By MsOuiser
A woman’s shoes reflect her personal style or tell how she’s feeling about herself at the moment. Her shoes tell you if she’s conservative, creative, classy, or casual. They can tell you if she’s feeling playful or sporty. However, bridal attendants’ shoes may tell you more about the bride’s style and not her bridal attendants’. If you are a bride-to-be, consider these tips before selecting a shoe for your bridal attendants.
1. Take your maid of honor or one or two of the bridesmaids with you when selecting a shoe. Of course, if you don’t take all the attendants shopping, some may still be dissatisfied with your selection. Although it will be your wedding day, it’s thoughtful to consider their opinions. Remember, they are the ones who will be wearing the shoes.
2. Try to select a shoe that can be worn again. Although it’s nice to have a shoe that perfectly matches the bridesmaid’s dress, many of the fabric shoes that can be dyed to match the gowns lack practicality. Consider finding a stylish shoe that the women can wear with other outfits. Wearing a basic sandal pump is common with many of the strapless bridesmaid gowns available today.
3. Don’t forget comfort. These women will be standing roughly for over an hour. You want them to shed joyful tears and not painful tears during the wedding ceremony. Don’t make them wear something that will have their feet screaming through out the wedding ceremony, either. Think stylish but comfortable. You can have both.
Selecting shoes to match the gowns can really be done by your bridal attendants. If you turn it over to them, they can work together to find the perfect shoe. Also, turning the responsibility over to them gives you one less item to worry about. You can, also, let everyone choose her own shoe but give your bridesmaids the color and basic style you want them to wear on your wedding day.
August 17th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Bridal Party, Wedding Gowns | Comments (0)
by srqpix
Once you’re engaged, one of the first purchases you will make is your wedding invitation. The wedding invitation, in many cases, reflects the tone of the wedding. Future guests may assume your wedding will be casual, elegant or whimsical by the style of your invitation. In the past, when selecting a wedding invitation, couples went to card stores or bridal shops and searched through huge, heavy books filled with invitations. Today, however, wedding invitations are sold online and in discount stores such as Walmart.
People even choose to skip ordering professionally printed invitations and opt to design and print their wedding invitations at home. For a large wedding guest list, purchasing professionally printed invitations can be expensive. By designing your invitation on your computer and then printing your wedding invitation on your personal computer, you can save money.
Within Walmart’s Best Occasion bridal line is a group of blank bridal invitation cards. You can choose from more than ten different boarders, styles, colors, and artwork. You receive fifty invitations and fifty response cards for $19.00 in Georgia. Don’t let the low price fool you. The invitations aren’t bad looking at all. In fact, many of them are elegant wedding invitation cards.
Other stores sell do-it-yourself wedding invitations, too, such as Michaels and Office Depot. Look around at some of these invitations before your hire a professional printer. A professional printer will save you time, but the money you save on doing your invitations yourself can be put toward flowers, attendant gifts, hall rental fees, or your nest egg.
August 4th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Uncategorized, Wedding Planning | Comments (0)
by spaceodissey
Planning a wedding can be quite emotional for brides-to-be, especially for those who have been dreaming of their wedding day since childhood. No girl dreams of a disorganized wedding day; the dream is perfect, so the real wedding day must be perfect, too. Consequently, planning a wedding produces excitement, anxiety, joy, confusion, exhilaration, frustration, and giddiness in many brides. Some of these emotions can be experienced in one day or even within one hour. Here are some tips to help brides embarking on their wonderful emotional journey as they plan their weddings.
1. Secure a wedding planner. Having a wedding planner to confer with about wedding ideas decreases some of your anxiety. You won’t have to worry about some of the details because the wedding planner will take care of them for you.
2. Be flexible. Don’t be so attached to an ideal that you stress out over it when it can’t happen. For instance, if you’ve always dreamt of getting married on a yacht on the second Saturday in February, but all the yachts in your area are booked on the second Saturday, but the following Saturday date is available. Decide which is more important: the yacht or the date. Then make your plans accordingly.
3. Have a support team. Your fiancé won’t be involved with some of your wedding purchases. Invite your bridesmaids to shop with you for those items. Share your joys and frustrations with your mate and your bridesmaids. Most of your bridal attendants, especially your Maid of Honor, should be close to you anyway.
Planning a wedding is eventful and can be stressful. Hiring a wedding planner, being flexible, and having a support team will ease some of the tension. In addition to these suggestions, keep a sense of humor and enjoy yourself while your planning your dream wedding.
August 3rd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Wedding Planning | Comments (0)
It’s customary for brides-to-be to celebrate their bridal party by giving her wedding attendants gifts. These gifts are an expression of gratitude for their commitment to standing with them on the wedding day. Below are two gift suggestions for your bridal attendants.
1. Toiletry Bag. Purchase a toiletry bag for cosmetics and toiletries. You can purchase the bag based on your attendants’ personal styles. If you have a friend who loves trendy items, a leopard print bag might be just right for her. Blue and white pin stripes or a plain bag might be more appropriate for a conservative friend.
Once you’ve selected the bag, fill it with useful items: emory boards, clear nail polish, travel-sized toothpaste, soap, and toothpaste containers. Also, include miniature mouthwash, a comb and a brush. Just think of all the items you use when you travel and put them in the travel bag.
2. Pictures and frames. If you have relationships with the women in your party, you probably have pictures of you with the individual women. Gather these pictures and make copies of them. Then go shopping. Find the perfect picture frame for these pictures. When shopping, think of your attendants’ personalities and home décor. Purchase picture frames that they would like to own or would purchase for themselves. You want them to be able to use the frames and replace the picture if they choose.
I’m sure your attendants will love receiving either of these gifts. Keep in mind that these gifts can be given with other gifts, too.
July 28th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Bridal Party, Wedding Gifts | Comments (0)
By antiquesgalorega
Bridal shower games help to make shower guests more comfortable with other guests, so it’s always a good idea to include them on your activities list. Below are a few shower games to get your guests laughing and talking.
- Who Am I? or What am I? You can adapt this activity to your shower theme. The general idea is to stick a name of a person or an object on your guests’ backs and the guests have to guess their identity. For instance, if your party is a kitchen shower, you might label guests with the words “crock pot,” “spatula,” or “frying pan.” Guests will have to try to guess which object they are by asking other guests questions about their identity.
- Don’t Cross Your Legs: This is a good shower game for a group of women to play. When guests arrive, give each of them ten safety pins. The object of the game is to not cross your legs. Anytime someone crosses her legs, the person who notices first gets to take the other person’s safety pin. The person with the most safety pins at the end of the party wins a prize.
- Toilet Paper Bridal Gown: Break guests up into teams and give them several rolls of toilet paper. Give the teams about ten minutes to create the bride-to-be’s wedding gown and veil.
After playing these bridal shower games, your guests won’t be able to stop talking to one another. They may even make some new friends.
July 22nd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Bridal Shower, Tips | Comments (0)
by paulbavol@sbcglobal.net
When I was planning my wedding, I dreamt of being wed next to a lake in the evening as spotlights illuminated the area. However, I didn’t make this a goal–it was just a fantasy. In fact, I wed in my childhood church. Today, as I visited Niagra Falls, New York, I became nostalgic for my dream wedding location as I watched a couple take wedding pictures in front of the Niagra Falls.
What a beautiful backdrop for a simply dressed newly wed couple and their similarly dressed bridal party! The groom wore a non-descript black suit, and the bride wore a floral purple, green, and black mini dress and held a small bouquet of mixed flowers in her hand. In fact, if it weren’t for the flowers and the minister clad in her white and gold ministerial robe standing nearby, it would have been difficult to discern that these were newlyweds.
As the photographer took pictures of the wedding party, I was able to talk to the minister about the couple and Niagra Falls weddings. She informed me that the photographer owned a wedding chapel in Niagra Falls, and with the permission of the Niagra Falls State Park management, they are able to perform weddings under the trees facing the falls. She went on to tell me that the couple being photographed in front of the falls had been married about ten minutes ago.
If you desire a romantic backdrop of gushing falls, raging rapids, and seagulls soaring in the sky, you should consider having a Niagra Falls wedding.
July 16th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Locations, Wedding Planning | Comments (0)
by RoOoNa
When my sister threw a bridal shower for me years ago, the menu theme was salads. This was perfect for a mid-afternoon shower. Many of my family members prepared various salads for my shower. We ate potato salad, chicken salad, garden salad, pasta salads, tuna salad, fruit salad, and various garden salads. Here are a few salad recipes for a Salad Bridal Shower.
Tuna Salad: Drain and dump two large cans of tuna fish into a bowl. Add about a half cup of sweet relish, a cup of Miracle whip, and one to two hard boiled eggs chopped up. Season to taste with Lowry’s Seasoning Salt. Mix all ingredients together and top the tuna salad with paprika.
Basic Salad: In a bowl, add lettuce, grape or cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, cucumbers, sliced turkey, chopped bell peppers, raisins and sliced apples. Toss ingredients when ready to serve.
Pasta Salad: Prepare a 12 oz. package of pasta according to directions. Drain, rinse in cool water, and place pasta in a bowl. Steam a bag of mixed vegetables. Drain the vegetables and toss them in the bowl with the pasta. Add banana pepper rings and a large bottle of Italian Dressing and mix the ingredients together. Chill the salad until ready to serve.
These recipes are just a few of the delicious salads that can be prepared for a Salad Bridal Shower.
July 15th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Bridal Shower, Tips | Comments (0)
By antaresjhw
When people attend weddings, they look forward to receiving a wedding favor. Many people hold on to their trinkets for years as a special memento of the weddings they’ve attended. Listed below are some wedding favors I’ve received over the years.
1. CD. The couple created a CD of their favorite jazz tunes and gave them to guests at the reception. This is a practical wedding favor for your guests. You could make a CD of love songs or you and your mate’s favorite songs.
2. Refrigerator magnet. I’ve received variations of this wedding favor. One couple gave a magnet of themselves and their wedding date printed on it. Another couple gave out purple and gold silk flower magnets that had their names and wedding date printed on a small ribbon attached to it.
3. Bubbles. The small party favor bubbles are always a nice gift. Guests get to use the bubbles to celebrate the couple as they leave the wedding ceremony. Some people print out their names and wedding date on a file sticker and attach it to the bubble bottle. Others just put a ribbon around the neck of the bottle.
4. Candy. I’ve received candy-coated almonds wrapped in colored netting and secured with a ribbon. Also, I’ve enjoyed receiving a few Hershey’s Kisses with the words, “Here are a handful of the kisses from the new Mr. and Mrs.”
When deciding on a wedding favor, you need to decide if you want it to be something your guests can keep or something temporary, like candy. Whatever you decide, make it a token that represents you and your mate’s commitment to each other.
July 6th, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Tips, Wedding Planning | Comments (0)
Searching for the perfect wedding gown can be both exciting and daunting. When I began my search, I lived in Baltimore, Maryland. I wanted a dress designed with an African influence. I looked for my wedding gown in various boutiques in Maryland. I drove to Philadelphia and Virginia before deciding on a gown in Ohio, my hometown. I had flown in twice to try on this reasonably priced semi-traditional sleeveless white satin gown with tiny pearls on the bodice and an intricately designed train. I wanted to fly to New York to see a simple white satin gown with a very small African pattern around the waist I had seen in a catalogue; however, my mother put her foot down, and said I was getting the gown in Ohio.
My sister, on the other hand, was not even engaged when she stumbled upon her gown. While visiting a historical site in Ohio with summer campers, she walked into a tiny wedding boutique, saw her gown and knew it was the one for her. She went home and told our parents about the gown that she wanted to buy, and “Yes, I know I’m not even engaged, yet.” After some persuasion, the next day we headed to the little town to purchase my sister’s bargain-priced wedding gown.
You never know where and when you’ll find your wedding gown. It’s nice to have an image of your dream dress in mind and even some magazine clippings as a guide, but make sure you’re open to the surprises and unexpected treasures you may find while you search for your wedding gown.
July 2nd, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Tips, Wedding Gowns | Comments (2)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/janined/
Despite the stylish dresses available for bridesmaids these days and the bride’s effort to choose a dress her bridesmaids can wear again, most women probably won’t wear their gown to another event. I had ten bridesmaids in my wedding, and after shortening the hemline, only one of my bridesmaids wore her gown again. What can you do with your bridesmaid gown after the wedding is over and you’ve cleaned it? Here are a few ideas.
1. Donate it to charity. Most thrift stores have a nice selection of formals. Someone will come across your gown and find it to be perfect for her event. Also, some high schools and non-profit groups accept formal gown donations, which they sell or give away prior to prom season. Your generosity may allow a young lady to attend the prom in an affordable gown.
2. Sell it. You can sell the gown in a local or online consignment store. If you sell it on consignment, the owner may look up the retail value of your gown and sell it for half its value, and then you will get half of that.
You, also, can sell it on eBay. You’ll need to set up a PayPal account, take a picture of your bridesmaid gown and write a descriptive blurb about it. Once you upload your photo, and take care of the other eBay requirements, such as setting your price, you’ll be able to sell your gown online.
3. Save it. You may, in fact, find that you will have an opportunity to wear your gown again to an event. Perhaps none of the other former bridesmaid will be in attendance and wearing their bridesmaid gown. Perhaps you’ll wear it, and everyone will want to know where you found such a stunning gown!
July 1st, 2009 by Yolanda D. Young | Posted in Bridal Party, Tips | Comments (2)
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