Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to these wonderful handmade soaps. lovingly created by Amanda of Primitive Earth Soaps… another fantastic Charlottesville talent! I am also welcoming Primitive Earth Soaps as the newest sponsor of the Charlottesville Wedding Blog.
It’s always a great day here on the blog when I get to share with you a locally made, eco-friendly, useful product that you can purchase for your wedding: perhaps as wedding favors or gifts for your wedding party. Besides being beautiful to look at, these soaps come in a a wide range of aromatic fragrances for you to choose from. Amanda can also create custom labels for them so that they’ll fit with the look of your wedding.
On her site, Amanda tells more about how she got into making soaps and what the ingredients and processes are… check out this very cool, original and low-impact alternative for wedding gifts and favors. Thanks Amanda!
Contact Information for Primitive Earth Soaps
~ website: http://www.primitivesoaps.com
~ Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=25627506
~ e-mail: snydersonline@mac.com
If you’re planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area, the Charlottesville Wedding Directory will make your life so much easier… check it out… and happy wedding planning
by Claire Goodman on June 27, 2009 · 1 comment
If you’re planning a wedding (or not) and love wedding blogs, like I do, you’ve probably seen a few out there in the Blogosphere… I haven’t shared my favorites in a while so today I’m happy to send you links to a few of the blogs that I read (or at least scan) every day. These blogs are not local to Charlottesville but are filled with stories, ideas, inspiration, instructions for various projects and tons more.
Most wedding blogs are, naturally, focused on the interests of brides in particular… which is understandable since statistically it’s the bride who undertakes a great majority of the planning. However, today I discovered something quite unique (I think) a blog written by a groom, telling about his experience preparing for his own wedding which, apparently, is more than a year away. It’s a relatively new blog written by “Dave” in Los Angeles… he calls it “Temple of Groom”. Cute, huh?
So, I know that this post about wedding blogs isn’t specific to Charlottesville but since so many of the brides I work with are blog readers, I wanted to share a bit about my own wedding blog habit… and also to ask you if you’d let me know what your favorite blogs are. Very soon I’ll be sharing my favorite local Charlottesville wedding blogs… so stay tuned!
Style me Pretty ~ Weddings Unveiled 
Weddingbee
Snippet & Ink
Ecochic Weddings
Temple of Groom ~ Brooklyn Bride
Bride’s Cafe
Offbeat Bride ~ Kiss the Groom 
Ritzy Bee
Send me a comment and let me know which wedding blogs are your favorites!
by Claire Goodman on June 22, 2009 · 1 comment
by Claire Goodman on June 17, 2009 · 1 comment
Well… I know that this post has really nothing at all to do with Charlottesville weddings… but I came across this great photo today while reading the RSS Feed of a blog I subscribe too called Digital Photography School. The photo is from Flickr by Today is a Good Day. I just love it… hope no one minds my digression 
I‘d never heard these lyrics used as a wedding reading until a couple I married last weekend, Kristina & Robert, chose to have them read by the bride’s good friend as part of their ceremony. I loved it and wanted to share it with my readers… enjoy! And, if you’d like to hear the original song go here.
Excerpt from “Wedding Song” by Bob Dylan:
I love you more than ever, more than time and more than love,
I love you more than money and more than the stars above,
Love you more than madness, more than waves upon the sea,
Love you more than life itself, you mean that much to me.
You breathed on me and made my life a richer one to live,
When I was deep in poverty you taught me how to give,
Dried the tears up from my dreams and pulled me from the hole,
Quenched my thirst and satisfied the burning in my soul.
The tune that is yours and mine to play upon this earth,
We’ll play it out the best we know, whatever it is worth,
What’s lost is lost, we can’t regain what went down in the flood,
But happiness to me is you and I love you more than blood.
It’s never been my duty to remake the world at large,
Nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge,
‘Cause I love you more than all of that with a love that doesn’t bend,
And if there is eternity I’d love you there again.
Oh, can’t you see that you were born to stand by my side
And I was born to be with you, you were born to be my bride,
You’re the other half of what I am, you’re the missing piece
And I love you more than ever with that love that doesn’t cease.
You turn the tide on me each day and teach my eyes to see,
Just bein’ next to you is a natural thing for me
And I could never let you go, no matter what goes on,
‘Cause I love you more than ever now that the past is gone.
If you’re planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area, the Charlottesville Wedding Directory will make your life so much easier… check it out… and happy wedding planning!
by Claire Goodman on June 11, 2009 · 1 comment
Colleen Heller of Henna by Colleen, a brilliant Henna artist out of Richmond, has been practicing this unique art form for 10 years, professionally for 3. Her wedding designs range from traditional Indian (called Mehndi) to Arabic and North African to more modern designs including glitter, gilding paste and rhinestones applied using medical-grade adhesive. Colleen offers bridal Mehndi for the bride-only or, with her talented colleague Masiha Hulalkere, can provide henna services for your entire wedding party. Look at some of these amazing contemporary and traditional designs, so beautiful!
Henna Fact #1: The leaves of the henna plant have been used to colour skin and hair for over 5000 years.
Henna Fact #2: In South Asian weddings “Mehndi Night” is an important pre-wedding event, attended by all the women relations and friends of the bride.
Henna Fact #3: Henna is widely grown in hot & tropical climates, it contains an orange-red dye molecule that, when mixed with an acidic medium like lemon juice and made into a paste, is released and stains the skin when applied.
Henna Fact #4: Bridal motifs historically may include symbols of love, fertility, loyalty, prosperity and good luck, many are very complex and full of symbolism.
Henna Fact #5: Once a henna design is applied to the skin it is advised to leave the henna paste anywhere form 4 to 6 hours in order to achieve the maximum results.
Henna by Colleen:
~ website: www.hennabycolleen.com
~ e-mail: colleen.e.heller@gmail.com
~ phone: 804-314-1738
If you’re planning a wedding in the Charlottesville area, the Charlottesville Wedding Directory will make your life so much easier… check it out… and happy wedding planning!
Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to these wonderful handmade soaps. lovingly created by Amanda of Primitive Earth Soaps… another fantastic Charlottesville talent! I am also welcoming Primitive Earth Soaps as the newest sponsor of the Charlottesville Wedding Blog.
