Flower Friday: Dress Up Your Bouquet

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I love flowers, but sometimes wedding bouquets can get boring. This can be especially true when you are on a tight budget and your choice of flowers is more limited. There really is a simple solution: ACCESSORIZE!

You know how far the right accessories can go in taking an outfit from frumpy to fab. Well the same holds true for your wedding bouquet.

Wedding bouquet with monogramStarburst Wedding Bouquet

You can bling it up with crystal ornaments made specifically for bouquets like these initial or starbursts.

Simple rose bouquet taken up a notch

You can add crystals, beads and ribbon streamers for a more over the top look.

Grandmother\'s brooch dresses up a bridal bouquet

You can make it sentimental with Grandmother’s Brooch.

Just like in your everyday life, don’t forget to accessorize.

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Another Clever Guestbook Idea

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I am always on the hunt for something besides the boring plain guest book that gets packed away in a closet never to be seen again. This may be the coolest one yet!

Calligraphy Wedding Certificate/Guest Book

I have long been a fan of really fine calligraphy and especially illuminations.

This marriage certificate is truly a work of art. All of the certificates are hand made and custom designed to your individual specifications. Size depends on the amount of copy and the number of guests. You can choose between multiple paper types, choose from their borders or have them create one specifically for you.

Illumination by Toucan CalligraphyI have long been a fan of really fine calligraphy and especially illuminations. In the true style of illumination you can have 24kt gold accents added.

Having discovered these I just can’t imagine not having one done if I ever take the plunge again. Check them out at Toucan Calligraphy.

Word of warning. This isn’t a last minute thing; allow a minimum of two months.

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Guest List Bloat

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What is guest list bloat? It’s that place you find yourself when you want an intimate, elegant wedding and distant family, marginal friends, co-workers and your parent’s business associates have magically ballooned your guest list to 300+ of your “closest friends.”

Sometimes it can feel like a run away train that has taken on a life of its own. You feel powerless to stop it and you are left wondering where your meaningful intimate wedding disappeared to. It’s under there somewhere. It’s just not very pretty; kind of like a thong on a 300lb woman.

There has never been an easier time to reclaim your dream and you can do it with one sentence: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

Whether you are feeling the pinch or not you can use the economy as your excuse. You can even tell people that it just didn’t feel right to spend all that money when so many are suffering.

The best trick to saving money on your wedding has always been to whittle down the guest list. Having said that, it has been too easy to get caught up in the “oh, just add this person” game. You feel bad for not including them. Now you have an excuse you can live with: It’s the economy, Stupid!

No need to feel bad when you pass that co-worker in the hall; “With the economy and all we are really having to limit our guest list,~sigh~” When Mom tries to force Great Uncle Harry’s third cousin onto the list, you can put your foot down in style; “Mom, you know how tight a handle we are keeping on the budget, what with the economy and all.”

It’s out there, use it! Have the wedding you want and lay the blame on that nasty old bear prowling Wall Street.

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Congratulations Kimberly

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Tigerlilly logo

I just want to say thank you to all my reader that left comments and notes of congrats on the new blog. You guys are great and I am just tickled that you like it.

Kimberly from Ontario, Canada is our big winner. She is getting married on May 9, 2009 and promises to send pics of her big day. Congratulations Kimberly. Mandy and I hope you love your new bling as much as we do.

I plan to spend some time this weekend checking out the sites of all the wedding professionals that left note of congrats and bring you a complete list next week.

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Flower Friday Advice

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I have heard the same thing this week from 2 planners and a florist: When they asked a bride about the floral and décor budget for their wedding the brides said, ”Well I don’t really have a budget.”

I don\'t want to hear this.

Grrrrr. Let me tell you what wedding professionals hear when you say that, “I don’t want to tell you because you will spend it all.”

Here is what they think. ”OK babe, is it $500Rose bowl cwnterpiece with calla and gerber daisy

or $15,000.

Wedding decor by Ilex in Nashville

Give me some direction so I know where to go”

When you approach a planner or florist or a designer of any kind, they can work with in your budget if they know what it is. Even if you don’t have a firm budget you have to have some idea of a ballpark dollar figure. Be honest with your vendors, lowball a little if you feel you must, but, good grief, give them some idea.

It doesn’t matter if your budget is tiny; a small budget stretches the talents of a true creative; it makes us think harder. Don’t get me wrong, everybody prefers working with a lavish budget but it isn’t always the case. If you are honest from the beginning you will be much better served by the professionals you choose. Believe it or not; we really do want to make your day special.

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Another Stunning Wedding Cake

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When I first started in the wedding industry there were only 3 or 4 people in NashVegas doing wedding cakes; and only one that truly excelled: Leland Riggins. From the very beginning, her cakes were the gold standard, the best in town and they still are.

Leland’s company, Dessert Designs has the most amazing buttercream I have ever tasted. I remember one of my decorator and my baker and I would get slices of her cake and sit around the shop trying to analyze it. We did this for years and never got anywhere. The flavor is heavenly; it makes incredible flowers and because it is meringue based it has the prettiest sheen I have ever seen. Quite honestly, I have still not seen anything like it. No, it’s not Italian or Swiss meringue, I tried that.

Pink and white rose covered wedding cake

Her cakes have an over all “Sylvia Weinstock” look to them, but since the floral is all buttercream they cut and serve like a dream.

Leland said it took nearly a month to pipe all the roses for this cake. I believe it. Take a minute and enjoy the cake gallery and take a look at her flavor list. If you are salivating by this time you can order from her online store. WARNING: The chocolate truffle cake is the deepest, darkest, richest thing you will ever put in your mouth. It borders on sensory overload.

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Tigerlilly Give Away

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If you haven’t entered to win the fabulous tiara/necklace from TigerlillyTigerlilly Tiara yet your time is running out!

You have until Thursday to leave a comment here on the Dish to be in the running to take home this gorgeous 20 strand silver tiara that converts into a necklace at the slip of a chain. The one we are giving away has pearls as well as Swarovski crystals making it a truly one of a kind piece, made especially for readers of the Wedding Dish. I have an almost identical piece from Mandy THAT I JUST LOVE! Don’t miss your chance to share the joy.

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Blog Warming Party with Swag!

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I have so much to celebrate here at the Dish! As you can see I have a shiny new home on the web. That’s only fitting since my subscriber base has broken 100 and kept on going. My readers are the best! Thank you all. Swag alert! Keep reading.

I hope you like the new digs. It’s a lot like the old home but just so much better. It’s easier for you to navigate and read and tons more functional on my end. Thanks to my partner Marc over at The Agency @ Think for all his hard work.

That’s one more thing I am thankful for. Launched in January, The Agency @ Think is the marketing arm of Think Like A Bride. In only seven months we have a nice little roster of clients developing and it’s keeping us all busy. So for all you industry professional types that are regular followers of the Dish be sure to check it out if you haven’t already.

Enough about me, back to my fabulous subscribers. By now you know me well enough to know I just couldn’t have a party with out swag! It is one of my favorite things after all. Double score when said swag is shiny and pretty and from one of my favorite jewelry designers.Tigerlilly Swag

I called dear friend of the Dish, Mandy Greenan, at Tigerlilly to invite her to the blog warming and she most certainly accepted! So to celebrate and thank my readers, one lucky follower will take home this fabulous piece from Mandy! This beautiful 20 strand silver tiara/necklace with pearls and Swarovski crystal can be yours. All you have to do is leave a comment and include a working email and Mandy and I will pick the winner next Thursday, August 14, 2008. Tell me what you like about the Dish in your comment. The winner will of course have to be willing to provide their snail mail so we can ship you your swag. Click here for the full description. (Yes you are reading that description right. We are giving away a $400 tiara because you really do mean that much to us)

Be sure and drop by Tigerlilly and check out all her fab things. Rumor has it that she is having a sale right now anyway. Shhhhhh, that’s just between friends. Oh and if the swag looks familiar that’s because it is. It’s the silver version of one of her pieces I bought myself. I hope the lucky winner loves hers as much as I do mine!

Thanks everyone for reading. I’ll see you tomorrow for Flower Friday.

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