If you’re in the Los Angeles/Santa Monica area, be sure to join the utterly wonderful Wayne Gurnick from Moments By Wayne for an engagement party for engaged couples on Tuesday 10/25 at 7 pm at the Pourtal Wine Tasting Bar! Taste wine (compliments of Pourtal), meet wedding professionals and just have fun. http://engaged.eventbrite.com/

Newly engaged and want to win a platinum + diamond pendant or a trip to Santorini, Greece? My friends at OneWed are having a contest. Enter your proposal story for your chance to win!

You lucky engageds in the Brooklyn area are in for a very special treat. Brooklyn Bride is hosting The Urban Wed event on March 23 & 24.  Urban Wed  a smaller, more intimate bridal event.

This is your chance to meeet with 10 amazing vendors who were chosen by Brooklyn Bride. You know it’s going to rock. Tickets will be available through Eventbrite, and you can check the Urban Wed blog for more info.

The Wedding Salon is hosting The Wedding Bootcamp on 22 February at Dylan’s Candy Bar in NYC.  Details below…

The Details:

WHO:              Renowned wedding industry experts and premier vendors including bridal atelier owner Mark Ingram, event designer Matthew Robbins, etiquette expert Talley Sue Hohlfeld, Martha Stewart Weddings Style Director Katie Hatch, makeup artist Mary Curran and advisors from Lela Rose, Jennifer Salzman, Anne Barge, Tacori, Macy’s Wedding & Gift Registry, Delta Vacations and more.

WHAT:            FREE, instant access to bridal industry experts and five digital floors of gorgeous dresses, jewelry, honeymoon destinations, registries and wedding-worthy prizes with the click of a mouse.

WHEN:            Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2009

11 A.M. to 4 P.M. EST

WHERE:           www.luxuryweddingexpo.com

MORE:             Chat live with bridal experts and vendors and learn how to create a theme, choose a color palette, pick the perfect location, find the right gown, personalize a reception, register right, stick to a budget, and craft handmade touches all from the comfort of home.

Listing Information:

Saturday, November 14 and Sunday, November 15, 2009 – Attend the first FREE national digital Luxury Wedding Expo presented by Martha Stewart Weddings to chat with renowned experts for creative ideas and tips, while browsing booths from vendors like Lela Rose and Anne Barge to find the perfect gown and bridesmaid dresses – all without leaving home. Visit www.luxuryweddingexpo.com.

Editorial Director Darcy Miller has also put together a fabulous package for a bride-to-be (or any girl for that matter) that she is auctioning off online to benefit Martha Stewart’s Center for Living. Check out the link to bid and see below for a full list of all the goodies that could be yours!

http://www.charitybuzz.com/catalog_items/104919?preview=1

Package is worth well over $10,000 and includes:

- Consultation with Darcy Miller and a tour of the Weddings department at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

- Honeymoon at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Mexico or the Caribbean (airfare included!)

- De Beers diamond necklace

- Silk gown from J. Crew

- Vera Wang bridesmaid’s/cocktail dress of your choice

- Papo d’Anjo flower girl dress

- La Perla lingerie

- Chanel Beauty Essentials

- Cleaning and preservation for your gown from J Scheer  & Co

- Personalized engraved invitations from Martha Stewart Stationery for Crane & Co

- Two VIP tickets to a taping of The Martha Stewart Show weddings special

- Darcy Miller’s Our Wedding Scrapbook

- A signed copy of Martha Stewart’s Wedding Cakes

- Martha Stewart’s The Wedding Planner

- A collection of Martha Stewart Weddings DVDs

{Disclaimer: Martha Stewart Omnimedia is an advertiser on DIYBride.com. No compensation was collected for posting this invitation to their event.}

Say hello to a fabulous handcrafted wedding! Join DIY Bride author and founder, Khris Cochran, for a day of crafty wedding goodness.

Who:  Brides, grooms, partners, or anyone interested in wedding crafts.

When: Saturday, October 17, 2009

Time: 10 am – 3 pm

Where: A Work of Heart Studio, San Jose, California

What You’ll Get: You’ll get a mix of information and hands-on time to create some terrific projects to take home with you.

We’ll be covering:

• Intro to DIY Bride: How to do it well, on a budget and with your sanity intact.

• Invitations 101: Invite basics and hands-on time creating rubber a stamped invite set.
• Favors Under $1: Showcase favor ideas that can be made for under $1 + hands on project time.
• Pimp My Wedding: Ideas for adding pizzazz to basic wedding products. Learn how to embellish items such as shoes, gowns, favors, etc., turning the ordinary into something fabulous.
• Couture Headband, perfect for brides or maids
• Creative Centerpieces: Showcase of inexpensive + creative centerpiece ideas

The workshop fee includes the hands on instruction by Khris Cochran, all class materials, hand-outs, takeaways and a brown bag lunch.

Register here. I hope to see you there!

There’s an upcoming bridal event for eco-friendly DIY couples.

About Soi-Meme: The Independent eco-bridal salon

“Soi-Meme” – a French word meaning “oneself” – characterizes the spirit of the modern couple searching for affordable, do-it-yourself solutions to planning a wedding with unique style. Following the success of last year’s “Love is in the Air” eco-luxe bridal salon, Pink Cloud Events is once again hosting a fabulous day-long salon for eco-conscious DIY brides and grooms to connect directly with the most inspiring eco-friendly wedding products and service providers.The event will bring everything needed to plan a sustainable wedding on Saturday, August 29th from 11am – 4pm at the newly renovated James Irvine Garden at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, located in the heart of downtown LA’s Little Tokyo. From the wedding ring to the honeymoon, our experts will be available for one-on-one sessions and workshops to help you find all that you need for your wedding day, in just a few hours!

For only $25, complimentary organic beverages, hors d’oeuvres, great DJs, a resource guide and loads of giveaways will make this a fun-filled day for you and your wedding planning party. Register online now for a chance to win a free 4 night stay at a private eco-villa resort in Tulum, Mexico by Azulik!

Click here to register or here for more info.

Thanks to Doreen from Pink Cloud Events for letting us know!

For brides and grooms who have chosen to rely on friends or family to film their wedding day and would like to have a quality wedding video, we are offering a creative solution: a How to DIY Your Wedding Video seminar. If couples are going to do-it-yourself, we’d like to help them do-it-well. Now they can do more than just hope for the best.

There are four reasons it isn’t a good idea to ask a friend to video your wedding: poor image quality, poor sound quality, they’ll miss something important, and it will be B-O-R-I-N-G. But we have a solution. We will share very practical tips and techniques on how to frame a scene, shoot from the best unobtrusive angles and record better sound. We will demonstrate how to anticipate key moments and how to edit a compelling story so that friends who only wanted to “take a peek” will beg to see more.

WHEN, WHERE, HOW MUCH?
Sunday, March 22, 2009 1 PM – 5 PM
Julia Morgan Ballroom at the Merchants Exchange Club
465 California Street, 15th Floor, San Francisco
www.movie-me.com
info@movie-me.com
408.773.9421
Online registration $49

WHAT IS MOVIE-ME?
MOVIE-ME is a creative solution to brides who have chosen to rely on friends or family to video their wedding day.  We are offering an afternoon seminar that will dramatically increase the couple’s odds of producing a better video of their wedding.
1.  It’s a 4-hour informative, interactive fun seminar on how to DIY a wedding video in which a professional videographer will be filming a series of  enactments of a ceremony, entrance into the reception, toasts, cake cutting and first dance. Attendees will see on a screen in real time what is being filmed, will hear narration of the right and wrong way to do it.  There will also be a demonstration of how to edit.

2.  Attendees will come away with
5 most common mistakes and how to avoid them
the ‘must have’ shots at the ceremony and reception
the best unobtrusive camera positions
and much, much more

3.  Easy tips and tricks
the single most important step to producing a great video
the most important piece of equipment you can’t do without
how to quickly and easily record excellent sound

WHO SHOULD COME?
Brides and grooms
Friends who will shoot and/or edit the wedding
Friend who will edit the wedding that a professional videographer shoots
Friends who will shoot and edit Friday and Sunday activities (a professional videographer shoots the wedding)
WHY COME TO A SEMINAR?
1.  It would take a lot of time and effort to research the information on the internet, even if it existed, which it doesn’t; your time is worth something
2.  It’s easier to learn by seeing a professional do it than by reading a book
3.  It’s one of those things where you just have to be there (it’s the experience)

LEARN FROM ONE OF THE BEST
Movie-Me is presented by Chuck and Jewel Savadelis of Savadelis Films, an award-winning husband and wife team who are outstanding presenters with an engaging and lively style, who draw from their experience as wedding cinematographers and their long-time avocation as avid movie buffs.

Be sure to stop by movie-me.com to enter to win a Flip video camera!

One of my favorite blogs, Elizabeth Anne Designs, has just announced that November is DIY Month at their site. They’ve put out a call for projects and will be awarding prizes for the most creative submissions. How fun!

Do check out the official announcement here.

Today is World Card Making Day. The purpose of WCMD is to bring together handmade card enthusiasts to share our ideas, techniques, and love of the craft.

As an avid card-maker, this is one of my most sacred holidays. Besides projects for the upcoming DIY Bride book #2 my overworked brain has been obsessing about Xmas cards, baby announcements and thank you cards. In celebration of WCMD this weekend, I’ll be posting a great little thank you card that’s perfect for any occasion.

Saturday, May 3

Main Stage:
11am – Things I Learned from Knitting – Stephanie Pearl-Mc Phee of the Yarn Harlot
1pm – String Theory – Autumn Wiggins of Crafting a Green World
4pm – Extreme Craft – Garth Johnson of Extreme Craft

CRAFT Stage:
11am – Soft Circuit Embroidery – Becky Stern
12pm – Make Your Own Free Range Mini-Monsters – Moxie
1pm – Making Jewelry – Sonya Nimri, author of Beadalicious
2pm – Felt Faux Fruit – Brookelynn Morris
3pm – Fashioning Technology: DIY Style – Syuzi Pakhchyan
4pm – Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone – Krystina Castella
5pm – Photojojo DIY Photo Blocks – Amit Gupta and Kelly Jensen

CRAFT Corner:
12pm – Weaving with Small Looms – Karrie Weaver of Girl on the Rocks
2pm – Knitting with the Yarn Harlot
Sunday, May 4

Main Stage:
11:30am – Crafty Chica: Squeezing a Dollar from a Dime: How to Make the Most of What You Have – Kathy Cano-Murillo
12pm – String Theory – Autumn Wiggins of Crafting a Green World

CRAFT Stage:
12pm – How to Make Your Own Shoes…the Easy Way! – Thomas Maiorana
1pm – Finger Puppets Who Wish To Not Die – Stacey Gordon
2pm – Create Ribbon Straw Flowers on Vintage Flower Looms – Cathy of California
3pm – The DIY Bride: Quick & Easy Wedding Projects for Any Budget – Khris Cochran, author of The DIY Bride
4pm – Guerilla Pattern Drafting – Autumn Wiggins
5pm – Create Your Own Photo Flip Book – Jackie Ortega

CRAFT Corner:
2pm – Star Wars Kids Crafts: Making Star Wars Bubble Magnets – Bonnie Burton

[via CraftZine]