New Years Eve 2011

It's no secret that we're in love with weddings here at As You Wish, but who doesn't love a good party? Now that all of the presents have been opened, and family has departed it's time to focus on the next big event...New Years Eve! Again, while we at As You Wish love oogling over bridesmaid and bridal gowns we also love a great party dress! Here are a few of our favorites for New Years Eve 2011



Take a peek at the As You Wish inspired look we put together for your New Years Eve party



Aren't those Louboutins fabulous? You may have noticed we didn't include a cocktail ring in the picture. It's also a fabulous look to get engaged in, don't you think?

With so many hot spots in Hampton Roads there is no reason for you to be all dressed up with no where to go this New Years Eve! We suggest heading on over to One Fish Two Fish for an amazing dinner date, and ringing in the new year with Roger Cruz, one of the hottest DJs in Virginia Beach!

Wherever you decide to spend the evening, have a wonderful time and be safe!

Seasonal Centerpieces

When planning a winter wedding, or even an intimate dinner party your options are endless when it comes to a seasonal centerpiece.




Earlier this month we had the opportunity to create a fun seasonal centerpiece, and were thrilled to design and execute a vision of our own! The goal was to create something fresh and fun. By combining common seasonal elements like peppermints, carnations, and a little imagination we were able to create this gorgeous centerpiece!








We accented the main centerpiece with votives and smaller vases filled with red rock candy. By placing a floralyte towards the top it created a gentle glow and from a distance looked like a tall pillar candle.



The carnation pomander was really easy to make and the rock candy vases doubled as a mini candy buffet at the end of the evening. Win-win!

Wine Wedding Favors

A while back we did a really fun wine themed wedding at the Cavalier Hotel in Virginia Beach. The bride alternated tables with these fun centerpieces she had put together using a wine bottle with a custom wine label.




There are so many ways to personalize your wedding, and make it original and unique, and wine is a great example! Brides and grooms can select a standard batch of wine to be bottled, or create their own personalized batch of wine to bottle and give to their guests. Wine wedding favors not only make a great gift, but the actual wine selection process is a fun night out as a couple, or for the entire bridal party!

Carafe Wine Makers

in Chesapeake Virginia is a local winery that caters to brides and grooms wanting to create a personalized wedding wine. It's definitely more fun going into the store to create and order your wine, but you can do it online too if you're in a pinch, or don't want to brave the chilly weather.



When it comes to the wine label you can use a standard label, or create one that falls into your overall wedding theme



If you're already using a graphic designer for your invitations and other printed materials ask them about incorporating your theme into the favors. If wine wedding favors are too pricey consider gifting a wine bottle stopper with a personalized tag.
If you're looking to carry the wine theme over into other aspects of your wedding consider having a wine and cheese tasting station during the cocktail hour, using wine corks to hold your escort or place cards or even using wine glasses in place of traditional votive holders



You can find these "Cherry Blossoms" Vellum Wine Glass Shades and many more fun wine themed wedding gifts and accessories at

Get Married

Use the Get Married promo code SHOPGIFT for 15% off your order of $99 or more. From all of us at As You Wish, happy shopping!

The Hottest Wedding Color for 2011

Pantone is an extraordinary world-renowned company known for their expertise in color, and they've announced the 2011 color of the year. Drumroll please......it's Honeysuckle!


We could not be more excited to see this scrumptious color hit the wedding scene! We had a lot of fun creating this color palette


Our absolute favorite is honeysuckle on black. Make that honeysuckle pop!

When planning a wedding it's always important to create a color scheme, and an inspiration board is a great way to start the process. Here is a honeysuckle themed As You Wish inspiration board that we put together in honor of Pantone's most recent announcement!


Inspired yet? Keep reading, it gets better! Check out

The Dessy Group

to order your personal Honeysuckle Pantone swatch card, or any of the other 200 color options. The swatch card can be divided into 14 swatch chips for you to give to the individuals that need to color coordinate with your wedding, i.e. your coordinator, best man for the tux rentals, pastry chef, designer, rental company, maid of honor for the bridesmaids' dresses, florist, stationer, etc. With a Pantone color swatch in hand there is no confusion on shade or color terminology. Dessy also offers their own line of Pantone coordinates, making it easy for brides to match the bridal party's attire to their personalized color scheme. It's the perfect way to color coordinate your wedding day!

As You Wish is over the moon for Pantone's 2011 color of the year Honeysuckle. Goodbye 2010! We're moving on to bigger and brighter things!

Rasheeda and Kahlil

We had the privilege of taking part in Rasheeda and Kahlil's beautiful fall wedding, and truly enjoyed every minute we spent working with this wonderful couple! The reception was held at the Suffolk Hilton Garden Inn, which was beautifully lit by Blue Steel Pro Lighting. Rasheeda put an exceptional amount of time, thought, and energy into the mechanics of her reception to ensure that she was captivating and engaging her guests from start to finish. From a professional standpoint, we couldn't have been prouder of Rasheeda's intuition and attention to detail, and we were absolutely thrilled to make this day perfect for her!
The guests entered the cocktail hour and were greeted by the beautiful melody of a talented saxophonist.

Guests checked in with hostesses for their table assignment, and ushers and usherettes were also on hand to direct guests to their tables when the ballroom doors were opened for the reception to begin.
The ballroom had a beautiful autumn themed decor with corresponding uplighting around the perimeter of the room. Blue Steel did an exceptional job!

Rasheeda gifted each of her guests a Yankee Candle votive in an autumn scent which we placed at each table setting, giving each table a splendid fall aroma.

We love brides that think outside of the box, and Rasheeda was definitely one of those brides, surprising her guests with a mime performance to the song "Let Go" by Dwayne Woods. The guests absolutely loved it and so did we!

Later in the evening Rasheeda and her sorority sisters surprised guests with another performance ">

Rasheeda and Kahlil, we really had a wonderful time getting to know you and being a part of your special day. You are a beautifully blessed couple and we wish you all the best!



Images courtesy of Wade Studios