Become A Blushing Bride…

…With Gorgeous Bridal Birdcage Veils, Blushers & Hair Accessories!

Ever hear of the fabulous GaGaVida?  Abby, the owner and creative mind behind GaGaVida, has recently opened her new shop, Blush Weddings by GaGaVida, catering to the bride.  Offering gorgeous vintage-inspired, modern-edge hair accessories, I have a feeling you will absolutely fall in love with her collection!  Here are just a few of my very favorites…

I also adore this Vintage Black Birdcage Russian Veiling.  I see bridesmaid written all over it!

Love the style but wish you could have your own unique piece created?  No worries, it’s GaGaVida’s specialty!  To learn more about GaGaVida, her hand-made products and also see her other fabulous shops, visit my guest blog post on the Wishpot Wedding Blog! 

Be sure to take a look at my Wishpot Lists for even more ideas, including hot bridal fashion, decor, registry items and more.  Why not also start your own Wishpot Registry or lists?  Have a little fun.

Blue Orchid Design’s Recessionista Giveaway…

…Are You A Recessionista?

Times are tough right now for many people, including brides.  However, just because the economy doesn’t look lovely, doesn’t mean you can’t!  In honor of recessionistas everywhere, my friend Liene, over at the Blue Orchid Designs Blog, has come up with a spectacular idea to help us all out.  She’s hosting a contest where one very lucky winner will receive a gift card to Target!

“Here is the skinny: create an inspiration board with a bridal ensemble that includes at a minimum the wedding dress, handbag and shoes – and as a bonus, any other personal accessories.  The total cost of the items must be $1000 or less, but in true recessionista style, you can use an item’s sale price while adding up your finds.” – Liene

Recessionista Bridal Ensemble Total: $411.90 – Created by Liene:

Brides, this is a great way to get affordable and fabulous ideas for your wedding look!  I can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!  Get creating…the contest is open to anyone but ends on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 11:59 pm PST.  For more details and to find out exactly how to enter, click HERE.  Have fun & good luck!  Also – thanks Liene, for coming up with this great idea, I LOVE it!

Shop For Unique Dresses Outside The Box!

“To find a dress that’s completely unique”, Denise of Bellis Studios says, “try thinking outside of the box…that is, big box stores!”.  Check out these beauties she found, just on the home page of Etsy this morning:

(Above – Top Row: Ruffle Dress, The Shale Wedding Dress, Vintage White Wedding Dress.  Second Row:  Blea Rosy Finch, Love In The Mist, Fairest Of Them All.  Third Row:  Princess Poof Skirt, Doris Dress, Silver and Chocolate.  Fourth Row:  Pinstriped Polly, Mocha Ruffle Dress, Ines Dress.)

Denise has also shared with me this Maggie Sottero Kiri wedding dress that fellow blogger Hello Banjo is selling on Craigslist.  It’s stunning and I just love the vintage look it flaunts!  If you’re interested, get information on her dress by clicking HERE.  Here are a few pictures of the actual dress posted on her ad:

Here is what the Maggie Sottero dress actually looks like on.  Head over to Maggie Sottero  to see a larger view:

So there you have it, beautifully unique dresses you can find – just by looking outside the box!  Several of these dresses shown above are also very affordable, which in my book is always a plus.  Especially with the way our economy is right now…why not save a little dough?  Thanks for sharing these with us, Denise!  Happy shopping, everyone!

Designer Interview Part Two: Amy’s Wedding PLUS An Exclusive Discount!

Yesterday, I featured the first part of my interview with Amy Snider, fashion designer behind Every Little Counts.  Today, as promised, I’m featuring the second part of our interview, where she shares with us all of her amazing wedding details.  Yes, this includes pictures of the wedding dress she designed for herself!

First, let me just say that tees from Every Little Counts would make fabulous bridal party gifts!  Interested in showing your bridesmaids some love?  I’ve got more exciting news for you – Amy is willing to give my readers an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT for ORDERS OF 6 OR MORE!  All you need to do is send her an email at: amy{at}everylittlecounts{dot}net, and she’ll give you details on how to use your discount.  Cheers!

Now, more about Amy, our interview and her special wedding day wearing the gown she designed.  What a talented lady!  Let’s all support her new adventure – her unique line and amazing talent.  I wish I could create a line as cool as hers!  However, I might have to learn to sew first.  Ha!

Do you mind telling us a little bit about your wedding and how you met your husband?
Adam and I met at bar in  New York City, where we were both living at the time.  We started talking and ended up walking around the city on that cold night, hand in hand, discovering how much we had in common.  Five years later we got married.

(Shown Above:  Amy and Adam on their wedding day!)

As for our wedding…it was amazing.  I remember wishing it would never end.  It was just perfect.  While we were dating, one of our favorite places to go was the Empire Fulton Ferry State Park in Dumbo.  We always said we would want to get married there.  Although we were living in L.A., there was never any question about getting married in Brooklyn.  Luckily everything worked out!  The ceremony was held in the park and the reception was held at a nearby art gallery, Smack Mellon.

(Shown Above: A picture of Amy & her brother at her wedding.  “Because my father had passed away right before I turned 21, Todd walked me down the aisle. It was definitely very emotional. This is one of my favorite pictures of the two of us.” – Amy Snider)

(Shown Above:  The whole ceremony, overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and Amy and Adam walking away as a married couple.)

What was your dress like, who designed it?  Tell us about your shoes!
My dress was very Grecian inspired, which is appropriate because we went to Greece for our honeymoon.  It was long and flowy with a braided halter, deep back, and small flowing train.  I designed the dress and my friend Carolina made it for me.  It was pretty stressful, but in the end I felt amazing in it.  For shoes, I wore these beautiful sandals from Nine West, which had a braided detail that perfectly matched my dress.  I still wear them all the time!

(Shown Above:  “Me and Sharon, my maid of honor (and only bridal party member… I wanted it small!).  Her dress was Moschino Cheap and Chic, bought at Loehmann’s.”)

(Shown Above:  The back of Amy’s beautiful wedding dress!)

What type of flowers did you carry?
I have no idea, but they were beautiful!  Very earthy and natural- ivory with shades of green and dusty pink.

(Shown Above:  Pictures of Amy’s gorgeous wedding bouquet!  She had a vintage handkerchief embroidered with her and Adam’s wedding date.)

Did you enjoy being a bride and planning your wedding?
I did…it was fun.  I definitely wasn’t wedding crazy though- not a “bridezilla” by any means!  We were very pragmatic about the whole thing.

(Shown Above:  Inside the gallery, Smack Mellon – where Amy and Adam had their wedding reception.)

Did you hire a wedding planner?
No..we did everything ourselves!

(Shown Above:  The centerpiece with bubbles and disposable cameras for each guest)

(Shown Above:  The wedding favors!)

Who were your favorite wedding vendors and why?
We used amazing vendors!

(Shown Above: Amy’s wedding cake by Almondine Bakery – “People are still talking about the cake, it was so good!  And…I got to work with Herve personally to come up with the flavors. It was heaven!”)

Scott Whittle Photography – He was our biggest expense, but well worth it!

Real Food Catering –  So many options and reasonably priced.

Seaport Flowers – We didn’t go overboard on flowers, but Amy did a wonderful job.

Do you have any advice for brides who are planning their weddings?
Don’t feel like you need to spend a lot of money and don’t over think things!  Think of it like a big party.  Try to make it your own – it should be a reflection of the two of you.  For us, we knew we wanted a small intimate wedding, surrounded by the family and friends we love the most.

 (Shown Above:  “This is one of my favorite photos of my mom- she’s looking at me in my dress, all ready to go!” )

We did as much as we could ourselves.  Adam made both the save the date postcards and the invitations, which he screen-printed by hand.  For wedding favors, we packaged jelly beans and Hershey kisses with a custom designed note from the both of us.  Music was another area where we saved a lot of money.  Since music was very important to us, we created our own play list on our ipod, the perfect combination of 60’s soul and 80’s new wave.

(Shown Above:  The lovely couple, Amy and Adam!)

Advice for marriage?
Communicate.  Have fun.  Respect one another.  Dedicate time to one another.

Name your top five favorite blogs to read, no matter the subject.
Refinery29.com
NYMag.com
The Sartorialist
FashionIndie.com
Oh Joy

Thanks Amy!  Looks like you and Adam had an amazing wedding day, congratulations! 

Don’t forget to head on over to Every Little Counts to check out her awesome new line, and be sure to email her about the super sweet discount she’s offering for orders of 6 or more – such a fun gift for bridesmaids!

She’s Got The Look…

…And So Can You, Even Without Spending A Fortune!

You’ve either heard it or you’ve said it yourself – the phrase, “I’m a champagne girl bride on a beer budget!”.  Wedding dresses can get crazy expensive, as we all know, however you can still achieve that fabulous runway look even on a tight budget.  You just have to know how to shop…

Over at the Wishpot.com Wedding Blog, I’ve started the shopping trip for us via my guest blog, but it’s no fun shopping alone – so pick up the pace, picante – grab a friend or a cup of coffee, head on over there when you’re done visiting here and let’s get to it!

Above (L-R):  The look: Roberto Cavalli Spring 2009 for Milan Fashion Week – The look for less: Bellissima Couture.  To see these dresses, my other “look for less” picks and some advice for dress shopping, click HERE.  Cheers!

One Dreamy Wedding Dress…

…Dreams Do Come True!

I’m speechless.  This wedding dress is just that beautiful!

Fallen in love with a dream and want to walk down the aisle looking like one?  Find more info about this Demetrios Sensualle Wedding Dress dress by  clicking HERE.  Cheers!

New Bridal Trend? Jewelry For Your Contact Lenses…

…Sometimes You Just Have To Wonder, “What’s Next?”.

Artist Eric Klarenbeck has introduced a line of jewelry for your eyes.  According to THIS article, he calls it “The Eye Jewellery Project”.  Would you ever think of wearing this on your eyeball on your wedding day, or any day for that matter?

 

I think it confuses me.  I just don’t get it – but then again, I never said I was trendy…I just know what I like.  To each their own, right?  I’ll let you decide…take a look by watching this short video.

It’s definitely different!  To see more odd things, check out Luxury Launches.

Happy 4th Of July Weekend!

Maggie Sottero Revisited…

Last year, WedSmack shared with us a striking collection of red wedding gowns by Maggie Sottero, including the Amara Royale shown above.  I still think this is a phenomenal dress, so I thought we’d pay a little visit to it again to satisfy any 4th of July eye candy cravings.

I hope that all of you who celebrate have a very happy, safe and fabulous 4th of July weekend!