Photo Credit: GlamDish

Do you ever get tired of the same old Thanksgiving dinner? Well, try something new this year - minis! I saw this at GlamDish this morning and I love it! I would never think to have a cocktail style Thanksgiving, but these mini turkey sandwiches on pumpkin scones and sweet potato fries made me think otherwise!

Having a Thanksgiving or Fall themed wedding? These would be great passed hors d’ oeuvres!

Are you planning an unconventional Thanksgiving dinner this year?

Martha Stewart Weddings

Upgrade your passed hors d’ oeuvres with color and texture! I saw this image in the Fall 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings and thought it was a great idea. Do this at home to wow the guests at your next party (maybe Thanksgiving or Holiday Party). Here, they have used cucumber strips, coarse salt, and chives to decorate the plate. The background color adds so much, I can’t even imagine a plain white platter anymore!

Do you have any other entertaining tips?

Thanks to Haute Papier for informing us of this great event in the DC Metro Area! If you are still looking for wedding vendors, you will meet some of the best in town at this event!

Photo Courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

It is long standing tradition that the wedding party dresses up the new couple’s getaway car to announce the happy occasion. We all think of tin cans and string, but there are other options! Try tying it into the theme of the reception. Have fun with this. Be creative. Make sure everyone knows that this couple was ‘Just Married!’

Brides.com

Brides.com

Brides.com

If you ever needed an excuse to go shopping at Crate and Barrel, here you go! If you are in the DC Metro area, head to the Tysons Corner location this Wednesday for an evening of private shopping to benefit the Life with Cancer program. Shop for wedding gifts, look for potential wedding registry items, or get an early start on holiday shopping!

Ladies, clear your calendars this Sunday! If you are in the Los Angeles area and are still looking for that perfect wedding gown, you are in luck. Monique Lhuillier is having a one day sample sale on Sunday, November 9th at their Los Angeles store. You will see prices from 40-90% off!

From top left: J.Crew Dress; InStyle Weddings Table Display; J.Crew Shoes, Clutch, and Dress; InStyle Weddings Anchor Placecard; Brides.com Nautical Cake; Dolce Press Letterpress; The Knot Bouquet

Now I may be a bit partial to this theme as my husband is in the Navy, but I really love the combination of navy blue and yellow. If you are planning a spring or summer wedding near the water, keep this in mind! There are so many fun accents you could use to dress up your day. The lighthouse cake might be a bit overboard (pun intended), but you could use fresh blueberries and yellow flowers on a white cake to subtly tie in the theme!

Did you use this color palette for your wedding?

Brian and I recently had the pleasure of disussing WeddingWire’s rating and review system with Robert Allen and Holli Ehrlich of the Wedding Podcast Network. Click here to listen to our conversation! Wedding Podcast Network is so helpful to engaged couples because it gives them the opportunity to listen to first-hand advice from newlyweds and wedding professionals. Visit their website to access this great collection of wedding industry information!

If you have been holding off on creating a wedding album with your photos, wait no more! At Blurb, you can use photos and artwork to design an actual book! Once you are finished creating your masterpiece, you can share the book with friends and family. This makes a perfect gift for your parents! The holidays are coming soon…

Thanks to a few of my co-workers, I have discovered The Macbeth Collection and now I’m slightly obsessed! This collection of home accessories and storage containers is absolutely adorable. From vases, to bins, to office accessories, you can add some style and flair to your life with these fun and unique patterns. They would even be perfect as reception accents. If you are having a more casual or outdoor wedding reception, these bins would be great to hold favors, beverages, or use them on a candy buffet to compliment your color scheme. You may also want to use a smaller bucket for your welcome gift to out of town guests. So many options!

It’s true, Cleveland really does rock! The last “Running of the Brides” event for 2008 was held in Cleveland last Friday. The first group was in line by 7:30 Thursday night and spent the night in the cold to have the best chance at snagging a dress in the morning. Lucky for them, the guys from Billy J Disc Jockeys were on hand to keep them entertained. I have never seen so many people so excited to do the Cupid Shuffle at 6:00 in the morning!

Here are a few photos from that morning, but check WeddingWire’s Flickr page for more!

I think I would be happy at either of these locations! Good luck planning and safe travels!

Vanessa Holden and Darcy Miller (Martha Stewart Weddings), Mrs. Bee (Weddingbee), Lee Wang and Lynn Carter (WeddingWire)

Austin Scarlett (Kenneth Poole), me

Carine Halabi (Carine’s Bridal Atelier), Darcy Miller (Martha Stewart Weddings), Lynn Carter, Megan Cole-Karagory, and me (WeddingWire)

If you love diamonds (as we all do), we have an event for you! Mervis Diamond Importers in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia is hosting a Tacori Trunk Show this Saturday, October 18th from 9am-5pm. Guests will have the opportunity to meet designer Paul Tacorian and view their entire bridal and fashion collection. If you are in the market for a ring, this is the place to be!

Visit www.mervisdiamond.com for more information.

If you are in the Cleveland area, join us at the Filene’s Basement in Warrensville Heights, Ohio tomorrow morning for Running of the Brides! Brian and I will be there bright and early to give away a few prizes to lucky brides in line. Doors open at 8am, but I definitely recommend you get there early to secure your spot in line. Get ready to run!

Click here for more information and a chance to win a free wedding dress at this event!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are a few wedding-related ways to support the cause:

1. Wedding Favors-There are many favor/gift companies that will give a portion of their proceeds to support breast cancer research. The Republic of Tea has created Sip for the Cure, a special collection of Pink Green Teas, while the team at Mars has developed the My M&Ms Promise Blend, both benefitting Susan G. Komen For the Cure.

2. Wedding Registry-Give a Pink Gift! KitchenAid presents Cook for the Cure, a line of cookware to beneift Susan G. Komen For the Cure. Don’t worry, the men will learn to love pink in the kitchen!

3. Bridal Party Gifts-I found these great gift ideas at Coach.com. These would be perfect gifts for your girls! 

They made it! Congratulations to Lisa and Victor! They were married last Friday as the winners of My Wedding in a Week. We were so happy to be a part of their special day. Thank you to all of the wedding professionals who helped make this possible!

Take a look at a few more (amateur) photos

Heidi Kallett, President of The Dandelion Patch, was kind enough to join the WeddingWire Staff for lunch last Friday afternoon. We had a great time learning about the many facets of Heidi’s business and wish her the best of luck in 2009! 

With two locations in the Northern Virginia area, The Dandelion Patch is the perfect place to find beautiful invitations, fine papers, and gifts for any ocassion.

It is Day 4 of My Wedding in a Week, and Lisa and Victor are deep in the planning process! They were on air this morning with Mark from The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants and Gian Carlo Carattini from Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing discussing their beautiful wedding location in the Columbus Ballroom of the hotel. The Ballroom and Foyer will be transformed according to the couple’s wishes and will warmly welcome their family and friends. Guests will be treated to an amazing Champagne Brunch prepared by the Hyatt Culinary Team as they celebrate with Lisa and Victor. I cannot wait to see everything!

As you may know, My Wedding in a Week officially begins today! Lisa and Victor are so excited and cannot wait to begin their planning with Mark Kingsdorf of The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants. Mark was recently named 2008 Best Wedding Planner in Philadelphia on the MyFoxPhilly’s “Hot List.” Lisa and Victor, you are in good hands!

The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants offers boutique style attention to detail and customer service and cutting edge ideas and design matched to your own classic style. They work with couples planning the most important and potentially stressful day of their lives and are available to facilitate ideas into reality, give guidance, direction and support.

Mark joined Lisa and Victor this morning on air with Logan at My 106.1 in Philadelphia to kick off wedding week. Mark will be with Lisa and Victor every step of the way to ensure that this will be a week to remember!

Participating Wedding Vendors include:

And, just because I can, I have included a photo of my dog in a Halloween costume.  Doesn’t he look thrilled?! Don’t worry, I took it off right after the photo was taken!

Congratulations to Lisa and Victor! This lucky couple was selected to win the My Wedding in a Week contest from WeddingWire.com and My 106.1 in Philadelphia. They will have one week to plan everything and get married at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing! Good luck!

Participating Wedding Vendors include:

It is something most brides will not think about, but I am sure it has crossed the groom’s mind once or twice. If you have a fall wedding, do you need to work around football season? It is sad, but true. I had a spring wedding for several reasons and one of those reasons was to avoid this whole conversation! If your guy is a football fanatic, and you are sympathetic, you have a couple options:

a. Avoid football season altogether and have a spring/summer wedding,

b. Include his favorite team in the wedding (wear a garter with the team logo or have a groom’s cake made in the team colors), 

c. If you really want to be accommodating, book a reception site with TVs (maybe not the best idea, but some country clubs have a bar area with the games on)

Whatever you decide, at least listen to his opinion. In the end though, this is your wedding day and you still have full veto power! Good luck!

I wanted to take a momentt to share news of the 2nd Annual Girls Night Out to Cut Out Domestic Abuse Event on October 2, 2008, happening across the nation.  October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and to kick it off the Girls Night Out organization has teamed up with salons and spas from coast to coast to break the cycle of abuse and save lives. Gather your girlfriends and enjoy a night of pampering while supporting a great cause. You could even use this as a bride and bridesmaids spa night! Visit www.girls-night-out.org for a participating location near you as well as ticket information.

Support, Benefit, Empower!

The 10 finalists have been chosen in the My Wedding in a Week contest. Now it is your turn to cast your vote for your favorite couple! The lucky couple will be announced on September 29, 2008.

Click here to see the final 10 couples and vote!

Participating Wedding Vendors include:

What looks were your favorites?

Attention Philadelphia-area engaged couples: Are you ready to get married, but do not want to deal with the planning that goes along with it? We may have the answer!WeddingWire.com and My 106.1 present My Wedding in a Week. The winning couple will have 7 days to plan their wedding with WeddingWire.com and our team of professionals, including The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants. The couple will be on air making decisions during wedding week. At the end of 7 days, you are married! Click here for contest rules and entry form.

Deadline for entry is this Friday, September 19th!

Participating Wedding Vendors include:

20. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) - Journey

The only thing sadder than the death of a love affair which once held infinite promise is probably Journey lead singer Steve Perry’s rock mullet which can be seen in the original video version.

Sample Lyric:
“Troubled times
Caught between confusions and pain, pain, pain
Distant eyes
Promises we made were in vain, vain, vain”

Little Known Fact:
Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain and lead vocalist Steve Perry wrote this on the road during a period when two of the band members were going through painful divorces due to the stresses (and temptations) of life on the road.

It took me forever to decide on dresses for my bridesmaids. Actually, it takes me forever to make any decision, but that’s beside the point! I finally decided on J.Crew when I found their Wedding & Parties section. They have a variety of colors, styles and fabrics that are perfect for bridesmaid dresses. Style your wedding party by specific dress or by color and use the fit guide to determine the best silhouette for different body types. I hope you’re better at this than I was!

It’s hard to forget where you were on the morning of September 11, 2001. Take a moment this morning to honor those who lost their lives that day in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania and say thank you to the men and women in uniform, serving our country.

In keeping with the stationery theme of yesterday’s post, we are taking a look at place cards today. The last thing we want as the reception begins are guests walking around aimlessly trying to determine where they are sitting. Fun and unique place cards, while functional, are also an easy way to add style and incorporate your wedding day theme. Whether your place cards are set up outside the reception area or at the table, this is the first impression your guests will get of what is to come. Make it a good one!