Photo Credits: Top Right: Red Loft Studios (www.redloftstudios.com), Robert Evans Studios (www.robertevans.com), Jessica Claire Photography (www.jessicaclaire.net), Jessica Claire Photography (www.jessicaclaire.net), Jessica Claire Photography (www.jessicaclaire.net), NY Daily News (www.nydailynews.com), Artyce Designs (www.artycedesigns.com), Stewart Weitzman (www.zappos.com), Advantage Bridal (www.advantagebridal.com)
What to wear walking down the aisle? Carrie Bradshaw in Sex in the City rocked an electric blue pair of Manolos while other gals wear rhinestone-incrusted stilettos or custom designed converse sneakers. What will you wear? Think outside the box. If you want a traditional shoe, consider the Stewart Weitzman bow-backed heel for that little extra detail. If you want a bit of bling, you can embellish any pair – from pale pink to the Benjamin Adams Swarovski-encrusted couture pumps. Can’t find the pair that’s perfect? Artyce Designs makes custom bridal shoes, built from the ground up – you pick your heel height, sole, style, embellishments, color and even material. Or go for a more casual look with these Jane Rafter sandal kits. They come complete with straps, beads, floral pieces, and accessories to build a one-of-a-kind shoe one day, and an entirely different pair the next morning. Easy to snap together, you can be your own shoe designer. And once you’ve got that perfect pair – consider a short dress or a high-low cut gown to show off your sexy feet!
Photos from: Jane Rafter (www.janerafter.com)
I heart shoes. I have more pairs than I care to admit. And the best way to complete your outfit is to find the right shoe! Great suggestions Harmony! Thank you. Be sure to check out The Bridal Bar for more ways to add a little flair to your day!
gift girl
Erin from Lucky Me tells us a bit about herself and the five things she can’t live without. Check out her guest blog post and see some beautiful monograms.
5 Things I Cannot Live Without… A cup of coffee in the morning, my to-do list, digital camera, Google Reader, and my family of course!
I am an almost thirty, happily married, mother of one. My husband and I have been friends for 13 years, and married for almost 2. After many years of friendship, I still love to learn new things about him. He can always make me laugh, and knows exactly how to help me through a tough day. I had such an incredible time designing my stationery for my own wedding (and so many compliments from my guests), that I wanted to continue being involved in the wedding planning process. I am very lucky to get to “be a guest” at many other beautiful events, and I love to share them on my blog. Our “lucky baby” was born this past March, and we are enjoying every minute with her. I have been making lists my whole life - it is genetic. I am following in my mom’s footsteps, and now we trade lists back and forth for every occasion. I love Wishpot, not only because I can never loose my lists, but it’s paper free!
Show Some Monogram Love
Monograms have come a long way. They began as “a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol” (Wikipedia). Now, not only do monogram include letters, but often a couples names and a motif as well. I love that flowers, fall leaves, palm trees,beautiful flourishes, and all things clever and lovely have made their way into a bride and groom’s logo for their special day. That graphic element can then enhance and personalize the wedding day when it is added to: aisle runners, ceremony decor, cake, menu cards, invitations, and more. Like a cherished photograph, a couple’s monogram can also follow them into married life and be used on thank you notes and stationery. Where will you incorporate your monogram?
{Credits: Cake - Martha Stewart; Flowers, Aisle runner, Monogram wreath - The Knot; Food - Brides; Invitations - Lucky Designs}
I love the monograms that are cocktail toppers! What a great idea. Thank you for an awesome post. Be sure to check out more Lucky Me ideas!
gift girl
Many brides know that wedding cakes are expensive. They are more like art than cake. If you are daring enough you could always try to DIY the cake. Wendy Kromer offers edible decorations that you can buy like these cute birds.
Looking for a unique thank you card to wow your guests. These will do the trick.
I love these personalized ice cream scoops. They also sell knives, forks and spoons!
These labels are very modern and cool.
Thank you Lisa! I love the personalized ice cream scoops. Anything that encourages ice cream has my vote! 
gift girl
“Engagement rings are such a (excuse the pun) minefield!” Today’s guest blog post is from Katie of Ethical weddings and it is all about the bling bling! Check out her eco picks for stylish wedding rings. Take a look at the stunning ring below form Ingle & Rhode. Need I say more?
Getting your head in the right place for getting married was the subject of my last post. This time we’re focusing on your finger…your fourth finger on your left hand to be precise. Yep, it’s the big one, the bride-to-be’s bling, the engagement ring!
But before we start comparing our respective rocks, let’s rewind just a little to the proposal. If an engagement ring was flourished at the time of asking, I’m guessing that’s probably the one you’ll be showing the parents (unless it was a ring pull or a twisted sweet paper perhaps… though in the spirit of reuse and recycle, that’s not to be scoffed at!).
Then again, if it isn’t to your taste, say so. Better to be honest and (hopefully) laugh about it – proving the strength of your relationship – than let it rankle on your finger for years to come.
For the sake of this post though, we’ll assume the proposal was made without the assistance of a little shiny hoop…
First of all, there’s no rule that says you have to have an engagement ring. With every stage of wedding planning, take time to stop and think: do I really want to do this or is it tradition / my parents / what people will think, dictating how I act. This is the first rule of Ethical Weddings!
If you do want one, and your fiancé is keen to supply one - if he isn’t, this is where you really learn to negotiate what’s important to you as a couple 
- what are your options for finding an ethical engagement ring?
Twinkle, twinkle…
So you’re looking for a more sustainable sparkler. You’ve probably heard about the issue of conflict diamonds, or blood diamonds – the 2006 film ‘Blood Diamond’ starring Leonardo di Caprio really raised the profile of the campaign waged by organizations such as Global Witness and Amnesty International to try to stop diamond mining being used to fund wars and conflict.
In 2002 the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was launched to help monitor the export and import of diamonds – the idea being that it would certify diamonds that come from legitimate ‘conflict-free’ sources.
While the KPCS certifies the rough diamonds not individual jewelers, your jeweler should be able to tell you where their diamonds have come from. The Kimberley Process recommends asking your jeweler the following questions:
- How can I be sure your jewelry does not contain conflict diamonds?
- Do your diamond suppliers participate in the industry’s ‘System of Warranties’?
- Can I see a copy of your company’s policy on conflict diamonds?
Canadian diamonds
Another option to consider is the Canadian diamond. Diamonds that come from the Ekati mine in Canada are given an origin hallmark and tracked through the CANADAMARK scheme from the mine, to manufacture, to retailer – giving you reassurance that they are conflict-free.
No clean diamonds?
Even where a diamond is conflict-free, however, diamond mining does have a huge impact on the environment. If you want to get deep into the debate, check out our post: ‘Are Canadian diamonds clean?’:
The future - Fair Trade diamonds?
To start to address working conditions, human rights and the environmental impact of diamond mining, some jewelers are pushing for Fair Trade accreditation for diamonds. Ethical Weddings supplier, Cred Jewellery has been leading the way on this – you can read more about their story here: http://ethicalweddings.com/blog/fair-trade-gold-diamonds-update
All that glitters…
Before we take a look at some of the exquisite ethical jewelery on offer, let’s not forget the gold band supporting your stone. It can take 3 tonnes of toxic waste to make one ring so support the ‘No Dirty Gold’ campaign () and seek out a jeweler such as Cred Jewellery, who sources their gold from the non-profit corporation, Green Gold which according to The Independent: ‘…works with mining communities in Colombia and aims to reverse the damage done to ecosystems by large-scale mining. Green Gold creates locally managed mines that use no toxic chemicals, incorporate reforestation, limit waste and obtain legal approval for proposed mines. It ensures profit is pumped back into the community.’ (read more here: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/how-to-avoid-buying-dirty-gold-434609.html)
Sounds good to me!
Getting ethical in style
Thankfully, thinking twice about what you put on your finger doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. We have some great ethical jewelers at Ethical Weddings with hot picks from people such as:
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Cred Jewellery,
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Fifi Bijoux,
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Ingle & Rhode
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– all of whom are mentioned in The Ecologist’s recent feature on ethical jewelery:
That’s not all folks!
Remember rules are made to be broken… you don’t have to go for gold and diamonds, you could go for a wooden ring
Hunt down an antique ring – as our Ethical Weddings web designers did (read all about it here:
Or maybe there’s a family heirloom waiting to be slipped onto your finger – there’s no harm in asking…
Finally, if all else fails, you could have it tattooed on!
Happy planning!
Katie
Thanks Katie another great post! I’m not sure I’m ready for the tatoo just yet. You know what they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend!
gift girl
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Take Note of this Tote
Beautiful Spring Bloom tote collection! Perfect for the honeymoon! And it’s a top pick from our Little White Book wedding expert.
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Who Who Who
Who wouldn’t love this unique owl umbrella stand? A fun addition to any entry way!
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Garden Duvet
Hedgerow Saffron Duvet from DwellStudio with garden inspired print. Simply Stunning!
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Chirp for this
Four piece ‘Chirp’ place setting by Lenox. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Music to your ears!
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Meet Little White Book
In her profile you’ll find great wedding and registry ideas that belong in your little white book!
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Dress It Up
Little White Book has a whole list of great party dresses! And this sexy strapless number is on the list!
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PHOTO CREDIT: Milton Gil | www.miltongil.com
Your Blooms: My Bouquet
For an intimate and meaningful way to honor the special women in your life at your wedding, create your bouquet out of their favorite flowers. Have the bridesmaids hold a bouquet of the flower they chose for your bouquet. And have the other women, like the Moms, Grandmas, Aunts, etc, wear corsages of the bloom they selected as their favorite. This is a symbolic way to show the women in your life that you will carry the relationship you have with each of them through your married life as well.
I have a couple ideas to go about doing this.
Gather a list of favorite flowers from the women you’d like to include for this unique bouquet. Keep your mission a secret and surprise them with their choice flower corsage or bouquet on the day of the wedding. And make the explanation for this be a part of the ceremony!
Another way would be to make a “flower arrangement making” party of it. Ask each lady to bring with them a bunch of stems of their favorite flower. You need to supply the other items, like:
· floral tape
· glue guns
· bouquet accessories (pearl strings, jewels, ribbon, fabric wraps, etc)
· green floral filler (bear grass, eucalyptus, baby’s breath, etc)
· corsage bracelets
· pins
· and whatever else you need to create your arrangements
Take a flower from each woman and begin making your own bouquet. For your bridesmaids’, show them how you’d like their bouquets wrapped, so they are all the same (if that matters to you.) And for the corsages, bracelets or pinned, have a sample of how you’d like it to look too! This party serves as cost effective, purposeful and fun! However you choose to pull off this small, subtle dedication to the women in your life, your end result will be leave a big impression on their heart and soul!
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Thanks Gretchen flowers are such a pretty part of a wedding day!
Be sure to check out mywedding.com for more of Gretchen’s fun ideas.
gift girl
Lara is awesome and I was fortunate enough to be able to interview her! She is a lot of fun and this is what she had to say about my off-beat questions!
OK, these are the best interview questions ever! How fun!
1. Name a movie that you are embarrassed to admit you cried at.
My college roommate and I at Carnegie Mellon would watch Hope Floats over and
over and cry our eyes out. We couldn’t get enough of Harry Connick Jr as the
ultimate southern "guy next door". I hate to admit I have the entire
soundtrack to that movie memorized.
2. What is your fave toy that you owned as a kid?
Etch-a-Sketch. I would draw on that thing for hours. LiteBrite comes in a close second.
3. Name a candy or dessert addiction you have to admit you love.
Pinkberry. I miss LA because of Pinkberry. I have even looked into buying a franchise,
but they aren’t offering them… yet. It really is swirly goodness.
4. What is the most influential thing you’ve ever read?
The Bible. Reading it instantly calms me, centers me and refocuses my thoughts to where
they should be. It is really easy to get swept up in success or daily challenges, so reading scripture brings me back to a very peaceful place.
5. Who was your first crush?
Does Martha Stewart count? My mom had all of her cookbooks and I remember thumbing through early issues of her magazine and thinking "wow, she makes everything beautiful."
6. Which website can you most identify with?
That’s a tough one, but I would have to say Paper-Source (http://www.paper-source.com/) because I look through the papers and just dream. It’s a DIY heaven. A close second is
Home Depot. I love going in there and smelling the wood and paint–it makes
my head spin with new ideas and projects to work on. My husband thinks I’m
crazy for loving Home Depot so much. I could spend hours in there.
7. If your shoe had to say something to your foot- what would it say?
I have dancer’s feet–extremely high arches. So, I wear ultra-comfortable Asics
tennis shoes whenever possible. My shoes would probably say… you LOVE me,
don’t you!?
8. What is your most fave holiday?
Christmas because I get to be with my family and witness my mother being the hostess with the mostess. I love decorating for the holidays. The last few years my family has all gathered somewhere to ski but even when we travel we have to bring the ornaments. We
add new ones every year and spend several hours laughing at National Lampoon’s
Christmas Vacation and making new ornaments to add to the collection. We are
a very crafty family.
9. Which fashion trend do you most regret following?
Any fashion trend because it means I spent money on clothes that I eventually threw away.
Several that come to mind: Coolots, scrunchies, fringe, and my very favorite… the all-denim look.
10. Ask me a question.
What item do you want most on Wishpot?
I just added a clock radio audio system for Zune. And my birthday just happens to be coming up. Coincidence?
I was an etch a sketch fan too. And i can’t lie I would still wear scrunchies. I’m holding out for the scrunchy comeback. I have never heard of a Pinkberry! But Hope Floats has a special place in my heart too! Thanks so much Lara!
Be sure to check out SW and Lara’s expert profile!
gift girl
Harmony from Bridal Bar brings us Clearly Fabulous Décor….
Photos from Top Left: Classic Party Rentals (www.classicpartyrentals.com); Rrivre Works (www.rrivreworks.com); Middle Row: Classic Party Rentals (www.classicpartyrentals.com); Invitation Innovations (www.invitationinnovations.com); Bottom Row: Resource One (www.resourceone.info)
Modern, Formal, or just plain fabulous – clear décor and event pieces are clearly a must. I love to weave the idea through the event or you can work in one piece of plexi and you’ve created a sexy atmosphere in which to say “I Do.” From an acrylic invitation (think about dimension – back it with feathers or fabric) to the “ghost chair” (paired with a color-popping pillow) or tabletop lamps from Resource One (used at the Academy Award’s Governor’s Ball in ’08); this look can hang from the ceiling, cover a pool as a dance floor, or simply serve as your dinner table top.
When you incorporate this look into your event, be sure to highlight by lighting the pieces accordingly. Colored light changes the tone where as white light creates a chic overall glow. If these photos are a bit bold for your taste, even adding a few chandelier crystals to the guest book table or your centerpieces can really reflect your personal style. But the best thing about clear props and décor? It goes with any color palette, in any environment, and is clearly unexpected.
Be sure to check out Harmony’s blog and her expert profile!
gift girl
A new addition here on Wishpot is ‘Cool Things Wednesday’ and it is courtesy of our wedding expert Lisa from Bellissima Vita
What a cute and rustic way to hold pens for your guestbook. From NapaStyle.
I love this message in a bottle invitation. My grass obsession continues…
These silver vessels are elegant and beautiful.
I love this green cake stand.
Lisa- the green cake stand makes my heart sing! Thanks and looking forward to next Wednesday. Check out Lisa’s profile for more cool things!
gift girl
Today’s guest blog post is by Lynn from Handcrafted. A subject near and dear to my heart. I’m a huge fan of crafts! And I can tell from Lynn’s blog that I am not the only one. I asked Lynn to tell me a bit about herself and this is what she said,
“A little about me…well, I’m a 30 something Southern girl. I’ve been married for 12 years and we have two children (one of each). I grew up in Tennessee, but now live close to Atlanta. I’m love to play with all different types of crafts. I haven’t mastered any one thing, but I have tried almost everything, except pottery (maybe next week). I come from a very crafty family. When I was younger I thought it was normal for your father to make your furniture and your mother to make your clothes. Now I know it’s not normal, it’s lucky.
I was the first of all my friends to get married so planning was sort of uncharted territory for us. At the time I hadn’t even attended many weddings. My heart really goes out to other women in the same situation. You really need the advice of someone who isn’t trying to sell you something or force their own taste on to you. That is where blogs like mine really come in handy. I only wish they had been around when I was getting married.
Blogging sort of found me. I started a small blog to replace mass update emails for family and friends. It would have cute kid stories and general things about what was going on in our lives, but I got a lot of compliments on it. When my sister-in-law first thought of starting The Handcrafted Wedding, she wanted to have a blog to go along with it, but knew she would never have the time to write consistently. She had been reading my personal blog for some time and asked if I’d like to get into the wedding blogging business. I spent a good bit of time researching and really got sucked in. I re-planned my own wedding ten times over in my mind. My hope is that I can help brides find creative ideas, practical ideas, and with some luck, save them some money. On the other side of things, I also love that I can spotlight small businesses that brides might not otherwise find.
If I had to pick one dessert I’d go with the chocolate chip cookie. It is the perfect mix of cookie and that much needed chocolate. If you want a little something sweet you can have one with a glass of milk, or you can eat a dozen of them when you really need a chocolate fix. You can get them bite sized or the size of a pizza. I love that.
I love that too. And speaking of sweet is Lynn’s blog post about taking weddings out of the box!
above photos taken by wedding expert Christine Farah
Taking Weddings Out of the Box
For far too long weddings were trapped inside this perfect little white satin box. Slowly that has started to change. The internet is mostly to thank for that. You are no longer limited by what you can find in your own city and I am so glad to see brides taking advantage of that. You don’t have to order your invitations from the giant books at the card shop. In fact, now it is more convenient not to. Who has time to look through 500 pages of one size fits all invitations anyway? Originality is but a click away.
I don’t know who the first bride was who stepped up to say, “There will be color at my wedding!”, but I sure would love to shake her hand. I distinctly remember being told that brides were to carry white only bouquets, and anything else simply wasn’t done. To this day I kick myself for letting them convince me of that. It is one of the reasons I have my blog today. To help brides realize that there are alternatives to the way it has always been done, and they aren’t alone in wanting that.
I can’t talk about this subject without a salute to the handcrafting community. Often times these are one and two man (or woman) operations that put their love and skill into every piece they make. You can not get that kind of service in a mega-bridal store. For creative brides, they are a dream come true. They are sure to help you blow the lid off your own white satin box.
Thank you Lynn. For more great handcrafted ideas check out Lynn’s blog and her expert profile!
gift girl
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