Fresh Ideas for a Wedding Guest Book

Once upon a time, a wedding guest book helped a newly married couple remember who came to their wedding, organize thank-you notes, and start a formal address book. But in this day and age, most wedding guest books end up in a dusty old closet. Want to make yours a hip modern thing of beauty that you'll love to look at? Have your guests sign a memento that you can display in your home, keeping the memories out in the open rather than up on the bookshelf. Some popular ideas we have seen: have guests sign pages in your favorite coffee table book. One of our couples used a book about California vineyards, where they were taking their honeymoon. Guests were asked to sign the book and write in recommendations on which vineyards the couple should visit. Photo by Eric Hegwer

Is Your Wedding Going to the Dogs?

Not so long ago it would have seemed absurd to envision a wedding with a pet as a member of the party. But with more and more people treating their pets as children or members of the family it is not too far of a stretch to envision this newest matrimonial trend. Many celebrities have included their pets in their day of wedded bliss - Gwen Stefani, Adam Sandler, and Tori Spelling, just to name a few.

If you'd love to include your pet in your wedding, but you just can't make it work, you don't have to have the animal there at the ceremony to include him or her. You can do bridal portraits with your pet, or put your pet's picture on your invitations, as I have seen done before. One of our clients, pictured here, created signature bar drinks using their pets' names.

You may feel bad about leaving your beloved pets out on your big day, but trust me, they really won't mind.

Photo by Eric Hegwer

Austin Bridal Secrets

This evening Divine Dreams is interviewing with owner and creator of a new website, Austin Bridal Secrets. Austin DJ, R.J. Johnson created the site. The site is a blog and podcast set up to help brides find vendors they would like to work with. The site gathers the stories and assists brides in finding ways to help them have the best wedding they can. Check out the site and be sure to check back for the post of the Divine Dreams interview. Photo by Eric Hegwer

Texas Round Up

Divine Dreams will be participating in the Texas Round Up 5K on April 26, 2008. The Texas Round-Up 10K, 5K and Family Mile is held annually in Austin, Texas on the last Saturday in April. Race weekend begins with a health and fitness expo showcasing vendors and sponsors. The race is followed by a fitness festival where families can enjoy live music, food, fitness demonstrations and family friendly activities. Many participants spend months training for Texas Round-Up, and for several participants, the Texas Round-Up is their first race, making the events a very special accomplishment and a true celebration of healthy living.
In 2004, Governor Rick Perry launched the Texas Round-Up statewide fitness initiative and 10K race to motivate and encourage Texans to become more active and to incorporate healthy choices in their daily lives. Today, Texas Round-Up is an independent not-for-profit organization working to improve the health of Texas through education and promotion of physical activity and healthy living. Texas Round-Up provides Texans with tools, opportunities, and programs that encourage and allow for Texans of all ages and fitness levels to participate. http://www.texasroundup.org/

Destination Weddings

The ever-popular destination wedding, affectionately called the "weddingmoon", combines the wedding, reception and honeymoon together in one location. With all the details and challenges in planning a "perfect" wedding and the pricetag that come with it, more couples are opting to reduce the hassle and focus on something truly unique. The destination wedding is generally held at a desirable location that allows the wedding guests to vacation and spend more quality time with the wedding couple. The destination wedding is typically under 40 people and involves a few days of activities for all the guests. The destination wedding is the central location that the bride and groom chose as their "headquarters". Activities are then planned for their guests from this location. These destination weddings can be an exotic destination or the hometown in which you grew up. When planning a destination wedding be sure to have an itinerary for your guest, so they will have an idea about what to expect.

*This Destination Wedding was held poolside at the MGM Grand Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Picture taken by Divine Dreams on personal camera.