We at Mani Mela are excited to announce the creation of our first ever company newsletter! If you want in on all the latest bridal trends, coupons, steals & deals, tricks of the trade, and the inside scoop on the latest happenings at Mani Mela – you just might like our newsletter!
Your information will not be sold to any third parties, and we won’t clog your inbox with tons of updates (our newsletter comes just twice monthly).
Sign up below to start receiving our newsletter!
Mani Mela is so excited to be taking part in William-Sonoma’s Bridal Event taking place this evening at the Mall of America from 6 PM – 8 PM. Come on down to join the fun and enjoy tasty refreshments, visit with experts, and learn some valuable cooking tips! The place is going to be packed with local vendors, including Mani Mela, who will be on hand all evening to give advice, direction, and answer any wedding questions! Williams-Sonoma staff will be on hand to help brides build registries, or add to already created registries. We’re told there will even be a special discount for attendees! And you won’t want to miss the prizes being given away – especially ours! We’ve got a wedding day survival gift basket for one very lucky bride which features some of our favorite MAC makeup and more! Call to reserve your spot at 952.854.4553, and we’ll see you there!
Image via loveisnear.wordpress.com
As we were pinning away on Pinterest the other day (are you following us?) we came across an absolutely fabulous article that gives advice to planning couples about what to do after your wedding. There are tons and tons of articles about how to plan for your big day, but there is so little focus on the important details that need attention once your wedding day is over.
If you are bogged down with pre-wedding to-do lists, but want to prepare for what’s to come after your wedding day, The Details blog has some excellent tips for what to post-wedding tasks should be accomplished. Here are some of our favorites:
One of my favorite things about weddings is seeing the spin and personality of the bride and groom. Through every aspect and detail of a wedding, you can learn so much about a couple – their likes, dislikes, taste, style, culture etc. As I have been planning my own wedding and learning about my fiance’s and my own collaborative taste, I channeled lots of inspiration and bits and pieces of each of our own personalities in to the style of our save the dates. A friend of my future sister-in-law, Sam, has been an absolute joy to work with in creating the invites of our dreams. I presented her with ideas that we liked, and she took those ideas and styled our save the dates, and is currently creating our invitations. She is so talented at what she does – I couldn’t be happier.
Here are some examples of ideas I showed Sam.
This is a birthday invite, but the fun fonts and bright colors caught my eye right away. I love vintage looking fonts and patterns, so this was right up my alley.
If letterpress save the dates and invites fit in our budget, I would be ALL over that! I absolutely love the look. Letterpress aside, this simple and elegant design stood out to me. The simplicity yet careful attention to small details really make this invitation stunning.
I’m sure by now you are seeing a theme emerging here. Bold fonts, vintage details, timeless design – this is the look we wanted. This design actually looks strikingly similar to the finished product.
This design was my biggest inspiration. I love the amazing layout, the mix and match of various fonts, and the wording is adorable as well.
Sam was gracious enough to spend her free time creating our save the dates (invitations are just one example of her wide range of talents). We gave Sam free-reign to use her creative talents how she saw fit, trusted her 100%, and we can’t even begin to explain how happy we were when a few weeks later we got this gorgeous finished product from Sam:
The background is comprised of various scans of dictionary definitions of “love” words (marriage, matrimony, etc.). Isn’t this stunning? What do you think?
My advice for any brides that are hiring someone to design their invites and save the dates would be to bring samples to show your designer, have a good idea of your taste, but let the professional use their own creative flair when designing them for you. They’re professionals for a reason – they are GOOD at what they do, and you will most likely be pleasantly surprised when you let go of the reigns a bit and allow the designer to put their spin on things.
Much of my big planning is finally starting to wrap up, and I’m gladly patting myself on the back for starting early to spare myself the stress later on. Also, I’m not good with making quick decisions, so it was start early or regret decisions I made on the fly because of a time crunch. The only thing left to make a somewhat big decision on is a cake, and what design we want. This week, I wanted to poll you, the readers, and find out your thoughts about a few of my favorite designs. So let me ask you…. which one do you like best?
1. Fancy Hearts
While we won’t have a six-tiered cake, or a pink cake for that matter, what I love about this is the intricate detailing, and the unique incorporation of hearts that manages to avoid looking tacky (or IS it tacky? – you tell me!) Keep in mind, I visualize this cake to be burnt orange, and with only three tiers instead of six.
2. Lace and Pearls
I love lace and and I love pearls. Lace and pearls combined are even better in my world (the little dots look like pearls to me). Call me traditional. While I would normally find an entirely white cake to be absolutely boring and bit too conventional, there’s something striking about how lovely this cake is.
3. The Modern Vintage
This cake almost makes me want to smack myself for not having a jade colored wedding – almost. I love the beautifully ornate detailing on each layer which looks very vintage, but the shape suggests something more modern. Square in the middle of circular? I love it! I would also get this cake in burnt orange if I went with this style.
4. The Favorite
Honestly, if I could take this cake off my computer screen right now I would be happy as a clam. I love everything about this and wouldn’t change a thing.
So, which cake do you like the best? Fancy Hearts, Lace and Pearls, Modern Vintage, or The Favorite? I’d love to get your input on what you all think! Leave a comment below and give me your thoughts!
Mani Mela helped out with an absolutely fabulous boudoir photo shoot not too long ago, providing hair and makeup for a stunning woman named Jane! Jane stays fit through yoga and healthy living. Would you believe us if we told you she’s 60? We didn’t think you would. These amazing photos were captured by the wonderful and talented Laura Ivanova, who is an absolute delight to work with! Here is the fabulous, fresh-faced, and sprightly Jane!
Check back soon for more pictures from Jane’s boudoir shoot!
One of my absolute favorite things about planning my wedding is all the small details that my fiance and I have been making careful, thought-out decisions on. I realize I’m in the minority here; little minute decisions are usually the bane of most brides’ existence. One of my favorite details so far (and not a small detail, of course) has been picking out flowers.
I really love flowers – and obviously, who doesn’t enjoy flowers? But I think my appreciation for flowers and plants extends beyond the normal person’s. Living plants in my home or in the office brighten my mood, and I value their simplistic power to make someone’s day. Think about it – flowers accompany almost every big event in our lives, from birth, to graduation, to a noteworthy performance, and many other momentous occasions in life (like weddings!). So, after very careful consideration I created a collage for my florist (Le Jardin European Floral) to bring with me on our first meeting. Below are some of the pictures I showed my consultant.
(Note of advice: bringing a collage of pictures really helped get my vision across to the florist. She was able to offer advice on cheaper alternatives that still fit my taste because she was able to see what styles I love. I’d encourage any bride to bring pictures with when you meet your florist. You won’t regret it!)
I love absolutely everything about this bouquet. Although my wedding color theme is a deep burnt autumn orange, I am more interested in soft peaches and plays on orange that are romantic and feminine for my own bouquet.
Not only are the colors fabulous in this arrangement, but I *love* the variety of sizes and colors. My favorite floral displays have a wide mix of textures, varying colors (of the same base color – like the variety of oranges and pinks in this bouquet,), and a multitude of different sized flowers.
Okay, how stunning is this bouquet? This is one of my all-time favorite bouquet pictures that I have ever seen. This was a popular one that circulated around Pinterest for awhile, and I made sure to add it to my collection of images right away. I especially love the beautiful succulent popping through in the middle. (don’t even get me started on my affinity for succulents)
You’re probably starting to notice a trend in these pictures – I like chunky flowers. Chunky huge flowers are the key to my heart. Ranunculus are my most favorite type of flower (and unfortunately out of season for my wedding), and I love thick, chunky peonies paired with delicate (but still chunky!) roses.
Here are some other pictures I used for inspiration:
As the weeks have passed, I’ve let you know about my experiences planning my own wedding which is coming up this September. I’ve covered much of the booking basics, including venues, photography, DJ, and more! However, this week, I wanted to talk about inspiration. Vendors and inspiration go hand in hand, considering the vendors you hire should ultimately support the inspiration and vision you have for your own wedding. You book venues, florists, photographers and the like who have a style that exemplifies what you want, so that you can pull off the wedding you’ve always dreamed of.
Sparking your own inspiration is simple. Early on I created a folder on my computer where I saved picture after picture to get my creative juices flowing (p.s. Pinterest is great for this). It’s as simple as that, and today I thought I’d share some of these with you.
I knew from the get-go that orange would be my theme, as it’s my favorite color, and a deep burnt orange fits the September season very well. While the cake isn’t really my style, the dresses seen here totally are. The dresses I chose are very similar in style and color to the ones you see here, but of course the ones I picked are much cuter. 😉
This centerpiece idea, aside from being totally opposite from my color scheme, is very similar to the one I actually ended up choosing. I love the raw curly willow branches adorned with flowers. I don’t want to give too much away, but let’s just say that this was a very influential picture.
This picture I love because it has so many great “orange” ideas! I particularly love the orange shoes, which I had originally planned on doing before I found my dress (which unfortunately just doesn’t go with the orange shoes I had wanted at first). I love the orange lanterns and touches of orange on the cake. With big idea boards like this, even if the pictures don’t show anything you absolutely love, they sure help to get your mind churning and help you think creatively about what you want for your wedding.
The thing that’s great about this inspiration board (even though it’s teeny tiny – I know!) is the romantic touch. I love the very feminine and detailed touches. I want my own bridal presentation (hair, dress, makeup, flowers, etc) to be very romantic in this same way – lacy, soft, timeless, and stunning.
Here is some of what has inspired me as I’ve planned the details of my own wedding. What sort of things have inspired you?
Today we have some absolutely stunning pictures to show you! This is Steph, who is a NEW MOM!! She looks so awesome, you would never even guess she had a kid with a body like that! We had such a great time getting this mommy all dolled up for a birthday gift for her husband, which we just know he’s going to love!
Mani Mela provided hair and makeup artistry for this shoot, and the ever-wonderful Laura Ivanova captured these magnificent photos you see here! Enjoy!
Here is a sneak peek of a gorgeous photo shoot which Mani Mela provided hair and makeup artistry, decor, and florals for. Stay tuned for more fabulous pictures and all the details coming soon!
These amazing pictures were captured by the wonderful Duke Seigars of Captured Moments by Duke. Big thanks – we can’t wait to share even more of your beautiful photos soon!
manimelablog 