Well PRettySocial readers, today I have an announcement. You may have seen this coming based on my lack of posts lately, but I’ve decided to end my journey on this blog. It was a difficult decision to come to, and while I’ve enjoyed the past year writing on PRettySocial, the time has come for me to move on.

But it’s not the end. After starting the “PRettySocialBride” series here a few months ago, I discovered something: I love blogging about weddings (and it seems that many of my readers love reading about them)! I love wedding blogging so much so that I’m also announcing a new project I launched today: The Plunge Project.

I’m starting The Plunge Project with the idea that I want a place to blog about my journey from fiancee to wife (and wherever we go from there). After getting engaged in November 2009, I realized how much I truly enjoyed sharing the details of my wedding planning with other brides, and how much I enjoyed having a place where I could document the whole process while creating a community to support it — and thus The Plunge Project was born.

My goal is that The Plunge Project will become a community of sorts, where I can share not only my personal wedding planning experience, but also things that might help other brides-to-be. And of course, I’d like it to become a place where you can share as well.

In addition, I want The Plunge Project to be something that grows with me. My plan is that this blog will evolve as my life does: from a bride-to-be planning her dream wedding – to a wife – and one day to a mother. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…but I have hopes that it will evolve with my readers as well.

So thank you so much for all of your support of PRettySocial over the past year. I couldn’t appreciate it more! I hope you will join me at The Plunge Project : )

Oh, and if you loved the PR & Social Media content on PRettySocial, you should check out ReadPyxl. Myself, along with the rest of the Pyxl team will continue to blog on those topics and more over there.

So I’m sorry for the lack of {aPRettySocialBride} posts (and posts in general from yours truly), but today I have a short and sweet one to share with all you brides out there.

If you haven’t heard of Etsy, you’re missing out. It’s an awesome place to find tons of handmade and vintage goods — not only for your wedding, but also for your everyday life. I love it! And needless to say, it’s a major source for decor and other things related to my upcoming wedding.

But there’s one item I’ve been super excited about. A few months ago, my wedding photographer Jennie Andrews posted about this on her blog, and I’m dying until it gets close enough to my wedding day so I can order one.

What is it?

This awesome, adorable hanger for your wedding dress photos:

They’re custom made, so you can chose any words (I’m going with “Mrs. Denton” myself) you’d like. And for only $25, this might be one of the least expensive wedding day items!

Don’t you just love it?!

Have you found other cool Etsy items? Share them here!

This is an excerpt from a guest post I wrote for Laura Click’s blog as part of  #BeMyGuest, a month of guest blogging.

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Location-based social networks: some people love them, some people hate them. While networks like Foursquare and Gowalla have been becoming very popular over the course of the past year, many people are still unsure of whether or not they should jump on board.

I’ve written before on what Foursquare could mean for small businesses, and I truly believe that the service (and others like it) could mean big things. Not only does it give a business insight into how many times a customer frequents their spot, it also creates friendly competition among patrons aiming to take the mayorship, thus promising more sales and free online publicity. Foursquare can easily become an extra element of a spot’s marketing campaign through its intrinsic, viral word-of-mouth components. And what business doesn’t want that?

Users love it because they’re often given special deals at their favorite venues just for checking in. And if you’re able to secure the mayor badge at your favorite location, you get bragging rights to match. And what about if you’re in a new city and curious what to eat? Checking a spot’s “tips” on Foursquare can provide some local insight.

But what about privacy?

Earlier this year, a site called PleaseRobMe popped up with the intent of showing the world the dangerous side of location-based social networks. While its purpose was actually to open eyes instead of inspiring robberies, it brought up valid questions: Is “checking in” to a location safe? Or does it just broadcast that your home is ripe for the robbing?

To read the rest, head over to Laura Click’s place : )

Alright, I know…it’s been a few weeks since my last {aPRettySocialBride} post, and I’m sorry! It’s been a crazy few weeks of wedding planning, and my blog moved a little bit to the back burner. But in spite of my busy-ness, I have a post for you to enjoy today.

As I’m really getting deep into the planning process, I’m learning things along the way. So I wanted to take this week to update you all on where we’re at now, and what we’ve learned so far. Hopefully my lessons learned will help other brides.

So without further ado, here are 4 lessons learned in a busy few weeks of wedding planning:

1. Getting married in a public place is a hassle.

Well, Michael and I have changed our ceremony venue once again. However, this time I think is the last. If you’ve been following our planning via this blog and/or Twitter, you might have noticed that a month or so ago, we changed the plan from a church ceremony to an outdoor ceremony at the World’s Fair Park Amphitheater. And while the Amphitheater seemed like a really cool place for the ceremony, we ultimately realized that having a wedding in a public place is a hassle — and it costs a lot more!

While it’s pretty cheap to rent out the venue, there are lots of other things to consider that really end up driving the bill higher. For instance: hiring security to keep out the bums, paying after-hours delivery fees on the chair rental, renting a vintage Rolls-Royce to make my grand entrance, creating 10x the decorations to cover a venue so large, etc, etc. While this type of ceremony probably works well for many people (and I’m not trying to discourage anyone else from doing it), it just didn’t work with our minimal budget.

So where is the ceremony now? On the Veranda at L&N Station. Now that we’re having the ceremony at the same venue as the reception, it’s just easier (and less expensive!)

Lesson learned: Be sure to factor in ALL the costs and hassle associated with one decision.

2. Crowdsourcing the Internet is a good way to find the best bridal shops.

The Internet is an invaluable resource in just about every aspect of wedding planning. Case in point: Knoxville has probably 20 bridal shops, and I only had one weekend with my bridesmaids in town, so I certainly didn’t have the time to visit them all. How did I narrow down the list of shops to visit? A combination of Google Local Search & Reviews, Facebook and Twitter. These are great tools to get real opinions on where you must go, and where you should probably skip.

While I scheduled 3 appointments for the day, the majority of my online research led me to one shop: A Joyous Occasion. And by far, this was the shop I was most impressed with. I even found THE dress there! While this was a shop I had never heard of prior to my crowdsourcing attempts, this ended up being the one shop I’m glad I visited.

Did I also mention I happened upon a 10% off coupon for the shop while researching online?

Lesson learned: Don’t neglect your resources. Other people’s opinions might just lead you in the right direction. It did for me!

3. Dress shopping is easier with bridesmaids & family around.

On the topic of my dress hunt, I couldn’t be more thankful for my awesome bridesmaids & family members. Picture this: You walk into a bridal shop and hundreds of dresses are on the racks in front of you. The look SO different on the rack than they do on, so how do you decide which dresses to pull?

For me, I tasked my ‘maids & the moms with pulling the ones they thought looked cool (and were within my budget range), and they did an amazing job! It was exciting to be surprised by each dress I tried on, and they offered an objective eye as to what might look good on me. The result? Someone picked out an amazing gown for me to wear on my wedding day, and I couldn’t be more thankful!

Lesson learned: Trust the ladies in your life. They’ll lead you in the right direction.

4. When you know, you just know.

Okay, okay, so I’m really pumped about my gown, thus why this list is predominately about it. But I tried on about 30+ dresses last Saturday, and while many of them were pretty, when I tried on THE one, I just knew. Of course, to torture myself, I went back to all the other stores and re-tried on my favorites there too, but I really couldn’t get this one out of my head.

Lesson learned: Much like true love, when you know, you just know. Keep that in mind and go with your gut on this one.

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So while it’s been a busy few weeks, it’s also been a good month for learning. Fellow brides: what have you learned through the course of your wedding planning? Do you have tips to share with me and other brides?

As part of #BeMyGuest (a month of guest blogging), today I bring you a guest post from Laura Click. Enjoy!

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Imagine you’re in a crowded bar. The music is pumping and the atmosphere is electric. You spot a guy (or girl) across the room that catches your eye. Your pulse quickens. You want to meet this person, but how do you strike up a conversation without feeling awkward?

Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever tried meeting new people in a bar, you know how difficult it can be. A bar is crowded. It’s noisy. How do you connect with people like you? And strangely, this analogy applies to social media as well. While many have deemed Twitter and Facebook to be a “virtual water cooler”, I tend to think of it as crowded bar.

While social media can be an incredibly useful way to develop relationships, it can take a bit of work to cut through the noise and find the right people to talk to. And, once you find those people, how do you get to know them without tossing out the cheesy pick-up lines?

Social media offers the incredible opportunity to connect with people we never thought possible, such as industry leaders, potential employers and even our favorite celebrities. However, the real value of social media occurs when online interaction translates to relationships “in real life”.

As with any solid relationship, it does not develop overnight. Whether you want to connect with business prospects, colleagues, mentors or simply other totally awesome people, it’s important to invest time in cultivating relationships.

So, how do you get started? Here are some tips to developing relationships online (sans pick-up lines):

1. Listen. If you’ve identified some people you’d like to get to know, follow them and listen to what they have to say. Their posts can give you a great insight into the person’s interests and ideas.
2. Introduce. If you want to connect with someone, introduce yourself and say hello. After reading about the person, you can mention something that you have in common or compliment them on something you saw on their blog. This is a great way to start up a conversation.
3. Retweet. Retweeting is one of the best ways to compliment someone on Twitter. Essentially, it’s like forwarding an e-mail message. It allows you to share someone’s tweet with your followers. So, if you like what someone had to say, retweeet it! Oftentimes, they’ll send you a thank you in response.
4. Reply. As you follow people, respond to posts that interest you. Using Facebook, you can “like” or comment on posts. Sending an @reply on Twitter is a simple way to show you’re listening to what the person has to say.  Over time, this may lead to a more in-depth discussion or even a conversation offline.
5. Comment. If the person has a blog, join the discussion and comment on their posts. This is a great way to provide value to the blogger, while also highlighting why you are someone the blogger should get to know. And, you might just learn something in the process.
6. Repeat. Because of the large scale of social media, it’s important to repeat the process. It can be hard to grab someone’s attention if the person has thousands of followers or fans. Continuing to participate will help the person recognize you when finally do make the ask.
7. Ask. After you’ve communicated with the person for a while, it will be much easier to suggest meeting the person for coffee or even having a phone conversation. Because you’ve taken the time to get to know the person a bit first, they will be much more likely to oblige.

This approach has worked well for me. After getting to know someone online, I’ve not had anyone turn down the chance to meet up for coffee. And, because of that, I’ve met some fantastic people in the process.  Yes, there’s a little risk. And, there’s always the fear of rejection. However, I think you’ll find that once you’ve done it, you’ll be glad you did.

How do you develop relationships online? What have you done to connect with people you’ve met online?

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About Laura
Laura Click is a marketing and public relations professional in Nashville, Tenn. She works in state government by day, and is a blogger and marketing consultant by night. You can find out more about Laura at www.lauraclick.com, or by following @lauraclick on Twitter.

Image Credit: opacity

This post originally appeared on the ReadPyxl blog. Because it was quite popular, I’m re-posting it here in hopes that it will help more people. But check out ReadPyxl for similar topics. Pyxl is a pretty awesome company (hint: I work there) ; )

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Last night, I (along with some colleagues) had the privilege of speaking about social media with a group of PR students at the University of Tennessee. In one part of our talk, we shared a list of helpful tools we use to manage social media, monitor brands, spread information, discover opportunities and track results.

Of course, there are tons of tools out there, and more popping up each day. But I’ve found a few good ones that I would call my favorites. So here’s my list of the 7 tools I can’t live without:

1. Tweetdeck

Tweetdeck is easily the social media tool I use most often. The leading browser for the real-time and social web, it allows users to connect with Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace. I use it mostly to keep track of the multiple Twitter accounts I handle (including @ replies and DMs for each), to keep track of the Twitter lists I’m most interested in, and to monitor what others are saying about my search terms. I also use it to post to Facebook pages. It’s easy to use and columns are completely customizable. Simply put, it’s my social media dashboard, and I couldn’t live without it!

2. Hootsuite

The only thing missing from Tweetdeck (and my guess is that this might not be the case for long) is the ability to schedule tweets and posts. For this, I use Hootsuite. To be clear, however, some people use Hootsuite in place of Tweetdeck, but it all comes down to preferences. I just prefer Tweetdeck. Hootsuite is nice if you don’t want to download a client like Tweetdeck, as Hootsuite is web-based. But if you’re like me and use Tweetdeck as your #1 client, Hootsuite still comes in handy when it comes to scheduling tweets and Facebook posts!

3. Bit.ly

Bit.ly is (IMO) the best link shortener around. Not only does it make your links nice and small and tweetable, but it tracks how many people click each link! This is useful information to help you figure out what links are most popular and what your followers want to see more of. You can create an account to have a nice dashboard of all your links (and this account integrates nicely with Tweetdeck), OR you can add a “+” to the end of a bit.ly link to check out that particular link’s statistics. You can also see who else tweeted about the link and what time of day people went to it. It’s just really great information to have.

4. Social Mention

I really love this tool! Social Mention is a social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content from across the universe into a single stream of information. It allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about you, your company, a new product, or any topic across the web’s social media landscape in real-time. Social Mention monitors 100+ social media properties directly including Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, YouTube, Digg, Google, etc. It also allows you to set up alerts — think Google Alerts only more social!

5. PitchEngine

With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share social media releases. You can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, PitchEngine opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike. This is an awesome tool to supplement your press release initiatives.

6. Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

HARO is an email digest that comes out 2-3 times daily, and is an amazing tool for every PR pro! Every day, HARO brings nearly 30,000 reporters and bloggers, over 100,000 news sources and thousands of businesses together to tell their stories, promote their brands and sell their products and services. HARO is entirely free to both sources and reporters. Basically, a PR pro can take a quick look at each digest and if an opportunity seems like something a client might be interested in, you send information over to the reporter, and you might just chosen as a source! Last week, Pyxl was mentioned in Inc. Magazine. How did we find the opportunity? HARO of course!

7. Google Reader

It’s important to stay up to date on what’s going on in the industry and in the world, so I follow a lot of blogs and news outlets — A LOT! And it can be hard to keep track of them all. However, Google Reader is a great way to manage this and cut down on daily reading time. It’s a one stop shop where all of the outlets you follow are aggregated into one place.

So there you have it — the 7 tools I can’t live without. Which tools are on your list?

I always like to highlight a good idea when I see one, and #BeMyGuest is a great example.

Last week, Emily Cagle and I were chatting about a guest post that she’s going to write for PRettySocial. I love guest posts for a couple reasons:

1. I like giving other bloggers access to my community in hopes that you (my readers) will find another cool blogger to follow.
2. I like providing a fresh outlook on PRettySocial, and letting someone else share their opinion. Let’s face it, I’m pretty opinionated and I’m sure you get tired of listening to me ; )

So when Emily shared her #BeMyGuest idea with me yesterday, I immediately loved it! The concept is simple:

During March 2010, anyone taking part will aim to write at least one post for someone else’s blog, and feature at least one guest post on their own blog.

A Twitter hashtag is involved, so all you have to do is tweet out your blog details and the hashtag #BeMyGuest to let people know you’d like to take part.

Your tweet might look like this:

“I write a blog about #media called The M3dia Blog <link> and I’d like to take part in #BeMyGuest http://bit.ly/bemyguest”

“I blog about #food at The Yum! Blog <link> and I’d like to take part in #BeMyGuest http://bit.ly/bemyguest”

You can connect with as many bloggers as you want, for as many guest posts as you’d like to feature or write…it’s up to you!

For more details, head over to Emily’s blog.

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In the spirit of this, I’d like to dedicate March as a guest blogging month at PRettySocial! Of course, I’ll still be blogging as well. However, if you’re interested in guest blogging, just shoot me an email explaining who you are and what you want to blog about — nicole.vanscoten (at) gmail.com.

My usual topics include: public relations, social media, marketing, gen y, wedding planning, life, and more…but I could be swayed if you have an awesome idea that doesn’t really fall in the scope of this blog, so try me!

And if you’re interested in having yours truly guest blog over at your place, email me! I’m on the hunt for some places to guest blog as well.

Can’t wait to hear from you! And stay tuned for some fresh perspectives on PRettySocial this month : )

It definitely took Michael and I a while to find inspiration for our wedding. Our colors changed about 5 times, our ceremony location has been in limbo, and I was having trouble deciding on an overall theme to tie all the elements together. You may say we still have a lot of time — and we do. But it’s tough to get much of anything booked when you don’t have colors or even a general direction.

Lucky for us, in the past week, it’s finally all started to come together. And that’s thanks in part to some very inspiring websites that I’d like to pay tribute to in this week’s aPRettySocialBride! So if you’re having trouble finding inspiration for your wedding, check out these great sites.

1. Pretty Chicky

Pretty Chicky is an awesome wedding inspiration blog I found. While I love bigger bridal idea sites like The Knot, smaller blog sites like Pretty Chicky are nice because they’re a lot less overwhelming. Sometimes, it’s hard to sift through everything on The Knot to find the ideas that really work for you. Pretty Chicky makes it a little easier. Shari, the girl behind the blog, posts awesome inspiration boards a few times a week, and her taste is amazing! She’s really helped me settle on some ideas, and her blog is one I visit often. If you’re a girly bride looking for a girly wedding, check out Pretty Chicky!

2. Dessy

Dessy is a helpful site for two reasons. (1) They offer tools to help you build your own drag-and-drop inspiration boards, complete with color choices, their collection of Pantone bridesmaid dresses, and more. It’s easy and fun, and is a great way to put all of your ideas in one place. However, if you’re like me, Dessy is awesome because (2) They recently added inspiration styleboard galleries for other brides to post their boards! This is an awesome way to get ideas. You can click your colors and voila — a bunch of premade inspiration boards are right there on your screen. Helpful, huh?

3.  Polyvore

Polyvore is another really unique and helpful site. Like the others, it’s complete with enough styleboards to give you ideas for 20 weddings! The difference here is that Polyvore also tells you were you can buy all the products you see. While the site isn’t just for weddings, there are a ton of wedding ideas there, and it’s always nice to know you can actually find and buy the things you see. You can also add the “Clip to Polyvore” button to your bookmark toolbar, so when you see something online that you like, you can add it to your own styleboard later.

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So that’s where I found my inspiration. Where did you find yours?

In the business world, there are a lot of requirements — keeping up your appearance, networking, etc., etc. — which in my experience can often get a little expensive!

As someone who’s saving for a wedding, trying to get out of credit card debt, make a mortgage payment and student loan payments, I’ve found easy ways to keep a little more money in my bank account.

1. Eat in the office.

It’s easy to get caught up in going out to lunch everyday during business hours. However, this can often end up costing $50 a week or more! A good way to save money is to eat in the office, at a nearby park, or to run home if you’re close enough.

Where to get the food from? I generally opt for leftovers from the dinner before. OR I hit up the nearby Kroger to find something good to make. The best way to save money here is to check the circular online before you go and scope out what’s on sale. Then, I visit some online coupon sites (such as Coupons.com, CellFire, Shortcuts and SmartSource) to see which coupons are available. I generally base my lunch choice on what deals I can get. Yesterday, my lunch (delicious tortellini from Marie Calendars) cost me about $1.15 after a store discount and a coupon!

2. Dress with basics.

Keeping a professional wardrobe can also get expensive, and dressing presentably five days a week can often do a number on your wallet. However, I’ve found that keeping a closet full of solid-colored basics is the best way to go. The reason I love basics is that you can mix and match them to create numerous outfits with just a few items. Plus, they tend to be a little easier to care for. (Don’t you just hate when things are “dry clean only”?)

Some great stores for these items include Express and H&M. While Express generally has some larger  price tags compared to H&M, you can sign up to receive Express discounts, which can often cut half the price off! Plus, if you catch Express’ “Shop the Box” sale, you can get basics for mere dollars!

3. Find alternate modes of transportation.

This is the more obvious of the three I have on this list. And I must admit, this is one I actually don’t do. Living in Knoxville, our options are a little limited in terms of transportation — especially being that I live 30 minutes from the office. However, for those of you in bigger cities or who live/work in downtown areas, this is a definitely viable option that can save you money!

Carpool with a coworker or try public transportation. Gas is still expensive, and cutting down on how much you need will definitely keep a little extra money in your wallet.

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So there you have it — 3 ways to save money in the business world. How else do you save?

Thinking of starting a blog?

It’s no secret that keeping a blog is hard work. Blogging takes time, energy, brainpower, etc…but for me and many others, it’s truly worth it.

So if you’ve been thinking of starting a blog and just aren’t sure if you should, here are a few things that might help you decide. This is my list of the skills I believe you should have in order to be successful in the blogosphere:

1. Knowledge: In order to be successful in blogging, you of course need to be knowledgeable about the topic you are writing on. You can blog about the field you work in, about a hobby you enjoy, about being a parent, etc. — Just make sure you know your stuff. After all, you’re trying to prove you’re a thought-leader, right?
2. Love: There’s no point in starting a blog if you don’t love to write. It’s rare that you’re going to get rich by being a blogger, so don’t do it just because you think it could make you money. If you love to write and you’re passionate about the topic, I encourage you to start blogging, but don’t do it if you don’t love it.
3. Dedication: Blogging takes a lot of work. Each post needs to be thought out and written with care. Sometimes you even have to do a little research. In addition, to be successful in blogging, you need to post fairly often, so make sure you really love doing it (and can devote time to it) before you get in over your head.
4. Patience: Your blog is not going to blow up overnight, so don’t be discouraged if your visitor numbers are fairly low in the first few months you’re blogging. Just keep writing posts, promoting them on Twitter, Facebook, etc…and eventually the visitors will grow. It also helps to comment on other blogs and connect with like-minded people on Twitter.
5. Tough Skin: Not everyone is going to agree with you all the time. (Did you see my post on YellowBook?!) As bloggers, we’re putting our opinions on the line and sometimes people are going to disagree with us. When someone opposes you on your own blog, be thoughtful and craft a good response. You’ll actually find it’s nice to get a good debate going.

What do you think? Any questions?

What other qualities do you think a blogger needs in order to be successful?

Photo from Annie Mole – used under creative commons.