WEDDING BLOG

Junebug’s Giveaway Week- Fashion and Beauty Gifts!

December 14, 2009 | editorial team

Happy holidays dear readers! We’re all caught up in the holiday spirit over here, so to spread the love and say thank you for a fabulous year, we thought we’d organize a bit of a giveaway. But knowing us, of course, we just couldn’t go small, we had to go BIG! So we have for you five, count ’em five, jam-packed, product-filled, heart-racingly good giveaways on What Junebug Loves! That’s right friends, a giveaway week! Check back each day, Monday through Friday, to enter to win wedding gifts galore! It’s our way of giving a little something back to you, for all that you bring to us. xoxo

First up… it’s Fashion and Beauty day! Two very lucky winners will soon be receiving a gift package of amazing girlie treats including:

– A Tying The Knot gift set from Philosophy andTheKnot.com

– A $100 gift certificate toward Bella Umbrella’s vintage parasol rental for your wedding day

– And an adorable garter from the “Something Blue” collection of Julianne Smith Wedding Garters!

Read on to learn more about the prizes, and to enter to win simply leave us a comment describing the beauty products or fashion accessories that you’re most excited about using on your wedding day. We’ll accept entries all week long, and randomly choose our two winners this Sunday, December 20th. Good luck everyone! And happy, happy holidays!!!

The Knot and Philosophy have teamed up to create a collection of beauty products to pamper nearly all your pretty parts and to help get you glowing for your big day. I love that their Tying The Knot gift set includes everything from perfume to lip balm to micro-delivery exfoliating pads, as well as their best selling moisturizer with the best name ever, Hope in a Jar!

We’re longtime fans of Bella Umbrella and the fashion fun that their vintage parasols bring to a wedding! We’ve also been known to head to their site and their local Seattle boutique to purchase gifts for our girlfriends. Who wouldn’t love to own an umbrella that looks like this? From lacy and white to bold and bright, you’ve never seen parasol options like this!

Designer Julianne Smith has a passion for wedding garters that’s contagious, and her modern designs offer a fantastic way to wear your something blue in a playful and unexpected way. Check out her website for all of her garter collections as well as custom design options. Our favorite little extra? Making your garter a keepsake by adding your hand embroidered monogram and wedding date!

A very special thank you to each of the businesses participating in this giveaway. You and your generosity rule! And if you’re planning a wedding in Seattle or Southern California, don’t miss our Plan Your Wedding Hotlist for more talented and trustworthy wedding professionals we love!

Real Wedding- Katherine and Andrew

December 11, 2009 | editorial team

Today’s Santa Barbara Real Wedding of Katherine and Andrew has that special balance of elegance and ease that makes it look like it must have been an absolute joy to attend! Photographed by the lovely Chenin Boutwell of Boutwell Studio, and planned by Kari Heimbach of Kary H Events the details from the day are simply divine!

Katherine’s family has belonged to The Valley Club of Montecito in Santa Barbara, California her whole life, so she was thrilled to be able to hold their wedding there. “I grew up hitting golf balls with my Grandmother at the Valley Club, had numerous family dinners, enjoyed holidays, had two funerals and it was time for a wedding! The staff has known me since I was 3 feet tall and it truly made the wedding feel like I was having it at home.” Katherine’s “something new” was her gorgeous dress by Monique Lhuillier and her wedding shoes by Christian Louboutin, and for her “something old”, “something borrowed” and “something blue” she carried her grandmother’s handkerchief and wore her great grandmother’s diamond and sapphire bracelet. Their ceremony was performed by a dear family friend and the captain of Katherine’s father’s boat. “It was so meaningful to have someone, who is basically a member of the family be the one who married us. In fact, Captain Paul was one of the first of my family to meet Andrew when we went down to Mexico together. He was the one who gave the seal of approval to my dad.” So sweet!

Abundant cream colored flowers from Sonny Alexander Flowers were breathtaking at both the ceremony and the reception, and they fit beautifully with the wedding’s color palette or cream, silver and gold. I love all the texture that was created on the reception tabletops with the use of different shades of metallic, lush fabrics, and various heights of flowers arrangements, flower petals, candles and glassware. Creative calligraphed compasses from Red Sky Trader acted as escort cards, and guests got to enjoy a delicious wedding cake from the always amazing Vanilla Bake Shop and an impressive dessert bar from Sweet & Saucy Shop. Yum!

Thank you so much for sharing your wedding with us Katherine and Andrew!

To see the full list of talented wedding professionals who contributed to this wonderful day, please visit our Real Weddings section.

To plan your own Southern California or Seattle area wedding, check out our Plan Your Wedding hot list!

Wedding Day Lingerie for Underneath Your Dress

December 9, 2009 | editorial team

Whether you choose to get married in a simple mod mini dress or an over the top formal ball gown, the fit of your wedding dress is one of those things that youll want to pull out all the stops for. If your wedding dress fits you to a T, youll feel comfortable and confident on your wedding day and you wont waste time worrying about things bunching, twisting or slipping out of place!

One great tool to help you get the perfect fit? Your wedding lingerie. Now, were big fans of pretty, lacy, fun fashion lingerie, but we know that in reality you may need something a little more structural underneath that dress. (You can always change into the fun stuff later!) Luckily there are all kinds of smoothing, shaping and lifting undergarments made specifically for weddings and formal occasions. Do a little research online, ask for help from the experts at department stores, lingerie boutiques, and especially at your wedding dress shop, and youre bound to find something that works for you.

A few tips:

For the smoothest effect look for lingerie without seams and embellishments, that doesnt squeeze too tightly in the wrong areas.
For a backless or halter dress look for a bra with convertible straps or one that sticks gently to your skin.
Take your undergarments with you for dress fittings and alteration sessions, and dont be afraid to try a few different options to see which one works and feels the best.
If youre having your wedding dress custom made or altered, your seamstress or tailor might be able to build a strapless bra directly into your dresss bodice.
Dont over-do it, comfort is important too. Many women feel like theyre supposed to wear structural undergarments whether they need them or not. If your dress has a full skirt, or if your dress bodice has a lot of boning and strength, you may not need anything structural at all!