SIMPLY PUBLISHED: {Weddings Unveiled} Sweet Dreams

Another one of our dresses was featured on Weddings Unveiled!! This time our blush Sarah Seven gown in a shoot photographed by Izzy Hudgins and styled by French Knot Studios!! Be sure to head over to see all the prettiness!! 

{Vendor Credits} Photography: Izzy Hudgins Photography // Styling, Florals and Bride's Accessories (sash, veil, headpiece): French Knot Studios // Venue: Private Residence // Hair & Makeup: Jen Paulos Lewis of Pastel Makeup & Hair // Blush Dress: Sarah Seven available at Ivory + Beau // Ivory Dress: Watters from Bleubelle Bridal // Macarons: Maison de Macarons // Lime Cookies: Byrd Cookie Company // Other Desserts: Whole Foods // Invitation Suite: Strawberry Moth

SIMPLY PUBLISHED: {Weddings Unveiled} Lowcountry Romance

We kind of are in love with this shoot by Simply Sarah Photography and Gray Harper Event Maker and were so excited that they used one of our Rebecca Schoneveld dresses + Jaclyn Jordan veils. The shoot took place at Wormsloe and was up on Weddings Unveiled yesterday!! Be sure to check out the full feature!!! :) 

{Vendor Credits} Photography: Simply Sarah Photography // Styling, Florals & Design: Gray Harper Event Maker // Venue: Wormsloe Historic Site // Dress: Rebecca Schoneveld available at Ivory + Beau // Veil: Jaclyn Jordan available at Ivory + Beau // Cake & Paper Goods: Lavender & Honey // Vintage Car: Timeless Motorcoaches

SIMPLY PUBLISHED: {Weddings Unveiled Blog} A Romantic Garden

Ooh so excited to share that today a styled shoot both Adrienna + I helped out with prior to our partnership is featured on Weddings Unveiled Blog!!!!! Adrienna handmade all the bridal accessories and I helped by creating a paper floral backdrop for this styled shoot with Amber Veatch Designs and Andi Mans in St. Augustine, Florida at the Sanchez House. My favorite memory about this styled shoot is that the drive down was when Adrienna and I first started brainstorming Ivory + Beau and how to make it happen! Yay and huge thank you to all the fantastic vendors who participated in this romantic garden styled shoot: Sweet n Flour, Simply Bridal, Shea Hopely Flowers, Dishie Rentals, Amanda Hopcraft, Beachview Event Rentals, Small Bites, Chirp Paperie! Ya'll rock! And make sure you go on over to Weddings Unveiled Blog to check out the full feature!!! 

{MAKING THINGS HAPPEN} What fires you up?

So this is another post I have been planning out in my head for probably a week now. I guess sometimes life gets the best of me and I run out of time to blog + instead sometimes I choose sleep, which obviously is not a bad thing to do considering lately I have been feeling slightly under the weather. But that's besides the point because I'm sure you don't want to hear about my runny nose + ear wax...

Last night I completed Part 1 of Making Things Happen Goal Setting (you can read that post here). So the 3rd step in part 1 was writing about what fires you up, and I listed off several things that get me excited but I want to expand on that a little more because I think this is really important in what inspires me to be a wedding & event designer. I can't think of much that makes me more fired up and excited than a wedding or engagement session that is not just pretty but that tells a story. Of course I love the pretty don't get me wrong, but when you can inject a part of your relationship, personalities, what you like to do together into your wedding and make it unique and have it really scream, _____'s & _____'s wedding! I mean that is some awesome stuff. That is what I strive to do while helping bride's and groom's design their perfect wedding. Because that is the wedding that you and your guests are going to remember afterwards.

Now after my blabbing on about what makes me fired up... I want to challenge you future brides and grooms to get creative (or if you hire me then let me get creative for you but you have to help). I challenge you and your fiance to really try to hone in on what makes your relationship special and unique. Here's some questions to get you going...

1. What do you like to do? Together and by yourself?
2. What do you love about your fiance?
3. What things fire you up? (This can be anything really... gold spray paint? ghost furniture? garden roses? Taylor Swift? anything & everything that makes you smile, makes you happy, makes you excited for life.)
4. How did you meet?
5. Where was your first date?
6. What is one of your favorite memories together?
7. What movie do you love to watch together?
8. When and where did you know you loved each other?
9. What was your best vacation together?
10. How did he propose?

See... the answers to these questions might just reveal how you can make your wedding unique. Say for example your fiance loves to brew beer, so why not have home brewed beer as favors for your guests. Or say your favorite movie you guys watch together is James Bond, so why not have a James Bond themed movie? Or what if you both knew it was true love while camping at Lake Tahoe, insert camping themed wedding at Lake Tahoe. Etc. etc. etc. These are not real examples... But I mean I would be so down if some clients came to me and said okay we want a James Bond themed wedding. Now for picture time of things I love that fire me up!!!

I know, lots of randomness but lots of things that make me happy and inspire me. Including two things we did: our geometric garland for our last shoot at the Jepson Center and the antler escort card display I designed for our styled shoot two days at Whitefield Chapel in Savannah!!! That was a real labor of love... tying up those antlers and making sure they're the perfect height using fishing line and a ladder was not easy. I almost fell off that ladder twice since the ground was uneven and I got that fishing line so tangled up in that tree it isn't even funny. Well it kind of is really funny... But anyway, hope this inspires some of you brides and grooms out there to get personal when coming up with how you want your wedding to look!!! Have a great Wednesday everyone! Part 2 of my goal setting coming tonight. 

{Photo Credits} Ghost Chair with Sheepskin Fur via Style Me Pretty // Cactuses via Emma Dime // Southern Weddings Magazine // Weddings Unveiled Magazine //  Flowers via Snippet and Ink, photography by Stylish & Hip Weddings // Yarn Wrapped Bottles via Awesome Craft Pins // Floral Halo + Horse via Chic Sprinkles // Gold Dinosaurs via The Glitter Guide, photography by Sarah Yates // Jennifer Lawrence via Gioia Magazine May 2012 // Antlers via Styled Shoot by Simply Savannah Events and Ever Thine Vintage Rentals, photography by Lone Pine Photography // Geometric Garland via Ruffled Blog, photography by Izzy Hudgins // Ace Hotel wedding via 100 Layer Cake, photography by Max Wanger

SIMPLY PUBLISHED: {Weddings Unveiled Magazine} Glitter + Gold

I am ecstatic to be able to share this with you all! I think this is such a dream come true to have something we worked so hard on featured in a magazine! And it really made all the sweat + hard work pay off. This styled shoot was at the Southern Pine Company, a reclaimed wood furniture factory. And it was hot. Real hot. And real dirty. And real sweaty. And we were real gross afterwards. But it was so so so much fun. It was an all day event with Layla, the previous owner, and Izzy Hudgins, the amazing photographer, and Vitor Lindo, from the Institute of Cinematic Arts. We got there early and started setting up our first scene, then had to move everything to the next scene then the next. It was awesome though and is really why I wanted to get into wedding planning. I love the event design aspect of it. Doing stuff like that is not work to me. It is just fun. So I feel truly blessed that my fun day hanging out with Layla, Izzy & Vitor (and his crew) was featured in such an awesome publication!! AND... my full name is in that magazine -- Nicole Rene Schwalge. Pretty proud moment for me and I hope you all will pick up a copy to check it out!! And thank you Weddings Unveiled for featuring our work!!! 

{Vendor Guide} Pictures from Weddings Unveiled // Photography: Izzy Hudgins // Design & Concept: Nicole Rene Schwalge (current owner) & Layla Mayville (previous owner) // Models: Megan Rose Phillips (Bride), Tim Arpin (Groom) & Colleen Kelly (Bridesmaid) // Shoot Location: Southern Pine Company // Cakes, Cupcakes & Cake Pops: Delectable Designs // Floral Design & Crown: Layla Mayville // Invitations & Stationary: Nicole Schwalge (owner of Simply Savannah Events) // Wedding Dress: "Bayh" by Legends of Romona Keveza via Bleu Belle Bridal // Makeup: Beyond Beautiful by Heather // Video: Vitor of the Institute of Cinematic Arts