She’s your friend, your sister, your cousin, your college roommateor your future sister-in-law. She’s your bridesmaid and she loves you...for now. Thanks to the bride, bridesmaids have become notorious for bad hair and bad fashion. Too many bridesmaids have smiled through their anger and humiliation and it is up to you to put an end to it. Following these Dos and Don’ts will mean the difference between having bridesmaids who are bitter and disgruntled to happy and confident…and the results will show. After all, don’t you want your closest girlfriends to look their best on your big day?
Dos
·       Do find a dress that your bridesmaids can wear again
·       Do allow each girl to wear her hair the way she feels comfortable
·       Do choose a color and fabric and let each girl pick her own style dress
·       Do consider everyone’s financial situation
·       Do choose dresses in black or neutral tones
·       Do buy them their wedding day jewelry or accessories
·       Do choose bridesmaid dresses that will complement your wedding gown
Don’ts
·       Don’t force a size 12 to wear the same dress as a size 2
·       Don’t make your bridesmaids wear something ugly so you can look better
·       Don’t pick a dress that is hard to dance or walk in
·       Don’t expect your maids to buy teal shoes…or any other color she can never wear again
·       Don’t take all of your maids shopping at once – it can get hectic and confusing
·       Don’t be blind to grimaces and unhappy faces at the fitting


 For more information, visit Dresses, Gowns & Bridesmaid Dresses Category at WeddingsNorthValley.com. California's north valley stores offer the best and most choices for your wedding style and budget.

Ask The Wedding Lady
carol@WeddingsNorthValley.com

1. Focusing on colors that go with your theme is an easy way to pick out your wedding colors. It is important if you pick a theme for your wedding that the colors complement and not clash with the theme. For example if it is outside focus on natural colors and lots of green, if it is a beach theme focus on blues and pastel colors and if it is a holiday theme focus on colors that are popular around that type of year of the wedding. For example if it is Halloween use orange, black and purple to create a successful theme! Visiting a place that has to do with your theme such as a place like the beach or a store for example, a Halloween themed store can inspire a whole plethora of ideas.
2. Focusing on the season is an easy way to pick your wedding colors.  If it is Fall focus on orange, brown, plum and yellow or dark bold colors, if it is Summer focus on bright colors such as blues and purples, if it is Spring focus on greens and pinks, if it is Winter focus on white with accent colors of your choice. Another way to help pick out colors by season is to visit your local florist and check out there seasonal bouquets for color ideas.
3. It is so important to focus on colors that will not clash with the location of the wedding. If a venue has a natural inspired look it is important not to incorporate it with bold, bright colors or patterns. The point of picking colors for the venue is to create a place that is inviting and put together, not mismatched and unwelcome. The venue must also incorporate colors that create a mood for your wedding. For example, if it is an evening wedding dark colors and candle light will compliment any venue and set a soft romantic type mood. If it is a wedding where a party mood is wanted bright lights and bright colors will compliment a venue.
4. The easiest way to pick colors for your wedding is to pick a few of your favorite colors that will compliment who you are. Pick colors or patterns that you enjoy and revolve your wedding elements around these colors.
5. Focusing on a certain element of the wedding can also spark an idea for wedding colors. This idea can come from a memory or a souvenir from where you and your significant have visited. An idea can come from a wedding favor that is found at a department store.  An idea for colors can come from a flower or even bridesmaids dresses.

The point is that there are endless possibilities of colors and endless resources that can be used to create a beautiful wedding.  Color ideas can come from anywhere whether it is a certain element from the wedding that has a specific pattern you like or the time of year you’re getting married. Get creative and find colors that make you and your significant other happy and create a wonderful wedding from there!

Below are some links that will help you decide on colors for your perfect wedding.
Pick Your Colors
Season-Appropriate Colors
Choosing Your Colors

Much more than a sweet finale to the reception meal, wedding cakes are a major style statement. Trends in wedding cakes, like all other wedding details, evolve with the times. The wedding cake presents a perfect opportunity for creative brides to play with shape, color, and embellishments. For those of you who need a little inspiration, Here's my list of top trends for wedding cakes.

Back to Buttercream 

Buttercream was once the traditional frosting for wedding cakes, but sleek cakes came into favor, and rolled fondant became the frosting of choice. Not anymore, thanks to advanced tools and techniques that allow buttercream to look as smooth as fondant, cakes iced in buttercream are again the norm. We love this trend, since buttercream frosting tastes better, has natural ingredients, and costs less than fondant. Now you can literally have your stylishly sleek cake – and eat it, too.

Chocolate Face

Brides have bucked the traditional white wedding cake for the last few years, but today’s brides are no longer hiding decadent chocolate behind a shield of white frosting for appearances’ sake. Dark chocolate is now front and center on the face of the cake, as chocolate wedding cakes are appropriately decked in chocolate mousse or whipped chocolate frosting. The result is a full-blown chocolate dessert that tastes as good as it looks.

Blue Rules

Shades of blue dominate the curent wedding decor palette, and your wedding cake is a perfect canvas to incorporate this hot shade. Consider a cake saturated in turquoise, periwinkle, or even navy, and embellish it with complimenting colors like silver, white, grey, lavender, or yellow. 



Square Mini Cakes

Cupcake towers in lieu of wedding cakes have been around for awhile, but brides are making cupcakes interesting again by playing with shape and size. Brides are stacking square shaped mini-cakes (slightly larger than cupcakes) adorned with flowers or dressed as presents for a completely different take on the cupcake frenzy.

Think Pink

Pink – the perpetual hot color for weddings – had begun to fall out of favor as brides experimented with more non-traditional hues like browns, grays, orange, and even black. But pink is back in a big way, and brides are incorporating the hue into their wedding cakes. Pink instantly freshens up classic white. Tone down an all-pink cake with white floral or lace details, or dress up a white cake with pink embellishments.

Scripted Text

Wedding cakes adorned with calligraphy-style motifs and writing is one of the year’s hottest trends. Create an antiqued look with black writing on a white or ivory cake, and get creative with the text. Some options? Write a favorite poem or verse, your wedding vows, or words representative of your wedding theme such as names of flowers for a garden wedding or types of shells at a beach wedding.

Groom’s Cakes

The old Southern tradition of the groom’s cake is shedding its regional trappings and growing in popularity throughout the nation. And no, it doesn’t have to be the iconic red velvet armadillo from “Steel Magnolias.”  Today’s groom’s cakes, now just as elaborate as the wedding cake itself, often reflect the groom’s interest in a dramatic and whimsical expression: a deer grooms cake for an avid hunter, shaped like a race car for an diehard Nascar fan, or decked with his favorite sports team logo.

Need Help in Selecting Your Wedding Cake?

We’ve narrowed the process of selecting wedding cakes into three easy steps. Get wedding cake ideas, factor cake prices, and choose your baker. Follow these, and you will have a confection that suits your personal style and budget.

Step 1: Determine Your Wedding Cake Design
As the centerpiece of your reception, your cake should represent the theme of your wedding and reflect your overall vision. Consider the style, shape, color and adornments. Make a list of qualities you like and don’t like, and browse and collect photographs of cakes that inspire you. You can get 4 million + images by goggling "Wedding Cake images."
NOTE: Don’t forget to consider the longevity of your cake when making your selection. It may look like a work of art, but it is still food, and certain types will hold up better in extreme climates. If you will be holding an summer outdoor reception, opt for fondant wedding cakes over buttercream. While buttercream is tasty, it doesn’t keep well in heat or humidity.

Step 2: Factor In Wedding Cake Prices
Cake cost is based per slice and is determined by the complexity of the overall design. The typical cost per slice can range anywhere from $2-$15 per slice. There are 2 easy ways to keep your cake within budget.

1. Simple wedding cakes are obviously less expensive, so choose a simple design with minimal adornments. Fresh fruit and flowers are inexpensive options, while handmade gumpaste or sugarpaste decorations cost more because they are difficult to create.
2. If you have your heart set on an intricate design you saw in a magazine, don’t worry that the associated cost will break your budget. Many brides opt for a smaller, intricately designed cake to showcase at their wedding, while simple sheet cakes are held in the kitchen to be served to guests.
   

Step 3: Choose your Wedding Cake Baker
First determine whether or not your wedding site allows an outsider baker; if so, pick a few local cake bakers and book appointments to view their portfolios. The WeddingsNorthValley.com directory of local wedding cake and dessert services is a great place to get started; we have twenty top bakers and chocolatiers recommended by northstate brides to choose from.  When meeting with potential bakers, consider both look and taste. The one you choose should be able to create the beautiful masterpiece you desire, and it should taste scrumptious as well.

Sweet dreams!

Carol Thomson, The Wedding Lady
WeddingsNorthValley.com
SimplyLittleWeddings.com
ChicoBridalShowcase.com
RedBluffBridalShowcase.biz
"I Do!" Northern California Style Blog

  Normal 0 0 1 424 2417 20 4 2968 11.1287 0 0 0

Getting Married? Attend A Bridal Show!

10 Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Local Wedding Show

 

From photographers, favors and food to cutting-edge fashions and flowers, wedding shows bring together vendors covering every facet of weddings, each vying to show off their latest wares and woo brides-to-be.

 

If you are attending a bridal show, here are some tips for making the experience really work for you:

 

1.            Going to a Bridal Show is a great way to gather information without the hassle of driving hundreds of miles to get information. It is all in one place at one time for a nominal fee and time expenditure.

BENEFIT: You could find the perfect vendor, service or product for your wedding!

2.            Be prepared to wait in line to register. Be patient! This is well worth it. Many times this is how you are entered into the drawings for incredible prizes that both the show producer and the individual vendors are giving away.

BENEFIT: You could win something fabulous!

3.            Bring pre-printed self-adhesive address labels (You know like those that you receive in the mail all the time!) Or make your own --- every word processing app has a simple labels program. Remember to include your email address. This will save you a lot of time and allow you to sign up for anything you want very quickly.

BENEFIT: Your name and address can be read by the exhibitor you want to get more information from. [IDEA---set up a Hot or G-Mail account to use all during your wedding planning phase---that way you always know that the message is in reference to YOUR wedding!]

4.            Bring your checkbook if you want to actually book any services, or hold dates with a deposit. Be sure to check on refund policies before giving any money, and read the contract carefully before signing. BENEFIT: Take advantage of show specials.

5.            Collect any information you are interested in --- take it home to look over again when you have some quiet time.

BENEFIT: You get all this information under one roof in one day.

6.            This is your opportunity to see exactly how a vendor that you’re interested in does their work. You can sample. See the latest. You can get a feel whether you want to do business with a particular vendor. Be aware of the neatness and organization of the booth and the dress of the exhibitor.

BENEFIT: You get face time with many vendors and get an idea if you can work with them. And, if not, NEXT!

7.            Compare prices and services. Because there are often multiple vendors for a particular service, you can make comparisons right on the spot.

BENEFIT: Shop for price AND service.

8.            Be prepared to wear a “Bride-to-Be” sticker/or identification to receive special attention from the vendors.

BENEFIT: Get treated like the princess that you are!

9.            It is nice if your fiancé attends with you, IF he is interested. About 30% do attend, so he wonít be the only one there!

BENEFIT: He can look too, and you will get his input. The number of grooms-to-be at Northern California shows has increased this past year.

10. It can be a really enjoyable day for you and your wedding party, mother, and/or groom-to-be. Take the person the person whose opinion and judgment you value the most.

BENEFIT: Make it a day out with the girls! Compare notes. Divide up the show and get different ideas from all over the showcase from many different vendors.

 

 

Meet The Wedding Lady at the Sunday August 15, 2010 Chico Bridal Showcase. Learn about Wedding Wishes 2011.

 

We suggest that you sit down with your fiancé and discuss the date, time, size, formality and style of your wedding -- things that really reflect your tastes as a couple.

1.   IMAGINE YOUR PERFECT WEDDING

Before you announce to the entire world that you are engaged and everyone assumes that they are invited to your wedding, we suggest that you sit down with your fiancé and discuss the date, time, size, formality and style of your wedding -- things that really reflect your tastes as a couple.

2.  PUT TOGETHER YOUR GUEST LIST

What's a party without the guests? Remember that many of your guests will have a spouse or significant other and will count for two people. Also keep in mind that the more people you invite, the more expensive your wedding will be.

One smart planning tip is to have a "must-have" A-list, and a "would-like-to-include" B-list, and mail your invitations early. If A-list guests can't make it, you can then mail out invitations to B-list guests and they won't feel like last minute additions.

3.  YOUR BUDGET

The fact is, all that wedding glamour and glitter costs money, and setting a realistic wedding budget now is going to save you from a nasty shock on your wedding day. So take out that calculator, call up your folks and decide on a realistic budget. Before you start number crunching, set your priorities. Are your guests more important, or the location? Once you know what elements you can't live without, you'll have a much clearer idea of how to allocate your money.

4.  SET YOUR PLANNING NOTEBOOK

Remember, pictures tell a thousand words. The best gift you can give yourself is a Polaroid camera with plenty of film. You never know what item may inspire you for flowers, favors or any other wedding accessories.

Also purchase a three ring binder, dividers and plastic business card holders to create a planning notebook. We suggest including the following sections: Vendor Contact Information, Guests List, Bridal Ensemble, Bridesmaids' Attire, Beauty, Groomsmen's Attire, Ceremony, Reception, Invitations and Stationery, Menus and Beverages, Flowers and Décor, Guest Favors and Gifts, Rentals, Music and Entertainment, Photo and Video, Transportation and Parking, Miscellaneous, Checklists and Schedules, Budget/Payment Schedules, Invoices/Receipts, Out-Of-Town Information and Notes. Don't forget an empty folder for photos and magazine clippings.

5.  SELECT YOUR DATE

Do you envision a thick blanket of snow outside as you snuggle close to your new husband on the way to the reception? Or a warm summer's night as you dance with your groom under the stars? Decide what time of year you want to get married and select two tentative wedding dates -- it's important to have a backup in case your first choice isn't available. Don't forget to check your city calendar to make sure there's not a holiday or major sporting event on your desired date - otherwise you and your guests may be competing with fans for scare, or more expensive, hotel rooms and services.

6.  CHOOSE YOUR CEREMONY AND RECEPTION LOCATION

Wineries, zoos, botanical gardens -- let your imagination run wild when selecting a wedding location. But remember, the best spot may be one that is nearby and can accommodate your guest count. You'll want to find out how many events each site hosts per day, and whether there are hidden fees and charges. Visit our step-by-step guides to finding reception locations for a complete list of questions to ask, and then search our Local Vendor Directory for a list of ceremony and reception sites in your area.

7.  SELECT YOUR WEDDING PARTY

She's been your best friend since kindergarten; it's a no-brainer that you want her to stand up with you on your big day. But what about everybody else? Ask valued friends or family to do a reading, be an usher or oversee your guest book/escort card table. The point is, don't worry, there is a role to play for everyone, and a way out of any awkward situation.

8.  SHOP FOR THE DRESS

Browse our Vendor Directory for a bridal salon near you. Be aware that most dress shops require at least six months to order your dress. Don't forget to bring stockings, shoes, a strapless bra and a hair clip to your appointments. Also bring any tear sheets or printouts from bridal fashion magazines of those dresses you adore, so that the sales staff can get a sense of your style. And now's the time to start a fitness program and get in shape to look your best in that dream dress.

9.  BOOK THE BASICS

Top wedding locations and vendors are booked as much as a year in advance, so as soon as you've agreed on the type of wedding you would like to have, use our comprehensive Vendor Directory and run to make your reservations in the following order: ceremony and reception locations, ceremony officiant, caterer, reception band, photographer, florist, cake designer, videographer, stationer and finally, the rental company.

Reception sites go particularly fast, but many places will allow you to put a courtesy "pencil hold" on the date for two weeks with no deposit. Finding your ideal spot isn't easy, so if a site meets 80% of your requirements, reserve it!

10.  SET UP YOUR REGISTRY

In this shopping frenzy, remember that your guests are going to want to buy presents for YOU. You'll enjoy the convenience of viewing your registry and making changes any time, day or night. And, your guests will be thrilled to have one place where they can find all your gift choices. You can also create your own wedding website to share your engagement stories, last-minute wedding details and get the word out about your registry. It's fast and easy! Simply answer a few questions, pick a pattern and we'll handle all the technical details.

Finally, get a little help from your friends.

With all the excitement ahead of you, it's important to know that WeddingsNorthValley.com has all the ideas, advice and tools you need to make planning as simple as possible. Let our experts guide you through your wedding planning -- sign up for a FREE WeddingsNorthValley.com membership now.

The Wedding Lady
Normal 0 0 1 21 123 1 1 151 11.1287 0 0 0

Tips, advice, information, stories and even "behind the scenes" secrets of wedding professionals in Northern California.

Welcome to Wedding Wishes!  We want to start off by extending a very sincere thank you to all that entered for an opportunity to receive our very special Wedding Wish.  

 

Local businesses along with KHSLTV/KNVN/CW10 have come together to create a one very unique wedding experience.  The North State has quite a bit to offer when it comes to throwing a wedding….we want North State couples to keep their dollars local when it comes to celebrating such a special experience. 

 

Our Wedding Wishes event will take place this October on Saturday the 30^th.  Time and further details are all part of the planning process that we will unfold over the next several months..  We need you, our viewers and visitors, to help us select our lucky winner.  Voting starts this Friday the 7^th – please take a look at each of our four finalist couples this week as they will each interview with Megan and Rob on Wake Up!  

 

Your opinion matters!  You can help us plan by checking back every week to vote on details of the wedding,   Share your thoughts and let us know what you think!?

 

Stay tuned as we’ll bring you special offers from our participating partners and lots of  info to help our other viewers who might be planning their own wedding!

 

We’ll have a guest blogger, Carol Thompson, otherwise know as The Wedding Lady.  She will save you time and help you brainstorm with ideas to make your wedding a very unique and personal event.  

 

Thank you and we look forward to all of your help!!