I was recently introduced to the work of Maria-Thérèse at Afiori and I'm so intrigued by her Fine Art Photographs that I wanted to use one of them as the starting point for an inspiration board. {her Visual Poetry 4, Purple Rain can be seen in the top middle row below}. I'm a huge fan of the popular color purple in weddings. Here I combined it with green and black for a bit of a more dramatic feel.
Image Credits and Resources:
Floating Candles by Jo Tyler of Sarah Kaye, Visual Poetry 4, Purple Rain, Fine art photograph, 8x8 from Afiori, Bride in Field from BHG.com, Floral Bouquet with Sweet Pea and Hypericum Berries from The Knot, Bridal Shoes from Bella Fotographica, Purple and Green Passion Flower Gift Tags from Moth to a Flame Studio, Cupcakes from Cups 'n' Cakes by Hanita, Floral Bouquet with Heather, Wax Flowers and Lavender Sweet Peas from Martha Stewart Weddings, Floral Bouquet with Alium and Avocado/Olive Pom Pom Trim from JL Designs{photo by Stephanie Williams}

Ideas and Inspirations | Photos and Galleries
Motif: any type of herb

I love the smell of fresh herbs in the summer and having them be incorporated into a garden wedding is just perfect. There are so many ways to incorporate herbs into a wedding (or even a bridal shower), including:
• the actual bouquets and boutonnieres
• actual decor (wreaths, hanging pots, centerpieces)
• favors (potted herbs doing double duty has take home gifts and place cards)
• food (herb butter, herb roasted potatoes, thyme marinated grilled chicken, Summer herb crusted salmon)

Plus, herbs are a great solution for "green weddings". Not only are they green in color, but they are eco-friendly when planted in pots and given to guests to take home and use.
Image Credits and Resources:
potted herbs lining the aisle from Snippet and Ink, bouquet with thyme, rosemary and sage from Martha Stewart Weddings, invitation from Style Me Pretty, table setting from Grey Likes Weddings, cakes from Brides, herb centerpieces in silver buckets with tables named after herbs from Snippet and Ink, herb centerpiece from Style Me Pretty, herbs in wood crate from Brides, herb seed packet table cards from Brides, place card favors from Brides, terra cotta potted herbs from Lucky Me, herb butter from Brides, place card favor from Martha Stewart Weddings

It's already time for another Eye Candy Friday installment, so here we go . . .
The above montage is from the wedding of Kathy and Gregg, photographed by Gabriel Ryan
(click here to see more photos from their wedding)
Visit Gabriel's blog

The above photo is from Dina and Tim's wedding - coordinated by Madeline's Weddings and Events
(click here to see more photos from their wedding). The photo was taken by Manuel Sousa Photography.
Visit Madeline's blog

And, I'm sure some of you may have seen the above image from Jennifer Skog around the blog world recently, but I just couldn't resist adding it to this week's eye candy.
(You can see more from this event here)
Visit Jennifer Skog's blog

web site find
I recently received a comment on my Eco-Friendly Wedding Invitations post that introduced me to a "green wedding" etsy shop. It's called Save the Date * Save the Trees. The shop sells digital Save the Dates. I think this is an absolutely brilliant idea and the shop is filled with lovely designs.

Not only are you saving money on stamps, you are saving yourself time and helping the earth by saving trees. You simply choose the layout you like, purchase that design, email your information and you approve a jpeg file. Then you are supplied with a digital save-the-date file that you then email to your guest list. You will actually receive 2 files - one for emailing {72 dpi} and one high-res file {300 dpi} for printing if your guest doesn't have an email or if they don't check their email often.

The digital save the date's are easy on your budget too at only $13.50 per design (summer sale designs are $11.50 each).

I love these mini glass jars for guest favors - they're just so cute! You can either personalize them with a label or ribbon and the possibilities for fillings is limitless. You can easily use colored candy to match your party colors, but how about...
Beach Theme: fill with shells and sand
Bridal Luncheon: fill with loose tea
Other fillings might include: coffee beans, nuts, spices, homemade treats

Not only are they practical as a favor, but they are eco-friendly favors as well since they are re-usable after the event. Do you have any other ideas for goodies to go inside the mini glass containers?

Above products can be found here:
Classic Round Jar Favors from Beau-coup
(they also carry modern hexagonal jars)
Candy Glass Jars from our specialty wedding shop
Additional mini glass jars can be found at The Container Store