Well, I am officially on “blogiday” enjoying the end of the 2010 with my family and friends. I hope that you are having a wonderful season, too!! I decided that I would love to treat you to some of my favorites that have been posted since our inception in June of this year. Have fun browsing through my personal choices for the “Best of 2010″! Oh, and how could I NOT end my “blogiday” with a posting of HCB’s wonderful vendor family … I love them all!! xox Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

Let me just say that I have had a posting scheduled for November 5th for at least three weeks, BUT by popular demand, I preempted that posting to bring you today’s posting … it tickles me SO much, and I hope you like it, too!!

On Wednesday night at City View Skytop Restaurant in Downtown Lynchburg I hosted a vendor get together … complete with a beautiful autumn view, delicious hors d’oeuvres and a photo booth done by Capture It Photography.

Let me just tell you that some of these vendors were reluctant to jump into the photo booth, but it is amazing what happens when you start putting boas on guys and hand girls a microphone and a tiara! We had such a wonderful time, and thank you so much to Capture It and City View and to all of the great Hill City Bride vendors. All I can say is … “vendors are people, too” (as you will see below). Enjoy!!

Let me just say, that Brad Bennett (purple boa – Shaking Hands Productions) and Adam Barnes (pink boa – Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography) were VERY reluctant to go first (one of them actually said they were NOT going first), but once boas were thrown over their heads, they quickly changed their minds … it’s true!! The rest of us ladies were having a great time … Katie Lester (shades – West Manor), Lauren Nutter (tiara – one of my WONDERFUL interns), Emily Hall (pink boa – West Manor), Rachael Eberle (writer of “Newly Wed“) and I (microphone) loved having fun in front of the camera!!

Another one of our crazy first group … I just HAD to post this b/c Brad was laughing so hard … ha ha!!

Adam gave up his pink boa for a floral lei, and Brad does not look too impressed … LOL!!

Here are Kelly Lesley (blue hat) and Debbie Johnson (red boa) of Flavours Catering … delicious food and more for sure!! They look like they are having a great time.

Jessica Boardman (tiara – Celebration) couldn’t decide between what to wear on her head (as evidenced by the red and blue hats in her hands)! She had a great time posing with the adorable Tara Cofer of Tresca on 8th … one of Lynchburg’s finest venues.

Another of Jessica and Tara … so cute!!

I adore these mass group shots!! Lovely and sweet Sandra Guelzo (purple boa – RS Exclusive) had fun getting to know Pauline Stephens (blue boa – Elations Designs) who came all the way from Richmond! I love Elisha Dudley’s (Petal Flower Company) peacock look, and the ever-gorgeous Crystal George (blue hat – Crystal George Studios) definitely had her “cool” on! Oh, and I’m the nerdy one with the guitar … ha!

Here Crystal and Elisha are at it again … adorable!!

Sandra and Pauline and their “duet”.

Sandra again … too funny!! I think she liked the photo booth for sure. Here she is with her son, Jeremiah Guelzo (Stone Blue Productions) … he chose to wear the flowers all on his own.

Lovelies Caitlin Smith (pink boa) and Kim Jennings (red boa) of Capture It Photography enjoyed the hot apple cider. I greatly appreciate them coming and setting up the photo booth and taking the photos for us … it added so much to the evening, and it was a lot of fun!

David Duncan (David Duncan Photography) and Michelle Duncan (e&a WED and Church Street Bridal/Church Street Couture) caught a picture before they left … I just had to jump in!

Wait!! I had no idea I was serenading David and Michelle while they were sneaking a kiss … ha!!

Debbie Johnson (blue boa – Flavours Catering) and Kim Jennings (pink boa – Capture It Photography) are great friends who have lots of fun together … I love this one!

Sabrena Deal (S Carter Studios) and her husband Josh make a great team when it comes to music … hey, at least they play the part well!!

Then Sabrena (veil) and Josh were good sports about dressing up more when they were joined by the sweet Liz Cook (hat – Sincerely, Liz: Photography).

Sabrena and Liz changed it up and struck a pose together … cute!!

Ok, so I wanted my picture taken with these two, but this is NOT what I had in mind … LOL!! Jeremiah Guelzo (wearing ALL of the boas except two so that we could have some – Stone Blue Productions) and Liz Cook (Sincerely Liz: Photography) are dear friends of mine who have booth been instrumental in helping me get started with Hill City Bride.

More silliness. We had no clue what the other was doing in these photos, which makes me laugh!

Rachael Eberle (pink boa – writer of “Newly Wed“), Heather Cheatham (microphone – Visions by Heather Photography) and I had a lot of fun … we should definitely take our show on the road!

What a jam session … ha ha (love those inflatable instruments)!! Allegra (blue hat – Allegra’s Studio), Kasey Forehand (pink boa – Boudoir), James Forehand (who was VERY reluctant but jumped in anyway!!) and I had fun trying to mock play a tune.

Allegra, Kasey, James and I decided to end with a bang!

Good grief … I laughed the entire time I was posting these. We really did have a great time! I think it is fun to see these wedding professionals in a different light … at least it was for me. Enjoy, and thanks to all of the vendors for being such good sports!

*Sigh* and speaking of being good sports, I do NOT want to post this last photo of me, but I did not give my vendors “veto rights” to their photos, so I guess it’s only fair. All I have to say is that the photo booth brings out the crazy in all of us!!

Well, I am officially on “blogiday” enjoying the end of the 2010 with my family and friends. I hope that you are having a wonderful season, too!! I decided that I would love to treat you to some of my favorites that have been posted since our inception in June of this year. Have fun browsing through my personal choices for the “Best of 2010″!

I am loving that all things vintage are back … especially for weddings! When I spotted Bethany’s bridal session by Kristin Salvia on the blog of Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography, I simply had to make this session a part of the blog (plus I know the bride!). The softness of the session combined with Bethany’s beauty make these photographs truly unique and memorable. Enjoy the images … looking at them makes me dream of relaxing picnics and romantic boat rides.

Kristin Salvia was the talented photographer who captured these images on behalf of Adam Barnes Fine Art Photography. Thank you, Kristin, for sharing this dreamy session with us, and I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.

Well, I am officially on “blogiday” enjoying the end of the 2010 with my family and friends. I hope that you are having a wonderful season, too!! I decided that I would love to treat you to some of my favorites that have been posted since our inception in June of this year. Have fun browsing through my personal choices for the “Best of 2010″!

Creativity and expression are so “en vogue” with today’s bride, and her bouquet is no exception. Traditional floral bouquets will never go out of style because you just can not beat the fragrance and natural beauty of fresh flowers, yet there are many other bouquets that you can carry down the aisle that mimic flowers but are anything but!

I DO want to put a disclaimer on this posting as I do think that some of these are beautiful, yet I am also of the opinion that some of these are downright awful. However, they are all true alternatives to carrying a bouquet of flowers. I would really enjoy hearing everyone’s opinions about these bouquets, and let me know if you have seen or heard of any other great options.

Vintage Brooch Bouquets

Button Bouquet

Origami Flower Bouquet

Satin Ribbon Bouquet

Felt Flower Bouquet

Feather Bouquet

Candy Bouquet

Beaded Flower Bouquet

Butterfly Bouquet

Wire Bouquet

Well, what did you think? Did any of them strike you as beautiful or fascinating or even downright appalling? Have you heard of any other ideas? No matter what, I do think that these bouquets all have validity in the fact that they can be made way ahead of time and will last for years to come. I hope that this got your creative juices flowing, and if not … natural flowers are ALWAYS timeless and beautiful.

Well, I am officially on “blogiday” enjoying the end of the 2010 with my family and friends. I hope that you are having a wonderful season, too!! I decided that I would love to treat you to some of my favorites that have been posted since our inception in June of this year. Have fun browsing through my personal choices for the “Best of 2010″!

My friend, Michelle Duncan, is definitely a go-to girl for all things creative! As the owner of e&a WED, she shows her creativity through her designs, and she also loves all things wedding. It is no wonder as she works for the YWCA and manages Church Street Bridal and Church Street Couture. Here is a DIY project that she completed recently that she is sharing with the readers of Hill City Bride.

Supplies:

• picture frame
• enough fabric to cover front of the interior cardboard piece that comes with the frame
• ribbon to coordinate with the fabric … the larger the frame, the wider the ribbon (frame shown here is 4×6 photo size)
• thread or embroidery floss, needle, scissors, silk pins (4)
• photo of your choice – make sure there is plenty of “negative” space around the edges of the photo as you will be cutting it down
• glue gun

Instructions:

• First take the frame apart, clean the glass really well and put it aside to dry.  Iron your fabric.
• Take the inside cardboard and lay it on the “wrong side” of the fabric.  Trace lightly with a pen (do not use a marker or liquid type pen or it will bleed) and cut it out. Place a dot of glue in the center of the cardboard and line the fabric.  This will temporarily hold it in place. Put this to the side.
• Next cut enough ribbon for the top so that you can loop it around, tie a bow and have enough “give” in it to replace the glass.  Tip:  I looped the ribbon around, replaced the glass and tied the bow while the glass was in it so that the ribbon was held in place.  Just be careful that you do not cut yourself or break the glass.
• After tying a nice bow, secure it to the frame with a dot of hot glue.  Also put a dot under the ribbon that runs along the back side.  You could even add a rhinestone button, a letter, or anything you may like to the middle of the bow.  For the bottom part of the ribbon, make sure it also has a little “give to it” when looping it around.  Secure it with a little hot glue on the back of the frame. Do not do it on the front, or you will see it through the ribbon, especially if you use satin or organza.
• Replace your glass, and lay this all to the side
• Next, take your photo and cut it down so that it is 1.5 inches (or more) smaller on all four sides than the glass size.  Center in your fabric and secure it with a small silk pin in each corner (do not worry about the holes, they will be covered by your stitch marks).
• Thread your needle with embroidery floss or double regular all purpose thread, Starting at one corner “sew” your photo to the fabric covered cardboard.  If your fabric slips, put pins in the four corners while you are sewing.  You can stitch it on as shown in the photo, use an “x” stitch, whipstitch or use whatever pattern you would like when sewing it on … be sure to go through the photo, fabric and the carboard. Tip:  Do not pull your stitches too hard or they will make the fabric buckle.

Now, put your frame back together and enjoy!

Thank you, Michelle, for giving me a wonderful DIY as a posting for HCB’s readership. Oh, and for those of you who did not know … she is married to a great photographer, David Duncan. I would encourage you to give his work a peek, too.

Well, I am officially on “blogiday” enjoying the end of the 2010 with my family and friends. I hope that you are having a wonderful season, too!! I decided that I would love to treat you to some of my favorites that have been posted since our inception in June of this year. Have fun browsing through my personal choices for the “Best of 2010″!

I feel like I am doing triple duty here today, which I love! I have a special treat of a wedding for you today. If you read the blog last Friday, you were introduced to Part One of my Vendor Spotlight for Love Is in the Air, which is an amazing duo of ladies who can do it all as you will see in this posting.

This wedding, which was beautifully captured by Heather Cheatham of Visions by Heather, was supposed to be featured along with last Friday’s posting, but when I received these images, I just knew that I had to give this event a place all of its own.

It took place at one of West Manor Events’ fine properties and is full of lovely details. I would also like to express that Love Is in the Air did the cake (to die for … I LOVE it!!), the flowers, the catering and the decor. I was not kidding when I said that they could do it all! The color combination for Dan and Becky’s wedding is refreshing, and it is one of those color combinations that just makes you smile. Ok, enough talk from me … take a look for yourself, and I hope you enjoy it thoroughly!

See? I love so many aspects about this event. It was not only the wedding of Dan and Becky (who are two people that I hope are very happy in their life together), but it was also the marriage of three wonderful vendors … Love Is in the Air, Visions by Heather and West Manor Events. What a great day full of amazing details! Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and skip on over to our giveaway if you get the chance … just click here.