BridalBuds is great new site for wedding tips and inspiration from real brides. You can follow Buds (engaged brides) as they go through the joys and frustrations of planning a wedding, or Blossoms (newlyweds) who reflect on their experience.
The site is a great resource for budget friendly ideas, DIY projects, and vendor recommendations. They also have contests with great wedding related prizes. Their current giveaway is a free subscription to MyInvitationLink, which I have previously mentioned on this blog. Since the site is relatively new, you have a better chance of winning the prizes, so hurry up and enter before the secret gets out!
Every bride wants to look beautiful from head to toe. When styling your hair, consider a hair piece instead of a veil. A veil will hide your dress, while a hair accessory will complement it. Silk flowers are a beautiful accent that add a bit of personality to your look.
The best pieces, like those from Distinctive Veils, are hand made and accented with jewels, beads, and feathers. Be sure to choose a soft piece, as hard ones will look plastic and tacky in your pictures.
If you want to really make a statement at your wedding, try this dramatic red piece from QG Designs.
In addition to providing a fun and elegant look at your wedding, these pieces make a great “something borrowed” for future family weddings.
The little details are what make your wedding special. Since you know your reception guests will watch your husband fling your garter belt into a crowed of rambunctious men, make sure you take the time to choose one that fits your personality or wedding theme. Peterene Design over at Etsy offers hundreds of garter belts ranging from cute to sassy.
If you are creating a memory box of your wedding, be sure to get two garter belts so you have one to keep.
My favorite is the red feather garter belt because it is fun and flirty. I’m sure the feather will tickle your leg through out the night, but mild discomfort is the price one pays to be fashionable. Which one of Peterene’s garter belts is your favorite?
No bridal party is complete without a flower girl in a precious little dress. With so many adorable options, it can be extremely difficult to choose the perfect outfit.
I found my flower girl dress at Little Flowers by Odyssey, which offers a variety of customizable options. While planning my wedding, Little Flowers happily answered my questions and met all of my bridezilla demands. They delivered the dress right on time and transformed my flower girl into a precious little lady.
To complete the outfit, I gave my flower girl a silver locket as a thank you for taking on the important responsibility of scattering rose pedals down the aisle.
In her little outfit, she was definitely the second cutest girl at the wedding.
As I have mentioned before, I am not a fan of flowers. I can’t justify spending a significant amount of money on something that will die within a few days. I wanted to share another great find for all you practical girls out there. Emplume offers a variety of beautiful non-floral bouquets and boutonnieres made with feathers, ribbon, beads, and stones. These gorgeous pieces are something that can be treasured well beyond your wedding day.
As you are gathering the perfect accessories for your big day, don’t forget to accessorize your cake. Cake toppers are a great way to add personality to your cake, whether it be with style, humor, or romance. WeddingStar offers bride and groom figurines in a variety of cute and funny poses.
Thumbprint Kids offers custom toppers that are replicas of the bride and groom. You can personalize your topper with clothes and other accessories like pets, sports equipment, and children.
If you prefer a more traditional topper, try a crystalized monogram from Toppers With Glitz. These come in a variety of colors and sizes.
Whatever you decide to put on top of your cake, be sure to make a statement!
Everything is going online these days and wedding invitations are no exception. Online invitations provide a simple, inexpensive, and eco-friendly alternative to traditional paper invitations. I found this great site, My Invitation Link, that takes this new concept and adds a classy twist.
This site allows you to create your own story using customized layouts, text, personal pictures, and music. They host your invitation on their site for three, six, or twelve months, depending on which type of account you select. The invitation can be sent to as many people as you would like and can continue to be altered during the time your account is active.
My Invitation Link will also be adding some fun new features like maps, links to registries, online RSVPs, and the ability to send the invitations to Facebook and MySpace pages. If you are looking to customize, save money, and help the environment, then this is the site for you.
This post is inspired by a photo I found on my favorite blog, Cakewrecks. After discovering this horrid (but hilarious) bridal shower cake, I set off to find the most inappropriate wedding cake.
Here are my favorites.
I am not a girl who likes flowers. Sure they are pretty, but they are so impractical because they only last for a day or two. Instead of spending several hundred dollars on bridesmaid bouquets that would end up in the garbage at the end of the night, I decided to be creative and give them something cute that they could actually take home.
Inspired by my fiance’s heritage, I thought Spanish hand fans would be a fun alternative. Not only were the cute, but they also helped keep us cool on the dance floor. I was lucky enough to have a mother-in-law to pick some up in Spain for me, but I have found some beautiful fans online at SpanishFans and SpanishPlates.
A fun alternative to a run of the mill guest book is a Polaroid guestbook. It works like this: when the guests arrive at the reception, they take a Polaroid picture of themselves, or you can designate someone to take their picture for them. Then they slip their picture into the Polaroid guestbook and write a message on the page surrounding their picture. It is a great activity for the guests, and it gives you and your hubby something fun to look through when you return from your honeymoon. I had my cousin takes the pictures at my wedding and he saved all the reject pictures, which were hilarious!
