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Wedding Tip of the Week:

courtesy of BridalGuide.com
For a modern, bold look, choose one feature to play up with makeup. Go soft on the eyes, intense on the lips, or vice versa - but don't try to emphasize both. {see more wedding tips here}
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7:30AM

Eye Candy Friday : v25 {the loss of a florida talent}

Today's Eye Candy Friday is going to be a bit different. I had planned on something different, but as soon as I heard about the well-known and well-loved Florida photographer Naomi Williams who lost her battle with cancer on Weds. July 1st, I knew I had to post a photo in her memory. Naomi was only 29 years old and had a 2 1/2 year old little boy. As some of you may know I have a 2 1/2 year old little girl and she's the light of my life, so this story really hit home. I can't even begin to imagine what Naomi's family is going thru right now. With your help, we can both make a donation to help Naomi's family. A site has been set up at www.fornaomi.com, first as an ongoing update on Naomi, and now as a lasting memory of a beautifully talented lady. Donations can be made at this site to help the family with the financial burden of all the medical expenses. I encourage you to consider making a donation. And, for vendors . . . I will be donating 1/2 of each local resource listing purchased on BestWeddingSites.com {both photo enhanced and basic} between now and Thursday July 9th. So, please join our wedding directory and help a family very much in need of support during this difficult time.
above photo ©Naomi Williams
Rest in peace Naomi, you will be missed

If there's ever a better reminder of how precious life is, this story is one of them. So, this holiday weekend, please get out there and enjoy the time with your family and friends and be safe. I'll see you back here on Monday.

2:00AM

This and That . . .

It's time again for another round of wedding sales, contests and other wedding related tidbits that I've received word about during the week before a very special featured Eye Candy Friday post.

Blog Giveaway - now thru July 10th, enter to win a For My Bride and For My Groom journal set
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Gunther Gifts Summer Special
Purchase $250 and save $10 with coupon code "hot" as you go through checkout
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The Wedding Outlet's Independence Day Sale
Receive 10% off all orders thru July 6th with code "Stars09"
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Kathlin Argiro's Summer Sale
Shop the Summer 2009 Collection and use code "MTHK08" before July 15th for an additional 20% off
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Name Your Price on In-Stock & Sample Bridal Gowns
Brand New Program for The Bridal Warehouse - they are now giving brides the option to name their price on all of their designer in-stock and sample bridal gowns.

2:27PM

Giveaway : For the Bride/Groom Journals

Today I have another great giveaway for you from Jennifer at Lil' Angel Gifts. Jennifer creates sentimental gifts for the entire wedding party with her beautiful relationship journals that will be sure to touch the heart of every member of your wedding party.
Starting today, you will be able to enter and win a 'For My Bride' and 'For My Groom' journals from Lil' Angel Gifts as a set to exchange with one another. These journals give the bride and the groom the opportunity to reflect on their relationship with one another and topics are included to help you share your thoughts in the journal.

Topic samples include:
- details of our first meeting
- how I knew we were 'meant to be'...
- favorite memories of us...
- and others

To enter the contest, simply leave me a comment {wedding thought} letting me know what wedding gift you'd like to give to your soon to be husband or wife along with your wedding date. Contest runs thru Friday July 10th, with a winner being selected on Monday July 13th. Please be sure to leave your email address on the comment form {it will not be published} so I can email you if you're the lucky winner.

Contest prize: A 'For My Bride' and 'For My Groom' relationship journal set
Contest Deadline: Friday July 10th, 2009 at 11:59 pm EST
Contest Question to Answer: What wedding gift would you like to give to your soon to be husband or wife? {please include your wedding date also}

Jennifer also creates journals for family & friends, babies & children, bridal shower & anniversaries, and special needs resources, so be sure to visit Lil' Angel Gifts for a wonderful sentimental gift that your recipient is sure to love.

6:00AM

Festive and Easy DIY Decorations for the 4th

With the 4th of July being only 2 days away, I wanted to share with you some of the lovely DIY decorationsBHG.com that can be found at . Not only are these great for Independence Day, but they can easily be used for any backyard party you have planned, including upcoming summer wedding events.

1. Three graduated containers filled with florist foam soaked in water and blooms pressed in.
2. Paper lanterns around glass votives that are filled with water and a small bunch of florals.
3. Handful of white blooms with stars and stripes pinwheels added in
4. Fill rustic buckets and watering cans with sand and add in red, white and blue pinwheels
5. Fold 2" sections of a patriotic streamer accordion style, then wrap each section string
6. Fill a basket with decorative green grass, baseballs and red/blue croquet balls, topped of with flags

More detailed DIY instructions for the above and additional 4th of July decorations can be found at BHG.com

and stay tuned . . . coming up early this afternoon will be our contest winner announcement for the AB Designs Wood Frame and the launch of a brand new contest . . .

3:00AM

Winner Announced : AB Designs Bridal Wood Frame

We have a winner to announce for the AB Designs Wood Frame from their Bridal Line. We asked our entrants to leave a comment answering the following question: "What is your favorite wedding pose(s) for the bride and/or groom?" You can see everyone's favorites here (I love all the poses that everybody shared, thank you to all who entered).

The winner is Carissa who wrote:
"My all time favorite wedding pose is when the bride and groom do the word LOVE with their fingers... It's kind of hard to explain, but the groom stands on the left for example and makes an L with his thumb and and O with his left hand. The bride would be on the right side and does the V and E with her hands.... It makes such a cute picture!!!"

Congratulations Carissa - I'll be emailing you personally a little later today for your mailing address. Please note: winner(s) have 48 business hours to reply or another winner will be selected.

Thank you to everyone who entered, our next blog giveaway will be launching around 2 pm EST this afternoon.

11:30AM

Real Wedding : Annie and Jay in Austin, TX

Today's Real Wedding feature comes to us from Jessica Monnich Photography {blog here} in Texas. The couple, Annie and Jay were married at Mercury Hall in Austin, TX. I'm loving the colors and the centerpieces which were grown by their florist for this wedding. How great is that?
Additional Wedding Vendors included:
Wedding Coordinator: Barbara's Brides
Florists: Last Petal
Venue: Mercury Hall
Wedding Dress: Unbridaled


Thank you to Jessica of Jessica Monnich Photography for sharing this wedding with us. More from Annie and Jay's lovely wedding can be seen here.

3:00AM

Real Engagement : with a stylish, Hollywood feel

Today, I'll be sharing with you a Real Engagement session and a Real Wedding. First up is the engagement session of Elizabeth and Christian, photographed by Victor Sizemore from California. They first started at the Viceroy in Santa Monica, then moved onto the Hollywood Hills and finished up at the Griffith Observatory. Elizabeth was ultra fashionable with her 2 Betsy Johnson dresses and coordinating Jimmy Choo's. All of these shots are amazing - I'm loving the backdrops in each one and the silhouette photo is definitely one of my favorites.
Thank you to Victor of Victor C. Sizemore Photography for allowing me to share this gorgeous engagement session with my readers. You can see more of Elizabeth and Christian's engagement session here.

A bit later this morning, I have a Real Wedding to share with you from a Texas photographer.