Anne Hathaway's Engaged!

Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway is engaged to her boyfriend of nearly three years, Adam Shulman. The couple was spotted out and about and Hathaway was flashing that gorgeous, six-carat ring. Shulman helped create a unique design with Kwiat Jewelers.

Photo from E! Online

Now that the stunning actress is engaged, that leaves us wondering what her wedding dress will look like! We've found some looks that we think she would look perfect in.


We love this dress with it's empire bodice and chiffon tiered ruffles. The dress has a very elegant, vintage feel to it that fits Hathaway's style perfectly. Her style is classic, chic, with a dash of vintage and romance.

We could definitely see Hathaway wearing something like this. Backless gowns are extremely sleek and sexy. Not only is the gown sexy, but it also has that polished look to it that will leave Hathaway looking elegant as always for her wedding day.

Or will she choose a dress similar to her character's in The Princess Diaries and Bride Wars? Both dresses seem to fit her personality and style.

In the 2009 movie Bride Wars, Hathaway's character Emma, wore a silk taffeta mermaid gown designed by Vera Wang.

In The Princess Diaries 2 as she played "Princess Mia" she wore a gown fit for royalty. The sleeves were long and lacy with seed pearl accents sewn on. The train of the dress made it grand and regal measuring almost as long as an airfield landing strip. We have a feeling she'll be more low-key than this!

Pippa Middleton's Christmas tips

Party Planner and sister to the Duchess of Cambridge, Pippa Middleton recently dished on her family's blog, The Party Times, about her favorite ways to get into the holiday spirit. A few of our favorite tips are sure to help you start feeling festive too! Many of her ideas can be found on her family's website, Party Pieces.

First Impressions: During the holiday season people love to go looking around at Christmas lights so we have to agree that it's always important to keep in mind that first impressions definitely do matter. The best way to spread some holiday cheer is by lighting up the outside of your house with tealight garden lanterns and fairy lights wrapped around trees. Other great ways to showcase your holiday cheer is by making use of the traditional holiday wreath or decorating your yard with lit up rustic rattan reindeer.

Sprucing up the tree: Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without a tree and everyone loves a bright and colorfully lit tree. Keep in mind that the more colorful and bright, the better. Making use of nostalgic decorations during the holiday season also adds a nice personal touch. Adding chocolate treats and candy canes to your tree is a nice addition, this is a classic idea that can also be done by stringing popcorn and wrapping it around the tree to capture that old traditional feel and another plus is the children in your family will love it. Angel kits or other Christmas decoration kits can also be a fun, festive activity that the children will be happy to participate in.

'Tis the season to be baking: It isn't Christmas without baking! The entire family can help bake Christmas cookies with cookie cutter sets that have a variety of different shapes such as a star, reindeer, snowflake or Christmas tree design. We love the idea of handing out your treats for your guests to enjoy in tins when you're done baking and decorating. Add some hot chocolate to the mix and they'll be begging for more.

A gingerbread house: Our favorite holiday tradition is building a gingerbread house. Not only will it smell and taste good, but it can also serve as a great decoration piece. You can use it as a centerpiece or put it in a nicely lit up windowsill for all your neighbors to enjoy.

All dressed up: Christmas themed tablecloths add a cheery pop to your household. Then all you need on your table is a festive centerpiece and you're all set! If you'd rather go with solid colors then red, green or white partyware with a decorative napkin should do the trick. Making use of festive baubles in vases or tiered cake stands can be easily done and adds that personal touch to your decorating that you're looking for. Tiered cake stands full of glittery, gleaming trinkets is such a great idea that we can't wait to use this year!

Photos from The Party Times

We love English Accents

We Belles love fashion, so tonights British Fashion Awards was a delight to watch while stars walk down the red carpet.   

Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen won Designer of the Year. We think designing Kate's wedding dress gave her an advantage over the other nominees!

Victoria Beckham won Designer Brand of the year.

Olivia Palermo in a dress by Matthew Williamson and shoes from Topshop.

Alexa Chung won the British Style Award.

Stella McCartney.

Poppy Delevigne in a Matthew Williamson dress.

Kate Moss looks rock chic in a fishnet dress.

Georgia May Jagger stunned in her roaring 20's inspired dress.

photos from The Daily Mail

Engagement portraits

Engagement portraits are a special time for the bride and groom to express themselves and let their personalities shine. In addition, the engagement session is a great time to establish comfort and a relationship with your photographer. Choose a great location, cute outfit, and strike a pose! Have fun at your engagement session, be creative, and let your friends and family see how happy you are! 

Our first two couples chose to take their photos in the great outdoors. Bring along man's best friend and you have an adorable family photo or set up a picnic for two and enjoy a quite bite. The key to a successful portrait is letting your organic chemistry shine!

Wedding Paper Divas

CPDK Studio

Our next couple did a tribute to Zombieland! This engagement session not only tells a story of strength and bravery, but introduces you to the creativity and fun loving personalities of this couple!  

Amanda Rynda

These last two couples got a little wet and wild for their engagement session! It is important to have fun with your photos. If you and your fiance are goofy and fun, let those qualities of your relationship come through in your portraits.

Green Wedding Shoes

Melissa Young Photography

Breaking Dawn Wedding

Like most of you ladies out there, we too, saw Breaking Dawn part 1 this past weekend. We admit that we can't resist Bella and Edward's love story, but we were mainly excited to see the highly anticipated wedding...and it did not disappoint!

photo from StyleThread

Bella wore these beautiful Manolo Blahnik white satin and crystal embellished shoes.

The wedding cake was a classic 5 tiered white cake with real flowers.

The ladies of Cullen family were dressed impeccably in gowns of purple and greys. We love how everyone's dress played off of each other yet was not over the top to take away from the Bride!

The ceremony and reception was a something out of a stunning woodland fairly-tale. The filmmakers stitched wisteria up 40-50 ft. in length that cascaded from the trees for the breathtaking ceremony. By the alter, cherry blossoms and tiny cuts of white lavender were used to create the perfect backdrop. For the reception the centerpieces were made from sweet pea, viburnum, ranunculus, and Australian fern blended with moss. 

Last but not least the wedding dress was beautiful! The gown was made by Carolina Herrera especially for this film. The dress is expected to to be in her stores for sale, but it has not been confirmed how many will be made or at what price. In the meantime, Alfred Angelo, has replicated the dress for less than $1,000.

After party snacks

After a night of celebrating the new "Mr. and Mrs." its no surprise that some guests might work up another appetite. Sending guests home with something to munch on for the drive back has become trendy and fun for wedding celebrations! 

For our tex-mex fans, breakfast tacos are a huge hit! Serve 'em up extra hot with salsa on the side. Make sure to have enough for seconds because these tacos go by fast!

For a midnight snack that brings you back to your childhood, cookies and milk hit the spot! Serve a variety of different cookies or the traditional chocolate chip. Also, donut holes are a nice surprise!

Another option that will soothe your sweet tooth is a colorful candy bar. Set up all your favorite candy snacks in different jars and glass vases. The design looks great and tastes even better!

And finally, with the holidays around the corner, pies are everywhere! Serve your guests mini pies for a festive, fall treat! 

A western wedding

Former model, Lauren Bush, said "I do" to her new man, David Lauren, son of fashion icon Ralph Lauren, over Labor Day weekend at the family’s 17,000-acre Double RL ranch in Ridgway, Colorado. A spread of the nuptials is featured in this month's edition of Vogue magazine.

The ceremony was small and intimate with a country western feel.  The setting for the couple's Big Day was simply breath-taking and romantic, and to top it off, Bush's gown was designed by her new father-in-law. A dream come true for any bride!!

Vogue

The bride wore a strapless, antique ivory gown with an overlay of tulle richly embroidered with metallic thread, Swarovski crystals and pearl beads.The strapless high neckline covered in lace is similar to Kate Middleton’s wedding gown, which is all the rage in bridal design this year. 

Vogue

In the Vogue piece, Bush comments that the gown, "isn’t Victorian exactly. I wanted something modern as well, so there is the high-necked collar and puffed shoulders with the large open back.” 

Nearly 100 craftspeople spent 3,000+ hours hand-embroidering the tulle with a delicate flower motif and Renaissance-era scroll design. 

To maintain the country western/tasteful Little House on The Prairie feel, the bride wore cowboy boots, as did her five bridesmaids. Her girls were dressed in white linen blouses, vests, and vintage prairie skirts.

Jackson Hicks Bridal Show 2011

What an incredible show this weekend! The Belles participated in the Jackson Hicks Bridal Show and Tea Party at the magnificent Corinthian downtown! A very special thank you to Darryl and Co. and Atelier du Papier for their help and support to make our moc table settings simply divine!

This year, we featured three different table settings- each with a unique style and theme.

For our first table, we featured a more "modern" look with silver and eggplant colored linens, ghost chairs, dark purple succulents, and a very tall, see through centerpiece with hot pink flowers woven in and around the glass!

For our second table, we featured a "contemporary" theme with navy blue and salmon colored linens, HOT pink peonies, as well as pink roses. The table was set with gold chivari chairs- a great look for a fall wedding! 

Our third table setting was a "traditional" set up, featuring light champagne linens accompanied by a candelabra floral arrangement with white peonies, green hydrangeas, and beautiful white roses. For this table we used mahogany chivari chairs A simple yet very romantic table setting for the traditional white wedding!

Thanks again to our vendors for their help this year! A beautiful and successful event for all!

Do the Do bar!

How fabulous do you feel after a great blow dry? With blow dry bars popping up all around the country, a quick fix is more accessible and affordable than ever! At the Do bar in Houston's NEW West Ave center, guests can choose a hair style from the menu of five signature looks, create their own blow dry, or even add rollers or braids for a special occasions. Finish it off with a perfect makeup look, and you are set for the day, or a girls night out on the town!

The Do bar is a perfect activity for prepping before your Bachelorette party, bridal shower, or any other "female bonding" event before the Big Day! Get all your girls together, get pampered, and party! See some of the looks from the Do bar menu below: