Strawberries and Daisies

Summer is almost here, and the prospect of sunshine and warm weather has me distracted and thinking about two of the sweetest parts of early summer: A whole bunch of red, a dash of white and a tiny accent of yellow.

Top row: Dress by The Cotton Bride (picture found on brides.com)
Strawberries from burpee.com
Shasta daisy bouquet from dotflowers.com

Middle: Calico print cake from marthastewart.com

Bottom row: Bridesmaid dress from alfredangelo.com, shown in color cherry
Make-your-own jam favors from brides.com

Domestic Honeymoons

A lot of romantic brides fall in love with the idea of a European honeymoon in Paris or a little Italian villa. The fact is, however, that such vacations are expensive, and there's a lot to be said for exploring your own country. The United States has a lot to offer in the way of honeymoon spots, and if you are really looking to save, a location in drivable distance is the way to go.

I recently had the chance to visit Philadelphia, which, being in the middle of the Eastern Seaboard, is close to almost anywhere on the east coast. The city is full of places to go and see. The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall (where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed) are must-see artifacts of American history. Admission to either is free.

Dining options are almost limitless in Philly. A delicious Philadelphia classic is the cheesesteak. Lots of locations claim to have the best version, but if you head into South Philly you'll find two right across from each other: Pat's and Geno's. Buy one from each place, try both and make your own judgment!
Another type of restaurant popular in Philly is the BYOB restaurant (try Figs, a Moroccan restaurant on Meridith Street near Fairmount and Pennsylvania Aves). Reading Terminal Market also has a lot of great food options.

As far as entertainment goes, Philadelphia has an extensive arts district, called Avenue of the Arts. The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra offers community rush tickets at only $10--they go on sale at 5:30pm the same day of an 8:00 and a great bargain for a spectacular performance. Another inexpensive option is a mural tour. Philadelphia has literally thousands of murals painted on the sides of the buildings and there are both guided tours available or maps so that you and your spouse can explore for yourselves.

If you want to get out of the city for a little bit, Longwood Gardens is only an hour away. This garden conservatory hosts brilliant botanical displays year-round, indoors and outside.

These are only a small, small portion of things to do in the Philadelphia area. For more Philladelphia ideas, click here.

Your honeymoon should be a place both you and your fiance are excited about. Other domestic ideas to think about are:
--Northern Michigan (think waterfront historic towns like Mackinac Island)
--The Great Smokey Mountains National Park (great for hikers and naturists), or renting a cabin/camping in any National Park for that matter, for a peaceful, relaxing getaway for less money
--Bar Harbor, Maine (lobsters, blueberries and rugged coastline, anyone?)
--Chicago (pizza, shows and shopping). There's a lot to explore in this big city that most people only get to visit on business trips and flights are pretty cheap if you aren't close enough to drive.

Additionally, an excellent one-stop web source for travel information is WikiTravel.

Veils

While Daisy has been thinking about pants, I have been thinking about veils. If a bride has a dress without a train, but is having a formal wedding, should her veil extend past the edge of the dress or should it be elbow length? I have done a little shopping with one of my friends and I am coming to the conclusion that for a formal wedding it is acceptable for the veil to extend past the end of the train.

This image from http://www.visionveils.com/images/cathedral.jpg gives the general idea. Thank you Vision Veils! I like the way it adds the feel of a train to the gown without having the extra fabric. If the veil has a pattern on the edge which echoes the embellishments on the dress, this illusion of a train is even more present. The bride then does not need to worry about bustling the gown for the reception - she can simply remove the veil. Additionally, a cathedral length veil gives the bride height, rather than interrupting the line of her dress at the hips or mid-arm. I would conclude that the combination of a gown without a train with a long veil gives the bride the elegance of a full train without the added cost and hassle.

Pants!

Years ago, back in college, a question stumped me. I sat down in class and asked my girlfriends, "If the bride wears pants to her wedding, well then what do her bridesmaids wear?"
My girlfriends were immediately flabbergasted. "Brides can't wear pants!" one said. Another reasoned, "It's your one day to be a fabulous princess; why waste it on pants?"
Of course neither of them answered my question. However, brides in pants are becoming more common, especially for second-time brides. Some ladies just feel more comfortable in them, and others appreciate standing out among other brides. Another benefit is that the price tends to be lower than for a dress. I imagined a bridal ensemble involving pants and came up with the doodle on the left.

Sadly, most designers don't seem to offer these kind of ensembles. The way to go seems to be looking for white pantsuits. Here is a cute one from Neiman Marcus.

If you want a look that is less suit-like but still involves pants, a great option is to look for mother-of-the-bride ensembles that come in different colors, and order it in white or ivory, such as this one from Alfred Angelo (style 6576 in ivory shown on right).

Unfortunately, no one has ever really answered the original question: what do the bridesmaids wear? My best answer is this: either 1.) being a wedding where the bride is wearing pants, the atmosphere is going to be informal enough that bridesmaids are not really needed, or 2.) whatever the bride wants: it's her day!

First off, Happy Easter, to all those to whom this greeting applies!

I was thinking about wedding rings the other day. Many elements shape this tradition and should be considered. Beyond whether or not to wear a ring at all, the spouses have to decide on which hand to wear their rings. Although the left hand is typical in many western cultures - arising out of the Roman association of the left hand with a direct connection to the heart - this is certainly not universal. The composition of the ring is another question. Should it be perfectly plain to symbolize unbroken and eternal unity? Or should it bear more personal elements, such as words of blessing or a pattern which represents the couple? Finally, the style of the engagement ring (if there is one - but that's a whole other issue!) may affect the choice of wedding ring.

For me, the wedding rings can be expressive of the uniqueness of the couple while also preserving the traditional symbolism. In this way, the spouses evoke both the individual and timeless characteristics of their love.

Daisy's Day at David's Bridal Alterations

One of the reasons Lily and I thought we'd start this blog is because we are just at that age where all our friends are starting to get married. Our first wave of weddings starts this summer, and dutiful girlfriends that we are, we've been called up on to be bridesmaids, so we think we have a unique insight into wedding planning, and an up-close opportunity to compare and contrast what like about what we see.

This August, I'm in my good friend Theresa's wedding, and I'm wearing style 81509 from David's Bridal, in the color Lapis (shown on the right). It definitely complements Theresa's gown, style CRL277, but I'll confess I was nervous when I saw what she had chosen. I have not had a lot of luck with empire waist dresses, because I am what they call "top heavy." I went to the shop last October to get fitted and order the dress, and let me first note that one of the key advantages to DB is that they have stores everywhere. Theresa's registered in Toledo, but we tried on dresses while we were both in Indiana, and I ordered the dress in Okemos, Michigan, near where I live.

Unfortunately, neither the Indiana store nor the Michigan store carried that specific style in my size, size 12! I was very upset, because I was very if-fy on this style of dress, and no one wants to spend $130 blindly. I tried on a 14 and it hung on me, but the 10 was just a little too tight. So I had to order the size 12 without trying it on, something I really wish I didn't have to do.

The dress came in in December, and this week I went in for my alterations, because, while the dress fits the top half of me well, the skirt of the dress is this sort of mermaid-trumpet style. It's supposed to hug the hips, but my hips just don't fill it out. But once Patty, the alterations specialist at the shop pinned the dress to the right size for me, boy, did I feel better! It looked great! I can't wait to see how it turns out: I'm scheduled to pick it up May 6th.

All in all, the dress was $135, but I got $20 off because Theresa bought her gown at David's Bridal too. The alterations cost a total of $65, and that was to 1.) tighten the spaghetti straps, 2.) take in the skirt and 3.) hem the skirt.

A note on the hem: this dress has a train, which I didn't find out until I went in for the alterations fitting. Patty asked whether the bride wanted me to leave the train when I got the dress hemmed, and I couldn't get a hold of Theresa right then. So Patty pinned the dress as if we were taking the train off, and told me to call her within a few days once I got a hold of Theresa. We ended up leaving the train, figuring that not all the bridesmaids would need a hem anyway, so why make them pay more when they didn't have to. So I want to thank David's Bridal in Okemos, Michigan, and Patty, for their flexibility in this; it really made my life a lot easier. Additionally, hemming the skirt and leaving the train cost the same as hemming the skirt and cutting the train off.