Here are some sweet inspirations for cakes and other tidbits for your Valentine's day wedding or event! I love this unbelievable "Conversation Hearts" cake from the Cake Girls - how do they get that box to defy gravity!? A simple cake can be wonderfully romantic with real or sugar rose petals; vintage cake toppers invoke a nostalgic era long past; top chocolate desserts with raspberries and edible gold leaf for the ultimate aphrodisiac.

Combine pinks and reds for a fresh look - perfect for weddings in warmer climates! Decadent chocolate and red sugar flower cake looks almost too good to eat; a perfect Valentine's Day chocolate found! Give each guest a milk and white chocolate cupid holding a red heart, from Martine's.

Aside from adorable heart shaped cookies and love note confections, here are an assortment of useful favors that are perfect for a Valentine's wedding. This heart shaped towel cake is a fun, unique way to present something practical that guests can use after the wedding. N&L's bar and wine collection also features a lot of love themed items that are both elegant and handy, from glass coasters to wine charms. Take a look!

Whether you are having a Valentines weekend wedding, or just giving your honey something sweet this Valentines day, you can't go wrong with these cookies from Whipped Bakeshop in Philadelphia! Her wedding cakes are beautiful, and I'm sure I'll blog about them another time, but just one look at these gorgeously detailed morsels made me want to have a Valentines party just to give them out as favors! Not from Philly? Don't fret, Whipped Bakeshop ships!

I also found these wonderful treats at Bake at 350 on Etsy. If you are looking to propose this Valentines Day, or just do something sweet and creative, have Bake at 350 make you a crossword cookie set, or spell out what your asking on hostess cupcakes. Yum! Like to try your hand at them? Her blog shows you how to make her sweet treats so you can try them at home!

Chinese New Year is just a few weeks away... the holiday officially begins on Valentine's Day and it's the year of the tiger! So I wanted to share some of our festive favors, which are sure to bring luck, love, and "double happiness" to your wedding day! I especially love the bamboo place card holders, which add a subtle eco-friendly Asian feel to the table.

I am digressing from our normal mode of everything weddings to bring you the most beautiful baby shower I have ever seen! Our friend Nina, who had thrown this shower for her good friend Claire, sent us these photos and I just had to post them. The table is set beautifully in pink and brown, with a crossword puzzle about Claire and the baby for each guest to fill out tied to the napkins with a beautiful brown satin bow. Tulips and roses and peonies oh my! But my favorite detail has to be all the fabulous favors set out for the guests to enjoy! From pink carriage boxes filled with pink jordan almonds, to personalized candy jars filled with pink and red peanut M&M's, to an egg whisk and egg timer, this is one shower that is looking forward to springtime! I have to point out the piece de la resistance, N&L's custom favor: egg soaps in a nest tied with place tags with each guests names tied with a printed "baby" pink ribbon. Congratulations Claire!

Bicycles have become such a popular piece in weddings today, so I wanted to post some pretty pictures showing how you can incorporate the classic icon into your special day. First off, bikes make great props for your engagement/wedding pictures, or they can be the perfect addition to a photo station for your guests to pose and have fun with. As graphics, bicycles - especially tandems (perfect for the bride and groom) - make charming additions to wedding stationery, from invitations to programs.

Bicycles just have such a wonderful nostalgic feel to them, which automatically lends a quaint, vintage feel to a wedding that make it all the more charming and memorable.

We had a fabulous Valentine's day themed fête to celebrate N&L's first anniversary! Here are some pictures from the event. We had two fantastic participating vendors, Regas Stationery, a gorgeous letterpress company, and Free Fingers cashmere gloves, which give 100% of its proceeds to breast cancer research. Thanks for a year of wonderful support from our blog readers and our brides!

Today is Navyandlavender.com's 1st anniversary! Exactly one year ago today we launched our company's website and what an incredible journey it has been ever since.

Michal and I just wanted to say thank you to all the talented and creative individuals who have contributed so much to our online success this year! And to our loyal customers and blog readers, we greatly appreciate all of your support and valuable feedback on both our website and products. We look forward to continuing to grow and develop, and put our N&L touch on many more special occasions to come!

A beautiful Fisher Island wedding continues...

The bride and groom were married under the old tree that has been on the property since the early 1900's. A raised platform with a beautifully covered chuppah was lit by lanterns that hung from the branches of the tree. Orchids were carefully placed amongst the old Banyan, creating an almost rainforest effect.

The tables were simply decorated with white flowers and floating candles.

Orchids were also incorporated in the cake; cocktails were outside under the iconic tree; the view from the water of the Fisher Island Mansion and reception tent.

This beautiful Fisher Island, Florida wedding continues...

The weekend began with guests taking the Fisher Island Ferry over to the exclusive island, accessible only by boat. Each guest received a welcome tote, customized by the bride to include her favorite snacks, such as M&Ms, Goldfish crackers, Kettle Salt & Vinegar chips, a flip-flop shaped iced rice crispie treat, granola bars, personalized sunblock, and N&L Rescue Me Kits.

The photography by Donna Newman is just beautiful. How cute is the groom! You can really tell the bride and her maid of honor are sisters - they both look incredible. The groom's niece acted as one of their flower girls.

I am so excited to write about this beautiful wedding in Fisher Island, Florida! After such a gorgeous cooking shower, I expected nothing less from our bride Samantha...

From the beautiful invitations, to the magical settings and the perfect welcome totes (Navy & Lavender of course!) this event was just perfect. Enjoy the photos!

Photography by Donna Newman Photography.

The continuation of Samantha's wonderful cooking shower continues! I love a tea party, and this shower had tiers and tiers of cookies, sweets and tea sandwiches! Not to mention beautiful silver tea and coffee servers. You could swear she had it at the Plaza Hotel!

The bride also received an entire "cocktail" recipe table as well - items for her bar such as a lucite tray with the bride and groom's picture, martini glasses, an ice bucket and cocktail books. I think she'll wear that martini costume next Halloween!

I could not wait to post our dear friend Samantha's cooking shower pictures - there are so many details that tie into the theme, but at the same time are completely practical and perfect.

Spatulas with seating assignments greeted guests as they walked into the beautiful room (the first of many cute favors). Napkins were held together by dried cannelloni pasta cylinders (genius!) while mini rolling pins held guests' place cards (another take home favor - they are meant to be recipe holders!). Beautiful cupcakes topped with real flowers decorated the table amongst empty food cans which served as oh-so-cute vases for the hydrangeas. Mini shopping carts were the centerpiece of each table, holding pantry goodies for the bride to take home: baking items, spatulas, mitts, condiments, and whisks were just a few of the different items that filled each cart. A gorgeous buffet of tea sandwiches, cheese, fruit, tea, coffee, and scones (with real clotted cream!) were just a few things on the menu. There are just so many wonderful elements to this shower I had to do two postings. More on Wednesday!

One of the wedding details that occasionally gets pushed aside are the chairs (no pun intended). I think it's a big mistake though to overlook the types of chairs being used for your ceremony and/or reception, because even though the right chair may only subtly enhance your decor, the wrong one can downright clash and destroy it. And obviously, there are as many seats as there are guests, so chairs really can have a huge presence in your venue.

There are plenty of ways to incorporate the chairs into your wedding theme or style too, and on any budget at that. First, you can rent almost any kind of chair today - there are so many fabulous styles available ranging from vibrant colorful seats to ultra-sleek and chic clear ones. Or you can simply add an embellishment to them, whether it's adorning the chairs with a bow, flowers, or perhaps a slip cover in your wedding color or even one with your monogram!

Only a few more weeks until the highly anticipated fifth installment of Lancome's Pout-a-Porter Lipstick series hits stores this February! The line's newest edition, co-created with designer Chris Benz, is a juicy peach color that's the perfect blend of nude and pink. It would be so sweet for a Spring bride! I also just love it's sassy name - Chris and Tell!

The limited edition color retails for $29 and already has a waiting list, so get out your iphone/blackberry/flip phone/land line/anything with a dial tone and call Saks Fifth Avenue (212.940.2033) to add your name now!

With the passing of 2009 there's one superlative list I had to share - my favorite wedding gowns of the decade! I think these bridal photos speak for themselves as to why they've made it to the very top of my list. I'm certain these dresses will inspire brides-to-be for many more decades to come...

Clockwise from Left to Right: Gwen Stefani, John Galliano for Dior; Katie Holmes, Giorgio Armani; Jenna Bush, Oscar de la Renta; Lauren Davis, Olivier Theyskins for Nina Ricci; Ivanka Trump, Vera Wang.

After an intense day of travel, my friends, husband and I finally arrived in snowy Aspen, Colorado - home town of my hubby. We are very excited for New Years Eve, and we are throwing a little party at our home here to ring in the new year! With so many impromptu invites and last minute changes, I knew I had to turn to Paperless Post again for a beautiful way to let guests know our plans. I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

My husband recently took me to see The Nutcracker for the holidays and I was so inspired by the elegant costumes, incredible choreography, and fanciful music that I decided to create a mood board for the perfect Nutcracker themed wedding. Of course there would be no shortage of beautiful scores for the ceremony or cocktail hour thanks to Tchaikovsky. The Nutcracker itself would make a wonderful icon to use throughout your stationery and decor... I love the idea of using the famous nutcracker to hold table number signs! And of course you'd have to pay homage to the Sugar Plum Fairy with tons and tons of sweets and desserts!

Small hand cranked music boxes would also be a wonderful and fitting parting gift for guests to remember the sounds and scenes of the wedding... How beautiful would the bride look surrounded by a ring of bridesmaids in pink teacup dresses? And of course for the venue, you would need to find the most romantic setting with crackling fireplaces and fresh evergreen trees to hold this elaborate and decadent affair!

A bride's personality and style can often play a large role in what time of year she has her wedding... for example, some girls just make the perfect winter bride. They're endless romantics at heart and love the coziness and intimate nature of a wedding set amidst the chill and cold of winter. These brides love ornate details like crystal chandeliers, delicate embellishments like feathers surrounding a bouquet, and charming seasonal touches - perhaps a marzipan snow couple atop a frosty wedding cake!

Here's a little inspiration board for all those sweet winter brides out there! Stay warm!!

With our big East Coast snow this weekend, we're reminded that winter is upon us! Your guests will love favors that have winter snowflakes to represent this white season, beautiful black and white damask votives, memory ornaments or winter cookie mixes with your names and dates! See more inspiration here.


Images from Martha Stewart Weddings, The Knot and Navy & Lavender.