My Favorite Dress of 2010

This stunner by Jim Hjelm is my absolute favorite dress of 2010. It just so happens I coordinated a wedding for a bride named Joanne who wore it for her April 2010 nuptials. She was gorgeous in it!

On the runway:

Jim Hjelm Bridal Gown: Style JH8962

On the bride:

From Style Unveiled:  Joanne and Vincent's San Francisco Wedding. Photos by Caroline Tran

More hair accessories for under $40

I'll be wearing my pretty hair piece as I count down the hours to the New Year. For you new brides-to-be, let the search for a pretty hair accessory begin! Here are some recent finds on Etsy:

Vintage Ivory Peacock Feather Fascinator ($30)

Champagne Hair Pins with Jewel Centers ($22)

White Beaded Peacock Fascinator ($26)

Leah Bleached Ivory Feather Fascinator ($36)

Our first Christmas

Happy Holidays from Epcot!

I apologize for not blogging the last few weeks. I've been dying to post more pics of our wedding but I've been shopping around on where to get it published and the rules are that you can't have previously shown them. Argh!

Anyways, Fred and I spent an early Christmas with his family in Florida a couple weeks ago (here's a pic of us at Epcot, such a magical place!). And we spent our very first Christmas Eve alone -- just the two of us. I admit it was a bit lonely not to be around either of our families, but we did the best we could to stick with the traditions we grew up with, like buying and decorating our very first Christmas tree and attending midnight mass. He got to keep his tradition of watching A Christmas Story (I still haven't seen it all the way through to the very end) and I got mine -- to watch one, actually two, at the theaters (although Black Swan was a bit intense for Christmas). Fred reluctantly opened his gifts after midnight mass (that's what my family does) and we are going to go with his next year -- open one gift, then the rest on Christmas morning. We also got to spend some time in the company of good friends on both Christmas Eve and Day, so that was comforting.

Did any of you spend your first alone, or did you spend if with yours or his? What new traditions did you make or old ones did you hang onto?

Cheap and easy-to-grow centerpieces

I know it's still early December but I'm already counting down the days to when daffodil and paperwhite bulbs spring up at farmer's markets and nurseries. These bulbs are so inexpensive and easy to grow (just place in a beautiful urn-style vase, aged terracotta pot with pretty gravel,or whatever vessel you choose over shallow water). They're perfect for a winter wedding!

Here are good tips for growing your paperwhite strong and tall.

From Beautiful Living Style