Wedding planning should be a relaxing, luxurious experience.

Next Sunday, March 14th will be a day that raises the bar for bridal events everywhere.

The Ultimate Engagement is the first ever complimentary bridal event that allows brides-to-be the opportunity to meet with the premiere experts in the luxury bridal industry. Not only will brides be able to access the extensive experience, knowledge, passion and talent of these individuals, but you get to do it all in a stress-free one-on-one setting.

Think of the crowded booths, lines, frustration and general mayhem of the typical bridal show, then imagine the exact opposite; a relaxing, sophisticated one-on-one sit down where you and the expert vendors of your choice chat about YOUR wedding and yours alone. Participating is as simple as visiting The Ultimate Engagement website, completing your free registration and scheduling appointments with the hottest high-end wedding professionals that you have watched, read and heard about. Have the opportunity to sit with the most sought after photographers, florists, caterers, venues, planners… the list goes on.

While you plan your stunning event, enjoy designer trunk shows, book signings, food & wine tastings, educational sessions, chic pop-up shops and more!

Our own Xochitl Gonzalez, Blogsmaid Extraordinaire will be on hand to help you turn your luxury wedding dreams into realities – and blogging LIVE throughout the day! Xochitl will be joined by other notable wedding experts such as Marcy Blum, Sylvia Weinstock, Lisa Johnson of Ceci NY, Ines de Santo and many more.  This amazing event was put together by the wonderful Maya Kalman of Swank Productions and Elizabeth Beskin from 5th Avenue Digital.

To ensure each bride receives the personal attention she deserves, space is limited. Please register today to take advantage of this one-time experience that will help you create a day of memories that will last a lifetime.

WHEN: Sunday, March 14, 2010

9:00AM – 7:00PM

WHERE: Gotham Hall, NYC

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

xx

-Sal

Yep, that is correct – Always a Bridesmaid: New Jersey is featured in the Spring/Summer 2010 issue of Brides New Jersey!!! So excited!

Brides magazine is obviously one of the most widely read bridal mags, but what’s even more fabulous is that they produce local editions to better serve guys and dolls in specific regions. When a new issue hits newsstands, I have literally seen girls ooing and aahing as they grab a copy to flip through. So imagine my ear to ear grin when I  turned to see them ooing and aahing over an AAB:NJ wedding!

I seriously love my job, and all of my weddings are beautiful – every single one has left an impression. But not gonna lie, it’s pretty awesome when others get a change to take a peek into what was a beautiful day and breathtaking night.

It was a beautiful autumn day, the weather was stunning and so was our bride. “What They Did Right” highlight reel to come… for now, the trailer – courtesy of Brides New Jersey and Heather Waraksa Photography.

On newsstands now and so much prettier (and shinier)  in person!

xx

Sal

Yet another awesome “wedding related” company/service that I plan to add to my 2010 must-do list. Adorn Brides is a great company with a great concept, perhaps you have heard of them or even read about them here on the Blogsmaid ?? They specialize in jewelry rental for weddings and other special events. Actually, let me rephrase that – special jewelry for any event.

The process is simple, the prices are reasonable, and the product is stunning. I’ve pulled a few pics below of my favorites but there are many more options to peruse. Its a very organized system and all pieces come fully insured so yes, please feel free to party like a rock star. As long as the pieces you desire are available on the date of your event, you can borrow beautiful jewels for your special day. Whether it’s the perfect bracelet to compliment your grandmother’s antique earrings, a jaw-dropping statement necklace or a simple, delicate diamond pendant, Adorn Brides has you covered. Not only do they offer single pieces but they also have jewelry sets which are perfect for those of us who want to take the guess work out of it but still want to make sure we look put together and fabulous!

Great options for bridesmaids too! If you want your girls to have the same look, why not go the rental route to be sure they will all be looking pristine in their identical or complimentary jewels. Have a lot of ladies to tend to? No worries…discounts on orders for multiple bridesmaid sets .

Check out these beauties below…

Sapphire & Diamond Jewelry Set

Brighton Wedding Jewelry Set

Rental Price: $1,050 (Retail Value: $51,000.00)

Princess Bridal Jewelry Set

Denton Bridal Jewelry Set

Rental Price: $590 (Retail Value: $22,850.00)

Vintage Diamond Jewelry Set

Waverly Bridal Jewelry Set

Rental Price: $590 (Retail Value: $22,000.00)

Classic Pearl Jewelry Set

Fairford Pearl Jewelry Set

Rental Price: $440 (Retail Value: $20,800.oo)

Diamond Chandelier Necklace

Lockwood Necklace

Rental Price: $490 (Retail Value: $24,000.00)

Fancy Yellow Diamond Necklace

Crestwood Necklace

Rental Price: $1,900.00 (Retail Value: $17,500.00)

Pearl Diamond Bracelet

Riley Bracelet

Rental Price: $290 (Retail Value: $10,000.00)

Diamond Cuff Bracelet

Chadwick Bracelet

Rental Price: $490 (Retail Value: $21,000.00)

AND, the lovely crew at Adorn Brides are hooking up our readers once again…style savvy Always a Blogsmaid readers please use the code 20FSBLOG to receive 20% off AND free shipping, for all orders placed before January 31st 2010. Budget friendly beauties!!

xx

Salome

Oh friends, not sure if any of you think about that “first dance”, how you are going to pull it off or how you wish you could forget it – or remember it, but I do. Allow me to backtrack a bit…

We chose the song “By Your Side” by Sade, incredibly beautiful but a bit slow and tricky to cut a rug to. Of course while wrapped up in a million other little details, a dance routine was something I just could not seem to check off my list. So with a week and a half to go before W-Day, I bugged the soon-2-b hubby enough that he agreed to take dance lessons. So we (I) did a little research and came up with a few great options. I made some calls and after much deliberation, we found a gentle and patient soul willing to teach us some fancy footwork.

We met Peter Jones of Ballroom Wedding Dance and pretty much threw ourselves at his mercy. I wanted something simple, classy & fun. My then fiancée just wanted to get through the next 2 weeks unscathed and with his manhood still in tact. Don’t get me wrong, we love to dance a jig or two, but it’s just a wee bit more nerve racking with 100 or so friends and fam watching your every move. For all the brides and grooms to-be, not trying to freak you out I SWEAR. After explaining our dilemma to Peter he made us feel much more at ease. We spent the next hour or so listening to the beat of our song, going over a few basics and amazingly enough, we weren’t too shabby! After a few lessons and sore muscles, we knew were not trying out for So You Think You Can Dance, but we were at peace.

Wedding day arrived, and right before we were about to begin our dance, we snuck away behind a tree (it was outdoor & tented remember) and reviewed our steps one last time. The music came on and we heard our cue to enter, after that, all I remember is smiling from ear to ear, quite possibly doing the miss america wave a few times and recalling how clutch that flask I had made my MOH stash in her purse was. There were a few laughs, tear jerking photo opps, some un-choreographed moves and I definitely remember thinking, screw the lessons – let’s just sway dahhhling. Come to think of it, I actually may have said that out loud to the poor kid, who was actually doing a fab job of keeping to the routine! I was too happy to care and it was awesome.

All I can tell you is do what you gotta do and whatever makes you feel comfortable, happy and prepared – or just wing it! But at the end of the day just have fun, remember it’s not a reality TV show – even though it totally feels like one, and don’t be afraid to laugh…if it comes to that.

Peter, thank you for teaching us how to gracefully take it all in “stride”. You were great & as soon as we (I) heal, we’ll be back.

xx,

Sal

The Q: I’m having a number of kids at my wedding reception, and I am seating them at a table, but I’m concerned about how to keep them entertained. Any ideas?

The A: Well, the best thing is that you are considering what the kids will do period!  Having kids at a reception can be great, but you should definitely give the little ones some careful consideration!   One thing that we like to suggest are creating or buying “Kids Packs” for your little tyke’s place settings!  If you are short on time, check out Busy Bags.  They are actually in the UK, but they have great bags that include a wedding themed coloring book and even a toddler’s pack!

If you want to create your own kids packs, try and make them age specific.  Start with a small gift bag and think about quiet, but engaging games that are age appropriate for your guest.  Wedding mountain has a great wedding themed sticker and coloring kit for about $14.

Elegant Weddings has a flower girl/ Ring Bearer coloring pack for about $6.  Think about adding a disposable camera for the kids to document their experience as a wedding guest.  If you have the time, consider stocking the bag with a little PB & J sandwich or other kid friendly snack, in the event that your venue doesn’t have a kids meal.  Remember, the happier the little guests are, the better time their parents have!