Clearly I’m not the first person to suggest orange for an October wedding. So although I don’t win points for originality, maybe I can win points for the cake. The cake that, er, I didn’t make but found on the Internet? Alright, originality fail. But I think you can appreciate what I’m trying to do with this inspiration board—freshening up an expected October color palette.

Yes, it all started with the cake. Isaac Mizrahi’s fall 2011 show sent a “waiter” down the runway, carrying this elaborately decorated, three-tiered cake. Some asked why; I just drooled (over the cake, people! Minds out of the gutter, stat).

So I used the cake as my starting point, and the small glints of silver at the center of each flower established the accent color. The result is super stylish.

Invitation: Watercolor Tulips Invitations by Wedding Paper Divas
Favor Box: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cake: Runway image from elle.com
Shoes: Martinez Valero Cimmy Heels in Orange Satin
Dress: ML Monique Lhuillier Strapless Taffeta Dress
Bouquet: Image from stylemepretty.com
Tablescape: Image from aileentran.com
Kiss with Confetti: Image from stylemepretty.com
Earrings: Briolette Carnelian Drop Earrings from yesstyle.com

It’s been years since I’ve been excited about warm tones (which might surprise people who haven’t seen me since my “brown” phase in the mid-90s), yet now they’re the object of my desire. Warm, rich tones upstaged all other colors on the fall runways. Cobalt blues and emerald greens may still be on-trend, but it’s deep reds, oranges, golds, and browns that are the dark horses of fall fashion, and I’m saddling up.

Check out these amazing burgundy-red looks from Carolina Herrera, Anteprima, Caroline Charles, Azzaro, and BCBG Max Azria:

And that deep red next to this honey-toned yellow? Drool. Osman Yousefzada, Thakoon, Bottega Veneta, Akris, and Aquilano e Rimondi thrill me:

Since I seem to be in a wedding mood these days, a wedding inspiration board with this color combo was inevitable. Dang, don’t you just want to get married (again)?

Drinks: Liqueur Lollipops from Martha Stewart Weddings
Cookie: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cupcakes: Graduation Cupcakes from thetomkatstudio.com
Pomegranate “Place Card”: Image from stylemepretty.com
Dessert: Image from stylemepretty.com
Cake: Maroon Heart Cake at ffffound.com
Invitation: Dappled Glade Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas
Bouquet: Maroon and Gold Bridal Bouquet from Petal Pusher
Guest Book: Burgundy Velvet Guest Book from etsy.com
Wreath: Mum Rectangular Wreath from etsy.com
Tie: Burgundy and Yellow Silk Necktie from Buy Your Ties
Bow Tie: Mustard Child-Size Bow Tie from etsy.com
Boutonnière: Image from stylemepretty.com
Dress: Donna Ricco Asymmetrical Taffeta Dress from Nordstrom

My Style Me Pretty inspiration boards don’t seem to be functioning properly, so I created this one the old-fashioned way: manually in Photoshop. Woo! I guess I’ll just have to add the product links below.

Alright, so I wasn’t intending on doing anything with this color combination, but a friend of mine is going to be a bridesmaid in this palette and our conversation got the juices flowin’, so here you go.

Surprisingly, at first thought, “sapphire and lavender” conjured up images of butterflies. (Butterflies! Shocking, I know! I guess you can be terrified of butterflies and still want to use them on an inspiration board. Who knew!) But I wouldn’t go overboard with the butterfly theme, or it can get too cutesy. Stick with just a few components: maybe the invitations, the cake, and place cards, for example.

Good luck to Ee Lynn, bridesmaid extraordinaire!

Dress: Silk Taffeta Adrienne Dress in Warm Riviera from J.Crew
Bouquet: White and Lavender Bouquet from Cross Lanes Floral
Invitations: Watercolor Butterfly Wedding Invitation from Momental Designs
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik Satin Crystal-Strap Sandal at shopstyle.com
Cake: Cheryl Kleinman Butterfly Cake at theknot.com
Tie: Pronto Uomo Lilac Extra Long Silk Tie from Men’s Wearhouse
Macarons: Lavender Macarons Photo from dreamstime.com
Earrings: Czech Glass Flower Dangle Earrings from etsy.com
Cupcakes: Wafer Paper Edible Butterflies from etsy.com
Table Setting: Blue and Lilac Table Setting from chillipit.co.za

In preparation for my first trip to the U.S. in almost three years—and my first trip home in five—this has been a very busy month. It feels like we’re packing a summer’s worth of activities into the entire month of July!

And my mind is even busier than my self. I’m constantly thinking about this trip, making mental lists about what to buy, do, or see—whether it’s before our trip or during.

Also, the fact that we’re not returning with the same routine makes things more interesting. When we get back, my older son will start preschool immediately. (Poor kid, having to start school after five weeks of fun with his family, and with jet lag, no less!)

But I hope that, when we do return, I’ll be able to get back into a routine of designing and blogging, because my creative side is really taking a backseat right now and I miss it.

Alright, now that all that’s out of the way, here’s my July wedding inspiration board.

I was thinking about July weddings in the grass and wanted to incorporate a green accent color. When I saw the bridal bouquet wrapped in cobalt velvet ribbon (above), that was it! Cobalt blue as the main color, and apple and aqua as accents: the overall feeling is exciting, yet oddly calming. And don’t you just want to take the blue stemware home?

My big sister is engaged! I am so excited that sometimes I think my head is going to explode from happiness! Eeeee!

I had no idea I’d been waiting for this day to come—until she told me she met this guy and that he might be the one. Unbeknownst to me, my head was on its way to explosive right then and there, and it has been building since. Right now, the situation is verging on hazardous.

I. Cannot. Contain. My. Excitement.

That said, I’m looking at these wedding inspiration boards in a completely new way, and I think it’s time I go crazy creating more.

This one, coral and white, may be one of my favorites and has my sister’s name written all over it.

Loves:

- Coral, in general.
- When the bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses complement each other.
- Seersucker bow ties.
- Wedding accessories from Etsy.
- Cupcakes echoing the gerbera daisy centerpieces.

And:

- Thinking about my sister’s wedding. Yay!

In some countries, calico fabric is a type of cloth, but in the U.S. when we say “calico” we’re generally referring to cotton fabric with a small, allover-floral print. When I think of calico, I think quaint and retro—and uniquely appropriate for a spring wedding with a cute, vintage vibe!

I’d take the cute, vintage vibe even further by repeating tiny florals, gingham, ric rac and cherry motifs everywhere. Add cupcakes, and your homespun wedding is good to go!

Aw, man! Not blogging for most of last month, I never got to post my April wedding inspiration board. It’s especially disappointing because I love this one so much. I took the most common wedding color, pink, but instead of florals and romance, it’s all about stripes and preppy sweetness. Even the refreshments—ice cream sundaes, big lollipops, and pink macarons—have an air of preppiness. Love!

Even though I often push fresh and unexpected wedding color schemes, it doesn’t mean I don’t love a pretty and traditional palette, too. This combination of sage, ivory, and blush is so classically exquisite and so appropriate for the soft light of approaching springtime.

Another reason I love this combination is that it works well with either a sunny or rainy backdrop, also making it appropriate for spring’s unpredictable weather.

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and I’m thinking about all the couples planning February weddings that want a more unique—but still Valentine’s Day-appropriate—color palette. This may not be the most conventional choice, but try lavender and red. It’s pretty dang cute, as demonstrated by Amy Atlas’ dessert buffet for O magazine, whose cookies and cupcakes were the inspiration for this whole board.

I’m totally sold. The lavender sweetens a fiery red, and it’s a much fresher complement than pink. Someone: please plan your lavender and red wedding, and then send me the photos so I can live vicariously through you!

It all started with this super-cute dress from Monique Lhuillier. How’s that for showing your wedding guests how young and fun you are?

Then I started thinking about how this bright punch of magenta could work on a cold, gray January day, and realized that if you make gray part of the ensemble, the color palette wouldn’t look so out of place. The result is fun, modern, and delightfully unexpected for midwinter.