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

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!

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.

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.

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.

Get Rid of The Ghost of Bridesmaids Gowns Past: Newlymaid.com is a clever new program from The Dessy Group that allows you to trade in old bridesmaids gowns and get a 30% – 50% discount towards a fab little black dress from the Newlymaid line. The old dresses? They embark on a journey for Good; they are recycled into new fabric or donated to Clothes4Souls. Beautiful!

Attention Baseball Fanatics: Major League Baseball is inviting you to win a chance to get married at the first-ever All-Star FanFest Wedding to be the held on Tuesday July 12 at 11:00 a.m. in Phoenix, Arizona. “The winning couple will receive a wedding package which includes a ceremony on the Diamond at All-Star FanFest, a catered reception for 50 guests by Aventura Catering, a wedding ring package from Molina Fine Jewelers worth no more than $15,000 that will include either an engagement ring or two wedding bands, a wedding dress by Uptown Bridal, roundtrip airfare and two tickets to the 82nd MLB All-Star Game. They’ll also receive items from Major League Baseball partners including a $500 MasterCard® prepaid gift card, beverages for the reception provided by Budweiser, hotel stay provided by InterContinental Hotels Group, and a $500 Newlywed Lawn & Garden Kit donated by Scotts featuring a wide array of Scotts Miracle-Gro products.”

Get your hustle on! The deadline is June 01. (Pssst! That’s next week!) All the deets: http://www.allstargame.com/fanfestwedding

An Intimate Destination Wedding By The Sea more your thing? Sandals Resorts is offering couples celebrating their wedding at any one of the 14 Luxury Included Sandals Resorts a Beautiful Beginnings wedding theme FREE of charge with a booked stay of six nights or longer in a Premium room category or higher. What’s included: a sweet magenta dendrobium bouquet and boutonniere, a table for four with crisp white linens, a lovely dendrobium orchid centerpiece and a charming white cake. The Beautiful Beginnings wedding theme is available now for guests getting married August 15, 2011 through December 15, 2012.

NEW YORK COUPLES: Gail Watson, extraordinary cake designer, has launched A Simple Cake, her line of minimalist-but-beautiful cakes. A Simple Cake designs are “created so that you can present (them) as they are, select from on of our hand-created sugar decorations, or have your florist decorate with fresh flowers”. This is a fantastic option for those of you wanting to go semi-DIY with your wedding cake project. ASC delivers within a 100 mile radius of Columbus Circle.

Fashionistas! BarneysNY & ShopStyle are hosting 4 weeks of fabulous giveaways in their Walk the Aisle in Style contests. (I am dying for these Olivia Collings earrings!) Check out http://www.shopstyle.com/giveaway for all of the details.

Looking for some sweet treats on a budget? Check out the Cute Cakes from Donsuemor! These just-a-bit-more-than-a-bite sized cupcakes make great favors. They’re moist, tasty, and priced right at $19 for a 28 piece tray.

Happy Friday, DIYers!

Are you as crazy about dahlia’s as I am? Hurry on over to FiftyFlowers.Com. They’ve got ‘em on sale for 10% off for a limited time.

Have you heard of BridesmaidTrade.com yet? They’re an an online consignment and rental service for bridesmaids dresses. They’re hosting a contest to win free bridesmaid gown rentals. Contest entry deadline is 5/27 so hop on over right away!

Tart Workshop, one of our favorite font foundaries, has just released two new fonts and a freebie download treat! Grab your copies Bookeyed Jack, Bookeyed Suzanne, and the free Fancy Pinkalicious download (below) at the Tart Workshop site.

Some sobering facts

• The average wedding costs $26,000. The median household income is around $50,000.
• If you put only $10,000 of your wedding expenses on a card with 18% interest and paid only the minimum balance ($250.00) each month, it would take you 342 months (or over 28 YEARS) to be rid of your debt. In that time, you will also pay $14,423.30 in interest. (Check out the credit calculator at BankRate.Com) That’s a heck of a price tag for A SINGLE DAY.
  
• As of April 2011, the average interest rate on a credit card is 14.65% nationally.
• Planning on using a pay raise to help pay for your wedding? The Society For Human Resource Management is reporting US companies are projecting a very modest salary increase of only 3 percent.
• Sorry, but you’re not going to win the lottery.

Now that I’ve scared the beejeebus out of you, I want to guide you to a fab new service to help you save up for your wedding day. You are going to use cash and not get into debt, right? Right?

SmartyPig is essentially an online piggy bank. You create an account, set your financial goals, and then start funding your event. You can set auto deposits from your bank account or add one-time payments (such as a gift from family or a profit-sharing check from work). You earn interest and have access to your cash at all times. Though it’s not a bank, your savings account is FDIC insured securely held at BBVA Compass. Saving for your big day couldn’t be easier.

Hi DIYers!

Glue Arts, the makers of my favorite double-sided tape applicator, the Glue Glider Pro (my review), is having a BOGO sale. If you’re assembling invitations, programs, table numbers or any other bulk paper project that needs a lot of double-sided adhesive the Glue Glider Pro is an absolute must. The details:

Buy a GlueGlider PRO or any of the six refill cartridges and receive the same of equal or lesser value FREE! Also stock up now and receive Free Shipping on orders over $150.00. Sale valid through Satureday November 6th 2010. Minimum orders are case lots of 12 per product. To place your order call 1-866-889-GLUE. Mention promo code VOTE6 when ordering.

In exciting around-the-weddingsphere news, wedding website provider Nearlyweds, has acquired wedding planning resource OneWed, to create a wedding-related social network.

Maddy from the beautiful Inspired Bride blog has launched Somewhere Splendid, a new blog that covers “nesting topics from general entertaining and parties to home decor and cooking”. Congrats!