Bridal Brunch with Birdies + Bridesmaids.... alliteration at it's finest folks. I'll be here all week.

Okay, but really, my bridesmaids planned such an amazing weekend for my bachelorette. I felt spoiled. BUT, Birdies blew me away. They put together a breathtaking brunch! There was a balloon arch, flowers gallore, yummy savory and (most importantly) sweet crepes, and Table and Teaspoon (they are a brilliant "rent the runway" for table linens) decorated the table with fabulous colors.

Birdies gifted each of my ladies with a pair of shoes. Talk about nice! Just for transparency for you all, I got my first pair of Birdies a few months ago (the black pair with little leopard tassles) and I have been wearing them non-stop. I literally have them on my feet right now at this little coffee shop in Santa Cruz as I'm typing this blog post. That being said, because I fell madly in love with their shoes we discussed doing a brunch for all my friends in their store. With my bachelorette party right around the corner we figured it'd be the perfect opportunity for our party. Birdies blew me away with how thoughtfully put together the brunch was! Seriously, I adore you Marisa (one of the amazing owners in the photo with me below).

My surprise flower crown perfectly matched my earrings!

Crown designed by Ampersand in San Francisco

A little about Birdies

They are two amazing moms who were sick of wearing flats that weren't comfy. They took some high fashion slides and their favorite slippers and combined the two for what I venture to say is the perfect slip-on shoe. The comfort is truly that of slipper, but unlike the horrible Ugg phenomenon of our youth, they look INCREDIBLE and you would NEVER KNOW IT WAS A SLIPPER! Truly. I mean until I said that you were just looking at our feet saying "wow, cute slide" weren't you? 

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A little about the guests

At this brunch, I had my bridesmaids- Savannah Labrant (sister and MOH), Madison Fisher, Marissa Mason, and Mackenzie Rylander (those three are my cousins), Rachel Richardson (Creative Director for this here blog you're reading and my bff), Liz Huett (incredible singer, check out her music video for H8U here... I'm in it!), and Lisa (my soon to be sister-in-law). Plus, some other amazing friends.... Melissa Richardson, Breana Taylor, Brianna Garcia a.k.a. Shop Tiki Girl, Rebecca Zamolo, Erin Maynard a.k.a. Storybook Cosmetics, and Trace Lehnhoff. 

 I felt loved, celebrated, and giddy all day. Thank you so much to all the friends I mentioned who helped make the weekend amazing (especially you Rach, as you did 99% of the helping haha!).

...and thank you SO much to Birdies for the immense amount of love you showed, the attention to details, and the INCREDIBLE SHOES!

With love,

Chantelle

Party Details

Hosted at Birdies Union Street Location

Photography by Shandru Photography (@shandruphotography)

Table Design by Table + Teaspoon (@tableandteaspoon)

Flower Crown by Ampersand SF (@ampersand_sf)

Chantelle's Dress by Show Me Your Mumu (get it here)

Chantelle's Shoes are The Wren by Birdies

How to: 

throw a Mad Hatter themed Baby Shower

a Guest Post by Rachel Brooks of 5 o' clock Sunday

Hello Everyone! I'm Rachel Brooks, a.k.a. Chantelle's partner in crime and the woman behind the camera most days at Bridge to Bohemia. Chantelle and I decided to try something a little different for this feature and have me step in to write about the wonderful experience that was my baby shower for my future daughter, Miss Lennon Leigh - a little lady who is due to make her appearance any day now! As I sit here reflecting on this day, I'm filled with so much appreciation for not only my friendship with Chantelle, but also her talent and creativity in putting together this day with my amazing little sister Melissa Leigh. I'm so lucky to have ladies in my life that went the extra mile to create a magical little wonderland for Lennon's special day. That said, I've broken down our day for you and the steps you can take to recreate a Mad Hatter tea party theme for yourself, your child, or some special lady you love. 

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1. Decor + Special Touches

In my opinion, the key to pulling of this theme is absolutely in the visual and personal details. Chantelle and Melissa (my sister) spent so much time and care in executing this theme. Luckily, they had a beautifully decorated home to utilize as our venue and all that left them with was how to transform this space in a little bit crazy, little bit whimsical tea party setting. Bring in an array of flowers, porcelain, and handmade animal masks and we felt like were truly sailing away into the shores of a children's storybook. 

Those Masks

I still can't get these headpieces off of my mind. When I first told Chantelle my theme idea, I pulled up a picture of these exact masks and said, ".... and then, what if everyone was wearing tea dresses but with these insane animal masks?" Never in my wildest dreams did I think they'd show up on our doorstep. The artist, Curious Fair, that creates these is from the UK and each mask is a one-of-a-kind creation. The detail and intricacy is unparalleled and that is coming from someone who spent a full semester in a sculptural hat making class. Let's just say that my work didn't turn out quite this good. Each mask is made entirely of feathers and we loved these whimsical creatures so much that we shot a mini bridal editorial with them (stay tuned for more to come on that). Check out more of work from Curious Fair on Etsy.

The Flowers

Leave it to Chantelle to be a closet DIYer. She ventured out of her neck of the woods to the San Francisco Flower Mart to create each of the floral arrangements herself. I loved that she chose to contrast the ornate femininity of the tea sets with leafy greens and a subtle palette of florals. The weightiness of the floral arrangements made it just the right amount of girlie for a recovering pink-a-phobe like myself. 

The Tea Set

In order to put together the perfect mismatching tea set we partnered with Wayfair and Teaware.house. Chantelle handpicked each the following pieces to build the beautifully eclectic combination you see above. Talk about talent and dedication! Good news, whether you are building a mismatching tea set to entertain, display, or simply throw a party she already did the hard work for you. Here is the full list of what she chose so you can recreate this bohemian look yourself:

RECIPE FOR THE PERFECT BOHEMIAN TEA SET

Tea Sets (1 of each of the following)

• Lark Manor Osterman Tea Set
• Kratz Porcelein Blue Tea Set

Tea Cups (2 of each of the following)

• Lark Manor Ilian Tea Cups

Tea Accessories (1 of each of the following)

• Paderno World Tea Strainer
• Stir It Up 2 Piece Spoon Set
• Hey Sugar 2 Piece Spoon Set

Cake Platters (1 of each of the following)

• Brayden Studio Slate Tiered Stand
• Stoneware Cake Plate

Dessert Plates (about 15 plates)

• Houser Dessert Plates

Asian inspired Tea Sets from Teaware.house (1 of each of the following)

• Golden Yellow Lotus Porcelain Tea Pots
• Golden Yellow Lotus Porcelain Rinsing Bowl
• Golden Yellow Lotus Tea Pitcher
• Golden Yellow Lotus Porcelain Gallum
• Minaret Blue Teapot
• Big Pig Tea Pot

Serving Trays (1 of each of the following)

• Serving tray by Chris Earl

The thing I didn't realize about Wayfair is that they have their own registry which is great for not only brides but mamas-to-be like me. I have purchased half of the stuff for Lennon's nursery from Wayfair, including her rocking chair and rugs, and wish I would have set up a registry earlier to help with some of the nursery decor! Set your own registry up here. Now let's see how the decor all looks all together...

The Special Touches

I mentioned before that Chantelle is a closet DIYer but did you guys also know that she also sews? I learned that fact while filming a YouTube DIY clutch tutorial last year. You see that cute little teepee that Smooch is claiming as his own? Well, Miss Chantelle Paige whipped that baby up herself. One of these days I'll have to ask her how exactly she did it but I will note that Coulter had a little part in picking the perfect beach wood to make it happen. I'm currently obsessed with these adorable little tents for kids that are quickly circulating the internet (customize your own here). These sweet personal touches like this industrial Lennon sign (from Target) and DIY teepee made the day feel intimate and incredibly special. I still cannot believe the amount of care that went in to planning this perfect day. 

2. FOOD  + Activities

My sister, seen laughing below, was our Director of Activities for the day. Not only did we drink tea (for me) and champagne (for the other ladies), eat tea sandwiches (Whole Foods caters some great options) but we played Jeopardy, opened gifts and shared some future Mommy words of wisdom. 

My favorite part of the day was that each woman wrote a handwritten message to Lennon and offered their advice for my future little girl. You can see candid moments from the day below, as well as Chantelle sharing her wishes.  

3. Dress Code

Another important part of this theme for a fashion addict like me was obviously the dress code. I love to play dress-up and wanted the ladies to feel free to go all out and dress the part! The dress code was listed as the following:

Come dressed in your best Tea Party Chic attire. You know that one dress in your closet that always feels a little "too much"? Well, throw it on with your pearls, fur, fascinators, embellished heels and gloves. Now is the time to fulfill all those little girl dress up dreams and come fit to tea with the Mad Hatter himself. I, personally, think my ladies went above and beyond with the dress code and became the best decorations of the day.

4. What We Wore

So what exactly did we where? See our styling details below. 

On Chantelle:

Owl Mask by Curious Fair

Hair and Makeup by Moni Sebestian

Dress by Talulah via Infinity Cr8tive 

On Rachel:

Crown by Curious Fair

Hair and Makeup by Moni Sebestian

Dress by Shoshanna via Rent the Runway

Embellished heels (similar here)

Vintage Jewelry was my Grandmother's for a personal touch 

5. Reflections

I was apprehensive to do a traditional baby shower because being the center of attention has never been my thing but ultimately I'm so happy I let them do this for me. They took all the best parts of bringing a new baby into the world and surrounded them in the most non-traditional, out of the box, fashionable theme I could ask for. There was so much love and warmth from the woman in my life and I wouldn't have had it any other way. The best part is that Lennon is coming into a strong, creative, supportive, diverse tribe of aunties and I cannot wait to see what she learns from each and every one of them. 

Thank you to Chantelle and Melissa for making this day happen and Breana Taylor for her photographing these wonderful moments. 

What I'm wearing this holiday season!

Party dresses are one of the most exciting parts of the holiday season. Each year, I look forward to having more than one excuse to pull out the heels and get dressed up. This year, I loved my outfit choices so much that I decided to share them with you on a special Holiday Dress-Up post. I've also included some alternative options for each look that almost made the cut. 

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Holiday Party with Friends

All photography by Rachel Brooks of 5 o'clock Sunday

Rock the red

it's the color of the season for a reason ladies. 

I mean, this outfit speaks for itself. The minute I saw it on the rack I knew I had to have it. There is a subtle hint of sexy with the lace bodysuit but it's surprisingly modest when you put it on. I couldn't wait to find a party to wear this little number to. When I saw the red leather jacket to go with it, I was absolutely ecstatic! I paired it with my favorite gold Gorjiana earrings, a simple gold Motif necklace, and my go-to nude Ego stilettos to elongate my short little legs with such a long skirt. Scared of an all red Christmas outfit? Don't be! Nothing is more festive and this is the one time of year that red actually helps you blend in rather than stand out. This is the perfect statement-making look for a holiday party with friends.

Shown in this look:

GUESS Women's Casper Scuba Moto Jacket • GUESS •
GUESS Tony Lace Bodysuit • GUESS •
GUESS Women's Selena Lace Skirt • GUESS •
Cayne Crescent Pendant Necklace • Gorjana •
Sam Edelman Patti Leather Sandals • Sam Edelman •
GUESS by Marciano Women's Jasmeen Lace Maxi Dress •
GUESS by Marciano Women's Aisha Lace Skirt •
Bagatelle Faux Leather Moto Jacket • Bagatelle •
Halogen Horizon Disc Pendant Necklace • Halogen •
Office Hallucinate strappy heels • Office •
Warehouse Vinyl Faux Leather Jacket • Warehouse •
Love...Ady Chemical Lace Midi Slip Dress •
bebe Lace A-Line Dress • Bebe •
NSR Floral Lace Midi Dress • NSR •
BAUBLEBAR Moonstruck Layered Necklace, 18-21" • BaubleBar •
Elise Strappy Point Toe Pumps • French Connection •

Shop similar items below:

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New Year's Eve on Vacation

I’ll be in Hawaii this year for New Years, so I needed something festive but comfortable and not too warm. This dress had all the pizazzyou want when ringing in the New Year. It is also the perfect shape for an event with my in laws (who I will be traveling with). You don't need to add much to make this outfit complete, which is exactly why it was perfect. Add some beachy waves, some fuzzy Ego shoes, a slew of layered necklaces and let those stars do the talking for you. Oh, and I can't forget my favorite Auguste clutch.

Hint: If you are spending your holiday somewhere a bit colder, add a giant fur coat and some sky high booties for an equally perfect pairing. 

Effortless but beaded

didn't think there was such a thing? Meet this simple beaded slip dress. 

Shown in this look:

GUESS Sierna Beaded Star Dress • GUESS •
FOREVER 21 Faux Fur Velvet Strappy Heels • Forever 21 •
Elizabeth and James - Greene Embellished Crepe Mini Dress - Black • Elizabeth and James •
Qupid Combo Lace-Up Sandals • Charlotte Russe •
Haute Hippie Sequin-Embellished Beaded Silk-Chiffon Mini Dress • Haute Hippie •
Charles by Charles David Kandy Block-Heel Pom Pom Sandal • Charles by Charles David •
W118 By Walter Baker Kora Beaded Crepe De Chine Mini Dress •
Loeffler Randall Nicolette Fox Fur Heel • Loeffler Randall •
Joie Sanibel Fringed Beaded Gauze Mini Dress • Joie •
Schutz Lori Suede & Rabbit Fur Heels • Schutz •

Shop similar items below:

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Holiday Party with Family

Hanger appeal vs. Real Life

this dress is exactly why you try things on. It's so flattering!

This dress’ hanger appeal vs. real life appeal was insanely different. I loved it when I saw it but I cannot express how much more I fell in love with it once I put it on. The shape of it, the cut, the neckline - oh my goodness. The waist line hits at the perfect place at my natural waist. A perfectly placed waistline is the key to making you look as trim as possible, and the slit elongates your legs in the best way! I wanted to down play the sparkles making it a bit more subdued. To achieve this look, I added a chunky Gorijana necklace, and my red-hued Auguste clutch.

Plus, I added my favorite part, the velvet mules I designed myself from Shoes of Prey. This company is makes shopping much more fun with anyone with an itch to create that shoe you've been dreaming of but just can't seem to find anywhere. First, you choose a type of shoe and then pick whatever color/colors you’d like it to be. It’s so fun, and they are insanely comfortable and unique shoes. 

Shown in this look:

Red Sequin Wrap Hem Midi Dress • Missguided •
ASOS Petite ASOS PETITE Sequin Cami Wrap Midi Dress • Asos •
boohoo Petite Laura Sequin Wrap Front Midi Dress • boohoo •
Anthropologie Belinda Clutch • Anthropologie •
Sole Society Karen Faux Leather Envelope Clutch - Black • Sole Society •
Sole Society Velvet Foldover Clutch - Red • Sole Society •
Pave Stone Tassel Layering Necklace Set • LOFT •
Crescent Moon Necklace •

Shop similar items:

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Drinks with Friends

This two piece set from Show me Your Mumu is the perfect slightly casual holiday dress. Mumu is one of my favorite brands and they have expanded their style soooo much in the last year. This crop top also has shorts to go with it, if you prefer. I threw on stilettos by ego to dress it up, but my go to probably would have been some open toes booties, depending on the occasion of course! My star necklace from
Gorjiana is a new fav. So simple and gorgeous. I clearly have a crush on that brand as well ;)  

Shop this look:

Barcelona Skirt ~ Risque Rose • MUMU •
Penelope Crop Top ~ Risque Rose • MUMU •
Halogen Horizon Disc Pendant Necklace • Halogen •
Sam Edelman Patti Leather Sandals • Sam Edelman •
Super Slip Dress ~ Risque Rose • MUMU •
Crescent Moon Necklace •
Show Me Your Mumu Super Slip Dress • Show Me Your Mumu •
Cayne Crescent Pendant Necklace • Gorjana •
Tamara Top ~ Risque Rose • MUMU •
Sawyer Short ~ Risque Rose • MUMU •

Shop similar items below:

Happy Holidays!

Kisses, Chantelle