So what does it do? Based in Palo Alto, CA, Bride Box’s online store provides software for brides and grooms to upload and design their own photo albums. Why is this special? They provide a similar, though not identical, product line to that of a professional photographer. All you need is to upload the photos and to arrange them however you like. It’s perfect for creative brides and grooms who want more control in the process, or for couples who want additional wedding albums.

How does this compare to other photo book companies, like Shutterfly or even Apple iPhoto? The answer is quality. Bride Box provides handcrafted albums with high quality pages and leather bound covers. They have a range of options, so you have plenty of different sizes and prices from which to choose. They also offer photo enlargements, guest books, and a personal favorite, canvas wrapped prints, which look great in any room as customized artwork. Bride Box also offers gift cards for that perfect wedding gift.

Here at Moments by Wayne, we know the importance of hiring a great photographer. It is a must! Every album should be created using professional quality images from a professional wedding photographer. DIY projects, especially aesthetically heavy ones like photo album layouts, are not for everyone. We think Bride Box would be great for people who have a knack for design, love the intricacies of the hands-on process, want to see a multitude of different options before choosing one, and for those who want the bragging rights of creating their own wedding album. However, if you want the best quality, most unique album, stick with your professional wedding photographer.

Bride Box will definitely please a specific niche of brides and grooms. The website is easy to navigate, with plenty of examples of exactly what they offer. Bride Box takes a potentially confusing and tricky aspect of your wedding and creates an easy and creative process to ensure that your wedding album turns out exactly how you want it.

www.bridebox.com

We asked California event designer Wayne Gurnick of Moments by Wayne Gurnick to give us the 411 on working with a day-of planner.

Designer Jill Watson was tired of seeing brides struggling with their veils for pictures or outdoor ceremonies and thought there had to be a better way. She came up with the perfect solution – veil weights that attach right to the end of the veil. They are easy to put on and take off and are perfectly suited for the delicate fabrics.

Not only are these clever accessories practical, but they also look beautiful. They aren’t going to take away from your gown or veil, but rather enhance everything while keeping the veil down. You can choose from four different styles: oval with Swarovski crystal, oval with mother of pearl, round with Swarovski crystal and round with mother of pearl. The rounds are ¾ inch each and ovals are ¾ inch by ½ inch each. Jill suggests that 3-6 pieces are enough to control most veils, which is why she bundled them into 6 piece packages for $65.00 per set.

After the wedding, not only will you have beautiful pictures and memories, but also a keepsake you can continue to use over and over again. You can wear the veil weights as  jewelry, use them as magnets to hang up your wedding photos or even pass them down from generation to generation or even on to a good friend.

We love Jill’s solution to the wind, especially for beach weddings. Anything that can help a bride and groom enjoy the day and be able to look back fondly at their photos with great memories, makes us happy. We are so glad we found Save the Veil and were so excited to try out the weights. We hope you are just as excited to try them out as we were!

When asked to design a piece to showcase garden roses for the Mayesh National Open House, here is what I came up with.  Hope you enjoy our Picture Perfect Bridal Bouquet.

You may not know that garden roses have been doing some maturing lately, thanks to some pretty mind-boggling advances in the science of growing flowers.  They have stunningly long graceful stems, the blooms are sturdier yet still delicate and full, and the fragrance is even more intoxicating.

I had absolutely no idea which direction my design would take me and decided to just let the flowers inspire and guide me.  And inspire me they did!  The minute I saw the blush colors and delicate petals, I had visions of my wedding planning clients, all my brides, gleaming with excitement and anticipation of a ……….garden rose bouquet.  Timeless, elegant and effortless.  Effortless, so they think!  So, I went to work.

Want to know what I ended up designing?  Well, the big reveal will take place on Wednesday, January 23rd and we’ll have lots of pictures posted soon after that.

Imagine walking into your closet to grab your favorite outfit, to find it hanging on a hanger that has your name on it – how is that for something special, something uniquely personal!  LilaFrances’s personalized wire wedding hangers on Etsy is just that kind of a special treat.  Not only do we love the products that the owner, Anna Hartshorn has created, but we also are inspired by her story. 

When she was just a little girl, Anna loved to play with and twist together anything she could find lying around the house including twist ties, pipe cleaners, hair pins, and even telephone wires.  She would take these creations to her mother and present them as her own unique little masterpieces.

Personalized Bouquet Charms

Her mom would always tell her that “there’s something to this” and encouraged her to use her talents for making something special for others. Little did Anna know that those talents would actually lead to creation of her personalized wedding hangers now sold on Etsy.  Anna now dedicates everything she makes to her mom who passed away from cancer. She says that her mom’s belief in her has propelled her to make these products for brides and grooms on their special days.

Not only does LilaFrances make personalized hangers but she also creates cake toppers, ornaments, bouquet charms, wedding signs/decorations, table numbers, table number holders, jewelry hangers, and many jewelry items including earrings, necklaces, and rings.  Each item is lovingly handmade from scratch and you can just see the care and attention to detail.  Symbols and other objects work great in wire, too!

When you purchase items from LilaFrances, you also help fund cancer research. Anna donates 5% of all profits to the Ovarian Cancer Research fund in honor of her mother.   This is a wonderful incentive to use one-of-a-kind items in your wedding and even treat your bridal party to a special item of their own. What a great feeling!

We love the modern interpretation of these classic beauty elements, perfect for the fresh spring wedding look.

Adorned nails with textured tone-on-tone lattice – perfectly bridal!

A touch of silver at the cupid’s bow – so alluring!

Painted slashes of electric-blue liner – Something Blue, indeed!

Brooch bouquets by Blue Petyl, photography by Shannon Treglia

published on ReviewAtlas.com
written by By Karen Caffarini
GateHouse News Service

Winter weddings can be a romantic and less expensive alternative to those held in the more popular summer and fall months, especially if you tie the knot in a colder climate and in a venue that highlights the beauty of the season.

Still, there are pitfalls couples need to consider when planning a wedding in months that could bring blizzards, below-freezing temperatures and popular holidays.

Travel delays

Remind out-of-town guests to allow extra time to travel, whether by plane, train or automobile, as inclement weather could cause flight delays and road closures, advises wedding planner Wayne Gurnick of Moments by Wayne. Gurnick was voted Best Wedding Planner in Los Angeles, Best Wedding Planner in California and Top 10 Wedding Planner Worldwide by Wedding Industry Experts 2012 Awards.

Photographs

Consider starting your ceremony and reception an hour earlier than you would in the spring or fall as the sun will set an hour earlier on your outdoor photos, suggested Randall Lorenz and Mary Nadolny of the Meeting House Grand Ballroom in Plymouth, Mich.. With the reception ending before midnight, you’ll want to delegate someone to plan an after-reception event, such as a pub crawl or party in one of the suites at the hotel to continue the fun, they said.

Coat check

Your guests might arrive bundled up in coats, boots, hats, gloves and perhaps umbrellas, all of which will be hanging on the backs of chairs if there isn’t a coat check, Gurnick said. Your guests will appreciate having a secure place for all their belongings and you’ll appreciate not having your reception hall filled with outerwear. Also be sure to have enough people manning the coat check so guests don’t have to wait in long lines and no coats end up on the floor.

Consider holidays

Gurnick pointed out that winter holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve are busy times for restaurants and banquet facilities, resulting in higher pricing and less availability than during other winter weekends. Also, while these might be good times to ensure close family members, particularly those out of town or college students, will be able to attend your wedding since they’ll be home for the holidays anyway, other guests may decline in order to be with their own families. And while it may sound romantic to have a Valentine’s Day wedding, Gurnick said this is one of the most popular days to go out to dinner and buy flowers, resulting in skyrocketing prices for both. Lorenz and Nadolny said January is usually very slow for venues, which is good for budget-conscious couples.

Outdoor ceremonies or photo shoots

Photography by Brooke Mason

Even if you’re having a mild winter, the weather can be unpredictable. It doesn’t take much to wreak havoc on your hair, make-up, shoes and satin gown, Gurnick said. Have a realistic back up plan in case the weather doesn’t cooperate.

Flowers

With global trade, it is possible to get virtually any flower all year around, Gurnick said. But if your flowers are traveling further than your guests, expect to pay a premium.

If wedding planning was your job, and you worked at it 40 hours per week, then it would take you over 3 months on the job to get it done!   We did the math based on the survey information below.  That’s one of the reasons why more couples are using wedding planners to help.  The Wedding Report predicts that in 2013 “professional wedding coordinators will be in demand, for full planning and month-of wedding plans” and even to assist parents with parties that they will host to entertain wedding guests, such as welcome dinner, rehearsal dinner and farewell brunch.

No matter how your own plans compare to the information collected below from thousands of couples, every couple would agree that after all the planning and preparation, the wedding day goes by all too quickly.  It’s so important to make each moment count and enjoy the process every step of the way.  Our Wedding Words of Wisdom™: Take mental pictures and savor every moment.