Classic Movie Night

Impromptu Party Inspiration.

You don't always need an excuse to get your friends together. But I do find that having a theme for the regular Saturday night hangout session makes things a bit more festive. So while perusing through a book that was given to me over the holidays, "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," I thought it would be fun to have a classic movie night.

Now while I love all classic movies, they don't necessarily translate well to all modern audiences...which is why I chose The Marx Brothers' Duck Soup. Its fresh and funny even today. And it's short (in case someone is really not into black and white with a bit of campiness).

Here's a little inspiration board for what I'm thinking to mix up a typical Saturday night:

The Movie Poster is a great focal point and inspiration for the night. The bold colors and typography can easily be integrated in other areas.

I strongly believe you don't have to make absolutely everything from scratch for a party. So for this party, we'll order in Peking duck and all the fixings. It ties into the movie title, it's delicious, and easy!

Because having a funny item or two for photo ops is not a bad idea, this chocolate cigar is very Groucho Marx and makes a good take-home item too.

This movie was released in 1933, so we'll enjoy a classic 30's drink. The Side Car.

Another funny party prop, mustaches on sticks (also a la Groucho), will certainly make for some fun.

If I'm feeling extra fancy and ahead of the game, I might borrow this idea for invites.

And for dessert, we will serve chocolate chip cookies...and I'll be sure to let my guests know that we're serving them because the original Toll House recipe introduced the same year as Duck Soup.

I think this sound like fun, don't you think?

Birds of a feather.

Inspiration Board.

In December, I was thrilled to find out that one of my closest friends had gotten engaged. During the holidays I was lucky enough to get back to Chi-town to celebrate with her. In the middle of a long line of toasts, she asked me what I thought of Peacocks as a theme. Well I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then!

I think that in order to pull off such a bold statement, you must have vibrant personality & style to not let those feathers take over - this lady has both in spades. So I put together this little inspiration board with the future Mrs. Sipic in mind.

Peacock feathers can be found in all sorts of color variations, but I focused on the blues and greens. I liked the mixture of bold statements (the super fun wreath) and more subtle statements (like the centerpieces - where the peacock feathers blend in nicely with simple wildflowers). So as to not go overboard, I also think it is important to incorporate non-peacock, but color-appropriate themes too (such as the paisley invites, cupcakes and multicolor drink flags). And I finished it off with a beautiful tea-length dress and sassy accessories. I can't wait for July...her wedding is going to be so much fun!

First Row: Twigs & Honey accessory, cupcake from Brides.com, Jamali Garden Wreath, Oscar de la Renta Dress. Second Row: The Knot image, Luxe Deluxe earrings, Red Ruby Rose Clutch, Amsale bridesmaids dresses. Third Row: Martha Stewart Image, A Stylish Soiree boutonniere, The Knot image, Wedding Paper Divas Invitation.

New Year - New Colors

Inspiration Board.

No one understands color better than the people at Pantone. Every year they make their predictions for what color trends we can expect to see in the following year. Whether it is fashion or home interiors, the style makers tend to pull from this palette. So this is a great place to start when you are choosing a color scheme for your wedding. Now just as I've mentioned before, these are merely guidelines to start with. You can play a bit with color saturation and combinations to create the tone that you hope to create.

So for our inspiration board today, I have chosen to work with Pantone 18-2328 Fushia Red, with pops of green and gold. I took my inspiration from a wonderful sketch by Reem Acra. I like to think that the bride that would choose this Reem Acra dress for her 'maids would be a bit of a free spirit...that's why I chose some non-traditional accessories, foods, and invitations to round out the board. This makes me wish Spring would hurry up and get here! --a

Top Row: JCrew Dress, Wedding Paper Divas Invitation, Toybreaker Ties. Second Row: Red Ruby Rose Clutch, Luxe Deluxe Necklace, Reem Acra Sketch. Third Row: Cupcakes from The Knot, centerpiece photo from Whitebox Weddings.

Just say NO to streamers and doves.

Inspiration Boards and Bridal Showers.

Why let the brides have all of the fun? If you are throwing a bridal party for a friend/sister/favorite cousin, get excited to be a creative Hip Hostess! Remember that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune…just make each detail really count. But where do you get started…?

One idea: If you know that the bride registered for china or glassware that is in unique colors or patterns, use that as your cue for design and color. Below I’m working with the colors from a set of blown glass vases – purple and orange.

To pull in our bride's love for fashion, I chose a very contemporary invitation and I think that I would gift her the fun & fabulous fashion illustration by Bella Pilar (it will also double as part of the décor for the evening). Since our bride loves champagne, we’ll serve Mango Bellini’s so that it matches our colors but definitely suits her taste…and the cute tin of Bellini flavored jelly beans will be the perfect inexpensive favor for all that attended. To keep the cost of décor down, I chose a flower that has a lot of pop even in small quantity – anemones. And while there will certainly be other food options, I thought the blueberry cupcakes were a deliciously perfect desert.

And of course our bride needs the perfect outfit…I’ve personally been eyeing this Richard Nicoll dress for quite some time. And with a lovely orange hair accessory to drive our theme home, I think this bride will be pleased with her chic party. –a

First Row: Invitation by Fabulous Stationery, Beau-coup favor tin, dress by Thomas Pink. Second Row: Flowers by Brides.com, cupcake from The Casual Baker, Branch Home vases. Third Row: Mango bellini, Bella Pilar print, Hair accessory from The Foundling.

Mies Please.

Inspiration Board.

Mid-century modern architecture and furnishings are a favorite of the ladies here at Hip Hostess. The clean, sculptural lines of the works by Mies, Bertoia, Eames, and Saarinen always bring inspiration to us. So today's inspiration board is going to be based around a wonderful Mies van der Rohe building - the Farnsworth House. What is wonderful about this residence is the dichotomy between the structure and it's rural setting. I think that a wedding that takes it's cues from this could be very interesting. Clean, crisp details set in an earthy, organic, Autumnal surroundings. --a


First Row: Farnsworth House, Dress by Matthew Christopher via Gabriella New York, plum tart by cannelle et vanille. Second Row: Flowers by Saipua, Favors from Brides.com, glasses from Crate and Barrel, Flowers by Brides.com. Third Row: Groom attire from Project Wedding, Invitations by Twig and Fig, Earrings from Erica Bapst, cake by Collette Foley.

Purple Reign...

Inspiration Board.

You don't have to walk by many store windows to see that purple is in - be it plum, violet, or even magenta. Since purple is associated with the color of royalty, doesn't it seem appropriate that it would be used in a wedding...the day when many brides' only wish is to feel like a princess?

So today's inspiration board focuses on varying shades of purple, with ecru, and white. How glamorous... --a


First Row: Domino Magazine photo, Lilac escort card from Martha Stewart, photo from Whitebox Weddings. Second Row: Shoes from JCrew, Violet bouquet from Little Winter Bride, Tie by Gucci, Dress from Monique Lluillier via Kenzie Kate. Third Row: Necklace from gurlygirl, boutineer from Easter Yu. Fourth Row: Setting from Martha Stewart, Invitation from Ceci NYC, Cake from Le Cupcake.

Get out your color wheel...

Inspiration Board.

When planning the color scheme for an event, it is often most comfortable to pick a neutral and mix it with one or possibly two similar colors. Chocolate brown with pink. Charcoal grey with yellow. Black & white with red. There is absolutely nothing wrong with going this route...but you also shouldn't be afraid to mix it up a bit. Having an unexpected color scheme makes an event feel special and personal right off the bat.

So how do you pick a fun color combo without ending up with something that looks like it might be inspired from your recent trip to visit gram & gramps in Boca? Go to the color wheel. Yup...that same color wheel that you learned about in elementary & middle school. The colors on the wheel are laid out in a way that can help you see what colors work together.

Today I'm going to use complemetary colors - or colors that fall directly across from one another on the wheel. I chose orange & blue. And you don't have to go with primary versions of these colors...we're working with the Crayola 64+, not the basic Crayola 8. So to finesse the look, we'll do aqua blue with a marigold orange. Doesn't that sound fun already? See what you think... --a

First Row: Room from Domino, Cake from Vanilla Bakeshop, bouquet from The Knot. Second Row: Whitebox Weddings. Third Row: Groom attire via Brides.com, Mini Gumball macine via Beau Coup, Necklace from Luxe Deluxe, Invitation via Bird & Banner. Fourth Row: VW Bug from Flickr, Bottles from Terilyn Fisher, Dress via The Satorialist, Martini photo from Whitebox Weddings.

Hello Gorgeous.

Design Crush and Inspiration Board.

As a kid, I loved watching old black and white movies. Fred and Ginger gliding across a glossy, black, Art Deco floor in Shall We Dance. Rita Hayworth flipping her famous red locks in Gilda. Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman saying their unforgettable goodbye in Casablanca. It all just oozed "Glamour."

Now that I am older, I still ogle at glamorous eye candy in any form that I can find it. A couple of years ago, I stumbled across the fashion illustrations created by David Downton, and absolutely fell in love. He does the most amazingly beautiful illustrations for many major fashion houses as well as portraits of celebrities. Alas, I am not a famous supermodel, so I have all but given up hope that I could have my likeness glamed up by Mr. Downton. You can purchase prints of his work (definitely on my wish list)...but in the meantime, I have created this inspiration board based one of his dramatic illustrations. --a

First row: Bank of Italy, Judith Leiber clutch, Murano glass chandelier. Second Row: Jewelry from Instyle Weddings, cake from Jen's Desserts, invitation source unknown. Third Row: Cocktail from Brides.com, sparkler picture from Brides.com. Fourth Row: Bouquet from The Green Vase, Veil from Instyle Weddings.com, illustration from David Downton.

We're watching.

Inspiration board & accessory.

I have a confession to make. I'm a stalker...and a big one. I don't prowl around outside ex-boyfriends apartments, but I do obsess over beautiful items on the internet and stores...and pay them visits on a possibly more-than-healthy basis. As part of my self-induced treatment, I would like to share these beloved finds with you. Perhaps you can join in my obsession.

The first objects of my affection are the beautiful handmade clutches of redrubyrose. If you haven't already been to this wonderful etsy shop, you must check it out immediately! Rowena crafts these beautiful purses from vintage and contemporary textiles AND she has started adding her very own fabric designs as well.

As Brandi mentioned in an earlier post, you can draw inspiration for a wedding from all sorts of places. And the beautiful textiles used by Rowena in her work would be a great place to start as well. Which is exactly what I did in this inspiration board. Since Fall is now upon us, I chose one of her lovely chocolate brown clutches with taupy fern and flower silhouettes as our focal point. This may be the first time that you see her work in one of our boards, but I assure you it won't be the last. Enjoy. --a


First Row: photo by Brian Kinyon, flowers by Saipua , invitation by Oslo Press, photo of Sandals St. Lucia Grande. Second Row: Photo by Jenny Hammar, clutch by redrubyrose, cake detail by Take the Cake, Third Row: photo by Jenny Hammar, photo from The Knot, hair accessory by Muscari by Easter Yu, photo by Jenny Hammar

Autumn leaves are not fallin' just yet...

Inspiration Board.
It's no secret to those planning weddings that creating an inpiration board is a great way to start maping out the look and tone of your wedding. What can happen, however, is that couples can become overwhelmed by all of the wonderful ideas available on the web, magazines, etc...and then feel like they must cram all of those ideas into their special day. An inspiration board should be just that...an inspiration. Concentrate on colors, styles, presentation. Taking a couple of innovative presentation ideas and executing them to perfection is much more visually impressive than having a mixed bag of every fun thing you've found.

Today we are inspired by the first day of Fall. Rather than give into to inevitable fact that summer is over, this is our homage to what a fun fiesta in Mexico could be like. --a

You're a Daisy if you do...

Jewelry

Personalization is more than just putting your initials on packaging. It is adding your mark throughout your wedding and is especially memorable if you draw inspiration from something that will be with you forever...like your engagement ring.

This point brings me to a great jewelry website that was sent to me a couple of days ago from Halley Barney who is the owner and designer of F.N.U.E. I was immediately inspired after looking at the website and thought "wouldn’t one of these beautiful pieces make a unique engagement ring?"

You know what’s coming. That’s right - an inspiration board for a wedding based on one of Halley's wonderfully creative pieces. Thanks Halley! --b