Wedding OOTD // OOTN // Brides OOTN // The Wedding Experiene.

As you may know, I went to an amazing wedding a couple of weeks ago. Alex and I went with my good friend Donny to Ashileena's wedding. I met Ashley through Alex right after high school and the three of us were really close. When I was in college, Ashley and I were inseparable. Donny was also with Ashley and I a lot of that time in college. We had a really close group of friends and when I went to Las Vegas, it seemed as if everyone went their separate ways. All but Ashley. I would come back to visit and hang out with her the whole time I was in town from Las Vegas. Cut to today, I haven't seen Ashley in what had been a couple years! We really hope to change that though because we had a freaking blast! Her baby Mia and husband Darren are both awesome. 

Let me take you through the day.....

Alex, Donny, + I all met up at my house in our Sunday's best.

We took some pictures outside. Thanks to Donny, I got some pretty good OOTD's photos.

{{**edit. I would have loved to show you the pictures of all of us, but my computer crashed and all of my pictures I didn't upload to FB or MBB were GONE. Dang it!}}

Ruffle Floral Top: Body Central

Mint Fitted Blazer: Body Central

Coral Maxi Skirt:Wet Seal

Coral Sandals with Gold Detailing: Body Central
Scarf: Charlotte Russe
Sunglasses: Tilly's

I love this maxi skirt. I just love the way it moves.

Then we got to the wedding just in time to see Ashley and Darren walk out of the church. She looked so beautiful. This was a perfect time for a photo-opportunity . Her dress was so nice. Cupcake style. Too bad I have no photos. Moving on....

Afterward, Alex went home to change and Donny and I got the party started! We decided to go to a local beer place. Turns out, this place has one of the biggest selections of beer in the US. Right down the street from me. Why didn't I know about this place? You can go in and fill up a six-pack of different flavors of beers, or you can drink them in the bar. They had one called Banana Bread I wanted to try, but I opted out for:

Coconut Flavored. Although I didn't really taste the coconut. 

It tasted like white wine mixed with juice. It was pretty amazing.

Donny looks so cute in this one:


Then Alex came back to my house and we drove to the reception. The reception hall was awesome. The chandeliers were big and blingy, I actually felt formal for the night .

my 2nd OOTN:
All I did was changed my top and skirt, and put on a romper from Body Central.

Necklace: Charlotte Russe
Sugar Skull Romper: Body Central

Arm Candy:
Charlotte Russe  Jewelry:
Pastel Skulls
Spike/Pearl Braclet + Gold Skull Bracelet

The Gold Bracelet: Forever 21

Ashileena's OOTN:

A black peplum mini dress. Screams Ashley.

We drank,
We danced,
We Stole Things 
{Jason Mraz Ref.}

We did the photo booth

Then, it was time to get on the party bus!!

We were headed to downtown Youngstown. My downtown has a ton of bars and restaurants for any type of person. They have a thrift-store-by-day fashion-show-by-night with BYOB place, A luncheon place that turns into a really cool bar with an open mic at night. I once saw a girl play violin, a guy tap dance, and and another free style all at once. It was pretty sweet. They have a martini bar, a hip hop dance club, a bar with live music, and a few more dive's. We started out at 9ine {dance club} and just cruised the rest of the bars and clubs. So yeah, good times.

Ashley and Alex on the bus, talking and laughing. I love this picture. They are so cute!


Me // Ryan // Darren // ??




 Donny

I took all of these while I had too much...Forgive me?

The night ended at Ashileena's and Darren's house. Phil was such a doll and picked Donny and I up from their house about an hour away to take us back to Youngstown.

We had a blast! Thank you to Ashley and Darren for such a spectacular night and for inviting me! I can't wait to get back together again! Congratulations pretty girl! I love you and I am so proud of you! You have a beautiful family and home and I was exited to be apart of your wedding day! I hope you guys renew yours vows some time really soon in the future so we can do it all over again!

I hope all of you MBB reader's enjoyed the blog post! 

If you wanna see more, feel free to go to my facebook page.

even though I had the cutest collages I made on GIMP for this blog post, and my computer crashed so they were lost, it still turned out ok, right? no. I just like things a lot cuter for the blog. Whatever...

Wasn't the bride gorgeous?!

Are you married?

What did your wedding dress{es} look like?

xoxo

Erica

Fall Fashion 411 - Fall Trends Series 2012. Part 1

Remember my Fall Trends Series from 2011? Well! That took a lot of work and even though it was so much fun it was also tedious but I found that lots of people actually liked it & it was actually helpful. I already started hunting for new pieces of clothing for this year's trend series but I am not positive if im in it for the long haul. If that is something you would like to see, please let me know! If not, then it's going out the window! Plus, I am a little late on that anyways.

Think of this as a Fall Trend Series extension for 2012. As of the last 2 months or so, I did some damage with new clothes. One of the things I purchased from American Eagle while they were having their $30 jeans sale was a rhapsody colored pair of pants. Since Rhapsody is one of the Fall colors for 2012 on the Pantone color panel, I want to give you ideas on how to wear colored pants in a stylish way. You will be surprised at how many outfits you can make out of 1 pair of colored pants.

This blog post will be, for the most part, my humble opinion on ways to wear different colors and prints together.  In college, I took a fashion history class. Some of the things I learned in that class will be here too. Here are some easy guidelines to follow on ways to put a flattering outfit together in what you might think are surprising ways. I really hope a light bulb will go off in your head and you venture out into mixing colors & prints this season!

Exhibit A

Mixing a Color with a Neutral Print

Quite possibly the easiest one to figure out. Instead of wearing a colored shirt, go with a neutral print to match your colored jeans/pants. I like this because it is trendy without being too loud. You have your bird print (trendy!) with a peter pan collar (also trendy!) in black and cream.

JC Penney's top was $9!

Exhibit B

Mixing colors.

The easiest one in my opinion to feel like it doesn't fit. A basic rule of thumb to use when mixing colors: does it look appealing to you? If so, then your good! If you want more inspiration, here's a couple more tips:

#1. Pantone Color Panel:  
The rule of thumb on any color panel is that every single color on the panel goes with every other color. Click to see Pantone's Fall 2012 Color Panel.

#2. Use the exact same color in different hues 
Monochromatic color scheme 
ex: light purple with bright purple*

#3. Use the exact same hue of different colors  
ex: deep purple with deep orange*

#4. Using a Primary Color Scheme 
Blue, Red and Yellow are the primary colors. All three look good in the same outfit*

#5. Using a Secondary Color Scheme 
Same as primary colors, secondary colors pair great in an outfit. You could use all three: Orange, Green, & Purple.*

#6. Using a Triad Color Scheme 
As easy as it sounds. Look to the color wheel. Which colors make a triangle in the wheel? You notice that both the primary colors and the secondary colors are in a triangle formation on the color wheel. This trick can be used with any colors on the color wheel. 
ex: pink, green, & brown create a triad color scheme.*

#7. Using a Complementary Color Scheme 
Whatever color is right across from your color is complementary of it. 
ex: green and red are complementary.*

#8. Using an Analogous Color Scheme 
Refer to the color wheel. Find your color. Either color next to it make all 3 analogous color. You can also split the color wheel into two parts and think of it as being warm colors (yellow through red) vs. cool colors (purple through green). With analogous color's, they could mix both warm and cool colors as well, overlapping each other. ex: your color is pink. Pink will go perfectly with blue and purple.*

My outfit would fall under the analogous color scheme. Both colors are next to each other on the color wheel. Just because they aren't the same hue or color doesn't mean they don't fit! I think the white undershirt makes the outfit a little brighter, but I also sometimes wear this with a dark purple undershirt. Another great idea would be to go with any blue colored undershirt.

  If your looking to try this out, check out Wet Seal. They have basic tops, & tank tops in all different colors and some cute neutral prints. all 5 for only $20!

Exhibit C

Mixing 2 Colors with Prints

 Step #1. Choose your color. 

Mine is the color Rhapsody in the jeans.

#2. Choose a print: 

The same rule with mixing different colors. Mix different colors with the same hue-or- mix the same color with a different hue, 1 being a solid color and 1 being a print. I am choosing my leopard print scarf and that is a different color with the same muted, soft hue. The color of the scarf is called Rose Smoke, also from the Pantone Color Panel.

#3. Choose another print in the same print

You can omit this if you feel what you have is enough. If not, choosing a second print is as easy as pie. An example of what I mean by another print in the same print is this. Say your print is leopard (as mine is), find another article with a different leopard print on it, as I did with my leopard scarf and undershirt. They are both leopard print but not exact replica's of each other. In my opinion it adds interest without being too tacky

If your going with a second print, be sure not to over do with. I think the scarf going along with the undershirt isn't as loud as a blouse with a scarf, both being prints. It's too much in my opinion. A subtle pop of print here and there is nice. Another cute idea to add your print of choice would be in a leopard bow on a neutral pair of shoes.

#4 Complete the outfit:
I have a Titanium (a grey color) V-neck which completes the outfit. At this point, it's best to find some flattering neutral pieces to complete the outfit. Adding another print or color might not be in good taste so this, to me, is perfect. 

With these "rules", the possibilities seem endless

So, Class!

How have you been mixing it up with your clothing lately?
Whats your favorite outfit in this post?
Whats your least favorite?
Is there anything else you would have done different?

disclaimer: Almost all of these "rules" are my opinion. I am not a professional. I did however take a fashion history class in college and did quite well! Some of these rules are what I learned in the class. They will be marked with an*. Basically, anything you read in exhibit B I learned in college.

Happy Mixing,
Erica