In the Works

For those of you that are devoted readers, and especially those that follow me on Twitter, you have probably me mention that I have something big - very big - in the works. Since we're now just two short months away from my huge announcement, I thought I would share a little sneak peek of what I've been dedicating so much time to.

Any ideas of what it is? xxox.

P.S. Does the red color look funny on your screen? It matches the red in the balloon until I upload it to the blog. Regardless, I think you get the point!

Helloooo Turquoise

Ever since Pantone announced the color of the year for 2010, I've been mesmerized by it: turquoise. It's so versatile. So lovely. Turquoise can be paired with neutral browns for a soft, warm palette. Or it can be combined with a deep burgundy or strong black for an intense pop of color and dramatic flair. The fabulous Jemma Coleman of Jemma Coleman Photography even pairs it with yellow for a fun, flirty palette.

Then, when I start thinking back on it, I realize that a great majority of the inspiration boards I have made have at some point in time have featured some shade of turquoise over the years. So, perhaps it is no wonder that I am so fascinated with it as the color of the year this year.

With that, I can't resist sharing some these that I've made over the years featuring this beautiful color. They range as far back as the first month of this birth of this blog itself - back when it was known as The Blissful Bride. I think you'll see my inspiration board style has greatly changed over time. The color, however, remains just as lovely as ever.

Now you've seen my turquoise-paired favorites. What are yours?

Little Bit of Random

With winter winding down, heads are turning for spring weddings. So, it shouldn't surprise you that there are many fun things going on in the wedding world now. I've been lucky enough to have many of them shared with me so I wanted to pass them along for you all to enjoy and participate...

-----

Wedding Bootcamp at NY Wedding Dance

The fabulous The Wedding Salon presents The Wedding Bootcamp at NY Wedding Dance. And the best part? Free tickets to SWOONOVERIT readers! See image below for details. But, with amazing treats for brides - including Crumbs cupcakes and complimentary ballroom dance lessons - you don't want to miss out. But hurry - it's tonight!

Essence's "Will You Marry Me?" Contest

Four couples have been chosen. Tune in to hear their love stories and vote for your favorite. Winners will get the wedding of their dreams with well over $10,000 in prizes. Plus, who doesn't love a good love story?

13 Days of Blog Love

The lovely Mismikado is giving away thirteen days of prizes in celebration of her first blog-iversary. Though she's almost finished with the 13 amazing days of prizes, if you hurry on over you can still enter for the last few! She's been giving away beauties like boleros by Messages of Passion, Florrie Mitton's couture garters, custom aisle runners by Lisa Ocampo and so much more! Don't miss out!

Preownedweddingdresses.com

To celebrate their new site design, preownedweddingdresses.com has teamed up with Sandals Resorts to give away a 6-day/5-night Sandals Resorts honeymoon at any of their Caribbean locations. Limit one entry per person, per day. Contest ends February 28th. Don't miss out. Enter here. I wish I could!

The Proposal Story

The Proposal Story is a new social networking site focused on the element of the proposal. You can share your story with the world, especially friends of family, giving them far more than just a "how did you meet" kind of answer. And, for fun, they're giving away a $1000 giftcard to Tiffany's - just until the end of January - for the top-rated proposal. So, hurry up and get your story in!

-----

Phew! I think that's all. I think I've caught you up on the best of the best being given away and going on out there. Now go enjoy and enter away (and win)! Then come back and tell me all the wonderful things you've done and won so I can be jealous. Best of luck!

Be on TV

Everybody likes TV. And wedding shows? Well, let's just say that they are no exception. So, we were delighted to hear recently that Get Married is seeking brides to appear on their national wedding program.

And, if we're being really honest here, let's face the fact that hundreds - maybe even thousands - of brides each year get lost and overwhelmed in the wedding market. They often find their dream wedding of a small garden ceremony become a huge ballroom gala and are left with their head spinning as to how it happened. Host Stacie Francombe, the CEO and founder of Get Married, wants to help brides match their unique personalities and interests with identifying their personal bridal style.

We think she couldn't be more right. Brides, head on over to www.getmarried.com/omg to check it out and maybe you too can be saying "OMG I'm going to be on TV!" But, more importantly, get help finding your style. Identifying what you really want in a wedding. Figuring out who you are as a bride. And, well, if you do make it on we wouldn't be too upset if you plugged SWOONOVERIT.

Best of luck!

Engagement Love: Relaxing Day

When reader Sylvia sent over these images from her recent e-session with Nicole Glenn, I was in love. Something about these images is so warm. So calm. So lovely. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Sylvia is absolutely stunning. Either way, I saw them, fell in love, and thought they might brighten up your Wednesday. Enjoy!

For more of this yumminess and to see the rest of their shoot,

be sure to check out the Nicole Glenn Photography Blog.

The Oxymoron: Cute Camera Bag

So, I know I'm not the only crazy who likes to tote around a DSLR on a regular basis. [As a sidenote, if you have no clue what I just said, you can probably ignore the rest of this post.] So my dilemma has always been either not having a purse large enough to put my camera in with it or not trusting my purse's contents not to scratch my camera to pieces.

And, carrying a camera bag separately when you are, say, going out to dinner with your friends just screams loser. Though I should probably say here that I have been guilty of it on more occasions than I would like to admit.

Regardless, when I received an e-mail about Epiphanie, well, I was so excited I could almost squeal! The bags aren't being released until February, but check it out - they look like purses. They feel like purses. They act like purses. But they have special compartments, padding, and protection for all your photo-loving gear!

Perfection? I would say so. I can promise you this - that red one will be mine as quicker that I can whip out the credit card. Okay. Well, maybe not that quickly. But, you know what I mean.

Now go pre-order yours! You can thank me later now that you will never have an excuse not to bring along your camera beast.

xxox.

Making Me Blush

I honestly have no idea which of my clients wrote this - I had no idea that they did so, but had noticed some clicks coming from it over on Project Wedding and went to investigate. When I realized it was a review, my nerves welled up inside of me...

I used Swoon Over It to address my invitations. The different calligraphy styles they offer are gorgeous and a nice change from the other options I found online. I used their "Paris" style and have gotten tons of compliments. Amanda was amazing to work with (she even emailed me a photo of the first envelope to make sure I liked the way it looked!), and they were SIGNIFICANTLY less expensive than any other calligrapher I could find. If you're considering using a calligrapher, try them out - quick, before they realize they could double their price and still have no trouble getting business! :)

Ummm wow. I am, literally, speechless. Have I mentioned lately that I am blessed with, honestly, the best clients ever? I have no clue who this was, but they left a review that couldn't have been nicer. Honestly, made my week. No - my month. It's so nice to know that all your stressing, hard work, and love poured into your work does not go unnoticed.

Thank you thank you thank you whoever this was.

Now that we've established the importance of praise, who have you praised today?

Feeling very lucky,

Engagement Love: Out Shopping

When the wonderful Paul Von Rieter sent me these images from a recent engagement shoot I was, to say the least, delighted. We've discussed how I feel about shoots with themes, yes?

Well, this couple decides to step it up a notch - they explore the streets of Hollywood together on their e-session and the results could not be more adorable (e.g. woman dragging man into store, walking Rodeo Drive, etc.). See for yourself!

Now, what are you or have you done creative for your photo shoot (engagement or otherwise)? Send them my way! I'd love to know.

iSwoon

Do you follow the Pure: Photography by Lindsey Tropf blog?

Because if not, you really, really should. Wow.

Head on over to see more from this amazing reception.

Wishing Has Never Been So Easy

This is not the first time I have brought it up, but with Christmas still afresh a recent conversation came to mind. I was talking amongst friends when one brought up how she wished everyone would just make lists of what they actually want so she can buy people things they like without worry. Our discussion was mainly rooted in the stress of the season. How so many people spend so much time trying to find just the right thing for everyone on their list, that if we could just eliminate that maybe people could spend more time enjoying the season itself and being with one another.

She made a good point. Her next thought was to campaign to at least her family members for considering starting Amazon wishlists for next year. Or convince them to start one now and just keep it updated all year for birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

This is where I all but jumped at the opportunity to tell her about Wishpot. And, though many of you have heard of it - and use it! - I am quite certain that there are several of you out there that haven't.

Wishpot is a wishlist maker that lets you create not just one but several lists to track all your various types of wants and needs as well as recommendations ("pick lists") for others. It's easy - you can even add people you know as "friends" so you can easily peruse their lists whenever it so suits you. It's also very user-friendly. It's free. But, perhaps best of all, it lets you pick items from anywhere on the web. You aren't limited by the items available from that site.

So, what are you waiting for? Get wishing today! And while you're on there - feel free to add me as a friend (and you're welcome to buy anything on my lists for me!) - my screenname is "swoonoverit." Oh, and send this to your friends and family to convince them to make things easier on everyone next year!

Happy wishing!

Your Destiny

Photo taken by me, Christmas day 2009, from my parent's porch.

Almost no editing was done to the image.

Last October, I was lucky enough to get to listen to Dr. Bruce Bickel discuss character-based leadership - how to find it, how to develop it, and how to recognize it. One of the points that he made on effective leadership was something that has stuck with me and continues to stick with me. And, given its relevance to recent times, I felt it appropriate to share with you all. Before you run off, I promise this is wedding-related - mostly.

You see, in life we often make promises to ourselves. Set goals. Seek results. The coming of a new year is the most well-known time for such goodness. Brides too, are some of the most guilty of these actions. We mean well - we really do. But, when push comes to shove, it is 9 times out of 10 that those resolutions get pushed aside. Work gets in the way. Or illness. Or school. Or some other time constraint. By March we have all but forgotten what we set out to do.

Bickel's breakdown is something that I think is important. You must stop and remind yourself that goals don't happen overnight. So, next time you eat a twinkie, don't throw your hands up and say that all is lost - just remind yourself that with every one step back you can take two steps forward. Take a deep breath, and think of this:

thoughts become your words

words become your actions

actions become your habits

habits become your character

character becomes your destiny

You, my friend, are in charge of your destiny. And, it all begins with the way you think of it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Around the Studio: January 2010 Edition - Late Addition

And a late addition to the January 2010 Around the Studio update. Another client just sent these over of her beautiful glimmery invitations and lovely (if I do say so myself) envelopes. These were such a joy to work on just as she was a joy to work with! And, I am absolutely in love with the vintagey stamps she used and their bright, fun colors. It is truly a fabulous touch. Gorgeous, no?

Images kindly taken and sent by client.

Names obscured for privacy purposes.

Around the Studio: January 2010 Edition

At SWOONOVERIT, we are lucky to see so many lovely envelopes come in and out of our doors. But every now and again, we're lucky enough to be involved with a gorgeous invitation or two as well.

Lately, we have been wearing our little fingers thin and pens dry on these adorable baby shower invites and could not resist sharing a peek of them.

[Images kindly taken and sent by client.]

Seriously, how adorable is this little lion?

The matching envelopes.

Honestly, now I'm itching to paint a whole room that cheery chartreuse color. You would think I would be sick of it from staring at so many of these, but instead I am just all that much more in love. I blame it all on that adorable little lion. He could certainly inspire a whole baby shower theme - that's for sure.

Then, we were recently asked to draw up some "Mr." and "Mrs." signs for Latrice Cushenberry of Bridal Opulence.

Image taken by me.

We were tickled to do it, and pretty pleased with how they turned out. What do you think?

A Little Love

Today I was greeted by two surprising and lovely mentions in the blog world. First, there was making the well-known 2010 BrideTide listing of "Top 100 Blogs and Twitters to Follow."

I was honored to make the list last year, but quite stunned to make it again this year. Thank you thank you thank you, BrideTide! As you might notice, I did not waste any time in adding the badge to my list of accolades.

Then, one of my favorite blogs Gator Bride, said in a recent post that SWOONOVERIT maps were her favorite source of inspiration for creating maps for her wedding.

Given her incredible design sense and amazing style, I was, without a doubt, honored! Thank you Miss Gator! If you haven't checked out Gator Bride before, you most definitely need to take a peek. You won't be disappointed!

Engagement Love

To brighten your Monday morning, today I have the lovely images of the incredibly sweet Mary Kate McKenna - someone I am lucky enough to say is one of my calligraphy clients. As a photographer based out of D.C., when I saw these images on her blog, well, I just knew I had to share them.

I love the vintage clothes. The soft feel. The sun flare. Ooh, and the hat! What happened to men wearing hats like that? Gorgeous work!

Be sure to check out the rest of their session here and more of Mary Kate McKenna's fabulous work at her blog. And, happy Monday!