Daily Wedding Dish

You can find your wedding dress inspirations from the stars! Hear from custom wedding gown designer Annette Thurmon on the top gowns from the 2010 Academy Awards! And Blogger Brides get ready, we reveal the post of the day!

Brides we want to hear from you! Tell us your favorite gown featured on this episode of The Wedding Dish. Today is the last day to decide and comment below with your favorite. Tuesday we will choose the lucky winner to receive a cosmetic package worth $150 from Pur Minerals – the leader in mineral based makeup, skin care treatments, cosmetics and beauty products. You don’t want to miss this giveaway!

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March 9, 2010 by Daily Wedding Dish | Filed Under | 139 Comments
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Fri

Who doesn’t love the sensual and robust colors of Spanish culture.  I’ve recently been inspired by the cultural dance form of Flamenco, and unlike most boards that seem to focus on red and black when it comes to this beautiful artform, I’ve decided to step it up a notch.  Warning, this dream palette is not for the weak of hue.

(Source: Wedding Nouveau)

When was the last time you dreamed of mantillas, bull fighters, Catalan, and the essence of Spanish Vogue?  Have a wonderful week.

Spicyhugs,

Fri

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March 15, 2010 by Fri | Filed Under | 1 Comment
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GM Shop Girl
Check out some of my favorite destination and garden party-inspired pieces from the Get Married Shop!  Today’s the last day to shop our Semi-Annual sale and get 15% off each and every order.   Just enter promo code gmsaleday, and shop happy!

Get Married Garden Party


Get Married Beach

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by GM Shop Girl | Filed Under | 0 Comments
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Daily Wedding Dish

Check out the new home of Get Married’s Wedding Dish. Browse through celebrity image galleries, take quizzes, watch videos and more! One today’s show? Prince William’s wedding plans, a crazy couple spends their first night together behind bars and we reveal the featured Blogger Bride’s post of the day!

Enjoy!

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by Daily Wedding Dish | Filed Under | 0 Comments
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Bicoastal_Bride

A few months ago, I vented my frustration about the Catholic Church’s general dislike of “Here Comes the Bride,” a “theatrical” piece, as a processional choice. And, in the spirit of being as prepared as possible, I armed myself with plenty of unique and different options, though all traditional church songs, before meeting with our officiating priest and rehearsal director over the holidays.

Well, to my complete and utter surprise, our particular church is not only fine with songs like “Here Comes the Bride” and the well-known “Wedding March” recessional by Mendelssohn, but also with plenty of other non-traditional tunes, as well. So, without further ado, here are our picks, which I’m absolutely thrilled about!

Processional

Trumpet Voluntary in D Major

I love this march, “Trumpet Voluntary in D Major,” especially when played on the organ, which we’ll have available at our church.

Bride’s Processional

Wedding Processional from The Sound of Music

After a lot of thought, I’ve decided to walk down the aisle to a revised version of the wedding processional from The Sound of Music, one of my favorite classic plays and movies. I can’t wait to walk to this melody, which we’ll shorten and tweak so that the song doesn’t launch into the “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” portion.

Recessional

The Lord of the Dance

We’ll ask my bridesmaid Gianna, who will be our cantor throughout the ceremony, to sing a couple verses of this song, “The Lord of the Dance,” as we make our joyful walk back down the aisle together.

Which songs will you include?

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by Bicoastal_Bride | Filed Under | 1 Comment
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GM Shop Girl

Get Married Wedding Shop
Invitations Ceremony Reception Favors Gifts Shower Supplies More
Last Day! GET MARRIED SEMI-ANNUAL SALE 15% off every order! - Use Promo Code GMSALEDAY - Ends 3/15/2010
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by GM Shop Girl | Filed Under | 0 Comments
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CapeCodBride
All brides know that the first thing anyone asks you once you’re engaged is “What does the ring look like?” (if you tell them over the phone), or if you happen make the announcement in person, you will experience the immediate grabbing of your left ring finger for inspection and approval.

Having experienced my own engagement and the recent engagements of my friends, plus reading about other’s experiencing in the world of wedding blogs, I’ve quickly learned that engagement rings are a big source of controversy these days.  You have the traditional brides who want the Tiffany & Co. platinum setting, the hipsters and practical brides who want a vintage and/or cruelty free bauble, and the budget minded brides who want something simple that won’t break the bank. There are even some who are on board with men wearing engagement rings as well, to symbolize their equal commitment to their relationship.

But all of this bling controversy begs the question, why have an engagement ring at all?

When I was home for the holidays and visiting one of my best friends from college, her mother stated that she was never given an engagement ring.  In fact, neither my mother nor my MIL ever had engagement rings either.  According to my friend’s mom, their generation, which pioneered the feminist movement, felt that engagement rings were completely unnecessary, and worse, a misogynistic symbol of a man buying a woman.  Why not just have two people make a consenting, adult decision to get married, and then be done with it?

“Well Mom,” my friend replied, “I may not need a man to buy me a diamond, but I’d still like one.”

My friend’s statement is the perfect representation of my generation’s attitudes towards engagement rings.  As woman who grew up in a world where we were taught we are independent, capable, and equal to men, we don’t need a ring to symbolize that we are a man’s property, but most of us still like the tradition of wearing something sentimental and meaningful to us.  We are able to choose how traditional we want to be (through our engagement ring choice and other life choices) because through their rebellion of cultural norms, our mothers paved the way for us to have any opportunity and freedom we desire.

To be honest, my husband and I took a more practical route and had already made a mutual decision to get married and even enroll in marriage classes before we made it “official” by him getting me a diamond ring. And while I love my ring and what it represents, I always found it silly that people still don’t consider you really engaged until you have that ring on your finger.

What are your views on engagement rings? Do you view them as necessary in our current culture? Would you be willing to get engaged if your fiance did not present you with a diamond?

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by CapeCodBride | Filed Under | 3 Comments
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RelentlessBride

Sadly, I have to admit… the dance lesson was much harder than I anticipated. I have no training in dance. But i love to go “dancing”. Whether this hurts me or not, i still found myself constantly missing beats and not being able to do the basic fundamentals.

But even though it was very challenging… and even though i was sad that i sucked at it… i’m still looking forward to the next lesson… I want to improve individually and as a team. This being said… well, I’m sure you read FH’s Lesson 1 post… Yes, I am Type A. Yes, I am a control Freak. Yes, I am having a very hard time allowing myself to be lead… Yikes, this is not only physically challenging but i think its more mentally challenging for me!

The lesson started off fun. Deborah, our instructor from The Wedding Dance Specialists, asked “What foot do you lead with?” and I said “My right!” and she said “And do you know why?” and i responded, “Because I am ALWAYS RIGHT!” and she said “YES!!!” and of course we had a good laugh at that.  We did basic positioning of how we should hold each other. We stayed in position as she adjusted our frames and holds, and explained why certain form helped us.  Holding position was hard – i won’t lie, my arms started to get that dull ache LOL (i’m that out of shape!

We brought our first dance song in, and I was a bit tentative when she asked what it was. I love the song “Whatever it is” by Zac Brown Band and the words were just kind of perfect. The beat is great but i just couldn’t see FH and I pulling off a “first dance” that was slow to the song. Within chords of the music being played, Deborah was off… just swaying to the music and doing steps that totally worked! I started to get excited.

So we had two dance options… both of which i thought would be fun, natural and to be honest – kind of sexy… in a non-lewd kind of way… and i kept envisioning myself in my dress dancing with FH to “OUR” song… and I couldn’t stop smiling.

But now here’s the hard part. I couldn’t do the basic fundamentals. I mean the circling was really hard. But i felt awkward doing the basics. I don’t know why, maybe i felt self-conscious? Maybe I was afraid of doing it wrong? Whatever it was, i felt a little off. And then when we put the two of us together, I just could NOT follow… i could not “let go” … it was sooooo hard!

All in all, Deborah says we did well. She said we didn’t have any breakdowns in communications and that neither one of us lost “it”. I think its because whatever “it” is, we didn’t have “it” in the first place LOL… but seriously, she gave us a decent grade on our first lesson but i felt like it was all FH. I mean, with a smile and an open mind – he did EVERYTHING she asked. He didn’t shy away from a single move and just kept trying. I was super impressed with how willing he was to make this work. And the fact that Deborah told him that this is something he can do – he truly believes her. I do too!… But now i feel like, I’m the obstacle.

So my BIGGEST lesson to learn is to let go … and I have a feeling if i do let go on the dance floor – this is a couple’s hobby that FH may be willing to further explore even post-wedding. So i’ve got a lot riding on this… b/c i really think that not just on the dance floor but in certain general life issues – i need to let go and not be so controlling, i’ve just always had a hard time with that…

So wish me luck as we get ready for our next dance lesson… I pray that I can be mentally more open like FH is! WHO KNEW he’d be teaching me something about dancing!!!

Stay tuned for our next posts and read the rest of the He Said, She Said Series!

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by RelentlessBride | Filed Under | 0 Comments
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December

I’m sorry I never posted my shopping experiences as I flitted from Davids Bridal to Weddings by Eda to Princess Diaries and Belmeade Formal Wear then back to Davids Bridal. I saw a great many dresses at these places, many of them I thought might be the one.

At Davids Bridal, round 1, I tried on about 7 dresses and posted the pictures on my facebook. I tried to post them here but the picture size was too large and I’m unsure how to resize them properly. My family and friends commented on all of them and all liked a specific dress that ran about $500, over my price range but decent considering the average price for a wedding dress nowadays is around $15,000! There was another dress that no one liked aside from myself, my fiance, and an aunt in Michigan.

This past week I decided to put dresses from my mind. I was begining to get confused and overwhelmed by too much choice and style. But then I saw an ad on TV that Davids Bridal was having a $99 sale until the 22nd of March.  So I figured that I’d at least check it out though I doubted very much that I’d find anything to my liking and read many rants over how badly many brides were treated at these sales in various states and stores.

Today I went ot David’s Bridal, after snatching up one of the few open appointment positions. The place was PACKED! Not only was it the sale but it is also prom season, which is madness in any store offering satin and tulle and sequins. Luckily, I had the aid of 2 sales persons back and forth in between myself and many other clients. Still thinking I wouldn’t find anything, I was very patient and casual with everyone.

I grabed 5 dresses from the sale area, sized 12-16 which didn’t have many in that size catagory. One I liked alright but looked more like an overgrown flower girl dress, the others desired more bust than I have and the last was an old friend from before: the dress no one but myself, my fiance and an aunt in Michigan liked.

Style No: T9391

It was a size 12, a lil small and unable to zip up completely, but perfect all the same. Marked down from $549, it was over $400 off! I had several sales attendants inform me how lucky I would be if I bought it.

(Read More…)

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by December | Filed Under | 2 Comments
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pinklovebird

Up until yesterday, I’d never really thought about just how much I rely on the internet for planning my wedding. I was listening to a story on the radio about a person who doesn’t own a computer because they just didn’t think they needed one. This really made me consider just how much I rely on the internet for so many things, such as my day-to-day job, communication with family and friends, and self-education regarding random topics that spark my curiosity. And then I thought about what I use the internet for above all else… planning my wedding, of course!

(Photo: blog.favorsinthecity.com)

I didn’t grow up with the technology of computers (at least not in the advanced way they are used now for education and communication) but even still, I can’t imagine my life as it is now without having access to the world wide web. How on earth would I even plan my wedding? I live in a city that is 16 hours away from where my wedding is taking place. Over the past 15 months of planning, I’ve utilized e-mail and search engines and product reviews in order to contract practically everything relating to my wedding. Sure, I read a lot of magazines and books to gain the necessary knowledge to plan my own wedding, but I’ve found it to be extremely helpful that I have the ability to extend that research on a product’s website, or to reach out to fellow brides on message boards and blogs, thereby benefitting from direct advice and ideas. In a way, I truly feel like the wedding I’m having is only made possible because of the internet. Here are some of the ways in which the Internet has been of assistance during my planning process…

  • I discovered our photographer via a fan page on Facebook and then also contacted and booked her through Facebook.
  • I found our florist by browsing through real wedding photos on a vendor-recommendation website. When one bride’s flower photos caught my eye, I looked up the florists’ website and consulted with and booked them entirely via email.
  • I scheduled our venue visitation via email. Once we visited it in person and decided to hold our wedding there, I’ve since consulted with the coordinator entirely via email and even accepted and signed the contract over email.
  • I’ve ordered several accessories - including the cake topper, garters, wedding guest “book”, and decor – through money-saving websites like Ebay and Amazon.
  • I created a blog on Get Married’s Blogger Brides site, which has been extremely beneficial for both documenting my wedding as well as sharing ideas and getting fresh perspectives on how we can make our own wedding unique. I’ve also picked up countless etiquette tips just by searching through these forums.
  • I created and currently maintain our budget and guest list entirely on a free wedding website. It saves me the hassle of having to keep track of all these loose papers, and this way I can also access this information no matter where I’m at.
  • We self-designed our save-the-dates at home, then ordered them to be printed on magnets through a cost-effective printing website we found online.
  • We created a personalized wedding website that shares valuable information with guests. This way the wedding details are always right at their fingertips… and I don’t have to constantly repeat the same information.
  • I located several wedding cake designers via google search and we were able to narrow down our choices based on the information I found on the bakers’ websites. I then booked cake-tasting appointments entirely via email after communication with each baker entirely via email, even getting price quotes based on example photos I found in google searches and blogs!
  • Our home-made wedding invitations were inspired by browsing thousands of examples through google searches and blogs. We’ll also be ordering all of the supplies and paper online through an affordably priced paper website.
  • I am able to keep up with the latest in unique ideas and giveaway contests through newsfeeds on Facebook and Twitter.
  • I’ve downloaded dozens of podcasts through iTunes to listen to wedding advice and tips while I’m on the go and don’t have the time to read.
  • I’ve attended Bridal Shows that I was notified about through e-mail advertising.
  • I’ve narrowed the search for my wedding gown by perusing designer websites, and have been able to locate stores that sell these dresses and price compare, all thanks to the internet!

This list makes me wonder how entirely different the outcome of my wedding would be if the internet didn’t exist. Would I be spending a lot more money because I’m not able to easily price compare? Would I have as much fun with the planning process if I had limited capability to access the endless ideas I’ve found on blogs and websites? It’s no wonder I’m so addicted to the Internet these days… it’s truly been my source of inspiration! I wonder, how did anyone plan a wedding before the Internet was so widespread and relied upon?!

(Photo: CartoonStock.com)

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to plan your wedding without the Internet? Just how much do you rely on email and social networking to make your wedding dreams a reality?

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by pinklovebird | Filed Under | 1 Comment
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iloveus

I’m not sure if anyone has blogged about this previously, but when I read about this idea, I got a little teary eyed.

I saw these origami wedding decorations and I thought they looked really neat. Then, I read the significance behind them and I was hooked.

Origami Wedding Decorations

According to an old Japanese tradition (“sembazuru”), the Bride and Groom are supposed to make 1,000 cranes before the wedding.

Making the cranes brings the couple together and signifies the ideal values for a happy marriage: love, patience, tolerance, understanding, etc.

I guess the couple who folds together, grows together?

Although this would take a lot of time and effort, I think the project would be fun and a beautiful display of our love. A thousand cranes also signifies happiness, prosperity and can even grant wishes!

Some more information on the tradition:

http://www.lisashea.com/japan/origami/sales/history/wedding.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thousand_origami_cranes

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by iloveus | Filed Under | 1 Comment
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