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Wouldn't a free honeymoon be lovely?

Why not give it a try? Then you can use more of your budget for planning or for your future home as Mr. and Mrs.! Here are some honeymoon sweepstakes, let us know if you win!

Get Married is hosting a sweepstakes for an all inclusive honeymoon in Fiji!

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The Knot is hosting a 3 day, 2 night honeymoon giveaway at Dreams Resorts and Spas, choose from 11 locations!

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Bride.com is hosting a honeymoon sweepstakes for 7 days, 6 nights at a Sandals Resort!

 

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Bridalguide.com is giving away a 5 day, 4 night trip to Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort and Spa in St. Thomas!

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WeddingChannel.com is giving away 3 nights at Le Blanc Spa Resort in Cancun, Mexico!

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Good luck!


DIY: Faux porcelain vases

Love the look of mixed porcelain vases, but don’t have the budget to buy the authentic pieces for 20-plus tables? DIY your own, with Design*Sponge to the rescue!

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This beautiful tablescape is from Brides.com



Luxe Board: purple and artichoke green

I attended a lovely bridal event at The James Hotel a few weeks ago with one of our 2011 brides (and my sister-in-law!) where I saw the most striking tablescape done in a shade of green that I’m going to describe as artichoke. It was so interesting and modern, and at the same time had that always-welcome classic feel to it.


The bride’s color choices, as they stand now, are a vibrant purple and black, so this inspiration board is an experiment in combining! She’s after a relaxed feel with touches of vintage elegance. 


Inspiration: Classic and fun
Palette: fuschia-y purple and artichokey green

 


Sweet Tooth: an array of dessert options

There are so many options these days other than a traditional wedding cake. Perhaps one of these will inspire you!

Mini Cakes- a small cake on every table for your guests to cut on their own, or perhaps even a mini cake for each individual!

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Luxe Board: Midnight blue and moons

There's not much more magical than a deep blue, starry, full-moon night!

Inspiration: Celebrations under a full moon in any season!
Palette: Midnight blue, crisp whites, moony yellows



DIY: wedding veils

When it comes to wedding preparation, nearly every bride runs into one, if not, both of these two problems: needing to find places to cut cost corners, and not being able to find the perfect *fill in the blank*. But, lucky for us, there are ways! With even the most basic wedding veil starting at prices above $50 and skyrocketing deep into the $100s, your veil is a great place to save money and personalize your bridal look.

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Luxe Board: Baby's breath and black

When you think of baby’s breath, it’s likely all that comes to mind is “filler flower.” However, when you go over the top with it, arranging bunches and bunches together, the look is dramatic and ethereal to say the least.

 

Today’s board was inspired by the image on Revel Decor’s business card: a bold-yet-delicate baby’s breath arrangement. Paired with vintage, boudoir black and loads of ruffles, we get a wedding manages to be whimsical, modern, and classic all at the same time.

 

Inspiration: baby’s breath and onyx

Palette: white and black, of course!


Signature cocktails of the month

Did you choose your wedding date because the month or season has special meaning to you as a couple? Why not honor it again with your signature cocktail!

There are so many resources online for finding the perfect drink. (All of ours came from drinksmixer.com) You can search by ingredient, occasion, name, and so on. And while we searched for drinks specifically named after the months and seasons (and holidays, in some cases where the months didn’t bring anything up!), don’t forget that you could always simply rename your favorite cocktail to suit you!

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Image from marthastewart.com

 


DIY invites? Check out the Paper Source wedding tea!

Thinking of creating your own wedding invitations? Paper Source has long been the go-to source for pretty papers, envelopes and details for crafty brides, with an extensive variety of precut cards and coordinating colors to suit most wedding paper needs. But did you know about their annual wedding papers events?

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Luxe Board: Tribute to Alexander McQueen

This week, the fashion world lost one of its most beautiful, most unusual, most outrageous (and one of my absolute favorite) stars, Alexander McQueen. It’s a shocking loss and, in tribute, we remember him with today’s Luxe Board.

The centerpiece of this look is one of McQueen’s beautiful but bizarre gowns from his fall 2006 collection. It’s so perfect but so wacky (and, honestly, a little scary), and I couldn’t help but create a forest wedding around it! I’ve toned it down with little bits of goddess-y whimsy, but it’s striking all the same!

Inspiration: Enchanted forests and Alexander McQueen
Palette: Neutrals, greens and golds