Fun New Wedding Show: “Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta”

I am a sucker for wedding shows in general, and especially the ones which show the brides shopping for their gowns. If you love seeing brides try on mermaids, ballgowns, and all the rest in the quest for that one perfect wedding dress, then there is a new show you will love. The fun new wedding show of the season is “Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta”.

Southerners love a good wedding! This must be true based on the multi-generational clans which accompany the brides to Bridals by Lori in Atlanta. If picking out a dress to please your mom seems daunting, imagine also having to please your grandmother, your aunt, your sisters, your best friend, and oh yeah – yourself! It is a major undertaking, and sometimes it is a miracle if the bride finds a dress that the whole family can agree on.

The families on “Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta” are opinionated! And they are not shy about expressing their feelings on the bridal gowns, veils, and wedding jewelry, either. On one recent episode I saw, the bride was a stunning Atlanta Falcons cheerleader who was seeking something to wear for an outdoor wedding at an historic style location. But did the bride’s mom care about any of that? No way! The mother of the bride had decided that if fitted was good, skin tight was better and that if delicate beading was good, than an all-out sparkle explosion was the only way to go. The staff at Bridals by Lori got “madder than a wet hen” watching the mother shoot down everything her daughter liked, while the patient bride went home empty handed.

Sometimes those great big families can pull together to support the bride, even if it takes them a while to come around. That is one of the things that is the most fun about “Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta”. When a bride has tried on a gazillion gowns and she is about to tear her hair out, suddenly the fashion director or consultant pulls out a dark horse: a gown that is nothing like what the bride thinks she wants. She slips it on and the magic happens: moms start crying, stern grandmothers melt, and sisters cheer. This is the moment that makes all the drama worth it, for brides and the staff at the bridal salon.

Ethnic Wedding Reception Menus - Dos and Don’ts

Serving ethnic cuisine at your wedding reception can be a marvelous way to honor your heritage while putting your own personal stamp on the event. However, there can be some potential pitfalls to serving an ethnic menu, ranging from poorly prepared dishes to excluding guests who come from other ethnic traditions. This is a look at the dos and don’ts of ethnic wedding reception menus.

Do: Consider both the bride and groom’s families when planning an ethnic wedding menu. If you share a heritage in common, this may be a piece of cake. Although even then, each family may have their own ideas about the proper way to prepare certain signature dishes. When the bride and groom hail from very different cultures, be very careful about favoring one tradition too heavily over another. You might end up with some very hurt feelings, not to mention one half of the guest list who is faced with utterly unfamiliar food.

Don’t: Assume that any caterer can prepare your special menu. If you are looking for fairly standard Italian-American dishes, you might find that most any wedding caterer can deliver good food. But if you want something more specialized, you would be wise to seek out a caterer who has experience in preparing classic Indian food or traditional Chinese dishes. If your goal is a wedding which honors your cultural traditions in every detail from wedding jewelry to music to the ceremony, you might wish to consider seeking a wedding planner with experience in planning weddings with couples from your heritage.

Do: View your wedding as a wonderful opportunity to teach your fiance about your heritage and to learn about his. The cultural traditions of the bride and groom are a part of who they are, and are definitely worth learning more about, even if you have a pretty classic American style wedding. Try to include some of the customs from each side of the family in your wedding, even if it means having some wedding reception stations serving spanakopita and others serving corned beef and cabbage. At least it will be a chance for each family to learn about the other, and that it a very good thing!

Picturesque Fall Wedding Venue Ideas

Nothing says fall wedding quite like a rustic barn in the countryside. Think apple orchards, pumpkin patches, and the glorious colors of fall trees. Play up the rustic charm of a barn wedding with lots of natural decorations. Use hollowed out gourds and pumpkins as centerpiece vessels. Graceful stalks of wheat bundled with satin ribbon make simple but elegant decorations for guest book tables. The bride can wear a dress with a texture that suits the rustic flavor of a barn wedding, such as a slubby silk dupioni gown with handmade wedding jewelry. It is sure to be a wedding that captures all the beauty of autumn perfectly.

An historic inn is another great idea for a fall wedding venue. A charming country inn is a romantic spot to host a wedding ceremony and reception. Look for an inn with lots of personality, such as wide graceful porches, Adirondack chairs on the lawn, and colorful gardens. Line the porch steps with baskets of seasonal mums for a splash of color. Greet your guests with mulled cider, and serve an elegant meal of fresh fall foods like pumpkin risotto and butternut squash. Best of all, the country inn will make a wonderful place to honeymoon.

How about a fall wedding on the side of a mountain? This is a fantastic idea for an early autumn wedding before it gets too cold in the higher elevations. Pick an overlook with a sweeping view of the valley below for the ceremony. The photos will be truly breathtaking. It may get a bit chilly, so in addition to her gorgeous gown and handmade wedding jewelry, the bride will definitely want a cozy wrap for the reception. Plan the wedding to take place when the fall foliage will be at its peak to take advantage of the best that nature has to offer in the autumn. The location will be so stunning that you will need minimal decorations.

Another very picturesque site for an autumn wedding celebration is a vineyard. How beautiful to host a wedding surrounded by lush grapevines full of the fall harvest. Let your celebration include one of the special autumn vintages made by the vineyard. Long family style tables work beautifully for this rustic-chic location. You don’t have to head to Napa or Sonoma for a marvelous vineyard wedding, either. Many states have their own wine-growing regions, with little vineyards which would make ideal wedding venues.

Honeymoon Planning 101

Just getting started on planning your honeymoon? Great! Before you make any arrangements, get the tips you need to make planning a romantic and memorable honeymoon trip a breeze. Welcome to Honeymoon Planning 101.

When it comes to a memorable honeymoon, the most important thing is to do something that you both enjoy as a couple. The beach honeymoon is very traditional, but if neither of you enjoys the sun or water, it would be a poor choice! Perhaps your style is checking out all that a big city has to offer or maybe you have always dreamed of seeing Alaska. A festival could be just your cup of tea or perhaps you have both always longed to see your ancestral homelands. Think about what would make the trip really special, and plan it based on that, rather than tradition.

Knowing what to bring on your trip is also important, as is knowing what to leave at home. Check the local guidebooks for your honeymoon destination to find out how casual people typically dress. Make an effort to look your best; it is supposed to be a romantic trip, after all! A few common packing tips include bringing nice shoes (no sneakers!) and skirts or pants instead of shorts for a tour of Europe. Beach vacations are usually fairly low-key, but you should definitely bring along a pretty dress and some of your wedding jewelry to wear for intimate dinners. Then there is what not to bring: anything very valuable, especially very flashy jewelry or watches. Bring a minimum of jewelry; the earrings and necklace from your wedding jewelry set should be plenty, especially if you will be spending most of your time lounging on the beach.

Finally, be sure you make plans to capture all of those beautiful honeymoon memories. A good camera (bring extra batteries!) is a must. You may also wish to bring a small travel journal to record your memories and impressions, as well as a folder to save tickets and other memorabilia for scrapbooking. Meaningful souvenirs will help you to remember your wonderful honeymoon for years to come. Skip the tacky tourist stuff like t-shirts and pick up one or two really special local items, such as a piece of Venetian glass from a honeymoon in Italy. Even a collection of seashells would make a lovely honeymoon memento when artfully displayed in a shadow box. Choose that special something that will always remind you of your first ever vacation as husband and wife.

Flower Girls for Summer Weddings

One of the cutest parts of any wedding is the flower girl. Choose an adorable outfit and special flowers for her to make your little one even more darling. These are some sweet ideas for flower girls for summer weddings.

The first thing to decide for your flower girl is what she will wear. A white Swiss dot cotton organdy dress with a Peter Pan collar and a self sash tied in a bow would be about the cutest thing imaginable. It would be perfect for a semi-formal church wedding on a summer afternoon. Add white Mary Jane shoes with little white cuff socks and a silver heart locket for the flower girl jewelry, and you will have a timeless look that is sure to delight all in attendance. Pair with either a traditional basket of rose petals or a very small posy of pink spray roses.

Pastel organza dresses are also very sweet for summer flower girls. They are great for garden weddings in soft shades such as lavender, pale green, rose pink, or light blue. Rows of tiny ribbon flowers around the waist or neck make organza flower girl dresses even more precious. Instead of a basket, flower pomanders on organza ribbons would be wonderful for the girls to carry. If you want to have some fun with your little ones, add sets of colorful organza fairy wings for them to wear down the aisle. It is especially adorable if you have several little girls in the wedding party.

Nautical themes are always popular for summer weddings, and this can be a great place to get inspiration for your flower girl dresses. Classic navy sailor dresses with white trim are perfect for a nautical wedding by the ocean or at a yacht club. This is a style that never goes out of fashion, and as a bonus, sailor dresses can be found in a wide range of prices, unlike official flower girl dresses which tend to be more pricey. White leather Mary Jane shoes will suit the traditional nature of the sailor dress. A natural colored basket with red flower petals would be the perfect thing for the little sailor girl to carry. Keep the summer season in mind when selecting the attire and flowers for your littlest attendants, and they will be one of the most delightful parts of the wedding!

Can You Wear White to Someone Else’s Wedding?

The reason to avoid wearing white as a wedding guest is that the color is reserved for the bride. It is the job of guests at weddings to be dressed appropriately and festively, but not to upstage the bride. Wearing white can definitely fall into the category of drawing attention from the bride, even if it is completely unintentional. This is particularly true if you wear some sort of a white dress with pearl wedding jewelry. Unless you are actually wearing a wedding gown, no one is going to mistake you for the bride, yet it would still be pushing the edge of good taste. While the bride might not be uptight about such old-fashioned rules, the chances are that her grandmother will be, and why do something that is likely to offend?

For a summer wedding, it is true that many of the prettier dresses in the stores may be white (more so some years than others), but there are so many other colors out there in the world that one can surely find a safer alternative. Another option is to wear a dress with a white background which has a colorful print on it, such as blue and pink flowers. Few would find fault with that; even those who interpret traditional wedding etiquette strictly will understand that a patterned dress with a little white in the background is in no way an attempt to upstage the bride. The one exception, by the way, to wearing white attire to a wedding is the naval officer’s summer dress white attire.

These days, black has become fairly accepted for wedding guest attire in many social circles (especially around the big cities). That said, there will still be those who find it inappropriate for a wedding, and it should be avoided by the mothers of the bride and groom due to the old meaning that black meant disapproval of the match. For the other guests, while you probably can get away with wearing black, especially for an evening wedding, it is still not the best color choice. Why? Because black is rather somber and dark for an occasion as festive as a wedding. Even if it is not strictly taboo, it is still nicer to wear a color other than black.

This brings us to the other old belief, that red is inappropriate for a wedding guest. The simple reason for the ban on red is that it is bright and flashy. While no one will think you are trying to look like a bride (white) or show disapproval (black), they might well think that you are trying to upstage the bride by wearing such a bright color.  That said, red can definitely be worn in a manner that is completely appropriate for a wedding. The key when wearing a bold color is to select a dress with a very classic design. When dressing for a wedding, let your good taste and good judgment be your guide to sartorial success.

The Ins and Outs of Wedding Receiving Lines

The receiving line might seem like an antiquated or outdated tradition, but the truth is that they still have an important role to play in a wedding. For a celebration of any size, a simple receiving line is by far the easiest way to ensure that the host greets all of his or guests, which is a must. Conversely, it is also the simplest way for every guest to have a chance to extend best wishes and congratulations to the newlyweds, which is a must for guests. With the reasons to have a receiving line at your wedding clear, this is what you need to know about how to arrange one.

First of all, a receiving line should never be held inside a house of worship. That is because you cannot act as host inside God’s house. There are two very good options for the receiving line location. One is to have it at the reception venue as guests arrive. The other possibility is to receive your guests outside of the church immediately following the ceremony. This is often the easiest thing to do logistically, as so many couples will have photo sessions during the cocktail hour of the reception, making it hard to find a good time to arrange a receiving line at the reception site.

There is much uncertainty about who should participate in a receiving line. The people who absolutely must be there are the bride, the groom, and their mothers. The fathers of the happy couple will often stand in the line as well, but they may duck in and out to mingle if the line is long, especially if it is being done during the cocktail hour. If any of the parents of the newlyweds have remarried, their new spouses should absolutely be invited to participate in the receiving line. Deal with any animosity between the exes and the new spouses by separating them in the receiving line. Although customary, it is not absolutely necessary for the entire group of bridesmaids to participate; if you are trying to keep the line moving, it would be okay to ask only the maid of honor to stand in the line and set the other ladies free.

There are some standard things to say in a receiving line, and of course, you may personalize them if you wish. Always offer best wishes to the bride and congratulations to the groom. Tell the bride’s mother how beautiful the ceremony was and tell the groom’s father what a lucky man his son is to have found such a wonderful bride. It is always appropriate to tell any of the wedding party how pretty they look or to admire their wedding jewelry. When introducing yourself to a stranger, a few words about how you know the bride and groom would be nice. As for the people in the wedding party, they should thank all of the guests for joining them and express appreciation for their kind words. Other safe comments include telling a guest how pretty her dress and jewelry are or saying how perfect the weather is for a wedding. Don’t worry too much about being original, as long as you are pleasant and brief, the receiving line will be a success.

Informal Centerpiece Ideas

Informal flowers are a wonderful place to begin when designing casual wedding centerpieces. There are many wonderful varieties, quite a few of which are also rather hardy. For a spring wedding, the sweet look of classic white daisies with yellow centers is always charming. Arrange them in lime green flowerpots for a fresh take on an informal garden wedding design. Or use the daisies in a more minimalist fashion by using clear “test tubes” in holders and placing a single blossom in each one. Arrange a row of the test tubes along the length of a long family style dinner table.

Mixed arrangements of wildflowers can make for lovely casual centerpieces. Take flowers such as asters, daisies, and dahlias in a range of colors and loosely arrange them in simple vases. Mixing colors will tend to give the centerpieces a more relaxed and fresh picked look. Very unique designs can be created by substituting containers other than standard vases in the centerpieces. You could use anything from baskets to rough hewn wooden boxes to pitchers, depending on the theme and style of your reception.

Some brides like casual weddings with a very handmade look in everything from their dress and jewelry to the decorations and cake. Bold colors and warm, fuzzy materials tend to work best to add the feeling of homespun charm to your wedding. Instead of using glass vases, cover tin cans with colorful felt or even yarn wrapped tightly around the can. Fill these handcrafted vessels with bright flowers in a single contrasting color. For instance, you could cover your vessels with yellow felt and fill them with clusters of bright red carnations or geraniums. Small button mums also work very well; lime green “Kermit” mums are especially popular. They would look great in a “vase” covered in a wooly red yarn or a red and white gingham check fabric.

Not all centerpieces have to be based around flowers, either. Fruit can be a wonderful choice for a casual centerpiece. Large clear cylinders filled with whole lemons or limes adds a great splash of color to the receptions tables. In the autumn, handpainted bowls filled with bright red apples make a seasonal and edible centerpiece. Creativity is key, and when designing informal centerpieces, there are really no rules.

Wedding Cakes Inspired by Nature

One of the most special parts of any wedding reception is the cake. Always a showpiece, your cake is the perfect opportunity to express something about yourself or your wedding theme. What could be more lovely for a cake than decorations which mimic the beauty of the great outdoors? These are some wonderful ideas for gorgeous wedding cakes inspired by nature.

Cascades of flowers, either fresh or sugar, are gorgeous when you want to create a more natural design for your wedding cake. The blossoms can be dainty and simple, such as pink rosebuds, or dramatic and elegant, as in handcrafted sugar orchids. Very colorful blossoms are a fantastic way to bring some bright color into your wedding reception in a way that is “safe”. Think multi-colored cascades of pinks, purples, and fuchsias or a sophisticated palette of greens and browns. This is a wonderful way to brighten up your reception while getting your inspiration from nature.

Butterflies are a gorgeous idea for a wedding cake decoration. Their fluttery grace and inherent beauty make them the ideal accent for a bridal cake. You can opt for an understated design with a few yellow butterflies perched daintily on each tier, or go wild with an over-the-top flurry of butterflies in every hue of the rainbow covering the cake. Take your color palette from the rest of your wedding, everything from the flowers to the tablecloths to special handmade wedding jewelry can inform the hues you choose for your butterfly cake. This design works equally well for a wedding with a butterfly theme or one with a special color palette but no particular signature motif.

Forests and trees can also be a wonderful place to get inspired for your wedding cake. Deeper colors in a natural palette work best. This is a good motif for an earthy wedding where the bride wears a non-traditional gown and unique handmade wedding jewelry. A deep rich chocolate cake dragged with a utensil to create a “tree bark” effect would be marvelous for a woodland reception. You can decorate it with fresh flowers in deep colors like purple, or whimsical decorations such as marzipan mushrooms and even tiny fairies. A different approach to a forest inspired cake would be to have the baker handpaint a graceful tree growing up the tiers of the cake. This is an elegant take on the woodsy theme.

Sticky Wedding Attire Situations

These are some of the most common sticky wedding attire situations, along with suggestions about how to resolve them.

Problem No. One: Your wedding colors are pale pink and lilac and your bridesmaids are demanding black cocktail dresses. While it is always lovely when the bride is considerate of what her attendants would like to wear, the reality is that they need to fit with her vision of the wedding. The best you can do is choose a color that your bridesmaids can stand (perhaps a neutral like champagne). Perhaps the bride could also mollify her bridesmaids by giving them a lot of say in the style of the dress, if not the color. Ultimately, though, being a bridesmaid means wearing the dress of the bride’s choosing, so the bridesmaids need to grit their teeth and politely wear what the bride wants!

Problem No. Two: Your flamboyant mother-in-law always has to be the center of attention, even on your wedding day. She never got the memo that the mothers of the bride and groom should look pretty without upstaging the bride, and has decided to wear a fire engine red dress with a neckline cut down to her navel. The bride really cannot tell her mother-in-law what to wear, so the groom needs to be involved in this.  If the groom cannot or will not get his mom to wear something less flashy, there is nothing much to be done about it. Yes, it will drive you crazy that she sticks out like a sore thumb in the group wedding photos, but in the end, it will do nothing to detract from the joy of your wedding or marriage.

Problem No. Three: The bride and her mother cannot agree on a wedding gown…and mom is paying for it. This problem is incredibly common, and also incredibly frustrating. Sometimes another person, like a sister or aunt, can help to convince mom that the bridal gown which she thinks is all wrong is really perfect. The bride can also show a willingness to compromise by offering to let her mom pick out her veil and wedding jewelry. If none of that works, you either have to go back to the drawing board and look for a new gown or buy the one you really want with your own money.

People tend to feel very strongly about their clothing, even more so when it comes to formal attire. This is why so many sticky situations can crop up when planning a wedding. Hopefully, you now have the tools to manage any wedding attire dilemmas that come your way!