Guy's Corner: The Sweet Treat Coming Your Way

The groom's cake may be one of the coolest traditions to move North since polo's, khaki shorts, and sandals.  The Southern tradition of the bride "gifting" the groom with a special cake is making its way around the country in a big way and has been growing in popularity in the past few years.  According to the history of a groom's cake, it is "not to be served to the guests while at the wedding reception, but rather it was to be sliced up, placed into packages and given to them as favors when they departed. Single women at the wedding would take their pieces of cake home and sleep with it under their pillows in hopes of dreaming of their future husbands" (source).  Since the idea of sleeping with cake under your pillow is not required, many modern couples do serve the groom's cake at the reception.  The groom's cake is separate from the traditional wedding cake and features the groom's hobbies, favorite sports team, or anything groom-related.

Some brides choose to surprise their grooms with this special cake since honestly, how much do most guys know about wedding details?  This is a small but awesome gesture to show that the wedding day really is about the groom too by honoring his favorite things in a delicious cake.  It is a great addition to the traditional cake or to serve at the rehearsal dinner.  I picked out some truly kick ass cakes to give you inspiration.  Enjoy!

Spectacular replica of the Boston Red Sox's stadium. Source

Source

 

Source

 

Source 

A New Take On: The Victorian Era

The saying goes that fashion is always recycling itself in new ways.  I love the history of fashion and recently I have really gotten into the history of all things wedding- attire, decor, traditions, and details.  While marriage has been around since the beginning in one form or another, a lot of wedding traditions that we still have today started in the late 19th century.  "White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria had worn a white gown for the event so as to incorporate some lace she owned. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for a similar dress in honor of the Queen's choice.  Prior to the Victorian era, a bride was married in any color, black being especially popular in Scandinavia" (source).

I thought it would be fun to create an inspiration board paying homage to the Victorian era.   Thanks to Queen Victoria, her namesake era was a time of opulence and great attention to luxurious details.  Not only are there a lot of pictures to use as a reference, but the ravishing Emily Blunt portrayed the infamous royal in "Young Victoria" and every detail in the movie was so gorgeous.  The main influences are lace, rich golds, blues, and reds, lots of florals, and opulent patterns.  While incorporating every Victorian detail would create a costume-party feel for a modern wedding, I like the idea of picking and choosing a few aspects to feature. Not sure where to start?  Here is an article on the modern take on Victorian wedding dresses.  For more ideas, hope you enjoy the Victorian wedding inspiration board!

Row One: source, source, source

Row Two: source, source, source

Row Three: source, source, source

Ole For Hispanic Influences!

Hello.  My name is Felicity and I am an official wedding blog junkie.  The first step is admitting that you have a problem.  So I've heard.  I honestly get such a rush when I go through my Google reader scanning hundreds of exciting and creative wedding ideas daily.  Every now and again something catches my eye and I have to share it on Every Last Stylish Detail. 

TodayI actually have 2 posts I'm happy to share.  The first amazing post is a wedding inspiration shoot with a Mexican/ Frida Kahlo/ Hispanic theme.  One of my very first posts was celebrating my Colombian heritage with a look into Colombia's wedding traditions.  I love seeing wedding inspiration shoots because they are so practical- trying out attire and decor details for the big day in a shoot that makes it all feel so real.  Even if a full-on Mexican theme is not your style, you can still find a few small details from this inspiration shoot that may work for you.  I was super excited when I  found a real wedding with a Mexican theme done so beautifully that I had to share it as well.  Both posts are from Style Me Pretty (please check out each link for the full galleries).  So without further ado, please enjoy my latest favorite posts:

Palm Springs Wedding Inspiration Shoot:

 

 

A New Light On Wedding Traditions

When most people think of weddings, they think of wedding traditions.  Whether it be cultural, religious, or family based, I am a huge fan of incorporating meaningful traditions into weddings, the key word being meaningful.  Some couples become so focused on tradition and pleasing everyone, that the couple loses sight of what they want on their big day.  It really is up to each couple to decide where they want to draw the line.  Because really, isn't the best wedding 'tradition' that of joyous, happy couples vowing to share their lives together? 

I recently went to friend's wedding as a guest and had a great time.  It was fairly nontraditional; an afternoon beach wedding in November (in Delaware), a short ceremony, no bridal party aside from the couple's dog, 30 guests, and a casual atmosphere.  At one point the bride asked me what my opinion was of her wedding as a wedding planner.  I told her that it was perfect because it was exactly what they wanted.  And that really is what I want for every couple; clients or friends.  If a tradition is important to you, keep it.  If it is not, toss it.  Brides in particular feel the need to incorporate every detail people throw at them.  Overall comfort (literally and metaphorically) is going to go a lot further than feeling forced into a tradition.  Example A: a lot of couples are opting for outdoor ceremonies which a decade or two ago was unheard of.  Breaking tradition could be as simple as not having a wedding cake or seeing each other before the ceremony (see my First Look post).

My advice is to go online and search through wedding blogs.  I guarantee that you will find some awesome inspiration from brides who did exactly what they wanted.  The website OffBeat Bride in particular is always featuring real weddings that have a whole lot of personality.  Here are a few real weddings that I've found that I hope will give you inspiration to plan your wedding the way you want it.  Enjoy!

 

 Beautiful butterfly bridal dress (say that 5 times fast). Source

Beach wedding in November. Source

Who says all the bridesmaids have to match? Source

Royal Budgeting

Tradition stands that the bride's family pays for the wedding.  Yet, a lot of modern couples are taking on the majority if not the total cost of the wedding.  Money is always a sensitive subject, especially when it is tied to such an emotion-filled and long awaited day such as a wedding.  More than any other etiquette or planning question, budgeting is always at the top of the list.  If the bride's parents pay does that mean that they have a lot of input into the planning?  What if they bride's family is unable to pay for the majority of the wedding, who should take over financial responsibility?  Do the groom's parents get to invite a large amount of people if they are not contributing financially?  What if they ARE contributing financially?  Its all enough to give you a headache and want to elope!

Now, imagine how overwhelming this budgeting must be if you are the newly engaged Prince William & Kate Middleton.  I am SO excited to witness a royal wedding and have been keeping up with all the news coverage.  It was announced today that the wedding date is set for April 29, 2011 and they will wed at historic Westminster Abbey in London.  More coverage has revealed that early estimates of the cost is expected to be close to $40 million not including the $20 million that the taxpayers will be paying for security.  All of the excitement around this royal wedding has certainly created larger than life expectations and the bottom line is that someone will be financially responsible for the wedding of the decade.  But who?  Are Kate's parents expected to foot the bill that no doubt will cover guests that are being invited solely because of proximity to the royal family?  Should the royal family pay for the wedding simply because they have the funds to cover such an extravagant affair?  I'm staying tuned to see how all of the planning unfolds (the dress! the decor!) and especially checking on the budgeting. 

 

November 16, 2010 The Royal Wedding was announced 

to the world! Source