Choose Your Lingerie Carefully

Of course what you wear on your wedding day is VERY important, but it's not only the dress you need to think about. Whether you used to go to bed naked or you have a huge lingerie collection, the lingerie you choose for your wedding day or honeymoon needs to be something special.

Here are a few tips to help simplify your lingerie shopping...

First, when choosing lingerie to match your wedding gown, you should not choose stuff with straps. No matter how tight a strap is, it may loosen. If you encounter such an occasion when the strap of your lingerie gets loose and even slips down from your shoulders, what will you do? Hope there's no pictures ;)

Straps can also be too tight and leave traces on your shoulders which can be uncomfortable for you, so just avoid them to be safe.


Avoid dark colours - this one seems obvious with a lightly coloured dress, but it's also important to avoid decorative designs that may also stand out from below your gown.


Last but not least, choose suitable lingerie and don't buy it too tight. Almost every bride is busy on her wedding day and if your lingerie is too tight, it could cause you to feel ill and be very uncomfortable.


Do you have any wedding lingerie tips? Share them here!

2011 Dress Trends

I'm sure you have fantasized many times about your wedding day for as long as you can remember. Your gown is the ultimate expression of this storybook dream, and as such a captivating dress is probably one of the first major purchases of your life!

Looking for a long dress? Check out the styles of 2011 here...

Structured

Incorporating tiers, layers, ruffles, and additional fabric on a wedding gown gives us that WOW factor. It can add fun and character to a dress, so forget the "less is more" and dare to be different instead.

One Shoulder

This look has been all over the runways and red carpets, and are now on brides. Spice up a simple gown with statement-making embellishments like a big flower on the strap.

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Simple Touches

Keep your gown classy, using simple beading and lace on sexy figure-hugging shapes to accentuate your curves. Don't overpower this elegant look with heavy accessories; let your beauty shine through.

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Mermaid Style

This fantasy-inspired look enhances sexy curves, while hiding flaws with ruching down the front and back.

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Grecian Goddess

Ensure you are the goddess of the day with a high waisted gown with floaty materials like chiffon. This classy look is perfect for slim figured women.

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Ballgown

This style comes straight for your Cinderella fairytales. The classic style creates gorgeous cleavage and a barely-there waistline. What more could a girl ask for?

So which of these is the style in your dreams? Best of luck finding what you're looking for, and let Cariad Productions know if you need a shopping assistant for this difficult decision.

Keeping it Real

Just to help put the planning of your wedding into perspective, keep these tips in mind...

Setting Priorities
People are more important than menus or venues! Determine who you want to share your special day with you, and then you can determine what to serve them and where - not the other way around.

Blissful to Forget
You will be much happier if you forget about "the perfect wedding". Perfection does not exist and does not create happiness, especially when it involves complicated arrangements and all kinds of people like your wedding.

Focus on You
If you try to keep everyone happy, you will go crazy - focus on you! This is your day with your special someone. However, it is good to listen to your friends and family, and ignore their feelings and comfort at your own peril...being married does not mean your whole world changes, you still have to see these people the next day.

Hope this helps bring a little reality check into your planning!

Floral Design Trends 2011 from Platinum Floral Designs

A wonderful guest blog by Tina Barbanoff of Platinum Floral Designs...

I’m seeing a wonderful shift from modern, precisely fitted hand tied bouquets to more ornate, organic, flowing, rustic and personalized bouquets. Using either a bright and bold palette (I’m thinking 1950’s unqiue colour combinations), or a soft and vintage/french palette will be next years must haves.

Thinking Outside the Box

The economy has effected all us in different ways, tightening our budgets where ever possible including the floral world. I’m glad to see more bride’s asking for locally grown and seasonal flowers to use for their wedding day and incorporating items they have found right in their backyards such as pinecones, shells, twigs or anything they can find on their walk-abouts. Anything and everything can be used, thinking outside the box is really the key.

Personal Touches
How to add personal touches is also a common question I am receiving as I book into next years wedding season. Here are some great ideas to inspire you:

1. Incorporate heirloom items: ex. Vintage brooches, buttons and pins can be wired into your bouquet or attached to the stem wrap

2. Fabric swatches: use your mothers wedding dress, quilt patches, hanker-chiefs, lace and even burlap sacks to cut fabric pieces to wrap your bouquet or tie “love knots” with long strips of fabric into your flowers, keep these special elements in your scrapbook

3. Have your bridesmaids write wishes on small pieces of vintage paper, fold them up and wire them into your bouquet to be read later and again kept for your scrapbooking later on

Bold Colour Palette – think unique, think history (1950’s)

As seen in the 1950’s, crazy combinations were used to create bold colour patterns creating interest and depth. Use colours such as bright blues, aqua, turquoise and pare this with mustard yellow’s, cherry reds or try emerald, lime green with red’s, purple’s and pink’s.
Try tying in all elements: ei. Wear brightly coloured shoes, socks, knee high’s, ties, suspenders and hat’s which mimic the colour palette in your bouquets and boutonnieres. This is a great pop of colour and shows wonderfully in your wedding photography.

Vintage Colour Palette

Vintage leans toward the soft, more pastel hues and ruffled petals to create texture such as tulips, poppies, peony, garden roses, scabiosa, delphinium, amemone, daisies and any bloom with a textural feel. Use creamy tones, pale pinks, whites, greens, silver, and brown. A cascading bouquet really will add drama to your vintage feel, but beware, cascading bouquets are often costly as more blooms are wired to create a cascading effect.


French Floral Design

I am seeing more and more French inspired floral design which uses a large amount of greenery to create a garden and natural feel to your bouquet. Try using greenery as your bouquet wrap instead of ribbon to really create a natural, earthy feel or burlap sacks with a brown string. Your florist will have many great ideas for consideration. Laura Dowling, a French floral designer based in Washington is a great reference point to discover French floral design. Her usage of greenery is outstanding. French design is great for the bride looking to have an outdoor garden wedding.

Backyard Design

Gather unconventional items found in your everyday life. Depending on the month you will be married, consider using herbs in floral design to add texture and scent. Ex. Lavender, dill, rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, garlic, basil, any herb will do! Think about using fruits and vegetables growing in your garden as well : apples, kiwi, plums, strawberries, go totally over the edge using carrots, beets, beans or peppers, let the sky be your limit!

Growing Your Own Flowers
If you are growing your flowers, ask your florist to “condition” them properly in their cooler to ensure your flowers will last the entire event. There are a lot of behind the scenes care flowers need to make them wedding ready.

Use pinecones fallen from trees, sticks and twigs will create architectural details, use love rocks (rocks shaped like hearts you and your fiancé found laying at the beach), and shells. Gather items you are naturally attracted too, you’d be amazed at the different textures, scents, and colours that surround our daily lives. Each month in the year will bring in new items to be used, just keep in mind that many of the items will have to be wired in, which takes your florist valuable time, and can become costly.

Masses of Colour

Another ongoing trend is using only 1 or 2 types of flowers in your bouquet and centerpieces, this makes for a large impact with simplicity.

Centerpiece Trends

It’s hard to say, as there really is such a wide variety of things being used for centerpieces. The choices are endless. Here are some ideas to start you off:

1. Masses of Colour - using numerous and varying heights of vases per table incorporating 1 type of flower will ensure a large impact and create visual interest even if you are using a minimal amount of flowers.

2. Branch centerpieces make for outstanding displays – incorporate flowers on the branches and at the bottom of the display for visual interest

3. Let’s back away from flowers for a minute and discuss centerpieces using masses of vegetables or other natural materials, try using a vase filled with garlic or tomatoes, lemons and limes, apples, peppers, shells, or rocks. Using a combination of items on one table will create a striking effect and a conversation piece. Now let’s combine these items with flowers, if using large, tall vases, why not try to fill the vase with your choice or fruit or natural material and create a masterpiece of flowers above, this will make a great visual for your special day especially at a venue with high ceilings.

4. Let’s create height: why not place a square vase upside down and another unique vase on top of it to create interest and height, try incorporating flowers in both vases, or flowers in the bottom one and a candle in the top.

Final Thoughts
Floral Trends are coming back in a strong way and the best advice I could give to any bride is: instead of using numerous smaller arrangements scattered about, focus on one or two main focal points. Does your venue have fire place mantles, or are you getting married under a stone wall? Really discover your venue, ask the coordinator which focal points are best to adorn with floral spreads? Decide which area is the most important to you and spend the most money there. Ask your florist if she has previously worked at this venue, if not ask her if she could meet you at the venue to discuss options.

Also remember trends come and go. Remember to keep true to your heart. Use flowers in colours you are absolutely in love with. You will want to love your images 10 years from now! Your florist is here to guide you whether you do not know anything about flowers, or even if you’re a flower wonder and know exactly what types of blooms you will want to use, she will help you to achieve balance, create harmony, colour and depth.

A professional florist passionate about her work will help you to narrow down the look are you trying to achieve and she’ll express ideas to fit your budget! Good luck and I hope this article will inspire you to get messy, explore and ask questions!

About Platinum Floral Designs

Tina Barabonoff is a young and vibrant floral designer with a keen eye for creating colour harmony, balance and architectural details.

Tina’s formal training in interior design allows her to be uniquely creative, bringing in new structural aspects to floral design. Completing her courses in 2007, Tina dedicated her time to working in and learning about the design world.

After a short hiatus to start a family, with her husband and two young children by her side she opened Platinum Floral Designs out of true passion to integrate design and flowers to create a harmonious world. Her designs are simply breathtaking and are at the forefront in the flower world! Check them out at http://www.platinumfloraldesigns.com/.

Inspired by my Travels

I'm BACK! Thanks for sticking around.

Coming Soon

I have some exciting new posts coming soon, in particular a floral design post written by Tina of Platinum Floral Designs. Check out her amazing work at http://www.platinumfloraldesigns.com/, and be sure to look back here for her great ideas.

Inspirations
This trip I went to Dublin, Ireland and throughout northern Wales. I was inspired by many new bridal and event ideas, and of course will be sharing those with you soon as well. My favourite new idea is a tradition from the mid 1600's in Wales, where they give Love Spoons. They are a wonderful style of wood carving that began as a courtship gift. They were created by a young man as a present for his intended bride, the intricacies and themes carved on the spoon's handle all have symbolic meanings.

Today the giving of Welsh Love Spoons have been expanded to include wedding presents, anniversary presents, house warming gifts and even baby shower gifts. They adorn the walls of newlyweds houses, showing the love that surrounds them.

Love Spoon Examples

The anchor symbolizes a settled love, eternal devotion and security.

The ball in the cage is to commemorate a love held safe, or to represent the number of children desired. The number of children is also sometimes shown as a chain on the Love Spoon handle as well.

This one has double meaning...the double heart is for steadfast love, and sharing the feelings from each other...the keyhold is to show that I will look after you.

Leaves symbolize a growing love and love being evergreen.

My Love Spoons

And here are a few Love Spoons dear to my heart, as they are the 2 that I purchased.

The music symbolizes a love of music, which is very close to any Welshmans' heart as music runs deep in the Welsh traditions and blood.

The horseshoe represents good luck, while the bell symbolizes together in harmony and happiness. Love spoons with bells on them are most often given as gifts for weddings or anniversaries.

Other Traditions

What traditions are there in your culture? I am so intrigued by this simple gesture, and am wondering about other wedding-related gifts that are unique!