Wedding Dress Sale: 2 Days Only!

As I was looking through some sale sites today, I came across a great opportunity for discount wedding dresses.  The sale is not being advertised as a wedding sale, so lots of people probably missed it.  I wanted to let others know about it because the dresses are fabulous and the prices are even more fabulous (they start at only $99!).  You'll have to join the site, so click here to register.  Be sure to check it out soon because the sizes are going quickly!

What will you find at this amazing sale?  Discounts of 75% off, designer names (Nicole Miller and Adrianna Papell), and beautiful dresses.  See below...

Photo: Rue La La- Adrianna Papell Dress

Photo: Rue La La- Nicole Miller Gown

Photo: Rue La La- Nicole Miller Draped Gown

Photo: Rue La La- Nicole Miller Pearl & Sequin Dress

Photo: Rue La La- Nicole Miller Silk Gown

Seattle Area Wedding Dress Alterations

Photo: Clara Ganey Photography (Seattle)

One of the most nerve-wracking things for my wedding is finding someone who can alter my two wedding dresses.  Most bridal boutiques have recommendations or someone reliable with whom they work.  But because I purchased my dresses in Georgia, I'll need to find a local tailor on my own.  I've compiled a list of people in the Seattle area who do alterations.  All of them also create custom designed wedding dresses as well.

If you have other suggestions or have used any of these vendors, let me know!

In alphabetical order, a short list of wedding dress tailors in Seattle:

• Carol Johnson (Snohomish):  Won 2nd place for 2010 Best of Western Washington contest.  The reviews from the contest were highly positive.
• Cheryl's Alterations (South Puget Sound):  3rd place in the 2010 Best of Western Washington contest.  In addition to the reviews from the contest, the comments on Cheryl's facebook page are also really positive.
• Elizabeth Parks (Tacoma):  Custom designs and alterations.  #1 for best alterations and tailoring in the 2010 Best of Western Washington contest.  The reviews as part of the contest were overwhelmingly positive. 
• Jenny Manes:  Custom designs and alterations.  Rated well on judy's book and citysearch, but the reviews are a few years old.
• Tracy Gail (Bellevue): Custom designs and alterations.  Few, but positive reviews on citysearch, dexknows, and google.
• Metro Tailoring & Alterations (Seattle): Custom designs and alterations.  Highly positive reviews from lots of different reviews online; only downside seemed to be price.  No website that I could find.
• P.A. Jen's Custom Sewing (Seattle): Custom designs and alterations.  Lots of positive reviews with the occasional negative review about fit.
•  V Custom Design (Seattle): Custom designs and alterations.  The sister dress salon, Victoria's Bridal Couture received lots of positive reviews online including citysearch, dexknows, and king 5's 2010 Best of Western Washington for wedding dresses (though it didn't actually place in the top 5 list).  The few reviews mixed in about tailoring services were very positive.

How to...Choose Bridal/ Wedding Jewelry

Photo: Tejani Jewelry

In my search for jewelry for my wedding, I heard lots of advice about choosing the right stuff for my big day.  I'll share with you the advice I gathered along the way. 

Start with this list of questions to help you figure out what works for you, your dress, and your wedding.

1. What is your style?  Simple, dramatic, understated, sophisticated, vintage?
2. What is the neckline of your dress?
3. How do you plan to wear your hair?  Up, down, long, curly?
4. What kind of jewelry do you like/ not like to wear?  (Like earings, don't like chokers)
5. What does your veil look like?
6. What is the style of your dress?  What does it look like? (Does it have embelishments, etc?)
7. How dressy is your wedding going to be?

After considering these questions, start your search.  Begin by looking online, choosing styles that strike you or that you think might look good with your ensemble.  Stop by department stores, boutiques, and other stores to try on different pieces.  Get a feel for how these different pieces look on you.  Once you have a good idea of what styles and pieces might look good, purchase some.  WARNING: make sure to purchase only from a store that accepts returns.  You definitely will want to try on prospective jewelry with your dress before making any decisions. 

The best advice I received was to buy lots of different options, try them all on with my dress, and take pictures.  I'm gonna repeat that last bit: take pictures.  Taking pictures was really helpful for me because only after looking at the pictures did I realize that the earrings I loved looked too small in my photos.  Once you determine which items look best, you can return the rest. 

And now for some inspiration (you can find all of these items on Etsy)

Photos: Lys Wedding Necklace (EderaJewelry); Sparkling Chandeliers

Swarovski Crystal Bridal Earrings (LizardiBridal); Feather Fascinator 

(GlamHouse); Karin CZ and Pearl Chandelier Earrings (OWDJewelry); 

Lady of Shalott Handmade Necklace (EderaJewelry); Ballroom Bridesmaid 

Earrings (kalliART); Pink Glass Pearl Chandelier Earrings (barkdecor)

Quick Palette: Warm Winter Berry & Olive

If you're looking for a beautiful color combination that would warm up any winter affair, this palette would be perfect! The two shades of berry work so well together with little pops of the lighter green and tan.  Pair this palette with a delicious menu and sophisticated details for a truly amazing wedding.

Photos: Paper Mojo: Cranberry on Burgundy; Project Wedding: Berry bridesmaid dress; 

Houndstooth Gourmet: pork tenderloin with blackberry and tarragon sauce; Celebrations: Bouquet

Affordable Vera Wang?

Yes, it's true.  Vera Wang's newest line of wedding dresses is both beautiful AND affordable.  White by Vera Wang has the same dramatic and feminine details as the more expensive line, but at under $1400, these dresses are much easier on the wedding budget.  I've heard chatter about the line since summer of last year, and finally the dresses are available.  While the dresses went on sale yesterday (by special order only) at all David's Bridal locations, only some stores have the dresses to try on (see below for local stores carrying the line).  Come summer, Vera Wang's bridesmaid dresses will also be available at David's Bridal.

Dying to see the dresses in person?  Here are the Seattle-area stores that have White by Vera Wang in-store:

• Alderwood Parkway Plaza (Lynnwood)
• Parkway Supercenter (Tukwilla)
• Tacoma Mall (Tacoma)

Which are your favorites?

Photo: Platinum Touch Events

Seattle Artisan Spotlight: Two Silver Moons

I love looking at unique and beautiful things.  One of my favorite sources of not-your-everyday items is Etsy.  It's amazing the things I find each time I visit, particularly from artisans in the Seattle metro area.  Usually artists have other sites on which they sell items, but Etsy is an easy way to discover local artisans.  Lucky for me I have a way to share these special finds with you...

Twosilvermoons is one of those shops that maintains an Etsy shop as well as its own site and an artfire shop from which customers purchase items.  Located in Snohomish, Twosilvermoons offers truly one-of-a-kind beauty at remarkably reasonable prices.  For example, a sterling silver custom ring at $39 would make a great wedding band while the sterling silver dream necklace at $32 would be a special gift for bridesmaids.  What's even better is that Birgit, the artist and shop owner, can customize each item to make it exactly what you want.  Pearls, gemstones, silver, gold...Twosilvermoons has a really great selection of special peices made right in our own backyard.


Photos: Dream necklace (top); Serenity earrings (left);

Blue Glacier earrings (right)

Photos: Ring With Custom Inscription (right); Forever Love Spinner Ring (left);

Custom Inscription Square Sterling Silver Ring (bottom) 

Custom Invitation Designs



Photo: Pink Orchid Press

Recently, my friend and I were talking about our wedding invites.  She's getting married a month before me so we share wedding ideas back and forth.  She found a cute invitation online and wanted to customize a design that had the same general look and feel.  While she could spend tons of time trying to design the invitation herself, I suggested that she find a professional who could lend a hand.  Where to find such a designer?

The surge in brides wanting custom invites has led to tons of small design studios offering their services.  Type "invitation designer" into google and you'll see what I mean.  Etsy has plenty to choose from as well.  But if you don't have thousands to spend on couture invites, the best source for designers is Weddingbee's Classifieds.  Why is this such a great option?  For one thing, aspiring artists offer discount rates.  Sometime, these artists will offer services for free if it's just design service without printing.  It's mutually beneficial: the designer gets to build up his/her portfolio with new designs, and you get a great rate on a custom design.  It's not just aspiring artists who post on Weddingbee Classifieds.  Seasoned professionals offer their services and special discounts there as well.

The best thing about any designer you find online is that there is no need to meet in person.  You can email ideas back and forth, pay online, and receive hard copy samples in the mail.  I will have more on my own invitations at a later time, but I'll do a quick shout out to Stephanie at Pink Orchid Press.  And yes, I found her wonderful services on Weddingbee Classifieds.



Sharing your Inspiration

If you've made the rounds of the wedding blogs, you've seen your share of inspiration boards.  At first, I didn't understand the draw, but I've come to love their usefulness.  For instance, when I was trying to explain to my mom what I wanted for my flowers, I started by just telling her what it would look like.  When she said that she really couldn't picture it, I moved to showing her some various pictures I liked from around the web.  I could tell that I still wasn't communicating the whole picture to her.  So I pulled together all of the images that best showed what I wanted, put it into one image, and -click- she got it.  Not only have these boards been helpful for me to explain my ideas, but since I'm a visual person, they are the best way for me to try out whether my ideas will work.

There are various types of inspiration boards:

Photo: The Perfect Palette

Color Palette Boards pull together items that have the color combinations that you want for your wedding.  For instance, if you see a dress with the same exact colors of blue and pink you want for your big day, you could add that to your color palette board.  As you collect more images with the right color combo, your color palette board will help you choose the details that align with your vision.

 

Photo: CastelBride Couture

Detail Boards show your favorite options for a particular wedding detail.  Like, a wedding invitation detail board would highlight the invitation look that you'd like for your own invitations.  You could have a detail board for each major design aspect of your wedding (I love these...I have ones for my hair, flowers, cake, invitations!)



Photo: With This Favor Wedding Blog



Inspiration Boards are the "big picture" boards that illustrate the feeling you want at your wedding.  If you're going for a vintage feel, you might have some photos of antiques (chandeliers, jewelry, decor) along with some images from other weddings that pulled off the vintage feel particularly well.

So, how do you make one of these boards?  Glad you asked.  You can go about it in lots of different ways depending on your comfort level with design software and online tools.  Here are some tips for getting started.

1. Find and save images related to your wedding.  Look for colors that work, other weddings that have the same theme as yours, or just images that strike you for one reason or another.
2. Decide what type of board you're going to create...do you want to visualize your options for updos for the wedding?  Or maybe you want to show your florist the colors you plan to use in the wedding? 
3. Collect the images that relate to the focus of the board (all of your favorite cake images, etc) and add them to a design program like photoshop.  If you're a little intimidated by design software, try something like MS Publisher to start off.  Save your collage as an image like jpg.
4. Or, join one of the online communities, like Style Me Pretty's Style Circle, where you can create and post your board online. 

Sound like fun?  Each week, I'll share a board or two...I (and other brides out there) would love to see yours as well!  

Beyond the Ballroom: Unique Wedding Venues

If you're like many of the brides out there interested in a unique place to have your ceremony and/ or reception, you should have no problem finding just the right one in Seattle.  In my search for a venue for my own wedding, I came across some amazing spaces that I thought I'd share with you.  As a first installment, here are three options that, for the right couple and the right wedding, would be fabulous.  Click on the link to go to the venue's home page.  I'll continue to post more unique venue options, so if you have some hidden gems, send 'em my way!

Georgetown Ballroom
Holds: 450
Price: between $1500 and $2200
Notes:  Funky and colorful indoor/ outdoor spaces, flexible layout


Photo: Josie Liming Photography

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Urban Light Studios

Holds: 250

Price: can work within any budget (um, amazing!)

Notes: Self-catering options, themed rooms, described as “artistic speakeasy”



Photo: Urban Light Studios

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Julia's on Broadway

Holds: 200

Price:  Call 206.334.0513 for pricing

Notes: Fun Broadway location, outdoor space, vintage look



Photo:  Julia's Restaurant

 

Out of Town Welcome Gift (Box, Bag, Basket)

Photo: Elizabeth Anne Designs

 There is nothing cooler than finding a cute welcome bag waiting for you when you arrive for a wedding.  And there are some great ideas out there for making your welcome bag unique and specific to your event.  For example, I'm planning to include some Starbucks coffee (living in the SE, I found that almost everyone associates coffee with Seattle).  Or if you're expecting rain, a colorful umbrella or rain poncho would be thoughtful.

I just came across another fabulous idea: wipes.  There are wipes for everything these days.  Lotion wipes, sanitizing wipes, deodorant wipes, makeup remover wipes...you get the picture.  Wouldn't it be great to add a couple to your welcome bag?  I know I would love to receive a couple to stash in my purse to freshen up throughout the day.  One brand, La Fresh, is on sale today at Haute Look...you can get a box of individually wrapped wipes for up to 60% off (which comes out to about $.16 per wipe)!  You can join Haute Look and purchase some of these convenient wipes for your own wedding welcome gifts.

The popularity of welcome gifts has given rise to lots of other businesses offering supplies and goodies to include.  Many of the favors you would give out at your wedding reception could work for your goodie bag as well (think personalized mint tins, cookies, etc).  To hold your gifts, simple paper bags from Michaels or online from Paper Mart would be perfect.  If you're looking for a more customized version, you should have no problem finding options (check Etsy or The Welcome Bag).  I still haven't decided what I'll do to package mine yet, but I'm leaning toward a basic paper bag in red or gray (to match our wedding colors) with a little tag with a welcome note. 

Here are some more images to get you thinking...



Photo: Style Me Pretty



Photo: Elizabeth Anne Designs

Photo: Beautiful Day

 

Photo: Woods & Company 





Are you planning to give welcome bags or boxes to your guests?  What will you include?

Hello!

I'm totally wedding-obsessed.  I've been obsessed with weddings since my first flower girl experience at five years old.  There were lots of pretend weddings growing up, and now finally, I get to plan the real thing.  My own wedding will be in August.  So far, much of my planning has been cross country as I am living in Atlanta and getting married in Seattle. 

In my search for the perfect elements to my wedding, I've come across some absolutely amazing ideas and tips, but there is no way I could ever combine them all in my own wedding.  That's where the blog comes in.  I wanted a place to share the fabulousness that I've found, plus share the craziness of planning my own Seattle wedding.

I also hope other Emerald City brides will share their experience, their ideas, and their advice.  So, welcome!