Photo by Root Photography
The Un-Workout for Strapless Dresses
I'm not a huge fan of actual working out...especially if it involves sweating and getting together props like medicine balls and elastic bands. I am, however, a huge fan of spur-of-the-moment ten minute un-workout sessions scattered throughout the day, so I thought I'd bring you some of these instead of the usual arm workout photos featuring skinny women in athletic gear doing perfect poses.
Photo by Root Photography
Photo by Root Photography
Fitness DVD and Equipment Reviews
So, Kyle and I are total fitness junkies...except for the part where you actually get fit. We buy stuff all the time to help us get in shape, but I admit that we only use most of it once or twice. I'm hoping that this will change now that we're in training, but we're definitely not buying anything else for a while!
Anyway, I thought you guys might want to benefit from our overconsumerism. So, here are my reviews of ten of our fitness DVDs and exercise equipment, from best to worst:
1. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
I feel like this DVD has already gone down in history as the greatest fitness DVD ever, because when I tell people about it they always say, "Oh, I know! I LOVE that DVD! I wish I could get through it!" That's the thing...this DVD will work you and I'm positive that if you really did it for 30 days that you'd see amazing results. I just don't know anyone who's made it all the way through the third level. The first level is kind of enough to make you want to die, which is impressive because it's only 25 minutes along. Kyle and I use this one more than any others because it packs such a punch!
2. Jyze Arm Workout
The giveaway this week is also coming in at number two, because it's effective, it's simple, and it's the kind of thing you can just pick up and do without having to commit to putting in a full workout. It's also very portable, so it gets ten out of ten for making it easy to get sexy arms.
3. ProForm 410 Trainer Treadmill
We bought this treadmill before we got married so that we could train for the half-marathon that we didn't end up doing. It gets the number three spot because we both use it and because it's my favorite work out activity. I know a lot of people don't like treadmills because they get bored, but I really enjoy just grabbing my iPod and tuning out for an hour on the treadmill. It's my mental free space for the day. For less than $500, this is a great treadmill and it's held up fine through two moves. It would get the top spot it if wasn't so bulky, but it's a big piece of machinery. The fact that it folds up hardly saved any room at all because of how far the arms extend. In fact, it's ruining the aesthetic of our guest room as I speak. Still, I love it and it makes me want to work out, so I'm putting it toward the top of the list.
4. Wii Fit
I do love the Wii Fit. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's pretty easy to use. I admit, though, that it kind of makes me not want to get on and do it because it just tells me that I need to work out more often and start losing weight instead of gaining it. Bleh. Kyle also doesn't get as much of a workout from it as I do, because he's more in shape and he needs more intensity. I love the boxing, though, and my arms are sore for the rest of the day after I do it, so it still gets a pretty high spot.
5. Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar
Kyle is the one that uses this, because he's the one that has the upper body strength to do it. So, while I can't say anything about how much I love to use it, I can tell you that when Kyle does it for two or three weeks, there's a big difference in his arms. I can also tell you that although people seem to always be concerned about safety or damaging the doors, we've never had any problems with this thing. It doesn't leave any marks and it never slips or slides when Kyle is using it. If you have the strength to do chin ups, you should look into this one.
6. The Biggest Loser for the Nintendo Wii
I bought this game because I have a thing for Jillian and I was caught up in the TV show. It's acutally not a bad video game, since there are tons of options and a nice calendar that lays out what you're supposed to be doing every day. It loses points, though, because it isn't very flexible. If you miss a few days, it's hard to get back on track because your set calendar is all messed up. It's also a little repetitive and I'm not a huge fan of Bob, so I would prefer a Jillian-only track.
7. Bollywood Burn
I like dance-ish workouts and I heard good things about this one from a friend who is really into Bollywood culture. The nice thing about this workout is that it's fun and you really do work up a sweat. The bad thing about this workout is that it's impossible to make it all the way to the end. So much jumping! I'd recommend this if you're getting a little tired of the same old thing, but definitely not if you have bad knees or other issues with hopping around like crazy for an hour.
8. Daisy Fuentes Pilates for the Nintendo Wii
I thought I was really going to love this one, but it's not as great as you'd think it is. It's kind of pretty and some of the routines are actually pretty intense, but it's hard to do Pilates in front of the Wii if you're something of a novice, because you don't know if your form is ok. I spend more time repositioning myself than I do actually enjoying the workout. I'm sure they'll upgrade it to include a webcam that lets you check your form and when they do, I'll give this one another shot. Right now, it's what I do when I only vaguely feel like working out.
9. Everlast Standard Duo Exercise Wheel
I know that lots of people have these, but I don't really like ours. It's difficult and I feel like it only works one part of my abs. I'd much rather do bicycles or crunches on our workout ball. I really don't think that I would recommend this to anyone other than high school boys who want to do an insane number of reps in addition to other ab exercises. For the average non-athlete, it's really not worth it.
10. Turbo Jam by Beachbody
I am just plain bitter about this purchase. Kyle saw an infomerical for the Turbo Jam system and decided it looked like something that we could do together, so we dropped about a hundred bucks and got this set that had DVDs and a nutrition guide and all this other stuff. Well, I'd say that we tried each of the DVDs about twice and they all sucked. SUCKED. They were hard to follow and, although difficult, a lot of the moves just felt really silly. The nutrition guide was also insanely restrictive and the little hand weights and other things that came with the kit were all really, really low quality. I tried to contact them for a refund a week after we got it and got an email that said that we needed to try it out for 60 days in order to give it a fair shot. So, after 60 days I contacted them again. Turns out there's a 30 day limit on returns. Yeah.
So that's the ten that jumped to mind. I could do a whole different set of ten (or twenty) since we have so much stuff, but these are the really big ones. I know we're not in the market for anything, but is there anything you guys would recommend?
Anyway, I thought you guys might want to benefit from our overconsumerism. So, here are my reviews of ten of our fitness DVDs and exercise equipment, from best to worst:
1. Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
I feel like this DVD has already gone down in history as the greatest fitness DVD ever, because when I tell people about it they always say, "Oh, I know! I LOVE that DVD! I wish I could get through it!" That's the thing...this DVD will work you and I'm positive that if you really did it for 30 days that you'd see amazing results. I just don't know anyone who's made it all the way through the third level. The first level is kind of enough to make you want to die, which is impressive because it's only 25 minutes along. Kyle and I use this one more than any others because it packs such a punch!
2. Jyze Arm Workout
The giveaway this week is also coming in at number two, because it's effective, it's simple, and it's the kind of thing you can just pick up and do without having to commit to putting in a full workout. It's also very portable, so it gets ten out of ten for making it easy to get sexy arms.
3. ProForm 410 Trainer Treadmill
We bought this treadmill before we got married so that we could train for the half-marathon that we didn't end up doing. It gets the number three spot because we both use it and because it's my favorite work out activity. I know a lot of people don't like treadmills because they get bored, but I really enjoy just grabbing my iPod and tuning out for an hour on the treadmill. It's my mental free space for the day. For less than $500, this is a great treadmill and it's held up fine through two moves. It would get the top spot it if wasn't so bulky, but it's a big piece of machinery. The fact that it folds up hardly saved any room at all because of how far the arms extend. In fact, it's ruining the aesthetic of our guest room as I speak. Still, I love it and it makes me want to work out, so I'm putting it toward the top of the list.
4. Wii Fit
I do love the Wii Fit. It's fun, it's interesting, and it's pretty easy to use. I admit, though, that it kind of makes me not want to get on and do it because it just tells me that I need to work out more often and start losing weight instead of gaining it. Bleh. Kyle also doesn't get as much of a workout from it as I do, because he's more in shape and he needs more intensity. I love the boxing, though, and my arms are sore for the rest of the day after I do it, so it still gets a pretty high spot.
5. Iron Gym Total Upper Body Workout Bar
Kyle is the one that uses this, because he's the one that has the upper body strength to do it. So, while I can't say anything about how much I love to use it, I can tell you that when Kyle does it for two or three weeks, there's a big difference in his arms. I can also tell you that although people seem to always be concerned about safety or damaging the doors, we've never had any problems with this thing. It doesn't leave any marks and it never slips or slides when Kyle is using it. If you have the strength to do chin ups, you should look into this one.
6. The Biggest Loser for the Nintendo Wii
I bought this game because I have a thing for Jillian and I was caught up in the TV show. It's acutally not a bad video game, since there are tons of options and a nice calendar that lays out what you're supposed to be doing every day. It loses points, though, because it isn't very flexible. If you miss a few days, it's hard to get back on track because your set calendar is all messed up. It's also a little repetitive and I'm not a huge fan of Bob, so I would prefer a Jillian-only track.
7. Bollywood Burn
I like dance-ish workouts and I heard good things about this one from a friend who is really into Bollywood culture. The nice thing about this workout is that it's fun and you really do work up a sweat. The bad thing about this workout is that it's impossible to make it all the way to the end. So much jumping! I'd recommend this if you're getting a little tired of the same old thing, but definitely not if you have bad knees or other issues with hopping around like crazy for an hour.
8. Daisy Fuentes Pilates for the Nintendo Wii
I thought I was really going to love this one, but it's not as great as you'd think it is. It's kind of pretty and some of the routines are actually pretty intense, but it's hard to do Pilates in front of the Wii if you're something of a novice, because you don't know if your form is ok. I spend more time repositioning myself than I do actually enjoying the workout. I'm sure they'll upgrade it to include a webcam that lets you check your form and when they do, I'll give this one another shot. Right now, it's what I do when I only vaguely feel like working out.
9. Everlast Standard Duo Exercise Wheel
I know that lots of people have these, but I don't really like ours. It's difficult and I feel like it only works one part of my abs. I'd much rather do bicycles or crunches on our workout ball. I really don't think that I would recommend this to anyone other than high school boys who want to do an insane number of reps in addition to other ab exercises. For the average non-athlete, it's really not worth it.
10. Turbo Jam by Beachbody
I am just plain bitter about this purchase. Kyle saw an infomerical for the Turbo Jam system and decided it looked like something that we could do together, so we dropped about a hundred bucks and got this set that had DVDs and a nutrition guide and all this other stuff. Well, I'd say that we tried each of the DVDs about twice and they all sucked. SUCKED. They were hard to follow and, although difficult, a lot of the moves just felt really silly. The nutrition guide was also insanely restrictive and the little hand weights and other things that came with the kit were all really, really low quality. I tried to contact them for a refund a week after we got it and got an email that said that we needed to try it out for 60 days in order to give it a fair shot. So, after 60 days I contacted them again. Turns out there's a 30 day limit on returns. Yeah.
So that's the ten that jumped to mind. I could do a whole different set of ten (or twenty) since we have so much stuff, but these are the really big ones. I know we're not in the market for anything, but is there anything you guys would recommend?
Welcome to Health and Fitness Week!
Yay for fitness week! I'm pumped about this one because I'm one of those people who seems to struggle with getting fit and staying healthy and I know I'm not in that boat alone! I crash-dieted my way into my wedding dress for our wedding and it was a rotten process, so I'm looking forward to sharing healthy ideas with you guys, including wedding workouts, what you should be eating on your wedding day, what products are out there to help you get fit, and all that jazz.
I also have an announcement, which many of you might have seen last week on Facebook. Next January, Kyle and I are flying out to Walt Disney World to run the half-marathon together and I'm really excited about it! I ran the half in 2005 and Kyle flew down to cheer me on. We were supposed to run it together a few days after we got married and we paid for it and everything, but we were both exhausted and really sick on the day of the event and we didn't even make it down to pick up our shirts and pins. I have much higher hopes for this year! Oh, and did I mention that the event falls on January 8th, 2011...the same day as our two year wedding anniversary! I can't think of a better way to celebrate!!!
What makes me even more excited is that Kyle and I our running as part of the Hometown Heroes team for The Huntsman Cancer Foundation, which supports the Huntsman Cancer Institute here in Salt Lake City. I ran the half-marathon in 2005 as part of the Hometown Heroes team because I think the foundation does amazing work and I strongly believe in their mission. In fact, supporting Huntsman has sort of become the family business. My mother has worked for HCI for over ten years, I worked for HCI in college, and Kyle and my sister work for them now. I could go into all the reasons why it's such an amazing place, but I'll just sum it up by saying that Kyle and I are very proud to be part of the Hometown Heroes team.
With the Heroes before the event in 2005
Our commitment means that we'll be volunteering in community events and representing HCI. We'll also be fundraising towards our event goal, which is $5,000 ($2,500 each), and so we'll be writing a lot of letters and soliciting donations from all over the place. You'll notice that there's now a button on the sidebar of this blog explaining our commitment and asking for donations. I hope nobody is offended because I'm asking for money! Believe me, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't for a truly amazing cause. If you'd like to donate, please do so because we'd really appreciate it!
Anyway, the third reason I'm excited about this whole thing (beyond the raising money to fight cancer and the mid-winter trip to WDW) is that I've been looking for something to get me up and off my butt for a long time. I have a long way to go before I'll be ready for the half-marathon, so I decided I needed a little fitness week action here on the blog to get me motivated. And what would fitness week be without a...
Giveaway
This giveaway is coming to us not from Esty, but from a local Utah company that sells this really funny (and amazing!) product. It's called a Jyze and it's this really fun little thing that ends up giving this incredible arm workout. When I first saw it, I laughed because it seemed like one of those ridiculous fitness products that are just scams in bright colors, but then I actually got one and...I am not kidding you...this thing gives me the best arm workout ever. Kyle and I own free weights and a chin up bar and I have all the medicine balls and elastic bands and whatever, but honestly, nothing compares to this random little toy-like product.
It's also almost totally silent, so Kyle and I keep it in the family room so we can do it while watching TV. Neither of us have the upper body strength to do it for very long, but we can pass it between each other and get a pretty good work out. I wish I could show you my killer toned arms, but I've been slacking off and not doing any working out at all. Just trust me, this thing works!
The winner of this week's giveaway will win a Jyze Arm Workout Kit from the nice people at JyzeFit. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your favorite fitness activity. I'll announce the winner on Saturday! Remember, if you don't play, you can't win. Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
I also have an announcement, which many of you might have seen last week on Facebook. Next January, Kyle and I are flying out to Walt Disney World to run the half-marathon together and I'm really excited about it! I ran the half in 2005 and Kyle flew down to cheer me on. We were supposed to run it together a few days after we got married and we paid for it and everything, but we were both exhausted and really sick on the day of the event and we didn't even make it down to pick up our shirts and pins. I have much higher hopes for this year! Oh, and did I mention that the event falls on January 8th, 2011...the same day as our two year wedding anniversary! I can't think of a better way to celebrate!!!
What makes me even more excited is that Kyle and I our running as part of the Hometown Heroes team for The Huntsman Cancer Foundation, which supports the Huntsman Cancer Institute here in Salt Lake City. I ran the half-marathon in 2005 as part of the Hometown Heroes team because I think the foundation does amazing work and I strongly believe in their mission. In fact, supporting Huntsman has sort of become the family business. My mother has worked for HCI for over ten years, I worked for HCI in college, and Kyle and my sister work for them now. I could go into all the reasons why it's such an amazing place, but I'll just sum it up by saying that Kyle and I are very proud to be part of the Hometown Heroes team.
With the Heroes before the event in 2005Anyway, the third reason I'm excited about this whole thing (beyond the raising money to fight cancer and the mid-winter trip to WDW) is that I've been looking for something to get me up and off my butt for a long time. I have a long way to go before I'll be ready for the half-marathon, so I decided I needed a little fitness week action here on the blog to get me motivated. And what would fitness week be without a...
Giveaway
This giveaway is coming to us not from Esty, but from a local Utah company that sells this really funny (and amazing!) product. It's called a Jyze and it's this really fun little thing that ends up giving this incredible arm workout. When I first saw it, I laughed because it seemed like one of those ridiculous fitness products that are just scams in bright colors, but then I actually got one and...I am not kidding you...this thing gives me the best arm workout ever. Kyle and I own free weights and a chin up bar and I have all the medicine balls and elastic bands and whatever, but honestly, nothing compares to this random little toy-like product.
It's also almost totally silent, so Kyle and I keep it in the family room so we can do it while watching TV. Neither of us have the upper body strength to do it for very long, but we can pass it between each other and get a pretty good work out. I wish I could show you my killer toned arms, but I've been slacking off and not doing any working out at all. Just trust me, this thing works!
The winner of this week's giveaway will win a Jyze Arm Workout Kit from the nice people at JyzeFit. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your favorite fitness activity. I'll announce the winner on Saturday! Remember, if you don't play, you can't win. Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
Couture Wedding Spotlight: Brettainy + Kyle
Location: Disneyland Park
Photography: Rene Michaud, Bliss Photographic
Videography: Eurostyle Photography & Video
Hair/Makeup: Tara Fontana, Fairytale Hair and Makeup
Coordinator: Traci Banister
Photography: Rene Michaud, Bliss Photographic
Videography: Eurostyle Photography & Video
Hair/Makeup: Tara Fontana, Fairytale Hair and Makeup
Coordinator: Traci Banister
We Have a Winner!!
We have a winner for this week's giveaway and it is...
Congratulations!
I've got a great giveaway coming up tomorrow (for something that I own myself and LOVE) so stay tuned...
Congratulations!
I've got a great giveaway coming up tomorrow (for something that I own myself and LOVE) so stay tuned...
Weekly Update - 5/28/10
In this week's video I...
For the Week
Other blog business
Ads and other work with vendors will be starting in June. I'm putting together the line-up now. At the moment, it's pretty Etsy heavy because there are a lot of people I want to work with, but I will be introducing featured vendors as well.
Featured vendors will be vendors whose contact information I'll list under specific tabs on this blog. (Similar to the test run I did for outside photography vendor.) Featured vendors are basically vendors that I would recommend and once they become featured I'll spotlight them a little more often than other vendors, although I'll be trying to include non-featured vendors every once in a while. So, you may start seeing more from particular photographers/videographers/officiants/florists/DJs/etc. Of course, that isn't a whole lot different from usual business, since you guys know I have favorites. Now they'll just be official favorites.
I'm still working on that list, but if you know of a vendor that you think I'd like to feature and it's someone you're not sure I know about, feel free to shoot me an email or FB message. I get tips on great vendors all the time from readers and I love it!
Reader Question of the Week
Dear Carly,
I'm not sure about doing a bouquet toss. I hate the idea of making all my single friends go through it if they don't want to do it, but my family thinks people will be disappointed if I don't do it. What do you think?
Well, I'm biased because I did it and I really wish I hadn't it. It was just a little awkward and kind of broke up the dancing just when people were really having fun. Plus, when I did it, I had to re-do it because I smacked my seven year old cousin in the face the first time. Bleh. My advice: if you don't want to do it, don't do it. You could present the bouquet to your mom/mother-in-law/maid-of-honor, etc. if you want to turn it into a special moment, but I think you're fine just hanging on to your bouquet.
Other wedding business
This weekend is one in a series of Star Wars weekends that Disney does, so I thought I'd share this fantastic Star Wars themed Disney wedding with you. Kyle is a major Star Wars geek and he really wanted to incorporate that into our wedding day, but I put my foot down because the idea seemed horrifying and a quick route to "tacky", "childish", and "over-the-top". (What can I say? I can be a real snob sometimes.) I'm happy to report that this video made me realize that even something as seemingly silly as a Star Wars themed Disney wedding can be done in a way that the wedding ends up being fun and unique, but also classy and impressive. Plus, this bride is just so happy! Everyone should be that happy on their wedding day!!!
Pirate Themed Weddings at Walt Disney World
A bunch of you sent me a link to this article about pirate-themed weddings at Walt Disney World. I didn't mean to ignore the awesomeness of having a pirate celebration, but while we're on the topic of themed weddings that could either be poorly done or incredible, let me just say that I am all for pirate weddings and hope to see more of them! I'm just waiting for a great one that I can spotlight and then we can have a great big pirate love fest here on the blog. Does anyone know of a pirate wedding coming up in the near future?
Song of the Week
YouTube is being a super pain about my music videos and they keep getting deleted. I really though that I had a good one, but it turns out they were just waiting until this morning to delete it. Le sigh. Well, the song of the week is Madeleine Peyroux's "La Vie en Rose" and you can here a snippet of it in the video above. Unfortuantely, I can't figure out a way to let you preview the whole thing, but believe me...it is beautiful.
- am sitting in my slouchy chair, so I'm hovering around the bottom of the screen
- talk about this week's theme and why I showcase some weddings over and over
- give a book review and a hint at next week's theme
- attempt to share a song with you, but sort of fail at it.
For the Week
- Congratulations to Charlotte and Mark, who had to reschedule their wedding after the volcanic-travel-disaster of 2010. They had their Disney wedding this week and from the few Facebook photos I've seen, it looks like they had a lovely day!
- This week's giveaway is for a $15 gift certificate to Etsy seller loveablecreations's shop.
- Coming next week: Goodness and happiness and maybe some sweat.
Other blog business
Ads and other work with vendors will be starting in June. I'm putting together the line-up now. At the moment, it's pretty Etsy heavy because there are a lot of people I want to work with, but I will be introducing featured vendors as well.
Featured vendors will be vendors whose contact information I'll list under specific tabs on this blog. (Similar to the test run I did for outside photography vendor.) Featured vendors are basically vendors that I would recommend and once they become featured I'll spotlight them a little more often than other vendors, although I'll be trying to include non-featured vendors every once in a while. So, you may start seeing more from particular photographers/videographers/officiants/florists/DJs/etc. Of course, that isn't a whole lot different from usual business, since you guys know I have favorites. Now they'll just be official favorites.
I'm still working on that list, but if you know of a vendor that you think I'd like to feature and it's someone you're not sure I know about, feel free to shoot me an email or FB message. I get tips on great vendors all the time from readers and I love it!
Reader Question of the Week
Dear Carly,
I'm not sure about doing a bouquet toss. I hate the idea of making all my single friends go through it if they don't want to do it, but my family thinks people will be disappointed if I don't do it. What do you think?
Well, I'm biased because I did it and I really wish I hadn't it. It was just a little awkward and kind of broke up the dancing just when people were really having fun. Plus, when I did it, I had to re-do it because I smacked my seven year old cousin in the face the first time. Bleh. My advice: if you don't want to do it, don't do it. You could present the bouquet to your mom/mother-in-law/maid-of-honor, etc. if you want to turn it into a special moment, but I think you're fine just hanging on to your bouquet.
Other wedding business
This weekend is one in a series of Star Wars weekends that Disney does, so I thought I'd share this fantastic Star Wars themed Disney wedding with you. Kyle is a major Star Wars geek and he really wanted to incorporate that into our wedding day, but I put my foot down because the idea seemed horrifying and a quick route to "tacky", "childish", and "over-the-top". (What can I say? I can be a real snob sometimes.) I'm happy to report that this video made me realize that even something as seemingly silly as a Star Wars themed Disney wedding can be done in a way that the wedding ends up being fun and unique, but also classy and impressive. Plus, this bride is just so happy! Everyone should be that happy on their wedding day!!!
Pirate Themed Weddings at Walt Disney World
A bunch of you sent me a link to this article about pirate-themed weddings at Walt Disney World. I didn't mean to ignore the awesomeness of having a pirate celebration, but while we're on the topic of themed weddings that could either be poorly done or incredible, let me just say that I am all for pirate weddings and hope to see more of them! I'm just waiting for a great one that I can spotlight and then we can have a great big pirate love fest here on the blog. Does anyone know of a pirate wedding coming up in the near future?
Song of the Week
YouTube is being a super pain about my music videos and they keep getting deleted. I really though that I had a good one, but it turns out they were just waiting until this morning to delete it. Le sigh. Well, the song of the week is Madeleine Peyroux's "La Vie en Rose" and you can here a snippet of it in the video above. Unfortuantely, I can't figure out a way to let you preview the whole thing, but believe me...it is beautiful.
Ceremony Location: Rose Court Garden
The Rose Court Garden at the Disneyland Hotel is a beautiful location. Despite being so near to the hotels, Downtown Disney, and the theme parks, this location feels private and secluded thanks to the over 800 rose bushes that surround it. It's a fairy large space and can accommodate a good number of people, but it can also be set up as a comfortable venue for more intimate events.
Outside Vendor Spotlight: Raining Roses
Did you know that you don't have to do your floral through Disney if you're having a Disney wedding? There are many florists in the Orlando area who would be happy to work with you.
One of the more popular outside florists among Disney weddings is Raining Roses, who has been selected as The Knot Best of Weddings pick for the last couple of years. Here's an example of some of their amazing work:
Photography: Derek Smith, Sunshine Photographics
One of the more popular outside florists among Disney weddings is Raining Roses, who has been selected as The Knot Best of Weddings pick for the last couple of years. Here's an example of some of their amazing work:
Photography: Derek Smith, Sunshine Photographics
Disney Wedding Altar Arrangements Round-Up
Altar arrangements might be something you're just crossing off the list automatically, especially if you're on a budget. (I know that's why we didn't have one!) It's amazing, though, how much of an impact they can have on the feel of your wedding. Plus, most couples get double duty out of them by having them transported to the reception to use on the sweetheart table or as other centerpieces.
Take a look at how different these wedding moods are, even though all of these ceremonies took place in Disney's wedding pavilion:
Gina + Steve
Take a look at how different these wedding moods are, even though all of these ceremonies took place in Disney's wedding pavilion:
Gina + Steve
Wedding Spotlight: Rachel + Chauncey
Location: Sea Breeze Pointe
Photography: Amy, Disney Fine Art Photography
And now, for your viewing enjoyment, an Escape wedding with an absolutely stunning bouquet...
Photography: Amy, Disney Fine Art Photography
And now, for your viewing enjoyment, an Escape wedding with an absolutely stunning bouquet...
Disney Wedding Centerpiece Round-Up
There's definitely no set "Disney Wedding centerpiece" that every couple uses. To give you an idea of the variety out there, here's a round-up of centerpieces used in Disney weddings, straight from the message boards. Each photo is credited to the bride's username, if you'd like to see more from that wedding. Thanks for sharing, ladies!
WithDisneySpirit
tiggerrifficheidi
Skylarr29
(centerpieces used both at reception and as
ceremony venue decor)
PrettyPeony
pixie08
Ipizzuro123
figmentfan814
DisneyDmbNut
ColeV
WithDisneySpirit
tiggerrifficheidi
Skylarr29(centerpieces used both at reception and as
ceremony venue decor)
PrettyPeony
pixie08
Ipizzuro123
figmentfan814
DisneyDmbNut
ColeV
The Amazing Graphic Floral from Luis and Mike's Wedding
There are lots of things I love about Luis and Mike's wedding, but the thing that always pops up first is their stunning floral. Their florist used flowers in such a way as to be completely unique, completely fun, and yet not too overpowering...just a consistent thread of total beauty. Take a look:
Welcome to Floral Week!!
There are a few things that almost all weddings have in common, regardless of the type of wedding or where the wedding is taken place. All weddings have vows. All weddings have some sort of celebratory food. All weddings have special outfits for the bride and groom (even elopements usually have some specially selected outfit). And all weddings have some sort of floral or floral substitute. It's like people can't get married unless there's a bouquet in the room.
So, I thought we could take some time to focus on everything floral and floral-ish, from bouquets and boutonnieres to centerpieces, flower petals, floral wands, garlands, corsages, wreaths...you name it. This is a bit of a tricky topic for me, since the floral in our wedding was nice, but fairly uninspired since I'm not huge on floral stuff. We got all of our wedding flowers at a great discount from Katie, who was also planning a Disney wedding and had just changed her color scheme. I smushed all of the flowers into a duffle bag, checked it, shook them out in Florida, and *bam*...wedding flowers.
To be honest, if we had had a more forgiving budget, I actually think I would have had a lot of fun with the flowers. So, I'm excited to explore floral stuff this week...for both budget weddings and those with a little more legroom. I've seen all kinds of cool interpretations of traditional wedding flowers since we got married, so I know that there's plenty out there to share!
One of the floral projects that I did get involved in had to do with the daughter of one of my bridesmaids. I had a bridesmaid who came down to our wedding with her two year old daughter. Her husband wasn't able to come and my friend wasn't comfortable with childcare, so she ended up carring her daughter down the aisle instead of carrying a bouquet. We dressed her in white (the bouquets were white) and I made her a little floral wand that matched the rest of our wedding flowers.
If you're thinking about doing something similar, you're probably going to like the...
Giveaway
This week's giveaway comes to us from Etsy seller loveablecreations, who makes the cutest little floral baby hats on Etsy. This is a great alternative to giving floral wands to very young flower girls (or mini-bridesmaids, like I had). Although Audrey enjoyed her wand, I would have totally gotten her a flower headband and had her come down the aisle just like a little huggable bouquet if I had seen these before the wedding!
Etsy seller loveablecreations is generously giving away a $15 gift certificate to her shop, which goes a long way since her items are so reasonably priced!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post that tells me your favorite kind of flower. (If you can't think of your favorite, just name a flower. It's not like I'm going to track you down and demand to know whether you were telling the truth about your love for violets!)
I'll annouce the winner next Saturday. Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
So, I thought we could take some time to focus on everything floral and floral-ish, from bouquets and boutonnieres to centerpieces, flower petals, floral wands, garlands, corsages, wreaths...you name it. This is a bit of a tricky topic for me, since the floral in our wedding was nice, but fairly uninspired since I'm not huge on floral stuff. We got all of our wedding flowers at a great discount from Katie, who was also planning a Disney wedding and had just changed her color scheme. I smushed all of the flowers into a duffle bag, checked it, shook them out in Florida, and *bam*...wedding flowers.
To be honest, if we had had a more forgiving budget, I actually think I would have had a lot of fun with the flowers. So, I'm excited to explore floral stuff this week...for both budget weddings and those with a little more legroom. I've seen all kinds of cool interpretations of traditional wedding flowers since we got married, so I know that there's plenty out there to share!
One of the floral projects that I did get involved in had to do with the daughter of one of my bridesmaids. I had a bridesmaid who came down to our wedding with her two year old daughter. Her husband wasn't able to come and my friend wasn't comfortable with childcare, so she ended up carring her daughter down the aisle instead of carrying a bouquet. We dressed her in white (the bouquets were white) and I made her a little floral wand that matched the rest of our wedding flowers.
If you're thinking about doing something similar, you're probably going to like the...
Giveaway
This week's giveaway comes to us from Etsy seller loveablecreations, who makes the cutest little floral baby hats on Etsy. This is a great alternative to giving floral wands to very young flower girls (or mini-bridesmaids, like I had). Although Audrey enjoyed her wand, I would have totally gotten her a flower headband and had her come down the aisle just like a little huggable bouquet if I had seen these before the wedding!
Etsy seller loveablecreations is generously giving away a $15 gift certificate to her shop, which goes a long way since her items are so reasonably priced!
To enter this giveaway, leave a comment on this post that tells me your favorite kind of flower. (If you can't think of your favorite, just name a flower. It's not like I'm going to track you down and demand to know whether you were telling the truth about your love for violets!)
I'll annouce the winner next Saturday. Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
We Have a Winner!
We have a winner for this week's giveaway and it is...
Congratulations, Chloe! You won a $20 gift certificate to The Pretty Pixie, good towards anything in the shop. Just email me at carly at disneyweddingblog dot com and I'll hook you up. Thank you everyone for participating! I'll have a new giveaway up tomorrow...
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Since it's so hard to narrow it down from all my favorite Disney princesses...
Me and my boyfriend are also big Star Wars fans, so Luke and Leia are my favorite :)
Congratulations, Chloe! You won a $20 gift certificate to The Pretty Pixie, good towards anything in the shop. Just email me at carly at disneyweddingblog dot com and I'll hook you up. Thank you everyone for participating! I'll have a new giveaway up tomorrow...
Weekly Update - 5/21/10
In this week's video...
For the Week
Other Blog Business
There's none this week. I've been too busy.
Reader Question of the Week
"We need to trim down our guest list. We've cut it down to just family and close friends, but that's still almost 50 more people than we can really afford. Help!"
This is the biggest budget-related question that I get. It's rough to do all the math and figure out that you can afford to have a Disney wedding, only to crunch the guest list numbers and realize that you were way off base. If you're in this situation, you need to either suck it up and pay for the extras, decide that you can't afford a Disney wedding, or try one of these tactics (which range from reasonable to unsavory, but all of which are affective so don't hold them against me!):
BUT (even with a wedding budget in peril) under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to have a cash bar. I know I'll get heat for this one because a lot of people think cash bars are fine, but I went to a wedding with a cash bar once and all that I remember is that we had a lousy time because we were supposed to pay for our drinks. We might not have even had that much to drink if it hadn't been a cash bar, but we were completely put off by the fact that we needed to pay for it. We also aren't friends with those people anymore and when I bring them up in conversation, I refer to them as "those people who had the cash bar at their wedding." Just sayin'.
Other Wedding Business
Song of the Week
The song I showcased in the video this week is Harry Connick Jr.'s "The Bare Necessities". But YouTube said no when I tried to post the full song, so you'll just have to go off the little clip at the end of the video. Sorry!
- we have a cameo from a very special (and handsome) guest
- the cameo is not my cat, although you might see a tail in the background
- I talk about the official policy regarding professional photography in Disney parks
- I share a song by someone else who is special and very handsome
For the Week
- I've got a few dates on the new calendar, but nothing for this week, so happy anniversary and congratulations to anyone to whom that applies!
- Send me your dates for the calendar if you haven't already
- This week's giveaway comes from Etsy seller peanutbutterbandit and there's still time to enter and win the awesomeness!
- Coming next week: would you guys like a theme or more posts like this week?
Other Blog Business
There's none this week. I've been too busy.
Reader Question of the Week
"We need to trim down our guest list. We've cut it down to just family and close friends, but that's still almost 50 more people than we can really afford. Help!"
This is the biggest budget-related question that I get. It's rough to do all the math and figure out that you can afford to have a Disney wedding, only to crunch the guest list numbers and realize that you were way off base. If you're in this situation, you need to either suck it up and pay for the extras, decide that you can't afford a Disney wedding, or try one of these tactics (which range from reasonable to unsavory, but all of which are affective so don't hold them against me!):
- cut everyone that you haven't seen in the last five years
- cut everyone that you haven't seen in the last three years
- make it an adults-only reception
- cut all of the cousins
- tell all of the single people (not in long-term relationships) that they can't bring a date
- tell your single friends in long-term relationships that they can't bring their sig. other
- tell your married friends that they can't bring their spouse if you don't know them well
- send out invitations very, very late and only give a heads up about trip planning to people you really want to be there. (this will leave semi-unwanted guests with little time to get work off and plan a trip to Florida, so you may get more "no" RSVPs.)
BUT (even with a wedding budget in peril) under NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to have a cash bar. I know I'll get heat for this one because a lot of people think cash bars are fine, but I went to a wedding with a cash bar once and all that I remember is that we had a lousy time because we were supposed to pay for our drinks. We might not have even had that much to drink if it hadn't been a cash bar, but we were completely put off by the fact that we needed to pay for it. We also aren't friends with those people anymore and when I bring them up in conversation, I refer to them as "those people who had the cash bar at their wedding." Just sayin'.
Other Wedding Business
Song of the Week
The song I showcased in the video this week is Harry Connick Jr.'s "The Bare Necessities". But YouTube said no when I tried to post the full song, so you'll just have to go off the little clip at the end of the video. Sorry!
We Have a Winner AND a New Giveaway!!!
Usually I divide these posts up into two separate entries, but my weekend was just crazy and...is anyone else getting tired of hearing my excuses for how nuts my life has been lately? Well, I'm taking a power week this week and getting a lot of stuff done, so hopefully those excuses stop here.
ANYWAY...
We have a winner for this week's giveaway and it is...
Yay! Congrats, Hope! Message me with your address and I'll send your CD right out. I promise, you'll love it!
AND...
We have a new giveaway for this week! I decided not to do an official theme this week, since I'm sitting on a bunch of great stuff that just isn't fitting neatly into any one category. So, we're going old school this week and just doing a round of things that are awesome, which includes this giveaway from Etsy seller peanutbutterbandit and her shop The Pretty Pixie.
This shop has the cutest little hand-painted wooden cake toppers! Take a look:
Han Solo and Leia are my favorite. If Kyle had seen those before we got married, I can pretty much guarantee you that we would have had a wedding cake after all.
Giveaway
This week's giveaway is for a $20 gift certificate to The Pretty Pixie, good towards anything in the shop. To enter, just leave a comment on this post with your favorite famous couple. They can be real people (Mr. and Mrs. President) or fictional characters (Fred and Wilma), but they have to be famous. (Sorry, no self-nominations on this one.) Remember, you can't win if you don't play! Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
ANYWAY...
We have a winner for this week's giveaway and it is...
-
When you said "mashup", I also had a GLEEk moment:D
My favorite wedding song is "Bust a Move" by Young MC. Didn't think I'd say that did you? lol But it's such a crowd pleaser and gets all the kiddos on the dance floor.
Yay! Congrats, Hope! Message me with your address and I'll send your CD right out. I promise, you'll love it!
AND...
We have a new giveaway for this week! I decided not to do an official theme this week, since I'm sitting on a bunch of great stuff that just isn't fitting neatly into any one category. So, we're going old school this week and just doing a round of things that are awesome, which includes this giveaway from Etsy seller peanutbutterbandit and her shop The Pretty Pixie.
This shop has the cutest little hand-painted wooden cake toppers! Take a look:
Han Solo and Leia are my favorite. If Kyle had seen those before we got married, I can pretty much guarantee you that we would have had a wedding cake after all.
Giveaway
This week's giveaway is for a $20 gift certificate to The Pretty Pixie, good towards anything in the shop. To enter, just leave a comment on this post with your favorite famous couple. They can be real people (Mr. and Mrs. President) or fictional characters (Fred and Wilma), but they have to be famous. (Sorry, no self-nominations on this one.) Remember, you can't win if you don't play! Good luck!
UPDATE: We have a winner!
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