if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

Remember when I posted about Enzo Bridal, a bridal shop that was offering free airline tickets to any bride who tried on dresses?   When I had gone with my mother, sister and grandmother, I had tried on a beautiful dress that was at a really reasonable price.  Momzilla fell in love with it and tried to convince me to purchase my gown there.  I, being the researcher that I am, had read terrible reviews about the salon and refused to comply with MZ.

Thank goodness that I did.  According to this article and the furious brides on The Knot message boards, Enzo Bridal has suddenly closed its doors.  Brides who have put their deposits down may never see their wedding dress and some of these women are getting married in just a few months!  I couldn't imagine.

I hope this teaches brides two things:

One, you should always do your homework before you use any vendor.

And two, if it's too good to be true, it usually is!

let there be WHITE!

Three of my bridesmaids are getting married just a few months before I am and lately there has been one common aspect of the wedding with which we all seem to be frustrated -- FLOWERS.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I don't plan on having many flowers for my wedding.  My bridesmaids will wear white muffs in lieu of bouquets and the reception centerpieces will be white birch branches in a tall glass vase.  Since bridesmaids bouquets and floral centerpieces are usually the bulk of the florist cost, not having them will be a load off my budget.  But there are still some flowers that are necessary - like my bouquet and the guys' boutonnieres.

I don't really know much about flowers and honestly, I don't really care.  All I'm really looking for is a white bouquet with some pinecones thrown in (see picture below).  And for the guys, just give them a white flower to pin on their jackets.  I don't think I'm asking for too much so it's a little surprising when the florists do.  

I've shown this bouquet example to four different florists and have gotten four different costs, ranging from $100 to $200.  And the difference in prices is what really frustrated me.

First of all, aren't they looking at the same flowers?  With the exact same "product," wouldn't I just automatically choose the cheapest one?  I don't know; maybe I missed Flowers 101.  Even if some florists have magical greenhouses where the flowers live forever, I only need them for the day.  That's all.

Secondly, can you tell what each of those flowers are?  Cause I can't.  All I see are white flowers but supposedly there are roses and peonies and lisianthus and ranunculus and that, my friends, is what makes or breaks the cost.  Peonies, especially in winter, cost more than roses, which cost more than lisianthus.  

 White peony:

 White rose:

White lisianthus:

I'm glad I researched this before I went to the florist because if I just told them to replicate this bouquet, I'd be spending a fortune on flowers that I can't even recognize.  Instead, I was very clear to mention that I wanted to replace the expensive peonies with the more affordable lisianthus.  And honestly, I bet no one would even notice a difference.  Would you?

In the end, I went with Flowers By Chuck because he not only gave me the best price (by several hundred dollars) but he also received good reviews on Wedding Wire.   For my floral purposes, that was good enough for me.

Of course, there are a lot of brides who want a particular flower or a particular color that may be more costly but if you're like I am and are just having flowers for the sake of having flowers, here's my advice to you:

Visit a florist prepared with two things: your colors and your budget.  Then let them figure out the best way to combine the two.  After all, they're the experts!

bridesmaid dresses - CHECK!

So after much deliberation and many sleepless nights (ok, now I'm exaggerating), I finally made the decision to stick with the Alexia Designs dress I loved so much. 

Last week, Momzilla, MOH, my cousin/bridesmaid Amanda and my aunt met for a day of dresses.  First, we stopped at Dolores Bridal Boutique where Amanda and I got measured for my sister's bridesmaid dresses.  The dress for her wedding is gorgeous - I can't wait to wear it!

Lyn's bridesmaids will be in a latte color (almost a mocha color) and I, as the Maid of Honor, will wear "butterscotch."  She just got the swatches in and the colors are really nice, although it looks like I'll need to be a lot tanner for November than I am now!

After Dolores', we headed to the Park Avenue Bridals, where Lyndsey and I got our wedding dresses.  They offer their brides a 10% discount on bridesmaid, mother of the bride, and flower girl dresses and since the salon is close enough for most of my girls, I wanted to make my final decision there.

Since I was so uncertain about the Alexia dress, I had Lyndsey and Amanda try on this Bill Levkoff dress that I had also liked.  

While it looked great on the girls and had a really nice navy color, it had crinoline underneath the skirt.  Now, the crinoline would keep the girls nice and warm for any outside pictures but may make them really hot and uncomfortable during the reception.  And I would so rather my girls be dancing it up and having a great time than being bundled for the few pictures we may  not even take outside.

So I once again looked back at the Alexia dress and realized that I still really loved it, iridescent taffeta and all.  The taffeta actually makes the dress "glisten" which fits perfectly with my snowy theme.

When I looked at the tiny little swatch again, I was relieved that the color was a pretty dark "royal blue" and the salesperson even helped me find a similar color on another dress.  This tissue taffeta Jim Hjelm dress seemed to be the closest match and I think it looks great!

Then the best part of the day came - Lyndsey and I tried on our sample wedding dresses again!  They weren't fitted of course, but it was so fun to try them on again after a six month spell.  We're going to be such beautiful brides!  And what made it even better was the fact that I fell in love with it all over again :)

 So the dress dilemma has been resolved and two of the 8 girls have submitted their measurements.  With 10 months to go, it looks like I'm really on my way!

*correction*

So I've been telling everyone, including my readers, that the bridesmaid dress I like is tissue taffeta.  I finally double checked the dress description today and realized it's IRIDESCENT taffeta. 

Does this matter?  What are the pros and cons of iridescent taffeta?  What are the pros and cons of taffeta in general? 

I'm a pretty good planner but lately, these wedding decisions are stressing me out!

true blue

So remember the bridesmaid dress I described a couple of weeks ago?  Well, despite how much I love the way it looks on the girls, I'm starting to reconsider whether or not it's the right dress after all.

Since winter/snowflakes are the theme of my wedding, I was planning on putting the girls in dark blue so the white muffs would really stand out.  The dress I've chosen so far (click here for the link) is made out of iridescent tissue taffeta and is photographed in the color "Bordeaux."  

The blue options Alexia Designs offers are "Desert Blue," "Sky Blue," "Peacock," "Turquoise" and "Royal Blue." Even though "Royal Blue" is the darkest of the bunch, when I change the dress color on the Web site, it looks a little bright for my winter wedding.  And while I know the colors on my computer screen are just meant for representation, blah blah blah, I'm still really worried that my girls will look like blueberries as they walk down the aisle!

Since there is no other sample of Alexia Designs dresses in Royal Blue tissue taffeta, I had to rely on Google images to provide me some examples.


Here's one that I think is a little too electric for a snowflake wedding...

This one is not tissue taffeta but is a little bit closer to my vision.  I would still want it just a shade darker:

And finally, this is the color that I hope Alexia Designs' "Royal Blue" turns out to be.  While it's not as deep as my original idea of navy, it's dark enough for the vision I have.

 

I know my bridal salon will give me a swatch but those things are so small that it really won't give me any peace of mind.

So what do I do?  Would even the most electric blue of this bunch be terrible?  Should I look for another dress that has a safer blue?  Or should I realize that no one is even going to notice the slight nuance in the shades, not even I?

bride guide

I "stumbled upon" this interesting article tonight on Here Comes The Guide and I thought I'd share the Top Ten Rules for Brides to live by. While I did not write these items, I will bold the statements to which I can personally relate.

1. Remember, your mother is only a temporary enemy.

At times it may seem like your mother’s desires are not aligned with yours, and that she has completely lost sight of the fact that this is your wedding. Don’t despair. Eventually, because she is an oxygen breather like you, she will inhale that big gulp of air and calm down. When she does, take a deep breath yourself. Then you can begin restoring the natural balance between you, going from Raving Neurotic Bitch Dictator vs. Resentful Trembling 3-Year-Old back to Loving Mother and Competent Daughter. One day, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, you can sit down to afternoon tea and laugh your butts off over the whole thing.

2. Have a little respect for Daddy’s credit card.

Someone has to pay for the most important day of your life, and if that person happens to be your father, don’t max out his credit card just because you can. After all, if you don’t leave him enough money for his retirement, he might have to come live with you!

3. Stick to recognizable food and your reception will go well.

“Recognizable” doesn’t mean you can’t slip in a little tofu or some whole grains. Just make sure that whatever you’re serving looks familiar enough to eat. Avoid questionable presentations (hmmm, perhaps that salmon mousse does look a little off-putting with the fish head and tail attached), anything with tentacles, and sauces that have been color-enhanced to match the mauve tablecloths.

4. If you feel you must invite old boyfriends, invite only the ones who can’t attend.

Ponder this one, grasshopper. There is great wisdom here.

5. Don’t forget: that man in the corner is your fiancé.

While you may have intended to plan the entire wedding yourself, consider including him in the process. Because he loves you, he’ll tag along with you to the florist, caterer, photographer and wedding planner. And because he loves you, he’ll forgive you for saying stream-of-consciousness things like, “Oh honey don’t you just love this it’s so adorable how does it look on me oooh I just have to have it!” Even though he probably won’t share your boundless enthusiasm for picking out party favors or linens, he’ll do what he can—chauffeur you around and say “uh-huh” a lot, despite the fact that he really doesn’t understand much of what’s going on.

6. It’s OK to wear comfortable shoes under your long wedding gown.

Really, nobody will ever know if you wear flats. People will say your gait is remarkably relaxed and that you look radiant (who wouldn’t be radiant when her toes have been liberated from pointy pearl-encrusted torture devices?) You can always change into your stilettos for the garter ceremony, where tradition requires only a brief exposure of your shapely leg and prettily clad foot. Once the garter ritual is over, you can revert to your comfy footwear, having completely avoided any podiatric pain.

7. Be realistic—most men won’t care if your tablecloths are seafoam or sage.

With the exception of No. 4 (which only your fiancé would really care about anyway), try to remember that fussing over a wedding is mostly a girl thing. It’s not that guys don’t appreciate the effort or the symbolism, it’s just that they know they’re nowhere near as good at weddings as women are. If your husband-to-be really isn’t interested in becoming your planning assistant, don’t call off the wedding. After all, this may be the one time in your mate’s life when he’s willing to concede expertise to somebody who’s more qualified.

8. Never hire a wedding planner whose accent intimidates you.

Even worse, don’t hire one you can’t understand. Remember Martin Short’s heavily accented wedding planner in Father of the Bride? Nobody could quite figure out what he was saying and everyone was too cowed to ask. They gave him carte blanche and he did deliver a gorgeous wedding, but he also took the parents to the cleaners in the process.
So beware of relinquishing total control to the coordinator, or you might end up with just the trip to the cleaners.

9. Don’t write your own vows unless you’ve won a Pulitzer.

Millions of people spent hundreds of years reaching agreement on the “in sickness and in health” stuff. But, if you must boldly go where most women haven’t gone before, make sure you: 1) Don’t use “really, really, really” as a way of expressing intensity; 2) try not to say “I,” “me” or “my” more than 80 times as it will set off alarm bells in your groom’s mind; 3) keep the speech under 45 minutes because some guests will need a bathroom break after all that champagne.

10. This is about more than just you.

Marriage is a public celebration that involves you, the man you marry and both of your worlds. As much as your nearest and dearest care about the artfulness of your event, they care even more about having a meaningful experience. If you smile and roll gracefully with the punches on your Big Day, everyone will bask in your graciousness and go home savoring the lovely time they had.

muffs are in!

I'm very excited because the white faux fur muffs that I ordered from SewUDesigns on Etsy (thanks for recommendation Julie!) have just arrived at Momzilla's house and although I haven't seen them yet, MZ says they're beautiful!

Since I am planning a "snowy" wedding and do not want many flowers other than my bouquet and my sister's bouquet, here's what my 7 bridesmaids and 2 Juniors will be carrying down the aisle.

Aren't they different? I think the bridesmaids will appreciate having something to keep their hands toasty, especially since I'm praying to the Snow Gods that we have a little bit of white on the wedding day!

I know there are seasonal flowers that I could have used but I just wanted to stick with my theme. This may sound pessimistic (but if you know me, you know I'm quite the opposite!) but I love the "deadness" of winter, which is why I'm also planning on replacing floral reception centerpieces with white branches!

I'm glad I'll be able to bring the muffs when my bridesmaids order their dresses in the next month. The white is going to pop against the dark blue dresses. I'm also glad I got them out of the way so I don't have to worry later on about any timelines. These muffs were handmade and so the ordering process took about 3 weeks. SewUDesigns worked pretty fast but it still might have made me nervous had I waited until a month before.

The best part about these muffs? They only cost me $20 each! That's about a third of the cost bridesmaids bouquets would have been. Just another reason why I love having a winter wedding :)

Along with the muffs I also ordered this wrap for myself. I love it!! It's ivory and lined with fleece to keep my shoulders warm during our outdoor pics.

So yet another thing checked off my wedding to-do list! I'm really proud of myself for being proactive and doing things early enough. Sometimes I can be a bit of a procrastinator!

Thoughts on the muffs? Love 'em? Think they're too corny?

Don't worry; even if you do, I'm still making my girls wear 'em!