The Mix and Match Wedding Trend
Brides these days are moving away from the type of wedding where everything is perfectly coordinated. Instead, a natural and colorful trend is on the rise that is all about creating a festive and relaxed atmosphere. Get inspired by the mix and match wedding trend when planning your own celebration.
Bridesmaid dresses are one of the top things that are being mixed up lately. Nowadays, even the color coordination is being tossed out, in favor of exuberant bridal parties full of lively colors. Kelly green, fuchsia, cobalt blue, you name it, the colors can be put together for the bridesmaids. The unifying theme is that all the colors are equally vibrant (or all equally pale and delicate, if you prefer). To give your group of bridesmaids a sense of cohesiveness, give them all similar bridesmaid jewelry gifts.
A really fun way to give your reception space a funky appeal is to mix and match chair colors. For instance, a sorbet palette of pale watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew would be fabulous for a spring wedding. Or opt for sophisticated tones such as chocolate, moss green, and taupe for a fall celebration. The concept works equally well for slipcovered chairs, chairs with cushions, or even wood laminate seating in fun colors.
Centerpieces are another wonderful idea for mix and match wedding design. Who says that every table has to be decorated with the same flowers or even the same colors? You can absolutely have pink tulips on one table, deep red roses on the next one, and ivory peonies on the one next to that. The key is to have something about your centerpieces that is common for all of them. Choose similar vases, a general color family, or centerpieces with a similar fullness and height. The style of the blossoms should make sense together, especially in terms of formality. Gerbera daisies paired with orchids simply would not flow well, whereas Gerbera daisies and wildflowers would be charming together for mix and match centerpieces.
Filed under Bridesmaid Gifts, Bridesmaid Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: bridesmaid jewelry gifts, mix and match wedding, unique wedding ideas, wedding trends | Comment (0)Advice for Young Second Time Brides
Much advice is available for second weddings, but the majority of it is written with the assumption that the bride is in her 40s or beyond. The reality is that plenty of second time brides are young enough that they could be mistaken for first time brides (if not for the previous husband, that is), and some of the etiquette and fashion advice geared towards older brides might not quite make sense for a second timer in her 20s or early 30s. This is some special wedding advice especially for young second time brides.
For a lot of young second time brides, the biggest challenge can be in finding wedding attire that both fits the etiquette guidelines for a woman getting remarried and the taste of a stylish young woman. A dramatic trumpet skirt gown with a strapless or one shoulder neckline would be ideal. It is both very current high fashion and sophisticated enough for a bride who is not an ingenue fresh from her parents’ sheltering home (not that many brides are these days, but for first time brides, we pretend). Instead of the long veil that is truly reserved for first time brides, wear your hair up in a chic twist with a stunning crystal headband. Pair it with fabulous crystal wedding jewelry to complete your gorgeous look.
The bridal party can pose another problem for a young second time bride. Traditionally, a single adult attendant is all that is considered proper for a woman who has previously been married. A youngish bride, though may well want her best friends with her when she gets married, and it is hard to begrudge her that support system. Moderation is the key here. A couple of attendants, such as a sister and a best friend would be okay, as long as the number does not grow past two to three bridesmaids max.
There is one area where a second time bride of any age need not compromise, and that is the size of her wedding. Gone are the days where divorce was so shameful that remarriages were deemed things to be done very discreetly. So feel free to invite as many of your friends and family as you see fit. Just keep the guest list limited to those with whom you truly want to share your special day. As long as efforts are made to pay some respect for tradition, there is no reason at all not to celebrate your second wedding in the style that you see fit.
Filed under Wedding Planning, crystal bridal jewelry | Tags: crystal wedding jewelry, second time brides, second time wedding, young second time brides | Comment (0)Easy Things to Cut From Your Wedding Budget
Planning a wedding on a budget can feel so challenging. However, brides who have already planned beautiful yet affordable weddings know that there are certain things which are easy to give up when trying to save money. To help you prioritize your wedding funds, learn about these easy things to cut from your wedding budget.
Videographer. This is probably the number one expense that brides say they are willing to drop to save money. A decent videographer is going to cost well over $1000 – that is a big chunk of change to free up for something more important! Even if the money is available, ask yourself how often you would really sit down and watch that wedding dvd. Most people lose interest in it within a couple months of the wedding, and it becomes nothing more than an expensive dust catcher on your dvd shelf. You would be better off investing the cost of a videographer into hiring a top notch photographer.
Wedding programs, menus, save the date cards, and response cards. Unless you are holding a bilingual ceremony and half of your guests will be totally lost without a written program, they are totally unnecessary. No one will miss them! While menu cards can be elegant, they too are an unneeded expense, and your guests will be able to figure out what they are eating by looking at it. If you plan to serve a dish that requires explanation, the server could name it when he presents it to the guest “Tonight you will be dining on a…” It would actually be very elegant and personal, more so than a menu card. Email or phone calls can be used to notify guests of upcoming nuptials instead of save the date cards. And believe it or not, response cards are not in fact proper wedding etiquette, so you can feel good about cutting those from your budget. Simply add an R.s.v.p. line to your invitations, and let the guests handle the rest.
Transportation. No one really cares how the bride and groom travel to and from the wedding, so expensive transportation is another easy thing to drop when funds are tight. Instead of a limo, see if a friend with a nice car can drive you from the ceremony to the reception. Or try a less traditional mode of transportation – how charming would it be to see the bride and groom pedal away on a bicycle built for two? If the distance between ceremony and reception sites is close, it would be really fun for the whole wedding party to walk it in a festive processional (very European!). Just think of all the well wishes you will get from the people you pass while you walk by all decked out in your bridal gown and Swarovski crystal earrings – what fun!
Filed under Wedding Planning, crystal bridal jewelry | Tags: save money on wedding, Swarovski crystal earrings, wedding budget, Wedding Planning | Comment (0)How to Dress Bridesmaids With Different Figures
Hopefully, every bride picks her bridal party based on friendship, not appearance. Of course, what this can mean is that you end up with a group of bridesmaids who encompass every imaginable shape and size. When it comes time to pick out bridesmaid dresses, it can be a major challenge to find one style that is flattering to all of your attendants. These are some suggestions on how to dress bridesmaids with different figures to make sure that everyone looks and feels beautiful in the end.
For the bride who strongly prefers a well coordinated bridal party, separates are going to be her best bet. The major bridal chains offer styles which come in a huge range of sizes, so all you have to do is pick a color and a skirt length, and let each woman choose the top and bottom which best suit her unique shape. While you will not have a perfectly matched set of bridesmaids, you will have a group of women in outfits in the same color, which will give them a very cohesive feeling as they walk down the aisle.
Custom dresses can be a fantastic option if you want each bridesmaid to wear the same general style. Select a fabric and a pattern, and have each attendant work with a dressmaker to get a perfect fit. This can be the perfect solution when one of the bridesmaids is not able to find her dress size in the standard offerings. It also works well for pregnant bridesmaids, petite ones, tall ones; pretty much anyone, in other words. The beauty of this concept is that you don’t end up with the one hard-to-fit attendant feeling badly because she cannot wear the same dress as the rest of the girls. The drawback is that custom made dresses can get expensive. The bride may wish to ease the burden on her attendants by purchasing the fabric and gifting them their shoes and bridesmaid jewelry sets.
A less labor intensive way to work with a variety of bridesmaid shapes and sizes is to ask each woman to select her own dress. The bride will usually give them a few parameters (navy blue and knee length, for instance), and then trust each bridesmaid to pick out an appropriate selection. After all, even the ladies who are not standard sizes manage to dress themselves on a daily basis. No one will no better than them which brands and styles look best on them. You can tie the look of the bridal party together with coordinated sets of bridesmaid jewelry.
Filed under Bridesmaid Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: bridesmaid dresses, bridesmaid jewelry sets | Comment (0)Ways to Personalize Black Bridesmaid Dresses
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, black bridesmaid dresses are here to stay. With so many brides now choosing black dresses for their attendants, it can be pretty easy for them all to blend into a sea of sameness from one wedding to the next. The key to avoiding this is to add special details in the cut of the dresses, accessories, and flowers to make your bridesmaids’ attire feel unique. These are some great ways to personalize black bridesmaid dresses.
When choosing flowers for your bridesmaids to carry, black dresses are a very neutral backdrop. Almost anything will work, although you do have to be careful about how certain colors combine with black, such as orange (too Halloween) and yellow (hello, bumblebee!). For a summer wedding, try flowers in bright festive colors like lime green, fuchsia, and orange (pairing it with other colors negates the Halloween association). If yours is an evening wedding, cascade bouquets featuring lush purple orchids would be the height of style with the black bridesmaid dresses. Bright red roses are popular for winter weddings with black satin gowns, or create fall bouquets featuring reds, yellows, and oranges to carry against black silk dupioni dresses.
Jewelry is another excellent way to add character to black bridesmaid dresses. Consider having unique custom bridesmaid jewelry created for a really special accent. To give your dresses more of a classic style, pink pearl tin cup necklaces made with pearls in a large diameter would be very graceful and ladylike. Or opt for colorful custom Swarovski crystal bridesmaid jewelry which pulls in a color from their bouquets. Bold colors like peridot and siam red would be marvelous for statement jewelry. Certainly the timeless style of clear or “ab” finish crystals would also be gorgeous with black dresses, if you prefer to a more understated glamor.
Shoes are a fantastic way to personalize black bridesmaid dresses! Forget about black shoes to match the dresses, and seek out festive shoes with style. Silver high heeled sandals are always nice, although it would be fun to do something a bit wilder. Consider a sassy leopard print peep toe pump or a chartreuse green silk high heel Mary Jane. If flats are what your bridesmaids prefer, choose exciting ones with a rhinestone brooch at the toe or burgundy velvet flats for a holiday wedding.
Filed under Bridesmaid Jewelry | Tags: black bridesmaid dresses, bridesmaid accessories, bridesmaid bouquets, custom bridesmaid jewelry | Comment (0)Wedding Favors as Centerpieces
When looking for a way to trim the wedding decorating budget, it helps to find items that can do double-duty. One very clever idea is to arrange your wedding favors in a way that doubles as a centerpiece. There are many ways to do this, and the results can be as charming as they are thrifty.
Flowers are the most popular type of centerpiece, and a great option for wedding favors as well. The blossoms you select and form of display will depend on the style of your reception. Let’s say you were having an informal country celebration and wearing a very simple lace wedding dress and delicate jewelry – painted tin pails planted with sunny yellow daisies would be darling. Set an small wooden bushel basket (upended) in the center of the table and arrange the little pails of daisies around the basket. Cluster one group of three on top of the basket to add height to the centerpiece design.
Special vases with single stems can also work beautifully for favors that double as centerpieces. Choose a flower with a very large bloom, such as one full hydrangea stem or a lush garden rose in full bloom. Make it a unique favor by picking out vases with character, such as a mis-matched collection of white milk glass vases. Or opt for the clean look of chic narrow oval vases. Play up the modernity of the vase by using flowers in a vivid color like bright orange or fuchsia. Group the vases in the middle of the table to create the illusion of a large display of flowers.
Candles are always popular for both favors and centerpieces, so why not combine the two into one? The key is to display the candles in holders which are beautiful enough to be keepsakes. (After all, a half-melted candle in a plain glass votive holder is not much of a gift!) Tall etched glass candle holders will look beautiful with the flame flickering in them. When your guests see how pretty they look, they will be delighted to find out that they get to take them home! Or create an enchanted effect for an evening wedding by hanging small lanterns in jewel tones over the centers of each reception table. Put them on hooks which will make them easy for the guests to remove their lantern to take home at the end of the night. A unique favor and a unique centerpiece idea all rolled into one!
Filed under Wedding Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: wedding centerpieces, wedding favors, Wedding Jewelry | Comment (0)Shopping Online for Your Wedding
Most brides are busy enough without running from store to store trying to round up everything they need for their weddings. The great news is that these days you can get almost everything you need online. With a few clicks of your mouse, all you have to do is sit back and wait for your package to be delivered right to your house. These are some tips for shopping online for your wedding.
You would be amazed at how many of your wedding supplies can be found on the Internet. It is an especially wonderful resource for the bride who wants to make some of her own decorations. Starting with the wedding flowers, you can get all the supplies you need to make stunning DIY centerpieces and bouquets online. The prices are much lower than those of a retail florist, the selection is broad, and you can have your blossoms delivered fresh to your door a couple of days before your wedding.
Another thing which is great to buy online are your bridesmaid jewelry gifts. You can get customized sets of jewelry handcrafted from stunning Swarovski crystals or pearls in colors to coordinate with the bridesmaid dresses. Not only is it super convenient to have your gifts of bridesmaid jewelry delivered right to your door, but chances are the prices will be far more affordable than what you see in a traditional bridal salon. While you are at it, order a set of bridal jewelry and headpiece for yourself too. If you choose the right online retailer, you may even be able to score free shipping!
Speaking of free shipping, why not order your wedding shoes from a website like Zappos? Any of the shoe websites which offer free shipping both ways are an ideal source for your bridal shoes. The selection will be far superior to what you can find in any one regular store, and searching for shoes on the Internet allows you to do it at a time which is convenient to you, rather than battling the crowds in the shoe stores on a Saturday afternoon. From favors to candles to the guest book, almost everything you need for your wedding can be easily found on the Internet.
Your Practical Wedding Day Questions Answered
If you have been wondering about things like what to do with your bouquet during the ring exchange or how you will use the restroom in your bridal gown, you will find the answers to your practical wedding day questions right here…
What Do I Do With My Bouquet During The Ring Exchange? The answer is your maid of honor will hold it. You can practice the hand off during the wedding rehearsal. Some brides hold their bouquets until right before the exchange of rings, but many will pass the bouquet to their maid of honor upon arrival at the altar. She will return the bouquet to you at the conclusion of the ceremony before the recessional.
How Do I Use The Restroom While Wearing My Wedding Gown? Every bride has this question, but you are not likely to find the answer in Emily Post or Miss Manners! The answer is with help from your bridesmaids and a sense of humor. If your gown is very full, you will need one bridesmaid on each side of you to hold it up while you use the facilities. When the restroom has stalls, sometimes the bridesmaids each have to stand in a stall on either side of the bride’s! A good rule of thumb is to drink only as much as you need to stay hydrated so you do not have to attempt this maneuver too many times. Stay away from coffee and tea to minimize your trips to the loo.
What Should I Do With Cash Gifts Received At The Reception? This is a good problem to have! If you are lucky, lots of little envelopes with cash or checks will be slipped to you at your wedding reception. Alternatively, some couples set out a box for envelopes. You want to make sure that all of that cash is secure, of course, so it is important to have a plan. If setting out a box, be sure that it is something decorative, but locking (and heavy, so it cannot simply be carried off). Place the box inside the reception room, not in an entryway. A great idea is for the bride and groom to give one of their parents a deposit slip for their bank account before the wedding. At the end of the reception, simply hand the checks and cash over to that person, and they can deposit them for you while you head off on your honeymoon. Keep a little of all that cash with you to have fun on your vacation!
Filed under Bridal Jewelry, Uncategorized, Wedding Planning | Tags: Bridal Jewelry, Emily Post, wedding faqs, wedding rings | Comment (0)City Wedding / Country Wedding
There are so many wonderful options for wedding venues! The only problem is that it can be hard to pick just one from among all of the beautiful choices. Chic urban loft? Charming country inn? Grand art museum? Rustic barn? These are some of the things to consider when deciding between having a city wedding or a country wedding.
Certainly, there are many fantastic things about getting married in a big city. The style and excitement are unmatched. The choices for venues are also marvelous. You could have an ultra-stylish cocktail party in a hip loft (so fun for your friends). Or rent a space in a grand venue, like the soaring atrium of a fine art museum after hours (perfect for a black tie wedding). Of course big cities also have spectacular venues overlooking sparkling skylines from high above, elegant hotels, private clubs, and unique gallery spaces. There is almost no limit, except of course, for your budget.
Country weddings have a much slower pace than city affairs. Some couples really like the laid-back vibe of a wedding out in the countryside “away from it all”. Obviously, there will be many more choices for outdoor weddings in natural settings once you head away from a big city. You could exchange your vows under an ancient oak tree, sip cocktails on the veranda of a charming country resort inn, or dance the night away in an old barn strung with white lights. Wear a charming lace or linen gown with special handcrafted bridal jewelry to complement the setting. Country weddings offer a lot of space and are generally very family friendly.
The budget can be one of the cons of a city wedding. While there are certainly affordable venues in any region, things do tend to cost more in major metropolitan areas. Also keep in mind that parking for a city wedding can be a big headache. Some of the cons to a country wedding can be that resources may be more limited. In a rural area, there may be only a handful of local florists, for instance. The city and the countryside both have a lot to offer. Each couple needs to weigh the pros and cons of each to come up with the place that will be perfect for them.
Tips for the Mother of the Groom
If there is one piece of advice that every mother of the groom needs to hear it is to learn to let go of her son. It can be hard to accept that another woman is taking over your role as the primary female influence in your son’s life, but when he gets married, that is exactly what is happening. Fighting to remain top dog will only put your son in a terrible position of being torn between his wife and mother, and your relationship with him will inevitably suffer. The more you push, the harder his new wife is likely to pull him in the opposite direction.
Another thing that all mothers of the groom should do is to make their future daughters-in-law feel welcome in their new family. All those old terrible stereotypes about overbearing mothers-in-law aside, there is no reason at all why the groom’s mom and his wife cannot become good friends. No matter how confident she may appear, the chances are that your son’s fiancee is nervous about winning your approval. Give it to her clearly and frequently.
When it comes to planning the wedding, the mother of the groom often ends up feeling like a second fiddle. There are plenty of ways that the mother of the groom can become involved in the wedding. You might offer your home as a place for some of her bridesmaids to stay when they come to town for the big event. If finances permit, it would be very gracious to offer to pick up the tab for the florist or the bar bill at the reception. Sometimes mothers of the groom like to welcome their daughters-in-law to the family with special gifts of wedding jewelry.
One last piece of advice to the mother of the groom is to always look appropriate for the wedding…but not so fabulous you will upstage the bride or her mother. Always ask the bride what type of attire she would like you to wear for her wedding. The mothers of the bride and groom do not need to wear the same color, but it is customary for the bride’s mom to select her dress first so that the mother of the groom can choose a dress which will look attractive next to hers. Being considerate of family feelings is an excellent idea for all members of the bride and groom’s families, including the mother of the groom.
Filed under Uncategorized, Wedding Jewelry, Wedding Planning | Tags: mother of the groom, wedding advice, wedding etiquette, wedding jewelry gifts | Comment (0)