Say Thank You to Your Bridesmaids

February 3, 2012 by  
Filed under Featured, Wedding Planning

Everyone knows that a wedding day is the bride’s day. But it takes many people to make this day truly special. It’s the savvy and wise bride who takes the time to say “Thank You” to her bridesmaids and maid of honor for their hard work and efforts. Being a bridesmaid or maid of honor sometimes can be quite a challenge, and only someone who has done this task will understand what it takes.

Brides have been known to ask bridesmaids for help planning their wedding, with the small and big details. Anything from helping them to pick out a wedding dress to hand addressing wedding invitations. Some bridesmaids or maid of honor may feel at times just as overwhelmed as the bride, even though this is not “their day.” But they know they want their friend or family member’s day to be as special and as magical as she hopes it will be.

Say “Thank You” to your hardworking bridesmaids or maid of honor during wedding planning and also after the wedding. Don’t worry if your wedding budget is stretched to the limit: you can still offer a heartfelt, meaningful “Thank You” that they will appreciate. Here are some of our favorite tips to say “Thank You” to these wonderful women who’ve helped with your wedding day.

Hold a Thank You lunch or dinner for their bridesmaids and maid of honor. You can hold this before the wedding or even after the wedding, when you are back from your honeymoon. But if you hold the Thank You lunch after your wedding, it’s important to say “Thank You” before your wedding day to each of your bridesmaids and maid of honor. Make the lunch special and all about your bridesmaids and maid of honor. Don’t talk about the wedding; this is a day to celebrate your gal pals. A lovely gift for your bridesmaids and maid of honor on this day is a framed picture of all of you; it can be a casual or formal picture.

Thank You letter. There’s something special about a letter, in this day and age they have become even more rare. People often send emails or a quick cell phone call. A wonderful way to say “Thank You” to your bridesmaids and maid of honor is to write a Thank You letter to each of them. Don’t worry about being a great writer, just speak from the heart. Tell them how special they are to you and how helpful they have been in making your wedding a wonderful day. Don’t worry about how long or how short your letter is, this is not a homework assignment! Focus on saying “Thank You” and sending a personalized letter to each of them.

Get Personal with a thoughtful gift. You can find many personalized gifts for bridesmaids when you visit wedding favor stores, online or brick and mortar stores. There are hundreds, if not dozens of choices for you. Whether you choose a tote bag, sterling silver picture frame, beach towel, jewelry or other lovely gift – we’ll let you in on the biggest secret of them all. The very best personalized gift for bridesmaids and your maid of honor that you can give to say “Thank You” is not necessarily the exact same one to each of them, or one that focuses on the theme of your wedding. The best gift is one that you think that specific bridesmaid or maid of honor will enjoy the most. If you know that bridesmaid loves the beach, then choose the beach towel. If another bridesmaid takes dozens of photos with her digital camera, choose the sterling silver photo frame. You see? The right gift for the right bridesmaid or maid of honor, personalize it by thinking of them personally, individually.

Thank You! to all the wonderful, helpful bridesmaids and maid of honors who’ve made the bride’s day so special!

15 Things I Learned from Being a Bridesmaid

February 3, 2012 by  
Filed under Wedding Humor, Wedding Planning

Being a bridesmaid is a great honor but for grown-ups, being the bridesmaid, or worse, the maid of honor for one of your best friends can be an experience that you may not want to repeat too often or ever again!

Here are 15 things I learned as a bridesmaid veteran of five weddings:

  1. Remember it’s not your day!  The bride is the center of attention and it is her big day so be prepared to cater for her every whim.  After all, as bridesmaid you only have to deal with Little Miss’ tantrums and spats for a few rehearsals and the day of the wedding, after that the poor guy she’s marrying has to deal with her for life;bridesmaid
  2. While you may not be the center of attention as far as the wedding is concerned, you can be assured of being the center of attention for lots of guys!  I should know because I met my husband when I was a bridesmaid for the 4th time but be careful if you are thinking this will be a great way to find a catch because:
  3. Never, and I mean NEVER! Let a guy open the door and escort you if he calls you “Sugar”, “Babe” or worse, “Sugarbabe!”;
  4. Do not let a bride convince you to wear grapevine as headgear.  Yes you can still find it, on a remote hillside in South Carolina on property owned by a gun toting hillbilly aged 72 and related to Jed Clampett as both his brother and second uncle;
  5. Wearing woven grapevine leaves marks, both physical and emotional, which last for up to 6 months, if you have the choice, wear a crown of thorns instead;
  6. Glue guns are a great invention for people who want to stick things and are not worried about whether they will explode or not – just remember that glue guns do overheat and will overheat because they are going to get a lot of use and as bridesmaid, you have to pitch in;
  7. Brides want everyone to wear matching ear rings so be prepared to get your ears pierced if you haven’t already done so;
  8. If you are asked to write a speech, do not retell the time when your “Best Friend”, who is getting married, was violently ill after drinking too much and ended the evening clinging to the toilet, swearing the world was ending and she couldn’t let it go because there was an earthquake (we lived in Ohio at the time);
  9. If you are serious about catching the bouquet when the bride throws it, make sure you are wearing an outfit which will hold you in, as falling out of the top of your dress while stretching for the flowers can be very revealing resulting in more guys calling you “Sugar”, “Babe” etc;
  10. Do NOT get drunk at the reception!;
  11. The old saying, “Always a bridesmaid and never a bride!” is simply not true, I’m happily married to my husband whom I met when serving as a bridesmaid at wedding number 4;
  12. Do everything you can to convince the bride that bridesmaid can get out of their dresses and into practical dress as soon as possible for the evening.  If she won’t budge on this, make sure the bridesmaids dresses are comfortable and practical if you have to spend the day in them;
  13. The same applies to shoes!
  14. Buying gifts for the bride and groom should really be about getting them things they will enjoy – people buy the most boring and unoriginal gifts which cost a fortune but the ones that make an impression are the ones where a lot of thought has gone into them;
  15. Being a bridesmaid for five friends I am not interested in repeating the experience unless by new baby girl really wants me to do it for her !

Be a Honeymoon Savvy Bride

January 6, 2012 by  
Filed under Honeymoon

Every married couple looks forward to their honeymoon. It is one of the most romantic vacations you’ll take as a couple. That’s why we feel we should let you in on a few bride to bride secrets that only brides truly know. No…it’s not what you think…it’s actually all about enjoying your honeymoon as a fun vacation with your new hubby. You too can be a honeymoon savvy bride!

honeymoon-savvy-bride

Bride to Bride Secret #1

Remember the 24 Hour Rule. Now there may be other 24 hour rules, but this one is so important for brides. Your wedding day is an exciting, very memorable day. You’ll probably celebrate all day and night, dancing well into the wee hours of the next morning with friends and family. The only challenge with this is that you’re getting up at 6am to catch that 9am flight to Bora Bora for your wonderful honeymoon! It’s the savvy brides who actually plan 24 hours between their wedding and leaving for their honeymoon to relax and enjoy every moment of this experience. This is a far better choice than missing your flight or rushing through everything sleep deprived, a sure recipe for starting your honeymoon as “the Bickersons” couple!

Bride to Bride Secret #2

Plan ahead. It’s no surprise that 99.9% of the brides we know are totally focused on the wedding. They just don’t think that much about the honeymoon. Brides are far too busy, thinking about bridesmaids’ dresses, the perfect flowers and finding that great band. But you do need to plan ahead for your honeymoon and get every detail taken care of, just as you do for your wedding. Get your passport or other travel details organized well in advance. Take care of other practical travel details like packing sun block or suntan lotion.

Bride to Bride Secret #3

Be sure to budget. Your honeymoon is a once in a lifetime experience, and you’ll want to enjoy every moment. Before you go is the time to plan for all of the special and fun things you want to do, instead of giving your credit card a real workout. Most often you can get approximate costs of the activities you would like from visiting the hotel and location’s website, these can help you budget. Our tip: don’t forget to include gratuities (tips!) when these will apply!

Bride to Bride Secret #4

Learn one of the easiest ways to make your new husband happy. We’re about to let you in on one of the easiest, simplest ways to make your new husband happy. Ready to learn? It’s all about packing a suitcase, and traveling lighter instead of bringing two or three pairs of shoes for every whim. Even if hubby isn’t carrying your suitcase, somehow most men tend to fuss over too many suitcases brought on a trip. And every additional suitcase is an additional charge as you travel with most airlines today.

Bride to Bride Secret #5

Romance appears in unexpected moments. This is something every bride learns about the honeymoon, and its one of the loveliest things. Romance does appear in the most unexpected moments. You don’t always have to plan for that candlelight dinner or roses and champagne. It can be that moment of laughter that you share or a shared experience on your honeymoon. And it’s the perfect way to start your marriage, the biggest romance of them all!

Photo credit

Bridal Flip Flops. Wedding Sandals

October 12, 2011 by  
Filed under Wedding Attire, Wedding Dresses

HAPPY FEET: THE BEAUTY OF FLIP-FLOPS

White-high-Wedge-400gif2There was a time when flip-flops would be viewed with derision, because they were considered as casual, items of footwear that could just be worn to suitably informal locations such as the beach or garden parties, at best. Many of you may still recall the commotion that was kicked up when a few members of the North-western Women’s Lacrosse team appeared at an official White House reception in thong sandals when critics derisively called them ‘flip-flops’. Now, that was only as 2005, but the humble flip-flop has come a long way since then. This writing and associated ones that follow will show how flip-flops are not just acceptable, but favored attire for all kinds of formal occasions, including weddings. Read more

How to Plan a Culturally Themed Wedding

July 5, 2011 by  
Filed under Wedding Planning, Wedding Receptions

Planning your own wedding can be stressful, especially if you want your wedding ceremony and reception to be an experience your guests will never forget.

Because even the most unique weddings can seem redundant after awhile, one of the best ways to add a little spice to your ceremony and/or reception is to incorporate your cultural heritage into the design of the wedding.

MyWeddingIdeas Photo - Traditional_Japanese_wedding

Whether your heritage is Chinese, Indian, Greek, Irish, African-American or even American, there are numerous ways you could incorporate your own culture into the style of your wedding. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re hoping to plan a cultural wedding:

The wedding music

celtic band

Finding a specific band and/or songs to play at your wedding is one of the easiest ways to incorporate your cultural heritage into your wedding.  If you are of Irish descent, for instance, you could find a Celtic group to perform at your reception, or if you are African-American you could look into some R&B performers or even traditional African drummers to perform on your special day.

If you’re lucky enough to find the right performer, you could hire them o perform a song in the language of your culture, or even dress up in a traditional outfit and dance out a routine as well.

Sometimes it’s as easy as a Google search in finding the right band to perform at your wedding, but if are struggling to find the right band and/or musician online you could always do some research into the various musicians and bands that are known for performing a certain genre or style of music, and then download their music off iTunes.

Bridesmaids dresses

geisha bridesmaid dresses

Incorporating your cultural heritage into the design of your bridesmaids dresses can be a little tricky, especially if you are on a strict budget. Not only that, some cultures (like the American Indian culture for example) believe that white is a color of mourning, so be sure to do the proper research beforehand before picking the colors for your bridesmaid dresses.

Sometimes it can be as easy and choosing a specific color for your dresses that will match the flag of your country, (for instance blue and red if you are English, or red if you are Chinese). You could also try shopping around for different designs, like a plaid design if you are of Scottish descent, or even traditional Geisha dresses if you are of Japanese descent.

Food and alcohol

Oyster

When it comes to incorporating your cultural heritage into the food that will be eaten at your wedding, the world is your oyster…literally.

All you have to do is do some background research into the most common and favourable dishes that are typically eaten in a specific country, and you could also look into alcohol and/or beverages as well.

If you are of Asian descent you could serve some Saki or even rice wine at your reception, or if you are of French descent you could have some classy red and white wine to leave out for your guests.

Flowers

flowers-little-india

When choosing the flower arrangements for your wedding or even the bouquet for the bride, try to research the various traditional flowers and plants that are prominent in your country of heritage.

If you are planning a traditional Indian wedding, try to pick flowers like the water or gloriosa lily, orchids, and musk rose. For traditional French weddings look for lilies or yellow and purple irises.

Superstitions and customs

wedding banner

If you truly want to pull off a cultural wedding, it is extremely important to look into the various superstitions and customs for each heritage and culture.

For instance, if you are planning a Russian wedding it is custom for the male guests to bring flowers, but not to give yellow flowers as they are considered to be bad luck. For a traditional Swedish wedding, the bride must wear three bands on her wedding finger, and for Spanish weddings the bride must carry twelve coins given to her by the groom in a small bag as a symbol of the groom’s passion and support.

For a traditional Korean wedding, apparently it is superstition to incorporate ducks and geese into the ceremony as they represent faithfulness, and in a traditional Greek wedding the bride must carry sugar on her wedding day to “ensure she has a sweet life.” Also, in Eastern European ceremonies, it is custom for the bride and groom to circle the altar three times to represent their “first steps together as husband and wife.”

Bio: Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education where she’s written on online graphic arts programs along with a piece on English degree programs. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, playing piano, and working with origami.

Can’t Get Over the Royal Wedding?

May 8, 2011 by  
Filed under Wedding Planning

Here’s How to Bring Some Windsor Magic Back Home.

If you’re still burning with Royal Wedding fever, you’re far from alone. And if you’d like a little of that imperial glamour to spark things up your own wedding, then there’s no reason at all not to take some style hints from Britain’s It Couple. After all, as the Bishop of London famously remarked, “all weddings are royal.” Here’s how to make sure yours is exactly that!

Baby Bridesmaids
The European take on bridesmaids tends to involve pint-sized versions of our own. Is there anything cuter than a gaggle of cherubs in curls and formal dresses, tottering down the aisle? Nothing against the grown ladies we see here, but when it comes to the cutest entourage out there, we think the little girls have it.

Nature, Inside and Out
One of Kate’s special requests was to have live potted trees (and we mean trees … they were 20 feet high!) line the aisle of Westminster Abbey. This served to soften an intimidating structure, and brought a cozy “English country garden” feel to some very formal proceedings. Kate’s sisters across the water are just as crazy for tying the knot in natural settings, so if a garden or vineyard wedding is calling your name, just consider that a sign of your high-born taste.

A Demure Dress
Designers everywhere breathed a concerted sigh of relief when they saw Kate’s Grace Kelly-influenced gown. Why the excitement? The hope that brides, at last, will tire of regulation strapless. Kate’s lovely gown has the potential to create a tipping point, as interest in alternatives has been rising. Case in point? The new illusion necklines and tulle sleeves showcased in recent designs by Pronovias, Enzoani, Priscilla of Boston and my personal favorite, Claire Pettibone.

Of course, if you want the closest thing to Kate’s actual dress and not one merely dipping a toe in the same aesthetics, not to worry: you’ve doubtless heard that A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz and JS Collections (look for the “Duchess” dress) are both bringing brazen knockoffs to a department store near you.

Groom’s Cake
Brides went wild for groom’s cakes this year, and we’ll see plenty of them in 2012, too. Similarly, the groom’s cake stole the show at Kate and Wills’ wedding. Sure, the “official” cake was a tour-de-force fruitcake with 17 layers … but it was the death-by-chocolate groom’s cake (involving 35 pounds of chocolate and over 1500 cookies) that Prince William zeroed in on to satisfy his royal sweet tooth.

A Traditional Bouquet
VIPs have been known to be saddled with monstrous bouquets you can barely hold, but by royal standards, Kate’s was a modest mixture of rather unshowy blooms … and yet another homage to the humble English garden. A laid-back mixture of lily of the valley, hyacinth and Sweet William, her fragrant bouquet revealed her refinement all the more … not least when it was finally placed at the Abbey’s sacred Grave of the Unknown Warrior.

Stateside brides are increasingly on board with Kate’s enthusiasm for the traditional all-white bridal bouquet. Former worries about the bouquet blending into the gown in pics have evaporated, now that pro cameras pick up every shade and nuance, and brides are loving the traditional “bridey-ness” of all-white blooms popping against some cool green foliage.

Something Borrowed
As today’s brides strive to embed more personal meaning and DIY touches in their big day, the importance of something borrowed has loomed bigger than ever. Sure, yours might not be a 1936 Cartier “halo” tiara lent by a queen, but almost every bride can pinch something truly meaningful from a sister, friend or mother. The old bit of magic in this tradition is to get a love boost from a happily-married couple that’s gone ahead, so go for it: proudly wear your grandmother’s locket or handkerchief, your sister’s veil, your best friend’s drop earrings, or a scrap of your mother’s wedding dress that’s pinned to your slip or wrapped around your bouquet stems.

About the Author: FavorIdeas.com has connected brides with the perfect favors and wedding themes since 2005. From our silk favor fans to our wide variety of personalized bridal shower and baby favors, FavorIdeas has helped thousands of brides convey this heartfelt message: “thank you for sharing in our special day.”

Profile of a Halloween Wedding

This is going to be a snark-free post – just so you know.  If you want the customary snark, toddle on over to the weird laws site because we’ve been plenty snarky on that one lately.

Last year I was honored to attend an unconventional kind of wedding.  In fact, my hubs was part of the wedding party.  The wedding took place on Halloween, and I decided that since the happy couple’s one year anniversary approacheth, that that I would not only tell you about the happy day, I’d let the bride do it.  Megan was nice enough to answer some questions for me and send me some photos, so enjoy!

The wedding party

1.  What made you choose Halloween as your wedding date?

I absolutely adore Halloween! It has always been my favorite holiday. The dressing up, the scary decorations, the fall weather and of course, fall foods, like sweet potatoes! My daughters are the same way and dressing up is just plain fun! You can be all the things that aren’t “real” the other 364 days of the year.  And everyone knows Jamie loves anything dark and gory! Add to that our family’s love of anything macabre and you get the perfect day for our wedding. Not to mention it is an easy date for the groom to remember! The movie “The Corpse Bride” sealed the deal, it was the inspiration for the whole thing.

2.  Who did you choose to officiate your ceremony, and how did you know him/her?

Leighton Paquette preformed the ceremony. My aunt introduced him to us. The amazing thing was, I really only got to talk to him a couple of times. Maybe the longest conversation was an hour. And yet he nailed it. Jamie and I aren’t your typical couple. We’re square pegs trying to fit into a world of round holes. And Leighton got that. It wasn’t your typical stuffy or religious ceremony, it was ours and it was perfect. He said let him know if you have any questions for him. However,he wasn’t licensed to make it legal so another friend of the family who is filled out our marriage license.

Ceremony
3.  What was the significance of having your wedding on Halloween?

LOL we got to dress up and be yet ourselves and for once no one gave us strange looks for it. I’ve always felt like Halloween is an opportunity for those of us who are a little…..out there, to be truly free of society’s expectations for one night.

4.  What did you choose as your attire for the wedding and why?

I wanted to go with something fairy like but without dealing with wings. My mother, Debbie deTreville, is a wonderful seamstress, and she and my step-father, Jason Allen, designed a beautiful dress just by listening to me babble about a few I had seen that I liked. I wanted fairy-tale without the poofy Cinderella dress. It was a beautiful royal purple with iridescent wing like pieces attached at the upper arms and wrists. They both worked incredibly hard until the wee hours of the morning to get everything completed on time. They also did almost all of the decorations and all of the flowers. Jason (Jae) also carved several exquisite pumpkins to grace the tables.
Megan Baker
5.  What did the groom choose as his attire for the wedding and why?

Jamie wore a black suit and red shirt and black top hat with a skull topped cane. He chose that mainly because I wouldn’t let him wear jeans and the “tuxedo t-shit”. However, he looked wonderful in it. He picked it all out himself and I have to say, his taste was fabulous.

Jame Megan Samantha and Jessica

6.  What were your instructions to your wedding party as to how they should dress?

We told them to wear whatever costume they wanted only to keep in mind there would be children in attendance. As lond as no one dressed like a bride or groom we were fine with it. We ended up with 2 Greek goddesses, a Renaissance princess, and a disco diva as bridesmaids, and a bodyguard, a convict, a pirate and Einstein as groomsman. Our oldest Samantha was a perfect little fairy flower-girl and the younger one, Jessica, was a spooky skeleton fairy ring bearer, which was all their idea and matched their personalities. My grandfather gave me away as Grandpa Munster aka Dracula. It was all so perfect!

Jamie, Megan and her Grandaddy

7.  What were your requests/suggestions to your wedding guests as to how they should dress?

We asked everyone to either choose a costume or to wear something afternoon wedding appropriate. We did however, ask that everyone be respectful of the children who would be in attendance and not wear anything too scary or risky. As it turned out, everyone who turned up was in  costume except a couple grandparents who wore church clothes, and with the rest of the costumes floating around, they looked like it was a purposeful Halloween choice.

Jamie, Megan and Jamie's grandparents Robert and Diana

8.  What type of music did you choose for the reception?

A very eclectic mix spun out by my dad, Kevin Carter who also helped my Aunt Kerstan with photos. we tried to stick with classic rock and roll and a few Halloween themed songs. Since it was a pretty neutral ground for me and Jamie.

Megan with her dress designing parents, Debbie and Jason

9.  What was your first dance song and why?

“Always with me Always with you” by Joe Satriani.

Jamie introduced that song to me early in our relationship and it just became our song. He even used to play parts from it for me on the guitar.

10.  After one year of wedded bliss, how do you plan to celebrate your anniversary?

Maybe with a night out just the two of us….that’s a rare enough occurrence. Trick-or-Treating with the kids will top off our weekend.

Thank you, Megan, for telling us about your special day, and for letting our readers know that it’s fine to be yourself and do what YOU want to do on your wedding day.

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More Theme Wedding Madness

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Featured, Wedding Humor

It is a relief to see  that there are some people out there who just don’t give a darn how they look.  Not even on their wedding day.

I guess that’s not fair.  They DO care how they look, they just choose to look like a cartoon character or superhero.  Sure.  Why not?  I mean, if you’re going to do it, do it right.  Make sure people remember it.  Make sure, for instance, that they remember that you came to your wedding dressed as Wonder Woman, and that your groom dressed like Batman.

super hero wedding

Holy Are-You-Kidding Me, Batman!

Lucky for these folks, both Batman and Wonder Woman were  part of Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28, otherwise we’d take issue.  We already have to overlook the fact that these wackadoos were attended by Robin (that’s OK), the Joker (WTF?), Yoda (Come on, now), The Incredibles (Really?), Iron Man, Poison Ivy, and The Incredible Hulk (MARVEL COMICS, HELLO?!?!?!)   The bridesmaids came dressed in PowerPuff Girls costumes.  Oh, the humanity.  Step all over those of who who LIKE comic books, why don’t you?

Or, take these folks, who decided to kick it old, old, old, old school.

Flintstones Wedding

Yabba Dabba...oh whatever.

They actually said, “I yabba dabba do” in their vows.  Oh the sweet injustice of it all.  At least these people were purist.  The bride was attended by Betty Rubble, Barney Rubble stood up as best man, the children attendants were dressed as Bamm-Bamm, and the guests all dressed as cavemen.  Er, cave people.  My, my.

This one is the real kicker, though.  What would the cleaning bills cost to get all that GREEN PAINT off the wedding dress?

Shrek Wedding

Really?

I get it that you saw Shrek on your first date.  I get that you liked it.  I liked it too.  A lot.  I watch it pretty often still.  But what on earth did your mother say when you told her you wanted to paint yourself completely green and wear fake ears on your wedding day?  Did she cry?  I kind of did, when I heard about this.  And the groom.  He’s 53!  Did he just not give a crap?  And what’s with the clown character in the back?  Are you TRYING to give me a heart attack?

Oh well, right?  As long as they are happy, that is what matters….

Worst Bridesmaid Dresses

Bridesmaid.  The word has varying effects on people, depending on their past experiences.  For some, it was an honor just to be asked.  For others, it was a taffeta nightmare.

Some brides choose bridesmaid dresses that they are absolutely sure their bridesmaids will look terrible in.  That’s called, “I have low self esteem and want to make sure I’m the prettiest one in my pictures.”  Other brides have some bridesmaids that will look good in a particular dress, and others who WON’T look good in it.  “It’s not on purpose, Amy.  You’re just fat, is all.”

Other times, brides will choose bridesmaid dresses that they think are absolutely beautiful.  They’d be happy to wear the dress, if they were not the bride, but only a mere bridesmaid.  “And the best thing about it is you can shorten it and wear it again.”  Right?  RIGHT?

Just because it’s fun, and because we sometimes all need a laugh, here are some bridesmaid dresses that are sure to make you glad she DIDN’T ask you.

floppy hats and weirdo flowersfloppy hats and weirdo flowersThis is an easy one to start off on, because this picture is clearly from the seventies, and those dresses are probably still in tact somewhere, because that grade of polyester has the shelf life of a Twinkie.  And you know about Twinkies.

choir groupAgain, we can chalk this up to the crazy days of hallucinogenic drugs and free love.  I just wonder why that one lady on the end got to wear a cape.  Where are all the rest of the capes?  That’s what that brown -haired lady on the other end is thinking, “Where the … is my cape?”

ho ho hoThis one might be even older, but I think that any bride that forces you to dress like Mrs. Claus deserves to have a little Ex Lax slipped into her egg nog.  Just sayin’.

red and whiteThis might very well be from the Eighties, but to me this picture is like one of those “Can you find all the things that are wrong in this picture” things.  Yes.  Yes I can.

blue parasolsThe only thing that would make this OK is if they just came from their dance recital.

blue shinyAnd what you can’t see is the knife in the bridesmaid’s OTHER hand.

gold lameAnd all of the sudden there were a lot of very cold Solid Gold dancers…

flowered and puffyAnd because of this dress, this is the only bridesmaid that showed up.  No, seriously though.  There was only enough fabric for one dress – IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

accordianWha?

victorian nightmareForsooth and verily.  I think I’m gonna puke.

dreamsiclethere’s this

pink whatand this

turquoise whoaand this.  Now tulle is extinct and satin is on the endangered list.

rainbow of awfulnesslike you do.

orange you gladNotice that the bride is wearing camouflage.  That means those dresses are “safety” or “blaze” orange.  Presumably so nobody shoots the bridesmaids during the ceremony.

guys to orange you gladAt the reception, however, all bets are off.

wingsCome on.  Really?

showgirlsThe brunette looks embarrassed, and we can’t even see her face.

whatever floats your boatYet, strangely, none of these people look embarrassed.

naked weddingAnd neither do any of these people.  Can you imagine the phone call on this one?  “Amy, will you be a bridesmaid in my wedding?”  “Um, I don’t really have enough money for  a dress.”  “Oh, that’s OK.  You’ll just need to wear black pumps, a g-string, and some pasties.”  “Wow.  It’s so nice of you to let us wear what we just wear to work.”  “Oh, it’s no problem.  The hat I’m wearing is so amazing that nobody will even notice your nakedness, so I’m sorry about that, but at least Joey’s going to wear his stripey socks and that Elvis clown mask he wore when he got arrested for snorting sand that time.”  “Oh yeah.  Joey’s such a trip.  See you at the wedding!”

What?  I make my own fun.  I swiped a lot of these pictures from Tacky Weddings.  Stay classy.

Thoughtful Bridesmaids’ Gifts That Don’t Break the Bank!

May 11, 2010 by  
Filed under Wedding Gifts

Let’s face it: planning a wedding is tough. Many brides admit that planning their wedding would be much harder if it wasn’t for their bridesmaids. Often your bridesmaids help with logistics and things that just can’t be handled by a single person. So when it comes time to say, “Thank you!” to these lovely ladies – we know you want to pick out special bridesmaids’ gifts. But after the expense of a wedding, adding any other expenses can be a challenge. Here are some of our favorite bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gifts that are thoughtful and won’t have you reaching the top limit on any credit card.

Personalized Makeup Mirror. Many women like to touch up their makeup during the day, and what could be better than a personalized makeup mirror as their bridesmaid’s “Thank you” gift? This is an ideal gift, as they will think of you each time they use it and it is reasonably priced. Best of all, it is personalized with their first name or monogram for a sophisticated and elegant look. Any bridesmaid will appreciate this gift ideal for daytime and evening use.

Birthstone Jewelry. This is a thoughtful gift for your bridesmaids and you’ll find a wide selection of birthstone jewelry to choose from. There is personalized birthstone jewelry and simply birthstone jewelry that features the lovely gemstones on their own. One of the best things about this choice is that each woman will feel special and remembered as “their” birthstone month is uniquely their own. While they are there to share your Big Day, their “Thank you” gift is something that remembers them as unique individuals. You’ll find birthstone jewelry for every budget price and both daytime to evening looks.

Handmade Gift. Now this can be a very special and thoughtful gift if done with care. A handmade gift is best when it is created specifically for the recipient. So you are using their favorite color, their name or initials and including themes or topics that they enjoy. Any ways you can make this special for them or about your friendship/relationship will make this a grand-slam gift. Let’s say you are known for making delicious chocolate pretzels. So you choose to make this as your bridesmaids’ “Thank you” gift. Make this even more special by dipping each bridesmaid’s set of pretzels in their favorite color of sprinkles. And then put them in a pretty re-useable tin or jar. Include a thoughtful note saying how “sweet” they are. You see? Your handmade gift suddenly becomes something uniquely about them.

Plan a Fun/Girly Activity for After Your Honeymoon. This is a great choice especially if your bridesmaids are conveniently located and can all come back together. Treat them to a “Thank you” barbeque, fancy picnic or day at an amusement park. Or go be girly together and take them for manicures and pedicures. The key is to choose activities and themes that they will especially enjoy. Simply remember that this day is not about you as a bride or your getting married but about your friendships and celebrating them.

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