Here Comes the Blog

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In three weeks, I’m changing my name. I’m going to work hard to walk without tripping over my yards of muslin, recite my favourite love poem from memory, and agree to be taken care of and take care of my boyfriend. In three weeks, my life is going to change. It’s an exciting prospect, but right now, my head is crammed with lists, seating charts, menus and a missing band. In short, I am a textbook case of a bride-to-be.

My fiancé and I wanted a romantic summer wedding and are trying to pull it off with just six months of planning. It shouldn’t be exceptionally challenging, but we’re both media professionals with erratic work hours. We do have an arsenal of family members to help us along, but last night, as our band cancelled, our menu changed (for the sixteenth time) and our guest list threatened to expand even more, we realised that sometimes even help in numbers isn’t necessarily a good thing. In an unexpected gesture of good faith, and hoping the resulting karma will bring us a swing band in time for the big day, I’ve decided to list the ten great ways this wedding has come together. Perhaps it will help a bride tomorrow, and hopefully by the time I finish, the menu will have finally been fixed.

Updated: July 30, 2010

Want to have a glamorous hollywood style wedding with someone else footing the bill? Here is your opportunity!  WeddingChannel.com and Us Weekly have launched their 3rd annual dream wedding contest.   Top A-list wedding experts will help the winning couple plan their entire wedding along with WeddingChannel.com.  Then the winner will be profiled in Us Weekly magazine with all kinds of photographs and of course all the wedding details.  This is a huge contest with millions of votes cast each year so get on the bandwagon and submit your contest application today!

Here are the details:

Today to July 29: Enter the contest at www.usmagazine.com/wedding

Today to August 3: Enter the contest at www.usmagazine.com/wedding

August 6 to August 13: 10 couples will be announced online, and America votes for their favorite couple

August 17 to October: The Dream Wedding winning couple is announced online and the wedding planning begins!

Don’t forget to let all your engaged friends know about the contest too!

The Knot has officially helped 20 million brides plan their wedding. To celebrate the momentous milestone, they are giving brides the chance to have their wedding featured on the Knot website and in their wedding magazine.

To enter, you must join the Knot and then visit their forum where you need to post a message outlining why you deserve to be featured on the website or in the magazine. Knot editors will pick their favorite 20 entries and the public will then vote to choose the contest winner.

The winning couple will receive of $1500 worth of wedding goodies including front-row seats at Wedding Fashion Week, the chance to meet celebrities at the Knot’s Annual Party, an appointment to for a free dress fitting, spa treatments, and a private Knot fashion photographer photo shoot.

Enter by July 21st for your chance to win!

Well it is that time of year again.  Wedding Channel is holding their 2nd annual bridal blog awards and they are on the hunt for the best wedding blogs on the web.  So if you love Here Comes The Blog, please nominate us by visiting WeddingChanel.com today!   And while you are there, be sure to nominate all of your favorite wedding blogs for the various categories.

They will be giving away a $100 gift card to the top blog in each of the following categories: Regional Blog, Destination Wedding Blog, Wedding Style Blog, Wedding Planning Blog, Wedding Photography Blog, Eco-Friendly Wedding Blog, Budget Wedding Blog, DIY Blog, Real Bride Blog, and Wedding Vendor Blog.

And of course, the overall Best Wedding Blog will receive a larger cash prize.  Thanks for being a Here Comes The Blog reader….we hope you enjoy reading our blog as much as we enjoy writing it!

Choosing a wedding ring is one of the most important decisions a bride and groom will make together as a couple. Considering the options of yellow gold, white gold, and platinum is the first step in making this endearing choice. For decades, white gold has been the leading choice with brides followed closely by yellow gold as a popular and affordable second choice. The price of platinum is cost prohibitive with many couples’ budgets, and white gold rings are a comparable substitute for the look and feel of platinum. Titanium bands offer men a rugged look and are gaining popularity in the jewelry market. They are inexpensive and offer a perfect solution for keeping in line with budget restrictions.

Traditional bands for brides and grooms have always been very popular in white gold. Silver tones in jewelry, wedding and ring bands, and all types of jewelry pieces have become very trendy with many who prefer the subtleness of silver rather than the showiness of yellow gold. It is well know that yellow gold is softer and needs some extra care, while white gold is more durable and will keep its shape through years of continuous wearing in all kinds of conditions.

Take the time to visit several jewelry shops and try on the different finishes offered. White gold is many times a choice because of skin tone and hair color. There will be countless styles in white gold and yellow gold with a lesser number in platinum, sterling silver, and titanium. If quality is your goal, white gold is the appropriate choice for wedding and engagement rings, class rings, and dinner rings. The combination of a diamond or gem stone set in white gold is stunning and holds its value for a life time.

Decide on a price point and keep in mind that at a later date, a larger stone can be set in the original white gold setting, if so desired. Many times rings will be upgraded for special occasions and wedding anniversaries and remounted in the same band for sentimental reasons. Investing money in a white gold band is a wise choice for savvy jewelry shoppers.

Browse online jewelers to get an idea of price and style. Read information concerning the differences between white, yellow, and platinum for bands. Lifestyle and price point may dictate the buyer’s choice. Nickel is an alloy commonly used in white gold. Some people, roughly one in eight, experience a mild allergic reaction to nickel. Speak with jewelers about the alloys contained in any white gold ring or band being considered. There are other alloys and gold combinations that make up white gold that do not cause any skin irritations. Ask questions with the jewelry experts concerning the choice of a white gold band or ring.

Planning the perfect wedding is like trying to make dreams come true – very difficult to pull off or just plain impossible. For many couples, the ideal wedding is in an exotic location – perhaps it’s somewhere you’ve been hankering to visit for ages and at last you have the excuse, or maybe it’s somewhere that played a key role in your relationship.  The pressure on this once-in-a-lifetime occasion coupled with the distant location can make the process of planning it very stressful.

Here are some handy hints to take the stress out of planning a long-distance wedding:

1. Research is the key: you think you finished hitting the books in school? Far from it! The key to a successful long-distance wedding is in the preparation. Start your search by asking around for referrals. These can be from local family or family members, the Chamber of Commerce, the phonebook or online references. You won’t have easy access to potential wedding vendors, so it’s essential to make the most of your time and use an appointment system.
2. Take care of the logistical details as early as possible. This includes choosing the location and date, local caterers, the reception venue, salons and a hotel for your out-of-town guests. An inexpensive (or free) hotel shuttle service is also a big advantage. It’s essential to check with the city about local marriage requirements – there’s no greater dampener on wedding plans than delayed residency requirements and waiting periods.
3. Accept any offers of a helping hand. If it is at all possible, hire a wedding planner in your chosen destination. Their knowledge of the city will be invaluable, and they will be an indispensable resource for sourcing venues and vendors. When meeting local wedding planners for the first time, it’s important to ascertain if they share your vision for the wedding. It’s also helpful if you’re able to get in contact with any of their previous long-distance clients.
4. Try and make at least two visits to your wedding destination in the lead up to the big day. Compile a schedule of wedding vendors, venues and planners to visit – as you won’t have a minute to spare! Visiting the destination in advance will help keep the stress levels under control, and will also help make sure you’re getting exactly what you want for your wedding.
5. Choose a place that is special for you and your partner. Don’t plan a long-distance wedding to make friends or family happy! It’s your big day, and yourchoice of dream location, whether it’s the other side of the world or in your home town. With more and more couples meeting over the internet through online dating, picking a location for the wedding day can be even trickier, but ultimately it’s a decision you will have to make together. There is always the option of having a second, informal reception on your return, which allows a compromise between cities or even countries.

So, whether you’ve been dating in your home town and wish to sample more exotic climates for your special occasion, or you’ve maintained a long-distance relationship where you’ve been separated by borders and just want to simplify the whole thing by finally getting hitched to start your life together, or if you’re an international couple that have met and been dating in Bristol, Boston, Berlin and want to take it that one step further – a long-distance wedding could be on the cards. Just get planning soon!

You don’t have to be rich or famous to win this fantasy wedding package fit for an A-list celebrity.  The Wed Like A Celeb Sweepstakes team includes SpaWeek.com, WeddingChannel.com and of course, the St. Regis Bora Bora Resort.  The St. Regis resort on the South Pacific island of Bora Bora is the ultimate location for a romantic honeymoon. 

The Giveaway, valued at over $17,000, has it all: luxurious accommodations, a romantic dinner, spa treatments, and a Bridal Emergency Gift Basket.  To enter, simply visit SpaWeek.com where you can fill out the sweepstakes entry form.  Note that you will be asked why you and your fiance deserve to be Wed Like A Celeb!

Hurry!  Contest ends July 1, 2010.  We wish all our readers the best of luck!!

One of my favorite wedding invitation companies, Minted, launched a new line of “Wedding Invitation Suites” which include fully coordinated invitations, RSVP cards, information cards, and thank you cards along with backers, envelope liners, and skinny wrap address labels.   Along with the launch, Minted has announced that they will be giving away a full wedding invitation suite to one lucky bride.  It will include all of the fully coordinated items listed above for up to 100 guests.   A prize valued at over $1000!!

To enter for your chance to win the wedding invitation suite of your dreams, simply go to the Minted Blog and leave a comment with the name of your favorite wedding suite invitation.

PARISIAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL WEDDING SUITE

Hurry!  The contest ends Friday May 21st.  Good luck to all of our readers!

There is no doubt about it.  Today, an increasing number of people are buying their engagement rings and wedding rings online. 

By the same token, however, most online diamond retailers understand that buying diamonds online does not suit everyone’s tastes. Spending thousands on something that you can’t see or try on before buying can put even the most internet-savvy shoppers off.  In addition, buying something as personal as an engagement ring can be difficult to do “at a distance”.

So, why is it that more and more people are turning to the internet to buy their diamonds?

First and foremost, the internet provides a wonderful self educational tool, whether you are in the market for an engagement ring, new car or sofa.  Most people nowadays want to get an idea of what constitutes a ‘good deal’ and, more than anything else, understand their subject.  Few people will venture into the market for a $5,000 engagement ring without at least getting a basic understanding of the 4Cs of diamonds, which is the mechanism by which diamonds are graded around the world today.  The level of education and advice about buying diamonds available online today is fantastic, providing consumers with the ability to self-educate to a level never seen before.

As you brush up on your diamond knowledge, you’ll then encounter a world of online diamond retailers.  Because of the high ticket values, these website are often glossy, with high resolution images, incorporating all the latest marketing and graphic techniques to entice the customer.  After all, few people would buy an engagement ring from a website which was poorly constructed or maintained.  Some of the tools available to consumers today are wonderful, such as the ability to be able to view different designs of engagement rings in 3D rotations, videos and magnified images, for example.  Some even provide a virtual hand image with the ring, showing how the finished engagement ring will look on your finger.  Therefore, the need for you to even visit a jewellers shop is eradicated.

Perhaps the main benefit of buying online, however, comes down to one thing.  Price.

Any retailer with physical ‘bricks and mortar’ premises will have high overhead costs.  These costs are for the rental of the property, a shop window full of diamonds, display cases and a safe full of diamonds inside, 7 day a week staff costs etc, all of which adds up to a hefty cost which needs to be paid for.   By whom?  Well, the customer of course.  These costs are built into the price you pay for your engagement ring in the shop.  As a result, you’ll find that most online diamond retailers are significantly cheaper in price than normal jewellers.  Furthermore, the fact that there are hundreds of high quality online diamond retailers in one ‘virtual’ space means that prices are incredibly competitive, which again is great news for you.

The list of reasons for buying diamonds online goes on and on.  The main factors have been mentioned above, but what about the fact that when buying on the internet, you don’t have a pushy salesman on your back, and the fact that most online diamond rings are made to order and haven’t been sitting in a shop window for months on end, and probably tried on and rejected by a number of couples before you.  What about the fact that many online diamond specialists such as http://www.dejoria.co.uk for example offer consumers the ability to choose your perfect diamond from over 100,000 worldwide at the touch of a button, rather than trying to sell you something that almost matches your requirements from their existing stock.   And finally, what about the fact that the level of personal advice, expertise and guidance provided by most online diamond specialists is second to none.

Of course, you have to choose well.  Like anything, there are not-so-reputable diamond retailers out there, both online and in the high street, so make sure you buy certified diamond rings, and ensure that all the relevant supporting documentation, warranties and after-sales service are in place, and you can’t go far wrong.

Just wanted to send out a big welcome to Heidi who is one of our new contributors at Here Comes The Blog.  She is the author of Truly Engaging, the wedding blog from Magnet Street Weddings.   Heidi will be contributing to Here Comes the Blog on a weekly basis and sharing all things wedding stationery~ from etiquette and styles to wording, color and design~ all while keeping it real along the way.  We are very excited that Heidi has agreed to share her expertise with all of our readers and if you need even more stationery inspiration, be sure to check out Magnet Street Weddings.

A family-owned company, MagnetStreet Weddings designs and prints customizable wedding stationery~ they are best known for their fun Save the Dates and stylish wedding Invitation suites. One of their main goals is to design wedding stationery that is flexible… they want their couples to be able to showcase their style~ whether it’s classic, modern, destination or non-traditional. That said, wedding couples can use the Magnet Street Design Studio to easily upload photos, change colors, text and fonts to create wedding stationery that ultimately reflects their personality.

We love the fact that they will send couple’s FREE SAMPLES!  And, they have lots of free tools too… inspirational boards, wedding widgets, and even a visual planning guide to help you organize your wedding look.  Check out this montage of great items available from Magnet Street Weddings….