The New Issue Arrives TODAY!

Okay ladies -- I'm so sorry that I haven't been blogging lately. It's because I've been putting the finishing touches on our next issue, and if I may brag just a little bit, it's one of our best yet!

This past March, we had an amazing photo shoot with our gorgeous cover model finalists, Autumn, Amelia and Emily. These real brides are stunning and what spectacular models they were!

We scoured the Sacramento area for unique and interesting gowns — in fact we had more than 50 gowns at our shoot. Of course we didn't use every one of them, but we came close! This issue, the beautiful gowns came from The Bridal Box (www.thebridalbox.net), Diamond Bridal Gallery (www.diamondbridalgallery.com), Dreamnette Bridal (www.dreamnette.com), Miosa Bride (www.miosabride.com) and Always Elegant Bridal Boutique (www.alwayselegantbridal.net).

While we had great gowns, we also really wanted to add some color and whimsy by pairing the gowns with some fabulous hats, headpieces, veils and headbands — some that you might not necessarily think of as "wedding." Can I just tell you how fun these pieces were? They were a huge hit! The pieces came from Advantage Bridal (www.advantagebridal.com), Alice Hart Couture Millinery (www.alicehart.com), Granville Millinery Company (www.granvillemillinerycompany.com), Hair Comes the Bride (www.haircomesthebride.com), Tina Kite Millinery Company (www.tinakite.com) and Jazzy Jewelz by Nancy (www.jazzyjewelzbynancy.com).

Each finalist had their very own professional hair and make-up team for the day. I always say, "Never underestimate the power of great hair and make-up." If I can stress one thing to brides, always get your hair and make-up professionally done for your wedding day! These professionals are trained to highlight your natural beauty, and it ALWAYS shines through in the photos. Autumn's team: Rhianna Baldwin, Maye Le and Ghazaleah Parsa from SOFIE! SOFIE! Salon & Spa (www.sofiesofie.com). Ameilia's team: Image Provocateur and VIP-CAT Academy (www.imageprov.com). Emily's team: Andrea Newberry Jones and Stacy Humbird from Elements Hair Salon (530-626-6430).

It wouldn't be a wedding photo shoot without the flowers. Once again, our floral designers stepped up to the plate and created some of the most unique, creative and beautiful bouquets I've ever seen! Our floral designers for the shoot: Ambience Floral Design (www.ambiencefloral.com), Camino Flower Shop (www.caminoflowershop.net) and Flourish (www.flourishdesigns.com).

Now for the bling...oh yeah, we love sparkly things. Hey, we're girls! The more bling the better, wouldn't you agree? Bling was provided by Jazzy Jewelz by Nancy (www.jazzyjewelzbynancy.com) and Michael Greene & Co. (www.michaelgreene.com).

Location, location, location! What a cool location for our shoot. One of the challenges for our photo shoot is that we want to have so many little nooks and crannies available so that with each different look for our finalist, we can shoot her in a different location within the shoot location. We were definitely able to achieve that at Carvalho Family Winery at Old Sugar Mill (www.carvalhowines.com), wouldn't you agree?

And of course, what would the shoot be with out the photography? The exceptionally talented team at Sarah Maren Photography (www.sarahmaren.com) did the honors with this issue and the results are nothing short of spectacular (I really have to go find my thesaurus so that I can come up with more superlatives as they are all warranted here!). I couldn't be more thrilled!

But wait, there's more! That's right — this issue is packed with sooooo much more! Honeymoon ideas, tips and trends, 25 inspirational real weddings (not to mention the six appearing on our Web site that I'm uploading NOW!) and of course our Style Files Wedding Planning Resource Guide. We packed our Style Files with some pretty cool flowers, yummy cakes, elegant invitations — all from local wedding planning professionals! — and so much more, including our local wedding vendor lists! Phew, I'm exhausted!

Anyway, we really hope you like this issue! One of the best compliments we can get regarding our magazine is when we hear back from you, telling us how helpful you found our magazine in helping you plan your dream wedding day!

Enjoy!