weddings

Romance and Glamor In the Woods

I love weddings. My favorite part of a wedding is watching the groom's reaction as he watches his bride walk down the aisle. There's always so much love and tenderness, and a little bit of awe in that moment -- it always makes me melt a little inside. 

You've already heard about Bombay Taxi's Bridal Collection debut but I wanted to share some images from a styled photo shoot created in collaboration with some absolutely wonderful wedding vendors. 

We picked a gorgeous location in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and even though our models were not really getting married, they are a real life couple, and romance was definitely in the air.

bridal makeup
Here comes the bride
Wedding flowers bridal bouquet
First look
outdoor wedding first kiss
outdoor wedding
Wedding in the woods
floral cake
head table wedding
Rustic wedding

That Time I Danced At A Wedding

Oh hello again! You may have noticed that I went missing for a few days there, and the reason is that I was suffering from a little burn out. If you read my post and feature on Fashion Flash, then you may know that in addition to my day job, I also have a few other side hustles that I am pursuing. And after over a year of pushing really hard, it happened. I burned out. And so, I took a break from all my gigs, and did very little, end result being that I'm reinvigorated and energized for the summer!!

So while I was on break, I attended my cousin Sonya's wedding to her now-husband Steve. Now, most Indian weddings are five day affairs, but since Steve is not Indian, and this isn't India, Sonya and Steve had an abbreviated adaptation of an Indian wedding, but preserved my most favorite of Indian wedding events - the Sangeet. The Sangeet traditionally occurs the night before the wedding and is a time for song, dance and celebration, and a way for the two families to get to know each other. In an arranged marriage, the sangeet is also a time for the bride and groom to get to know each other before the big day. Sonya and Steve have been together for six years, so their sangeet was all for fun, and frankly, a way for Sonya's bridal party to get all pretty and dressed up and do some dancing.

I wore J. Crew leggings, a kurti (basically a tunic) from am:pm, and Bombay Taxi earrings (obviously).

Sonya, my aunt (her mom), my mom, and me

Sonya, my aunt (her mom), my mom, and me

A closer look at my outfit

A closer look at my outfit

Sonya and her bridal party. Photo credit: BrookeTysonPhotography.com

Sonya and her bridal party. Photo credit: BrookeTysonPhotography.com

Sonya and Steve at their Sangeet. Photo by BrookeTysonPhotography.com

Sonya and Steve at their Sangeet. Photo by BrookeTysonPhotography.com

It was such a great evening, made even better because not only did the bridal party dance, but Sonya's mom (my aunt) and her friends did a dance too! The DJ was great, mixing pop, 90s hip hop and Bollywood songs together, and the food (Indian of course) was so delicious. 

And in the event that you want more, here are my snaps from the night. PS, if you're not following me on snapchat, you definitely should - my username is shibanifaehnle

Overall, a lovely evening to celebrate a lovely couple! Congratulations to Sonya & Steve!

Win Tickets: Boutique Bridal Bazaar

Winter always seems to be the season of engagements, and this year has been no exception. With engagements come wedding planning, which can be fun or daunting, depending on how you look at it. Nick and I have been married for almost 12 years (we married young) and weddings have changed a lot over this time. For one, there was no Pinterest, and certainly nowhere near as many wedding blogs, so finding ideas for a stylist wedding used to be quite the challenge. Lucky for all brides, this is no longer the case, and although the Internet is a wonderful virtual world, sometimes you really want to see, feel, and touch product first hand, particularly if you're planning a particularly important day.

Enter, Boutique Bridal Bazaar: the event for chic Northeast Ohio brides seeking an equally chic wedding. This year, the event is on Sunday, January 17th from 2 pm to 6 pm. There will be all sorts of vendors in attendance: florists, DJs, caterers, dress designers, accessories, and of course, photographers. In fact, I'm attending this year just to check out the cool vendors so I have an idea of vendor style for my own non-wedding events in 2016! 

You can find tickets here, OR, you can enter to win TWO TICKETS by leaving a comment letting me know you'd like to attend!! For an additional entry, you may also leave a comment on this photo on my Instagram! Winner will be announced on Thursday, January 14th! 

Photo credit: Cannon Candids Photography

Photo credit: Cannon Candids Photography

isclosure: I was provided with one complimentary ticket to attend this event, and two tickets for the giveaway. As always, all opinions are my own! Thanks for continuing to support this blog so I may continue to create content to support local businesses! 

Cleshopaholic Travels.... To Columbus

First things first- if you haven't entered the giveaway for the $25 gift certificate to dots, please do so here. They just had some new arrivals, including a cute colorblock dress  and this lace romper- both of which would be super cute at Sunset Grille or for one of the many summer festivals that begin next weekend!!

 N and I were in Columbus for a family wedding. It has been a long time since I was in Columbus, and since we were staying in the Arena district, I knew we were going to be visiting the Short North for sure!!
My overall impression of Short North is certainly a positive one- it reminds me a lot of Tremont and Ohio City (but with way more retail), and certainly a lot of Chicago's neighborhoods as well. Well done, Columbus!!

We followed Renee's recommendation and visited Northstar Cafe for Saturday brunch- I absolutely fell in love with this place. The atmosphere reminded me of a coffee shop I used to visit in college (I miss you, Buzz), but with the added bonus of really yummy food!



After brunch, we decided to walk it off by visiting some stores. There is a LOT of retail clustered together in this part of town, and while this is by no means a comprehensive list, here are my top 3 from this weekend!

1. Tigertree: 787 North High St. This store reminds me a lot of Urban Outfitters, in that its really well curated, and carries some really unusual stuff. 





2. le Chocoholique: 601 North High St. Honestly, this store makes me happy I don't live in Columbus. Why? Because I would be eating their salted caramel and salted toffee EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!!!! Wow. It is seriously so so so so good. And they also serve cocktails and desserts in addition to chocolate.



3. The Candle Lab: 646 North High St. I luuurrrvveeed these soy candles!! I didn't end up buying any because I'm really well stocked on candles, and I think N would smack me if I brought another into the house. That said, I really really really wish someone would carry their line (or at least part of it) in Cleveland. 



After some fun shopping, it was time to attend Bart and Erin's wedding. I'm not going to post many pictures from the wedding, but I did want to highlight Erin's beautiful dress- I really love the lace overlay that's popular with wedding dresses these day. Absolutely gorgeous!


The reception was hosted at a winery in Columbus-- lots of wine, lots of dancing, lots of fun family. Good times were had by all!!


N and I having fun with instagram


In honor of the Royal Wedding...

As you may remember, last year I was completely OBSESSED with the Royal Wedding. I even took the day off and woke up SUPER early to live chat the wedding with my dear friend CJ. So you can imagine my excitement when I learned that Mattel released special edition William and Kate dolls in honor of the couple's one year anniversary (April 29th, in case you're wondering). Turns out, they were released on Valentine's Day and are now no longer available through Mattel!!


Living out your princess dreams with dolls. Only mildly creepy.

Not to fear! The good news is that it IS still available through Barbie Collector  if you're so inclined...

Happy Anniversary Will and Kate!