Sponsor Spotlight: Glitz & Love

There are two things I’m pretty passionate about: Glitzy things and love. You know, leaving a little sparkle and love wherever you go! Maybe that’s why I quickly fell in love with the gorgeous Etsy shop called — you guessed it! — Glitz & Love. Honyuet, a jewelry designer from Singapore, is an amazing talent when it comes to what she calls “everyday pretty” and bridal jewelry, including earrings, bracelets, necklaces, rings and even jewelry sets!

I love designers that have a clear sense of her they are, and Honyuet certainly falls into that category…

On her shop and work
Glitz & Love is an exciting online boutique full of beautiful bridal jewelry. The collections range from simple pearl earrings, to stunning Swarovski crystal necklace, to deluxe halo style cubic zirconia earrings. All jewelry are hand crafted with Swarovski crystals, Swarovski pearls, cubic zirconia and more. If you love sparkles like we do, then you will swoon over Glitz & Love!

On the design process
Glitz & Love is my one woman show. Everything here is designed, handmade and taken pictures by me. I love what I do, and I hope you love what I make as well.

And of course, I spotted a few pieces I love in her shop! Here are five things I’m eyeing RIGHT NOW…

Name bangle, $13.50

Petite silver comma symbol necklace, $9.90

Personalized anchor necklace, $22

Red cocktail ring, $20

Little stars bangle, $13.50

Be sure to follow Glitz & Love on Facebook and check back often because Honyuet is always adding new gems. You can also score great discount deals on your order…

BRIDAL and BULK ORDERS SPECIAL DISCOUNT:
3% OFF orders Over $50: LOVE50off3
10% OFF orders Over $100: LOVE100off10
15% OFF orders Over $150: LOVE150off15
20% OFF orders Over $200: LOVE200off20
25% OFF orders Over $300: LOVE300off25

Thanks so much, Honyuet! Keep up the AWESOME work! xoxo

Wedding Do or Don’t: At-Home Engagement Photos

I’ve come across some amazing engagement photos over the years, like an underwater engagement, travel-themed shoots, library love, a zombie engagement and a romantic Iceland escape, but what about taking the simple route and celebrating your engagement in the place where you perhaps feel the most comfortable?

Your home.

It sounds like such a novel, out-of-the-box idea, doesn’t it? Well, newly engaged couple Melinda Kunze and Josh Blitchington opted for just that with their recent engagement shoot in their North Carolina abode. The result is a collection of photos that truly reflect the love between the couple, set amidst the backdrop of their everyday life. It’s dreamy and romantic and everything that gives me all the feels. And to make the photos feel as authentic as possible, they left the house as-is, leaving items on the counter and stuff on the fridge.


“We are in love with [this house]. It’s adorable and perfect for us,” says Kunze. “We would love to look back in 10 years after we have moved to a different house and have memories of our first home together.”

Plus, their pups shared some of the shots, which just ups the adorableness factor. In a world where some couples’ engagement photos are overly extravagant productions that rival red carpets at movie premieres, it’s nice to see something that feels so intimate and, well, homey. Two people just being themselves is so utterly refreshing!


Would you be game for taking at-home engagement photos, friends? Is this a wedding do or don’t for you? Did you take engagement photos? Care to share one in the comments? xoxo

P.S. Do you know your parents’ engagement story?

[Photography by Anchor & Veil]

Ms. Bear on Her 38th Wedding Anniversary

It’s June 10th again! On this day 38 years ago, Brian and I were married. When you are a widow (and I imagine it’s the same for widowers), anniversaries are certainly a bittersweet day. I remember the joy of my wedding day and the promise that each tomorrow held. I didn’t know that we wouldn’t even make it to our 25th anniversary before Brian died.

Such a happy day, and look at how young we all were!

If I could give one piece of advice to the newly married, it would be to take that part about sickness and health very seriously. When I got married, I had no idea that Brian would get so sick and die so young, and that it would all happen in just a mere five-month period! I know I didn’t give that a thought as we recited our vows, or maybe I did, but in the way of the young, I never thought it would happen to us! But, when you think about it, each couple will have one partner die first (unless they die at the same time, which is really statistically unlikely!).

Anyway, this June 10th, I decided to bask in the happy memories and let the regrets go. Happy Anniversary to Brian and me…it was a ride well worth taking!

And, our greatest collaboration and accomplishment was getting these 2 wonderful girls!

Well, today is the last day of my guest posting on Melissa’s blog. I have a newfound respect for her and will be glad to go back to my regular life next week. Melissa will be back bright and early on Monday morning, so make sure you come back! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

ASOS Wedding Dresses

Just in time for spring and summer weddings: ASOS launched its first (and much-anticipated!) bridal collection today! The line of minimalist dresses are low on price and heavy on style, full of lace, rhinestones and faux pearls.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be daydreaming of twirling and sprinting through poppy fields on a warm summer day. Who’s with me? xoxo

P.S. Family Photos are coming up! 🙂

[Via The Gloss]

Sponsor Spotlight: VIP Sparklers

I’ve always been pretty traditional when it comes to daydreaming about my future wedding — heck, some may say it even borders on boring. I tend to go for simple flowers, soft colors and haven’t even considered the wonders of the chocolate fountain. But then I heard about VIP Sparklers, the worldwide manufacturer and supplier of sparklers and novelty items. Translation: They can make a bride and groom’s day shine — literally! I recently had the chance to chat with William Lester, the CEO behind this illuminating company (see what I did there?), so read on for the 411 on winter wedding tips and trends you don’t want to miss! xoxo

Keep in touch…
Official Web site: VIP Sparklers
Become a fan on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Tell me about your shop. What’s the inspiration behind its launch?
VIP Sparklers has been in business for more than 10 years and was one of the first companies to bring champagne bottle sparklers to the nightlife industry at the time. We actually found our way into the wedding industry when I was honored to be the best man at a lifelong friends wedding. He put me in charge of finding wedding sparklers since we already sold our widely popular bottle sparklers. After doing a tremendous amount of work trying to locate wedding sparklers, the ones we were able to find from various vendors were your typical Fourth of July sparklers. These sparklers were either wooden or bamboo and gave off tremendous amounts of smoke and an extreme sulfur smell that wasn’t suitable for weddings. The channels and hurdles it took for us to finally locate true wedding sparklers was entirely too difficult for us, let alone the average bride. A couple months after the wedding sparkler farewell went off like fairy tale, we got in touch with some amazing wedding planners and coordinators. They helped create a way for brides to find an easy way to get true wedding sparklers for their big day! Today, we still have our doors open and have been lucky enough to be a part of thousands of weddings by bringing a sparkling end to their wedding night!

Your shop features so many inspiring finds. What inspires you the most?
Our inspiration stems from the joy we feel whenever we’re a part of making special events even more fantastic and amazing; we want to share the VIP experience with everyone! We are dedicated to following our slogan: Our products will be the least expensive item in your wedding or event, but the most memorable at the same time! We manufacture our products with the finest materials, and we focus on the highest quality for all our products. VIP Sparklers strives to feature new and exciting products for our customers, so we’re constantly expanding our inventory list at the most affordable prices. We are proud to be a part of special days and events everywhere! Recently, we have add our heart-shaped wedding sparklers, which have been getting rave reviews for fun bridal photos with the wedding party!

What are your top 3 tips for wedding shopping and finding great deals?
Our tips for finding great deals for wedding shopping is to plan ahead of time and don’t put it off until the last minute, no matter how big or small the items are for your wedding or special event. Many brides forget to order wedding sparklers, sky lanterns or other items and wait until the last week to order these items. In such cases, we can’t always guarantee arrival of their products for their event. All of our products have a shelf life of two years, so we strongly encourage our customers to place their order 2-3 months in advance. Plus, it’s always one more thing to cross off that long wedding list every bride has! If time isn’t a priority, we even offer free shipping for all wedding sparkler orders.

What are some of your favorite wedding trends for the winter? What really makes a winter wedding pop and not feel so drab?
Our popular winter wedding products tend to be the sky lanterns, confetti cannons and the smaller wedding sparklers. These are items that can be easily used in any kind of weather and are fun to use at any occasion. Any season can be transformed with wedding sparklers! Our true wedding sparklers are actually often used for winter weddings and help glow up the night!

What is your favorite item in your shop and why?
We have so many favorite products; it’s honestly tough to narrow it to just one. Our top three favorite items to get for any celebration is our 36-inch wedding sparkler, champagne bottle sparklers and premium sparklers. Our 36-inch wedding sparklers happen to be one of our most popular items as they take the best pictures at the end of the wedding night. These sparklers are so long that the bride and groom are almost walking under the sparklers, creating a magical tunnel to go through. These wedding sparklers have an extended burn time, ensuring a casual exit free of time constraints!