Big Congratulations to many of my brilliant colleagues who have a wedding featured today at Martha Stewart Weddings.com which, I know is a huge complement to all of the wonderful talent that went into this amazing wedding.  Be sure to go to the website to see the entire gallery of photos.

Congratulations to all of our local talent:

Jennifer Carroll Events

Jen Fariello Photography

Pat’s Floral Design

Have Food Will Travel

Skyline Tent Co.

Cakes of Art

Festive Fare

Elan On-Site Salon Services

Albemarle Vintage Limousine

DJ Stroud

DeVideo

Heather Belle Ink

Photobooth Scrapbook

Great work everyone and congratulations to Ginger & Greg too!

This morning I discovered this unique set of acronyms from Project Runway… according to their site these are commonly used by brides in their forums & bios… what a funny world we live in!
Do you know of any others that are missing from this list? Leave a comment and let me know… Claire.

On Tuesday night about 100 local wedding professionals and a handful of brides officially “launched” the new Bridal Ring wedding community at a lovely gathering at the beautiful Glenmore Country Club. The Bridal Ring is the inspired idea of Jennifer Hamlin of Events with Panache and Elisa Bricker of Elisa B Photography who both saw a need in our community to provide support and guidance to brides & grooms as they navigate the often-daunting details of planning their big day. The Bridal Ring will be a forum for bringing brides, grooms and vendors together for their mutual benefit.

In addition to an informative website, The Bridal Ring is planning an ongoing menu of local events that will bring brides, grooms and vendors together. There are many upcoming events already on the calendar, each is planned for the last Tuesday of the month. Go here for details.
I know everyone wishes Jennifer and Elisa the greatest success with The Bridal Ring. Hopefully we’ll be posting about them regularly here on the Charlottesville Wedding Blog.

I don’t exactly remember how I came upon Untamed Petals on Etsy… no doubt in one of the many wedding blogs I breeze through every day. The lovely handmade items on Untamed Petals are made by Amanda and lots of them would, I think, be a great addition for any bride. Whether it’s a headband, a “fascinator” or a sash or belt these are really sweet accessories.  Amanda makes her items to order and also does some custom work, so if you have an idea you can run it by her.  I so admire her creativity!

Happy Halloween everyone!  I thought that today would be a great day to share this fun resource with you.  As you will see at Wedding Dress Fantasy there are really no limits at all to the possibilities for a bride who wants something a little out of the ordinary for her wedding dress.   Blue?  Black?  Purple?  Pink?  Wedding Dress Fantasy has ‘em all… and lots of ‘em!  They list hundreds of dresses in every imaginable color (with photos) and, although I’m no wedding gown expert, their prices seem really reasonable to me.  I think I’d choose the turquoise one… how ’bout you?

If you’re looking for a unique and possibly even custom designed garter for your wedding I’ve got the resource for you! At first I found it hard to believe that there could be an entire business devoted exclusively to wedding garters, but then I looked thru Julianne Smith’s collections and blog and now I can see how this could be, and is, true!

As you will see from the small selection of photos below, Julianne has created hundreds of uniquely designed wedding garters, some with hand embroidery and other embellishments. I especially love Julianne’s blog, Garter Girl, where she shares not only photos but fun advice and information too. For instance, last month she posted an article called “Which leg gets the wedding garter?” I have to admit I’ve never given it a thought. And back in July she shared an article entitled, “Wedding Garter History 101.” and many others.

I know you’ll love Julianne Smith’s beautiful work and unique enterprise!

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 WeddingbeeSnippet & InkEcochic WeddingsTemple of Groom ~ Brooklyn BrideBride’s CafeOffbeat Bride ~ Kiss the Groom Ritzy Bee

Send me a comment and let me know which wedding blogs are your favorites!

My good friends and ultra-fantastic photographers Bill and Anne Holland of Holland Photo Arts have a wonderful weekly feature on their blog that I wanted to let you all know about: Friday’s Fab Finds.  Every Friday they post cool, beautiful and useful items & ideas they’ve seen or come across in their many wedding-related adventures.  Friday’s Fab Finds include things like: invitations, places, people, links, real weddings, do-it-yourself tips and lots of creative ideas.  Without a doubt you’ll find some inspiration for your wedding, check it out!

Contact Information for Holland Photo Arts:
~ website: www.hollandphotoarts.com
~ phone: 434-295-9681
~ e-mail: info@hollandphotoarts.com
~ blog: www.hollandphotoartsblog.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!

If you’ve ever considered buying or selling a used wedding dress I think you might want to check out Once Wed.  Once Wed is a free listing service for wedding dresses that is updated daily.  The photos that I’ve posted here are of dresses that have been posted to the site in just that last week or so (and there are lots more!).  The prices that I’ve seen so far range from $200 to $5,650 (for a Vera Wang dress) but most of the prices are more in the $1000 – $2000 area.
I admit that I’m not really up on my dress designers, but I do recognize a few famous names: Oscar De La Renta, Vera Wang, Carolina Herrera and J Crew… I’m sure lots of the others are famous too and you’ll probably recognize them!
If you’ve had any experiences buying or selling a used wedding dress from Once Wed or from any other site, I’d love it if you’d leave a comment and let us know how it went.

If having a cake-topper, other than the typical bride-n-groom one  sounds good to you then check these out. Toppers with Glitz is owned by Sari Watkins who actually designs and makes these unique custom cake-toppers and other accessories with her very own talented hands. Sari says, “You now have the opportunity for your cake topper to be unique while still suited to your wedding style. Whether you go with a single letter, monogram, or shape, I provide options a nd have choices to match any bride’s theme. If you know exactly what you want, you’ll love being able to make all the final decisions. If you are the type that prefers to leave the creative design to someone else, you are in capable hands.”
Toppers with Glitz’s website has tons more examples of Sari’s beautiful work, samples of the dozens of  crystal colors she has available plus other ideas for unique items that Sari can create for your wedding day… have fun!