The English Dept. gets its picture taken.

Photographer Leah Verwey takes bewitching photos of creative work spaces around Portland for her beautiful site, Spacepdx. I have had a crush on Spacepdx for quite a while, and the universe must have heard my secret plea, because Leah and her camera came to visit us recently. For a glimpse into our daily workings, go here.

Wine country wedding, East coast style.

Jamie wore my one of a kind gown, "Sakura," and one of my ruffle shrugs to her wedding at a winery in New Jersey. Great photos by Alyssa Andrew.

Thank you, San Francisco.

Thank you to everyone who came out for our SF trunk show last weekend! It was such a pleasure to meet all you cool ladies, and see you jump into some dresses. To stay up to date on events and find out where I'll be next, join The English Dept. mailing list.

Giselle in Manchester.

Love these shots of Mel's wedding in Manchester, England, as seen on Annabel's blog. Photos by Lillian and Leonard.

IVOIRE Range - Long Sleeve Tule Satin Gown With Corded Lace

IVOIRE Range - Long Sleeve Organza Gown with Silver Thread Lace

Real Weddings 2010 :: Laura & Jay 07.17.10

We recently went through our 2010 wedding photo albums, and realized we never shared the wedding of Laura & Jay! Nick, the couple's wedding photographer, was kind enough to send a few photos of their wedding over to us. This wedding is definitely too cute not to share! Laura & Jay are such a fun loving couple, and their wedding certainly reflected that. Laura chose purple and lime green for their wedding colors - a perfect combination for their summer time nuptials.

The day started off with on-location hair and makeup for Laura and her bridesmaids by the fabulous ladies of Pretty Hair Salon. Following hair/makeup, the ladies departed for the ceremony via their transportation for the day - an adorable vintage trolley from Lenzner Coach Lines. Their ceremony took place at Laura's family church, the beautiful St. John and Paul Catholic Church in Wexford. Following their "I Do's", Laura & Jay made their grand exit as the new Mr. and Mrs. with a bubble release outside of the church. Luckily, the weather was absolutely perfect on July 17th, and the bubble release made for some great photos!

After a few fun photos in the park, they made their way over to the reception, Twelve Oaks Mansion in Mars. Let me just say that Twelve Oaks is one of my favorite venues to work at in all of Pittsburgh. The mansion sits on top of a beautiful country hillside and evokes the charm of a real Southern mansion (an added bonus for Laura & Jay since the couple now resides in Atlanta, GA). Their reception was filled with many sweet touches that Laura had worked on for quite some time. One of my favorite elements of the entire day was the effort Laura had made to make the little guests feel welcomed. Laura is a kindergarten teacher back in GA, and knows just how important it is to keep the little guests happy (and busy). She put together this kid-friendly activity station, which was a HUGE hit with the under 5 crowd! On top of the kid-friendly activities, Laura & Jay also made a donation to Adopt A Classroom in lieu of guest favors (see photo above). 

We thoroughly enjoyed getting to know this couple, as well as their families. It was truly a special day for us, and we couldn't be more happier for this sweet couple. We wish Laura & Jay all the best in the years to come!

The Wedding Team

Wedding Planner Simply Perfect Weddings
Ceremony Venue St. John and Paul Catholic Church
Reception Venue Twelve Oaks Mansion
Catering/Cake Twelve Oaks Mansion
Photographer Photos by Nick
Videographer Fineline Weddings
Florist Carrie Anne Powell Floral Designs
Hair/Makeup Pretty Hair Salon
Transportation Lenzner Coach Lines

All photos courtesy of Photos by Nick.

Crispin

Crispin

Dian

Dian (back side)

Dian
(long strap pictured. shorter strap is available)

Dian

Dian (back side)

Dian
(long strap pictured. shorter strap is available)

Etsy Find :: Custom Illustrated Save the Dates

One of our 2012 brides recently sent this Etsy find to us, since she is considering using these for her save-the-dates. Umm, one word...ADORABLE! We won't say who sent this to us quite yet, since she hasn't even sent them out, but we just had to share this fun idea! I see a lot of different styles of save-the-dates, but these I have yet to see. I love that it's a custom drawing of the bride & groom AND you can even include your pet(s) for free!

Check out the Etsy listing for more details.

Cookies, Cookies, & More Cookies!

We see a lot of cookie tables here in Pittsburgh, but this one in particular is just too cute not to share. This is the cookie table we set up for Brienne & Adam's wedding last October. Caryn Azure, the couple's fab wedding photographer, just sent these photos over to me so I could share with all of you. We love all of the charming details this cookie table had - the doilies, the polka dot 'take out' bags, ribbons on the cookie stands, window decor, the 'Love Is Sweet' banner...basically we just love all of it! It's pretty clear to see why their guests just couldn't get enough of this cookie table. Kudos to Brienne and her family for spending countless hours baking these yummy treats!

Photos courtesy of Caryn Azure Photography.

Tin Can Flower Vases

I'm really loving the tin can look right now. Super fun and never boring, this look is perfect for the bride looking for a fun eco-friendly DIY project. If you like this look but it doesn't quite fit the theme of your wedding, then give these a try for your bridal shower or next dinner party! Bonus points for recycling too! ; ) 

Photo credit # 1 :: Flourish Studio Photography via Ruffled Blog

Photo credit # 2 :: Style Me Pretty via Re-nest.com 

Photo credit # 3 ::  Bleubird Vintage Blog