Are you tired of buying boring bridal shower gifts that will just end up in someone’s closet? I am, which is why I compiled a list of unique and sophisticated bridal shower gifts from one of my favorite websites, Etsy.  So, after you order your Bridal Shower Invitations from Wedding Paper Divas, start gift planning with some of the following ideas:

The Name Game: Turn the couple’s new name or monogram into a work of art!

Word Art: Take the couple’s wedding vows or wedding song and have them translated onto a canvas.

Wedding Dish: Forget china! Find your friends a beautiful keepsake dish that will remind them of you and their big event.

We hope some of these ideas inspire you to find the perfect shower gift for your loved ones. Good luck!

When I stumbled across these photos on the internet this morning, I had to post them!  Check out this week’s Real Weddings - these old wedding photos from each of our presidential candidates:

John & Cindy McCain, May 17, 1980

Barack & Michelle Obama, October 3, 1992

Hopefully, you and your honey are in agreement over who should be the next president.  Even if you’re not, make sure your voice is heard–get out there and vote!  Besides having a part in America’s future, you’ll also score some free treats.  A few companies want to say “thanks” for voting by offering free election eats:

1.  Starbucks Coffee - Show of your “I Voted” sticker and you’ll get a free Tall regular coffee at participating Starbucks locations.  Re-energize so you can stay awake to find out the election results!

2.  Krispy Kreme Donuts - The perfect compliment to a free cup of coffee?  A delicious donut!  Make a quick stop at Krispy Kreme where you’ll get a free donut in return for your vote!

3.  Ben and Jerry’s - Visit any Ben and Jerry’s ice cream store between 5pm and 8pm on Election day and show off your “I Voted” sticker.  The reward?  A free scoop of ice cream!  Who would turn down such a sweet treat?

So get up, get out and vote.  Then, take the one you love to cash in on one (or all!) of these snacks.  America–and your tummy–will thank you!

This couple must really love the Redskins (and each other) to pull off this cute homage to the NFL. I love football, but I’m not sure I could convince my bridesmaids to sport Chargers jerseys over their gowns! I’m totally impressed by this pair’s dedication to their team.

Happy Halloween from DIY Divas!  Now, on to the fun.

This week we are featuring DIY Hair pieces, which can cost upwards of $200 if you purchase them from a retailer.  Rachel, our ever-crafty coworker, has found a way to completely bypass the bridal boutique and instead make gorgeous, chic hairpieces that are perfect for a bridesmaid or even a bride!

Step 1: Head to your nearest craft store and peruse the faux flowers section.  You’ll be surprised at how realistic and beautiful many of them are.  Once you’ve found the perfect flower, you’ll also need a hot glue gun, a small square of felt cut into a circle with a hole in it, and a little clip (also available at any craft store).  You can also purchase any sort of adornments to add to your flower, such as feathers, lace or jewels.

Step 2:  Open the clip and slide it through the hole in the felt.  This will be the back of the hair piece where you’ll attach it to your hair.

Step 3:  Place a dollop of hot glue on the back of the felt between the clip and the felt.  This assures that the clip will stay on and not detach in the middle of your wedding!

Step 4: Take the hot glue gun and use it to attach your flower as well as any additional accessories you’ve purchased to your felt backing.

Step 5:  Finally!  You have a beautiful hair piece worthy of a princess.  I love the look of this one with the exotic feathers.  It’s very vintage and modern at the same time.

Maybe the man in your life wimped out on your “Bacon and Eggs” costume, or maybe he’s too devoted to emulating Christian Bale’s rendition of Batman this year for a themed couple’s costume to work—either way, you’re stuck for a costume idea and Halloween is tomorrow (eek!).

Fear not! Visit one of your favorite (and most affordable) neighborhood stores to whip up one of these fab costumes in no time:

• Pick up a preppy blazer, a ridiculous headband and some killer heels from Forever 21 to turn yourself into one of the stars of “Gossip Girl”

• Run to Target for one of Isaac Mizrahi’s glamorous little black dresses to transform yourself into Audrey Hepburn

• American Apparel offers a fantastic array of DIY costumes, so be sure to check out the website before you stop in at the store to turn yourself into a laundry basket, 80’s workout star or skunk!

• Dash in to Barnes & Noble to pick up a book by your favorite author, and then dress up like a literary celeb as suggested in this great Los Angeles Times‘ blog post!

I love flipping through magazines like US Weekly and People to see the latest in red carpet fashion.  Often the dresses on the red carpet are a great way to get ideas for your bridesmaids or any upcoming wedding that you have to attend.

Below are a few designer gowns seen on the Red Carpet throughout 2008 that are sweet on the eyes…

Photos from E! Online

Still looking for the perfect Halloween costume for this weekend? If so, check out The Nest’s list of 33 wacky costumes that are perfect for couples.

A few of our favorites include:

• Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes
• He-man & She-ra
• Pam & Jim from “The Office”
• Heidi & Spencer from “The Hills”
• Ketchup & Mustard

For more ideas, click here.

You’ve gathered together your guest list, picked the date and time and word of your impending nuptials has begun to spread.  Suddenly, the questions are pouring in.  What is the dress code? How did you meet?  What will you be serving?  Where are you registered?

Instead of handling all of these requests one by one, why not obtain your very own, personalized wedding website to share with your guests?  Most sites allow you to add photos, music, your own theme, and even offer a guest book for people to sign.  To help you find the perfect placement, we’ve compiled a list of the best sites offer wedding websites.

-Nearlyweds! offers a variety of templates and a unique website address, all for only $49 for two years.  You can try the site free for two weeks with no risk.  Best of all, choose from a variety of Wedding Paper Divas templates to match your invitations!

-Wedding Wire offers their own variety of wedding website, and best of all, they’re free!  With an Online RSVP tool, unlimited number of pages and up to 200MB of storage, you can’t go wrong.

-MyWedding.com offers all of the features you’re looking for, also for free!  As an added bonus, you’ll find Wedding Paper Divas templates with matching invitations offered through their site.  Enjoy a guest book, a unique online registry through Wishpot, Online RSVP and more.

-For only $70 a year, WedORama offers extravagent Flash websites with your own www.com address.  With the ability to have a professional looking site including video, music, interactive quizzes, a wedding day countdown and more, you get a ton of cool features for your money!

-eWedding.com also offers free websites that have been featured on ABC, CBS, The Wall Street Journal and more.  Get all your basic tools plus beautiful templates and unlimited support and photos.

Regardless of which wedding website you choose, your guests will be thrilled to have a one stop shop for all your wedding information.  Have fun with your site and make it a unique place to showcase all of your wedding info!

Most people think of the white wedding gown as being one of the oldest traditions in the book.  When I was looking for my wedding gown, the thought never entered my mind to step outside of the white/off-white color realm.

However, trends have emerged pointing to a more nontraditional approach to the wedding gown.  A day doesn’t go by that I don’t stumble across some sort of colored wedding dress while thumbing through a bridal magazine.  Just recently, Diva Dialogue blogger Lea shared a photo of a gray dress with me:

Contrary to what you may think, colored wedding dresses are nothing new.  As a matter of fact, white dresses didn’t become popular amongst all class levels until the late 18th century.  In the case of the gray dress, this was traditionally worn by the lower class in the 18th century.

Step back in time even further and you’ll find that traditional wedding dresses in Medieval times were rarely white when planning an extravagant wedding.  Instead, they focused on jewel tones such as ruby, sapphire and emerald, and were often worn by princesses and the upper class.  Today, these choices still exist, such as this red Fiorenza dress from Maggie Sottero:

…And another example straight off the runway in emerald green…

So you tell us!  What do you think?  Do you like the colored wedding dress trend, or do you prefer to stick to the traditional varying shades of white?