Voting for the best photo was quite a contentious process here at Beau-coup.  So many people felt strongly about so many different photographs that we had to go through rounds of voting until we finally had a winner.  We’ll definitely be featuring many of our favorites throughout the next several days, but for now…CONGRATULATIONS to Sandra for winning Beau-coup’s First Photo Contest! 

Sandra’s photo wow’d us all.  There’s so much going on in this photo from the dollhouse furniture to the fancy sweets that it took me a second to find the Beau-coup product!  Our teddy bear photo stands were transformed into mini trays for fancy petits fours…how ingenious!  I would’ve liked to have been at that baby shower!  Great job, Sandra!

We also have to mention these notable entries:

Andrea’s photo won for Best favors packaging!  Our mini bird’s nests paired with personalized baby shower labels looked perfectly chic as baby shower favors. 

Best Themed Favors went to Teri!  She dressed up our mini cocktail shaker in a bow tie for a James Bond theme party and found him a red ‘bond girl’ shaker too!  

And our Most Unusual photo winner goes to Tula!  It turns out our mini woven favor bags are the perfect size for these stylish dolls!

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos.  We are so impressed by your creativity and can’t wait to host another contest!  Look forward to more of our favorite photos from the photo contest posted right here on the blog in the following days!

Here are a few more finalists to take you through the weekend…

Brooke shot our mini champagne buckets

Rami shot a “tux and gown army” with our tuxedo and gown favor boxes. 

And Maliena shot our cherry blossom hand fans.

I know that wedding planning can be stressful, and if you’re still basking in the glory of that newly engaged feeling, then lucky you! However, if you’ve been going at it for a few months now, you know that your nerves are probably wearing thin. Before you snap and become a bridezilla, I want you to remember why you’re doing this in the first place. Sure a wedding is a big event, but it’s a time to celebrate your love for your fiancee as well as to include your family and friends in your happiness. That’s it. No one will care if you break a nail, mess up on the dance, or if one of your vendors cancels on you. No matter how hard you try, inevitably something will go wrong. It can be a minor detail or something major, but at the end of the day, you’ll still be married and your new husband will still love you just as much, if not more than before.
Of course, it’s easy to remain objective when you’re not severely under stress, so I thought I’d share with you all a few pointers for relieving some of that stress.

1) Relaxing bath: This might sound cliché, but it really does work. Fill up your tub with hot water and pour some lavendar scented bath salts in there. If you’d like you can even toss a few rose petals in there to enhance the spa feeling. Light a few candles and put a CD with classical music or the sounds of nature. Now sit back and open up your favorite book and enjoy the time to yourself.

2) Meditation: Sometimes the stress can keep us up at night, so before going to bed, try to get into the habit of meditating a little to clear your mind. If you’ve never meditated before, try this: lay on your back and close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing. If you find yourself becoming distracted at all, just focus back on the constant inhaling and exhaling rhythm. As you breathe, imagine your lungs expanding with air, and then deflating as you push it out. Feel the way the fabric of your sheets lays on your body, and focus on all your senses, taking one in at a time. Do this until you fall asleep. Get into this habit and before you know it, you’ll sleep like a baby.

3) Yoga: I have done yoga for a few years now, and I cannot rave enough about it. It’s one of the few exercises where you feel energized and relaxed at the end of every class. If you don’t typically practice yoga, adopt a few daily poses to boost your energy and give your mind a little break. You can find plenty of poses online, but if you need a quick energy boost, bend over as far as you can and hold the pose for 30 seconds or more. The rush of blood to the head will energize you more than a shot of espresso.

4) Swimming or Running: Yes, I am recommending a lot of exercise here, but it is common knowledge that exercise boosts your endorphins and endorphins make you happier. If you’re feeling stressed, go for a 10 minute swim or a jog around the block. These quickie workouts will not only calm your mind, but also help you release any pent-up frustration.

5) Date Night: Be honest here, how long has it been since you spent some time with your fiancee without thinking or talking about the wedding? Plan a night with just him where you can both go back to the time before the wedding took over your life. Shut off your phones, cook a nice meal at home, drink some wine, and watch a movie. At the end of the night, trade massages and prepare to feel all that tension leave your muscles.

6) Mantra and happy place: For my last tip, I want you to adopt a mantra and think of your happy place. It can be any phrase you like, maybe something along the lines of “it’ll be ok” or if you want to get more creative opt for “it’s my wedding, not my funeral.” Then, anytime you feel stress/ frustration/ anger/ *insert negative emotion* close your eyes and picture yourself in your happy place (for me it’s the Dreyer’s ice cream factory), breathe deeply several times and repeat your mantra to yourself 10 times.

There are plenty of things you can do to relax. The key is not to let the wedding get bigger than you and to remember that even if something does go wrong, it will make one heck of a story for the kids. Now head on over to the Beau-coup Wedding Planning Ideas section for some inspiration, shop for some of our wedding favors, and calmly plan this wedding!

P.S. Check out my guest blog post on Brandy’s blog: The Small Details!

Picture Credits:

While out shopping with one of my good friends, she mentioned that one day she would love to have monogrammed towels with her and her husband’s initials. What could be more romantic than starting your new life together with matching towels? Well, how about adding your initials to some aspects of your wedding!

Your invitations and Save the Dates set the tone for your entire day, so if you’re thinking of adding your intials, these would be a great place to start. Check out these adorable monogrammed invitations from the Event Essentials. Their stationary line even includes matching thank you cards and menus, where you can customize them in your colors and pick out different styles. Oh, and for those of you who don’t like the way your new initials look together (e.g. RIP or some other 3 letter combination that is probably inappropriate to post!), you can simply include your first names with a prominent last intial. Fancy, eh?

Ok, I’m going to do some shameless self promoting now, but you really can’t blame me since Beau-coup does offer a pretty great selection of monogrammed items!

To spruce up your wedding reception, without going over board, add some monogrammed napkins to the mix. These come in all colors, and look great without breaking the bank. Also, consider adding a silver initial cake topper. While some cake toppers look a little gaudy, these are pretty sleek and won’t detract from that scrumptious concoction.

And of course, what would a great wedding be without some favors? Try these monogrammed petit fours or embroidered jewelry bags for your bridesmaids (a portion of those sales go to fight breast cancer too) and I can guarantee there won’t be any complaints!

Ok, and by no means am I encouraging monogram overload, but seriously, if you do decide to go a little monogram happy how about some adorable aisle runners or parasols that Wendy from Wendy’s Bridal Affairs posted about. Also, how cute would it be to have some wall monograms throughout the reception hall? Or how about using en embroidered hankie as your something blue? You could really do anything!

Picture Credits:

• http://www.theeventessentials.com/
• http://www.elegantbridalaccessories.com
• http://www.girlytwirly.com
• http://www.idooriginals.com/

Some highlights:

• I loved the old photographs on clotheslines along with seating assignments. 
• the favors were rosemary or lavender sea salts in mini spice jars, so aromatic!
• the ceremony was held under a giant tree decorated with hanging paper lanterns  
• delicious buffet dinner prepared with all locally grown ingredients
• baby betty!
• and an awesome ice cream sundae bar for dessert!

I LOVE ice cream and I especially LOVE hot fudge sundaes so the ice cream sundae bar was the biggest treat for me.  I piled on the hot fudge, whipped cream and toasted almonds…and of course went back for seconds! 

What’s your favorite wedding dessert idea?  

• Beach weddings are overwhelmingly what we most associate with a destination wedding, but who can resist the sense of escape that the ocean provides and the warm feel of the sand between your toes. Mexico, Hawaii, and the Bahamas are popular locations, and it’s easy to incorporate local traditions by hairing a mariachi band, hula dancers, or using local crafts to decorate.

• Castle in Scotland—In Made of Honor, Michelle Monaghan was marrying a Scot and holding the reception at his family’s castle. The lush green landscape, some scattered rose petals, and medieval castles will make you feel just like a princess about to marry her prince charming. Top that, Disney!

• Vineyard in Tuscany, the Loire Valley, or California—A wine themed reception would certainly come to life in one of these places. The excellent wine and the rows and rows of grapes will make you feel as if you’re taking a walk in the clouds.

• Villa in Andalusia—The passionate flamenco dancers, lively guitarists, and mouth-watering food make Spain a perfect location to get married. A wedding in Spain would be truly memorable, especially if you give your female guests some hand fans as wedding favors, and encourage them to try their hand on the dancefloor.

• Chateau in Swiss Alps or Aspen—To keep your guests warm serve them some hot chocolate and challenge everyone to a race down the slopes. If you can stand the cold, pull a Phoebe and Mike (from Friends) and get married in the middle of the snow.

If you liked these ideas, check out the longer Destination Wedding Venues article. So what are you waiting for, visit the place of your dreams and even if a destination wedding is out of the question, take some inspiration from your favorite place and incorporate it into your wedding. Happy planning!

Picture Credits:

• http://www.beachweddings.com/images/mainnew.jpg
• http://www.luxuriouswedding.com/scotland/scotland.jpg
• http://www.happynovisad.co.yu/film/made_of_honor/made_of_honor3.jpg
• http://www.castellobanfi.com/images/VineyardEstates.jpg
• http://www.duende-flamenco.com/images/Thumb_DuendeFlamenco.jpg
• http://www.cadizcasa.com/fotos/sevilla3.jpg
• http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r52/cchelms/caren%20crane%20blog%20pics/switzerland_the_alps.jpg
• http://images.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_images/tv2/programmes/friends/New%20Folder/phoebe_wedding_pgb.jpg

Some couples claim that they want a memorable wedding date; however, the majority of these couples are doing it for the luck they hope it’ll bring. In China, the number 8 is considered to be lucky because it is very similar sounding to the word for prosper or wealth. In fact, the Chinese feel so strongly about the number that they incorporate it into all aspects of their life from their address, phone number, even license plate frames. Additionally, and especially significant for weddings is the fact that when you turn the number 8 on its side, it becomes the symbol for infinity, which can be symbolic for the depth of a couples love, or the time they will spend together. It’s no wonder that this day promises to be a popular one for weddings.

Even though the date is not as popular in the U.S. as 7-7-07 last year was, many vendors still claim to be booked solid for today, and it has become the most popular wedding date all year. Many couples are taking the number to extremes. For example, some will monogram 8s onto their runners and linens, have infinity symbol-inspired jewelry, they will have eight members in their wedding part, serve eight courses, begin the ceremony or dance at 8:08, and even walk down the aisle to the Beatles’ “8 days of the week.” As if the frenzy surrounding the couples were not enough, vendors have even gotten involved, with some places, such as Sandals resorts offering a special destination 8-8-08 wedding package.

While it does sound pretty cool to say that you got married on a triple digit day, personally, I wouldn’t want to wed on 8-8-08 (or a similar date). This is simply because due to the popularity of the date, you have a much diminished selection of venues and vendors, but obviously I am vastly outnumbered. So, what do you guys think, will 9-9-09 be the new 8-8-08?

P.S. Don’t forget to check out Beau-coup’s First-ever Site-wide Sale in commemoration of the triple 8s!

Picture Credit:

Wedding Favors:
By utilizing your wedding favors as a centerpiece, they can be easily accessible to your guests and they help you cut costs elsewhere.
• Arrange a vase in the middle of the table and place brightly colored and folded hand fans inside. Decorate with a few colorful flowers.

• For a holiday themed wedding, purchase mini Christmas trees and hang with shiny ornaments. For an extra touch, place a picture of your guest inside these pretty hanging frame ornaments
to serve as a personalized wedding favor.

Nature: Even if you still want flowers for your wedding, there’s no reason to make that the only item in your centerpiece. Adding a few other plants can make your centerpieces look different and will still save you money. Some quick examples include ferns, tree branches, berry branches, or even wheat stalks.

• For an Asian inspired reception, place a bamboo plant
in the middle of the table and surround it with various pictures of the couple glued onto wooden hand fans.
• Another idea is to grow your own flowers in pretty ceramic pots of different shapes and sizes, and place these in the center of your table. Accent them with some mini watering cans that can double as favors.

Candles:
Candles have become a favorite among centerpieces, and it’s no surprise why. They provide just the right glow for your party guests and transforms a so-so setting into an awe-inspiring one.

• Get candles of varying sizes and bunch in the center of the table. A variation of this would be to grab candle-holders of varying sizes. Place these on top of a mirror base for a soft glow.

• Top a variety of wine bottles with these wine cork candles.

Make sure that you avoid placing flammable items in the area, but adding extra details will go a long way. For example, scattering some leaves or sand around the candles can help tie your theme into the centerpieces.

Dessert: Desserts make beautiful, and tasty centerpieces that will certainly not go to waste!

• Place a vase with some sturdy branches and hang some personalized cookies
or custom fortune cookies packaged and tied with a ribbon from the ends.
• Speaking of candy, this one is sure to be a hit at the kids table: Buy a variety of jars and vases and fill with brightly colored candy. Some ideas include conversation hearts, gumballs, M&Ms, jelly beans, Skittles, Hershey’s kisses, saltwater taffy, or pillow mints. Insert some over-sized, colorful lollipops inside for a yummy flower-alternative.

Many of these ideas can add a unique touch to your wedding without denting your budget. If you liked these suggestions, there are even more in my Wedding Centerpieces article in the Wedding Ideas section.

Picture Credit:

• http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/weddings/2008/02/heartfelt-ideas.html
• http://www.rossirovetti.com/wedding/centerpieces.html
• http://decorvillage.wordpress.com/2007/11/01/beautiful-thanksgiving-centerpieces/
• http://kvetch.indiebride.com/
• http://www.california-wedding-ideas.com/
• http://www.redphotoco.com/forum/simpson13.jpg
• http://blog.pinkcakebox.com/baby-shower-cupcake-stand-2-2008-07-28.htm
• http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007/09/cant-afford-wedding-centerpiece-hack.html
• http://strawberrydreams.wordpress.com/2007/02/15/wedding/

What should I say in my toast to the couple?— Basically they suggest to play to your strengths and don’t share stories that would make the newlyweds (and their parents) blush.

This one made me laugh. It’s so typical to watch movies where the drunk best man shares some pretty crazy stories, while the groom can just shake his head. Or, pull a Joey and use the speech for ulterior motives! Of course, brides aren’t immune either, but let’s hope that my BFFs read that article when it’s their turn to give me a toast.

* What should I wear to the wedding?— This one should be pretty obvious when the dress code is clear cut, but SSM even takes it one step further in explaining what to wear when the invitation does not specify.

By the way, I love these sorts of articles. I am forever plagued by indecision as to my attire and so I am one of those people that stresses about exactly what black tie optional or beach formal mean. If this article doesn’t help you, then do what I do and dress like everybody else—this  means calling all your friends and asking them exactly what they’re going to wear. Hey, it works for the Scottish!

*And this one isn’t exactly for friends of the bride and groom, but I enjoyed it so much that I just had to include it. For the groom: What should I send to the bachelorette party?—My favorite quote from this was: “Free liquor goes a long way with the ladies!”

Amen to that! As the groom, it’s never a bad idea to give your future wife a little reminder of how wonderful you truly are (especially on her last night of single-dom) and if that reminder comes in the form of alcohol, well your lovely bride will be all the more thankful.

To read the rest of these articles, head on over to Someone Spoil Me.

Picture Credit:

• Photo must be clear and must feature a Beau-coup product
• Professional photography is not required but creativity is!
• Entry deadline is midnight, PST August 31, 2008
• Winner will be randomly selected and contacted by email
• Winning photo will be published on the Beau-coup Blog with photo credits

Naysayers will tell you that wedding favors are useless trinkets that wind up in the trash.  But we’re here to show that they can be useful in your everyday lives.  Check out this example:

Our mini bird’s nest serves as a dainty place card holder:

And later as a unique paper clip tray on your desk!

Okay, that one’s just for fun.  Now show us what you’ve done with your favorite favors.  Click on the button below to upload your photos directly.  It takes only seconds!  Good luck! 

Here’s her niece modeling the winning gown.

Second place went to Terri Glover.

And third place to Ann Kagawa Lee, an attorney from Hawaii and California.

The gowns are on display at Ripley’s all across the country for the next year.  I may have to check for a San Francisco appearance.  Maybe I can pick up a few tips for the next time I have to play this game at a bridal shower. 

Photos courtesy of cheap-chic-weddings.com, one of the sponsors of the contest.