Ralph Lauren Equestrian Inspired...Styled Bridal Photo Shoot by Ira & Lucy

It's finally time! Many of you have been so kind emailing us craving more pictures from our Ralph Lauren Equestrian Inspired Styled Bridal Shoot. This shoot is very near and dear to my heart! Long before Ira & Lucy even came about, I had dreamed of a fairytale photo shoot featuring a beautiful horse with elements of high fashion and rustic elegance. It took many hours of careful preparation and pulling together a dream team to make this happen! Why Ralph Lauren you ask? I am very drawn to the iconic design Ralph Lauren has become greatly admired for. His blend of rustic accents with refined elegance is breath-taking. I love his focus on different textures and patterns. His attention to detail, beauty and the uniqueness of design. Check out this film featuring Ralph Lauren.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6lkr8horU0&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLhAQN8jdR-MNvqfdmgPLtsSeFBMlfEmQ8

Ralph Lauren, Equestrian Inspired Styled Shoot

A BIG THANK YOU TO THE CREATIVES AND PROFESSIONALS THAT HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

Stephanie Mballo Photography // Cassandra Hayes // FlowersAtWill // Behrens Artistry // Heartfelt Bridal // 3K Ranch // Paperie and Pen // Rocky Mountain Barn Board and Beam // Judy Scheel

The tablescape featured a custom handcrafted reclaimed barn wood farm table by Jacob, owner of Rocky Mountain Barn Board and Beam. He is our go-to man for the stunning farm tables we carry in our rental inventory! These beauties rent out quite a bit and we encourage you to contact us sooner than later for your special event. I custom designed the table runner and with tones of browns and creams that pulled in the color of the wood, chargers and horse stalls. I also loved that the fabric had roses on it. I played with different textures, woven chargers, china, brass, crystal stemware and milk glass. Will, with Flowers At Will, put together this classic and elegant hydrangea centerpiece focusing on adding height and playing off the amber and brown hues. Instead of placing one lamp as the centerpiece, I opted for two Ralph Lauren Designer lamps on either side of the larger floral design. Imagine at a real wedding, these could be lit for beautiful lighting! Vintage books, and masculine bookends created a Ralph Lauren masculinity and drama. Paperie and Pen designed a matching invitation suite, place cards and menus for us that were to die for!!!

LeAnn with Heartfelt Bridal was so incredible helping us find the perfect gowns! We were sad we lost the sun at the end of the shoot since we had one more bridal gown ready to go... another shoot perhaps! LeAnn is such a sweetheart and genuinely cares about her customers. Together, with her dresses and veils and the stunning makeup and hair by Lindsey with Behrens Artistry...WOW! GORGEOUS! The three of us worked quite close planning the different hair and makeup looks and how they worked with the two gowns. I found the most perfect equestrian fashion hat, riding gloves, and equestrian inspired belt. She even wore darling bow earrings that matched the cascading bows down the back of the wedding gown. SWOON! What I love about the black lace dress by Jordan Fashions, is that it is considered a "mother of the bride" gown, however you can see that with the right styling it is versatile for many looks!

"Thank you for taking time to view our work! It means the world to me! The creative process is the excitement and passion that we thrive from.We can't wait to talk with you about your dreams and how together, we can make them happen! A HUGE thank you to a great team! Cassie you are such an incredible model! I could use you again and again and again... You are going to go far my dear!"

[button url="http://iraandlucy.com/gallery/"]VIEW INVENTORY USED IN SHOOT HERE[/button]

Stephanie Mballo Photography // Cassandra Hayes // FlowersAtWill // Behrens Artistry // Heartfelt Bridal // 3K Ranch // Paperie and Pen // Rocky Mountain Barn Board and Beam // Cassandra Hayes // Judy Scheel

The Vintage Rental Trend!

While DIY and shabby chic have dominated wedding trends in 2013, the industry is seeing a shift towards elegant, old-world cinematic design style, especially since the release of the Great Gatsby and the huge following of Downton Abbey fans! Elaborate and glamorous table settings, french country inspired lounges and old hollywood bridal portrait sessions are all the craze! These styles often recognized as design for the "upper class" are attainable for every bride's budget now that Vintage Rental Companies give bride's access to all the swoon-worthy details at a fraction of the cost. Event Designers now have access to their dream "prop closets" without having to soak up their client's budget purchasing key decor items.

Tips on finding your Vintage Rentals!

• Discover what YOUR style is! Shabby chic, Old Hollywood Glam, Downton Abbey Refined, French Country Farm to Table, Country Sweet Tea & Romance? Don't get so swept up in a trend or a theme that doesn't represent you.
• Vintage Rental Owners are obsessed with Styled Shoots to offer ideas and concepts for wedding design. Head to Pinterest and start researching!
• Pin ideas and then REPIN ideas onto a new board that is more focused!
• Contact your local Vintage Rental Business and start asking questions and book an appointment! Vintage Rentals companies do book quickly since they are such a speciality niche business.
• If you are feeling overwhelmed at all the eye candy just book the items you know you for sure want! Get them reserved!
• Ask questions! Do they deliver? What if something happens to that dream velvet sofa you reserved, but it got a wine stain the night before at a previous wedding?
• Love the look, but have no idea how to make it all come together!? Make sure your wedding doesn't end up looking like a thrift store. Ask your Vintage Rental business about style and design services! They work with their props all the time and know how to style their props, networking with key vendors!
• Think outside the box! Forget basic table and linen for your head table or cake table! Use an old Singer Sewing Table, a vanity or french dresser. Feature rustic farm tables from reclaimed barns. The ideas are limitless. They will create memories and an incredible experience for you and your guests that will last a lifetime!

 The Stylish Soiree, Tinywater Photography, Soulflower Floral Designs, The Whole Cake,The Glamourist

Stephanie Mballo Photography // Ira & Lucy Vintage Rentals // Behrens Artistry // Heartfelt Bridal

Found Vintage Rentals // Katie Vowels for Annie McElwain

New Inventory! Victorian Royal Blue Lounge Furniture!

Oh my goodness! Check out these beauties! The lines are incredible! The possibilities are limitless! I was so excited I spent some time last night creating this inspiration board! Ohhhh the possibilities!!!! A HUGE thank you to my Dad who is going way out of his way to pick these lovelies up for us! Yes, they are coming from out of state and have over 8 hours of driving to get to us! However, when I saw them I was like O.M.G I  HHHAAAVVEEE to have these! I am super picky about inventory additions. They have to be just right and being a family owned and brand new business every penny counts. These are perfection and I can't wait to get them here! I'm already receiving phone calls and emails about them! So be sure to [button url="http://iraandlucy.com/contact/"]contact us[/button] to reserve for your event, photo shoot, wedding, e-session and more!

One reason I just adore the royal blue color is the sophistication it carries AND when used for Bridal Portraits, just imagine how well the dress will be highlighted! This collection can be styled in countless ways. It can have an Old Hollywood Glam look, Equestrian Ralph Lauren Inspired, Victorian Vintage...soooo many options! Now we just need to figure out what to call these beauties! Any ideas!Royal Blue Velvet Settee

Royal Blue Velvet Sofa - The lines are incredible!

Chalkboard Signs - a popular trend!

I will fully admit I am obsessed with signage! It makes a massive, yes MASSIVE difference in pulling your event design and styling together. I certainly can't and don't handle doing all signage myself. Sometimes our client's needs require the serious paper pros, of which I have some awesome local businesses I turn to for help. Stay tuned for more details on one of my favs - The Paper Crave! I just adore Jennifer and am so excited to share her work with you! Here is one of our chalkboards with a quote from The Secret Garden from one of our June Bride's, Krista's wedding. Her wedding had a subtle Secret Garden theme and I wanted to add this little touch, knowing how much she loved the book growing up. It was one of her favorite details! Photo by Raft Media, Flowers by FlowersAtWill, Still Water Hollow Venue.

 Tonight, while I watched the Seahawks play their final preseason game (GO HAWKS!) I worked on these custom chalkboard style signs for Bride Kristin. While I do work a lot with brides, I also work quite often with mothers of the bride. I just adore Kristin's mom, Charlene who has gone above and beyond wanting to make her daughter's day as special as possible. She even ordered custom macarons from New Orleans for the dessert bar! Her mom is handling all the decorations and picked a few select items from our inventory to help pull it all together. This is the perfect example of the flexibility we offer! We can do full event design OR you can rent just a few select items! Let us know what you need, let's chat and figure out how we can be of help.

Head on over to our Pinterest Boards to view some of my personal favorite chalkboard typography inspiration! P.S. Be sure you don't take the chalkboard craze overboard... chalkboard shouldn't take over your design! Like with all styling, don't let a "theme" or specific item engulf everything...

Maharani Wedding Decor

I'm so excited to chat with you about Indian Wedding Design! I've recently had the honor of being part of the design elements for Indian Weddings and have become so enamored with the culture, the traditions and the beauty! The bold bright colors are beyond stunning...and you know how I feel about gold! My sister-in-law is Indian and a few years back for their wedding they did two different receptions. It was my first experience to Indian celebration and it was so inspiring. I just can't get enough of the beauty! I'm so torn between the modern monochromatic take on the decor and the traditional bright colors. Some eye candy for you:

Be sure to check out more stunning inspiration at some of my favorite Indian Wedding Sites:

Maharani Weddings Indian Wedding Site Mandap Gurus

I'm thrilled that our inventory features furniture that suits the needs of Indian design so well! It just shows how versatile our pieces are. For example our "Madeline" Collection chairs are beautiful for special seating in the Mandap or at the head table. The gold wood is beautiful accented by the bright, vivid colors worn by the bride & groom, family and floral elements. We specialize in creating custom pillows to accent the specific colors of the wedding.  Our "Ingrid" settee in white and ivory with pearl gold feet makes for a stunning love seat for the bride and groom. We have gold pillows that match the same gold on the "Madeline" chairs to pull the look together flawlessly!

Be sure to visit our online inventory to view our items! Keep in mind our collection is continually growing! Here is a picture of Bella at her cousin's wedding!