..all shiny and new and finally, happily here! Happy Wednesday, this blog is now live!

Hi everyone. Welcome to our new blog about planning a wedding and all the fun stuff that entails. I mean, isn't everyone's definition of fun : Working a second, stressful job where your co-worker is your Mom, you have horrific deadlines and you never, ever get a paycheck.

The company that launched this blog is a young, down-to-earth company dedicated to brides. Based in Atlanta and populated with 30somethings, we call ourselves Bride-Centric and are we ever.

Yeah, we sell tons of wedding favors, rings and shoes. But...we also genuinely like the women we sell to everyday. Hell, we are the women we sell to everyday! The woman who owns this company was a bride herself not 2 years ago, so she knows what it's like. I myself (Jayne, blogger, nice to meet you) am in my early 30s, and just got married 3 years ago. I too remember planning my wedding. It's something you don't easily forget.

(Shudder.)

So this blog isn't all about selling stuff. It's about creating a community of supportive, interesting brides all over the world. And hopefully providing a place for them to share ideas, advice and daily laughs.

Please check out our message board while you're here. We want you to dive in with the other hundreds of brides who stop by every day. Connect. Be irreverent, be helpful. For now, there aren't many rules and there are a million ways this thing can go. We're purposely leaving this frontier a bit wild so that you, the bride, can help guide where and what this community becomes.

You ready? I am.

So let's go...

I don't know. I've heard the whole "looks don't matter/it's what's inside that counts" bit all of my life. (I had comforting parents.)

But when it comes to some things, looks really do matter. Like, oh say, at your wedding, maybe? Even the most enlightened, liberated couples I know still throw around descriptions like "cute" and "beautiful" and "elegant" when they're making their wedding choices.

Wedding favors are a perfect example. Everyone wants to be The Couple that gives out The Favors that their guests will actually use For Years to Come. But come on, what are you going to do? Place a power drill or toilet brush on all of your guests dinner plates? No, you want something useful AND cute.

Why...look! To the left! There just so happens to be a perfect example of what I'm talking about. Most guests will get a lot of use out of a corkscrew and bottle stopper. But rather than having them rolling around loose on the table, we've packaged these useful gifts in a very unique and decor-enhancing package.

Click here for more details on these little cuties.