Funny Photos

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As I travel around the internet I run across photos that, gosh I don’t know, I guess are just wrong. You have to wonder what these people were thinking.


First up, Bad Bouquet.bad bouquet
Sadly this came from a Martha Stewart post. I’m sorry but just ripping a bit of shrubbery out of the garden is not a suitable substitute for a bouquet.

Giant Bride.IMG_0383
I ran across this one while setting up a site for a bridal salon. This was actually on the gown manufacturer’s website. Take a good look. How tall is this bride? 14’ or 15’ tall? Or is it just a miniature landscape.


bride torso from Cake WrecksBad Cake
This was sent to me by a fellow cake designer. Click through the photo to read the comments they really are the best part. Just be sure to put your coffee down first or you risk spitting all over your monitor from laughing so hard.

Filed Under: wedding cakes, wedding humor, wedding photography Tagged With: , ,

So Why Did You Hire A Wedding Professional?

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A giant shout out to Saundra over at {planning …forever events blog} for her post today, Don’t Box In Your Wedding DJ. Here is the line that really got me thinking, “You’re hiring a professional, let them do their job.”  Dang right, girl!


It too often happens that brides, in their quest to create the wedding they have been dreaming about forget that the professionals that they hired may have just a touch more experience at this stuff than they do. OK, more than a touch.

I am not saying that you should let the people you have hired run rough shod over your dreams, I am saying listen to them and don’t try to micromanage them. You hired them for a reason. If all you wanted was a laborer, you would have gone to Craig’s List.


The smartest thing you can do is to give your ideas to your vendors and ask how best to execute it. Let them use their, talent, experience and expertise to make it work for your unique situation.  Would you like some examples?

o    If your baker tells you that you really don’t want whipped cream icing on a wedding cake for your outdoor August wedding, believe them.

o    If your alteration expert tells you that a 2 point bustle will not hold up your cathedral train, believe them.

o    If your wedding planner tells you that you had better have a rain plan, believe them.

o    If your florist tells you that there is no way candles will stay lit for your event on a windy hillside, believe them.

o    If your florist tells you your venue won’t allow rose petals on the aisle, believe them.

I could go on and on, but I think you get my point. Listen and take their advice. Isn’t that why you hired a professional in the first place?

Stay tuned to Saundra’s blog; she is promising a series on this.

The above examples are all true stories.

Filed Under: Wedding planning advice Tagged With: , ,

Pearls for Your Wedding

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Pearls have long been a traditional accessory for a wedding look. That’s easy to understand; with their soft lustrous finish they add a certain understated glow.


Pearls today are not your Grandmom’s single little conservative strand. Why not go large, funky or outrageous?Pearl jewelry for your Wedding

clockwise from top left.

1. Haute Bride

2. Snippet & Ink

3. Nothing But Pearls

4. Haute Bride

5.& 6. Wedding Bee


Filed Under: Bridal Fashion, Bridal jewlery Tagged With: , ,

In Defense of the LBD

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I ran across a post on Blogger Brides today that I just had to address. A bride was describing her wedding: 7PM Catholic ceremony; Black & white with dark red accents. She said that she had always dreamed of having her house party in short black satin dresses. Problem is that now she is getting all kinds of feedback telling her that her ladies must be in floor length gowns. BAH!

First off, DO NOT let the peanut gallery make your decisions. It’s not their wedding, it’s yours! Period. The end.

Beyond that, who doesn’t love the little black dress? The ladies you have gathered around you for this momentous occasion are going to buy whatever you tell them. With the economy in the state it is, why not pick something that they really will wear again? Who won’t re-wear a LBD that they picked out?
The Little Black Dress from Nathan Taylor for 2Be Social
I have seen so many beautiful weddings that had the maids in LBDs with black hose and matching heels. What a beautiful look. Let each of your ladies pick their own LBD. Do some magic with hem length to add a bit of continuity for the formal pictures if you must. Add a matching accessory such as a feather fascinator or a clutch and you are good to go.

You can even have your ladies pick from a single collection.

Friend of the dish, Terri Hilferty at 2Be Bridal has taken her Nathan Taylor Social Collection, had every one of the dresses in it cut to cocktail length and made up in black. WOW At the collection reveal this summer there were 15 manni’s lined up, all in cocktail length, all black in every cut and fabric you can imagine*. She is selling it to the 2Be Salons as the LBD collection. How cool is that.


What’s more, since these are all a part of the same collection, she also had shrugs cut in all the fabrics. Same shrugs, different fabrics to match the fabrics in the collection.  There is your accessory and cover up for church. I am in love!

*Like I said, Terri is a friend of the Dish, so I showed up early and help stage the reveal. As I popped these beauties on the manni’s I was head over heels at how well made these dresses were. Terri has an amaing attention to detail.The Little Black Dress from Nathan Taylor for 2Be Social

Yep, lousy photo, but you get the idea.

Now we know why Christine IS NOT a professional photographer.

Filed Under: Bridal Fashion Tagged With: , , ,

Negotiating With Wedding Vendors

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You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.


I work with some of the best wedding professionals in the world and most are more than willing to bend over backwards to ensure your day is all you dreamed. However, there comes time when even they lose patience. By holding strictly to the letter of the contract, a wedding professional can step back and let you suffer the consequences.

Such was the case recently. This bride was doing anything and everything to cut cost, understandably. The problem was the way she was going about it. Rather than working with her vendors to find alternatives and solutions, she brow beat and demanded. At one point she actually said, “I know I have pissed off every one of my vendors.” By the end of the day, even her sister wasn’t speaking to her.

Take for instance the florist. She had been so nickel and dimed, browbeat and berated by this bride that there was no way she would do anything extra for this woman. When the bride realized that she had neglected to have the friend that was making the bouquet put together anything for the mothers the bride told her sister to go get any leftover flowers and make something. Now anytime a florist is doing anything on site there are always extra flowers hanging around. Guess what? Awww all the left over roses had been beheaded and put on the cake table. Sorry. But the cake table looked great.

Florists charge for candles and for rentals. This bride didn’t want to pay for either so she borrowed candelabrum from a friend and bought her own candles. The bad news is that the first time the florist got to see the candelabrum was on site at the event. Great. The flowers barely fit and the candles not at all. If we had used the candles provided the whole thing would have gone up in flames. Did we or the hotel have taller candles or another option available? Of course we did. Did we tell her? Nope. The hotel (which had been pushed around enough that the head of sales came into handle the event personally) simple said Sorry, no open flames. Do without.


There were just a million and one little things that went on like this throughout the entire day. No one did anything wrong or unethical; all they did was hold the bride to the letter of the contract.  I don’t know how to convince you that you will get more flies with honey than with vinegar.


Thanks to Foxy Wedding for the heads up on this video.

Filed Under: Real American Wedding, Wedding planning advice Tagged With: , , , ,

Stamp Out Cookie Cutter Bridesmaids

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*You cannot expect your bridesmaids to conform to one look. The bridesmaids should feel lucky to be part of your big day-not pressured.

I found that quote on Blogger Brides this morning and I couldn’t agree more. One of the great things about the women we choose to surround ourselves with through our life is that they are all different. We love them all for different reasons.
Since you have picked these ladies to celebrate this important life event, why not celebrate those differences.
Hopefully they are there because they love and support you, not to be props for your wedding photos.Bridesmaids in different color dresses

To that end, I have put together some images to inspire you. If you will notice, in the best of these shots there is some continuity, whether it be style or color or length.

And finally, the ultimate tribute to friendship and style, Carrie Bradshaw’s wedding from SATC. Need I say more?Bride&Bridesmaids

The images are all from a thread on Yahoo Ask. Thanks to all the lovely posters. Nothing beat the collective brain power of a group that are all focusing on the same question.

Filed Under: Bridal Fashion, Wedding planning advice Tagged With: , ,

Feather Bouquets for Flower Friday

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Feathers are a fun way to add punch to your wedding bouquet.

My favorite is the dark all feather one with the tassel. How perfect for a wedding with a vintage Victorian feel. The 2 white ones strike me as spot on for a snowy winter wedding. That pink orchid cascade bouquet is just completely off the hook. I guarantee that you won’t see these bouquets walking down the aisle at all your girlfriends’ weddings.

Feather Bouquet

Sources:
Top: Project Wedding, San Diego Wedding Insider, Flowerella
Center: Beautiful Bridal
Bottom: Elizabeth Anne Designs, Brides Buzzing, Hats N’ Stuff

Filed Under: DIY Weddings, Finding Inspiration, Flower Friday Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

DIY Centerpieces: Paper Lanterns

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I was so inspired by this image that I went looking for the bits and bobs to put it together. The more I looked, the more inspired I got.
Easy DIY Centerpiece using paper lanterns(Source)
I love the idea of Chinese paper lanterns but you can’t always hang them at your location. Here they are used as the centerpiece.

multicolored paper lanterns for wedding centerpieceSince paper lanterns are available in a huge range of colors, sizes, shapes and patterns you could go almost anywhere with these.

Just a couple of notes here. Since they are paper, be careful with any candles you use. For the lanterns themselves, I suggest you use battery operated LED lights. You might even want to use the battery operated candles.

You also want to weight the lanterns with a few river rocks. Those puppies are pretty light and you don’t want you centerpieces to blow away.Tucking any leftover river rocks around the finished arrangement will add a Zen quality to your tablescape.
Blue paper lanterns
I was also thinking that adding an accent might be nice. You could tuck lily blooms or orchids in around the lanterns. Or maybe even thesedragonfly lights

I found just about everything you would need at Luna Bazaar. I have a set of the Dragonfly string lights; I picked them up at Target on clearance.

Filed Under: DIY Weddings, Finding Inspiration, Wedding decor Tagged With: ,
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