Wedding Planning Season

With the holiday season right upon us, it is one of the busiest times of the year for engagements. With that in mind that means the Wedding Planning Season is just about to ramp up.  The Knot has, of course, some of the best ideas and wedding tools available. It is easy to get completely lost on there. Another great resource is My Wedding Workbook, which is an on-line planning tool that walks you through anything and everything for your wedding.

Another great idea besides perusing on-line and using on-line tools is to have a dedicated note-book.  One with many tabs that you can label after each area of you wedding.  Such as, flowers, reception, vows and readings etc.  Here you can jot down any ideas, resources and also clip pictures or tear out articles and put in folders at the beginning of each tab.

Lastly, attending a Bridal Show will get you in-touch with some great vendors as well as help you with some ideas. It is an awesome way to really see some of the trends and current hot ideas. Here is a list of current shows in your area that may get you started.

Leave us a comment on a great planning tip.  Happy planning to you.

Black is Cool

In honor of Black Friday, I thought adding some ideas for adding Black into your wedding.  Far from being taboo, black can be a great color to add some drama to your day.  Think formal, with a twist.  If you add Black to an all natural green and white pallette, it brings is the importance and solidaridy of the day. Enjoy these story boards for inspiration.

I am in LOVE with the short dress in the upper right corner and am currently researching short wedding dresses for another post. Long is definitely over-rated.  Black in this wedding is definitely used as more of an accent color and helps ground certain elements.

Here Black and Green are used again, but with more of an artistic, bold flair. The cake is to die for and reminecent of Alice in Wonderland. Who wouldn't want to stay for the cake-cutting here and get a piece of that? Also, any bold, black and white print can be used to take something that could look very plain to the next level.  The invitation on the lower right shows just how to do this.

On the other end of the color wheel is Pink. Hot Pink and Black are pure drama and you can do so much with these colors.  Simple, elegant and just plain beautiful--from hanging black chandliers at different levels at the reception (style note: you can buy mix matched chandiliers at garage sales and resale shops and just spray paint them black)monocromatic bouquets, to the must-have hot pink wedding shoe-- black and pink weddings are easy to plan and inspirations are everywhere.

I love that these gals wore their own choice of black shoes...and talking about actually being able to wear your bridesmaid's dress again.....you just can't lose with Black--and they have pockets. What? Crazy...don't leave out the guys. What guy wouldn't want a pair of classic black chuck tailors?  This style just keeps coming back again and again.  If you are daring, you can actually go to the Coverse website and design your own pair of one-stars etc to match your wedding color scheme....creativity is the limit.

Speaking of shoes, I had to show this picture...because these are mt hot-pink wedding shoes....no that is not me in the picture. But, someone stole my shoes.  Those are the same exact shoes I wore in my wedding and actually if I am not mistaken, I bought them on clearence at Kohls for less than $20. As a matter of fact, winter is the perfect time of the year to find fun, haute and stylish colored peep-toe wedding shoes.

Ok, now for the real glam of the day.  If you aren't too afraid, why not a Black Wedding Dress, you heard me.....Black. It wasn't until modern time that a white wedding dress became popular.  Before, ladies would wear their best dress to get married in--no matter what color it was and Black was a great choice. It is elegant, always in style and makes the bride natually look thinner....a win-win.

So, go-ahead, make Black your feature or accent color for your wedding and send us pictures, so I can post them.

Designer Wedding Dress for Less

I am sure that all of us gals, when dreaming about our wedding as little girls, we all wanted a beautiful romantic dress made especially for us. As we grew up, Vera Wang became as synonymous with wedding dresses as cotton candy is to carnivals.  The appeal for a Vera Wang gown, who's approach to wedding dress design is all about sophisticated drama with a modern touch, travels far and wide through-out the world.  But, truly only movie stars and the like could ever afford a Vera Wang dress. Well, girls, you are in for a true treat.......because times are a changin'.

Vera Wang has debuted her own line of gowns made for you and me, exclusively at Davids Bridals. These gowns are sugery-sweet billowing visions dancing in our heads. Feminine details such as rosettes, crystals and pleating are reminiscent of her couture gowns made of silk, organza and lace. These lovely gowns from the White, by Vera Wang collection are remarkably similar to her couture gowns and honestly, who would know the difference?  Perfect for any wedding style; especially non-traditional, funky, destination and hollywood style themes, no doubt these gowns will be a true expression of who you are.

Yellow is Hot.

The color of Sunshine.  The color of your favorite condiment on the good-ole' American ball-park staple.  Yellow:  A symbol of happy and fun.  Not the most common color scheme for a wedding, but Yellow looks great and vibrant with any matched color.  Be daring and cross over the color-wheel spectrum and pair Yellow with Turqoise or Hot-Pink.  Or keep it simple and fresh by staying true to yellow and nature, paring it with green and white.

Look at the photo belows to get ideas for your wedding. Don't hold back......Hello, Yello, you are my new best friend.

Circus Theme

Remember what fun it was when the circus came to town?  You would talk about it for weeks and when the big day finally came, you couldn't sleep the night before. Have you ever thought about a circus themed wedding? Am I dreamin' you ask? Of course--Fun is what dreams are made of!  But after you look at these pics from 100 Layer Cake, I am sure this will be hard to get out of your head.....STEP RIGHT UP!

I'm loving the natural seating and of course the directional signs.  And, who thought pictures of elephants would look sooooo cool as decor for a wedding?

Who would not love the non-traditional take on the veil with this super cute black top hat with netting. Those gorgeous green earring are awesome, enhances the bride's eyes and are totally unexpected.  Just like the wedding party attire. Letting them wear something out of their own closet.  It looks chic and fun and talk about being able to wear your bridesmaides dress again.

The mismatched furniture that looks like it came out of grandma's house, but somehow now in this environment looks quite quaint, inviting and totally circus chic as well as the upside-down mismatched umbrellas definitely throw the reception some spark--speaking of, how wild to have a flam thrower as entertainment.

Having a cicus themed wedding allows you to have ordinary, everyday food like pronto-pups and peanuts, but offer them in a visually creative way that makes them seem special....just like it did long ago when you were a kid sitting in the big-top.





The beautiful nature-inspired floral centerpieces, which mimic the bride's and bridesmaids bouquets, infuses just a bit of whimsy but with a rich burgandy color. And, really, who could say no to moonshine? Talk about a special "signature" drink.  This is definitely a wedding to remember.  Just hope there wasn't too many headaches the next day.

Colorful Summer Weddings

I have been enamoured with colorful weddings ever since I planned my own destination nuptials 7/28/09 to beautiful Santa Barbara. I had to share these great ideas from a photo shoot I saw on JL Designs while I was looking for wedding photography workshops.

On location at the Ace, Palm Springs--what a great idea to incorporate elements from your surroundings and location to make your wedding memorable for all involved....especially the guests if they are coming to your destination wedding.

The pink and yellow color scheme for this styled photo shoot is to die for. Upbeat and yummy, not to mention fun. Look at those awesome hot-pink chairs. And what a great idea to have bikes ready for your guest to have a little fun and just not be so serious.....a way to excite the inner-child.

I am lovin' the Chevron motif that is used on the table runner, napkins and even the grooms tie as well as the wedding cake.  If that doesn't spell out fun then I don't know what does.

The updated and fun invitations are from Pitbulls and Posies. The stylist chose a cool pink and blue pallet that would mimic tumbleweeds, and is carried through the to the menu card on each place setting.

One of the greatest ideas by far is the super cute pink pail with a small catus plant and handwritten place card that doubles as take-home favors. How is that for being green?