An award

Why thank you... Ms. Army Brat Bride gave me the following award...

 

Thank you so much for this award... And i've got way more bloggers to list for this award, so let me just have you click on my Link Library to take a look at my vast collection of AMAZING Bloggers!!!

Giveaway/Offers/Sales

Don't forget to enter my giveaway which ends TONIGHT!!!!!!!

And make sure to enter The Thirty Something Bride's $50 giveaway towards a Moment of Elegance Wedding Favors!

Extra Special Savings for Loyal Customers at WPD

Just a reminder that you still have time to save up to $55 at Wedding Paper Divas. Simply enter your personalized coupon code MAY8EK3M in checkout to save $20 off orders over $99, $40 off orders over $199 or $55 off orders over $249. It's our way of thanking you for being a loyal customer and email subscriber. Offer expires at 11:59 pm (PT) on 6/1/09. Shop Wedding Paper Divas. 

And Today is TGIF and at the Wedding Outlet they have TGFI (Todays great featured ITEM)

Stop by and be sure to check out their great products!

AND... member my awesome SWAG BAG from the Juilanne Smith Garter Launch Party... she's got one left and you can enter to win it right here!

Rehearsal and the Dinner PVR

Friday, after lounging by the pool for several hours and drinking one too many (is there such a thing?) of Tequila Sunrise, Drunken Monkeys, Bloody Marys, and Strawberry Daiquiris... I tagged along to the rehearsal to prepare myself for what I could anticipate for the "day of" schedule... Since i've never shot more than inanimate object or my pups, i figure I should try to be prepared.

I've attached a few pics of the rehearsal...

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

And then the Rehearsal Dinner... doesn't the bride just look glowing?

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

All in all, our second day passed by too quickly.  We had so much fun at the rehearsal and then at the dinner... afterwards we all rushed to the Japanese restaurant for some more food and fun :)

Julianne Smith Wedding Garter Launch Party

So today was supposed to be the recap of My Mexico Destination wedding trip, Part 3 of the series (Read Part 1 and Part 2), but i'm interrupting the series to give you an update about a FABULOUS Launch Party I attended last night at Hello Cupcake in Dupont Circle thrown by Michelle at HerPResign for Julianne Smith. And I was one of the 10 LUCKY VIP Brides who attended this event. I will apologize ahead of time, b/c I was too busy schmoozing and meeting so many amazing women, that i did not take any photos... but one. and that one was of my SWAG BAG, which was UBER Fabulous! I am hoping to update this post with photos that I will borrow from the other sites!

So let me just recap some FABULOUS ladies i met last night...including a few brides, one whom just got engaged 3 weeks ago! Congrats Theresa from Lettie Gooch Boutique on U Street! Enjoy it :-)

Amazing Event Planners

Vicki from My Simple Details, LLC who was sweet and we chatted about how she got started and her destination wedding in BALI!!! Lucky girl!!

Jeannelle from Jeannealle Muhammad Designs who is a fabulous event planner whom I spoke with via Twitter several times before actually having the honor to meet. She was so sweet and fabulous.

Ivy from Ivy Robinson Wedding & Events, an event planner from Charlotte who does weddings everywhere and was on this past Tuesday's Hitched or Ditched Show. She was fun... but had to leave early, which was unfortunate, b/c i can definitely see myself having a drink or two with this lady

Maria from Ritzy Bee Events who I blog stalk all the time. I "re-met" her last night, as the first time we met was at the I'm Hitched event at Hitched Salon in Georgetown. She is an inspiration. A very very busy lady who keeps an amazing blog... I love to go to her site for inspiration.

Wedding Dress Store

Owners of Hitched Salon, Julia and Carin were out last night, and we got to revisit my infatuation with the Ulla Maija dress I tried on at their store. I still Swoon just thinking of it! And of course I saw them and immediately thought of my amazing experience there trying on wedding dresses for the first time.


Photographer

Andrea from The Observatory was such a pleasure to speak with. If i was doing my wedding in DC, she's the type of photographer I'd love to have document the event. 1 thing she mentioned to a bride last night as advice for great pictures: "Have fun, let loose, don't stress... if you are having fun and a great time, it'll shine through in the pictures"! Totally great advice.

Shannon from Sevan Photography documented the whole night. Since she was busy... we didn't have too much of a chance to chat it up... but I hope to in the near future... check out her great site and her great blog! The image below is from her blog:


Various Designers

Carla from Carla David Design who does custom invitations and graphic design. She was also another sweet lady who has an amazing talent. I checked out her site this morning and was in awe. I've always lacked that creative gene, so I'm jealous of anyone who has it... definitely someone worth contacting for custom design services.

Brooke from Beegee Bags. I have been coveting her bags for a while now. I've seen them on other blogs, giveaways and sites and always just drooled over them and little did I know... she's a locally based designer. Her designs I think would make for GREAT bridal party gifts!

Penny from Hello Cupcake told me the story of how she got her fabulous chandeliers in her store. A Pink Chandelier really caught my attention and really set the tone in her amazing store. I put her under designer b/c she is a cupcake designer... have you been? have you had? if not, then its DEFINITELY worth it to check out Hello Cupcake!

Julianne from Julianne Smith Wedding Garters... of course, I got to finally meet Julianne whom I've had this internet relationship with for quite some time now... remember this? or this? Well I quickly forgot she was DC based until this event and meeting her was such an honor and pleasure. She's doing my garter for my big day and has created new garters to add to her already amazing collection. Check out her Blog too

PR

Michelle from HerPResign, another amazing lady whom I have had an ongoing twitter relationship with but finally had a chance to meet! She put this shin dig together and it was such a success! From cupcakes to fabulous white jasmine teas, amazing vendors and us lucky brides... I'd have to say, I met so many cool people... and I walked away with THIS:

Now in case you can't see it all, let me list it for you!

• BEEGEE Clutch BAG!!!!!
  
• Pony tail holders/head band
• Sweet Sugar Beet HAND made Designer bag
• Decorative bra straps from Strappys
• Note cards from Carla David Design
• Lip Balm from Dawn Easter Events
• Mintbox from Get Married
• Candies from The Silken Thread Custom Embroidery
• Discounts from: Canditto, MazelTov Glass, Entiise Lingerie, and one of my FAVE Twitter friends Swoon Over it Calligraphy

So you can say I had an amazing night last night. Met some UBER fantastic people and walked away with a great gift bag of very cool items... I'll post more pics as soon as i get them!!! :-)

Thanks Julianne and Michelle for putting on such a great event!

Some Interesting Going On's

***Magnet Street Weddings now carries Carrier Cards for their Save the Dates and has a sale starting tomorrow, May 28, 2009 until June 1, 2009 for 20% sale off of the top 5 Photo Booth Designs & Carrier Cards!!
The cards can be completely customized to match the brides Save the Date – creating a lovely presentation. The cards have 4 slits in the corners that holds the magnets in place – there is also the ability to have anything printed on the backside of the cards: hotel information, directions, gift registry information, etc… 


***City Girl Life Blog is offering a magazine subscription giveaway and today is the last day to enter! So go here now !!!

***Hyatt Hotels are now offering a Hyatt Gift Registry where couples can register online for travel experiences as wedding, shower for engagement presents.

Couples can now receive Hyatt Gift Cards and Hyatt Check Certificates™ redeemable for a host of amenities, services, and overnight stays at Hyatt hotels and resorts worldwide. Imagine spa treatments, dinners on the beach, scuba diving or an anniversary stay at a favorite hotel on a bridal registry? It's an ideal option for the couple who has everything.

***Get Married is excited to announce a new national wedding magazine, solidifying its position as the most comprehensive, integrated wedding resource for brides– on TV, online and now in print.  Tagged as the “new shopping & trend guide for the savvy bride,” Get Married magazine offers a fresh perspective to wedding planning in a FREE, glossy publication.  Get Married magazine extends the brand loyalty of Get Married’s Lifetime Television show viewers and GetMarried.com users who crave unique and integrated content.

-       Bound, glossy 8” x 10.5” magazine

-       Distribution 300,000

-       First issue available October 2009

-       Magazine is FREE, and Get Married will mail at no charge (single issue or in bulk) *For more information, please contact Magazine@GetMarried.com

***And of course don't forget the Relentless Bride Givewaway.... win your very own 8x10 Custom Canvas Art for any occasion !!!

Cocktail Reception PVR

So the first day we arrived, later that evening, we had a cocktail reception for those who had arrived for the wedding. It was a very informal event where we sat around and talked, took lots of pictures and then later went to Karaoke in the lobby Bar!

Here are some few photos to check out...

 

  

  

  

The Groom to be... with My Groom to be :)

  

Beautiful view

  

The Bride and Groom

  

The MOH with the Bride... they look like sisters, don't they?

  

Bride, Groom with the Bride's Parents

  

Groom and Bride, with the Bride's brother and sister in law

  

Siblings that attended the wedding (Brother of the bride, Brothers of the Groom, Groom, Bride, Sister of the Groom, SIL of the Groom and the Brother of the groom)

  

It was like Papparazi... 

  

Aunt and Uncle of the Bride with the Groom and the bride

  

MOH, two long time best friends, Bride... 

It's really sweet how the friendships have come full circle

  

My FH singing with My girl Red... It was a big WOW moment, since FH isn't the "karaoking" type

  

Stone, Groom and Bride singing ... what else, but VANILLA ICE!

The first night was such a blast....the cocktail hour was a good ice breaker to mix and mingle the crowd that had come to celebrate this great occasion!!!

Stay tuned for the rehearsal and Dinner Pictures!

A recap of the Mexico Weekend

So Puerto Vallarta was a blast. I can't emphasize how happy we were once we were finally there... Our hotel was pretty nice. Palace Resorts and it was my first all inclusive holiday, so i was going to make the most of it... Here is a few pics of our room when we got there...

 

A bottle of wine, some beautiful apples...

  

King size bed... We definitely need a king size bed at home!

And no, the hat was mine. (to answer the Thirty Something Bride's question) When we first got into the room we dropped our stuff on the bed... then, i wanted pictures, so it all had to come off, but i left the Hat on the bed... lol  :-)

  

The Jacuzzi tub in the room... um, yeah, TOTALLY AWESOME!

  

Very nice shower... 

 

View of the beach and pool

 A sunset view...

It was so amazing... arriving to a complimentary $250 spa credit wasn't too shabby either!

Stay tuned for some pics from the Cocktail reception on our first day there! :)

HCC Custom Garter Giveaway

And we have a winner for the awesome HCC Custom Garter Giveaway

::drum roll::

The winner is

 

And Carey's entry

Congrats Carey, Please contact me right away so i can put you in contact with Victoria at HCC Custom Garters. 

For the rest of y'all, make sure to visit her amazing site and to fan her on FB!

UPDATE:
From Victoria:

Thank you very much to all the rest of you gals. I would love to give you (anybody who commented) 30% off any order you would like to place this week. Just email at email@customweddinggarters.com - please put Relentless Bride Contest in the subject line. :)

Email me this week to claim the 30% discount. Have a GREAT week girls.

Another Amazing Giveaway

Stephanie at Geezees Custom Canvas Art has offered the Relentless Bride readers an amazing giveaway. Check this out and you can create your own custom canvas art!

How to enter:

1. Go to Geezees Custom Canvas Art and explore the gallery

2. Find an item or two that you like

3. Come back here and comment which item you like (doesn't have to be wedding related, can be any item you like)

4. Enter once a day, every day from today until May 29, 2009 11:59 PMEST

Extra entries: Repost on your blog, and let me know you reposted by leaving a comment to that effect

Who can win:

Anybody in the Continental U.S

Remember, this is an AMAZING gift to give someone else as wel, so be sure to enter for yourself or as a gift to someone else.

What will you win:

8x10 custom canvas art valued at $65.00 OR you can use the $65 credit towards a bigger canvas!

How I will pick a winner:

Random.org

Check out

My Shoutout from Heidi @TrulyEngaging Blog :)

Check me out on Wishpot Blog

So I had my first feature on Wishpot Blog under weddings... check me out!

I'm back...

And as always with any vacation swamped with work... so i wanted to leave you with a teaser photo and some great offer/giveaways/sales information...

The Wedding Outlet Memorial Day Sale Discount!

Check out PORN FOR WOMEN Giveaway

Porn for Women is a book full of color photos of what REALLY excites women-- men vacuuming, offering to change the baby's diaper and even doing the dishes. It's a funny book that would make a great gift for the bride-to-be, or any woman, really.

Enter Stiletto Money Online

The Garter Giveaway here til tomorrow Midnight

And finally my teaser photo...

 

Isn't she a gorgeous bride?

More to come... Hang tight! :)