Hilton Hotel Room Giveaway!

If you are planning a Destination Wedding, this is the contest that you need to be jumping all over....and quickly! Thanks to Wedding Chicks Blog, they are have partnered with Hilton Hotels to give away $3,000.00 worth of hotel rooms anywhere in the US (including Hawaii!) This contest does not include anything else but the rooms (sorry, you have to pay for your own wet bar!) You can take as many people with you to your destination wedding and put them up in a very nice Hilton hotel. Check out Wedding Chicks Blog to get all the details. Good luck!

Make leis for your guests!

If you are having a DW in Hawaii, what better way to celebrate than to make your own leis! You can make them for your bridal party for the day of the wedding and for anyone else that might like one. Here is how to do it:

1. Gather the following items: Lei Needle or sewing needle (stainless steel), thread or fishing line, flowers

2. Choose your flowers (stringing method depends on flower type). The flowers used throughout the island include: Walahe'e Haole (Mock Orange), 'Awapuhi ke'oke'o (White Ginger), 'Ilima (Hibiscus), Kepalo (Bouganvilla), Kiele (Gardenia), Kupalo (Tuberose), Loke (Roses),Male (Stephanotis),'Ohai Ali'i (Poinciana), 'Okika (Orchid), Pikake (Arabian Jasmine) but the most famous is Melia (Plumeria).

3. Decide how you will string them. Depending on the flower, the methods are either straight in a single pattern through the center of each flower, or Circular/Double pattern through the stem of each flower. For this step by step, we will discuss the Plumeria flower lei with a single pattern.

4. Take your needle and thread the eye with thread or fishing line.

5. String each flower directly through the center of the flower. (You will need approximately 50 Plumeria blossoms for a single 40 inch lei.) These are somewhat idiot-proof flowers in that they have holes (tubes) right down the center...perfect for making leis!

6. When you have finished stringing all the flowers, tie off the thread/line and cut off any excess.

7. Add a ribbon if you wish! Now you are ready to present it to whomever you wish to honor.

Unique Guestbook for a Destination Wedding

Want a unique way to remember your guests at your wedding? Try this...purchase a map (like these from Vintage Maps) and place it on an easel for your guests to sign. Once you get home you can have the map framed so that you can always remember your guests and your destination wedding location!

Another idea is to gather smooth rocks from a sentimental location (such as your vacation spot at your favorite lake) and ask guests to sign them with paint-style oil markers or enamel-based metallic pens. Once home, place them in a glass cylinder to display.

What to do when in a tricky travel situation

Once again, Real Simple has great advice for travelers. Check out this article to learn how to handle and avoid bad travel situations.

A Venetian Wedding

If you have wanted to go to Italy, there is no better time than during the most romantic moment of your life. Get married in beautiful, romantic Venice! What a great way to celebrate love than to be in a city that is just so romantic. With the old architecture, water-filled winding streets, tons of history and beautiful scenery, it would be hard to not feel magical. Getting married in Venice is actually easier than one would think. The city is a wedding-friendly place that will work to make your day the best that it can be.

Whether you want to say your "I Do's" on a gondola, in an ancient Palace or in a beautiful garden,
the wedding professionals in Venice will make it happen. When the wedding is over, make your honeymoon a trip around Italy. You will already be there so it would be ideal to get the full taste of what Italy has to offer. Visit Rome, Florence, Milan, Naples and all the other great places that are there. Just remember.....bring me back some wine from the fabulous wine country!

Thanks to Weddings Italy for the pictures. Check them out for more information about your Venetian Wedding.

Travel Checklists

If you do not travel on a regular basis, you may not know about everything that you need to know when going on a trip, especially a trip to another country. A check list will ensure that you are aware of everything that a traveler needs to know before entering another country. Here is a sample checklist found on Real Simple. For a more detailed list go to Art of Travel.

One thing that I have found very helpful for me is to write every single thing down that I put in my suitcase. Even write down the small things like bobby pins, makeup, etc. Then at the end of your trip go through your checklist (more like inventory sheet) of what you brought that way you make sure that you return home with the same things that you left with. There are some people that I know (no names mentioned) that are notorious about leaving their items (or in several cases, items that they have borrowed from me!) everywhere that they go. If you have a checklist of the things that you brought you shouldn't be worried about leaving anything behind.
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Fun Tropical Drinks

I LOVE these fun drinks! What a great way to start off your cocktail hour for your DW wedding! Make sure that your guests feel like they are some place exotic and theme up your party. Gosh, I could do a whole wedding around the idea of these drinks...

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Thanks to the Lazy Bride Blog for this fab idea!

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Santorini, Greece

PicturesbyTracy: A recent couples honeymoon in Santorini, Greece.....

We went to Santorini, Greece for our honeymoon. It was absolutely beautiful there! We stayed at the Canavas Oia and stayed in the town of Oia. We wanted to do something special and unique for our first trip as newlyweds and we succeeded! It was the perfect amount of relaxation and exploration! We spent our first two days in Athens, Greece and saw the Parthenon, Olympic Stadium, Lycabettus Hill and all of the other tourist things that you should see while you are there! Then we flew to the Greek Island of Santorini and spent the majority of our time relaxing by the water, eating delicious greek food, and checking out all of the cafes, wineries, marinas and churches!





The people were so friendly and laid back, and every tourist that we met was on their honeymoon! Santorini is known for its beautiful sunsets, elaborate churches, and white buildings with blue roofs and windows. The view looked like it was right from a postcard! I would definitely recommend checking out Santorini, it was a great honeymoon spot.

Congratulations Jen & Matt! Thank you for sharing your experience in Greece on our DW blog!

Make it a Fairytale...get married in a castle!

Every little girl dreams of her "Fairytale" wedding. Why not actually make it come true?! There are castles all over Europe that cater to the wedding industry and the Cinderella Brides. This castle has definitely caught my eye as a fabulous venue for a castle wedding. It is Ashford Castle, located in Ireland. The reasons to visit Ireland are endless, but to spend the most romantic day of your life in an Ireland castle seems just magical. Built in 1228 (that was before America was even discovered! That puts it into perspective of how old it really is) Ashford Castle has offered a myriad of ways to enjoy the hospitality of an Ireland castle. From the imposing exterior one enters a richly decorated interior that speaks of centuries of care and love of fine craftsmanship.

Ashford Castle can accommodate two style of weddings, either a maximum of 40 people or a maximum of 160 people, depending on which part of the castle best fits your needs. Enjoy the breathtaking scenery, the 350 acre private estate, a nine hole private golf course, the Ashford Equestrian Center, and my favorite part -- the bagpiper welcome when you arrive!

Kahala Bridal Showcase - Honolulu, Hawaii

If any of you DW brides have been thinking about getting married in romantic Hawaii, check out this facility - The Kahala Hotel and Resort. As you can see from the pictures above, it is a beautiful property that can accommodate your wedding or special event needs. If this is exactly the kind of place that you have been looking for in Hawaii, you may want to invest in going to their Bridal Showcase that will be at the end of this month. The date is Friday, October 24, 2008 from 5:30pm - 9:30pm. During these times you will be able to tour the property and get all of your Big Day questions answered. With DW it is always good to visit your wedding location at least once before the ceremony so that you are not surprised by anything (good or bad!)

Money Saving Tip - If you are seriously interested in having your DW in Hawaii and think that this venue might meet all of your needs, talk to the resort's Director of Sales and see if they can comp a room for you while you are there visiting their hotel. Most likely they will give you a huge discount or even a free room if they know that you are going to hold your event at their property.

Invitation Sale!

We have 25 Ivory Invitations with Black Organza Ribbon for sale...at a REALLY CHEAP PRICE! One of our clients accidentally ordered too many and wants to sale them so that they are not just put in a box and never used.

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The sale includes everything that you see above. Here are the details:

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-25 Cream Smooth Front Cards with Envelope

-25 Cream Smooth Front Response Cards

-25 Cream Smooth Front Reception Cards

-15 Cream Direction / Map Cards

- 25 Cream Tea Length Menu Cards

- 25 Cream Place Cards

- 3 Black Ribbon Spools (25 yards each)

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The asking price for these invitations is $50.00 (that equals out to $2.00 each! That is a GREAT deal!)

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These are perfect cards for a smaller wedding (say a Destination Wedding!) The cards are blank, ready for you to print your own wording on them.

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Call Natasha at 423-468-0815 or email her at Natasha@allureeventconsulting.com if you would like to know more or to purchase these cards.

Destination Wedding Dream Weekend!

A lot of people have never heard of Mackinac Island but let me tell you, it truly is a gem. Located in Michigan, Mackinac Island is known as the "all natural" theme park of America. To get to the island you must travel by a ferry and once there the transportation is limited to horse and buggy, bicycle or foot. One of the main reasons travelers visit this wonderful island is for the annual Lilac Festival which is held every Spring.

With that said, Mackinac Island would be a wonderful in-country destination wedding. Most of the time people feel that they have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars traveling oversees to have a destination wedding. What they do not realize is that anywhere that they go is considered a destination as long as it isn't the hometown that you live in.

This October 10th - 12th Mackinac Island is holding a Destination Wedding Dream Weekend for any one who is interested in learning more about weddings. They will have a symposium with wedding professionals, ceremony and reception site tours, family events, bridal party events, pub crawls and a lot more. Go to Mackinac.com to view all the details.

-Allure