Searching for simply elegant, custom made jewelry for your wedding day - or a unique piece for everyday? That is Christina McCluskey's forte. Simply elegant hand-crafted jewelry designed and hand-crafted by the artist from Center Moriches, NY is the ultimate touch to your wedding ensemble.

McCluskey was born into a family of artists, musicians and crafters. Her father had a beautiful voice but, she could not carry a tune. So turned to my mother's talent and found the artist in her. While the other girls were taking ballet lessons, she was taking painting lessons. Her weekends were spent with her grandparents and filled with sewing and baking with her grandmother and painting with her grandfather. In her late teens McCluskey's grandmother opened up a shop in her basement - everyone in the family was involved. Her grandfather made the wooden dolls and painted their faces while her grandmother made their clothes, quilts and all things that involved a sewing machine. McCluskey's mother, aunt and two great-aunts were also involved, sewing, knitting, crocheting and hot gluing...something. Since she was not very good at the sewing machine - she turned to making jewelry and she decided to turn her passion into a business.

"Each day I love what I'm doing and I'm still discovering new and beautiful designs," she says.

McCluskey will be happy to personally work with you to design that special piece for any occasion. She specialize in working with brides to create beautiful, custom designed jewelry for the entire bridal party, including the mothers of the bride and groom. For more information check out her designs here http://www.christinamdesigns.com/

Lake Placid Lodge knows that weddings can be overwhelming, so much so they've created the perfect answer to avoid the wedding chaos...ELOPE! Their elopement packages offers everything you need to make your "I do's" easy as pie and includes the following:

Accommodations

* Lodge King room, to be upgraded if available

* Complimentary made to order breakfast daily

* All onsite activities o Including bike riding  Kayaking, canoeing, electric boats, Mountain Biking, Yoga on Wednesdays at 8:00am 

Afternoon tea Arrival – Three-night minimum

* Chilled Champagne upon arrival

* Fresh flowers in your room (card may be personalized)

* Thick, luxurious monogrammed robes

* Tandem massage in your room Ceremony

* Beautifully Decorated Adirondack Style Arch

* Bride’s bouquet

* Groom’s boutonniere 

Private post-ceremony Hackercaft Champagne Cruise on Lake Placid Post Ceremony

* Private Dinner in the Wine Cellar, menu created especially for you by our Executive Chef, Kevin McCarthy

* Wine Cellar Dinner to include Sommelier paired wines

* Wedding Cake for two This Elopement Experience is $3,900.00 including three nights’ stay.

What could be easier than that? For more information check out their website here Lake Placid Lodge

Leave it to the Queen of the Adriatic, Venice Italy, to inspire photographer Ira Lippke. Lippke has just returned from the Venice Biennale, where he attended the openings of the internationally renowned art festival and connected with other artists, writers and curators. While taking in the latest in contemporary art, Ira was moved by the grandueur and timelessness of the legendary Italian city - and the fact that is it visibly sinking.

"The light was remarkable - the way it changes so drastically between a passageway to a canal and the massive Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute," Ira recalls. "This city is truly a jewel of human culture. The fact that all this irreplacable beauty is visibly being lost makes me enjoy it all the more. It's like life - Our relationships and the moments we have are even more precious, but are also fleeting. We need to enjoy them and fully engage those we love while we can."

Ira is inspired to remind couples to deeply experience and express themselves in their wedding. "The grandeur and artistic creativity of Venice reinforce my belief that couples should really have a great time with their wedding photography. "Kiss, laugh, cry, connect - openly and without self-conciousness: they make truly remarkable photographs. Italians are so expressive, and I encourage you to express yourself in your photos." Like Venice, your wedding day will be a beautiful, yet passing jewel. Photography that captures the spirit and character of the event will stand the test of time and help you continue to celebrate love, beauty, and passion!" For more information, visit www.iralippkestudios.com

Making sure your wedding invitations are just right can be a grueling process. Bella Carta Studio understands this and in order to make the experience easy and efficient for you they're pleased to announce the launch of their newly redesigned custom website, bellacartastudio.com. Bella Carta worked from the ground up with a great web design and production firm, Blend Studios, in Rochester, NY to create this fantastic showcase of their work. The portfolio allows them to show as many of their designs as they want, without limitations of space, and all as a reflection of Bella Carta Studio’s style. One of the most exciting features is the client resource center. Each client is able to easily obtain their design questionnaire and addressing templates, view their proofs online, provide feedback during the design process, and make final approvals on the site. A boon for long long-distance and local brides alike, seamless and secure. Hassle free invitation creation, that's something every bride can appreciate!

Drink now or forever hold your peace. That's the message from Wine Spectator with their latest review of vintages most notably one of our fav's Knapp Winery's 2007 Dry Riesling. The vintage from Romulus, NY received a score of 87 from Wine Spectator online.

James Molesworth’s review included the following notes, “Nice purity, with a crisp lime edge backed by slate and green apple notes that linger on the chiseled finish. Drink now. 307 cases made.” Wine Spectator Online, arguably the most influential source of wine information on the Internet, features more than 212,000 wine ratings, tasting reports, news and features, editors' blogs, videos and other original content you won't find anywhere else.

Along with this exciting news is the fact that Knapp Winery can now personalize wine Labels for favors and wine at your wedding!

Knapp Winery and Vineyard Restaurant will celebrate its 27th anniversary this year. The winery, one of the most popular stops on the famous Cayuga Wine Trail, invites visitors to sample more than twenty five wines, five cordials and brandies. Tourists can also enjoy lunch at the seasonal Vineyard Restaurant, stay at the lake house and enjoy special events, weddings, rehearsals and more.

Restaurant hours are 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and the tasting room hours are 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. Knapp’s Ice Cream Parlor and Pizzaria is now open featuring Strawberry Chardonnay, Peach Riesling, Black Cherry Jubilee and Logan Berry Chocolate in three sizes. Wood fired oven pizzas are available also each weekend. For more information about Knapp Winery & Vineyard Restaurant, special events, weddings, promotions contact us at 800-869-9271, knappwine.com or crystal@knappwine.com or find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

What bride doesn't like to dine in style? Few, I can tell you that, so its time you brides-to-be start registering for china and stemware that will make your food a feast. Might we suggest Simon Pearce collections? Simon Pearce, a handmade pottery company based out of Quechee, Vermont has unveiled Its New Dinnerware Patterns And Glass Designs. The Corinth and Cavendish Collections of hand blown glass and handmade pottery designs for the home and tabletop are currently available in Simon Pearce retail stores and on the company’s online store, SimonPearce.com.

“The new collections embrace Simon’s design philosophy. The lines are elegant and simple, truly pleasant to the eye. The quality and durability of the materials and techniques used to produce these pieces ensure the everyday functionality Simon Pearce is known for,” states James Zilian, Director of Product Development. “The clarity of the glass and the new white glaze for the pottery bring in versatility when dressing up or down your table setting. The Corinth and Cavendish Collections bridge the gap between casual and formal dinnerware.” The Corinth Collection is comprised of hand blown glass and handmade pottery designs. The pottery features sculpted and feathered edging and is offered in the new Dove glaze. They include a five-piece place setting, serving bowls, a platter, and a vase. To create the hand blown glass Corinth designs, Simon Pearce has developed a new production technique using a two-part mold made from two parts. The resulting designs feature a decorative fluted texture and the signature hand-finished rim Simon Pearce is renowned for. The glass designs include stemware, bowls, and vases.

The Cavendish Collection is also comprised of both glass and pottery designs. The popular Cavendish wine glass, one of Simon’s first creations, inspired the look and feel of the collection. Originally introduced with a water goblet and versatile Cavendish wine, the line has evolved to include the more varietal-specific Cavendish red wine. Timeless and simple, the Cavendish pottery is also offered in the Dove glaze and includes a five-piece place setting, bowls, vases, and a platter. Bon appetit!

Stems is here to reassure you that you don't have to give up what you envisioned for your wedding just because you can't afford it in today's economy. Stems DIY service can be your "virtual" floral and decor designer, offering our resources, information and top design options that you won't be able to get anywhere else without spending a fortune. We personally guide you through every step and all you have to do is the final assembly. Roll up you sleeves and have some fun.

Located in Red Hook, NY, contact Stems at www.stemsinternational.com/ to find out more!

With the cost of weddings seeming to grow exponentially, one way for a bride to feel better about all the spending is to seek out vendors that give back to the community through charitable donations. One such business is Angela's Bridal in Albany, NY.

During the entire month of October, Angela's Bridal will pay the sales tax for each bride that makes a personal contribution to Gilda's Club. Gilda's Club is a local support community for anyone whose life had been touched by cancer. It is a wonderful feeling for a bride-to-be to know that part of what she spends creating her perfect day can help brighten the day of another! Not to mention, saving a little in the process, which always helps! Angela's Bridal feels strongly about participating in the community by sharing the good fortune of their success! For more information on Gilda's Club please visit www.gccny.org and for more information on Angela's Bridal please visit www.angelasbridal.net

In between selecting the dress, the location, the flowers and food there's one item that is easily forgot, the jewels! Okay, we're not talking about the wedding bands, although we'd hate to forget those either! We mean your wedding day accessories. As any fashion diva knows, the proper bauble can make or break the dress and yet far too many brides wait until the last minute to select their jewelry.

For New York City brides, however, this problem is no longer a chore. Tejani Jewelries will now come to you! This highly personalized service is available 7 days a week with no obligation to purchase. Tejani tells us, simply select up to ten pieces from their treasure trove of earrings, bangles, necklaces and chokers to compliment your bridal gown and let them handle the details. This free styling service allows you to try on your jewelry with your dress so you can decide first-hand exactly what looks best for your perfect look on the most important day of your life! If you have any questions, please call their showroom at 212.354.3144. Or visit their website www.tejanibridaljewelry.com

Here at Well Wed we love sweet things and nothing could be sweeter than this delightful candy table produced by LRT Events. Using pastel colors and large glass jars, LRT created the ultimate reception piece leaving guests with visions of sugar plums dancing through their heads long after the wedding was over.

LRT Events is a full service event design and planning team owned and operated by Event Stylist Lynette Renee. Their goal is to design events that reflect the very things that make someone an individual. Whether creating high end corporate events, weddings, bridal showers, baby showers, anniversaries, tea parties, or kid’s parties, LRT will design an event that illuminates the best of you. From Manhattan to the Hamptons, their budget-friendly designs transform an event...into an experience. For more information on LRT check out their website http://www.lrtevents.com/