantic antique lace bangle set from 24karas, a brooklyn-based shop by elizabeth karas that specializes in artisanal handmade collections of jewelry for dreamers . . .
this handmade antique lace bangle set evokes the beauty and nostalgia of old world lace and is as perfect with a white eyelet dress on an early afternoon picnic as with satin peeptoes and glass of champagne on a starlit evening . . .
. . . a work of art, each set is unique and takes up to two weeks to create, and contains three bangles: 1 flower lace bangle and 2 european lace bangles, in antique silver, bright silver, and antique brass:
to enter, {click here} to visit the 24karas online shop, and {here} to view the spring/summer 2010 lookbook, then leave a comment below
{bonne chance!/good luck!}
{p.s.} fun facts: 24karas is a favourite of the cherry blossom girl, and this antique lace bangle set was recently featured in the may issue of jalouse magazine
24karas > shop | blog | facebook* one winner will be randomly selected and contacted by e-mail after wednesday, june 9, 2010; if you do not have a blog or contact e-mail on your blog, please include it with your comment for notification; open to all readers; images: the side project}
. . . spending a little time away in the countryside, but a quick hello to wish you a perfectly wonderful weekend -- thanks for being so lovely and hope it's beautiful where you are,
xo
{a few lovely links from around & about:}* home accessories: vintage brass
* inspiration board: lily of the valley {via lovely}* at the office: a stylish wood mouse
* for the love of: books, books, books
* cute, cute: a mini pony
* obsessed with: this wallpaper {design*sponge via twitter}
* lovely, lovely: more wallpaper {layers & layers via twitter}* summertime: wicker* pretty packaging: tea time
* photography: hazy days of summer & here
* & most of all: stars
{as always, a few things you may have missed:}
* like a fairytale: flounces of organza & flutters of silk* colour inspiration: petal pink & french grey
* summertime: basket handbags
* perfect elegance: smokey violet & herringbone floors
* styling inspiration: fantastically french
* runway & backstage: christian dior
* beautifully ornate: grand ceilings
{for the weekend, two new:}
* inspiration: summer, summer, summer
* two lovely things: entryways
. . . and of course, until tuesday to enter the diamond give-away . . .
{image: photography by terry richardson, vogue paris august 2006, styled by emmanuelle alt}
Came across this sexy photographic series called, kissing couples by Michael Creagh, along with a wonderfully passionate outdoor wedding kiss . . .
{One of my favourite things about Christmas is mistletoe.}
