I love this gorgeous ivory La Vie en Blanc porcelain votive from Burke Decor.  These little beauties would look great at the base of your centerpieces, adorning your sweetheart table or bar.  Now on sale for $12.60.

We’ve got a great giveaway for you!

Photo Card Creations is a leading online retailer of premium custom photo cards, announcements & invitations– specializing in wedding, baby & holiday cards.  They love paper & they love photos…..and they love creating cards with photos of your special memories!  They are passionate about providing exceptional quality products & customer service.  Their cards are designed using current trends by talented graphic artists who will work with you to customize your cards to reflect your own personal style. With hundreds of Card Designs & Paper Types for you to choose from,    you will find many that are hard to find elsewhere.  The cards are printed on the highest quality paper using leading edge printing technologies.  With their new & improved website makes it easy for you to search for your favorite card & our user friendly Ordering System & Fast Turnaround make ordering your cards quick & easy!  From Invitations & Announcements to Thank You Cards (and everything in between) Photo Card Creations help make your special occasion even more special!

Photo Card Creations is offering our site/blog readers/visitors a chance to win a $50 Coupon towards the purchase of ANY of their cards.  The coupon can be used once towards the purchase of 75 or more cards & cannot be combined with any other promotions.  Since they’ve just launch their new & improved website with hundreds of new card designs, they’d LOVE your feedback!  Just leave a comment below with why you’d like to win the certificate & what card style is your favorite! Winner will be randomly picked & posted on March 11, 2010! Good luck!"

The Stylish Wedding Showcase is a glamorous affair based on the iconic celebrity-style party. Appealing to the aesthetic of the modern bride and groom with timeless sophistication; these fun & fabulous events are no ordinary bridal show! Featuring innovative concepts like The Groom’s Room and The Gifting Suite, as well as a high end fashion show and complimentary vendor referrals. 

This year’s showcase will be held on March 11th at the uber-gorgeous Gansevoort South Beach in Miami, FL.

I absolutely love the great projects and templates over at Wedding Chicks! Everything from chic save the dates and meaningful mementos, you have an opportunity to work with some well-crafted templates and add your own flair to reflect our event vision and style.  You aren’t limited to the concepts on the site either—use them for your bridal teas, showers, favors and more.  Some of my favorite are the wine labels, wedding goodie bags and the wish tree.

Check it out!

There are so many words to describe a gown by Mikaella wedding gown:  lush, ethereal, and elegant.  Each wedding dress has its own story, that enhances every curve and feminine aura. 

With a gorgeous assortment of gowns, veils and boleros, Mikaella appeals to the bride who wants a classic design that is high on style and  personality.

Check out more of the gorgeous designs at the Mikaella website and check out their upcoming event calendar!

Here are some free apps for the iPhone that we think will aid you in your wedding planning process.  Each app assists with many areas of your planning, and can provide much needed assistance and support for when you are on the go.

YouTube

The native YouTube app is perfect to listen to single songs you are considering for your father-daughter dance or cake cutting song.  You can listen to different versions of music for your wedding ceremony’s prelude, processional and recessional.  Additionally, you can view promo videos from local wedding vendors or get advice and ideas from wedding shows.  Additionally, check out the Pandora radio app for more general music suggestions and ideas for your prelude and cocktail hour music.

Wedding Wire

The app from Wedding Wire puts all of your wedding planning in your hands. Not only do you have access to the information of local wedding vendors, you can keep a personalized wedding planning checklist and budget.  Everything you need is right at your finger tips.

Evernote

Full disclosure—I love Evernote.  Evernote collects items you want to save into a digital notebook.  Everything—including emails, web clips, audio memos, pictures, screenshots—everything!  With the the desktop version that syncs to both the iPhone app and the online account, you can have all of your wedding details—from inspiration pictures to vendor communications and more with you at all time. You can even tweet to your Evernote account!

the knot

This app features frequently asked questions by brides, all answered by The Knot’s Carley Roney. You can also interact with other brides to ask your own questions about wedding planning or answer a few from other excited brides.  This is the perfect app to have on the go when you have questions that need an immediate answer or the ability to at least steer you in the right direction.

Brides Dressing Room

I absolutely love this app!  Sharing the hottest wedding dresses from the industry’s best designers, you can pick out your favorite dresses and find a retailer close to you who carries the line and also schedule an appointment. 

Colorstrology

This is astrology meets gorgeous color!  Created by the talented Pantone, you can get inspiration of your favorite wedding colors with this app.  Each day is assigned a color and a “colorstrology”, but also shows the vibrant shades and hues of the Pantone’s hottest colors.  Perfect for when you are looking for complementing colors for your bridesmaids’ dresses, flowers or linens.  Be sure to check the colorstrology for your wedding day and see what it says!

Drinks Free

Drinks Free provides you with many drink and cocktail recipes based on your favorite ingredients or search through the eleven categories.  If you are feeling adventurous, press the random drink button for a pleasant surprise!  This is perfect for your signature drink “research”.

These are just a few to get you started—what are you using to plan your wedding?

Home to great lines like Lela Rose, Alfred Sung, Dessy Collection:  Vivian Diamond, and After Six, the Dessy Group has bridesmaid dresses for every type of wedding style:  luxe, relaxed formal, and elegant casual. 

Love this stylish black strapless pleated gown, with matte satin waistband and pleated bodice.  So very classic, it would make a perfect wardrobe addition for evening parties and events.

This timeless gown is perfect for an Old Hollywood wedding is shown in ivory with black waistband. 

Slightly less formal, but still stylish, this tea-length dress in chiffon has V-neck, with matte satin trim at neck and natural waist.  Shown in celadon and espresso

This sleek gown is so red carpet worthy.  Its ivory ruched bodice and seamless black skirt scream ultra formal for your black or white tie reception.

This tea length bridesmaid dress show in merlot with a mint accented waistband is perfect for a garden wedding and outdoor reception. 

Other favorites:

Journey over to  The Dessy Group’s website to see more gorgeous gowns from a few of the most talented designers and even play styleboard creator with Pantone  colors to share with your bridal party and vendors and even purchase a swatchcard to find your colors. 

If you adore details and the latest trends in weddings, then you will go bananas for Style Me Pretty’s Style Circle.  Far more intimate and interactive than most of the bustling online communities for brides, Style Circle allows you to explore creative options for your wedding inspiration.  In addition to maintaining a blog of your inspiring ideas, you can also create storyboards and interact with other Style Circle members on the forums for feedback and assistance.  Here are some of the things I am loving from the community members:

From member Brancoprata’s blog:

I loved the softness of this palate crated by Lauren Renee:

This is a clip, the original inspiration board can be found here.  With the innovative technology behind the Style Circle’s inspiration board creator, it credits the photographer, in this case the talented Carla Ten Eyck, as well as tags the individual images with a description and color breakdown. (Genius!)

There is so much to explore and participate in at the Style Circle, so if you haven’t had an opportunity to do so yet, check it out!

It’s no secret how much we adore Priscilla of Boston, so we are very excited about their new social media contest “How Does Priscilla of Boston Inspire You?”.  If you love Priscilla of Boston’s gorgeous gowns, simply create a collage or inspiration board of your favorite dress and upload it to enter.  Share your personal photos of you and your fiancé or family and friends, favorite vacation spots, career or decadent food and drink–show the world your fabulousness!  You are a luxeling, so we expect nothing less!

One lucky winner could receive a luxury trip for two to NYC for Priscilla of Boston’s exclusive fashion show during April 2010 Bridal Fashion Week, a private appointment with an expert bridal consultant at Priscilla of Boston NYC Salon, a Priscilla of Boston dress of your choice and much, much more!  Prizes will also be given to one runner up winner and to one most viral winner.

Ready to enter?  Great.  Head on over and get inspired by Priscilla of Boston!

If you enter, let us know so that we can support your submission!

I personally believe that cupcakes are God’s way of saying I love you…or apologizing for horrific things in nature like Brussels sprouts or having to work out.  Well, the cupcake just got little bit sweeter with Bella Cupcake Couture and Paper Orchid Stationery. 

Bella Cupcake Couture offers posh and chic textile-inspired cupcake wrappers. The boutique-style designs add a touch of sophistication and elegance for any special occasion. Carrie envisions the wrappers, which are printed with soy inks on recycled paper, at weddings, bridal and baby showers and as birthday gifts, housewarming gifts and a little treat for yourself.

You could choose the regal lu lu, a beautiful damask print that comes in blue and chocolate or black and white.  There is also the energizing hannah, which comes in citrus and pink or chartreuse and yellow floral swirl.  Bella Cupcake Couture even offer these beauties in a sweet little mini size too!  Be sure to check out their blog for great ideas and tips. 

Paper Orchid offers detailed cut-out wrappers with intricate designs to enhance your event vision and theme.  Above:  weaved basket, red stars, lavender butterflies and white rose vine wrappers.  They come in a variety of colors that help you express yourself well beyond your linens and centerpieces.  Paper Orchid also  has some great cake wraps, too! 

Most of our brides are still leaning towards the large ornate cakes, but we are finding more of them want sweets bars as a complement later in the evening or for their after party.  If this sounds like something up your alley, definitely look into designing your sweets bar up with cupcake wraps!