Photo Credit: Braedon Photography

They moved on to a more rural area for the second half of the shoot to get some shots with a romantic, countryside feel. Take a look!

Photo Credit: Braedon Photography

Thanks for sharing Heidi and Todd’s engagement photos with us, Braedon!

Photo Credit: Sean Watkins

What inspired you to start your business?
A few things…
I quit a great job working in the television industry after my dad’s advice of throwing caution to the wind and “doing what makes me happiest” for a career. I soon realized baking and being a business owner was what I was meant to do. I quit my job, went to culinary school to become a pastry chef and started a dessert baking company which evolved into Vanilla Bake Shop in 2007 with my husband. Haven’t looked back since!

Photo Credit: Vanilla Bake Shop

What options for customization do you offer?
What makes our cake team so awesome, is that they all have artistic backgrounds. The skies the limit with the customization we can do. Recently we were asked by Grace of ‘Grace Ormonde Wedding Style’ magazine to create an Asian inspired cake. Two of our lead designers worked on it together. Yuko handled the beautiful sketch and design, while Kim made the cake & hand painted Tsuru birds in traditional Japanese Sumi-e style of painting with real Sumi-e brushes.

Photo Credit: Vanilla Bake Shop

If you could give one tip to couples planning a wedding, what would it be?
When it comes to the cake, be creative!! Couples should have fun with their cake and weave personal touches into it. This will likely be the most extravagant cake they will ever have in their life, so it should taste incredible and reflect their personalities. One of my favorite cakes we made was 5 tiers with the couples names and wedding date hand painted in gold Edwardian script with each tier being a different flavor. They wanted enough cake so each guest could have 2 slices, one at the wedding and one boxed up as their favor to take home!

Photo Credit: Vanilla Bake Shop

What is one thing that most people don’t know about your biz or you?
Most people don’t know that we are baking 24hrs a day at our bakery. If you knock on the back door of our kitchen, there will always be somewhere there! Something about me, is that I grew up riding motorcycles and shooting guns with my dad and brothers! Its been a while since I’ve gone riding, but if you happen to stall your motorcycle, I know how to fix it! Or, if there’s a gun fight showdown I have some good odds.

What is your one must have item/tool to have while you’re working?
My iphone. I text, email, listen to music and conduct most of our business through it. When we opened our second bakery this summer I accidentally dropped it and shattered the face. I felt like a cave man without it, completely out of touch. It’s part of my body now.

If you had to chose one word that would describe you/your business, what would it be?
Evolving!

5 Things that Make You Happy?
1. Our 1yr old Max’s smile! (with his 4 teeth)
2. My husbands Chicken Parmesan
3. Noodles, our dog
4. Coffeemate
5. Paris!

Photo Credit: Kimberlee Miller Photography

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Messina Photography

Photo Credit: Hazelnut Photography

Photo Credit: Teness.com

Photo Credit: Jason Herring

Photo Credit: Vanilla Bake Shop

Photo Credit: Velvet Owl

Velvet Owl Bridal Couture is back with another great giveaway for WedLoft readers! Tina, owner of Velvet Owl, designs gorgeous veils and hair accessories for the modern bride. Bridal veils, fascinators, headbands… all beautifully handmade with custom touches for your wedding day. Check out the giveaway details below and enter for your chance to win $75 to the Velvet Owl shop!

Photo Credit: Velvet Owl

Photo Credit: Velvet Owl

Photo Credit: Velvet Owl

Photo Credit: Velvet Owl

Giveaway Details: One winner will receive a $75 credit that can be used toward any item(s) in the Velvet Owl shop. For items that exceed that amount, the winner may pay the difference. If item is not ready-made, production time is 3-5 weeks.

To enter for a chance to win, simply comment on this post! You may comment as frequently as once per day through Tuesday, February 14 by 11:59 pm EST. You can ALSO do any of the following to increase your chances of winning:

• Tweet about this giveaway
• Follow @WeddingWindow on Twitter
• Like Wedding Window and/or this giveaway on Facebook
• Like Velvet Owl on Facebook or Follow Velvet Owl on Twitter
• Post about this giveaway on Facebook
• Share this giveaway on StumbleUpon, Digg or Delicious

Make sure to come back and leave a separate comment for EACH action you take. Please include links to your posts, tweets etc. when possible. Good luck!

*Email addresses in comments will ONLY be used to contact the winner.  They will not be shared with the public or used for promotional purposes. It is only necessary to enter your email address into the email field and not in your comment. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, February 15.

Photo Credit: Tree and Kimball

The winner of the Tree & Kimball giveaway contest is Virginia Jimenez . Congratulations! Her winning comment that was submitted on 02/07/12 and selected in a random drawing is: “such beautiful necklaces!! I love lace <3” Lisa from Tree and Kimball will be in touch with you shortly to discuss your necklace choice and to get your shipping info.

Another exciting giveaway contest is coming up later today.  Check back in to enter for more chances to win!

Photo Credit: Design Sponge

Box up a bottle of wine, small glasses, sweet treats, tea lights and tissue paper flowers… and you have yourself a wonderful little kit for a romantic night with your valentine!

Photo Credit: Design Sponge

Click Here to see all the details on Design Sponge

Another fun DIY Valentine project from Design Sponge is the Valentine Lightbulb!

Photo Credit: Design Sponge

Find the tutorial HERE.

For a more personal touch, create a collage for your valentine!

Photo Credit: Design Sponge

Click here for the tutorial!

For More DIY Valentine ideas (that you can get done over the weekend if you’re honey isn’t home!), check out this list of 101 Handmade Valentine’s Day Ideas from Everything Etsy!

Photo Credit: EverythingEtsy.com

Photo Credit: PhoenixEventPlanning.blogspot.com

Most brides are so consumed with planning their wedding day that the other bridal events get left in the dust. Think about having a themed engagement party or bridal shower. Themed parties are just so much fun for all guests. Your family and friends will surely love it.

Photo Credit: FrostedEventsBlog

When planning a luau party, make sure you have mini umbrellas for your cocktails, lays for every guest to wear, and party fans for a giveaway. Make sure to create luau themed desserts for all your guests, like shell shaped cookies and cupcakes with bright flowers. From details to centerpieces and decor, this shower theme can easily be achieved!

How would you plan a luau?

Photo credit: Wendy Hithe Photography

Photo credit: Ditzie Cakes

Photo credit: Wedding By Color

Photo credit: Halderman

Photo credit: Creative Theme Wedding Ideas

Photo credit: Sophies Favors

Photo credit: Favors & Flowers

Photo Credit: Bellenza.com

Photo Credit: PhoenixEventPlanning.blogspot.com

Happy Planning

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Congratulations Jenny & Josh!

Photo Credit: Justine Johnson Photography

Vendors
Photographer: Justine Johnson Photography
Jenny’s dress: Vows, Watertown, MA
Bridesmaid dresses: J. Crew
Hair/Makeup: Terry West, Zukas Spa Services
Josh’s suit and groomsmen suits: Men’s Wearhouse
Catering: Zukas Hilltop Barn
Cake: Hillside Cakes
Flowers: Holmes-Shusas Florist
Paper Goods: DIY by the bride, Jenny (Dig My Design)
Centerpiece flowers: LaSalle Florist
DJ: Ron Hernandez, C-Zone Music

Attention Wedding Photographers: If you are interested in sharing your real weddings on WedLoft, we are currently accepting submissions via Two Bright Lights!

Photo Credit: Whipperberry.com

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, this is the perfect occasion to set aside a little time to celebrate your love! Today I thought I’d share a sweet little DIY Valentine from Heather over at Whipperberry.com. This is an adorable project that can be done on a budget with few supplies.

easy valentine tutorial

Photo Credit: Whipperberry.com

For this project you melt crayon bits into little heart-shaped molds and tie them to paper heart cards that read – you color my world. A simple and sweet valentine! Jump over to Whipperberry for the full tutorial! Thanks Heather!

Photo Credit: Whipperberry.com

Photo Credit: Whipperberry.com

(PS… these would also make super cute wedding favors!)

Wooden Hearts

Photo Credit: DazzlingExpressions

Card Catalog

Photo Credit: Cutthecakedesigns

Wall Art Guest Book

Photo Credit: SuzyShoppe

Wood Ornamets

Photo Credit: LeaJoelleHandmade

Puzzle

Photo Credit: CustomDogBandanas

Traditional

Photo Credit: ModernShabby

Thumbprint Wedding Tree

Photo Credit: Jenniferjdesigns

Wishing Stones

Photo Credit: ThePaperyNook

Message in a Bottle

Photo Credit: GracefullySouthern

What kind of guest book will you be using at your wedding?

Photo Credit: Ben & Mindy

The Concept
Mindy: I’m the writer. Ben, my fiancé, is the creative artist. So when it came to making our Save the Date, we knew it would be unique. My fiancé and I are both in marketing and we tossed around a few ideas, but none that really stuck. We decided to hold off on making a Save the Date, due to a case of “writer’s block.” : ) The idea of a literal “save the date” just hit me one day at work …and I mean, who doesn’t love a good pun? It seemed impossible to convey that story in just a picture, so that’s when this thing really took off and we thought about making a video. I sent my fiancé an email one day at work with an entire script written out about a story line of boy sees girl, girl loses dog, boy saves dog, boy marries girl. But in this case, dog meant date. Our good friend is insanely crafty and made our wedding date numbers almost overnight.

That’s when my fiancé and his production company came into play and turned my elementary idea into something everyone could relate to and love! We filmed it throughout St. Louis one Saturday, and it was important to us to get a lot of different locations shot in this  video, locations that we love in our city.

The Wedding Planning So Far…
This is a wedding, not a funeral. That is the approach Ben and I have taken to planning it. We love each other and want everyone to see that. At the end of the day, it’s not about the center pieces, it’s not about the DJ, and it’s not about coordinating our wedding colors. At the end of the day, all we want is to have our little life together. But we’re totally down for one big party before we get started! When we feel like we’re getting stressed, we stop. We take a time out – we put it off and focus on us. Nothing about this wedding is so important that it should cause a fight. We promised each other the day we got engaged that this wedding would never become more of a priority than our relationship. And we’ve kept our promise.