Think Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as women, it is our duty to keep the cause prominent within each community we work and serve. We have lost far too many mothers, sisters, daughters and friends to this disease. Participate in your area's annual walk, donate to the drive at work or school or volunteer at your local hospital or Susan G. Komen foundation. As brides, you can go a step further and set up a donation registry in lieu of a gift registry, this is a perfect idea for couple living together prior to getting married. Alternatively, as favors, you can make donations in the name of each of your guests.

No matter what you do, remember the cause and support reseach for the cure.

The Sweetest Things

I had a recent wedding where the bride was a grade school music teacher and she invited her students to come and sing at the ceremony. They were awesome and their little voices filled the church with angelic sounds. Most of all, coordinating and guiding them was by far much easier than my experience with organizing some adults in a wedding party. It was truly a joy to see them. I was insoired to write an entry about children in weddings and how their role is not only to be cute but also add sparkle and a bit of innocent joy to the day. Most importantly, children also represent youth, vitality, hope and the future, all the ingredients of a new marriage!

Autumn Wedding

Labor Day is over and with it, so goes the unofficial end of summer! Fall is so sweet and crisp, it is my second favorite season after summer. I love the leaves, the crisp dew and the Indian summers that also accompany the season. In weddings, fall can mean something altogether different and special. The season allows you to play up it's rich colors such as warm merigolds, hearty burnt oranges and full deep browns. This season is truly a rich with color and ideas for a great wedding. Play up the harvest season with the floral arrangements and even the food, serving such delicious courses and drinks as the butternut squash soup and apple cider martinis.

The wedding is a great place to play fall!

Let Them Eat Cake!!!!

No Marie Antionette has not been resurrected! But I must certainly spill my guts and let you know that one of my favorite parts of planning any wedding is the cake tasting sessions. Yes I know they are not good for you but it is a serious guilty pleasure to which I must confess. In my experience in planning weddings, each cake has shown some side of the couple it is representing, the fruit filling, a favorite of the bride's or a reminder of the groom's grandmother's country home. The white chocolate frosting, a snow bunny's winter mountain in the middle of summer. In comings and goings with brides, I have encountered so many. But here are two standouts I want to bring to your attention, The chocolate raspberry above has a smooth and velvty taste sure to seal any wedding and reception with a kiss and set the foundation for a sweet marriage. The other is cultural and not yet a big hit in the US, but given the rate change in wedding trends, it just may be a norm in a couple of seasons. Mexican wedding cakes are more like sweet little cookies covered with white confectioner's sugar. What I find most interesting about these delicacies is that they closely mirror the original wedding cake. Yes, the original from centuries ago. During Medieval times, wedding guests were given firm to hard sweet cakes to through at the bride and groom as they exited the church en route home. The bread represented fertitlity and the sweet taste served as a meaure for good marriage.

The Registry Revisited

The original purpose of the bridal registry was to help a couple "set up house" as they moved in together and began their new lives. A fine dining set when the in-laws visited or as a compliment to the holiday meal. Pots and pans to fill the kitchen and make hearty meals. Of course, you can't forget bedding and bathroom towels. These are all essentials to get newlyweds on the road to building a happy home.

Our values have changed since the dawn of the original idea of the registry. With so many couples co-habitating prior to the engagement and even larger numbers of people postponing marriage until their mid-thirties, most newlyweds have the basic essentials to set up a fully functioning home prior to reaching the altar. This change in attitude and behaviors will ultimately lead to new registry ideas.

One new trend is to ask guests to make donations in your name to your favorite charity or cause. National charities such as the Susan G. Komen Foundation and the International Red Cross provide assistance and direction for couples interested in a donation registry.

Still some brides are using to registry to reinvent their homes or expand on well established home war chest. Luxury items like the serving bowl above, available at www.bloomingdales.com and nifty gadgets like the easy read thermometer, available at www.williamssonoma.com provide variety and make a great conveersation piece for entertaining in your post matrimonial kitchen.

Your registry like your wedding, should be uniquely you!

2007 Runway Collections

Wedding fall fashions have hit the runway in a big way. Designers have added more distinction to this season’s line up. Not just the basic white that was all so popular just a couple of seasons ago. Hot runway items are taking cues from other fashion lines. I noticed in a few designers, while maintaining clean lines and traditional shapes, the devil is seriously in the details.

Many gowns in the Badgley Mischka’s fall collection are adorned with rich details such as crystal and pearl studding along the bodice and necklines. Impressive attention is given to the design making the embellishment look like, well embellishments and not cumbersome add-ons. As a result the line is flawless and chic. The collection also offers classic body hugging A-line gowns this season.

Reem Acra's fall collection goes a step further and adds lush metallics to its well placed details. While the details remain largely centralized within the bodice region of the gowns, Acra does a great job of splashing metallic frosting throughout the gowns adding a flavor of vibrancy.

This year's fall collection will certainly have brides going gaga. Until next season!

Re-Enter Stage Left

I am back! I have been gone far too long! Thanks for being loyal and looking for new posts those of you out in cyberspace. There has been much to tell in the last nine months! Well I have been busy with some weddings and I even participated in a a few shows within the industry. Given we are in the midst of wedding season and the summer movie season, let me share with you some of my favorite wedding themed shows:

In no particular order:


Father of the Bride (1950)
Father of the Bride (1991)
Wedding Crashers
Muriel's Wedding
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Mosoon Wedding

I even liked the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where the wedding takes place in the house!

Enjoy the rest of summer!