Who Should Walk You Down The Aisle?

How to Say "NO" to Being a Bridesmaid

NYC Bridal Fashion Week

Every Year thousands of people tune in to watch the NYC Fashion Week. A whole week of brand new and seasoned designers getting together to tell the whole world what they will be wearing the following season or year. For a week we wear our stilettos and flock to our computers to watch the new hot trends, but what is Bridal Fashion Week?

All the bridal designers share with us new trends for the following year. The dresses, at times, will not be available for another year. Overall we get to look at expensive dresses that we can only wish about owning but are only left with a sense of...disbelief.

 The "regular" fashion world, sometimes, has us questioning our sanity but the bridal world has us questioning the sanity of the designers.

 Here is quick glimpse into the best and not so good of the NYC Bridal Fashion Week:  

 

LOVE                                                                                              NOT SO MUCH

TheKnot.com

TheKnot.com

 

        

  Oscar De La Renta 

                                              

TheKnot.com

TheKnot.com

              

 

Austin Scarlett



TheKnot.com

TheKnot.com

Anne Bowen

TheKnot.com

TheKnot.com

  Anne Barge 

                           For a complete look at the NYC Bridal Fashion Week visit The Knot

DIY Cake Table

A DIY cake table that will leave your guest beyond impressed. I created this cake table for a friend's wedding this past weekend and I have received rave reviews so I thought I would share. It was fairly simple and cost effective.

Materials:

- 1 can of Metallic Spray Paint:  Home Depot $4.99
- Mirror
- Piece of wood the same size as the mirror ( I used an old dresser mirror and simply pulled both apart)
- Small fake fruit ( I used lemons, limes, green apples and red apples): I bought these at a discount store for $1 a box of 12-14 pieces
- Hot glue gun & glue sticks
- 2 bags of Spanish Moss: Dollar Tree (There was a lighter in color one, but I went with the darker one)
- White crystals
- 5 small candle holders: .50 cents each on sale at Hobby Lobby


Step 1: As I mentioned above, I took an old dresser mirror that was sitting in our attic and simply removed the mirror from the wood. This was easy, since I only need to remove some screws.

Step 2: After pulling both apart I removed the paint from the back of the mirror with paint thinner. Make sure to do this outside, the fumes can be intense!

Step 3: Spray paint the wood with metallic spray paint. Make sure you spray paint the edges. I also added some reinforcement to the wood in the middle were the mirror sat just incase.

Step 4: I then glued the Spanish moss to the wood with hot glue. I tried other kinds of glue, but this was the quickest to dry and therefore the least messy BUT be careful not to burn yourself, I did a few times!

Step 5: Set up a patter with the fruit. This can be any pattern that you like but make sure you play around with it until it looks "just right" Make sure to include the candleholders upside down in your pattern. There should be four "corners" and one in the middle to support the glass.

Step 6: Once you have your pattern down, it's now time to glue everything. I used hot glue once again! Clear and dried very quick, 2 very important things!

Step 7: Wipe the glass down with some Windex and then set on the, 5 upside down, candleholders!

Step 8: Set on the cake table at your reception and place cake on top!

The Real Price of DIY Wedding Projects!

DIY weddings are the "it" thing in the bridal market right now. Brides are creating everything from centerpieces to their own veils and favors. Weddings are now more personal than ever but it comes at a cost.

The cost is your time and well being. I spent the past two months helping a friend plan her wedding and while it was a blast, it was the DIY projects that left me with a sleep disorder after the wedding.

DIY projects need TIME and also money. Most people would assume that DIY weddings tend to be cheaper in cost, and while that may be true when it comes to certain projects such as centerpieces, that is not the case when it comes to personal touches. The materials can add up quickly and you can be left with a lot of unused material.

For instance we made 10 tall centerpieces and 20 small centerpieces. The flowers were a total of $210 dollars and the price of the vases totaled $30 for a grand total of $240. When you divide by each centerpiece, each one cost roughly $8. WHAT A STEAL RIGHT?

Well then came the spray paint, which was a mere $10 for 2 cans and pieces of lace which totaled about $10. STILL A DEAL, RIGHT?

Well the amount spent on making them was a total of 18 hours (including spray painting and then the set up the day of) TIME was once again the most expensive item. We had to let the vases dry for 12 hours. Time the day of the wedding is precious and every minute counts, so choose projects wisely!

Advice on how to plan DIY projects

1. Research: research as many websites as possible before making your final decision when choosing projects.
2. Set a Budget- Know ahead of time how much money is available for the DIY projects, this will prevent you from buying unnecessary items if you already have an idea of what products you need (research) and how much they should cost (budget)
3. Start Early- Do not leave everything for the week of the wedding. Start DIY projects up to a year ahead of time (obvi you wouldn't do the flowers ahead of time unless they are fake)
4. If you are planning on having different people help you with a project, keep in mind each piece will not turn out identical. It's better to have only one person working on each individual project!

Our small DIY centerpieces!

Rocks Glass candle holder 4"

Dollar Tree

 

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Lace Trim



Jo Ann Fabric

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Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic 12 oz. Gloss Silver Spray Paint 



 

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Flowers Purchased from Globalroses.com

How to "Propose" to Your Bridesmaids

www.dessy.com

In recent years the expectations for a wedding have shifted from formal and traditional, to creative and unique. All of the sudden, the competition is no longer based on the cost of the wedding, but based on creativity.

In order to make an impression on your guests, your creativity needs to resonate from the very beginning, even before you start planning your wedding. The marriage proposals have changed from a candlelight dinner to full-blown theatrical acts or dances.

After a proposal of that caliber, the Bride is left with one option, to "top" what her fiancée did and so the act of asking close friends to be bridesmaids, has morphed into a proposal of its own, full of creativity.

Propose to your bridesmaids in Style. Here are 4 creative ways to ask your friends to join you on your journey to the altar.

1. Create Your Own Story- Write a book depicting your life story with each of your bridesmaids. With websites such as Scribble Press you can create your own books, with your own story line including your own photos. Create a story line that leads to the proposal, "Will you be my bridesmaid?"

2. Scavenger Hunt- Create a scavenger hunt for each girl. Create clues that will lead each one of the chosen girls, to 5 of her favorite places. They could all end up at the same place, restaurant, ice cream parlor, or house, where you will be standing with a sign that reads "You found your way, Now, I ask that You help me find my way to the altar. Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” If you have bridesmaids that live relatively far this can be a great idea for your maid of honor.

3. Put a Ring on Her Finger- It doesn't have to be a diamond! Propose the good ole' way and ask her to be your bridesmaid with a ring. Pandora has a great selection of beautiful rings in sterling silver, at reasonable prices, that will wow them into a Yes! You can go the extra mile and have the rings engraved with a special message.

4. Create a Video Proposal- An editor from The Knot asked her bridesmaids to be a part of the wedding with a video. Check out this amazing video proposal!

Here's my all time favorite wedding proposal!

10 Father/Daughter Songs You Must Avoid!

When it comes to planning a wedding there are many choices you will have to make and one of those choices will be which song you will dance to for the father/daughter dance. Now, I must let you know that I am a total daddy's little girl, so the father-daughter song will be really important to me. I am very aware of the fact that that may not be the case for everyone, and that's OK! But as long as you will be dancing with your father, or a father figure, there are a few songs that you MUST stay away from.

Having worked over hundreds of weddings, I can tell you from experience that they are overplayed! Your guests will tell you how beautiful it was, but they will be lying to you! What you don't know is that the minute they hear the song being played they will put their heads down in shame that you have chosen one of these awful songs!

Alright, I'm not saying these songs are bad, they can hold great meaning and be beautiful but they need to be put to rest for the sake of everyone who has to ever attend a wedding, ever again!

Scroll over the name of the songs and you will be directed to a You Tube video of each song!

1. Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle.... when everyone can sing a song like this one, by memory...well that's all that needs to be said... be done, rest in peace Butterfly Kisses!

2. My Little Girl by Tim McGraw... little girl dressed in pink?...No thanks!

3. I Loved Her First by Heartland... this is a tough one because I love the lyrics but enough is enough!

4. My Girl by The Temptations... all I have to say is, your mom probably had this song played at her wedding.

5. Daughters by John Mayer... this song is even overplayed on the radio, imagine at weddings.

6. Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison... this song really annoys me for a father/daughter dance because if you listen to the lyrics, well, they are very inappropriate for that scenario!

7. Dance With My Father by Luther Vandross... this is another song where I don't think many people pay attention to the lyrics. Unless you are doing a dance in honor of your father who has passed, this song is very morbid!

8. Daddy's Little Girl by Al Martino... can you say total mood killer? This will definitely have your guests questioning your sanity.

9. Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton... It was a commercial at one point, enough said!

10. Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler.. I saved this one for last because it is the worst one of them all!

Wedding Dresses 101

With the new arrival of "Something Borrowed, Something New", on TLC, the hype of watching a reality show, where women shop for wedding dresses, is back! OK ,so maybe it never went away. I mean, I don't know about you but I am still in love, and obsessed, with "Say Yes To The Dress", and who isn't! We get to watch women put on dresses and choose "the one" with tears in their eyes, while we secretly sit in our living rooms and make fun of every dress they tried on along the way.

The truth is, many women have no idea what type of dress flatters their figure best, and with names such as trumpet and sheath we have no idea if we're talking about an orchestra or a cheating boyfriend. So I might have gone a little too far in that last statement, but honestly, who can keep up? We mostly shop on impulse and when we look at a magazine full of wedding dresses, we're looking at the overall look and we fall in love with the glitz and the glam or the ruffles. We have no idea whether that would look good on our bodies, leading us into a world of disappointment in the fitting room.

Before you go back to looking at bridal magazines take a look at the list below. While you are flipping through the pages keep an eye open for the "style" of the dress, it will help you, not only narrow down your search of dresses but it will help you from falling in love with a dress that will not flatter your figure. Though, I will say this, if you like it, try it! Just because these are the typical guidelines, it doesn't mean that you have to strictly follow them. They might just save you from trying on 100 dresses of a style that doesn't "fit". If you feel like it's "the one", it might be, so don't let anything stop you from trying it on, you might surprise yourself and hate it when you put it on anyways.

A-Line-Fitted at the bodice and flows outward. The difference between this and the ballgown is that the ballgown stops at the waist and immediately opens up, while the A-line opens up proportionally as it flows away from the body. This gown can flatter almost every body type. Whether you are top heavy, pear shape, hour glass figure or you have no waistline, it can make you look fabulous. If you are full figure with a large frame this may or may not work for you, but it's worth giving it a try!

TheKnot.com

Ballgown- Fitted at the bodice, with a full skirt, the most common and "traditional" wedding dress available. The ballgown, can indeed, flatter any body type, and if I must mention, it fulfills a lot of princess dreams!

TheLuckyBridal.com

Sheath- Fits very close to the body and has no waist. Falls straight to the ground, with no added volume at the skirt. Think of a beach wedding type of dress. This type of dress will flatter an hourglass figure or someone who is very fit.

TheKnot.ccom

Mermaid- The most popular of "our time". Fits very close to the body, the tighter the better, from the chest to the knees, and then flares out to a full skirt. This will flatter an hourglass figure or someone without a waistline. If you are very top heavy I would be weary to try this on, while it will flatter some large chests, it can make others look very top heavy. Also known as "Fit & Flare".

PRLOG.ORG

Trumpet- Just as the mermaid gown, this gown fits very close to the body, from the chest to mid-hip, and then flares out. The flare can be dramatic, such as in the picture below, or gradually. This dress also has an empire waistline.

DavidsBridal.com

Empire- This can be confused as the "style" of a dress, but it's actually a term for a type of waistline. Since it is commonly used, I've chosen to use it here. It is a raised waistline, sitting below the bust line, the rest of the dress flows away from the body. This is great for a pear shape or a large frame. Keep in mind, this waistline can be on many different types of dresses, including ballgowns and mermaid style.

MaggieSotero.com

 I hope this helps! There are other types of dresses out there but these are the most common!

Pinterest Obsessed!- February Weddings

Pinterest is one of my other obsessions along with Etsy. For those who may not know about Pinterest, it is a website where you gather any type of information that interests you. This information is gathered into different boards, and when you add a piece of information it is called a "pin". Pin-terest means that you are "pining" things you are interested in.

Pinterest has skyrocketed into quite the phenomenon and the best part about it, to me, is that you are able to gather information from any website, including your own personal photos. Many magazines have adapted the "inspiration board"  and started creating their own, as a spread, in their magazines.  Needless to say, this has become a very important tool for the Bridal Industry.

People involved in the Bridal Industry were technically already doing inspiration boards before this website was created. Brides were cutting pictures, and still are, out of magazines, newspapers and books, to show vendors their vision for their wedding day. In honor of February, the month of love,  I've searched Pinterest for some inspiration for February weddings.

RED SHOES

 

WEDDING CAKES

 

 

FLOWERS

 

* All photos were found and taken from Pinterest.com*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let Them Eat Cake- How to deal with choosing a wedding cake!

The cake cutting ceremony is tradition to any wedding, whether the wedding is “traditional”, or not. As you start to plan your wedding, you will see that due to the importance of the cake cutting ceremony to any type of wedding, wedding cakes can be very costly. There are few tricks to make the cake ceremony budget friendly and also fun. Here are 5 ideas on how to deal with the situation at hand.



1. Too Expensive! - One great way to cut down the cost of the cake is to purchase a cake that feeds less people than the amount invited to your wedding. Now, be aware you could run into a sticky situation here, but don’t fret, simply, do not  serve the cake as part of the meal. You could set up a cake station, place the cake on platters with bags, and allow your guests to make the decision on whether or not they would like to have a piece. The chances of you running out are very low!

etsy.com
 

 

2. Can’t decide on a flavor? - Most wedding cakes have mutliple layers, therefore make each layer a different flavor. Add an element of surprise by serving each layer, sporadically, to all the tables. The different flavors can be great a conversation piece for your guests.

 

3. I want the cake to be BIG, without the big bill- Easy task here! Many bakeries will work with you on this, but ONLY if you ask or bring it up. You can ask your baker to incorporate a couple of foam layers, or how many ever you want,  to your cake. They will decorate the foam layers as they would the cake and no one, but the person who is cutting the cake, will know that the cake isn't completely real. Make sure you specify that the bottom layer of the cake, the one you will be cutting into for the ceremony, is REAL cake and not a foam layer.

 

 

 

4. I want a fun cake- There are no rules to the cake ceremony. Make it your own and have whatever cake you want. People go to weddings all the time and they are constantly looking to be wowed! So who says you can’t have a cake that is the shape of a heart?, or any other shape for that matter.

 

5. I don’t want a cake- Not to worry; you don’t have to have one. Look for something else that you can share with your guests. Cupcakes are a very popular option. If you really don’t want to have any type of cake, simply share whatever your favorite dessert is with your new husband/wife. Do you like pie instead of cake? Serve a pie to each table and let them serve themselves.

 

The Cupcake Blog