Design Board: Bicycle Built for Two

I was inspired by this letterpress invitation with a bicycle built for two. Something fun and outdoorsy for this holiday weekend.

Gifts: Monogram Your BBQ!

I've been thinking about these monogrammed steak brands for years. I saw them in a Williams-Sonoma catalog. Mostly because I think it would be really cool to have guests show up to grill some steaks in the backyard, and then you serve them meat branded with your new monogram. Odd, but very cool.

So I think this is a great gift for your groom, groomsmen, father of the bride, or any grilling aficionado. (Heck, if any of you are shopping for my birthday - get me one - oh, and a grill to go in my NYC apartment...) Single, double and triple letter monograms are available for about $39.95.

Other monogram options perfect for your summer outings are this carving board and personalized beer mugs:

Victoria's Secret Bridal Event with Mindy Weiss!

Adorable display on a dress form was showcased at the bottom of the escalator.

Jeff Leatham created a beautiful table display incorporating Victoria's Secret bridal lingerie.

Oh la la, Sunday my fellow bride (and client) Paige and I went to Victoria's Secret's flag ship store ("their most luxurious location ever") in NYC for a private bridal event. Cocktails and breakfast hors d'oeuvres were served by Creative Edge Parties. Beautiful black dress-clad sales associates were everywhere, ready to provide bra fittings, personal shopper services and anything else we could have possibly needed.

The entire store was closed save for about 50 lucky brides and their special guests. The bra salon on the second floor became a stage for Mindy Weiss who discussed her experiences (she loves Heidi and Seal - who renew their vows every year with a fantastic theme party! This year's theme is TPT: Trailer Park Trash). My favorite take away: Mindy hates favors! I totally agree. Unless there is something inherent to you as a couple, I hate when money is wasted on meaningless somethings that people leave on the table anyway. Other trends:

• Florals are leaning towards more low centerpieces - no more high fluted vases. And clusters of smaller vessels on one table.
• Food is still mostly comfort foods. People want formal sit down dinners, but they don't want something fancy that their guests won't recognize on the plate.
• She is seeing a lot of DJs for weddings now (which probably has something to do with the economy) but cautions brides to make sure they interview them well. The WORST thing you can have at your wedding (aside from a beligerent great aunt) is a bad DJ!
• Trends in colors include purple (aubergine and lavendar), navy blue is the new black, and bringing color into your reception with just the flowers.
• Pack for your honeymoon early - start thinking about it now - Mindy sees a lot of stress in her brides the week of the wedding over what to pack for the honeymoon

Bride cotton panties that I can't find anywhere else: "Bride", "Hitched"

"Newleywed" (They also have pink and white binkins with a variety of crystal emblems - just married, newleyweds, an engagement ring icon, kissing lips, bride - Paige loved them!)

In addition to Mindy's fantastic advice (she really is wonderfully sweet and seems easy to talk to), Jeff Leatham provided gorgeous floral displays around the store. Apparently Jeff will have his own reality TV show on TLC airing sometime in the next few months (and yours truly was interviewed along with my beautiful bride sidekick Paige - look for us!).

The Victoria's Secret store on 58th & Lexington in NYC is gorgeous. They offer personal shopping parties. Bring in your bridesmaids and all of your dresses and they will help you find the best undergarments. Something that was said (and I really don't think it is a good point, even though clearly we were in a lingerie store where they were trying to sell us merchandise) is that so often we think about everything on the outside: dress, shoes, veil, jewelry. We need to make sure that we feel like just as much of a woman underneath of our wedding day.

And I will tell you, Paige and I made several trips to the dressing room and loved the merchandise at the 58th & Lex store! They have some signature pieces that you can't get anywhere else. We've decided that we need to start doing honeymoon layaway if you will. Buying a piece or two every few months, hiding it and banking everything for the honeymoon! What an easy way to spread the cost out across the year. Happy lingerie shopping!

Beautiful purple hydrangea and mokara orchids highlighted the color trend of the season: aubergine and lavendar.

Even the shapewear was gorgeous!

Adorable (and Useful) Bridesmaids Gifts

Straight from the recommendations of one of my favorite future Brides, Maureen, Pouchee:

Available in black, red, khaki and pink with an adorable polka dot stripe at the top. It is about 7" x 5" and holds the essentials from your purse, making it very easy to switch from fantastic handbag to fantastic handbag each day. I has 8 outside pockets and 5 inside pockets.

The Purz-n-izer is a bigger model that can fit everything you need in your purse on a daily basis. It comes in three sizes: Small (7.5" x 5" - the same as the Pouchee), Medium (9" x 6") and Large (11.5" x 7.5") It also comes in fun patterns and colors, including: Pinko Polka Dot (pictured above), Black Tied, Pussy Cat, Bongo Blue, Solid Gold, and Black Jack Black.

Purseket is a larger type of product with a different look. It's many compartments fold to surround the outer walls of your purse, and the flexible shape allows it to fit into a variety of handbag sizes. Purseket also comes in various sizes: Small (7" H x 20" L), Medium (7" H x 26" L) and Large (8" H x 36" L). The patterns are a little more interesting than the other models, including a black and pink purse patterns, polka dots, French gold fans, bold pink circle patterns and more.

All of these great gift ideas are between $20 and $25. I suggest you look for someone who can embroider them with your wedding date, "Maid of Honor," "Mother of the Bride," and more!

Quick Update: Cute Gifts from Sephora

Wondering what you can give as a shower favor? At the bridal luncheon? Or as part of your bridesmaids' gifts? I just saw this adorable new product from Sephora. Are you thinking about going green with your wedding - or just always looking for small ways that you can help the environment?

Check out Sephora's new PlantLove (TM) Botanical Lipstick. It comes in 15 shades and is about $20.

WHAT IS THE BEST PART:

Just moisten the tube, PLANT it and you have a bouquet of wildflower! The outer carton is made of flower paper embedded with seeds.

WHAT IS EVEN BETTER:
$2 from ever sale will be donated to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!

http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P172734&searchString=plantlove