Black and White-The Encore Bride Way

Black and White seems so formal, so elegant...so, "grown up". Zac Posen's Resort 2010 black and white gown and blazer would be perfect for the encore bride, it is elegant with the blazer but can be very sexy without it. I put together an inspiration board with some of my favorite elements: handmade items with a modern twist. Enjoy!

Credits: Dress: Zac Posen

Left Row: Clutch, Flowers and Shoes

Right Row: Earrings, Rings and Bracelet

The Encore Bride Style File-Purple/Lavender

With the Fall 2009 Ready To Wear collections already presented I decided to search for beautiful gowns that can be perfect for the encore bride. I found a few and I decided to put together a board based on Elie Saab's silver draped gown. Silver and lavender would look very sophisticated on an evening garden event. Would you consider wearing a "non-bridal" gown for your wedding?

Credits: 1st Row: L- Fair Child Designs; R-IMH Designs

2nd Row: L-Elie Saab; R-DingbatPress

3rd Row: L-Fay Cullen; Middle- Kate Spade via Nordstrom; R-Brides.com

Michael Jackson-A True Legend!

This is one of the favorite songs from him, we had to learn and sing this as our final exam for our sixth grade English class in Puerto Rico.

Thank you for sharing your talent with us, you will not be forgotten!

The Encore's Trip To The Biltmore House Part II

As promised, here are more pictures of the estate, we took pictures of the grand dinning room which had a triple fireplace (they were huge, at least 10 feet tall!) along with a detailed carving on the mantel. The estate also produced their own wine and we were able to take a few pictures of the winery. If you are ever in North Carolina you should take a trip to Asheville and the Biltmore house, it will be worth it.

Isn't it beautiful?

The Encore's Trip To The Biltmore House

I took Mr. Encore to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC yesterday. It was a surprise, he didn't know where we where going until we pulled up to the gates. I was nervous, but ultimately, he claimed he had one of the best Father's Day ever, yay! We arrived around eleven in the morning and there was a nice long line to tour the house. We decided instead to walk the gardens while it was cooler and tour the house later that afternoon. The gardens were so beautiful! Unfortunately we could not take pictures of the inside of the house (although we sneaked a few...shhh I will show you those in the second part to this post) we took plenty of the gardens. After touring the gardens and pond we walked back to the house where we walked right up to the entrance as the line had subsided. The house was magnificent, but the gardens were lovely! Here are a few pictures I captured, there was color inspiration everywhere!

Although our morning run was painful from all the walking and traveling we did yesterday, it was a hit! Did you guys do anything special for your encore groom yesterday?

Father's Day Plans For My Encore Groom

I'm a firm believer that we should gift our loved ones with experiences, not stuff. We are getting ready to merge two households and as you can imagine we have plenty of STUFF. I have been brainstorming for a while now on what to do for Mr. Encore. Since he had to work today I figure that it would have to be limited to one day. After much thought I came up with the perfect (how presumptuous of me) trip for the day, a visit to the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC. The place is huge, in fact is the largest home in America. This is a brief description from their site:

"Be inspired by the relaxed elegance of George and Edith Vanderbilt's 250-room family home and country retreat in Asheville, NC. Discover original art from masters such as Renoir, magnificent 16th-century tapestries, Napoleon's chess set, a library with 10,000 volumes, a Banquet Hall with a 70-foot ceiling, 65 fireplaces, an indoor pool, bowling alley, and priceless antiques. Opened to friends on Christmas Eve 1895, this French Renaissance chateáu remains America's largest privately owned home."

Source: The Biltmore House

I have seen a few weddings celebrated there and they are beautiful, check out this intimate wedding that took place at the Biltmore and was featured by Style Me Pretty.

Here's another beautiful wedding at the Biltmore featured by Southern weddings-Southern weddings Magazine

Are you doing anything special for your Encore Groom?

What a beauty!

I have been a wedding enthusiast for a while and I read many more blogs than I would admit. As I did my morning reading I came across THE CAKE...ohhh my, it just spoke to me! This is it ladies, if I was to pick a cake today, this would be it. It's so elegant, feminine, modern and beautiful...OK I will stop drooling over it. It is by Pink Cake Box in NJ, they are so talented and look at those roses!

Credit: Pink Cake Box Blog

Chic Loft Wedding

Today I wanted to share and inspiration board I did some time ago, I don't have all the credits for the pictures but please let me know if you recognize any of them. I thought this would be lovely for a "chic-garden" wedding. What do you think?

Resort 2010-Trends and Ideas

As you may know designers have just presented their Resort 2010 collection recently. There were plenty of shorts and casual clothing ideal for a honeymoon but there were a few gowns we could get inspiration from as we go gown shopping. Most of the time we the "average" person won't wear what the designers show on the runway but we can take inspiration from some of the trends presented and we can translate it to our everyday style. Here are a few gowns I thought would work well for an Encore bride planning a destination wedding.

My favorites:

From Left to Right: Oscar de la Renta; Carolina Herrera; Chanel and Monique Lhuillier all via Elle.com

How did I get here? Part II

I am going to go a little further back from where I left off last time. In 2005 I left active duty to pursue my passion for Fashion Design, I moved to Florida and attended art school there. It was an amazing experience! I believe that due to my past military planning experience I was chosen by the fashion department to serve as a production assistant to the many fashion shows held in the area. I never thought Miami had such a busy fashion scene. I had very interesting and eye opening experiences while I worked shows such as: Chanel, Jim Hjelm, René Cruz (a very successful Miami based designer), Miami Fashion Week and while I interned at a nationally known evening/bridal wear designer. 

I was surprised at the fact that there were bridal gowns produced right there in the back and sold across the US. I was proud to belong and learn from such an organization. It was a small operation, lead by the designer and business manager, 3 people in the office to inspect production, order supplies and materials, and take care of the financial stuff. There were about 20 people in the back; developing patterns, cutting fabrics, sewing dresses and putting in the final touches by hand. It was very cool to see the orders come in and then ship the dresses a few days later (maybe not the same dress from that order but a dress that was built in a few days). 

I will share what I learned about selecting and ordering “the dress” next time...stay tuned!

Hint:

Can you guess who the designer is?

Headed to San Fran...

I made this board some time ago with San Francisco on my mind. Their City Hall is one of the most beautiful I've seen and their marriage requirements are very easy: You can get your license within 30 minutes after your appointment without blood tests and a fee of $93.00. Not too bad. I have never been to San Francisco and an elopement would be a great excuse!

Credits: Please let me know if you recognize any of the photos

How did I get here? Part I

My "starter" marriage happened when I was very young: 21 years old (too young for me anyway). I was divorced by age 23. I don't regret it; I think I did most of my growing up during that time. I was serving my country far away from home, he was also serving 2,000 miles away from me during our first year of marriage. It was a challenge and ultimately we realized that it could not work. 

For the last 8 years, I've been enjoying life while still in the military, traveling and dating...Dating is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. Dating is like riding a roller coaster after you eat your favorite lunch. You are looking forward to it but you know there is a high possibility that it will not end well. I dated for 8 years and I can confirm that they were truly up and down. In fact, last year I truly started thinking that I was getting so used to living the single life I thought it would be nearly impossible to ever live with anyone again.

Well, let's just say that just when you think it's not going to happen...it does....more to follow.

Found via: Le Love

How Personal is Too Personal?

As I'm trying to get my rhythm going with Encore Bride The Blog I'm debating if I should share more personal details and how I became an "Encore" bride. Besides writing this blog I have many interests, I love fashion design and would love to launch a children's clothing line one day (OK, no, soon!) I've fallen in love with the most charming and caring man in the world after being divorced for 8 years and pretty much giving up on real love (I didn't think it existed). Oh, I LOVE crafts and beading and I would love to share some of my projects. 

Us enjoying a beautiful countryside ride

I would also like to feature more stylish  encore weddings and issues pertaining to blending families, etc. My question to you dear reader is; How much is to much? What would you like to read about here? All feedback welcomed, thanks!

Check Out This Encore Wedding

Hurry! Please click over to the Southern Weddings Magazine Blog. They featured a beautiful encore wedding that truly reflected their style. I love it!

http://www.swsmag.net/blog/2009/6/1/real-texas-wedding-leigh-kelly.html