Source: Aspiring Couture, Aspiring Couture, Aspiring Couture, Aspiring Couture

I am loving each of these looks from various independent designers. Having the bridesmaids next to you in something bold yet completely complimenting to your look is the way to go!

By Erin Frank

Just spotted on Etsy:  Bay Area stationery pro Inky Livie’s cute designs will add a splash of color to your big day.

Inky Livie offers both readymade and custom items for your wedding pleasure. Check out the shop here and get colorful!!

{Photos via Inky Livie}

So it’s almost Mothers Day and I’m sure all of you have your card sent out and are ready to spend a special day pampering mom, as am I.  May being the month of mother’s day got me thinking about my mom and my wedding. My mom is no longer just “mom” now she is referred as “mother of the bride”. A much more official sounding title. My mom may not show her excitement for my wedding or get very involved like most moms would. But I know deep down she is so happy that I am moving forward with my life and that I will be well taken care of by my fiancé, who by the way she adores. Since its almost mother’s day I want to say I am incredibly thankful that my mom helped me glue what seemed like millions of ribbons onto our save the date cards, without her help it would of taken me ages.

I know my mom will be there by my side through the rest of the planning and help whenever needed. I hope she knows how much I appreciate her and all that she gave me, taught me, and loved me to this point in my life.

I can not wait to see her all dolled up in a beautiful dress and fancy hair and makeup smiling as she watches her youngest child get married. I’m sure it’s a little hard to let go of her baby but I know she is also so happy. So mom, this one’s for you.

Have a Happy Mothers Day!

Hi Bay Area Bride Guide readers! We are thrilled to share our wedding story with you between now and early October. We hope the lessons we’ve learned along the way will help you to stumble less and make your wedding planning process seamless. Plus, we’ll be honest, and we’ll share strategies that work. Feel free to comment, ask questions and the like—we can all learn from each other, and your opinions are appreciated (smile). So let’s get started with the introductions.

First the bride: My name is Lauren Smith, and I’m writing to you from Washington, DC—but don’t worry, you’re on the right Bay Area site—and this August is our destination wedding in Palo Alto. I’m excited to share long-distance wedding planning tips and approaches with you. I’ve also lived in Asia for three years, so our wedding has a cultural twist that may be of interest too.

And the groom: Great to meet you all.  My name is Haney Hong, and I’m a Naval officer currently stationed at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.  We are really excited to share with you some of the successes and challenges that we have had and hope that you can benefit from our experiences–no need to reinvent the wheel, they say!  We are very much looking forward to celebrating our union at the Stanford Memorial Church and integrating the bits and pieces of our diverse backgrounds to build a joyful day where all those important to us can connect and relate.

Our goal is to co-author this blog, but it will mostly be Lauren writing. We’ve really focused on planning our wedding as a team, not just the “he shows up for the big day” approach. So you’ll get a little bit of his and her story by following our story.

Follow along by checking back every Friday. Next week we are talking about building a wedding “vision.” It sounds fancy, but narrowing down your vision is the heart and soul of the whole event. So get ready, oh and we hope you like our photo too!

I’m getting excited about a daytrip I’m taking my four bridesmaids this Sunday — they all don’t know each other very well so I thought heading to Green Gulch Zen Center just 20 minutes north of San Francisco would be a nice introduction.

I read about the Center in a recent issue of Sunset Magazine. Here’s a snippet of the suggested itinerary. [Fortunately, you don't have to do all the activities -- as they told me, you can come and go as you please. How Zen is that? ]

Bay Area Bride Guide is here to help you with your wedding planning, so we would love to hear what you are thinking and what else we can do for you.  You can connect with us here, on facebook, or on twitter!

All three mediums give you access to the following:

• DIY tips
• Reviews on local vendors
• Advice/Tips from brides-to-be and vendors
• Links to interesting articles
• Real Wedding Features
• Up-to-date information about the Bay Area wedding industry

Is there something we are missing?  Do you have a vendor you love that you want us to feature?  Please let us know!  Send us a tweet, leave a comment, send me an email at ezachry@bayareabrideguide.com, or post a message on Facebook.

In addition to our fantastic offerings, you have until the end of the month to enter to win our fantastic giveaway.  Just become a fan of Bay Area bride Guide on Facebook and you are automatically entered to win!  I’m so excited about these wonderful prizes, so here is everything you need to know:

Hotel Griffon

Grand Prize – A night out in San Francisco at the Hotel Griffon and a $50 gift card to McCormick & Kuleto’s.

First Prize – A Canon PowerShot SX200 IS

Check out our Facebook fan page to become a fan and enter to win!

Hello to all of you out there! My name is Allison and I am here for a guest post today! I created and write for a blog called Engaged and Inspired. I am local to the Bay Area (live near Santana Row in San Jose) and always love talking to brides and vendors planning weddings in the same area as me!

Today I am here to talk inspiration! Choosing the right wedding colors and details to personalize your wedding are pretty important elements in the planning process. With spring coming up  (what’s up with all the rain?!) it’s time for refreshing color palettes, so I bring you White and Cream.

Source: Wedding Chicks, Vera Wang, Bride’s Cafe, Style Me Pretty, Amy Atlas

This modern palette offers an elegant look and feel while maintaining a chic attitude. Shades of white allow a clean and simple look to your wedding.  Even with such a “plain” color palette, the options are endless. Best of all,  it really pulls together the elements of a spring event by adding something fresh and bright, which greatly differs from the fall and winter palettes we have been accustomed to in the last few months. Nothing about this palette is overwhelming to the eyes, but nothing is boring either, which is something your wedding should definitely be.

These are actually the base colors of my wedding color palette, but I plan to add some “pops” of bright colors for that extra wow factor. My question for you, what are your wedding colors?? Are you doing bright, subdued, fall, spring? The options are endless!

By Erin Frank

Food favors are always a great idea. They’re practical, provide a tasty takeaway, and out-of-town guests appreciate a little something to snack on back at the hotel.  Who needs another knick-knack cluttering up their house? My newest favor finds are these unique confections by Bon Bon Brittle.

Bon Bon Brittle makes classic brittle candies with a twist.  With flavors like Green Tea Brittle made with almonds and Japanese matcha, or  Bacon Chipotle Peanut Brittle, you’re sure to bring a bit of surprise to your favors.  For something more traditional, try their Divine Almond or Crazy Good Chocolate Brittle. Bon Bon Brittle provides custom favor packaging for weddings, personalizing orders with your desired colors, ribbons, and your own message. Check them out at bonbonbrittle.etsy.com.

By Megan Peters

Things were slowly coming together for my entire wedding day look, but now it’s all happening so fast. The dress is bought, the shoes, and now as of this weekend the jewelry. I am so excited for my big day to come. I am dying to put on my new jewelry with my dress. Dying!

18k white gold and crystal bracelet

A huge thank you to my wonderful fiancé who purchased the jewelry as a gift this weekend, while we were in San Francisco. Shopping for jewelry was certainly not what we had planned to do, but I fell in love with this jewelry as soon as I saw it.

Me wearing the necklace

The pieces I went for weren’t what I expected to be interested in.I thought I would be going for less traditional looking jewelry but I followed my heart in San Francisco and it followed me to some serious bling. “Frost yourself ladies” as Matthew Mcconaughey would say in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and that is most definitely what I did!