Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue…wine?

Posted in Alternative Wedding Ideas, Brands, Sites + Technology We Love, Food + Drink, Weddings by socialbfly

blue-wine When it comes to weddings, if safe to say that Brides are leaning further and further away from tradition and as a result, I’ve been challenged by my brides to provide alternative (sometimes, OUTRAGEOUS) takes on various wedding traditions, including “something blue” and well, get ready to imbibe because while the wine world is full of choices – red or white, sparkling or still, refreshing rosé or spritzy vinho verde – I’ve discovered there’s yet another trend on the horizon and it’s blue! And, if you’re like my brides, you may want to consider the following liquid libations for your upcoming wedding or blue-inspired event.

Blanc de Bleu Cuvee Mousseux is a non-vintage Sparkling Chardonnay wine from California with an added hint of blueberries. It offers seductive flavors and fresh aromatic effervescence – vividly pasteled with blueberries and contained in an impressively sexy bottle.

Gik Bue Wine Gik wine is made using red and white grapes from vineyards in La Rioja, Zaragoza, León, and Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. Gïk blends different varieties of red and white grapes with two organic pigments to turn it blue: anthocyanin, from the red grape skin, and indigotine, an organic compound commonly used as a reddish-blue food dye. The resulting flavour is enhanced with non-caloric sweeteners to create a product that is cross between a wine, a wine cooler and a cocktail mixer, with a mellow, sweet, slightly syrupy mouthfeel.

The company faced backlash in Spain for labeling the product as wine but after weathering regulatory hurdles, Gik is finally bound for retailers in Miami, Boston, and Texas, New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, California and Washington.

Saraceni Blumond Blue Bubbly is made in Italy and noted as being seductive and flavorful, sweet, light (containing only about 7.0% in alcohol), and bubbly! I’ve actually had the pleasure of tasting this wine at a recent bridal show and I can confirm the reports – it’s delicious! And even better, they sell mini-blumond bottles which, in my opinion, is a perfect favor idea!

When talking about wine, the next question I almost always receive is, “how much will I need to purchase?”, because, let’s face it, there really is nothing worse than running out in the middle of a celebration! You typically want to give each guest 5 ounces and most standard bottles are 750ml, which pours about 5 glasses. Always account for the occasional spill and definitely expect a few guests to want a refill so I highly recommend 15 bottles for every 50 guests.

So what do you think? Are you brave enough to try blue wine?

12Jul2017

Introducing Poptails by FrutaPop

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love, Food + Drink, Pleasure, Weddings by socialbfly

FrutaPOP is a small-batch, hand-crafted ice pop company, specializing in natural fruit and juice ice pops, coffee ice pops and alcohol infused ice pops better known as Poptails.

FrutaPOP offers seasonal flavors, making the POP a year-round treat and for the summer their featuring six tantalizing flavors that we are patiently waiting a chance to try, including Coconut Rosé Sangria POPs made with fresh blueberries and strawberries; Watermelon Mint Lemonade POPs made with premium vodka; Sparkling Prosecco POPs in mango mimosa and passion fruit; Tropical POPs in rum punch and pina colada; Red or White Coconut Sangria POPs made with top shelf alcohol, wine produced in New York State and organic fruit; and Passion Fruit Pink Champagne POPs which we can totally see as a champagne toast alternative for our summer brides.

At approximately $60 for a dozen, each pop costs about $10 each once you factor in the $35.00 flat-rate shipping fee. All of the flavors are 5% alcohol by volume – which means you must be at least 21 years of age to enjoy them – and available in packs of 12, 24 and 48. It also looks like you can mix and match your order so you can try all of them.

We haven’t yet had a chance to taste test these tasty treats but we’re hoping to do so soon and even have plans for a future event so stay tuned. In the meantime, stop by FrutaPOP for a full list of their healthy frozen dessert options and to place an order for your upcoming event

7Jul2017

The ULTIMATE Bridal Party Workout

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love, The Bridal Party, Weddings by socialbfly

Shredding for the wedding? Well, we’ve come across what is arguably THE BEST online party…we mean, workout to get you and the girls motivated to fit in those dresses.

Glow by PopSugar recently posted the workout video to their Facebook page and with exercises like the ‘Confetti Candy Squat Drops’, ‘Stripper Snake’ and ‘Booty-Up Push Ups’ (also known as ‘How I Got My Ring’) coupled with the awesome instructor, you’ll be in shape in no time – we’re just mad he’s not teaching a class in the NYC area.

So booty’s up ladies and get ready to WERK it, twirk it and drop it like it’s hot!!

12Dec2016

Learn How You Book Your Travel for a Fraction of the Cost Upfront

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love, Travel + Destination by socialbfly

(Photo credit: airfordable.com)

Okay, here’s a concept that we love -affordable payment plans for flights. Also known as Airfordable.

Airfordable is an online payment plan that can be used for your airline tickets. It allows you to secure your tickets with a deposit upfront and pay the remaining balance in bi-weekly recurring payments before your departure date.

While they only accept multi-leg and round trips at this time, it allows for up to 7 travelers on one booking/payment plan (if you need more than 7, you can contact them), you can have a maximum of 5 bookings at a time and you can still use your frequent flyer number.

Airfordable charges a one-time fee on the price of the ticket that varies between 10% and 20% and automatically deducts each payment on your scheduled dates so there’s no need for any action on your end.

It’s an option for those low on cash or credit, as well as those wanting to lock in a fare. The company has future plans to expand into layaway payments for vacation packages and hotels. They also are working on a custom travel search platform so users don’t have to upload their own travel screenshots. Learn more at http://www.airfordable.com.

16Jul2012

The B Side: Intern Sushi

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love by socialbfly

photo credit: internsushi.com

As a small business owner, you know that if you want to grow your business you’re going to need help. And, as your business grows it will become increasingly harder for you to play the role of CEO, CFO, Creative Director, Executive Assistant, Personal Assistant AND Office Manager.

But when it comes to help, the reality for many small business owners is that hiring a staff of full-time employees just isn’t a reality. If your budget doesn’t allow for full-time staff, I’ve found interns to be a very useful and fulfilling alternative. The question then becomes, where does one find the right talent for his or her business needs?.

Enter, Intern Sushi.

Intern Sushi reinvents the internship application and hiring process to connect the brightest and most talented interns with leading companies in the hardest-to-break-into industries. The site replaces the traditional paper resume with a digital profile and showcases an internship application dashboard, which tracks every step of the application and hiring process. With an array of organizational and time-saving features, Intern Sushi simplifies, accelerates and elevates traditional hiring procedures.

A statement on their website explains the philosophy behind the name : It’s simple. The attributes of a great intern match the attributes of sushi. When you choose a sushi restaurant you often consider quality, variety, presentation, sophistication and innovation. You never see a messy plate of sushi. We stress the importance of being raw and transparent to display exactly who you are and what you can do. We encourage interns to be picky about where they intern and companies about who they hire.

Intern Sushi is currently in beta version and sign up for hiring companies is free but there’s no telling how long it will remain that way so create your company’s online profile today!

18Jan2012

‘Angry Brides’ FIGHT for a Cause

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love by socialbfly

Despite being illegal since 1961, the tradition of paying dowry’s, both financial and material, to the groom’s family is still alive in well in the country of India.

It may sound romantic to some, after all, dowries were once meant to assist the new husband in making sure that his wife is taken care of. But in 2010, India’s National Crime Records Bureau cited an alarming 8,391 dowry-related deaths. It seems the tradition has turned ugly and husbands are now demanding dowries well after the ceremony is over. When families don’t comply, brides may end up tortured or even worse, murdered.

Thankfully, a new online game called Angry Brides hopes to shed light on the problem of dowries and inform the world of the increasing number of crimes against women living in India. It’s a play on the popular game Angry Birds and in order to play the user (Bride) has to strike the dodging grooms. Each groom (there are 3 – an engineer, doctor, and pilot) starts of at a dowry value of 1.5 million rupees (~30,000 USD). Each hit decreases the total cost of the groom’s dowry and credits money back to her Anti-Dowry fund.

The game is available as a free Facebook application and can be downloaded at app.facebook.com/angrybrides.

Photo credits: facebook.com/angrybrides

28Dec2011

Register Your Style with Deposit a Gift

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love by socialbfly

I am most frequently asked by bumpies and nearlyweds how they can politely indicate their preference to receive cash as their shower or wedding gift. And my answer has always been, “You don’t”. Of course there are ways to sway your guests buying decisions (like registering at a certain type of store or using descriptive words like ‘lingerie party’ in your invitation description) and trust me I understand the beauty of cold hard cash, however it is impolite to enforce a gift-giving mandate upon your guests.

But what if there was a way to make cash just as much as an option as your Pier One registry?

Would that make it less taboo?

The creators of Deposit a Gift – a cash gift registry – surely seem to think so.

Deposit a Gift is an online registry service that allows you to create a gift list for monetary contributions towards pretty much whatever your heart desires and it gives you the freedom to receive and spend your gift money where and when you want.

The concept seemed simple enough so I decided to try it out.

Registering as a new user on the site was quick and easy and once confirmed, I was all set to begin editing the details for my personal event website. This step (like most wedding websites) requires some thought and creativity and is the lengthiest part of the entire process. I haven’t yet completed my own sample registry but they do a really great job of providing several closed registries that were used for a variety of reasons, including the wedding below.

You also have cool options to share event details with family and friends, post pictures and upload video.

So after a little exploration and a lot of letting go of what traditional etiquette says, I have to admit that I like Deposit a Gift as a wedding registry alternative and it just may change the future of gift giving. Not only is it environmentally friendly but it gives you the flexibility of using the money for whatever life demands and, aside from a small service fee, it’s free!

You don’t need a reason to register your account and you can log onto to Deposit a Gift for more information.

Happy planning!

11Nov2011

Missed the Memo: Love, Wedding, Marriage

Posted in Brands, Sites + Technology We Love, Weddings by socialbfly

I totally missed the memo that LWM made its big screen debut over the summer. Actually it seems everyone did because this romantic comedy, overshadowed by it’s big sisters, Bridesmaids and Jumping the Broom, grossed just over $1300 nationwide and is already available on Blu-ray. And NOPE, that wasn’t a typo. So why am I blogging about this? It’s a movie about 3 of my favorite things: love, weddings, and marriage – and who knows, you might just want to add it to your collection of chic flicks.

Director: Dermot Mulroney
Writer: Anouska Chydzik (screenplay), Caprice Crane (screenplay)
Genre: Romantic comedy
Runtime: 90 minutes
Cast: Mandy Moore, Kellan Lutz and Jessica Szohr.
Language: English
MPAA: Rated PG-13.

Mandy Moore is a marriage counselor whose life as a newly wed married to Kellan Lutz is turned upside down when she discovers her parents’ happy marriage is unexpectedly headed for divorce. Determined to reconcile her parents for their 30th anniversary surprise party she stops at nothing plunging from one compromising situation to another. Will she destroy her own marriage and her professional life in her attempt to get her parents back together?