Cool peacock invitations

I've always been fascinated by the beautiful colors of peacock feathers. You see them a lot in art deco paintings and in some vintage prints. I love these invitations below simply because they look elegant yet don't appear pretentious as many would associate with having a peacock-inspired style for a wedding. Some people might think it's a very snobby theme, but these invites show that there is still a classy way to convey one's sophisticated taste. For a peacock palette, I just like the whole matching of colors in teal, gold, and even green and magenta.

Pretty Tiffany Blue Dresses Luv It

So, I was browsing around Thisnext.com and discovered some pretty bridesmaid dresses in Tiffany blue. I'm nuts about this color palette, so when I discovered these collections, I decided that it's best to show it here. Note- the last dress in the series is available in blue, the pic that showed up just happens to be a beige one. Makes me wish I could be a bridesmaid this summer! Or, even if I'm not tapped into being one, I'd love to wear a gorgeous dress - just to feel like a pretty lady:)

Mother of the Bride Dresses that Say "WOW"

I always love Mother's Day because it really is a special time for mothers all over the world. And when it comes to planning a wedding, most mothers are happy to help whenever they can, though, some brides may argue that sometimes having mom too involved can back fire. Yet, at the end of the day, I think she's just trying to make it a perfect day. With this said, I found some gorgeous dresses for mom to wear at the wedding. I chose these colors because they are flattering and don't make mom look like an outdated bridesmaid - so to speak. But, what I do love about these dresses is how they have a very classy look to them without making mom look like some diva. So, here they are:

Audrey's Mother of the Bride

Features a pretty blue dress with a lovely designed skirt. I think this color would be great a beach wedding reception or one that is by a romantic lake.

House of Brides

Features an elegant asymmetrical layered skirt similar to the one above. Oh, I'd wear this one at a Fall wedding.

Tadashi at Nordstrom's

This gown has a very stylish appeal to it because of its taffeta fabric - love that collar. And navy is so chic for mom. For this gown, I can see this being worn at a lavish hotel wedding - probably at a fall or winter wedding, but definitely at a wedding with a more formal flair to it.

If you're looking out for more ideas, I found this great blog entry from Faye and Greer about Shopping for the Mother of the Bride

Green Bridesmaid Dresses

With green being as popular as ever, I stumbled upon these lovely bridesmaid dresses. These are all on the brighter side of green, but darker shades of olive look equally pretty as well. Some of the one's I like are:

Nordstrom's



Forever21



Raylia

Food TV Wedding Week

It's Wedding Week at the FoodTV beginning on April 28. I'm so excited to watch it.

A Recession Wedding

With all the news of a mild recession hitting the economy, you gotta think about the impact this has on your wallet. And if you already have a limited wedding budget, the budget might just get thinner this year. But let's not fret now. There are still many creative ways to have a wedding even if your budget is small. Whether it's a 5K or 10K wedding, the important thing to remember is what aspects of the wedding are the most important to you.

Start with the invitations, this is an area where you can definitely save by doing them yourself. Just choosing the right design and paper can make a big difference. If you stick with a simple yet stylish motif for the invitations, you can still pull this off without spending too much. When asking for an RSVP, have your guests email you a response, or you can set up a free wedding website, that facilitates the RSVP process.

You can also save a lot of money by minimizing the amount of flowers. I actually attended a wedding wherein the tables were decorated with a cake as the centerpiece. A simple sprig of daffodils decorated the cake and guests had a piece of the cake!

Another way to save is by having the wedding reception and ceremony in the same place. You will end up saving a lot more considering that you don't have to find a separate location for the nuptials. Actually, a home wedding would be great place for this idea.

As for food, this is where you can actually get pretty inventive with the budget. If you are on a very tight budget, you can have what is called an "afternoon reception" whereby it's right smack in mid-afternoon, so you can serve up sandwiches, appetizers, cookies, and small pastries to guests. This approach can still look stylish when served on the right kind of dinnerware. It's sort of similar to an afternoon tea, but it's sort of like a cocktail party, too. No need to worry about a main course. Drinks can be pre-bought at a warehouse store like Sam's Club, and you can even buy wine, if you want to have a light afternoon reception. For the wedding cake, have little cupcakes instead of a large cake. You can make these yourself - cupcakes are super easy to make.

Finally, if you still want to have money leftover for a honeymoon, you can save a lot by shopping around for packaged deals that are available during off season travel.

Wedding Colors

I found this really informative video on wedding colors. Seems like there are much more choices than we think beyond just the usual pink, blue, and green:


Weddings: 5 Color Combos

The Cutest Easter Cake

Oh, I'm so excited that Easter Sunday is coming up! Found this really lovely cake made by Pink Cake Box who also creates some gorgeous cakes for all special occasions. I love this Easter one:

Basketball Groomsmen Cakes

Since it is March Madness, I'd thought that some basketball-inspired groomsmen cakes would be a great idea especially for the groom who can't get enough of college hoops. As you'll see several of these cakes use the color orange for the ball (obviously), so the challenge is creating one that doesn't take away from the elegance of the wedding. And don't forget, you can even have the cake carry the name and mascot of your alma mater.

From Cakes By Yvonne -




From Carrie's Cakes




From Carolyn's Sweet Tooth

Easter Treats Wishing Board

Easter is coming soon, so I've gotten ever so inspired by the colorful ideas out there and made my own Easter "wishing board". Who's counting calories anyways!

1) Easter Chick Box with jelly morsels from See's Candies

2) Easter Basket with 17 sugar cookies in a gift box from Elenis

3) Easter Quartet from Fannie May

4) Harry and David Easter Cookies with sayings

Filene's Basement Bridal Gown Sale

On Friday, Filene's Basement will hold its annual wedding dress sale as we all know it is one of the most popular sales. There are actually 4 sales going on at their various branches falling on different dates:



Let the madness begin! Remember that the last sale is a the Tyson's Corner Branch in Virginia on April 4, 2008.

Black and White Wedding Theme

There's always something inspirational to find about weddings all over the web for a romantic black and white theme. When I think of this theme, I think patterns of damask, vintage lace, toile, tulle, posh pearls, polka dots and crisp white linens all over the decorations with accents of black. A little hunting on the web yielded some interesting stuff:

Dress for the bridesmaids - I love this one



Wedding cupcakes



For romantic guest favors, some rose sachets in white



Some more pretty ideas from Here Comes The Bride, Big Fat and Hey

Wedding Gloves To Wear

I've always believed that wedding gloves are the most romantic piece that completes the wedding gown. Whether it's a long pair (i.e., opera length) or short pair of gloves, it is the essential accessory that adds that elegant touch to the day. There is a wide array of gloves on the web from cheap ones to fancy lace, but looking for the right one isn't easy at all:

In leather



In satin, yes, I know this looks really cheap!



In lace



In every possible design..

Petit Fours - Yummy Bridal Desserts

Petit fours - those little cakes that you can just eat and eat. I've eaten 10 of them at any one time during a bridal shower tea party last winter. But, they can be downright expensive. You can try making them: try this recipe, or you can also buy them now at these places:

Dragonfly Petit Fours (4 dozen) at $74.99



Coffee Petits Fours at $16.99



Valentine Petits Fours at $46.75

Cool Tech Gifts for Groomsmen

When looking for groomsmen gifts, what comes into mind, or more like what do you find on the web first? Let's see now: flasks, beer mugs, and cigar cases? Those are a fine if you live in the era of Al Capone, but now there are more choices - in fact, it can be a lot of fun finding gifts for your groomsmen especially if they are one of your closest friends and just happen to be tech junkies. With that said, I've found a couple of nifty gadgets (note: money here is not an issue) that may just seal the deal:

Philipps VOIP 841 Skype - This puppy is so cool that you'd want one for yourself



Squeezebox with Pandora




Nokia E65 - a 3G phone with VoIP capability - super cool

Cufflinks Alert

Cool cufflinks alert! I found this really cool ones from Saks Fifth - just the right kind of gift for a fiance on Valentine's Day! It's got a watch on it - who would have thought? Made of stainless steel for durability! When you think of cufflinks, it isn't reall something that men wear everyday with their shirts, but it's just a very romantic gift.

Check it out:

Dieting and the Bridezilla Factor

I was reading this article about how more than 70% of brides-to-be lose weight before the big day. Even more disturbing is that more than one-third choose to take diet pills and even fast. While it is important to get that perfect wedding look, it's important to remember that part of preparing for the big is the experience and sheer joy of planning a wedding. So if you starving oneself in order to fit into size 4 gown, think hard about what you are doing unless you are doing it safely and within a healthy regimen. After all, you don't want to faint or feel like a waif even you look good in that gown because deep down inside, your body is starving. And since extreme dieting eventually comes back as a double whammy in weight, going to great extents to lose weight without a proper nutritional plan is simply dangerous. For anyone out there fasting yourself, do realize that it's about sensible. For the full article, go here.

Proposing on Valentine's?

Hey, guys listen up! Thinking of proposing at Valentine's? 1-800-Flowers at You Tube is having a contest! Here are the details:

"Enter the WILL YOU MARRY ME? contest where we are giving one lucky person a once in a lifetime opportunity. Surprise your significant other with one of the Biggest Marriage Proposals ever. Just submit a video "popping" the question for a chance to have it played in front of millions of YouTube users on February 11th but more importantly that special someone!"

Laura M. Collin's Designer Invitations

There are invitations made of paper, but how about one crafted in lucite, silk, or some gorgeous material? I stumbled upon the website of Laura M. Collin's Designs whose invitation designs include a box made of silk dupioni that houses a beautiful invitation presented in a scroll. This is by far my favorite:

27 Dresses

Boy meets girl. Girl has sister. Girl falls in love with boy whom sister is engaged to. Ah, a classic story just waiting for a good ending. I'm really curious to see how "27 Dresses" the movie fares? Who knows perhaps this has happened to YOU? You know what I'm talking about. You like him, he likes you, but somehow your circumstances in life are different and the timing just sucks.