I don’t know about you but somehow everyone around me is getting married! Its good for my business but all the wedding gifts, dresses, cards, bridal showers, engagement parties, and bachelorette parties have me in a whirlwind. I’ve become quite the creative gift giver over the years. Here are my lists for gift giving for the various bridal events.
Engagement Party:
1. Bianca’s Gourmet Foods – They make organic, fresh, and natural appetizers and condiments. All the ingredients are local or from Italy and Greece. I gave the Mediterranean Spread to my vegan friend who recently got engaged (hi Leila!) and she loved it! These make really good appetizers for parties and picnics as well. I’m planning on serving the Caponata with some pita bread at the beach this weekend. These jars also make great birthday presents, I gave the Orange Apple Cranberry Chutney to my friend for her birthday since I’m deathly allergic to cranberries 🙁
2. Loose leaf tea by Village Tea Company – I love loose leaf tea and I love their white tea. I drink a glass of tea everyday, whether its hot or cold. I’ve been brewing my own iced tea lately with their white tea and it is perfect. Not too overbearing in taste. Tea is good for health and the case of this tea is super cute.
Bridal Shower:
1. Cosmetic case by Japanese brand Seisuke 88 – I went to the Japan Street Fair a couple weeks ago and picked up gifts for my friends’ birthday and my vegan bride friend. I have been on this green, organic, locally-made boat that I really wanted to get something truly unique. I picked two different cosmetic cases from Seisuke 88. It is a brand based in Kyoto, I was in Kyoto last summer and loved the artistic and cultural nature of that city.
Bachelorette Party:
1. La Rocca skincare – With 24k gold infused into their skincare, I would definitely recommend giving their Cocoa Gold Vitamin Mask with Encapsulated Bio-Actives. It makes the skin glow after just one use.
Wedding gift:
1. Money in a Chinese red packet – I’m Chinese and weddings can only mean one thing for gifts, Money put inside red packets called Hong Bao.
2. If money is too tactless for you, I would recommend finding out where the couple is registered and getting one of those gifts. Williams-Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Bloomingdales, Pottery Barn, Michael C. Fina, Saks Fifth Avenue, are good places to start if the couple is not registered anywhere.
Another great wedding gift idea is a gift set from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com. I bought several this summer and they were all very well received!
I like the wedding gift idea of specialty tea. There are many companies out there to choose from. Maybe it’s not a gift that will last but it will encourage the health of the couple and give them a chance to have some celebration of their time together.
Wonderful finds here! Also, I found something interesting I thought I would share…from something I wrote this month…
DÉCOR TIPS & QUIPS from AlphabetPIX.com
Bringing Out Your Inner BOLD!
Bill Blass said, “Style is primarily a matter of instinct.†Decorating takes on a new meaning for each individual. Clever and chic for Janie may be yesterday’s yawn-fest for Carol. Different tastes in décor mean different furniture, artwork and color palettes. So what is the rule of thumb for making your place zing if it’s not a certain style, pattern, or color?
Bold, baby! Bring on the bold!
Boldly say what you want to say when designing a room. Make a statement and let your personality shine through. If you go in for the palest blues to soothe and relax, add a custom zing to make it pop! Love black and white photography? Maybe even some of that ultra-hot photo alphabet wall art in black and white? Splash in some passionate pink or revved up red on the wall to make it sizzle.
No longer are walls content with neutral shades. Any color of the palette goes! Splash on muted melons or eccentric eggplants with savvy sage. Classic colors cozy up with velvety crimsons and Dijon yellows. Color is fantastically bold and beautiful! Rich textured throws, swags, rugs and runners jazz up every room, every time.
Patterns are all the rage now, too. Twists and twirls, paisleys and pearls-bold is key! Did you ever in a million years think of dotting stripes and striping dots? Designers these days are pulling out all the geometrical stops. Paisley mixes with all sorts of combinations-checks, polkas, and weathered solids. Discover a new way of looking at the world around you in different shapes and deigns.
Mix it all with gorgeous gilding in silver and gold. Toss in a few well-chosen accents-bold and beautiful. And with the trend of decor becoming more and more personalized, a meaningful piece of photography will make you feel right at home. Black and white as well as the historic look of sepia photography looks gorgeous in any room. Add all these ingredients together, and you’ve got yourself a decorating design that not only expresses your individual style but does so as personally and beautifully as you want it to.
Whatever you want to say while decorating, say it with your own personal sense of style. Put it out there for the world to see and don’t look back! Embrace your individuality whether your nature is “Janie jazzed†or “Carol calmâ€. Express yourself! When people enter your home they’ll shoot you a complementary smile, knowing it looks and feels sooooo perfectly like you. And no one can do YOU better.
To take your individual decorating accents and style to a whole new level of personalization, check out http://www.alphabetpix.com. Imagine photographs of natural alphabets, clip art photo messages or even personalized photo place mats. Consider yourself a person on the go? You’ll love AlphabetPIX.com pictures to go with alphabet letters! (Intrigued yet? Check us out now!)
Amp up that “you†factor, bringing the bright lights, bold city look to the forefront with clever photography of New York architecture and nature. And, if it’s gorgeous enough for your home, you KNOW personalized photo gifts are great for any occasion!
by T. Miller
Décor Tips & Quips from AlphabetPIX
Create your own personalized name art with Photos That Look Like Letters at http://www.alphabetpix.com!
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