Wedding Giveaway | Colin Cowie Wants To Plan Your Wedding!

Guess what ladies?! Colin Cowie wants to plan your wedding! Four couples have a chance to win a dream wedding! How exciting? See below for more information...what are you waiting for?! Enter today for a chance to win this amazing opportunity!

Enjoy!

NYC Event Designer Colin Cowie | A Sneak Peek Inside His New Website

Last week, Lela New York had the privilege to receive a sneak peek of Colin Cowie's new website at an unveiling event. Now you will be able to find inspiration, save it and share ideas with select friends and family by the internet, or via apps on your phone! Below are a few preview pictures of what is to come, along with a few pictures from the event. Enjoy!!

Top (from left to right):Caitlin Osborne from PageDaily.com, Troy Curtis from Premiere Talent Entertainment, Lela from Lela New York Below (left):Colin Cowie

xo

Did You Miss It? | Weekend Recap

My 1 Year Wedding Anniversary! I'm finally sharing some wedding photos | My Real New York Wedding Part 1

I just finished celebrating my 1 year anniversary this weekend...

Read more...

My Wedding Pictures! | Part 2 | A NY Beach Real Wedding at Allegria Hotel

Today I'm sharing my beach wedding reception...


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How to be a Stress-Free Bride | Plus Your Free Printable Wedding Day Timeline

Wedding day jitters can easily start well before the actual day...

Read more...


Have a great weekend!!

How to be a Stress-Free Bride | Plus Your Free Printable Wedding Day Timeline

Wedding day jitters can easily start well before the actual day.  We have put together five easy steps to help calm your nerves and help you prepare for the day you say "I do"! Being prepared days before your big day will help you stay relaxed and allow you to enjoy each moment of your wedding.

And lastly have a timeline. Keeping to a timeline will help you keep in schedule but also helps with your nerves. Below find a sample of your wedding Timeline. Download your free printable version here. Feel free to change the times to suite your wedding day. And lastly, have FUN!

Details:
Silk Robe via Julianna Rae
Aromatherapy Candles via 100 Candles
Eye Masks via Victoria's Secret
Beauty Care via Pangea Organics
Photos via:
 Wedding Blog
Catherine Leonard
Christopher Duggan
Brian Crain

Enjoy!

Real New York Wedding Inspiration | NY Spring Wedding at the Metropolitan Building | Blue Floral Inspiration

Loving this amazingly chic New York spring wedding at the Metropolitan Building. I think I'm falling in love with blue again! The robins bird blue flowers mixed with deep richer blue flowers look so fresh and spring like with the contrast white and pink. What do you guys think? What colors have you chosen so far? I know purple is huge right now as well as the classic creams and whites. But how about a pop of color?

Details:
Photography by: Weddings By Two
Wedding Flower design by Emily Thompson

xo

A Real New York Wedding - Told by the Bride - Great New York Wedding Inspiration

I love when brides share their wedding with us! It's such an intimate and special time and I feel super grateful they want to share this time with us and you.

Lara wrote in to share her wedding to Christopher.
Here is their story of their big day from the words of Lara.

Chris and I met through a mutual friend in the fall of 2006.  We knew just a few months into dating that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together.  Chris proposed in May of 2009 and I was beyond excited I was going to be his wife!  He chose a beautiful round brilliant stone set in a micro-pave band that was exactly my style - simple and elegant!  It was actually the ring that became the inspiration for our wedding planning.

It was important for us and our families to be married in a church.  We found The Church of Saint Aidan and I immediately fell in love with the beautiful 80-foot-long black and white tiled aisle and the very dramatic altar.

When it came time to start searching for a reception location I knew I wanted something on the more intimate and romantic side.  I kept thinking "simple and elegant" like my ring.  As soon as I stepped inside the Royalton Mansion I fell in love.  The mansion, a colonial built in the 1920s, is tucked away in a quiet residential neighborhood in Roslyn Heights, NY and was restored a few years ago.  It is quite modest on the outside until you enter through the mahogany doors into the grand foyer of checkered charcoal grey and white marble floors, antique brass chandeliers, and a breathtaking curved mahogany banister.  It was just perfect!  What I loved even more than the entryway was the grand ballroom decorated with gorgeous crystal chandeliers and sconces and etched white marble fireplaces.  The room was so clean and bright with its creamy white walls and pillars, yet so cozy and romantic, that I loved the idea of working with a blank palette.

Since we were being married Labor Day weekend, I felt like I was kind of stuck in between two seasons when choosing a color scheme:  summer and fall.  I decided to go with a deep purple being the main color (reminding me of fall) with touches of bright green, white, and ivory to lighten things up a bit..  My bridesmaids wore long chiffon gowns in aubergine and carried green hydrangeas, green dendrobium orchids, white stock, and purple lisianthus flowers.  I was happy with the overall look and thought the flowers really brightened up and complimented the deep purple gowns well.  We decided on black tuxes for the guys and wanted to keep the purple theme going for them as well.  I was afraid that the deep purple would be too dark against the black tuxes and might go unnoticed so we chose a deep purple and lavender striped tie for them.

When it came to my gown I was all over the place: first I wanted all lace, then I thought I wanted satin, then I wanted a rouched bodice, then I reverted back to lace loving styles with lace detailing.  In the end, and the 10th dress I tried on at Kleinfeld, I decided on an all lace gown.  I honestly never would have picked my gown off the rack.  My bridal gown consultant chose it for me and when I looked at it on the hanger I almost didn’t want to try it on.  I told myself ahead of time I was going to be really open-minded so I went for it.  As soon as I put it on I knew it was meant for my body-type and felt so elegant and beautiful.  I loved the mermaid style and the gorgeous alencon lace and the low back.  The only thing that threw me off was that it came with this thin satin ribbon around the waist that just did not look right.  I knew I needed something bolder than that to accentuate my waist so after purchasing my gown I started looking into beaded belts.  The prices were ridiculous (in my opinion) for something that looked so easy to make so I decided to try it out!  I went into the garment district in Manhattan and purchased beaded appliqué and champagne satin ribbon.  I used fabric glue that the salesperson at the trimming store recommended and recruited my mom to help me out, gluing on the appliqué and sewing on little clasps to secure the belt around my waist.  It was a success and I loved how the vintage looking beaded appliqué really complimented the alencon lace of my dress.

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to keep the grand ballroom of the Royalton bright and clean looking for our wedding reception.  We chose ivory damask linens and white flowers for our centerpieces.  I wanted the centerpieces to look airy and flowing so we decided on white hydrangea and white dendrobium orchids.  I added just a tiny pop of color to the tables with the menus in ivory paper stock and purple print, with a lovely purple hydrangea as the design.  We decorated the fireplaces in the ballroom with old family photos, some even dating back to the 1920s, complimented by white rose petals and loose greens.

We are both huge foodies so choosing our menu was really important to us and the quality of food was a huge factor in choosing our venue location.  We wanted a more sophisticated menu with a wide range of choices similar to what you could find in a Manhattan restaurant.  We chose a pan-seared Chilean Sea Bass accompanied by lobster risotto, filet mignon accompanied by truffle oil red bliss mashed potatoes, French cut chicken breast stuffed with spinach, sundried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese, and ricotta spinach gnocchi in a sage butter sauce for our dinner entrée options.  We knew we were going to have a Venetian desert hour, with a wide array of deserts for our guests to choose from, so we decided that the flavors of our cake should be light and refreshing.  We chose a white cake with butter cream frosting and blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries.  It was delish!

The entire day and evening celebration was just a dream come true for Chris and me.  It was filled with love and romance and everything was just as beautiful as we ever could have imagined.  The celebration was such a blast and our incredible band, Code Bleu, kept us, our families and guests on the dance floor the entire night.  Like everyone tells you (although you never truly believe it until the day of) your wedding day goes by all too quickly.  We both felt like we blinked and it was all over.  Luckily, our wonderful and very talented photographers at Duet Photography and Video captured every moment so beautifully and with such style.  I was floored at the artistry of the photographs and the emotions captured in each picture.  I hope you enjoy them as well!

Wedding Details:

Bride: Lara Speranza Watro

Groom:  Christopher Watro

Wedding Date: September 3, 2010

Photography: Duet Photography & Video-Huntington, NY

Flowers: Spitz & Peck Florist- Cedarhurst, NY

Ceremony Location: Church of Saint Aidan - Williston Park, NY

Reception Location: The Royalton Mansion - Roslyn Heigts, NY

Dress: Tara Keely by Lazaro

Thanks for Sharing Lara!

xo

Congratulations to all the newly engaged couples! - Wedding Planning books to help you get started

Hello Newly engaged couples! It is engagement season too, and most pop the question during the holiday season starting from Thanksgiving to the New Year.

To help you get started I picked my favorite wedding planner books and binders, including mine :)
It's the first step that will really help you get organized.

The first one is The Ultimate Wedding Planner & Organizer by Elizabeth Lluch, and Alex Lluch.
This is the one I just finished using myself ;) I found it really helpful, filled with etiquette, folders (very important to hold all your info) and the book is separated into sections that includes you stationery, ceremony, reception, photographer, etc. It's a great way to keep all your contracts in order. And it helps you with timelines and also the most important "day of" timeline". Plus you can add a pretty picture in the front of the cover, super cute!

The next favorite is the ever popular Martha Stewart's Keepsake Wedding Planner [Book] by Martha Stewart. It's a real staple and is overflowing with useful features to help you plan and organize the perfect wedding—in addition, you can preserve those memories for a lifetime.

If you are planning most of your wedding online and want to keep with you the ultimate wedding site to go get The Knot Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World: The Ultimate Source of Ideas, Advice, and Relief for the Bride and Groom and Those Who Love Them. It has all their famous wedding timelines in this essential wedding planner book.

Now for those offbeat brides who want their wedding "their way" I'm talking to you riding in a harley into their wedding or want their wedding to be super unique and most importantly to reflect them. Then go for The Anti-Bride Wedding Planner: Hip Tools and Tips for Getting Hitched by Carolyn Gerin. Tie the knot outside the box armed with this companion volume to the wildly popular Anti-Bride Guide. Featuring sassy and savvy ideas, useful questionnaires, handy pockets, and space for notes and doodles, the Anti-Bride Wedding Planner provides creative inspiration for brides-to-be who want to kick the conventional wedding to the curb.

This is the first step to planning ladies! Now go have fun and send this link to your bridesmaids, mom or others to buy it for you! LOL!

xo