In honor of the fact that it’s the first anniversary of my 30th birthday – thank you, Tiffany, for the perspective! – I thought it would be fun to have a little giveaway. The lovely gals at Polli, a super cute all-female Australian company that has been certified Low CO2, have graciously agreed to participate!

Isn’t that adorable? When Polli got in touch, I was just squeeing my head off. Why? More often than not, when I wear my engagement ring, I wear it on a chain around my neck! But I hate the way it sticks out – I look at this pendant and see the perfect, though admittedly cheeky, solution to my problem.

Win it!

Polli is offering Manolo for the Brides readers a chance to win a gorgeous and fun “diamond ring” pendant! To enter, visit Polli and tell me what you’d choose if you could have anything at all from their sweet jewelry, accessories, and housewares. I, for example, would love to get a Fractal Eco Clock for my birthday! So just let me know what Polli product you dig, and you’ll have one entry to your name.

For additional entries, do any of the following (and leave a comment for each additional entry):

1. As always, you can score one additional entry when you add Manolo for the Brides to your blogroll or let us know we’re already on your blogroll so we can link back to you

2. Score two additional entries when you sign up for the Polli newsletter

3. And you can pick up a whopping three additional entries when you tweet this giveaway or post about it on your own blog!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, October 31, and the winner – chosen via your friend and mine, the trusty random number generator – will be announced the next day. Good luck!

I’m absolutely to delighted to announce that the winner of the Nordstrom Bow Flap Silk Clutch is the lovely Sharon of Sharon & Greg’s wedding bonanza (seriously, aren’t they an adorable couple?). Big congrats, Sharon! Myself and someone from Designer Apparel will be in touch tout de suite!

I’ve always loved iris. The shape appeals strongly to me, the colors are right up my alley, and they can’t be beaten for pure visual drama. If you’re thinking of working them into your wedding, here are some ideas to help you out.

You can start right out with your save the dates.
These buttons from Zazzle run from $2.89 each down to $1.89 each, depending on how many you buy. Not wild about this one? There are other iris-themed save the date items available.
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I stumbled upon a neat little toy the other day in the form of Designer Apparel, a shopping search engine for designer (and better quality) clothes and accessories. They don’t actually sell anything – it’s basically just a way to browse for sweet stuff from shops like Bluefly and Bergdorf Goodman without having to go to each shop’s website. The price points are all over the map, though… as in, the search results might even include something I could currently afford!

Their newest little toy is a search that is designed with the mother-of-the-bride in mind. Shopping, when you’re the mother-of-the-bride is no picnic, so being able to see big bunches of mother of the bride dresses in one place is a boon to poor, overworked moms everywhere, as far as I’m concerned. Perhaps mom could treat herself to a fancy something or other from St. John. Or maybe something from Tadashi or J Kara, perhaps? The latter two are good choices for the MOB who’d rather not go into d-e-b-t.

Anyhool, when the nice people at Designer Apparel offered to help me do yet another giveaway, I said sure. For this latest contest, the prize is not a gift certificate but rather a pretty and feminine Nordstrom Bow Flap Silk Clutch. This luminous clutch could be a great gift for the mother-of-the-bride or a bridesmaid, and can be carried under the arm of by a delicate drop-in chain strap. It’s not the sort of bag you’d carry your life in, but it’s perfect for the kind of slim essentials you’d want to have with you when attending a wedding.

Win it!

Designer Apparel is offering Manolo for the Bride readers a chance to win a Nordstrom Bow Flap Silk Clutch. Love it! To enter, search Designer Apparel’s dress category in the “Sky’s The Limit” price range, and leave a comment on this post telling us which of the results you like best. Me? I am in lust with the Carolina Herrera floral jacquard ball gown, which is a mere $4,890. (And if that was the prize, I’d think long and hard about fixing the contest, so it’s a good thing it’s a clutch up for grabs instead).

For additional entries, do any of the following (and leave a comment for each):

1. As always, you can score one additional entry when you add Manolo for the Brides to your blogroll or let us know we’re already on your blogroll so we can link back to you

2. Score two additional entries when you sign up for the Designer Apparel My Sale newsletter

3. And you can pick up a whopping three additional entries when you tweet this giveaway or post about it on your own blog!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 13, and the winner – chosen via your friend and mine, the trusty random number generator – will be announced the next day. Good luck!

Can I just tell you that I love announcing contest winners? Maybe more than I love hosting giveaways, even though you can’t have one without the other. I’m happy this morning to announce that the winner of the $50 Gift Certificate to Dejarnette New Orleans is a certain Ray, who I think completed every single extra entry. Big congrats to you, Ray – I and Katherine from Dejarnette New Orleans will be in touch ASAP!

Giveaways are always fun, but I’m especially excited about this one! Why’s that? I got my very own bridal jewelry from Dejarnette New Orleans, and so when jewelry designer Katherine (the brains behind that very shop) agreed to do a giveaway… well, how could I not be super psyched? Dejarnette has amazing necklaces and earrings, some bracelets, too, and the stock is always changing because Katherine makes her one-of-a-kind pieces using found objects, vintage accessories, and other neat stuff that you can’t buy in bulk.

Right now, I’m loving this:

And this:

Note that if you see something you absolutely love in the Gallery of Pieces Past section of the site, Katherine can work with you to create a custom necklace or earrings or whatever that is as similar as possible. For me, she took what was a longer necklace with vintage glass pearls and turned it into a choker and a pair of matching earrings. I don’t think I could have found anything I loved more ‘off the rack’ and the set was all the more special because it was exactly what I wanted. Plus, Katherine packaged everything so prettily, which might not matter to some people, but I love that kind of attention to detail.

Win it!

Dejarnette New Orleans is offering Manolo for the Bride readers a chance to win a $50 gift certificate to that uber fab store. To enter, leave a comment on this post telling us which of Dejarnette New Orleans’ pieces you’ll snap up if you win.

For additional entries, do any of the following (and leave a comment for each):

1. As always, you can score one additional entry when you add Manolo for the Brides to your blogroll or let us know we’re already on your blogroll so we can link back to you

2. Score two additional entries when you sign up for the Dejarnette New Orleans newsletter

3. And you can pick up a whopping three additional entries when you tweet this giveaway or post about it on your own blog!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, May 30, and the winner – chosen via your friend and mine, the trusty random number generator – will be announced the next day. Good luck!

I’m super happy to announce that the winner (as chosen via the trusty random number generator) of the $75 Beau-Coup Wedding Favors Gift Certificate is the lovely LeeLa, of A Bride and Her Dog, who liked the personalized Hershey’s Chocolate Favors! Congrats, LeeLa! I and someone from Beau-Coup will be in touch shortly!