Royal Wedding Date Set!!!

It's official, William and Kate (or shall I say Catherine,now) have set their wedding date. The grand nuptials will take place on Friday, April 29, 2011. William and Kate said that they really wanted a spring wedding and on a Friday. I just love spring weddings!

I must admit, when I heard they set their date for April 29th, I had a big sigh of relief. I'm so glad that they aren't getting married on my wedding or rehearsal day. I can't wait to watch this royal wedding on TV. Royal weddings usually set trends so perhaps I'll implement an idea or two from William and Kate's wedding.

The next detail to possibly be released will be the designer of Kate's wedding gown. Stay tuned!!!

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/40331330/ns/today-today_people/?GT1=43001

THE Ring

Prince William and his fiancée,Kate Middleton, greet photographers at St. James's Palace in London on Tuesday after announcing their engagement. The Prince gave his bride-to-be the oval sapphire ring that Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana.

http://www.people.com/people/gallery/0,,20442382,00.html#20877509

Why William proposed with Di's ring:

http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/prince-william-why-i-proposed-with-princess-dis-engagement-ring-20101611

Kate Middleton's Wedding Dress???

Curious to see what Kate Middleton's wedding dress might look like?

See this article: www.brides.com/wedding-dresses-style/wedding-dresses/2010/09/Kate-Middleton-Wedding-Dress-Top-Designers-Sketch-Ideas#slide=1

I hope she goes with a Reem!

Royal Wedding

So in case you haven't heard by now, Prince William and Kate Middleton are officially engaged!!! It has been 8 years in the making. They got engaged last month while vacationing in Kenya. They plan to marry in May or June of 2011!

I am so excited and anxious to hear the details unfold: their date, the dress, the cake, venue, flowers..... I'm also a little nervous that they will wed on my wedding day (May 14th). I really hope they do not wed on May 14th because I will really want to watch the wedding on TV and if they marry the same day I do, I'll be a little busy, haha. (Thank goodness for the 5 hour time difference though!) In all seriousness, I can't wait to see this royal wedding. I wasn't born yet when Diana and Charles got married and am a little jealous of those who got to watch it. If William and Kate wed on a week day (like Diana and Charles) I already told my boss I will be out that day!

I am so happy for the cute royal couple and look forward to learning about their wedding details. I'm not exactly sure what I'm most anxious about?! Her dress, perhaps?! What detail of William and Kate's wedding are you most excited for?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36740125/vp/34328514#34328514?from=en-us_msnhp>1=43006

2010 ABC Conference Re-cap

I'm back from Phoenix from the ABC Annual Business of Brides Conference. It was an informative conference and I had a wonderful time. The 2 major highlights of the conference were definitely hearing Sasha Souza and David Tutera speak. They were both very engaging and awesome presenters. I literally got goose bumps when they spoke about their passion for their business and weddings.

I also met a lot of great people and did some networking. I am also very happy and proud to announce that my roommate, Ariel, of Ariel Yve Design presented and was awarded her Master Bridal Consultant designation. Way to go, Ariel! You deserve it!

I'm back in Cincinnati now with my batteries re-charged and even more passionate about weddings and starting my business. What a great conference!

Next year's conference will be in Baltimore, MD. I can't wait to hear who the keynote speakers will be and more details about it. Stay tuned!

Here is a pic I snagged of David Tutera while he was giving his presentation. Awesome seats!

2010 ABC's Annual Business of Brides Conference

Bright and early Sunday morning I will be flying to Phoenix, Arizona for the Association of Bridal Consultants Annual Business of Brides Conference!!! It is being held at the Arizona Grand Resort. I've never been to Phoenix so I am looking forward to traveling to a new place. I am also excited to room with Ariel Yve of Ariel Yve Design (www.arielyve.com) again.

This year's keynote speakers include David Tutera, Sasha Souza, and Alan Berg. Wow! What a conference this will be! I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE David Tutera and look forward to meeting him. I've heard he is a doll and quite charming. I have heard Sasha Souza speak before at a previous ABC event and she was engaging as could be.

Needless to say. I am super stoked for Phoenix, warm weather, meeting new people, seeing old friends, learning about new wedding trends and reinforcing my passion for weddings.

I'll be back on Wednesday, friends. Pictures to come!!!

Artyce Bridal Shoes

I am starting to think about my bridal accessories, i.e. shoes, veil, jewelry etc. I really want my bridal ensemble to look complete and compliment my dress. I am a pretty super classic and traditional bride, but shoes are the one thing I can be a little more daring and artsy with.

While watching one of my favorite TV shows, WE TV's, My Fair Wedding, David Tutera (celebrity planner extraordinaire), introduced a semi-new company called Artyce Designs Custom Footwear. And do they ever mean CUSTOM! Wowsa! Whatever you want they can pretty much create it. You begin by selecting the style of shoe you want and then design from there. Standard bridal shoes with a little embellishment start at $279.

My favorite is the "butterfly" shoe. I love the rainbow effect on the heals. I am seriously thinking about calling them to design my bridal shoes. While I don't want to give away the design I have in mind, you can bet I will incorporate my "something blue". Check out their website to see the glam power of their shoes! One could definitely hold up traffic donning Artyce heals! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

http://www.artycedesigns.com/boutique.html

Shellac Manicure

Further to my post of yesterday, I went to my regular nail salon, Zoom (in Mason), and got the shellac manicure. It was fantastic! The do the normal manicure routine and then they use special shellac nail gel and then you put your hands under a UV light and let sit for a few minutes, then they proceed to put whatever nail color you choose and repeat. My nails are beautiful. They are suppose to last at least 2 weeks. I'll report the results in a few. So far though, I'm loving it!

Wedding Cake Update

I've been a blogging slacker since the I left for The Wedding MBA Conference in Las Vegas at the end of September (it was a great conference by the way!).

The weekend after I got back from my trip we received a letter from our bakery, Maribelle, stating that they were closing up shop and they returned our deposit. I was pretty bummed because their cake was to die for.

On the other hand, I had been thinking that I wasn't in-love with our cake design. It was pretty - but somewhat ordinary. I wanted better (dream bigger - that's my motto!). So I guess Maribelle closing was a sign from the wedding gods. Back to the drawing board for us...

Dave and I immediately set up 2 cake tastings: one at Sweet Water Bakehouse in the Reading Bridal District, and the other at A Spoon Fulla Sugar in Symmes Township. Both were wonderful and we are confident that they could each deliver what we want. We do have a third tasting appointment at Bakery Hill (Midwest Culinary Institute - Cincinnati State) on November 20th (she couldn't meet with us sooner). As David said as soon as he read the letter from Maribelle "If you have to repeat any of the wedding planning process - the cake tasting is the best part to repeat!"

I'll let you know who we end up contracting with. I definitely see sugar flowers and red velvet cake in our future though!

Save The Date's

I am please to announce that we mailed our Save The Date's last week. As far as design goes, I knew exactly what I wanted. Dave's brother, Steve, and sister-in-law, Hannah executed my (our, haha) vision beautifully. They were great to work with. We are also getting a bid from them to do our wedding invitations. Steve and Hannah's company is called Vellum Designs - check them out, really! http://www.vellumdesigns.com/

Save The Date's are great idea to send when you have a lot of out-of-town guests because it prompts people to put the date on their calendar and start budgeting and planning their travel to your wedding. They don't necessarily have to follow suit with the theme of your wedding but I opted to do so because to me, it's the first glimpse of your wedding that your guests will see. The message I wanted to convey to my guests is that our wedding is going to be elegant, chic, and timeless. Pink is very me and one of our wedding colors so it made sense to use it. I love the awning strip effect it has - c'est tres chic! Isn't it just charming?!

Model In A Bottle

Your wedding day is the most photographed day of your life. That's why I highly recommend having your make-up done by a professional and also using a product called, Model In A Bottle, to keep your face looking fresh and beautiful all day/night long.

Model In A Bottle really is a revolutionary product. It keeps your make-up fresh all day and is resistant to tears, sweat, and humidity. You can't be the price either! As soon as I discovered it, I bought it and can attest to its authenticity.

This is a must-have for a night out on the town and on your wedding day! What are your favorite or must-have beauty products?

http://www.modelinabottle.com/index.html

Introducing The Shellac Manicure

Do you love getting manicures but hate how quickly it gets ruined?! Well, I have the product for you! I'm a girly girl and love having beautiful nails. I recently found this new nail company/polish that can keep your manicure looking fabulous for 14 days (perfect for any girl, but especially for a bride). It's called Shellac by CND. Now this is what I call state-of-the-art technology!

See the websites below and find a salon that offers the Shellac manicure:

http://www.cnd.com/Consumer.aspx

http://www.alllacqueredup.com/2010/03/introducing-cnd-shellac-hybrid-nail-color.html

Stay beautiful girls!