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Hotel Offers a Hangover-Themed Bachelor Party Package

TresSugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:00 -0700

I don't know if you've seen The Hangover, but I can't imagine aspiring to replicate the weekend those guys have, what with a live tiger in the bathroom, a live baby of mysterious origin, and a missing groom. But apparently, Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas thinks this pop culture reference will resonate with bachelors.

It's offering a Hangover-themed hotel package called Ultimate Hangover. Here's the sales pitch:

Some guys just can't handle Vegas, as demonstrated in the new motion picture The Hangover. But this town's easier to handle if you've got the tools to recover from a hangover of your own.

Forum Tower Royal suite? Check. (Also, checked for tigers.) Food to take the edge off? Check. Use your $50 Serendipity 3 food credit for the Hangover Omelet, loaded with bacon, French fries, mushrooms and cheddar. Hair of the dog? Check – use your $50 pool credit for a round of bloody Marys at the Garden of the Gods pool complex.

I'm not gonna argue with the power of a hangover omelet, but if that uses up the entire $50 food credit, those mushrooms had better be truffles. Still, I have to give them points for creativity. What amenities would you want after a wild weekend in Vegas?

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Fab Site: Rent the Runway

FabSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:30:22 -0800

The words "rent the runway" are music to my ears. It's the ideal situation for a gal on a budget - falling in love with a catwalk look, borrowing it for a day, then returning it to its rightful owner. Now I can do that with Rent the Runway. Dying to begin? First sign up to be added to the wait list. Once you're in, peruse its A-list selection (Proenza Schouler, Matthew Williamson, Yigal Azrouel), get the dress in two different sizes, wear it, keep it for four or eight days, and send it back in a prepaid package without dry cleaning it. Trust me, there's some good stuff in there, and the prices don't sting ($50 to $200). Perfect for that holiday wedding or office party!

Oh Snap! Wedding Dreams Come True in Blue Hawaii

TresSugar — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:20:31 -0700

Award-winning Elvis impersonator Steve Caprice married his fiancée in a re-creation of the Blue Hawaii wedding scene. The wedding went down in Porthcawl, Wales, a town that hosts the largest annual Elvis Festival in Europe.

A quick Google search reveals that chapels in Las Vegas offer Blue Hawaii wedding packages. So you too can have an Elvis-inspired wedding!

View 4 Photos ›

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Casa Verde: Customized Wedding Ring Bowl

CasaSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:30:00 -0700

If you're looking for a way to enhance the unique feel of your wedding ceremony, consider adding one of Caroline Colom Vasquez's gorgeous ring bowls to the big day. Vasquez, an Austin, TX, artist and designer, runs the shop Paloma's Nest, where she designs ceramic bowls, tiles, and decorative pieces for the home. Many of the pieces in the Paloma’s Nest line are available with custom texts, which adds special meaning to the pieces. You can order the With This Ring Bowl ($26) with that message stamped in the bowl's interior, or customize the bowl with your own special words or message. I used one of Caroline's ring bowls in my wedding ceremony, and had a line from a poem special to my husband and me stamped onto the bowl. You could also customize it with your names, the date of your wedding, or a quote or special message.

Each Paloma’s Nest piece is hand cut, free form, with no pattern, imbuing each piece with its own variation in the size, shape, and layout of the text. The shop is eco, too: Recycled, up-cycled, and biodegradable products are prominent throughout the line, as well as in the gift packaging in which pieces arrive. The studio is also powered 100 percent by renewable wind energy.

Explore more of Caroline's line at her shop.

Preview Your Wedding Look With a Fun Photo Shoot!

BellaSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:01:09 -0700

Mr. Bella and I are headed to the wedding of his best friend, Dave, and his fiancée, Liz, in just a few short weeks. Boston, here we come for some wicked awesome times. After snooping around on Liz's Facebook page, I spotted these convivial photos, along with some well-applied makeup and perfectly waved hair on the bride-to-be.
If you're getting married, ask your hairdresser for a makeup artist recommendation. That's how Liz found Shauna Shay, the makeup artist who used MAC products in these photos for Liz's soft bridal palette. Find out how the future Mrs. Dave used her trial run makeup appointment - along with an antique Boston trolley - to create a fun pre-wedding photo shoot when you read more.

Liz said,

A lot of people schedule their hair and/or makeup trial for the day of their shower or some other event they want to look good for. Our photographer includes an engagement shoot with his package, but we had already sent our engagement announcement in to papers and everything, so this shoot was pretty much a freebie, and I used it to see how the makeup would photograph. My cousin helped us get a permit for a trolley line in Boston that has antique cars, and we just had fun taking pics. It was good to work with our photographer before the big day and get comfortable, too.

Looking for some more wedding planning inspiration? Check out my wedding coverage for other beauty-themed posts.

Photos courtesy of Charles Bandes Photography

And The 2009 Fifi Awards For Best Fragrances Goes To . . .

BellaSugarUK — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:17:00 -0700

Last night at the Dorchester Hotel in London, celebrities and beauty business fixtures gathered for the 17th Annual Fragrance Foundation UK Awards (better known as "The Fifi's"). The profits from the event were donated to the Teenage Cancer Trust, and in the past few years alone, The Fifi's have raised over £100,000 for the charity.

I was lucky enough to speak with Janine Roxbrough Bunce, the Executive Director of the Fragrance Foundation this morning, who said, "the atmosphere last night was starry and electric. This has become the Oscars of the fragrance industry, and is very important to the world of fragrance. The aim in the future is to get the public more and more involved in the awards and eventually, we'd love to see the masses voting online for their favourite scents."

19 crystal awards were given out in total with two being new to this year. One especially worth mentioning is the Lifetime Achievement Award which went to 82 year old Jean-Paul Guerlain. The winners, (which are scents from 1 Jan - 31 Dec of 2008) didn't necessarily surprise me, however, I felt that a few of my faves have been overlooked. You can check out the winners from last year here and for a full list of this year's winners, and to find out what fragrance Mischa Barton loves and which one Alex Zane was wearing last night, read more.

Mischa Barton revealed last night that one of her favourite fragrances is She Wood by DSquared2, while Alex Zane proudly announced that he was wearing Boss by Hugo Boss.

Prestige Award of The Year

Best New Prestige Female Fragrance: Sensuous by Estee Lauder
Best New Prestige Male Fragrance: 1 Million Paco Rabanne

Print Ads

Best New Fragrance Print Advertisement For Women: Chloe
Best New Fragrance Print Advertisement For Men: Play by Givenchy

Commercial

Best New Fragrance Commercial For Women: Fuel for Life Unlimited by Diesel
Best New Fragrance Commercial For Men: Adventure by Davidoff (featuring Ewan McGregor)

Superdrug Votes

Superdrug Battle of the Sexes Award (Men's Vote): Ghost for Women by Ghost
Superdrug Battle of the Sexes Award (Women's Vote): Boss Bottled by Hugo Boss

Packaging

Best New Fragrance Packaging For Women: Le Parfum by Max Mara
Best New Fragrance Packaging For Men: The Essence by Porsche Design

People's Choice

The 'People's Choice' Celebrity Fragrance: Besotted by Katie Price
The 'People's Choice' Award For Women: Chloe
The 'People's Choice' Award For Men: The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana

Men's Health Reader's Vote

Men's Health Reader's Award: The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana

Home

Best New Home Fragrance: Jo Malone Dark Amber and Ginger Lily

Limited Edition

Best New Limited Distribution Fragrance For Women: White Patchouli by Tom Ford
Best New Limited Distribution Fragrance For Men: Gucci by Gucci Pour Homme

Industry Achievemet Awards

Special Award for Creativity and Services in The Fragrance Industry: Jean-Paul Guerlain
Special Award for Education and Innovation: Clive Christian for The Sound of Perfume Project

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How-To: Register For Your Wedding

CasaSugar — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:00:15 -0700

Planning your wedding can be stressful, but the fun part is registering for gifts! Unfortunately, some people get carried away at the thought of all the presents coming their way and register spontaneously, not methodically. You have to remember that you're going to live with these gifts, and your friends and family are spending real money on them, so you better like them! Beyond that, you should think about what you need, not what you want, so you can really "set up house" - that's kind of the point. I have a few tips that will make it all easy for you. To hear them, read more.

Consider your timeline. If you're having any sort of engagement party, try to register by the time the invitations for that party go out, making sure you've covered all the price points. Many of your friends and family will want to buy your engagement and wedding gifts as soon as they hear about the engagement and get it out of the way. Don't feel rushed; you can always go back and add more items later on. If you're not having an engagement party, about nine months before your wedding day is a good time to register; it doesn't make you seem as if you're either rushing or procrastinating.
Do your Spring cleaning, and take note of what you already have and what you need for your home.
Then, get together and make a list of things you both want for your home.
Before you start checking boxes, cruise around to a bunch of stores and decide which one or which few suit your tastes the most. Stick to three stores or fewer to keep things uncomplicated, and make sure one of them is a national department store like Bloomingdale's or Macy's.
Most major stores have some sort of registry system, if not an online one. However, if you love a certain boutique or specialty store, they may not. But most will be more than willing to work something out with you, so just ask!
Go through all the questions. Figure out what kind of return policy each store has, how shipping works, whether they take phone orders, whether they have an online database to track orders, etc. Your older generation of friends and family may only want to shop by phone or in store, so there should be something available for them. And it's ideal to be able to track the orders as they come in, so you can add more items at different price points, or remove items if need be.
Use our downloadable registry guide to make sure you've covered all the bases for your housewares, and go ahead and register with each store, giving as much detail as possible to make it easy on guests. Choose size, color, brand, etc.
You can also use MyRegistry to register online from a variety of sources, giving your friends and family a central place to shop for you.
OK, so let's say you already have all the table runners and Le Creuset pans you could ever want. What then? Nowadays it's not uncommon to have an alternative registry. If you'd like, you can register with a charity or even to pay for your honeymoon. Although it's not the most proper of moves, if you really need help with your finances, you can even register for stocks or cash for big ticket items you may need.
Once you're registered, there's some etiquette you should follow for getting the word out. It's a bit taboo to send your registry information out with your invitation. If you have a website for your wedding, you can post it discreetly there. It's also common to have your maid of honor send out the details with the invitations for your bridal shower, and the same for the bachelor party. You can ask your family members to pass the word along to the guests as well. And, if your guests ask you up front where you are registered, go ahead! If you are sending out a package to your guests with other details about the wedding (maps, hotel information, etc.) apart from the invitation, you can slip in a printed card with the registry information.
Most registries remain active for at least a year after the big day so guests can make purchases after the fact. And many stores will give you a discount on the items that weren't purchased, so that you can buy them for yourself.

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Would You Appear on a Wedding TV Show to Save Money?

SavvySugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 07:15:58 -0700

Setting a wedding budget should be one of the very first steps to planning the big day, and often couples are overwhelmed by the reality of how much their dream wedding could cost. While some engaged couples simply make the best possible event with the resources they do have, others won't settle for anything less than the best of the best of everything.

To soften the blow of going into a pile of debt for getting married, some couples apply for reality TV shows (like Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? and Bridezillas) that often award featured weddings with a check or honeymoon package. Would you consider appearing on a wedding show to save money?

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Yum's Top 10 Kitchen Registries

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:00:47 -0700

Earlier this week, we offered some wedding advice for finding a gift registry that's right for you, but even with our recommendations, there are so many stores to choose from. So, we've compiled a list of our favorite registries - for the most part, nationwide retail outlets with standalone stores, call centers, and online sites to suit all of your guests' needs. We also took stock of shops with a wide selection of products and convenient perks and benefits. To see the list of our favorites (in no particular order), read more.

Williams-Sonoma: This tried-and-true kitchen store favorite boasts a thank you note manager, a solid return policy, and a 10 percent discount on items both remaining in your registry and outside it.
Target: Despite your income bracket, you can't go wrong at this ubiquitous store, which proffers a huge assortment of practical, everyday items at bargain prices. Guests can shop online with a Target or an Amazon account.
Crate & Barrel: This 160-store chain boasts a 10 percent completion discount on registries - and that includes furniture. Anytime an item is purchased or added, all changes, whether online, in store, or over the phone, will be reflected within a short window of 15 minutes or less.
Macy's: This national network of department stores is everywhere in the United States and offers a number of perks, including a charity donation program, completion rewards of 10 percent off, and a Registry Star Rewards program, which rewards purchases in the form of a Macy's Gift Card.
Bed Bath & Beyond: Aside from being practical and everywhere, this store offers a registry incentive program where you can register for or complete certain sets and get other items free. Need help? That's available anytime through the store's call center.
Bloomingdale's: For a range of timeless kitchen pieces and fun kitchen gadgets, sign up for this high-end retailer, which pairs you with a personal registry consultant and also provides a 10 percent completion program and donations to charity.
Sur La Table: Everything your kitchen ever wanted can be found at this culinary haven, which carries specialty items like DeLonghi grills, John Boos cutting boards, and Le Creuset cookware.
Kohl's: This registry ups the ante with a completion program offering 15 percent off, as well as announcement cards that give guests discounts on in-store purchases.
Neiman Marcus: Head here for the gold standard of gift registries, where you can choose from a massive selection of formal tabletop items. Gift packaging is complimentary on bridal registry purchases.
Cooking.com: If you want to go virtual, you can find everything and anything kitchen at this one-stop online shop, which has an extreme selection of 80,000 products and a 10 percent off completion program.

Brides-to-be, where have you registered? Let us know if you have any other recommendations!

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Selecting the Right Wedding Photographer

GeekSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:00:42 -0700

Now that we're in full wedding planning mania, you've already started on your wedding website, and sorted out your online wedding registry, so hopefully you still have enough vigor left in you to start your search for your wedding photographer! Since this task is one of the most important for your big day (next to the dress of course), you'll want to put some serious thought and effort into choosing the right photographer to capture your wedding. If you have no idea where to start, I can give you some tips on how to hit the ground running.

Film or Digital?
Although digital photography might be something you are leaning towards (since you all are so tech savvy!), there are some factors to consider for both. The rich depth and grain of film photography is something unique that you can only get with film. Sure, your digital photographer can fiddle around with Photoshop for each of your photos to try and bring out those same qualities, but it's just not the same. Besides, I'm sure that would be a ton of OT for the poor guy, and who knows how high that would bring the cost of the service! But digital photography also has its benefits. To see what they are, read more

When shooting with digital cameras, for each image captured, you have instant feedback. You can adjust the settings, angles, and light right away to make sure you get just the right pic. . . and you won't be disappointed if a roll of film turns out crappy when you get it back. Plus, there is essentially no limit to how many photos can be taken. Also, if you are interested in getting your pics onto a disk, website, coffee table book or want to turn them into an awesome slideshow, digital is the simplest and easiest way to do it.

What style?
There are some photographers that specialize in portraits, and some in wedding photojournalism. Wedding photojournalism is something that has become more popular in the past decade due to its ability to capture candid moments that really bring the photos to life.

FAQ
After you make those essential decisions, it's time to pick a few photographers and meet with them. Here are some important questions to keep in mind when interviewing your selections:

Ask if they are the ones who will be photographing your wedding, and if the samples you are viewing are from their portfolio. If not, ask to meet the photographer that will be shooting your wedding and check out samples from their past events.
What is included in the packages, and what is the breakdown of costs. Ask if there is a way to customize a package to fit your needs and ideal budget.
Will an assistant be used? If so, is that an added fee?
What is the estimated time frame for finished photos?
Are CD's, proofs, and photo albums an added cost?
How many rolls of film do they typically use, and what is the cost per roll?

Hopefully these tips can get you on your way to choosing the perfect photographer for your big day! Do you have any tips to share? Leave them in the comments below! Plus, check out more of our wedding coverage on I Do Sugar.

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