A New Era

Ed Note: I’m so excited to welcome Christina from Pretty Bride to EAD to recap her fabulous Louisville wedding for us!  Ya’ll are going to love reading her posts this week and be so inspired by what she pulled together!

Ed Note: I’m so excited to introduce another blogger to the EAD crew – Juel!  I know you’re going to love her as much as I do.  And now, I’ll let her talk!…

I never thought it would feel this good.  Frankly – I was worried I would be disappointed.  After all the years of lusting after this ring, and months of waiting for it, I thought – for sure – I would feel a twinge of disappointment once I put it on (a twinge I was ready to hide for the rest of my life).  Contrary to my suspicions, I’ve literally been weak in the knees and downright dizzy when looking at my shiny new ring bling.  Nothing, and I mean NOTHING – not even my mangled finger – could dampen my mood when I look at it on my finger.  It feel so attached to it already, I’ve had to give it a name, Ringo.  And Ringo is the most beautiful (material) thing I have ever laid eyes on in my entire life.

Salutations EAD readers!! My name is Mo, and I am a quirky, creative, and thoughtful girly-girl living in San Diego with an adorable boy and a really crazy (but cuddly) cat. I am thrilled to be a blogger here at EAD. I’m embarrassed to say how long I have actually been reading wedding blogs, but let’s just say it was way, way, way, way…WAY before I was officially engaged. ;)

Weddings are naturally emotional events, even before factoring in complicated family dynamics. With so much on the line, an overbearing parent or feuding relatives can turn an already high-pressure day into a nightmare. 

In my 8 years of blogging, today may be cause for the single biggest celebration yet! Why you ask? At long last, it’s time to debut the brand-new Aisle Society website to the world! For the past several months, a group of more than 30 of the best wedding bloggers from across the world have been working to create a brand new way to find wedding inspiration! Aisle Society is the only way to catch the latest content from your favorite bloggers, all in one gorgeous place. And best of all, you can curate your very own personalized feed of your favorite wedding styles, design elements, wedding pros, bloggers, and more, making it a cinch to plan your perfect day!

After just seven months of dating, John knew Kate was the one, so he popped the question in — according to the bride — a “fairy tale-perfect proposal!” The place they chose for their engagement photos was not only naturally beautiful, but full of memories because it’s John’s family farm. After growing up there, it was a very special place for the groom-to-be to share with his bride. Sarah Kate truly captured the love these two have for each other!

If diamonds are a girl’s best friend, Brilliant Earth and brides-to-be are a match made in heaven! Brilliant Earth is a conflict free diamond jeweler, and we couldn’t be more ecstatic to introduce you to their gorgeous and socially responsible ring collection. Not only does Brilliant Earth use eco-friendly precious metals and conflict free diamonds, they even donate 5% of profits to communities suffering from unethical practices in the jewelry industry.

It’s official! Elizabeth Anne Designs is hiring! Are you enthusiastic, detail-oriented and can’t get enough of weddings and all things pretty? We’d love to hear from you!

UPDATE: Congratulations to our winner Amanda, who won the $50 gift card by random.org draw. And I have amazing news! One Tail at a Time won the online voting!! Kriser’s is now counting up any mail-in votes, and will officially announce a winner on July 28th – paws crossed for them and THANK YOU for helping such a great cause by voting!

My heart breaks for the people of Japan after the devastation of the past week and I know we are all searching for some way, any way, that we can lend a hand.  Tomorrow, Friday March 18th, EAD will be participating in a bloggers day of silence in honor of Japan, organized by Ever Ours and Utterly Engaged.  Those amazing ladies also created For Japan With Love.  Any donations you make there will go to ShelterBox, an organization that provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most.

It’s time for round 2 of the Inspired Creations Contest!  If you’ve been around EAD for a while, you might remember all of the fabulousness of our last Inspired Creations Contest.  If you’re new, well, hold onto your hats because it’s a special kind of awesome.

Last year I had the chance to attend the first Indie Wed event here in Chicago and I have literally been waiting for this year’s event ever since. Wondering what Indie Wed is all about and why you shouldn’t miss it? It’s a nontraditional wedding show meets handmade market, designed with stylish couples in mind. If you love handmade and handcrafted goods created by true, local artisans this is the show for you! The second annual Indie Wed event will feature more than 90 independent vendors, two runway shows, food and pastry tastings, live music and so much more. Trust me when I say it’s a great show just brimming with talent.

I hope you guys have a fabulous weekend!  I’m spending the weekend in NYC after being lucky enough to attend a fabulous party for The B-List bloggers hosted by the one and only Colin Cowie.

I have such a great way to start the week today, a gorgeous surprise proposal, designed by Sarah of Brilliant Event Planning.  Christian flew all the way from Mexico to New York to create the perfect proposal for his lovely girlfriend Jilma.

Congratulations to Danielle, who has won a set of beautiful letterpress thank you cards from Smock in this week of prizes that’s part of the Inspired Creations newsletter launch! Who doesn’t love prizes?

Congrats to Jenna, who is our first winner this week!  Jenna signed up for the new Inspired Creations newsletter (have you signed up yet? The form is in the sidebar!) and has won a gorgeous garter from The Garter Girl.

Whew, it’s been a whirlwind last month for me ya’ll!  I’m excited to be home after three consecutive weekends away.  I plan to veg and watch lots of baseball and Grey’s Anatomy.

Elizabeth Anne Designs and The Sweetest Occasion are back with the latest Inspired Creations Contest and our first annual Inspired Creations holiday gift exchange!

Greetings, EAD readers! My name is Kathleen, I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, and I got hitched about four months ago to my grad-school sweetheart. I’m so happy to be here guest-blogging about my wedding for y’all this week! If you’ve somehow found your way to my little corner of the internet already and have been following me there, don’t fret – I haven’t copy-pasted anything! This is all new material. For any Atlanta brides out there, I hope my posts will be a good companion to the new Atlanta local guide that recently debuted here; for all the rest of y’all, I hope you enjoy reading about my wedding as much as I enjoyed planning and experiencing it!