Wedding Dresses – Ideas for 2010

Alfred Angelo

Engaged, get set, go! Hit the wedding planning road off and running with a few simple tips to finding the best of 2010 wedding dresses.

This year, designers have out done themselves. They have given us back drama, elegance, and style with their stunning takes on old favourites. Here is a quick run down on what’s hot for 2010 and what you should be looking for when shopping for your hot and modern wedding dress.

Ruffles

The runways are all a buzz this year with ruffles. Although ruffles have been a staple in fashion since the 1800’s, they have been on the back burning for quite some time now. But, designers have brought them back for 2010.

Choose a wedding dress with any kind of ruffling and you’ll be the hottest, most cutting edge bride around.

Eden Bridals #2355

If you are tall and athletic, you can take this look to the max with horizontal or vertical ruffles throughout your attire.

You petite or full bodied gals, on the other hand, should keep your ruffles on the vertical and don’t overdo them. If in doubt, keep it simple and choose to have some ruffling on the neckline or sleeves only…remember even ruffling just along the hemline of the skirt can make you look shorter and wider.

Beading

Keep your look fresh this year too by adding a little bling to your dress. That’s right. Crystal beading is back. Remember, if you are petite, less is more…

Eden Bridals #2338

A sharp contrast from the plain, simple skirts of seasons past, this year we see heavier fabrics unleashed with lots of folding, gathering and pleating. This is a great look for creating drama in your attire.

Eden Bridals #2327

Ball Gowns

Last but not least, the full ball gown is back full heartedly this year. Big, full skirts herald in the elegance, sophistication, and opulence that was once synonymous with wedding gowns. Rich, full fabrics lend their weight in creating the big skirt. And what do you know? This style is great for all body types!

Alfred Angelo

Once again designers have come up with styles for just about everyone. But, if none of this does it for you, fret not. There will be lots of those old favourites still around.

Wedding News – TheBridalCoach.ca launches its Wedding Planning Site – PR Web

Wedding Planning Membership Site, TheBridalCoach.ca, Changes the Landscape of the Online Wedding Industry

Canadian brides, for the first time in internet history, can do all of their wedding planning online with certified wedding planners guiding their every step. No longer do modern brides have to search around outdated websites for out-of-date wedding information. The first wedding planning membership site in North America, TheBridalCoach.ca opens its door on November 10th, 2009, combining cutting edge technology with experience and expertise of certified wedding planners.

(PRWEB) November 5, 2009 — The old paradigm is still alive and well on the internet. Bride’s are going online to search for information to help them plan their wedding. What they find is outdated wedding planning checklists, vague promises of wedding solution ebooks, online wedding magazines full of beautiful wedding gown pictures, forums where they can get answers from other brides, and funny YouTube entrance dance wedding videos. But none of this gets them any closer to planning their wedding—mostly it gets them more confused and plants the seeds for bridezillas to emerge.

Angela Fiebelkorn states that the membership site offers a unique combination of cutting edge technology and years of wedding planning expertise.

TheBridalCoach.ca is opening its door as a response to this disfunctionality in the online wedding market. It is the first and only wedding planning membership site in North America. Their stated mission is to provide the modern bride and groom one place on the internet to find everything they need to plan their wedding the right way, in a timely manner, with the least effort and from the comfort of their home. This entrepreneurial group of wedding planners is launching its membership site on November 10, 2009, just at the beginning of the wedding planning season for most brides and grooms.

“The launch is a massive internet marketing event,” says Angela Fiebelkorn, wedding planner and CEO of www.TheBridalCoach.ca. “This membership site offers a unique combination of cutting edge technology and years of wedding planning experience and expertise.”

She further states that “a team of certified wedding planners share their collective wisdom in countless short videos that tell the bride and groom what they need to know each step of the way. The membership site has easy to follow checklists so the bride can just get things done. Additionally, the bride and groom are assisted by professional wedding planners and coaches in the members’ forum and through the weekly coaching calls. They can access these planners at any time for a prompt answer, and all this from the comfort of their home—and, the cost is a fraction of the cost of hiring a wedding planner.”

Asked why they think that they can do what no one has ever done before, Josef Schinwald, well-known SEO (search engine optimization) and internet marketing expert, and consultant to this project states, “this is going to be a pioneer service changing the paradigm of planning a wedding for many brides- and grooms-to-be. For the launch of the membership site, we are using a product launch formula combined with event marketing which allows us to keep the door open for one week after the countdown to launch on November 10th, culminating in a series of free webinars where prospects can ask question about their wedding or the membership site live in real time on the internet. We are using the power of Twitter where we already have over 10,000 followers, a newsletter mailing list into the thousands, as well as Facebook fan page and group, and other social media marketing channels like wedding news blogs, forums, and social bookmarking communities. We believe our membership site will sell out hours into the launch.”

The Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC) states that couples spend about 250 hours planning a wedding. Most of that time is spent researching all the options and trying to figure out exactly how they want to put their wedding plans together. TheBridalCoach.ca has a wonderful wedding planning module that involves both the bride and groom in creating their wedding vision together, with the helpful assistance of a series of videos explaining everything they need to know to make informed decisions. The focus of the memberhsip site is to keep the couple action oriented with checklists and coaching so they can arrive at their wedding day relaxed and happy.

Source: Wedding Planning Membership Site, TheBridalCoach.ca, Changes the Landscape of the Online Wedding Industry

How Do I Use Gold and Bronze In Decorating My Wedding?

Question from Andrea:

How do I combine white, gold and bronze as a wedding theme for the decorations and for the table decors?

Answer from Beach Wedding Expert Angela:

Hi Andrea, and congratulations on your upcoming wedding.  There are many ways to decorate using these colours.  Let’s explore your options.

White tablecloths, white napkins, white chair covers creates a classic elegant base from which to decorate.  Now you start to add colour.  Pick one colour–gold or bronze, and dress the table with a table square or runner in that colour.  Your centrepiece will then be the next place you want to add colour.  You can add the same colour, or the other colour you are using.  For example, if you used a bronze lace table square, you might choose a centrepiece of gold foil covered rum balls or chocolate balls, and make a tower of them as a centrepiece, or fill a tall vase with them.  They can then be served to your guests as a sweet throughout the evening.  Or, just fill the tall vase with gold foil covered ping pong balls.  A few taper candles will add sparkle to the centrepiece, and create a warmth to the overall look of your decor.  A wedding party favor in your wedding colours will complete the table.  Have you seen the bronze elegance collection?  It will give you ideas on how to use bronze in your decorations.  These table top accessories might give you some other ideas.

Every room that is decorated needs a focal point.  The most logical focal point is the head table.  You need some height to create a dramatic look.  Your reception site might have some backdrops available or can tell you where to rent them.  There are many types, sizes, and styles.  I like the window style as it allows you to use lighting behind it to create a warm glow at the head of the room.  You can put a few tall flower stands (also available to rent) with flowers in your wedding colours to add interest, if you so desire.

Then there is the head table itself.  Whatever you have chosen for the guest tables, you want to do it grander at the head table.  The table should have table skirting and draping in your wedding colour(s).   Table squares or runners can also be used.  Consider lighting under the table so it echos the glow behind the backdrop.

Everyone thinks that to make the room look elegant they need to buy a lot of stuff to decorate.  Flowers and candles are still classic and beautiful.  Candleabra’s come in many different styles and sizes, and you might want a couple for behind the head table (instead of the flower stands), or you can have table sized ones.

What you really need is a focal point for the guest tables—your centrepiece.  By keeping things simple with white-on-white, any colour you add will create pop and a wow factor.  You need a focal point for the room—your head table.  Lighting is a great way to accent any design or decor element, and ‘uplights’ can be purchased for around $10, and later used in your home to illuminate a dark corner.

You can also create bows in your wedding colours to add to the backs of the chairs.  I have also seen strips of thin, net fabric in the wedding colours wrapped around the chair back, and a bow tied.  Simple and beautiful.

These ideas should make it easy for you to plan the decorations.  The cake table’s focal point is the cake, so a simple tablecloth will suffice.  Your guest book table’s focal point is the guest book and card holder, and a simple runner or table square in your wedding colours will accent it nicely.  If you want to do more, add flowers or candles, or the same centrepiece that you will be using on the guest tables.

Remember whatever decorations go up, must come down, and someone needs to do that.  Sometimes couples will hire a wedding planner for a decorating package only, so they don’t have to deal with it themselves.

Good luck and if you have further questions, feel free to ask.

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Unique Flowers For Your Orange Wedding

When the time comes that you are finally getting married, you may find that everything that you have planned in your mind several years back are not anymore applicable to your current style and taste. You may have always dreamed of having a pastel colored wedding but now, you are eying something more bold and daring such as orange perhaps.

An orange wedding is bright, beautiful, and elegant. It is the modern choice of contemporary brides. With the right flower decorations, you know your big day will be something that you, your partner, and all the people attending will cherish for a lifetime.

But then, you are somewhat worried because you have no idea what orange flowers to use for your wedding. Do not fret, this guide on unique orange flower arrangement will help you find the perfect adornment for your spectacular orange wedding.

Glowing Bouquet

Orange blooms create a dramatic and spirited atmosphere. The flowers’ striking contrast with the bride’s lovely white gown can produce a stunning effect. This makes them wonderful to use for the bride’s bouquet.

White, peach, and orange roses would probably be the top among the list of bouquet flowers for an orange wedding. But if you want something unique and exotic, there is a wide range of orange flowers to choose from.

For the bride’s bouquet, you can combine yellow and orange calla lilies with cherry red hypericum berries and orange roses. Arrange these flowers in a nice round bouquet. Add some greens to it. Tie it with a bright orange satin or organza ribbon.

Another option would be to have red dahlias, orange calla lilies, and golden black-eyed Susans arranged loosely on an autumn inspired bouquet. If you do not want the colors to be too intense, you can include some green hydrangea blossoms to even out the look. Design the bouquet using a white or yellow silk ribbon.

You can also make use of different orange shades of tulips and then mix them with some orange and yellow dahlias for an enthusiastic and colorful bouquet.

Exquisite Flower Decors

Orange flowers are also the perfect option for decoration as these vibrant blooms can surely liven up the ambiance and create a dramatic and charming backdrop for this exquisite occasion. Whether you are planning to have romantic atmosphere or a robust and fiery one, there are different types of orange flowers to suit your needs.

Dazzling blossoms of orange dahlias, orange montbretia, orange cockscomb, peach roses, and peach parrot tulips can create a glorious flower arrangement with a very cheerful color palette. Fresh green gladiolus can make the look a little subdued. You can use this arrangement for decorating the altar, the pews, or the reception area.

For the table centerpiece, you can make use of succulent blooms of orange calla lilies coupled with red, yellow, and white roses neatly arranged in a square glass vase. Place orange votive candles around the centerpiece for a more stunning effect.

Other unique orange flowers that you can mix and match into floral arrangements include orange long gloriosa lilies, orange dahlias, orange amaranthus, orange alstroemeria and orange Asiatic lilies, and buffalo orange vanda orchids.

White roses, red and gold saffron, geranium foliage, red dendrobium orchids, pale yellow tulips, and peach dahlias are just some of the add-ons you can put in to provide a more varied palette to the flower arrangements.

Orange is such a bright and festive color that many brides aspire to have an orange wedding. It is actually the perfect shade for couples who want to have a wedding that would stand out among the rest. Choose beautiful and stunning orange flowers to complete your special day.

Source: Nina Lampe

Real Wedding: Brooke & Raf

Source: snippetandink.blogspot.com

Brooke and Raf wanted a wedding that had a down-home feel and was full of thoughtful, handmade details, and that’s just the day they created. Ken Kienow sent over these beautiful photos (wait until you see the sunset shots at the end), and I’m so happy to share them with you today.

Brooke, her mother and her sister have been interested in card making for several years, and even host Card Clubs with friends and co-workers in their respective home towns, and they even get together for an annual holiday card making weekend over Veteran’s Day every year… so it made perfect sense that they would make Brooke and Raf’s wedding stationery.

Brooke’s bouquet was made by April at April Flowers in San Luis Obispo.

Brooke wore Pronovias‘ Oceano dress, and her shoes were from the BP collection at Nordstrom. The bridesmaids wore dresses from Anthropologie (Brooke says she’s still bitter that she didn’t buy one for herself).

The guys all wore ties from Geoffrey Beene.

Brooke and Raf found their wedding venue, Flying Caballos, while searching on VRBO. It’s a renovated farm property that really had the feel they wanted for the day, and they were able to come in and start setting things up two days in advance!

Brooke’s veil, purchased from Etsy vendor Bella Bridal Veils, was blowing everywhere during the ceremony. Brooke says one of her favorite parts of the day was “my un-tamable veil during the ceremony and the way it magically eased our tension with genuine laughter.”

Aside from Brooke’s bouquet, all of the flowers were purchased at Skyline Flowers, a local farm, and arranged by the bride’s best friend, Nena, in bottles collected by family and friends. Brooke says the idea for the burlap table runner came straight from Snippet & Ink!

Brooke was able to get in touch with another bride whose wedding was to take place at Flying Caballos the following weekend. They were able to share the mismatched plates that Brooke’s family thrifted and the vintage silverware that the other bride’s mother found on eBay. What a great way to be both economical and eco-friendly!

Brooke has a habit of buying postcards whenever she travels and then never sending them, so instead of a guest book, she pre-addressed and stamped postcards from all over the world, and asked guests to take one and write notes on them, and then mail them to the couple. Brooke says, “It’s been so fun to read them as they start rolling in!”

Brooke and Raf enlisted friends to help with desserts. Six friends each baked two dozen cupcakes, choosing their own recipes, and even holding taste tests with their own families!

For Brooke’s birthday last year, Raf took her to a cold-process soap making class, so one of the favors they made for their guests were hand made bars of soap wrapped in burlap, jute, and scraps of the same fabric used in the invitations.

Says Brooke, “My favorite time spent with Raf is slow dancing in the kitchen while we’re cooking, so we compiled a little mix with lots of our favorite kitchen dancing songs, and others that have memories from the past six years attached to them. I bought the blank CD holders from Stumptown Printers, and my mom came up with a stamp design for the cover. We had the whole family in assembly mode putting them together a few days before the wedding.”

Thank you so much to Brooke and Raf for sharing this beautiful day with us – I just loved learning about all of these sweet and personal details about your wedding. Congratulations to you both! And of course, thank you to Ken Kienow for sending over these lovely photos – aren’t those sunset shots just to die for?!

I & Heart & BeeGee Bags

Source: thebridescafe.com

Happy Friday Guys….are you ready for some “pretty eye candy”….well, check out the gorgeous selection of BeeGee Bags….it’s always a pleasure to have the lovely Brooke Galardi stop by the cafe and share her gorgeous designs with us.  How cute are these bags and how sweet it would be to give them to your bridesmaids as gifts and of course purchase a couple for yourself….let’s check out Brooke’s beautiful designs…Enjoy!

Don’t you just love them all….yes, of course, one lucky bride’s cafe reader will have a chance to win one of Brooke’s lovely designs…all you have to do is visit the BeeGee Bags beautiful site…check out the AMAZING collection….and leave a comment at the cafe letting me know your “must have” bag….have fun guys…I’ll announce the winner on Tuesday morning!

What Wedding Style Expresses Your Personality?

In their desire to have a unique wedding, many couples search the ends of the earth trying to find ways on how to come up with a one-of-a-kind wedding. What these couples fail to realize is that they do not have to look far. The secret in having a distinct wedding is to look within one’s self. After all, each person is unique and by incorporating your own unique personality into the wedding, it would be easy to have an exceptional wedding celebration.

Therefore, before you plan your wedding, ask yourself this question first, “What wedding style can best express my personality?” Here are some possible answers to this question.

Budget but Stunning Wedding

If you and your spouse are known for being smart, practical and resourceful, a low-cost but beautiful wedding will reflect this kind of personality. You have the attitude and skills to come up with a stunning wedding with a surprisingly low budget. Guests will be amazed at how you two were able to pull this one off and they would actually think you spent thousands of dollars in this expensive looking but low cost wedding.

Wedding with a Creative Twist

For the couple who thinks out of the box, a wedding with an extraordinary theme will be ideal. Make sure that you choose a theme that is reflective of your personality. For example, for the golf fanatic couple, golf wedding is the best way to celebrate their union. For the artistic couple, a wedding in a gallery will be most fitting. There is an endless list of theme options that you can choose from.

The Trendy and Fashionable Wedding

If the bride and the groom are the kind of people, who are always updated with the latest trends and fads of the season, having a trendy and fashionable wedding is the way to go. Know what the latest trends are in wedding fashion and wedding accessories and be sure to incorporate all of these in your wedding event.

D-I-Y Wedding Project

Do-it-yourself weddings are ideal for couples who have hands-on skills and knowledge when it comes to wedding planning. If you plan weddings for a living (or you have been a wedding planner to friends a thousand times before) or your spouse-to-be owns a wedding catering service, this can be the perfect type of wedding that will best illustrate your personality and expertise in weddings.

Destination Wedding

For couples who cannot stay put in one place and for those whose lifestyles revolve around taking trips, a destination wedding is the perfect way to tie the knot. Wedding destinations like Bahamas, Barbados, and Hawaii are great for the beach loving couple. Those who like romantic getaways would prefer Paris and Italy. For the exotic couple, a far-flung destination in Fiji, Costa Rica, Mexico or Philippines can be an option.

The Traditional Love Affair

A classic wedding event is ideal for couples who are traditional and who want to conform to the norms of a conventional wedding celebration. In this kind of wedding, the bride will wear a white gown as expected, the couple will go exchange the traditional “for better or for worse” marital vows, and the bride will toss the bouquet the traditional way.

Weddings mark the beginning of your new life together as husband and wife so it is only right that you would want to make it a special event. There is nothing more special than holding a wedding celebration that is evocative of you and your partner’s personalities and style.

Adorable Ideas for a Blue Wedding Theme

Something blue—weddings always need to have something blue on it. But blue is such a wonderful color, why not make a whole wedding theme out of it? A blue wedding can be a great way to celebrate a couple’s union. This kind of wedding should not be in any way associated with the emotion of feeling blue. In fact, a blue wedding can be such a joyous occasion that many couples are considering this kind of wedding. Truly, blue is such a refreshing color that is fantastic to use for weddings. In this article, you will find a collection of ideas that you can use for a blue-tiful wedding celebration.

1. Use the blue sky or the blue ocean as your backdrop. There is probably no better way to decorate a blue wedding than to have naturally beautiful blue elements such as the sky and the sea. Of course, if you are going to hold the wedding indoors, the next best thing would be to recreate this kind of scenery with a printed tarpaulin and use that to decorate the wedding event.
2. Choose a venue that has nice bright walls. Dark colored walls are a major no-no for blue weddings since blue clashes with dark colors.
3. Spread blue all over. From the bride’s bouquet, to the tablecloth to the decoration and accessories, make sure that you can see a touch of this shade all over the wedding.
4. Use blue against white for a striking contrast. For example, for the table decoration, you can use a white tablecloth and white plates then put on blue napkins, and blue flower centerpieces for a stunning effect.
5. Give away blue invitations. Invitations can be printed on blue vellum paper with white text so that the details will stand out and can easily be read. Alternatively, you may use another color for the invitation like white or cream and then blue for the text. Do not forget to tie with a blue satin ribbon for a nice touch.
6. Have a blue-tiered wedding cake with white or brown fondant icing decorations. Another option is to have a cupcake tower made of blue mini cupcakes adorned with lacey icing and chocolate sprinkles.
7. The bride is not required to wear a blue wedding gown but she may if that is what she wants. However, if she is going to be on a white gown, she can just add something blue to wear as an accessory.
8. Serve guests with a welcome drink ideal for a blue wedding like a blue lagoon. This drink can certainly complement the theme of the event. To make a blue lagoon, fill a glass with 1 oz vodka, 1 oz Blue Curacao and lemonade. Stir well and fill with ice. Serve with a slice of orange as garnish.

Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event and you would want it to be as perfect as possible. Having a blue wedding can be a terrific way to celebrate your exchange of vows in a unique and special way.

Rustic Table Decor

Source:  greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com

I love this idea for table numbers written on an old window. Really fits in with a rustic theme.

Personalized jam favors for the guests.

All designs by Chewing the Cud. Photographs by Anna Kuperberg.

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