tea towels

This is one of the best invitation ideas I have seen to date!!!

The Original Wedding Tea Towel.

A must see!!!

(Talk about "sustainable" wedding invitations!!!)

I have started a new weddng category... "KELLEY'S FAVES."

Here is fave #1!!!
-Kelley

Wedding Books Giveaway!

Our friends over at JoMyGoodness (along with LA Style Unvieled) are having an amazing giveaway!

Click here for the rules and prizes... and here for a few additional tidbits of info.

dirty blonde cocktails

Happy Friday everyone! How lovely are these "Dirty Blonde Cocktails?"

I'm grabbin' a lime..., bottoms up! And have a great weekend!

bachelorette party - part 2

"No Photos Please!"

OK, this is STILL not about MY bachelorette party, but thought you might like this checklist from the Knot.com on how to plan one!

Bachelorette Parties: A Planning Checklist
Maids, bust out your calendars. Here's a timeline to help you prepare for the bride's naughty night on the town.

Photo: E. Photography


Maid of honor, are you ready to rock? Whether you're mellowing out or whooping it up, here's a checklist to help you and the maids prepare for this infamous night. Feel free to adjust the timeframes according to your celebration style.

3+ Months Before
Ask the bride what she wants (or doesn't want) in terms of bachelorette bashing. Will it be a night of terror on the town, complete with Jell-O shots, a scavenger hunt, and gyrating dancers? A quiet weekend getaway? Martinis at a mod cocktail lounge? A living room lingerie exchange? Pizza and pool at a local dive? Karaoke? Casino?
Establish her comfort levels. If she wants G-rated instead of G-string, review your options together. If she does want to walk on the wild side? Get her to define exactly what that means. Remember, while you want her to cut loose, you don't want to mortally embarrass her, or worse, totally freak her out.
Set the date -- shoot for a weekend night about one to two weeks before the wedding. (If members of the bridal party are from all over and can only convene a few days before, that timing works, too.)
Create the guest list.

2 Months Before
Send out a casual "save the date" email to see if there are any major conflicts among invitees. If you're partying far away, include specific details.
Brainstorm possible game plans and party stunts with the maids (make it a surprise for the bride).
If the party will be at a hot spot or out of town (the only Chippendale's club in town, a popular tapas bar, a cabaret theater, South Beach, a rock concert, someone's beach house...), make reservations, order tickets, and deal with lodging and transportation details.
No matter what the format, alcohol and bachelorette revelry usually go hand in hand. Be responsible. Start thinking about transportation arrangements -- many ladies opt for booking a chauffeured limo, bus, or van for the evening. Call around to compare rates.
Research and book any talent that might make an appearance at the soiree.

1 Month Before
Send invitations. Emailing and calling is okay, too. Make sure your invitation politely informs guests that a contribution to the festivities will be expected and name the price.
If you're going with the standard pub crawl, devise the itinerary. Start out with dinner at a rowdy restaurant (you don't want to drink on an empty stomach) and map out all the establishments you want to hit plus what time you'll be popping in. Planning it out this way will help you book your transportation for the proper length of time, and it limits the carousing so that you don't overdo it or spend too much cash. Make all necessary reservations, even at bars. Ask about drink specials and bachelorette freebies.
Make your transportation reservation(s). Do it earlier if you live in a metropolitan area, are partying during prom season, or in the summer, when the number of pre-wedding parties tends to peak.
If you're partying at home, help the hostess plan refreshments and activities. Make a shopping list. Divide up to-dos among bridesmaids: games, decorations, booze-buying, stereo and/or karaoke set-up, CD duty, etc.

1 Week Before
Buy fake penis paraphernalia, bachelorette accessories such as the novelty veil or tiara, bite-me candy necklaces, and other naughty props.
Make a list of the games you want to play, with rules and how-tos, lest you forget after too many margaritas. Keep it handy.
If you're having a scavenger hunt, conspire with your maids and make a list of the mischievous missions the bride will have to fulfill throughout the course of the evening. Keep that handy, too.
Confirm RSVPs
Confirm transportation arrangements
Confirm the at-home entertainment

1 Day Before
Debrief the bride (it's okay to keep some of the details a surprise).
Remind guests of the meeting place and time, reiterating the address. If there are several stops planned, name the second address, too, for latecomers.
Re-confirm all reservations.
Get plenty of sleep.



http://wedding.theknot.com/bridesmaids-mother-of-the-bride/bachelorette-party-ideas/articles/bachelorette-parties-planning-checklist.aspx

Kiss the Groom

If you haven't "Kissed the Groom" yet, please do so. Check out the fantastic "Kissing Tree" you can make. You can put your names in the heart!

I may just frame mine!
kissthegroom.com

Visit it also because it's absolutely gorgeous!



Wedding Beauty

"as your wedding day grows closer….remember that your man fell in love with you….just the way you are….that your natural beauty will captivate him…no matter what dress you choose or how you wear your hair….celebrate your inner beauty….embrace your love….and kiss your groom…..xoxo"

Bridezilla Marries Groucho

Sabrina from the Introverted Wife sent in a "Been There, Done That" article for us! I'm so glad to see that practical AND fun weddings are still out there! Check out what she has to say...

"Creativity: We had the more classic ceremony to appeal to what traditions our parents and family wanted, but for the reception we decided as we were getting married around our most favorite holiday ever we made it a Halloween theme. I decided I just had to go as Bridezilla complete with a tail I sewed by hand while my husband went as Grouch Marx.



I refused to do something for the wedding just because it was tradition and everyone did it. So I had a 21 year old flower girl because she had always wanted to be one and asked me. I completely trounced the whole only the bride wears white rule. Not only did my flower girl wear a gorgeous short white dress for the reception, but my best friend got to wear her wedding dress again as part of her costume. I don't understand why some thought it was gonna be a big deal. Everyone there knew me and my husband were the ones getting married and a wedding dress got to actually be used more than once. Not to mention they all looked gorgeous in it.

Thrifty: Neither of us had any dreams of grandeur. We knew that by the end of the day it was a success if we got married and we didn't get too many things on fire. Being classic midwesterners it's also really hard to imagine wanting to spend say over $300 on a dress that was going to be worn just once and I didn't even bother looking at true bridal gowns. For me a bridesmaids dress in white was just perfect (I wish I could claim to have made my own dress but really the tail was hard enough. My husband even helped me by sewing up the end).

I found that by doing everything imaginable to avoid things associated with weddings we saved a ton. My mother in law made the ring bearers pillows while I found some cute easter baskets for the flower girls. All of our flowers were silk and my mother worked on making the bouquets. Having the halloween theme helped save a ton of money too as for decorations we just raided our parents basements and stole whatever decorations we could use. And then if there was something I made it wasn't just for the wedding, like the funkin I carved with our monogram.

Sanity: We could have never planned and gotten through this wedding without our friends and family. It made everything so much more relaxed and carefree to know that it wasn't just an organist but my good friend John I was dealing with (who I let pick our wedding music so I walked down the aisle to the Imperial March from Star Wars, I was laughing the whole time). My flowergirl did my hair so I knew I could trust her to do whatever she wanted. But the flip side of letting your family and friends help means I had to step back and just let them do their thing. My mother created the ugliest unity candle in existence but rather than getting bent out of shape about it I laughed it off. In fact by the day of I was rather proud and showed it off to everyone.

Our wedding was not a specific focus of colors, flowers, or theme but of just one thing: fun. It was so hilarious seeing the three guys dressed up as the Marx brothers hamming it up and all of us girls dressed as evil brides attacking each other. When kids didn't want to go down the aisle or were running around writing little love notes to each other we all laughed so hard at how adorable they are.

Everyone knows there's no such thing as a perfect wedding but I'd like to think that when it came to having a fun time we nearly achieved wedding nirvana."



Definately check out their Flickr Pool for all the photo fun!!!

Been There, Done That - Maui Part 1

(image of ClassicPartyRentals.com taken from MyMauiWedding.blogspot.com)

Everyone remember this cool wedding I entitled Maui Wowie... Here's Megan with her first article for MIW readers.

Planning a Maui Wedding

Aloha! My name is Megan Finley- I just had an awesome wedding on the island of Maui which inspired me to start a blog about planning weddings on Maui with an emphasis on using local products. And, if I'm being honest, I got a LOT of my inspiration from Kelley's blog. So she was kind enough to ask me to do a guest blog about my experiences with MY island wedding. I thought I'd take this opportunity to spread some of my knowledge about planning an island wedding on Maui.


There are two ways of planning a wedding in Maui. One way is to buy a package deal and the other way is to plan it yourself. The former plan is good if you have A. never been to Maui before, B. don't know anyone on the island or C. HATE planning things. I recommend planning the wedding yourself though if you have the opportunity. And that is exactly what I did- with a little help from my island friends.


As far as buying a package deal, there's totally nothing wrong with that. There are many options most are very budget friendly if you go that route. And I even toyed with the idea of doing a submarine wedding package for our wedding this year. But my husband put the kibosh on that. The cool part about packaged wedding deals on Maui is that they pretty much take care of everything for you- the time, the place, the officiant, the leis, the license & the photographer. But the bad part about packaged wedding deals is that they take care of EVERYTHING, which means there's not much room to make your wedding unique and personalized. You're just another "bride" and "groom" going through the same "wedding routine." Boo for that.


That's why I recommend that if you can, plan your own Maui wedding! Because a wedding is a lot more than beautiful location and a pretty dress- it's an expression of who you are as a couple! I believe so strongly in this idea that I've started a blog which exists solely for that purpose- mymauiwedding.blogspot.com has tips and inside information to help you find the ceremony & reception locations, flowers, favors, dresses, officiants, photographers, etc. to enable you to make your wedding as personalized as possible. (AND I'm available by email to help any and all Maui brides with their questions if you'd like.)


Besides consulting my blog, the very BEST advice that I can give you is to take a trip to Maui. There is no substitute for being on the island, because, if you didn't already know, the Hawaiian islands are full of magic and spirit of Aloha, and if you work in harmony with the islands, they tend to give you exactly what you need. I went in March to plan our October wedding and in one day I got the photographer, locations & day-of wedding planner. And during the rest of my weeks stay almost all of the other details were sorted out based on coincidences and connections we made while on the island. Talk about stress free wedding planning, well, it was pretty close to it. And if you check travel sites and sign up for fare updates specific to Maui you can find some super affordable fares.


Plus with the aid of my blogs like mine & Kelley's you can find local products for your wedding which, if your hotel or venue agree to it, you can save on postage by having things like favors & OOT (out of town) gift bag items shipped locally, instead of paying to have things from the mainland shipped to the islands. (Trust me, those shipping costs may cause heart failure.) I was lucky to have a family member on the island to act as my local mailing address.


So all you wahines contemplating getting Maui'd- go ahead and express yourself by making your wedding on Maui stand out from all the others, and I think you'll find that it can be easier than you think with help from sites like My Island Wedding , My Maui Wedding & a quick planning trip to Maui.


(Stay tuned for another post about my Maui wedding, including a story about a shark attack and our non-traditional beach day of relaxation mere hours before our "I do's.")

Contest - Happy New Year!

Enter to win Offbeat Bride: Taffeta-Free Alternatives for Independent Brides
By Ariel Meadow Stallings


Comment on this page, or send an email to Kelley@MyIslandWedding.com with

what you are looking most forward to in the year 2009!

The most creative, interesting, or funny answer will win.

Cool My Island Wedding Calendar Magnet to all that enter, (if you want...)

Deadline is December 31, 2008.

(Already married and don't need this book? We'll work out a suitable replacement...)

Your Thoughts - Wedding Organizers

OK, I am in the process of designing the "Perfect"; "Ultimate"; "Complete"... Wedding Organizer. Don't they ALL claim to be these things? They turn out to be pretty, but kind of impractical, flimsy, and not really perfect, ultimate or complete.

Lot's of photographs, pink pages, and cardboard!!!

We all get/got our photos from the gazillions of wedding magazines we buy/bought, right? Do we really need more in our organizer? No.

Would your fiance be caught dead carrying it? No.

Could we ever really use it again in our after married lives? No.

Please leave a comment here with any of the functions you DO like in your Wedding Organizer, and those that you DO NOT. This is for research purposes people! Be honest!!! And thank you in advance.

My Island Wedding Organizers to be available in 2009.

All New!!! Add Your Site!

Do you have a "Wedding Related" product, service or website? Or, know anyone who does? Have it listed for FREE here on My Island Wedding Listings!

It's BRAND NEW! Be one of the first to get in on the action.
Jewelry? Photography? Invitations? Favors? Florist? A Blogging Bride? Whatever...

I am in the process of contacting and compiling a list of some of my favorites that I would like to have appear, but feel free to contact me first!


{photos from: MarthaStewart.com}

Your Thoughts - How to cut the invite list?

OK..., we have an email from a bride-to-be who desperately needs to cut her invite list. The place where she wants to have it just cannot accommodate as many people as she feels obligated to invite. She also knows that some may be insulted at not being invited.

Hmmm. How does she cut her list? Any suggestions?

Been There, Done That - Viva Las Vegas!

This is our first "Been There, Done That" wedding story! Sounds fantastic and a lot of fun! Maybe you have a photo or two??? Thanks for the article...

"I can't believe it has been 10 years already!

At the time, my husband-to-be was working a side job as a wedding band musician. He was going to up to three weddings a weekend! And I was one of the "older brides" at the age of 33 and one of the last of my friends to walk down the isle. I had been a bridesmaid so many times, I had a whole closet filled with expensive dresses I would never wear again. Needles to say, we both did NOT want a traditional Long Island wedding in a catering hall.

So we opted for good ol' Viva Las Vegas! It was the best decision of my life. We told everyone when and where...several friends and family met us at the Candlelight Chapel right across the street from Circus Circus. My dad was there to "give me away". The "deluxe package" included limo ride to city hall for the license, back to the chapel, pictures, organist, video and flowers for the bride, maid-of-honor and flower girl, minister fee and limo ride back to the Luxor Hotel...for the amazing price of $400.00!!!! (1998 prices). We had a huge suite at the top of the pyramid and had everyone back for drinks...then dinner at the hotel restaurant.

After a night of gambling (we won $500 that night...paid for the ceremony!) we all had breakfast and everyone headed out to different locations to continue a great vacation. We honeymooned at the Grand Canyon, drove on the AMAZING Lake Powel and continued on to Sedona. Several guests went to California, some to Colorado, Palm Springs, etc.

I would do it again! In fact, we may even renew our vows there..."

COLORS!!!

Has everyone asked you "what are your colors for the wedding?" How annoying, and yet, how necessary for the entire scheme of your event! Blue? Green? Red? It all can convey the feeling of the day!

A bride asked "does the Save the Date card have to match the invitation?" Well, the answer is "no." At the time you need to send out the Save the Date, you probably don't even know what the invitation is going to look like, none the less, what colors, etc. Just so long as they both have your personality and style, they do NOT have to coordinate.

Remember, the save the dates are just to let your invitees know when and where you plan on getting married. They do not need to give details or exact information... send them out as early as you can. As early as 12 months ahead, if possible.

FYI... a bride I know had planned on blue dresses for her bridal party..., when they were no longer available, she moved on to a GORGEOUS bright green. She matched all her flowers accordingly, and voila... the perfect color match!