If I wasn’t happily married already (I love you honey), that title might make me take a 2nd look…after all I have seen Up In The Air 3 times so far. (Once in the movie theater and twice well, up in the air).

This post has nothing whatsoever to do with how to make your wedding cooler or more creative or more you, it’s just one of those wacky things that a reader sent to us and thought would give you all a laugh. So everyone thank Darren Garnick of www.tackytouristphotos.com.

So here’s the scoop…you too can marry George Clooney if you want to. Just visit Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Vegas the next time you’re there. Very silly, very fun.

Alrighty, I know I have been gone for a bit but I am determined to be back to blogging in full force. My latest adventure was delayed by about 10 hours as the result of being stuck on a trial jury in Los Angeles. I had to purchase a whole new plane ticket to get myself out of town just 4 hours after my fellow jurors and I were hopelessly hung 6 to 6 and no one was about to budge. I don’t know if I’ve ever run so fast in my life. I had to get home, pack and get myself to the airport to jump a redeye flight to DC in order to make the 2nd annual B List Meet Up. For those of you who have yet to hear of The B-List, it is a collective of the country’s top bridal bloggers who have formed friendships, teamed up to offer mutual support, exchange ideas and help to lay some groundwork for an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds. One of our goals is to set best practices guidelines and a code of ethics amongst wedding industry bloggers to be sure that we can all maintain a high standard of integrity so that readers and potential sponsors know that they can trust a blog with The B List stamp of approval.

So after flying to DC and grabbing a few hours sleep, I headed out to old town Alexandria to The Torpedo Factory for the most delicious welcome party and meet and greet with wedding vendors who had flown in from all over the country to hang with us. It was both incredibly delightful and humbling.

A huge thank you to Vane (Brooklyn Bride) and Anne (From I Will to I Do/ Aisle Dash) and Maria & Kelly (Ritzy Bee) for planning and organizing a phenomenal weekend!

And another big thank-you to Carlos Andres Varela and Shane Carpenter for Elan Artists for all of the awesome photos!

Design Cuisine did an impeccable job with the catering & decor. One of my favorite parts? The prosecco bar pictured below.

As usual it was a blast to get to see my pal Dana, aka Broke-Ass Bride.

The evening allowed me to connect with some old pals like Jennifer & Kelly and meet some new ones like Jill Hudson Neal from Washingtonian Bride & Groom and the talented and sweet Kate Headley who popped out of nowhere to become one of DC’s newest star wedding photographers.

Also got to catch up with Leah Stern and Nicole Polk, meet Christy from Junebug Weddings and chat up Michael Norwood a bit.

The folks from Smilebooth were kind enough to provide us with a super fun photo booth…and seriously, who doesn’t love a photo booth? I got cozy with the adorable Christine Chang and some of my fellow bloggers in the Smilebooth.

What a fantastic evening it was and that was only the beginning…more recaps to come very soon so check back.

If you’ve never visited Bravo Bride, you’re missing out. What is it, you ask? BravoBride.com is an online marketplace where brides, newlyweds and wedding vendors can buy and sell new or pre-owned wedding items. When I first discovered this site, I immediately bought a never worn hair ornament by Twigs & Honey at a major discount and I literally wear it all the time. You can literally find just about anything on the site though; wedding dresses, jewelry, shoes, favors, reception items etc. etc., you get the idea.

Some current offerings include a Vera Wang gown listed for about 1/3 the original price and a Tiffany & Co. wedding band (usually $1200) listed for $650.  They also just launched a new Bravo Bride boutique section for wedding vendors to sell their own discounted items.

So head on over and have a look…you never know what kind of amazing deal you might find. And if you ever need a good laugh, be sure to check out their blog, which features daily funny and awkward wedding photos!

Here’s a cute picture of Susan & Mark, the faces behind Bravo Bride…how adorable are they!!!

If you’d like to sponsor a post about your own business, please send an email to lauren@theunbride(dot)com for rates & information.

Breaking news for pinkberry lovers…Pinkberry is now doing wedding catering! To find our if they are doing it in your area, contact your local store. If you are getting married in the south bay area, you are in luck as the Hermosa Beach store is ready to make your event extra cool-get it fro yo? cool? Contact Ray the manager to get you set up.  The event minimum is 25 orders which comes with transportation, set up, team to serve, breakdown and cleanup as well as all the serving bowls and utensils. Seriously loving this idea!! They are offering 6 delicious flavors: chocolate, coconut, pomegranate, passion fruit, original and green tea. They also bring all of their toppings! To get more information contact your local Pinkberry.
Thank you Leila & Kellee for bringing this to our attention!! Photo by Caroline Tran.

Event Planner: Soiree Parfaite
Flowers: Shannon G
Cupcakes: Vanilla Bake Shop

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Leslie, we can’t wait to see your wedding pictures as well!

Check out all of these delectable candies you could fill your dishes with…yum yum!!!

So who else out there would rather have a solid financial future than a new teapot or a gravy bowl?

Caroline Hanson, Dean Van Wyck
“Caroline Hanson was married to Dean Van Wyck on Saturday at the Peach Tree farm in Scarsdale, NY. 
The bride, 33, wore a strapless white Vera Wang wedding gown. 
The bridegroom, 38, wore tight-fitting purple breeches, a white silk shirt, a fox-fur mantle, and a livery collar from which was suspended a diamond the size of a walnut.”

The second, I happily stumbled upon while helping Justine research her wedding cake. It’s called Cake Wrecks, and they feature cakes for all occasions that have gone “horribly, hilariously wrong.” Below is an example of a couple of peeps getting married…literally. Enjoy!

I was very happy to find Photobooth Scrapbooks after a google search who not only provided the booth but even had an attendant there who was responsible for instructing guests on what to do and even put together a fantastic guest book for us which is now one of my most prized possessions.

Photobooth Scrapbooks is a national company so you can get them in just about any city. Tell them that you heard about them on The Unbride.

If you are in the DC area and would like to hire Bill to drive you around on your wedding day, he can be reached at 703.282.7469 or wdiloreta@gmail.com.

“Art Director by day…crafter by night!

From the earliest days I can remember, I have had a love for crafts! Even as a child, I was drawn to creating and decorating items created from things found in everyday life — scraps of fabric, interesting paper, string, buttons, trim, containers of various sort and such. This love for creating things transformed itself in an art school education and later employment as a textile designer for kidswear.

My work, even in school, has always had a whimsical quality —- more fun and carefree. I have found I enjoy creating things that are fanciful and warm from a variety of items that are cleverly composed to interest the eye.

Over the years, I continued to work as a commercial artist by day. In my spare time, I created prints, collages and decoupaged items. I gave away many of these items as gifts for family and friends. Over time, I was approached to create handmade items for the life events of those around me — baby gifts, wedding presents and items for special birthdays and anniversaries. To provide the supplies I needed for these projects, I scoured antique sales, flea markets and online shopping to find interesting textiles, trim and ephemera I could use for my various projects and to display around my home.

I first created a cake topper as a birthday gift for a friend. Later, I made one as a wedding present. The gifts were so well-received that it inspired me to consider making toppers for sale and on commission. From there, the work has evolved into creating more and different types of toppers from the various trims, textiles and paper items I have collected over the years. Each topper is a completely unique creation based on the materials I have at hand, those I collect at the time of the project, the color palette specified and the various needs of my clientele. Many of the items on the toppers are antique or vintage materials. I use archival quality glues and paints whenever possible to insure the topper stays fresh and bright over time. Many of my clients display their toppers under a glass covering such as a bell jar. This helps to further preserve the toppers and showcases their craftsmanship and charm. Some of the toppers rest on decorated boxes suitable for storing small keepsakes from weddings and other life events. However, above all, the toppers are meant to be a creative reminder of special times that provides a spark of whimsy to those who own them!”

How totally cute are these?! They almost seem a little bit Tim Burton-esque with their long, lanky bodies. Now we all know that the wedding industry is trendy and over the past 10 years or so I’ve seen a departure from cake toppers of old as wedding cakes themselves have become more decorative and elaborate. But I predict that the cake topper is coming back in a big way, but this time around couples have access to shops like this where they can have something really custom-made to suit their personality as a couple or perhaps to even use some personal elements in their cake topper which will be a keepsake…like your grandmother’s hanky or a swatch of mom’s wedding dress that was too outdated to actually wear?

Definitely go check out the shop and find out what Leslie can do for your wedding…

Instead, we decided to go silly and fun with it and booked an upscale bowling alley called Lucky Strike for a rehearsal party instead. We’ll have a private room with 6 lanes, food & drink and a whole lot of bowling action for about 50 of our closest family and friends.

I actually attended an ISES event there about a year ago and somehow ended up in 2nd place for the highest bowling score of the evening, don’t even ask me how that happened, it was definitely a fluke. Here are a couple of pictures of the venue by Fotobriceno.


And here I am acting like a total idiot.

The best part? $180 for the whole weekend, that sounds like a steal to me!

Call Bill at 703-690-0310 or email him at wdiloreta@gmail.com for more information. Also, please feel free to to repost this on your own blog since no one knows about this car yet…

Also available, this very cool white jaguar. Beautiful!

Anyway, I really prefer the old, vintage b&w variety as opposed to the new digital booths that are around these days. So, I am happy to report that yesterday I went online to Photobooth Scrapbooks and reserved one for our wedding. One more detail taken care of. Yay! Is anyone else out there planning to have one of these at your own wedding? If so, will you share with us where you found your booth?