Bridal Gowns – Should These Always Be White?

Ever since Queen Victoria had her fabulous white wedding gown on February 11, 1840, all wedding gowns to this day had to be white. To deviate from the traditional white was preposterous, but today’s brides are ready to flaunt their choice of bridal gowns – in color and design.

Still Virginal White?

During the 1800s, bridal gowns were not splendid creations as they are now. The wedding attire for women at that time were usually the best dress that could be worn for other occasions, and these weren’t white because white cloth was expensive and only for the moneyed or landed gentry. It took the Queen of England to change the humdrum existence of the wedding dress.

Queen Victoria wore a flowing white gown accented with orange blossoms. On her head, she also wore a wreath of orange blossoms while her face was framed in honiton lace. She had 12 bridesmaids also dressed remarkably dressed in white.

But that was in 1800s. Today’s brides are experimenting with other colors for their bridal gowns and bridesmaids’ dresses. There may be some resistance to straying far from the traditional white gown, but it is your wedding and you can always have your say.

Instead of the usual white gown, you can opt for ivory, off-white, silver, gold, and pink. Your folks maybe aghast at your choice of color for your wedding gown, but it’s either you go for hints of the palest pink or blue, or go full blast in vibrant reds and blues. Or, you can appease your parents by wearing an ivory gown, but dressing up your bridesmaids in bold red.

Bridal Colors

Tradition is hard to break, but there is no rule that prohibits the use of vibrant colors for bridal gowns. Today’s brides want to be different, and they can dare be different. There’s the risk, though, that their choices will not meet everybody’s approval. But as long as you are satisfied with your choices, everything will be all right.

Here are some of the favorite bridal colors for wedding gowns:

* Ivory – good for women who have super fair complexion and red hair.
* Pastels – Spring brides are opting for pastels to celebrate the season.
* Silver – for avant garde brides with slim figures.
* Red – for women who love life and adventure.
* Pink – for passionate women who are ultra feminine.
* Black – for sophisticates who can really feel comfortable in this color.

To make the picture perfect, you can also have swaths of the same cloth for your shoes to match your wedding dress color.

So finally, it’s not always virginal white for brides. Colors are in, and brides are opting for colored bridal gowns to express their personality and individuality.

Figure Enhancing Shapes

After color, silhouette matters. The common outlines are a-lines, ball gowns, empire waist gowns, sheaths, and princess cuts. Ask the in-house designer to help you with your gown’s cut to flatter your figure. These friendly tips will guide in choosing your gown’s shape:

* If you’re petite, avoid the ball gown.
* If you’re wide-hipped, avoid the sheath.

Be guided with the usual rules, though. For formal weddings, have a floor length gown and a long train. For informal weddings, you can use a strapless gown, and for an outdoor wedding, a short frock can keep to the theme. When it comes to colors, you don’t have to be chained to one of those virginal white bridal gowns.

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Double Up And Save Money!

Brides are always open for suggestions how to save money while planning their weddings. One great tip at the reception is to use your place cards on your favor so you eliminate the need for both. Some example ideas based on themes would include:

1. Wine Theme: A small bottle of wine for the favor with a beautiful tag attached. On the front of the card is the guests names and on the back is the table number the guests will be sitting at.

2. Beach or Nautical Theme: Sand Dollars, Shells, and Starfish that stand up in a box of sand. Write the guest names on the front with a permanent marker and table number on the back.

3. Garden or Eco-Chic Theme: Use River Rocks in a bed of moss and write the names on the front and table number on the back.

4. Chocolate Theme: Use a number candy mold as the table number and wrap in cello with pretty ribbon and tag. Place the names on the front of the tag.

5. Fall Theme: Small individual glittered pumpkins with natural tags tied with raffia. Place the guest names on the front and table number on the back using a matching glitter pen.

Make sure your wedding planner explains the idea to the guests as they arrive so they understand the concept and are not left wandering around with no where to sit! (Please also note that this idea is great if you do not really have a preference of where your guests will sit once they reach their assigned table).

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Selecting Special Gifts For Bridesmaids

Selecting Special Gifts For Bridesmaids

One very popular idea for bridesmaid gifts is to have jewelry made to compliment the attendants’ dresses. These pieces are often handcrafted from precious materials like Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, and sterling silver. Necklaces, earrings, and bracelets can be custom made in colors that coordinate with the wedding colors. One caveat, though: it is very thoughtful to give your bridesmaids beautiful jewelry that they can wear in the wedding, but do not require that it become a mandatory part of their attire. When it comes to how to put all the details together, you can probably go as far as selecting their shoes, but you cannot tell grown women how to wear their hair, makeup, or jewelry. A bride who attempts this will quickly get a reputation as a bridezilla!

Personalized gifts are also very welcome. Consider engraved sterling silver jewelry or monogrammed tote bags. It is also customary to give the maid of honor a gift that is similar to, but more elaborate than, the gifts presented to the bridesmaids. For instance, if you have chosen a necklace and a pair of earrings as your bridesmaid gifts, for your maid of honor give her the full bridesmaid jewelry set including the bracelet. It would also be a very nice touch to present the jewelry in engraved sterling silver jewelry boxes, which are very elegant and can be surprisingly affordable.

You can let the theme of your wedding inspire you. Destination weddings in a tropical climate might call for unique jewelry handcrafted from shells or with starfish motifs. Travel related pieces like a monogrammed toile garment bag would also be thoughtful bridesmaid gifts for a destination wedding. For a formal wedding, more traditional gifts, such as pearl bridesmaid jewelry would be appropriate. Make sure that the gift matches not only the style of your wedding but also the personality of your attendants.

To make it even more meaningful, be sure to present your gifts at a time when all of your attendants are together. This could be done at a spa afternoon, or perhaps a bridesmaids’ luncheon. Tying the gift-giving into a special event that the bride is enjoying with her close friends will make the bridesmaid gifts that much better. After all, it is all about expressing your appreciation for your wedding party.

Bridget Mora writes about jewelry,weddings and fashion for http://www.silverlandjewelry.com

Shop for handcrafted Swarovski crystal wedding jewelry for the most beautiful bridesmaid gifts. Present your jewelry in engraved sterling silver jewelry boxes for an even more spectacular gift.

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Tips To Help You With Your Bridal Hair

On your wedding day you want things to run as smoothly as they can, and everyone knows it is the most important day of a woman’s life and two of the most important aspects to a bride? Her hair and dress of course! Your wedding day is the one day of your life when you don’t want a bad hair day, which is why it is so important that you plan your style well in advance and that you speak to your stylist about what style is best for you.

There are many different wedding hairstyles available for you to choose from meaning you can easily find a style that is right for you. The style that you choose can often depend on aspects such as whether your hair is long or short. With longer hair you have a lot more options open to you but even if your hair is short you have the option of having hair extensions put in for your big day.

One of the main decisions that you have to make when it comes to your wedding hair style is whether you wish to wear your hair up or down. There are numerous styles available for both of these options and a wide selection of hair accessories can be found to suit everyone.

When it comes to the point in your wedding planning when you have to sort out your bridal hair there are a number of considerations that have to be taken into account such as will your hair match your make up and dress? These are aspects that you will be able to talk about with your stylist, who will be able to advise you as to which style would be best for you.

In the months before your wedding it is important that you start to take care of your hair to ensure that it is in the best possible condition when your big day arrives. Many of us care for our hair to prevent damage irregardless of special occasions. If your hair is in poor condition then in order to get it back to its full healthy condition it could take anything up to about six months to do so, meaning it is never to soon to start taking care of it.

Thinking back to choosing your hair style to suit your wedding dress it is also best to choose your hair style before you decide on your head dress or veil. When you have chosen your head dress or veil then it is important that you try these out with your chosen bridal hair style to make sure that everything will look the best it possibly can on your wedding day.

Once you have found a style that both you and your stylist are happy with you should arrange to have the style tested a few times before the actual date of your wedding to ensure that any flaws will be taken care of; putting your mind at rest and giving you reassurance that the one day you won’t have a bad hair day is your wedding.

Helen is web master of Inanch, specialists in all aspects of Bridal Hair.

Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site

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Your Bridal Hair Worries Solved

When it comes to a brides wedding day no one there can out shine her, which is why choosing the right hair style is so important. A bride will want a style that not only looks good on the day of her wedding but one that will still just good when people are looking back on the wedding photos years later.

You will want a style that is timeless and elegant and the same can be said for any accessories that you may choose to use within your style. Accessories have appeared in wedding hair designs for years and years with the classic favourites being a tiara or flowers. The key to wearing hair accessories on your wedding day is to not over do it. Never wear flowers and a tiara or a tiara and hair clips. This will over power the actual style of your hair and make it look cluttered.

It is important that you speak to your stylist about the use of hair accessories as they will only compliment certain styles so if you are determined to wear them as part of your wedding hair style you should take them with you when you first go and see your stylist that way you can pick a style that incorporates them and makes the most of them. The main worry that a lot of brides have with the use of hair accessories is that they will start to look dated. If you use tiaras or flowers as your hair accessories these will not look dated years later but remember these accessories should be simple such as a single flower just behind your ear or a simple jewelled headband worn low with a bit of height in the hair behind it.

Also another concern that brides with short hair have is that their style won’t look feminine on their wedding day. If you are really concerned about having short hair on your wedding day there is one answer to it; you could invest in hair extensions to wear just on that day so that you have more flexibility. If this isn’t the option that you want for your wedding photos then there are ways in which you can present short hair so that it looks as feminine as it can. The key to this is to make sure that the cut is soft as it will look more flattering than if you get a blunt/sharp cut. Also on your wedding day your stylist would advise you not to use products on your hair on the day of your wedding so that your hair appears natural and has a gorgeous texture.

If you are hoping to have your hair in an up-do for your wedding then the best preparation that you can do for your hair is to not wash it on the day of your wedding. This is because day old hair isn’t as slippery as just washed hair so it will hold in the style a lot better.

No matter what style you decide on for your wedding you should always ensure that you have a trial run of it several times before your wedding to make sure that on the actual day everything goes according to plan. A trial run will make sure that any problems you encounter can be taken care of.

Helen is the web master of Inanch specialists in all aspects of Bridal Hair.

Please feel free to republish this article provided a working hyperlink remains to our site

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Choosing Your Bridal Party Wisely

I cannot begin to count the number of brides who spend the final weeks of their planning process fighting with their attendants. Unlike your family, you CAN choose your bridal party. You should feel no obligation to include those who expect that they should be included or those that you feel you should include ‘just because.’ Having an unruly bridal party can put a real damper on your planning process. But don’t fear, bridesmaid drama is 100% avoidable.

The Purpose of Maids

Being a bridesmaid does not only consist of looking pretty and posing for pictures. A bridesmaid, and especially a maid of honor, is a close friend or family member, a supporter of the marriage, someone that you trust and someone who is willing and able to help you plan your wedding. Anyone who does not meet each and every one of these requirements should be crossed off your list. This is not the time to reach back to childhood/high school/college friends with whom you’ve lost contact. Nor is it the time to take suggestions from others on who should be in your wedding party. This is a decision that you should take seriously from the beginning.

Maids not Slaves

Of course, it is expected that bridesmaids will help in the planning process. This could consist of attending vendor meetings, dress shopping, working on the DIY assembly line (creating invitations, favors, etc.), running errands and a host of other wedding related duties. Being a bridesmaid also requires a financial commitment to buy a dress and contributing to showers and other festivities. While this is all expected, you should act with appreciation and understanding. This means not selecting a $600 bridesmaid dress knowing that your maids cannot afford it. It means not demanding that your maids give up all of their free time to help you. And it means always saying thank you and showing your appreciation. Your maids are there to help you, not to work as indentured servants. Treating your maids with respect and appreciation will ensure that you have a loving, great relationship with your bridal party on the wedding day. Acting as a slave master could lead to resentment and ill feelings that could take away from your day.

Booting a Maid

If you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having maid drama, you may consider asking the problem attendant to leave the party. This is a dilemma that I see often. Somewhere around the 60 day mark, a frantic bride will call me and ask what to do about a jealous, controlling or uncooperative bridesmaid. There is really no easy way to handle this. You have three options. One, you could sit the unruly maid down for a heart to heart and tell her how her behavior is hurting you. Ask that she be more mindful of her actions and try to make your wedding pleasant. Two, you could ask your maid of honor, or another bridesmaid, to run interference for you. Lastly, you could ask her to leave the party.

Most experts recommend against this, but in nightmarish cases, this may be the only option. Know that it will almost certainly be a fatal blow to the friendship and it will be difficult. You could say something like, “”I am so grateful that you agreed to be in my bridal party, but I see that this has become a burden for you. You are dear to me and our friendship is very important. I would rather have you as a friend than a bridesmaid.” You will need great communications skills to handle this – but hey, you are getting married and this is perfect practice for the artful communication necessary to sustain a marriage.

Good Luck!

Tiffany R. Wright is a top wedding planner in Washington, DC. She is the founder of PIROUETTE, Inc, a premiere wedding planning company in Maryland, founded in 2005.

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