Manolo for the Brides

Ah, the old one about the groom having to be dragged kicking and screaming to the altar. I’m going to guess that most of us (guys included – maybe especially guys) would like to see this stereotype hit the road. Some dudes want to get married. Some don’t. Just like some chicks want to get hitched and some don’t. Sometimes the don’ts become dos, but to suggest that they had to be coerced into making a lifetime commitment is just insulting.

That said, some guys – and some gals – do end up having to be dragged kicking and screaming into wedding planning. It sucks for the other half of the engaged couple, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I know plenty of people who were born to plan, and by that I mean anything. Plan a wedding? Sure. Plan your grandmother’s 80th birthday even though they’ve never met just because planning is fun? Yes! I also know people who couldn’t plan their way out of a paper bag. Plan tomorrow’s breakfast menu? Oh em gee, you’re killing me, stop trying to control my life!

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Oversize bows on wedding dresses are one thing; this is quite another. While this wedding gown purports to have a bow in the back, I’m not so sure that ‘bow’ is the first thing that comes to mind when I look at this Renella De Fina creation. Is this dress stacked in the back? Sure. Was that bow tied by someone suffering from delirium tremens? You betcha!

But whatever, giant bows are nothing new, whether they’re in the front or in the back or goodness knows where. I’ve seen bows before. Am I just missing the bow in this picture, or do I need to squint at it until I go all Magic Eye crosseyed? Hate, hate, hate. Too messy!

What say you?

Most people who are proposed to have the ring (maybe also the box it came in) and they have their memories of those few special seconds it took to say “Will you marry me?”, but there’s not a lot else to memorialize the moment. There are, after all, no traditional proposal keepsakes… er, other than this…. the same way there are keepsakes for weddings and anniversaries and such. A certain Caroline Summers, however, will be reminded of the day Alex Jennings proposed for the rest of their lives together, every time he sheds his shirt.

Apparently he had the tattoo done the morning he proposed, and the folks at the tattoo tried their best to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up. But he was sure that she’d say yes, which of course she did since the news made the rounds. (Though imagine how humiliating it would have been if she’d said no and the news had *still* made the rounds!) I can’t decide whether this is tres sweet or tres tacky — on one hand, his tattoo will be a constant reminder of the day he proposed, yet on the other hand, that tattoo is someday going to be all faded and weird looking. What do you think?

What better way to let your guests know that you’re planning a destination wedding than by re-imagining your wedding stationery as passports and other travel-themed things? A friend of a friend did just that, working with Serendipity: Beyond Design to create pretty passport wedding invitations. Apparently, Serendipity liked the idea so much, they’re now offering custom passport wedding invitations in their Etsy shop!

Serendipity says: “Passports are a great way to excite your guests about the trip! Multiple pages provide enough information about traveling, accommodations, wedding day events and more. Personalize your Passport with a monogram, photo, history, stamps and map.”

Isn’t that almost disturbingly like the first page of a real passport? Well, putting aside the photo of a happy couple where a glowering “I just stood in a line at the post office and all I got was this awful picture” singleton ought to be. As you know, I’m a big fan of taking a theme all the way, and I think this wedding stationery does just that.

In keeping with the theme, the RSVP card is a boarding pass! Sweet!

Aren’t these just too pretty? LaVieja Tun Tun’s bridal necklaces, hair clips, hair pins, and other bridal accessories are feminine, romantic, and perfect perhaps for the bride who wants a striking piece of jewelry to complement her classic, Hollywood, or vintage wedding day look.

Hand formed soft fabric roses are paired with glass pearls, Czech beads, semi-precious stones, and brass links to make all manner of bridal jewelry (that is also nice for the bridesmaid or even the non-bride). Apparently, LaVieja Tun Tun will happily custom make a necklace or other piece using your wedding colors, but I’m having a hard time confirming that. I’m envisioning the brighter counterparts of the accessories above on brides who want to add a little more color and flair in their bridal ensemble.

What do you think? LaVieja Tun Tun’s designs are quite chunky and can dominate. Too much? Just enough?

We love weddings around here. We also tend to assume that by the time you come here, you’re probably involved somehow in a wedding (I know it isn’t always the case, but the majority of the time that’s why people are looking for bridal blogs in the first place). We further assume that you know your own mind and heart. The fact remains, though, that most of us at some point in the wedding process wake up in a cold sweat wondering what the holy heck we think we’re doing.

In the vast majority of cases, this is just jitters over a major life change. Many of us have experienced the same feelings over a significant move, applying to grad school, buying a house or car, or even a really drastic haircut. It’s human nature to panic a little over new experiences, and the bigger the change the more likely it is to induce a small freakout or two. The less comfortable you are with being the center of attention, the bigger the panic is likely to be.

Since getting married is a pretty huge change that puts you squarely in the spotlight, the psyche can go a little nuts in the short haul.

Every once in a while, though, it’s not just a momentary worry over doing something really unusual. Sometimes there’s something more serious going on. So how do you tell if you’re just on edge about standing up in front of everybody making a huge life-changing move in public, and how do you tell if it’s your inner compass telling you that you’re headed in completely the wrong direction? Read on and find out.
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This is one of the most contentious questions in wedding planning, for some reason. I’m really not quite sure why it makes so many otherwise perfectly reasonable people froth at the mouth and arm themselves with the verbal equivalent of thermonuclear devices. It’s just a question and there honestly is no universally right or wrong answer to it. Even Miss Manners et al agree that it is perfectly proper to make either decision.

And yet one side claims that allowing children in the door is tantamount to turning your wedding into Romper Room, leading to social disgrace and a miserable married life while the other side claims that anyone who wants a kid-free celebration hates all children and therefore has no business getting married.

Both sides have blown the thing entirely out of proportion. That’s right, I said it and I stand by it. I’ve been to a metric buttload of weddings in my day, and you know what didn’t determine whether or not it was a nice wedding? Whether or not children were invited. On this question, I am Switzerland… and a Switzerland that feels way too many other countries are being entirely too overwrought to make much sense.

The fact is, there are plenty of reasons to make either choice that do not include failing to take your wedding seriously or hating children. Even if you do have a preference for the less adult things in life or really do think children should be put into stasis from birth to age 21, it’s really your decision. You get to make it, and it’s okay.

But what if you’re not sure which way to go on this one? How do you decide? Take a look after the cut and see.
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How cute are these itty-bitty bottles of soda with custom labels? Mike 78 recently posted an easy-peasy DIY pop bottle tutorial – with pics! – over at 100 Layer Cake. She suggests using them as reception seating cards, but brides and grooms could bottle just about anything (juice, cider, champagne, local water, etc.), slap labels on them per her instructions, and give them away as wedding favors. Maybe not for a chilly wintertime wedding, but imagine how grateful your guests would be to find themselves in possession of an ice cold drink custom made by you at your outdoor summer wedding or unseasonably warm springtime affair!