Boardwalk Empire Style

                               Margaret and Nucky married last season on Boardwalk Empire

Most HBO fans are eagerly awaiting the beginning of Boardwalk Empire Season 3, on Sunday, September 16.  Last season main characters Margaret Schroeder and Nucky Thompson wed in a quick, but Catholic, wedding ceremony.  Although we don’t know how Margaret and Nucky’s marriage will end, I’d like to share some Boardwalk Empire wedding style with you!

There are a lot of ways to incorporate this rich and historic 1920s style into your wedding ceremony and reception. 

For the Ladies:

You can achieve the Boardwalk Empire style for women pretty easily.  The women in the wedding party can wear long strands of pearl necklaces and pearl bracelets to capture that vintage 1920s look.  The ladies can also accessorize with beautiful lace headbands with crystal accents to get an even more elegant look.  It’s not easy to find bridesmaid dresses in this style that don’t look costumey, so instead I recommend choosing a color like blush pink or creamy yellow, and let the ladies find their own dresses.  Just give your bridesmaids parameters like a knee-length dress, with a little lace if possible, in the color of your choosing.  Trust your girls, I'm sure they'll find a dress that looks like this period, and that will make them feel beautiful and comfortable on your wedding day.

For the Bride

The feminine look of this era is like no other era.  It is classically romantic and naturally graceful and elegant.  When searching for a dress, look for long sleek gowns that are beaded and embroidered.  You may also want to consider wearing a dress that is off-white or beige to further help you achieve that vintage look.

As for accessories, I absolutely love the lace cap shown below.  It is so representative of this era and will stun guests.  If the cap is too much, or your groom needs to see your gorgeous locks, get a veil with a matching lace border.  It will give you the lace cap look, but will show your hair and is more like a tradition veil that you may have been envisioning.

This beautiful lace cap is available at Etsy Shop: EricaElizabethDesign

Décor

Décor is very important when you have a specific theme in mind for your wedding.  An easy way to make the Wedding Reception reflect the Boardwalk Empire era is to use vintage crystal vases and glasses.  The ornate crystal will immediately give guests that stylish 1920s opulent feel.   Filling the crystal vases with red roses will also give guests the feeling that Nucky Thompson isn’t far away.  You can also use vintage suitcases as accents around the wedding.  The suitcase give guests the vintage travel feel, and can be used to collect cards or to hold place cards when guests first come in.  The suitcases can be further decorated with pictures of the couple getting marries to give the décor an even more personalized feel.

These custom vintage suitcases are available from
Etsy Shop: Between the Bride and Me

Reception

It’s one thing to decorate and get some accessories to make your wedding have a Boardwalk Empire theme, but how do you make your guests truly feel like they’ve gone back in time.  One example to give the reception the Boardwalk Empire feel is to have a signature cocktail from that era, such as a Gimlet or an Old Fashioned.  You can also hire a cigar roller to roll fresh cigars for your guests when they arrive or after dinner.  And, one of my favorite ideas, is to have a few gambling tables set up for guests to have some fun at.  You’ll have to clear this with your reception hall first, but this definitely will make the guests feel like their back in time in Atlantic City.

Don’t be afraid to tackle such a distinct theme such as Boardwalk Empire.   It’s not as difficult as it may seem and it can definitely be a fun experience to bring this era to life.

Email BetweentheBrideandMe@gmail.com for more information or to share your inspiration!
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We’re here! We’re Queer! And we’re getting Married!

                                   Whitney Mixter and Sara Bettencourt of The Real L Word

                                            Engagement Photo courtesy of Makenna Hunt

Last night was the finale of one of my favorite shows, The Real L Word.  The Real L Word showcases the lives of lesbians living in New York and Los Angeles.  Last night’s finale chronicled the beautiful wedding between main characters Whitney Mixter and Sara Bettencourt.  I must admit, I shed a few tears watching as their family and friends gathered to support them on one of the most important days of their lives. 

Their rustic California wedding was absolutely gorgeous, but more important was the message the couple was delivering to the world.  It was clear that they were sharing how important marriage was to them as a couple, and to the movement to legalize Gay Marriage in our country.  The couple even traveled to Whitney Mixter’s hometown in Connecticut so they could be legally married, and so that Whitney’s 90 year-old Grandmother could witness.  Whitney was quoted saying, “We are both extremely happy and now we have that sense of closure when it comes to our commitment to one another.” 

It was very important for Whitney and Sara to share their wedding with the world

The bottom line is that this is a civil rights issue and American citizens should be allowed to marry whomever the love.  Same-Sex marriage is legal in only nine states, but same-sex couples have been having marriage ceremonies without legal ties for years. 

As far as planning is concerned, planning a Gay wedding is no different from a heterosexual wedding.  Luckily, there are tons of gay and lesbian wedding accessories available online including cake toppers, invitations and whatever else you may need. There are some great resources online to help gay and lesbian couples that are planning their big day.

Congratulation Whitney and Sara!

One of the best resources when planning a wedding is theknot.com.  They have a large section of their website designated to helping gay and lesbian couples, including real gay and lesbian wedding stories and inspiration.  More great online resource for gay couples are twobrides.com and gayweddings.com.  Each has ideas, stories, advice and wedding accessories available.  And of course you can always search Etsy.com for gay and lesbian wedding accessories that are hand-made and custom made.

This super cute cake topper reads Mrs. and Mrs.

It is available on Etsy.com from Shop SparkleandTwig

Email BetweentheBrideandMe@gmail.com for more information or to share your inspiration!

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Etsy Shops Help Create Unique Wedding Style

                                 Unique wedding style can be found with the help of Etsy.com

For so many women, their wedding day is something they dream about nearly their whole lives.  For these women their engagement begins a time of planning and preening over exactly what they’ve been dreaming of their whole lives.  These women know exactly what they want and exactly where to get it.  For the rest of us, it’s more of an “Oh boy, where do I begin!?,” and “How do I create a wedding that reflects my style?”

What is your wedding style?

It’s true! Not all of us subscribe to the idea that a wedding needs to be a lily-white affair with swans and taffeta.  For many brides and grooms they want their wedding to reflect their personal and creative offbeat style.  Why not have a zombie themed rehearsal dinner?, or a 'Mad Men' style vintage reception?  The possibilities are endless; so don’t let any naysayers deter you from your wedding dreams!

               These incredible Zombie wedding invitations are from Etsy Shop Puttinontheglitz4u

Now you may be asking yourself, “Well, where on earth am I going to find my Zombie Rehearsal Dinner Décor?”  The answer, of course, is Etsy.com! Etsy is where crafters from all over the world go to sell their original art and hand-made crafts.  I became aware of Etsy myself when I was planning my wedding.  I had my heart set on sending vintage postcards for our invitations, and the only place I could find them was on Etsy.

             These beautiful vintage postcard wedding invitations are from Etsy Shop GoGoSnap

Etsy has realized the impact they have had on the wedding industry and has recently launched Etsy Weddings.  You can reach the Etsy Wedding Page here!

The Etsy Weddings page offers brides and grooms just about any information and advice they may need.  You can shop for specific wedding items, of course, but they also offer a look at new trends, advice, as well as real wedding stories.  You can even register for gifts through the Etsy Wedding page.

Etsy is an amazing place where creative people go to share their artwork and crafts.  It is an amazing resource when planning your wedding, especially if you want to create an original wedding style.  You can literally find just about anything to make your unique wedding dreams come true!

Please check out Puttinontheglitz4u and GoGoSnap on Etsy.com!

Email BetweentheBrideandMe@gmail.com for more information or to share your inspiration!

Between the Bridal Inspiration and Me

I created my Etsy Store, Between the Bride and Me, shorty after I got married in October 2011.  My favorite and one of the most memorable parts of my wedding planning experience was creating many of the crafts that I used at my wedding ceremony and reception.  I created papery, including handmade vintage style postcards, jewelry, and designed my own shoes.  As a crafter, I was as happy as I could be!  After the wedding, I couldn’t stop there! I created my Etsy Wedding Shop, Between the Bride and Me, so I could continue sharing my “wedding creations and accessories”, as I call them. 

As I continued my online small business journey, I realized I love sharing inspiration with brides and grooms through various online outlets.  At this point, social media just isn’t enough and I am entering the world of Wedding blogging!

One of the major objectives of Between the Bride and me will be to share original inspiration with brides, grooms, bridesmaids, mothers of the bride/groom, and any one else involved in helping to plan a lucky couples special day.  I find so much fulfillment in helping brides and grooms to realize their wedding visions become a reality.  I feel that the connection to people on their most special day through creating original accessories and designs is something that you can’t get through many small business venues.

Between the Bride and Me will be presenting Brides and Grooms with inspiration on how to have a wedding that is completely original and totally custom to the Bride and Groom’s style.  I absolutely love the idea that not all weddings need to be cookie cutter and take place in a country club.  I believe your wedding can have a unique vibe, and essentially you can create whatever experience you want for your guests!

So if you are a fan of offbeat style and creative ways to express yourself through your wedding aesthetic, this blog is for you!

Here’s a list of some other topics I’ll be covering:

Etsy! Etsy! Etsy!

DIY

Eco-friendly designs

Vintage designs

Stylish and Chic inspiration

Stay tuned! Email BetweentheBrideandMe@gmail.com for more information or to share your inspiration!