VowDoo’s Best in Wedding Blog

The absolutely great thing about blogging about wedding blogs is you see all these fantastic ideas that just make weddings these days so much more exciting. And the absolutely worst thing about it? Realizing that you didn’t get to do these clever things for your wedding! Argh. So my dearest brides, do me a favor, and try these ideas for your wedding. It would make me feel a lot better.

So here’s one idea I wish I had thought about: grid painting guestbook. Bridal Cheek wrote about this superbly original couple who asked their guests to paint on each square on a canvas, ultimately creating a patchwork of mementos. And now they have the “guestbook” hanging on their wall, as opposed to it just gathering dust in some cabinet.

Memorable art

Over at Bridal Buzz, I found these song request cards from Elizabeth Anne Designs — whose blog, by the way, you should also check out for other great ideas—that can make your reception a lot more organized and super hip.

Elizabeth Anne Designs' song request cards

And here’s an artsy, quirky, fabulous gift idea for the soon-to-be-married couple. Blush Events wrote about Mark Weber’s custom comic strips. Imagine having your story—well not your whole couple story, maybe just the proposal or how you met—in a real-life comic strip. Can you say cool?! (I think now I know what I’ll ask the hubby for on our first anniversary.)

Mark Weber's Custom Comics

On Kiss the Groom, they did a feature on this couple’s wedding. Kristen and Todd’s wedding had so many inspired ideas—from the theme (which was something of a Midsummer Night’s Dream) and location down to the bride’s stunning headpiece and the clever “Toss Me” table. Check out the page for the whole story and wonderful images.

Kristen and Tod's wedding

I have seen A LOT of other brilliant ideas that make me want to get married again (to the same man, of course), and this topic is far from being closed for discussion! There’s sooo much more to share. And that’s what this blog is for: I will do the “research” for you…willingly and happily.

My previous post on DIY invitations got me thinking about the budding recessionista—the fashionista living in these trying economic times—in all of us. It’s a really good thing to be able to work out the wedding of your dreams…within your very realistic budget.

DIY Bride, who creates crafty brides out of all us (yes even the not so crafty types like moi), posted Darcy Miller’s 10 Fantastic Ways To Trim Your Budget. I liked the idea of having a signature drink—and name it after you and your man—as opposed to a full bar which may cause a real dent on the wallet. Darcy is Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Weddings, and you’d find similar fab ideas on their site. Don’t we just love Martha?

DIY Tin Cans by 100 Layer Cake

DIY is always a surefire way to cut back on costs, and there are many items on your wedding list that you can turn into do-it-yourself projects. Immersing yourself in these projects may even turn therapeutic and take the edge off the planning—unless, of course, you’re the anti-arts and crafts type. As for the budding Marthas, check out 100 Layer Cake and Bridal Cheek for their fabuloso ideas for table numbers.

Bridal Cheek's DIY table numbers

The Broke-Ass Bride takes it a little further with her ingenious new concept/project, the Brideshare—“where sharing and saving make a perfect marriage.” What it essentially means is: You get to team up with another bride, say on table centerpieces, and split the costs. Don’t you just love the spirit of this community?!

Speaking of… I loved the spirited discussion of this community about the whole budget thing. East Side Bride and A Practical Wedding had plenty to say about the subject of wedding budgets—high or low. Go to their pages to see what they have to say. And I must say: I totally and a million percent agree!

As a postscript to my previous post, I have more unique ideas for your wedding invitations—and I really need to do this because the new stuff I found are just j’adorable (just my own way of saying I adore it because it’s adorable—since we’re on the subject of being “unique”!).

So anyway, I found these cute-as-buttons personalized wedding invitations on Offbeat Bride. They’re made by Stinkerpants Designs, but there’s definitely nothing stinky about their designs. You’ll loooove the amazing illustrations by Sara—imagine a cooler, infinitely more colorful you and your man on paper. This invitations spells F-U-N.

Imagine an "animated" you?

Scroll down this post and you’ll also find another novel idea, this time a little more edgy but still absolutely one-of-a-kind. Hurricane Me makes 100% handmade invitations and RSVP cards on recycled paper. They’re virtual works of art, really. I would actually frame these invitations.

Hurricane Me's works of art

Over Amour Amour, you’ll find old fashion meets new style (if that even makes sense) calligraphy options. There’s something so romantic and elegant about calligraphy. I still get goosebumps when I see my name in calligraphy—somehow Natalie becomes a lot more sophisticated. Calligraphy on invitations, thank you cards, menu cards is always a failsafe option, and you’ll find some talented calligraphers on this post. I liked the works of Julie Williams, Tracy-Joe, and, particularly, Byrn of Paperfinger and Linea-Carter. They have non-traditional calligraphy but still tres chic.

Byrn of Paperfinger

Linea-Carter

Trendsetting Wedding also had a similar idea on how cool handwritings can spell success for your weddings. Check out their post on Gala Font, who uses modern fonts for their free hand lettering (pssst…it also costs less than formal calligraphy).

And lastly—and my personal favorite (don’t we always save the best for last?)—are these invitations by 13 Creative, which I saw on The Ritzy Bee. It’s the complete package, so to speak. You have to check it out!

Complete package by 13 Creative

There are more out there, for sure. Stay tuned!

They say that tiny piece of paper sets the tone or mood of your wedding. We’re not talking about the price quote your wedding planner just faxed in today (though that will set your mood). We’re talking invitations.

Consider your invitations the “first impression” you will create on your guests. Your invitation will clue your guests in on what to expect come time for your special day. Is it elegant and formal? (Long gown, champagne, all-night dancing) Is it laid-back and quirky? (Cocktail dress, margaritas, crazy hangover the next day)

But it seems “unique” is a word brides are embracing when it comes to deciding on the design of their invitations. It’s all about DIY these days, and we love how so much goes into each of these invitations. On DIY Bride, they showed how to make a Die Cut Box Invitation, which is essentially your invitation in a pretty packaging. Have to warn you, though: If you’re not particularly crafty like me, you may want to re-think doing this yourself. There are 14 steps, and by the sixth step, I was already feeling loopy. The end product, however, makes it all worth it—but it is a labor of love.

DIY Bride's DIY invitation

DIY invite from Marissa

On 2000 Dollar Wedding, their guest columnist Marissa shared a less laborious step-by-step on another DIY invitation which was truly eco-chic. With an invitation like this, I so see the couple getting married in some garden or vineyard. You can also check out The Inspired Bride for the free design elements from CSA Images: high res tiff files of patterns, ornaments, and borders for your invitations and stationery.

Freebies from CSA Images!

But one other option for invitations that left me in limbo is the paperless invitation from Paperless Post, which 2000 Dollar Wedding also wrote about. It’s basically an e-mail invitation, but it looks REAL. I’m undecided on this one. It is one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly, and cost-efficient (imagine the money you’ll save on mailing!), but I do like the tactile experience of receiving an invitation. What do you think?

Save on mail, go paperless

I chanced upon these amazing photos on 100 Layer Cake this week, and I literally had goosebumps. Loved, loved, loved the Sweet Monday photos of the bride, her bridesmaids, and her dress (that Monique Lhuillier frock—the Eugenie is what it’s called, I believe—sent shivers down my spine). This just goes to show the true power of photography. Ladies, if you’re ever gonna do some penny-pinching on your wedding, it better not be on the photography! You spent $10,000 on your dress, might as well have that immortalized.

Love Monique Lhuillier's Eugenie dress!

That said, picking the right photographer should be your numero uno concern. 100 Layer Cake (do I like this blog, or what?) also featured works of Cassidy DuHon which I also adored. The sepia photography was blissfully haunting. And those snapshots of the table cards and cakes. And the little boy. And the dancing. Yum! It’s photojournalism at its best, honey, which is really the way to go with weddings. You don’t want staid, posing, say-cheese pics. You want to capture the moment, the amore. The more you are unaware of the photographer’s presence, the better.

Photo by Cassidy DuHon

Style Me Pretty also had a similar post on wonderful wedding photography. Goosebumps again. The featured photographer, Belathee, creates fashion editorials out of weddings. Seriously. They’ve got C-O-N-C-E-P-T. Over at Vintage Glam Weddings Katherine O’Brien wowed me with retro-cool photos (and the lovely couple did add to the quirkiness, too—loved that groom’s moustache!). At Trendsetting Wedding, I saw some talented photogs, too—from the incredibly vibrant shots of Birdsong Photography and Misha Media to the vintage, rustic vibe of Anne Pearson and Kari Crowe.

Photo by Katherine O' Brien

I’m pretty sure there are more fabulous photographers out there. So whether you and your guy fancy old school or new school photography, you’ve got to look for the perfect photog. Give it your best shot.

Photographs by Belathee

Ever since he proposed (congratulations, by the way!!!), you’ve probably purchased every single wedding magazine available, TiVo’d episodes of Platinum Weddings, and spent mornings at your office desk reading up on the latest and awww-inducing wedding trends—with your thumb and pinky permanently fixed on “Alt + Tab” (just in case the coworkers walk by).  Or maybe you’re the boss and you get to do this blatantly!  Well ladies, I say you only experience this once (hopefully!), so let’s embrace it, luxuriate in it, but let’s do so efficiently.

This is where I come in (wasn’t that intro just grand?).  I am here to make sure you have more time to get out from underneath the magazines and blogs, and begin to enjoy planning the rest of your wedding.

I’m Natalie, Vowdoo’s “wedding curator”, and I absolutely LOOOOVE weddings. At the risk of sounding like a loser (which I assure you, I am absolutely not) or that I have no life (I do, and it’s quite fabulous),  I am obsessed with planning weddings—from my own wedding last year to my girlfriends’ (and I mean all my girlfriends). I was the woman everyone wanted to have as their maid of honor (and quite frankly, if they had asked me, I probably would have said yes to all of them). I could have stayed engaged, planning my wedding for the rest of my life. Really. But then hubby was just too damn irresistible

And so as curator, I will read, re-read, and dissect the most magnificent wedding blog posts and news stories each and every day, and share the fruits of my “work” with all of you.

So welcome to Vowdoo and our wedding blog of all wedding blogs. Allow me to help you plan your special day.

P.S. The Vowdoo web app is currently under development as we chitchat here, so if you have fantastic ideas to share about things that would make planning your wedding easier —and I’m pretty sure you do—feel free to share the love.