So far, the most fun that I’ve had with wedding planning has been picking out our save the date cards. At the beginning stages of planning, you’re allowed to go with something a little more fun that doesn’t necessarily have to match with the rest of the wedding theme. We picked cards that highlight San Francisco to prepare our out-of-towners excited for a fun visit to a great city.

In my week-long search for save the date cards, I came across some real gems. I especially like the cards with the initials of the be-trothed carved into the tree: The Weeping Willow cards come in 4 colors.

Hello Lucky makes some amazing cards that you can get in either digital or letterpress depending on your budget. You can get as simple or as fancy as you like with cards like: (left to right) the Monogram Letterpress cards, the Fancy Feather Cards, or the simple  Meadow Digital Grass and Gravel Card .

I’ve also seen a ton of DIY brides and grooms making their own cards. My favorites are the ones made by Miranda that are posted on Flickr. She even made the envelopes.

Check out some more Save the Date Cards

I’ve noticed in my search for the perfect wedding dress that designers seem to be adding all kinds of dreamy fabrics to their dresses; it’s like an updated version of the princess ball gown. If you’re looking for that slightly romantic look on your wedding day, layered fabrics will really give you a spectacular, ethereal silhouette.

Of these three dresses, my fave is the one on the left by Monique Lhuillier. The subtle layers add a bit more interest to the dress than having just a plain sheath. The dress on the right, also by Monique Lhuillier, from her Platinum Collection, has a delicate but slightly heavier feel to it and the embellished tulle is amazing. The Tiered Analisa Gown is, believe it or not, from JCrew; definitely made for the more fun and flirty bride. I could see this dress in a vineyard wedding.

I also found two very similar dresses, one from a designer on Etsy (on sale for $280!) and one at Nordstrom by Robert Rodriguez. Both equally amazing with ruffles galore:

Check out some more tiered dresses in my Layered Wedding Dresses buyer’s guide.

For the ultimate modern vintage bride look, I think what a bride chooses to wear on her head is almost as important as the dress. Headbands and hair accessories are huge right now in fashion, so I put together a list of some amazing head pieces and headbands for brides who want to go with something other than a veil. Most of these are handmade the lovely shops of etsy, so expect some time for construction.

See more Veil Alternatives…

I’m completely obsessed with shoes of all kinds and am ECSTATIC  that I get to pick out two pairs of shoes for my wedding; one pair of flats and one pair of heels. Originally, I was just going to wear a pair of heels, and my fiancé reminded me that I may not want to wear heels for the entire reception- seeing as how there will be TONS of dancing;-)

My ultimate goal is to find two pairs that I could maybe, possibly, one day want to wear again. Which basically means that I don’t want a pair of dyables. The flats don’t matter quite as much as the heels, because my dress will probably cover them, so a simple pair of ballet flats will work. I know that I’ll have to wait until I have my dress finished to pick out shoes, but I’ve got a good list going of both heels and flats for when I’m ready to make the big decision. I’m really going for a vintage feel for the wedding and I love the idea of having gold, silver, or off-white shoes (my dress is going to be closer to off-white than pure white).

Here are a few of my pics:(from left to right) Silver Vintage Bow, Vintage Gold Bow, Check’s in the Mail by Seychelles, Light Gold Metallic Bobbi Blus, Vintage Silver Pearl.

Summer is right around the corner, which means it’s almost time to think about picking up a few new cute dresses. If I lived in a hot climate, I would live in in dresses ALL THE TIME. Usually, in SF, when I throw on a dress to go out for the day, I end up totally miserable and shivering by 2 in the afternoon. But this fact hasn’t stopped me from buying amazing dresses. I can’t help myself!

By far, my favorite online store for dress shopping is Mod Cloth.  Mostly vintage inspired, the dresses are all totally unique and affordable; the most expensive is less than $200. A lot of the dresses are by Max & Cleo, the formal line of BCBG, who make amazing dresses with interesting silhouettes.

Here’s my faves (from left to right): The Total Betty Dress, The Swiss Miss, The Marlene Dietrich, The Live Concert Dress and The 4th of July Dress. Check out more about these picks and more great dresses- Dresses!!!

If you want to be a smart fashion designer, you need to create something made from re-purposed materials. Because wearing recycled clothing is just as important as recycling! The last few years, we have seen some really interesting takes in recycled fashion and accessories: tires, plastic bottles, tennis shoes, cardboard, paper, cans, take-out containers, you name it. Because Earth Day is right around the corner, I decided to check out what designers and clothing companies have been up to in the realm of recycled fashion.

Urban Outfitters has been on the recycled goods bandwagon for the last 15 years with their UrbanRenewal Line. The designers that work in this department have my dream job- they get to go to second-hand and thrift stores and buy huge lots of random things like men’s shirts, ties, and old sweaters and take them back to the workshop and convert them something new and interesting.  Some examples are the simple but fabulous Recycled Vintage Lace Headband and the Plaid Recycled Men’s Shirt Skirt. I want that job.

Not UrbanRenewal, but equally as fab- the Recycled Skateboard Necklace is handmade from retired skateboards. The Recycled Record Cuff makes a great gift for the music connoisseur- yesterday’s Top 40 hits = today’s wearable gems!

There are also a plethora of bags out there made from recycled materials. The Recycled Tires Bag, The Barcode Bag (made from candy wrappers) and the Reclaimed Water Bottle Bag are a few examples. Check out the rest of my Earth Day Fashion Finds and be sure to bring your re-usable totes to the market!

I’m totally from the school of thought that believes in having a really clean, minimal living space with just a few interesting pieces scattered throughout that are guaranteed to spark conversation. I love it when someone asks me questions about an object or piece of art that I have. I currently have a vinyl wall shade made by Miranda July (a musician/performance artist/writer/actress) in my apartment that people ALWAYS ask about. It came from one of my art professor’s projects called The Thing Quarterly. If you subscribe, you receive 4 issues (each from a different artist) in a year and they are basically a mystery. The only thing that you know is that you will receive 4 household objects in a year. This is what the Miranda July piece* looks like:

Along with wall art, I’m also am a huge fan of sculpture and interesting household objects; especially ceramics. I’ve found some really unique ceramic pieces that are usually handmade. My favorite is the Carlos Ceramic Nightlight. Not sure where he would live in my house, but I want to own him. The Thornbud Vases by Kathleen Walsh and Ceramic Shopping Bag Vases by Michael Harvey are great alternatives to a plain cylindrical vase. The Bull’s Eye Vase is handmade in Peru and the glaze on it is made by burning mango leaves and firewood.  And who needs a still-life-with-fruit painting when you can have the Still Life Bowl by Barnaby Barford and Andre Klauser that you can change out with a new fruit as you please. Check out some other Interesting Ceramic Pieces in my complete list.

*photo used is not my bathroom!

Everyone always likes to pretend that a bridesmaid dress can be worn again. I, and most of the women that I know, can attest to the fact that, This Is Not True. I got to wear one dress more than once and this was only due to the fact that a friend of mine allowed all of her bridesmaids to pick their own dress, as long as they were within a certain color palette. She just happened to pick the color of a dress that I had already had in my wardrobe. It worked out perfectly because they were different sets of friends, so nobody had seen it before. Perf!

My wedding is in November of this year and I’m beginning the search for dresses for my ladies. Luckily, they are all incredibly easy-going people and I’m sure that there’s going to be no problemo whatsoever finding the perfect dresses to for them when they accompany me on my wedding day. But, to o be honest, I’m really bored with most of what I see in bridal magazines. Check it out- The “It” bridesmaid dress of the moment:

Picture that dress offered in about 7,000 colors with names like: Cornflower, Wasabi, Pumpkin, and Blush. I’m not saying that the dress wouldn’t make a wonderful accessory to the bride, I just find it a little predictable. Especially if the bride is going for a strapless look also.

Because my vision for my wedding has a bit of a 1920’s style to it, I’m on the hunt for something a little more Clara Bow or Louise Brooks, but updated. That means the hemline will have to be a little bit on the tea-length side (not until the late 20’s was the super short Charleston style dress in style) and I’ll have to work with soft fluid fabrics and a simple silhouette. I’m still trying to pick out wedding colors, so we’ll have to deal with that later.

You’ll have to use your imagination and picture these dresses with amazing accessories* and hair to give them the final touches (left to right): Donna Ricco Split Neck Sheath Dress, Silk Tricotine Robin Short Dress by J. Crew,  Jones New York Sweetheart Shutter Pleat Dress. Check out the rest of my dress finds at Amazing Bridesmaid Dresses.

*Wedding Accessories list in progress!

Although my kitchen has never been that fancy (I currently have a teeny kitchen with one counter), I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to kitchen accessories and appliances. Maybe snob is the wrong word, but I am from the school where I believe in spending more on things in the kitchen that I will most-likely be able to use for the rest of my life. Basically, I shop for clothes at H&M and the Gap, but all of my kitchen stuff comes from specialty stores. If you’re just starting to build up your kitchen to its full wonderfulness, there are a few culinary classics to start out with:

1. One stainless steel saucepan. All Clad brand, originally made for professional chefs, are by far the best.  A little pricey, but they last forever. You might be passing down your All Clads to your grandchildren.
2. A Le Creuset Cast-Iron Braiser or French Oven. You can make almost anything in one of these; the cast-iron distributes heat slowly and evenly, especially good for stews, soups and sauces. They come in an amazing color palette as well.
3. A good peppermill- Don’t be fooled by electric or funky shaped peppermills. The best are the simple old school wood peppermills with a steel mechanism. Peugeot makes a super duper high end one for $300, but they also have a smaller model at $25.
4. A stainless steel colander- a good, sturdy colander is a must have for cleaning vegetables, straining pasta, and rinsing fruit.
5. Good knives- If you make the investment to buy a good set of knives you won’t be sorry- as long as you find a good sharpening service in your area to take them to, you’ll have them for your lifetime. You’ll also have an easier time prepping food and you’re less likely to have the unfortunate dull-knife-finger-cutting debacle. My favorite brands are Shun and Wüsthof.

If you have these few staples, this will be a great beginning of a gourmet kitchen. Check out some other recommendations- Gourmet Kitchen Must-Haves