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The Orient-Express: Take a Luxury Train Journey for your Honeymoon

I don’t know about you, but just reading the words “Orient Express” conjure up images of 1930′s elegance, Agatha Christie murder mysteries, elegant attire and exotic locations. 

None more so than The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.

‘The train against which all other luxury trains are measured’ - Vanity Fair

A work of art in itself and a true Art Deco icon, the legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train offers a journey unlike any other. Step aboard and you enter a more gracious, elegant age of travel.

Romance, adventure and style are all intimately bound up in journeys and tours that criss-cross Europe, rolling through sublime scenery to some of the continent’s most alluring cities.

Delightful vintage cabins, gastronomic cuisine and lively on-board entertainment make a journey aboard this iconic train one of the world’s finest travel experiences—a sequence of unforgettable moments

The Orient-Express offers guests the opportunity to search for something beyond the conventions of today’s luxury travel; something more enriching. You won’t find any uniform travel experiences on their journeys. They’re interested in the intangible qualities of travel captured in memorable and meaningful moments. A story that reveals a new side to a familiar place. A diverting conversation that gives an insight into the local culture and community. Each experience offers our guests the opportunity to discover more about the world around them.

There are so many journeys to be discovered through this luxury train carrier. Explore their exotic excursions through their website, then sign up for a honeymoon memory to last forever.

Photos from Venice Simplon Orient Express and Google Images

Honeymoon Destinations: Luxury Cruise with the Queen Mary 2

Queen Mary 2, affectionately known as QM2, was famous even before her first sailing and a worthy heir to Cunard’s rich legacy. As the flagship of the world’s most respected fleet of luxury ocean liners, you’ll delight in her accommodation and renowned restaurants, her breathtaking Grand Lobby and the amazing array of unsurpassed amenities she offers.

Her every detail harkens to the Golden Age of Ocean Travel, while providing one of the most modern travel experiences on earth.  From bow to stern, discover 14 spacious decks on which to relax and unwind; to indulge in pleasures and pursuits you never normally have time for. It also has the only Planetarium at sea. But words can only do such a lady so much justice. For to truly revel in the grandeur that is Queen Mary 2, you must sail with her. Indulge in every experience Queen Mary 2 has to offer on a 7 day Transatlantic cruise between Southampton and New York.

What an amazing honeymoon this could be!

There’s a great blog on the Queen Mary 2 we’re you can find many interesting tales and photos (several pictured here).

Queen Mary 2 on the other hand, is doing a different long voyage.  Many of you will know that for the forthcoming 2012 World Voyage Queen Mary 2 will undertake her first Royal Circumnavigation of Australia.  This 21 night voyage around all the best bits of Australia has sold extremely well and is popular both for those of our guests going right around the world and many Australians who will join for that sector.  There is something rather cool about showing Australians the best of Australia.  It wasn’t too difficult to work out the itinerary because all the best bits of Australia are in fact on the outside.

Source: Cunard Cruise

Class. Today We’re Going to Learn the Right Way to Propose.

It’s been too long since StrictlyWeddings.com Chicago photographer Jai Girard has been showcased in our blog. Far too long because we love Jai (our StrictlyWeddings.com landing page photos are courtesy of her)! Anyway, we laughed with joy when we read how Ricky proposed to Ellen. Kudos to Ricky!

How they met:

Ellen and Ricky met at a wedding in February of 2010. Ellen’s best friend, Jessica, was a bridesmaid in the wedding and Ricky was a groomsmen. Jessica called Ellen the night before the wedding and said, “I met your perfect match!” There was something about Ricky’s personality that convinced Jess without a doubt that he was the right guy for Ellen. The two met and danced together at the wedding and the rest, as they say, is history!

The Proposal:

June 2, 2011 turned out to be one of the most surprising and amazing nights of Ellen’s life! Ellen is a Kindergarten teacher in Illinois. At the end of each school year her students wear caps and gowns, sing songs, and walk across the stage at their graduation ceremony. The room was filled with thirty-two kindergarteners and one hundred fifty guests including parents, siblings, and relatives.

At the conclusion of the ceremony the Principal said, “At this time, I would encourage everyone to keep their cameras rolling as I invite up a special guest. Mr. Ricky Stern, please come up to the stage.”

With a bewildered look on her face, Ellen turned to the teacher standing next to her and whispered, “WHAT is going on?” Ellen was completely shocked!

Ricky introduced himself as Ellen’s boyfriend and complimented Ellen on her dedication toher students. He went on to say, “I’ve seen first hand how much Ellen cares about each of her students, and I came here tonight to show her how much I care about her.” Then he got down on one knee and proposed!

She screamed, “YES!” (three times). Ellen never anticipated that the night of her kindergarten graduation would transform into one of the most magical evenings of her life!

Photos Courtesy of Jai Girard Photography

Featured Weddings: A Love So Special – Rachel & Greg

Dallas StrictlyWeddings.com partner Thisbe Grace Photography shared this romantic wedding of Rachel and Greg held at The Mansion. The bride, Rachel, took time to share with us the couple’s “love story” as well as various wedding details.  Dallas wedding planner Paige Chenault was valuable in making the couple’s vision come to life.

It all began back in August 2004 at a local hospital in Detroit, Michigan, where an adorable man asked me, “Are you on my team?” I had no idea at the time how much this man would impact my life. I was a fourth year medical student, and Greg had just started his medical residency. First a friendship ensued, followed by a romance. We were madly in love and one year later began a long distance relationship between Detroit & Cleveland for three years, while we both completed our respective training. Here we are 7 years later, living & working in Dallas, with our 2 cats and dog.

We both wanted an intimate gathering of our closest family and friends. I grew up in Minnesota, and Greg grew up in Michigan, but we decided to have our wedding in our new home of Dallas. We decided to have a welcome party, following the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, in the gorgeous penthouse suite at The Stoneleigh Hotel, which reminded us of a beautiful historical home.

On Saturday, we had our wedding ceremony and reception at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. We visited a few potential sites in the city and ultimately chose this venue because we considered it to be quintessential Dallas. The location was just the right balance of luxury along with an intimate setting. I gave my bridesmaids customized fashion illustrations of them in their beautiful dresses, which were drawn by an amazing and talented artist, Dallas Shaw.

It was so comforting to see Greg before the ceremony and be in the arms of the man I love. As a Minnesota native, I loved the idea of having birch branches for our altar centerpieces during the ceremony. As a pleasant surprise, our fantastic florist went the extra mile and created magical centerpieces of crystals, white orchids, and candles, all interlaced and hanging from the birch branches to create two breathtaking trees around the altar.

Greg and I are from the Great Lakes and both share a love and appreciation for Lake Superior. We decided to purchase stones from Lake Superior, which we then shaped and polished for weeks in a rock tumbler. As each of our guests entered the ceremony, they were given a small stone to hold throughout the ceremony and give well wishes and special blessings. Upon exiting the ceremony, each guest placed his or her stone in a vase that we now keep on our fireplace mantle.

We hired a live-event artist to capture the scene of our first dance. The painting is absolutely gorgeous and is displayed above our fireplace as well. The reception tables either had cascading floral centerpieces or glass tops with flickering candlelight. The ambiance was absolutely romantic! Our custom white dance floor, a must for me, really made the center of the room.

Because of our love for Sprinkles red velvet cupcakes, by far the most delicious dessert imaginable, we decided to have the cupcakes designed to look like a tiered wedding cake, situated on a floating cake base. We ended the night with a huge confetti celebration to our song “Don’t Stop Believin”.  A very special thank you to our absolutely wonderful wedding planner, Paige Chenault, who worked countless hours in bringing all our ideas and loves to life. We will forever be thankful to all our family and friends, for travelling the distance to celebrate our wedding with us.

Bridal Gown: Romona Keveza – The Bridal Salon at Stanley Korshak
Bridal Shoes: Jimmy Choo – Stanley Korshak
Bridal Party Makeup & Hair: Absolute Radiance
Bridesmaids’ Attire: Bella Bridesmaid
Wedding Planner: Paige Chenault – Paige Chenault Events
Wedding & Reception Venue: Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Rehearsal Dinner & Welcome Party Venue: The Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa
Florist: The Wildflower
Photography: Thisbe Grace Photography
Videography: Hakim Sons Films
Music: Beyond & Serenata Strings
Lighting: Beyond
Cake: Sprinkles Cupcakes
Invitations: Stamped Paper Company – Jill Efrussy
Décor/Rentals: BBJ Linens, POSH, & The Wildflower
Live-Event Artist: Posta Bella – Jaime Pickerell

Strictly Weddings – Matchmaker-Matchmaker Luxury Wedding Style

As StrictlyWeddings.com‘s following continues to grow, we wanted to remind all who visit our blog on the original premise of StrictlyWeddings.com – that was to match the best luxury wedding vendors with the bride looking to create a wedding memory to last a lifetime and, quite frankly, with the budget to make it happen.

In an economy that continues to challenge many industries, the luxury wedding business is still a strong and healthy nitch. StrictlyWeddings.com provides its brides the best of the best in Chicago, Dallas and New York by vetting then inviting the top three luxury wedding vendors to advertise.

We take the time to get to know our partners. We research their work and make sure that those who appear as a StrictlyWeddings.com partner will fulfill the dreams and expectations of our brides.

Our partners have amazing talents, services and skills. We are constantly amazed and in awe of the magic they create, as often shown in our blog posts and featured weddings.

Below are just a few of the many wonderful vendors worth reviewing in our wedding categories. We encourage you to stop. Grab yourself a cup of coffee or cocktail and take 15 minutes to browse the city of your choice. We know you’ll enjoy what our wedding resource partners have to offer.

Dallas vendor photographs courtesy of DFW Events, Jennifer Lindberg Photography, Thisbe Grace Photography

Chicago vendor photos courtesy of  KingenSmith, Hannah Handmade, Jai Girard, Kehoe Design, Heffernan Morgan Ronsley Event Design.

New York vendor photos courtesy of , Gruber Photographers, LMD Floral, Brian Dorsey Studios, Mark Rose, Fred Marcus Photography, Gourmet Advisory, Ed Libby, Sylvia Weinstock Cakes

Red Party Theme by New York’s LMD Floral

We got these fun photos from our New York City partner, LMD (Lewis Miller Design). Even though it was for a birthday party, we think it’s a bright and clever idea for a bridal shower or couples party. Red is not just the color of love – it just “pops.” Made us smile and who couldn’t use a smile on a Monday!

LMD used hundreds of  yards of wide paper ribbons, ruby crystal rental chandelieres, oversized red helium balloons, cotton rental linens with crisp white linen runners edged in cerise grosgrain, silk butterflies, votives wrapped in cheerful Italian printed paper and tied with cotton cording, compotes of fresh strawberries and glazed ceramic pots planted with perky red geraniums and quippy cocktail napkins.

Imaj Design Group’s Custom Invitations – A Dash of Creativity with True Artistic Design

We are thrilled to introduce you to one of our new partners, Imaj Design.

Imaj Design Group is known for creating custom invitation suites and full wedding paper design packages that capture the essence of bridal couples’ imaginations, personalities, and themes.

How it all started …

It all began with a proposal. When designer and founder, Jami Baber Dixon, was asked to become the bride of Timothy Dixon, a search for the perfect wedding invitation began. After searching high and low, an undeniable truth came to light…there was a real need for invitations that were more sophisticated and captured the true spirit of the blessed event.Thus, out of a personal need for creativity and a love of truly artistic design, Imaj Design Group was born.

Today, the team at Imaj Design creates invitations and announcements for any occasion. Imaj creates promotional collateral for small to medium size businesses, as well as, stationery, and other paper goods. Outstanding design, gorgeous paper, attention to detail, and a dash of creativity will get your audience excited anytime they receive an Imaj design invitation.

From San Francisco with Love

We adore Thisbe Grace‘s romantic style. We’ve not seen much of her this summer as she’s been busy with so many “hot, hot, hot” weddings. But she promises us a wedding soon to share with all. In the meantime, the photos below are from a engagement shoot she did with her friend and cohort (and StrictlyWeddings.com partner) Jordan Payne. (The happy couple selected the stylish Jordan as wedding planner).

In Thisbe’s words … “They fell in love in San Francisco so where else for their engagements?  It was a whirlwind of a city tour with portraits everywhere and Jordan came for all the fun!  We hit up all their favorite spots!  Then the sun began to set and we made it to the beach in time for sunset over the golden gate bridge.” Sunshine & Grant are getting married this Fall at the Nasher Sculpture Center.

Brian Dorsey – Behind the Lens of a Great Talent

Sometimes we get fabulous wedding photos, yet no details to whet our curiosity. But then again, with the amazing talent of photographers such as New York City’s Brian Dorsey … who needs words when the photos speak for themselves?

Brian Dorsey Studios was named One of the Top 10 Wedding Photographers in the World by American Photo Magazine and is one of the recognized leaders of the lifestyle wedding movement. He and his team of award winning associates have photographed many of New York society’s most notable weddings and events. Enjoy the one below, then visit his website to experience more of his studio’s wonderful talent.

The Sun Shined Bright at this Hampton Wedding

StrictlyWeddings.com New York photographer Andy Marcus, of Fred Marcus Photography, lightened our summer heat wave with this beautiful wedding and reception in The Hamptons (held at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club). The sky was a beautiful blue, the sun kissed the bride & groom with a golden glow, and a blessed day was shared by all.

Wedding gown: Oscar de la Renta
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik
Cake: Sylvia Weinstock
Invitations, Linens, Menu, etc: Ellen Weldon Design
Flowers + Event Design: DeJuan Stroud
Wedding Planner: Gourmet Advisory Services