Hi! I'm Ann, cofounder of Love Olio and ardent aficionado of fun and unique weddings. Join me in discovering swoon-worthy wedding design, decor, and style ideas - all sure to spark your creativity!

Bohemian Wedding in Bali by Jonas Peterson

bohemian beach wedding

I think the most inspiring weddings are always the ones that reflect the couple’s unique story, who they are and what brings them together. Mandy’s and Sammy’s bohemian Bali wedding is definitely one of those inspiring weddings.

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

Mandy is a bohemian artist and Sammy is a surfer. They were married at Bingin, Bali, one of the most beautiful surfing beaches in the world. Every breathtaking moment was captured by the talented photojournalist, Jonas Peterson.

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

Mandy wore a handmade feather headdress in lieu of a traditional veil, and hemp seashell dress in lieu of the conventional white gown. Both details reflect her worldly and nature loving spirit.

In an interview with Corridor 40, she says, “I really love the cultures with a strong tribal or spiritual element. I get inspired when I see someone draping a sarong in an unusual way, or wearing a special piece of jewelery for cultural reasons. I think this is refreshing, and you can interpret that into the way you dress. I think it’s about self-expressionism, like art.”

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

bohemian beach wedding

If you’re wondering where on earth such a perfect venue exists, wonder no more. The venue is Karma Kandara, a gorgeous Bali resort that is seriously a fantasy wedding destination.

bali wedding

bali wedding

From the lanterns to the wicker bird cages, the natural wedding decor is simply perfection!

bali wedding

bali wedding

bali wedding

The evening ended with Balinese dancing and the bride and groom joining the performance.

bali wedding

bali wedding

Love was definitely in the sea breeze.

This stunning wedding leaves me absolutely smitten by how beautiful love is!

Many thanks to Jonas for sharing Mandy’s and Sammy’s gorgeous seaside wedding. See more beautiful weddings and breathtaking imagery on Jonas’ website/blog.

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Cross-indexed in: Wedding Eye Candy

New Year, New Swoon

balloons

{photo by Luis Monteiro}

I have a big announcement to make! At First Swoon is becoming a part of my flagship website, Love Olio, and is being renamed to Swoon.

After much consideration – the two month peternity leave gave me plenty of time to think – I’ve decided to consolidate my two wedding website projects into one. And so, today, I’m happy to announce the launch of Swoon!

Swoon picks up where At First Swoon left off, but with a much stronger focus on creative, unique, and original wedding ideas.

Noel, my husband and confidante, designed the brand new look and feel of Swoon and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished.

I’m super excited to start this new adventure with you!

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Cross-indexed in: Uncategorized

Wedding Gown Cleaning and Preservation Giveaway!

Darlings, I have finally recovered from being cutefied and officially back! Our little addition to the family is now very well adjusted. And we’re adjusted to him too. Now that we’re both settled in, I’m ready to resume my favorite hobby, blogging about weddings.

And what better way to kick start the blog again than with a wonderful giveaway by Wedding Gown Preservations!

Before I went on my peternity leave, a couple months ago I tested out an online wedding gown cleaning and preservation service. I trashed my dress and sent it off to Affordable Preservations Co.

Well, my dress came back and voila!

DSC02702

It looks brand spanking new, even newer than when I first bought it. All the stains are now gone, the lace is perfectly ironed, and they even packaged it up in a sweet box, making it easy for me to store and preserve my gown for years to come!

If you’d like to have the same attention to detail and wonderful treatment for your wedding dress, I have a wedding gown cleaning and preservation kit, including free shipping both ways, worth $149, to give away to one lucky winner!

The giveaway has ended. Sorry to have missed you. If you’d like to be notified of future giveaways, please Subscribe to the blog, or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks!

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Cross-indexed in: deals and giveaways, giveaways, gown preservation, Promos and Giveaways

Cutefied

You might have been wondering where I’ve been this past week…I have a small confession: I’ve been cutefied!  The huz recently rescued a shih tzu mix for my bday and ever since it’s been all talks about puppies at our home. Here’s the little darling. His name is JJ!

IMG_2626

I thought it only fair to share the cuteness with you…

We’re acquainting our puppy to his new home so it’s been much work but all the love is definitely worth it! Checking in to let you know I haven’t fallen off the planet just yet…just cutefied!

I will recover soon. I hope.

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Cross-indexed in: Uncategorized

Halloween Wedding by White Rabbit Studios

This is hands down the most gorgeous Halloween wedding I’ve ever laid eyes on! I can’t stop gushing over the details…I would’ve never imagined orange and black as wedding colors and yet this wedding pulled it off so brilliantly! It made me want to start decorating in orange and black!

You must go to White Rabbit Studios to see the rest of the photos. They’re seriously inspirational!

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Cross-indexed in: Wedding Eye Candy

What’s Your Pick: Sequins or Lace?

This fall season, I’m noticing two trends: glittery sequins and ladylike lace. Both are incredibly sexy but in very different ways: sequins are modern, glamorous and glitzy while lace is vintage, traditional, and lady-like.

So which is more you? Glitter or lace?

glitter-or-lace1 Pearlized sequined silk dress OR Spinning lace dress?

 

glitter-or-lace Moonbeamed sequin blazer OR lace bolero?

 

glitter-or-lace3 Sequin mesh bell skirt OR Severn lace mini?

 

glitter-or-lace2 Crystal pinatas OR lace candleholders?

And would you mix and match?

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Cross-indexed in: Aisle Style, anthropologie wedding, jcrew bride, jcrew wedding dress, lace wedding details, sequin wedding dress

CSN Giveaway Winner!

Two weeks ago, I announced the $60 CSN giveaway and asked you for budget decor ideas. The responses were seriously incredible! We’ve got some crafty folks here!

I knew it would be hard to pick a fair winner with so many great ideas, so I’m leaving it to chance (i.e. Randomizer).  Our lucky random winner is… Jenna! Congrats and I hope the $60 come in handy!

Jenna shared the following DIY decor tip: Buy an empty box frame and drill a whole big enough to fit corks. This looks great on the wall over your wine collection and provides a great place to dispense your corks.

Inspired by Jenna’s ideas, I found 2 more cork projects on Crafting a Green World:

http://c1.craftingagreenworld.com/files/2009/01/cork-board.jpg

A BIG thank you to everyone for sharing your creative budget decor ideas!

If you need some inspirations for holiday decorating, a quick scroll through the giveaway’s comments will give you plenty of ideas ;) .

Here are some of my fav budget decor ideas from readers:

*Frame pretty greeting cards, calendar pages, magazine photos, or fabrics

*Paint pine cones and leaves with shimmery gold dye

*Spray paint candlesticks, picture frames, and mirrors to match

*Reuse bottles and jars as vases

*Press fall leaves and hang them by the window (sounds beautiful!)

Til next time, stay inspired!

Cross-indexed in: $60 csn giveaway, diy decor projects, giveaway winner

5 Under $50 Friday: Lovely Lace

lacewedding

I can’t tell you enough how glad I am that this week is finally over! That’s a big all caps TGIF. It’s midnight now, and my eyes are barely open, but I had to keep up our 5 Under $50 Friday tradition and share with you these lovely lacey things. The huz thinks I’m getting a little obsessive and I probably should be resting instead of incoherently mumbling about blogging, but what can I say…inspiration is addicting :) .

1) Pearls and lace necklace from Little White Dresser, $35

2) Flora lace garter from Woomi, $28

3) Kraft top tuck gift boxes 12/$3.75 and 10 yards of vintage paper lace $ 3.50 from Prettie Parties

4) Lovebirds lace paper cupcake wrappers from Lisasu, $11.95/20

5) Greek goddess lace headband from Little White Dresser, $28

Have a relaxing weekend darlings…I know I will be doing lots of R&R!

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Cross-indexed in: 5 under 50, etsy finds, etsy lace, etsy wedding decor, lace wedding details, Swoon-Worthy Shops, vintage lace

Dream Getaways for Less

Private-Island-Getaways

Thanks to Urban Daddy, who introduced me to affordable island rentals (um yeah, apparently, you can rent out an island for less than the cost of hotel room!) I have vacations planned for the next 4 years – an island a year, of course.

Here’s the plan:

1) Snuggle up with the huz on the sun deck at Mounu Island, and watch humpback whales frolicking in the “yard”. $125/person per day ($1750/week for 2).

2) Spend some quality time with 10,000 species of fish and then relax afterwards in a private cabin on Enedrik Island. $9/person per day ($499/week for 8).

3) BBQ with my gal pals at a private Curacao villa on Isla Kiniw. $88/person per day ($4950/week for 8).

4) Check out the nearby coral reef and then party hardy at Dunbar Rock in the Caribbeans. $142/person per day ($3988/week for 4, includes 3 tank dives with guide and boat, all meals, a maid and a cook).

Which island tops your getaway list?

Cross-indexed in: budget honeymoon, buget honeymoon ideas, cheap island vacations, private island rentals

5 Under $50 Friday: Dare You to Eat!

I have some fun and "delicious" 5 under $50 items for you today! Can you guess which of the below 5 items is actually edible food? Only one of them is the real deal. Take a wild guess!

edible soaps 

 1) Caramel Green Apples, $4

2) Pops for Pops, $3

3) Cherry Crumble with Cherry Yogurt, $5

4) Apple Cider and Pumpkin Spice Smores, $16.50/3

5) Set of 2 Robins Eggs, $4

Did I get your mouth watering or what? Happy weekend darlings!

P.S. If you haven’t yet, don’t forget to sign up for the $60 CSN giveaway. You could win some cash for Xmas shopping!

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Cross-indexed in: 5 under 50, cheap wedding favors ideas, Creative Favors, favor weddings, soap favors, Swoon-Worthy Shops