Now throughout the month of December, you are invited to share items from your wedding wishlists with them for a chance to make them all your own. BHLDN followers can either post their coveted items on Instagram using #BHLDNwishes and @BHLDN or share them on a group Pinterest board for a chance to win. Participants must email community@bhldn.com to be invited to the joint board.

To keep with the spontaneous nature of the giveaway, BHLDN will choose four lucky winners at random, private messaging each bride-to-be directly on Instagram or sending her a personal email to share the exciting news. She will then be gifted the wishlist item of her choice on 12/20/15. You can win everything from a gown to a reception dress or even a hairpiece… anything your heart desires!

photo by Naomi Farr

How it Works

Teeth whitening is pretty straight forward – if the main ingredient is peroxide (hydrogen or carbamide peroxide) it will remove all stains from the tooth that it comes in contact with. As long as the gel is fresh, there is no magic formula. What really determines a whitening product’s effectiveness is the device holding the peroxide gel to the tooth. The first step with Smile Brilliant’s kit is to create impressions of your teeth by mixing the pastes, placing them into the trays and then biting down to make an impression. This all takes just a few minutes and then you can send your impressions off to their lab so they can make custom trays that fit precisely to your teeth. If you’ve struggled with whitening strips because your teeth aren’t completely straight, these custom fitted trays will be especially useful for whitening your teeth.

Once you get your trays back you can start your applications. The number of applications required before all stains have been removed varies per person. The natural color of a tooth resides in the dentin which lies below the enamel (see graphic below). Enamel is the clear hard protective coating. Dentin is a soft bone like tissue. The natural color of ones dentin varies per person: most have off-white, greyish or yellowish coloring to their dentin. Very few have naturally bright white dentin. Whatever the natural color of your dentin is, is how your teeth will appear when all stains have been lifted from your teeth. Smile Brilliant doesn’t promise a bright white smile, but they can guarantee a stain-free one! The kit also comes with desensitizing gel to help prevent teeth sensitivity.

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*If you have been diagnosed with dental fluorosis, tetracycline stains, decalcification, a single dark tooth, or have had dental work you may want to refer to the article Types of Tooth Stains to determine if and by how much you will benefit from teeth whitening.

Want to see how white your teeth could be? Enter to win this teeth whitening kit HERE.
Giveaway runs January 15 to 29.
Anyone in the world can enter!

Giveaway:
Sponsored by Cuisinart, you can win a package of 5 products, perfect for use during the summer. Giveaway ends on August 25th, and a winner will be announced on September 2nd. Download the BridalPulse app and register to win!

The five products include:

• Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker
• Griddler
• Sparkling Beverage Maker
• Belgian Waffle Maker
• Blender & Food Processor

More About the App:

The BridalPulse app is brought to you by BrideClick and sponsored by Cuisinart. Just got engaged? Get inspired by what you love. BridalPulse is the first app that brings all your favorite bridal bloggers’ content and inspiration together in a digital magazine. Find the latest wedding information and trends, organized into popular wedding categories such as fashion, destinations, real weddings, DIY, hair & makeup, stationary and more! BridalPulse is a FREE app available in the Apple App Store for iOS.

BridalPulse includes these amazing features:

• Discover the latest and most popular wedding trends
• Instant updates with new content
• Save and share your favorite posts and ideas with friends
• Find and explore today’s top wedding blogs (including Sweet Violet Bride!)

Well, Hello Photography

In just 1 hour a day for 14 days, Crest 3D White Whitestrips Luxe Supreme FlexFit can whiten your teeth like a $500 professional treatment. If an hour sounds like a long time to wear something on your teeth it really isn’t. Just think of all the things you can do around the house for an hour while whitening (it’s less time than one episode of the Bachelorette!). Because of the new FlexFit technology these Crest 3D White Whitestrips are easier to apply and wear than previous kinds of whitening strips. They stretch and mold to a custom fit around your teeth (kind of feels like wearing a thin retainer). I found them much easier to use than the previous kinds that didn’t have flex.

If you want to get more uses out of your strips you can also cut a few of them in half so you get two treatments out of one strip. A half strip will cover the front 4-6 teeth on top or bottom depending on your teeth and how you stretch it.

Catherine Rhodes Photography

In addition to brightening your teeth, you’ll also want to make sure your lips are oh-so-kissable with these three steps:

• Make sure to drink enough water and stay hydrated (when your lips start getting dry and cracked it is a sign that you are already dehydrated). It might seem pretty basic, and it is, but it really does make a difference.
• Exfoliate your lips routinely (at least once a week) with a gentle lip scrub. I love the SUGAR&BUTTER lip exfoliator/plumper from jane iredale. On one side organic brown sugar gently removes dull, dry skin, and on the other a tinted lip plumper with shea butter and peptides moistens and plumps.
• Seal in moisture with a balm morning and night after washing your face. I love BITE Beauty’s Superfruit Butter which is packed with antioxidants and free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, synthetic fragrances or dyes.

Ready to get your mega-watt smile? You can get $2.00 off any Crest 3D White Whitestrips here. And also enter to win a free box of Crest 3D White Whitestrips Luxe Supreme FlexFit in this week’s giveaway below:

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Compensation for this post was provided by Crest via AOL Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Crest or AOL.

Blushing Bride

*Stem Cellular Repair CC Cream in either Natural Glow (Ivory or Sand) or Warm Glow (Tan)
*Refining Finishing Powder in Ivory, Sand or Tan
*Buki Brush
*Conditioning Lip Color, Pink

Eye Dew

*Stem Cellular Repair Eye Treatment
*Correcting Concealer
*Illuminating Eye Color in Champagne
*Multi-tasking Eye Brush

Kiss the Bride

*Hydrating Mist
*Conditioning Lip Color, Pink
*Glowing Cheek Color, Pink

Juice Beauty formulations are made without parabens, petroleum, propylene or butylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfates, pesticides, phthalates, artificial dyes or synthetic fragrances. Their products are never tested on animals. Be sure to check out my reviews of these products over on Sweet Violet Beauty and don’t forget to enter the giveaway below!

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All foil pressed wedding invitations are available with several matching accessories which make your entire suite SO gorgeous! Plus, you can save time with the new Minted Address Assistant, which means FREE guest addressing on your wedding order!

To top it off Minted place and escort cards can also be individually printed with each guest’s name and table number – for FREE. Simply choose a flat or folded card, pick a font, and enter or upload your guest information. Talk about a time saver (especially if your handwriting isn’t so great).

If you think all that sounds amazing, we’re sweetening your day even more by partnering with Minted on this week’s giveaway and we’ll draw not one but three winners to receive Minted gift certificates!

(1) $250 gift certificate
(2) $100 gift certificates as prizes

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All photos provided by Minted. FTC Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. You will not increase your chances of winning this giveaway by making a purchase. Winners are drawn at random.

One of my favorites are the hanging glass vases (starting at $3.75). I strung these five of various sizes and shapes with twine from a dowel that I had installed with eye hooks to the ceiling (that way you only have two holes in the ceiling instead of five). These would make a beautiful backdrop for a ceremony whether it is indoors or outdoors. If outside you can more easily string them from a wooden ceremony arch or even have dozens of them hanging from the trees! For my home I chose to fill them with orange-gold and white ranunculus, soft pink spider mums, and violet tulips.

These hang beautifully when hanging right off the wall as well. Simply tie a knot in the end of the twine and pin to the wall with a sturdy thumbtack. They brighten any wall in just about any room! For a barn wedding you could easily hang these all over the inside of the barn walls for the reception.

Tip: Hang the vases first and then use a small teapot or funnel to add water. This way you can adjust their heights without water sloshing around.

Luna Bazaar has SO many pretty hanging candle lanterns like the one below left (Temara design, $13.25). These channel a beautiful boho-Moroccan vibe and are such a unique way to bring light into any space. They can be used with either tea lights or flameless tea lights. Can’t you just imagine a dozen of these hanging from the trees at night for a wedding reception (with flameless tea lights of course). We also featured a real wedding last month in which the bridesmaids all carried different lanterns instead of bouquets -> take a look.

Paper Lanterns have a zillion applications as well when it comes to weddings. Below right I strung just a few of the no frills paper lanterns (which start at just $0.80 ea.) to brighten up a corner of my office. They look great even when they aren’t lit. Though these are just 6-inches, they offer them in sizes up to 36-inches. A few ideas for paper lanterns: cover an entire ceiling (or inside a wedding tent) with different sizes hanging at different lengths, hang them from the trees outside for your ceremony or reception, hang a cluster of them just above the ceremony area, or hang a row of them over a long table.

Paper Parasols…these are just so fun! I tried out a round 28-inch rice paper parasol in lilac ($6.95) and a scalloped 33-inch rice paper parasol printed with cherry blossoms on it ($11.95). They’re made with a sturdy bamboo stem and are well constructed though the paper is naturally delicate so you want to keep these away from moisture. Perfect for bridesmaids, guests, and even as decor. I’ve seen these used to decorate a high ceiling by hanging several of them in different colors upside down (by the handles). It creates a really cool look and serene yet whimsical ambiance.

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Photos by Naomi Farr (except image on giveaway entry which is from lunabazaar.com)

Holly and Leslie are two very creative ladies, and what I appreciate most about this visually stunning book is their candor and creativity. They admit upfront they aren’t professionally trained floral designers, but they’ve had a lot of hands-on experience and relate how to achieve the looks pictured in their pages in such a way that it is easy for anyone to do.

Before they dive into their main chapters, they go over choosing creative containers and some of their favorite flowers and herbs to use (and on every page throughout the book they identify what goes into every arrangement seen in the photos which is super helpful!). They also provide a basic list of what you should keep around for spur of the moment at-home arrangements. They then give step by step instructions on putting together a tied posy arrangement, medium arrangement with sass, and a big blowsy arrangement. This primes us well for the main chapters.

Their main chapters are arranged by style and include “natural” (one of my favs), “pastel & neons,” “market,” “happy brights,” “coastal,” “neutral pop,” “girly glam,” and “black & white.” I love that the authors encourage you to work with what you have, what’s in season, and provide valuable tips on how to keep things from looking tacky. i.e. when complementing pastels with neons, “only work with one or maybe two neon accents so things don’t become too busy or childlike and the eye knows where to look.” In other words, they have a natural inclination for style and they make it accessible to readers.

Everything about this book, right down to the fonts and layout is upbeat, cheerful, and most importantly friendly to read and inspirational. I love the mood board pages that set the tone for each chapter. The book contains more than a dozen step-specific tutorials, and many, many more quick-tip ideas, as well as entertaining ideas in each chapter. I will be referring to this book for years to come. With so many ideas for making rooms in the home and office fresh for spring, I am so excited to put to use some of the things I learned this month – and the great thing is, tons of the projects in this book are perfect for doing DIY wedding decor. Vintage flower bottle chair backs? Yes please!

A few of my favorite projects from this treasure trove are the quick and simple wreath, apothecary bottle chandelier, Liberty print flower pots, and string-covered jam jars. Ah! But there are so many more beautiful ones. You’re just going to have to take a look for yourself! Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a copy. We’ll be announcing a winner next week. Can’t wait? Order one right here.

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