what I love: Shutterfly holiday cards!

So, I guess it is officially the holidays now, isn't it? For those of us who have been preparing since January 1st for this time to come, I'm sure you are more than prepared! For those of us who just realized that Thanksgiving is 7 days away (of which I am one), you are scrambling to get present lists together, gift wrap out of the back of the closet and holiday cards ordered ASAP. Well, the bad news is I can't buy nor wrap your presents for you; the good news is I can help you with at least one of those problems! For the holiday cards, I introduce you to Shutterfly! 

I am a huge fan of a photo card! Though I will be the first to admit that I haven't always been. But in recent years, as my friends began to get married, have babies, buy houses, etc, I quickly realized that the photo card at the end of the year kept me in the loop as to just what was going on in all of their lives! Plus a great photo card gives your friends and family a nice opportunity to have something to frame and put on the wall. Can't beat double duty gifts! I have staked out many a holiday photo card, since it's often hard (okay, I'll admit - nearly impossible!) to please my *discerning* eye. So needless to say, I was shocked when I started adding card after card to my Favorites on Shutterfly!

My current front-runner favorite (probably only if I had children as adorable as this though!):

Another fave:

 And yet another:

 I love how the text integrates itself into the photo card above and vice versa! Plus that background pattern is clean and modern without screaming "Hi, I'm a holiday card!"

My favorite part about Shutterfly is the fact that they don't have only one thing; they have lots of things! So maybe you can handle some of those gifts for your family all in one go! Some of my personal favorites include calendars, mugs, and of course the cards! I've already picked out our card for this holiday season, and I'm not gonna lie - I love it! Have you?!

*All images are courtesy of Shutterfly

p.s. Bloggers, it doesn't hurt that they're running a promotion right now; bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 :) Enjoy!
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what I love: United With Love!

Hopefully by now many of you DC brides have had a chance to become acquainted with the best thing to hit the DC wedding world since... sliced bread? And even if you aren't a DC bride, it wouldn't hurt to know about this fabulous new addition to the wedding blog world - United With Love!

image credit: United With Love

We are lucky enough to be one of the highlighted vendors on there, but you must take a moment to check out ALL the vendors in that, there vendor guide! They are hand-picked, and therefore are truly the best of the best in DC.

How sick are you of seeing these great, beautiful, gorgeous and outstanding pictures of weddings on so many wedding blogs only to find out that the budget of said weddings were upwards of $100,000? Frustrating, isn't it?! United With Love is truly filling a void for all those DC metro (and beyond) brides who want real, local inspiration on a real-person's budget!

image credit: United With Love

Well, ladies - I introduce you to United With Love. I'm 100% certain I love it. What do you think? Feel free to let me know!

what I love: featured weddings!

Hello loves! Well this week's love has been hijacked by another blog, but it's okay! I've given this week's post over freely to Elizabeth Anne Designs (EAD) because they have featured one of my favorite weddings EVER - Melinda and Jason's January gem!

To say I adore this couple is an understatement. They are the absolute bee's knees, and Melinda did a fabulous job as a Wedding Bee (Miss Lamb!) They have been through so much together, and they've continued to be each other's rocks. The love that they share is so very evident in their photos, so I'll share a few for you here! All photographs are courtesy of Sam Hughes Photography. For the rest of the feature you can check them out over on EAD!

So, yes, what I love this week is one of my own! But can you blame me?!?