Photos can be a work of art!

WOW - this is really cool! Have you heard of All Pop Art? If not, you might love that you read this post! Turn any photo into a work of art! Seriously hip! Super modern and totally unique! This would make an awesome wedding gift for the new bride and groom...could you imagine opening something like this or opening your third toaster oven?! It's not just for couples though and I love the site - you can see what the pictures look like in a room and there are lot's of different styles to choose from! I don't think you will be disappointed!

Sentimental Gestures

It's no secret I am a huge fan of brooches - especially when they are incorporated into the bridal bouquet! While checking up on one of my favorite photographers I found these pictures:

 

Photogapher, Murakami, caught the beauty of this sentimental gesture on Mandi and Brandon's wedding day. You can read more about the brooch and see the bride's reaction when she was given the brooch here. In this bouquet shot - the brooch has photos of the brides mom on her wedding day and the mom's mom (the brides grandmother) on her wedding day. How special is that??! What an amazing keepsake too! I just wanted to share this because I thought it was so sentimental and special! Do you have plans of incorporating anything in your own wedding using pictures of your mom's or grandmother's? Share your ideas with comments!! 

Just Married Car Decal

Found a nifty little I wanted to post for everyone! This isn't a giveaway I am doing (I will probably be posting that giveaway tomorrow!) The Painted House & More created this new decal and you have 1 week to enter! You can find all the complete rules and how to enter HERE! Good luck!

One Shoe Can Change Your Life

The title of this post is a quote from Cinderella! Can one shoe really change your life? I can tell you I was pretty excited when, on the day of the Blissful Wishes Ball, I called my UPS store to see if a package had arrived for me and they said YES! I was on my way to the hair salon...without much time to spare. Two weeks before the ball, I had ordered a pair of shoes I fell in love with - from a picture on Nordstroms.com. They were on sale for 50% off too! DEAL. SOLD.

I asked for 2-day shipping but was pretty disappointed, after I ordered, and they said the shoes would ship in a separate package. Not knowing if the shoes would arrive and even look good with my dress I had to run out and find an alternate pair. This was no easy task for me! I was told I HAD to wear heels (I think I have been pretty vocal on my blog that I am not a heel type of girl!). After a few laughable attempts at walking in heels, I finally convinced my friend, Heels + Me = Do Not Mix. I finally found two, wedge type heels, that might be acceptable...but they were not really what my heart desired and honestly, I would most likely never wear them again! So, now fast forward to the phone call the day of the ball...with hours to spare! It was meant to be! Now, these shoes didn't change my life (literally) but I was pretty darn happy and my daughter, who is 4, and LOVES Cinderella thinks they are pretty awesome too...she has some big shoes to fill! :)

Blissful Wishes Ball

Last night, I attended the Blissful Wishes Ball at the fabulous Ebell Wilshire Theater in Los Angeles. This was a magical evening, filled with many memories and lots of fun! If you are located in or around the Los Angeles area prepare to be delighted by some of the wedding industries most creative, talented artists!

The gala was a fundraising event for Wish Upon a Wedding, a national organization that grants wedding wishes and vow renewals for brides and grooms who are terminally ill or facing life altering circumstances. I was asked to represent Bonny Bridal at the gala - which I was thrilled to do! It was a night filled with inspiration and tons of fun...all for a worthwhile cause.

Here's a picture at the beginning of the evening - that's me on the right and my "date" Jodi on the left. The "theme" for the evening was GLAMOUR & ROMANCE of the Hollywood Silver Screen - I sure think Jodi got it right! She looked amazing! (My hubby wants to extend a SPECIAL thanks for going with me - he was thrilled he didn't have to get dressed in a tux in our 90-degree weather!).

We walked the red carpet to the entrance and received our complimentary champagne cocktail courtesy of Barefoot Wines and Bubbly. They had this Blissful champagne creation...such a pretty color!

The grounds of the Ebell were magically transformed! Music was being performed by the Del Lago Trio (sweet music to my ears), there was a cigar rolling station ( had my husband known about that - he might have donned that tuxedo in our heatwave!) and I couldn't help but think of my mom when I saw the chocolate fountain station from Orange County Chocolate Fountains. My mom had a saying "Eat dessert first!" and when I saw this amazing set up BEFORE dinner, I sort of felt her there with me...a little angel on my shoulder. Oh! I can't forget to mention the photobooth that was set up! SO MUCH FUN! The people from Shutter Booth were awesome. The guy working it was super nice and friendly - I am now a firm believer that every special event should have a photobooth! Check out our funny little pictures:

Here are some additional pictures I captured from the night:

There are certain things that happen in an evening that you will remember forever. One of those funny moments was when Jodi and I read the menu for the evening. We were asking each other what certain things were - or how they were pronounced! It was so funny. I still could not tell you what most of these creations were but, I can tell you they were definitely creations that melted in your mouth! 

We had a very eclectic table group! I enjoyed talking with many of them! To my surprise, someone I had met during the cocktail hour was seated at our table. Her name was Ngoc Nguyen and she is the creative director and principal consultant for Skybox Event Productions. What a wonderful lady and so fun to talk to! She promised to help me find Alice Hu (someone I have been wanting to meet) but, unfortunately I never found her. I got sidetracked working on this post hanging out at Sky Box's website and then blog. You really need to check it out - my favorite, by far, was the Twisted Tea Party! Sitting next to Jodi was Lindsey Sinatra, owner of A Wish and a Whisk. Her creations are above and beyond anything I have ever seen! Check out this cake - yes it is a CAKE - that she created for the closing of the 20 year world tour of The Phantom Of The Opera in Los Angeles. Amazing. Finally, we ended the evening talking to Paula Dulan Estes from Petalos di Pauli. Paula specializes in Eco-friendly event invitations, greeting cards and more. I will have to spend more time talking about all of these lovely ladies! 

In closing, I would like to thank Bonny Bridal for the amazing opportunity to spend an evening getting to know more about Wish Upon a Wedding. I was moved when I heard the stories from founding member Liz Guthrie and President Sasha Souza. I was thrilled to see a slideshow of the first wedding wish granted by the Southern California chapter (Bonny donated the wedding gown to the bride!) and I was so happy to get to know the ladies I introduced you to above! I look forward to sharing some more of this magical night - I actually have a giveaway coming up from the silent auction held to raise funds - courtesy of Bonny Bridal so stay tuned for that! I urge everyone to check out Wish Upon a Wedding! They have a live auction going on now where you can get amazing deals on items you will need for your wedding - why not do some good by buying goods and services you are going to need anyway? It really is going to a great cause! 

Here's a picture of us at the end of the evening....it was a GREAT time!

WINNER! WINNER!

Since we stayed in Vegas an additional night, we didn't get home until early evening last night. I compiled all the entries into the October giveaway for the signed copy of the Bakerella cookbook: Cake Pops and we have a winner! Congratulations to entry #7 - bkbsmommy! You are the winner! We will be contacting with how to claim your book and Williams-Sonoma sanding sugars!

How was your halloween?

We just got back from a FANTASTIC weekend in Las Vegas! I was invited up for a slot tournament for Halloween. I get invites all the time to join in their tournaments but, I have never responded until now! This tournament just sounded like too much fun to miss! First of all, they were counting on no more then 1000 entrants. They paid cash prizes to the top 3 winners and then free play to spots 4 - 200. As an invited guest, you got 3 nights free at Harrah's (or any of the other properties they run), a spot in the tournament and a trick or treat bag - which held cash prizes, diamond jewelry or candy (that would be the trick NOT the treat!). When we arrived we were told they had more people respond to the offer than they anticipated and therefore they were giving us a $100 Discover Gift Card in lieu of the Awards Banquet Dinner (I was good with that!). The next morning, I went to register and was told not only would we get the $100 gift card but they were also giving us $100 free play! They also had a yummy breakfast buffet set up for us - and two open bars! You play 3 rounds in the tournament and your total score reflects where you place. After 2 rounds I was tied for 130th place!! I went over to get my trick-or-treat goodie bag and I ended up winning $40 - and some candy! At lunch time, they had another buffet set up for us through dinner. That was really nice! I was playing in the casino the 2nd night and I LOVE playing the Wizard of Oz slot machine! I had put quite a bit of money into the machine and was down to $1.85 on my machine and then Glenda (the good witch) shows up. She is a wild, bonus play. My machine did this:

OH. MY. GOD. I was so EXCITED! I couldn't believe it! This weekend was proving to be a really GREAT weekend. The next day was my 3rd round in the slot tournament. When I showed up, we were told because they had more players then originally planned (1071 people were playing) they were going to pay cash prizes to the top 3 and then pay (in free play) winners 4 - 500! That meant that 1/2 the people playing would win something! I thought I ended on a pretty good note but, I wouldn't find out where my standing was until the evening. I knew since they were paying up to 500 I would most likely win something! I spent some down time playing Three Card Poker. I hit TWO straight flushes within 6 hands!! I was on fire! That night, I went to check the standings and I FINISHED IN THE TOP TEN!!!! Wow! I ended up winning $800! It was amazing...and I must say the best Halloween....EVER.