Manolo for the Brides

I’m not going to poo-poo Disney themed weddings, the same way I won’t poo-poo butterfly themed weddings or Star Trek themed weddings or taxi cab themed weddings. For one thing, it’s the couple’s choice. And there’s no reason whatsoever that a heavily themed wedding — as opposed to a wedding themed wedding — should be anything less than fun, right?

But I draw the line at weddings where live cartoon characters actually make an appearance or go so far as to accompany the newlyweds to their honeymoon suite. Ever since I was a wee one, human beings outfitted in kooky costumes and positively huge headgear have given me the willies. As much as I respect brides and grooms who make unusual choices, I think I’d feel just a little embarrassed for everyone involved if Mickey and Minnie suddenly showed up at the reception venue.

So, yeah. Cartoon characters at weddings? Hate it. *squirm*

What say you?

Just after her wedding, the gorgeous Amber of my aim is true wrote a post urging plus-size brides-to-be to look into having their wedding gowns custom made.

If you’re a plus size bride in search of a dress, forget shopping at wedding boutiques. Seriously. I watched my sister go through this with her wedding a few years ago, and unless you live in a city with a specifically plus size bridal store, you’re going to David’s Bridal (or as I prefer to call it, the horrible place with those people who are complete douchebags).

Her advice is spot on, but it’s not just for plus size brides-to-be. In my opinion, everyone should look into skipping the salons in favor of working with a seamstress. Even if you’re reasonably sure that you’ll be able to find the traditional look you love on the racks of your local bridal outfitter, there’s no reason not to look into the whys and hows of custom made wedding gowns.

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Long story short: A new comment on a post I wrote over a year ago inspired me to revisit polka dots. As far as themes and schemes go, polka dots are fairly mellow when you consider that there sci-fi weddings and sports-inspired weddings.

If you want to go above and beyond color without entering the megatheme zone, polka dots may just be your salvation. Big or small, colored or not, polka dots speak volumes about the brides who choose them. Far from dotty, these fun chicks take whimsy just far enough.

The deets: Favor boxes by Favor Ideas, dress by DollyDagger, cake by Baskin Robbins, invitations by Melissa Kelsey, tags by maythird, and travel cases by Beauty and the Beads.

Before it slips my mind completely, pop over to Manolo for the Big Girl to read all about a bridesmaid who was the victim of a size-related bait-and-switch. Ick.

If your dream wedding includes a flower girl, I have two pieces of advice for you.

One, make sure that your chosen tot understands and accepts that she’ll be walking alone in front of hordes of grownups with cameras. For every little girl who salivates at the idea of being the center of attention, there’s a little girl who would rather eat broccoli than be a flower girl. Let your candidate know that it’s okay if she wants to decline your invitation.

And two, when you do find your flower girl, dress her in a gorgeous princessy frock she’ll still remember when she’s at university.

These teeny flower girl dresses are from Little Flowers by Odyssey. All four are 100% silk and fully lined, and each one can be ordered in different lengths, with or without sleeves so your wee one doesn’t freeze her tiny knees and elbows off during your wintertime wedding.

Yes, it’s time once again to play Twistie’s Sunday Caption Madness. You all know how this works. I post a picture, you leave your best captions in the comments section, and next saturday I declare a winner. Along the way, we all have a good laugh.

And so, without further ado, I present this priceless pic for your sarcastic pleasure:
Ready…set…snark!

I’ve been a bridesmaid three times. Four, if you count the time I was nabbed at literally a minutes’ notice to attend the bride in a spur-of-the-moment vow reaffirmation in the middle of an historical re-enactment.

Back when I was doing this, the job was pretty easy. Basically, it consisted of: showing up on time to wedding-related functions, paying for and wearing the outfit the bride chose without complaint, smiling on the big day, and reassuring the bride after her return from the honeymoon that the wedding had been lovely whether it was or not. If the bride had any little projects that needed doing, she might or might not ask for help with them, but you were free to say you hadn’t the time or really stank at what she’d asked, but would be willing to help out with another aspect. The MOH had the additional requirements of holding any shower or bachelorette bash (usually one or the other, and usually pretty low-key), and witnessing the marriage license.

These days, one keeps hearing more and more about brides who expect more and more of their bridesmaids. So I decided to use my Google Fu and see what’s expected of a bridesmaid these days.

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It may not surprise you to learn that I collect wedding books. Hopefully, I’ll never have occasion to marry again, so I can’t exactly say that my bookshelf-busting collection of nuptial tomes is particularly useful. The ones I love best are the ones with lots and lots of gorgeous photographs. Surprising, right?

Here are four wedding books that absolutely take the cake and are a great addition to your collection…even if your collection is made up of a stack of library books.

Southern Weddings is full of pictures of glamorous affairs styled in the southern tradition. It also includes secrets, tips, practical how-tos, and advice, but who cares about any of that when there are soirées to salivate over?

With over 150 beautiful photographs of lavish weddings, Fête: The Wedding Experience is full of inspiration. Even if you don’t have the money or time to replicate everything, you can still cop a few ideas.

The publisher describes Inspirations as “a lush sourcebook of ideas for creating the perfect ambiance,” which isn’t shocking when you consider it’s a Preston Bailey book. Page after page of eye candy will show you how you can use art, nature, and culture to plan a wonderful wedding.

And then there’s Martha. I sprung for a used copy of The Best of Martha Stewart Living: Weddings just to see what was inside. What did I find? Perfect pictures of everything from cakes to guestbooks to bouquets and boutonnieres.

Mmmmm!

For those brides-to-be who don’t care for veils or hats or elaborate updos but still want a little flair for their hair, there’s always hair jewelry. There are no wrongs or rights when it comes to wearing it so anything goes. Pin yours in front, in back, or to the side…wherever you want some sparkle.

Hardwired sells hair jewelry (which I love, of course) in two pretty incarnations — pins and curves. I personally prefer the curves because you can wear them no matter how long or short your locks are!

Squeeee! There are new wedding gowns at J. Crew…or at least there are a bunch of wedding gowns I hadn’t seen yet. If you haven’t seen them either, I definitely recommend that you go check them out.

I love the Lucinda gown, even though it’s pretty much the most boring one in the bunch. What can I say? I have pretty traditional tastes. If I was more of a maverick, I’d opt for the Lisette gown, which is covered in gently swaying embroidered cotton flowers.