Manolo for the Brides

Many people, when thinking about weddings in general, envision poufy white gowns, pew bows, and lavish displays of frippery. But we should never forget that one couple’s wedding standards might just be another couple’s nuptial no-nos. Bleached lace and tulle aside, weddings do tend to inspire people to do themselves up a little. If you called Nigeria home, your wedding guests might look a little bit like these ladies.

Gotta love those hats! In the traditional Igbo wedding in eastern Nigeria, guests begin to arrive for the ceremonies at 2pm.
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If you wake up each morning and sigh about the lack of bridezillas in your life, have I got the game for you. My Bridezilla by AMA, created by Longtail Studios, is the first interactive wedding game for mobile phones. You play Michelle, sister and MOH to Lizzy, who is poised to come down with a serious case of bridezillaitis.

It’s your job to fulfill every last one of her wedding desires while keeping her secret (DUN DUN DUNNNNN), dealing with bossy bridesmaids and PO’ed parents, and coping with the nuptial chaos. The more stressed Lizzy feels, the closer she comes to transforming into a full fledged bridezilla. But if that gets to be too much for you, you can always take a time out and play some of the cakey, dressy mini-games.

Right now, My Bridezilla by AMA can be played on compatible Verizon phones, but the game will apparently be launching on other carriers quite soon. To check it out, follow these instructions:

• Open Get it Now
• Select the Get It Now shopping cart
• Select Get Fun & Games
• Select Strategy Games
• Find and select My Bridezilla by AMA

So you may know that you can design your own formal dresses on the Coco Myles web site. You can also customize a selection of red carpet looks to satisfy your style needs. But what happens if you can’t for the life of you choose between scoop necks and empire waists?

The Coco Myles Dress Blog is here to help. In the archives, you’ll find pictures of actual people wearing the actual dresses they designed. You know, as opposed to gaunt models wearing dresses someone else picked out. You can get an idea of what a certain option will look like on an individual of your stature or body type without having to make blood sacrifices to the wedding gods.

Here we have another déclassé cake topper in a long line of déclassé cake toppers:

First off, just what sort of bait does one use to reel in a man already wearing a tuxedo? All I see in her bait basket are flowers, and that’s certainly not what I’d use. While this could be a cute topper for couples into fishing, it misses the mark because it’s obvious that the tiny groom is desperate to become the “one that got away.”

That aside, however, I am intrigued by the use of bundles of iced cookies in place of the traditional wedding cake. I like cake, but that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to scarf down a handful of well-baked cookies at a moment’s notice.

Oh my stars. The knot, the nest, and WeddingChannel.com have gone political on me. I’m all for encouraging people to get involved in everything from school board elections to the resignation of Rove, but I’m not sure I see the relevance of Brides Decide, the web site whose tag line reads, “Get engaged in the 2008 election.”

I suppose it’s nice to have a gander at the wedding photos of prominent US presidential candidates. And props to Brides Decide for offering up their quick shot candidate profiles. But really now, I think brides can decide without having to follow some link they stumble upon during one of their frequent visits to the knot message boards. Am I right? Please tell me I’m right…

Tag lines tend to crack me up. For example, Olivia Luca bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses are, “Custom made for modern times.” What does that even mean? I much prefer the text from Olivia Luca’s “about” page.

…design your own dress, in your own style, for your own body, without sewing a stitch. A dress that you could fashion specifically for yourself but without picking up a single thimble. Or pricking even a pinkie. A dress that you could create at your own leisure, in your own way, maybe even from the comfort of your own home. No rush. No muss. No pressure. No sewing skills required. An exquisite dress made from beautiful, lush fabrics, with every seam stitched just for you. A dress that is affordable but impossibly appropriate.

And then, really, I rather much much prefer the dresses themselves!

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It’s getting more common by the minute for brides to tell their attendants to, “Just show up in this color.” I myself was once in a wedding where I received no instructions other than ‘purple,’ and believe me when I tell you I spent ages going from store to store looking for something that was good looking, appropriate, and befitting of my MOH status. Oh, and did I mention purple wasn’t exactly a hot color that year? Ask me how many grandmotherly frocks I had to try on before I dissolved into a mass of tears.

If I had to do it all again, I’d probably just hit up Bluefly because I no longer have much of a stomach for shopping when there is a deadline involved.

If you ever find yourself floundering in the same boat, have a gander at any one of the above dresses. Of course, I imagine you’ll be more than a little surprised to find that the bride’s only directive is that you find something in ‘mustard,’ but, hey, you never know! And, really, yellow can mean a lot of things… just like my ‘purple’ ended up being a rather reddish plum.

Today’s ‘from the archives’ info comes from a variety of sources.

As I learned from their web site, Belle Pearl (formerly known as “Princess Pearls”) is a mom-based company owned by Angela Apon, mother of five children, wife, and part time Registered Dental Hygienist. I like the idea of a company with a mom at the helm — I’m guessing Angela is no stranger to chaos and is ready to do whatever it takes to make you, the customer, happy.

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Remember, way back in the day, when I was clearing out my inbox? Well it’s that time again, which means that I’m going to be featuring questions you’ve asked, products you’ve recommended, and funny stuff you’ve been thoughtful enough to share with me. Today, I’m going with an inquiry that came from Eliza, who is no doubt happily married by now. Her circumstance remain timeless, however.

My fiance is Dutch, and in Holland most people wear their wedding rings on their right hand, unless they are catholic, in which case they wear them on their left. We are both relatively non-religious, but are protestant if we have to choose. Never-the-less, at the moment we live in the US (we could move to Holland sometime in the future, but no plans now). He gave me a beautiful antique platinum diamond ring, which I wear on my left ring finger. He has a yellow-gold family crest ring (an heirloom) he always wears on his left ring finger (and which doesn’t fit on his right).

Question #1) Should I let him get away with wearing a wedding ring on the right hand while we’re living in the US? Honestly, he’s a good looking guy who appreciates the attention he gets from women, and I want them all to know he’s taken! But is it too much to ask to have him resize his family ring to fit the right?

Question #2) He said there also might be some yellow gold wedding bands in his family from his grandparents. I like family jewelry, but my engagement ring is platinum. Then I was just thinking, if I wanted to go the multi-cultural route and let him wear his wedding ring on his right hand, what if we both wear his family wedding bands on our right hands? Definitely not-traditional, but we’re dealing with two different cultural norms.

Interesting question you’ve posed here. And one I’ve pondered before, as my grandparents are both Germans living in the US who wear their wedding bands on the right hand.

Now, for me, when I see something that looks like a wedding band, I just assume it is one, but that may be my own multi-cultural background talking. Still, I don’t think it’s unreasonable of you to ask your fiancé to wear his ring American-style when in the States. After all, you’re going to be married, and I imagine you’d like people to know you’re married!

As for your second question, I think you’ve hit upon a truly fabulous idea! I’ve never been one for the doubling up of rings anyway, and you’ve hit upon a perfect solution that lets you permanently rock both your wedding band and your engagement band. It’s also a good compromise–it allows him to keep wearing his family ring on the fitting finger. You may have to explain to unworldly folks who question your choice that you wear your rings European-style, but what is cooler than having a Dutch husband? Very little, IMO!

Oh, and don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t mix gold and platinum and silver and whatever else you fancy. It can look really stunning when done right.