Meet Carats & Cake, a Bridal Facebook-Pinterest-Yelp Hybrid

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Welcome to Weddings Week 2013, our week-long ode to nuptials in Boston.

Wedding & Wellies paper goods, photographed by Erin Howle Photography

Wedding planning online can lead to a lot of dead ends and sponsored listings, making it difficult to uncover attractive inspiration with solid, supportive recommendations. Enter Carats & Cake, a new start-up platform based in NYC which seeks to overcome those obstacles with a beautiful website showcasing real user-uploaded weddings, featuring vendors tagged by the brides and a popularity rating. Having just launched in November, the site started with dozens of weddings giving context to vendor work within 15 different categories. Here we've collected the ten most popular vendors in Boston currently on C&C throughout a variety of categories, with thoughts on each from co-founder Jess Levin. Click through each name to learn more about the vendor.

Let's start with Stationery: Weddings and Wellies: "Stationery can really set the tone for a wedding; it's the first point of contact your guests have. Jillian of Wedding & Wellies does an exceptional job of incorporating her clients' wedding vision into their invites whether you're celebrating in the city or at the seaside. "

Photo by Clark + Walker Studio

Photographer: "Clark + Walker Studio does an amazing job of capturing what we like to call the 'stolen moment.' Their recent clients that have shared weddings on the site always look effortless."

Photo by Freestyle Weddings

Venue: "We love seeing how each couple uses the Boston Public Library as a background for their own wedding and what unique twists they bring to make the space their own."

Photo by Megan Dandeles Photography

Planner: "mStarr Event Styling and Design is a fantastic resource because not only does she offer planning services but she also does stationery, flowers, event design and month of coordination. And she just shared her own wedding with us. It's always fun to see how an industry professional makes her own day special."

Photo by Pizzuti Studios Photography

Cake/Baker: "Montilio's is a Boston favorite because they are able to take each of their client's requests and make a cake that fits their event. They have worked on multiple different weddings on the site at multiple different venues and no two cakes are the same."

Photo by Freestyle Weddings

Catering: "We are seeing couples really take advantage of the menu at their weddings and using food to make their event unique. The Catered Affair does a fantastic job of allowing their clients to tailor the offering to their tastes."

Band: "From backyards to the Boston Public library, Night Rhythm will help you and your guests dance the night away."

Photo by Kat Hanafin Photography

Flowers: "The couples that have used Sue Chessia rave about her amazing eye when it comes to floral details, as well as her ability to create lush centerpieces for affordable prices."

Photo by Allison Evans Photography

Jeweler: "Our users rave about DePrisco of Boston, stating that not do only have a great selection, but the customer service is amazing and they work with customers to bring their visions to life, creating beautiful and unique jewelry."

Photo by Freestyle Weddings

Photographer (Can't include just one!): "We always get excited when another 'Freestyle Couple' (Freestyle Weddings) shares their wedding on the site. Their clients always tell us how much they love working with Jen and her husband Dick and how thrilled they are with their photos."
· Weddings Week 2013 [Racked Boston]