Wedding Blog

I enjoyed researching this throw back immensely! I got such a chuckle looking at the hairstyles and the attire. I totally rocked one of the bridesmaid’s hairstyles (second one from the left, top photo). I found these fabulous photos on www.willyoubemybridesmaidblog.com/. Check them out an see what brides of decades past made their closest friends wear.

A teal dress with puffy sleeves was the height of fashion. Anyone out there remember shoulder pads?

I remember multi-colored bridesmaids as well. Is this a trend that should come back?

If you want more information on selecting bridesmaids’ dresses, check out this article on PerfectWeddingGuide.com. As always, if you have comments or questions about this topic or any other wedding-related topic, leave a post for me here or email me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.

Your partner in perfect planning,

Susan

Today’s blog was inspired by one photograph. Here it is:

My friend Lindsay from Room Service here in Orlando sent it to me. I am a big fan of soft furniture at events and have used it quite often, but this photo blew me away. Why is it so special? The throw pillows are made from the same fabric as the sashes on the bridesmaids dresses. How cool! This reaffirms why I love weddings so much. There is just no end to the creative touches that couples bring to their events.

For more information on adding special touches to your wedding through creative decor click here

Do you have any photos of your decor and creative touches? Send them to me at susan.southerland@pwg.com. I would love to blog about them so that other brides and grooms can get inspiration from your wedding.

Happy planning!

In response to my January 26th blog about color trends for 2009, Cassaundra wrote me the following question:

I AM THINKING OF ROYAL BLUE, ORANGE, AND GOLD FOR MY WEDDING COLORS. HOWEVER I AM NOT REALLY SURE HOW TO BLEND THEM. HELP!!

Well Cassaundra, I have a few thoughts on blending your colors. First, let’s take a look at them.

The gold and the orange blend seamlessly. You can use either color as your base and use the other color for accents. In other words, you can use a gold linen with orange and gold flowers. Or, you can use an orange linen with gold and orange flowers. The photo below is one of my favorite table arrangements.

Now, adding in the blue may be a bit more of a challenge. I am a graduate of the University of Florida. When I think of orange and blue, I think, “Go Gators!” but I am sure we can find a way.

What about having the girls wear royal blue dresses, or add some blue delphinium to your arrangements.

I think the splash of blue will take the orange and gold look from very formal to whimsical. If that suits your personality, go for it!

I am very visual, so I would suggest that when you are shopping that you bring large swatches of your colors and layer things on them. That will help you determine whether you are going to bold with any of the colors (most likely with the blue or the orange).

Good luck and happy shopping. Please send me photos of your wedding day. I would love to see how you decided to blend your colors.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please post them here or send them to me at susan.southerland@pwg.com.

One of the things that makes me nervous about planning a wedding in a short period of time is that there is very little room for error. There just isn’t enough time to fix any mistakes. Jill experienced one major hick up while she was planning her wedding. Here is what she told me.

I did stumble over a major road block when it came to the bridesmaid dresses. I had my girls order gorgeous navy bridesmaid gowns from a well-known gown designer. My bridesmaids did have to pay a rush fee, but it was not exorbitant. My bridesmaids were also happy because I picked the color and fabric and I let them pick the style that looked best with their body types. Nobody complained about the rush fee because they knew it was necessary to ensure on time delivery.

Two weeks before the wedding the dresses were still not delivered. After calling frantically I learned that my bridesmaid dress orders had been lost. That is right, LOST. L-O-S-T. They lost the order! Deposits had been charged and processed, but no dresses, nada!

After a lot of back and forth conversations on the phone the designer promised to make the dresses asap and pay for the fittings. They did do this, but my bridesmaids did not have their finished gowns until several days before the wedding. It was very stressful.

Susan’s Tip: I think that Jill was very brave to order bridesmaids’ dresses so close to the wedding date. The dresses have to be made, shipped and fitted. That takes time, and it is time when the items are out of your control. If you order bridesmaids dresses shortly before the wedding, I suggest finding back up dresses somewhere just in case. Better yet, as long as you need to find back up dresses, why not just purchase dresses off-the-rack? Choose a color and let your bridesmaids find a beautiful dress in a style that suits each of them. You will completely avoid the stress of waiting for the dresses to arrive at the gown salon.

Here are Jill’s beautiful bridesmaids.

Tomorrow… choosing a hair and makeup artist.