I hope you all enjoyed Christina Zazzaretti's blog post on Wednesday and are looking forward to reading her follow up post on discussing budgets with your handmade wedding vendors.   After discussing the details of the design for your handmade wedding item, review the estimated total for your project. Does it fit within your budget? If so, fantastic! If not, don't give up yet. Here are a few questions to ask your wedding vendor regarding payment, product changes, etc. Most handmade vendors are willing to work with clients to find solutions so you can still have your special pieces and so...

Zazzaretti Bridal is back again for her monthly DIY wedding inspiration and advice. This month her blog post will be in two parts. She will be discussing the importance of clearly articulating the design aspects of your bouquet, hair piece, reception decorations, etc. with your handmade wedding vendors on Etsy. Part two will discuss your budget and how to discuss the cost of your handmade wedding items. Be sure to check out her bridal shop on Etsy!       Every bride desires an incredibly special wedding day filled with memories to be treasured for a lifetime. Some weddings are quiet...

During Fashion Week in New York this past September, Pantone revealed the color palette for Spring 2012 as well as the color of the year. The inspiration behind the color choices was the energy, optimism and promise that spring brings with it every year. Who in the world is Pantone and why should we care what they have to say? Pantone, Inc. is the world-renowned authority on color. According to their site, Pantone is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication. Pantone began as a commercial printing company in the 1950s. The company created the first Color Matching System...

As the bride, you have budgeted countless dollars for your wedding dress, mani and pedi’s, makeup and hair. You want to look your very best on the most important day of your life. This is a day you will want to remember. Hiring a qualified, professional photographer will guarantee you great photos of the day. However, it's not just the photographer's responsibility to capture your perfect bridal look. Here are a few posing questions I've received from brides. These tips will help you pull off the perfect bridal portraits and make it look easy! Your photographer will certainly appreciate it too....

Happy New Year! This time of year may be quiet for weddings, but with all the engagements over Christmas and New Years Eve, there is much planning being done by new “brides to be”! Here’s a few of the latest wedding trends for 2012 to help all you brides get a head start on your wedding plans. Color Schemes: This year’s hottest color to choose for your wedding according to the Washingtonian is Tangerine Tango. While this color is certainly not one to get lost in the crowd, it can work for modern, vintage or traditional wedding styles. This color choice...

There are so many detailed decisions to make when planning your wedding. While I didn't take part in the cake tasting, as I am gluten intolerant, my husband loved choosing the flavors for our wedding cake. Choosing the decorations and look of the cake were left up to me. I scoured the internet for hours looking for the perfect cake. I did find my cake, but what made it perfect was what was on top.   Cake toppers can be traced back to the late 19th century. However, they did not become mainstream until the 1920s. Originally, wedding cake toppers featured...

My 5 months of wedding planning was amazing and it taught me so much about myself and was so fun! From my experience I would love to share what I learned those five months of engagement.   *Personalize Your Wedding   Make your own theme that fits you…I had a personalized, Midwestern, English Garden, Fall, and Thanksgiving themed wedding in which I incorporated Thanksgiving food, topiaries, white roses, monograms, wheat sprays, and red berries to mention a few.       My ‘something old’ was my mother’s pearls draped in my floral bouquet, my ‘something new’ was my dress, my ‘something...

This past week I photographed a bride that requested bridal portraits at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens in Norfolk. Being from the northeast, I had not heard much about this type of portraiture. I decided to do a bit of research on this southern tradition.   Bridal portraits originated in Europe and were historically oil paintings of royalty. These paintings were commissioned by the bride’s family to commemorate the occasion. It is unclear how the tradition made its way to the United States. During the 19th century, it was quite uncommon to have a photographer at your wedding. A studio was...

  I had a bride contact me yesterday inquiring where a DIY bride could purchase wedding and reception decorations from past brides. I’ve been meaning to post a blog on this topic ever since March!    I was quite fortunate to be able to sell all my wedding decorations online within a week after our honeymoon. My husband was called out on a business trip to Maryland the day after we returned from Antigua. I used the time to focus on writing thank you notes, organizing wedding gifts and selling our reception decorations.   For those DIY brides out there, purchasing lightly...