My Sister Is Getting Married

My sister is finally getting married….and I am the Maid of Honor. I am very excited. And the best part is that I get to find my own dress. I can pick out my own dress. I just have to stay in the color zone that she has chosen which is navy blue. I think that is just so much better than having her pick out the dress. She is having no bridesmaids so it is really easy. I am on a budget though so I am trying to find a really nice dress that is not too expensive. I have tried Chadwicks of Boston and they have really nice dresses at affordable prices. I have had pretty good luck with their clothing and I had bought 3 dresses - 2 were nice and one was horrible. You do not have to go out and spend a fortune on a dress that you will never where again. My best friend spent $20000 on her wedding and the dress I had to get for her wedding was $300…I just do not have the sort of money to spend on a dress!!!

Selecting the Perfect Wedding Dress Shoes

Many times brides don’t think about wedding dress shoes until the last minute. However, wedding dress shoes are an important part of the wedding day clothing. The first thing to remember is that when you go for your final fitting of your wedding dress, make certain that you take your shoes with you. You will need them to do the final length of the dress.

Select shoes that are comfortable and feel good on your feet. You will be standing in front of relatives and friends for the big day and then attending the reception. The last thing that you want is to worry about your feet hurting and aching. After all this is one of the most important days of your life. Try the shoes on and walk around the store in them to make certain that they are comfortable and feel good.

Workout for Your Wedding Gown

Did you know that planning a workout with your wedding gown in mind can give you not only increased energy for all the upcoming wedding events but can make you feel more beautiful and sexy in your wedding gown? The whole purpose of a workout with your wedding gown in mind is not to lose huge amounts of weight but to help you stay focused on your health and fitness. Too often, people can get completely lost in the wedding planning process and not continue their workouts or think that it’s too late to start a workout program.

Focus on Workouts That Are Goal Oriented

Focus on workouts that are goal oriented. For example, if you have a low fitness level perhaps start walking each day to build up your stamina and your strength. Many brides find that a daily walk helps to clear their heads from all the stresses and planning that is involved for the wedding day. Movement gets your blood circulating and will make you feel better over-all in life. You will enjoy being in better shape as your wedding draws nearer and there are many things to attend to.

Start a Fitness or Wellness Journal

One thing that is a fun keepsake from your pre-wedding period is a fitness or wellness journal. You can write down daily the activities you did to be active and the types of food that you ate. Read over your journal and find ways that you can comfortably improve both your fitness levels and your eating habits. It is easy to make small changes in your diet, such as a piece of fruit for a snack instead of a cream-cheese bagel. It is fun to look back that you were able to only walk to the mailbox and back but now two months later are walking around the block not once but twice.

Tone Your Arms

Many bridal dresses show off the arms and neck of the bride. It can never hurt to spend a little bit of time each day working on building strength and muscles in your arms. The good news is that you don’t have to go to the gym in order to do this part of your workout for your wedding gown. There are some simple arm exercises that you can do daily and build up the number of repetitions. Without dieting or spending a huge amount of time in your already busy day, you will be able to tone and shape your arms to look more flattering in your wedding gown on your big wedding ceremony day.

Tone Your Facial Muscles

Many brides do not think about their facial muscles when it comes to weddings. There are some simple exercises that you can do to tone your facial muscles over time. You don’t have to join a gym to benefit from these exercises and you will look your best in your wedding gown by taking a few minutes each day to work on this area of toning your body.

Just a Few Minutes Each Day

As you can see, you can spend just a few minutes each day to improve your over-all body tone, increase your fitness level and look your best in your bridal gown. You can workout for your wedding gown without having to join a gym or spend large sums of money. It just takes a little dedication and time each day. You will feel more confident and be healthier. Whether you are getting married next week or six months from now it is never too late to start a workout for your wedding gown.

Brides Maid Dress Selection

There are several considerations that should be made when it comes to brides maid dress selection. Following these tips will keep your brides maids happier and make your wedding go much more smoothly.

If possible, pay for the brides maid dresses yourself. Having the ladies in the group pay for these dresses could mean that someone is not able to participate due to financial restrictions. Or perhaps you can offer to pay for the dresses of anyone that can’t afford them. Keep in mind the amount that people can or cannot afford when you are selecting dresses to choose from.

Choose a color that looks good on everyone. Just because a deep burgundy is your favorite color does not mean that it will look great on all the ladies participating in your wedding. Consider skin tones, hair color and natural body shapes when selecting the color of the dresses.

Choose a style that compliments the natural body shape of the ladies in your wedding. Too often the brides maid dresses are not designed or chosen with the entire wedding party in mind. This ends up leaving someone feeling like they look horrible and they are uncomfortable during the entire wedding.

What will the hot wedding trends of 2008 be?

I just came across a list of wedding trends to watch out for this coming year. The trends I liked best were:

Green Weddings
…for couples who want to do their part to help the Earth. Green weddings can incorporate such things as invitations made of recycled paper, conflict-free diamond jewelry and honeymoons to eco-resorts.

Interactive Planning
Everyone has a wedding website nowadays, so why not make your wedding planning interactive? Set up a bunch of polls and have your guests vote on various aspects of the wedding (e.g., first dance? cake flavor? favors?).

Cover Bands
How cool would it be to have a Guns N’ Roses cover band at your wedding? Or… maybe that’s just me. Swing orchestras, Latin ensembles, and many other types of cover/tribute bands can add a special feel to a wedding.

Sample Stations
Wine and cheese station, chocolate station, champagne bar… yum!

Vintage Visions
More couples will aim for an old-fashioned look with dresses, suits and rings that are either genuinely vintage or cleverly designed to seem that way.

Other trends included: Switching up one’s gown or hairstyle halfway through the event, ’steel gray’ as an accent color, and having weddings at home.

Shoes for the short ones

I’ve had this discussion recently with a colleague who is, just like me, very short. In particular when the groom is pretty tall, wanting to wear high-heeled shoes on your weddine seems to be quite a natural wish–you don’t want your pictures to show too much of a difference, for instance. So high heels it is. But let’s be careful about those, because they could very quickly turn into a nightmare.

First of all, make sure that you have a spare pair of elegant flat shoes all ready for the reception. It is extremely tacky to end up barefoot because you cannot stand being in your classy high-heeled shoes one more minute, and even if the dress is long enough to hide your feet, it is never very pleasant to know that things are what they are, whether someone else notices it or not.

Do not forget try on your shoes several weeks or even months in advance, if you already have them–and not only for a few minutes, but for a half-day. This is to ‘make’ them first, and also to ensure that you will be used to them enough to stand in them for part of theday at least. No need for shoes that make you go through a living hell barely ten minutes into the ceremony.

Finally, if stilettoes or similar shoes are too much of a pain, going for pump-like shoes is also an option. As long as you can find a model that is elegant enough and does not look heavy, they will make things easier while still giving you those extra few inches you need.

After all, it’s one day in a life only, so a woman might as well feel comfortable and classy in her shoes.

Selecting Shoes for Your Wedding Dress

It is imperative that you select shoes that you can easily walk in for your wedding dress.  Many brides like to wear a high heel pump that will add height and make their feet look sexy without being an open sandal.  You can also consider wearing a wedge heel that will provide height but be easier to walk in if you are not comfortable with heels.

 

All colors are not exactly the same.  A white shoe in a department store or shoe store might look like it will match your dress but actually be a different shade.  You should take a piece of your wedding dress fabric with you when purchasing your wedding shoes to make certain that the shoes are indeed going to be the perfect shade.  You’d hate to get the wrong shade of shoes for your wedding dress and have to start the shoe shopping all over again.

 

For your dress alterations wear either the shoes that you will wear for the wedding or shoes of the same height.  This will make certain that the alterations are done accurately.  If you wear shoes higher than the dress, you could have it hemmed too much and vice versa.  Keep in mind what height shoes you want prior to doing any alterations.  If possible, already have your shoes purchased.

Destination Wedding Dresses

Many couples are opting for destination weddings or weddings that are not in their home towns.  They are travelling to exotic places and enjoying their wedding and honeymoon often in the same destination.  But what about your wedding dress?  There are some considerations to keep in mind when selecting a dress for a destination wedding.

 

Consider how well the dress will travel.  Brides should not have to hassle with finding someone to steam their dress and get it back into shape after travelling.  You should avoid dresses that are beaded, heavily jeweled or heavy fabrics.  Most destinations will require a light weight dress.

 

Consider a dress that has a partial train and is not full floor length.  You can adorn your ankles and feet with decorative jewelry and even go barefoot in the sand for your wedding ceremony.  Avoid dresses with long and heavy gloves because these will be hot while you’re saying your vows.

 

Most importantly check your dress as a carry on and in its own luggage holder.  This will keep it from getting damage and make it easier to unpack when you arrive at your destination.

Using Virgin Cleaners on Your Wedding Dress

A wedding dress is something to treasure and keep for many years or even a lifetime after your big day and saying your vows.  Many brides will have their dresses dry cleaned after their honeymoon.  It is important to pick out a dry cleaner that specializes in wedding dress cleaning.

 

Ask the dry cleaner if they use virgin cleaners.  Some cleaners don’t and the deposits from the cleaners can remain in the dress.  Even though the dress will look clean when you pick it up, the solvents and cleaning agents that do not completely come out of the dress will show up as spots several years down the road and can completely ruin your dress.

 

If the dry cleaner leaves dresses with an odor to them that is cleaning agents that will later ruin the dress.  There should be no odor at all for the dress.  When you store your dress store it out of the light and away from UV rays to keep it from aging and turning yellow.

Bride Dress and Weight Loss

Being also a writer at the Healthy Living and Diet Logs blogs, I figured out this could perhaps be of interest to some, as well as be more fit for this very blog than for the others.

The subject is, of course, what to do when it comes to your bride dress, and you want to lose a serious amount of weight for your wedding–and I do not mean only a few vanity pounds, but enough to make you go down two, three sizes or even more.

First, be aware that wedding dresses run in sizes larger than your average size in regular shops; that’s because what is taken into account is the smallest measurement, so if for instance you’re like me and have slightly broad shoulders or a naturally large bosom but your waist is perfectly alright, don’t be surprised to find yourself with a size 14 dress when in fact you’re an 8. It doesn’t mean anything, and nobody will see the size tag anyway as long as you don’t let them know.

Second, I would advise you to NOT wait longer than needed to order your dress. Most often, it is recommended that you do that no less than six months before the wedding: a dress can take between 6 and 10 weeks to arrive, and then you also have to account for potential (likely?) adjustments to be made. If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s great, but don’t shoot yourself in the foot thinking “if I wait some more, maybe I will lose one more size”. It’s not worth losing the dress of your dreams over that: when you find it, BUY IT, no matter its size.

And that’s where it comes down: adjustments. These will be your friends. Evidently, you’ll have to be prepared to shell out some more money, but it cannot be worse than having to find another dress at the last moment, or, the horror, ending up without any dress at all. For what it’s worth, make use of all those seamstress friend of a friend of a friend connections and others of the same kind, and/or make sure to find one you can trust long before it’s time to perform the needed adjustments. The better s/he’ll know you beforehand, the best s/he will be to get you what you want in due time. Anyway, it’s always better to have your dress having to be altered down that the other way round, isn’t it?
And last but not least: if you want to shed enough weight, start working on it in advance, too–not in those six months before the wedding. A crash diet will only leave you tired and perhaps even with unwanted symptoms, such as hair loss (isn’t that hideous in the pictures?), with the added certainty of gaining all the weight back plus some. Giving yourself one or two years before the actual ceremony will allow you to take on that endeavour with a lighter mind, and a slower but healthier weight loss rate.

Besides, in 12 or 18 months, you can indeed get closer to your goal–close enough for you to pick your dress without having to dread the performing of many alterations.

« Previous Page — Next Page »