The Sparkly Wedding Blog

who is behind sparkliatti?

Sparkliatti is an alter ego, the shiny and the fun and sometimes the ranting site of event designer Sasha Souza and blog editor Hilary Smith. From things that Sasha thinks are cool to the utterly ridiculous, you'll find Sasha's unique opinion on all things party & events. Hilary brings a super hip New York style to the blog updating on events, fashion shows, awesome and inspiring color palettes and everything bridal. Hope you're inspired, entertained and come back regularly for a little more sparkle.
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Apr 20 2012

The Wedding Games

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I’m excited to announce that I’m one of the judges for the Wedding Games. This super awesome contest is being put on by The Wedding & Event Institute. Today, they posted my interview to the contestants of the Wedding Games…. check it out on their blog.

The winner of The Wedding Games will receive:

Course of your choice from the Wedding and Event Institute (awesome education!)
Signed copy of the book Signature Sasha – Magnificent Weddings by Design
One year membership to WIPA (Wedding Industry Professional Association)
iPad 2 16GB
One year subscription to WedLock Magazine - the marketing magazine for wedding professionals

I can’t wait to see the creativity that the Tribute teams come up with for this challenge! Hope you’ll join all the posts when the Tribute teams are announced next week! Here’s the timeline to keep yourself updated on the games:

Competition Timeline

Friday April 13 – entry for the Wedding Games open
Thursday April 19 – entry closes
Friday April 20 – the 12 Tributes will be announced and details of each tribute with a headshot and interview will go live over the weekend.
Monday April 23 – competition goes live and the games begin. The Tributes will be given access to a Pinterest Board where they can pin things to keep their audience interested in what they are doing. Voting opens as the competition opens so the more that each Tribute shares on the Pinterest Board allocated to them the better and the more info they send us to put up on the blogs, FB & Twitter the better too. Voting will be via a Poll hosted on www.thespecialeventexperts.com and also right here on our website.
Friday April 28 – final board and concept must be submitted by each Tribute.
Monday April 30 – voting closes
Tuesday May 1 – the winner is announced

by svsouza

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Mar 05 2012

Meatball Marriage

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Weekly World News

So if you follow the gossip in the wedding world, sources like E! News and Bridal Guide have “confirmed” the engagement and pregnancy rumors about everyone’s favorite Jersey Shore guidette, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi.

HELL HATH FROZEN OVER!

Well, not really, but for some people, it has. I mean reps for MTV and Snooki have yet to confirm anything and the last we heard about it, Snooki was on every talk show telling hosts she wasn’t pregnant, but she knew that a proposal would be coming soon. On Feb 12, Snooki told People:

“I know he’s the one so I know the ring’s gonna come soon,…Well, not soon-soon. He knows it should be big, cuz if it’s small I’m saying no. Like, ‘Get another ring!”

After a bout of trying on $500k engagement rings, her poor “fiancé” Jionni LaValle won’t find anything to suit her wants…er, needs. In today’s market where traditionally spending three months of a groom’s annual income isn’t always within a groom’s financial means, a bride is only setting herself up for disappointment. However, in the world of TV, I have a feeling this marriage will happen just the way Snooki likes it: loud, gaudy, and out of control.

I do have a bone to pick with these rumors though. Currently, Snooki and her guidette counterpart Jenny “JWOWW” Farley, have just moved into a party place in Jersey City where they are going to film their girls only Jersey Shore spin-off. What is the point of having a TV show about two party girls if the one who is known for being belligerent, can’t get drunk? Wouldn’t MTV have pulled the plug on that?

Not unless they are turning it into a wedding show! The pint-sized with the poof and her voluptuous sidekick are on the hunt for the perfect Jerseytastic wedding with only a little time to go before she pops out her own pickle. I can see it now! Jersey Shore meets Jerseylicious with a dash of Jersey Couture will be bigger than the disastrous wedding of Kim K! The animal prints and the tanning oil! It will be the American version of My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding and don’t you try to deny that show from it’s honorable place of the best worst wedding show on TV!

Okay, so I guess my point it, people get all huffy over a silly girl getting what she wants, “to move to Jersey, find a nice, juiced hot tan guy and live (her) life”. So you go girl. Live your life. Have a meatball marriage and give birth to a pickle baby and let all of America get more absorbed in wedding culture. I am all for it and lucky for me, I live right across the Hudson River.

Celebrate love and fist pumping as we watch this wedding become “A Shore Thing“!

-Hilary

by hilarysmith

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Mar 02 2012

Silly for Ceramics

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Over the past few months as I’ve made my way through the different seasons of wedding faires, a trend has really stuck with me that I love. The use of antique china tea pots and cups. The vintage look is hot right now, but I took away another great decor idea. China is made of porcelain made ceramic material. After heated and glossed (and sometimes painted), porcelain-an organic material, usually clay, and ceramic-an inorganic material of crystalline. Either way, they look very similar and are equally beautiful.

When I first saw this tablescape from Style Me Pretty in the upper left hand corner, I about fell over. I love the blue against the gold and pink the floral and the votives. It’s soft and sleek offering a contrast to the metal and crystal of the flat and stemware. The ceramic light bowls give a great glow across the table and the lace accent can cast a cool shadow on the table. Turning a water jug into a vase is a shabby chic staple and this teal painted pottery is a beauty on any table top. Having a ceramic or porcelain cake stand is pretty common nowadays, but I am loving these stands that have a little extra touch like the ruffle on the stand in the middle. The pink orb with white flowers and spikes seems like an odd tabletop accessory for a wedding, but for the rock and roll bride who wants a touch of porcelain on her tables, this jar is sure to make an explosion. The lavender filled white ceramic urn is simple yet elegant way to decorate your event giving off a farm and country effect. The Moroccan painted ceramic plates will certainly brighten up any tabletop and give a taste of individuality to each guest’s place setting. These giant white floor lanterns can hold flowers and notecards earlier in the day then will light the way at night.

When using ceramics or porcelain, remember that you can keep the pieces forever. A wonderful assortment of bowls, plates, cups, and platters will build a collection for you and your partner to share at dinner parties and holidays for the years to come.

-Hilary

by hilarysmith

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Feb 29 2012

Taking a Leap of Faith

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Sometimes when two people are in love, they need to take a leap of faith. Most people would call that getting married, but this groom, took an even bigger leap when he planned his bride’s wedding day without her knowing and then asked her to get married that same day. Check out the video by Gavin Michael Booth below and make sure you have a box of tissues handy!

I cannot imagine the emotions going through the bride and groom at that moment. No matter how many weddings I have been to and worked on, nothing prepares you for a moment like that. I’m sure it’s not exactly what she dreamed of, but she had the elements she wanted and the love of her life, so everything was perfect. In a follow up interview, the groom says that their proposal was less than ideal and that after seven years it was time to get married. He said he wanted to not only make up for the proposal, but for everything. The bride said if she had planned it all, the stress would have left her less than enthusiastic, but with this surprise wedding, she was able to enjoy it and focus on the meaning of their wedding. If you want to check out the follow up interview, click HERE.

I hope everyone takes a leap of faith in their life and has a Happy Leap Day!

-Hilary

by hilarysmith

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Feb 22 2012

An Ashy Mardi Gras Carnival

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Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent where Catholics and other denominations of Christianity focus on the death and resurrection of Christ. Lent is a period of reflection and repentance.

But without sinning, what are you supposed to repent? That’s what this past week was for! Mardi Gras (aka Fat Tuesday), Carnival, and Pancake Day are all examples of sinful indulgences. These deboturous festivities are fun had by all regardless of religious beliefs. With Carnival and Mardi Gras come bold flashy colors and lots of sparkle and shine. With Ash Wednesday, muted earth tones of ashy grey and taupe brown are more often used. Why not mix them together for a great color palet and take away some great ideas for the Big Day!

A trend in the past year of having performers at your party is still hot. Having masked Carnival or Mardi Gras performers and dancers will keep your guests moving and entertained throughout the event. The mixture of bright colors with grey in a lounge area keeps both themes alive while giving your guest a relaxed setting. These grey velvet chairs are fabulous! A little bit lux while still drawing the eye to the table. The Brits call the day before Ash Wednesday, Pancake Day. As a late night treat, pass silver dollar pancakes for guests to munch on while the party continues. Masks are worn on the eve of the Lenten season as a way to hide the sinners face. Rather than covering up your guests, these leather cut out masks by Tom Banwell available on Etsy, are similar to the trend of the paper mustaches and masks, but takes it up a notch. Your guests can even keep the masks as a favor. Lanterns and candles wrapped in grey metal cut outs give the lowlight romantic feeling. I cannot get over how beautiful this photo of a tulip is! If it wasn’t just a trick in the lighting, these flowers would be perfect for a bouquet. Having luxurious looking lounge furniture for guests is key, but this antique wood and violet velvet love seat is the perfect for the bride and groom when they want to kick back. Since grey goes with every color, having a lot of different flowers in different colors will add to the fun Carnival/Mardi Gras look. Keeping the flowers seasonal is a great way to be able to have more flowers without going overboard on the budget.

Happy Ash Wednesday (for those who follow) and hope everyone had a wonderful Fat Tuesday!

-Hilary