Would you register for your honeymoon?

A trend I've heard about on and off for a while now is registering for your honeymoon. That's right - in lieu of or in addition to a traditional gift registry, couples are listing their honeymoon as an item guests can donate money towards.



Would you do it? Or do you think it's tacky? Here are a few websites that offer this service:

- honeyfund.com: "A honeymoon gift registry with no set up fees, no transaction fees, and no travel purchase required."

- buy-our-honeymoon.com: You set up your honeymoon and the activities you want to experience while traveling, and assign a gift price to each activity. Guests can then pick what they want to purchase for you.

- sendusoff.com: Works similarly to the buy-our-honeymoon site. They also provide email notifications to your wedding guests, and travel suggestions for you and your spouse.

So what do you think? Is a honeymoon registry a must-have for the modern couple, or a major faux pas? Sound off in the comments!

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Bridesmaid Dresses: Love 'Em or Leave 'Em?

Have you ever seen the movie 27 Dresses? It's probably one of my favorite chick flicks, right up there with Sixteen Candles and How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Then again, maybe I just have a thing for movies with numbers in the title.

I desperately need to clean out my closet and I got to thinking about my bridesmaid dresses. There's one that I actually shortened and wore again, but the others are unmistakably bridesmaid dresses and I'd feel silly wearing them anywhere now. Granted, my situation is far from this madness...




I especially love the moments at 1:59 (Gone with the Wind), 2:52 ("Men wore dresses, women wore suits"), and 3:15 (LA wedding). But at 3:51 in this clip, when Katherine Heigl's character Jane talks about how each dress bring back memories of great times she had with her friends, I have to agree. I know I'll still have the memories regardless of whether or not the dress is taking up space in my closet. But for me, it's somewhat difficult to let go.

What about you, do you still have your old bridesmaid dresses? Did you ever have to wear anything crazy as a bridesmaid, like that cowgirl outfit for instance? And most importantly - have you ever been to a Gone with the Wind wedding? Let us know in the comments!

Veil-Less Looks

Maybe your wedding is more casual, maybe your bridal up-do is going to be a hair masterpiece, maybe the idea of a piece of gausy fabric hanging off your hair weirds you out. Regardless of your reasoning, here are some hairstyles that would look great - and still bridal - without a veil.

Headbands:
Great for short hair especially! Since brides-to-be sometimes have trouble being creative with their cropped locks, a headband is an excellent solution. And of course, you can use a headband to dress up just about any hairstyle.

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Cute!

Flowers:
Adorning your 'do with fresh flowers is oh-so-chic, don't you think? I just love the relaxed, beach-y look below.

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A gardenia is also a classic, gorgeous flower many brides use. This bride's style is gorgeous, especially with her blue-hued dress.

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Plus, gardenias are so fragrant that your groom will always remember the way you smelled when he kissed you on your wedding day. Now is that romantic or what?

Tiaras:
Want to guarantee that you'll feel like a princess on your wedding day? Wear a tiara!

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Like the headband, this can be integrated into practically any hair style, and can be worn alone or in addition to a veil.

Also, be sure to check out another Bustle Event blog post on hair accessories for more ideas.

Bustle Wedding - The Meyers

Who: Emily Reid & Jack Meyer

What: Month-of Coordination by Bustle Event Design

Where: St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church & Oak Hill Mansion

When: Saturday, August 21, 2010

Overview:
Emily and Jack met in high school - my high school, to be exact! Emily and I were in the same graduating class at Cathedral High School (Indianapolis, Indiana), while Jack was one grade above us. I was extremely honored when Emily hired me as her month-of wedding coordinator. Emily was the perfect bride. Laid-back and caring... she focused on what was really important: marrying her sweetheart (and not freaking out over tulle and place cards). Emily's family was amazing to work with, as well. Correction: Emily's family was INCREDIBLE to work with! The Reid family is so kind and supportive. The Meyer family is just as great. Emily & Jack are so lucky!

Some pics (by SB Childs Photography - lovelovelove their style):



















































































Can I just say - What a crazy bridal party!!! These ladies and gents were the life of the party. Not a dull moment to be had. :)

[All photos credited to SB Childs Photography]

Vendors:
Ceremony - St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church
Photographers - SB Childs Photography
Reception & Catering - Oak Hill Mansion
Wedding coordination - Lindsey & Emily, Bustle Event Design
Shuttle bus transportation - Carey Limousine
Wedding cake - Classic Cakes
Floral - Posh Petals
DJ - Event1 DJs

To-Die-For Frocks

As an unmarried person who adores weddings and all that comes with getting married, the idea of wedding dress shopping both intrigues me and freaks me out.... a lot. Sure, I've had many friends find The Perfect Dress. I've watched Say Yes To The Dress plenty of times, and have yelled at the bride on TV because why can't she understand that the first dress she tried on was THE ONE!?! ...or, you know, whatever.

But then I saw these awe-inspiring dresses from Quail Bridal. How cool is this Parisian Gown?


The peony chiffon skirt detaches! I have only one word for my feelings about this: Love.

Quail also has some stellar bridesmaid dresses. And I'm not talking about the kind you can shorten and wear again. I'm talking about the kind you can just wear.

What about you readers, any wedding dress shopping secrets you want to share?

Let's Talk Veils

Hello, readers! It's been a while since my last post - almost a month! Now that I'm back from my summer blogging vacation, I'm getting down to business. Time to talk about veil trends for 2010-2011! There are so many styles out there and I love how each one can really set off whatever particular look you want to achieve.

Let's start off with my personal favorite, the birdcage veil.

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This veil can be worn with practically any dress style, from vintage to modern. It's best to wear your birdcage veil with a low up-do, but as long as you have a talented hair stylist anything is possible. I love this look anchored with a jeweled hair clip or dramatic feathered hair accessory. You could even wear it with a vintage-inspired hat! I'm in love.

If you want to go for a traditional mid-length veil, you should look for a veil between 20 and 30 inches in length... in other words, anywhere from your shoulders to your fingertips. What length you choose can depend on anything from your height to your dress style. Since these veils can be worn in a variety of ways (high on the head, low on the head, over the shoulders, etc.), many veils come with embroidered edges. So pretty!

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Next let's discuss long veils. There are two main types: Cathedral length veils are are typically floor length, and Regal length veils are around 10-12 feet, or even longer. (Note: I've found some variation on the names of these veils, but you get the idea.) This style veil is oh-so-elegant and great if you want to heighten the romantic look of your dress.


As you can see from this image, courtesy of Scarlett Lillian Photography, a these looong veils can really add some drama to your wedding day - in a good way! They are best worn with a dress that has a train, and make sure you have a plan for how you want to look at your wedding reception, since long veils can get in the way of dancing and all the other wedding activities you'll be doing.

Short, architectural veils are an interesting trend and the styling is across the board from traditional like this:


...to an Avant-garde look, like this:


Often called "bubble veils," this style isn't for the faint of heart, but I love how even a small bubble veil adds some oomph to any look.

What about you, readers? Did I leave out your favorite veil style? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned for a future post on veil-less bridal looks.

History of the Wedding Dress

This is not going to be as boring as it seems because this brief wedding history is going to be presented in pictures!

To start things off, here's replica of a 1799 wedding dress.


Back in the day, i.e. the late 1700s, it was common for brides to wear gowns in practically any color. This was true especially for brides in the middle and lower classes, mainly because of the cost of a formal dress. So the young maiden lucky enough to wear a dress like the one above probably came from some serious moo-lah.

It was actually Queen Victoria who changed the game, wearing a white satin dress in 1840. Check her out:


Not my style but apparently it was all the rage at the time.

Meanwhile in America, the 1860s brought the Civil War (known by Southerners like my former history teacher as "The War of Northern Aggression") and dresses like this. Imagine wearing one of those for a June wedding... I do declare!

Luckily, the turn of the 20th century brought the beginning of today's silhouettes. From the various websites I've read, it seems like a full-length white gown became the norm around the 1930s.

Here's an adorable vintage wedding photo from the 1940s:

How romantic! And I love the woman in the background in her striped suit and hat.

The 1950s saw a lot of ballerina length and tea length dresses:

Then the 1980s brought the wedding of Prince Charles to Princess Di...


And that brings us (roughly) to today's wedding dresses.

Modern dresses have a lot of embellishments and asymmetrical necklines, so it will be interesting to see if that trend continues in decades to come.