Wedding Photojournalism Winners!

The Artisan Guild of Wedding Photojournalism Association (AGWPGA) just listed their 3rd quarter results from their award winning photos and two of Bridalize's favorite photographers were selected! Out of the thousands of entries from around the world only three images from Colorado made the cut- quite the accomplishment by Mark Hayes and Preston Utley!

Mark Hayes had two images selected from the ceremony and reception categories:

Preston Utley had one image selected from the "getting ready" category:

All of these images are absolutely stunning and we couldn't be prouder to work with such talented Colorado photographers! Congratulations to you both!

Carla + Yoni = Married

This sweet couple was such a delight to work with! They are so clearly meant for each other and to be a part of their special day was truly an honor. Carla and Yoni wanted to celebrate their union in a meaningful, intimate setting and decided her parent's house was just the place. The challange was within the transformation from living room and foyer to hip lounge and bar to reflect their young and fun personalities. Bridalize used pipe and drape, modern lounge furniture, stargazer orchids and a few understated touches to shape their home into an lively and contemporary wedding party! 

Carla wore a simple and sweet short gown with a blue sash

Their intimate, outdoor ceremony was officiated by Yoni's brother

Amazing job Flourish Photography!

 A Wild Thyme served delicious passed hors d'oeuvres

Shake it bartender!

 After speeches hugs;)

Tony from Soundmaster Entertainment kept the dance floor going all night long!

We wish you both a lifetime of happiness!

Bridalize featured on Trendy Bride Blog!

Bridalize was featured on the Trendy Bride Blog! The details really were feature worthy and we adored this Colorado Western theme!

Happy Thanksgiving Bridalize Friends!

We are so grateful to be doing what we love to do alongside so many beautiful brides and amazing people. What are you thankful for this year? Have a happy turkey day!

Mark Hayes Photography Feature

One of our favorite photographers, Mark Hayes was featured on the "Oh Lovely Day" blog! We love it when the vendors Bridalize loves to work with get recognized for their hard work and intuitive eye. Congrats Mark! These photos are beautiful!

Jeff and Melissa's Wedding Trailer

Amazing job by Backyard Stories! Even the trailer captures the spirited wedding glow both Melissa and Jeff exuded during their day at The Four Seasons Hotel in Denver, CO. Bridalize was ecstatic about the way every last gorgeous detail turned out. Stay tuned for the still shots from this breathtaking wedding!

Click here to see Jeff and Melissa's wedding trailer.

Creating A Guest List

Creating a guest list is really a practice in managing expectations. Parents, soon to be mother-in-laws, coworkers and extended family members won’t feel slighted if you go about your guest list the right way.

Before you start writing names down, set aside some time with your fiancé to create a style sheet of rules; how many invites do each set of parents get? What is our coworker policy? Who will be allowed to bring guests? How will you divvy up invite rights to the partner with a significantly larger family? Address these rules before you make your list and there will be fewer hiccups during the list process.

Bridalize recommends creating a list of “must invite” and “like to invite” before you look for a venue. Once you get a grasp of the number of people you’d like to be present at your wedding, you’ll know which venues will fit your intended guest list.

Extra tips:

1. List each person’s invites in a separate column or sheet to help simplify your process!

2. Don’t assume a large percentage of your list will cancel. Before you send invites to your entire “must have” list, make sure you and your fiancé are comfortable with your number, and be certain your overall wedding budget can accommodate your guest count.

3. Remember your inviting people to take part in your special day. Try not to feel too pressured to invite people you’d rather not be there.

Good luck and happy planning! Bridalize is always here to help!

Halloween Sugar

Bridalize loves Halloween, it's such a creative outlet holiday;) We wanted to pass onto you some adorable/tasty/sugar-filled ways to do up your house or 2012 fall wedding decor. Enjoy!

Papers For Your Holiday Parties

Hi Bridalize followers! Come by the store to take a look at our new super cute and fabulous stationary dress!

Finished product! We love it;)

Further into the store, we have everything you need for your upcoming winter event. Enjoy a hot cup of tea while you look through our stationary books from Checkerboard, Tatex, Carlson Craft, Elum, Birchcraft, Styleart, Chole B for Crane and many more! Bridalize would love to help you with your holiday party planning!

Jessica + Ben = Married!

The lovely and talented Jessica McCallister from Flourish Photography took these beautiful photos of our fun-loving couple, Jessica and Ben at Donovan Pavillion in Vail, Colorado. It was truly an honor to be a part of their special day! Their vows were so touching there wasn't a dry eye in the tent! The cowgirl and rustic design elements came together so wonderfully, our Bridalize team couldn't be more proud!

Beautiful dress from our friends at Little White Dress Shop

The girls' boots were such a cute touch!

This wedding party was such a blast!

A rainy day only made for an opportunity to use Donovan's pretty tent!

How adorable is this flower girl??

Jessica's father made all of the wood carved signs!

We adored the pie table!

Well done Plum Sage!

Amazing sparkler send off!

Too cute for us to handle!

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Smith! All the best from Bridalize!

Coming Up With A Wedding Budget

Every newly-engaged couple needs to figure out their overall budget before anything else happens. Your budget inevitably sets a tone for your wedding style, guest count, venue and everything in between. No matter what number you land on you can still have an amazing and beautiful wedding! Your final figure just might determine how creative you and your wedding planner needs to be;) Sit down with your fiancé and decide who is willing to pay for what. Don’t be shy to have candid conversations with family; it’s far better to have a solid understanding of your wedding budget before you start planning then to hope for money after you’ve found an out of reach venue, dress or caterer down the road.

If you’re being gifted a specific amount from parents or relatives, hooray for you! If not, consider how much the two of you are willing to spend on a wedding. Be realistic keep in mind you don’t want to be starting your newly married lives off together with unnecessary debt. Create a figure, map out where it’s coming from and most importantly, stick to it!

Happy Planning!  

Another Vail Wedding Tease!

Elevation Events just finished this beautiful video from our September Vail wedding. It is such a treat to revisit all of the special details and design that went into this touching day!
Check it out at:
Bridalize Wedding at Donovan's Pavillion

Bridalize Wedding Featured on Brides.com!

Bridalize had such a great time at our beautiful Donovan's Pavillion wedding this past September! The bride looked gorgeous and her bouquet was the perfect compliment to her Colorado Chic style and super cute cowboy boots. Check out Brides.com for more fresh fall flower ideas!

Flowers By Plum Sage
Photography by Flourish Photography

Engagement Party!

Yay! You’re engaged! After you call/text/facebook and tell everyone who’s important to you and your fiancé, nothing keeps your wedding excitement momentum going like a fiesta to celebrate your recent commitment. 

It has traditionally been the bride's parents role to host their daughter's engagement party, but there aren't set rules for today's couples. Involve whomever would like to be involved, or it is completely acceptable to host your own party at either your shared home or at one of your seperate places.

Engagement parties often take place too soon after the adornment of your new ring to consider paper invitations. If you are a graphic designer or can order paper invites within enough time, Bridalize has some great design options! If you're anything like me however, and decide to throw a party two weeks after your “I Do” moment, try pingg.com for elegant electronic invites. Keep in mind you have to save a wedding invitation for everyone you've invited to your engagement party!

If you’re having a party at home, simple but thoughtful decorations can help set the mood. Use this as an opportunity to tryout a possible wedding palette. I made a DIY sign with ribbon, and used those colors throughout other decorations in the house. Have your local florist make you a special arrangement(s) for your home. Nothing says love like the scent of fresh flowers! I went to Delilah’s of Denver to create a personalized and modern arrangement.

Don’t forget the hors d’oeuvres and beverages! If you're running short on time, bite-sized frozen appetizers from a natural grocer are a great option. Put the appetizers on nice platters and no one will know they are from the frozen food aisle;) We supplied ten different bottles of wine and asked our guests to bring their own bottles. Make sure you have enough wine glasses for everyone! It's nice to carry out your decor and theme with individual wine glass markers. We ended up having a tasting party to gauge the types of varietals and brands our guests would most enjoy at the wedding. It was an absolute blast!

Cheers and happy engagement! 

Happy Engagement Season!

Hi Bridalize Friends and Followers!

We apologize for our lengthy hiatus! It has been an extremely busy month for Bridalize and we can’t wait to receive and share the pictures from the talented photographers who have helped us on all of our beautiful weddings!

In addition to the gorgeous weddings and friendships that have come out of this wedding season, we have more great news! Andra, our associate event planner got engaged just last month! As a nod to the beginning of engagement season, Andra is going to blog about her experiences as a newly engaged Bridalize bride to share the tips, tricks and processes that go into planning a wedding from recently engaged to stylishly married!

Just after he asked her in Tahiti!
 The left/heartside flower signifies a "taken" relationship status;)

Sticking To Your Wedding Budget

While going through the wedding planning process, every bride’s biggest challenge is sticking to her wedding budget while staying true to her tastes and aesthetic desires. Below are some tips from Bridalize to help you stick to your initial figure.

1. Come up with a realistic number before you get started. Sit down with your hubby-to-be and decide on a figure you are both comfortable with. If you do this before you start looking at venues, dresses and photographers, you have a better chance of coming up with a number that better matches your bank allowance rather than a magazine spread. If you don’t know where to start, Bridalize would love to help you nail down a figure!

 2. List your wedding priorities. No matter where your wedding budget ends up being, it’s best to decide which wedding elements mean the most to you. Be it food, ambiance, or photography, it’s easier to decide where to splurge and where to cut back when your priorities are listed out beforehand.

 3. Chart your vendor percentages. Consider how big of a piece each vendor is allowed within your “wedding budget pie.” When buying a dress or selecting flowers, it's easier to stay on track when you know you have $3,000 to spend on that purchase rather than subract the amount you're confronted with from your entire sum.

Bridalize specializes in keeping each section of your budget in check so you don’t go over your initial figure! We’d love to schedule a consultation session with you! Call us anytime, 303.221.3049.