Celebrations!

Top 10 Tuesday is celebrating Tuesday and another week of helping brides on their journey to the altar!

Everyday is a celebration, especially at Laura's Couture Collection! Not only are we helping Kansas City brides find their dream dresses, but we also get to help brides from all over the country, so why not celebrate?! Speaking of celebrating, we thought we'd take a few minutes today and share some fun facts about the drink synonymous with celebrations - champagne.

1.       Favorite cocktail for the ladies at Laura’s Couture Collection

2.       Key ingredient in the Measetique Mimosa

3.       Associated with power and luxury during the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries, still seen as a drink for aristocrats

4.       Bruts are better for overall champagne flavor, however, most Americans prefer a sweeter champagne

5.       To be called champagne the grapes must be from the Champagne region in France; if not from that region they are sparkling wines

6.       Pour at an angle to insure plenty of bubbles!

7.       Oldest bottle of champagne is a 187 year old Perrier-Jouet, according to the Guinness World Record

  

1923 advertisement

           

8.       Victorian coupe style champagne flutes are coming back in vogue, possibly due to the popularity of shows such as Mad Men. And champagne always tastes best when you drink it from a crystal glass!

9.       Moet & Chandon is the champagne served at events such as The Academy Awards, Kentucky Derby and Golden Globes, as well as numerous other sporting events and cinema parties.

10.   Searching for a wedding gift? Look no further, Dom Perignon has special bottles perfect for the newlyweds.

In the words of the French playwright, Honore de Balzac "Great love affairs start with champagne…" Congratulations to the newly engaged and newlyweds!

-Elise

Top 10 Tuesday: Pearls

June is the Month of Pearls

What better way than to celebrate pearls then with a little Top 10 Tuesday list of the fabulous women that have worn pearls!?

Pearls, either a single strand or layers of strands, evoke an elegance and timeless style unparalleled to most any other type of jewelry. That must be why it pairs so beautifully with wedding dresses. Take for instance the elegance of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, when she married JFK; the photo is timeless, simple and not dated, they look lovely and in love. And isn’t being in love what really matters! But enough of that! Today we wanted to show you the classic look of pearls. From trendy accessories, think Andy from The Devil Wears Prada, to the simple and timeless look of a classic, single strand of pearls.

Hollywood’s most striking women have been seen wearing pearls, and a top model or too! See some of our favorites below!

1.       The women of television’s Mad Men

2.       Fashion Designer Coco Chanel

3.       Scarlett Johansen, on the Red Carpet

4.       Sarah Jessica Parker, as Carrie Bradshaw, in Sex and the City: The Movie

5.       Anne Hathaway, as Andy, in The Devil Wears Prada

6.       Kristin Davis, asCharlotte York, in Sex and the City

7.       Reese Witherspoon, as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2

8.       Laura Mease, wedding dress stylist in pearls from Measetique Jewels

9.       Karlie Kloss, America’s Supermodel wears a collar of pearls

10.   Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis married JFK and wore a timeless single strand

-Elise

Top Ten Tuesday: Wedding Dress Shopping

Tips for Wedding Dress Shopping

Shopping for a wedding dress can be scary! It’s something you have most likely never done and it’s also a dress unlike any you’ve ever bought before. So what do you do? Sit back and enjoy your appointment!

1.       Authorized Dealer, only shop at a store that officially sells a line. Other stores say they can get you any dress from any designer, not a safe way to go. You will probably end up with a counterfeit or worse no dress at all.

2.       1-2 Guests – Keep shopping for the dress intimate; make the walk down the aisle even more exciting for everyone (not just your groom) by surprising everyone with your beautiful gown!

3.       Keep an Open Mind – Your bridal stylist can help you choose a look you never thought you would like, but wedding dresses fit and are styled differently, so what you think you will not like you might love.

4.       Don’t Obsess Over Magazines – They are models, there is Photoshop and dresses fit everyone’s body differently, see Tip #3.

5.       Get What You Want and Not What Someone Else Wants – It’s your day, your style, your dress! Not your best friends.

6.       Be True to Your Style – It’s your wedding day, be glamorous, but remember to be you, you don’t want to surprise your groom with a look he has never seen, he is marrying you. The original you.

7.       Have an instinct? Trust it! – Don’t doubt your feelings, if you found the wedding dress at the first store and it was your first or second dress to try on then that is great! Trust yourself, you found a great guy, the dress is the easy part!

8.       Time - Shop with plenty of time to order your dress, don’t wait till the last minute.

9.       Have fun! – It’s your wedding dress, a once in a lifetime dress, so have fun!

10.   Relax – You are in great hands.

Sip Into Top 10 Tuesday

Our Top 10 Favorite Summer Cocktails

It's that time, Kansas City has welcomed summer! Memorial Day Weekend is upon us, the pools are opening and the flip flops are out of our closets. With this weekend we also start the craziness of wedding season. So what better way to unwind after a day of planning then with a cocktail, or maybe you'll add one of our drinks to your menu.

Grab a skinny margarita and enjoy the list of our Top 10 Summer Cocktails!

10. Whiskey-Lemonade, we can't leave the gentlemen out on this list, so make their drink a bit more summery!

9. Mango Spritz. light and fresh with a bit of bubbles!

8. Skinny Margarita, after all, it is wedding and swimsuit season

7. Limoncello, this citrus cocktail will make you believe you are in a lemon grove in Italy

6. Mint Mojitos, why not add a bit more mint?

5. White Peach Sangria, cool and refreshing (perfect for cocktail hour)

4. Giggle-Water, a cocktail as fun as it's name!

3. Cucumber Breeze, a favorite with our stylist

2. Measetique Mimosa, Marty's gift to the brides of Laura's Couture Collection

1. The Couture-Tini, a signature cocktail named after Laura's Couture Collection by our friend Chef Renee at Renee Kelly's at Caenen Castle

Thirsty yet? Message us on Facebook for the recipes above, or where you can enjoy these summer cocktails!

-Elise

Inspiring Couples

Top 10 Tuesday: Inspiring Couples

This week we have made you wait long enough. Some of these couples even waited forever to find their true love, or they lost them for awhile, such as Noah and Allie. Check out the list below for the romantic and inspiring couples that bring tears to our eyes, laughter to our hearts and smiles to our faces. May we all find a love like theirs.

Inspiring Couples Throughout History - and yes, some are fictional, but we can dream can't we?!

- Rick & Ilsa 

- Grace & Prince Rainier –

- Noah & Allie - The Notebook :

 "So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, for ever, you and me, every day."

- Ronald & Nancy

Charlton Heston called "the greatest love affair in the history of the American Presidency." 

- Carrie & Big – Sex and the City
6 Seasons and 2 movies later and we knew after episode one that he had to stick around.

Carrie: "Have you ever been in love?" Big: "Absof*ckinglutely."

- Jost & Adelice - Crewel, the trilogy
Oh what a tangled web we weave, check it out for yourself.

- Sally & Darrel
Examples of True love can come from the closest people we know. Thank you for showing us how to love and how to be loved.

- Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn -

- Mr. Darcy & Elizabeth Bennett
Oh goodness, the obstacles that occur when love and pride get in the way!

- Lancelot & Guinevere - Who says chivalry is dead? With love stories like these you are sure to find a knight in shining armor.

Like each love story, they are all different and meaningful in their own special way, so it was impossible to number these stories. Enjoy our 10 favorites in no particular order!

Top 10 Favorite Wedding Movies

Hello Wedding Bloggers! At Laura's Couture Collection we are excited to introduce a new weekly addition to our blog, Top Ten Tuesday! A new list will be featured every Tuesday. Be sure to check back for the newest list on wedding styles.

Top Ten Tuesday - Take 1

This week we introduce Top Ten Tuesday with the Top Ten Wedding Movies on our favorite list!

10. 27 Dresses

9. Made of Honor

8. The Wedding Planner

7. Wedding Crashers

6. Runaway Bride

5. Mamma Mia

4. The Wedding Date

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - Who doesn't have a crazy aunt that almost scares your fiance away?! Just steer clear of the bridesmaid dresses and letting that crazy aunt pick out your wedding dress.

2. My Best Friend's Wedding - Might be the opposite of what we like in our brides (friend's trying to steal the groom) but it's still a fun movie to watch during wedding time!

1. Father of the Bride - Laura and I both agree that this is the all time best wedding movie. For the parents out there, how many of you have cried during the scene below. Such a sweet story told with comedy, love and real life anecdotes. We just hope no one's fathers have been in jail due to a trip to the grocery store!

Top 10 Tuesday is a combination of both Laura and Elise's favorite wedding elements.