Books Abound

As someone who was practically born with a book in her hand, ask my parents, I love today's theme: Love of Books. There's so many neat ideas here.


For this wedding, I found a really neat hard back book invitation from Unique and Personal, they have a few different book invitations actually. This will start your book theme off nicely! For the ceremony program, you can make a simple bound program with ribbon and card stock paper (you can get at any office supply store). Martha Stewart had a neat idea in her magazine a few months back, and so I included a picture, of the ancient meanings of trees. Something neat your guests can read before the ceremony begins.


When your guests enter the reception, have a handmade guest book for them to sign with a feather pen. One of the greatest things about books is the tactile experience, and writing in them is just as fun as reading.


As your centerpiece, it's easy to grab some simple vases of flowers, and put copies of you and your fiance's favorite books on the table. It will promote conversation, give kids something to do, and you can invite your guests to take a book home with them. There's nothing better than sharing a good book with someone you love.


For a favor, you can get a copy of your favorite book of love poems, or make your own! It's easy to bind a book, with either Kinko's or Borders, and you can put one at each place setting to promote words of love at your reception - and give those giving a toast something to be inspired by.


I love this book cake - it's by Michelle Bommarito, a contestant from the Food Network Wedding Cake Challenge, and she used this previous book wedding in the challenge, and won! She's very talented, and from what I saw from the show, a great listener.


After the wedding photos are in, you can make a great wedding book, and give a copy to the parents. It makes a keepsake and you and your spouse will find yourselves reading it again and again.


Bottom line, if you love something, you'll find easy and neat ways to incorporate it into your wedding.

{Rebekah} Love of Books: Books Abound by bekahross

Fashionably Foreign

When I first found out today's wedding theme, fashion, I wanted to find an honest to goodness haute couture gown. Unfortunately, the bridal gown market has taken the term couture and labeled any piece of crap as couture. (Pardon my French).


Luckily for me, I know what couture really means (thank you Project Runway). From Wikipedia: "In France, the term haute couture is protected by law and is defined by the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris based in Paris, France. Their rules state that only "those companies mentioned on the list drawn up each year by a commission domiciled at the Ministry for Industry are entitled to avail themselves" of the label haute couture."


So I chose one of the very few designers that is officially recognized by the government of France, Elie Saab. The beautiful gown on the left, the splurge gown, is from Elie Saab's Spring 2009 collection and costs about $100,000. You heard me right. I noticed the gown looked so much like a fluffy sari, that I went with a fashion infused Indian wedding theme. The silver sandals are Jimmy Choo's ($750), and the earrings are Me & Ro ($1,250)- a jewelry designer I found on InStyle that is so in right now.


When thinking of an Indian wedding, the first thing that came to my mind was the beautiful henna tattoos on the bride's hands, or Mehndi. The designs on the left cost about $266 to have a professional do. For the bouquet? Authentic Indian water lily's (a real pain to find, worthy of the $500 bouquet cost). I love the invitations, woven paisley invites, surprisingly only $164 for 100 from Wedding Paper Divas. When you add the paisley theme to the cake (and yes, paisley is authentic Indian), I found this very chic cake from Carrie's Cakes for $480. Wrap the wedding with a ceremony and reception in an indoor "tent" made of loads of draped fabric ($10,000) and you've got a very name-brand, fashionable wedding for only $113,410.


Or you could save your money and have the steal wedding. The sari is direct from india, with woven lace and faux gold threads, for only $240. That's right, over $99,700 less. The sandals are gold (to go better with the sari) and are made by Dessa ($65). The earings are, surprisingly enough, also by Me & Ro, but cost only $389. So you're still getting designer label without spending a grand. The flowers are pink oriental lillies, with 40 stems for $169. So much easier to get your hands on, too. The invites, also by Wedding Paper Divas, are more on the cute side, but they're so fun you can't help but love them, and at $99.50 for 50, why not?


The cake's fun too, and at $300 it's certainly worth the money. Lastly, the tent. *Sigh*. This tent is from one of my all time favorite companies ever - Raj Tents. Oh man, I just got goose bumps. I'm gunna say it again. Raj Tents. Ooo! Whatever you do, check out this website. It is so lush. When I win the lottery I'm buying a whole lot of stuff from them. The neatest part - you can buy, not rent, buy, a square tent with the lavish fabrics, for only $2,000. And you can have theme siestas and tea parties with your friends. Ooo nosh. The total for the steal wedding? $3,271.44.

{Rebekah} Fashion: Fashionably Foreign by bekahross

Sweetheart of Sigma Chi

The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi, now an esteemed title, was the inspiration for a wonderful song, and the person it was written about was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at Albion College in Michigan. My grandmother, though not the woman who inspired the song, was the Sweetheart after this gal. My grandmother, a sister of Kappa Alpha Theta, married her own love, a brother of Sigma Chi, my grandfather. Which made it an easy choice, given today's wedding theme of sorority/fraternity, to use these two houses as my base.


The colors of KAT (Kappa Alpha Theta - it's going to get annoying to type pretty soon), are gold and black. The colors of SC (Sigma Chi) are gold and blue. Hence, the wedding colors being gold, blue, and black. Easy. The flower of SC is the white rose, the flower of KAT the black and gold pansy. So for the bridesmaids, blue dresses and gold dresses, with bouquets of black and gold pansys. The bride, in a lovely gold Vera Wang, carrying white roses. For the centerpieces? You guessed it, bunches of white roses and the black and gold pansies on the tables.


The groom and his attendants are all dressed in lovely black tuxes, with engraved cuff links. For the attendants, the cuff links engraved with the SC Roman letters. For the groom? One engraved with SC letters, the other engraved with KAT letters, for his wife. So cute!


One of the fun things with sororities and fraternities, is that they have crests, just like traditional family crests. So on the wedding cake, on the middle tier, have the baker add the crests! I've superimposed the crests for each of the houses on the cake in my polyvore.


Another fun thing with sororities and fraternities, is their traditions. One tradition that most sororities have, is when a sister is married, at her reception her attending sisters surround her and her now husband, and sing the sorority song. There's a sweet picture of such a singing in the polyvore below. It's really fun to do this, because sorority membership runs in the family, and you can have mothers and grandmothers who were members of the sorority join the sisters in their singing and it's a tear-jerker.


Lastly, I've chosen an awesome location. The Ruins. I fell in love with this place a year ago when looking through Seattle Bride Magazine, and wanted to have my wedding there. The neat part - they have a medium sized gold room -for the ceremony - and a large blue room - for the reception. Dude- it's a color coordinated wedding in the simplest way possible!

{Rebekah} Sorority/Fraternity: Sweetheart of Sigma Chi by bekahross

Tech Savvy Minimalist Style

I think I have an interesting insight into today's wedding theme: techie. While I was in college, I was friends with folks who were hired by Microsoft to test products, months before they were on sale, who lived by their digital media, and now I'm engaged to a guy just like this as well. The first thing I thought of when I saw today's theme was a great shopping website called Think Geek. The photo in the bottom left corner of my polyvore is of this great shirt they sell. The shirt has a line of hearts, and you and your honey wear them the same day. When your honey is farther away, less hearts are lit up, but as he or she comes closer, the more hearts light up. Very cute, very silly, but it wiggles into your heart.


My overall vision for this wedding, though techie, is also minimalist. The ceremony and reception taking place at the same venue - a studio, with lots of natural lighting. This studio in my polyvore is here in Seattle, owned by Englestad Pictures.


But let me back up a little. So how do you know you're attending a techie wedding? First - you get an e-vite to the wedding. That's right, a digital wedding invitation. Evite.com has a great selection of wedding invitations. The couple also has their own website, with attendance info, links to their online gift registries, a bio of their relationship, and a blog of the couple as they go through the preparations of their wedding - like the flowers, the experience of buying the dress, etc. It's a great way for guests to feel involved in the process, and gives in-laws something to talk about at the reception.


Our techie bride also takes advantage of the great online planning tools, like David's Bridal's online outfit planner for the entire wedding party, in which you customize what each party member looks like (from hair color to dress size), complete with your choice of backdrops. It's lots of fun, and helps the bride get a look at the whole image and make sure it works.


The dress is simple yet delicate, this one a nice gown made by Alfred Angelo Bridal, and ready in 2 weeks!


The necklace is my favorite part. This beautiful necklace is a Miriam Haskell original, costs $1,740, but you can rent it for a week for only $54 on BagBorrowOrSteal.com!! You can even rent a Gucci clutch for the day.


The reception table embraces the minimalist look, by not going for the overflowing flowers and big centerpieces. Simply, a nice place setting, and on each table, a couple digital photo frames, that change between the table number, and the dinner menu! How cool!


For the music - a simple dj iPod mixer. It's so easy (trust me, I've used it), that you can ask a techie teen in the family to take the reins. The cake is a simple style, and interestingly enough, will remind guests of the neat digital photo frames on their tables.


Lastly, the honeymoon! In Las Vegas, they are currently building a new multi-building structure called CityCenter, and the hotel rooms, the first time you visit them after checking in, have you program the room to your preferential specifications - like temperature, if the TV is on and what channel, is the fireplace on, how bright the lights, just like Bill Gates' house!


And my last little idea - if you have the money for it. Instead of having the digital photo frames, at each place setting put an iPod touch, with the dinner menu on the screen. Fancy favor if you can do it!

{Rebekah} Techie Wedding: Savvy Minimalist Style by bekahross

Belle's Bridal

When I was little, I wanted to work at the Disneyland theme park as Belle, 'cuz I figured, I have brown hair, she has brown hair, and her dress rocks. So when I found out today's wedding theme was Fairytale (not Cinderella), what do you think I chose? You're right! I chose the Walt Disney version of "Beauty and the Beast" (BATB).


First thing I did for the splurge wedding (left side) was check out the fab-oo wedding gowns I've been in love with since they came out: Kirsty Kelly for Disney's Fairytale Weddings. Oh I love it, I love it, I love it! The wedding gown, bridesmaid's gown, tiara, and earrings are all from the "Belle, Spring 08" collection. The cost? Bridal gown $2300, bridesmaid gown $900, earrings $200, tiara $350. The bouquet? Red roses, baby! This beautiful boquet cost only $87.48

The beautiful castle is Thornwood Castle, just outside of Seattle, and the filming location of Stephen King's "Rose Red". The one thing you see throughout the entire Disney BATB movie is stained glass. It's used to tell the story in the very beginning, and is all throughout the castle, and is the final image. Thornwood uses stained glass in a very late European style, and the staircase (lower left picture) reminds me so much of the library in the movie. And the gardens are such a perfect spot for the ceremony. Cost for the whole place for one day? $3500


And last, the perfect centerpiece for the reception, a bell jar with a single red rose (suspended with fishing wire). It just screams BATB! The jar costs $109 each, but so worth it if you've got the dough!


For the steal wedding (right side), my first step was to find a great location and I already know where: the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle. Their dome room (both photos) features a full stained glass ceiling with chandelier. For using one room for both ceremony and reception, it's a hell of a room. And rental cost is just $1500 for the day. Not bad.


The gown was a steal at $298 at Lili Wedding, so was the bridesmaid's gown at only $59.99. The earrings and tiara are from Princess Bride Tiaras, the place I brought up with yesterday's post - look very similar, don't they? For the bouquet? Be romantic, and very BATB, and carry just a single red rose. Very reminiscent of the bell jar rose without the exorbitant cost, and with a single rose starting at $3, Hello!


For the centerpiece, why not just a single stem of a rose in a bud vase? Especially when you can get the base at Save On Crafts for only $2.99.


Total cost for these basics? Splurge = $7,000, steal = $2000. So whether you're in the money, or not, it's easy to have a Belle wedding.

{Rebekah} Fairytale Wedding: Belle's Bridal by bekahross

Royal American

The wedding theme for today was a real bugger for me. On our assignment sheet it read "King and Queen (Madonna theme)". What the huh? So I did some Googling, of all arrangements of these words, and kept getting links to "wouldn't it be cool to have a 80's Madonna-theme wedding?!" No. No it wouldn't. Ew.

After more Googling, I finally took a look at Madonna's most recent wedding to Guy Ritchie. They had a very royal-esque wedding in a Scottish castle. Madonna wore a mid-1800's style gown, the men wore kilts, and it was very private and family-centered. Many of the reviews of the wedding were "Madonna looked like a princess". More like Madonna wanted to be a queen. A-ha! There's the theme! Madonna did a faux 1800's royal wedding. How about an little more modern version of that?

My wedding is, what if a couple wanted a royal wedding, but here in the states? But not all "hey, lookey, we have a no-monarchy" tint to it.

First, the gown. This dress screams royal to me. It's beautiful, has very fluid lines, does that sexy off-the-shoulder look that is a demure sexy, and is all corset-y. Oh yeah, I'm jazzed. Let's add some more lavishly royal feel to this. How about that bouquet? The color is amazing, is from the calla lily family, love it. The ring is a modern creation with a Renaissance inspiration. The earrings are diamond balls, lush.

The cake is a replica of Princess Diana's wedding cake, but a little tighter construction. My favorite part of the cake are the "gold" rings that cover the pillars separating the layers. It's wedding without screaming wedding. The tiara is a photograph of Queen Mary's tiara, made for her in 1913. Unfortunately, so not for sale. But there are so many great tiara shops out there, including Swarovski, Princess Bride Tiaras, and David's Bridal.

But the king and queen's wedding isn't complete without the beautiful wedding space. My favorite chain of lux weddings is the Fairmont, and here in Seattle area, we have the Olympic Fairmont Hotel. There's three photos in my collage of the hotel, one of the grand staircase, one of the garden, and one of a beautiful suite. If you can do it, the Olympic Fairmont or the Empress Fairmont (in Victoria, BC), are such dreamy locations. The Victoria hotel even looks like a castle and has views of the bay.

Lastly, the royal wedding needs a royal reception. Chandelieres, flowers, and drapery abound in this wedding. The colors of the bouquet are brought out with lighting, and a lovely seated dinner tops it off.

Ok, I want to win the lottery now so I can have this wedding.

{Rebekah} King and Queen (Madonna Theme): Royal American by bekahross

Embrace the Christmas Charm

If you're having a Christmas wedding, there's two things you need to do: 1 - embrace it whole heartedly, and 2 - make it your own! Yes this may be a major holiday, but it's also your wedding day, so don't be afraid of having fun with it.

My collage I made is a mix of some of my favorite Christmas things, the first, getting to wear faux fur! Nothing more fun! I love this dress, beautiful bead work and a faux fur shawl with a broach. Any opportunity I get to wear a broach is on my top 10 list. I love these boots too - remember, if you're getting married in an area known to be cold for the occasion, for goodness sake, wear the shoes for it! :)

There's other great things you can embrace about the holiday, and that's the flowers. Poinsettias are bursting with life, and everywhere during the holidays. It's great, too, becuase most sites where you may be deciding to have your ceremony and/or reception will already be decked out for the holiday, so it saves you decoration money. Bekah likey. And carry the holiday scheme into everything. My favortite part of this collage is the table decorations- the little topiaries with candles - reminds me of the old English tradition of wearing those head wreaths with candles in them, but a much lower fire hazard.

Be aware that everyone has their own holiday traditions, especially your new in-laws, so ask your fiance what his or her traditions were growing up, and see if you can find a way to incorporate that into your wedding. For my family, our Christmas breakfast was always cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa. So I added a nice hot cocoa to my collage - its warm, kid-friendly, and easy to spike! My favorite spike: amaretto. Yum.

A neat idea I came up with, is adding a nice big tree to your reception space, and put all the wedding favors under the tree, that way everyone gets a nice little visit under the tree, and kids will love the idea of an early present.

One more thing, Christmas crackers. No not a snack, the rolls with open ends where you pull and it cracks, and inside is a paper crown, a toy, candy, jokes, etc. There are some very nice ones out there that you can put at each place setting at your reception. Check out Old English Crackers for a great variety of cracker papers and fillers.

Bottom line, if you're doing such a big event on such a big holiday, love it whole heartedly. If you try to make it as un-Christmas as you can, it's going to seem silly. So be a bit of a kid and decide how you want to represent the holiday on your special day, and be prepaired to get nothing but registry gifts for Christmas!

Happy Holidays everyone! All my best to you and yours.

{Rebekah} Christmas Wedding: Embrace the Charm by bekahross

Contemporary Love

Our wedding theme today is modern/contemporary, with an added flair - a splurge vs steal board. For my polyvore, the first thing I thought of when thinking of the modern wedding, is the interesting use of color. Brides today are making color matches that have not traditionally been seen in weddings before. I looked around a lot of blog posts and say that the biggest color match I was seeing was "Tiffany blue and chocolate brown". Seeing as Tiffany's has such amaizing engagement rings, I'm so with this!

For the wedding gown, I'm seeing a lot lately the draped wedding skirt. I'm seeing it everywhere. AND I LOVE IT! I tried on a wedding gown with a draped skirt and I was sold. The splurge gown is by Anne Barge, yum-o, the steal gown by Eternity Bridal and costs over 60% less.

The ceremony on the splurge is a beautiful setting, Tuscany, hello. But the chairs and aisle are the center of this, with huge bouquets. Don't have that kind of flower budget? Your programs are beautiful, right? Add a string, you've got instant ceremony decoration! Bam!

Now here's the part that gets me. The unity candles, lovely as they are, cost $66! I'm so flabergasted! Do it cheeper with sand, costs about $3 a bag for a single color, easy to pick up at Michael's.

For the reception, you've got a good mix of high quality linens vs basic 200-count cotton. Simplify the extravagance, don't use charger plates, simpler menu cards, and decorations that say more rather than cost more. Lastly, for the cake, the splurge cake is a beautiful cake with lots of hand work, filigree, and a gold cake stand. But you know what? A simple glass cake plate does the job just as nicely!

Here's the costs: Splurge Wedding - cake $800, bouquet $120, gown $2500, unity candle $66, reception $6000, ceremony $2000. Total cost: $11,486.

Steal Wedding - cake $400, bouquet $85, gown $736, unity sand $20, reception $2000, ceremony $900. Total cost: $4,151. And all without photography, hair and makeup, or the groom's clothes for either wedding. Adds up fast, huh?

Remember this, when it comes down to your wedding. You can either spend $30,000 and live in a one bedroom apartment afterwords for 10 years, or spend $10,000 and be able to put money down on a house.

{Rebekah} Modern/Contemporary: Contemporary Love by bekahross

Eco Chic

Today's wedding theme is eco-friendly. But why not be eco-chic as well?!

In the top left corner is a front and back view of an amazing wedding gown made by Chrissy Wai Ching, and fuses together the looks of China, Puerto Rico, and England in an organic and eco-friendly, low impact way. A great idea to do with the dress after the wedding? Donate it to the I Do Foundation, a group that donates prom gowns and wedding dresses to low income girls and women. The beautiful bridesmaids dresses are also from Wai Ching.

The ring is so cool - it's made from remelted metals and recycled stones, this one from Leber Jeweler. Another great ring shop is Green Karat, the Earthwise Jeweler. For a green bouquet, go to an organic florist, or pick them from your, or a friend's, garden. Be uber cute and carry them in a little pot so you can replant them!

For invitations, programs, and other paper materials, you've got so many selections. It's so easy to find 100% post-consumer recycled papers that are just beautiful. These are from Invite Site. For a green cake, go to an organic bakery, like the Flying Apron in Seattle, or better yet, make it yourself. Home ovens use so much less energy than commercial ovens. And use plants to decorate! Pot either some greens or flowering plants, and encourage your guests to take them home and plant them. A great favor idea is to give your guests saplings from the Arbor Day Foundation. For your reception, it's so easy to get bamboo plates and biodegradable cups made from corn instead of plastic. Check out Branch.

But my biggest recommendation? Have your wedding and reception in the same place, and have it outdoors!! This will not only cut out on car travel (and exhaust) but you'll have a beautiful wedding lit by natural light!!

{Rebekah} Eco Friendly Theme: Eco Chic by bekahross

Traditional Jewish Wedding

Today's wedding theme is "traditional", but as I was getting ready, a question popped in my head: traditional to whom? There's a lot of cultures and religions in the world, and they all have their own definition of what a traditional wedding is. For me and my faith, a traditional wedding means a synagogue, a rabbi, and a lot of booze.


The traditional Jewish wedding has lots of important pieces in the ceremony, but the reception, that just calls for great food and good alcohol.


My polyvore today is a short journey through the traditional Jewish wedding. The top left corner is our bride - lovely, isn't she folks? As this is a religious ceremony taking place in her family's synagogue, she's wearing a modest gown that covers her arms and, since she's fashionable, most of her shoulders.


The first part of the ceremony is the greeting of guests. The groom is in one room, the bride in another, and they sit in chairs and this is very much like a king in his court kind of deal. Folks come forward, greet the groom, or bride, give them their well wishes, and go to the other room to see the other side of the couple.


After this, the bride and groom sign the marriage contract, or ketubah. This details everything in the marriage, how much money the man will promise to make, how many kids they'll have, how often they'll have "relations", and if there is a separation, how much the bride gets. Pretty sweet. After this is the badeken, the groom puts the veil on the bride. This signifies his vow to clothe and protect her (the bottom left corner photo).


Next the groom goes down the aisle with his parents, then the bride comes down the aisle with her partents. At the end of the aisle is a chuppah, or canopy (top, middle photo). When the bride reaches the chuppah, she circles the groom 7 times. This is to signify her as the one who is the heart of the home. The rings are the next part. I've shown 2 rings in my polyvore. The ornate ring with the red that comes to a point is a traditional wedding ring, and the band with the Hebrew is a more modern version. The rings generally say something like "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" - it's from the Torah. The end of the ceremony is noted by the breaking of the glass, and below the rings is a beautiful glass cup.


Immediately after the ceremony, the bride and groom go off in a room alone to - ok dirty minds, not that! They have their first meal together as man and wife, and I'm not talking "pass the whip cream" kind of meal!! This meal is called the yichud. For the modern bride, this gives her the opportunty to relax and get a bite before the reception starts (and most couples end up not getting a chance to eat at the reception).


The reception itself has no big guidelines. The most memorable thing is the chair dance - the bride and groom sit in a chair, respectively, and they are raised up by the men and basically paraded around to the music. The reception is a sit-down meal, lots of good food provided by the bride's parents, and great cake!

20's Art Deco Vintage Wedding

I love vintage, weather it's my wine or my jewelry, it's so fun to enjoy. The best place to shop for it? Can you say antiquing? Today's wedding theme is vintage, and since I had fun earlier this week doing a lacy vintage (see below polyvore titled 'Vintage Love'), I decided to go a different route - 1920's art deco. This period brought about some of the most amazing structural art. The classic wedding cake tier outline was used frequently in lighting elements for glam hotels. Many couples today can find a hotel in their area featuring amazing use of art deco. Our local Seattle hotel is Hotel Deca, which uses art deco with a modern flair (and great use of color!). When doing a vintage wedding, it's so easy to go to an antique shop to find what you need (maybe visiting 4 or 5 shops). One thing I love about vintage weddings is the use of a mussy tussy - that silver bouquet holder I've got in the bottom right side of my polyvore. The one I feature has these beautiful curls that serve as rests for the bouquet. Fashionable handy! But my favorite part of this polyvore? The Prada art deco shoes. Oh my!


If you're looking to steep yourself in the 20's theme, here's your key notes: feathers, metallic colors, simple lines (in your gown, flowers, etc), and luxuriousness - if its yummy to the touch, your're on the right track!


Today's Vintage Polyvore


My polyvore I did for fun the other day, "Vintage Love"

Uh oh, the Weather

Today I had planned to attend my family's annual holiday party. My cousins that live in other states all come home for this party, and the whole family is together for that one time of the year. And then, the weather report came out and I found out that if I went to the party, I'd probably get stuck in the car, in a ditch, as the snow piled higher and higher with 50 mph winds. Suck.


What if this happened to your wedding? Well no one can stop the weather, so here's two quick tips: check your wedding date on Weather.com to see what your area's archived weather report says is most likely to happen, and talk with your vendors about a back-up for bad weather, a cancellation rate, reschedule 'insurance', whatever.


And good luck!

It's So Easy to DIY

All right your brides and grooms who want a fab-o wedding with a low-low cost, here's the secret - do it yourself! I know, I know, you're not Martha, but it doesn't take 30 years of experience to make it right with all the DIY (do it yourself) how-to sites there are on the internet. In the below polyvore are projects I found on DIY sites or from folks who make DIY kits. Like whom? Well, let's start with the queen, Martha Stewart. She makes these awesome template for weddings, you just download, customize, print, voia-la! (www.marthastewartweddings.com) Other great sites are www.ehow.com and www.diynetwork.com. You can also find videos on these sites and YouTube.com on things like making bouquets and pomanders (those flower balls):


Want to see what others have done? Check out StyleMePretty.com, they often have DIY challenges and the entries include step-by-step instructions. And what about those kits I mentioned? Both Target and Michael's both make a crap-load of DIY wedding kits, like invitations - I bought mine at Target and they came with everything I needed, including sample phrases. They also make DIY favor boxes - great to fill with custom m&m's, and more. Are you the ultimate DIY'r? Wonderful wedding gown patterns are available from Vogue, Butterick, and McCall's, and your local fabric store is full of folks who can help.


So don't be shy. Pull out the glue gun and pliers, and grooms, be manly, lots of these projects use fun tools!!

My Inner Goth is Happy

So we contestants in Behind the Veil now have daily collages we need to make, and each day has a different theme. Today's theme - wait for it! GOTH!! Oh revel!! For those of you who don't know me, I'm an "executive" goth. I still go out and party at the goth clubs in traditional wear, but my day to day clothes are nicer. All blacks and reds, but nicer. Today's collage is in "splurge vs steal" format, where I glam it up as if price was no object on one side of the collage, and then on the other use a huge dose of realism and work with a budget.

Here it is!

{Rebekah} 12/19 Wedding Theme Board: Gothic Chic by bekahross


For the splurge side, I have a beautiful black chandelier and some silver candle holders, a gown and corset by my favorite goth store of all time, Fairy Goth Mother. The boots are Alexander McQueen's, and fab black pearls. Yum!!

To save some dough, I found a very similar black chandelier at House To Home, candlesticks I like better from Ikea, a great corset from Lingerie Diva, a "homecoming" gown (yes gals, you can save money that way), and boots I love even more- as they have a plaid fabric lining!! In the words of Rachel Ray, YUM-O!!

Finger Food

While perusing Martha Stewart Weddings, I came across a photo from an archive issue that I absolutely loved. The first time I saw this photo of hot cocoa with the tiny doughnuts on stirring sticks, I wanted to do this at my own wedding. How cute!!

And this is so in right now! Tiny foods as hors d'oeurves. The fancy name is Amuse Bouch - "a little bite". You could snazz-up the taste a little and out something I saw on Iron Chef America. Giada De Laurentiis made Italian Zippolini's (Italian doughnuts) and rolled them in a special sugar she made in the Cuisinart - sugar, dried cranberries, and candied ginger. Giada served it with a cranberry simple sauce, but I think hot cocoa would be a great pairing too. Or - you could serve them with Cosmopolitans! (http://tinyurl.com/4m62k9).


Other great tiny snacks I've seen? Tiny burgers - or 'sliders' as they're called on the east coast. Also - tiny boxes of Chinese food in tiny take-out boxes, little toast sandwiches, and more. Want to serve that at your wedding? Ask your caterer if they've done this before, and ask for a taste test to make sure!

Water Water Everywhere, But I can't Serve THAT At A Wedding!

"Open bar or select beverages? I can't afford an open bar, what other mixed drink options do I have?" An important sub-section of the reception budget is what to serve for drinks. If money was no object, most couples would choose an open bar and champagne. But this being the real world, there's other options. Like what, you ask?


Signature cocktails are very popular right now. Choose your favorite one or two mixed drinks and serve just these mixed beverages at your wedding. It's a great way to show off your wedding colors too. Not a master mixologist? Absolut Drinks, the makers of Absolut Vodka (and yes, it's spelled that way), have a great site where you can find drinks based on the time of day, taste, base spirit (vodka, tequila, rum, etc), and even a how-to guide with step by step mixing instructions. If you find something you like, try it at home with your honey with some of the flavors you'll be having at the reception so see how well they mesh. When you've made your pick, just supply the recipe to your bartender (a couple weeks before the wedding). Check out their website - you must be 21 to enter - http://absolutdrinks.com/


One type of white and one type of red wines are great too. For my wedding, my fiance and I each chose our favorite, as I love white, he loves red, and we're not fans of the other. Many bartenders/caterers/hotels charge a cork fee for events, so to save money buy magnum bottles of wine - they're equal to 2 standard bottles. Also, check out the Washington State Liquor Board website (http://liq.wa.gov/PriceBook/PriceBookMenu1.asp) as they have an online catalog of what each liquor store in the state has in stock, and how much each liquor or wine costs by the bottle, as well as by the case. Larry's Market and Cost Plus World Market are also great places to shop, and many couples I know have made a steal buying a case of wine from these two stores.


For non-alcoholic beverages, save yourself some hassle and just go straight to Costco. Right now they're selling glass bottles of Coca-cola, very cute. Packs of soda cans, in 24 and 36 packs, are ridiculously cheep, selling for the same price as 12 packs at the grocery store. You can also pick up items like bottled water, Juice Squeezers (kid friendly), energy drinks, and more.


But most importantly, shop around. And feel free to grab a bottle here, a package there, as you inch closer and closer to the big day. And when it comes, sit back, relax, and have fun.

Let's Talk Money

Today's mail brought with it the quarterly newsletter from my Allstate agent, and the cover story is "Learning to Blend Financial Styles When First Married". Money is often a difficult thing for people to talk about, but no discussion now may lead to a big fight later, when people's different opinions about financial security are yelled rather than discussed.


So what do you talk about - or rather - what needs to be talked about? And yes folks, this is a great time to discuss how much you're each budgeting for the wedding.


My insurance agent's recommendations? First, look at your bills, from cell phones, to rent, to student loans. This is not the time to be embarrassed or to not share. Marriage is built on honesty, so open up and talk turkey.


Second, look at your individual incomes, then calculate your net worth (income minus bills). Tell each other what you envision financially for your future, include assets in that too, such as a home, boat, car, motorcycle, whatever. And talk things over. If you disagree about something, talk levelly with each other and find a happy medium.


Last, make a spending plan. What do you want to put into savings? How about retirement? How much does the fun budget get, and what long term goals do you want to put money towards? This is also the time to talk about how much you want to spend on your wedding, what the total budget is and what the sub-budgets are (cake, dress, flowers, etc).


There's so much more to marriage than just a wedding, so be prepared for the real life after the honeymoon. By having this talk now you're clearing the air (if it needs clearing), and you know that you'll be starting a marriage on the same foot.

There's Children Everywhere!

For most couples, wedding means family. And family, means KIDS! But finding a way to have them enjoy the day without nocking over the expensive champagne can draw a blank. Lucky for you, there's a bunch of people way smarter than us out there who've spent the time figuring it out. I've just poured the web for you, and found some great ideas - and added some of my own - take 'em and go, or use them as a launching point!


Find something for them to do. Create a kids’ corner or table. Depending on the ages of the children, activities might include coloring books, building blocks, books and games.


Assign a “keeper.” This has two parts. First, ask an adult to be on “kid patrol” during the ceremony. Ideally, this would be someone who is well-respected in the family. Their role is to gently ask parents to remove children who are screaming or being disruptive during the ceremony. The second part is to ask some responsible teens, or even pre-teens to help keep the younger children engaged during the ceremony. This can include anything from dancing to reading stories and doing activities.


A children's menu is a must! Kids prefer common foods (like pizza) to gourmet food (like stuffed mushrooms), so have familiar foods for them to eat and everybody will be happier. (Your flower girls and ring bearers will be thrilled to fill their tummies with familiar foods!)


Include the kids Make them feel like they're part of what's going on, not just shuffled off to another room. At my aunt's wedding, my sister, cousins, and I were invited up by the priest at their church to light all the candles on the dais. After the wedding, we each got to help put them out again. This made us feel very important to the whole day. After the ceremony, my aunt asked me to take care of her bouquet during the reception. My job was to make sure the flowers didn't squish and that it was in hand for photos. I felt so important and crucial to the whole day's events.

What is Style?

For many brides, they want to convey their 'style' at the wedding, but some find themselves wondering what their style is. Personally, I haven't a clue what my style is. I just know I like something when I see it. I recently bought a book by Colin Cowie titled "Weddings", which I got at an uber cheep price of $7.99 - and trust me, this is one hell of a book.


Colin addresses style in this tome, and he defines it in a way I think every bride can embrace: "True style is a sense of self, a confidence and graciousness that is evident to everyone you come into contact with. It means knowing yourself, what works for you and what doesn't. True style also relates to how we treat one another. It means behaving with consideration and respect towards others. One your wedding day, true style means creating a personal environment to share with the people who are closest to you, and making every single guest as welcome and as comfortable as possible." I think that's something we can all work with.

The Goddess of Wedding Cakes

While looking for a good cake to post for today, I thought to myself, I wonder what's on Sylvia Weinstock's site. For those of you who don't know who she is - for shame! I'm just kidding. Sylvia Weinstock is the goddess of wedding cakes and each cake she makes is taylor made to the couple it's for, and was one of the first masterminds to come up with individual cakes for guests. This woman's got brains and talent and a great pair of glasses. Check out her site at: www.sylviaweinstock.com .

Wedding cakes are one of the things that a couple can do to really express themselves and their personal character (or quirks) in the middle of a wedding that may or may not necessarily represent them. With a cake, it's the opportunity to have fun, do something to make people's jaws drop, and eat some of the finest quality cake you'll probably ever get to taste. When picking a cake out - first think about your favorite flavors. The whole cake doesn't have to be vanilla with lemon filling. Each tier is an opportunity for taste bud splendor, and many cake makers are coming out with some incredible flavors, like creme brulee raspberry, or spice cake with chai tea filling. Don't know what you'd like? That's why there's TASTINGS!! Your chance to eat your fill of free cake (most of the time). Another great place to try things out? WEDDING SHOWS! Come check out the Battle of the Betrothed at the Seattle Wedding Show the first weekend of January (http://www.weddingshow.com/) enter the Battle if you haven't already, and check out the cakes! Yum. And when you go, stop by the Seattle Bride booth and say hi to me!!

It's a Nice Day for a Creme Wedding

After a great deal of computer trouble, I am now able to post my very first Polyvore collage! This was a very interesting learning experience about Polyvore, and I had fun! For my first collage I started putting together some wedding things. After I added a gorgeous Vera Wang gown, I got Billy Idol's "White Wedding" stuck in my head. So the title of my collage is "It's a nice day for a creme wedding". What do you think? And bonus points - do you know what Billy wrote this song about? ;)


It's a Nice Day for a Creme Wedding by bekahross