If you are just starting your wedding planning process, you probably have lots of questions and concerns about what’s ahead for you. There is lots to think about. So, here’s a resource you might want to look into.
Wedding University is being hosted by some of the San Francisco areas top wedding professionals. The focus of the day is to help you understand the wedding planning process. You will be taught what to look out for by wedding professional in the area of general planning, catering, photography, entertainment, beauty, attire and etiquette, and videography.
This is will be held 11AM to 5PM on January 31st, 2010 at the Four Seasons in Silicon Valley. Registration ends on January 29th or when they reach their 150 person limit.
LOVE the idea of a Save-the-Date MAGNET! The whole concept is to create something which will serve as a constant reminder to your guest to keep that very important date available. And no civilized person will shove that adorable magnet in a draw or let it get lost in a sea of mail, right? Every guest who receives one will most likely place it on the refrigerator door, which we all know serves as the most logical platform for all important information that we DO NOT want to forget!
Now if you are currently in the market for save-the-dates I beg you to check out our affiliate MagnetStreet Weddings I guarantee you will not be disappointed. They have the most INCREDIBLE selection I have ever seen, they say 2,071 original designs. There is literally something for everyone. I think they offer every theme and design imaginable, from purely elegant to romantic to lighthearted. They even have an equestrian theme shown top left above, I LOVE IT!
The feature I think you will find most appealing is the freedom to personalize the colors, fonts, and text on most of the designs. If you are looking for inspiration just take a peek at what these incredibly creative couples have done with their save the dates over at Magnet Street’s blog, Truly Engaging.
I love how Nalie and Nate utilized the backside of the Carrier Card by printing their wedding website and other important information for their guests.
Congratulations!! Many of you got engaged during the holidays and now the planning process begins.
Now the next step is to Save the Date! If you will be requiring your guest to travel or if you are planning your wedding around a major holiday or popular vacation time you will want to send save-the-dates to make sure they block off your wedding on their calendar. I think of them as a pre-invitation which will give your guests the advantage of knowing about the event in plenty of time to prepare. Invitations are normally sent 6 to 8 weeks before the wedding but save-the-dates may be sent 8 months or more in advance. There are many options in save-the-dates depending on your budget. If you are into DIY but aren’t that crafty, DIY Save the Date Magnets may be an option for you, one cute example is shown above. These DIY Save the Date Magnet Kits are by Eliza Fig. All you have to do is print your name and information and connect the magnet backing. It comes with a backer card and envelope. You can check them out in our Save the Date Shop!
If DIY is not for you, stay tuned because I’ll be passing on some info about a company that has the most amazing supply of Save the Date Magnets tomorrow.
Ok, everything they say about the Brazilian Blowout is true, I finally took the plunge (all for the benefit of my readers, of course) and had it done. And I LOVE it!!!! This IS the secret to beautiful hair and believe it or not it actually improves the health of your hair and does not damage it in any way.
Fortunately, I did not have to travel all the way to West Hollywood to have it done, I was lucky enough to find a local salon with a fabulous hair stylist who knew exactly what to do. The process is identical to what they show in the video but thankfully a little less expensive. It made my long course, straight, hair shiny and smooth but not pin straight, and it still has body.
The best part about it is it returns to this exact state after you wash it, even if you let it air dry. Now I am all about LOW MAINTAINENCE hair and that is why I am highly recommending it to all of you soon to be brides out there. Now obviously you all want to look beautiful on the wedding day but what about all the pre-wedding events, and not to mention the honeymoon. I really think this would make your life so much simpler in an upcoming time of chaos.
There are a few downsides, for instance the initial cost, and the cost of the hair products which are necessary to maintain it. I paid a $150.00 for the treatment which is quite steep but they say it last three months and the products I bought are supposed to last through three or four treatments. But I will be honest with you the worst downside is the fact that it is very likely you will become addicted to your hair looking this amazing all the time.
Okay, I know I’ve been known to write about various wedding invitation vendors on occasion but this one is special. We use an application called Popshops for our Wedding Stationary “storefront” at Our Wedding Plus. While loading some of the latest wedding invitation designs into our various Wedding Invitation sections I kept seeing options from a company called Minted so I decided to take a deeper look. And, I’m glad I did!
I found that Minted carries some of the best designs and highest quality invitations from some famous and some not so famous independent designers. Our company, Our Wedding Plus, carries invitations designs from close to 20 vendors and designers so I have a pretty good idea what’s out there. Here’s what I like about Minted.
They carry over 280 wedding invitation designs from 15 different designers that I counted. They offer various printing types including letterpress, engraved, offset, and flat. Their designs are pretty evenly spread across price ranges from fairly inexpensive to expensive. They also make it easy to change colors to fit your wedding theme. Yes, all this is great but what good is it if you can’t easily find what you want? A great thing about Minted is their website is so easy to navigate! You can easily narrow down your selection based on price, style, designer, and print type.
After going through Minted’s invitation selection, I found them to be consistently modern. They say they have “the freshest designs on paper.” I think the secret to their “fresh” and modern selection is their “Design Challenge” program. They periodically request submissions for independent invitation designers to submit their designs to be voted on by people like you! Winning designers get to sell their product on the website!
So, the bottom line is, Our Wedding Plus signed up to be an affiliate of Minted! We loaded our Wedding Invitation Shop with invitations, save the dates and more offered by Minted. So check it out!
These guys know how to put together a wedding video! Check out the camera angles, the use of the steadicam, amazing editing, music and effects. Not only that, this looks like it was a really fun wedding! I understand they had 20 people in their wedding party and practiced for over a month.
This wedding video was done by Stillmotion from Toronto, Canada. Check out their other amazing work on their blog.
That’s me on the right as the maid of honor; the beautiful bride on the left is my best friend Tina.
Most of you have probably been or will be asked to take on the role of maid of honor or bridesmaid so I thought I would share a little advice on how to be the best bridesmaid.
I have been a maid of honor three times and a bridesmaid once and I truly enjoyed the experience. Now, you might be thinking, of course you enjoy it you, are in the wedding business. But the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I view it as being included in one of the most memorable times in the life of someone I love. That doesn’t mean I’m not aware of what a major responsibility it is to take on and how expensive it can be.
But hopefully my tips can help make you a great bridesmaid:
Expect to Spend Money – There are expenses that come along with the honor of being a bridesmaid; there’s no getting around it. So, plan ahead. Start saving as soon as possible so you are well prepared when the time comes to buy the dress, the shoes, etc.
Be a Good Bridesmaid – Try to truly see the bride’s vision of her wedding and support it. Don’t force your opinions on the bride. Be agreeable about style choices, wedding design, etc. This is her day not yours.
Do your Best to be Available - Understand the bride in all probability is stressed out and task saturated during the wedding planning process. The best thing you can do for her doesn’t cost any money. Perhaps be there to help pick out her dress, choose flowers, and most importantly provide moral support. But ladies, make sure you keep tip #2 in mind.
Finally, for the Bride – Remember the movie “27 Dresses” when picking out your bridesmaid dresses. Try to choose something that not only compliments your wedding theme but also something that can be used again. Your bridesmaids will appreciate it.
Our friend Jonathon Pogash, the Cocktail Guru, has some great wedding signature drink ideas he shared with us for you winter brides or for anyone having a holiday party for that matter. Here’s what he had to say when we asked him about signature drinks for winter weddings…
Winter cocktails are on my mind right now. And I always love integrating those winter ingredients into my cocktails, and encouraging brides and grooms to continue serving cocktails, even if their weddings are in the winter months like January or February. It’s really just a matter of getting creative and sourcing out those winter fruits and herbs that go remarkably well in cocktails (pears, apples, cranberries, spices, maple syrup, etc). Serving a warm hot toddy infused with a local whiskey, or peanut butter hot chocolate spiked with your favorite rum is a nice touch.
For some additional inspiration he put together a couple of videos to give you some signature drink ideas and keep scrolling down because he also provided some great signature drink recipes for you to use!
Here are some winter signature drink recipes below. There’s also a non-alcoholic cocktail recipe, which should always be an option for those non-drinking guests.
Winter Rum Punch **can be made in large batch-form**
2 parts Flor de Cana Rum
1 part apple cider
1 part Benedictine or Orange liqueur
1/2 part maple syrup
1/2 part fresh lemon juice or grapefruit juice
Directions: Combine ingredients in a punch bowl. Add ice when ready to serve, and stir well. Ladle into punch glasses.
Garnish: candy canes and freshly grated nutmeg
Cranberry Spice Sparkler (served at Bookmarks Lounge, NYC) 5 fresh cranberries
1 tsp. agave nectar
Splash of fresh lemon juice
1 pinch pumpkin pie spice (store-bought)
4 oz. sparkling wine
Directions: In the bottom of a mixing glass, muddle the cranberries and pie spice in the agave and fresh lemon juice. Then add ice and sparkling wine and stir briefly to incorporate. Strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top w/ extra splash of sparkling wine.
Garnish: 3 floating cranberries
Spiced Pear Sparkler (served at soon-to-be-opened Harmony Harlem, NYC) 3/4 oz. Pear puree
1/2 oz. clove syrup**
3 oz. Sparkling Wine (Veuve du Vernay)
Directions: Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir briefly to incorporate. Strain into a chilled champagne flute and top w/ extra splash of sparkling wine.
Garnish: 1 star anise
**clove syrup is made by dissolving 1 cup demerara sugar in 1 cup water, along with 1 tsp. dried cloves. Allow sugar to dissolve, and simmer for 15 mins. Strain out cloves and chill.
Cranberry Spice Sangria (served at The Carnegie Club, NYC)
5 cranberries
1 tsp. agave nectar
1/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
Pinch of pumpkin pie spice
1/2 oz. Brandy
1/2 oz. Triple Sec
2 oz. Malbec wine
Directions: Muddle the cranberries in the lemon and agave. Then add remaining ingredients and shake very well with ice. Strain over new ice into a wine glass.
Garnish: chopped apples and cranberries
Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa (served at Bookmarks Lounge, NYC) 1 oz. Castries Peanut Crème Liqueur
3/4 oz. 10 Cane Rum
1 heaping tsp. gourmet hot cocoa mix (already sweetened)
1 cup steamed milk
Directions: In a hot toddy glass or mug, combine ingredients with milk and stir very well until cocoa is dissolved. Add milk foam on top, if available.
Garnish: mini marshmallows and dusting of cocoa mix
Tea Cider Sparkler (non-alcoholic) 1/2 oz chamomile-cinnamon tea syrup**
Splash of fresh lemon juice
3 oz. Non-alcoholic sparkling cider (Martinelli’s)
Directions: Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir briefly. Strain into chilled champagne flute. Add extra splash of cider on top.
Garnish: chamomile flower and/or lemon peel
**chamomile-cinnamon syrup: dissolve equal parts white sugar and water over heat. Once dissolved, add 1 chamomile tea bag and 3 cinnamon sticks per 1 cup water to mixture. Allow to simmer for 5 mins, then remove tea bag(s). Then continue simmering for approx. 10 more mins. Remove cinnamon sticks and chill.
I just had to see what the Disney Wedding Pavilion was all about. So during a quick overnight trip with my husband to Epcot for the food and wine festival, I had the perfect excuse to go. We hopped a tram early the next morning over to the Grand Floridian Hotel, which is within walking distance to the Disney Wedding Pavilion, to get an insider’s view.
First let me start by saying the Grand Floridian is true to its name. It certainly is grand. Another way to accurately describe it would be extremely child friendly; not surprising considering it is in Disney.
This is a picture of the lobby of the Grand Floridian. It is hard to tell from the picture but it was buzzing with activity. There were families everywhere and there were children gathered around the televisions in the lobby watching Disney cartoons.
To be honest at first I was skeptical. I kept thinking how can you have a wedding in the midst of all the crowds and chaos of the parks? But after a short walk to the Disney Wedding Pavilion it was a completely different atmosphere. It was surprisingly very peaceful. My husband and I were lucky enough to run into two friendly staff members who gave us permission to wander in and around the chapel.
Disney thought of everything when they designed the Wedding Pavilion. They lined up the aisle and the window behind the alter perfectly with Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom. They also lined up the photo location outside the pavilion with the castle. Inside they have a waiting area for the groom and grooms men and a waiting/dressing area for the bride and bridesmaids is right across from the chapel. They even built in remote control cameras at various locations around the chapel so the ceremony could be filmed from every angle. When it comes down to it, you can count on Disney to do things first-class.
I think this would be a lovely idea for a destination wedding especially if many of your guests have children.
Finally, if you haven’t seen it, Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World is lit up for the holidays. I had to include a picture of it!
Happy Thanksgiving to ALL of you!! I’m not sure if my love for all things autumn is due to the fact that I was born in the fall or because I grew up in what I consider to be the Autumn capital of the world, New England.
So this post is in honor of this glorious season.
I once made a Thanksgiving centerpiece that reminds me much of these wedding bouquets. Luckily we lived by a beautifully wooded area which was bursting in color. My little boy and I took a long walk collecting branches full of yellow, red, an orange leaves. We also found some trees with gorgeous orange berries and clipped some branches from it. I filled the bottom of the vase with cranberries (I think I got this tip from Martha) and water. It really turned out beautiful and we ended up sending it home with our guests as a gift. It is a wonderful way to keep those little guys who are home from school, and want to “help”, busy and feeling very much a part of the celebration.
If your having a fall wedding take advantage of the seasons foliage! Include the oranges, greens, and browns. I love how the color of the bridesmaid dresses above blend with the beautiful bouquets. Maybe include centerpieces with berries like the one shown here. The best part is, as I mentioned, these are not difficult to make which might save you some money!
I think this would be a lovely idea for a destination wedding especially if many of your guests have children.
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