Free Bridal Show Tickets

Want FREE admission to the Washington Bridal Showcase? Thanks to WeddingWire, you can get in the Dulles show for free! Be sure to print more than one coupon if you have a date or a helper coming along. See you at the show!

Washington Bridal Showcase - 9/7/08

Mark your calendars! The area's largest bridal show is coming to the Dulles Expo Center. The show is on Sunday, September 7th. There are also shows in Bethesda on 9/14 and Greenbelt on 9/21. We've participated regularly in this show and are looking forward to meeting you. Discounted tickets are available if you buy them online.

If you've never attended a show, check out our handy tips we posted before last year's show. They'll help you maximize your time there and make planning a lot easier afterwards.

This year we have some exciting news! We'll be exhibiting under a new name. Look for Wish Special Events instead of Soiree. I'll post more about our big news over the next couple days.

I have some free tickets to give away. To win a pair, leave a comment describing what you hope to accomplish at the show. Maybe it's comparing photographers or meeting several deejays? Perhaps you just want to come and stuff yourself full of cake? Be sure to leave your email address so I can find you. I'll select a winner on Friday at 5pm and contact you over the weekend. Good luck!

Win a Diamond Necklace from Mervis!

Mervis Diamond Importers is what I'd call the best diamond store in DC. My hubby actually purchased my engagement ring there and I'm sure a great portion of proposals involve a trip to their shops. It's hard to listen to any radio broadcast for more than an hour without hearing one of their advertisements. They are truly a DC institution.Until September 3rd, they are running a contest to give away a $500 diamond pendant! To win you must write a limerick about love, dating, and diamonds in Washington DC. In their own words:

Tell us your stories of love, dating, and diamonds in the District and you can win a diamond pendant! Did you meet your true love under the cherry blossoms? Did she say yes right after a spending bill passed? Was the ring presented at Ben’s on a half-smoke with everything?

So what are you waiting for? Run on over to the Mervis Blog and check it out!

15% Off at the Dandelion Patch

Y'all remember our visit to the Dandelion Patch? This adorable stationery store is discounting wedding invitations by 15% this Wednesday! You can visit either their Reston or Vienna stores and save big with this deal. It's valid on wedding ensembles only and can't be combined with other offers or discounts:

2941 Coupon Winners

Earlier this week we posted about our fun visit to 2941 and also mentioned that we had a few coupons to give away. Each commenter had to post their favorite budget ideas. Congratulations to Erin, Amy, and Kristin! The Random Integer Generator selected you for the three coupons I have. Two are 'buy one get one free' lunches and the other is a $25 gift certificate towards dinner. Erin - you were picked first so I'll let you decide which coupon you want. Then Amy you can choose from what's left and Kristin you get the last one. I'll email each of you to figure out the details. Amy...can you either post your email address or shoot me an email? You didn't leave it in the comments the first time around.

Big Day Studios - what a deal!

Todd at Big Day Studios is offering a fantastic special for any July 2008 brides. Are you planning your wedding this month and changed your mind about wanting a video? Todd is offering $500 off of his top package which takes it from $1999 to $1499! It includes...

* Up to 10 hours of coverage
* Two cameras for your ceremony
* 5 copies of the DVD with chapters
* 3-minute montage posted online within 24 hours
* 20-minute highlight on each DVD

* Two 'enhancing options' (select from extra hours, photo montages, highlights video for your iPod, honeymoon montage, and many more)Photo by A Britton Photography

Check out their website for more details or email Todd directly. You can learn more about Big Day Studios here and even watch a sample video.

SALE @ Hitched!

It's time for Hitched bridal salon's summer Slip On and Slip Out with a Steal sale! This is one of their best sales, when they discount the samples that they display in the shop. Here's some more details from Carin & Julia:

When: Thursday, June 12th from 5-8pm

What: A night of trying on a selection of deeply discounted designer bridal gowns and accoutrements

How: No appointment necessary for the Soiree, but arrive early for the best selection as ALL gowns are sold on a first-come, first-serve basis

Who: You! Feel free to bring the ladies in your life that help you make important decisions and get ready to pick "the one" – gown, that is. Once you've picked it ... It's yours to take home with you that night.

Check out the Sample Sale Online section of our website at www.hitchedsalon.com/samplesale.html to see many of the beautiful gowns we have on sale. The newest group of gowns will be posted on June 12 th – so make sure you check the website regularly.

The Sample Sale will be ongoing daily after June 12 th until all of the dresses find happy homes. If you can't make it to the event, email us at appointments@hitchedsalon.com or give us a call at 202-333-6162 to set up another time to try on the gowns!

Soiree Classifieds: 45 Paper Fans

These fans are FREE! The first person to comment here (with their email address) will get it. If I need to ship it to you, please add a couple dollars for postage. Otherwise, pickup is in Reston, VA. I'll contact you by email to make all the arrangements.I bought these fans for my own wedding in 2006. They have been sitting in my office, waiting for a creative project. Unfortunately the project was never inspired and these poor guys have been living in a plastic grocery shopping bag. There are 45 of them. I bought them from the Oriental Trading Company for about $.40 a piece.

Soiree Classifieds: Hoop Skirt

This hoop skirt is $20! The first person to comment here (with their email address) will get it. If I need to ship it to you, please add a couple dollars for postage. Otherwise, pickup is in Reston, VA. I'll contact you by email to make all the arrangements. If you're interested and someone else has already commented, please comment anyway! There's a chance that the first person will try it on and not fit, hate it, etc.
This hoop skirt was actually bought for my own wedding in 2006. I bought it from a bride who hadn't used it and then I never used it either. I'm not sure how much she got it for but I remember paying her $50. At this point I'll just be glad to get it out of the house!

The skirt is made up of several thin metal hoops. The hoops are adjustable and are held together by little plastic joiners. Therefore you can make it as large or as small as you want. It would be perfect for a wedding gown that doesn't have any fluff underneath or for a bride who wants to vamp up her ballgown and make a statement.

The backside closes with a hook similar to a bikini top. The elastic is nice and wide so it's comfortable:I am a regular street size 6-8 and it was just slightly tight on me. It's elastic so I'm sure it could fit anyone from a size 2-10. However if you're more of a 4-6, I think it would be perfect. Height is not as important as the bottom few inches of your gown will drape over it. You can also pull the hoop skirt up or down a few inches as necessary. To give you an idea of height in the picture, I'm 5'9 and not wearing shoes. It falls about 2" above the ground. If you try it on at my home and hate it, I'll re-list it here so you don't end up with something you won't use.

Congratulations, Caroline!

Congrats to our Rob Holley Giveaway winner, Caroline!

Inspired by Blue Orchid Designs, I used the integer generator at Random.org to pick a number between 1 and 63. We had 58 comments on the blog post here and an additional 5 comments on our website. Lucky #24 was our winner!
Caroline - I'll be in touch by email so you & Rob can set a time to get together. Once the photos are taken I'd love to share them here on the blog!

Soiree Classifieds: Chair Sashes

These chair sashes are FREE! The first person to comment here (with their email address) will get it. If I need to ship it to you, please send me a couple dollars for postage via PayPal. Otherwise, pickup is in Reston, VA. I'll contact you by email to make all the arrangements.

These chair sashes come from Dee & Adam's wedding, which took place last spring. It was a beautiful wedding and we were glad to be a part of it. Unfortunately the bride and groom seem to have dropped off the face of the planet and took our final payment check with them. So, here are their chair sashes -- ready to go!

The sashes are a light silvery gray color and are very shiny. They'll fit most color schemes and add a little bit of shimmer to any boring chair. Here is one folded up:
Here's what it looks like on a chair. It's extra shiny because I had my camera's flash on.
This photo is a bit more realistic but blurry with no flash. They're really not plastic-looking but are more sheer and rather see-through:I'd say the sashes are about 6' in length. They could also make a pretty table runner if you have 5' guest tables. I have about 200 of these guys all packed up and ready to be yours.

Reminder: Rob Holley Giveaway!

Don't forget to comment on the Rob Holley Photography Giveaway post! You have until Friday at noon to enter!

Soiree Classifieds: Cupcake Stand

This cupcake stand is FREE! The first person to comment here (with their email address) will get it. If I need to ship it to you, please send me a couple dollars for postage via PayPal. Otherwise, pickup is in Reston, VA. I'll contact you by email to make all the arrangements.

This Wilton cupcake stand was used at Libby & Dan's wedding all the way back in 2006! They had adorable cupcakes all along the tiers of the stand and the table. I wish I had a photo of it but hopefully these will do.

Here is the cake stand, fully assembled:
A closeup to show you the Grecian-looking pillars. I swear I'll wash the whole thing before you get it...the dried-on cupcake frosting there is a tad gross. I'd say there's about 4" in between each layer:
The top tier is a 6" plate that would be perfect for a mini cake to cut. Or you can stick about 4 cupcakes up here:
The one flaw to this guy is that it's very unstable. We were very lucky at Libby & Dan's wedding that nobody bumped the table. If you end up with this pretty stand, you'll probably want to hot glue or superglue the tiers to each pillar, just in case!

Giveaway from Rob Holley!

In a partnership with Soiree, talented photographer Rob Holley is offering a free photo shoot to one of our lucky readers! Rob just moved to DC from LA and his style is fresh, modern, and a little bit funky (::just how we like it::).

You can choose to have Rob along for an engagement session, a bridal portrait, some family shots, or even maternity or baby photos. At a $400 value, this would even be a fantastic gift to a friend.

Here's one of my favorite engagement shots from Rob's website:We'll take entries via comments on this blog post until Friday, April 18th at noon. The winner will be selected that afternoon and must be in touch with Rob by the end of April. Here's a couple quick rules:

* DC metro area only. Rob won't drive from Virginia to Nebraska. Sorry.
* Comments MUST include your email address so we can find you.

::DC & WEDDING BLOGGERS - please feel free to copy & paste this post on your own blog! The more entries, the more exciting the giveaway will be::

Priscilla of Boston Sample Sale

Still looking for the perfect dress? Head on over to Priscilla of Boston on April 11th for their Sample Sale!

Don't miss out on this amazing sale! Click here to find the location nearest you.

Beau-coup Giveaway @ Weddingbee!

Get yourself on over to Weddingbee, stat! They're giving away a $50 gift certificate to Beau-coup, a really great website that sells adorable wedding favors, labels, and gifts. Here's one of my favorites:I'm sure you can easily find a way to spend $50 there! Make sure you leave a comment by 8pm tonight, though...this one's moving fast.

Upcoming Trunk Shows @ Hitched

We just mentioned the Anna Maier/Ulla-Maija trunk show but thought you might also be interested in these upcoming shows! Here's what Hitched bridal salon has in store for the next few months:

Judd Waddell

February 29th & March 1st

Augusta Jones

March 7th & 8th

Lela Rose

March 14th & 15th

Homa Jewelry and Veils

April 4th & 5th

To schedule an appointment to attend the show, call 202-333-6162 or email appointments@hitchedsalon.com.

Brides Against Breast Cancer Gown Sale

Get ready! The Making Memories Brides Against Breast Cancer gown sale is coming to town! Remember after the last sale in DC their trailer was stolen with $1m worth of gowns inside? They need your help more than ever.

Mark the date on your calendar because you really won't want to miss this. It's a wonderful opportunity to find a fantastic dress at a fantastic price. Plus, you're doing something meaningful for a great organization and it's beneficiaries. If you haven't heard about the BABC sale, here's a quick overview:

This unique opportunity allows brides-to-be a chance to find the gown of their dreams at a remarkable price, while helping to make wishes and memory-making events come true. Most gown prices range from $89 to $799*, including hundreds of beautiful new name brand and designer gowns valued up to $8,000. *Exclusive designer and couture gowns valued up to $20,000 are also available at an incredible 25% to 75% savings.

Thursday, March 20th
**VIP Night! Shop the sale before any other brides. A donation of $75 gets you and a guest in the door. 8pm-10:30pm

Friday, March 21 @ 10am-8pm (FREE)
Saturday, March 22 @ 10am-6pm (FREE)

This year's show will take place at the Crowne Plaza in Tyson's Corner (formerly the Holiday Inn...right off of Rt. 123 by the mall). Proceeds from the sale directly benefit terminally ill women by granting their wishes. You can read more about the sale on their website. We'll see you there!

Giveaway from MK McKenna Photography!

Heard about MK McKenna? Of course you have! She's the one that shot this awesome wedding at the Reagan building this past fall. She also just returned from an amazing trip to Burma...scroll down a tad on her blog to check that out.MK's giving away a free Day in the Life photography session to one lucky family. They'll receive:

*A photo session at your home/park/any place you choose on March 1, 2008 within 60 miles of DC *Hi-resolution CD of 50 images, in both color and b&w *Online digital proofs hosted for 3 months on Pictage.com to share with family & friends *Coffee table book of your favorite 25 images

You must enter by midnight this Friday, February 22. Winners will be announced on the 25th! Check out MK's blog post for entry instructions and more information on the contest. Good luck!

Pose Prints Giveaway @ Weddingbee

Weddingbee is giving away 25 customized 'Couple Cards' from Pose Prints. Check out this Weddingbee post for the rules and to enter. Be sure you do it by 8pm Wednesday!