VowDoo’s Best in Wedding Blog

Okay, so did you stay glued to June Bug like I did whole day yesterday? Check out the site for all the DETAILS on The Most Ridiculous Wedding Event Ever by Mindy Weiss. June Bug was the official and exclusive blogger of the event, which happened yesterday. And needless to say, June Bug has a LOT of photos and insider info…check it out!

Well, on to other ridiculously pretty sightings…

The Ritzy Bee Blog has been posting some really cute stuff lately–all of them kid-inspired. These posts almost made me want me to go back to my childhood. (Well, not really.) Check out these fun items and these fun sketches. (And note my total abuse of the word FUN. Lol.) The first pic would actually really look cute in the kid’s room or nursery.

"Childish chic" illustrations

And how about this pink-hued gown posted on Green Wedding Shoes? Reminded me a bit of Gwen Stefani’s own pink-colored Dior wedding gown which was absolutely breathtaking AND modern/edgy at the same time. (And way more pink than this.) Only Gwen can pull off stuff like that!

Anyway, here’s Green Wedding Shoes’ much softer version:

The pink wedding dress in the Green Wedding (Shoes) blog

Well, this one looked ridiculously fun: Check out the candy bar on this real wedding I saw on The Wedding Chicks.

Candy!!!

BUT (and this is the really fun part), there was a lot of booze too…

Wedding beer on The Wedding Chicks

Notice how this wedding–and this whole post of mine, actually–shows how you can merge childhood and adulthood? How you can claim to be an adult but still enjoy all the kiddie stuff? Now that is pretty ridiculous! But hey, that’s what makes it all the more fun and exciting, right?

There are a number of things that happen before the actual wedding. And most of them are headache-inducing. But I always say this to all my soon-to-be-bride friends: Have fun!

I say it almost like an order. It is imperative to have fun while planning your wedding. You’ve only got one chance (hopefully) to plan a wedding, might as well enjoy doing it and make the most of it.

One easy way to have fun is during your bachelorette party. I say this with a wicked smile on my face. That said, do not go overboard. You still want to get married, don’t you?

Check out this post from The Wedding Chicks. These ladies look like they had tons of fun. And don’t you think that it was totally ingenious that they captured their bachelorette party moments in these awesome photos? For more photos from this fabulous group of girlfriends, check out The Wedding Chicks.

Beautiful black and white photos from The Wedding Chicks

I think every bachelorette party should be immortalized in photos!

And speaking of fun, fun, fun photos, check out this post om The Brooklyn Bride. Studiobooth sounds like a totally cool wedding party idea.

The gang's all here!

Studiobooth pics from Brooklyn Bride

I’m telling you: The way to go before, during and after your wedding is to have CRAZY fun.

Enjoy!

I’m always excited to find new (well, not so new, but new to moi–I know, it’s embarrassing ) wedding blogs. Here are a couple more I found one lazy Sunday morning, and I thought I’d share them with you.

The Wedding Cabaret is one new, fabulous find. I found this post on the site. COOL wedding photography. Love the concept and the angles…and everything. There’s something about “off photo cropping” that I personally like.

Cool Bethany and David wedding photos from The Wedding Cabaret

Oh, and you’d also enjoy their Muse Boards. I’m sure I’ll be shopping around the Cabaret again.

Well, how about we go English?

Check out Sugar Blossom Weddings. It’s very spare and clean in design, and you’ll get some interesting tidbits on the latest wedding trends. Check out their Top 10 Wedding Trends here.

I love this blog’s name: The Cinderella Project. And when I checked it out, the more I fell in love! Very, very chic! I absolutely love Cinderella’s post on finding THE perfect bridal gown–we all know how tricky that is. But you’ll love these one-shouldered beauties that “Cinderella” found. I’ll be checking out this site more often, for sure.

Beautiful gown from The Cinderella Project

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for new wedding blogs. So if you know of one OR if you keep one, do me a favor and keep me in the loop, okay?

What’s a fun and whimsical wedding? I mean, when we say out-of-the-box, offbeat weddings, we think weddings with very contemporary, almost avant-garde themes–or weddings that don’t follow the traditional route of most weddings. Of course, its complete antithesis is the classic, traditional weddings–you know, the stuff most little girls’ dreams are made of: wedding at the Ritz, fabulous gown with the long train, overflowing flowers…

So what’s the fun and whimsical wedding? I’m not one to label weddings (I’m much too busy just enjoying myself to care so much about labels), so I wouldn’t really know how to define this exactly for you. But I do know a fun, whimsical wedding when I see one.

I thought this wedding I saw on Lucky Me was pretty delightful. I loved the couple’s “bicycle” shots. Don’t they look adorable?

Real fun wedding on Lucky Me

This wedding at a winery over at Style Me Pretty was also very pretty, cozy, and laid-back. And the couple did look like they really enjoyed themselves at their wedding.

Wedding at the winery on Style Me Pretty

The Wedding Paper Divas, meanwhile, had plenty of fun ideas for your reception. They also featured a unique baseball-themed wedding here.

A game of croquet for your wedding, perhaps?

Well, one thing’s for sure, if Amy Atlas is involved, there’s bound to be a lot of whimsy to your wedding! I am a HUGE fan of her work. Amy’s dessert buffet tables are just D-I-V-I-N-E. I just talked about her work in a recent post. Austin Wedding Blog likewise wrote about Amy and showed many of her wonderful, yummy tablescapes. You have to check it out. Or you can also visit Amy’s site.

Check out Amy Atlas' creations on Austin Wedding Blog

Enjoy and have FUN!

You need “something new” for the wedding, and I thought I needed something new as well in this blog. I still love all those blogs I feature often, but I thought I’d go explore and find some new (but not really so new) blogs that I’ve missed out on.Why I never stumbled onto these blogs before, I don’t know.

First on the list is Santa Barbara Chic, the blog of events planner Kelly Oshiro. It may have been divine intervention that I saw this blog now since, apparently, it’s got a spankin’ new layout. And I must say that I love it, especially the photo that greeted me as I was welcomed to Santa Barbara Chic (formerly Santa Barbara Wedding Chic). The new layout–and the whole blog itself–looks very chic, indeed. Check it out for a lot of beautiful design ideas.

Tres chic at Santa Barbara Chic

Another blog I was excited to see is She Walks in Beauty. It’s the wedding style blog of Sugar Plum Invitations. I fell in love with the colors–aqua and yellow–and then salivated over the yummy-looking souffle. Check it all out here.

Love, love, love this shot from She Walks in Beauty

What could be a more fitting new discovery than this: the Something Old, Something New blog, the official blog of Kenzie Kate Invitations. I chanced upon this very cute headband from Old Soul, New Heart (how apt again). Read more about it on Something Old, Something New.

Okay, now this is really off topic, but I just have to share this post from Brooklyn Bride (definitely not a “something new” blog for me). It’s the CUTEST story…and totally genius. Props go to the mom!! Check out the whole story here. Enjoy!

You'll be keeping all your kid's stuff after reading about this on Brooklyn Bride

My last post on wedding favors/treats made me realize that I haven’t written anything related to the sweetest element in a wedding (besides the first kiss, of course. And the first dance. And oh, the wedding vows too…): the wedding cake.

The very first thing I look for the moment I enter the reception hall is the wedding cake. I love seeing how the couple has decided to interpret their “love story” through their cake. It’s not unusual to see cakes that really tell a story, you know. Some literally, even. There was one cake I saw on TV when the couple asked that their first meeting–in some bar–be “recreated” on their cake. Fun!

If you want to see what I’m talking about, check out this post on Our One Heart. This couple obviously liked Star Wars, don’t you think?

Star Wars inspired wedding cake on Our One Heart

The wedding cake can actually set the theme of your wedding or help carry out your theme. Sometimes, it doesn’t even have to be cakes. Cupcakes have become very popular at weddings these days.

One couple on Polka Dot Bride wanted to do away with usual wedding traditions, and so they got rid of the wedding cake and did wedding cupcakes (from Sprinkles Cupcakes) instead. And if I must say, their table spread looked really yummy.

Sprinkles Wedding cupcakes at Polka Dot Bride

And speaking of spreads, check out this dessert spread on Bellissima Vita Weddings. Technically, this was for a birthday party, but this is something you can definitely do for your wedding.

Desserts on display at Bellissima Vita Weddings Blog

Where you put your cake is just as important. With This Ring Weddings had some very pretty Clara French cake stands which you can use for your wedding–and after.

Clara French cake stands on With This Ring Weddings

Want something less ornate and more modern? How about something industrial? Bellissima Vita Weddings also featured this. It’s a galvanized metal cupcake stand–for your own wedding cupcakes.

Galvanized metal cupcake stand from Bellissima Vita Weddings

I remember during my wedding preparations, I took forever to decide on the invitations. I went through so many options concerning font types, the kind of paper that will be used, how will it be printed, and so on. I was happy with the final product, and at that time I thought I was really clever for picking out my invitation.

But then I see all these wedding invitations now and I go, “wow.” And I thought mine was pretty one-of-a-kind.

Just take a look at these invitations from Green Wedding Shoes. Yes, those are books turned into wedding invitations. Now that is truly one-of-a-kind. Makes you wonder though just how many books they had to convert…and where did they get all those books?! And can you imagine the hard labor that went into each invitation. I would love to get an invite to this wedding.

It's not a flask inside! Wedding invitation from Green Wedding Shoes

From vintage, we go to something really modern. Check out these invitations I saw over at Brooklyn Bride. This is the complete antithesis of the above example. Whereas the vintage book was made by hand, this one uses the amazing technology of graphic design and modern printing! The couple, Nicole and Jerome, designed an invitation booklet. It’s downright genius! And if you must know, they say the printing wasn’t so expensive.

Pages from the invitation booklet posted by Brooklyn Bride

It shows that not everything unique must be vintage or DIY. Why, you can be totally modern but totally one-of-a-kind.

Do you give your wedding favors a lot of thought? I sure hope so. In all the times I’ve attended weddings, I have received all kinds of wedding favors. I think I’ve seen them all–from those pretty figurines to the heart-shaped glass photo frames.

I’m not hating these favors, okay? But it’s saying a lot if you don’t do the usual and come up with something special and personal.

I always take delight in seeing wedding favors that are given 100% creativity and inspiration. Plus points go to favors that I can feast on later. Lol. Just like these blueberry jams on 100 Layer Cake. Won’t this go perfectly for garden and vineyard weddings? The ladies at 100 Layer Cake, one of my most favorite blogs, show you how to make these blueberry jams.

We heart Jam from 100 Layer Cake

Another wedding treat–literally–that I found are these salt water taffy jars. Classic Bride posted this yummy idea. It was originally part of their welcome basket. It’s cute, practical, and one that your guests will surely enjoy.

Salt water taffy favors on Classic Bride

Another really cute and novel idea is this wedding favor from The Inspired Bride. They are hot cocoa vials. Cool, huh? So you can enjoy a cup of hot chocolate after attending the wedding. (Would be lovely if you get to take home some cake, too.)

Cocoa vials on The Inspired Bride

What’s the common denominator among these favors (besides that they favor my sweet tooth)? They’re all do-it-yourself favors, which makes them even more special. Your guests will see the 100% creativity and inspiration that I was talking about earlier. But most importantly, they will see the 100% labor of love that went into each piece.

I love all kinds of wedding trinkets, whether they’re for the ceremony, reception…or for me. I simply love accessories. When people say “It’s all in the details,” I think many times they refer to the accessories.

You must check out these special “details” I saw in the wedding blogs this week.

Brooklyn Bride showed off these fancy and totally charming Sandra Bautista lace bracelets. Wouldn’t it be cool to have your bridesmaids wear these bracelets in matching designs?

Sandra Bautista lace bracelets on Brooklyn Bride

Speaking of matching accessories for you and your best girls, check out these bridesmaids on East Side Bride. They are most definitely not wearing feminine lace bracelets, but they are most definitely C-O-O-L. (For some element of surprise, I am not posting their cool pic with their matching cool accessory here, on this cool blog.)

And how about this gorge necklace I found on Perfect Bound? It’s part of the beautiful jewelry collection of designer Trisha Fay, owner of The Beautiful Garden Boutique.

Pink Heart bridal necklace, as seen on Perfect Bound

Also found these really pretty accessories on 100 Layer Cake. These ones are again from Rachel of Heart of Light. You may remember her (or recognize these pieces) from a previous post.

Pretty headbands by Rachel of Heart of Light, as seen on 100 Layer Cake

Oh, and by the way, if you are raring to go “all out” on the beautiful accessories, it’s best to take note of this basic fashion rule: To avoid looking like an overly dressed up Christmas tree, choose a focal point for your baubles and jewelry. Is it the neck, wrist, ears? And for your pieces to really stand out, set them against a simple landscape, i.e an understated but beautiful gown. Check out these dresses I saw on Little White Book. These dresses are by—appropriately enough—Simple Silhouettes.

Tulip gown by Simple Silhouettes on Little White Book

There’s a trend I’m seeing in weddings these days, and it’s the use of frames. Yes, frames. They are not just hung on your walls these days. They’ve become great wedding decor tricks.

Check out this post on June Bug Weddings. This outdoor wedding showed a real family tree. Family pics framed in beautiful vintage frames adorn a…tree. Isn’t it so clever?

A real "family tree" on June Bug Weddings

Julie and Matt’s wedding on Once Wed echoed the same frame frenzy. They had photo frames on a tree, and an instant framed portrait during their photo session. (I have to add that this wedding had so many other ingenious ideas, so check out the entire post on Once Wed.)

Julie & Matt got framed on Once Wed

I also chanced upon this BEAUTIFUL wedding on Grey Likes Weddings, a new blog I discovered and which I’m totally loving! This couple’s wedding is not beautiful in the traditional sense, but I loved the simplicity and sincerity—and the clever use of frames! But please don’t focus on the frames when you check out the post. You’ll love the many special, unique touches (the thumb print wedding tree for a wedding guest book, for one), the couple’s truly modern and creative aesthetic, and their fun-loving personality.

Clever use of frames...

...and the highly creative couple, Paul and Cassie, as seen on Grey Likes Weddings

Frames do add a bit of whimsy and charm to a wedding, don’t they? And they even make cute souvenirs.