Real Wedding: Malin + James' Palm Springs Wedding
at The Viceroy

I was checking out Jose Villa's website this weekend and saw this amazing wedding he just photographed at The Viceroy in Palms Springs. Palm Springs is a popular choice for weddings since it is close to LA and San Diego and it has great weather all year long - well, except July and August when the heat is a bit much!

I love The Viceroy for it's many modern details. This wedding also has chandeliers and feathers! - both which I blogged about last week. I knew it was perfect to share. You can see even more photos on Jose Villa's blog and even some pics from their rehearsal dinner. Love love her dress!

Photography: Jose Villa, Wedding Gown: Monique Lhuillier, Shoes: Monolo Blahnik, Grooms Suit: Prada ,Location: Viceroy, Palm Springs, CA, Wedding Planner: Alexandra Kolendrianos, Floral: R. Jack Balthazar












Read The Full Article:
http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/2008/11/real-wedding-malin-james-palm-sprin
gs.html

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Gray Saturday

I am one of those crazy people who views Holiday shopping as something to be done long before anything holidayish is out.
Normally I start working on Christmas shopping as soon as November comes around and am done by the 2nd (if I'm really debating something maybe by the 3rd.). A lot of this is due to the fact that I really don't like shopping, I hate crowded stores, I hate long lines at the checkout, and no one should enjoy parking lots in snowy weather with all that black slush and ice threatening your every step.
This year the wedding has really messed up my usual shopping habits sadly. For some reason it just hasn't felt real to me. It seems like we just missed Halloween somehow and are floating around in time and space. So around about the time that November was just about to leave it finally got into my head that I need to find gifts and wrapping paper and possibly some sugar plum faeries to staple to presents.
So this past weekend I set out with my husband in tow to find everyone's christmas present (that wasn't already purchased on the honeymoon or through our good friend Mr. Internet). It shouldn't be too bad, right; after all it's a week before black friday when everyone starts putting their all into it.
Boy was I wrong. Apparently along with some radio stations starting to play christmas music as soon as November comes roaring in like a turkey stores are beginning to think that Black Friday needs its own second holiday. A day that is a mere shell of its original but still terrifying to claustrophobics.
I call is Gray Saturday and it must stop. Black Friday is a tradition to many families. For some it involves scouring the ads on Thursday then getting up at an unholy hour to go stand in a cold parking lot, for mine it involves holing up in the house full of leftovers with the door boarded up to keep any shopping zombies out.
But now all of a sudden Santa is sledding in the week before, the stores are advertising their Quesadilla makers as half off and the bell ringers are out in full army force. I'm pretty sure that if you don't leave the mall with at least one bag the bouncers send you back in til you find something worth buying.
I say we need to claim back Black Friday. Santa suits cannot be put into jolly fat men's hands until the day before Thanksgiving, bell ringers must keep their knockers covered until the first sign of a snowflake, and if a single store has a major door buster sale I'll personally show up with a flame thrower and ask them nicely to stop.
Then I can go back to being the only insane one buying Christmas presents early.

Read The Full Article:
http://intbride.blogspot.com/2008/11/gray-saturday.html

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DIy Wax Luminaries

I stumbled on this fabulous project at Candle Tech today and I had to share! They are so chic - and[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://budgetdreamweddings.com/2267/diy-wax-luminaries/

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Happy Anniversary :: Marla & Erek

What a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend it was last year. Marla & Erek's Wedding was on Saturday at The Cove in Normandy Park, and the day was filled with family, food & great music. ::Wishing you both all the best.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Bridetiquette/~3/463931445/happy-anniversary-marla
-erek.html

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a bride-to-be gift guide (no frills edition)

Save the shopping cart for Santa. If planning a wedding taught us anything, it's that you can't register for peace of mind. Instead, you need seasoned friends to help keep you in check. Here's my holiday gift guide for anyone with a bride-to-be on their shopping list.
1. Reusable shopping bags. With so many diywedding details on her list, trips to Michaels and Home Depot become as routine as checking the weather. Instead of stockpiling plastic bags, reusable canvas totes will save energy and the environment. Here's a list of where to find them and a brilliant way to turn those remaining plastics into pom pom.

2. Stamps. Not suitable gift giving material in any other situation except this one, stamps literally say Love when it comes to planning a wedding. Engaged couples go through countless stamping rituals. A few books of these babies make a great gift, trust me.

3. Laser Hair Removal. We can talk openly about body hair here, can't we? If not, you'll humor me while I tell you that everyone can benefit from a little laser here and there or everywhere. I tried it for the first time after chatting with the ladies at Completely Bare during the BFF Best in Beauty and then went back a total of three times before the wedding. (I'll spare you the before and after pics.) But let me just say, amazing.

4. Clinque Even Better Skin Tone Corrector. As long as we're swapping beauty secrets, let me share another one of mine. My makeup artist recommended, no, required, I buy this before the wedding. No matter how perfect her skin, every bride is bound to experience a few breakouts. This product does a great job of erasing dark spots due to sun exposure or worse, stress.


5. Votive Candles. When I found out how much florists charge for these little glass luminaries, I almost broke out in a rash. (See item #4 for remedy.) Fortunately our florist was willing to work with us. We purchased about 150 of these at AC Moore for $ .50 each and saved a bundle. Ikea sells a four pack for $1.49 but the little tea lights only last a few hours.

6. Beer and loud noises. Sport Phanatic or not, every bride-to-be can benefit from an afternoon of screaming fans and a fist full of something saucy. The weeks leading up to our wedding were filled with shouting, injury, penalty and poor conduct. None of it was ours, thankfully, but that does mean I didn't come home a little roughed up. It mattered not the origin of my anguish, simply that it was released and there was plenty of cheese on my fries. A gift certificate to any overcrowded sport bar with a flat screen tv will do the trick.

7. Margin for excess. Unless you plan on only hiring vendors within your wireless network (not recommended,) chances are chatting about flowers and fittings is going to cost you double if you don't keep an eye on your minutes. I exceeded mine to the tune of $188 in one month. A stop watch or one of these Verizon Wireless Prepaid Refill Cards would have come in handy.

Got a gift guide item to share? I'd love to hear what's on your wedding wish-I-had-gotten-this list.

Read The Full Article:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/PerfectBound/~3/463743465/bride-to-be-gift-guide-n
o-frills.html

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2nd Annual Holiday Card Swap!!

I would LOVE to be able to continue to share all your amazing Save the Dates, but it's that time of year again...the fabulous holidays! And that means card swapping time! I promise I will do another round of these, and maybe throw in some invitations too, sometime soon.

Same rules apply as last year...almost:

• Send an email to me at brooklynbride [at] gmail [dot] com with Holiday Card Swap in the subject line by November 28 [day after Thanksgiving]. Include your name, address, email address, and website/blog address [if you have one].
  
• By December 1, I will have emailed you the names and addresses of up to 5 people to send cards to.
• Your cards must be handmade [think Gocco, glitter, photoshop, cut + paste, sewing, etc....] Make something that's easy to do multiples of.
  
• Send out your cards by December 15 at the latest!
• Wait patiently by your mailbox!

Sadly, some people last year didn't get cards from their partners...so please don't sign up if you know you won't have time to make cards. Also, the swap is open to our international audience, so pay attention to postage.

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!



And speaking of holiday cards, Paper+Cup is offering Brooklyn Bride readers 10% off their entire site through 11/30 by using the code FROG10. They've got a new line of eco-friendly holiday cards that I'm totally loving!

[fabulous card swap graphic by Paper+Cup design]

Read The Full Article:
http://bklynbride.blogspot.com/2008/11/2nd-annual-holiday-card-swap.html

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