AisleDash

This is Part Three of our series of interviews with Jay's Bridal and Special Occasion, a one-stop bridal salon located in Gainesville, Florida and online at jaysbridal.net. Throughout the series, we'll discuss everything wedding, ranging from bridal gowns to music to tuxedos. In this installment, we'll chat with Jay's associates Erica Lyn and Joann.

If you're looking for a truly one-of-a-kind gown, you can still go to a bridal shop like Jay's rather than have one made from scratch. In fact, both Erica Lyn and Joann were excited about the idea of customized dresses. Certain designers, like Casablanca or Jasmine Bridal, allow brides to create a completely unique dress.

"Say you love three dresses by the same designer," said Erica Lyn. "You could take the neckline of one, the corset back of the other, and the train of the third, and have a dress that's one-of-a-kind. Of course, there are fees for doing so, but that bride gets the dress of her dreams." And we would have to say that getting the dress of one's dreams is pretty near priceless.

Are you looking for beautiful invitations with a personal touch? If so, you absolutely must check out KenzieKate Invitations.

KenzieKate Invitations aren't just pieces of paper -- they're customized pieces of art. They are fussy about everything, from the paper to the font to the ribbons to the glue, so you can rest assured you're getting a top quality invitation. And, while quality is great and all, we have to say that's not really what drew our eye -- we first fell in love with the designs!

Stationery designer Sarah Meyer Walsh and Erin Miller (whose self-described job is to bring Sarah back down to earth) run couture stationery studio Haute Papier in Washington, DC and have recently launched their first line of of invitations - and we are in love with their style!

The line, called Le Catalogue, is inspired by their love of vintage wallpaper and is available in both letterpress and flat printing. We were charmed that each of the invitation sets is named after a romantic poet and spent way too much time admiring each design on the site to find out what romantic quote they had selected for each set.

We invite you to take a look at our gallery for an introduction to their designs, and be sure to check out hautepapier.com to look at all 15 sets and to place your order.

If you're in the market for a high-end, custom wedding cake, but need it to be kosher, you have no reason to worry (at least, not if you're in the NYC area or willing to pay top dollar for transportation). Ron Ben-Israel Cakes are everything you've dreamed of and more.

Combine fresh, exotic ingredients, an artistic passion, and a team of talent and you'll see what we're talking about. Ron traveled across France, training to become a wedding cake master, and he now shows cakes regularly on shows like Oprah and Martha Stewart Living Show in addition to creating cakes for myriad magazines, including Modern Bride and Town and Country.

One of the things Ron Ben-Israel cakes are best known for is the perfection of his sugar flowers, which are often mistaken for real flowers. Everything on his cakes is edible -- flowers are made of sugar, and no plastic columns or fabric ribbons are used. Browse through the gallery -- you'll be amazed to know that everything on the cakes is edible!

Monograms are a classic way to "brand" yourselves as a couple. Whether you use your monogram in your wedding or incorporate it into your home, it's fun because it's uniquely yours ... in a really, really traditional way.

Fortunately, for those of us who like the idea of a monogram but are interested in finding a more modern take on it, there is Echo D'Amour. Atlanta-based designer Chad Rullman creates jewelry based on "the beauty of symmetry," creating a mirror image (or echo) pendant. They are created in 18k gold or platinum and weigh in at 2.5 to 5 carats of ideal-cut colorless diamonds.

One of the things that make these pendants so very cool is that you can make yours out of any combination of letters or numbers. Want to use your wedding date? One initial? Four initials? No problem -- each Echo D'Amour piece is customized to your requirements, style, and budget. These are the kinds of pieces that will become a family heirloom -- you can't tell at first sight that they are monograms, so you'll always have a one-of-a-kind conversation starter!

Wednesday Wedding Wrap-up is a weekly roundup of highlights from the past week, covering wedding blogs and websites, reality TV, even particularly hot scoop right here at AisleDash. Think we missed something? Leave your favorite highlight in the comments!

Bridalwave gives us the scoop on the $10,000 proposal.

Polka Dot Bride has us drooling over the idea of customizing our own bubbly. Cheers to that!

We love the Capiz Party Garlands at Hostess with the Mostess. But who needs a party? We want to decorate our house with them!

Wedding Bee's Miss Toucan discusses her hesitation toward registering for big ticket items. If you don't register for them, you have no chance of getting them, but you don't want your guests to think you're greedy ... what do you think?

Do you have incredibly romantic vows in mind? Or perhaps a favorite passage that will be read at your wedding? You can commemorate it in a really special way -- by having it engraved on your wedding ring!

We found WeddingVowRings.com to have a substantial selection to choose from, plus you can have them engrave the rings you already have. Custom engraving is limited to 225 characters (including spaces and punctuation) on 4 and 6mm wide rings, 350 characters on 8mm rings, and 475 characters on 10 mm rings. So, you might not be able to fit all your vows on there, but you can certainly use a couple of your favorite lines.



In addition, they will engrave a picture on the inside or outside, so you can choose a religious picture, a meaningful image, or just something fun and personal. So, what would you engrave on your ring? Or on your spouse's?

We just love Etsy. The online mega-craft fair is a great place to look for all kinds of wedding supplies and accessories like invitations, cake toppers, decorations, and so much more.

If you're having trouble finding exactly what you want on Etsy, have no fear! The site's Alchemy feature is there for you. You simply post on the request board exactly what you're looking for, even the price you want, and vendors can make bids for your business. This way, you don't have to settle for something similar to what you want -- you get it exactly the way you've envisioned it all along.

If you do come across an Etsy store that you just love, it's also a good idea to contact the owner and ask if he or she does custom work. Maybe you feel like you're being too picky and specific, but you never know what these artists can do for you if you never ask!

Would you call yourself non-traditional? Really? Okay, then how about a funky, custom designed invitation that lays your style all right out there on the line? Designer Erin Blankley (whose resume boasts work on products we all know like Nickelodeon, Angelina the Ballerina, and Fisher Price) offers custom-made way-out-wild invitations through her company Corndog Industries. Prices start at $500-900 for a simple (but still custom deigned to your level of coolness) invitation and envelope. Get Erin to bend over backward for you with die-cuts, cool papers, bells and whistles for $2,000 and up. From medieval to vintage and rock n' roll to, well...just plain spooky, your invitations are certain to stand out from the crowd. Her claim? These invitations will knock your socks off and make your guests ditch whatever lame plans they used to have to get onto your band wagon. Take a look!

As we've sadly mentioned before, grooms generally just don't get many funky fashion options when it comes to wedding attire. For some grooms, that might be just fine. You know, the fewer options, the better.



However, there are plenty of guys out there with great personalities that deserve to shine through in their wardrobe. While they might not be up for wearing a funky vest or tie, they might be okay with some unique cufflinks.

We've covered some fabulous cufflinks here at AisleDash before, and now I have some more for you to peruse. Check out the gallery for some inspiration -- some custom cufflinks might even make a great give for your groom-to-be! And, they're all from one of our favorite sources -- Etsy.com!

via definatalie.com

Last month Wendy introduced you to Pose Prints, a company with some of the most unique and beautiful stationary anywhere. What makes it so unique? Each design is personalized by you -- you select your background, determine who you want on the card by choosing hair, eyes, clothes, and accessories, and then decide what you want your card to say.

Pose Prints is now offering an additional bit of customization for AisleDash readers -- a 10% discount on any purchase through April 15! After you've designed your sure-to-be-amazing invitation/thank-you card/etc., just type "aisledash" in the promo code area at checkout -- it doesn't get much easier than that.

And, keep in mind, Pose Prints is perfect for much more than just bridal events -- it's the place to go for baby shower invites, graduation announcements, everyday stationary, and party invitations. Check out all the different options available -- if you don't see what you need, just contact Jen and Denise and they'll be happy to work with you!

Today's dress of the day doesn't exist - yet. That's because we found a site where you get to design your own dress. How exciting! We now officially declare this week the week of the customized bridesmaid dress. Let's celebrate!

For $200 (plus tax and shipping) you get a custom made-to-measure dress by you - in three weeks. Their Design your Own Dress tool is easy to use and HIGHLY addictive - try it out and let your imagination soar.

(The three dresses above were designed by yours truly in 10 minutes. I KNOW you can do better than that. Try it!)

Check the bridesmaids gallery for photographs of actual Studio 28 dresses. They're adorable! I may just have to get that flowered dress on the left made just to celebrate the arrival of spring.

Every once in a while, I get really lucky and meet an extraordinarily cool person -- this is what happened when I met Deb Blazer, the creative genius behind Blazer Arts.

She started making jewelry when she was planning her own wedding and realized that she didn't really like what was offered to brides. She had received a Fine Arts degree from Penn State in Sculpture and Metal Working and minored in Art History, giving her a unique insight into jewelry design, focusing "on ingenuity while bringing contemporary flair to historical concepts."

Blazer Arts has beautiful wedding tiaras and headpieces, but I'll tell you more about that later. What I loveloveLOVE is the way she creates custom pieces for the wedding party. Think about it -- what better gift for your bridesmaids or the mothers than a custom pendant and matching earrings?



Independent jewelers like Deb often present their work at art shows around the country -- watch for shows in your area and, if you find an artist whose work you like, talk to them. You might be able to work together to create custom wedding rings or other jewelry for your wedding and beyond. Or, if you see something in the gallery you like, you can contact Blazer Arts directly.

Signature cocktails continue to be a fabulous trend -- they can cut down costs while adding an elegant, personalized touch to your wedding (although, having beer and wine available would likely be much appreciated, too).

Looking to tie your signature cocktail idea into your favors? Junebug Weddings has just the thing -- send your guests home with recipe coasters! Check out the gallery to see how cool letterpress coasters can be, and then it's time for research -- what cocktail do you want to serve? You'll probably have to try lots of them to figure it out. Wedding planning is SUCH hard work!

I have to admit that just typing the title of this post sort of sucked the wind out of me -- I cannot fathom making my own dress. Of course, I also hot-glued my apron for middle-school home ec (and got a B, thank you very much).

Anyway, if you or a loved one have a good deal of skill in the sewing room, and you have quite a while before your wedding, you could consider making your own dress. And, if you choose to make this a DIY project, you can shoot for the stars -- you get to choose your fabric, your pattern, your embellishments, everything!