My newest book on its way to you!

My newest book will be out soon! Take a look at product description here and get ready to save your own wedding by avoiding 150 of the top wedding mistakes: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598698176/ref=s9int_c1_at1-rfc_g1-3215_g1-3102_g3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=1JKJKNXQSBZ2NEPQWZ4M&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=371408601&pf_rd_i=507846

Best Bridal Party Gifts

Find fantastic bridal party gifts at Things Remembered. If you're looking at bracelets, though, be extra-careful about the circumference when it comes to your child attendants. I bought two bracelets for my flowergirls and they were WAY too big. Ths silver lining of today's shaky economy is that you'll find really nice sales at a lot of the retail stores for essential wedding purchases. Plus, we're headed for a holiday weekend, so that means more sales out there! Shop wisely, but know that you can get far better gift items for all of your bridal party members for far less than you might expect!

When did the Tooth Fairy hit the pole?

As part of my procrastination, I'm searching online for a Tooth Fairy costume for Halloween. I had found the perfect one, but the message arrived today that it has been discontinued. Must have been too wholesome, I'm imagining, since the existing fairy costumes out there all seem to be designed for pole dancers. I may better off with a Marilyn Monroe dress and just slap on some wings. I was thinking about how to incorporate some teeth to the outfit, but somehow glue-gunning faux teeth to the sash just seems creepy. :)

Cheers!

Since one of the top ways to personalize your wedding is creating a drink and/or naming a cocktail after yourselves, visit Cocktail.com for details on the top mixed drinks and coolers. Can't find the perfect drink to suit your shower or wedding theme? The site has an in-house Q&A expert, in their feature Ask Miss Cocktail. I featured this site in several of my books, most notably my Ultimate Bridal Shower Idea Book, and I highly recommend that you let your circle of party-planning friends and relatives know about it, too. Three cheers to that site for helping us pair drinks to the party decor colors.

Vote for the Green Business of the Year

In wedding world, we LOVE companies with environmentally- and socially-responsible business practices. So here's your chance to vote for your favorite from among the top 10 finalists...and perhaps find the perfect resource for some of your wedding elements! Here are the finalists, and you can vote here:

Meet the Top 10 Nominees(Listed in alphabetical order.)
1. Alter Eco San Francisco, CA www.altereco-usa.com"They are 100 percent committed to Fair Trade, and use responsible practices throughout their company, like employing disabled workers to package products, and running a green office." --Carlota O., Dallas, TX
2. Babyworks Portland, OR www.babyworks.com "They provide a wonderful assortment of cloth diapers and organic baby clothes. They also have wonderful toys that are not made of plastic, not to mention the fantastic service that you recieve from them." --Mari W., Vancouver, WA
3. Frontier Natural Products Co-op Norway, IA www.frontiercoop.com"They are a cooperative committed to helping the planet and its people through renewable energy, carbon neutral shipping of their organic products, and their commitment to educating their custormers and the public through their Tall Grass Prairie Project." --Carol M., Sioux Falls, SD
4. Gaiam, Inc. Boulder, CO www.gaiam.com"This company offers responsible choices in many areas-- from cleaning products to linens to solar and wind power systems. Even their own green buildings promote responsibility to our earth." --Ellen R., Wilmington, DE
5. Kate's Caring Gifts Fremont, CA www.katescaringgifts.com"Kate, who owns the business, is one of the most sincere and selfless people I know. She gives so much more to the community with little thought of gain to herself. I truly respect her and what she is accomplishing with her green business!"--Lin-Lin O., San Jose, CA
6. Mountain Rose Herbs Eugene, OR www.mountainroseherbs.com"All herbs are organic or ethically wildcrafted, they support students with a 10 percent discount, their products hold to the highest standard, and their customer service is amazing!" --Julie C., Madison, WI
7. Mountains of the MoonChicago, IL www.mountainsofthemoon.com"Not only do they provide eco-friendly and organic hemp clothing, but it's sophisticated and wearable in the real world! I get so many compliments from non-green people, and that opens up the conversation on the benefits of going green!" --Druanne M., Elkins Park, PA
8. Pizza Fusion Fort Lauderdale, FL www.pizzafusion.com"They practice what they preach! As he first franchise restaurant to be totally green, they cook organic, recycle, and drive hybrids to deliver. Their slogan, 'saving the world one pizza at a time,' is right on the money." --Lisa N., Thompson Station, TN
9. We Add Up Mentor, OH www.weaddup.com"We Add Up has continued to support the green rebuilding in New Orleans, and promotes education on the everyday things that we can all do to turn the tide on climate change. Tthey are social greentrepreneurs with heart!." --Cristal W., Slidell, LA
10. West Paw Design Bozeman, MT www.westpawdesign.com"Great and innovative dog products using recycled/reclaimed materials. All products show great durability and design and they are made in the US with fair labor practices." --Beth F., Indianapolis, IN

My Wishpot Favorite Things list

View my wish list on Wishpot »

Check out my lists of Favorite Things, Gift Ideas, Fabulous Finds and especially my Top Registry Items list at this fabulous new website!

SO fun for personalized weddings!

My brilliant brother-in-law Adam just sent this over to me -- it's a site where you can order custom Pez dispensers and action figures in your own likeness. If Joe and I had only known about this for our wedding! Visit www.herobuilders.com to check it out.

Signature cocktails at your wedding

Have a little fun with your bar menu by dreaming up your own signature cocktail for your wedding. You might name it after yourself, such as 'Renee's Rum Punch' or you could get even more creative by naming it 'Maui Sunset' or some other image that's sentimental to you. Check out this article in InStyle Weddings for a few celebrity-inspired cocktails.

Page proofs

Over the past few weeks, I've received the page proofs for two of my upcoming books. Page proofs are the layout versions of what the book pages will look like when you buy it, with any color, graphics, sidebars all put in place by the publisher. It's my first look at what the book will look like, as opposed to the basic manuscript I turned in. When you see boxed text in a book, the author probably submitted it looking something like this:

BEGIN SIDEBAR
Did You Know?
The average amount spent on wedding favors is over $300.
END SIDEBAR

When that is coded and placed in a book, well, you know what that turns out like. So this process is fine-tooth-combing the page proofs for any typos and cut-and-paste errors, and this is when we also chop out any extra text to fit the page number spacing. When the text is converted into the final font and sidebars are created, that takes up some pages. So out go a lot of the extras, paragraphs are cut down, segments are chopped. But in the end, we've got a perfect fit.

I'm thrilled to have these two books into production -- especially since one set of page proofs had been delivered to the wrong house, and we thought they were lost until a kind neighbor drove it over here! -- and focus fully on the book I'm working on now, which includes a topic I've been wanting to tackle for a long time. But first, the dishwasher needs emptying, the counter needs cleaning...all the usual distractions faced by everyone who works from a home office. At least I don't have a parade of workers ringing the doorbell this week -- we wisely requested that our township mark where our water, sewer and gas lines are under our lawn...and wouldn't you know -- our water line runs EXACTLY where we were planning to plant our new dogwood tree. THAT would have been fun. The lines are marked, the house is quiet, and I get to --- wait, there's the doorbell. The fun never ends....I'll get to writing at some point.

Are you ready for some football?

Sports-themed pre-wedding parties are a top trend right now, as couples look to their shared passion for sports teams as a great foundation for their party plans. Since tonight starts the NFL season, now's the perfect time for me to suggest a sportsfan-friendly focus if you want to do something a little bit different for a co-ed bridal shower, wedding weekend event or even the rehearsal dinner. For any party that takes place during the sports season, just design your own themed invitations using the software and papers at http://www.mountaincow.com/, and let your guests know to wear blue for your Giants'-themed party, or -- if they dare -- the color of their favorite team. If you have a wide mix of sportsfans, just make it an NFL party and have guests wear their choices of pro player jerseys or team shirts. Decor is easy, tailgate party food is a breeze, microbrew beers can take the place of a keg if you're not the kegtapping types, and somebody in your circle of friends has that CD of stadium songs. Now let's say your party takes place on the weekend of a big playoff game....many of your guests will be far happier to attend your bash and not miss the action.

Of course I'm using the NFL as an example here because I'm a football fan, but you can do the same with your alma mater football team colors, baseball, basketball, whatever you'd like.

It's a fun way to put a new twist on a wedding celebration party.

Want more party theme ideas? Check out my book The Ultimate Bridal Shower Idea Book.