wedding Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Custom Jewelry & Bridal Accessories by J'Adorn Designs

Love Is Brewing: Coffee Themed Wedding Inspiration

June 2, 2014 1 Comment

I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with some stellar D.C. area wedding professionals to create this awesome coffee themed styled shoot full of inspiration for all you caffeinated brides out there. The shoot took place at Cervantes Coffee, a warehouse that made the perfect setting for the urban chic look we hoped to achieve. Here’s a look at some of my favorite shots…

For the bride, I created a necklace of clear Swarovski crystals, ivory Swarovski pearls and sterling silver elements in a lariat-style design. [Look familiar? That’s because this was a revisited version of the bridal set that I made for Abby last summer!]

Following the theme of pearls in various hues inspired by coffee and the industrial setting, I created a longer necklace for the maid-of-honor using Swarovski pearls in ivory and beige with hematite beads and gold-filled metal elements. This necklace echoes the lariat style of the bride’s necklace with a different color palette and length. I love this pairing of the necklace with a chambray top and black dress.

The styling of this bridal inspiration shoot was simply gorgeous, down to every last detail. I can practically smell the coffee brewing!

Thanks so much to our photographer, Megan Chase Photography, and our partners in the shoot:

Venue: Cervantes Coffee

Hair and Makeup: Carolyn Thombs Makeup Artistry & Consulting

Stationery Design: Moments of Happiness Designs and Novelties, Inc.

Flowers and Planning: EightTreeStreet

Jewelry: J’Adorn Designs

Other Participating Vendors:

1. Spoons: Milk and Honey Luxuries

2. Hand-stamped coffee theme hanging tags: Charonel Designs

3. Printable “Love is Brewing” sign: Borden Specifics

Models: Anna Joy Lees, Rebecca and Jesse Baskin

Custom Jewelry, J'Adorn Brides

Custom Wedding Jewelry: Kelly + Chris

October 12, 2012 No Comments

As you may remember from an earlier post, my bestie got married this summer. I needn’t wax poetic once again about how beautiful and perfect the day turned out to be (it was seriously AMAZING, you guys), but I will tell you a little bit about the custom jewelry I made for her and show you some pretty pictures to sweeten the deal. 🙂

If you know my girl Kelly, you know that she loves pearls. It came as no surprise to me that she would want to include pearls as a staple element of her bridal jewelry, and I had so much fun designing a set to go with the delicate, feminine look she had imagined for her bridesmaids.

Pale peach, pink, and seamist were the colors of the day. I decided to use white pearls as a starting point for the bridesmaids’ necklace, then added a peachy-pink floral cabochon to the design to bring in a little color and texture. Since the matron of honor’s dress was unique from the bridesmaids’, I used mint-colored mother of pearl beads to tie in the full color palette to her look.

Kelly wanted the coordinated earrings to be simple and elegant, so I suggested a small drop earring with white and pink freshwater pearls. All of the bridesmaids wore this same earring design, which did a nice job of tying together the collective look.

Kelly and Chris’s wedding day was one of elegance, joy, and beauty. I’m happy to have had the chance to contribute to that beauty, and to have stood beside my dear friends on the day they committed their lives to one another.

Xo, Ali

{Many thanks to Lauren Fair for sharing her beautiful photos with me, and for taking the close-ups of my jewelry! All photos in this post are from Lauren Fair Photography, unless otherwise noted.}

Custom Jewelry, J'Adorn Brides

Custom Wedding Jewelry: Mallory + Jake

October 3, 2012 No Comments

I had the pleasure of creating custom wedding jewelry for a number of beautiful couples and their bridal parties this past summer. It’s a side of my business that I really love, and I hope to develop it further as J’Adorn grows.

Mallory and Jake’s wedding in late July was a beautiful affair, and I was especially happy to contribute because Mallory has been a close friend of mine for nearly a decade. Mallory and Jake are electric together, and that quality flows from their deep love for one another and their shared passion for life & adventure. I loved collaborating with Mal to create an elegant, classic set of bracelets for her and her bridesmaids for their vintage travel themed wedding.

For Mallory’s bridesmaids, I created stretch bracelets with grey and ivory glass pearls. The grey pearls were slightly smaller than the ivory pearls to give the piece some visual interest within the simple design. These bracelets were all identically matching, with the exception of size (obviously those adorable junior bridesmaids had tinier wrists than the rest of the girls!)

Mallory’s bracelet was designed to match the bridesmaids’ without being completely identical. I used ivory glass pearls for her stretch bracelet and added some round sapphire crystals to coordinate with the navy blue bridesmaids’ dresses – and to serve as her “something blue!” I finished the piece with a silver “E” charm to symbolize her new last name.

The bracelet ended up matching the rest of Mal’s bridal jewelry perfectly, which was wonderful given the fact that I didn’t actually see any of it until the day of the wedding!

I loved the glamorous, classy style that Mallory chose for her wedding day and am honored to have had the opportunity to contribute.

Congratulations to Mal and Jake! May this beautiful day be only the beginning of your adventures together!

Xo,

Ali

[All photos in this post are by Pill Photography.]

Designer's Diary

My Best Friend’s Wedding

August 31, 2012 3 Comments

Were you hoping this post would be about an awesome Julia Roberts movie full of 90’s goodness and big hair? Sorry to let you down, friends. Hopefully lots of pretty pictures will make up for it! 🙂

This past weekend, my bestie tied the knot with her love of 5 years. I couldn’t be happier for them!

MeAndKelly — Me with my beautiful bestie, Kelly, on her wedding day

I got to play a big role in the making of this wedding, which was pretty awesome when all is said and done. In addition to being a bridesmaid and making the bridesmaids’ jewelry (obvi), I headed up a team of hardworking friends of the happy couple to create 80 mason jar centerpieces for the outdoor pavilion reception + some little extra bottles for cocktail hour.

To everyone who helped pull off this project: THANK YOU. You are rockstars.

A lot DIY went into making this reception the gorgeous party that it was. Kelly and Chris seriously have the best friends. How beautiful is this end result!?

In addition to our DIY-ed centerpieces, Kelly hired a local florist for the bouquets and boutonnieres. You know me – I couldn’t help but snap a few pictures (and by “snap” I mean tap the little camera button on my iPhone. I’m pretty high tech, folks.) Take a look at this loveliness.

Dahlias, David Austin roses, Queen Ann’s Lace, Ranunculus… and some stunning anemones in Kelly’s bouquet. I was drooling.

Another friend of the couple was commissioned with making the wedding cake, which was so delicious that I ~~shamelessly ate three whole slices~~ really enjoyed it and exercised self-control. (Have we talked about my sugar addiction yet? No? Maybe I’ll get to that someday…)

Not only was the cake to-die-for-delicious; it was gorgeous and perfectly styled for their rustic outdoor celebration.

I seriously want to eat this all over again. Right now.

The best part of the day for me was getting to spend an evening dancing under the stars with my sweetie and some of my best friends in the whole world.

MeAndDustin — Me with my super-studly hubster, enjoying the evening

Since being married myself, weddings have evoked some very tender and strong emotions for me. (I was teetering on the edge of ugly-crying during the whole ceremony!) There’s something very special about marriage, and it’s a special kind of joy to watch my friends begin their own journeys into matrimony.

LaurenFair — Photo by Lauren Fair Photography*

Congratulations, Kelly and Chris. May the Lord bless you with many beautiful years together. I love you both!

Xo, Ali

*Check out Lauren Fair Photography here. Lauren and her husband Tim are friends of mine from my hometown who specialize in what may be the most beautiful wedding photography ever. Their work is absolutely stunning!