A Perfect Pear

I just discovered the whimsical invitation designs of TearDrop, a stationery company based in Toronto.

Many of the company's designs are inspired by familiar sayings- monkey love, two peas in a pod, nuts for each other, and my favorite, pictured here, the perfect pair.

In addition to wedding invitations, Holly, the owner and designer, has a collection of save-the-date and thank you cards to compliment your invite.

The Cat's Pajamas

I was at the Gift Show today and saw these "sweet dreams" pjs by The Cat's Pajamas. Aren't they the perfect gift for a bride-to-be for her engagement or shower.

Even though it's a mix of sweets,the wedding cakes are adorable and could inspire her when she meets with her baker. And it's something she'll be able to wear for a long time.

Sealed with a Kiss

I love this new stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of Hershey's kisses.

Many couples use a love or wedding stamp on their outer envelopes. If you're a chocolate lover like me, or red is in your wedding palette, think about using this stamp to convey the theme of your wedding.

But remember, before you buy a bunch of stamps, test the weight of your invitation in the mail. Mail yourself the entire invitation package - RSVP card, directions and any other inserts. You don't want to mail out invites and get them all back because the postage was wrong. You'll have to buy new outer envelopes and have them all calligraphed again - which will add a lot to your budget.

Classical or Modern Tastes

I love wedding cakes. Not only do they taste delicious but they can also be sculpted into anything you want.

The traditional white wedding cake has evolved over the last decade. Couples can work with a baker to design cakes in a variety of shapes, colors and flavors. Even the decor of the cake can range from swags and bows to flowers and fruits to stripes and dots. My wedding cake was lavender and decorated with "silver" stars and crescent moons, reflecting our theme.

When you meet with a baker, bring color swatches and other inspirational elements that reflect the wedding palette and theme. These details will help inspire the final design for your cake.

The modern cake featured above is from Cakes To Remember, located outside Boston. Owner Ellen Bartlett has a wide range of styles and can create a more traditional or modern look depending on what you want. The gallery of cakes on the companies website showcases her range.

Wedding Tip - Remember to bring your fiancé and parents with you to meet with the baker. Everyone loves tasting cakes and helping find the right flavors and fillings. Meeting with our baker was the only meeting my dad attended throughout our 20 month engagement.

Secret Gaden

Celebrities and brides in the Los Angeles area have known for years about The Velvet Garden. For over a decade, this floral design firm has created beautiful weddings and events.

Working with couples to create the perfect floral details for their wedding, The Velvet Garden considers each arrangement they create to be an individual work of art. Through their extensive collection of props and containers, which is continuously added to, theses floral designers guarantee that your wedding will be sophisticated and elegant.

Wedding Idea - Talk to your florist about donating your centerpiece to a hospital or nursing home as both a generous offer and tax deduction.

Let's Go To the Videotape, I mean DVD

I finally showed our wedding video (DVD) to my in-laws. The wedding was three and a half years ago. I haven't watched it in about a year, and was reminded not that we had a beautiful day, but how much I love my videographer.

We hired Robert Allen. To be honest, I didn't even realize he was there most of the day, and was surprised to see how many special moments he caught. That is the key to a great videographer, I mean videojournalist.

Wedding Tip - When you're looking for a videographer, just like meeting a photographer, ask to see an entire wedding video. You don’t want to see a highlight or greatest hits reel. You want to see an entire wedding from getting ready to the ceremony and through the reception to get an idea of how each part of the day is caught on film

Let Us Entertain You

Planning an engagement party or rehearsal dinner? You probably are planning at least one of these wedding related bashes. After you've picked the date and place, think about how you will entertain your guests - music, speeches, how about a slide show?

Occasional Slideshow based in Chicago, but they work with clients nationwide, will create a slideshow of your pictures and video clips. Your show can be as short as 5 minutes and accompanied by a your favorite songs.

You can surprise your fiancé with images of your courtship, or include photos of both families and make the theme the merging of the two. No matter what you decide to include, the staff at Occasional Slideshow will work with you to create a keepsake of your relationship that you will cherish forever.

Rocks, Paper...Thank You

Before you run out and order custom thank you notes with your names on them, pick up a few boxes of something in the bridal spirit.

Since you may not find the perfect formal card right away, and it may take sometime for the order to be delivered, you should have a few cards on hand for engagement gifts that arrive sooner than expected.

These Bling Bling Thank You Notes by Greenwich Letterpress may not match the exact design of your rock, but they still get the point across.

The cards are sold in sets of 8, giving you 2 cards in each design and cost $16 for a set.

The Budget

While you’re dreaming of beautiful flowers and a tiered cake, remember that weddings cost money. Sit down and figure out how much you and your fiance have, and are prepared to spend, on your wedding. Plan to meet with any family members who wish to contribute to your funds, and find out who is giving how much and for what so there are no misunderstandings when the check is due.

Don’t just assume that mom and dad are picking up the tab for the entire wedding. You need to sit down with them, without your fiancé, and discuss what their intentions are. Are they paying for the entire event or just parts of it? Are there strings attached to the check they give you? You need to know before you take their money if there are any dos and don’ts they will be insisting on.

If you’re unsure how to approach the topic, tell your parents that you and your groom have been discussing the type of wedding you want and how much savings you have to spend. Let them interject their thoughts and comments to further the discussion.

Some parents, or grandparents, may decide to contribute to certain items: grandma may buy your dress, dad may want to pay for the cake. If relatives are paying for only certain items, then find out more than just what item they’re paying for. Find out how much they are expecting to pay for that item.

For example, you may be excited when grandma says, “I’m buying you your wedding dress,” but you don’t want to be surprised when she gives you $250, which is probably what she paid 50 years ago for her gown, and thinks it's enough to cover yours.

Be open and upfront with your folks, but don’t demand money. Paying for your wedding is voluntary, not mandatory.

Once you have spoken to your parents (and your fiancé has spoken to his), decide how much the two of you want to contribute to the wedding budget to get a total amount.

The piggybank featured above comes with a surprise inside. You may find extra change, or even $100 bill to help pay for the wedding.

Drive By

Wherever you're getting married you need to supply guests with directions to both the ceremony and reception.

Instead of using the direction cards supplied by your ceremony and reception locations, you can have a map and card printed to match the style of the rest of your wedding stationery. Snappy Map can custom design invitation inserts for you in a variety of styles, and their maps can be as detailed as you want them to be.

Wedding Tip - Test drive the directions to the ceremony and reception before printing and mailing them - make sure they’re clear and correct. Better yet, have a friend do it to provide an objective opinion.

Bands of Gold, Platinum, etc...

Now that your engagement ring is making your left hand sparkle, what are you going to get to match it? There are so many options when it comes to wedding bands - gold, platinum, eternity - you should take your time in picking one.

You can choose a simple solid metallic band - Jewish ceremonies require that the rings you exchange have no breaks in them, therefore you need a gold or platinum ring without stones - or something with a little more bling. Try on rings that you can wear with your engagement ring on the same finger, as well as rings you can wear alone.

Diamond bands are very popular, but if it's not in your budget right now choose a simpler style, and wait till a big anniversary to receive the diamond one.

The rings featured above are from Tiffany & Co.

Box It Up

Favors come in all shapes and sizes. Don't just leave them lying around at the end of the night for guests to grab. Place them in an accessible place, and present them in a beautiful package. Afterall, a favor is a gift your guests take away to remind them of your big day.

Bella Terra has a variety of favor packaging options so whatever your favor is - candy, CDs, seeds - they have the perfect size box for you. You can choose from a myriad of colors so it will coordinate with your palette.

A Southern Wedding

Whether or not you're wedding will be held in The South, you must pick up a copy of Tara Guerard's new book, Southern Weddings. Tara is the owner of Soiree Charleston an event planning firm based in Charleston, South Carolina. Her weddings are elegant and sophisticated, with an amazing attention to detail.

In addition to getting inspired by the beautiful wedding pictures by Liz Banfield, the book features wedding planning tips and how-to advice to help you plan your own big day.