07/27

totally totes

If you have guests traveling to your wedding, it’s a nice gesture to surprise them with a “welcome bag” upon arrival to their hotel. You can get creative with these and make them unique to you and your fiance, the city where you live or the place your going to say “I do.”

We have some fabulous ideas below with adorable totes {that would work for any city you’re getting married in} that I want to buy for myself!

If you’re from NYC, treat your guests to a copy of The New York times, along with black and white cookies from the Black and White Cookie Company and don’t forget a sugary snack from Dylan’s Candy Bar. This To Have and To Hold Tote, from Melangerie Inc. is the perfect bag to hold your items.

If you have roots in Chicago, fill this Custom Map Tote from Map Tote with samples of the famous Garrett’s Popcorn, travel-size Frango mints and a match box from your favorite Chicago-area restaurant.

P.S. All of us Colorado folk have to wait for our state to be represented…until then, this west coast tote will do just fine.  

And, if you’re from the Rocky Mountains {or getting married in the mountains}, pack your welcome bag with goodies like Mountain Man’s Purple Mountain Majesty nut and fruit mix, bags of Boulder Chips, Coors or Fat Tire beer, Vail Mountain Coffee and Tea and all the essentials needed for the “morning after” a big party {and the high altitude} – a custom-made water bottle filled with Advil and Emergen-C.  

The PERFECT bag for all these local favorites…a tote from The Wedding Chicks with the phrase Love…at a Mile High. My BFF Shannon and her hubby Bryan came up with this idea for their guests attending their Denver wedding…and I love it. Here’s Shannon sporting the tote on her honeymoon. Looks good on you girl!

Another cute idea for a Rocky Mountain wedding is to fill straw cowboy hats with custom gifts. Guests at Katie and Chips wedding, in Beaver Creek, Colorado, enjoyed “ear snacks,” which were the couple’s favorite songs saved to a USB drive, water and snacks, along with a welcome letter and activity guide. Guests wore their hats for the rehearsal – so cute!

{images via Melangerie Inc., Map Tote, The Wedding Chicks and Liz Banfield}

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07/26

traveling couple

A little creativity and artistry, combined with two beautiful subjects = gorgeous snapshots!

I was so impressed with this engagement photo session – I wanted to share it with all of you. Jacey and Grant were kind enough to share some of their engagement photos with us, and a little behind the scenes info.

I have become friends with the two fashionable and fun love birds through one of my BFF’s, Shannon. They are getting hitched in a month or so and can’t wait to see their wedding pictures because I know they will be stunning. How beautiful is this couple? Seriously?!  

Hard to choose a favorite, but I think my favorites are…the shot of their faces with the scrabble tiles, and the save the date postcard {at the very end of the post…saved the best for last}.

From Jacey…Grant and I both love travel and photography, so we drew inspiration for our engagement photo shoot from one of our favorite photographers, Slim Aarons.  Our dear friend (and amazing photographer) Lauren Ross shot us in two locations.

First we shot at the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills because of its amazing poolside cabanas and great backgrounds. We felt this location mirrored the Slim Aarons aesthetic and we incorporated my vintage suitcases to show our love of travel.

Then we took the shoot back to our condo where we brought in our puppies, William and Polly.  We’re a family and wanted to get a few shots of us goofing around.  We also dressed up and wanted to look like we were running to a train (maybe for our honeymoon?) which we later used on our “Save The Date” postcard. Lauren was on the 2nd floor balcony shooting down into our courtyard for these shots.

P.S. Jacey has a fabulous blog, Damsel In Dior. You must check it out!

{images via Lauren Ross}

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07/25

o is for orange

It’s wedding week here at Tutto Bella. We love weddings and we’re in the midst of wedding season {personally and professionally}, so this week is dedicated to all-things weddings.

Cheers to Happily Ever After…

First, the bold and beautiful ORANGE at weddings. If you’re a citrus gal {or guy}, you can find ways to incorporate it in everything for your wedding day.

Decor
This unique sculptural grid at this reception table displayed orange ‘Milva’ Equadorian roses, bleached Mitsumata branches, white hydrangea and fresh oranges, along with a logo with the couple’s monogram and a horseshoe mounted on tangerine fabric. This is one gorgeous contemporary piece.

Place cards
These are such fun place cards and the color combination of the orange and blue and white stripes is so striking together.

Bouquets
I love these modern bouquets and the different shades of orange in contract with the grey dresses, and the orange fruit is perfectly placed.

Centerpiece
The gorgeous arrangements below greeted guests at The Ritz Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Beaver Creek, Colorado for the wedding of Andrea and Robert Callagy. This gorgeous, mountain wedding, coordinated by Meg Stepanek of Gemini Event Planning and photographed by the talented Liz Banfield, was featured in Town and Country Weddings magazine, 2004. 

Floral designer Judy Stevenson used flowers to reflect the hues of the Rockies with blossoms in rich reds, oranges and browns set off by crisp white orchids. I love the eye-catching tall cylinder and coordinating small vase filled with clementines topped with flowers. 

Food & Drink
Incorporate a little orange zest into your cocktails and dessert for that extra special taste of refreshing citrus.

{images via Hostess with the Mostess, Ruffled Blog, Liz Banfield, The Knot, Polyvore }

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07/20

wood fabulous

Wood has been my inspiration for this week’s Wedding Wednesday. Drew and I recently sent out our own wood invitations, and I wanted to take it one-step further and find more inspiration for the ‘rustic’ bride. Wood is so natural, texturized and elegant at the same time. It can be used throughout your decor, tables, gifts or stationery. I hope you too can find inspiration in these photos.

Wood Stump: a unique way to display family photos

Wood Wagon: adorable for your little flower girl or ring bearer to ride in

Wood Signage: fun details to use for directing guests or chair hangers

Wood Stands: use for your cake, place cards or at the bar

Wood Gift Box: perfect to hold your gifts

Wood Candles: intimate, rustic and romantic all at once

Wood Tables: a bold statement

Wood Stationery: for your invitation, program, place cards, table numbers or dinner menu

(we got our wood invites at Fleur de Lis – shown below)

{images via Tutto Bella, Intricate Icings, Style Me Pretty, Andrew Clark Photography, Simply by Tamra Nicole,
TreeHouseWoodDesigns shop via Etsy, MonkeysOnTheRoof shop via Etsy, BGWoodlandDesigns shop via Etsy, baraggingbags shop via Etsy, & The Design Pocket}

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07/13

4 years {post i do}

It’s my first Wedding Wednesday post and I think it’s only appropriate that I post my own wedding…especially since my 4 year wedding anniversary is tomorrow, July 14.

4 years, a mortgage {for a beautiful home my hubby built}, 2 babies…and even more in love! Tommy is the love of my life and we are blessed to have found each other more than 12 years ago in high school.

We said I do in front of family and friends at the quaint and beautiful Beaver Creek Chapel, then celebrated at Red Sky Ranch. We both have such fond memories of our wedding day. Looking back at these pictures has been fun for me, so I hope you enjoy them too.

Ti Amo, Tommy.

The most emotional moment for me was walking down the aisle with my dad…I still get teary-eyed just thinking about it.






Wood postcards served as escort cards to tables, which were named after our favorite Italian and Irish cities.



Maybe I should wear my Monique Lhuillier wedding dress Thursday…post toddler swimming lessons and playdates? I should be able to feel like a princess in an expensive designer dress every once in a while, right? 🙂 The fact that it would still fit would be a reason to celebrate too.

{images via our talented photographer Betsey Holley, Betsey Holley Photography}

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