Don't shoosh me man

Denim has always been a staple for any wardrobe for any person; the beauty of a pair of jeans is that they come in so many different styles and fits; so I would be pretty surprised if you cant find a pair to suit you. At the moment, it’s not just about the fit – it’s about the colour too; men are starting to experiment with different washes, but not just the traditional blues. More and more coloured styles are hitting the shelves and one of the most popular at the moment is the acid wash style, they look like they would be perfectly suited in the punk-rock era because some of the washes can be a bit crazy, for example the orange acid wash pair would look awesome with a simple t-shirt, but please note they aren’t for the faint hearted!

In terms of fit, skinny is the style at the moment, but if skinny is not your thing then a straight or twisted legged pair will look good too. I’ve also seen a pair of bootleg jeans that wouldn’t look out of place in the 70’s!

The beauty about a pair of jeans is that their timeless and you can wear them with anything – so invest in a decent pair and they will last forever.

The Voice UK hit the screens and hit the ratings hard, becoming more popular than Simon Cowells “Britain’s Got Talent” and drawing attention from a lot of the public and musicians alike. Ratings dipped as the live shows commenced but there was one guy we kept our close eye on… Tyler James. Hailing from Canning Town in East London, Tyler’s unique voice and on point style helped him to become a runner up in the competition gaining the exposure he so desperately needed. He’s defiantly one to watch, and we’re going to be highlighting some of his key looks throughout the show and breaking down his style.

To say this wedding is a stunner is a complete understatement. I’m sure the bride and groom were quite surprised when they awoke to find rain and fog on their St. Patrick’s Day wedding morning, however the unexpected weather added a wonderfully dramatic backdrop to some seriously glorious images from Welsch Photography. And just wait until you see the absolutely timeless reception surrounded by grape vines and wine barrels at Margan in Broke, New South Wales. These nuptials have quite simply swept me off my feet and into a world of simple elegance and splendor. Get swept up in our gallery right here.

From the Bride… Luke and I had our first date on Valentine’s Day 2010. From that day on, we quite quickly knew that we had found the person we really wanted to spend each and every day with. We had so much in common, had lived overseas, travelled extensively, liked the outdoors, had the same views on life, and shared our birthdays only three days apart on the same year. In May 2011, we took a holiday to Hawaii. Luke had planned a proposal on the island of Kauai at the beginning of the trip, however flash flooding (including spending our second night in our car!) put a halt to his original plans. But on day four with the sun finally peeking out, we set out on a muddy but beautiful hike on the Na Pali coast. When we reached the waterfall, Luke proposed, and of course I said yes!

We both loved the Hunter Valley, and we wanted our wedding day to be somewhere quite secluded, away from the hustle and bustle of Sydney. Margan seemed to fit the bill perfectly. It was the only venue we looked at, and we booked it a few days after we visited. It had amazing food and wine, and was isolated enough in Broke to be far away from the tourist buses in the rest of the Hunter Valley. We awoke to rain and fog on our wedding day: March 17 — St Patrick’s Day! However the rain managed to hold off from the time I got in the car, and due to the cloudy dark skies, the photos turned out beautifully. We chose Welsch Photography because of their classic, vintage style, and they definitely did not disappoint!

We had our ceremony at St Patrick’s Nulbaka, and then the guests were picked up from their accomodation by shuttle buses and to taken to Margan to enjoy canapes and drinks outside while we were having photographs. We had long banquet tables in the barrel room of Margan, which provided a warm and intimate atmosphere that the guests loved. The food and wine were amazing and surpassed all my expectations — special thanks goes to the chef Josh Davidson, who I went to high school with. After dinner we danced the night away to the great tunes by RPM The Band. It really was the perfect day — the best day of our lives so far — and we only wish we could do it all over again.

Wedding Photography: Welsch Photography / Reception: Margan in Broke, New South Wales / Floral Design: Yeng Tan Floral Designer / Wedding Cake: Bec’s Cake Creations / Wedding Stationery: Willow Lane Studios / Music: RPM The Band / Transportation: Events in the Vines / Wedding Dress: Pallas Couture / Hair + Makeup: Blush Brides / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Zimmermann / Men’s Attire: Peppers Formal Wear / Rings: Lanes Gems & Jewellers

Some people love the idea of a candy buffet on a wedding table, some people don’t. For me this can be a wedding hit. Depending on your leading colors of decor you can decide to choose one theme colour or mix few colours and make it colorful. There is a wide range of candy that you can buy at online candy stores such as www.candywarehouse.com or www.groovyandies.com You can place candy buffet in a center that everyone will see it firstly or hide it in a secret area. But you have to remember- it’s an additional attraction, don’t spend too much money on it.

Some people love the idea of a candy buffet on a wedding table, some people don’t. For me this can be a wedding hit. Depending on your leading colors of decor you can decide to choose one theme colour or mix few colours and make it colorful.

It’s always a wedding winner in my book when the bride and groom blend families AND cultures on their big day! Tim Sohn Studios photographed this Cali couple who brought in the bride’s Chinese heritage with a traditional tea ceremony (and a not-so-traditional dress change) and ended the evening with American mainstays like the bouquet toss and cake cutting! There are so many more thoughtful touches + beautiful details (all designed by the bride’s company, Honey & Twine Weddings and Events) in the full gallery!

From the Bride… Jon and I met while studying at the University of Washington in Seattle and relocated to the Bay Area together in 2009. Even though our guest  list would span seven countries, including Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, France and the UK, we wanted to have our wedding in the Bay Area, our first home together as a married couple. We wanted our wedding would be a multicultural affair that would pay homage to my Chinese/Australian roots and Jon’s midwestern upbringing, a wonderful Northern California experience for our guests, and elegant but casual with a touch of whimsy (Who wants to fly 16 hours just to be buttoned up all day?). The true challenge was bringing all of these elements together in a stylish and cohesive event.

It’s Chinese tradition for the parents of the bride and groom to gift the bride with gold bangles on her wedding day as a sign of prosperity and good fortune. To combine this with the “something old” tradition, I wore the white gold bangles my dad’s parents gave to my mom on her wedding day. Instead of wearing one of each wrist in the traditional manner, I wore both on one arm to modernize the look. For my “something borrowed” I wore my mother’s pearl and diamond pendant. For the reception and tea ceremony, I changed into a custom-made, gold Chinese “cheong sam.” Traditionally, a bridal cheong sam is red, but I designed it in gold and cream to modernize the look and keep with the overall feel of the wedding. The dress was tailor made by Lingling Chinese Dress in SF, but I purchased the gold lace overlay and silk in Hong Kong a few months earlier.  Before shipping it to California, my auntie and uncle brought the fabric to their factory in China and hand-sewed delicate pearls onto the petals of the lace flowers – it was heavy! I also changed into the solid yellow gold bangles my mother’s parents gave to her on her wedding day. It was an honor to be able to wear both pairs.

We greeted our guests with iced tea and lemonade as they arrived for the ceremony. Instead of a guest book, we asked our guests to sign next to their home cities on a large world map. The map is now framed in our living room and reminds us of everyone who came to celebrate from around the world! Church Street Flowers created an “altar” with two gorgeous arrangements and floated peonies in the fountain. My mom created five beautiful flower pomanders that we hung prominently from the trellis so we would pass underneath them on the way to the altar. It was important that our wedding ceremony symbolize the coming together of two life partners and include our dads AND moms who raised us equally. Both Jon and I – first he then I – were escorted down the aisle by both our parents to Journey’s “Faithfully.” We met at the end of the aisle as two equals ready to enter into a new life stage.

The Chinese wedding tea ceremony is when the bride and groom pour tea for their parents and elders as a sign of respect. Customarily, it takes place in private the morning of the wedding at the groom’s parents’ and bride’s parents’ homes. However, we wanted to incorporate it into the reception so our guests could also experience this amazing tradition. We used the very same tea set my parents used on their wedding day – my mom hand-carried it over from Australia. She was able to keep it intact all these years after moving from country to country, and I hope I’ll be able to give it to my daughter one day! We poured tea for my family and Jon’s family as a way to blend our cultures. As gifts, they gave us words of advice, as well “red packets” of money and jewelry. After the tea ceremony, we commenced with western traditions, including the bouquet toss and dancing. We also had an amazing and fun photo booth provided by our photographer, Tim Sohn, which our guests really enjoyed! Our wedding was personal, meaningful, blended our cultures and gave our guests a taste of our new Northern California home.

Wedding Photography: Tim Sohn Studios / Wedding Venue: Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, California / Event Design: Hannah (The Bride), Co-Founder of Honey & Twine Weddings and Events / Floral Design: Church Street Flowers / Catering: Cafe Primavera / Wedding Cake + Cupcakes: Cakes by Maggie (650-924-2253) / Wedding Stationery: Honey & Twine Weddings and Events (formerly Tandem Wedding) / Musicians: Two Faithful / Wedding Dress: Pronovias / Bride’s Shoes: Aldo / Bride’s Cheong Sam: LingLing Chinese Dress / Bride’s Engagement Ring: Stone from Single Stone + Setting by Leon Mege / Bride’s Wedding Band: Beverly K via 23rd Street Jewelers / Groom’s Suit: Ralph Lauren / Bridesmaid’s Dress: Amsale / Bridesmaid’s Shoes: Manolo Blahnik / Mother of the Bride’s Dress: Ralph Lauren / Groom’s Wedding Band: Tiffany & Co.

Calistoga Ranch has this awesome little spot that I like to call the wine cave and I’m obsessed with it. It makes for the coolest of ceremonies, the most intimate and dinner party-esque of receptions and when paired with Valley Flora blooms and photographs by Tim Tab Studios , it has us dreaming of wine country nuptials complete with a yummy glass of vino in hand. So grab that wine and head into the gallery for all the Napa infused images you could possibly dream of. We have a feeling you’ll be planning a trip stat. From the Bride… Nate and I had been dating for over six years prior to our engagement. We met in college and were immediately inseparable. One fall evening, Nate took me on a neighborhood walk with our dog, Phoebe. Similar to many other nights, we stopped and stared at a brownstone a few blocks away from our apartment. This place was special. There in front my first childhood home in Chicago, Nate dropped to one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. It was perfect. Nothing over the top, just us and the dog in a location that was so thoughtful and special. I knew I was a lucky girl and embarked on the adventure of planning our city wedding. Five months prior to the wedding, Nate and I decided that our ever-growing Chicago wedding needed to be transformed into something much more intimate. We picked up our wedding and moved it 2,000 miles west to wine country. We had never been to Napa Valley and booked our venue sight unseen. We hoped that the food, flowers and beautiful fall weather would live up to our expectations. With the exception of the bridal party, wedding dress and our photographer, everything changed. We swapped tuxedos and long dresses for California casual, opted for a sit down dinner instead of stations and moved the ceremony outdoors. That last detail allowed us to incorporate our pup into the wedding. We wanted the evening and weekend to be both elegant and fun, and planning a long-distance wedding helped us not to over-think our decisions. Some of our favorite touches were a highly sought-after banana and chocolate cake, a delicious food and wine pairing, amazing flowers and an incredible band that had the entire wedding up on the dance floor. Calistoga Ranch was everything we hoped it would be, and it provided the perfect backdrop for our big day. The pictures Tim captured remind us everyday that we made the right decision! Wedding Photography: Tim Tab Studios / Wedding Venue: Calistoga Ranch in Calistoga, California / Floral Design: Valley Flora / Ceremony Strings Duo: Joyce Lee / Reception Band: Keith Johnson All-Stars / Wedding Dress: Vera Wang / Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Hair + Makeup: It’s A Date / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: J.Crew / Groomsmen’s Suits: J.Crew

There are a few things that I dream about on the reg; one being all things Italian, including the sweeping landscapes of the surrounding countryside. And seen through the lens of A Simple Photograph they surpass any and all dreaming I’ve done to date. A wedding in Tuscany, honestly what could be more romantic? It’s all lush greenery and gorgeous lace dresses, old cobblestone walkways and dining alfresco under lantern strung trees. And the whole lot is pure destination magic. Italy awaits in the full gallery. See it all here! From A Simple Photograph … This Canadian couple loves to dine and entertain, and they adore great food! As soon as Virginia said “yes” she knew she wanted her wedding to be held in Tuscany, where some of her favourite chefs reside! She enlisted the help of wedding planner Ben Singleton and began preparations for her week-long celebration with family and friends. The couple shared their joy of food with their guests all week long. They held many dinners, brunches, wine tours and cooking classes… They gifted wines, oils and local ingredients to each guest in their welcome baskets and as bombonieres! Her many menus over the week included items such as wild boar with white beans, delicious gnocchi with truffle sauce, selections of local cheeses and fine wines and so much more! The pièce de résistance was the delicious Millefoglie wedding cake that the chef prepared live before all of the guests during the wedding reception (just before the sparkler send off)! Everyone was filled with joy, and no one left hungry! Wedding Photography: Erin Samuell of A Simple Photograph / Wedding Venue: Villa Francesca in San Gimignano, Italy / Event Planning: Ben Singleton of Italy Weddings / Wedding Dress: Jim Hjelm / Bride’s Shoes: Nine West / Makeup: Jen Pike

, , , , Séamus Fahy - founder of Voltaire Diamonds What is the most unique thing about your business? Voltaire Diamonds is all done by appointment. I don’t have a jewellery shop, therefore I don’t have the overheads of a jewellery shop. It’s a nice environment, you’re getting top quality product at very competitive prices. A lot of my clients say they’re intimidated by jewellery shops. But you come in here and it’s relaxed, there’s no pressure on people and there’s no pushy sales techniques. We design the rings , but you can add your personal stamp if you want. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in business? On day one, I should have set up with a website so it was geared up with search engine optimisation. I didn’t do that. So for the first two years I would have been on the third page of search results when you Googled engagement rings. Nobody goes to page three; very few people go beyond the first three or four on page one. About a year and half ago, I redesigned the website and made it SEO optimised. Now I’m at the top of page one. All of a sudden my business jumped. But if I had been at the top of page one from the beginning, I might have struggled to deal with all the business. What has been your major success to date? Still being in business four years later. Since I set up the business a lot of jewellery shops have closed. I opened a London office four or five months ago. I was finding through Google analytics that my business was getting a lot of hits in London. A lot of people are leaving Ireland now – people in the engagement ring phase of their life tend to be moving to London. The younger ones are off to Canada and Australia. Sales in London are starting to grow. The recession suits me perfectly; more and more people are looking for value for money now. I set up in late 2007. All my friends thought I was nuts, but at the time I didn’t know the recession was about to come. Right at the very start I managed to get great write-ups on the likes of Boards.ie and Weddings Online . The online forums are huge for me business, as is Facebook. My competitors haven’t copped on to that. Half of them don’t have a Facebook page, or if they do I haven’t seen it. There are around 18,000 fans of Voltaire on Facebook. With a jewellery shop, they rely on people walking past and calling in. I don’t have that. Reputation is everything. You still get people saying they’re off to Antwerp or New York to buy engagement rings, but I guarantee to beat those prices. You are sitting in New York and Antwerp here. The international price of diamonds is the price – there is no difference. We’re all buying at very similar prices. People think they can get better deals abroad, but they can’t. Who would you admire most in business and why? It’s probably Michael O’Leary for his no-nonsense approach. What piece of advice would you give to the Government to stimulate the economy? Try to reduce VAT rates for labour intensive businesses. I know they’ve done it for the tourism industry, but maybe there are other industries out there they could do it for. What would you say has been your biggest challenge? Initially when I set up the business, it was getting suppliers to actually take me seriously. I visited wholesale suppliers in Antwerp and London. Without a website, without the qualification from the GIA , no one took me seriously. I studied gemology with the GIA in London to get that level of credibility. The diamond business is all about trust. At the start everything was prepaid, now it’s all about credit. If I let down one supplier, it’s a very close-knit community – they all know each other. The whole article been published at business section of Irish Times .

LEXINGTON, Ky. , July 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Darlene Kempf , owner of U Stor It, located at 137 James Ct., recently added U-Haul truck and trailer rentals to the storage business. U Stor It has storage units available for rent and is a Premier eMove Storage Affiliate , which provides her business with access to confirmed reservations from the world’s largest moving and storage reservation system including emove.com, uhaul.com, and 1-800-GO-UHAUL, along with being able to display their storage facility features and photographs online. Premier Affiliates such as U Stor It are utilizing WebSelfStorage Management Software. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090622/LA34860LOGO-b ) Click here to download the photo accompanying this press release. Families needing the finest in moving services now will have increased convenience and a shorter distance to travel when moving, which not only will make their move easier but also will have the positive effect of reducing the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. U-Haul partnering with business owners across North America to increase convenience for customers while helping our environment is just one of the programs that support U-Haul Company’s Corporate Sustainability initiatives. U Stor It can now offer its customers a variety of moving equipment and supplies designed specifically for moving household furnishings, including moving vans, open trailers, closed trailers, furniture pads, appliance dollies, furniture dollies, tow dollies and auto transports, which are added conveniences for storage customers. “U-Haul is proud to be partnering with a quality independent business such as U Stor It,” exclaimed Chris Nester , president, U-Haul Company of Louisville . “Darlene is a great example of the type of successful business relationship U‑Haul has established in order to build and maintain a strong network of more than 15,000 independent dealers across North America .” Learn more about Kentucky : http://www.uhaul.com/SuperGraphics/76/Venture-Across-America-and-Canada-Modern/Kentucky ! For more information, or to rent your moving equipment today, call (859) 963-3650. Visit www.uwebconnect.com/ustorit . Business hours of operation are: Mon. – Fri. 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sat. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. About U-Haul U-Haul was founded by a Navy veteran who grew up during the Great Depression. Tires and gas were still rationed or in short supply during the late 1940s when U-Haul began serving U.S. customers. Today, that background is central to the U-Haul Sustainability Program: “Serving the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle includes fuel-efficient moving vans, neighborhood proximity, moving box reuse, moving pads made from discarded material and packing peanuts that are 100% biodegradable. Learn more about these facts and others at uhaul.com/sustainability . Since 1945, U-Haul has been the choice for the do-it-yourself mover. U-Haul customers’ patronage has enabled the Company to maintain the largest rental fleet in the do-it-yourself moving industry which includes trucks, trailers and towing devices. U-Haul also offers storage throughout North America . The Company provides industry leading moving and storage boxes and an extended line of packing supplies to protect customer possessions. U-Haul is the consumer’s number one choice as the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket. The Company supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard grills as one of the nation’s largest retailers of propane. Contact: Joanne Fried Kelie Hale U-Haul Public Relations (602) 263-6194 (602) 263-6772 fax SOURCE U-Haul Back to top