Nashville weddings

The Readers Have Spoken - Meet Nashville’s Best Bridal Blogger 2010

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

A few weeks ago, we launched a search for Nashville's favorite bridal blog (aka written by a bride2be or newlywed).  The goal was simple - we wanted to know who the Nashville community deemed a must read, who they followed daily and why.  We wanted to discover new blogs or see what we were missing in those we didnt follow regularly.

We received tons of votes for local bridal bloggers!  While they couldn't all win, every participating blogger will receive a free ticket to party with us at our sold out, Sex and the City party!  (Bloggers - contact me to get your free ticket by Monday.)

The contest made it more obvious to me that we have some well loved blogs. 

Ok, Ok. Drumroll please...

The top 3 voted blogs were 100 Days to Plan a Wedding, The Budget Savvy Bride and The Thirty Something Bride! 

But, the winner was Louise of The Thirty Something Bride, who was voted Nashville 2010 Best Bridal Blogger!  In addition to may other perks, Louise will receive tickets for herself and a friend to our coveted Girls Night Out party + 5 tickets for loyal bride-to-be readers. 

The results were very close so we've decided to offer 3 complimentary party tickets to 100 Days to Plan a Wedding, The Budget Savvy Bride. Your fans love you and we do too!!! 

I called Louise last week to congratulate her on being named Best and she was so honored:).  She didnt know how many of her readers voted but was happy to participate. 

For those of you unfamiliar with Louise, she's got a huge personality that leaves an impression.  She's helpful, direct and blunt and you either love her or are left with your mouth wide open at some of the things she says.  I've enjoyed her company since we first met and want you to meet her today!  Even if you know her, keep reading...you may learn something new. 

Ashley's 1on1 with Louise of The Thirty Something Bride

Ashley: Tell me a little bit about when and why you started your blog. Why did you think it was important?

The Thirty-Something Bride (TTSB): I got engaged in Dec 08 and started my blog in April 09. I actually didnt think it was important.  It was for me.  A place to vent to someone other than The Candyman (her now husband). 

Ashley: And then you started meeting people and discovered that they read your blog?

TTSB: That part was a little bit weird for me because my cousin writes a blog and I knew that other people commented and I figured they were her friends and I didn’t know they were other strangers/ other bloggers that read her stuff. My first real comment was either from Sharon (Jonathon Campbell Photography) or Tabitha (of ABG) who commented and I was like “oh my god she’s reading this?”. And at that point, I thought oh my goodness, people are actually reading this! And then it just kind of grew and I started talking about it and wow. 

Ashley: How would you describe your blog?

TTSB: Ya’ know what? What I feature a wedding and I don’t know the bride, which is most times the case, I always warn the bride to read my blog before they agree to do this because I can be driect, snarky and I cuss and if any of these things don’t bode well with you, no hard feelings, I get it. So, my blog is kind of direct and it’s a mix of, I guess some personal things and bridal things that in my head. I try to make it both personal and wedding.  If something personal is going on how, I try to show how it would affect someone who’s planning a wedding.

Ashley: How did your husband, aka The Candyman, get his name?

TTSB: Long story short, basically from the Christina Aguilera song Candyman – “There’s nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm.” And that was definitely The Candyman when we started dating.

Ashley: Does The Candyman like your blog?

TTSB: I don’t know! (laughs) He definitely supports it that’s for sure. (Yells into background ”Honey do you like my blog?”) Laughter. “Like totally, love it.”

Ashley: Does he read it regularly or no?

TTSB: He is very supportive but he doesn’t read it everyday but he’ll read it in chunks and gets caught up.

Ashley: I love that! I’ll have to listen to that song!

TTSB: It’s a good song it’s kind of fitting actually. It’s just a fun boppy song but if you listen to the lyrics there’s some cool stuff in there.

Ashley: So do you have any blog regrets? Like, blogger's guilt or anything you’ve said that you wish you hadn’t?

TTSB: Where do I start? Hah! All. The. TIME. And you know what, I’ve definitely had some blogger's regret, really just more vomiting anger than venting than using it as a platform to organize my thoughts. But you know what that keeps it real. I don’t delete comments, I never post comments anonymously, I’ll own it. If I mess up, you know what - hopefully I learn something from it and I do I learn something all the time from writing my blog

Ashley: What’s the one thing you’ve learned recently as a result of regret or comment

TTSB: We’ve been married 7 months and somebody who was kind of peripherally involved read my blog and found, literally, a sentence that was maybe 9 words wrong and it blew up in my face. And again it goes back to ownership. I wrote it, I said it, I meant it and in that case I did mean it and I had to own up to that sentence. It sucked a little bit but all of it ended up being for the best.

Ashley: Good! So are you ever anxious, or apprehensive about what you’re going to say before you post anything? Are you like “ooh should I hit publish on this?”.

TTSB: No, I think maybe I’ve done that less than a handful of times.

Ashley: Now that your blog has taken on a life of its own, do you have any blog goals?

TTSB: I guess growth is always a goal in and of itself. And ya’know I want to experience different aspects of the wedding industry.

Ashley: So what surprises you most about your readers?

TTSB: This contest! This contest really showed that a lot of my male friends are reading! I was really shocked at who came out to vote ya’ know? And I’ve had a couple of them send me emails and say, “Really enjoyed your blog” and I think wow, that’s weird.

Ashley: Yeah I was surprised at the number of male voters too. Why do you think males read your blog so much?

TTSB: I think that some guys, especially the ones who might know me, see it as just entertainment. Like "What’s Louise's post talk about today?  Who has pissed her off?".  I don't really know why they read,  I haven’t asked, maybe I’ll ask!

Ashley: As a recent bride who has seen weddings from when you were engaged til now, what' was your favorite bridal show?

TTSB: I would have to say Weddings, The Bridal Show, the bridal expo downtown. That one’s good because it’s big. And you really get to see a variety of vendors. But ya’ know everybody cautions people about the big shows and new brides and you know what? They’re all right.  But there should be some caution because there are so many other vendors than those right at the show and you need to do homework beyond the show. But the show is a good place, if you’ve done the homework already, to meet the people collectively to have an immediate comparison. That’s good to have. There’s pluses and minuses but I did like the Perfect Wedding Guide show at the Frist – I liked that one because it wasn’t quite so overwhelming but at that point I’d pretty much hired everybody but I liked the venue itself and it offered more personalized interaction between people just because it wasn’t quite so big and you weren’t hurried.

Ashley: Lastly – what are your blog addictions?

TTSB: Oh man… well of course Ashley’s Bride Guide, duh. My Hands Made It is another.  She voted her name’s Veronica and she’s like the DIY QUEEN. Love love love her. She’s great in fact I’m featuring a tutorial from her this week on my blog. There is a fashion blog called Dust Jacket Addict; it’s eye candy everyday. And Snippet and Ink; they offer a real a voice and they’re a resource but it doesn’t give you too much "Style Me Pretty" wedding envy. There’s still a voice there it’s not a corporate thing. I like the blogs with voices, I want to know who's behind them.

Be sure to visit The Thirty Something Bride's  blog and others on my bridal blog directory. 

About the Author:

Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide

Hey - I'm Ashley! I started AshleysBrideGuide.com to give Nashville brides, or folks planning a Nashville wedding, a local resource for inspiration and resources. Hope to see you at a bridal show soon! Happy Planning.

See more posts by Ashley of Ashley's Bride Guide »

send   Posted on May 12, 2010 | Filed under: Real Nashville Brides