Free Iphone Apps: IBride

I’m not completely thrilled with this app.  It’s kind of cool because it has a pretty accurate and thorough check list for the 12 months leading up to the wedding.

They do have a listing of vendors in your metro area that are broken down into categories.

However, it looks like they are trying to have a directory of different wedding vendors where they want them to pay for a premium listing.  So far, no one has paid in the San Diego area so all of the vendors have a “basic listing”.  Not very informative at all.  I could have probably done better with google…

Free Iphone Apps: The Knot Look Book

Even though I am in the wedding industry, I’m not a huge fan of wedding shows.   Shows like Bridezilla, etc. really rub me the wrong way.  Who told their little girls it was ok to act like that!?  However, there are two weddings shows I cannot turn my head away from:

My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding

&

Say Yes to the Dress

The second show is why The Knot Look Book is probably my favorite wedding app EVER!  It is SO neat.  The front page has 7 drop down areas for you to select to narrow down a list of over 3,000 dresses to fit your specifications!

I’ve got a big bum, so I can select “Pear Shaped”, “5’3’”, “Garden”, “Good Boobs”, “Big Thighs” and BAM:

DRESSES JUST FOR MY BODY!

 

This is one of my favs:

 

Sangria? Si!

Just thought I’d share. I made a super yummy sangria for my BBQ last week. Might be a fun addition to a rehearsal dinner!


Amber Joy’s FABOOSH Pina Colada Sangria:

1 Bottle of South Coast Winery Romanza (any red will do though)


½ cup to 1 cup Malibu Coconut Rum

1 20oz can of slice pineapple (include juice in can)

1 lime (sliced, squeezed into sangria, then the rinds left in)

1 orange (sliced and placed into sangria)

1 can of ginger ale

Place all ingredients, except ginger ale, into container and place in the fridge overnight. Right before serving, pour the ginger ale into the container and serve. YUM!



Another awesome sangria recipe I tried:
White Peach Sangria

Reception Right-On: Succulents

This is something I am absolutely loving right now! Succulents can be an easy way to create simple, elegant centerpieces and accents.


I took these pictures from my bride’s wedding today. The florist, Golden B Designs Floral Arrangements, used wooden boxes for the main centerpiece with smaller arrangements contained in vintage tins. SO cute.

The placecards were placed in a wooden box that resembled a wine crate. 

The best thing about succulents?  The price!  You can still have a florist design them for you and it won’t be as expensive as traditional floral arrangements.  Want to be creative, do it yourself!  Found these excellent blogs for ideas:

Cute!

Awesome!

Love!

Free Iphone Apps: Brides 2.0

For the next few entries, I’m going to rate FREE Iphone Wedding Apps (because I love my Iphone) :)

The first one I am going to showcase is Brides 2.0

Love this app!  Currently, there are 3 categories on the first screen: Dresses, Jewelry, & Travel Destinations.

Under each section it takes you to separate categories:

Under the Jewelry portion, you can see different engagement rings, wedding bands for him & her and much more!

You can see a bunch of different option for honeymoons:

I spent way too long just exploring each section of this app!  My favorite part?  The bridesmaids dresses portion!  They break the dresses down by style. (ie A-line, Empire Waist, Drop Waist, etc.)  There are a million wedding dress apps, but not a ton for bridesmaids. 

EXCELLENT Free App...definitely fun for ideas.

Where Do I Put My Card?

Gift Card Holders can be an excellent way to add an accent to your reception that goes with your theme.  Gone are the days of the traditional card box:

I’ve seen the bird cage A LOT lately and think it is very cute and can go with many themes, but I wish brides would try something different!  Depending on the look you are going for, there are SO many different options that you can experiment with.  You may even take a piece of junk and dress it up to fit your wedding.  Here are a few that I’ve seen, and some I haven’t that I would like to see!

An idea I love and encourage: The Vintage Suitcase or Trunk

Going along with the vintage theme, a typewriter case.  Also really cool if you have the typewrite and people can type you notes.

I don't see it as much as I would expect at the winery, but a wine crate is an easy card holder!  You can also get them personalized which would make a great keepsake. Really, you can do any sort of crate...like a vintage Coke crate.

If you want to stick with the winery/wine theme, you could always make a slit in the top of a mini wine barrel

A Mailbox...yep...put cards where they are supposed to go!

But if you're really set on the birdcage, you could always go with a variation...like a lantern?

Sorry, No Hard Alcohol Allowed!

This is something that many of my brides and grooms ask about. Most of the venues in wine country don’t have a full liquor license and only serve beer and wine.

Generally, not a big deal.

However, in many brides have a signature cocktail on their list of Must-Have’s. Yep, I know I want an Amber Joy Pineapple Mojito. There is an alternative for those venues that do not have the full liquor license. The Solution?


 

What is Grappa?  Grappa is an alcohol made from grapes.  Basically, it’s the leftovers from the wine making process that are later distilled.  The great thing is that the alcohol content is pretty high, 70-120 proof, and can be used in a number of cocktails!  I don’t recommend Grappa for shots.  It’s not very tasty by itself.  However, you can make appletinis, lemon drops, margaritas, and SO many other drinks.  I think it’s best when being used as the liquor if vodka based drinks.  There are many different types and qualities of Grappa.  Make sure you get a decent Grappa so your cocktails taste like they are supposed to.

So You Have a Tattoo Your Mom Doesn't Know About...

Yeah, me too. Hehe, Just kidding Mom!

Sure, you love that amazing sparrow you had inked during that fabulous summer with your girls...but is Grandma Helen going to love it?

It's ok, there are solutions.  Many brides want to cover tattoos that show when they wear their wedding dresses.

I have a few tattoos (that my Mom DOES know about) that show sometimes at work and I choose to cover them.  I have tried a few different products for cover up and liked one or two.

1.) Tattoo Cosmetics- http://www.tattoocosmetics.com/
This product comes in a few different colors and I actually got two colors just in case I needed to blend.  Most of these products come with setting powder to prevent smudges, but this one also comes with an anti-perspirant spray.  SO AWESOME.  This way you aren't worrying about getting the makeup on your dress.

2.) Cover up travel kit: http://www.advantagebridal.com/wetacoupkit.html
LOVE this kit for easy travel.  It's about the size of an Iphone so it is easy to stash in your purse or overnight bag.  The only drawback is that it doesn't have the anti-perspirant spray.  I use this exact product for the tattoos on the tops of my feet when I wear heels and a skirt at work.  It hasn't ever smudged for me, but then again their isn't fabric close to it.

3.) Mehron Stage Makeup: http://www.stageandtheatermakeup.com/mhtattoo.htm
Yes, stage makeup.  Hey, Hollywood stars cover their tattoos all the time in movies!  This stuff is waterproof but does only come in a few colors.  Fortunately though, you can get a palette that has 5 colors so you can mix and blend to match your skin tone.  The setting powder is sold separately but is a fairly good deal.

Ok, so I took one of my small tattoos just to test it out:

First I tried the Tattoo Cover Kit

I applied the base first:

Then I applied the cover layer by layer and put the setting powder on, Dahlia seems to approve!

That one turned out ok, but I think I'd be nervous to be in bright daylight!

ROUND 2: A product ordered from Tattoocosmetics.com

I think I may have the wrong color...yeah...

No approval from the Black Dahlia this time... :(

A Good Way to Drive Yourself Nuts:

1.) Book your wedding 2 years in advance and tell yourself that you are going to get everything done “early”.


It’s NOT going to happen.

Your wedding planner and catering manager will try their best to help you get as much done as soon as possible but I can tell you right now, the last 2 months before your wedding there WILL be changes.

The changes may have nothing to do with your planner or your venue, but nothing in this life is perfect and there are many factors and details that will most definitely change. Vendors will need your opinion on an idea or friends may call and ask if they can bring someone. Your wedding will constantly change.

I had a bride who had booked two years at a venue prior to her wedding date and believed that she could have all detailing done a year before the wedding. Sure, she locked down her vendors, secured her space, and detailed as much of the event as she possibly could in that first year.  I started at the venue 4 months prior to her wedding and took over for the previous catering manager. When it came down to it, she couldn’t enjoy herself because she had a notion in her head that “all this was supposed to be done”. She was also a serious nightmare for her planner and for me.

My advice: Go with the flow.  Enjoy the planning process!  Things will change inevitably and you must prepare yourself for those changes.

Reception Rant #2

Brides & Grooms:

Do NOT make stuff up to try and get a discount after your wedding has ended and you realize how much you really spent and are now freaking out...

We document EVERYTHING from the time you sign your contract until after your wedding has happened and will not budge when you are fibbing.


However...


If you do have a legitimate complaint and something really did go wrong, please feel free to complain.  We need to know in order to make the correction and ensure that sort of thing doesn't happen in the future.