Jorge Manuel Gown Giveaway!

Hitched Salon and Jorge Manuel have partnered to bring one lucky bride a one-of-a-kind couture gown!  


The winner will receive a Jorge Manuel design valued at $4,730 and a one-night stay at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington D.C.!  This will truly be an experience... "a journey through the design path of a concept, a muslin and the end product... her custom made dress" (sketch to the left) and a veil!


How to become the lucky bride?  Submit an application by March 17, 2012.  Be sure to read the contest rules and regulations.  And hurry, the number of contestants are limited!


You can check out the details on last year's contest winner here.

Two Year Anniversary! {My Top 10 Favorite Photographs}

We've featured many real Baltimore weddings on this blog over the past two years.  And its very difficult to have any favorites.  But, these are my picks (in no particular order).

#1: From Real Inspiration: Sara & Nolen, Photographer: Frank Hamilton.

#2: From Real Inspiration: Kelly & Kyle, Photographer: Abby Jiu .

#3: From Real Inspiration: Sarah & Nelson, Photographer: Chris Bickford.

#4: From Real Inspiration:  Kristine & Seth, Photographer: Tara Parekh

#5: From Real Inspiration: Crystal & Cary, Photographer: Dani Leigh.

#6: From Real Inspiration: Megan & Jon, Photographer: Ellen Cohn of Photography by Ellen.

#7: From Real Inspiration: Chelsea & Jason, Photographer: Artful Weddings by Sachs Photography.

#8: From Real Inspiration: Dana & Adam, Photographer: Amy Hershey of Forever in a Flash Photography.

#9: From Real Inspiration:  Emily & Kurt, Photographer: Carolyn Watson. 

#10: From Real Inspiration: Amy & Jon, Photographer: Artful Weddings by Sachs Photography.

Two Year Anniversary! {The Top 3 Inspiration Boards}

Continuing the celebration of 2 years of posts...  I wondered, what are your favorite inspiration boards?  And here they are:

#1: Icy Purple

#2:  Parisian Printemps ~ Teal and Pink Champagne

#3: Winter White

Two Year Anniversary! {The Top 3 Most Read Posts}

I've been posting on this blog for 2 years!  Wow, how time flies!  I wondered, what are YOUR favorite posts?  Looking at the data, here are the most visited posts:

#1(s):  Go Nude!  and Champagne Taste
I'm amazed at how many of you (a bit over 2,600 hits per month), visit these posts.  Nude bridesmaids dresses are certainly a trend right now.

#2:  Not Just One of the Guys: Groomswoman Attire

This posted was inspired by my good friend Jacob who asked me to be a Groomswoman in his wedding.  Not a common thing, but becoming more popular for the modern wedding.

#3: Color Theory 101
Choosing a wedding color palette is not so easy.  But, hopefully this post makes it a little easier.

Wedding Planning with Pinterest: Who to follow?

This week I've been posting all about Pinterest.  Today, I want to talk about how to use Pinterest to find inspiration.  It's SO easy.  So, you're already using the "Pin It" button to pull inspiring images from all over the web.  Maybe you're an advanced (read: addicted) user and you've got the iPhone App.  In any case, you're using Pinterest to keep your inspiration organized.  So, what else can you do?  Follow people!  Not just your bff, mom, and grandma are using Pinterest!  Tastemakers, designers, bloggers (and just about everyone) is as well.  So, here are some suggestions to get you started!

Top 10 People to Follow on Pinterest 

(for wedding inspiration)

1. Courtney Spencer: Owner of Merriment Events™. Blogging at the merriment blog. www.themerrimentblog.com.  Courney has a lot of great boards, including "Rustic Elegant," full of pins to inspire brides with outdoor or garden weddings.

2. Style Me Pretty: Bringing chic, stylish weddings to the masses.  I love their "Wedding Cocktails" board with tons of signature cocktail ideas and recipes!

3. The Perfect Palette: A wedding blog dedicated to exploring color palette possibilities + a place to find fun + creative color ideas! With over 24,000 followers, 112 Boards, and 6,000 "Pins," you are bound to be inspired!

4. BRIDEfinds:  Wedding enthusiast -- by job & hobby.  

5.Green Wedding Shoes / Jen: Editor + Creative Director of Green Wedding Shoes. 

6. Martha Stewart Weddings:  Ideas, inspiration, and the inside scoop from the editors of Martha Stewart Weddings.

7.  Gayle McConnell: I especially love her "beach wedding," board.

Local Favorites

8. Bayside Bride: The Annapolis Wedding Inspiration Guide & Vendor Resource. 

9. Stephanie Bradshaw's "Weddings & Parties" board.  Bradshaw is a Charm City resident and creative director at bradshawstyling.com.  She is also a lifestyle blogger.

10. Katie McDonough Kutil: owner/designer of Petal & Print - custom fabric flowers and papery delights.

I should also mention, if you'd like to follow me on Pinterest, you can find me there! 

Happy Pinning!

Get Started and Organized with Pinterest

As I recently posted, Pinterest is a great tool for planning a wedding.  And like most things on the web, it is what you make of it.  (For basic information on how to use Pinterest, visit their help page here).

1. Create Pinboards with clear labels.  (Just as you would use tabs in a binder).  You can create an infinite number of boards, so get as specific as you need.  Examples: Bridesmaids dresses, Bouquets, Invitations.  You can then start pinning images from around the web (or already on Pinterest) to your boards.  You may want to create a "miscellaneous" board for pins that don't quite fit elsewhere.  You can always move pins off of that board in the future.

2. Install the "Pin It" button.  You can find details and instructions here.  It takes 2 seconds.  This will allow you to pull images from virtually any website.  This is a great tool when visiting wedding blogs for inspiration.    You no longer have to bookmark everything!  Pinterest will take the image (linking back to the website it came from automatically) and pin it to any board you'd like.  

Visit Roost to learn how to pin politely.

3.  Be sure to label your pins clearly.  Labeling is important for you and other pinners (including your friends) to find these pins in searches.  To get more into the intricacy of pinning and pinning etiquette, see this and that.  As you use Pinterest more, you'll see why this is important. 

4. Get creative!  Pins are just that, pins.  They can be removed, rearranged, re-pinned, etc.  So, feel free to pin "crazy" ideas.  Its all about inspiration!  Pins don't have to fit your budget, wedding theme, or any other limitation.  Anything you like is "pin worthy," so pin away!

Check back tomorrow for more Pinteresting tips!  Happy Pinning!

Get on [a Pinterest] Board!

If you're planning a wedding and you're not using Pinterest.  Get on board!  Seriously.  I assume that everyone has been using this fab inspirational/organizational/social website, but have discovered that many of you still haven't heard the good word!

So, huh, what's Pinterest?  Its a handy website (and iphone App) for collecting and sharing images/things you find interesting on the web.  You can label those images called "pins" onto different boards or pin-boards.  So instead of collecting images from magazines and trying to organize them in binder or scrapbooks, you can do it all online.  Better yet, you can share them with friends!

Much like Facebook or Twitter.  You can "follow" people and they can "follow" you.  The Pinterest homepage features a Pin Feed which allows you to see the recently added pins by those you follow.  You can then "like" (think Facebook), comment on, or re-pin those pins to your own boards.  You can even "tag" someone on a pin.  Come across the perfect bridesmaids dresses on Pinterest?  You can let your maid of honor know right away by "tagging" her in a pin comment or label.

So, scoot on over to Pinterest to "request" an invitation (or ask someone for one or just email me alexawebb@gmail.com).  But, be warned, its addictive and you may lose track of time regularly!  For tips on how to use Pinterest in your wedding planning, check back tomorrow.  More to come...

Happy Pinning!

Colors of Love (Pink & Red Bridesmaids)

Inspired by Valentine's Day...  I bring you bridesmaids dresses in various shades of reds and pinks.  I love these dresses because they are cocktail-inspired, your girls will be able to wear them again and again!

J. Crew Bridesmaids

Jenny Yoo Bridesmaids

Siri Bridesmaids Dresses

Bridesmaids Dresses at Nordstrom

BHDLN bridesmaids

DIY Valentine's Day

This week we're celebrating love!  And what better way to celebrate than to get your craft on!  I found some fun V-Day inspired DIY projects.  Not good with craftiness?  No worries, I've included some "projects" that merely require a printer.  Check them out:

DIY Ombre Sugar Hearts 

Erica O'Brien (cake designer extraordinaire) shares this fun project.  These would make great wedding favors or sweet wedding shower treats.  And they look pretty easy to make!  O'Brien makes the step by step instructions easy for the amateur baker with easy-to-find ingredients.

DIY Fabric Heart Garland

Jessica Jones over at How About Orange gives us instructions for making some fabulous Valentine's Day decor. I think this garland would be great for wedding or shower decor. And you can make them in any color or print combination! You will need a sewing machine, but only to straight stitch (anyone can do this).

DIY Valentine's Day Cards (and Envelopes)

The Wedding Chicks (queens of printables), have free downloads for these great humming bird Valentine's Day cards and more postcards.  They can be easily printed on standard A2 cards and envelopes which you can easily find at a local craft store or online.  

DIY Paper Straws with Hearts

Adorable!  These heart straws would be perfect for a wedding shower, engagement photo props or just celebrating Valentine's Day with your honey.  Andrea Gray Harper gives simple directions on The Knotty Bride.  If you can work a glue gun, you can make these!

Baltimore Bridal Show

This weekend is one of (if not the) largest Baltimore wedding shows.  The Baltimore Bridal Show kicks off this Saturday evening.  Need advice on how to prepare?  Check out this post on surviving wedding show season.

When: This weekend, February 4th & 5th. 

Where: Baltimore Convention Center, 1 West Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21201 

Why: Fashion shows, vendors, experts, gifts and prizes.

How: You can buy tickets here for $10.