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

 

+

Lace Trim



Jo Ann Fabric

+

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



 

=

 

 

Flowers Purchased from Globalroses.com