Wedding Gown Designer: Martin Grant

After the final dress exhibited at a Kleinfeld bridal show in NYC turned out to be black plaid, causing a stir in its own right, the question as to whether plaid wedding dresses are a style that anyone should think of for their wedding came to the forefront.

The truth is that many Scottish weddings have not only plaid wedding dresses at times, but the men will wear plaid kilts, including the entire wedding party. Tartan, to be more accurate, is definitely a Scottish style, and the pride they show in it is inspiring.

Wedding Gown Desiger: Luisa Beccaria

The thing is, plaid not only offers something different from the norm than what most traditional American wedding couples might wear, but there are many more options in colors and their mix than with regular wedding gown. For instance a design company known as Kilts By Susan offers 29 different tartan designs made out of Scottish wool. Some wedding dresses are totally plaid, whereas others are a mixture of tartan patterns and traditional lace, silk, and satin.

The styles of plaid wedding dresses are pretty much the same as styles of dresses made with other fabrics as well. Imagine a mermaid style wedding dress with a tartan red and white flair. Or a strapless blue and white A-line with a red belt at the waist. You really don’t have to imagine it; examples of dresses like that are out on the internet.

What kind of prices will you pay for a plaid dress? That pretty much depends on the fabric used to make it. If you’re having a wedding dress made out of cotton, it’s going to cost less than Scottish wool. Scottish wool, though not always expensive, is considered an exotic fabric when it comes to wedding dresses, so the costs could come in between, $1,500 and $2,000 per dress. Wool can also create a lot of heat, so if you live in warm areas and you want to wear it, you’ll need to make sure where you’re getting married is kept fairly cool.

Some wedding experts are thinking that plaid might be the new fashion style for 2010. I’m not sure it will go that far, but it’s a nice option for some brides to explore if they’re looking for something different.

See More:
How to Convert a Regular Plaid Pattern to a Tartan Plaid
How to Dress for a Scottish Wedding
History of Plaid

Wedding Crashers the Movie

Having a little bit of fun with this one, but in actuality, there really are wedding crashers, people who decide to act as if they’re guests of the wedding party but in actuality don’t know either the bride or the groom, and probably not anyone else at the wedding, including the reception. So, though this is tongue in cheek, it’s also fairly truthful, and possibly highlights some signs to look for.

1. They sit by themselves in the middle of the pews on one side or the other. This keeps them away from family and ushers and, if there’s a lot of people, makes them more inconspicuous if there are a lot of people at the wedding.

2. They’re dressed very blandly. This is because they weren’t sure whose wedding they were going to sneak into and didn’t want to stand out.

3. When the wedding is over, they’re the first ones out after the wedding party, but they go out a different way than everyone else.

4. You don’t see them again until the reception. Crashers don’t want to mingle with everyone else outside the church because that’s too early for them to get into conversation that might out them. A true crasher needs to get into the reception. Therefore, they’re sitting in the car, waiting to follow everyone else to where the reception is taking place.

5. Upon arriving at the reception, they wait in the car until more people show up. Crashers need to blend, and no blending takes place without more bodies to hide in.

Vince Vaughn & Owen Wilson as Wedding Crashers

6. When they finally do come inside, they head directly for the snack area without looking at or talking to anyone else. This is the bonanza, the real reason why they came. Well, at least one of the real reasons they came, to eat.

7. They go to the bar to see if the drinks are free. This is the other reason they came. If it’s an open car the skies the limit. But they need to eat first because they want to try to space things out as long as possible, so they need something in their stomachs to help absorb the early alcohol.

8. They sit at a table about as far away from the wedding party as they can get. This is the smartest strategy because that’s usually where the fringe friends and co-workers sit. At this point, one can easily come up with a story for how they know either the bride or groom. They’re going to base whatever they say off what others at the table say first.

9. After the main meal, they start hitting on almost anyone. It doesn’t matter if the crasher is male or female, it’s time for some fun. The crasher has already gotten away with everything else and is fed and lubricated. At this juncture, they really feel like they’re part of the family and friends contingent.

10. They make a grand exit immediately after the cake. They’ll be bold enough to seek out the bride and groom to thank them for the good time, and smart enough to drop the name of one of the people they met at the reception. This is to plant the seed in the minds of the couple to ask the name that was dropped later on who that person was. After all, what’s the point of being a crasher if no one knows they were crashed?

It seems that being a wedding gown designer was bred into Claire Pettibone as a young girl when she attended a wedding at the age of 4 and decided she wanted to make wedding gowns.  Growing up in New York City, she ended up going to and graduating from the Otis Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles with a degree in fashion design.

Her first big success was in the Beverly Hills area, where, with her husband, she launched her first designs to rave reviews.  Years later she established her credibility throughout the entire country with another show in New York City.  Her designs are so exclusive that, even though they’re all over the world, only 29 stores have licenses to market them new, including her own salon in Beverly Hills, Claire Pettibone Flagship.

Pettibone’s wedding dress style is reminiscent of styles from the 1940′s and 1950′s.  Many of her creations could stand alone as evening gowns, but that doesn’t mean their simplistic.  They have a very comfortable looking style, soft and flowing, with lace and embroidery touches.  She makes them with all styles of sleeves and necklines, and tends to stay away from tight bodices.  These dresses move with the brides, so no stiff satin wedding gowns for her.  You might have layered dresses, dresses with flowers, even ruffles, and there’s nothing saying her wedding dresses will all be white, or at least pure white.

As a matter of face, her 2010 Cherry Blossom collection of wedding gowns had a mixture of muted whites and shimmering dresses that almost looked like silver, with beautiful touches of lace netting and embroidery.  One of the dresses even had a thin red belt, while another flaunted a big pink flower in the middle of the bodice area, which included a pink belt and a pink tassle; talk about taking chances!  Yet, it all fit, and that’s what makes Pettibone a favorite wedding dress designer.

See more:
Claire Pettibone Official Website
Claire Pettibone Botique
Claire Pettibone Facebook Page

Photo Credit: www.centralpark.com

Think about it. You’ve been married for a few years now, and you sit down one day and start thinking about what you might have changed if you had the opportunity to do your wedding over. Maybe you’re getting married a second time and want to do things a little bit differently.

It’s a question posed to many couples, and it could serve as something that couples who are thinking about getting married should think about. After all, those who don’t learn from the lessons history offers are doomed to repeat it; so I’ve heard.

The number one regret of most people in looking back at their wedding day is how much money they spent. Some couples spend so much money on their wedding that they’re paying for it years later. Sometimes the debt is so high that they can’t even qualify for things such as a car or mortgage because they still can’t afford it. The thought of getting married can sometimes take away a person’s common sense as to whether they can afford everything they want or not.

The next regret, strange as it may seem for most guys, is that they allowed too many outside influences to eliminate things they wanted. Most of the blame goes on the mother’s of both the bride and the groom. Brides might have some idea of who they want to invite to the wedding, but the mothers will add people because they’re the ones who determine which family members are “must” invites. Sometimes fathers will give input if the family happens to be wealthy, but that’s not always the case. Mothers will also give “advice” on things such as the wedding dress, the reception, and almost everything else. It’s unsolicited, but has to be taken more into account than advice from anyone else; after all, they are the mothers.

The final big regret relates to the first regret. Many brides and grooms wished that they had even more money so they could have had more of what they really wanted. Grooms usually wanted more for the honeymoon, being able to plan for bigger and better things up front, since no one is sure what kind of money they might receive on their wedding day. Brides usually wanted more of everything else; more flowers, more food choices, more limousines, more flash, etc. Even those brides who seemed to have it all wanted more things.

That last one is the one regret, however, where most couples agree that it was probably best that they were limited. After all, look at what they’re still trying to pay off.

See more:
Wedding Day Regrets
Second Wedding Ideas
Getting Remarried in Style

Photo Credit: www.the6chicks.com

While the soon-to-be-groom is off on his bachelor party having a great time, sometimes the bride-to-be is at her bachelorette party and not having as good a time as she should. Since that hardly seems fair, here are 5 tips for soon-to-be brides to help them have a good time.

1. Stop thinking about what your fiancé might be doing. I almost hate to say this, but he’s not thinking about you at all. Nope, isn’t happening. An early lesson to learn is that you can’t control the actions of another adult, especially if you’re not together. If you can’t trust him at this point you probably shouldn’t be getting married. So, forget him for the night.

2. Don’t touch the stripper. I gave this same advice to the groom, but there’s a major difference here. Female strippers, unless it’s at a club, come with bodyguards. Male strippers sometimes show up with a cameraman. That means something’s probably going on the internet when they get home. So, even though you might be encouraged, ask yourself if you want to be in a starring role in an unscripted porno film.

3. Go ahead and dance with a guy at the dance club if you’re asked. You’re not married yet, and dancing is pretty harmless, unless it’s one of those slow grinds where the guy is trying to show you what he’s got. In that case, treat him as you would have on any other day and leave him embarrassed on the dance floor.

4. Don’t drink too much. I gave this advice to the groom as well, but in your case, you may not be paying attention to what and how much you’re drinking. As I told the groom, if you’re getting married the next day, you’re going to feel horrible all day; even if you’re not getting married the next day, you’re going to feel horrible, and you won’t look all that good either.

5. Don’t get yourself worked up thinking about the upcoming wedding. This happens more often with brides than with grooms, and if things are going to go wrong, once again there’s nothing more you can do to make things go better. The expectation is that you’ve checked and checked and checked everything a few times to make sure you didn’t forget anything. Just put it out of your mind and enjoy one last night of freedom.

See more:
Bachelorette Party Ideas
Hosting A Bachelorette Party
Bachelorette Party Supplies

Photo credit: www.luxist.com

Some of today’s brides want to feel as though they’re living their impression of what a Victorian wedding might have been like, and thus they go in search of Victorian wedding dresses. What they find is that, the dresses are glamorous, and their wedding ends up exactly how they always imagined it might.

One misconception about Victorian wedding dresses is that they were all white. In reality, until the wedding of Queen Victoria, most wedding dresses were anything but white. Though white was considered the color if one came from a family of means, wedding dress colors often depended not only on one’s social status, but also what a bride was hoping to represent for her wedding. For instance, very young brides used to wear light green, which signified fertility. Blue was also a favorite wedding color, because it meant brides felt that they were marrying their true love. Many dresses were brown and black because those types of fabrics were easiest to obtain. But brides also wore other colors, signifying things both happy and sad, if they had the money.

Victorian wedding dresses had fitted bodices that lifted the breasts, formed a very small waist, and had full skirts over hoops and petticoats. They wore veils and hairpieces of fine gauze or other sheer materials that almost always went at least the length of the floor. They would have all sorts of tatting, which many know as knotted lace patterns, and were very elaborate in style. The fancier wedding dresses could be made out of tulle, lace, silk, linen or cashmere.

For those brides who didn’t have the money during the Victorian period, it wasn’t unusual for them to have linen or wool dresses in lots of different colors, including plaids. Instead of veils, they’d wear shawls, which were actually preferred because they could always use the shawls again. As a matter of fact, only the rich never used their wedding gowns again. Everyone else would cut up and re-stitch their wedding dresses so they could be used for everyday purposes afterwards.

Today’s brides, however, see the Victorian period as one of regality and elegance, and thus the craving for Victorian wedding dresses. These days, most Victorian wedding dresses are going to be white, have lots of embroidery, and be very modest. No cleavage in a Victorian wedding dress, but brides will definitely have a shape while wearing one. And it will bring something very special to their wedding.

See more:
The History of Victorian Wedding Orange Blossoms
Victorian Fashion History for Women 1860 – 1900
Wedding Style: A Victorian Event

Photo Credit: www.weddingtipszone.com

Putting a wedding together can be a lot of work. There’s so many things to try to consider that it can be overwhelming. It’s not like a wedding is just a big party. For many couples, a wedding is an event.

When big companies need to put on an event, they hire an event planner. The reason is simple; because they have the experience to handle the job. A company representative will meet with an event planner, lay out what the theme of the event is and what they’re hoping to accomplish, then they get out of the way and let the planner do their job. There are periodic checks on things just to make sure everyone’s on the same page, but it’s pretty much the event planner’s job to get things done.

The same thing is in place for a wedding planner. Wedding planners can take care of so many things that most couples really aren’t prepared for, even if at some point they might get it all done. Wedding planners will already have some of the people in place that are needed for the wedding because they will have worked with many people in the past. A wedding planner eliminates the need to figure out who will be the photographer, where to get the flowers, and pricing for the reception. They will know how to decorate and who to call, they will know the caterers, and they will even know the limousine companies to contact.

If couples decide to get a wedding planner, the first thing they need to do is interview at least 2 or 3 of them to get a feeling as to which one they believe they could work best with. Sometimes you can have a wedding planner recommended to you, but they might not work as well with you as they did with whoever recommended them. Don’t bother asking questions like how long they’ve been doing weddings, because you could get any kind of answer with that one. Strike up a general conversation, ask them their process in putting things together, and then ask them for references. That way, you’re not bogging yourself down with a lot of extraneous information. After all, just because someone has done something for a long time doesn’t mean they’ve done it well for that period of time.

One final thing to remember is that, once you’ve selected the wedding planner, there are still some decisions you’ll want to make, such as the first couples song or the type of food you want. But it’s so much easier to tell someone what you want and have them get it for you than having to chase people down and handle it on your own. And even though you’ll have to pay money for it, your peace of mind might be worth it.

See more:
What do Wedding Planners Do
Wedding Planning 101: Create a Wedding Planner
How Much Does A Wedding Planner Cost?

Photo Credit: www.weddingphotographers1.wordpress.com

For most couples, buying wedding flowers means getting something you like because you think they’re beautiful and will enhance the decorations of both where you get married and where the reception is. What many don’t realize is that different types of flowers have different meanings, and one could inadvertently pick a style of flower that says the wrong thing.

Roses, for instance, have many different meanings based on the color one chooses. Most couples choose red roses, which actually stands for passion and love, while white roses stand for beauty, innocence and charm, and pink roses mean happiness. No one can go bad by picking any color of rose for their wedding.

Carnations are a different story. While white carnations is an indication of love, red carnations are actually a symbol of sadness and despair. Yellow carnations means you have disdain for someone, and striped carnations actually means you don’t want to be with someone else; that wouldn’t work well on one’s wedding day.

At the same time, some flowers seem to signify just what they should be signifying. Baby’s breath, for instance, signifies innocence, and being as dainty as they are, that fits. Orchids signify love and beauty, as do lilies, while tulips also signify beauty and undying love.

Luckily for most brides, we don’t attribute a lot of meaning to the colors of flowers, and thus putting together your decorations can be easier to do based on colors and styles, and of course what you’re doing it for. The bride’s bouquet, as an example, is most often a bouquet of roses, but there’s nothing saying all the roses have to be red. For instance, orange roses mean the same thing as red roses, and since white roses have a positive meaning as well, both could offer a nice spark of color.

There are also times when brides will have bouquets of lilies for something different. Some will also go for bouquets of carnations, mainly white. Some high society weddings will have the bride carrying gladiolas, which actually signifies strength of character. Lilacs are also popular, as they signify youthful innocence, as well as offer a very pleasant scent.

In general, knowing the meaning of the flowers you select might make a difference to you, or it may not. I tend to say go with whatever you want, and don’t worry about the interpretations of others.

See more:
Roses – The Meaning of Each Color
What Type of Wedding Flowers Are for You?
Flowers For Your Wedding Color Theme

Photo Credit: www.1.bp.blogspot.com

In the first part of this article, we talked a lot about pasta.  There’s obviously more to Italian food that pasta, thank goodness.

Next, what about pizza?  How many indoor weddings have you been to that have had pizza?  This would be a great change from the norm; how many people don’t like pizza?  And pizza offers the opportunity to have multiple types, and sheet pizzas can feed a lot of people without costing all that much.  I’ve never heard anyone say pizza isn’t appropriate for wedding food; I’ve never heard anyone talk about pizza at all, truthfully.

And the good thing about pizza is that it stays warm for a long time, and can easily be kept warm or heated easily.  Pizza, if cut properly, is pretty neat also, so you won’t get a lot of mess from pizza.  And there are so many pizza places that you’re sure to get a good deal if you’re getting it in volume.

Instead of polish sausage, why not change up to Italian sausage for a day?  There are different styles of Italian sausage, and it goes well with a full Italian meal.  Sometimes it’s a little pricier, though.

On to the bread.  Italian bread obviously goes well with an Italian meal, and once again, it doesn’t cost all that much, and goes a long way.  Be sure to have melted butter instead of hard, ice rock butter that can’t be spread.  A welcome change would be if you can find a way to keep the bread warm or at least have it at room temperature so it’s not too hard.

Have you thought about soup for a wedding?  Of course, a wedding is a great time for a big pot of Italian wedding soup.  There are many types of this also, which means you could have two or three different varieties of the soup available.  Soup is also something that can go a long way.

Finally, add to the mix a wonderful antipasto.  Have a traditional salad also, but antipasto salad.  The mixture of meats and vegetables that most people don’t usually put into a salad might offer a welcome diversion to the norm.

Of course, that’s only the main meal.  You can then add, as little snacks, trays of Italian cookies, biscotti and cannoli’s.  Many people love these items, although I’ll admit they’re not really my favorite.  I am into lemon tarts, though, which is a great Italian dessert.

And for the cake?  Leave the cake alone!  Cakes are never the same anyway, so go all out and enjoy your cake, and everyone else will also.

In case you haven’t already, read the first half of this article.

See more:
Italian Wedding Food
Discover Wedding Reception Ideas
Low Cost Wedding Reception Food

Photo Credit: www.theweddingplannerireland.wordpress.com

If you live in a warm climate where the weather is great all year round, this article isn’t for you.  If you live in a place where the weather changes based on the season, however, you’ll find that there are good times and bad times to have your wedding, based on different factors.

More weddings happen in the summer than at any other time of the year.  The main reason is because summer weddings offer many more choices and options than weddings at any other time.  The weather is usually better, it’s easy to get things such as flowers in abundance, and you can make the decision as to whether to hold the wedding, or reception, or both, inside or outside.  And it’s easier for guests to make plans to visit without worrying about the kids missing school.

It’s also the most expensive time of the year to have your wedding because there are so many people planning for the same space at the same time.  This means vendors can charge more because they know the demand will be there; if you can’t afford it, someone else will easily be able to.

Spring weddings are the next most popular, especially the later in the season one can get.  In most locales, once April hits they feel pretty secure that the weather will be pretty stable.  It’s a season where the weather may either be sunny or rainy, but there aren’t worries about catastrophic weather issues.  Flowers might be harder to get in abundance early on, but if one waits to get into May there won’t be any problems getting anything.  Many couples like the idea of getting the jump on everyone else by having a spring wedding, which also signifies new and fresh beginnings.

Autumn weddings are like the concept of a good twin and a bad twin.  One never knows what kind of weather they’re going to get.  But autumn weddings can be fun because there’s less activity going on, which means some guests who may not have been able to come for a summer wedding might be able to make it for an autumn wedding.  The time most couples who get married in autumn shoot for is early on, the six week period between the autumn equinox and Halloween.  It’s also the time when more brides will wear more colorful wedding dresses to fit in with the changing colors of fall.

Winter weddings can be tough, especially in areas that get a lot of snow.  However, it’s also the time of the year when many things will cost less because there’s less competition for the space and the time.  The thing to make sure of is to not clash with other holiday events such as Christmas or New Years, although many couples decide to combine their wedding with a New Years Eve party.  But one always has to be cognizant of the weather; a sudden snow or ice storm could really mess things up.

See more:
Winter Wedding Dresses
When Is the Best Time of Year to get Married?
Getting Married in Winter
Decorating for Fall & Autumn Weddings