Wedding Guest Dresses Inspired by the Victoria Series
Personal, Wedding Fashion McKenzie O'Grady Personal, Wedding Fashion McKenzie O'Grady

Wedding Guest Dresses Inspired by the Victoria Series

The first time I fell in love with the Victoria series, it was with a color—a queenly teal. During the opening credits, Jenna Coleman as Victoria is filmed in various stages of her royal career. Hair down and looking girlish; then hair upswept with a tiara; eyes mischievous and flickering, then set in the most commanding gaze, her growing authority shimmering through her manners. Victoria changes, but her teal background does not. Deeper than peacock and bluer than emerald, it is a jewel tone that doesn’t feel like one. Instantly, I was besotted. *This* was the most ravishing, regal color I could envision; sophisticated, sublime; a color that belonged in the parlors of the great old homes and in the settings of the royal jewel collection. I wanted to live inside this color.

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Exotic Summer Wedding Guest Dress Edit, Inspired By The Art of Embroidery
Personal, Wedding Inspiration McKenzie O'Grady Personal, Wedding Inspiration McKenzie O'Grady

Exotic Summer Wedding Guest Dress Edit, Inspired By The Art of Embroidery

Recently, while scrolling Instagram, I discovered the work of a group of (mostly) French textile and embroidery artists. Instantly, I was absorbed. What world was this? A world, as it turned out, full of color, fabric, artistry, and stories told through stitches. I discovered tapestries woven with intricate scenes, and dresses embroidered with artwork so beautiful, these pieces looked as though they belonged in a museum—not an ordinary wardrobe. There were also handmade ceramics and fascinating objects: a ceramic dish with a pearl in its center, assiettes hand-painted with flowers, tiles shimmering with patterns from Tunisia. But the textile and fiber art captivated me most, from the lovingly embroidered tapestries to the work of an artist who weaves sculptures on vintage fishing nets.

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Hotel Portofino Inspired Edit
Registry Curation, Honeymoon and Travel McKenzie O'Grady Registry Curation, Honeymoon and Travel McKenzie O'Grady

Hotel Portofino Inspired Edit

There are few places as conducive to falling in love—or to having a languorous honeymoon—as Portofino. Portofino: a pastel painting, a pearl. It’s easy to imagine days here devoted to nothing more than aimless strolls and sun-drenched aperitivos, wearing wide-brimmed hats and linen dresses. The little town offers beauty so opulent, it’s difficult to know what to admire first: perhaps the villas painted in ochre, sepia, red, and yellow, “like the bright spines of so many books crammed together onto a bookshelf,” muses author Lucy Foley, “a quiet spectacle.” Walking through Portofino, even the most prosaic scenes move the heart—morning markets are filled with jeweled fruits, and there’s always laundry on the line, hanging in plain sight. As evening sets in, the bay takes on a poignancy, as fisherman return home.

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