Love Love || Dresses for the Bride

Gorgeous dresses flowing through the pages of every bride magazine on the shelf. There seems to be so many choices and price points but you’re still not sure if it’s ‘the one’. That’s not decided until you are staring at yourself in the mirror glowing with pure joy. The best part of wedding planning is fussing over the most important accessory of your day – the dress. This isn’t a dress that should be taken lightly or left to the last minute to select. Your wedding dress, whether the flowing ball gown, Grecian goddess, or sparkle wonder is a focal point for all your guests to gaze upon. Finding your venue is the first stop on the wedding planning trip but coordinating your dress is next in line. Complimenting dress styles to match your venue and the colors choices are tough work. Check out your options for this season.

Sparkles Galore

Heavy embellishments and tulle may be the perfect match for you. Many brides find comfort in a sweetheart neckline that delicately accents their beauty. Maggie Sottero and Jasmine Bridal are just a few designers that bring together the beauty that you want on your day. The perfect jewelry will accent this dress perfectly. Make sure to print a picture of your dress and take with you while jewelry shopping. Zoom in on the details to make sure you match beading, crystals, and coloring styles.

In wedding details, knowing the dress color during your shopping trip such as Ivory, White, Off-White, Diamond White, Blue, or Pink are important in finding complimenting accessories. Take your mom or bridesmaids with you to sort out the best look that shines on you.

Oh So Pretty

There’s something magical to be said about the Spanish style dress. The gorgeous ruffles from Allure and rosettes are very hot this year. This includes rouching (a gathering to one side of dress), which adds a flattering look to everyone’s body. I Love Love this look that can be great for a beach or garden wedding. Plus, if you’re thinking of doing without your veil, consider a feather hair accessory. This is a fun trend that will make your head happy without the extra weight of a veil.

Fun Extras

Some things that you may not know are the extras. You can have a detachable dress for easier movement dress during the reception. This is one of the best ways to have your gorgeous flowing ceremony dress and movin’ and shakin’ dress for the reception. Also, a sweetheart neckline is not for every girl, especially those of us bustier ladies, and so you may choose a modified sweetheart. This still shows a delicate edging around your bust line but less dramatic. Another favorite I love is the lace up backing for your dress that tucks away into the back of your dress. You may not love the bowtie of your strings from the corset and this is a great fix.


***Check out your favorite designer truck shows. This is a great time to see all the newest styles at once. Plus, you can request a favorite you saw in their online gallery to be available during the truck show. Make friends with your favorite boutique. Happy brides are happy customers.

Here are a few local Arizona boutiques to check out:

• Brides By Demetrios http://www.demetriosbride.com/

• Iris D Bridal (opening March 27, 2010) http://www.irisdbridal.com/

• I Do I Do Bridal www.idoidobridal.com/  

• Uptown Bridal Boutique www.uptownbrides.com/

• Destiny’s Bride http://www.destinysbride.com/


Be sure to enter for a chance to win a Free Day-of-Wedding Coordinator. Winners chosen Valentine's Day weekend - 4 days left to enter!

Super Bowl Thoughts...

The game is over and some of us might already be counting down the number of days before the next season kicks-off. In case you’re wondering, that is 181 days until the first pre-season game and 213 days until the first regular season game. So for those of us that enjoy playing fantasy football, that’s a long time to analyze the players and determine who you might pick come your draft day.


For now, let’s focus on some of the great things that came from this Super Bowl. And I can do that even after my Jets were downed in the AFC Championship just two weeks prior. For one, Drew Brees, the quarterback I would have kept with San Diego if I was San Diego’s GM rather than Philip Rivers, got his first Super Bowl win and the first for the Saints in their franchise history. Secondly, if you watched, you just made history. This was the highest rated television show ever at 106.5 million viewers as reported by the Nielsen Co.


Other than the game itself, a lot of people watch to see what commercials are the funniest. It’s my personal opinion that the level of humor in these ads has gone way down over the last couple years. If I had to pick my top three, they’d probably be the Bud Light House, Volkswagen Slug-Bug (because we play slug-bug all the time) and the Doritos Smack commercials. But, you can judge for yourself and check out all the commercials, in case you missed them, right here.


So, hope you all had a great weekend, and until next time, make sure to promote the Blissful Blueprint Contest that concludes this Friday. Three lucky couples will win a day-of-wedding coordinator for their wedding!

Love Love || Pamper You!

Making you look beautiful on your wedding day should be top priority. As females, we pride ourselves on looking our best and especially on our wedding day. Everyone has their plain Jane days in beauty but there are places to go and be seen. I like to think of salons and spa’s as the world’s perfect haven. Invite your closest friends and family for a day of beautification. Mud baths, exfoliation, waxing may seem like just the thing you need for your wedding week.

Check out Arizona Spa Girls to find the newest trimming and slimming treat for your day. The key is not to do anything that will leave you red and irritated the day of your wedding. That’s never easy to correct for pictures if your eyebrows are red and swollen from a fresh wax job. There are plenty of salons and spa’s that make house calls to your bridal party location. Extra fees do apply but the convenience is worth it.

Some things to try:

1. Bronzing – Give your skin a subtle, warm glow that makes a great contrast to a white gown.

2. Waxing – Make your bikini area beautiful for your fabulous beach honeymoon planned.

3. Hair Treatments – Add some moisture to your dry and unruly hair before your big day.

 
** Hurry and get your entries in for the Blissful Blueprint Contest by 2/12/10. 3 Lucky Brides will win a Day-of-Wedding Coordinator on Valentine's Day weekend. Visit www.blueprintaffairs.com for those 2 big questions to answer.

Love Love || Bridesmaid Heaven

All bridesmaids out there are singing in joy about the newest styles hitting their local bridal shops. There is nothing more flattering than hearing a bridesmaid rave about her dress and saying how much she can’t wait to wear it again. I think of the movie 27 Dresses and picture Katherine Heigl doing her fashion show of some horrendous dresses for her friends to see. If you haven’t seen it, you need to catch up on your girl flicks with some of your close friends. This will also help you find out what they think about your fashion sense and get some ideas. The biggest trend flocking to shops like Brides by Demetrios is the pocket trend. Every girl wants to be there for her bride and now she can. Tuck away touch-up extras like waterproof mascara and tissues in your hidden side pockets for your lovely bride-to-be. What a novel idea!

If you love Breafast at Tiffany's style or the Tiffany's jewelry colors, you will love the newer dresses coming out. Each style flatters and the dress length is near the knee. Check out some styles from Dessy Group.

Brides, start thinking about peacocks, purples, and bright golds for your wedding colors. These are the upcoming color trends for Spring 2010 says Alyda at Brides by Demetrios. The great part is that the typical price ranges for bridesmaid dresses are $180-$330. The newest styles are fit to look good on everyone and the style cuts are made to fit. Every girl will love love this!

Extra tips:

• Order bridesmaid dresses 3-4 months before wedding.

• Schedule a fitting to get your accurate measurements.

• Make sure each bridesmaid orders her dress from the same location. (Beware color variations from different “dip” dates.)

Go Stress Free on Your Wedding Day

Guys, here is an opportunity to give your bride one of the best gifts of all on her wedding day: the gift of enjoyment that comes with a stress free wedding day.

So how do you make this happen? Simple, enter the Blissful Blueprint Contest for a chance to win a free day-of-wedding coordinator. And this is not a contest giving this special service to just one lucky couple, but three!

Take it from me. I did the good deed and handled most of the interaction on my wedding day with the vendors, so that my bride to be could relax with her friends and get her hair done, etc. It can be pretty stressful, and nine times out of ten, if you don’t have a wedding coordinator, that role most often than not, will fall on the bride. She doesn’t need to be bogged down with answering every little vendor question on your wedding day, and neither do you, so that’s why I recommend, at the very least, a day-of-wedding coordinator.

So, all you need to do is go to http://www.blueprintaffairs.com/ and click on the Blissful Blueprint Contest link on the main page of the website. Then, write about your romantic proposal that got her to say yes, and how you envision your wedding day, submit through the contest email, and you’re that much closer to winning a free day-of-wedding coordinator. But don’t wait too long, the contest ends February 12.

But what if you don’t win? You still may be eligible to receive up to $250 off the day-of-wedding coordinator package. So it’s a win for everyone.

Good luck everyone and until next Monday at 3:33 p.m., enjoy your week!

Venue Me || How to Choose Your Venue

Time is ticking on finding the perfect wedding venue. No one said this would be an easy task. On another thought, you really may have no clue what to do when it comes to scouting out a venue and figuring out the next steps. I’m here to tell you that this is your first step after the engagement because your entire wedding hinges on the location of your ceremony and reception (of course, this is easier when both at same location). The venue sets the tone and allows you to select colors, styles, and food choices that fit your preferences.


Close To Home

Choosing a venue close to home saves time and money. This allows you to closely monitor all the special details and take tours of the venue open houses. This is a great way to select local vendors and have a green, eco-friendly wedding. Arizona also provides gorgeous sunsets and many fine venues that range from reception only sites to full-service resorts. Some venues require your vendor choices be selected from a preapproved list. This may help you find ease at “shopping” at once but may limit your favorite photographer that you can’t live without.

Stateside Selections

In all its beautiful colors and landscape, Arizona does miss the unmistakable beachside views that you yearn to see in your pictures. You may find wish to for a beach wedding soaking up the rays on the beach. Take a weekend trip six months or more prior to wedding to meet with potential vendors. Contact area venues for their vendor recommendations as this will be a current referral (vendor lists are seldom updated online).

Tropical or International Calling Card

The economy is not the only factor driving this exciting romance getaway. Your friends and family play a large part in attendance on your day. Determine if your friends and family will need a passport and/or visa for your destination wedding. I strongly recommend using a travel planner for booking hotel and flights. The Swine Flu was a big roadblock for weddings and honeymooners in 2009 causing resort closures all over. Be prepared for any unexplained natural or biomedical disaster and renovations that may leave you stranded. Destination weddings can truly be a breathtaking and magical experience for you and your guests when planned out.

Stay tuned for the BLUEman coming up on Monday at 3:33 p.m.

Also, don't forget to enter the Blissful Blueprint Contest. There is about 2 weeks left until we select 3 lucky brides!

Flying…Can Be Humorous

Over the past month I’ve took three trips either work related or for pleasure. It got me thinking. Flying can sometimes be rather fun, but only if you have the right personnel that help to make it fun.

Take in point the quick flight to Vegas. People are often cheerful because they are on their way with the thoughts of pulling the slot at the right time to win that jackpot, or thinking they will clean house at the blackjack or poker tables. The flight attendants, on Southwest anyway, will take care of you. If you’re headed there for your bachelor party or bachelorette party and let them know it, they will likely assist in liquoring you up, with no cost out of your pockets. Heck, you need that money to hand to get you going on running the tables, right? This fun and exciting time catching a plane to a destination is much like taking that flight out on the start of your honeymoon. On your honeymoon, you just can’t wait to get there and see the places you’ve want to see…most likely after the bedroom…

But the flight back, that’s the downer. Coming back from Vegas, everyone is depressed because they lost a couple hundred or in some of the worst cases, a couple grand. But there is always that one person that is happy as all, because he hit it big, at least in his mind he did. This can be compared to the flight home post-honeymoon. You wish your time with your new found life partner could last even longer while laying on the beach on some exotic island, but now you're back to life as it was and is…only this time, you have that person officially by your side.

So what are some fun things a flight attendant or gate keeper might say to brighten you day, or at least make you laugh and bring a smile to your face, on either your journey to or from your vacations or business ventures?

Recently I waited in the “A” boarding line and a lady approached the ticket check-in with her boarding pass and she was on her cell phone (it was also 6:30 in the morning). The guy said to her, “Who you calling this early in the morning? If you were calling me I’d be pissed.”

One time, after everyone boarded the plane, the gate keeper spoke over the intercom saying, “I’ve enjoyed my time on the ground with you all as we waited to board the plane.” Silence in the galley. “No…seriously.” Still some silence. “And I’ll be the first to say that I’m happy to see you leave.” Then laughter rang about. How’s that for some fun before an early morning flight?

Anyway, point being, it’s nice to fly with a little humor, makes sitting in a plane for three hours not too bad of an experience right from the get-go.

Have some experiences you’d like to share? Post your fun flying experiences in the comments section below, if you wish.

Oh, and by the way guys, be sure to point your bride to www.blueprintaffairs.com to enter the Blissful Blueprint Contest.  It's a chance for you to win a day-of-wedding coordinator for your wedding, which will save her the stress of having to worry about bringing the whole day together.  Earn the brownie points and give it a shot.  But hurry, contest ends February 12, 2010.

Until next Monday at 3:33 p.m., take care…