Engagement Love: A Day in the Park

Sure, it is no theme shoot. But, when Jeff Wallace sent over these gorgeous images, I knew I had to share them anyway! The yummy sunlight. The casual feel. I love how each and every photo feels like it expresses the actual personalities of the couple. Warm nature. Fun-loving spirits. And, their love story is even cuter. In Jeff's words:

It's an interesting story, they grew up together but never really talked much. Aubrie went off on a missions trip to Australia and Aaron started to chat with her over instant messenger and email. When she returned, they started dating. It's interesting that it took her going half way around the world to marry the man that lived down the street.

So sweet! Of course, adding to that - the fact that it was forty degrees this morning made these images all that much more delicious.

Enjoy!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

So, my deepest apologies for the late, late, late announcement, but I did in fact find a winner for the Uprinting.com 18x24 poster print.

Elise T - congratulations!

E-mail me to get more information about claiming your prize.

Everyone else, thanks for participating. There are more giveaways and more exciting announcements to come.... and soon!

The Result

After four years of waiting, much impatience, and lots and lots of sweating, I'm thrilled, excited, and ecstatic to announce that we finally finally have a destination: Philadelphia.

Photographer unknown. Photo via 101reasonsto.com

In six weeks we'll pack our bags and move across the country, and I couldn't be more excited to have Philadelphia be the new place to call home. With so many talented wedding professionals, Philly is big, but not too big. It's buzzing, but not too busy. It's loud, but not too noisy. It is, in essence, perfect.

Mostly though, I am so excited about familiarizing myself with and falling in love with the Philly wedding market. I already knew of the extremely talented Philadelphia companies Little Pink Book Events, Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants, and Jubilee Photography. And, if they are any indication of the general wedding industry in Philadelphia, well, then let's just say that the wedding market there must be quite unreal in terms of talent. And, quite honestly, I simply cannot wait to meet them all!

So, if you've been wondering where I have been lately, hopefully this provides some insight. But, packing, moving, cleaning, planning, aren't even the beginning of all that I've been working on. The something-up-my-sleeve really is coming soon, and as I'll soon share, turns out is really multiple things. Things I am so excited about it's killing me to keep them to myself!

Anyway, do you have any tips on Philadelphia? Anyone I must meet? Things I must see? I'm so looking forward to it that I just want to do it all.

P.S. Cutest cake ever? I think so.

Fabulous cake by Whipped Bakeshop.

A New Generation of Wedding Dresses

First there were department stores. Then other high end, popular retailers caught on. We started seeing wedding dresses pop up in unexpected places like JCrew and Ann Taylor. But now...

I bring you the White House | Black Market wedding dress. Encapsulating the WH|BM style with its gathered top, cinched waist, and fabulous hemline.

A big thanks to Melissa, my ultimate resource on all things WH|BM,

for bringing it to my attention!

Oh and how about those pumps? Lovely, no?

So, what do you think?

Re-post: Wed-surance

Over the past few months I have realized that one question that seems to come up a lot in wedding planning is the ever dreaded topic: insurance. But, if you really think about it, it makes total sense. We have insurance for our cars. Our health. Our homes. Sometimes even our pets. So, when spending thousands of dollars on a one-day affair, why in the world wouldn't you have insurance for that as well?

So today, I bring the repost "Wed-surance" - from days long, long ago when this blog was still a baby and my readers were most certainly in the single digits.

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Wedding insurance is one of those wedding essentials that is often...wait, let me rephrase that...almost always overlooked. When typical weddings mean you are squeezing every penny out of each dollar you spend, insurance is just not one of those things that you think about. It seems like an easy way to cut costs, right?

Well, what if a hurricane comes on your wedding weekend (as is apt to happen here in Florida)? Or what if a family member gets deathly ill just before? Do you attempt to hold the wedding anyway? If a natural disaster occurs in your area in a close proximity to the date (or something equally as awful), you face losing all or most of your money. How horrifying is that!

So, in my opinion, wedding insurance should not be overlooked. Plus, some companies are even beginning to offer "change of heart" coverage just in case you or your schmookums get cold feet. You should think about it like car insurance (especially since today's average wedding costs more than a lot of cars!) - you wouldn't risk something happening by stupidly not having insurance, would you? Plan for it, budget it in, even if it means you have to cut elsewhere -you'd rather be safe than sorry.

If I've inspired you, here are some resources to begin your quest:

• www.wedsafe.com
• http://protectmywedding.com/
• http://www.firemansfund.com/

And, here are some of my favorite internet discussions about it:

• http://ritzybee.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/08/insurance-assur.html
• http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/weddings/2008/02/rest-insured.html
• http://www.komonews.com/news/consumer/10026951.html
• http://www.weddingchannel.com/ui/buildArticle.action?assetUID=759396&c=1339&s=606265446&t=92&p=1485&l=99747 http://weddinginsurance.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/q-and-a-time-for-brides/

So what do you think? Are you a fan? Have you had - or didn't have - insurance and had particular reasons why?

Blog of the Week: Edit and Post

The amazing Ami, of Elizabeth Anne Designs, recently announced the launch of her new venture, Edit and Post. And, while this blog is targeted mostly to brides, many of you are also bloggers. And, Ami's business background paired with her incredible knowledge about the blogging scene rounds things out nicely to make Edit and Post your go-to blog for all things blogging.

Honestly, just by her first few posts I can already tell what an incredible resource this is going to be for not only the wedding community but the blogging community as a whole. Ami's strong business sense, fabulous writing skills, and wealth of knowledge make this for sure your go-to blog of the week. Now go get caught up. You don't want to miss this one!

Happy reading!

Seating Like No Other

You know, I think seating charts have an lot of untapped potential. There. I said it. There are so many creative things you can do with your wedding and I think many brides find some escort cards and are done with it. Not that there is anything wrong with that of course (I'm guilty as charged!), but I just think that this is one of those often overlooked details that has the potential to really get your guests talking.

Case in point: I was reading the Tammy Golson Events blog the other day (do you read it? Because if you don't then you really, really should!) and stumbled upon these babies by the amazing Melangerie.

Are you confused? Without seeing it in person I was too at first. But Melangerie explains it as a "vintage constellation map":

Guests are organized in a list format by their relationship to the bride and groom. Guest's astrological signs are included as an extra level of detail, and relationship "constellations" are mapped out on the corresponding milky way graphic. All information and colors are customizable.

You want your guests to get talking? There is no doubt this will do the trick. Thanks to Tammy Golson Events for getting me obsessed with the idea! Now go check out her blog and more of Melangerie!

Giveaway: 18x24 Poster Print from UPrinting.com

It is not the first time I have given away a poster print on the blog, but I am thrilled to announce that UPrinting.com offered me an 18x24 poster print, plus one to give away to my readers for a contest!

And, since they are always amazing and such a cool prize, I simply couldn't say no. It is available in high-gloss or semi-gloss with 1 business day turnaround and free UPS ground shipping. And, since it's from UPrinting.com, you can rest assured it will be of incredibly high quality. UPrinting.com is well known for their high-quality poster printing and promotional printing.

Now, the question is, what would you do with your 18x24 poster print? To enter, answer that by commenting on this post by Saturday, March 13th by 11:59PM EST. Most creative (yes, no random number generators this time!) entry wins. Please note: Contest open to US residents only.

Can't wait to hear your ideas!