With a modest price tag of 10 dollars to get in (8 dollars online) and coupons all over the news paper it was a must do event. There were about 200 vendors and anything that you might be looking for in a traditional or non-traditional sense was available.  Popcorn made in your wedding colors, photo booths, chocolate fountains, stretch hummer rentals and more.  All this was toped off with a fun fashion show hosted by Bella Rosa Bridal. You name it and the Richmond Bridal Show had it! 

Although I already had most of my vendors selected because the our wedding day is so close it was still helpful to get some loose ends tide up with everyone all in one place. Not to mention the possibility of winning any of the dozens of great prizes would have been too tempting to pass up. Luckily I walked away winning a free bridal portrait session which I am more than siked about.

So there you have it..Richmond Bridal Show..Two thumbs up!

When I first went to see the location for my reception I was in love with it. It was small, cozy, and intimate. Exactly what I had been looking for, for our small family wedding. But then after thinking it through a little more and visiting the restaurant once more, instead of feeling intimate and cozy it  just made me feel….well….claustrophobic. Which is not the feeling that you want for a wedding reception to say the least. I won’t name the location just to avoid hurting any feelings. There was one other place that I had been considering (James River Cellars Winery). I went to have a look and surprise surprise it was love at first site, again. It was brighter and much more open but still small enough that it won’t swallow my 45 to 50 guests. So I changed locations.

Now, as simple and easy as I have made that sound, it wasn’t. It actually turned into quite an ordeal and my groom to be wasn’t too excited about my little switch- a roo either. But I think it really worked out for the best.  He was eventually fine with it (thanks hun) and I now have a reception venue that I truly love that I really think will better fit the style of the wedding…take a look.

So anyway, my advice to new brides: While it is important to get your vendors booked early it’s much better to give yourself enough time to really decide what you want and make smart decisions the first go round = )

Vows Bridal Boutique in Watertown, Massachusetts vowed (no pun intended..well yes it was intended) to donate 300 wedding gowns to the fiance’s of  active duty service members and active duty brides to be. What a fabulous way to show their support of our military families during such an exciting time in their lives!

Check it out.

http://news.aol.com/philanthropy/nc/article/military-brides-receive-free-wedding/807380?icid=main|welcome|dl5|link5|http://news.aol.com/philanthropy/nc/article/military-brides-receive-free-wedding/807380

It seems that most of these details thus far have been pretty simple to accomplish and as I was whisping through my list of 4 million things to do it started to happen…..

Andrew and I had already made the decision to have a small wedding from the beginning. We both agreed that this is one of the most important days of our lives and we wanted to be sure that it was shared with people who loved us both and were there to support us as we transition into this next phase of our lives. As opposed to a lot of extra folks who may just want the free food, facebook pics, and a twitter update with a point. So to avoid having to pick and choose from our friends and aquaintances we decided to have an intimate family only wedding to avoid any hard feelings from those that may not be invited.  When deciding to have a smaller more intimate wedding many brides may encounter the bumps in the road that I have thus far. The one I will reference here is the sense of entitlement!

Should you decide to have smaller wedding you may encounter friends or maybe even more distant relatives that feel a sense of entitlement to be invited. Granted a  wedding is a very special occassion and there are going to be so many people that want to share that wonderful experience with you for all the right reasons, but for one cause or another it may not be in your plans. Whether you have personal reasons, financial restraints, or space limitations, I personally don’t think that any bride or groom should  feel guitly about not inviting their mother’s third cousin’s, neice’s, brother in law just because he invited you to his wedding 3 years ago if you get my drift. So here is my advice to brides to be out there who may encounter this as well.

1. Once you have decided on having a smaller wedding be sure that you share that information so that no one makes assumptions. You may plan on having 50 people but if your mother has told 30 more people that you are getting married and to expect an invite, someone will end up with hurt feelings. Remember it’s much easier to establish this from the beginning than to try an back track and univite people who were never formally invited from the beginning.

2. Make a list and stick to it (within reason). Once you have established a guest list that you and your groom are content with, try not to allow too many adjustments to be made to it. If you say that you want 60 people at your wedding but everytime you go to cousin Martha’s house she remembers a couple relatives that you left off, your guest list of 60 easily becomes 70 or 80 when you include a guest for each invite and possibly children.

3. Try to avoid having different guest lists for different events through out your planning. You wouldn’t want to invite some people to you wedding but exclude them from being allowed to attend the reception. Or invite guests to your bridal shower but not to your wedding. Now, obviously there are some circumstances where this might make sense to do and you have to make that judgment based on your situation but in general it may seem a little rude to pick out only certain events for your guests to attend. Plenty of brides are faced with this delimna because of space and budget limitations and when it comes down to it, do what you you have to do, but things are just a lot neater if it’s more of an all or none situation.

So there you have it….its my turn and I will be sure to take you along with me on my wedding planning  journey!

-notabridesmaid (a bride)

Well, not to be so doom and gloom but this is the reality of it and what many brides have come to realize is that you don’t have to sacrifice elegance, style, and beauty to go green on your big day. Consider  a few ideas.

 1. The Invitations: There are a couple of ways you can go about creating a more eco-friendly way to anounce your pending nuptuals. Using 100% recycled paper is a nice way to maintain the traditional method of inviting guests while saving a couple trees. If you want to take it a step futher and are ok with a more non-traditional approach consider sending your guests e-vites. This can also prove to be a wedding money saver. Ooo la la eco-friendly and cheap I love it!

2. The Dress: We all know that when a women finds the perfect wedding dress it is as if God himself spoke life into a piece of fabric and the heavens opened up and the angels began to sing as he reached down and handed it to you in a perfect  box with a perfect little bow and…ok thats gone on long enough… Anyhow, we still have to consider the materials, processes, shipping ect that is involved. So the green bride would consider having a dress that is made from organic materials such as silk. If you are a true broom jumpin, tree huggin bride then maybe you will consider buying a vintage gown or wearing your mother’s wedding dress. Finally when the big day is done, donating your wedding gown to a charitable organization is not only good for the environment but good for the soul. Two organizations you may want to check out are the “I DO Foundation” and “Making Memories: Brides Against Breast Cancer”.

3. The Favors: Ok, if you will allow me to be brutally honest for a moment…When it comes to your wedding favors unless you choose something that your guests can eat, whatever you give them will more than likely end up in the trash. It may be a week later or it may be a month later, but thats were it will probably go. So consider giving your guests a favor that they can use (at least for a longer period of time) that will not be expected add to a landfill somewhere. Potted herbs like mint and or basil are a cute, eco-friendly gift that your guests will enjoy. Plus at least if they toss it you don’t have the guilt of 200 pieces of plastic taking trillions of years to decompose. Well maybe not trillions but a VERY long time indeed.

4.The Food: Using caterers who prepare organic foods that have not been exposed to chemical pesticides as well as meat from animals that were ethically raised adds a nice green touch. It also allows you to feel good about serving your guests something that is better for them.

So if you are one of the many brides hoping to make their wedding day a little greener, I applaud you. Remember an eco-friendly bride is a happy bride!

Now for whatever reason some people seem to think that once a woman hits 30 she is approaching the gray zone and that the chances of her finding a partner and getting married are sliming down. Furthermore, those same opinions would go on to say that a woman in her 40′s is approaching the black zone in which case, marriage is pretty unlikely. Well my friends, at the tender age of 26 and three years from the gray zone I have to beg to differ.

I’d like to reference and article by Daniel Schorn from CBS News.com. He takes us through the story of a 1986 article posted by New Week Magazine. The article stated that a professional women only had a 20 percent chance of getting married after age 30 and for women over 40 a sad 2.6 percent chance! Lisa Miller, the senior editor of News Week Magazine later stated in 2006 (year the CBS article was written) that even for a woman over 40, the chance of marriage is actually closer to 40 percent. So the numbers were a bit off target in the 80′s.

Ok ladies, let’s all put down our pitch forks and breathe a sigh of relief. Yes, there is love after 30 and 40 and even 50 and 60 as far as I’m concerned. So be not discontent! It would be better to wait and fall into a meaningful worthwhile relationship in God’s time instead of picking any old Tom, Dick, or Harry just to soothe the fear of being single. After all the more important issue is your own inner happiness and contentment, which for many woman does not require a partner to obtain.

article referenced from CBS for your reading pleasure: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/31/earlyshow/main1671139.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

I recently bought a beautiful dress from White House Black Market to wear to a wedding to which I was invited. I bought the dress months in advance only to read some of these more traditional views two days before the wedding! So of course I ran to the mall, returned the dress and desperately searched for a replacement of a more uplifting color choice. I found a lovely dress in a nice shade of beige, went to the wedding, only to find three other women wearing black!

So to answer the age old question is it ok to wear black to a wedding? Consider these few points.

1.) Are you expecting this to be a super traditional wedding and if so, the black dress is probably a no go. So your friends may look at you and think you look great but the grandmothers of the bride and groom will give you dirty looks while your doing the electric slide. Which by the way EVERYONE should play at their reception (my two cents).

2.) How well do you know the couple? If you have a close relationship with the bride and groom you may already know that neither they nor the other attendees would have a second thought about a black dress. Also, if you are comfortable with them, it never hurts to just ask if they feel it’s appropriate, after all, they would know their guests better than you.

3.) Consider the time of day the ceremony will take place. If it will be at night then it would be a little easier to get away with wearing black. However, sitting in a botanical gardens somewhere at 12:00 noon with a black dress on in the middle of spring may not be the ideal situation.

Bottom line is yes, times are changing which makes it a little difficult to give a hard and fast answer here. Just use your common sense and don’t take unnecessary risks with someone else’s big day. If you were concerned enough about it to read up on it, you should probably just wear a different dress.

-not a bridesmaid

1.) www.theknot.com; This site has phenominal planning tools and I would highly recommend it, especially for anyone who needs a little help staying organized. To sign up for an account is quick, simple and free. Through this site you have access to your own personal budget/payment calculator , guest list organizer, and it even allows you to create your own wedding website that you can share with your family and friends. I’m sure my description of how beneficial this can be does it no justice so go check it out!

2.) www.projectwedding.com; If you are not already familiar with this site, it is similar to a facebook or myspace, social networking type situation. Here you would actually create a profile and you can chat with other brides in forums, add people to your friend list, read vendor reviews etc. The really cool thing about the profile is that you can scan through thousands of photos for ideas and save them in your profile to refer back to later. This sites definetley a keeper!

3.) www.brides.com;  Here you will find many of the features that I listed in the previous two sites with a couple of added tools. On Brides.com you can actually create a seating chart, start your own wedding blog, and use the “gift and thank you notes” section to be sure you thank everyone for the lovely kitchenware you won’t use. SO KIDDING! Ahem…ok, moving on.

4.) www.thebrokeassbride.com; Let me begin by saying I love this blog. It is one of the few places that you can go and read a refreshingly witty wedding blog that is interesting and still has useful info. Everything from recipes to hot fashion can be found here. This is also a good site for those stressful planning days when you just need something to make you smile = )

Any-who, if you have any resources you would like to add, please feel free to comment, I would love to hear about em!

Butter cream is the sweet icing that has been traditionally used to decorate wedding cakes. It tastes great and when in the hands of the right person it makes a beautifully decorative cake. 

However in more recent years we have been introduced to fondant which is a slightly sweet dough-like substance that is rolled out then used to cover the cake. Many brides choose fondant because it creates a very smooth surface on the cake as well as an amazing finish. If you have ever seen a wedding cake that looked like pillows or a box wrapped with a bow, it was probably covered with fondant.

Now you may be asking yourself, if fondant creates such beautifully polished cakes and can be used to make a cake look like anything that I want, why would I request butter cream? Well, I set out on a journey myself to answer that question and two responses come to mind. The first is price, if you are in the market for a fondant cake you can expect to dish out a little more dough (no pun intended) than what you would spend on a butter cream cake. Probably around twice as much from what I have found. Secondly, I would strongly encourage that you taste fondant before asking for it. I had the pleasure (or lack there of) of tasting a bit. It was much like eating chewy candle wax with sugar in it. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have heard from folks who like it and I’m sure depending on your baker the taste can be improved. Just be sure to give it a taste test on your own first.

So to answer the burning question, butter cream or fondant? It depends on what you want. If your primary concern is how impressive the cake looks and you are willing to spend a little extra to get it….fondant all the way. However if you are more concerned about taste then I would go with butter cream, just to avoid your guest feeling like the walked into a Yankee Candle factory hungry and came out full.