the city of love

Last month I had the distinct pleasure of travelling with some old and new friends in the industry to my favorite city- Paris for a photo shoot. It was truly a dream come true for me!

Shooting took place over the course of two days. The first day I styled a photography seminar that was being put on by the talented Robert and Kathleen Trenske for a group of international wedding photographers. The shoots were coordinated by my friend, the ever creative Candice Dowling of Jubilee Events and a local wedding planner (and my new friend) , Kim Petyt of Parisian Events.

The second day of shooting Rob, Kathleen, Candice and I, along with our make up artist Masafumi and our model Segolene, took to the streets of Paris for a shoot inspired by the movie Amalie. We had an amazing time shooting in a quintessential Parisian cafe, in the metro and with a vintage car in the hills of Montmarte!

Below are some behind the scenes highlights of day 1 of shooting. We can't wait to share the 'finished product' with you!

my dear friend Sarah and the best assistant EVER!

Kim of Parisian Events, and I playing with accessories!

Candice of Jubilee Events and I selecting accessories for the shoot

Fluffing the gown for it's photographic debut!

The setting for Day 1 of the shoot. An incredible apartment with views of Eiffel tower. Candice created a stunning table scape on the roof top terrace!

Dressing the 'groom'...bow ties are NOT my forte!

The creative crew from Day 1 of shooting!


Here are some behind the scenes shots of me hard at work...

Styling our model Segolene in a stunning gown by Modern Trousseau

Masafumi touching up Segolene while shooting in the metro

Day 2- shooting in Montmarte

Day 2- Kathleen shooting Segolene in an adorable cafe


Thanks to Rob and Kathleen for an amazing opportunity! It was the experience of a lifetime! I can't wait for our next adventure!

xoxo , TWD

costa rica baby!

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of travelling to Herradura, Costa Rica with a talented group of individuals to shoot for a Costa Rican organization called stay in costa rica.com. Stay in costa rica does things right and put us up in gorgeous home set on the property of Los Suenos Resort.

Our entourage included photographer, Carla Teneyck and several of her assistants, event planner, Candice Dowling of Event Jubilee and her assistant Diana, make up artist extraordinaire, DD Nickel, filmmaker Mike Cyr of Buzz Media and his wife Erica and floral designer and artist, Tony Pameri of Datura a modern garden.

Casa de suenos- our home for the week. A house of dreams it was!

My husband Mark and I, as taken by the talented Carla TenEyck. My husband made an excellent assistant!

Day 1 of shooting:

DD beautifying our model Michelle

We headed to a local black sand beach to shoot on Day 1. The contrast of the black sand and the wedding gown was incredible!

Candice and Tony created a beautiful and casual table scape on the beach overlooking the location of a mock ceremony complete with a calypso band!

Primping Michelle for the 'wedding'.

Tony wrapping posts in leaves for the mock ceremony

Candice putting the finishing touches on the table

Carla's photographers capturing the beauty and whimsy of the table

Mike Cyr working hard in the heat

As beautiful as the black sand beach was, it wreaked havoc on the gown! Being that Costa Rica is a rain forest, it started to rain at the end of the shoot. It basically felt like a trash the dress shoot! Thank goodness, the miracle makers Madame Paulette, offered to clean the gown for us after the shoot!

The mad dash to take cover from the rain!

A nice relaxing dinner after the shoot, created by our personal chef, Jose

Day 2 of shooting:

The second day we shot in the rain forest. Candice, Tony and Carla scouted an amazing location! Tony and Candice worked their magic and created a stunning table scape in the river under a bridge. The setting was completely unique and breathtaking.

After frolicking in the river, we headed up to a private residence set in a cliff with sweeping views of the rain forest and the Pacific Ocean. Words can not describe the views!

Carla and Erick took some of the most incredible shots at sunset


This was the experience of a lifetime. As they say in Costa Rica, Pura Vida! I can't wait to go back!

xoxo, TWD

2011 bridal trends!

We spent last weekend in New York city at bridal market visiting our designers and see the latest trends for 2011. Here is an update.

Romance continues for 2011. We saw lots of soft fabrics like organza and tulle, often paired with lace. Texture was represented in all of the collections- from ruffles, to layers to flowers- it is all about the dimension!

It's hard to believe, but Pickups are back! Almost all of our designers had some version of pickup skirts in their collection.

from left: Judd Waddell, Anne Barge, Nicole Miller, Augusta Jones

Romance is in! Full skirts graced all of the runways. Here is a sampling of our dreamy favorites!

from left: Anne Barge, Judd Waddell, Jewel by Priscilla of Boston

The other popular skirt silhouette was the trumpet skirt.

from top left: Anne Barge, Modern Trousseau, Modern Trousseau, Judd Waddell

Our favorite collection of the season was Modern Trousseau. Below are some of our faves!

It was tough choice, but our two favorite gowns from market are below!

Reverie by melissa sweet

Modern Trousseau

Please weigh in on your favorites!
Stay tuned for upcoming trunk shows featuring these stunning new gowns!

xoxo, TWD

YOLO bridal fashion show!

Join us Sunday April 25th at 5:00 at the Laurelview Country Club in Hamden for a bridal fashion show featuring the latest designs from Modern Trousseau, Melissa Sweet and Vineyard Collection.

The show will also feature lingerie by our very own Josie Jolon of Beneath the gown.

RSVP by April 19th, as space is limited~ 203.533.4560.

At the conclusion of the show, the winner of the YOLO bridal beauty makeover contest will be announced!

xoxo, TWD

bridal market

We are off to bridal market in NYC. Follow us on twitter as we chat about the latest trends and styles. When we return we will blog about all of our faves!

xoxo, TWD

costa rica baby!

My latest photo shoot adventure is in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. As a result of our New Orleans shoot, we were approached by stay in costa rica.com, an organization that represents the top resorts in Costa Rica. They asked us to come and put together a wedding photo shoot that they could use for their marketing (and that we can use for ours as well). I am with some of the top talents in the bridal industry~ Candice of Jubilee Events, Carla Teneyck, Datura a modern garden, Mike of Buzz Media and DD Nickel.

We will be shooting over the course of two days. The first day we are shooting a mock wedding on a black sand beach- complete with a calypso band! The second day, we are shooting in the rain forest amongst the amazing foliage of this beautiful country. The inspiration board for the shoots is above.

Stay in costa rica.com knows how to do things right and has put us up in an amazing home set on the grounds of Los Suneos Resort. The 'villa' that we are staying in is like nothing I have experienced. It is called La Casa de Suenos (the house of dreams) and it is truly that- and then some! You must click the link to check it out! It is MTV cribs on steroids! We have our own pool with swim up bar, showers that can fit 10 people in them and our own private chef! I could get used to this!

Stay tuned for photos of the finished product! It is sure to be amazing with this dream team!

xoxo, TWD

Homa Trunk Show!

Homa Veil & Accessory Trunk Show

April 23rd -24th

From funky cage veils and fun flowers with feathers to classic cathedral length mantilla veils Homa has a gorgeous selection of bridal accessories. Homa also designs beautiful head pieces, brooches, earrings, necklaces and bracelets too!

A 10% discount will be granted off all Homa accessories, and have the chance to meet Homa herself on Saturday! Please call to make your appointment, 860-669-4596.

xoxo, TWD