Act Quickly! Great Deals for Brides-To-Be This Week Only!

Had a wonderful time with a wonderful couple who celebrated their wedding Saturday - be on the lookout for that recap next week!

In the meantime, I have some great deals for brides out there - but you have to act quickly, because there's a short shelf life on two of these deals!

First, if you've never checked out Stella and Dot before, you should. Great jewelry, and some phenomenal pieces that would look wonderful for weddings. And, if you are on a budget, there are plenty of options that are less than $25 and $50!

Until 10 p.m. on October 31, Stella and Dot rep Jennifer Erickson is offering a sweet (see what I did there?) deal to all my Be Sweet readers out there - 20% off retail value. Here's how it works: Take a gander at the the online catalog, and then dial up Jennifer at 214-986-3261 to let her know what you've picked and that you're a reader and fan of Be Sweet. She'll process your order and apply the discount, and you'll get a great piece for yourself - or something great for all your bridesmaids! Really, you could conceivably get all your gifts handled in one fell swoop - moms, bridesmaids, and your jewelry!

Take a look at some of these gorgeous options here, here, here and here.

The second deal comes from a bonafide Be Sweet bride. Jackie Reitz of Antiquity Bridal Accessories is offering a complimentary matching boutonniere for any bouquet offer. Jackie offers stunningly gorgeous handmade bouquets and accessories - and can work with a lot of different budgets.

To get this offer, you'll need to go to Antiquity's Facebook page, and click on the offer. This'll only work if you have a Facebook account! The offer will then be sent to your email address.

What Is a Wedding, Anyway?

I hear it a lot.

"A wedding is too expensive."

"I don't want the white dress and the tux."

"I am just going to elope."

And this is a good opportunity for me to explain Be Sweet's philosophy about weddings: There are only really three things needed to have a wedding - a couple, an officiant, and a marriage license.

Seriously. So that elopement? Still a wedding. That white dress? Not necessary. Expense? Again, not necessary.

At the end of the day, a wedding is where you get married. End of story. All the embellishments (which yeah, I know, are kind of my job and so I may be actually losing customers by saying this) are just that - gilding the lily, so to speak. Don't want the white dress? Don't have to have it. Don't want to spend a lot of money? Don't need to. Some of the most fun weddings I've been to involve maybe 20 people, a quick dash to a city park for vows and then a pub crawl. Minimal expense, massive fun.

In fact, when the Mister and I got hitched, we decided early on that we weren't the type to be comfortable with an entire day focused on us. So our focus became throwing an awesome party - where we just happened to get married.

Once you begin to think about weddings as having only three absolutes, the rest becomes easy. The other stuff is literally whatever you want it to be, including a quick ceremony followed by a rousing game of beer pong.

House of Brides - Proceed With Caution?

Here at Be Sweet, we pride ourselves on establishing good relationships with our fellow vendors - after all, we're all in this together, and the more we help each other out, the happier our brides are, right?

But that philosophy isn't always shared by every vendor out there. And as much as I hate to talk poorly of other vendors, I feel it would be irresponsible if I didn't mention a problem one of my brides and her bridesmaids are having.