Sometimes it’s the tiny touches that make a wedding beautiful – which is good news for those of us who can’t exactly fit the big luxuries into our budgets. What kind of tiny touches, you may be asking.

How about floral ice cubes? Which your wedding caterer may be able to provide. And aren’t that hard if you’re handling your own wedding catering. You can order edible flowers in bulk online, and floral ice cubes can make even simple things like water feel more luxurious.

Easy pretty touches for the DIY bride (or your caterer)

Or if flowers on ice aren’t your thing, consider spicing up your groom’s and groomsmen attire with floral ties for the guys. At one wedding, the groomsmen’s ties coordinated with the maid of honor’s dress, and the effect is really striking and fun.

Floral ties on the guys? Gorgeous!

Tiny touches can be anything, from mismatched, thrifted embroidered linens on your reception tables to something like puzzle place cards. What tiny touches will make your wedding extra beautiful?

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Bling bling!

Tell me ladies, do you have a big fat diamond engagement ring on your finger? Maybe a giant sapphire? I personally don’t, not for any particular bias against them (when they’re conflict free) but rather because I am a ring snagger so I do best with low-profile rings that aren’t going to rip out my hair and destroy my delicates. I do have a surprising number of friends sporting big bling, some of whom I think must still be paying it off after a few years.

No matter. Whether you’re partial to something like Twistie’s silver frog or the 10 carat estate ruby I do occasionally wear (snag snag) or a huge honkin’ diamond set in platinum, there’s one thing most most engagement rings have in common. And that’s that engagement rings are given to women by men. Which is fine and dandy – who doesn’t love presents? – but it does have this weird way of tipping the scales, making people feel inadequate, and switching on the materialism in nice people who aren’t typically prone to that sort of thing. Plus, according to Slate’s Dear Prudence writer Emily Yoffe:

It turns young women — otherwise independent, successful strivers — into passive recipients, waiting for their prince to rescue them from their single state. In what other aspect of their lives do young women so totally turn over their future to the decisions of others? I get letters from women who regularly scour their beloved’s sock drawer, hoping to see a ring box, evidence that marriage is in their future. The ritual of the engagement ring means he decides, he buys, he proposes. Throwing the ring out of the equation encourages the progression toward marriage to be more of a continuing discussion, a joint decision.

What do you think? Should engagement rings go the way of the dodo or should things get back into balance with the introduction of an engagement gift for men trend?

I did promise a while back that I’d have a look at the royal wedding hats before too long. Mostly because I myself love a good hat… and a bad hat, if it’s fancy and flashy enough! The royal wedding hats that played a starring role on the heads of Kate and William’s wedding guests definitely fall into both camps, from Princess Beatrice’s wild Cthulhu number to the Queen’s cheery yellow cake-like hat. If nothing else, some of the more spectacular royal wedding hats were gorgeously over the top and definitely eye-catching!

Would I wear them all? No. Do I love them all? Yes.

And had my own invitation to the royal wedding not gotten lost in the mail – damn the USPS! – I do believe I would have opted for something a bit more conservative than the head wear above. Perhaps something like this:

I'd be the bee of the ball!

Or this:

Maybe the bow of the ball?

(Note: Since my esteemed colleague has spent the week showing us awesome things she loves, I suddenly feel a need to purge a bit of bile. Yes, I’m a contrarian. Why do you ask?)
via A Beautiful Bride
Seriously? On a thong?

Folks, the label thing has gotten out of hand. By the time someone gets down to your undies, they really ought to know you well enough to realize you’re engaged. I’m just saying.

And what do you do with all the clothes labelled ‘Bride’ ‘Groom’ ‘Bridesmaid’ ‘Ring Bearer’ or ‘Second Cousin of the Bride’s Date?’ A tee shirt for the bachelor(ette) party I can understand. It’s a silly thing to wear on the town once and then use ever after when detailing your car or washing the dog. Not really my scene, but I’ve owned enough shirts that harkened back to a play I was in or a band I went to see once when I was twenty to understand a similar wedding souvenir.

But seriously, underwear?

And this says it has crystals up the back.

Ouch.

I’ve posted a handful of paper flower bridal bouquets in the past, but of course, bouquets aren’t the only places you can use paper flowers! How about paper flower boutonnieres, paper flower reception table centerpieces, or paper flowers hanging from chairs and pews, or scattered on tables? It’s definitely not traditional, but paper flower wedding decor and accessories can be incredibly cute! (And for some, DIY friendly…)

A colorful paper bridal bouquet

Paper flower pew bouquets

HUGE flower wedding table centerpieces

And classic paper roses

Very cute, no?

Alternative, but similar idea: wedding pinwheels!

Ever since I bookmarked this bridal hood from Etsy seller Mata Hari’s Daughter (who creates uh-may-zing stuff, fyi), I have been just dying to know what you gorgeous people think about the look. Is the bridal hood the wave of the future or a relic of the past that should not be unearthed? Would you wear one on your wedding day as a bridal veil alternative?

Admittedly, it is elegant!

From the sale page description: “Melt hearts in this exquisite art deco inspired veiled headdress. Veils are 26″ in length and hand beaded along the bottom edge with silver lined glass seed beads and Victorian cut steel beads. The frame is built over milliners wire to support the fluid tulle and frame the face.” And the price? $285

Could you pull it off?

I don’t know if I could pull off the look, frankly. When I try to picture myself in a bridal hood, the image that forms in my mind is very costumey. But at the same time, isn’t the wedding ensemble by its very nature a costume? So maybe it wouldn’t look so out of place after all!

Remember those beautiful button favor boxes and button place card holders I featured, oh, a long while back? If you don’t, maybe you remember Princess Lasertron’s amaaaaazing button bouquet. There’s a reason people say things like ‘cute as a button’ – buttons can be seriously cute, and are just one of those things that can be effortlessly incorporated into a DIY wedding theme. Observe:

Edible button wedding favors from Sugar and Meringue, YUM

Button wedding cake by The Caketress: http://thecaketressblog.com

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