A different proposal

I love getting daily deals in my inbox and one site I use all the time is Groupon! Each day it's a new deal! I love when they offer photo deals and Edible Arrangement deals. You can't buy in bulk on this site - you usually get the option of buying 1 deal for yourself and 1 as a gift. It's great for trying new restaurants, too! Well, when Greg decided to pop the question to Dana, he thought of a creative way to do it. You see, Dana is a big Groupon fan like me. She checks her email every day to see what the Deal of the Day is. On January 5, 2011 the deal of the day was her proposal! 

Check out the entire post here....this is one of those engagements you can file under 
"most creative"! Great job, Greg! Congratulations to both....I bet the wedding is going to be fun and unique as well!

Bidding For Good

Holy smokes! I was looking at the BiddingForGood auction site tonight and they have auctions ending in the next 12 hours! If you are a bride in the San Francisco area or you know of brides in these areas there are AWESOME DEALS!!! Spread the word!

Photo Booth from The Laugh Box - 3 hours plus extras - San Francisco Bay Area
Worth $1200 Current Bid - $152.00



Luxury Limo Service from Lone Star Limousine - 3 Hours of service - San Francisco Bay Area
Worth $330 Current Bid - $157.00



Napa Valley Portrait Session with Damion Hamilton - 1 hour service plus ALL photos on a disk!
Worth $900 Opening Bid - $50.00

Sentimental Gestures

It's no secret I am a huge fan of brooches - especially when they are incorporated into the bridal bouquet! While checking up on one of my favorite photographers I found these pictures:

 

Photogapher, Murakami, caught the beauty of this sentimental gesture on Mandi and Brandon's wedding day. You can read more about the brooch and see the bride's reaction when she was given the brooch here. In this bouquet shot - the brooch has photos of the brides mom on her wedding day and the mom's mom (the brides grandmother) on her wedding day. How special is that??! What an amazing keepsake too! I just wanted to share this because I thought it was so sentimental and special! Do you have plans of incorporating anything in your own wedding using pictures of your mom's or grandmother's? Share your ideas with comments!! 

Deluxe Bridal Appointments

So I hear the new "trend" in bridal gown shopping is setting a "Deluxe Appointment" with the salon - IF they do it. For a fee, the bride and her party can attend a private appointment where light refreshments will be served...appetizers, wine, cheese and crackers, champagne...you know the deals and frills. So, how much is a private appointment you might be asking? Looks like the typical price range is $100 - $150. The bride may or may not get a goodie bag filled with all kinds of things she needs - like a gift certificate off her dress OR the maids dresses. I have heard the discount offering would sometimes cover the cost of the appointment fee so that is a PLUS! Let's look at what else is a plus: You are the main focus, you don't have to worry about being left while someone else needs help, you get 1 on 1 attention, you get to know the people helping you and...well it's like your own little party in the bridal store...just for you! Normally these appointments are booked after-hours or when the store is closed.

What's wrong with this? Should bridal salons charge to give you service - isn't that what most salons offer as a means to get your business? The answer should be Yes. But, looking at both sides, it is the LEVEL of service you are paying for. And I have to say....I am not opposed to paying for better service! Are you?


I would stay at a 5-star resort over a budget motel....How about a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio...compared to Strawberry Hill?  Truth be told I can't afford the 5-star resort but I would find a 4-star for sure! haha.

So, what do you guys think?

• Would a Deluxe Private Appointment appeal to you?
• Would you pay to have this level of service?
• Would you pay only if you got money saving offers
• Has anyone reading this blog ever done this? What was your experience?

Here's my take on it...and remember I owned my bridal salon for 5 years! I LOVE THE IDEA! Here is the reason why...being able to focus on just one bride and give her everything I possibly could would be the best thing I could do for my customer. During normal operating hours you can not focus on only one customer...other customers may come in, the phones are ringing, people are walking in, etc etc. The other plus side to me on this is that shopping at a salon for this dress for this day - it's pretty personal and you are going to work with those people for about 6 months (order time - to delivery time - to wedding time). This is an excellent way to get to know each other! I always said that I was sad when the days came for my brides to say "I do" because that meant I wouldn't be seeing them, and that made me sad! So, anyway, I really think this is a perfect service...and if the store is savvy enough to offer a discount or credit for the amount of the appointment onto your purchase....well this appointment is a no brainer...BOOK IT! :)

Trash the dress....Really?

I have to admit, when I first heard of this my first thought was "Really?"! Then I looked into it a bit more and I thought "Wow...that is pretty cool!" It was hard to get past the concept of actually trashing a dress though! I then started seeing people refer to this as "Cherish The Dress", "Romance The Dress" or "Encore Photography" and each of these terms made it seem a little bit more classy...more artistic. I think when you come up with a new concept, you really need to choose your words carefully! I don't see these photographic opportunities as destroying a dress (although wait till you see some photos!). My view on it is...this is a great way to get some amazing photographs - photos you would not necessarily get on your wedding day...photos you really will cherish and love. You have spent at least 10% of your wedding budget on your dress (maybe more) so you should get as much use out of this dress as possible! I have seen some crazy images and I have seen some truly beautiful photos. Doing this type of session can be anything you want...the beach, the mountains, the snow, a field of wild flowers...the possibilities are endless!

So, let's start with the "OMG! IS THAT REAL?" photo. This is pretty wild, to say the least. I think it's safe to assume that your dress will most likely never be the same again after doing something like this! ***And I better insert this warning, just to be on the safe side*** Please do not attempt to do this!

So. Ouch. This photo is very eye catching. To some, it might embody what trashing a dress means. It was taken by a photographer who is very well known for his "Trash the Dress" photo shoots. He is a pretty amazing photographer - so very creative! You should check out his work here: John Michael Cooper/ altf.com. He is based in Las Vegas, NV. Here is a link to his blog as well!

This photo was taken in...where else? Hawaii. Beautiful. If you are having a get-a-way wedding and heading out to Hawaii - imagine doing an Encore photoshoot before your honeymoon ends? Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places to take pictures so you have so many options. On Maui there is a stunning Lavender farm, also you can find a beautiful winery on Maui...you have plenty of choices - not just the beach but heck they also have the most amazing beaches! To see more work from Choco Studio go here!

Speaking of beaches - right? WOW. This picture was just amazing! The ocean, the dress...the sky. All of it was stunning to me! This photo was shot at Majestic Colonial Resort, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. I need to vacation there after seeing this! There were more amazing pics from this photo shoot. Check them out here!

 

  

I saved my favorites for last. I LOVE THESE PICTURES! They were taken in the New Forest - which is located in England (sniff sniff...so far away!). Everything about this photo shoot I loved. In fact, I am a total fan of the photographer: Murakami. I have looked at several bridal parties they have photographed - and seriously I am having major envy issue! The photo opportunities in England are just all stunning and beautiful. I would - in a heartbeat - schedule a photo shoot in the New Forest if I could. It also doesn't hurt that I am in love with this dress. I wanted to include it in my Think Pink blog post - but it was over my price criteria. It is the Victoriana by Maggie Sottero. Just a stunning gown. She would be mine if I was getting married today! But, back to the photography! Check out Murakami - if even just for some ideas!

Think Pink!

It's another dark, cloudy rainy Southern California day....not that our weather compares anything to "snowmageddon" but still I needed something to perk up my day. I started my search for Pink Wedding Dresses. Pink is a perky, pick-me-up kinda color right? I didn't have much luck. Don't get me wrong I found LOT'S of pink wedding dresses but I narrow down my search criteria when posting things on my blog. For one, posting a $20,000 wedding dress is ridiculous. I mean, seriously...who would pay that much for a dress? Obviously, someone or Oscar wouldn't still be in business. My search criteria is usually under $1000 dollars. Here are my finds:

This dress is from the modest collection called Bliss. It is made by Bonny. This dress has the BEST price of all. Retail price of $578. The style number is 2803

This was my #1 pick for a couple of reasons - a.) I think it would look great on different body shapes b.) it is a beautiful pink color and c.) price price price! With a retail price of $598 this was one of the most affordable, pink dresses I found.  It's from Bonny and the style number is 749.

 

 

This dress is from Impression. The style number is 2975. The pink color looks more mauve to me but I loved the embellishments and the bodice. I found it priced at $675 on House Of Brides, which is why I included it here. The MSRP on House of Brides claims this dress is $1125...can't verify that but because of their price it's worth checking into!

 

I found one more dress from Bonny that fit my criteria. The dress is style 912 and it was priced at $778. Not bad for the dress - I am not a big fan of dropped waists - I don't think they look great on too many shapes - especially not one like mine! haha. But, the beadwork on the top of this dress is gorgeous!

My final pink dress is another I found on House of Brides. This gown barely made it into my price criteria at $1073 on House of Brides. They claim the MSRP is $1500. I liked this one a lot. The lace was very romantic. It's from Mon Cheri and the style number is 110233

Miss Pug's Pawfect Wedding Is Hosting a Give-A-Way!

A new blog I am following has hit a milestone - over 100 followers!! Congrats to you Miss Pug! She is celebrating by offering a Name Change Express give-a-way! Since I have yet to change my name (oops! I am bad) I would hope none of my readers would follow my footsteps...well at least on this ONE thing! So, head on over to Miss Pug's Pawfect Wedding blog and check out her nifty wedding planning journey and don't forget to enter her give-a-way! She will be taking entries until the end of the day Wednesday, February 10th (midnight eastern time) and will announce the winner at some point on Thursday.