Archive for the ‘Wedding Tips’ Category

The choice of a wedding dress is arguably the most significant choice any woman will ever make on it comes to outfit selection. A woman’s wedding day it’s inarguably the page which seats more attention than any other in her life.

The beautiful tradition that has grown out of weddings allows women to be especially extravagant when choosing a dress, and the selection possibilities truly is splendid for those looking for a once-in-a-lifetime pairing that offers all the substance and all the beauty that they could ever wish for.

Where to Start Your Dress Shopping?

Of course, many women learn that they are getting married and then unfortunately have no place to start other than beauty magazines. Unfortunately the magazines or beauty stores are primarily run by people who are doing their absolute best to sell individual something. But as anyone will tell you of any item in this world, it is best to enter the marketplace with a commanding knowledge base that allows an individual to consider all the options and weigh all the differences of all the different gowns that marketplace offers.

Imagine deciding that you need a car, and then simply stopping at the first auto dealer that you see. Would that be a wise way to approach purchasing an automobile? Of course it wouldn’t. A wiser way to play this game is to constructively establish a knowledge base where your understanding of the wedding dress, your understanding of the best fit for the wedding dress, and your understanding of the wedding dress his ability to complement the particular environment — in fact the particular environment you have sought out as your wedding day extravaganza — it’s all necessary in order to create an overall look that reflects both the ambience and beauty of the occasion.

Every bride dreams of looking “perfect” on her special day: the dress needs to be perfect, the make-up must be flawless, and the hair should be amazing…but none of this matters unless you, the bride, feel “perfect” about yourself! I believe that taking care of your body through nutrition and fitness in the run up to your wedding is priceless. Superskinny is out and toned and curvaceous is now in…hooray girls! Your waist should be tucked in, your back needs to be sculpted and, most importantly in my view, your arms must be super toned and shapely so that they really show off your beautiful dress!

Here are my steps towards Fit Bride’ing yourself to a sculpted, toned upper body for your big day:

EAT WELL
Eat five to six times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus two to three snacks. Eat high protein, and lower the bad carbs like pasta, white potato, rice (except brown) and – most importantly – bread.
Also increase the amount of good fats in your diet, for example by adding 1tbsp flax seed oil to your salads, cooking everything in coconut oil and eating avocados.

CUT OUT SUGAR
Sugar will not only increase body fat in all the areas that we want to sculpt and tone, but it will also make you lethargic, tired and miserable – all the things we definitely don’t have time for when planning a wedding!

RESISTANCE TRAIN
Budget for a personal trainer, whether it is for lots of sessions or just a few to get a programme that is going to work! Long duration cardiovascular exercise will make you fatter; the only way to tone up, lose weight and sculpt those arms is to do good functional integrated weight training. Seek a good personal trainer in your area, girls, as it will be one of the best things you spend some of your budget on! Also look for a trainer who specialises in bridal fitness……they may even do a bridal bootcamp!

SLEEP
It’s not a myth, we should all be sleeping eight hours a night. If we don’t, our bodies go into stress which results in our bodies holding onto body fat and not losing
weight! Ideally we should be asleep by 10pm and wake at 6am; we physically repair between 10pm and 2am and psychologically repair between 2am and 6am. Also, no one
wants black bags under their eyes on their big day!

HYDRATION
Water consumption is very, very important: our bodies need pure, unflavoured, non-calorie fluid to hydrate. Tea/coffee/fruit juice/diet drinks/squash/flavoured water all get taken into the body as calories and are therefore digested by the body…this means that all that fluid is doing nothing to hydrate us. You should drink pure,
filtered water, preferably from a glass bottle: at least two litres daily!

If you start incorporating all of the above you will start to see changes in your body and start loving that perfect dress even more than you do now. Work towards a toned, sculpted upper body; it looks amazing in the photos but also makes you feel 100% confident on the day.
Take time in that busy wedding planning schedule to look after your body and start to feel amazing about yourself! It’s priceless!!!

This guest blog post was written by Vicki Cumberworth – Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach in Essex.
For more information from Vicki, or to discuss becoming a Vicki’s FitBride, please visit her website www.vickipt.com (currently in the process of going live) or her facebook page.
Vicki Cumberworth Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach.

Wedding flip flops are all the rage these days, and its no wonder. With their easy, fuss free wear, their hours of lasting comfort, and their personalization capacities, not to mention their extremely low cost relative to other accessories pitched to a bride, wedding flip flops might be the easiest purchase a bride makes.

Most wedding flip flops are white but they can be blinged out to reflect what a special event a wedding is. If a bride has a little time on her hands and just a few simple materials at hand, she can create her very own pair of wedding flip flops.
First, buy a simple pair of white flip flops. Using a hot glue gun, glue sequins, rhinestones, or beads on the thong portion of the flip flop. A line of lace ribbon can be run along the outside of the footbed to complete the look. Wedding flip flops are especially appropriate for a beach wedding, as sand will necessitate removal of those spike heels before an injury occurs.

Wedding flip flops are also perfect for the reception following the service, after hours of standing on her feet greeting guests and smiling endlessly for photographs, the last thing a bride wants to worry about is the state of her feet!
Wedding flip flops can also be purchased online at a variety of sources. Some of them even have cut outs on the bottom that say “bride” and “groom” which leave stamped footprints in wet sand and would be a nice touch in some beach themed wedding shots. Perhaps one of the best reasons to go with wedding flip flops for your beach wedding is their repeat wearability. Let’s face it, those lovely white pearl crusted spike heels would definitely put your wedding over the top, but the chances of wearing them for a run to the grocery store is near nil. Wedding flip flops, however would be a nice memento of your special day, and can be paired with many post-wedding outfits for continued enjoyment.

Find wedding flip flops and Celebrate Your Marriage! Wedding Flip Flops

Looking for unique & affordable Wedding Favours?

StickyBottles.co.uk provide a wide range of bottle labels that can be personalised with your own text & photo, not only do they make ideal wedding favours, but they’re also a fantastic way to create a unique, personalised gift for Weddings, Birthdays, Christmas, New Year and any other special occasion.

They offer much more than just personalised wine labels, they have bottle labels for Champagne, Rum, Beer, Vodka & more, create gifts with a personal touch no matter what type of drink someone likes.

Ordering is easy, just visit StickyBottles.co.uk, choose a design & then add your own special message, add it to your cart & checkout.

Your order will then be processed and dispatched quickly, and they’re currently offering 20% discount off your next purchase.

What to do with your wedding dress after you’ve worn it

Considering you’ve just spent the most money you’re ever likely to spend on a single item of clothing in your entire life, you’re possibly not considering what you’ll do with it after the wedding day. But because it’s a big white wedding dress, it’s reasonable to suggest you may never get to wear it again.

If like the “average bride” you’ve just spent around £1000 on your wedding dress for your big day, it does seem like an awful lot of money to spend on something, then stuff it in the loft. Yet polls suggest that is exactly what 99% of brides have done with their wedding dress after their special day.

Without a doubt there are other alternative ways of dealing with the most important dress of your life after you’ve worn it just the once, so here are a few suggestions, followed by our own poll for you to let you know what you’ve done or intend to do with your wedding dress after your wedding.

Feel good and donate it to a local charity.

There are plenty of charities around that would benefit from the donation of your wedding dress – including our friends at St Francis Hospice in Collier Row who specialise in bridal cast-offs.
However, if you still don’t like the idea of parting with your dress, how about raising funds for a charity by wearing it to the office, or running at a charity event? Breakthrough Breast Cancer organise a “Brides At Work Day” – Google their website for details.

Make it a work of art

You have your wedding photos to remember, but what about that special relationship between you and your wedding dress?
Not so long ago we posted some cracking photographs of brides with the Trash you wedding dress concept, but we are also aware of a Cherish the Dress idea.
The idea is a bride can go be a movie star for the day, and take part in her own full, glamorous professional modelling shoot, but with your wedding dress firmly in the spotlight. Of course this means you will get all the fun of pulling the dress back on, having your make-up done professionally done again, and posing away at a glamorous location.
Either way you’ll end up with some fantastic photographs to remember your dress by, just make sure the photographer is really aware of what you’re trying to achieve.

Make a mini wedding doll of yourself

Some brides would really love to have their dress mounted inside the biggest picture frame and hang it on their living room wall, but perhaps the other half may not be so keen on this idea.
So perhaps a better option is to have a little doll crafted entirely in your wedding day image. There are specialists to be found on the internet who can work with your own materials to create a mini-me replica of you.
Not perhaps the cheapest of ideas, but the doll does act as a permanent reminder of your wedding dress on display.
Of course, the best part of this idea is that you can pass it down to your children to keep as a new family heirloom.

Selling your wedding dress

It may bring a tear to the eye of some, but the prospect of selling on your dress and recouping some of that wedding expense isn’t as bad as it sounds.
The best way to think about it is to consider spending the money you receive on something else special, perhaps a holiday, or something you will keep in your home. By creating either a fantastic memory, or an ever lasting piece of furniture it give you a fond memory for years to come.
Beware though, sites like ebay or other wedding dress selling websites will take a big percentage of the price from you.
And once it’s gone, if you’re not happy with the small return you got on your expensive dress, there is little you can do about it.

Make it wearable again

How about just keeping it? But instead of stuffing it in your loft, dye it another colour, trim the bottom of it, and make it a posh dress you can wear at any posh party you attend. It’ll still be your wedding dress – the dress you got married in, just with a different look and feel.

So, there you go, plenty of ideas what to do with your wedding dress after the wedding, take a moment to vote below on what you’ve done, or are planning to do with your dress after you’ve worn it on your wedding day.

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Okay, if you’re looking for a really cool gift for your Best Man or Ushers, why not give him something that he doesn’t have to feed, can’t kill, and can use at home, in the office, or in his garage if he really wants to.
I’m talking about a houseplant, a fake one of course. There are some really impressive fake houseplants out there these days.
The best thing about them is that they don’t require any sunlight to thrive. So, if your Best Man wants to put the plant in a corner somewhere away from any windows, he can!
A funny thing would be to get a plant that looks real, but isn’t. Make sure to add a lot of detailed instructions on how to care for the plant. For added effect, put a handful of potting soil in the container!
Unless your Best Man has a PhD in agriculture, it might be quite easy to fool them. Sure they’ll figure it out eventually, but why not make really creative Best Man gifts by adding the following “plant care” instructions:

1) This plant requires at least one hour of cold temperatures every day. Place in a plastic bag and leave in the freezer for only one hour each day.

2) Fertilize regularly. Coffee grounds work best.

3) Keep the leaves free of dust by carefully wiping each leaf with a damp cloth. This should be done two or three times a day.

4) Once every two days, take the plant completely out of the pot, change the soil, reposition the plant, and pack down neatly.

5) Water as required.

Let’s face it, your Best Man probably won’t go through all of those steps, but if they do, they’ll soon figure out the joke. Just to see the initial look on their faces is worth a laugh!

POST COURTESY OF WEDDING LIFE TIPS

Choosing bridesmaids’ dresses isn’t always easy, especially when you have girlfriends who come in all shapes or sizes.

Do your girls a favour – choose a fabric and a colour and then let them choose their own dresses. If that sounds too risky, specify a designer or a retailer, and set some ground rules. You might ask your attendants to buy their dresses from the shop, but leave the cut and style up to them. You can also specify “no strapless” or “floor length” without taking away too many choices.

Why do this? When your girls feel comfortable, they’ll look especially beautiful!

Written by Smart Wedding Planning

Service is almost as important as food when it comes to choosing a wedding caterer. Be sure to ask any prospective caterers about the ratio of servers to guests at a typical wedding.

This can vary depending on the type of reception (seated dinner versus buffet) and the types of food being served, but it’s best to have at least one server per eight guests when you’re serving a sit-down meal or circulated appetizers.

Written by Smart Wedding Planning

Consider carefully if you want to have your wedding around a holiday.  It sounds wonderful, but it can also be complicated.  Prices go up for catering, reservations and most other services.

It may also be very difficult for wedding guests to travel.