January 2015 - Bridal Hot List

Etch A Sketch: Meet The Amazing Etch Man

January 30, 2015 Leave a Comment

Today I am excited to share one of the coolest things you can offer at your wedding event. This will blow your mind. I am totally serious! Who remembers the Etch A Sketch from back in the day? Remember when you would draw something fun, and then to erase it, you would shake it? How about if you could have an art piece sketched and then kept forever as a keepsake? Well you can! Yes, let me introduce you to Christoph Brown, The Amazing Etch Man. I had the pleasure of meeting Christoph, and getting my very own Etch A Sketch. It was amazing to watch how quickly he did it. I was stunned and could not believe my eyes. All I kept saying in my head was, ” How the heck is he doing that, and doing it so well?”. This is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen, and it is even more awesome that I get to keep this forever! It sits at my desk while I blog, and I still can not believe how cool it is. Imagine if you had an Etch A Sketch made for each of your guests at your wedding, and use it as a Escort Card. So when they arrive, they will have their very own. Super awesome right? Go ahead and learn more about this fabulous company.

Photo by Bridal Hot List

Here are some other amazing sketches:

About Etch U Productions…

Christoph Brown: The Amazing Etch Man® , known as the Worlds Fastest Etch A Sketch Artist and founder of Etch U Productions®, is the only known full-time Etch A Sketch Entertainer in the world to make a living off the Etch A Sketch. After retrieving a left behind Etch-A-Sketch, and displaying daily drawings for customers, their reactions conjured a fascinating career. In 2005 Christoph established Etch U Productions® providing entertainment & party favors for public and private events across the country. The Amazing Etch Man® creates astounding personalized Etch A Sketch drawings or caricatures of you or your loved ones in 5 minutes or less on pre preserved not-to-erase pocket Etch A Sketch Magic Screens. That’s twice what traditional portrait artists can do! We pre-drain out all the graphite powder, leaving only one layer of powder behind the screen, giving Christoph only one shot to sketch picture perfect and provide an amazing keepsake item FOREVER!

Etch U Productions® is your one-stop-shop for the most original services in live and recorded Etch A Sketch branding and entertainment for gift commissions and event services for every occasion.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: Artist, Etch a Sketch, events, guests, LA, LA artist, The Amazing Etch Man, weddings

Top Five Tips for Brides Throwing a Super Bowl Party

January 29, 2015 Leave a Comment

Go Team Wedding! Whether you’re rooting for the Patriots or the Seahawks or you don’t even care who’s playing, there’s no escaping the Super Bowl this Sunday. That’s right- say goodbye to your mimosa brunch and say hello to light beer and hot wings (it’s okay- this can count as a cheat day). If you’re throwing a Super Bowl party we’ve got five awesome tips to keep it fun and score you some serious cool-future-wife points.

Fresh Cut Flowers

You may associate a football field with fresh cut grass, but we like to accent everything we can with flowers. Pick up some hydrangeas or lilies dyed your team’s colors and put them out by your door, table (aka, where the hot wings go), and windows. Flowers always light up the room, make everything a little more feminine and classy and are a great way to show off your team pride!

Dress Code

Your friends are of course going to wear your team’s colors, so make a game of it! Have everyone dress as hardcore as possible and have a prize for whoever dresses the craziest. Once everyone has arrived, have a ‘fashion show’ during the halftime show. The best outfit that hits the runway can get a prize like a gift card or an extra pie to take home after the party. This is a great way to break ice with people who may not know everyone and get the crowd in an upbeat mood before kick off.

Keep it Light

The Super Bowl is such a great food occasion- you can seriously pig out all day and it’s just part of the festivities. If you do want some guilt-free options though, there are a ton of fun foods to lay out. You can start by slipping in some organic veggies with guilt-free hummus and spinach kale dip. If you want to take it another step further, skip the cookies and brownies and get some fruit for dessert. Be sure you always have an organic option for each stage of the meal to combat all the oils, salt, and calories.

Por Favors

Wanna be the hostess with the mostess? Get some party favors for all your friends! Do something small and cute like candy wrapped in your team’s colors bagged up. Something small and sweet is always a great takeaway from a party. Doing a cute DIY is great practice for your wedding too, so get crafty!

Make it a Party!

Want to make your party feel like a well produced event? Use one of our favorite go-to’s and set up a selfie station. Grab fun things like footballs, helmets, and ref whistles as props on top of your favorite standard props. Open up a closet or door and hang streamers over the side that people will take pictures in front of and BAM- you have a selfie station! It’s super fun and easy to play around with and it gives everyone something to do during the commercials that aren’t very funny. You can use the official hashtags for the superbowl, or you can make up your own to find your friends that much faster.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: bridal, bride, groom, party, super bowl, Theme, wedding

Post-Bridal Show Recap: The Wedding Salon at the Montage, Beverly Hills

January 28, 2015 Leave a Comment

We have three words for Wedding Wednesday: Elegant, chic, and luxurious. The Wedding Salon recently had their annual wedding showcase at the stunning Montage Beverly Hills located in Beverly Hills, California with over 600 guests. What did these 600 guests enjoy that evening? Fabulous and amazing wedding trends, with a focus on destination and honeymoon details. We were so happy to be part of this wonderful event and thats why today we are excited that we get to share some of the fantastic features from the event. See all the trends, wedding vendors, and gorgeous details from this exquisite wedding event.

When we arrived before heading into the bridal event, we had to stop off and snap a photo in front of the The Wedding Salon backdrop. Of course, then we had to post it and hashtag #weddingsalon. The fun began right there!

Once we walked in, a fabulous display welcomed us! What a way to wow your guests! How amazing is this?

Couples were able to enjoy bridal gown previews by bridal salons such as Lauren Elaine Bridal, Winnie Couture, and A One Night Affair with live models and mannequin displays.

Beauty makeovers were provided by local Makeup artists like celebrity makeup artist, Kimberly Bosso who provided visuals to brides before their big day.

Couples had the chance to meet with many of the Destination and Honeymoon venues such as The Four Seasons Resort, Montage Kapalua Bay, and Mauna Lani Bay. We enjoyed stopping by and chatting about all the amazing features each of these venues offers for couples. It made us want to pack our bags and head to one of these fabulous locations!

We enjoyed seeing all the talented designers who created gorgeous tablescapes and flowers. We could not stop swooning over all the pretty details. So much talent in one room!

We had a wonderful time and thank you to The Wedding Salon for letting us be part of it.

With Nahchey from Dash Entertainment

Dash Entertainment

Photography by Joan Fuller Photography

About The Wedding Salon:

The Wedding Salon, the nation’s #1 premier luxury bridal showcase is the ultimate resource for wedding planning needs. Founded by celebrity wedding planner, Tatiana Byron, the Wedding Salon features luxury wedding vendors and award winning service providers showcasing the year’s must-have products and newest trends in the industry. The bridal showcase is a one-day event, designed to look and feel like a luxurious wedding catering to the affluent bride, engaged couples, celebrities and socialites. Since launching in 2004, The Wedding Salon has expanded its events to five markets across the country including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C. and Miami.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: bridal, bridal show, brides, destination wedding, engaged couples, Joan Fuller Photography, Montage Beverly Hills, The Wedding Salon, wedding show

Top Five Bridal Shower Games

January 27, 2015 Leave a Comment

Party time! If you’ve got a bridal shower coming up, you know you’ve got an awesome day ahead of you with your girlfriends. Bridal showers are really fun, and can range from family friendly to crazy girl’s night out material. Either way your bridal shower ends up going, one awesome way to bond and laugh with your friends is to play some fun bridal shower games. We’ve got five games that will match any crowd and create some fantastic memories! Party on, pretty ladies!

Bridal Pictionary

Get a few white boards or sketchpads and throw some fun wedding-related phrases or words in a bowl. You can split the room up so that people can mingle and play with people they may not normally interact with. Throw words in like “toast”, “honeymoon”, and “groom” but also throw in some specific words to the bride. If she’s a teacher, throw in the word “classroom” or “teacher’s pet”. Keep it light and cute but also centered around the guest of honor.

The Newlywed Game

A total classic and perfect game for bridal showers. Have some questions ready to go and split the group up again. Grab those handy dandy white boards and have the teams guess on the answers to the questions you have- and make sure they always have to do with the bride. Have questions like where they met, where their first kiss was, how many days they’ve been together, etc. You can throw in a few silly ones too, like would they rather go skiing or spelunking, things like that. Keep it light, keep it fun, and keep it moving fast enough that it doesn’t drag out.

Count the Kisses

This one is a super easy game that everyone will be able to play, even if you’re shy. Have a vase or bowl of kisses out with a lid so no one eats any. Have everyone guess how many kisses are in the bowl, and whoever guesses closest wins the vase and the kisses! If you want to do hugs and kisses, you can label the vase ‘XOXO’ to make it super cute. It’s an easy game plus someone leaves with a whole lot of chocolate!

Make Memories

Have all the guests write down a cute story about themselves and the bride without using their name. Once everyone has been able to write down their stories, have the maid of honor or some of the bridal party read the stories out loud. The bride has to guess who wrote what story, and everyone gets an awesome walk down memory lane! You can’t have the bride read the questions off though- the handwriting could be a giveaway!

Mouth-watering Mystery

Whatever your bride’s favorite snack is- get a ton of different brands. If she’s a chocolate fiend, pick up some hersheys, godiva, sees, all sorts of fun stuff. If she loves gummy bears, grab some trolli, black forest, haribo, anything you can find. Unwrap everything and pour them into different bowls. After dinner or anything savory, everyone gets to go pick a piece from each bowl and guess what brand each piece of candy is. Whoever is closest gets a pack of their choice! This is a fun game that gives everyone an excuse to munch on something sweet.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: bridal, bridal shower, bride, bridesmaids, game, Maid of Honor, party

Blush Pink & Mint Church Wedding

January 26, 2015 Leave a Comment

Excuse me while I swoon over this super cute church wedding. I can not stand how darn adorable and pretty this wedding is. Inspired by the 50s era, this bride and her groom had a gorgeous wedding with the prettiest of details. From the adorable blush pink bridal dress, the beautiful bouquet, the handsome bowties, and cute converse shoes, this bride and groom totally rocked it. How adorable and sweet is this bride? I have never met her, but I can guess from the photographs, that she has a bubbly personality that makes everyone smile. I so want to be her friend and hang out with her! I love this wedding and I even love it more with Manya Photography on hand to capture it all. You will not want to miss this wedding, so take a moment to check out all the fabulous details.

From the bride…

We met on an online dating website called Plenty of Fish. I created a profile on a whim. He already had one and had gone out with a bunch of ‘crazies’ as he puts it. He went on to delete his profile and it was my first day on the site… I showed up in his ‘you might be interested in’ section and he sent me an e-mail. We exchanged e-mails, spoke on the phone and he asked me out. He showed up with a bouquet of white roses. We talked and laughed the whole time and we both knew we were done in.

Steven purposed to me September 28, 2013 we were having a BBQ. We had invited lots of old friends and Steve just felt it was the right time. We were all sitting on the patio and he got down on one knee, with our puppy Pepper on my lap, I cried and said YES!!!

My vision for the wedding was vintage, casual chic. I was very inspired by the 50’s and early 60’s and wanted to set tradition on its ear. I wanted shades of mint, blush and cream. I wanted the boys to be jacket less and wear converse. The chapel only held 100 people so our ceremony was rather small. My aunt had gotten married there and my grandparents had celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary there. It was quaint, vintage and had a southern baptist feel that I loved!!

There were many aspects of the ceremony that made it unique and that’s what I was going for. The chapel was special to our family and my cousin’s husband officiated the wedding. I picked the music meticulously… it was all acoustic guitar. The family walked out to ‘Dream A Little Dream’, my bridesmaids walked out to ‘Moonriver’ and I walked out to the traditional bridal march on acoustic guitar wearing a pink and champagne dress. The boys each wore mint bowties of different patterns that I commissioned a friend to make. I picked out our vows after reading hundreds of renditions and am so happy with the ones that were chosen. And, finally after we were pronounced husband and wife we danced down the aisle to Hall & Oates ‘You Make My Dreams’.

Our reception was at the Anaheim Community Center and had a very vintage prom feel. We had a company stage the place with lights, dj, bartenders and a Photobooth. It was amazing and so fun! The food was awesome and the cake and cupcakes could not have been better. Everything turned out perfectly. All of the little details came together, but most importantly we were surrounded by love we had the best party ever! And that was what we were going for!

On the Thursday before the wedding one of my maids of honor went with me to the flower mart in LA and picked up bunches of flowers that would compliments the pink and white roses my mom already picked up for the centerpieces. That night I had all the bridesmaids over for a bouquet making party and we all made our own bouquets. In mine I was sure to add a dried white rose that I had kept from Steven and my first date.

The cake was another 50’s inspiration! Swiss dots. My mom baked my favorite cookies (Snickerdoodles) and we packaged them in threes for each guest.

Vendors:

Reception Venue: Anaheim Community Center

Bridal Dress: Dolly Couture in LA

Shoes: Betsey Johnson

Veil: Etsy shop called AnnLeslie

Jewelry: Forever21

Groom’s attire: Men’s Warehouse

Caterer: Cortina’s in Anaheim

Cake: Amazing Cakes in Anaheim

DJ, Photo Booth, Lighting, & Bar: MyEvent Pros

Photographer: Manya Photography

Filed Under: General, Real Weddings Tagged With: 50's style wedding, admin, Anaheim wedding, converse shoes, Manya Photography, Orange County wedding, pink and mint wedding, real wedding

Yellow & Grey Garden Wedding

January 23, 2015 Leave a Comment

Wrapping up another fabulous week and ready to kick off the weekend. But before we do, we are currently swooning over this pretty wedding. This wedding is all about the yellow and grey theme with fabulous details which will knock your pretty little socks right off! We can not stop smiling as this wedding is bright with whimsical delights, gorgeous florals, a darling tea-length wedding dress, dapper groomsmen wearing bow-ties, and a wedding party who knows how to get their dance on. Oh, and this couple? Their love is just beaming, as each and every image pops with love. They are so darn cute! We have to admit that we kind of want to put on our favorite little dress, get our hair and makeup all done, and head over to this wedding. We can not help that we love garden weddings, and when there is one as sweet as this one, then we are head over heels. We love each and every lovely detail. The bride, the groom, the wedding party, the venue, the decor; we love it all. You do not want to miss all the amazing details this wedding has to offer! Thanks to Blair Gable Photography for capturing all the pretty details. Before you head out the door, take a moment to browse the beautiful images of this romantic garden wedding. It will make for a very happy Friday. Trust us, it is a good one!

From Blair Gable Photography…

It’s easy to see why Chantal and Simon chose Strathmere to hold their gray and yellow wedding, with its lovely meadows filled with sunflowers and pastel accents. The couple had their first look in the garden, Chantal’s wore a vintage styled dress, and Simon rocked the yellow bow tie with suspenders.

Vendors:

Photographer: Blair Gable Photography

Venue: Strathmere Inn

Filed Under: General, Real Weddings Tagged With: Blair Gable Photography, bride, garden wedding, groom, Ontario, real wedding, Strathmere Inn, yellow and Grey wedding

Top Five Maid of Honor Life Skills

January 22, 2015 Leave a Comment

Are you a Jill of all trades? If you’ve got the honor of being a maid of honor, you better be! Being the maid of honor is a seriously huge deal and it can be a lot to live up to. If you have the time to prepare, it can be a good idea to pick up a few new hobbies that could seriously come in handy. If you want to be the best maid of honor ever, get started on learning these life skills!

Sew Skilled

If there’s one life skill you’ll need as a lady in life, let alone as a maid of honor, it’s to be able to sew. You don’t need to learn to do anything crazy, but if you can string a thread through a needle and efficiently sew something up you’re good. From here on out, keep some clear thread and a needle on hand in a small container for anything that may come up. If the bride finds a small tear, you’re the go-to girl to save the day (which will result in some serious love!). If you’re nervous about sewing on the spot, try out some small projects at home- that button’s not going to sew itself back on and practice makes perfect!

Lash Out

This life skill can be a little intimidating, but if you CAN’T do it you can get in some serious trouble. Many brides wear falsies for their big day, as do bridesmaids, family, basically everyone. False lashes are so fun, but if they start peaking out or if the glue becomes unstuck it’s such a nightmare. If you can master putting on lashes and fixing any lashes that start to fly off, you’ll be such a hero! One of our favorite tips is to dab glue on a flat surface and use the pointed end of a pen to re-apply glue. You can also get lash glue with a built in wand for easy re-applying. All you’ll have to do is start wearing lashes more and then you’ll be ready to fix any lash drama that may arise in the bridal party.

Re-Powder to Re-Power!

This is a super easy life skill, but if you go too heavy it can ruin a look. Learn to re-powder your face like a pro and you’ll be able to get everyone camera ready in no time flat! The trick is to keep it light, use the right brushes for your powder, and know the skin type that you’re working with. An easy way to re-powder yourself or your friends is to lightly dust an HD powder over the T-Zone. We like duo fibre brushes and retractable kabuki brushes for on-the-go applications.

Heel the Heels

It’s the big day, you’re all running around, and then it happens- someone’s high heel breaks. UGH! That’s such a nightmare and if it’s fixed improperly, it can ruin the shoes and the night. It’s a bummer, but be sure that you fix the heel with serious super glue (not to be mistaken for the lash glue you’ll also have on your person) and let it sit until it doesn’t wiggle at all. If you’re able, give it about ten to fifteen minutes to fully dry with super glue and try to keep your full weight off of the shoe until it’s been dry for about an hour. The big mistake people tend to make is that they try to wiggle the heel to see if it’s fixed- that sets back the entire process and makes the shoe unstable. Learn how to properly fix a heel for life and you’ll save your girls from a fashion emergency!

Short End of the Stick

This life skill will save you ways that extend past weddings, girls’ nights, and girly things in general- it’s just a great life skill. Do yourself a favor and learn to drive a stick! You never know when you’ll need to pick up the keys and do a last minute run for the bride. If it happens, you don’t want to get stuck screaming at the clutch and contemplating ubering the groomsmens’ vests over from across town. Learning to drive a stick is such a useful life skill and isn’t too complicated once you get it. It’s just like riding a bike, except you have a little more freedom to dance while blasting Beyonce while you do it.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: awesome, bridal, bridal party, bride, bridesmaid, life skill, Maid of Honor, skills, wedding

Luxe Linen Collection

January 21, 2015 Leave a Comment

We are beyond excited to announce that our friends at Designer Specialty Linens have a fabulous new name and look. Drum roll please… Welcome Luxe Linen! We are so happy for this gorgeous linen company who never lets us down when it comes to trendy, gorgeous, and incredible table top accessories. We are in love with the new website and all the fantastic features. One of our favorite features is how you can choose the color and collection to sort through. So it makes it easy to design and create the perfect look for a wedding or any event! New logo, New look, new year! We are loving what 2015 has delivered so far, and we look forward to what is to come. We can not wait to see what Luxe Linen will reveal this year. We are literally jumping up and down, and can not hold in our excitement. Cheers to 2015!

Here are two of the four collections, but take a moment to check out the rest of their killer collections here.

We are having a total swoon moment. We can not stop staring at each and every one of these beautiful tabletop designs. Congratulations to Luxe Linen!

Luxe Collection:

Standard Collection:

View More: http://leahmariephotography.pass.us/gershonbauchus

From owner, Dahlia of Luxe Linen...

We believe the new name and logo best communicate the quality and scope of our product offering. As we move forward, we will expand our collection of unique and upscale fabrics. In March 2015 the LUXE II collection will be released. It includes a variety of luxurious fabrics for the bridal, corporate social and personal social markets. We invite you to visit our new website at www.luxelinen.org. It provides you with full access to our standard collection and the 2014 LUXE Collection of fabrics. We trust you will enjoy how easy the new website is to navigate and how gorgeous the photos are.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: ceremony, cocktail hour, linens, Luxe Linen, reception, Table design, tablescape, wedding linens, weddings

Top Five Tips for Multitasking Brides

January 20, 2015 Leave a Comment

Weddings get CRAZY! While you’re getting deeper and deeper into into the craziness that is planning your wedding, you’re going to feel like you’re juggling a whole lot. It’s totally normal to start feeling overwhelmed while you’re planning the best party of your life. If you want to take some steps to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, follow our tips to be the most marvelous multitasking bride ever!

Organize your Tasks

Write down literally EVERYTHING you need to do. Yes, this will take a while but it’s totally worth it! Get everything you can think of written down and from there, organize it. Use color coding to highlight everything into different categories, such as things that are dress/suit related, things that are venue related, dates that you need to pay vendors, etc. From there you’ll be able to group tasks together and even prioritize them. Once you prioritize your tasks, you’ll be able to knock out our next tip in no trouble!

Calendar your Completion Dates

Got an idea of what you need to get done? Get it on paper and and plan that out! One of our favorite ways to calendar our completion dates is to open a google calendar just for your wedding and input all of your tasks into it. You can even share that action items with friends by forwarding the invite to their calendar. You can even share the whole calendar with people who need to know, like your maid of honor or fiance. Sync the calendar to your phone so you get accessibility to the calendar no matter where you are. Be sure to set reminders for yourself so you’re sure to get everything done!

Keep a List of To Dos on Hand

After your calendar is uploaded, be sure you also have a list of things you can just pick up and work on. If you know you have to go to the doctor, DMV, or anything with a waiting room, be sure you have a list of things you can work on. If you have a few minutes, facebook message friends for their addresses. If you have a few more minutes, call and make appointments for teeth cleanings, mani/pedis, and anything else you need. Maximize your time by always working on running tasks!

Pass it Along

While you’re looking at your list of things to get done, see what you can trust your friends to do for you. You can ask them to do simple things like picking up samples, dropping off invites at the post office, or verifying addresses. If you have some awesome Type A friends who seriously have your back, you can even trust them with bigger tasks like delivering vendor checks, picking up your dress, or picking out wines. It’s okay to delegate- they’re your bridesmaids for a reason!

Budget in a Book

One awesome way to keep all your expenses straight is to create an excel book for all your expenses. You can create solutions within the book to automatically show how much you’re spending, how much you’ve spent, how much of the budget is spent and what it was spent on, basically anything! If you don’t excel at using excel, watch a few video tutorials and follow along. If anything, it’s also a good life skill to be able to use excel.

Filed Under: General Tagged With: bride, budget, multitask, organization, planning, tips

Piedmont Park Engagement Session: Atlanta, Georgia

January 19, 2015 Leave a Comment

Engagement season is in full swing, and we love this time of year! When we opened our inbox today, we could not stop smiling. Its the type of engagement session that has us all giddy. We can not help it, we love when couples are so darn cute and their love is so obvious. This gorgeous e-session is no exception because each and every image is popping out hearts of love. This adorable couple enjoys their day at the beautiful Piedmont Park located in Atlanta, Georgia. Who knew that a park was steps away from the city life? The backdrop of this engagement session is stunning! We love how the city pops out from behind the lovely trees, making this session even prettier. What we love even more about this session is the talent behind the lens. Chil Studios captured the love between these two, and the incredible scenery surrounding them. Spend Monday morning browsing through this love story. You may fall in love just as we have.

From Chil Studios…

We love meeting people from different places from around the world and we are lucky to be able to do that through photography. Meet Kristin & Houston, they currently reside in Lincoln, Nebraska but will be getting married in Atlanta later in the Spring. They flew down a couple of weeks ago and we had a chance to hang out with them at Piedmont Park.

Aside from the vibrant fall colors at the park, the chemistry these two shared was incredible. They made it really easy to be able to capture beautiful images with amazing smiles throughout. A couple of hours just flew by as we walked around the park on this gorgeous Fall day.

Photographer: Chil Studios

Location: Piedmont Park

Filed Under: General Tagged With: bride to be, Chil Studios, couple, engagement session, Engagement Shoot, Georgia, marriage, Piedmont Park, wedding