Karen Smallbone

I was pleasantly surprised and flattered when I found out that I had been featured in the new wedding section on Alltop.

If you are looking for inspiration for your wedding, Alltop is the place to check out. The Wedding section lists tons of great blogs dedicated to everything about weddings.

A big thank you to Alltop for including us in their list!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Christine from Wishpot.com. She asked me to become one of the wedding experts on the fabulous Wishpot and of course I said yes!

Wishpot is a site where you can create lists of things that you would like to buy (or have someone buy for you). It is perfect for organizing a wedding or baby shower registry or even just a list of stuff you love and wish you could have. It’s easy to use - you install a button on your bookmark bar and when you are browsing the web for fab finds you just click the button and it will add your item to your Wishpot list.

I’ve started a few lists of things I would love. It’s great! It’s like shopping without spending any money (husbands and future husbands appreciate that!)

Check it out. It’s lots of fun.

While surfing the web recently I came across a great site www.finestationery.com that specializes in stationery. They carry the usual stationery items but what caught my eye was the cool stuff that you can get personalized.

Who wouldn’t love a set of plates with their name on it. I love the one that reminds the kids to “put the napkin on their lap”.
These plates would make a great gift for the couple who has everything.

Another one of my favorites is this giftwrap featuring a photo of your little one. How cute is that? It would make a nice keepsake in addition to whatever the gift was you wrapped it in.

If you are looking for a unique and personal gift to give for any occasion, check out these pretty paperweights. They would make a great gift for your bridesmaids. There are tons of cute designs to choose from.

Julie’s wedding shower is what I dream of. Full of pink and brown… and lots of delicious sweets!

She was kind enough to send me some photos.

As you can see, Julie stayed true to her pink and brown theme! This gorgeous cake was made by Irresistible Cakes.

The orchid centerpieces were made by Primavera Flowers.

This sweet table is to die for. As I was typing this I could almost smell it. I think I need to go and find some chocolate!

Julie said her Maid of Honour made the pretzel sticks which are dipped in caramel, then chocolate and then drizzled with more chocolate. A family friend made the pink and brown chocolates shown at the top right hand of the picture.

Yummy!

Here is a photo of Julie and her fiance. The story is so cute. I think he’s a keeper!

Congratulations Julie. Thank you for sharing your photos with us. You have tons of great ideas!

I can’t wait to see what you do for your wedding.

Being a woman with a few curves, I know how hard it can be to find a wedding dress or a bridesmaid dress that is flattering. I ended up having my dress made because trying on a size 8 in the bridal shops just wasn’t doing it for me. You really can’t tell what the dress will look like if you can’t even fit into it.

I received an email from one of my favorite stores, Torrid, today saying that they were now carrying Bridal fashions. Torrid is a store in the US that carries fashionable clothes in plus sizes. They have an online store and also brick and mortar locations throughout the US. I often make a trip over to Buffalo just to shop there. The wedding dresses are only available on line. They also have a nice selection of bridesmaids dresses, wedding lingerie, and accessories.

These dresses would be perfect for a destination wedding, or if you are planning something more casual.

Vixen White Satin Mermaid- $180.00

Divine white lace halter - $220.00

Doll Face white Strapless - $170.00

Pink Taffeta and Sequin Foldover Dress -$120.00 (on sale now for $100.00)

Ok maybe not the best but a pretty good one. I don’t know about you, but I never have time to paint my nails. I usually end up doing it in the car on my way to whatever it is I’m going to. It’s pretty hard to balance that little bottle on your knee while in a moving car (especially with my husband’s crazy driving. Just kidding, you are wonderful in all ways). So I was tickled pink when I found this at my local Shoppers Drug Mart.

The Nic’s Sticks by OPI. It’s a nail polish stick. There is a brush on the end and the polish is inside. Pure genius. Why didn’t I think of that. There are lots of colours to choose from and it dries really fast.
Well worth the $9.99. It would be perfect to tuck into your bag on your wedding day for any touchups.

Shirley. Shirley,Shirley bo burley, banana fana fo furley, fee fi mo mirley, Shirley. No just kidding. My kids love that song, but just don’t try to rhyme the name Chuck. You just don’t want to go down that road.

I saw this fun thing called the Name game on the Weddingchannel.com. You put in your first and last name and your grooms names and it blends them together to make new and exciting names. If you didn’t want to take your groom’s last name, this helpful tool will combine your names to make a new last name for you.

I wish this was around when I was getting married. Perhaps I would have become.. Karen Daveyallbone ,Dasmallbone, Smallbonavey, or Davellbone. These are just a few of the options you get when you mix my madien name, Davey, with Smallbone. I’m thinking perhaps Smallbone wasn’t so bad after all.

Try it out here.

Cynthia was kind enough to share some of the photos from her wedding with me.

I love the fortune cookies with the personalized message. This is a great idea!

I love how the fortune cookie is repeated as a menu holder.

Congratulations Cynthia and Rob. Your wedding looks like it was beautiful! Thanks for sharing your day with us.

I’ve finally given up the dream of having a daughter to pass my wedding dress down to. I thought that it would be nice to pass it on to someone who would love it as much as I did. If you are looking for a simple dress in a creamy white and a very long veil, just let me know. I would love for it to have a new home, not in my closet or hanging from my rafters in my room. It needs to be cleaned and steamed but other than that it is in excellent shape. There are some buttons missing from the back but they were decorative so you could take the ones that are left off. I had it made for me so I’m not sure of the exact size. I think I wore a 16 at the time so it would be around there. I am 5ft. 2in so you would need to be about that height.

Please send me an email if you are interested or have any questions. The dress and veil are free, you just pay for shipping.

Here is a close up of the top.

The skirt part has an organza overlay and the bottom has a satin band around it.

There are small fabric flowers that go around the waist of the dress.

Super long veil that clips into your hair.

UPDATE: The veil has found a new home. I still have the dress if anyone is interested!

I just recieved an email from the Wedding Chicks saying they had featured me on their blog. Thanks Wedding Chicks. I love your blog!

You have to check it out. It’s full of insipiring ideas and great design. I love the little birds, so cute.