Style Me Pretty

New York Wedding at Creative Edge DIY Project Tutorials by A.a.B. Creates

We’ve been oohing and ahhing all afternoon thanks to this pretty little party that just happens to be the wedding of one of the talents behind A.a.B. Creates. It’s a New York stunner if we’ve ever seen one, and when we heard there were a few fabulous DIY’s involved, we OBVIOUSLY jumped at the chance to share them with you. So get out your notebook lovelies and get ready to jot down all the steps, these are must try DIY’s!

No-Sew Napkin Cuffs
Sometimes a table top would be enhanced by a finishing touch, and in this case, we needed a napkin ring. Not being able to find one that was pre-fab and perfect, AND having a spool of this amazing gold lace ribbon on hand that deserved to be showcased, I decided a couple nights before the wedding to create a napkin “cuff” from the lace.  Any kind of “open work” lace will do, and no sewing is required.

Materials
Scissors
“Open Work” Ribbon
Coordinating Cord (or Fishing Line)
Measuring Tape

Instructions
1. Each cuff needs about 3.5-4″ of ribbon.
2. Cut about 5″-6″ of cord per cuff. The length will depend on how much “tail” you want on your finish.
3. Wrap the ribbon around the napkin and, using the openings of the lace as “eyes”, weave your cord through the lace in a corset tie.
4. Finish it off with a bow, trim your finish, adjust the positioning of your cuff and flip into place.
Total time per cuff: About 3 minutes

“Brass” Critters
In lieu of table numbers, we used ornamental animals. Guests’ escort cards were rubber stamped with a golden animal that corresponded to “brass” animals on each table.  Since actual brass animals were hard to find, we instead bought a bunch of rubber animals online at the ZooStore.com. This is a great idea that doesn’t need to be done with just BRASS animals or figurines. A high gloss paint in white could create a great “ceramic” effect, or, a great way to add a bright hue or neon to your table top.

Materials
Acrylic Metallic Paint (Available at Most Craft Stores)
Rubber Animal Figures
A Crafting Paint Brush
A Paper or Plastic Disposable Plate for Holding Paint

Instructions
Using your brush, completely coat your animal or figurine with a coat of your acrylic paint. Allow it to dry, and re-coat. 

Hand-Sewn Ribbon Wall
A ribbon wall is a great way to either create a backdrop for something like your cake or escort card display (as we did for Mayra) OR to mask an ugly wall or area at your event venue. They are a little time-consuming to make when done by hand (without a machine), but well worth it.

Materials 
For a 5′ wide piece of wall that hangs about 4′ high, you will need: 3 Spools of 100 yard ribbons (one of which should be a grosgrain)
4 Spools of 25 Yards of “specialty Ribbon”
20 yards of assorted “specialty” ribbons
Scissors
Needle and Thread
Fabric Glue

Instructions
1. Cut two pieces of Grosgrain ribbon as WIDE as you want your wall to be. Set one aside.
2. Cut your ribbons into lengths about as tall as you want your wall to be.  Cut them an organize them into like piles of ribbon to make “sorting” them easier.
3. Position your ribbon behind the “base” ribbon, and tack into place with a series of simple stitches.
4. When you are done attaching your ribbons, take your fabric glue and extra length of grosgrain ribbon.  Glue the extra piece over the messy stitching.

Tutorials: Mayra + Xochitl of A.a.B. Creates / Photography by: Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography

New York Wedding II by A.a.B. Creates, Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins

We have thrown ourselves head-first into today’s New York wedding and the fun is just getting started. After the beauty of the ceremony from Part I, we get to kick our shoes off and get cozy with a knock-out reception crafted by the Bride and Xochitl of A.a.B. Creates  who poured their hearts into the design and planning of this wedding and it shows. From the gold animal statues to that gilded cake by Nine Cakes and right on through to the color-filled florals by Melarosa, it’s one big, scrumptious piece of eye candy as seen through the lens of Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography. And this beauty ends with Tequila + Tacos, as all great parties should. See so much more from the day right here! And sit tight because we have some fabby, fab DIY’s coming your way in just a bit.

And now for the film by Kiss the Bride Films that will have you tearing up and dancing along with this couple as they celebrate their “I Do’s” in such a beautiful, Big City infused way. Take a peek…

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Xochitl of A.a.B. Creates… When guests entered the dining room the first thing that they saw was the absolutely AMAZING cake the Betsy at Nine Cakes created. Mayra loves Gold and actually had been obsessed with a cake Betsy created for a photo shoot we did together that was featured on Style Me Pretty a couple of years ago. So for this, we told her to “Go Gold,” and she absolutely outdid herself. The ribbon wall we made with ribbons from Tinsel Trading, and all of the peach linens were made from fabrics we found at Mood. The space, usually a raw loft, was adorned with an amazing crystal chandelier and golden lights from Luminous Designs.  And the bar, the focus of the room at any great party, was decorated with the most amazing bar runner from Original Runner Co, who took the logo that Regas New York designed and turned it, literally, into gold.  

For dinner we wanted to mix and marry rustic and glamour and chose to seat guests at three square farm tables with amazing golden and pearl overlays that we had made to showcase the wood of the tables. Not to take away from the delicacy of the linen, we went with an amazing clear ghost chair. Since there were only three tables (and 35 people including the amazing photographers), instead of table numbers, we decided to make table “animals.” There was a horse table (Mayra’s favorite animal), a buffalo table (Aja’s favorite food) and an elephant table (because elephants with upturned trunks are good luck). We found the animals online and painted them gold and then hand-stamped the escort cards with corresponding images. Our friend Margo collects and rents vintage French ceramics, and she offered to loan us some pieces for the wedding. Her collection of pitchers and cake stands seemed the perfect way to display the flowers and favors and Melanie of Melarosa created the most amazing sets of floral pieces for each table in the perfect range of peaches and orange. Mayra is a fruit addict, and it only seemed fitting to me that she have fruit around on her wedding day — and it was the perfect way to spread the orange hues around the room. Aja surprised Mayra by ordering wines from the Maldonado Vineyards in Napa, a vineyard they’d discovered last summer while out there, only to find it was owned by distant relatives of Mayra’s family. Guests dined on a Caprese salad duo and an out of this world braised short rib.  

Once Aja and Mayra decided to have their tequila and taco party, they quickly realized they needed another invitation. Aja, who used to DJ, loved these old 45 shaped records Mayra found on Etsy, and they set the tone perfectly that this was going to be a good time. DJ JVC provided the tunes, and The Taco Truck outside of the venue was the biggest hit of the night.  At the end of the night, guests took home little packets of Mexican wedding cookies baked by Betsy at Nine Cakes and wrapped in different peach and gold quilting fabrics. A sweet end to an amazing day.

Wedding Photography: Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography / Ceremony: St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University in New York, New York / Reception: The Tasting Room at Creative Edge in New York, New York / Event Design + Planning: A.a.B. Creates / Wedding Day Coordination: Just About Married / Floral Design: Melarosa / Wedding Cinematography: Kiss the Bride Films / Catering: Creative Edge Parties / Wines: Maldonado Vineyards / Wedding Monogram + Ceremony Invitations: Regas New York / Reception Invitations: Ello There / Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Carol / Wedding Cake + Favors: Nine Cakes / Cake Stands + Vintage Ceramics: Margo’s Details / Taco Truck: The Taco Truck / Linens: Nuage Designs / Table Top Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. / Lighting: Luminous Designs, Inc. / Ghost Chairs: Taylor Creative Inc. / Bar Runner: Original Runner Co. / Ribbons for Ribbon Wall: Tinsel Trading Company / Mariachi: Elan Artists / DJ: DJ JVC of Blanc Noir Event Group / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller via Lovely Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Hair + Makeup: My Hair and Makeup / Groom’s Attire: Calvin Klein

New York Wedding by A.a.B. Creates, Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography

Whenever a creative in the wedding business throws their own wedding bash, it always (emphasis on the always) gets our wedding love’s complete and undivided attention. We fall hard each and every time and this New York affair of one half of A.a.B. Creates and her love is so gush worthy that we’re devoting a whole afternoon to its beauty. It’s NYC meets an explosion of color and gold glitter. Can you think of anything better? Not I says the wedding blogger.  Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography captured all the lovely moments along with all the crazy awesome details, which include a glorious gold cake. But, we are going to make you wait a wee bit longer for that beauty unless you’re dying to get a sneak peek, in which case we have the full gallery right here.

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From Xochitl of A.a.B. Creates… The greatest challenge when you design and plan weddings for a living is what to do when it’s time for you yourself to get married! So when Mayra’s boyfriend Aja proposed, after doing this for other couples for almost nine years, we had the exciting chance to plan a wedding of “our” own. Honestly, at first it was overwhelming trying to figure out the best way to bring together Mayra’s family from California and Aja’s family from upstate New York. Ultimately, they decided that everyone should get a chance to see what their lives are like, and a New York City Wedding was decided on. Initially, the thought was to keep it super small and only invite family (and me, of course) to a small ceremony and then a dinner, but after meeting with Carla Ruben at Creative Edge, they realized that,  as a couple, they enjoyed a good party too much to call it a night after dinner. So instead, they invited friends to join them for a tequila and taco party, and we all danced into the night. 

On the day itself, Mayra and I got ready at The Standard Hotel while Aja got ready at Gild Hall. Dave met up with Aja to follow him around and because we always see our vendor “friends” when we’re on the other side of the day planning, it was fun to and relaxing to have Heather and Leslie come and hang out with us. Mayra and her family took some photos around the meatpacking district and the Highline before they got on the “family bus.” Then, because Mayra is a no-fuss kind of gal — we just hopped in a cab with Heather.

The ceremony was at St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia, where Aja went to law school. Meredith and her team at Regas New York created an amazing letterpress invitation that had a belly band with the invitation language in Spanish. The Catholic ceremony was filled with traditions from both of their backgrounds. In honor of her Mexican roots, a Mariachi was playing when guests arrived, and they incorporated both the Laso and the exchange of coins, or Arras, in the ceremony. To close the ceremony they “jumped the broom,” which was made by Aja’s mother, following an African-American wedding tradition. Their rings were made by a relative of Mayra’s in California, and Mayra had Aja’s band engraved with one of their favorite Chaka Khan lyrics “I know you, I live you.” Following the ceremony we headed downtown to Creative Edge for cocktails and an intimate dinner. Cocktails were held in their Design Studio loft, with the amazing backdrop of cool culinary displays and cooking racks. Guests munched on amazing hors d’oeuvres, such as mini pulled pork sandwiches and adorable bite-sized tacos. The Mariachi played away, and the bride and her dad danced a traditional Mexican dance impromptu before dinner. 

Wedding Photography: Heather Waraksa + Dave Robbins Photography / Ceremony: St. Paul’s Chapel at Columbia University in New York, New York / Reception: The Tasting Room at Creative Edge in New York, New York / Event Design + Planning: A.a.B. Creates / Wedding Day Coordination: Just About Married / Floral Design: Melarosa / Wedding Cinematography: Kiss the Bride Films / Catering: Creative Edge Parties / Wines: Maldonado Vineyards / Wedding Monogram + Ceremony Invitations: Regas New York / Reception Invitations: Ello There / Calligraphy: Calligraphy by Carol / Wedding Cake + Favors: Nine Cakes / Cake Stands + Vintage Ceramics: Margo’s Details / Taco Truck: The Taco Truck / Linens: Nuage Designs / Table Top Rentals: Party Rental Ltd. / Lighting: Luminous Designs, Inc. / Ghost Chairs: Taylor Creative Inc. / Bar Runner: Original Runner Co. / Ribbons for Ribbon Wall: Tinsel Trading Company / Mariachi: Elan Artists / DJ: DJ JVC of Blanc Noir Event Group / Wedding Dress: Nicole Miller via Lovely Bride / Bride’s Shoes: Kate Spade / Hair + Makeup: My Hair and Makeup / Groom’s Attire: Calvin Klein

Glamorous Wedding Day Shoes by Sergio Rossi

We are shoe people at SMP. It’s true. It’s amazing what slipping on a fabulous pair of heels can do for the soul, and when those shoes are a glamorous pair of Sergio Rossi? Perfection. Your soul soars. You feel as though you can conquer the world, walk the red carpet or make even the most mundane task seem simply fabulous. Putting on a pair of sassy pumps is an international mood lifter, and when you pair pumps with glitter – we’re done. Finito. Instant glam that’s the epitome of elite high fashion, yet comfy as can be so you can take on your to do list in luxury. But do allow for more time lovelies, because these show-stoppers will get some attention. And since we are a bit wedding-obsessed, we just looove the fact that the oh so lovely Cachet style was designed for the one and only Salma Hayek on her wedding day, and that you can wear the very same pair for yours! That’s the definition of wedding day shoe heaven.

3: Sergio Rossi Swarovski Crystal Covered Satin Compact Clutch / 4: Sergio Rossi Champagne Swarovski Crystal Satin Tiffanys Pump / 6: Sergio Rossi White Swarovski Crystal Satin Vague Sandal

Hear that? That is your heart fluttering from a full on shoe crush. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. It happens to the best of us.

Photography Credits: 1-2: Elizabeth Messina Photography and Dress: Kirstie Kelly /3, 4 & 6: Create the Group Studio / 5. KT Merry Photography