It’s part of the unquestioned mythology of weddings. When you find that right gown and slip it on for the first time, you feel like this:

You’re joyful, almost giddy with excitement. You know with absolute certainty for the first time that the wedding is really happening. You feel like a princess.

There’s even plenty of literature to back that up. Not just novels, though the theme is rife in books that feature weddings, but in films, TV shows, and even blogs about weddings.

For instance, a recent article at the Huffington Post by wedding gown designer Justina McCaffrey chronicles the way she sees career woman after career woman morph from a no-nonsense, phone-glued-to-the-ear customer in search of a simple white pantsuit to get married in to a dewy-eyed Disney princess in the making.
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2012 is just around the corner, and that means that the experts are lining up to tell us what’s hot and what’s not for the coming year. I’ve browsed a few of these lists. Some of them contradict one another, but after looking over dozens of guesses, I’m seeing some pretty clear clues to what’s coming in the next few months. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

Dessert tables are expected to continue to be a big deal in weddings. Variety is the spice of life, and a wonderful way to end a reception meal.

A further wrinkle on this trend that’s on the rise for parties that last late into the night is a second spread of snacks offered to guests on their way out. Doughnuts, cookies, sliders, coffee and cocoa… this is the chance to offer up a tasty final gift to your guests.
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(Image via The Breathtaking Bride)

Shopping for a wedding gown can be one of the most exciting, and one of the most frustrating parts of planning a wedding.

It’s exciting because you’re getting to play dress up with wildly luxurious dresses, the like of which you will probably never wear again. It’s exciting because finding that just right dress makes the whole thing seem real for the first time to a lot of women. It’s exciting because salons pamper brides.

It’s frustrating because it’s rare that a bride has the budget for the really spectacular gowns. It’s frustrating because sometimes it’s hard to know which gown to pick… especially when choosing between gowns that look an awful lot alike. It’s frustrating because everyone you bring with you has an opinion, and sometimes it’s the polar opposite of yours, which leads to second-guessing and fear of making a bad decision.

And then there are those oh-so-helpful guides to choosing the right gown for your figure flaws.
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Ah, the wedding bouquet! That amazing froth of flowers! How beautiful! How charming! How… expensive.

Over the years, pretty much every wedding planning book, magazine, blog, and zine I’ve ever read has suggested using more filler and less flowers to save a couple bucks on this major accessory… but how about we just cut out the flowers altogether?

(Illustration via The Wedding Talk Blog)
Gorgeous, isn’t that? All those delicious herbs! Dry it and use the results in cooking for months to come. Talk about savings plus repurposing!
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Okay, folks, what think you of this gown (named Parker) from Amsale’s Fall 2012 collection?

For my part, I find it rather confused. The bodice is satin with the currently trendy one-strap look and a geometrical crumb catcher. It hits nearly every major trend except for lace.

Then the skirt is simply a huge pouf of tulle.

I think how it really strikes me is unfinished. The lines, while not my personal faves, aren’t awful by any means. Each part has the potential to be kind of amazing… but there’s nothing holding this design together. Perhaps I would like it better if there were some form of embellishment that was used on both parts. Then again, I don’t think a major statement bodice like that can really use embellishing. I think what it needs is a different skirt. And an etherial skirt like that never looks quite right to my eyes with a highly structured bodice, so I think it needs a softer, more romantic top.

In short, I find this a little scattered, with each half having great potential if paired with something that suits it better. I have to go with hate on this.

What say all of you?

See this cute cake topper? The creator found a similar topper for sale for $80.00 and decided that was more than she wanted to spend for her daughter’s cake topper.

And so she figured out how to do it herself for something in the neighborhood of $10.00.

I don’t know about you, but I think saving $70.00 while coming up with a completely personalized item is well worth the time and energy spent on it!

There really are times when saving money can be fun.

Darlings, WordPress has only just let me in, for which I humbly thank it. But not daring to assume my time here is unlimited, I’m going to make this a quick one about dreamy wedding dreams.

Most of us dream of some fabulous thing for our weddings. For some, it’s a particular gown, for another, their favorite band to play the reception, for yet another, a magnificent display of glorious orchids.

My dream, if I had things to do again, is a spectacular dessert table bursting with delicious confections to delight both the eye, the nose, and the taste buds. Cake, pie, tarts, truffles, cookies of several kinds, a trifle, peanut brittle… whatever goodies I might decide I could churn out (with a little help from talented friends) in the days leading up to the festivities.

I love to bake, I love to feed people, and I do believe that dessert is an important part of the meal.

So that’s my dreamy dream of one spectacular thing. What do you dream of? Tell us all about it!