Have you been worrying yourself to pieces about how to get your guests to your wedding location? Worry no more. These 5 different ideas of making a wedding map for your guests will be a simple navigator for your wedding guests, and they are all available on weddingmapper.com, which we recently discovered. Take a peek at the different types of maps they offer, and then head on over there to see if one suits your wedding day needs. The maps are free, but some styles aren’t for the faint hearted, so if you decide to do one grab a latte, put on some music and design away (or pass this job on to you tech savvy fiance!).

1. Quick and Easy – This DIY map is very easy to create in just 6 easy steps and takes little time. This simple map will provide your guests with the most important locations on your wedding day.

2. Quick and Easy with Zoom - This DIY map will let you show a large area and then zoom in to highlight a few key wedding locations. This map will give your guests a good perspective of the local community that your wedding is taking place.

 3. Hand Traced - This DIY map is a bit more challenging and time consuming because you are using traced lines. This map will let you showcase a small area and main roads to guide your guests to/from a few special locations.

 4. Hand Traced with Zoom - This DIY map, like the Quick and Easy with Zoom, will let you show a large area and then zoom in on a couple blocks or small town with a few important wedding locations. But, like the Hand Traced map, tracing is involved so this is time consuming and a little more complex.

5. Half Page -Like the Hand Traced Map, this map is more challenging and time consuming because you are using traced lines. This map will let you showcase a small area on one side of a piece of paper/cardstock and list directions on the other side. You can adjust the paper size to meet your individual needs.

This is such a neat DIY project that would be very beneficial to your wedding guests. To have a template to make one of these Wedding Map Guides visit weddingmapper.com.

Aaahhh, summer is here, and in an attempt to sit back and enjoy summer, I am introducing Throwback Thursday, which is a collection of oldies but goodies that need to be revisited since Hill City Bride’s humble beginnings.

I saw this cute DIY project on the blog of S Carter Studios, and I thought it would be something fun and easy to share with you all. It can be adapted for many things … it can be used on the front door of a newly married couple, or two of them can hang at a wedding representing the initials of the bride and groom. Have fun with this cute project, and I thank Sabrena Deal for writing this post for Hill City Bride!

Directions:

Supplies: Monogram letter ($2.50 at ACMoore), ribbon ($1.50 at ACMoore), hot glue gun, one glue stick, recycled fabric (old shirt ruined by a rogue post-it note in this case).

Step 1: Draw two different sized circles on the fabric, these are about an 1.25 in & .75 in. Cut out.

Step 2: Place smaller circles inside larger circles.

Step 3: Pinch together, add glue to desired location on monogram.

Step 4: Place the “point” of the flower into glue, then twist the flower in the glue to desired shape.

Step 5: Cut ribbon to desired length, apply to back of monogram with hot glue.

Step 6: Install! This one lives on our front door and it makes me smile each time I walk in!

Thank you again, Sabrena, for this adorable idea for a door, wedding or even a gift. I love fun, cute, easy DIY projects!!

This posting was inspired by a bride that emailed in to ask a question a while back (did you know you can do that?). I love emails, we will always try to figure out an answer for you. Our column, Ask the Exclusive does just that. Actually, RS Exclusive did answer a question for a bride in one of my favorite postings that you can find here.

The submitted question was about having non-alcoholic drinks. I actually have a funny story from my wedding … we did not have ANY alcohol, yet we had a sparkling grape juice toast. My alcohol-drinking relatives were CONVINCED that it was alcohol, so they were collecting all of the half full bottles to take home! Good grief … those unmentionable cousins on my dad’s side of the family. Ha!

Below are some websites to peruse for recipes. If you are doing further research, I would suggest searching for “virgin cocktail” or “mocktail” or “virgin mixed drinks”. These make a fun addition for the reception or a shower … test them out!

Have fun trying some of the recipes on the sites below …

http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/183/ (there are some funny names for them)

http://cocktails.about.com/od/mocktailmocktail/Mocktail_Recipes.htm (this seems to be a really good site)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Drinks/Mocktails/Top.aspx (this is good, and they are rated, which gives confidence!!)

Let me know if you have any favorite non-alcoholic drink recipes or if you have found any sites online in our comments section. I would LOVE to hear from you!

You have TWO more days to get your entries in … it ends tomorrow the 13th at midnight!

Yes, you heard right. Hill City Bride is hosting a WEDDING GIVEAWAY. From the invitations and catering to the cake and the dress … oh and from the photography and the venues to the hair and makeup … well, the list goes on and on! I am going to give you a moment to process all of that. We are giving away a complete wedding!!

This idea has been rolling around in my head for a while, and when Allegra of Allegra’s Studio approached me about doing a wedding giveaway, I just knew it HAD to be done. The Hill City Bride vendors have been so generous (literally, I can’t brag on them enough!), and we are able to give away one AMAZING wedding. Can you tell I am just a bit excited about it?!?!

Ok, so here is the skinny. We have a website for I Dream of a Wedding, but before you head over there, there are just a few things I want you to know. This is not a random contest as we want a truly deserving couple to win this giveaway … a couple that has an amazing story to tell us. You will be able to submit your story, and from there we will pick finalists, and by August 27th we will have a winner. So, get to it … the deadline for submissions is August 13th! The HCB vendors have been abuzz and are SO excited to finally let the cat out of the bag for this great event, which will take place on February 14, 2012 … will that be YOUR wedding day? We hope so!!

Head on over to I Dream of a Wedding by clicking here to find out all about how to enter and the details of what the wedding includes and what vendors are participating. Personally, I can not wait to see what unfolds!

Ok, call me crazy, but I just LOVE this … I have never seen this before, and it is super duper simple to do. Whether it is for a wedding or a party, these mushrooms are so pretty (and I do not even like mushrooms).

I had the privilege of seeing Mary Love and Linda Loveleen Williams Hall (otherwise known as the dynamic duo behind Love Is in the Air) in action a little while ago at an amazing wedding that took place in a barn. They asked me to stop by to see the transformation, and I just happened to be there while they were putting out some of the food … yum!

Linda gave me a quick lesson in how to do these super easy mushrooms, and I did a few of them on my own while they were working on setting up. I thought it would make for a quick, fun and easy, food DIY posting. Here goes …

Forgive my lack of mushroom knowledge, but all you need are mushrooms (that look like this … Cremini is what I found that looked similar) and a sharp knife. Be sure to wash and dry the mushrooms (one reader said that you just need to brush the dirt off of the mushrooms instead of washing them … thanks, Angela!!). All you have to do is start in the middle of the mushroom and press the knife into it … lightly enough to make an impression or a slight cut. You do have to press down firmly.

Continue in a spiral pattern around the mushroom with the impressions/cuts. This is NOT an exact science … trust me! Just work from the middle, work your way out, and continue down the sides of the mushroom.

Aren’t they just beautiful? They look so elegant, yet they are SO easy to do!! I saw a bowl filled with these mushrooms, and I actually thought they were decorations (I had no clue what they were). Linda said that after a little while, the impressions will start to become more defined.

Here are the fruits (ok, veggies!) of my labor. Linda and Mary went to get the cake, and I wanted to make myself useful. I tried my hand at decorating the mushrooms … not too bad for my first time, and I will definitely be trying this again in the future!

Here is (L-R), Linda, me and Mary. They transformed this lovely barn into an event venue. These are two VERY sweet ladies that I am happy to be associated with. Honestly, one of the things I love about Hill City Bride is the people that I get to meet and represent. Thank you, amazing ladies of Love Is in the Air!