I have a crazy habit of bookmarking EVERYTHING when I am online. I probably have at least 200 different websites in 20 different lists. One of my most insanely jam-packed lists is my Blog This! list. It is where I stash any and everything that I think you might love as much as me (and forget about it for a month or so). Since the list just keeps growing, I thought I might as well share a few of my favorites. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

And to add to the excitement a little, I decided that this edition of Blog This! will cater to my need for inspiration this holiday season. Enjoy!

1. Rock It Out! The ALWAYS amazing Anne Ruthmann posted a super cute idea for holiday inspired photobooth ideas! I am seriously considering this for our next holiday bash!

2. Shop It Out! I came across this wonderful store, called Jamali Garden Supplies, while searching the Hostess With The Mostess blog. Love it. Love it. Love it! So many ideas can be used for holiday entertaining or even wedding decor!

3. Give It Out! So many blogs are having contests right now. It must be the holiday spirit taking over the world of the web. Check out Bon Appetit for a holiday Envy bake-off, Grooms Advice is giving way a totally fun gift for the man in your life, and Memorable Gifts is hosting a Twitter contest and giving away a $20 gist code!

4. Share the Love. Design Sponge, one of my fave blogs around, posted a great list of gift ideas under $100. Check it out here.

5. Cook Some Love. I am dying to try this Raspberry Chocolate Tart from Kaboose!

Have you seen any great holiday inspired ideas, blog posts or articles? Share the love with us by leaving a comment below! Happy December!

I am feeling the need to share! My fantabulous sister introduced me to the amazing world of Lush Handmade Cosmetics and I have to spread the love. Between the bath bombs, shower pucks, and everything else in their delicious smelling line of products, you are sure to find the PERFECT component to your everyday shower routine. Not only is it super creative, it is all organic. You can get clean while you go green!

..and this sampling can be all yours! All $60 worth of it!

Here is what you have to do: (Completing one will give  you one entry, two will give you two, three gives you three and four gives you four entries and lots of karma points!)

1. Visit the Lush website and leave us a comment about which of the fabulous products you’d be most interested in trying.

2. Head over to Twitter and copy this phrase exactly… “RT @BlissAmanda Clean and Green, Bliss makes me Lush. http://www.yourblissblog.com”

3. Become a fan and post a note on our Bliss Facebook Fan Page with your favorite thing about The Bliss Blog.

4. Post a link to our contest on your blog!

You can complete these in any order or any combination. The contest will be open until November 30th at Midnight. On December 2nd, a name will be randomly chosen and the winner will be posted here on The Bliss Blog. If we don’t hear back in 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen at random. (And so on…)

Oh, and just to relate this contest to weddings (you know I have to!), Lush is now offering the perfect favors for your bridal shower or even gifts for your bridesmaids! I can picure the smiling faces now. You can thank me later. ;)

After the hundreds of votes and hours of tabulating… We have a WINNER! Our Wedding Photo of the Year was taken by the fabulous Sybrand Cillié of Pro Photography! Congrats Sybrand!

The second place photo was taken by our local fab photog Nicole Blair, of Nicole Ladonne Photography! Congrats Nicole!

And finally, our third place photo was taken by Jeffery Simms, of Jeffrey Simms Photo. Also, a local photographer! Go Michigan! :)

Congrats to all of our winners and to all of the amazing photographers that submitted their photos. I was blown away by your talent and I know our Bliss readers would say the same thing. You are all fabulous in our book!

Well, after long nights and crazy mishaps, the new Bliss Weddings & Events site is finally up and running! I owe a HUGE “Thank You” to Alison Bates from Bates Photographic. She has come through in a big way and has literally been my superhero!

With this new design comes many other new things! A new logo, new specials, new packages, and a brand spankin’ new outlook on how Bliss will be run. This means so many great things to our clients, both current and potential! This is the best and most exciting time to be a member of the Bliss family. Thank you all for being patient while the website was down and for supporting us in the million ways that you all have. I am so excited about what is to come in the future. I can  barely contain myself! If you want more information, please feel free to email me!

The next week will be a crazy one! I will be heading out to Grand Rapids tomorrow for a special visit with Aletha, of Pearls Events, and a few other special vendors. MWEP is growing by leaps and bounds, so I will be focusing a lot of my time on getting everything in order and planning our upcoming meet-up. The Pay It Forward giveaway has become a giant undertaking, but with the help of so many wonderful wedding and event companies, I know it will be a great success. Keep an eye out for our video all about how you can enter to win the wedding of your dreams. It is going to be BIG! I honestly couldn’t do this wthout Nicole Ladonne Photography, Jamie Honce Productions and Gina’s Bridal.

In the last few weeks, we have booked some really great couples for 2009 and 2010. I can’t wait for their big days and to post all of their beautiful details and pictures here on the Bliss Blog. They are seriously amazing! You will love it!

Now onto the blog, I know I haven’t posted much, but if you could see my Outlook Calendar, you would understand why! We are adding to our staff this week, so you can expect to see some new material very soon. We also moved our blog to a new location. So loyal readers, add it to your google reader, change your bookmark…. do whatever you need to do to see our newest posts and information. This is going to be a big move!

Click on the “VOTE NOW!” link at the top of this page to vote for your favorite!

After months of emails, photos, contacts and organization, our Wedding Photo of the Year contest is finally under way! Please take a moment to vote for your favorite by using the poll at the bottom of that page. You can only chose one, so make sure you pick the best! These photos were taken all over the world, by many different photographers, of unique couples and weddings. These are the Top 17. Best of luck to all of the finalists and thank you for all of the amazing submissions. It was very difficult to narrow it down from 125 to these final 17. :)

The deadline for voting is February 10, 2009. I will announce the winners on Valentine’s Day (Feb 14th).

**Note: This post will stick to the front page until December 2008. All new posts will carry on under this one.**

We all LOVE seeing photos of real weddings, don’t we? Why not celebrate the fabulous photographers out there with a good old fashioned contest!

Announcing Bliss Weddings’ First Annual

Wedding Photo Of The Year Contest!

The details are simple. Just send a photo, our readers will vote, and a winner will be announced on December 1st, 2008! Whether you are a photographer, a bride, a mother of the groom, or just a big fan, send us your favorite photograph from a 2008 wedding to amanda{at}yourblissweddings.com. We will randomly chose 5 of your favorites and post them during the month of November. The votes will be tallied and the winner will be announced on December 1st, 2008. Please also include the photographer’s name, company, website and contact information so we can let our readers know where to find the creator of the fabulous work of art. Also include the date and location of the event, the names of the bride and groom and anyone else that deserves credit. All photos must be entered by November 1, 2008 to be considered. Good luck!

Don’t forget to enter our very first give away! See details below. Good luck!

A special gift for you!

I love when companies and bloggers give away great prizes and gifts, especially when these gifts are given to people who really deserve them. So here is our first attempt at a give-away!!!!

Bliss Weddings has decided to give away one “Day-of Coordination“ package!

This is a $500 value, absolutely FREE!

Here are the rules:

• Your event must take place within 30 miles of Brighton, MI 48116
• See our “Pure Simplicity” package on our website for details
• You must submit an email to Bliss Weddings (see the “contact us” section for email address) explaining the moment you knew you had found the person you would potentially spend the rest of your life with, along with a favorite photo of you and your significant other and the details of the upcoming big day
• You can submit for yourself or another couple who you feel deserves this prize
• All entries must be submitted by July 28, 2008 to be considered
• Not available to current Bliss Weddings’ clients
• Prizes can not be sold and must be used within reasonable time limit
• I will randomly pick three finalists on July 28, 2008 at 10pm Eastern and a winner will be chosen by votes. The voting will begin July 29, 2008 and end August 2, 2008. The winner will be announced on the 4th of August!

Good luck everyone! I really look forward to reading all of your entries and finding the winner to our very first contest!