So What Does a Fashion Designer Wear to Her Wedding?

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Here is a bit of fun for your weekend. New York Wedding Guide did a piece recently on what some of the top fashion designers wore at their wedding.

The piece includes descriptions as well as some personal comments from the designers. I especially like the quote from Monique Lhuillier.

“I knew the field I wanted to be in, but I didn’t know it would be bridal until I was shopping for my dress. That’s what opened my eyes. I thought I could infuse something different into the bridal world.”

That you did, Monique, and quite beautifully I might add.

Enjoy.

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You’re Engaged! Now What?

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It’s that time of year, the Christmas Holidays. Traditionally in the Unites States and the UK more couples get engaged at this time of year than any other. This little statistic has stood for years and I doubt that this year will be any different. If you think there may be a tiny little box with a shiny bauble lurking under your tree I have some timely advice for you that may make the whole planning experience run a bit more smoothly.

DON’T TELL ANYONE! Ok well that may be a bit drastic since I know you will want to scream it from the rooftops but hear me out first.

From the moment you announce your engagement every single female that has ever loved you will want to plan your wedding. You will get more ‘helpful’ advice than at any time in your life with the exception of your first pregnancy. Inside every aunt, sister, cousin, BFF and most strangers lurks a frustrated event designer. Don’t even get me started on the Moms! Most likely your Mom has been planning your wedding in her head since the very day she found out she was carrying a girl in her womb. Yikes! Whose wedding is it anyway?

Well my dear, it is your wedding. This day belongs to you and the boy; grab hold and hang on to it. That is why I say don’t tell anyone; at least until you two have talked it over and gotten a vision of the wedding YOU TWO want.

I don’t mean plan the darn thing down to the baskets in the bathrooms. I mean get a broad generalization of what each of you has pictured for this day and reconcile those two images into a untied front with which to face the coming onslaught. That way when Mom utters the words Cathedral and Country Club you can honestly say “(the boy) and I have already decided on a garden wedding.” If you have a vision in mind you can deflect a lot of trouble in the future by staking claim to your wedding from the very beginning.

Just a little bit of wisdom from some one that has been there done that.

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Fabulous Silk Sashes with a Heart

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I have run across something that has captured my heart in a way that rarely happens.

This was first pointed out to me by Danielle on her blog Oh Happy! Go on take a minute to read her write up. All of us involved in weddings whether the bride or the professional are blessed in so many ways and yet sometimes we struggle finding a way to give back. Well here you go…

Rebecca at The White Aisle travels extensively during her slow months. On a recent trip to Cambodia she became involved with a project to help the young women, children really, that have been sold into the sex trade. Some of these girls had been sold by their parents as young as five, FIVE! The simple economics of life in Cambodia have kept them enslaved. Even if they were free to leave the brothels they are dependant on them as their sole source of food and shelter. Danielle writes” The most powerful way to make an impact on these childrens’ futures is to give them an alternative way to become self-sufficient. Rebecca is teaming up with an organization in Phnom Penh- which offers children the ability to come to their vocational training facilities to work during the day. Additionally, all workers are encouraged to sleep at the neighboring housing. Over time, this method has proved to be rather successful in generating independent and reformed women ready to re-enter “normal” society.”

So where do you come in? Take a look at the beautiful silk accessories in the images above. Rebecca has worked with these girls to help them create gorgeous sashes, ring pillows and fabric flowers using the native Khmer silks from their region. She will begin offering these December 1 on her site The White Aisle with ALL profits going back to the project. The more this grows the more children can be rescued. So far 23 girls have been able to leave the sex trade completely and move on to independent rewarding lives.

To all my friends out there: I sincerely hope that this has touched you as much as it has me. Look around you, look at your flower girl and tell me this isn’t a most worthy cause.

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Guest Book Alternatives

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I helped work a lovely wedding this weekend. Lovely bride, lovely venue, beautiful décor, kickin’ lounge area, everything was lovely except the plain boring unloved guest book that went unnoticed. One of the most intimate and personal memories you will have from your wedding is the memory of those you cared enough about to ask to join in your celebration. So celebrate them already!

Rather than a plain boring guest book that will most likely go completely unnoticed and probably lost in a year do something different that you will keep out and alive for years to come. Here a just a few ideas for fun and interesting guest book alternatives.

Photo Mat. Yes I know it has been done to death but I still see them left off to the side at receptions and barely written on. How about you have it brought out and announced during the toasts to let your guests know that their presence means enough to you that you want to remember it always.

Wedding Quilt. This is for the bride that is an avid seamstress or has one in the family. Have a stack of quilting squares and a fabric marker for guests to sign. After the wedding have the signatures embroidered over and then have the squares make into a quilt. Yes it is a huge project but also a family heirloom.

Wishing Tree. Have the guests write a note of their best wishes on a decorated hang tag (so very Martha) and tie them to an arrangement of tree branches for all to enjoy. After the wedding you can add them to your scrapbook. If you are having a fall wedding use paper leaves instead of hang tags and make a collage out of them to frame for your wall.

Christmas Ornaments. Provide Christmas balls and markers for your guests to sign and place on a tree. It will start your ornament collection and each year as you decorate your tree you will relieve the memories.

Unglazed Pottery. I know you have seen the platters that you have your guests sign, well take that a step further. Go to one of those paint your own pottery studios and pick out a platter or other serving piece that really suits your style. Add a nice underglaze then have your guests sign it. Take it back to the shop and have it fired for a truly one of a kind memory saver.

Guest book for life. Instead of a small traditional guest book either hand craft a large scrap book or personalize a ready made one like this one from Jam Papers with your names or monogram and use it for every party or dinner you host through out your married life. Be sure to get one you can add pages to as it fill up. Include menus for each event and you will have a recorded history of all your entertaining. Too cool for the uber-hostesses among us.

Be creative and think outside of the box and you may just end up with a guest book that you will enjoy for all the years to come


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Virtual Wedding Planner Tool

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By and large I am not a fan of big box stores; I much prefer the hands on customer service at a local salon. Having said that, one of them has done something right.

David’s Bridal has launched a virtual wedding planning tool that I can see as the cause of countless hours spent online. Dress Your Wedding allows you to play around with all the many different aspects of the look of your wedding. You can customize the coloring and physical features of the bride and groom and all the members of the wedding party. Add a bridesmaid, delete a groomsman, shrink one to a ring bearer. Mad at the groom, insert his best friend, is after all a virtual world. What fun.

That is just the beginning of the fun. As you would expect you can play dress up to your hearts content (as long as you want something from David’s). Like the style of the dress but not the color? Change it.

Keep going and you can just move your wedding if you don’t like the location. They offer a variety of different ‘location’ backgrounds from which to choose. Of course you can also manipulate a variety of little things like flower color and such.

I wouldn’t say that this is the planning tool to end all others I’m just saying it is a heck of a lot of fun and even if you aren’t planning on shopping at David’s you can still play with their toys. Hehe

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Oh The Bling!

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Now you didn’t think I would be able to cover Bridal Market without drooling over a bit of bling, now did you?

As more designers start to show gowns in their collections that are softer with less overall embellishment the jewelry will start to take on more importance. Consequently there was bling in abundance.

The crystal necklace in the center tile is from my good friend Susan Allen. The girls from Weddingish tell me that the way-too-adorable onsie will soon be available in a full range of larger sizes. It’s just so me! I can’t wait.

Here are the rest from left to right:

Tsarina Bridal, Weddingish, Eugenia Couture, Sara Gabriel Veiling & Headpieces, Aalexis Bridals, Susan G Allen, Aalexis Bridals, Susan G. Allen, Aalexis Bridals, Tigerlilly, Tigerlilly, Susan G Allen

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“we should have PARTIES for ALL our leaps of faith!”

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the above headline is shamelessly stolen from a post on this blog which was pointed out to me by the wonderful blog Offbeat Bride.

Summer, the original poster was lamenting how she felt she had to feel guilty about wanting to have a beautiful wedding with all the bells and whistles. All the negativity and admonitions not to “Go Bridezilla” had her hiding her excitement at marrying the man she was so obviously head over heels in love with. How sad.

If you read the entire post you can see that Summer sums up exactly why we celebrate weddings with the people we love around us: Marriage is the ultimate leap of faith.

Sometimes I think that the media has so flooded our conscience with the stunning, the spectacular, the amazing wedding vision that much of our culture has lost sight of why we have wedding celebrations in the first place. Today brides are pressured to choose between hosting a spectacle or turning their back on everything ‘weddingish’ and going indie. That is making the entire process about the appearance, not the reason behind it.

Ultimately a wedding is a chance to celebrate your leap of faith; a time for your family and friend to gather around you and support your choice. In some small way your guests are pledging to help you both stand strong in your leap and to cheer your courage. Now if that isn’t a reason to get excited about throwing a party, I don’t know what is.

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What Color is My Wedding?

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Are you struggling to pick the perfect palette for your wedding? It seems that brides either can not decide on a color scheme or picked one several years ago because they saw a wedding in those colors and they loved it. The first group is thinking too hard and the second is not reflecting their uniqueness.

Most brides tend to go to the bridal magazine or bridal websites and forums to find ideas for a color palette. How about a better idea, go to your closet.

1. They are colors you love or you wouldn’t have bought them.

2. They are colors currently in style or you couldn’t have bought them.

3. They are most likely colors that flatter your skin tone. Hey, you do want to make sure YOU look great that day, right?

4. If you pick an outfit not a single item you have already done the work of “What color goes with this”

5. If you pick an outfit that corresponds to the season in which you are getting married you already know the colors work with it.

Don’t let some designer from a magazine or the designers that make bridesmaids gowns determine the color of your wedding. You are a heck of a lot smarter than you think you are. You have been picking color palettes for as long as you could shop. If you are like most of us, you have invested countless hours honing that skill in the malls and boutiques of life. Use it.

One more thing Just because a certain style is always shown in a certain palette doesn’t mean you have to do it that way. I designed an urban tablescape recently using the cliché black cloth, red table runner and napkins on square tables, white square china, single stems of white orchids, black river rocks…oh you know the look. Anyway, as I stood there admiring my handy work I suddenly saw it in other colors. How marvelous it would have looked in a medium moss green and pale khaki. Wow. Your style and your color palette are not necessarily joined at the hip. Even the classic Zen/urban look can be tweaked to fit your personality and venue.

Have fun with your wedding. There really aren’t any wedding police that come bug you if you don’t follow traditions and current fads. OK well maybe that one pain in the ass aunt. Just smile serenely and tell her that you are certain that her idea will be lovely at her next wedding and you can’t wait to see it. Then laugh like hell after she leaves!

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