Adrienne O'Connor

Wedding Website: adrienneandpaul.weddingwindow.com
Adrienne’s Event Company: RufflesandTweed.com
Adrienne (Careccia) O’Connor has worked in Advertising for the past 9 years and is currently a Management Supervisor at a digital agency in New York. She has worked with clients such as The Bermuda Department of Tourism, BMW Financial Services, Papa John’s, Abbott, Weight Watchers, and Citi. In January 2011, Adrienne launched her own event design and coordination company, Ruffles and Tweed, along with a blog, and recently became certified to teach Zumba.

Besides researching wedding trends through blogs, magazines, books, and television, Adrienne also enjoys photography, traveling, cooking, and decorating. She lives in Queens with her husband, Paul and their dog, Jack

Save the Date for New York Weddings Event – April 7, 2010

Posted by Adrienne O'Connor on March 5, 2010

As a recent bride and someone completely obsessed with weddings, I’ve attended my fair share of bridal shows and events, and one of the best, if not THE best in my opinion is the New York Weddings Event, which occurs every spring in New York City. From the atmosphere, to the quality of the vendors, to the goodie bags, it is all around spectacular and a must for any bride looking to get married in the New York area. And, even if you’re not getting married in NY, it is still a wonderful resource for planning your wedding and will definitely spark some ideas and inspiration.

I attended alone last year, embarrassingly enough, and still had a blast. I walked around sipping wine (free wine and beer are served at the bar), munching on the delicious appetizers and desserts offered by the many catering vendors, and perusing the over 100 booths set up by the incredible talent that was represented, from photographers and videographers, to bands and DJs, to jewelry designers and event planners – the list goes on and on.

This years’ lineup will not disappoint. Some of the experts include Christian Oth Studio, Milk and Honey Productions (my videographers – they are fab!), Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier, Mandarin Oriental, Piera Canu, The Village Invites, and more. Check out all of the participants on the 2010 website.

This years’ event will take place on Wednesday, April 7^th at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 West 18^th Street b/w 6^th and 7^th Avenues) from 5-8pm and you can purchase tickets in advance at nymag.com/weddingsevent. And don’t forget to grab a gift bag on your way out – mine was overflowing with delight last year, including a recent copy of New York Weddings magazine, makeup samples, brochures, coupons, and even underwear! The tickets are $35 each, $50 for two, and 100% worth it. Hope to see you there!

New York Media (online@email.nymagazine.com)

Filed under: Our Brides & Grooms, Planning & Resources

March 5, 2010 by Adrienne O'Connor

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Guestbook Ideas that Keep On Giving

Posted by Adrienne O'Connor on February 8, 2010

For anyone who doesn’t really see the need for a book of guest signatures after the big day, check out some of my favorite alternative guestbook ideas, which you will actually use when all is said and done.

My favorite, and what I used, is a coffee table book filled with pictures of us throughout the years. I used My Publisher, which was easy, fun, and came out beautifully. Anyone with a computer can create their own personalized book – I just left every other page blank for guests to sign, and now I have a memento of our day, which I’ll actually look at again and again. Mixbook is another great option for picture books.

Photo Credit: My Publisher

Or if you want to create a photo guestbook, but would rather fill it with photos of your guests rather than the two of you, enter Adesso Albums. If you order their starter kit, you get an empty guestbook in your choice of 8 colors, a rented Polaroid camera, and film, so guests can snap their own pictures at your event and add them to the book along with their well wishes. You can even personalize the album, order a protective slip case, and buy framed instructions so there is no confusion for guests.

Photo Credit: Adesso Albums

Photo Credit: Adesso Albums

Staying with the photo theme, you can also create an engravable photo mat, tray or platter – all of which will get lots of use in your new home and will be a constant reminder of the love you shared with your spouse, family and friends on that special day. Check out I Do Engravables for some fun options.

Photo Credit: I Do Engravables

Or how about a photo quilt? The You Nique Boutique offers 9 different colors, 5 different photo configurations, 3 photo treatment options (color, black & white, sepia), an optional inscription, and up to 4 fabric markers to display with the quilt at your wedding. Just upload your pics to their website, send them a disc, or mail originals and they’ll take care of the rest.

Photo Credit: The You Nique Boutique

Another unique idea I found is from the Guestbook Store. You buy an album page for each guest, which can be left at their seat on top of their place setting, and at the end of the night, you’ll not only have a book full of notes from your family and friends, but also some additional information like where they traveled from and how they know you.

Photo Credit: Guest Book Store

Wedding guestbooks are meant to be a special reminder of your special day, so get those creative juices flowing and let your book reflect your unique personalities – your guests will appreciate the change of pace and you’ll be thankful to have more than just a few John Hancocks after the day is through.

Filed under: Details, Our Brides & Grooms

February 8, 2010 by Adrienne O'Connor

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From Room to Wedding – Part 2

Posted by Adrienne O'Connor on February 5, 2010

In one of my earlier posts I designed a wedding around an inspirational bedroom from West Elm’s website. I had so much fun with that piece, that I decided to do it again – but this time based on a picture of a living room from Broyhill Furniture’s website.

In these cold, drag days of winter, I was touched by this bright and airy, almost beachy living room – a perfect starting point to turn the vision of a seaside wedding bash into a reality.

http://www.broyhillfurniture.com/Furniture/Room/Slideshow.aspx?roomID=100002

Photo Credit: Broy Hill Furniture

I almost died when I found this adorable bird cake topper on Etsy.com – it mirrors the painting hanging on the wall in the living room perfectly and would be lovely on top of the simple white cake with pale blue and ivory detailing. You and your groom can sip your champagne colored signature drink from these beach-inspired cocktail glasses, while guests sample hors d’oeuvres with shell-topped toothpicks. The white cymbidium orchid centerpiece beautifully compliments the vase of flowers in our living room shot, and looks peaceful against the pale blue linens. Wedding Paper Divas has such an amazing selection of customizable wedding invitations, and this ecru one provokes just the right amount of calm with its flowing blue and tan foliage. Heart-shaped bamboo fans are a nice comfort for guests if the weather is warm during your outdoor ceremony. Attaching names and table numbers to a starfish is a festive way to help them find their seats. Your bridesmaids will thank you for outfitting them in this versatile dress from JCrew that they’ll be sure to wear again, and you’ll be a vision of understated beauty in your Peter Langner trumpet skirt gown with empire waist.

Filed under: Design & Decor, Our Brides & Grooms

February 5, 2010 by Adrienne O'Connor

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Peace Love Cookies – What More Could You Ask For in a Wedding Favor?

Posted by Adrienne O'Connor on February 3, 2010

If you are searching for the perfect wedding favor, look no further – I found the most perfect custom cookies a gal could want (well, with the help of my friend, Jess, whose friend Allison is the owner of Peace Love Cookies … and who was nice enough to send me my own sampling of cookies to taste!)

Not only do these little suckers look gorgeous – designed to look like a wedding cake or dress, they actually taste just as good, which is hard to do, in my opinion. The actual cookie is made out of sugar cookie dough and you can choose almond, vanilla, lemon, coconut, orange, or raspberry sugar cookie icing. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

http://www.peacelovecookies.etsy.com

Each cookie comes in its own clear bag with your choice of silver or gold ribbon, and you can customize the colors of the cake and flowers.

These cookies are also great at wedding and/or baby showers, birthday parties, or any other occasion where cookies are a must. They even have a hamburger cookie – yum on so many levels. And don’t feel tied down to pick the wedding cake or dress-shaped cookies for your favors – you could also do a monogram cookie, a peace sign, or a flower if those match your theme.

http://www.peacelovecookies.etsy.com

The possibilities are endless so check them out on Etsy now. I can’t wait to get home and finish off my personal stash!

Filed under: Favors & Gifts, Our Brides & Grooms

February 3, 2010 by Adrienne O'Connor

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From Room to Wedding – A New Way to Find Your Wedding Design Inspiration

Posted by Adrienne O'Connor on January 19, 2010

Have you ever seen a room designed entirely around one fashionable outfit? Or vice versa? I know I’ve viewed this amazing transformation a few times and have always been intrigued by the thought process and the details that are involved.

While roaming around on West Elm’s website the other day, I came across a picture of a bedroom that inspired me, so I thought…forget about an outfit…what if I designed an entire wedding based solely on the picture of this room? So, that’s where this blog post comes in.

Photo Credit: West Elm

I love the simple design of this room – from the beautiful orange color (my favorite), to the almost unnoticeable green detailing, to the brown and white zebra print, which I’m very into right now – it’s so much softer than the typical black and white zebra print.

So, with this image engraved on my brain, I set out to find wedding details that not only matched this room from a color perspective, but also in terms of texture, style, mood, and overall feeling.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I am in love with Jenny Yoo’s bridesmaid collection so that is the first place I looked for some insight and of course, found this gorgeous orange bridesmaid dress – I think it matches the bedspread perfectly! The wedding gown is from Christos and seems to share the fluffy, textured, bright white feeling of the blanket under the bedspread. The placemats would be a perfect compliment to chocolate brown satin linens – it’s hard to tell from the picture, but they are beaded – how fancy! And since the zebra print only appears on one pillow in our original image, I wouldn’t use this anywhere else – one detail is enough. The instant that I saw grass in the bedroom pic, I knew that I wanted to include place cards in a bed of grass – I’ve always loved this type of detail and it fits perfectly here. The simple, modern wedding invitations are from Wedding Paper Divas. White and orange flowers, along with white and brown programs, menus, and other details complete the look.

This new way of looking at wedding design was a really fun, inspiring exercise and I encourage all brides to take some time to think this way – especially if you’re having a tough time deciding on colors or all the other little details. You can use a room in your own home as a guide, which would be a great indication of your style and preferences, or search furniture and home stores for an image that catches your eye. You just might come up with some great ideas that might have otherwise never crossed your mind!