Bella's Brides Wedding Dress Blog

How to Choose the Best Flowers for Your Wedding

By Jay Osborn  

Planning a wedding can be an extremely fun event. Choosing the best flowers for your wedding is yet another thing that can be exciting to do, but also daunting for some. The flowers you choose will carry the tone, theme and overall feel of your wedding through out the day. Here are a few quick tips that will help you pick the perfect flowers for your beautiful wedding.

Tip #1: Color
Choosing flowers that go with the overall color scheme of your wedding is key to making everything cohesive and will add to the overall appeal of the wedding. Taking swatches of the colors you have chosen for your wedding will help you and your florist to choose the best flowers to match your colors.

Tip #2: Flowers in season
Not only is choosing flowers that are in season going to be easier on your budget it will also be easier on you. It will save on the stress of locating the flowers and having them ultimately shipped in for your wedding. So many other things can go wrong on the day of your wedding, you don’t want to flowers to be one of those things.

Tip #3: Research
Research the different types of flowers that are not only in season but also the smell and look of them. By being armed with research and knowledge meeting the florist for the first time and choosing the flowers will be much less stressful. The internet is a wealth of knowledge so utilize it by checking out different wedding sites and eBooks that will help you to choose the flowers that are perfect for your amazing wedding day.

 

 

Wedding hairstyle tips to make your day beautiful!

 Bridal hairstyles need to reflect the brides’ personality and personal style. The “natural” days are finally ending as today’s bride looks for “more” from her wedding day salon services. More fun, more beauty, and more individuality are what brides are in search of. Theme weddings, museum receptions, and creative personal touches help originate a “signature touch” for the couples’ big day.

Long Hairstyles

If your hair is long and you wear it pulled back most of the time than an elegant Updo would be just the look. Incorporate a detail from your gown into your hairstyle design. Details such as braiding or twisting of fabric can be duplicated into the hairstyle. Or look to the texture of the dress. A soft wispy hairstyle complements a full-skirted tulle gown. A smooth gown of a heavy weight fabric is complemented by a smooth, shiny hairstyle of knots or rolls. Do you wear your long hair down most of the time? Then try wearing some of it up away from your face and leave the rest to cascade around your shoulders. Let few tendrils escape to float around your face, they can be curled or left natural. Having it all down is just too casual for the big day.

Tip: Natural curls? Enhance them and work with them; keep your look soft. Straight hair? Don’t expect a set to last all day, wear it up. If the curls are pinned in place there will be less worry.

Medium Hairstyle

If your hair is medium in length it can be curled and worn with a sparkly headband or tiara to dress it up. Or simply tuck some hair behind your ears and use one of the very popular decorative hair clips to hold it back. With the help of a talented stylist, your hair can also be worn up.

Tip: If your dream is to wear it up and you have a few months grow it out, go for it. Medium hair is versatile, try a few looks with your stylist at least a few months ahead of time. This helps to chart out the growing process.

Short Hairstyles

Believe me there is lots that can be done! Dust off your curling iron and give your hair some fullness in the crown area and back. Don’t curl the front, it won’t look like you. Flatter fronts are in right now so sweep the hair off to the side and save the curls for the back area. Today’s “curls” are for creating texture. Many hair products on the market are designed for “texturizing the hair” not necessarily for hold.

Tip: Don’t touch the curls while they are warm, it will loosen them up too much. Once cooled run your finger through your hair with some hair wax and pinch and place the “texture” where you want it! Don’t brush them out it will look too poufy, frizzy, and (Horror!) dated!! Top your do with a tiara or a few hair clips and you are ready to go!

Headpieces-

Here is the best advice!

Pick out your wedding gown first

Decide on your hairstyle second

Choose the headpiece and veil

I have actually torn apart a tiara on the brides wedding day and redesigned it because it did not go with the hairstyle she wanted. The best way of course is to have a couple of trial run appointments at the hair salon prior to the big day. This way an exchange can be made for a different style headpiece if necessary.
Don’t feel pressured into purchasing a headpiece because it “matches your dress”. Instead look for a detail from the gown you would like to enhance and find a headpiece that complements. It may be pearls, a flower detail, or the trim. Or match the flowers in your bouquet.

Petite?
If you are finding that the headpieces seem to big, look at what is offered for first communion headpieces and ask the bridal salon to add a longer veil.

Second marriage?
Having a veil is fine if you want one, but you may want to skip the blusher. A beautiful tiara is perfect or ornament your hairstyle. Try a hat, they are coming back!

New Trend!!
Ornament your hairstyle! Look in the bridal section of the craft store for fun finds! There are also many beautiful decorative hair sticks, barrettes and bobby pins to add to your hairstyle! Simply attach a comb with netting to cascade down the back of the hairstyle, i.e. (easily removable at the reception.

Bridal hair specialist and author of The Business of Bridal Beauty, as well as creator of www.weddinghair.com, Gretchen Maurer has some excellent tips to offer. She is also a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants.

 

 

Plan your Wedding Early:
Almost without doubt, those who begin planning the wedding details earlier experience less stress later in the game. The more clear and concise the details are the better position the bride and groom are in during those critical days leading up to the event. Starting early can mean choosing a generalized wedding theme, and then brainstorming for the most important aspects associated with it – the location for the ceremony, reception. Gathering resources – help from friends and family, and possibly help from a wedding consultant and coordinator – really help solidify the plan.

Take Time for Yourselves:
Don’t ever forget the reasons why you and your spouse are doing this – for love and for devotion and commitment. Many spouses lose focus of this as they follow through with their wedding planning details. Remember that no wedding is ‘perfect’. Keeping the love and excitement right through the wedding is also very important. Some things you can do to unwind during the planning stage may be:

Talk with close friends a lot. Tell them your frustrations, your concerns, your expectations of how this wedding should flow. Talking your wedding through from beginning to end can really help reduce wedding stress.

Spend romantic time with your spouse. Plan a surprise one-night ‘date’ and promise yourselves to not talk about the wedding whatsoever during that time. Pretend almost as if you are back to the stage of dating and keep it fun, mysterious and romantic. Break your date up into two parts – one where only ‘body language’ is allowed, and one where talking and socializing about anything not about ‘weddings’ is emphasized. Stay away from busy places.

Hit the gym, go for long walks (preferably away from people – beaches and hikes work very well) Many people can significantly reduce stress by staying active in sports if possible during the wedding planning stage.

Take long, hot baths, and pamper yourself with anything and everything you can during your bath. Spas, saunas and anything of the sort are great at this time.

Trust in your faith of your friends and family. They want your event to pull off with a bang as well.

Always remember, the biggest part of reducing wedding stress is having fun!

 A Guide to Beach Wedding

It seems to be a trend that couples are spending more on lavish weddings. Some opt to have flower gardens or to have a fairytale wedding. The average cost for destination weddings can cost from US$20,000 to US$50,000, depending on the elaborateness and grandness of the event.

Some couples also model their weddings after celebrities. They hope to the ‘stars’ for the event. Some would even tell their wedding planner to plan a wedding similar to their favorite celebrities.

Whatever the scale of the wedding might be, do take note of the following:

• Budget

Know your budget can try to work within it. Do not try to include all fancy items or to overdo it. You might find yourself out of the pocket if you do not practice some self restraint.

• Venue
   

• Programs

• Wedding insurance

Why do I say that wedding insurance is important? For destination weddings, the risk involved is quite high as compared to a traditional wedding. Things could go wrong and thus it’s important to be prepared at all times. In case of a cancellation due to wet weather, you could be rest assured that you will get come compensation from the cancellations or postponement of the event.

• Checklist