Today I got to do two of my favorite things, shopping and.....shopping. For wedding dresses no less. Most of my brides don't get dresses. They get gowns. Over the top affairs call for them. The bride is the center of attention and should be dressed accordingly. My bride is throwing a lavish destination wedding in the middle of January. I can hear the soft jingle of the horses as they make their way through the snow with my bride in sparkling white and my groom in a tuxedo and mittens. We have chosen the Bedford Village Inn as our choice to entertain her guests and to celebrate the wedding.

It is quintessential New England, charming in it's architecture, lovely in its appointments. We have had many discussions regarding the wedding although it is still a year away. But we do have to remember that this is a destination. Meaning everyone including the west coast bride and groom are flying in for this event. So needless to say there are a lot of details that need to be taken care of.

Today it was about dresses and the look and color way of the wedding. All went well as we chattered away over lunch. So many details to take care of and now we have decided that we will move forward with a rehearsal dinner on site as well. I was lucky that the vast majority of my appointments today were on Newbury Street. I even had time to pop in on my favorite Back Bay Blonde, Lauren Killian, from Person + Killian Photography. She has been hired for this event and I can hardly wait to work with her on this frozen inspired engagement shoot and of course the wedding.

It is no wonder why we start working on weddings sometimes two years before the event, man there is a lot to do. Hey there is still time to dream a little bit. I think that I will take a moment to do just that. To picture what my bride might look like as she triesvon on the most amazing collection of gowns. I know that within, her gown is there. Just which one? Will she wear the long elbow gloves that I suggested. Of course you won't know until I publish pictures from the event in some time from now.

You can tell that I am thinking that a winter bride needs to steal the show. I want her to have a gorgeous silhouette to her gown along with enough embellishment to wow, but not so much that she ends up looking like a Russian Princess. (Think Dr. Zivago)

We will find a way to work in all of the winter classics that one would expect from this sort of wedding. West Coast is going to represent of course. We have planned to have a regional selection of wines and cheeses from the west coast so guests can experience a bit if where the bride and groom are coming from.

There will be more of course, for now the look and my nervous anticipation as to my bride and her gown.

I just want to hum, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

The view from the State Room at 60 State Street in Boston is without question one of the very best, if not THE best in the city. This wonderful wedding venue is sleek, slick and sophisticated and is the perfect place for my bride Erika and her groom and their families to celebrate the big day. I had a chance to have Erika and her fiance to my studio this past Saturday for a sneek peek at their wedding decor. We had long planned to do flowers for the wedding, but in the weeks leading up to the big day we decided to add some other fun design elements such as chargers and place setting decor along with a MUST, lighting.

The demo day also allows me to make changes and adjustments according to the brides wishes. I want the process to be custom, so when the bride asked for a touch of eggplant paper and trim on the menus and if they could be done as ovals or perhaps round, I knew my print partners would be able to take my inspiration and create the perfect detail at the place setting. We also discussed adding some hints of color through the flowers in deep pinks and purples and the bride specifically asked for the flowers on the cake to be bright and bold. These are fun and easy requests and of course I am happy to make my bride happy.

Once we have the room filled with gorgeous mounds of summer white flowers including Hydrangea, Roses, Casablanca Lillies, mini callas and the star of the show, Phaleonopsis orchids, me and my team will lay out floating candles and votive candles trimmed in crisp white and ivory and then shine spot lights on to each one of the arrangements to give them a special glowing presence within the room. The stunned smile on the bride and grooms face told the whole story. If they were a bit overwhelmed by the beauty of a single table top, I do believe that they might just freak out when they see the State Room dressed to the nines.

I can hardly wait to post the photography from Person + Killian !!!