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Out-of-town bags (also known as OOT bags or welcome bags) are a great way to welcome your out-of-town guests to your wedding. These bags are left in their hotel rooms ahead of time or distributed during the welcome party and they are filled with snacks, drinks, maps, and miscellaneous other treats to make their stay more comfortable and thank them for coming to celebrate with you.
You have so many options for your OOT bags. You can have the bag feature your monogram, a cute pattern, or a saying that means something to you as a couple. It can have your wedding date or even highlight the city you are getting married in. It’s entirely up to you and your partner to decide what your guests might like and what they are likely to use again! These bags start at just $1.80 each!
Later today, we’ll do another post on OOT bag contents, but for now, here are some budget-friendly bags to hold welcome goodies for your guests!
Side note: some hotels will deliver these bags for you to your block of guest rooms prior to guest arrival! Ask your hotel what their policy is.
1. Via Wedding Chicks | 2. Via Etsy | 3. Via Etsy | 4. Via Amazon | 5. Via Etsy | 6. Via Wedding Chicks | 7. Via Forever 21 | 8. Via Forever 21 | 9. Via Forever 21 | 10. Via Amazon
Happy Friday! Last in our series about Picking the Palette is some inspiration for pretty neutral weddings accented with bright colors. This is a very beautiful yet very easy color palette that is fun yet sophisticated. Use the accent color in beautiful or unexpected places like on your shoes, the sash on your dress, or in your floral arrangements. I have recently been loving grey and yellow weddings, but you can go with any neutral paired with a complimentary bright such as nude and pink, blush and navy, or beige and green.
1. Via Apple Brides | 2. Via Pinterest | 3. Via Elizabeth Anne Designs | 4. Via Pinterest | 5. Via Venue Safari | 6. Via Style Me Pretty | 7. Via Bridal Guide | 8. Via Pinterest
From time to time, we will be featuring vendors that are known for being the best of the best. Our very first dream vendor is Jose Villa, photographer extraordinaire. He captures the unique feel of each and every event he shoots, and the result is a collection of photos that are breathtaking reflections of love, joy, and beautiful details. This post is going to be very photo-heavy because every single one of his images is absolutely to die for, and I simply couldn’t narrow it down any more than this. I’m going to let this small sampling of his work speak for itself, because it has a lot to say.
Sometimes I would advise brides not to go too “trendy” with their wedding plans. Uber-current trends will sometimes look lovely this year, but outdated a mere year from now. Sometimes, though, a trend comes along that is so fabulous that I think it will stand the test of time. Sparkler exits are one of these trends.
Besides being a spectacularly fun way to depart from your wedding, sparkler exits make for breathtaking photographs and lasting memories. Your guests will love playing with sparklers, especially the kids, and you will love running off as newlyweds through a tunnel of sparkling light. Check with your venue to see if they allow sparkler exits (some don’t), and make sure your photographer knows your plans so he is prepared. Also, make sure you get extra-long sparklers (like these) so there is plenty of time to light them and have you run under them without them burning out. Also, make sure you designate someone to hand out the sparklers and get them lit before you come out so there is no confusion.
Seriously, though, how beautiful are these pictures?!
1. Via Floridian Weddings | 2. Via Pinterest | 3. Via Wedding Chicks | 4. Via Floridian Weddings
This is an important PSA for brides (and bridesmaids) everywhere: something will go wrong on your wedding day. As a wedding planner/day-of coordinator, it is my job to 1) prevent as many things from going wrong as possible, and 2) be there with a solution if something does go wrong. If you don’t have a planner or a day-of coordinator, it’s a really good idea to assemble a bridal emergency kit with some essentials that can save the day in a pinch.
BHLDN has an amazing kit that comes in an adorable zipper case meant. They are a fantastic bridesmaid’s gift and they are a cute little present for the bride, too.
These kits include: deodorant towelettes, stain removers, nail polish remover, pain relievers, dental floss, clear nail polish, lip balm, breath fresheners, hair spray, antacids, tampons, adhesive bandages, mending kits, safety pins, double-sided tape, clear elastics, earring backs, emery boards, bobby pins, wedding bands, blotting tissues, and facial tissues.
If you choose not to buy a pre-made emergency kit, I would suggest making your own. If you have a wedding planner or a day-of coordinator, ask them what supplies they have in case of emergencies, as most will bring along a kit. If you don’t have a coordinator, or if yours does not have an emergency kit, here is what I would suggest including when you assemble yours:
One of the most common wedding regrets I hear from brides is not having good videography on their wedding day. Sure, a picture is worth a thousand words, but videography can capture the “feel” of the day in a way that photography sometimes can’t. On the other hand, I often hear couples who DID have videography complain that they spent too much on it and don’t pull it out often (or ever!) to enjoy it. There are plenty of factors that you and your partner should weigh when deciding whether or not videography has a spot in your budget.
This list is specifically aimed at looking at the pros and cons of hiring a professional videographer.
Pros:
It’s better to have it and never watch it than to regret not having it years down the road.
Cons:
Wedding ceremonies are important and arguably dignified, and having videographers run around trying to capture the whole thing can detract from the intimacy of the moment (in fact, some houses of worship don’t allow videography at all for this reason).
Pros:
Your friend or family members know you and your partner- they won’t ever feel like an intrusion, and they may recognize the particularly special or intimate moments better than a professional.Asking a friend or family member to records the special moments of your wedding will be much cheaper than hiring a professional videographer (and maybe even free!).
Cons:
A standard video camera run by an amateur videographer will typically be lower-quality than professional videography (shaky, lower-resolution, poor audio quality)- consider renting a nice camera and professional microphone.
With amateur videography, you run a higher risk of technical errors (dead battery, full memory card, etc.) that could mean missing important parts of the day.
Asking a friend of family member to take video of your ceremony means they will be working instead of just enjoying the wedding.
It’s important for you as a couple to decide whether or not videography is important to you. Only you can decide whether you are the types of people to pull your video off the shelf to reminisce about your wedding day for years to come.
Who doesn’t want perfect skin on their wedding day? While I advocate making healthy changes that will be sustainable long after your wedding day, getting married is a great excuse to get these healthy changes started. Plus, planning a wedding can be extremely stressful, which can in turn wreak havoc on your skin, so I thought I would do a skin care guide to help you get your skin looking and feeling its best.
After struggling with everything from acne to dry skin to eczema from adolescence on, I have finally found a skincare routine that really works for me. I have combination skin that needs to be treated gently, but this routine works for oily skin and dry skin as well. Plus, it includes sun protection for long-term skin health. Note: this skin care routine does not include makeup (that’s coming up in a future post!). Because my skin care routine includes tinted moisturizer, however, I find that all I need is some lip balm and mascara for a quick, easy makeup look.
Morning: In the shower, I start by washing my face and body with classic Dove soap. Then, I use St. Ives Apricot Scrub on my face to exfoliate. It leaves my skin feeling soft and clean. Plus, it smells amazing and it’s inexpensive!
After I get out of the shower but before my face completely dries, I put on my Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20 in Nude. This is my favorite beauty product ever. It’s got the perfect amount of tint so that my skin tone looks even, but it makes my skin feel healthy and has sun protection in it. If you know me, you know that I am obsessed with protecting my skin from the sun. I swear by this product!
Evening: Before bed, I wash my face with Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Pink Grapefruit Foaming Scrub. Again, it’s an amazing product that really clears my skin, it smells incredible, and it’s inexpensive!
Once I get into bed, I use Neutrogena Ageless Essentials Continuous Hydration Night Creme on my face, elbows, and hands. It’s a product I started using recently, and I’ve found that I wake up looking fresh with my skin nice and moisturized. It’s also a relatively inexpensive product, and I love how it makes my skin feel.
So there you have it, my complete skin care routine for any skin type! If you have oilier skin, try leaving out the night creme (don’t skin the sun protection!), and if you have dry skin, you can replace the Neutrogena wash or Dove bar with something more gentle and less dehydrating like Cetaphil. I hope this helps you get your skin looking the best it can possibly look!
1. St. Ives | 2. Laura Mercier via Sephora | 3. Neutrogena | 4. Neutrogena
Pronovias has really mastered feminine details. Their 2014 Bridal Collection doesn’t do anything truly groundbreaking, but it does do classic bridal looks beautifully and incorporates details like lace, beading, and bows in a fresh way. I especially love the way they are using illusion necklines with lace. It just feels so perfectly romantic. Check out these highlights from the Pronovias 2014 Bridal Collection and see if anything tickles your fancy. All looks featured here and many, many more can be found on the Pronovias Bridal page.
You have probably been dreaming about your bridal look since you were a little girl. The dress, the veil, maybe even the shoes, and you as the blushing bride making it all look good. You’re hair and makeup will be flawless, so why not have your nails be too? After all, they’ll be in plenty of pictures showing off your beautiful new wedding ring!
I love nail polish. I tend to gravite toward neutrals, but I’m also a sucker for some sparkle or the perfect shade of red. When I was in Paris, instead of buying tchotchkes as souvenirs I bought a bottle of Chanel Le Vernis in Fire. I still wear it to this day as a reminder of my trip.
Here are some of my favorite nail looks, straight from my collection. Each of these is given the Tulle and Twine stamp of approval for their color, wear, and ability to make your hands as pretty as can be on your wedding day, or any other day for that matter!
The Perfect Shade of Red- Red is the most classic nail polish color, and it works well for bridal nails, too. I love Chanel Le Vernis in Dragon.
Something Blue- My favorite nail trend right now is using your polish as your something blue. If you are looking for a deep navy blue, Dior Vernis in Blue Label is the perfect choice (and my favorite polish right now). If you are looking for something more subtle and feminine, try Sephora by OPI Nail Color in Havana Blue or Essie Borrowed and Blue.
Neutrals and Pastels- Neutrals and pastels are my go-to for day-to-day wear, and they work perfectly as a subtle bridal look, too. I love all of the Ciaté London Paint Pots colors, but Twinset and Pearls is the perfect neutral. Essie’s Mint Candy Apple and China Glaze’s For Audrey polished are beautiful pastel shades.
Poppy and June Events 