Wedding Decoration ideas from St. Louis

I recently got back from St. Louis, MO and came across this amazing store/workshop called SKIF. In their window displays were the most inventive, whimsical and lovely paper and found object decorations. I was inspired immediately by the works for my wedding. I particularly love the mish-mash of elements. The way the twigs and paper and lights create instant texture. I love the hand-made feel of the decorations too, it creates easy comfort.
I also love how accessible this will be to make. All I have to do is get paper and friends together to make lots of flowers, papelito, and other fun designs we will probably come up with on our own.

More Wedding Dress Inspiration

Today was the third day of trying on more gowns. Yesterday, my friend Linda and I went and tried on much more expensive gowns than my first trial run.
The image with the purple background is a Lazaro dress that I absolutely fell in love with, except the price!
However, what I got clearer on was that I want something that shows off my figure (you're only young once!) and yet has a vintage feel and is long with a train.
We decided after the 5K dress experience to go to some fancy vintage stores and see what we could come up with....I am a designer and I specialize in reworking things, why can't I do that for my own gown?
I just can't justify spending thousands of dollars on a dress that I will only wear once especially when that money could go for other things like -- travel!
So, I think we found a wonderful embroidered dress that fits like a glove. It needs some length and shoulder straps (I refuse to wear a strapless...a girl has to eat!)
and some more pizazz. But other than that, this vintage dress really fits the bill, and my budget!

These other gowns I am displaying are by Maria Karin and I think they are fabulous! I am inspired to add similar elements to the vintage dress in the way Karina uses texture and form.

Inspirations for the Wedding Dress

A lot changed since I first started putting together my inspirations for the wedding dress. I have since gone out and tried some on which has altered my mindset on everything.
Which is making me think I may need two dresses. The ceremonial dress feels like I want it to be more virginal, Mary-like. More soft, more like my princess Ozma fantasy. Perhaps the reception dress will be more vixen, more queen-like and fun. The dresses I have put here fall into each category. Still not sure if I will design the dress entirely or if I will alter a dress now. Decisions!!!

Colors for Wedding....Update!

After meeting with Alex I realized that simpler is better. As a designer I am one of those who loves to overdo it. I just want more and more. In my personal artwork there is never enough saturation, print and color. However, Alex reminded me that for a wedding, it is about the people, and especially me.
If I am going to make a fabulous gown, I need to stand out from the background and not be overwhelmed by the setting.

The picture here demonstrates the results from our meeting. (I purposfully posted the image upside down so you can focus on colors, not content).

Lower the saturation of the overall color scheme and make sure they are warm hues. He says that everyone looks good against warm tones, and you want everyone to look and feel good, and warm tones make people have stronger appetites.
In the photo you can see that we have soft beige, creams, browns, oranges and golds. Light blues and silvers can also be mixed in as long as the majority of colors are on the warmer side.
Since my dress is going to have a rich royal blue and turquoise with cream--as demonstrated by the 'pop' of the blue in the image--against the pastels, they will definitely stand out. Also, reds or pinks of darker saturation will also be accent colors for bridesmaids and groom and they too also 'pop' against the softer background.

For decor, the blues can be sprinkled into the setting with little details like vases, ornaments or random objects to pull the dress into the scheme without it being too much.

So there you have it! The latest colors. More to come on the dress and other things!

Ring the Bells....first blog dedicated to Designing my Wedding

The dust has (mainly) settled. Since moving out of my studio, there has been non-stop work to reorganize our home so that my stuff fits! Luckily all things have found a place, and now I get to focus on the fun things in life like .... planning my wedding!
Today I will be meeting with a friend Alex who is going to help me create the 'mood and look' of the wedding. Alex is a an interior designer extraordinaire, especially in the sense that he knows how to create luxury on the cheap. This is my kind of man because I tell you, I never DREAMED I would spend this much on my wedding as we are having
to shell out. Yet, Andrew and I are dedicated to having a beautiful wedding and that seems to mean spending some decent $$$.

Now time for visuals. In prepping for my design meeting with Alex I have been collecting images of things and places and other weddings that have incorporated elements that I like.
I decided for the overall themes what inspire me is the following: Moulin Rouge, Morocco, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Shabby Chic, mixed with a little Bollywood.
The Images I have shown here are all 'inspirational images that will guide us in the right direction. To give us the look and feel of the wedding.

The reason I chose this diverse set of themes is each of them have a emotional quality that I desire to have at the wedding.Moulin Rouge if you have ever seen the film, is a treat for the eyes. Such a visual experience that is breathtaking. I want my guests and myself to be totally moved by the beauty of the wedding. Also, MR is glamorous, and sexy. I know I want to feel sexy and my bridesmaids do too! Last, MR is about life a la bohemian. I come from bohemian roots, lots of artists and creators of expressive living. I want that element to be expressed in the wedding too. Old mixed with new, creative ways to create gorgeous aesthetic without being ostentatious.

I chose Morocco interiors because I just adore the sumptuous beauty in the architecture and home decor. The culture seems to put a priority on lounging and being comfortable physically and visually. The use of color and mixing textures is done exquisitely.

Art Nouveau has always been one of my favorite design eras. There was an appreciation for the organic, unfinished, and flow of art with nature we have yet to appreciate again. The craftsmanship too is remarkable. I know for my dress and my bridesmaids (not to forget the groom) will definitely have the attention to detail and quality that is so evident in AN.

Art Deco is included just because it is similar to AN but more people seem to relate to it. Art Deco came right after AN and incorporates harder lines and more symmetry while still maintaining high design concepts and quality.

Last, let's talk Bollywood. Andrew and I are totally fans of the films. The color, the music the unabashed celebration of life. Coming from India, the colors and vibrancy is similar to Morocco. However, I chose Bollywood for the idea that I want everyone at the wedding to fully enjoy themselves as if it were their last day on this earth; sing, dance and be merry like never before!






Looking at these images will help us come up with the most important first step of the wedding...our color palette. So far the colors I know for sure are; royal blue, cream, turquoise, gold/brown, pink and black.



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The next few images I will show are to illustrate different components that I would like to have incorporated in the wedding. These images are more literal and will give Alex some solid examples of what is possible for decor.

Streamers and more streamers! I love anything that hangs from above. I think these images show some great ways to play with the concept.























































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Table settings. I want something unique and comfortable. Here are some images that display aspects of beauty and creativity that I enjoy.

I love personalized elements in decoration. I know I will achieve this because my maid of honor Ahna, is the queen of little notes and signage that are quirky and fabulous.












































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Fun Details!
These are just some images of things that I like that create extra 'funness' to an event.

I haven't made a special section for flowers yet...but for now, I do appreciate the image to the left and the huge tree-like flowers framing the ceremony. I think it is a cool variation of the trellis altar.
Or for example, since we have a 'themed' wedding (sort of) it would be great to have a table that offered easy dress-up accessories to those who just couldn't find something festive in their wardrobe. The image with the cowboy hat table is a great example of how to set up an area for wardrobe help.

How To Wear Vagadu

Good afternoon everyone!

This post today is going to be a fun one! We've added images of Vagadu vests onto fashion spreads to show you all how you could possibly wear on the vests! Wouldn't it be wonderful if on a student living I could afford to dress myself in wonderful dresses made by Louis Vuitton!

I hope that everyone in enjoys this! The purple vest is on a Donna Karan outfit. The navy and red vest isplaced on a model

wearing J Brand jeans. The yellow Louis Vuitton dress has a scraptec flowering vest over it. And the purple slip dress has a sleeve vest over it. Don't they all look great?!

Also I wanted to wish everyone Happy Holiday for whatever holiday that you might celebrate! Keep your family close and have a great time! This is going to be my last blog for Vagadu but keep an eye out for "Love & Fashion" because I will always be around!

Love & Fashion,

Kelley signing off for Vagadu

Pillow Talk

Hello darlings!

I hope that everyone is having a great day and that everything is going how they hoped their day would go.

Things are going wonderfully here at Vagadu because we've been working on new ideas and the final product is here! We've been experimenting with making pillows out of older fabric pieces that were too small to use for any of our large projects like the blazer vests and dresses. And these pillows have turned out great!

They are Scraptec Pillows made using a base pillow cover and then we've added the Vagadu touch! Like the blazer vests these pillows have the most wonderful fabrics on them like Italian silks in very beautiful patterns.

I know how hard it can be to find accent pieces for new homes or maybe an older couch that you wanted to spice up. Instead of spending loads of money getting it reupholstered or trying to find a slip that doesn't make the couch look dumpy you can buy a Vagadu Scraptec Pillow!

This is a great option because through the practices that Vagadu upholds, you too can be green. At Vagadu our products are made from 90% recycled materials, and everything is made by hand so there isn't any environmental damage caused by all of our products!

Don't hesitate to participate in some pillow talk tonight because that is the green thing to do!

Love & Fashion,

Kelley for Vagadu