Fab Finds Friday: The 11/11/11 Version

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

Happy Friday!

Today is, of course, 11/11/11. BRIDES is estimating nearly 46,200 weddings will happen this today. That’s 10 times more than a typical Friday in November. Congrats to all of our 11•11•11 couples! It’s also National Metal Day. Rock on.

Beginning next week, DIY Bride will be covering do-it-yourself fashion, beauty (hair and  makeup) and travel/honeymoon as part of our regular features. In our most recent reader survey, 60% of you were DIYing your hair and/or makeup. 90% of you were making all of the travel arrangements for your wedding and/or honeymoon. We’ve got you covered!

TLC is casting for a Four Weddings special. They’re looking for brides who are having a Holiday/Winter themed wedding in the tri-state area. If you’re having a Dec 2011/Jan 2012 wedding and love the show, you may consider auditioning!  Details: http://www.semisweetproductions.com/#!holiday-wedding-special.  Good luck!

Newlymaid.com, the ultra-innovative retailer that lets you trade in used bridesmaids gowns for a fab little black dress, has has re-launched 11 new gowns to upgrade your closet. (Sizes run from 0 – 18.)

Grooms, we’ve got something for you this week! Men’s Wearhouse is currently hosting their Well-Dressed Man Facebook contest where brides have the opportunity to submit a photo of their fiancé looking his best. Facebook users can “like” their favorite entrant and at the close of the contest on November 17, the photo with the most “likes” will win $2,500 to spend at Men’s Wearhouse. https://www.facebook.com/MensWearhouse?sk=app_121110654659706

Fab Finds Friday: Kickstarter, A New App, Sample Sale

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

Fab Finds Friday is a weekly showcase of some of the fabulous resources available to the wedding community. Products and resources mentioned in FFF are chosen based on their merit and are never paid endorsements. xoxo.

It’s been too long since the last Fab Finds Friday post, hasn’t it? This week I have a ton of great things to share with you.

Noveena, an iPhone app for planning weddings, was released this week.  It includes a todo list, a checklist, an appointment scheduler, a budget and payment scheduler, a honeymoon and a guest list manager, and a messaging app for brides and other great features. Best part? It’s free at the iTunes App Store.

Love wood type or are a block printing nerd? Me, too! Marshall from Etchpop sent over a link to their Kickstarter project as they attempt to raise funds for their way cool laser-engraved wood printing block service. There are only 26 days to go so hurry over to donate if you’d like to help fund a very cool small business and put a unique product into the hands of crafters.

New York City Brides, mark your calendars. Gabriella New York Bridal Salon  is having a sample sale on Sunday, January 8. All of the sample gowns will be 50-75% off.  This includes gowns from Marchesa, Angel Sanchez, Reem Acra, Amy Kuschel, Matthew Christopher, Ulla Maija and more!

Wedding Songs Planner App

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

One of the biggest DIY projects Jason and I took on for our own wedding was taking charge of our wedding music. We’re huge music nerds with eclectic tastes. Finding a DJ we liked, could afford, and who *got* what we wanted for our wedding turned out to be impossible so we opted to create our own wedding day soundtrack. In the day before a kabillion online music sites (and even the iPod – yikes, we’re old!) this took, quite honestly, several weeks of our time. The process of finding songs we liked, acquiring them for our collections, fitting together in our playlist consumed our free time day after day after day. It was sometimes extraordinarily fun; most of the time, not.

You young whippersnappers with your iPhones have GOT IT MADE when it comes to creating playlists for your big day thanks to the Wedding Songs Planner iPhone app.

Instead of searching through dozens (even hundreds) of wedding song and music sites for the perfect tunes, the Wedding Songs Planner puts thousands of songs suggestions at your fingertips. You’re able to search for songs by genre (over 25 to select from), preview them in the app, create lists, and even email them to your fiance, DJ, or BFF if you so desire.

The app has DJ-suggested songs for:

• Wedding Ceremony Prelude
• Wedding Ceremony Processional
• Singing of the Registry
• Unity Candle Songs
• Wedding Ceremony Recessional
• Grand Entrance /  Wedding Party
• First Dance
• Father-Daughter
• Mother-Son
• Cake Cutting
• Bouquet Toss
• Garter Toss
• Last Songs

What I love about this app is that it’s so easy and fun to use! The team Appstract Art took great care to create an intuitive, user-friendly interface and it shows. For a $1.99 it’s one of our top picks for “must-have” wedding tools.

Take a peek at the video.

Gemvara: Engagement + Wedding Rings As Unique As You Are

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday, Product Love

The Melissa Ring from Gemvara

The one common trait among do-it-yourselfers is the desire to make our weddings unique. Every aspect of the wedding, from handcrafted save-the-dates to cleverly decorated getaway cars, DIYers like us love to customize the design to fit our personalities and one-of-a-kind style. As an aside, my own engagement ring has a combination of amethyst and diamonds set in a vintage setting because I wanted something different. 11 years later? I still love it and am glad I opted to do something out of the ordinary.

It is my pleasure to introduce you to Gemvara, a Boston-based jewelry company that’s puts you in the designer’s seat to create a custom engagement or wedding ring that’s uniquely you.

Gemvara makes creating a custom design online ridiculously easy. All you need to do is find a ring you love from their catalog, select the metal you’d like it made in (you have 5 choices) and then pick any of the 19 gemstones offered to complete your design. Shipping is free and designs take about 2 – 3 weeks for delivery.

What I love most about Gemvara is the selection of beautiful, stylish designs that your ring can be based on. It’s nearly overwhelming! At this writing there are 13,330 wedding rings to select from. On a less-than-3-months-salary-for-a-ring budget? They’ve got you covered with a selection of 2,190 rings to choose from that are under $2,500.

A few of my favorites:

Alhambra Knot Men's Band

Wreath and Berry Band

Alondra Eternity Band

Should you be a bit nervous about any part of the process, don’t worry! Gemvara ‘s customer care team are delighted to help you through the process from beginning to end. They also have a 100% satisfaction guarantee so you can be confident in your purchase.

Looking for a special gift or matching accessories to complete your ensemble? Not a problem. Gemvara also offers a selection of beautiful earrings and necklaces. And, yes, those are customizable, too!

Visit Gemvara at www.Gemvara.com  |  Follow Gemvara: www.twitter.com/Gemvara  |  Friend Gemvara: www.facebook.com/Gemvara

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, meaning that DIY Bride has been compensated for the article. We do firmly stand behind our review and recommendation, however, and are committed to promoting only companies we feel offer our community excellent products, ethical business practices, and outstanding customer service.

Decorating With Luna Bazaar

Posted by Khris in Fab Finds Friday

From my chats with thousands of you fine folks every year, I know that one of the biggest challenges DIYers face – no matter what the theme or budget – is coming up with beautiful-but-affordable wedding decor.

I’m sincerely excited to introduce you to Luna Bazaar, a small Vermont-based company, that provides stylish items for nearly every aspect of wedding at very reasonable prices. My first encounter with them was last summer when I was in the market for paper parasols for a project in the next DIY Bride book. My transaction with them was absolutely flawless – easy ordering, fast shipping, great prices, and quality products – everything you hope for when you’re buying online.

Though they’re best known as the go-to spot for their 60+ colors of paper lanterns, Luna Bazaar has so much more to offer. In addition to paper lanterns and parasols, they have a vast selection of other elements to make your wedding decor pop. Paper garlands and decorations, lanterns and luminarias, place card holders and favor boxes, and home goods like pillows and statues.

Some of Luna Bazaar’s offerings:

What I love about Luna Bazaar’s is how their in-house color expert has pulled together products that coordinate across product lines. Mixing and matching elements to compliment your unique wedding style, whether it’s anything from rustic chic to sophisticated modern, is so easy! Just a few clicks of the mouse and you can see entire selection of products they have in your colors.

Warm, casual elegance from Cliff Brunk. Do check out their ideas section!:

A peek at their “shop by color” feature:

One of my favorite decorating tips is to use candles as the focal point of a centerpiece. Candlelight makes a room feel intimate and cozy; as an added bonus candles can be a very inexpensive to utilize if your venue allows them. My super-secret decorating tip is to use candle holders for other purposes. Votive cups are fabulous vases for small, individual arrangements. They’re also beautiful favor containers: fill them with silver dragees, scrumptious chocolates, a savory snack mix, or an unlit candle for your guests to take home. Luna Bazaar has over 300 tea light and votive candle holders to choose from!

Instead of a candle, this little beauty would be perfect paired with some dainty baby’s breath for something modern-yet-rustic or a dark red “Black Magic” rose for high drama at each table setting.

If you’re looking for pretty gifts for your maids, check out Luna for that, too! I particularly love this sari journal (it could also serve as a wedding guest book) and this cherry blossom jewelry roll – both are under $13.00.

and

There’s something for nearly everyone at Luna Bazaar. We hope you enjoy their products as much as we do!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post, meaning that DIY Bride has been compensated for the article. We do firmly stand behind our review and recommendation, however, and are committed to promoting only companies we feel offer our community excellent products, ethical business practices, and outstanding customer service.