The first and only thing people ask me these days is "How's wedding planning coming along?" There were a few weeks where I'd begrudgingly mutter an answer; something to the effect of "It's coming along." We'd hit a snag in finding the perfect venue and it felt like it'd elude us forever. It's hard to move things along in planning a wedding when you don't have a venue locked down!

I was feeling disillusioned when Blue Nile reached out to me about meeting celebrity wedding stylist Colin Cowie and taking a look at the designs he'd created for them. "Let's meet at Hotel Max," they said, "We'll have champagne waiting." Who could say no to bubbly and jewels mere steps from the office? I agreed but still wasn't sure if my heart was in it.

Colin Cowie Dot Dash collection

It only took a few minutes for me to realize this meeting was exactly what I needed to get re-energized about my wedding. Colin, the Blue Nile team and I shared a toast and a few marvelous appetizers from Miller's Guild while he regaled stories of some of his favorite weddings and clients. He expertly dropped some wedding planning knowledge bombs along the way, and told us how he fell in love with jewelry, writing books, and of course, creating magical experience after magical experience for his wedding styling clients.

Colin Cowie Sapphire set

Some of his advice was par for the course, but still, things I needed to hear from him at that time. Start with a dream, and from there work on a budget to bring that vision to life. Create mood boards. Make sure your guests leave happy and smiling. 

Diamonds!

He also offered up some expert advice on timing, placement of key pieces of the ceremony and reception, and applying the five senses to planning the perfect wedding experience.

What struck me most was his input on approaching the vision for my wedding. "The wedding is a joint story of the couple's styles. Make sure you're the quintessential host and hostess!"

For someone who's worn the events management and visual merchandising hats in her career, it was what I needed to hear to step back from the overabundance of choices and focus on what means the most to Jacob and I. 

Thank you Colin and Blue Nile, for turning things around when a disillusioned bride needed it most!

Take a look at Colin Cowie's exclusive collections for Blue Nile here.