Winter Nautical Wedding

I had a wonderful opportunity to help style the wardrobe for a bridal shoot for Arizona Foothills Magazine. The project was with a VERY talented group of people, and was photographed by my dear friend Gina Meola. You may remember her work from our architectural bridal shoot that was recently published in Style Me Pretty.

This styled wedding shoot was centered around having a nautical wedding in the winter. You never hear about weddings near the water in the winter time, especially in Arizona. Well, my friends, the water isn't just reserved for the summertime.

With a winter color palette of navy, maroon, white and silver, you can definitely have a beautiful nautical wedding right now!

Check out the Pinterest board that Gina and I put together to get the project off on the right foot. (I seriously can't say enough how great style boards are for visualizing the direction of a project).

Saks Fifth Avenue was SO kind to lend all of the beautiful menswear, shoes and cocktail attire.

We had two looks for the shoot - formal bridal attire and cocktail attire.

Starting with the bridal, Mariee, my favorite bridal boutique in Phoenix, let us use THE perfect wedding dress for this shoot - a Matthew Christopher gown!! The silver bands are perfection!

And umm...Hello, Louboutins?!! I never tire of the red sole, and these shoes make a statement!

For menswear, we went with a classic navy pinstriped suit, white dress shirt and a maroon tie. Nothing fussy and everything timeless.

As for the cocktail reception, I thought a knit sweater would be perfect for nautical vibe. Paired with slacks and great shoes, it's a fresh change from the typical sport coat.

As for our bride, a one-shouldered sparkly cocktail dress was a perfect complement to the menswear - simple and timeless with a touch of glam.

To see more photos of the food, desserts and lovely boat, check out Gina's blog!

Fashion Stylist: Alex of AVE Styles Matthew Christopher Wedding Gown: Mariee Bridal Shoes and Wardrobe: Saks Fifth Avenue Catering: Creative Hands Cuisine Florals and Decor: Encore Creative Sweet Treats: Tammie Coe Cakes Venue Rental: Bella Palazzo Models: Ashley and Brad Richardson Hair and Makeup: Arthur Frederico Stationery: The Paper Place

DIY Adventures

About six months ago my husband and I bought our first home. We have loved the process of making this new place our own, and we finally have one room ALMOST complete. We're just missing a couple more throw pillows and a true coffee table, and then it's finished! YAY!! I wanted to share a couple of my DIY adventures in decorating our living room. They involve construction paper, paint, glass and chalk.

PROJECT #1 - Transforming a hand-me-down table that was also missing some glass.

I decided to paint the table the same color as my front door because I had leftover paint and because I wanted to bring that color into the living-room more. It only took me a couple of hours and then a full day of letting it dry. (PS - This is our AMAZING junk room. hahaha!)

The table was the perfect height to fit behind the couch. I went to ACE Hardware and had a couple of pieces of glass cut to size. It only cost $20, and they fit perfectly! Mission accomplished. Now it's perfect for some pretty vases. =)

PROJECT #2 - Transform my coat closet door!

I thought it would be really fun to be able to write fun greetings on the coat closet door. So, with a couple coats of chalkboard paint we transformed it.

I got to test it out just in time for a big birthday bash for a friend of ours.

Project #3 - Add wall art

I don't really have a before and after for this. I just took some Ikea frames and placed some sheets of construction paper to add a bright pop of color. It's a SUPER easy and INEXPENSIVE way to add color.

I also used photos from some recent photo shoots. =)

Next room to tackle is the kitchen!!!

Melissa Jill's Style Session

I mentioned Melissa Jill in my last post, so I'm sure you're already aware of what an amazingly talented photographer she is. Well, she needed some new photos for her website, so she asked me to help create some looks for her photo session with our mutual good friend, Gina Meola.

We had an absolute BLAST! Melissa really wanted to portray her every day style this time around since I helped glam her up for some photos with Promise Tangeman last year (click here to see last year's session).

Melissa wanted to also show off her cute dog Dixie (one of Wendy's bff's). So, we put her in some colored corduroys, which are very hot this season. Melissa found her purple pants at Ann Taylor Loft. Love 'em!

To make sure we showed variety in her photos, Melissa wore a patterned skirt and complementary cardigan.

I thought her cute watering can was too perfect of a match not to take some shots with it.

Lastly, Melissa really wanted to wear her boots with faux fur because those are her comfy shoes in the fall and winter. So, with a bright top and earrings, we made a fun casual outfit perfect for looking cute while taking Dixie for a walk. =)

 Click here to see more photos of Melissa's photo shoot on Gina's blog.

Kiera & Jay's Style Session

Now and again I get the pleasure of styling love birds for their engagement pictures. Kiera and Jay are two beautiful people getting married in the spring of 2012, and they hired me to get them ready for their engagement session with Melissa Jill.

Kiera and Jay really wanted to have their photos show two different things they love - nature and music. This is such a great thing to think about before a photo session because you can make sure your location and clothing reflects those things. People want to look at photos and see the person they know, AND you want to make sure you're as comfortable as can be in front of the camera. So, regular hang out spots are great location options!

They chose an outdoor location nearby and The Mint, a local club where Jay DJ's. Obviously, these two places (nature and a club) are VERY different from each other, so we made sure their outfits reflected that. All of the clothing was pulled from their closets, which was great because there was already a love affair with the clothing before I got there. =)

First stop was the beautiful outdoors. Jeans are something Jay and Kiera both feel very confident and relaxed wearing. I made sure the washes were different from one another as well as the shape. We selected a sweet lace top for Kiera, and accessorized her with some gold, long necklaces. (If you didn't see my recent post on gold, check it out!)

For Jay, we found a dress shirt that had stitching that complemented Kiera's shirt. The pattern on the button down is wide enough so that it doesn't dance on camera.

And now onto the club, The Mint! I'm headed out there this week, and I can't wait to experience it!

Jay usually rocks a button down and jeans when he goes to work, so we stayed true to what he likes to wear, and chose a classic black shirt with a favorite pair of jeans.

For Kiera, we chose one of Jay's favorite dresses of hers. Obviously, Kiera has an amazing body, and rocked this dress like nobody's business. We accessorized it with black accessories to complement Jay's shirt. I also encouraged her to add the patterned pumps, and I'm SO glad she did. It gives the outfit a touch of spice, no?

It's so great to see their love come alive in these photos, and I'm so glad I had a chance to work with these two! To see more photos from this shoot, visit Melissa's blog.

It's in the family

I come from a loud, big Greek family. We are the total stereotype with generation after generation of the same names. We have the Nick's and Nicole's, and there have been three generations of the name "Alex" except Alexander was turned into Alexandra when I came along. ;) We roast the lamb every Easter, my yiayia totally had plastic covered furniture throughout her house and did I say we're loud?

My cousins are like my brothers and sisters, and my cousin Steph and I are two peas in a pod. We may be six years apart, but we both have loved dance and fashion since we could talk. The rest of my family members are SERIOUS athletes - that kind of skipped me.

Steph definitely got the tall beauty genes in the family - growing to be 5'9" and drop dead gorgeous. So gorgeous that she has been a signed model since she was 16. Yesterday she shot me a note telling me she was on the front page of RueLala.com modeling Sachin & Babi, and today you can see her modeling Betsey Johnson. (If you've never heard of RueLaLa, go sign up and tell them I sent you (alexandra@avestyles.com). It's just as good as GILT, and they sell men's, women's, travel and home decor!)

One day us Vailas girls are going to do a shoot together! Until then I can't wait to see what Steph does next!