This week's This and That is probably one of the biggest ones I've ever posted - so here I go . . .

I'm honored to have been a contributor in the Fall issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings Magazine with Seasons of Life Wedding and Event Planning and Kricia Morris Photography, both of Hawaii. Our "Bridal Shower with Etsy Flair" was showcased and it's entirely eco-friendly. You can see the 3 pages spread here on pages 44-46. Thank you Katie for a lovely feature.

*** GIVEAWAYS ***

The giveaway for the week right here is a $100 shopping spree to Accent the Party

The Demoiselle is offering a lucky bride-to-be Wendy Mink earrings for her ENTIRE wedding party {up to 6}, plus one pair of Wendy Mink earrings of $98 value for the bride herself. Winner announced Wednesday September 29th.

WicksnCandlesticks will be giving away a variety of products valued at over $250 dollars. Drawing held on October 4th.

Get Married will be hosting the 1st-ever wedding with a million guests in New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2011. Contest open thru October 1st.

Creative Custom Card Boxes is giving away a $130 value card box. The card box features Swarovski Crystals which spell out "Thank You"! It can be used for a wedding, bridal shower or any other event!. Ends today at 11:59 pm EST.

Marina del Rey Convention and Visitors Bureau Launches its First-Ever Digital Photo Hunt, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" for Families, Foodies and Couples to Discover Marina del Rey and Win Big In the Seaside City. Deadline is October 27th.

LiDestri Photo is offering free wedding photography for a wedding anywhere in the country between December 2010 and December 2011.

*** DISCOUNTS ***

Wedding Salon is headed to Chicago this October and earlier this week I posted how you can receive complimentary tickets for two.

The Wedding Outlet is offering 10% off any size order with coupon code "Apple of My Eye" thru Monday September 27th.

Thompson Traditions is a small family owned business focused on creating quality handmade candles and bath & body products. We offer personalized wedding and bridal shower favors as well as a variety of candles perfect for centerpieces and wedding venue additions. Mention "Brenda's Wedding Blog" and receive 10% off your order.

If you have a giveaway or discount that you would like to share with my readers, please leave a comment :)

Sweet Romance designs and manufactures wedding jewelry with an antiquarian flair. Their jewels are a top choice for brides who want their jewely to be as special as their gown. And, they are inviting readers of my blog to shop with them and receive a 10% discount on any purchase from their wedding web boutique by mentioning "Brenda's Wedding Blog" at checkout.

Giraffe at Home now offers ultra luxurious white bathrobes which are the perfect gift for a bride getting ready for her big day and to wear after the wedding. The bathrobes are available at Nordstrom.com (retail $198) and the silky satin robes have a soft plush lining and cinches at the waist with a comfortable tie.

Letterpress Designs is a vintage letterpress studio located on Union Square in New York City where everything is crafted by hand and printed one at a time. They work closely with their brides and grooms-to-be to create custom wedding invitation sets that reflect their style and theme. Letterpress Designs’ menus, programs and escort cards were the first letterpress cards to be featured on WeTV’s “My Fair Wedding” for their Zen Wedding episode which aired last month. And, I just love this - for brides who prefer to do it themselves, the Letterpress Designs Studio is unique and offers guidance in design, hand setting type and printing of the brides very own invitations and reply cards in one of their DIY Letterpress Wedding Invitation classes.

On a recent My Fair Wedding, wedding planner David Tutera said that every bride should do something to clear her mind a few days before the wedding. What better way to forget about wedding stress than to be a few thousand feet above it? With an introductory flying lesson, just about any bride can actually sit in the pilot’s seat and taxi, take off, and fly the airplane (of course, her co-pilot will be an FAA-certificated flight instructor). At the Let's Go Flying web site, you will find a wealth of information on learning to fly, and a database of more than 3,500 flight schools nationwide, most offering discounted introductory flights for around $99.

Couples Could Win $10K In Time for Their Big Day. Pyrex® brand is launching the America’s Hottest Culinary Couple national search to find its first “real” spokescouple and the stars of an original online cooking and entertainment series. The winning couple will be awarded the title, along with their own online TV series, $10,000 cash and $500 in Pyrex® products to equip their kitchen in style. Visit Americas Hottest Culinary Couple for more information, official rules and to upload a video.

And, to close out today's This and That, I wanted to share with you my favorite inspiration board from this week, it's titled "Billy Buttons and Cactus" from Wedding Rumors.

Image Credits: Bridal Bouquet, Bride & Groom/ Boutonniere, Cactus Place cards,
Heart Place cards, Table Setting & Centerpiece, Table Setting & Lemonade Board

Aruna Seth Bridal Shoes arrive in Priscilla of Boston
Aruna Seth's beautiful bridal shoe collection is now available in the San Francisco and Philadelphia stores of Priscilla of Boston. The styles shown above are exclusive to Priscilla of Boston. Each Aruna Seth shoe is carefully designed and handcrafted of the finest buttery leather and embellished with Swarovski crystals to perfection in Northern Italy.

A Wedding Garter Photo Contest
Victoria of Hand-Crafted Creations is offering $100 to her shop with a creative contest. Full details are available here. From now until the end of July, you can enter the contest by entering photos that showcase 1 of 2 themes. The first is a garter pic and this is open to previous customers and free garter winners of HCC. The second is an "I love HCC" pic and this is open to anyone, not just past customers. See more here on how you can enter along with photo ideas here. All Photos and/or videos will be judged on Uniqueness, Beauty, Tastefulness, Artistic quality. So Victoria says, "be creative".

Us Weekly & WeddingChannel.com Launches $100k Dream Wedding Contest
WeddingChannel.com and Us Weekly have launched their 3rd Annual "Dream Wedding" program where celeb-loving engaged couples can enter to win a $100,000 Hollywood-style wedding.

Preston Bailey Donates Consultation in Support of Disadvantaged Youth
World-renowned design icon, Preston Bailey, is inviting you to be amongst his celebrity clientele. The event extraordinaire has donated a 30-minute one-on-one consultation with him in New York City to support the Art for Life 2010 Auction. The winning bidder will also receive signed copies of Bailey's book, as well as a bottle of Möet champagne. Proceeds will benefit the Rush Philanthropic Foundation.

Save $10 at My Wedding Favors
Save $10 Off your next order of $75 or more at My Wedding Favors with coupon code CTRXXX. Coupon promotion ends on 7/31/2010

Wedding Photo Books from Lulu.com
It's a savings offer just for my readers: With the purchase of any photo book at Lulu.com, you can save 25%  with coupon code "brendablog" {entered at checkout}. The maximum savings is $100 and it's valid thru July 31, 2010.

Lovely and Gracious Shopping Discount
You might remember last week giveaway for a printable invitation suite from Hilary's etsy shop Lovely and Gracious. As a thank you to all who entered the giveaway, she would like to offer you a 20% discount on any order from her shop. Simply mention "Brenda's Wedding Blog" to receive your savings when placing your order.

Martha Stewart Debuts Live at HSN on July 19
Martha Stewart will bring her expertise to HSN during a special series of shows showcasing Martha Stewart Crafts™ products. During her appearance, Martha will also introduce the Cricut Cake® Martha Stewart Crafts™ Edition, an easy-to-use, cake decorating machine and electronic cutter that precisely cuts gum paste, frosting sheets, and much more. Developed by the creative innovators at Provo Craft, the new machine, which is co-branded with Cricut Cake and Martha Stewart Crafts brands and comes with unique Martha Stewart-designed cartridges, will launch exclusively on HSN.

Breathtaking Bride Master Class
Sarah Jenks is teaming up with Gabriella New York Bridal Salon for a Breathtaking Bride Master Class on July 27th from 6:30pm-8:30pm at the Gabriella New York Bridal Salon - 400 West 14th Street. Cost is $97.

6pm.com is Having a Fantastic Week Long Sale
The site where brandaholics go for their daily fix of the brands they crave up to 75% off every single day, is having a fantastic week long sale on summer, fall and winter apparel, footwear and accessories starting Sunday, July 18 and running through Saturday, July 24. The sale offers some favorite brands including UGGS, Clarks, Steve Madden, BCBG MaxAzria, Betsey Johnson, Keen, Nike, Chinese Laundry and a boat load more. Pay special attention to Thursday, July 22 - which is Designer Day featuring Lanvin Paris sunglasses, Juicy Couture swimwear, Giuseppe Zannotti shoes and more.

The Do You Know... iPhone Apps
Sourcebooks, Inc., publisher of bestselling wedding books Do You Know Your Bride? and Do You Know Your Groom? is launching apps based on these fun quiz books. The Do You Know apps are totally unique quizzes that brides and grooms can't find anywhere else. The bride and groom will be tested with 50 questions in 3 categories. App users can also download more questions in 3 additional categories for another $.99.

Makeuptagg : the finest makeup application for the iPhone
Makeuptagg is the first and only application on the App Store that helps people to choose and apply makeup that suits their exact colouring, skin tone and hair-colour, generating near-endless combinations of tailored product recommendations according to someone's complexion, eyes, cheeks and lips. Results can even be filtered by price-range: budget, mid-range or luxury. In-app video tutorials reveal the tricks of the professionals, and give tips on applying the best and hottest products. It's even possible to buy products online, from within the application, secure in the knowledge that all products are tried, tested, recommended and used daily by many of the world's top makeup professionals.

Before today's Eye Candy Friday, here's some great wedding events, giveaways and a fun little item I think you might want to take a peek at:

An Engagement Bridal Seminar and Showcase
'An Engagement' bridal seminar to feature fresh ideas for the modern bride
Elations Designs will be hosting a bridal seminar on July 25, 2010 at 12 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Richmond, VA with a special book giveaway from Karen Bussen, author of Simple Stunning Bride.

An Engagement will feature a range of Virginia's premier vendors, classical ensemble performances and mouth-watering cuisine. Guests will also be offered free giveaways such as an autographed copy of Simple Stunning Bride, wedding favors and stationery.

"I think it’s really important for brides to continually be up-to-date with what’s trendy in the wedding world,” Pauline Stephens, event planner and designer of Elations Designs, says. “An Engagement is a great way for local brides to do just that while also becoming acquainted with vendors in the Richmond area."

The event will also feature an expert panel with noted speakers. The event is $10 per person until July 18th and $15.00 thereafter. For more information about the event and to register for An Engagement, please visit www.weddingoverdose.com or call 804.249.7800.

Custom Dress Shirt Fitting Event in NYC
On July 10 and 11 in NYC at the Hotel Bedford New York, 9tailors design specialists will meet with clients individually to get them fitted for custom dress shirts. 9tailors offers a variety of designs and fabrics, to dress men and women for any casual, business casual, or formal occasion.  Appointments are being taken in advance for this event, each lasting about 30 minutes. The hours are 3PM-8PM on Saturday, July 10 and 12PM-7PM on Sunday, July 11. To make an appointment, clients can email info@9tailors.com or call 877.513.1898.

TODAY Show Wedding
Hurry and submit your entry to get married LIVE on the TODAY show and you could be inviting all of your family and friends to 30 Rockefeller Plaza. TODAY will stop accepting requests on July 9th.

Wedding Music Widget
There's a free widget to help brides get the right blend of music at their reception - guests able to request songs and then you can let other people vote on them. It's a great way to make sure everyone gets a little bit of what they want.

Peter Island Resort & Spa launches a $100,000 wedding contest
You could win the Ultimate Dream Destination Wedding Contest via Destination Wedding & Honeymoons Magazine - a Peter Island Resort & Spa Honeymoon prize that includes: Seven (7) nights at Falcon’s Nest, Champagne and strawberries upon arrival, Food and beverage (excluding alcohol), Private Chef and personal butler, Invitation to our gourmet vintner dinner, Transfers from Tortola on Peter Island’s private yacht, Choice of day trip to St. Thomas (Tuesday and Saturday) or to Virgin Gorda (Thursday), Romantic trip to the Loop at sunset with a bottle of wine, fruit and cheese, Couples’ massage at the Peter Island Spa, and Full use of the resort’s amenities.