Create Moodboards with BHLDN

BHLDN launches on its website a page wherein you can create your own moodboard. Here, you can mix and match dresses, accessories, and other items to make your very own inspiration board. You can start dragging and dropping photos on your chosen template or base your moodboard on the ones that have been done by BHLDN.

Just pick a template, then drag and drop photos, and you're done!

While the selections from the BHLDN images may be somewhat limited, what's nice about it is that you can upload your own photos from your computer and include them in your moodboard. Framing the images is also made easy because there are loads of moodboard templates ready for use.

I tried making a moodboard here and I found it really fun to do. Check out what I did:

My own BHLDN moodboard: Ruby, Granite, and Citrine.

You'll find tons of other moodboards made by other users over at the site, so check it out. Go ahead and make your own moodboard that can serve as an inspiration board for your own wedding!

A simple guide on whom to invite on your wedding

A wedding is truly a big occasion, and sometimes you can't help but invite everyone to your big day. But costs are high nowadays, and one solution to stay within the budget is to trim down the number of guests. So how do you determine who are the people in your guest list's priority?

Let this simple flowchart I found over at Tumblr help you:

Hope this makes it easier for you to create your guest list for your wedding day!

Making planning easier with a wedding website

One of the helpful tools for couples today is a wedding website. A wedding website is a place online where you can put all the details of your wedding: from budgeting to the chosen suppliers. You can also put a variety of media there, probably images of your wedding, or a map to your location, or music that inspires you and your partner. It's a tool where you can share to your family and friends -- and to the rest of the world -- about your wedding plans and even details of the after-party.

If you search Google for wedding websites, you will see tons of wedding website providers. Some of them free and some that come with an annual charge. Most wedding websites have features that are really helpful for brides- and grooms-to-be such as budget tools, RSVPs, and audio and photo/video tools. You can also list down your chosen vendors, post your own inspiration boards, or even write about your love story in your wedding website. Wedding websites also come with cute templates, and there are a lot to choose from that match your wedding style.

Here are a few of the well-known free wedding website providers you can check out:

1) WeddingAnnouncer.com - During my own wedding preps, this was one of the sites used by most of the b2b's I encountered in a local forum. Tools included are wedding event information, gift registry information, maps, and RSVP.

2) MyWedding.com - It's also free and comes with the useful wedding tools. What I like about this site is that they have beautiful templates. The templates also come with matching invitations from companies like Wedding Paper Divas and Papeterie.

3) WeddingWire.com - Reminders, checklists, and even a drag-and-drop seating arrangement tool are just some of its features. They also have designer templates you could choose from, like those from Martha Stewart Weddings or the site's original designs.

4) eWedding.com - They have features like polls, quizzes, and bridal registries. But if you upgrade to a paid subscription, you can use their online media, download feature, email support, and even have a custom domain name.

Wedding websites help make planning easier for you. And it's also a good place to let everyone know about what you're going to do, what they need to know, and what they just missed. It's easy to put up one so go get started now.

Photo credit: Laptop user 2 by channah from sxc.hu.

Free fonts for your DIY invitations

If you're doing DIY projects for your wedding, such as invitations, thank you cards, place cards, and the like, then the Font Squirrel will surely be a big help to you.

Font Squirrel is a site that offers free font downloads for commercial use. It has loads of fonts ranging from sans serifs to calligraphy. It also has some dingbats, decorative fonts that can be used as images.

There are some fonts there you could use on your wedding projects. The ever-famous Scriptina is on the list, but you could also use Beautiful ES (which hubby used for our DIY invitation), Chopin Script, or Windsong. Dingbats like IM Fell Flowers and Kfon are great decorations for your cards as well.

I tried to make a mock-up of a monogram using the downloaded fonts in Font Squirrel. It was a quick one, so I didn't get to change the colors. I used Renaissance as the font for the initials, and Kfon (birds) and Nymphette (curls) as decorations:
If you want to have free fonts you could use for your DIY wedding projects, you can visit the Font Squirrel website.

Create your own inspiration board with Dessy's Pantone Wedding

Want to create your own inspiration board? Thinking of great color combinations you could use for your wedding? The Dessy Group has teamed up with Pantone to build the Pantone Wedding, a site where you can choose from Dessy's dresses and accessories according to your favorite colors.

I tried out the site, and it's pretty easy. All you have to do is create an account and you're ready to go!

Before creating your inspiration board, you must choose the color combinations you like from the swatches on the top right. After picking your colors, an array of dresses and accessories will show on the right side. Just click and drag the ones you like on the board. You can also write a note on it. It's that simple.

If you're done with your inspiration board, you can easily save it in your account for future viewing. And if you like to share it with others, perhaps with the members of your entourage, you have the option to post it in your blog or email the board's link.

What I like about this wedding tool is that, first of all, it's free and it instantly gives you a preview of how your entourage will look like wearing those dresses in the color motif you want. It's also easy to use, because you can easily create an inspiration board by just clicking and dragging. You can also adjust the size of the items so they could fit on the board. And if you want to remove a picture, you just have to press delete.

The downside, though, is the limitations in terms of the selections. It features mostly bridesmaid dresses, a few flowergirl dresses, and fewer accessories. I hope Dessy would feature more of their collections here, which will also include wedding dresses and a lot more accessories for men and women.

Here's a sample inspiration board I made using Pantone Weddings:


Overall, this wedding tool is fun and easy to use. The Pantone Weddings is very helpful, especially if you need to visualize how your colors will blend. Try it!

Organize your wedding planning with My Wedding Workbook

Wedding planning can be a tedious task for every brides and grooms-to-be. You can ask help from friends and family, or even your wedding coordinator, but most of the time you (and your partner) are always on your own -- searching and selecting vendors, scheduling ocular inspections, dress fitting and other things. At this point in the pre-wedding process, you'd need someone or something to help organize everything that needs to be done.

Enter My Wedding Workbook, a free online wedding planner designed to assist you in the nitty-gritty of the wedding details. Actually, this was introduced to me by blogger, owner and groom-to-be Jeff whose web programmer friend, Steve, created this tool while he and his then-fiancee were going through with the wedding preparations.

Through Jeff's invitation, I had a chance to browse through their site and check out the sample account.

The main website gives you a comprehensive overview of what you can expect from this online wedding planner. It gives you a brief background and some screenshots of the tools you can use: from the budget breakdown to the guest list to a calendar which lists all important dates prior to your big day. And with just a click of a mouse, you can easily register for an account at My Wedding Workbook -- at no cost!

I also perused through their dummy account (I thought of making my own, but since it's been 9 months since my wedding, I just chose to access the sample account) to see how all the info is presented. Upon logging into your account, you will be taken to the Overview Page where you can see your total expenses and guest details. From there, you can access all the other integrated tools by selecting the tabs on the upper screen.

The Guest List tab shows you, obviously, the names of the attendees you're expecting. It also helps you track if they have responded to your RSVPs, or where they will be staying if they're coming from out of town. When you click the "Add a NEW Family/Guest" button, you can put all the details of the family (who from their brood are invited, etc.) or the guest (and probably companion) and the events you would like for them to attend (engagement party, rehearsal dinner or just ceremony/reception).

One of the most important tools in this online wedding planner (and perhaps the priority of every wedding preparation) is the Budget tool found in the next tab. Here, you can track all the expenses you have incurred during this time. A detailed budget breakdown is presented when you click on the menu on the left side of the screen. With this, you can easily track how much you would have to spend for your engagement party, rehearsals and wedding suppliers, who would spend for them, and when the balance is due. What I find nice about this part is that it calculates the total budget instantly when you put in the amount information in any of the subcategories, so you can immediately see how much you've already incurred up to this time.

The Events tab helps you organize all pre-wedding and actual wedding day details. You can input location and date details, who your officiant will be on the day of your wedding, and other things. Details of your wedding vendors and and their contact numbers may also be entered here for archiving. If you're planning to get a gift registry, you can also put their information here, as well as the items included in the registry. Also in this tab, you will find helpful hints which offers tips on topics such as bridal showers and the like.

Lastly, there's a calendar that helps you be reminded of all the important dates of the wedding preparation. What's nifty about it is that you can opt to be reminded of these appointments automatically through email, making sure you won't forget when you'll have to go to the tailor or reserve your ceremony venue.

This online wedding planner also has checklists and worksheets that can help you choose the best suppliers for your wedding day. They also come in PDF form which you can save in your computer or print out.

My Wedding Workbook is such a helpful tool for all couples out there, especially those who are too much into the details of everything or those who are unable to have their own wedding planner oversee things for them. What's more, it's easy to use and navigate through, and you will find everything you need all in one place. No more worrying about missing the small details; you'll find everything is easy to organize. The layout is even commendable -- simple and not busy on the eyes. And did I mention that it's free? So if you're looking for a great wedding tool online, My Wedding Workbook is one you should get.