Wedding expert Colin Cowie will be on the Today Show Friday, February 5th. He will be providing Valentines day tips and trends to help make this day special for you and the ones you love!
As he states, "Valentine's Day is not just for lovers anymore! I have some fun ideas too, from just the two of you to a family of twenty-two and everything in between. So don't be locked into a dinner for just you and your significant other. If friends are part of the picture and you don't want to do it alone, bring out a tray of delicious champagne cocktails and inject a shot of unexpected color into what might have been an all red scene. If family is hanging about (it does land on Sunday), why not invite them all for some heart shaped fun; a pancake buffet with all the toppings; from chocolate chips to strawberries and whipped cream, almonds and honey. It doesn't get any better. If it's just you and your lover, make it a sizzling one with a classic romantic movie and dinner of lobster, prawns and oysters -- all aphrodisiacs and sure to set the mood."
Be sure to catch Colin Cowie because we all know this wedding style guru will have AMAZING ideas!
At Dynamite Weddings we are always looking for professionals online and off that we would recommend to our readers and closest friends. We recently came acrossWedding Window, a site for creating your custom wedding website that we think is stellar! You can upload images, custom logos and monograms, and colors. In Style Weddings, Winter 2008, chose Wedding Window as a top pick for "World Wide Wed". You can also choose to have your own custom domain name for convenience, for a nominal fee. Be sure to check outWedding Window to start your free trial for your own custom wedding website.
Get Married Media just recently announced the launch of their first issue of the Get Married magazine. If that's not exciting enough...they have launched the first wedding magazine to offer the new Microsoft Tag technology! What is Tag? Microsoft Tags, the sophisticated technology powered by High Capacity Color Barcodes (HCCBs), allows the users to interact with the content in the magazine in new ways using their mobile device, making it more informative, immersive and fun.
Of course before I told you about it, I had to test it out for myself. Get Married magazine sent a pdf page link over that I was able to print. I had to visit gettag.mobi from my Blackberry to download the Tag software (which took seconds). I opened the app, took a picture of the Tag with my phone and...tah, dah...a video of what I was seeing, narrated by Deanna Pappas came up! What an exciting feature! Once you've visited a tagged page, you can save it or visit the history in your GetTag browser to view it again. Try it for yourself at GetMarried.com. To sign up to receive a free copy of their new publication visit Get Married Magazine.
On Thursday's we will be introducing you to our Dynamite Friends and Experts, getting to know them and sharing some fun tidbits about them that you may (or may not) want to know about! :)
This week we are taking a look at one of our newest Dynamite Friends, Julianne Smith. Julianne Smith's custom garter business started in 2005 when she was given the task of finding a friend the perfect garter for her wedding. When Julianne couldn't find what she was looking for...she made it! You may have recently seen her work featured on the Today Show Throws A Wedding with Kathie Lee and Hoda. You want stripes, fur, polka dots, name embroidery, stars, satin, ribbons, bows....the possibilities are endless!!
We asked Julianne a few questions to get to know here and here's what we found out:
My favorite design element&a good sense of personal style.
The biggest lesson Ive learned since starting in this industry&is knowing the importance of staying true to yourself and your craft.
My favorite song played, or to be played, at my wedding&is When You Say Nothing at All...ahhhh, brings back memories and makes me smile just thinking about it....!
The one item of clothing I cant live without&is an awesome pair of jeans.
I get my inspiration from&anything and everything!
One thing readers may not know about me&I used to be the spokeswoman for our countrys nuclear arsenal...hows that for tidbit about my former life?!!
If I were a pair of shoes, I would be&Chanel ballet flats (for right now that is, my style is always changing!)
The best gift Ive ever received&my husband who gave me my daughter (so cheesy, I know!)
I tend to blog&about what is on my mind and lately it is all wedding garters all the time!
To find out more about Julianne and her creative garter creations, check out her site!
Last week we shared with you a portion of our interview with Ms. Polka of Polka Dot Bride blog. Below you will find out some more fun facts about her in our second installment of her interview. We love to learn about our Dynamite Blog Friends! I don't know about you, but I couldn't live without my Uggs either (like Ms. Polka).:)
The song I can't get enough of...I have such mixed taste in music! At the moment I am loving Taking Photographs by Australian band The Rooftops. It reminds me of balmy summer days with barbeques and fresh lemonade.
3 things instrumental to a successful wedding are...Love, joy and perspective.
The one item of clothing I can't live without...Ugg boots. I am a born and bred Aussie and believe in the legend that us the Ugg boot.
My favorite wedding element (flowers, photos, the food, linens, etc.)...Shoes. Or wine. But really I don't have a favourite, it's how it all comes together which I love!
One thing readers may not know about me...I'm completely enchanted by Christmas lights.
The best website and/or blog for planning a green wedding...Natural Weddings http://www.naturalweddings.com.au/ is an Australian website devoted to eco friendly wedding providers.
The best gift I've ever received...Anything people have put thought into! I'm not a big voucher person so I like presents where someone has really put thought into it- an angel Mr Polka bought me, a jewelry box from my mother, a book of photos of my cousins from my Aunt&the list goes on!
I tend to blog...in my head at night when it's dark and I should be sleeping. It's where I come up with some of my favourite ideas!
If I wasn't writing this blog, you all can't live without, I would be...probably writing a cooking blog. I imagine I would be writing in some form or another!
We thought you would enjoy getting to know our Dynamite Friends and learning what they do, what they enjoy and their wedding advice. Check out our first interview on our NEW website, with Ms. Polka from Polka Dot Bride. Her creative inspiration boards, fantastic real weddings and weekly columns are enlightening colorful and well thought out. Be sure to visit her Polka Dot Bride site and read more about her here:
My favorite wedding trend right now is... Coloured shoes- its such a touch of personality and really pops under a white wedding gown
Short wedding gowns- fun and flirty and perfect for a casual or retro style wedding
Patterned socks for the guys- I love seeing the guys having a little fun with their attire!
If I could get married anywhere in the world, it would be.. Take me anywhere with Mr Polka Dot and surround us with our loved ones and I'd be happy!
Three blogs I stalk, besides Dynamite Weddings, are... I read so many blogs every day and get something fantastic out of them all!
For some non bridal Australian flavour I love
LifeHacker Au- So many nifty little ideas that save so much time. I always learn something new. http://www.lifehacker.com.au/
Not Quite Nigella - Gorgeous food reviews, pretty photos and brilliant recipes from a Sydney girl. http://www.notquitenigella.com/
Desire To Inspire - If you're looking for inspiration for any room of your home, this is the blog to find it. Every day there are oodles of gorgeous interior photos which make me want to redo my house every single time!
http://desiretoinspire.blogspot.com/
The item most commonly forgotten at a wedding... moments with your husband. The time where you step away and just go We're married and breath it all in together. The day goes so fast that a few quiet moments alone to reflect make it really sink in.
The biggest lesson I've learned since starting in this industry... that the more personal a wedding- the better! If something isn't you , don't fall into the trap of doing it just because! I've also learned just how valuable a day of coordinator is!
The best piece of advice I can share with brides planning their wedding... If you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed or obsessed about a detail, take a step back. Keeping your perspective is so important and makes for a much happier wedding day!
Check back next week for the remaining answers from Ms. Polka! We found out so many great things about her that we couldn't squeeze it all into one post.
Is your new hubby asking what you could possibly do with 200 votive candle holders? Will you wear those white wedding day shoes again? Or are you looking for gently used items for your own wedding day?
Visit Bride to Bride Boutique to sell the items that you won't reuse or to find those items that you are looking to save a few bucks on. They have a wide assortment of bridal attire, wedding decor, favors, attendant gifts, jewelry, accessories. Stop by the Boutique today!
We are excited for the January release of Bride Wars with Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway! While we hope two best friends wouldn't let their venue come between their long standing friendship, we can't wait to see these two go at it in this flick! Do you see yourself pulling some of the same pranks as Liv or Emma? Check out the official site to find out if you are more like Liv or Emma. The quiz says I'm more like Liv, which I'd have to agree. How about you? See you in line on January 9th.
I found this great site today - Dynamite Weddings. It has fabulous quick tips from past brides and it's a really easy read. Add it to your blog list for tons of new ideas!
Here's an example
Trend - Rain Card Couples are trying to be well prepared for any potential situation these days. If you're having a wedding reception during a potentially rainy season, think about including a rain card with an alternate location or directions in case it rains. Photo courtesy of The Memory Journalists Design by Stephanie J Designs
From the site: It is an innovative, complimentary service igniting the industry by sharing new ideas and industry â??Tips and Trendsâ?? or TNT. The primary and unique focus of Dynamite Weddings is our daily changing content that engages, empowers, and inspires brides and grooms throughout their wedding plans. The eye catching content offers interaction between brides and experts, which differs from current sites that merely catalog vendors.
With Fall on the brain, it's hard not to get wrapped up in all the amazing colors and fun you can have! We recently submitted a blog post for Wishpot's wedding blog and included lots of cool, colorful pics and some awesome favors. Check out the blog post here.Don't forget to vote for Wishpot in the 2nd Annual Open Web Awards, Social Shopping category. We just did!
