One of the most exciting parts of our event on July 19th circled around the amazing giveaways that the brides were entered to win! Those who responded early to the event invitation received the honor of being on the VIP giveaway list and those brides who just went out of their to come to see the Spring 2013 Alyne collection that evening were placed on the regular giveaway list- don’t be fooled though! The regular giveaway included 10% off coupons from almost every vendor participating in the event! Here are the prize lists for both the VIP giveaway and the regular giveaway. The winners will be announced soon!

Regular Raffle Prizes

10% off wedding gown from The White Gown

10%off flowers for her wedding from The Little Glass Slipper

10% off a wedding canopy from Olam Weddings

VIP Raffle Prizes

Free Hairpiece up to $300 from The White Gown

10% off of a wedding canopy from Olam Weddings

25% off a wedding package from Christina Sczcupak Photography

Sara Bussman

MaryAnn Fenton

Cathy Eidorowicz

Orphia Bailey

by Caitlin

As a bridal salon, we find ourselves playing ‘therapist’ on more than occasion when it comes to the relationships with our brides- we wouldn’t have it any other way though. We have built long-lasting friendships and have helped women from across the country not only find their dream gown, but we have also provided guidance and solace for them as their lives transition. From these relationships we have received numerous beautiful thank you cards, including pictures and postcards from the wedding. One morning while perusing Pinterest, I found an amazing idea for a unique way to collect scattered ‘thank-you’ cards and place them into one meaningful binding. Here are the steps to create your own thank-you card notebook!  

Step One: Buy large, individual binder rings (I purchased ours at Staples)

Step Two: Collect your thank-you cards and place them in a pile with largest on the bottom and smallest on the top

Step Three: Punch holes into the sides of your cards (make sure not to punch through any meaningful words or pictures

Step Four: Individually place the cards through the holes

Step Five: Close the individual binder rings up and leave on coffee table or mantel (it will be beautiful enough to showcase in your home or office!)

Note: Make sure you buy larger binder rings, this way you can add more cards on when life says “thank you”!

Summertime usually equals vacations, honeymoons, impromptu road trips and long weekends. Eating away from home can cause potential problems to your waistline if you’re not careful with your food choices. There’s tempting food virtually everywhere and people tend to use vacation as an excuse to have a caloric overhaul. While it’s perfectly fine to treat yourself on vacation, it’s important to maintain some balance with smart choices. Contrary to what most people think, snacking (albeit, healthy) can actually help you from overeating at meals.  Be sure to avoid the dreaded drive thru window by keeping these healthy snacks available at all times.

• Packaged snacks can be a dieter’s lifesaver while you’re traveling. It takes the guesswork out of portion control and enables you to monitor your caloric intake. For instance, Tribe Hummus Snacker Packs contain 2 tablespoons of hummus for your eating enjoyment! They’re completely portable, and with only 50 calories, it’ll take the edge off your hunger, but stop you from polishing off an entire tub. Pair with a few GG Bran Crispbread crackers to add satiating fiber to your snack. In total, your snack will clock in at less than 100 calories but keep you full until your next meal.

• Skip the chips! While sitting poolside or seaside, it’s easy to reach for something crunchy to nibble on.  Avoid calorie-laden choices like chips and pretzels and opt for flavored roasted seaweed instead. This salty snack is typically eaten by the sheet (thin and flaky) and has more vitamin C than an orange! Packages range from 15 to 60 calories and come in delicious flavors like Wasabi and Spicy Chipotle (I love Annie Chun’s).  A drop in the bucket compared to a bag of Fritos!

• Packaged trail mix is infamous for packing tons of calories, fat and sugar. It seems like the smartest choice when faced with the plethora of snacks available at a rest stop, but it can contain 500 to 750 calories per package! Instead, try preparing your own mix so that you can control the content. Start with four cups of a high-fiber cereal (like Trader Joe’s Fruit and Nut Medley), add in about 30 crushed almonds, and combine with a half cup of raw cacao nibs (peeled, crushed cacao beans).  This should yield 4 servings, which can be divided and stored in individual bags for easy packing!

• Sometimes you just need something sweet! Satisfy a confectionary craving with a dried fruit snack. Most come in pre-portioned packages, which will control the amount that you eat. Matt’s Munchies makes an all-natural one for less than 100 calories per pack. The best part? It’s a peel and eat, chewy type of snack, so it may take you awhile to finish it. This means you’ll be less likely to go in for a second package.

With all the possible stresses of traveling, why add weight gain to the mix? These four snacks are the most portable, easy on-the go snack option to get you through almost any situation. So whether it’s a plane, train or automobile, you’ll be prepared!

Nutritionist

Courtney DeSimone is the founder of her own Manhattan-based private practice called Beyond the Pyramid. She holds a Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from New York University and is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.  Her days are spent counseling clients in all aspects of nutrition from weight loss to food preparation. When she’s not in her office or writing, you can find her reading the latest in health literature, rushing to a Flywheel spinning class or walking her miniature daschund.   Her passion for nutrition and food is derived from a personal place and she’s a firm believer that what you put into your body directly affects how you live your life.  You can often hear her saying “Nutrition is like your life, learn as you go!” For questions or to set up a consultation feel free to e-mail her at: cad360@nyu.edu

One of our brides was featured on the Project Wedding Website! Described as “Artistic, Funky, Brooklyn wedding”, we couldn’t agree more. Our bride Clara could not look more beautiful and the perfect backdrop for such an amazing event our beloved DUMBO, Brooklyn.

Photos by Katie Osgood.

by Caitlin

Here they are! The first reveal of our awaited “TWG cocktail event” photos. Brides, models, and vendors alike came not just to see the new Spring 2013 Alyne collection, but to also to share ideas, contact information, and bounce concepts around for a few hours at our boutique in DUMBO. Special thanks to our fabulous photographer, Chrissy Sczcupak, as well as Michelle Friedman of OLAM Weddings who built the beautiful canopies displayed at the event. Cary Pereyra from The Little Glass Slipper crafted the delicate floral arrangements and the lovely women from One Girl Cookies brought the unique wedding cake and guest favors! After such a successful event, I am sure The White Gown will be hosting many more lovely events for the bridal industry-come visit us in DUMBO or email us to make sure you don’t miss the next one    

Colette Wyman

Christina D’Adamo

Chelsay Lacourse

Marina Giwargis

Erin Gaffey

Christine Byun

Devon Berkshire

by Caitlin

We had an amazing event last night here at The White Gown- so exciting in fact that we can’t wait for the photographer’s pictures to be sent to us before telling (and showing) all of our readers about our evening cocktail event. While we are waiting for the lovely Miss Christina Sczcupak to send us the finished pics we wanted to highlight our DIY from the event- tissue pom poms.

Inspired by Pinterest and motivated by a little Martha Stuart love- we made what felt like 40 different tissue pom poms in all different shapes, colors, and sizes. They were hung onto light fixtures, piled high on shelving, and placed throughout our showroom area where the main event of our party was  displayed- the Alyne spring 2013 collection (the trunk show starts today and lasts all weekend ladies!).

Like what you see? Here are the steps for making these fabulous tissue pom poms.

1. Buy tissue paper – choose the colors that fit best with the venue. We chose a citrus-floral combination of yellow, orange, pinks, and white. You can find tissue paper at any store that sells cards (we bought ours at Hallmark!)

2. Take EIGHT sheets of tissue paper and fold them short-ways in an accordion fashion (it will look like a fan when you are finished).

3. Use a twistie-tie around the center of your long-fan like rectangle. (Your finished product should look like a giant clown-sized bow-tie!) Now is that time that you can cut the edges to create different shapes

4. Once you have your bow-tie finished and cut, begin to separate your layers of tissue paper- be careful not to be too rough with the paper because it tears easily. Once your have separated all of the layers, move them around and fluff them up into a sphere.

5. Now your adorable pom-poms are finished! Hang them like we did below or throw them all together to make one beautiful pile of fluffy flowers.

We have known Dana ever since her sister Alexis came in to our shop to look for her wedding gown, actually we have had the pleasure to meet most of the family We were glad to see her familiar face back in our store to find her wedding gown as well, and so she did! Her beautiful Fabi gown by Enzoani. We were so excited to see her photos in our Mailbox. Here they are for you to enjoy as well.

Photography by Joseph Lin Photography

Meaghan Gallagher

Betsey Ehlers

Liz Hall

Caroline Nelson

Janey Rountree

Megan Hilton