Combining Wedding Themes To Make A Statement

OK, its hard to pick a wedding theme
that expresses your style. Some wedding themes
are almost there, but they miss by a few
degrees. Why not combine wedding themes
to make a personalized statement and
make your wedding stand out from
everyone's wedding?



Combine a sunflower theme with
an animal print. Use favors in an
animal print, use vases of
sunflowers on the tables and in
the bouquets of the bridesmaids.
Incorporate the same animal print
in your invitations or as table
toppers.

What about combining an
eco friendly green wedding with
an Out of Africa theme? Use
eco friendly favors, top the tables
with an African theme table topper,
use animals like giraffes and elephants
for centerpieces grazing in pots of
live grass. Decorate with lots of
tall grasses.






Combine a Tiffany blue theme with a starry
night theme. Use Tiffany blue as your main
color, silver stars as accents. Use silver as
the accent, hang silver stars from the ceiling
on fishing line so they seem to float.



Here's more ideas:
A military theme with a 4th of July theme.
Color scheme is a no brainer. Top it off
with a fireworks display.

Use a cottage theme with wildflowers and
peonies and combine it with a butterfly
theme. Stencil a butterfly on your
aisle runner, put little white wire
bird cages with flowers and butterflies
in them as centerpieces.

Any other imaginative ideas?

Total Sweetness: A Candy Buffet At Your Wedding Reception

The last wedding I attended treated the
guests to a candy buffet. It was a hit with
guests of all ages.The bride used the colors of
the wedding in the candy, presented them in
glass containers and used frosted Chinese take out
boxes with bride and grooms name and
wedding date on labels on the boxes. She had
flowers on the table, personalized cookies bought
from a favor store and it was sprinkled with
flowers and petals. It was total eye candy!
Sorry for the bad pun, I just felt it coming on
and ran with it.

Since we were from out of town, the bride
packed us up some extras for the plane
trip home...and you could hear our candy
jangling every time we hit turbulence.
We enjoyed the candy more than the yummy
dinner at the reception.

So how can you put together the perfect candy
buffet for your wedding reception?

• Plan it in your mind, map it out on paper or on your computer.
  

A candy buffet should be a feast for the eyes and
part of the decor. Choose clear glass containers,
unusual shapes, vases, oversize martini glasses,
anything to give it a good visual vibe. You'll need
scoops for the candy and containers or candy bags
for your guests. Do you want to get really creative
and create a visual scape with candy ponds, green
paths and a gingerbread house? Its only limited
by your time, budget and imagination.

• Budget enough money to give it a great visual impact.

Don't try to gauge the amount you need to by
calculating how many ounces you need per
person. When it comes to candy, throw that
out the door. Your goal is to have more than
enough candy to have an interesting presentation
and not to run out of candy.

• Match the colors of the candy to your wedding colors.

This will give it a great visual impact, you can layer colors
of the same candy in your clear containers to make it pop.
Vary the kinds of candy on your buffet. You can use some
colorful foil wrapped chocolates in your wedding color with
some colored M & M's, white Good and Plenty, colorful
lollipops, you get the idea.

• Kick it up a notch.

Vary the heights of the containers by using risers,
boxes or milk cartons covered with fabric (like a
tablecloth) to give it more visual interest. Caterers
do this and it also makes it easier to get the candy
you want without knocking down some of the
containers.

• Finish it off.

Add flowers in vases, floral arrangements, a picture
of the couple or flower petals to give it some
visual interest.

• Enjoy and enjoy the kudos from your guests.

Don't forget to pack some extras in your carry on
to enjoy on your honeymoon. It will be a sweet
treat to remember the sweetest day ever!

How Long Can You Live Off Wedding Cake & Champagne?

I came across this on Favor Ideas
and it cracked me up. The premise
is how long you can live off your wedding
cake and champagne if you and your
new spouse were on a desert island.

You plug in both of your height, weight
and age and the type of cake and the
number of slices. It will tell you how long
you can live without extras just by feasting
on your decadent wedding cake.
This is so fun....check it out here.
I scored a month and a bottle of champagne,
but come on, I'd have it gone in a week.

How To Make Your Bridesmaids Hate You and Ruin Your Friendship FOR FREAKING EVER

I would like to hear the statistics on how
many weddings end with one or more of
the bridesmaids never speaking to the
bride again. Sadly, it happens.
Sometimes its the fault of both, sometimes
the blame goes on the shoulders of the
bride or the bridesmaid. It shouldn't
happen, but it does.

I was the victim of a Bridezilla myself.
I stepped in as a bridesmaid when her
friend got pregnant. Barbie, the
bride, wanted to keep the girls symmetrical
both in height and weight. That should have
rang a bell, but it didn't. She was my good
friend, I thought I was helping her out.

She started by insisting we wear matching
bras and she checked them out so they
were adjusted to her liking. No cleavage,
no boobs bigger than hers. The dresses
were hideous, a mint green (gag) and we
had to wear matching GREEN eyeshadow.
She made us line up for inspection before
we got dressed for the wedding. Barbie
inspected our makeup. She had everyone in
tears when she started smearing our makeup.
Then she made us remove our nail polish.
She wiped off our lipstick and made us all wear
the same shade off the same tube. Yuck.
Her mantra....you are representing me and
you will represent me the way I say you
will represent me. We weren't allowed to
eat or drink even before we were dressed
and before we walked down the aisle, she
rechecked our bra straps and our teeth
for lipstick. Her mother kept saying
"Its her day, you do what she says".

Oh, and we had scheduled bathroom breaks.
She had a breakdown of when we were
ALLOWED to go to the bathroom.
And did I mention she did all of this with
a cigarette hanging out of her mouth
while she was dressed in her wedding
finery?

We weren't allowed to eat at the reception
until she and the groom ate and we were only
allowed to dance with our groomsman partner
and not our SO or dates. It was misery.
I don't think anyone has ever spoken to
her since. The groom is a great guy, we
should have helped him escape. ;)

So if you want your bridesmaids to hate
you forever, here's what to do:

• Damn their budgets, this is the dress I want them to wear.

• Tell them the dress deposit is due tomorrow.
  

• Choose a dress that is unflattering on them.

• Choose a color that is hideous on their complexions because you like that color.

• Choose a wacky theme that forces them to wear costumes.

• Insist they accompany you to every dress fitting, every wedding shopping spree whether it involves them or not and bitch because they just aren't into your wedding.

• Spam them with text messages and emails about the wedding plans.

• Talk nonstop about your wedding and get ticked off at them when they aren't excited to hear about it.

• Plan your own shower and tell them they owe you for it.

• Plan your own bachelorette party and make them pay.

• Start wedding projects, like printing your own invitations and making centerpieces and make attendance mandatory.

• Make hair and makeup appointments for them and forget to tell them that they have to pay for it themselves.
  

• Schedule a spa day on them.

• Make them take time off of work for dress fittings so you can be there to supervise.
  

• Forget that it is final exam week and they have to study.

• Complain about them to anyone who will listen.

• Make remarks about their weight at their dress fitting.
  

• Insist upon matching updos even if she has short hair.

• Buy them matching shoes and then give them the bill.

• Assign them tasks that they don't have time to do because you don't want to pay someone to do it.
  

• Keep repeating to them "Its MY day".

• Forgetting to thank them for all they've done for you.

Yes, these have all happened in various
weddings and we heard it from the maids.
If you want to ruin a friendship, do any
of the above, and trust me, its a done deal.

Moral of the story: Be nice to your maids,
keep them in the loop, keep their budget
in mind and shut up about your wedding.
They are shelling out considerable cash
to do YOU a favor and they are your
friends and family. You won't get a
do over, and a wedding is supposed to
be a joyous occasion. The bride sets
the tone. Make it a good one!

Lets Hear it For Unusual Wedding Dresses? Would You Dare?

Runway couture wedding dresses are dresses that the
designer makes just for their live runway shows
to create buzz. They don't mass produce these wedding
dresses, they are one of a kind wedding dresses made
to shockand awe the guests and to get their pics in
the magazines. Translated into our world,
these are dresses you could never afford and
wouldn't be caught dead wearing. Its fun to see what
lurks in the mind of the designers.




Yves St. Laurent designed this floral confection,
made to express your inner gardener. I imagine
if you wore this dress to your wedding, your
mother in law would drop dead on the spot.
I love the color combos and this would make
a gorgeous wedding bouquet,



This dress is by Christian Dior and is called
Oragami. It does look like folded paper. I've
always liked Dior, but I think I'll stick to
their eyeshadows and mascara.


Another head smacker from Chinese wedding week.
I can't figure this out, it reminds me of a Space Oddity
with some chicken feathers trailing. This would make a
great a do it yourself project...get a white pillow case,
stick some feathers in the chest, pin together,
attach an old Mardi Gras feather boa and your kids
Star Wars helmet...and voila!



This dress doesn't really qualify as couture.
Its a dress full of LED lights. I wonder where
you store the battery pack. Actually, a few years
ago we did have an LED dress in the bridal shop
by Bonny Bridals, but it was in the lace and very
subtle and pretty. This looks like an auxiliary
backup power source in a power outage. OMG..this
is scary!

Loving That Unique Wedding Cake!

I've come across some really unique wedding
cakes and I have to confess, I'm loving some of
them, shaking my head at others. But, couples
thinking outside the box is what is important
when personalizing your wedding.

The wedding cake is the centerpiece of the
wedding reception, and some of these couples
are showing their fun side. Some of these cakes
are works of art. I'm totally up for cake!
I'm ALWAYS up for cake.




How would you like to have Miss Piggy lounging
on the top of your wedding cake surrounded by
all of her Muppet pals encircling the cake.
So darn cute, this definitely isn't for everyone.
By Essex Wedding Services.




This cute travel trailer cake with a beach
twist is just adorable. The VW van shows shades
of the 60's and 70's hippie vibe when people
traveled around the country in their van and
saw the world on a shoestring. This is one of
a group of great cakes by Divine Wedding Cakes.






From A Matter of Taste, how perfect is this cake
for a reception after the destination wedding?
Or for the couple planning on traveling after the
wedding. Either way, its unique!



OMG, I love this cake. I applaud the
imagination of the cake artist and the
couple who were lucky enough to land this
cake. Who says purples are out of style?
By Karen Lindsay.



A Beatles Yellow Submarine wedding cake
for the ultimate Beatle fans. I love love love
this cake, probably because I'm a longtime
fan who even flew to Vegas to catch concerts
by the remaining Beatles. Anyway, this is such
a fun, happy, bright cake, complete with little
John, Paul, George and Ringo and a yellow submarine
on the top. Photo info here.



This is the one cake that does not
ring my chime, probably because its not
make of cake and iced with sugar...
this is a sushi cake with a rice base.
It looks amazing, but the thought of it
gags me. Ironically, I own the exact set
of rubber duckies they used as a cake topper.
I got mine in a gift shop called Desert
Dancer in Sedona, AZ and mine swim around in
the bathroom of the bridal shop.




The big mama of all wedding cakes, this one
really DOES take the cake. This bride decided to
have herself duplicated in her wedding dress in
cake. Creepy! I wonder how much teasing and trash
talk the groom is still enduring. And if you save the
top layer of cake for your first anniversary, can you
imagine having a severed cake head in the freezer
staring back at you? I guess it would be one way
to watch your calories...open the freezer, freak out,
leave the room.

Mother Of The Bride and Groom Dresses Are Ugly!

Please, don't dress mom in these dresses!


Yes, I said it, UGLY, unattractive, frumpy and no one
really wants what the dress manufacturers are cranking out
for the mothers of the wedding. No one wants what you
are selling!

Most mothers dresses fall into two categories: Dresses that
look like great grandma's burial dress and dresses that look
like mom is going to prom. There are millions of Baby
Boomer and Boomlet moms who want to look fabulous
and would buy a dress if they could just find it.

Moms want to look 10 years younger, and 20 pounds slimmer.
They want their upper arms covered and they want the dress
to hide the nasty parts. Most moms want a jacket they can remove
and straps on the dress wide enough to cover regular bra straps.
They want to look age appropriate, yet feminine with a hint of
sexy. And they want to radiate style. They want a flattering color,
and honey, that's not beige or platinum gray. Those colors just
drainthe color right out of your face. Its not too much to ask.

They used to manufacture dresses that fit the bill, but somehow,
the manufacturers let go some of their designers, moved their
manufacturing to the far east and knocked off competitors prom
and bridesmaid dresses and are trying to pass them off as
mothers dresses. Geeze, hire a designer familiar with real
women and real women's bodies.

Do all of today's designers think that every mother of the wedding
wants to wear beige and platinum ball gowns with big poofy skirts?
I've sold mom's dresses for years, and have yet to meet a
a mom who wanted a strapless ballgown, yet I'm sure they
exist somewhere, just not in my area. Mom does not
want to look like an older prommie, a street walker or grandma.
Even grandma won't wear these styles!

If you are a bride, get your mom out shopping stat. If she has
to order her dress, she'll have to allow 8 to 12 weeks or more to
have her dress made. Most dresses are now made in Asia and that
is the time frame to complete the dress. Unless she is a sample
size and wants champagne or taupe, she's not likely to find what
she wants hanging on the rack.

Here's what you need to know about MOB (mother of the bride)
and MOG (mother of the groom) dresses before you go shopping.
Forget shopping for a petite,very few lines cut petites and the
petite still runs long. Either way,the dress is probably going
to need to be shortened.

Mom's dresses are made either in colors that blend with all
weddingcolors, like all pastels, sort of a unicolor MOB dress.
Or you'll find garish hot colors that don't match anything.
Any color in between will have to be ordered.
Some dresses are only made in two or three unicolors, others
come in a variety of colors. If you are lucky, they'll have her
colorand size in stock but don't hold your breath. The sooner
you shop,the better the chance of getting what you want.

Some dresses start at size 6 and go to size 20 only. If you are
larger or smaller, you are out of luck.

Don't expect to find tailored suits, high necklines and collars.
You'll find some suit like dresses with a jacket, but I haven't
seen a high neckline in years.

And plan for alterations, all dresses need alterations to
fit properly,just like the wedding dress. Very few dresses get by
without a few tweaks.

If mom insists on waiting to shop until she looses 20 pounds,
she'll be panicking before the wedding when she can't find
anything to wear. The department stores stock way less social
occasion dresses than they used to carry because women just
don't get dressed up very often. You'll have to start with your
local bridal salon. Get her shopping early. If she finds a dress
that looks good now, it will look fab if she looses the weight.
And the dress can be taken into fit.

If a manufacturer would just LISTEN to what women want,
they'd sell tons of dresses and trounce their competition.
Women will rejoice, look fabulous and be deliriously happy,
the manufacturer will be revered. Happy women will spread
the word faster than Twitter.And please, if any of you reading
this are manufacturers, drop me a line. I KNOW what we
women want. We just can't find it.

If You Are Going to DIY Your Wedding, DIR (do it right)

In today's economy, there are a lot of
DIY (do it yourself) brides. Its a way to personalize
your wedding, its also a way to keep
within your wedding budget. If you are going to
put your effort into DIY wedding projects, do it
right (DIR).

I was away on vacation and came home to a huge
pile of mail. Mr. Weddingzilla put the mail in piles,
his, mine, junk and catalogs. I looked at the important
stuff..and a few days later decided to throw the junk away.
What looked like a piece of junk advertising
mail turned out to be a wedding invitation.

This invitation was by a DIY bride who didn't DIR. OK,
before you blast me, hear me out. It was printed on a computer
but it wasn't spaced properly and it wasn't on invitation blanks.
It was on some paper that looked like junk mail paper. Nothing
wedding about it. The reception card was hand cut and it was
crooked. And the time to respond was less than a week from
when it was mailed and a full two and a half months before the
wedding.

This invitation bothered me because I had received
it after the response time and I felt bad about it. And I felt
bad I didn't realize it was a wedding invitation and I've sold
wedding invitations. It made me wonder
how many more people tossed it in the trash without
reading it.

Its OK to make your own invitations if you DIR.
Its a lot more work than it looks when you see the blank
invitations. You have to have time, motivation, ability
to do the task and a good amount of printer ink. And you need
to find out how to do it the right way. Get some advice
from a professional or get on the internet and get some
instructions. And I don't mean getting advice from Yahoo
answers where you ask a question and pick the answer you like.

DIY means you have to invest some money into the
components besides time and work.
If you aren't willing or able to do the work, don't attempt to
DIY whether its centerpieces, flowers , favors or invitations.
If you can't do it after you've bought the components,
you've wasted your money and time and you'll have to
spend MORE money to get the job done.

If projects stress you out, think before you tackle a DIY
project. Don't feel inadequate if your peers are all DIY
brides and you aren't. And don't attempt to DIY everything
yourself if your budget dictates it. Get help from your
wedding party, your family or your friends.

If its totally out of your field of expertise, don't attempt it
for your wedding. I met a bride who said she is making
her wedding cake but doesn't know how to cook. OMG!
She has to buy the pans, mixes, etc to make the cake and
she can't cook. She's bragging about how much money she
is going to save by baking her own cake. Say a prayer for her,
she's going to need it and put a bakery on speed dial.

If you could do your wedding over, what would you change?

We posed this question to newlywed brides and grooms to get their answer to this question. Some of the answers were surprising, some were very provocative. See for yourself. If YOU could get a wedding do over, what would you do?

Jen: I'd make sure I kept on my shoes and didn't walk around the reception with a long necked beer in my hand. That picture will haunt me forever!

Ashley: Nothing, it was the perfect day!

Kerry: I'd have listened to my fiance when he told me not to sweat the small stuff. In retrospect, the flowers weren't worth all the tears, they turned out beautiful.

Dave: I would have paid more attention.

Jeff: I should have told the family to back off and let us do it our way. I think we had our mothers' dream wedding and it was more for them than for us. But it was awesome and the honeymoon.....(grin)

Taylor: I would have spent less money on stuff that really wasn't necessary and used the money towards a better honeymoon.

Kim: I would have eloped to the Caribbean and we wouldn't have been all the family hassles.

Emily: My wedding was exactly like I wanted, small and intimate. My only regret is that my grandparents weren't able to travel because of health issues.

Ethan: My wife planned her fantasy wedding and I was good with it. But I wish I would have reined in the budget just a bit.

Cole: (laughs) I wouldn't have had my bachelor party so close to the wedding. I felt like hell at the wedding. My buddies were in town, and you know, we had a few drinks, and a few more.

Lauren: I wouldn't have put on my dress and then had a glass of wine. Don't ask!

Shelli: I wouldn't have insisted on all the bridesmaids having their hair, makeup and nails done. I should have trusted them to do it themselves. I feel guilty now for the extra expenses I put on them. I still feel bad about it.

Kelli: I wouldn't have been such a control freak and insisted on doing everything myself. I took on way too much work and didn't get to enjoy the day.

Jay: I wouldn't have hired a friend to DJ. He would have made a better guest.

Crystal: I should have listened to the people I hired to do the job and not my friends.

Gerri: My husband wanted to get married in Las Vegas. We had a big expensive wedding and I was stressed the whole time. We should have eloped to Las Vegas, we'd have been just as married and a lot less stressed out.

Kent: I should have included my family more in the planning since they paid for a big chunk of the wedding. My parents were hurt and I was so caught up in the excitement I didn't see it until the deed was done.

Brian: Nothing, I married my dream woman!

Toni: I would have bought the dress I wanted instead of settling for a less expensive dress and cheaped out on decorations so I could get THE DRESS. I really didn't need chair covers, but at the time, I thought I did.

Ashlee: I shouldn't have forced my sister to make a toast. She was so nervous that she didn't have fun.

Joe: I would have kept tabs on my groomsmen. They got out of hand.

Janine: We had an awesome wedding. We should have put the same effort on planning the honeymoon. We both got sick from the water. Not fun.

And now I will answer the question: I should have insisted on having a smaller wedding. It grew from a small intimate wedding to a big Italian blow out, thanks to my family. Once it got going, it took on a life of its own. It turned out to be a great wedding, but it was TOO big!