2011 November | DIY Bride

Nov30 0

Gus + Anna

The bride from this wedding is a Nashville artist who was married in an art gallery surrounded by her own pieces, and it was a ceremony that had to jump over a few hurdles to happen. While Gus and Anna originally planned on marrying in Chicago, their venue fell through several weeks before the wedding date and they decided to move the entire event to Nashville. Shortly after, the destructive Nashville flood moved through the city just four weeks before their wedding. So when their wedding day rolled around there were a multitude of reasons to celebrate, and they even held a day-after session in their backyard that had been flooded weeks earlier.

DETAILS

Location: Nashville, TN

Photography: Wen | Photographer

Ceremony Venue: Estel Gallery

Reception Venue: Allium Restaurant

Florals: OSHi Flowers

Nov30 1

Amy + Blake

Posted by whitney in Real DIYers

We’ve had some very creative ideas come our way through the Real Weddings we’ve featured, and the thank you’s from Amy and Blake’s wedding are no exception. Their wedding reception was a potluck, and every guest was asked to bring a dish and the corresponding recipe. Amy and Blake then took those recipes and using the photography of Robin Nathan, turned them into a recipe book they sent as a big thank you to each guest for celebrating their marriage with them. Blake also bottled their beer, while Amy designed and created her dress, and made all their bookmark favors.

DETAILS

Location: Swarthmore, PA

Photography: Robin Nathan Photography

Roast Pig: Esposito’s Porchetta

Cake Embellishments: Wendy Kromer Confections

Musicians: Matthew Burke

Makeup: Amelia Paris and Rebecca Snyder

Jewelry: Lita Petrovic Jewelry and W.F. Beardsley

Mens Attire: Joseph A. Banks

Nov29 1

Poll: Negative/Neutral Product Reviews

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

I’ve been having a great behind-the-scenes discussion with someone in our DIY community about how DIY Bride approaches product reviews. She mentioned that the vast majority of reviews here are positive and wondered why that was. We couldn’t possibly love everything that comes through the office, could we? It’s a perfectly valid question and one I’d like to address and then get your input.

It is true that most of the product reviews here are indeed positive. Why? Because I like sharing only the products I truly like, am enthusiastic about, and can personally recommend without reservation. I can see how it looks like “Khris loves everything!” to DIY Bride’s visitors and how that can seem disingenuous. Here’s the deal: there’s no shortage of awesome products coming through my office (both that I buy with my personal funds and/or that are sent to me by companies for review) so I’m electing to spend time my limited blogging time talking about the good stuff.

In short: I find products I love, share those with you, and ignore the rest. It’s that simple. Or is it?

There’s also the issue that I accept money for “sponsored posts” which highlight a company or a product, often written in review format. (ALL sponsored posts are clearly marked as sponsored in the body of the post.) Those are always positive and, I believe, fairly written. I only accept sponsored posts from companies I can truthfully and honesty recommend. I regularly turn down sponsored opportunities because the product/company isn’t a good fit.

I feel that posting a less-than-positive review can invite a negative element to the site. After 9 years of doing this, I know how quickly something negative on the internet attracts even more negativity and I don’t have patience for that stuff. And, on a more personal note, I’d rather send a personal note to a vendor saying “Thanks, but it wasn’t a good fit for us” than pointing out a product’s faults publicly.

You’re free to browse the product review policy: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/product-review-policy/and the editorial policies: http://www.diybride.com/about-2/editorial-policies/ for more info.

So, now it’s your turn. Would you like to read reviews about products or services that we don’t like? Is that helpful to you? Sound off in the comments or in the poll below.

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Nov29 0

Oh, heck! Our community was offline.

Posted by Khris in DIYBride News

Hey DIYers,

Thanks to Diana I found out that our community was not open for registration for over a week. That deserves a big ol’ DUUUUUUUH from me and huge apology to those that’ve tried to register since we’ve launched. I turned off registrations while I did some updates and neglected to turn them back on. Sorry, sorry, sorry!

It’s fixed now.

-Khris

Nov18 2

Ashli + Dan

Posted by whitney in Real DIYers

This wedding makes me swoon. Full-on, hand-over-heart, big-sigh swoon. Ashli decided to light the ceremony and reception with candlelight to evoke romance and a soft feel, and the result is amazing. Shopping locally for everything, she created the florals, the favors, and the gifts for her bridesmaids. She sewed lace sleeves onto her dress (found at a consignment shop along with her veil!) for a more vintage vibe.