democracy in action! what would *you* post to etsywedding?

friends, it has been a while. a long while. there's only so much apologizing one blogger can do. and that gets me thinking: maybe i need to enlist some help. (!) and a here's a great idea (i think!): user-generated content! yes!

i'd like to pose several questions to you, my wedding-minded readers, in the democratic spirit of the election season.

the first: if price were no object, what four things on etsy would you get for your wedding?

send me an email with your four best links, and if you're so inclined a little note on why (but just the links are fine!) -- i will post the best ones with your byline (or if you prefer, a link to your blog).

here are the rules so far: (and please forgive the weird formatting, am having to post in IE from a pc rather than my beloved mac.)

1. please, no self promotion. this is a fun exploration of what etsy has to offer, not a competition for free advertising.

2. one email per question -- no multiples. please! you have no idea what my email inbox looks like. it is *utter mayhem* in there. craziness. a wild forest of unopened mail. in fact, let this stand as an apology to anyone who has written and not gotten a response. that includes you, mom.

3. choose compelling items with great photos. great photos are key. and creative, fun, gorgeous, why-didn't-we-think-of-that sorts of things. themes are welcome, as are color schemes.

4. i forget what four was for.

5. i reserve the right to call cease and desist on one question when i move on to the next one. this will save what is left of my sanity.

6. i won't be able to post everyone, but i will try, *try*! to keep up with you all. you are many, i am but one.

so: this may or may not work, we'll see how it goes, but definitely better than my current anemic posting schedule. right?

any questions? post in comments --

{{update 6.oct.08: like, duh! my email address! find me at etsywedding (at) gmail.}}
xoj

Sunflower Themes for Weddings

As I start to work on my wedding designs for my 2009 brides I have revisted my original sunflower and yellows themes. I particuarly love this board from Kathryn at Snippet and Ink as the yellows and purples work so well together.

Given the purples and mauves are going to be one of the most popular wedding colours for next year I have decided to publish Kathryn's board to give brides inspirations of adventurous colour schemes.

Here I have put together a new sunflower board again trying to pull in a slight hint of purple as I think it just adds that something and makes it slightly more Mediterranean. I love the idea combining the lemons and using the sunflower heads as place name holders. For a truly Spanish style wedding it would be great to use terracotta jugs filled with sunflowers and then placing lemons around them.

Many of the images on this board are from The Knot

Costa Del Sol Bride of the Year Competition

Reviva Weddings were invited by Kerry from Celebrations in Spain to become involved in the Costa Del Sol Bride of the Year Competition.

Some of the top Wedding suppliers along the Costa del Sol have come together to offer a fantastic wedding package for a special couple to get married here in Spain - absolutely free.

All you have to do is visit the website www.costadelsolbrideoftheyear.com , fill in the Application Form and tell us in as many words as you like, why you think you should win this competition. The winner of the competition will have the most fantastic wedding package!

Mike and Grace's wedding Robertos, Puente Romano

As the wedding of Mike and Grace got nearer so did the rain, eventually it was decided not to risk having their wedding on the beach at the Suite Del Mar, so instead it was held indoors at the wonderful restaurant Robertos at Puente Romano. The rains came with a vengence this weekend but fortunately a good time was had by all.

We had two key ideas from the bride and groom for this wedding, one was that they wished to use local flowers and the other was they wanted a south African theme as Mike is a South African Rugby player.

We created the idea of the table names being names of Safari animals and designed them with a turquoise zebra print graphic. This co-ordinated with the tall turquoise centrepieces we created. We then created bouganvilla arrangements to place around the restaurant to bring in the local foliage theme, the result was simple and effective.

Jason and Leanne's Vintage Wedding in Cancelada

Set in the Cortijo de la Perdiz at Cancelada, this was one of our most fun weddings this year to decorate. Leanne wanted a vintage theme and we designed it using lots of crystal and pearls, vintage tablecloths and loads of lanterns and candles around the pool area.

The end result was beautiful, unfortunately my camera does not take good night shots but if I do get some more evening photos I will post them as it looked amazing at night. The catering and wedding planning was organised by the wonderfully organised Heather at Fiestasol along with her husband Alex, fab chef!

Again this evening was made even more special with Reviva Weddings sky lanterns.

Red & White Themed wedding at Los Monteros

Eddy and Janique's wedding was a truly individual affair held at Los Monteros. The whole wedding was based on a red and white theme and all the guests were beautifully turned out in matching red and white outfits. Lorna at Deseos created some lovely urns filled with red and white roses and Reviva Weddings supplied the lanterns, stationery and chair sashes to

co-ordinate. Luckily the rain held off for this wedding!

Fuschia Bouganvilla Wedding at Las Islas

What fun we had creating this wedding for Dennis and Ruth. It certainly helped that they had chosen such a fabulous venue, a boutique hotel & restaurant, Las Islas, run by Omar who could not have been more welcoming.

A rare find and such a thrill to have discovered such a charming venue, hidden in Torreblanca. I will certainly be putting this on my regular restaurant list now, the food was amazing.

Ruth and I decided on a Bouganvilla theme and use the local flowers to decorate her wedding. We used pink bouganvilla for the centrepieces set in crystal water pearls and lit up with pink floraltyes.

Swarovski pink table diamonds, pink napkins tied with white ribbons and a personalised olive oil bottle completed the table settings.

We ordered monogrammed cards from Reviva Weddings online shop and had them individually written with the guests names. We supplied fans decorated with pink ribbons and hung the table seating plans in the tree by the bar. The ceremony was beautifully conducted by Andrew Hunter and Dennis and Ruth used one of our unity sand sets they had ordered from our shop and had personalised with their names and wedding date.

The evening was finished off with some of Reviva Weddings sky lanterns, a truly magical end to a truly magical day.