{Disclaimer: this post may end up sounding a bit dramatic. I swear to you, everything you’re about to read is exactly how I feel, without hyperbole or exaggeration.}

Okay now. Have y’all heard of Stillmotion? They’re a mixed media company based in Canada, but what they’re really known for (at least in the circles I run in) is their Same Day Edits. The idea with the SDE is that the crew films the day of your wedding up through the ceremony, then edits the footage to share at the end of your reception.

And it’s amazing.

Mrs. Penguin of Weddingbee recently shared an exchange with one of her recently engaged friends. Here it is:

Robin: We’re engaged!

Pengy: Congratulations! Have you heard of Stillmotion?

My thoughts exactly.

Ever since I saw Cheryl and Andrew’s SDE on the ‘bee, I’ve been yapping about Stillmotion to anyone who will listen. At this point, I think about 85% of my friends and family have seen C + A’s clip. I don’t have very good video-embedding skillz, so I’m not going to even try to upload anything, but if you love beautiful things, and you’re okay with getting a bit verklempt, then for the love of wedding cinematography, please watch the following two clips… and then every other clip on the Stillmotion site.

Cheryl + Andrew’s Same Day Edit

Robin + Carlos’ Same Day Edit

Thank you. But trust, you’ll be thanking me soon.

Love this series from Yvonne Wong. So happy, great light. Wouldn’t it be such a fun indulgence to have a photo shoot every year on your anniversary?

See more here.

{via Real Simple}

I’m thinking something like this could look neat on the high-boy (cocktail) tables at Kate and Cormac’s reception. They most likely won’t be having sit-down tables and instead will have a collection of higher and lower cocktail tables. We’ve been scouting for a low-cost, low-floral, simple-to-set-up arrangement, and this one, by Michelle Rago for Real Simple, would fit the bill, I think. The manzanita is even evocative of driftwood! (Remember, driftwood is an important part of the scheme.)

Sister Kim and I tried our hand at these floral flowers (so cute! so easy! photos coming soon!) over Thanksgiving and think they would look great in place of the tissue ones Michelle used. I’m seeing crisp navy and white stripe fabric flowers alternating with yellow and white striped ones.

Any other ideas for an arrangement that is:
— low-cost
— low-floral
— easy-to-set-up
— appropriate for the afternoon (i.e. no candles)
— able to stand up to the wind?

Thoughts?

And mind you, this is me making that declaration. I have this vision in my head of what the maids should wear at Kate and Cormac’s wedding, and I think Kate vaguely agrees with me, but I’m not exactly sure. I’m guessing the two other ladies will have some opinions, as well, so really, this is just me doing my own research.

Or trying to do research, as it turns out. The image in my head is of a navy and white patterned dress, knee length, in a summery, more casual sort of fabric. A fancy sundress. Or else something like this:

(Image by Brooke Schwab)

Cute, no? That’s what I thought.

Well.

So far I have looked at the online sites of:

J. Crew
Ann Taylor
LOFT
Banana Republic
GAP
Old Navy
American Eagle
Coren Moore
Jenny Yoo
Melissa Sweet at POB
Thread Bridesmaid
Queue
Vineyard at POB
Anthropologie
BCBGMaxAzzria
and Shoshanna

Whew.

Unfortunately, I really didn’t find anything, except for this frock at Old Navy:

Then I remembered Modcloth. And whoa. I didn’t exactly hit the jackpot (as in, the perfect dress for the maids), but I sure did find some cute possibilities, and way too many dresses that I just plain want in my life. Here are some I found that could possibly work for the wedding:

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

So tell me, which Modcloth option is your favorite? Or do you like the Old Navy one better? Or do you have another source for cute summery dresses that I’m forgetting to check?

P.S. I’m thinking maybe the situation will improve once designers/companies debut their spring/summer lines. Thoughts?