Mary wins Groomology: What Every (Smart) Groom Needs to Know Before the Wedding by Michael Essany and Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings

She was chosen by the Random Number Generator.

Stay tuned for more book giveaways!

And if you’re feeling overwhelmed with the whole wedding planning thang, you’ll find comfort in Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings

I’m offering these two books to one lucky winner. Just fan IW on Facebook and leave a comment on here telling us about one thing that stresses you out about planning your wedding. The contest will end June 18, 2011, 11:59 Eastern. The winner will be selected by the Random Number Generator. Open to Canadian and US residents only.

Here’s more info on Groomology: What Every (Smart) Groom Needs to Know Before the Wedding:

The ring’s on her finger, her to-do list is growing, and her mood is frantic. What’s a groom to do? Let Groomology show him how becoming a partner in the wedding process can make the whole event more enjoyable, meaningful, and memorable. Time and time again, soon-to-be husbands only tackle what the bride-to-be has told them to do. Groomology outlines these traditional groom’s duties but goes a step further to instruct grooms in the art of getting involved.

Grooms Will Learn The Best Strategies For A Happy Bride, Including:

• Being Sensitive To the Bride’s Needs and Worries
• Taking Over Tasks the Bride Doesn’t Want
• Understanding How Much Work Goes Into It All
• Reducing Her Stress
• Giving an Opinion
• Letting Go of an Opinion
• Being Creative
• The One Thing He Needs to Do
• The Benefit of Venting
• When Doing More Is Less

Complete with helpful resources, a guide to bridal party responsibilities and etiquette, tips on hiring vendors, wedding statistics, and more, Groomology is sure to keep couples happy throughout the tricky planning process.

Here is what Publisher’s Weekly has to say about Colleen Curran’s Altared: Bridezillas, Bewilderment, Big Love, Breakups, and What Women Really Think About Contemporary Weddings:

Curran solicits tart tales from 27 writers, normally willful and independent women, who, for the most part, have taken reluctant swan dives into the consumerist culture of the bridal industry. Contributors including Curtis Sittenfeld, Lisa Carver and Amy Sohn never thought they’d catch the bridal bug. Still, they each get lost in the fantasy but come out the other end with a meaningful realization. The essays delve into the fraught conversations, negotiations and neuroses around wedding vows, dress shopping, etiquette, registries and budgeting. Sticker shock is a common theme, among women who subvert the wedding industry with a DIY approach (Rory Evans topped cupcakes with handmade clothespin bride-and-groom figures), and others who pay a price despite saving money. Julie Powell’s entertaining experience trying “to make a meal for hundreds into an expression of who you are” illuminated an incontrovertible equation: “hundreds of guests + unreasonable expectations + catering – billions of dollars = rubber chicken.” Some of the more heartfelt pieces include Jennifer Armstrong’s story of how she called off her wedding, and Lara Vapnyar’s poignant recollection of a $16 gown and the leap of faith that marriage entails. Brides-to-be or women who’ve been there will easily see themselves in these true stories. 

Amy is the lucky winner of our Blair Nadeau Millinery vintage hair fascinator giveaway. Amy, who was chosen by the random number generator, wins a gorgeous handmade ivory peacock fascinator. Enjoy!

We love vintage weddings here at IW! And we also love giveaways! We were tickled when Toronto designer offered up one of her awesome vintage-inspired hair fascinators ($100+ value) as a prize for one lucky IW reader!

Before we get into the giveaway details, we’d like to share a little about about Blair Nadeau from Blair Nadeau Millinery.

What’s your design background?

Blair: I’m classically trained in fashion design from Ryerson University in Toronto and Textile Design from Beal Art School in London, Ontario.

Why fascinators?

Blair: I was on a buying trip in England in 2008 and discovered a beautiful fascinator boutique in Selfridges.  I was always interested in hair accessories and millinery and was blown away by the beautiful and intricate Royal Ascot type fascinators that I discovered in England. With my background in fashion and design, as well as my love of textures and textiles, I returned home to Canada and began designing my first collection of feather fascinators. I launched the company in 2009.

Tell us about your fascinators:

Blair:

The first collection, Whimsical Wonderland, is charming and whimsical. It includes vintage feather fascinators, cocktail hats, birdcage veils and flowers in beautiful romantic shapes and ethereal colours. Each piece is made from the highest quality feathers imported from Spain and the UK and are all hand-shaped and hand-trimmed and applied individually to each piece.  They are finished with handmade clusters of freshwater pearls or Swarovski crystals.

Now, onto the giveaway details.

There are three fascinators to choose from. Simply pick your fave from the following:

#1 – Whimsical Nude Fascinator

#2 – Whimsical Ivory Peacock Fascinator

#3 – Whimsical White Fascinator

Leave a comment below letting us know which one is your fave and why, then head on over to the IW Facebook fan page and ‘Like Us’. Winners will be selected randomly by the random number generator. Contest closes Saturday March 26, 2011 at 11:59 pm. Contest open to U.S and Canadian residents only.

Good luck!

Sea glass has me by the heart. It is so much more to me than pretty glass that washes up on the beach. It is food for my soul.  It is a connection to Mother Nature. It is meditation. That’s how big it is to me.

And now it is a creative outlet. I have collected  so much gorgeous sea glass from Lake Erie during the past year, that I am thrilled to be able to highlight some of the best pieces in sea glass jewelry.

To celebrate the launch of my Etsy store, I’ll be having regular giveaways of my sea glass jewelry here at IW.

Handmade sea glass jewelry is perfect for bridesmaids gifts. You can match the sea glass to their dresses! (I make custom sea glass necklaces to suit your colour scheme.)

If you are having a beach wedding, a sea glass necklace is a perfect accessory to your wedding dress.

And if you don’t want to wear sea glass around your neck, what about a “Something Blue” charm that you can add to your wedding bouquet?

This week I am giving away a lovely filigree teardrop locket filled with green sea glass. It comes with a 20 inch sterling silver plated necklace.

All you have to do is Like Me on Facebook and leave a comment here telling me if you have ever collected sea glass. I’d also love to know your favourite colour of sea glass.

The contest, which is open to residents of all countries, will close on December 1, 2010, 11:59 pm EST.  The winner will be picked by the Random Number Generator.

And don’t forget to check out my Etsy shop and buy handmade for Christmas.

The eighth person to comment on this post is Erin. Erin wins a Senseo Single Coffee Maker thanks to the generous folks at Senseo. Thanks to everyone who participated!

By Darin (hubbie)

My brother-in-law introduced me to the art of coffee making several years ago and we’ve been using his french-press method ever since.  When the folks at Senseo came along and offered us a coffee maker to review that would automate our coffee making experience, I was a bit skeptical.   But, I must say, if you enjoy coffee, this makes a fine cup for your one-at-time needs.

You’ll need to stock up on the little coffee pods and always have some on hand.  If this will be your main source of java for your morning wake-up and you like your coffee strong bodied (like we do), then you might be using 2 pods per cup of joe.  Here’s how it breaks down using some amazon.com numbers:

Senseo Coffee Maker:  $64.99 – one time purchase . (Amazon.com link)

Senseo Coffee Pods (Breakfast Blend) = $27.84 / 108 pods @ 2 pods/cup = $0.52 / cup.  (Amazon.com link)

So if you’re on the go and need a single cup for the road, 50 cents brews you a very fine cup of coffee.  My favourite is the Breakfast Blend.

Now, there’s a caveat here. I checked out the reviews on amazon.com and there’s lots of 5 and 4 star reviews on this coffee, and plenty of tips and techniques to make that big cup out of just one pod, so do some reading up on other coffee junkie’s methods there too as you might be able to get it down to just $0.25 a cup with some practice.

The nice folks at Senseo are sponsoring a giveaway here on IW and offering up a Senseo Coffee Maker to one of our readers.

Here’s what you need to do to have a chance at winning:

1. ‘Like’ us on Facebook (already a fan? no prob.)

2. Leave a comment at the end of this post telling us about your favourite at-home coffee making method. Remember, it’s how you make your coffee at home, not what your favourite coffee shop brew happens to be.

3. Cross your fingers and wait until I announce the winners on August 15, 2010!

You have until 11:59 p.m. August 13, 2010  to enter. This contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. only. Winners will be selected by random number generator.

Good luck!

Full Disclosure: I love coffee. Senseo gave me a coffee maker for free to try. I like their coffee. I have provided links in this post to the coffee maker and the coffee pods via my amazon affiliates account and if you make a purchase when you get there, amazon gives me a cut. That’s what keeps this website going. That seems to be how a lot of other bloggers do it too. Some are up front about it like us, others aren’t. We hope you find this site helpful and see that we’re not all fluff-n-buff and full of fake rah-rah-rah-siss-boom-bah about the stuff we get to review.

Sarah M. was the third one to comment on the giveaway. The number three was chosen by The Random Number Generator.

Congrats Sarah and thank to Photo Card Creations for offering up this lovely prize!

Looking for unique save the dates? Personalized wedding invitations? Thank you notes? Look no further! Photo Card Creations is offering IW readers a chance to win a $100 gift card!

Photo Card Creations is a leading online retailer of premium custom photo cards, announcements & invitations.  They specialize in wedding, baby & holiday cards.   Their cards are designed by talented graphic artists who will work with each customer to customize their cards to reflect their own personal style.

They just launched a shiny, brand spankin’ new website with hundreds of fresh card designs, and they’d LOVE your feedback!  Just leave a comment below telling us which card style from their website is your favorite & why you’d like to win this giveaway. And don’t forget to fan Intimate Weddings on Facebook!

Here’s what you need to do to have a chance at winning:

1. Fan Me on Facebook (already a fan? no prob.)

2. Leave a comment at the end of this post telling me which Photo Card Creations card style is your fave, and why.

3. Cross your fingers and wait until I announce the winners on June 1!

You have until 11:59 p.m. May 31, 2010  to enter. This contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. only. Winners will be selected by random number generator.

Good luck!