Kelly & Liam are an extraordinary couple.   Therefore, of course, they had an extraordinary wedding.  Everything took place at Kelly’s mother’s summer home on the beach in Bethany Beach, Delaware.

Amy Deputy was the incredible photographer that brilliantly captured every facet of this wedding. There is no way to do this wedding justice in just one post.   Soon you’ll see why.

Kelly & Liam met when Liam was working on Kelly’s home in Philly.  Liam is a true Irishman – with a sweet brogue and an amazing soccer game. Once they met, it was all over. They got engaged in June of this year, came to Eclatante in July and got married in September.   And what a wedding it was.

Carolyn of The Papery got right to work to create the perfect invitation for Kelly & Liam.   Totally reflective of the wedding being planned and Kelly’s elegant and clean style, the invitation was the guests first look into this amazing wedding.

We planned this stunning beach wedding (all the parts to take place on the sand with the reception in a tent) in a matter of weeks – and it came off without a hitch. That is not to say that there weren’t a few scary moments.   On the Monday prior to the wedding, the weather reports cited an 80% chance of heavy rain, complete with lightening and thunder.  But by Friday, there was not a cloud to be found.   They say it was Kelly’s grandmother’s wedding present!

As the story goes, Kelly wonderful grandmother passed a way a couple years ago.   Before she died, she told her family that she was going to become the Angel of Weather.   Well, most of us turned into believers that weekend and think that Kelly’s grandmother gave her granddaughter the best wedding present either.

Here are just a couple “before” photos (from my iPhone) taken as we were setting up the tent on Bethany Beach during the days before the wedding.

Tenting by Party Center - Photo taken with Kendall's iPhone

Photo by Amy Deputy

I think I’ll just start posting photos and let the story unfold.  (All the rest of the are Amy Deputy’s.)

There's nothing quite like a wedding rehearsal on the sand.

On the morning of the wedding, Liam’s family were were playing in the water with delight.  It was the perfect beach day.

Even Lulu, Kelly & Liam’s fun-loving golden retriever was having the time of her life.   A totally calm Liam had a great time in the water playing with Lulu just hours before the ceremony.

While Liam and Lulu were playing on the beach, Kelly was up in the house getting ready.

Of course, eventually  Liam did come in from the ocean to get ready for his wedding. His boutonnière created by Beautiful Blooms was the great final touch to his perfectly chose attire as was his best man’s.

Then the moment came for Kelly & Liam to see each other for the first time.    Kelly grabbed her beautiful bouquet created by Beautiful Blooms – with her beloved late father’s class ring attached – and headed downstairs to see Liam for the first time.

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  This is a lovely shot of Kelly's bouquet (A hand-tied bouquet of white mini callas, white spray roses, white dahlias and an accent of soft blue delphinium) and Liams's great tie!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Kelly & Liam’s wedding.   We created a Quaker Meeting House ceremony on the beach.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Everyone here at Eclatante has a thing for entertaining.  That passion is what brought each and every one of us here!

And Thanksgiving is the mother of all entertaining days. Those of you who are fortunate enough to be hosting friends and family in your home for this great American feast, allow us to to provide you with just a few lovely ideas to add some unexpected charm to your table (without eating up to much room (or money))!

First up, our beautiful Eclatante table runners.   These are new additions to our shop and we just love them.   They come in a multitude of colors and patterns, but we thought these worked well for this particular Thanksgiving Day table. They’re $35 each.

I’m in love with these bronze rose tea light holders. We have them in white, too, but the bronze candle holders worked perfectly here.  And they’re only $16.00 — they are really beautiful!!

These oak leaf napkin rings created by Michael Michaud are absolutely perfect. We also have other gorgeous napkins rings that would work beautifully.   These napkin rings are $50 for a set of four.  Our other napkin rings are at different prices.

Salt cellars are making a comeback.  Our glass salt cellar with a  seashell spoon (they’re prettier than the silver plated spoons pictured below) are among my favorite things in the Eclatante Boutique.  I just LOVE them.   They are so easy, inexpensive and people just love them – a great conversation starter at your dinner table.    It’s a great little gift to give your guests — if you’re so inclined.  The price for both the salt cellar and the seashell spoon is only $6.50.

The  dripless single pique candles are so beautiful and unusual — they are flying out the door at  $11.50 each (or a pair for $20.00).   Again, they make your table really unique and are extremely well-priced.

You can call the Eclatante Boutique any time to find out how you can order over the phone. Our phone number is 215.925.9911.  Or, of course, we’d love it if you came by our shop and took a look at all the really amazing entertaining items we have.   We’re at 1031 North 3rd Street in Northern Liberties.  We’re open from 11:00 until 6:00 from Sunday – Thursday and on Saturday; on Fridays we’re open until 8:00 pm.

This month’s color story features a spectrum of purples and greys.

Step into our ‘secret garden’ – an enchanting and intimate setting where romance blossoms and floral beauty abounds!  Welcome to Eclatante’s November fantasy ceremony where the colors of silver, purples and grey illustrate an ethereal story on the grounds of the Winterthur Museum and Country Estate in Winterthur, Delaware.

Our friend and photographer Marie Labbancz beautifully captures the stunning radiance and elegance of this romantic setting!

To set the stage for romance, a platform was created to line the aisle with purple vases from the Eclatante Boutique filled with a cloud of purple hydrangea by Beautiful Blooms.

At the base of the arrangements, Beautiful Blooms placed silver mercury votives and candleholders of different sizes then covered the base with lavender rose petals for even more ambiance!

This fabulous archway was enhanced with sheer grey fabric with rose petals applied to it!

Our gorgeous bride carried a bouquet created from silver grey brunia berries, dusty miller and magnificent purple hydrangea.

The groom’s boutonniere is made from a plum calla lily with a silver grey brunia berry detail to look like buttons.

This amazing bridal gown provided by the Gabriella New York Bridal Salon is reminiscent of the vintage details that women wore in the 30’s and 40’s. The designer is Matthew Christopher.  The style may be formal but placing this dress in such an ethereal setting provided the contrast required to bring all of the elements together.

Claudia Seyler of Claudia Seyler Hair and Makeup styled the top of the bride’s hair to complement the era of the gown.  The bottom part of her hair was left down to add a delicate flow just right for this garden setting!

We’re getting in the holiday spirit for our December Color Story!  Stay tuned!

With the expert and indispensible help of the Beautiful Blooms team, Eclatante worked with the Dolls at Two Paper Dolls to create our very first Celebrating in Style™ event at the Dolls’ studio in Wayne.   We transformed the Dolls’ office into a great event space, the goal of which was to demonstrate to the great hosts of the Philadelphia area how we can help them throw an amazing party anytime, anywhere – not just weddings and other large scale social events. We actually planned five parties in one for our guests — each of which could be a great home party — and each one with its own interactive element!

Take a look at some of the fabulous photos taken by Mike Kehr and Jana Bannan at Mike Kehr Photography!  Thank you so much Mike and Jana!!

First up:  our wine and cheese pairing and tasting!   The expertly chosen wine was provided Frank’s Wine Mart.   Carl (from Frank’s) gave our willing guests advice on how to choose wine and cheese for their next home party.   Beautiful Blooms created gorgeous florals in rustic wood boxes.  The wine was divine and the cheese, provided by Provence Catering was to die for.   I could have hung out there all night, but there was much more to come!

Then we designed a simply gorgeous holiday dinner party with more scrumptious delights provided by Provence Catering.  Eclatante sought out and provided the perfect table settings in compliment to the painted table at Two Paper Dolls Studio.   Beautiful Blooms created the long table arrangement —  perfectly suited for a dinner table where you want to talk easily across the table to your guests.

Outside of the holiday dinner party room, Beautiful Blooms demonstrated the art of creating beautiful arrangements for your home.   People just loved it!

Moving along, we created a warm and wonderful yellow and grey baby shower that featured a stunning baby photo printed on large piece of fabric and hung over the gift table.   Laura Novak is an extraordinarily gifted photographer of beautiful babies and has created magic with her innovative ways of giving new parents the gift of a lifetime.  Beautiful Blooms filled vintage milk glass containers from Donna’s personal stash with a variety of carefully chosen flowers.  Look at how pretty the presents look in coordinating colored paper from Two Paper Dolls.

Next door to the Baby Shower was a very interesting birthday party designed by Maya of Beautiful Blooms and Leila of Eclatante.  With all of the buzz around the Twilight and True Blood series, these two good friends created a very special party based on an “ageless creatures” theme. What a perfect way to celebrate a birthday!

Beautiful Blooms created arrangements in sleek black glass vases from red, burgundy and deep eggplant colored flowers.   Along the perimeter of the room, we placed black wrought iron candle stands with deep eggplant pillar candles.   We also chose perfectly coordinated linens and drapery.   And look at that cake — Provence Catering caught the vision perfectly when they came up with this rich red cake with black lace sugar icing.   Gorgeous!

Craig Neier Associates provided a mind reader that people are still talking about!   How the heck did he know that stuff?!?!?!

Craig Neier also provided a duo of musicians that were just wonderful,   We loved how they fit right in and helped create the perfect atmosphere for our very eclectic party!

Moving downstairs, we were able to give our guests quite a treat!   We created a fabulous 80’s-themed party as a great inspiration for a mitzvah or other fun celebrations of just about anything!

Craig Neier provided a super-fun 80’s trivia game that thrilled everyone for hours!

And there’s nothing quite like an 80’s theme photo shoot (by Mike Kehr Photography) to make a party a little on the crazy side.   Love that backdrop Taylor (of Eclatante) created for the occasion!

Finally, we come to the “Man Cave” where Scott from Two Paper Dolls showed our guests how the huge letterpress printer works.   Very very cool.

Then we had the greatest thing of all — Craig Neier Associates installed a real Craps table with real Craps dealers who taught everyone how the game is played and how to really have fun with it. That table was crowded all night long with people playing craps and having a fantastic time.

A truly GREAT time was had by all.   We just love love love a successful party!

The dream child of three amazing women who individually have spent years and years in the beauty industry, Tu Belleza Studio gives women a place to come where walking in the door is a relaxing experience.  Claudia, Tiffany and Kim have created a truly unique environment where it feels more like you’re drinking wine in your best friend’s living room than having an appointment at a salon. Together, they share an artistry, passion and talent for bringing out the beauty in each woman that walks in their very warm and entreating studio.

You’ll be happy to know Tu Belleza carries  Cass Luxury Shapewear, Aveda, and Sebastian and an amazing array of accessories you won’t find anywhere else.

And here are the ladies of Tu Belleza: Tiffany Lahn (hair extension maven), Kim Lancashire (Eye Lash Extension Diva) and Claudia Seyler (a magician with hair and makeup)

And lucky us!  They are right across the Walk from us in our own little block of Liberties Walk.   We couldn’t be happier.   More and more and more, I’m really happy we moved here!

Maid of Honor toasts range from those that are poorly conceived and delivered to some that are achingly touching.  This past weekend, we witnessed one of the most touching toasts ever.

The bride, Holly, and her Maid of Honor, Kelly, have been best friends for twenty-five years.  In fact,  during the first year of their friendship, Holly and Kelly purchased a pair of those sweet “best friend” necklaces, each of which represents a half of the best-friend’s heart.  In her toast, Kelly told beautiful anecdotes of their enduring friendship and how happy she was for the great love that Holly had now found in Bill, the happy groom.

Then, to the amazement of everyone in the room, Kelly reached down and took her half of the necklace, telling everyone how she had managed to keep it for twenty-five years and that she had always cherished it as a treasured posession.  We were all in tears.

Then it happened.   Kelly walked over to Bill and dropped her half of the “best friend” heart into his hands, saying that it now rightly belonged to Holly’s soulmate, her new husband.   With that, even the Air Force fly boys whofly jets with Bill and were seated together at one very testosterone-laden table were in tears!

Sometimes the simplest heartfelt gesture beats all the eloquence in the world.

AMAZING photography by Marie Labbancz!