Tag: wedding dress

Wedding Colors

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To many grooms, selecting a wedding day color may seem quite trivial in the realm of planning the entire wedding event. However, for most brides, choosing a wedding color and/or colors is the glue that connects the dots. It helps define the mood and theme, as well as extends into every aspect of the wedding: the invitations, table décor, centerpieces, cake, flowers, and in some cases the bride’s dress itself.

The trend today is to go big and bold with color everywhere—to make a statement with every little detail to signify your event. Color is now showing up in signature drinks, the hor d’oeuvres, lighting, candles, etc.

So, how do you go about choosing the perfect colors or color scheme for your wedding? Of course, there are many factors to consider in this all-important decision.

First off, consider your favorite color or colors. That just might work for you. If you like pink, incorporate soft hues and shades of pink. If you like more dramatic colors such as burgundy or magenta, infuse those into your creativity. Pick your most-desired colors and done.

To help you choose colors that may not be your preferred choice, look for inspiration in bridal magazines, fabric stores, or even by looking at a Pantone book that showcases tones and variations of colors. You may love green, but by using these resources, you can narrow in on which green. Is it kelly green, forest green, or sage green? You might even select a range of colors that evoke a particular theme. Combine various tones you find in shells like subtle yellows and delicate pinks, with shades of sand and light ocean blues to represent “Summer at the Cape.”

Also, take into consideration the wedding location and ceremony, the time of year, and which colors are in style now. For example, accents of brown and even black are extremely popular with today’s contemporary brides.

Let’s break this down further.

First off, your wedding location may dictate a color scheme for you based on its interior décor. For example, if your reception site is a country club that has navy and gold carpeting and draperies, lavenders, pinks and yellows will definitely clash.

Regarding time of year… if your event is a winter wedding, you may opt for richer colors of deep reds or sapphire blues. For a summer beach-themed wedding, soft tones of peach and oranges might complement the scenery just right. These are all things to consider when accentuating your occasion with color.

Also take into account the feeling you want to evoke on your wedding day. Do you want it to be upbeat and fun? Then choose bold, bright colors. Do you want it to be sophisticated and romantic? Maybe go with a combination of red, black and ivory. Do you want it to be peaceful and Zen-like? Choose soft sages and tans. For a multiple room event, it is also perfectly acceptable to pick one color scheme for your cocktail hour and one for the reception. The possibilities are endless.

Ideas on the easiest wedding uses of color:

Attire

One of the most notable trends right now is to select a unique color for your wedding gown itself. More and more couture designers are showcasing dresses made in blush, silver, grays, and shades of champagnes in their collections. They are also adding colorful accents to their dresses, i.e. colored sashes, black and brown trims, combination beading (blues and silvers together), and stand alone appliqués like chiffon flowers in pinks and taupes. In addition, your color palette should extend into your groomsmen’s attire and bridesmaids’ dresses as well. A current trend is for each bridesmaid to have a variation on the style and/or color of the attendant dress. It is perfectly acceptable to forgo being completely “matchy-matchy.”

Invitations

As the first thing people see, invitations set the stage and initial mood for your event. It’s simple to add “your colors” to the font, personal monogram, or ribbons when announcing the wedding.

Flowers

When it comes to flowers, there is most likely a particular flower available in your exact colors. Keep in mind however that they may or may not be affordable and in-season at the time. If that is the case, simply select white flowers as your base and small accent flowers in your particular colors to add consistency to your wedding details and décor.

Cake

Applying color to your cake is one of the easiest ways to use color. White fondant icing is essentially a blank canvas for colorful detailing with flowers, stripes, or polka dots in your favorite colors. Most fondants can also be made in any color or shade of color today. Another idea, showcase a different color on every layer of your cake for maximum impact.

Favors

Simply showcase color in your favor packaging. Use gift tags, paper, fabric, and ribbons to add little touch of your color for your guest gifts.

Cocktails

Colorful cocktails are very popular today. Some ideas include bright yellow Mimosas for an early brunch wedding; pinkish red Cosmos for a destination wedding; or Blue Martinis for a Winter Wonderland evening affair. Yum.

Remember there are many other ways to incorporate color into the small details of your wedding. Think about the napkins, centerpiece containers, colored wine glasses, bridal accessories, guest book, drinks, appetizers, food staging, etc. Be creative, the list goes on and on.

Wedding Dress Bustle

Published on by Hudson Valley Ceremonies3 Comments

A bustle constitutes the way in which the train of your wedding dress is gathered, elevated off of the floor, and distributed across the back of your dress. Many women opt to have their wedding dress bustled in order to facilitate movement after the wedding ceremony is over. After all, it can be uncomfortable and tiresome to deal with a long train while casually walking around, greeting wedding guests or dancing. The bustle is in use primarily to lift the long, elegant trains of wedding gowns off the floor. The long train is lifted with buttons or ties to create a lovely bouffant style that is also very practical. There are many different ways to bustle a wedding dress according to types of fabric, types of dress patterns and dress colors.

Although almost all brides utilize Bustles for their wedding gowns, you may be surprised to discover that the dresses do not come with bustles in place.They are added during alterations. This makes sense since all brides are not the same height and your bustle should lift the back of your gown to your hem length. So your bustle must be custom made.

You have several choices in bustles. The Over Bustle (also known as the Ballroom bustle) and the Under Bustle (also known as the French or Victorian bustle) are the most common. But you can also choose the Austrian or American/Pick-Up bustle these are less common but beautiful. You can choose the style you prefer and the one that will flatter your gown the best.

Use care in selecting your bustle style if your gown fabric is delicate. The weight of the gown on the bustles may tear transparent, lightweight, fabrics like organza. So if your fabric is delicate, choose a bustle style that reduces the weight on each individual bustle.

The Over bustle also known as the Ballroom bustle consists of several hooks and eyes lifting your train off the floor. The “eyes” are placed along the waistline. The “hooks” are sewn in about 14″ to 20″ down the back skirt. Lace appliques, rosettes or bows may be needed to cover the hooks and eyes. Covered buttons also work well, and may look nicer, especially if you have buttons down the back of your gown.The longer your train is, the more hooks or buttons you will need.

The Under Bustle also known as the French or Victorian bustle is usually done by tacking the extra material underneath the skirt and creating a bustle that way. This method works especially well for gowns without a waistline and gowns that are especially decorative in the back area, as it doesn’t cover up any lace or details in the gown right below the waist. The gown is lifted from the bottom area and is essentially folded and gathered to shorten its length. For the Under Bustle, ribbons are sewn under the gown securing the outer fabric to the lining. Use different colors of ribbon to make the task of tying easier. The Under Bustle is more secure than the Over Bustle.

The Austrian bustle is a secure bustle created by the use of a loop and pull system similiar to that of a window shade. A string is pulled and it bunches the train up.

The American or Pick-Up bustle takes a point of the skirt and tacks it up using a button, hook or other decoration on the back of the skirt. Usually the hooks/buttons are disguised using jewels or ornaments. This look is quite popular and used for dresses that have less poof or shorter trains

DIY (Do It Yourself)

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It’s a fact that nearly every bride these day is looking for ways to stretch her wedding dollars. No matter what kind of wedding budget you have, brides everywhere are learning some of the great benefits of a DIY wedding, and just how easy it can be to have your dream wedding on any kind of budget. DIY, or do it yourself, is one of those terms that has really gotten popular over the past few years and sprang up when people found out how much money they could save by doing some of the work themselves. A DIY wedding is no exception. There are literally dozens of different places in your wedding where some of the most popular DIY wedding tips can really help you out. One of my favorite things about having a DIY wedding isn’t that you can save thousands on your wedding, or even that you can really get your hands dirty into your own wedding planning so that it becomes real to you. No, my favorite thing about having a DIY wedding is that no matter what your wedding budget is, you can have a wedding that is just as beautiful and glamorous as someone who has a much larger budget than you do.

There are lots of great places in your wedding planning where you can insert a personal touch. One of the most popular DIY wedding task that brides are encouraged to do is to make their own wedding invitations, place cards and wedding programs on their home computer and printers. With the technology and software available today, it can only take a few minutes to create some professional looking documents. This kind of DIY wedding planning can save you virtually hundreds off the price of buying them from a professional. Another popular place to save money in weddings can be from making your own wedding favors. Many brides are going with baked treats, homemade candy or other little talent in the kitchen that they have instead of paying several dollars per guest for wedding favors, which can really add up as well. Of course, there are many other places where you can do it yourself, and this is where the big money comes in.

There are some DIY wedding ideas that can save you more money than others, and here are some of the most popular that can literally save you thousands off of your wedding. The first one is making, or asking someone to make your wedding dress for you. I know the task seems huge, but with a little time and a good dress pattern, it’s totally doable. White satin can be had for as little as $8 a yard, and lace trimmings for wedding dresses about the same. Also, another DIY wedding tip that can save you big time is doing your own flower arrangements. Find a wholesaler in your area where you can buy flowers for the same cost as your local florist shops, place a few in a vase for centerpieces, tie some off with a ribbon for bouquets, and you can even make your own corsages and boutonnieres with a pin and florist tape.

There are lots of great ideas for DIY wedding enthusiasts who are looking to save money on their wedding and still have a fabulous wedding that looks like you spent much more on it than you did.

Summer 2010 Wedding Dress Trends

Published on by Hudson Valley Ceremonies2 Comments

The current wedding dress trends are extremely diverse and there is a style for every taste based on almost every era of fashion it would seem.

One of the biggest trends is the slinky silhouette style wedding dress, extremely figure hugging and set to be around for many seasons to come this is a dress for the extremely confident woman.

Ballgown styles are always in fashion and this summer is no exception, ballgown style dresses offer a perfect way in which to disguise a larger lower half. Many of these styles also come with built in corsets that will help create the perfect shape for your perfect day.

Fifties style wedding gowns are making a big impact this year. Fifties style dresses add a bit of glamour, the belted waste styles are becoming more and more popular as wedding dresses and can make a big impact on how you look on your big day.

Mermaid style dresses also take elements of the fifties into consideration and capture the old school glamour of Audrey Hepburn. A dress in this style is bound to look beautiful in pictures long after your day has been over.

For a more casual style, look towards tea length dresses which are perfect if you wish to emphasize your long legs, once again this is a style originating from the fifties.

The Grecian style dress is also a good option for an on trend dress. If you are slim this is a style that can look extremely delicate and feminine.

When looking for the perfect wedding dress consider the fact that fashion trends come and go and that instead it may be wise to choose a gown based around your figure and what suits you best. Making the correct decision can take time so be sure to try plenty of dresses on before choosing.

10 Big Mistakes Brides Make On Their Wedding Day

Published on by Hudson Valley Ceremonies2 Comments

1.  Timeline – so many brides either don’t make a timeline for the day of their wedding or they create one that doesn’t work.  the number one thing to remember is to put time buffers in your timeline.  For example, if it takes 15 minutes to drive to the church give your self 25 minutes.  If you really think it is going to take 1 hour for photos and you have 16 people in the wedding party, give yourself 1 1/2 hours.  This way when you are over on time, you can say, “it’s ok!”

2.  Shoes – wear them, wear them, wear them.  Make sure you start one month before the wedding wearing your shoes for 20 minutes at a time 2-3 times per week.  Walk outside, inside, on wood floors, carpeting, stairs, etc.  Your feet will love you at the end of the night.

3.  DIY – Please do some DIY projects, it is what makes a wedding yours and not cookie cutter.  But, don’t do each and every DIY project you see online, in a magazine or on tv.  Limit yourself, create a list, sit down with some of your girls and figure out, with their opinions, which ones are realistic.

4.  Wedding Party – So you have five really close friends, but you have two sisters and your fiance has two sisters.  Do you really need to have 9 bridesmaids in your wedding?  I big trend these days is to either choose 1 maid of honor or siblings.  Keep it simple and keep the costs down, for you and your wedding party.  Your five friends will still be at your wedding.

5.  Wedding Dresses – Your dress is going to be on your body for about 10 hours, yes 10 hours.  For your dress, consider how you are walking in the dress, sitting in the dress and most important dancing in the dress.  There needs to be comfort on your wedding day.  What about a knee length or tea length dress and shoes that match your attendants color dresses?

6.  Attendants Dresses – choose a color that is flattering.  But let them choose a dress that is comfortable.  So many designers now have created a line of dresses that are very similiar but yet can be suitable for different body types.

7.  Guest List – The days of 300 guest weddings is just about over.  Chelsea Clinton said it perfectly, “if I don’t know them, they don’t get invited.”  There is nothing worse than trying to create a seating chart for people you don’t know.  Meeting people for the first time on your wedding day is just not fun.  Tone it down and don’t be afraid to tell your parents that this is no longer the 60’s and that the budget just doesn’t have room for the 4th cousins 7 times removed.

8.  Hiring Professionals – Please, please take this one to heart.  Never, ever hire a friend or family member to work at your wedding.  There is a very clear line between a friend or relative and a professional.  Do you have a comfort level in telling a friend to get back to work, don’t drink, stop eating?  No, well then hire a professional.  Let the friends and relatives help with the wedding, but never have them do what a professional can do.

9.  Dinner – One important item with dinner is the amount of food and courses.  The more courses you include in your dinner the less time you have dancing.  Now for some this is fine and is a desirable choice.  But if you are spending over $7000 on your band and they only play waltzes or big band because there is another course coming to the table, don’t complain to the band.  having more than three courses for the reception is just a waste of food and time.  Tone it down, your guests will not starve.

10.  Honeymoon – So many couples just can’t wait to go on their honeymoon.  I don’t blame you.  Crystal clear water, sugar beaches, tropical drinks.  But, the last thing you want to do is get up at 4am the morning after your wedding and drive to the airport and fly to 2-8 hours.  Take 1-2 days off after the wedding to decompress.  Don’t pack before the wedding, do it the next night after the wedding.  Sleep in the day after your wedding, relax, hang out with friends and make it a weekend.  You will enjoy your honeymoon and your wedding so much more if you just take your time.

For more advice and information about how to make your wedding stress free contact Hudson Valley Ceremonies, 845-266-6076, www.HudsonValleyCeremonies.com