{the royal wedding: with this kiss}

. . . 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}

{wedding inspiration: lovely, lovely lace}

. . . and suddenly, a longstanding love affair with lace that has been {unknowingly} not fully realised until now . . .

......................................................................................................

{image: elizabeth fillmore bridal via one lovely day, more of this collection at a glamorous little side project}

{photographer: patric shaw}

. . . positivity enchanted with these photographs by fashion photographer, patric shaw . . . the softness of light with its dreamy cast on every billowy pleat and ruche of delicate tulle, turning bare shoulders and cheekbones into gold, the insanely lovely pinkish lavender walls and the utterly perfect play of light and shadow . . .

{p.s.} the first dress is j.mendel & the second is chloé


{roza gough by patric shaw for vogue russia brides, S/S 2011 via oh fashion models}

{ribbons, ruffles and . . .}

. . . yesterday was one of those days were it seemed as if inspiration was always just nearly out of grasp, and while coffee & a moment of repose, a late lunch date and a little fresh air seemed to help, when all else fails, {with the exception of a flight to paris}, there are always ribbons, ruffles, and tulle, tulle, tulle . . .

{p.s.} what do you do when you're in search of inspiration?


{images: marchesa via the wedding chics}

{happy st. patrick's day & spring things}

May you have warm words
on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill
all the way to your door.

~ irish blessing

. . . a little wish for this stunningly beautiful, warm and sunny day, and whether you're traipsing about in quaint and charming pubs or have plans for a quiet and cozy night, wishing you a happy st. patrick's day, and hope you're having a lovely week so far xo

......................................................................................................

{images: 1 - country living via french by design; 2 - saipua for sunday suppers; 3 - scan by this is glamorous, ad campaign: claudia schiffer for jones new york from vogue; 4 - photography by katie quinn davies; 5 - lopp; 6 - mixr; 7 - a glamorous little side project; 8 - bloom magazine via pinterest; 9 - lappen; 10 - zara; 11 - house & garden may 2006 via habitually chic; 12 - a glamorous little side project}

{two lovely things: red hair & lipstick}

. . . often thought to clash, red hair & lipstick actually looks rather fetching, don't you think? . . . and despite the myriad of beautiful options for taming winter tresses, still clinging to a chic and messy topknot or a classic chignon for simplicity's sake, although now may be a little inspired to weave a tangle of braids . . .

{photography by ellen von unwerth, via a glamorous little side project}

{photographers: bela adler & salvador fresneda}

. . . have featured the beautiful work of barcelona photographers bela adler & salvador fresneda many times before, and every time, swept away all over again, and since always adore finding party inspiration in weddings, for this year's holiday soirées, it's perfect shades of winter white and pink champagne bows on sky-high peep toes, seafoam satin opera gloves and sheer jackets strewn with roses, and most of all, tiffany's blue bows that fall just below the collarbone . . .















{images: bela adler & salvador fresneda for martha stewart}

{wedding inspiration: little white dresses}

. . . happened across this editorial by photographer olivia graham for instyle weddings, last week, and as always, fell in love with all the ruffles and lace and frilly flounces of all the utterly stylish & perfectly flirty little white dresses, but especially the first, which is unspeakably charming and positively made for late-afternoon ferry rides and blowing kisses and am quite certain is the same as the one zooey deschanel wore here . . .

{images: photography by olivia graham via dustjacket attic; more at the side project}