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Want to try something with a little more geek chic flair than the traditional sign-in guestbook at your wedding reception? How about a video guestbook kiosk that your guests can approach at their leisure to leave you personalized congratulations for viewing later or even incorporating into your wedding video?
I found this mentioned over at the Letterpress Wedding Invitations Blog and thought it was a fun idea to share. The basic technical requirements are just a Mac computer and webcam (a standalone iMac with built-in webcam is perfect) and software made for the purpose; in this case, Thrilled for You Video Guestbook available online for $99. The software allows an unlimited number of high-quality video messages to be recorded by your guests.
Guests approach the kiosk, enter their names, and click "Record" to start. Their video appears in the box as it is recording, and they are provided options to preview, re-record, and save afterwards.
The setup lets your guests enter their names and record their video message to you with point-and-click ease. They can preview and re-record if they prefer, until they’re happy with the message they’re sending. With a booth like this available all reception long, you’ll be sure to gather some very entertaining material from your guests! Use along with, or in the place of, a traditional signed guestbook to capture your loved ones’ best wishes like never before!
Check out the Thrilled For You website for more information and to download a free demo.
Ida Sjöstedt is a Swedish based designer whose design philosophy is “tasteful kitsch or tongue-in-cheek elegance”. Her aim is to “create beautiful, sexy clothes for women who don’t take dressing up too seriously –and who see fashion as something fun rather than as a must”. These wedding dresses remind me of happy spring with their fresh and dreamy silhouettes and vintage flare. I love the romantic ruffles and lace details on these adorable gowns!
The WedShare*Daily staff and I visited Los Angeles this Sunday for the debut of “Unveiled: Bridal Style Revealed,” an upscale wedding planning event showcasing high quality services, products, and information for today’s nearlyweds. What made this event so different than others I’ve attended, in large part, was its setting: outdoors along Melrose Place. The small stretch of road, located near Beverly Hills and Hollywood, is lined with trendy shops that opened their doors specifically for the show, and the road itself was set up with tented booths of participating vendors. The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for spending a day outdoors. Shops showcasing their 2010 collections throughout the day included Carolina Herrera, Monique Lhuillier, and Vera Wang.
Top: The "State of the Union" panel connects attendees with celebrity wedding professionals. Center: settings like this chic lounge by Classic Party Rentals provide a shaded respite from the sun. Bottom: the good folks at Patina Weddings provide tasty samples and friendly smiles.
After arriving in the morning, I sipped coffee, reviewed the show program, and enjoyed the weather at a streetside cafe, letting the attendee crowd gradually build up. This and window-shopping were perks to the event venue being an actual city street. It never became overly-packed, by the way, which was nice. Nothing worse than being at an event where you have to elbow your way up to every booth. The crowd was always pleasantly manageable and dispersed enough to enjoy walking the booth-filled street and trying the food and beverage samples, or chatting with vendors.
Carolina Herrera opens their doors along with Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier to showcase their 2010 collections just for the show. A great rental setup outdoors with overhanging chandeliers.
By the time the “State of the Union” address began at noon, the heat had picked up a bit. While the panel of wedding experts shared their thoughts and advice regarding the latest bridal trends, attendees re-arranged the seating by moving chairs into the shade. On hand to speak were Mindy Weiss of Mindy Weiss Party Consultants, Eden Rodriguez of End Design, Marc Friedland of Creative Intelligence, Inc., and Chef Joachim Splichal of Patina Restaurant Group. Harmony Walton of the Bridal Bar moderated the talk. All of these folks are pretty heavy hitters in the industry, so attendees had a chance to hear from the best. No questions were asked, though. Shy crowd, perhaps…a bit of a lost opportunity. I noticed that a common thread running through all the speakers’ talks were the state of the economy and how couples today are cutting back, lowering their budget, and getting creative in doing more with less.
Very well done displays by 24 Carrots, who also provides tasty samples. Check out the use of vintage furniture; on the panel, Mindy Weiss shares her love of flea markets and using her finds as decor.
Later, Patti Stanger of Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker fame made an appearance to speak about how best and most efficiently a gal could find the perfect guy. While such a talk’s relevance at a wedding-planning event is debatable, I guess it packed some entertainment value; I’d assume the brides-to-be in attendance had already overcome this tricky social feat, but there were plenty of single ladies on hand, I’m sure…bridesmaids-to-be, et al. The audience appeared to enjoy Stanger’s antics. For guys like myself, it was mildly entertaining to hear the ways we are apparently classified by such social intellectuals (alpha provider males, nonproviders, passive-aggresives, metrosexuals, and so forth). Who knew there was such a science to it.
I wrapped up my visit with the event’s cake collection sampling and champagne-tasting session. I have to say, I was already fairly full by the time this took off, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a weddings show with this many cakes to taste.
The cake collection sampling and champagne tasting session is held in a hall on Melrose Place.
The variety of dessert types, designs, and flavors was impressive, from a light take on strawberry-shortcake with drizzled strawberry sauce to a heavy, rich chocolate raspberry. Nicely done.
Lots to see and sample, all in all. A successful debut by all accounts–and with all the chic style involved, definitely an event made to be reviewed and highlighted.
Top: Rose and macaroon display by the Sunset Marquis Hotel. Center: passed goodies by 24 Carrots Catering and Events, setting by Bridal Bar. Bottom: Rosewater display by Cassandra & Company.
Well, it looks like it will be a busy wedding planning weekend in SoCal. If you’re in the area, you may be interested in Santa Barbara Wedding Couture, “an afternoon with wedding pros from Santa Barbara.”
Santa Barbara Couture to be held this Saturday
The event will be held this Saturday, March 27, presented by Alegria by Design and All Stages Marketing.
According to the Santa Barbara Independent, the event will be “part wedding exhibition, part instructive seminar, part designer trunk show,” and will feature a peek into current wedding trends while providing you the nearlywed with “a potpourri of area floral and cake designers, caterers, photographers, wedding planners, and professional hair and make up experts.”
That’s tomorrow, Saturday March 27, from 2-6 p.m., at the University Club of S.B., 1332 Santa Barbara Street. Tickets are $25 in advance, $35 at door. For info, call the University Club at 966-0853 or visit santabarbaraweddingcouture.com.
And for more couture, don’t forget that the very next day on Sunday March 28–just a hop, skip, and a jump over to L.A.’s chic Melrose Place–the first Unveiled Bridal Show will debut, and you won’t want to miss that. WedShare*Daily will be there to check it out, and we’ll report back with a review of the day on Monday.
I love, love Lo Boheme hair accessories, based in beautiful San Diego, CA. Their vintage inspired hairpieces are super chic. Lo Boheme offers a made to order option where you build your own hairpiece by choosing your shape, size, color, and accents. You can also custom order your very own unique piece or simply get one of their ready to ship options via their Etsy store. These are adorable!
The marriage of style and technology so often bears wonderful progeny, and the case of Priscilla of Boston Bridal Salon’s partnership with Hewlett-Packard is no exception. A chic lineup of HP TouchSmart computers sporting a custom-designed application are on hand at Priscilla of Boston’s newest salon here in San Jose, California, to help you find the wedding gown of your dreams.
The new gown app on an HP TouchSmart computer in Priscilla of Boston's San Jose, CA bridal salon
The journey to discover your perfect wedding gown can be a bumpy and emotional ride, and this new hi-tech solution is designed to make finding “The One” easier, faster, and more enjoyable. With a tap of your finger here and a swipe there, you can easily narrow down your size, style, and fabric…even see video of each gown showcased in action on a runway model. Skeptical that a computer–even as slick a model as the HP TouchSmart–really has any place in a bridal salon where person-to-person hands-on attention reigns supreme? Well, it made a believer out of the GeekSugar blog tech reviewer. According to her own hands-on account, it was not only easy and conveniently timesaving, but fun, too.
Of course, she is a geek. But then, aren’t we all a little these days? I’d expect this to be a hit, and to spread to more shops, as it only makes sense. GeekSugar makes a great point of how helpful something like this could be among a group of bridesmaids working out the details of their attire. Quite possibly a trend coming soon to a bridal salon near you.
For the full review and to see a video demonstrating the new application in action, check out the GeekSugar blog post.
I came across this excellent DIY video tutorial from Lasting Memories that teaches you how to make beautiful paper roses using a six-petaled flower shape. These paper roses are very simple and fast to make. I love how they look; so vintage and pretty, perfect for bridal shower decor or even as fun corsages or hair pieces for your bridesmaids! I’d love to make some of these to use in vintage flower vases as centerpieces at a tea party with friends. Mandy from Little Birdie Secrets is the birdie in this video tutorial who makes it look so easy! Check out both of these great websites for more crafty DIY projects!
I’ve seen wedding proposals worked into video games, iPhone apps, and video screens embedded in ring boxes. But I recently came across this incredibly impressive example of effort, technical planning, and teamwork that really stands out.
Derick shot the long exposure over three nights in Raleigh, North Carolina to put together a totally unique proposal to his bride-to-be. The words “Emily, will you marry me?” are spelled out in lights to create an image made of approximately 800 individual 10-second exposures.
According to Derick’s Vimeo page for the video, the answer from Emily was a resounding “Yes!” After all that work, I should hope so. Congrats, Derick and Emily!
It’s hard to beat video when it comes to reliving past moments; the sights, sounds, and action can take you back like no other medium. For my own wedding, our videography company created a highlights “reel” that compressed the entire day–from each of us getting ready in the morning at our respective locations to the last dance–in an entertaining, engaging, extremely well-edited fifteen minutes. Something like this is perfect for showcasing your big day or to relive the moments without boring yourself or your poor family and friends to death.
On the other hand, there’s nothing quite like the traditional wedding album when it comes to sheer portability and convenience. Wouldn’t it be great to somehow combine the two, with all the living action of video and at the same time all the portable, hold in your hand, share-anywhere ease of an album?
My Video My Voice is giving it a shot with innovative digital wedding albums. It’s a video…it’s an album…it’s both! The product itself looks and feels like a book, but when you open it up, it sports a 2.4 inch screen, a speaker, and a touch-menu to display 45 minutes of video in five separate chapters, divided up as you see fit. My fifteen-minute highlight reel could be one chapter, for example, the wedding toasts could be another, and still another could highlight the ceremony or first dance.
"Beach Chic", one of the designs for My Video My Voice's digital video albums
The company offers various sizes from the 8.5-inch x 10.75-inch keepsake album to the 5 x 7-inch save-the-date card/invitation. Check out the website to see all the features and style options available.
Different sizes are available, from keepsake album to save-the-date or invitation
Today’s inspiration board is a rustic St. Patrick’s Day engagement party, partly inspired by the movie Leap Year. Green and chocolate brown tones dominate a very festive backyard party. A great excuse for helping yourself to a pint of stout or Guinness, and to enjoy some Irish coffee with chocolate Guinness cake or cupcakes for dessert. Play a game of lucky horseshoes with friends, a perfect outdoor activity for a St. Patrick’s Day-themed backyard engagement party. Include a fun photo booth setup and display St. Patrick’s Day props for some great guest photos. Enjoy!
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The WedShare*Daily staff and I visited Los Angeles this Sunday for the debut of “
