Beth (among many other things) designs dresses. Her husband (among many other things) designs mens shirts–shirts, mind you, named after his beloved wife. (The line is called Blake, if you were wondering.) Why, might you ask, are we telling you this, other than it is a charming/ interesting/ inspiring little tidbit of information? Well, here’s why: We have yet to come across a line of mens shirts so perfectly suited (pardon the pun) for summertime wedding festivities. Can’t you just see, say, this blue floral shirt, sleeves casually rolled, G&T in hand, paired with linen pants, on the chillest, happiest groom-to-be on earth? We can.

(Get Blake here. And for a nice little moment of calm and joy and loving summertime-ness, be sure to take a moment to watch the little movie on the landing page.)

Our friend Kelley (you know her! Smocks, remember?) got hitched a few weeks ago at a gorgeous, gorgeous villa in Saratoga, California. (Did we mention it was gorgeous?) One thing that we particularly loved about her wedding was that so many elements boasted a unique, one-of-a-kind twist. Kelley’s achingly elegant wedding gown? That pleated neckline, that soft, tinge-of-grey color? Kelley designed it herself; no standard Veras or Moniques here. (Though we love those, too.) The bridesmaid dresses were custom-designed by Melissa and Kelley; we are just obsessed with how the ever-so-glittery dresses were the same, but different; corresponding but not matchy-matchy. No boring bridesmaids here. And the touch that really won us over was the groom’s floppy seersucker bowtie, charmingly oversized and designed by none other than the groom himself. (And, ahem, made by Thread.) Hard to see here but, trust us. It was adorable.

Congratulations, Thomas and Kelley! (Oh, and fun fact? Thomas’s last name is Kelly, making Kelley’s married name….  Kelley Kelly!)

A few weeks ago Nicole was lucky enough to attend a simply gorgeous wedding in a villa outside of Rome. And yes, she reports, an Italian wedding in June is everything one would hope it would be: a positively bella bride surrounded by white blossoms and green grass and sparkling sun rays (and more cheese and prosciutto and Prosecco on hand than you can shake a stick at). The only teeny tiny downfall of the night? The shoe situation. As in, the extremely beautiful heels Nicole opted to wear did not fare well against the grassy lawn on which the ceremony took place, or, for that matter, the graveled drive on which cocktail hour was held. For two hours Nicole couldn’t properly enjoy the perfect evening, as she was quite focused on balancing on the toes of her five-inch heels, so as to not completely destroy the heels.

There have been far worse problems in the history of the world, yes, but how nice would it have been if she’d only learned about Solemates before the wedding? You see, Solemates (if you haven’t already guessed by the photo above or by the leadup story) are these ingenious little plastic things that go on the bottom of your high heel, and prevent said heel from falling into cracks or, you know, sinking into grass. And while we haven’t tried them yet, we thought we’d quickly spread the word to all of you lovelies to ensure each and every last one of you is prepared, shoe-wise, for your next event. Because no girl should have to be thinking about her shoes when she could be mingling or, er, eating cheese.

(Buy yourself a pair–or three–here. And we are happy to report that Nicole forgot about any shoe problems once the celebration moved indoors, and then, later, after a few glasses of Prosecco.)