Why is social media important for brides and wedding vendors? from becomingmrsdial.com on Vimeo.

I’ve spent the past two Sunday afternoons at aloft Hotel, just a few miles south of Nashville, TN, for a blog camp presented by Ashley of AshleysBrideGuide.com.

In order of appearance in the video we have…

Me
Ashley King – AshleysBrideGuide
Amy Parman – Williamson County Weddings & Events
Latrice Cushenberry – Bridal Opulence
Emily Humphries – Simply Yours Weddings & Etc.

I really enjoyed meeting all the folks at this blog camp. Ashley shared some very helpful information with us and we all walked away excited about taking our blogging and social media efforts to the next level.

Just an FYI, the video playback was kind of slow on my end, so I hope you have a faster Internet connection and can watch it easily. Enjoy!

I’m getting excited for tomorrow evening’s experiential bridal show in Mt. Juliet!

The Elegance Bridal Gala is Mt. Juliet, TN’s first annual luxuriously customized bridal experience. The attire is “little black dress” and there will be a mini cocktail hour, experiential bridal vendors, a fashion show and more! I’m especially excited about the experiential part. Not only will Philip and I get to meet some of the top local wedding vendors, we’ll also get to experience what they have to offer. Yay!

I’ll be sure to post photos from our experience!

My parents' wedding - August 1974

In August of 1974, she married my father in a very stylish gown she hand stitched herself. Since that day, it has been sealed in an airtight storage box that had remained unopened for the last 35 years – until this week. When we took it out of the box on Monday afternoon, it was just as beautiful and perfect as I imagined it was on her the day she walked down the aisle.

As gorgeous as the dress is, it is dated. With the help of my local fashion designer/seamstress friend Sarah, however, we’re going to bring it from 1974 to 2010 in no time. After discussing my vision of how we could update the dress, we brainstormed for a bit and she put together a lovely little sketch that illustrated the updated style and elegance I’m looking for. More on this later! YAY!

Philip and I will exchange vows on June 12, 2010 at our church home, Journey Church (aka Building 8) at The Factory in Franklin, TN.

Journey is the perfect venue for the unique, warm atmosphere we’re looking for for our wedding day. Here’s a little peek of a few other weddings that have taken place at Journey. (Just to give you a glimpse of the space.)

Before:

After:

I love the wrought iron candle decor. They use these each Sunday at church, so I’m pretty sure we’ll get to use these too.

I’m thinking deep royal purple and baby mint green for my colors. I think these colors will look beautiful in this space. Thoughts?

Seriously Ashley. Where have you been my whole life?

When I was in junior high, I’m pretty sure I could’ve used an Ashley’s Style Guide. When I started dating, I totally could’ve used an Ashley’s Guy Guide.

All I can say is…I’m sooo thankful I’ve found you and your Bride Guide to help me prepare and plan for our wedding.

Ladies, whether you’re located in the Nashville area or not, you can learn a thing or two (or three or four or more!) from Ashley’s Bride Guide.

Throughout this process I’ll be posting more ideas and inspiration I’ve found from ABG. Her site is going to be my saving grace for helping us find reputable, fabulous, affordable vendors for our big day. More on Ashley and her blog soon!

I just finished packing up for our first trip as an engaged couple. (!)

This evening we’re flying up to Chicago to visit one of my best gal pals, Stephanie, who is also newly engaged. Her fiance proposed on July 4 on Chicago’s Navy Pier. Stephanie and I have known each other since we were competitors on rival speech teams in high school. (Speech competition is seriously intense. Not even kidding.) After we graduated, both of us were offered scholarships to be on our community college’s speech team – The SIC Forensic Falcons. (That’s me on the far left in the pink sweater.) Ever since those days back in high school, we’ve remained very close – though there are many  miles between us. I can’t wait to meet her fiance and see her gorgeous face and that beautiful ring in person.

I’m really excited about visiting bridal shops in Chicago. Philip told me that tomorrow is the “Running of the Brides” at the Filene’s Basement in Chicago. You ever heard of this? I’ve seen it before on The Today Show at the Filene’s in New York. I’m sure this event is a lot of fun and many brides probably find AMAZING deals on their wedding gowns, but I just don’t think I could do this. (I definitely won’t be participating tomorrow.)

I want my search for the perfect wedding gown to be calm, relaxing and with my mother and close lady friends – NOT with thousands of other women who are ravaging through clothing racks and swapping gowns back and forth. Seems like a neat event…but not for me.

We’re going to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game tomorrow and we’re also planning to see Blue Man Group at some point. Other than that, we plan to just do a little sightseeing and some major catching up with Stephanie and her fiance.

Stay tuned for more updates and details about our visit to Chicago! TTFN!