Click here for more information

Always a Bridesmaid is partnering with the Morgan’s Hotel to host the swankiest, most inspiring, Fantasy Shower a girl could dream of.  Sip champagne on the terrace of the Penthouse Suite at the Morgan’s.  Get special treats from Agent Provocateur, awesome ideas for gifts and games from Melangerie, and learn how to create gorgeous, simple floral displays from Jessy Wolvek of Fleurs.

If you RSVP before April 13th with the code BLOGSMAID, your entry is complimentary courtesy of Always a Blogsmaid (the blog of Always a Bridesmaid).  Click here to register.

I know first hand how hard and expensive it is not to have health insurance here in the United States.  With the unemployment rate at its highest, more people lost their health insurance.  The drugstore Walgreens has started a program that offers free healthcare to those who lost their jobs and health insurance.

Walgreens opens its 341 Take Care clinics to people who lost their jobs after March 31, 2009, including spouses and children who don’t have health insurance.  Patients can be tested and treated at the Take Care clinics for minor ailments such as respiratory problems, allergies, infections and skin conditions, among other ailments.  Prescriptions, however, are not free.  The clinics open Monday throuh Friday from 11am to 3pm.  The program is expected to run through the end of 2009.

The New York Wedding Workshop Signature Event
February 28, 2009
11am – 3:30pm

You’re invited to the most stylish bridal event of the season! Lindsay  Landman Events and The Knot have teamed up to bring New York couples the most creative, innovative and smart way to plan your sophisticated City soirees. Meet and learn from the best wedding vendors in the biz in a relaxed, creative and inspirational atmosphere. Get your planning questions answered at the panel discussions moderated by top bridal editors and experience the finest cuisine, cocktails and decor New York has to offer.  For more info, visit www.nyweddingworkshop.com.

EVENT AGENDA
11am:
Custom vendor consultations, cuisine and cocktails begin and continue throughout the day
12pm to 12:45pm:
Panel Discussion: Wedding Style & Trends Moderated by Anne Chertoff, wedding expert and author of The Wedding Organizer
12:45pm to 1:15pm:
Informal fashion show featuring bridal, bridesmaid and everyday style
1:15pm to 2pm:
Panel Discussion: Bridal Beauty & Fashion Moderated by Heather Levine, Fashion and Beauty Editor, The Knot
2pm to 3:30pm:
More fantastic finds and food as well as goodies and gifts.

TheXChange
At The Terminal Stores
640 West 28th Street, 9th Floor
New York City

FREE tickets are offered at Brenda’s Wedding Blog and From “I Will” to “I Do”.

Regular tickets are $85/couple or $65/person.  Enter FRIEND1 at checkout to receive $30 off.

Isn’t it exciting to know that you can transform your very own handwriting into a font?  You don’t have to create notes or documents using those common standard fonts anymore.  You can now easily create digital notes with your own handwriting, adding a more personal touch.

So you ready to get your own handwriting font?  Kevin and Amanda’s Fonts for Peas offer this service for FREE!

You can also head on to Font Garden to get your font created.

There are plenty of ways a bride can find ideas and inspirations for her wedding. And I will not allow myself to spend a cent to do this. The magazines below are just some that I’ve gotten for free. Others I already gave to a friend.

Below are some ways to get ideas for your wedding at no cost:

• Go online! The world wide web is populated with tons of wedding websites where you can get plenty of ideas and inspirations for your wedding. Visit wedding sites, blogs, forums and photo sites. A few of my favorites are Brides.com, Snippet and Ink, Southern Weddings Mag, The Bride’s Cafe, Flickr. Click here for a complete list.
• Attend bridal shows or expos. Besides getting ideas from the event itself, you can also get free wedding magazines. I don’t go to events that I have to pay for. There are a lot of events that are free. If the event is not free, search online for coupons or ticket giveaways. Weddingwire.com has an extensive list of events and promotions. Wedding blogs often host contests and giveaways.
• Ask previous brides for ideas and if they want to get rid of their wedding magazines. Don’t just ask the people you know, join forums too. TheKnot forums has local boards which makes it easy to find brides in your area.
• Sign up at your local online wedding guide if any. I signed up at www.yournewportwedding.com and I received a lot of helpful info including the Newport Wedding Magazine.
• Ask vendors when you meet with them. Vendors sometimes receive complimentary copies of magazines that they can give their current and future clients.
• Browse through magazine racks. All you need is to see an idea or inspiration. You don’t need to take it home and stare at it, do you? If you think you won’t remember, jot it down or take a picture.

Tip: Take a note of where you get your inspirations from. I find myself going back to my sources for more info on those ideas I liked. For example, Brides.com usually has a note for each photo that includes where the materials were obtained and MarthaStewartWeddings.com has instructions on some of their ideas.

If you got the idea online, instead of just saving the photo, favorite the site or use tools like Polyvore.com. Plumeria Bud of BridalBuds has a list of online tools you can use. If you found the idea in an event or publication, take a photo. In addition, if you post the ideas online, you’ll be able to credit your sources.

Where do you get your ideas and inspirations from?

We’re in a technology boom and more and more engaged couples now have their own wedding websites.  Wedding websites can be very useful to guests.  These websites usually include detailed info about the wedding and other events, travel info for out-of-town guests, gift registry, and even an RSVP form.

While there are a lot of sites that offer wedding website services and hosting for a fee, there are equally as many sites that offer it for free.  Below are some that I know of:
www.weddingwire.com - my top choice
www.mywedding.com
www.weddingannouncer.com
www.projectwedding.com
www.brides.com
www.theknot.com
www.momentville.com
www.ewedding.com

Unfortunately, I couldn’t customize the free websites as much as I want to.  So I decided to use one that I’m familiar with - the blog platform WordPress.

Read on…