In a perfect world, wedding dresses would be free, so that every woman could relish in the dress of her choice.  No two dresses would be the same, since every dress would be tailored to fit each individual bride and fashion would be created from what makes us feel most confident, all opinions aside.

In a perfect world, Jenny Lee would have created my bridal gown.  She didn’t show her bridal collection, nationally, until 2003, and I married in 2002, so even if I had won the lottery, I wouldn’t have heard of her.L

Anyway, Sher (from Sher’s Bridal) says that Fit and Flare gowns are all the rage in Louisville, so I’m including a link to jennyleebridal.com, so that you can check out Styles # 716 & 718, which may inspire your sensibilities when searching for that PERFECT wedding gown.

I am so impressed with Mark Brower, chief appointed designer for The Vineyard Collection,  a more contemporary brand of The Priscilla of Boston group.   I have particular affection for the “Molly” style, which is a off-the-shoulder, A-line silhouette with a pleated neckline, with a built in combination of soft and sexy.  Constructed in Silk-Cotton Faille, this romantic number seems a perfect choice for the pending summer months.

 The “Piper” style, which is a fit and flare gown is another favorite, with a draped bodice outfitted in silk taffeta.  I imagine that the draped bodice may have the inherent ability to cinch any tummy excess, much like the girdle.   However, it is always wise to experiment with fabric and style when searching for that perfect gownJ

The Vineyard Collection can be found at The Couture Closet in LaGrange.

Are you looking for a reception hall in Louisville?  If so, the newly renovated Gingerwoods Event Hall has opened its doors to the public. 

Gingerwoods is located at 7611 Rose Island Road in Prospect and is surrounded on all sides by protected land. With its rural setting, Gingerwoods provides an inherent level of privacy, unparalleled by most venues. Hickory cabin wood flooring and a gently curved stage highlight its’ indoor reception area, which can accommodate up to 200 people, seated.  The 2,400 square foot, outdoor deck provides additional space for entertaining guests.

For more information or to schedule a tour, you can contact Rob Kremer at 228-5168.

Many designers, who showcase their wares at New York’s Fashion Week (both Spring and Fall ‘08) showed ample amounts of metallic everything.  You saw metallic in garment detailing, suits, dresses, jackets and shoes.  We’re all well aware of the fact that wedding designers pull a lot of inspiration from the runway, and Ann Taylor is no different.  Ann Taylor’s bridal line, Celebrations has loads of cute bridesmaid’s dresses, (one, of which, i found for around $25.00, but was only available in size 16) but it’s their Melanie shoe that has won my heart.  Priced at a fair $108.00, this elegant summer sandal, in shiny metallic leather, would be a great option for summer weddings and beyond.  I, honestly, believe you could get some wear out of a pair of these babies.  For the faint of feet, beware, these are a healthy three inches of heel.  Be sure to visit Ann Taylor’s website, and use their zooming feature on this shoe, if you’d like to inspect the detailing.

The Wedtro.com Bridal Expo III has now been slated for Sunday, August 10 from 1 until 4 p.m. The show will be hosted at Gingerwoods, Prospect’s newest Event Hall. Gingerwoods is located at 7611 Rose Island Road, so if you haven’t picked your reception place yet, you should definitely check them out. We’re currently planning the bridal show’s Grand Prize Giveaway, which always takes great consideration. Do we offer a Mini Vacation or a Free Venue Rental? We’re open to suggestions………

Pearls have long been considered the hallmark of traditional elegance in the jewelry department.  Wedding publications are now splashing their images all over the pages of their magazines and pearls are, once again, experiencing popularity.  The love of pearls wax and wane, much like the love for a pair of old Levis.   There’s simply nothing better than an heirloom strand of pearls.

Given their vast history, the once rare and exclusive natural pearl has emerged in cultured form, as a gem to be enjoyed by the masses.  Fred Ward, in his article, The History of Pearls explains that Kikichi Mikimoto, single-handedly launched the cultured pearl industry by enticing oysters to produce round pearls on demand.   It turns out that pearls are created by introducing round nuclei cut from U.S. mussel shells into the oysters flesh.  The tissue forms a pearl sack, which secretes a nacre coating over the nuclei that ultimately forms a round pearl (PBS.org).  

 I wore Carolee pearls at my wedding, because I love her style and price point.  I chose to spend the bulk of my wedding expenditure on food and entertainment, so it was nice to keep some in my pocket, when it came to my jewelry.  

Here’s a sampling  of Carolee’s style.  Shown here are the AB Crystal and White Simulated Pearl necklace and the matching AB Crystal and White Simulated Pearl Drop Pierced Earrings.

My best friend is getting married soon, and as her Maid of Honor, one of my main responsibilities was to plan and throw her a bridal shower.  I plan events for a living, so I felt up to the challenge, but I also had some hurdles to jump.  Julie and I, for starters, are not very traditional people.   I had a child before marriage and she married later in life.  Considering our upbringing, I knew that some of our guests might have trouble understanding the type of party that I was organizing. 

Julie has been an educator for some time now ; she has her masters in education.   She has her own apartment and all of the necessary accoutrements inside it that make her apartment a home.  The one thing that she did not have, that she wished for more than anything, was to have a post-wedding week to breathe, without financial strain.  She, unfortunately, is still paying off college loans and her fiancé, who has two children of his own, has responsibilities with regard to his children.  Julie and I agreed that she already had what she needed, and all that was left was what she wanted most of all – a honeymoon.  I had heard of, but had never visited “Thebigday.com.”  I knew that it was a honeymoon registry, and figured it could be a solution for Julie, and ultimately, something that I could share with you.

Thebigday.com is like Christmas for adults, but more specifically for honeymooners.  You register for use of their site, tell them when your marrying, who you’re marrying and where you’d like to honeymoon, and the rest is bliss.  You can upload pictures of your destination, write a general note to guests of your registry and put a dollar amount on gifts you’d like to receive, with regards to your honeymoon.  For example, after Julie registered, an arbitrary list with interesting options like, “a romantic dinner for two” or “a taxi ride into town” came up for Julie to either accept or eliminate as gift options.  The price of each gift is left to your discretion, so if you feel that most of your friends are strapped for cash, you can choose to make every gift $20.00 or so.  Julie loved watching the gifts pour in, but the best part was that, if desired, she could pool the money and pay for high ticket items, such as airplane tickets or hotel stay, in the event they had not been covered.  Thebigday.com takes a small percentage of the proceeds collected, but use and ease of its’ service is worth every penny. 

I created bridal shower invitations in Photoshop, in the form of a plane ticket.    I used the Jamaica emblem (but you could also use the map of Jamaica in silhouette) and filled in Julie’s name and Destination in the appropriate sections.  I asked everyone to “purchase a piece of Julie’s Honeymoon.”  I, then, referred everyone to Julie’s registry at Thebigday.com.

We played 3 games, and gave away 4 gifts.  I had all of the guests fill out envelopes with their names and addresses, so that Julie would have pre-addressed envelopes for her thank you notes, and before the end of the party gave a door prize to the name that Julie drew.

I went to diva-girl-parties-and-stuff.com and drummed up three bridal shower games, that I thought my group could handle.  We played Pack Rat Paradise, How well do you know me and Wedding Trivia. I used the printable versions of the games made available on their website, made 30 copies and was good to go.  Pack Rat Paradise places a value amount on items found in one’s purse.  Since most women carry purses, this game’s a no-brainer and elicits lots of laughter.   Women were amazed at the amount of senselessness they carried in their purses.  The guest with the highest value amount won a door prize.  How well do you know me is a fill in the blank questionnaire that the bride and all of the attendees fill in at the same time.  The bride then reads her answers aloud to the crowd, and the guest with the most answers that match the brides wins.  Wedding Trivia is as it sounds, a multiple choice Trivia game about wedding related content.  Again, the guest with the most correct answers wins.

I served Caribbean fare that included shrimp, a pineapple boat filled with tropical fruit and jerk chicken on sticks.  We played Reggae music and decorated the food table with fake palm tree leaves, greenery and bamboo as the centerpiece surrounded by sea shells.  I, fortunately, secured the help of Julies’s mother to help with the decorating, since I, myself, am useless in this regard.

In the end, I believe that everyone was happy to contribute to Julie’s happiness.  Showers are supposed to “shower the bride with gifts” and I believe, in our own customized way, that is exactly what we did.  We gave her the gift of financial reprieve on her honeymoon and the ability to enjoy herself without reservation.  Gone is the post party process of returning unwanted or duplicate gifts.  Julie is GOING to Jamaica.  EVERYTING COOK & CURRY.  

While researching, I came across an old New York Times article that made the argument that, generally speaking, it was the older, more sophisticated brides, who chose colored stones, as opposed to diamonds for their engagement ring.  The choice, it was decided, was based on making an “individual” statement (Anne Marie Schiro, 4-13-86).

Over 20 years has passed and now the “hot topic” in today’s wedding market is ecology (the relationship between humans and their environment).  Younger women are learning more about “Conflict Diamonds” and how their choice affects the environment.

Consider this, mining is destructive.  It’s not only punitive for the environment, but also for humans, both in the trade and as a result of the trade.  “Conflict Diamonds” out of Africa fuel civil war spawning human rights abuses and even terrorism .  “Diamonds have..been used by terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda to finance their activities and for money-laundering purposes (globalwitness.com).”

Something else to consider,   Vintage rings are hot this year.  They were hot five years ago, when I married (I have one) and their filigree is unmatched, in my opinion.  Going vintage can be your “something old;” it can be an heirloom or just your excuse to lighten the load on your environment.

Jennifer Howze of the Wall Street Journal Free Edition wrote that, “.. 93% of all engagement rings bought annually in the U.S. are diamond-only rings, according to DeBeers, and in the U.K., only 3% of engagement rings don’t contain diamonds” (5-18-07). 

I can not claim to be a proponent for the gemstone engagement ring, but this argument wouldn’t be complete without disclosing that style icons, such as Jacquelyn Bouvier Kennedy and Princess Diana received mixed gemstone engagement rings, that I am certain were lovely – add to that idea, recycled or heirloom diamonds and you’ve made an “individual statement” leaving your eco-conscious footprint. 

I love “Town & Country Weddings” for the single page glimpses of what’s new in the wonderful world of Weddings.  I also actually enjoy reading their articles and just last evening touched upon a piece of history, I’m embarassed to admit, that I’d never heard.

I struggled with the idea of taking my husband’s name and losing my surname.  Many women, I’ve read, will retain their identity as a sign of commitment to their husbands.  Others feel that taking their husband’s name will make them less “pro woman”.  I, myself, just love my family so much that by taking my husbands last name, I felt a bit like I was betraying my family, of whom I am very much proud to be a part. 

What I’ve never for a moment thought about, until it was brought to my attention in an article from Town & Country Weddings, was that I had a choice.  Lucy Stone gave every woman in America the option of choosing her partner’s name or keeping her own.  Stoner was a suffragette (she fought for women’s rights to vote) and an advocate of abolition (anti-slavery) and women’s rights.  She also, against traditional doctrine and her father’s will, worked to gain a formal education.  She attended Oberlin College in Ohio, which was the first college in the United States to admit both African Americans and Women.  Anyway, in 1855 she married a man named Henry Blackwell and is considered to be the first woman in America to have retained her maiden name.