Royal Wedding Countdown: Congratulations Will and Kate!

Congratulations to Will and Kate!

I'm pre-posting my wishes to the couple since I'm out there in the London crowd right now...did you find me on tv (it's like the incredibly hard, live version of Where's Waldo!)?

I hope you all are having a wonderful time celebrating.

It's a holiday in London, and they are letting the pubs stay open later, so I'm sure it will be an amazing night for everyone!

Crystal, Caberet and Candles - A Real Wedding at the Four Seasons Denver

I'm in London right now, but I wanted to share this great image by Jason+Gina from Stephanie and Chris' wedding at the Four Seasons in Downtown Denver.

This was a great reveal....initially the curtains were closed and the dance side was blacked out until the DJ made the announcement for the first dance. Then the lights on the back walls were slowly raised to make the couple visible in silhouette through the curtain, the lights came up on them and they started to dance...and then the curtains were pulled back.  It was a magical, goose bump moment!

 

Royal Wedding: Americans Invade London

Check us out here on Good Morning America!

Royal Wedding Countdown (4 days): I'm headed to London!

The BIG Countdown!

My bags are packed and I'm headed to London! 4 days until the BIG Day!

I've got the plan, the hat, and I'm ready to go!  

It's amazing how 1 couple can have such an amazing impact on the world.

I hope you have a plan to celebrate with them....are you having your own party with a spot of tea perhaps, a bow ties and tiara party?  Are you getting up early to watch?

I can't believe everything that is out there that is royal wedding themed.

I did have to partake in some Bath and Body Works Liplicious "If the Tiara Fits"...they have a whole line of anti bac and lip glosses just for the Royal Wedding. 

Well, I've got a plane to catch!
As soon as we land we are rushing to Westminster Abbey before they close for the rest of the week. Wish us luck!
Have a great week and enjoy. 

I'd love to hear about your plans, so let me know how you joined in the celebration?

Royal Wedding Countdown (5 days): Tweet the Royal Wedding

The BIG Countdown!

1 day until I leave for London, and 5 days until the big day!

Oh how I love twitter! You know that I'll be tweeting during the Royal Wedding...www.twitter.com/ccjulie

BUT  according to The Telegraph here are the Top 20 Best Royal  Wedding Tweeters 

I'm re-listing a few:

1. Royal Wedding - The account dedicated to the most anticipated wedding in decades will be tweeting regular updates with links to relevant news stories.

2. The British Monarchy -The official British Monarchy Twitter account is guaranteed to bring you all the latest news on the royal wedding.

3. Clarence House - The person running the account will be tweeting updates and exclusive pictures of members of the Clarence House household throughout the day, including groom-to-be, Prince William.

4. BBC Royal Wedding-This is the official royal wedding Twitter channel from the BBC, which also interestingly features regular links to blog posts published on the BBC America website for a different perspective.

Of course there are hashtags too: #royalwedding and #rw2011

Royal Wedding Countdown (6 days): Let Them Eat Cake!

The BIG Countdown!

2 days until I leave for London, 6 days until the Royal Wedding!

Fit for a king...

A celebration following the ceremony will take place at Buckingham palace for about 660 guests.

That's going to be quite a cake!

The cake designer will be Fiona Cairns and McVities' Cake

So it's going to be a traditional fruitcake for the wedding cake, and it sounds like Prince William will have one of his favorites ...a chocolate biscuit cake. I'm not sure what that is, but again, with plenty of time to discuss it while I camp out, I'm sure I'll find out!

Here's a link to hear more about the wedding cake from Fiona Cairns.

Royal Wedding: Did you see me on the news?

This morning I was on Channel 9 News talking about my upcoming trip to London for the Royal Wedding!
Check it out here.  I'll be talking with them next week too...so keep an eye out! Be sure to follow me on twitter for the latest updates, www.twitter.com/ccjulie

Royal Wedding Countdown (7 days): The Language of Flowers

The BIG Countdown!

3 days until I leave for London, 7 days until the Big Day!

Much like the dress designer, the florist is also a big secret!

We've seen on the royal website that Kate is following the Language of Flowers in selecting flowers for the wedding cake....so I would like to think she is probably doing the same for her personal flowers.

The Language of Flowers is from Victorian times, and is a way to express your emotions in a coded way when you gave someone a lovely bouquet.

Apparently the couple has chosen the following flowers for their cake:

Lily of the Valley

Bridal Rose- for happiness

Oak and Acorn - strength and endurance

Lily of the Valley - Sweetness and Humility

Plus the 4 National flowers:

Shamrock for Ireland

Thistle for Scotland

English Rose

Daffodil

For Kate's bouquet, I could imagine a beautiful white bouquet with lily of the valley, a variety of English Roses, and gardenias to make a lovely English garden bouquet that smells amazing!

I'm thinking that Simon Lycett (who did Prince Charles and Camille's flowers will have a part to play), but, it's really anyone's guess!

Royal Wedding Countdown: Watch for ME on the News!

Look for me Friday morning on Channel 9 News...around 8:40 am (approximately).

I'll be talking all about my upcoming trip to London for the Royal Wedding, what we might see, and what trends will be coming after the Big Day!

Also more exciting coverage of our trip on a national level!!! Will share when I can.

Royal Wedding Countdown (8 days): The Cinderella Moment

The BIG Countdown!

4 days until I go to London, 8 days until the BIG day!

What's your fairytale wedding moment?
When I think of fairytale weddings, I think of Cinderella in that glass pumpkin!  I may have to go to Disney and get my hubby to renew our vows just so I can ride in that glass carriage....some of us just love that princess moment.

Going to the chapel will be a little less regal for Kate.  Since she's still a commoner at this point, she's saving that princess carriage for after the ceremony. The procession to the church will  be in the State Car collection which includes two Bentleys, three Rolls-Royces and three Daimlers.

For their return to Buckingham Palace they will take one of the following:
The 1902 State Landau

or in case of bad weather, the Glass Coach (which apparently many are hoping they will take anyways, hmm I still vote for the open top!)

Which one do you think makes a better fairytale moment?

Royal Wedding Countdown (9 days): The Party in the Streets

The BIG Countdown!

5 days until I leave for London, 9 days to the Big Day!

It's going to be a party in the streets...

As a planner, I like to have a plan!   So, right now I plan to head out to the procession route on Thursday after dinner....I can't find anything that says people will be camping out or not...but just look at the number of people in the streets from Lady Di's wedding. Can you imagine all that traffic heading in to town the morning of the wedding?  Hmm, worried maybe I need to head out sooner?

I've picked a spot along the procession route, and once the carriages go by I'll head over to where they will have large screen tv's out to watch the ceremony and then run back to watch the married couple ride by.  That's the plan (if I can squeeze through the crowd!)...we'll see?  

Make sure you follow me on twitter for the live updates!

www.twitter.com/ccjulie

I might have to see if I can make my way to Buckingham Palace to see the couple on the balcony do their first kiss.

Sounds like there will be a flyover Buckingham Palace (from the couples webpage, http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/) . "This will consist of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight‘s Lancaster, a Spitfire and a Hurricane; followed 30 seconds later by two Typhoons and two Tornado GR4s in box formation."

I love flyovers...don't want to miss that! Hmmm...wish I could be in 3 places at once?

Royal Wedding Countdown (10 days): The Music..you can download it!

The BIG Countdown!

6 days until I leave for London, and 10 days to the big day!

Westminster Abbey

The BIG Musical Download.....

Lately I've seen a lot of couples walking down the aisle to more contemporary songs played by string quartets...songs from the Beatles, Coldplay, etc. From the looks of it, I think Kate and Will will be heading for a more traditional route!

For the first time ever a Royal Wedding ceremony will be recorded and released for purchase.

On May 5th, around the world, you will be able to purchase the Official Album of the Wedding.  It will include a collector's booklet that outlines the order of the service, the readings, vows, hymns and blessings, and all the music from the day.

Right now the couple has several musicians confirmed to play for their big day...

The Choir of Westminster Abbey, The Chapel Royal Choir, The London Chamber Orchestra and The Fanfare Team from the Central Band of the Royal Air Force which has composed a new fanfare for their day.

Sounds like the couple will have quite the mix of more traditional music.  Guaranteed that you will see a lot of wedding trends come from this wedding, and I wonder if it will lead to brides walking down the aisle to more traditional songs? What do you think?

Royal Wedding Countdown (11 days): I Just Need a Good Hat?

The BIG Countdown!

7 days until I leave for London and 11 days and counting until the Royal Wedding.

Fascinators and Feathers.....
Now I'm not sure what the story is about the whole feathery, headdress fashion you see at special events in London?

I absolutely will be inquiring about this tradition during the many hours I will have to make small talk while camping out to get the best seats possible along the processional route for the Royal Wedding.  Such amazing hats, and fascinators (the comb or headband with sparkles and feathers on them) are available.

I don't know where the tradition came from, but I like it! I say more heads full of plumes and sparkles at American weddings!

Check out a few of these Kate has been spotted in....

Now, I'm off to go find my own hat for the Royal Wedding...I'm thinking colorful and big so you can spot me in the crowd! BUT where to find such a fanciful hat in Denver?????

Royal Wedding Countdown (12 days): Hysterical Royal Wedding Processional Spoof

The BIG Countdown!

8 days until I leave, and 12 days until the BIG day

T-Mobile is celebrating the Royal Wedding with a hysterical spoof of the processional...love Prince William's big entry!

Royal Wedding Countdown (13 days): Sign the Royal Wedding Guestbook!

The BIG Countdown!

9 days until I leave and 13 days until the BIG day! 

Have you signed ABC's Royal Wedding Guestbook?

Click Here

Heart-warming to just read the entries.

It's just incredible how this one couple has affected so many.  I know I'm thrilled, and obviously can't wait to jump on the plane, party on the streets, gather all the memorabilia...and watch a fairytale wedding!

Royal Wedding Countdown (14 days): Fun Facts of Past Royal Weddings

With so much attention focused on England and 1 specific couple, I thought it would be fun to take a glimpse at a few of England's other royal weddings, with a few interesting facts about each. England knows how to do pomp and circumstance...and I can't wait to see what the newest royal couple will add to the wedding trends for the next year!

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip- Nov. 20, 1947 (married at Westminster Abbey)
Opulent for the time, her train was 15 feet long; her veil was held in place by her grandmother's tiara.

They used Prince Phillips ceremonial sword to cut the 9 foot tall wedding cake.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer- July 29, 1981 - St. Paul's Cathedral

Probably the most well known royal wedding... until 11 days from now.

Much like the upcoming wedding, Lady Diana's dress was a well kept secret. The designer's for Di's dress would put decoy scraps of fabric in the trash; it was put in a safe at the end of each day and guarded by 2 guards; and the designer's even created a replica dress in case the original idea was leaked out.

Diana's train was 25 feet long, and the veil had 100 yards of netting that was fastened to a Spencer family tiara.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson- July 23, 1986 - Westminster Abbey

The bride had  an A -- for "Andrew" -- monogrammed on the bottom of her 17-foot train, in addition to her personal coat of arms, a bumble bee, an anchor (in honor of her husband's naval affiliation) and a rose embroidered on the train.

There is much speculation about if Kate will follow the same tradition for her veil as Sarah.  Since Sarah walk in to the church as a commoner and transitioned to royalty during the service, she covered the tiara with a crown of gardenias, and removed them to show the jeweled tiara after the service.

Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles - April 2005, a civil service at Windsor Hall followed by a celebration with 800 guests at St. George's Chapel

Her bouquet, in keeping with royal tradition, contained yellow, white and blue primroses and lilies-of-the-valley from the Queen Victoria gardens at Highgrove.

Royal Wedding Countdown: 15 days and counting!

I AM IN LOVE with this engagement pic!

So these two are pretty comfy in front of the camera, with all the paparazzi and craziness that surrounds them I guess they have to be.  Of all the pictures of them from their engagement I just think that this one is the most natural, and probably reflects who they are best. I think it's adorable!

  How about you...are you doing an engagement session? You probably don't have paparazzi following you, so it's a great way for you to get to know the photographer and get used to being in front of the camera.

THE BIG COUNTDOWN...15 more days!

So we are entering our big countdown to the Royal Wedding. I leave for London in 11 days and have been busy scoping out where I'm going to camp out to watch the processional as well as watch on the big screen in Trafalgar Square with a few thousand of my closest friends! It's going to be be an amazing experience!

Like most engaged couples Kate and Will have a wedding website (how about you?).

You can read more great info about Will and Kate's amazing day at:

http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

Be sure to look for me in the crowds as you watch the royal wedding!

Fit for a Princess ...a Royal Wedding Table Design

Did I mention I'm going to London for the Royal Wedding...did I mention that the wedding is in 17 days....can I say I'm just a tad excited for this!

The announcement of a Royal Wedding really created quite a stir....and as it gets closer the frenzy seems to grow.

Since I'm so excited, many things in my life seem to take a royal wedding twist.  We recently did a bridal show and our theme for our table design was of course "A Royal Wedding".  We aren't all royalty, but we can be a princess for a day, so we designed a table of that was soft, romantic, and elegant, with a twist of fun for the cake.

Thank you to JS Design Custom for gorgeous menus, to Mulberries for amazing flowers, they smelled sooo good...wish this screen was scratch and sniff..or better yet Wonka Vision so you could reach in and grab one of the amazing cupcakes by Lovely Confections.

 

 

 Thank you Jared Wilson Photography and Mansurovs Photography

Vintage Garden Party Table at Studio Wed

We set up an adorable table as a window display at Studio Wed in Denver. I am just SO ready for Spring to be here, and Summer can follow really quickly! So we designed this table to have a little bit of that vintage touch that is so popular right now, but I had to add a little bit of garden touches to it.

I love how it turned out, it's very sweet....what do you think?

 

Mr. and Mrs Place Cards. We made these with a little vintage looking scrapbook paper and sticker letters.

 

We used the same vintage paper and did butterfly cutouts, then placed them in our centerpieces. Look carefully and you'll see one on the yellow flower.

 

We used an eclectic mix of items for our centerpiece: an apothecary jar with some vines, blossoms and more butterfly cut outs; a book with a floral filled tea cup; mercury glass votives and pillar holder, 

and a little figurine bird.

A little antique key with the word "joy" on it adds a great decorative touch to the napkin.

I'm ready for all those beautiful vintage garden weddings, now we just need mother nature to cooperate!