I am seriously one of the luckiest girls in the world. I have a great job, which I love a lot. I get to work with awesome people, who are more friends than vendors. I get to help pretty events come together like a giant life size puzzle. And my clients are the absolute best. Shannon and James are definitely a fun couple and I knew from the very first moment, when I met Shannon and her mom, that I was going to love everything about the wedding. I was totally right.

Shannon and James are one of those amazing couples that you can just sit back and watch. The way they interact with each other and those around them, is nothing but pure compassion and I was really fortunate to be a part of their wedding day.

The day started off like most weddings that I work on. Generally very smooth, a few little hiccups that need to be worked out, and a level of excitement that surpasses anything anyone can imagine. This day had one tiny little difference… the threat of lots of rain. Which normally would be easy to roll with, but with an outdoor ceremony planned, we were all on high alert. Ready to move chairs indoors at the very last second if need be. I am a true believer of putting good out into the world and getting good back, and Shannon and James sure do put a LOT of good out there. Wouldn’t you know it, after raining for a couple hours on and off, just about an hour before the ceremony start time, the clouds parted, the sun came pouring in and the rain completely stopped. It was PERFECT! We couldn’t have asked for a better day. Honestly. Just look at that view!

Pine Knob Mansion is one of my favorite places for a wedding. I adore the outdoor ceremony area, the perfect patio for cocktails under the stars and the inside just can’t be beat. My very first wedding was held at Pine Knob Mansion, so I think it holds a very special place in my heart. My first wedding and Shannon and James’ wedding had another couple of awesome things in common with each other… I also got to work on both with Dionne of The Shooting Gallery and Mary Ann Ross, the DJ extraordinaire who is on my top 5 list of favorite vendors ever. Fun, right? I also got to work with Liz at The Parsonage for flowers and linens, The Home Bakery for delicious cake and Deux Adore, who provided the hair and makeup. Three more of my favorites!

During the rehearsal, the night before, James came up to me and asked me to call The Parsonage and add a sweet love note into Shannon’s bouquet as a surprise. It was beautiful!

The scratch off lotto tickets and luggage tags that doubled as escort cards really added a sweet touch. James’ Nintendo controller cufflinks were also pretty awesome!

I am a big fan of personal ceremonies and having their family friend officiate was like a breath of fresh air.

I know what you are thinking. Was the cake as tasty as it looked? Absolutely. In fact, as I sliced and packed up individual servings for the guests to take home and all of the leftovers I sent with Shannon’s family, it was hard not to eat a ton of it. I was basically bathing in frosting that night! But it smelled amazing.

These two shots are my favorite. I love the look of the first, but Dionne is the first to actually catch me without my “business” face. This moment, as I helped the flower girls down the aisle, was one of my favorites of the day. Especially since I had Mary Ann by my side to keep the smile coming.

I mean, Come On! Look at this place. How could you not love Pine Knob Mansion?!

Shannon & James, Thank you so much for allowing me to be there to celebrate with you and help everything come together. Working with you for the long time that we did was an absolute joy. I said it often here, but you really did make me feel like a very lucky girl. Congrats on your marriage! I hope life treats you well in the Lonestar State! xo

First, let me start with this… The blogging community never ceases to amaze me. I am overwhelmed with the feeling of compassion that some of my favorite people around the web seem to have and the amount of giving back that happens on an almost daily basis.

Most people that know me, know that I am a night owl. When most people are sound asleep, I am usually catching up on my Google reader, Wish Upon A Wedding, MWEP and other miscellaneous things. While I do these things, I always have the TV on in the background, either with music channels, stupid reality TV shows, or CNN.

On Thursday night, very early into Friday morning, I was catching up on the normal stuff and happened to have the TV set to CNN. I was barely paying attention when a breaking news alert came on informing everyone that a horrible earthquake had just happened in Japan. When I heard that it was an 8.9 I was immediately drawn in. I literally have nightmares about natural disasters more than anything else, so hearing about something so terrifying drew me in and I closed my laptop to give the TV my complete attention. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the TV as I witnessed what soon followed.

8.9 is a really big earthquake. I come from Michigan, so therefore don’t really have any experience with earthquakes at all. I have had family involved in really scary situations in the past, so I am always nervous about the unexpected wrath of Mother Nature. My aunt and cousins were involved in a horrific tornado in Mississippi when I was young, I have family who were very close to where Hurricane Katrina took place but were thankfully not injured or affected. I am always on lookout.

As I watched CNN’s coverage, I was heart broken. As I continued to watch, the worst possible scenario played out over the screen. I watched as a helicopter covered a seemingly small wave take over cities, farmland, and everything in between, from above. When I say “Seemingly small” that is because everything I saw was captured from the air. It wasn’t until I saw the wave spiral into a road side ditch that I realized how mistaken I was. Shortly after, the wave started moving homes and cars like they were toys made of plastic. Eventually, some of those things caught fire and there was a wave of water and fire taking over everything in its path. The most saddening part was seeing cars attempting to flee from something they couldn’t see coming and eventually getting swollowed up whole and tossed around like they were weightless. It was the most helpless I have felt in a long, long time. Not being able to do anything as I watched these people, whom I have never met or known, suffer through one of the greatest tragedies to ever fall upon the Earth. Watching it on LIVE TV!

Now, I am not saying this to make it sound like I personally went through something terrible, but to explain the feeling that I know most of us are feeling right now. After an earthquake, tsunami, nuclear failures, volcanos and everything that followed, these people need our help. It is our part, as a member of the community of Earth, to help in any way we can. Whether you can donate $1 or $100, or can only afford to raise awareness (completely free by the way!) via Facebook, Twitter, blogging and other outlets, it is our duty to help.

A group of bloggers will be participating in a Blogger Day Of Silence, to help raise awareness. If you have a blog, I urge you to do the same. Before then, please share this information to others who may be able to participate or help.

A huge thank you goes out to our friends over at Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours for creating this amazing project.

For Japan With Love.

While trying to type this post, I am quickly learning that finding just the right words is harder than I originally thought. Katie and Ed are two of those people that you can relate to right off the start. During our first consultation, I remember laughing hysterically and listening to some really great stories. I left that meeting feeling like I had hit the lottery! After working together for a few months, and changing our minds on colors a couple of times, Katie and I had developed the perfect backdrop for their beautiful wedding day.

After driving home from their rehearsal, I knew it was going to be an interesting day (in the best way). Their bridal party, friends and family all have the same awesome personality. So much fun, lots of laughs and constant smiles all around.

To top off all of the awesomeness, I got a chance to work with a few of my favorite vendors. The Shooting Gallery rocked the photos, The Parsonage provided the flowers (How gorgeous is that bouquet?!), Elite Entertainment kept the dance floor moving, Rev. Kirk Haas married them, Christine’s Cakes made the yummy cake, hair and makeup was done by Posh, Rochester Limos drove everyone around and Bliss Weddings & Events helped with planning and coordination.

On the day of the wedding, things couldn’t be more relaxed. Honestly, there was no rushing around or huge fires to put out. We did have our hands full with set up and coordination of the day, but once things got moving it was a really great day. The threat of rain in the morning was the only real stress of the day, but that passed and the skies opened up to a bright blue. Here are a few of my favorite details…

Yes, the girls ordered Jimmy John’s before the ceremony. See, I told you they were relaxed!

We went back and forth with a couple of color schemes, but I am really glad we decided on the punchy combo of pink and orange with touches of green in the flowers. The feisty colors really played to Katie & Ed’s personalities.

I remember this moment and exactly how I felt as I watched it unfold. Katie and her dad have a very special relationship and you can see it in these two shots.

There was a LOT of laughter and quite a few tears during the ceremony at conservatory at The Royal Park Hotel. The simplicity of the ceremony, the gorgeous music and the sun pouring through the windows… sigh.

Delicious cake and bumpy cake cupcakes. Swoon! All of you who aren’t in SE Michigan probably don’t know what bumpy cake is and I feel so terrible for you! PS… I had my reception at The San Marino Club, too! The food and service is always outstanding.

Just a little side note, those who know me, know I love my phone and Twitter. Ed was live tweeting throughout the day, and Katie even left me a little tweet once everything was said and done. Seriously, I love these two.

They climbed a tree. On their wedding day. Enough said.

I really hope you enjoy these photos half as much as I enjoyed working with the new Mr. & Mrs.! Katie & Ed, if you are ever in the ‘hood, please call me up. I miss working with you and know that your marriage is going to be filled with lots of laughs, great stories and a world of experiences. Please stay in touch! xo

Big thanks to Dionne from The Shooting Gallery for sharing these photos. Please visit her website and blog. You will love her work, I basically guarantee it!

Weddings are a time for celebration, excitement, love and personality. All of those are very important, but this isn’t one of those posts. It is time to BE REAL.

Photo by Bates Photographic from the awesomely personalized wedding of Melissa & Todd

There are hundreds of thousands of weddings around the world every year. A few thousand of those are featured on blogs, websites, in magazines, and spread around like wildfire via Facebook, Twitter and other social addictions. It is pretty obvious which trends are in and which ones are out, but did you notice how quickly that seems to change recently? The speed that these mustache holding, “vintage modern”, DIY, cupcake towered, candy buffet having, tea party looking events go out of style blows my mind. Don’t get me wrong, each one of those things can be beautiful. My question is… Is it really you that you are planning for? Or are you planning for the blogs and magazines?

1. Sure, we all love to look at the gorgeous pictures of the mismatched chairs and twinkle light filled trees, but we also have to get a grip on what is right for us. We need to keep in mind that these shoots may be staged and, even if they are real weddings, may be WAY out of our budgets. It is important to do your research and really learn what you can get for what you can afford. Trust me, if I had an unlimited budget, I could spend $200,000 in about an hour without blinking. Should I spend $200,000? No way in hell. If you dig yourself a huge hole filled with debt before your marriage, you will spend a huge chunk of your newly minted relationship in a whole lot of stress that you just don’t need. Be real with your budget.
2. Just because we see something we like, doesn’t mean we’ve found something that is right. I am personally not a fan of overly frilly and girly details. The “tea party” theme is all the rage right now. If I were to do that and my friends all showed up, they would probably come over to check my pulse and temperature. Those details are great for some, but wouldn’t fit my own personality at all. If you pick a theme or motif that isn’t really you, your guests will be left with a feeling of disconnect and will probably wonder what was really going on. Just because the blogs say this theme is awesome, or that theme is the best, doesn’t mean it is right for you. Be real with your personality.
3. If you are a bride who has always been considered a Tom Boy, or a groom who is more of a lumberjack than an executive, pay attention to your style for the event. If you don’t typically wear a ton of makeup, DON’T! Instead, wear just enough. The most important thing you can remember is to be yourself. That is the love of your life standing across from you. If they can’t even recognize you, how are your guests supposed to? Be real with your style.
4. Throw out your old ideas of what a wedding should be and get with the program. Today’s events are filled to the brim with personality and unique details that make them the perfect representation of the couple who is being celebrated. Just because brides are supposed to wear veils, doesn’t mean you have to. Or because most grooms wear a tux, doesn’t mean you can’t wear something a little more comfortable. Be REAL. Period.

Why, yes, they do!

Anthropologie recently announced that they will be launching their new line of bridal gowns on, of course, February 14th! The new project is called BHLDN. What do you think of these gowns? I am personally a huge fan of Anthropologie, but have heard some mixed reviews on the new dresses.

Images via Glamour.com

It is that time of year again! Can you believe it?

We all look through photos on different websites and blogs, right? So, I thought it would be a great idea to recognize the talent of the many photographers who work so hard to create the inspiring masterpieces we drool over every day.

The Third Annual Bliss Photo of the Year Contest in on (!!!) and I couldn’t be more excited. Last year, we had almost 10,000 readers checking out the 400 submitted photos and over 5,000 votes to name the top photos of the year. Almost TRIPLE the attention that we had the year before. I was shocked by the turn out! This year will be a little more structured, thanks to the insane number of emails and submissions received last year. We had photos from all over the United States and a number of submissions from all around the world, including South Africa, Ireland and Canada, to name a few.

So, photographers, let’s do this! Read the rules below to learn how you could have THE BLISS PHOTO OF THE YEAR! We have three categories this year; Engagement, Michigan, and Global. All should be pretty self-explanatory, but please leave a comment on this post if you have any questions, or Tweet me on Twitter (@BlissAmanda) and I will be sure to get an answer to you. Please remember to follow these rules closely. If you don’t, your submission may be disqualified.

Please feel free to share this contest with photographers. The more submissions we have, the merrier! The official #hashtag for this contest is #blissphotocontest. Check back often for contest updates and the beautiful artwork from some amazing photographers! You can see past contest posts by clicking HERE.

Last year’s winners…

Bryan Rupp Photography – First place in Global Weddings

Flashes of Life Photography – First place in Michigan Weddings

Derek Cookson Photography – First place in Engagement

Rules:

• Photo must have been taken in 2010.
• Only professional photographers can submit a photo, or the couple featured in the professional photograph, with written permission from the photographer.
• May NOT be from an inspiration shoot.
• Only one photo per category per photographer may be submitted.
• Must be submitted by midnight on February 10, 2011
• Send all submissions to blissphotooftheyear@gmail.com
• Email must contain the following:
  • Please TITLE your email with the category you are submitting to (Engagement, Michigan, Global) and your company name. For example: Engagement: Bliss Weddings & Events
  • Company Name, Location and website
  • Photographer’s first and last name
  • Name of Couple, Wedding Date if applicable, Location of shoot
  • A brief explanation of the photo
  • Which category you are submitting for
  • Please send photo as an attachment, do NOT paste in email
• If any of these rules are not followed, your submission will not qualify.

Process:

• All submissions will be received by Midnight on February 10, 2011
• A panel of judges will rate each photo and the Top 10 in each category will be featured for public voting
• Each category will have a week of public voting and the Top 3 will be announced

*Dates subject to change without notice.

Our gorgeous contest logo was created by Meant To Be Creative. Please do us a favor and visit her website! You can also follow her on twitter @Meant2bcreative and @Meanttobesent on Twitter.

Whenever this time of year rolls around, most of us start thinking about where we have been in the past 12 months, what has changed, what has stayed the same and where we hope the next year will take us. It is only fitting that I put together a little list of the ups and downs of 2010, followed by a list of goals and hopes for 2011. It is seriously going to take me all year to get used to typing 2011… I just got used to writing 2010 on everything! Who is with me?

I call 2010 the “Year of Roller Coasters” for so many different reasons. No, I didn’t head to any theme parks, but I did enjoy my fair share of ups and downs. Thankfully, there were way more ups than there were downs. I think we will focus on the positives only here, so we can leave the year on a happy note!

Photo by: Bates Photographic

2010 Loves:

• Lots of new babies for family and friends.
• Beautiful weddings, both professional and personal.
• Wonderful people. Countless wonderful people.
• Crazy circumstances that we can only look back and laugh about.
• Growth and change that inevitably comes with age and the feeling that life is only getting better as we grow.
• A few really great vacations, including the “Girls Trip” I took with my Mom and sisters.
• Making Things Happen 2010
• My very first speaking engagements and taking the role of teacher.
• Taking the role of President of the Michigan Chapter Board of Directors of Wish Upon a Wedding.
• Expanding the biz.

2011 Hopes:

• Continued growth.
• More celebration.
• Epicness. Yes, Epicness.
• Discovery and education.
• Babies. Lots of babies.
• Making mistakes and taking them as lessons.
• More time for myself with friends and family.
• Tons of dancing, either in my living room or out in public. I didn’t dance enough this year! :)

What are your hopes for 2011? Or your favorite moments from 2010? I would LOVE to hear them!

While this time of year brings holiday cheer, time with friends and family, twinkling lights and cozy nights filled with hot cocoa, it can also bring the gloom and general blahness (yes, I made that up!) of winter. The days are shorter and there is a lot less sunshine to brighten up your day. So why not add a little spice to those darker nights with an adorable pair of these Santa Baby panties from Events by September’s Bride!

Here is how you can win a pair of these super adorable undies, delivered to you in your size of choice:

• For your chance to win, you must enter by December 22nd at 11:59pm EST and live in the United States.
• You can enter 3 different ways.
  • Comment here with your favorite accessory for winter time! Make sure to leave your email address so I have a way to contact you.
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet the following… “Santa Baby, leave me something sassy under the tree! (via @BlissAmanda) http://www.yourblissblog.com“
  • Head on over to The Bliss Facebook page and leave us a comment your favorite holiday memory.

I can’t wait to send these beauties out to our lucky winner! Make sure to check back in January for a HUGE giveaway series that we have planned for you. Happy Holidays!

These two are finally married, and I realized that I never had a chance to share their super cozy and cute engagement photos! These totally adorable engagement shots were taken by their photographer, the always awesome Alison Bates, of Bates Photographic. I love these shots and can’t wait to share their wedding photos!

I LOVE Cupcakes. Everything about them. They are easy to handle, the perfect portion and oh-so cute! When I was thinking about the delicious desserts that were to be featured in our inspiration shoot, my mind immediately went to simple, sweet and charming details. I wanted to feature adorable cupcakes, a DIY looking cake, colorful drinks and lots of variety. Thankfully, Robyn new exactly the person to assign the cake making duties. Kerri, from Cherry Chip, is seriously creative! I cannot believe how spot on her designs for the cake and cupcakes were (and super delicious, by the way!).

Kerri mixed the perfect hues of pink and blue and created a very DIY inspired single layer cake. What is your favorite element? Mine are the little white dots on the cupcakes!

For the drinks, I had to have pink and blue, with a punch of red. That was definite. I went with a pink lemonade and a blue punch and mixed in some fruit and berries. They both tasted delicious, until they were heated by the million degree sun all day!

Robyn also created a cute little candy buffet for an added bit of sweetness. Mix that with some vintage Faygo and super cute details, and you have PERFECTION, my friends.

Photos by Nicole Ladonne Photography

If you’ve met me, I am sure we have discussed my obsession with paper at one point or another. This obsession definitely led to huge excitement when I got to ask my dear friend, Robyn (Meant To Be Sent) to design all of our fabulous cotton candy inspired paper goods for the recent inspiration shoot. The moment she sent me the mock ups, I was hooked. I can’t even begin to tell you how anxious I was to see it all in person. Everything Robyn creates is absolutely gorgeous, from invitations with real birch bark to peacock themed goods with actual feathers! If you haven’t seen her work yet, you simply must.

My favorite paper item of the shoot is the circular menu that is meant to be set in the actual plate. Not only did it fit perfectly, the amazing assortment of creations she brought along were exactly what I had envisioned!

Photos by Nicole Ladonne Photography

One of my favorite parts about our Style Me Pretty shoot, was definitely the absolutely adorable couple that so sweetly offered to model for us. My goal with the shoot was to make it feel as natural as possible, and by using a real life married couple as our bride and groom really hit that goal home. Not only were they super awesome, Allison actually MADE HER DRESS (!!!) the night before the shoot. Crazy, right?

I am so completely in love with the photos from Nicole Ladonne Photography and can’t help but smile every time I see the love in Allison and Seth’s eyes. Please enjoy the warm fuzzies below!