In love with Jennifer + Kyle’s glitzy and glamorous look? This is the post for you! Read on for a few ways to make your day black and white and chic all over.

A. To set an ambient mood at your reception, cluster mercury glass and velvet-flocked votives on low side tables and guest tables. Velvet-flocked votive from Beau-Coup, mercury glass votive from Luna Bazaar.

B. We LOVE this chic little black dress from Kirstie Kelly’s Fall 2010 collection for Disney. The brooch at the shoulder is the perfect accent! Her adorable black peep toes don’t hurt, either.

C. Can’t afford to rent real crystal chandeliers? Hang a few of these black chipboard and lightbulb versions from the rafters. We found them at Urban Outfitters.

D. A handful of Smitten Sticks guarantees a raucous photobooth and/or adorable group shots. Pick them up here!

E. DK Designs makes the most beautiful clay flowers. Even if black-centered anemones aren’t in season the month of your wedding, you can add these faux blooms to your cake (and even your bouquet!). Bonus? They’ll never wilt, meaning you’ll have a gorgeous memento to keep for years to come.

F. Bring in a few fun patterns with inexpensive ribbon. Use striped or dotted strands to wrap boutonnieres stems or the stems of a bouquet. Thick stripe from Paper Mart, thin dotted from Create for Less.

G. We love these ethereal, easy-to-make tulle puffs either for ceiling decor or favor box toppers. Get the DIY instructions here! (Bonus: they call to mind Jennifer’s beautiful veil!)

H. Glitzy drops for a fraction of the price they look — we’ll take them! Find these chandelier earrings at Emitations.

I. A graphic ring pillow will look snazzy scooting down the aisle in the hands of your ring bearer. Find this one at Bklyn Pillow, or make your own with a couple squares of fabric from the craft store.

J. Spider mums, with their giant heads, make for an interesting and economical vase-filler.

K. The black Bellini chair from Classic Party Rentals would look gorgeous in Jennifer + Kyle’s sleek loft space. If you don’t want to outfit every table with these beauties, consider splurging for just the head table. CPR’s black leather ottomans are a perfect spot for guests to perch during cocktail hour!

L. The Nina Elke shoes (which Katharine wore at her wedding!) are the perfect combination of glitzy style and price. They’re even on sale right now at Zappos — go get ‘em while they’re hot!

M. We love this chandelier invitation set by Wiley Valentine for Minted!

N. Jennifer’s voluptuous veil finds its match in the “Sunflower” from Toni Federici. Talk about a style statement!

Let us know if you have any other questions! Be sure to check out Jennifer + Kyle’s wedding posts here and here, and pick up a copy of V3 to read the rest of their story!

Luna Bazaar is a Southern Weddings sponsor.

Carolina couple Jennifer + Kyle definitely win the glitz ‘n glam award for V3. With the help of Elyse Woodward Events, the bride + groom transformed the Design Center of the Carolinas into a sparkling soirre reminiscent of the Great Gatsby. Cake Lady Jill definitely takes the cake for her fabulous display of black and white confections. I’m in love Mille Holloman Photography all over again for sharing this gem with us. For more from Jennifer + Kyle – and other fab real weddings – get your own copy of V3 here!

Thanks so much for sharing, guys!

Choosing my favorite Real Wedding from V3 was easy: Jennifer + Kyle’s glam North Carolina celebration at the Design Center of the Carolinas literally had me begging Lara to take it for print. (Special thanks to Millie Holloman Photography for sharing!) Lucky for all of us, she gave in to my black + white love affair. The bride wore a classic form-fitting gown and retro-inspired veil from Poffie Girls, and dressed her maids in stunning black sheaths from Bella Bridesmaid. Jennifer’s feathered bouquet (love the dark centers of the anemones!) designed by Flowers from the Cellar is pure magic. Planning and styling credit goes to Alyse Woodward Events.

Hi friends! If you’ve had a busy week and haven’t had the chance to scroll through the lovely things we posted this week, no worries! Of course, I’ll be rounding up the features from our personal blogs and the two great giveaways from this week. That’s a great start to the weekend, right?

Let’s start off with some giveaways, shall we?

Whitney pointed out that the Southern gal is all about the details. Long gone are the days of the poufy, hideous bridesmaids dresses. Now, brides are all about dressing up their best friends in the most flattering ways. This, of course, means arming them with the best accessories. BabbsBoutique clutches are a perfect compliment to any dress for a Southern bridesmaid. To enter the giveaway, go to the BabbsBoutique Etsy shop, check out the fold over clutches, then go to the original post and leave a comment. Tell us how you would customize the clutches to make the perfect accessory for your bridesmaids. The winner will receive three free custom clutches!

Congratulations to all of our newly-engaged readers! To get you off on the right foot to wedding bliss (as Emily said), we’re featuring lots of resources to make the planning process a little smoother –if not swimming with ideas. This week, we had Amanda from NewlyWish give advice on the wedding registry! She covered how to get started, the amount of stores you should register at, and gift ideas. Even better, Amanda is offering up a $100 gift certificate to Bowery Kitchen! Click on over to the original post to read details about the gift certificate and how to enter.

Katharine and her hubs, Kyle debated whether they would write their own vows or stick with traditional ones. Combining the fears of having to materialize their love into words, potentially boring their guests, or being overly-cheesy made the decision one of the hardest for them. Eventually, they decided to do both! Katharine started thinking of what to say seven months before the big day. Kyle worked out what he wanted to say before the ceremony. Regardless, they reached the perfect compromise for their big day and you can read what they said here. There’s even a video! Brides weigh-in: what did you decide to do?

Did you miss Southern Etiquette with our resident manners-master, Emily? Read up on the details of save the date manners here. Are they necessary and when should you send them out? Who should you send them to? Emily reviews the etiquette for save the dates for destination weddings and holiday weddings, the appropriate time to send them out and to whom.

This week’s Paper Pick puts a Southern spin on Valentine’s Day. Emily’s pick, Rifle Paper Co. came up with sweet designs that will surely warm your darling’s heart.

You can’t end the week, of course, without checking out our real wedding features!

Brooke + Victor, a V3 couple, elicited gasps with a bright blue palette and beautiful Charleston surrounds (posts here, here and here)
Hillary + Matt defined “refined rustic” with their neutral nuptials (posts here and here)
Jennifer + Armand celebrated in colorful style at the Country Music Hall of Fame (posts here and here)

Lastly, the girls at TreBella Bridal in Durham, NC let us know they’re holding a Jenny Packham trunk show today and tomorrow. Call 919-323-7167 to make an appointment, or drop by during the open hours (2-5pm on Saturday).

Happy Friday, y’all!

P.S. All those interested, don’t forget to send in your applications for the two positions we have open! See all the details here. We will be accepting applications until March 1, so don’t delay!

It’s hard to believe it’s still winter after seeing Jennifer + Armand’s technicolor dream wedding at the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the celebration only got bigger + better once they moved the party to the ballroom. I’d spend more time in speechless wonder at the glitzy indoor reception, styled by Sweet Life Designs, but I’m already two steps ahead and drooling over the to-die-for candy bar. Oh, my sweet heaven! As if the happy couple wasn’t already on a sugar high, Maples Wedding Cakes designed J + A’s blue and white confection. Hugs to Nashville-based photographer Kristyn Hogan for getting our weekend off to a bright start!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I had no idea what kind of dress I wanted. I went to one store with my mother and we tried on about 13 dresses. I liked a lot of them and they were all different styles, which made it harder to decide which style I liked best. A few weeks after the first attempt, we went to another store where I found two that I loved. They were total opposites too and I couldn’t decide. Someone asked me how I wanted to wear my hair on that day, and I did a makeshift ponytail on the side while wearing the drop waist dress and knew immediately that it was the one I wanted.
Describe your wedding flowers: I love bright colors and I wanted my flowers to reflect that. The bouquets, boutonnières, and flower arrangements consisted of blue dendrobium orchids, hydrangeas, orange roses, calla lilies, and a few more flowers. There were hints of blues, oranges, and pinks in all the arrangements. There were flowers that bordered the runner as well. The table arrangements at the reception venue were amazing. There were tables with large cyliners filled with water, some of them had pomanders of orange roses, and some had submerged blue hydrangeas. The flowers were absolutely amazing and definitely everything I wanted and more.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? We both agree that being apart was the biggest challenge. Armand’s group, Naturally 7 began touring with Michael Buble in March of 2010, which meant he was gone most of the time for long stretches. Armand definitely wanted a part in the planning so much of it was done sending pictures, calling while in meetings with the our planner, and showing him things to choose over iChat or Skype.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? (From the groom) After the prayer of consecration, I saw Jennifer being given a microphone, and my first thought was, “Oh my goodness! I didn’t write my vows, I guess I’ll just have to improvise. Stay calm Armand!” And then I see one of my favorite pianists, Dr. Cedric Dent from the group Take 6, move toward the piano to play. All of a sudden, Jennifer starts to sing! She already knew that if she sang, I wouldn’t be able to control my emotions, and sure enough, I cried throughout the whole song. I have no idea how she was able to make it through but she did an amazing job.