Would You Wed Like Kate? (part 1)

The royal wedding was three weeks ago today and by all accounts, we have all eased back into normal life.  But there were some really amazing details that will certainly be inspiring brides for years to come.  I wanted to take a closer look to see which aspects of the wedding that the world watched would be trending this wedding season.

#1. Colored Engagement Ring
Not that the bride has much choice typically, but this sapphire stunner made headlines around the world for its beauty, its history and the fact that it is not your standard engagement rock.  The main reason for the popularity colorless diamonds is that they are not only classic but they go with anything you could ever wear.  I wrote a post about the popularity of colored engagement rings catching on with celebrities, it might just catch on with the rest of us soon.

#2. Kate Did Her Own Makeup
So many people, myself included, were surprised to learn that Kate decided to do her own makeup for the most watched wedding this century.  She did take lessons from a makeup artist but chose to apply by herself.  For most brides, makeup and hair stylists are necessary vendors for a few reasons- to cut down on the anxiety of perfecting the wedding day look, having access to a professional and lastly because for most brides these services are a rare luxury.  Celebrities get their hair & makeup done on a weekly basis, so are they 'over' this luxury?  It was speculated that Kate made specific choices with her wedding to represent herself as "one of the people" and this was a very good example. 

 

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#3. Her Maid of Honor, Sister Pippa, Wore White

Today's bridesmaids dresses are always well thought out- coordinating color themes, wedding formality, season, etc.  White is traditionally a color only worn by the bride at the wedding but the trend of white bridesmaids dresses was gaining speed even before the royal wedding.  Not only have I seen this on wedding blogs, but Felicity C Weddings had a client in September 2010 who had two bridesmaids, both in knee length white dresses.  Kate's sister Pippa looked amazing, although a bit orange for my tastes, and may give more steam to this growing trend.

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Guy's Corner: Guidelines to Choosing Your Wedding Band

Wedding rings are the universal sympbol of marriage but tend to be overlooked in the first few months of planning of wedding.  Typically the engagement ring is fitted with the wedding ring in mind so they compliment each other.  The jeweler will show the groom-to-be the options for wedding ring settings when he is buying the engagement ring and then the couple can return a few months before the wedding to choose their wedding bands.  While most women have thought about their wedding band and what they want, the guys are usually a bit intimidated by this process.  Most men don't wear a lot of jewelry so this is a big decision.  The basic questions to keep in mind are:

#1. Budget- Make sure that you both know your budget for each ring before you step into the jewelry store.
#2. Basic Aesthetics- Do you like gold or silver?  Silver has many options from the carat amount to platinum vs. regular silver.  But knowing the direction you want to go helps narrow down all the option from the beginning.
#3. Lifestyle- Do you work in manual labor and require a simple design as well as a durable metal? Do you want a sleeker ring that is more formal to compliment all your business suits? Think about the fact that you will wear this ring everyday in plain sight.
#4. Design- Do you want your rings to match, compliment, or neither?  Some mens bands do have diamonds embedded, is this a look that you want?  This is probably a question that doesn't occur to most guys but it is important that you both are happy with both wedding bands. 

Here are a few ideas for options.  There are a lot of articles out there about wedding bands, I really like OffBeat Bride's picks for starters.  Enjoy & happy purchasing!

Engagement ring and wedding band setting

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Eco Friendly Finds

Back in September I blogged about "green" being the new black and gave a few ideas on how to make your wedding more eco friendly.  Well I keep seeing posts and articles with new tips lately so I wanted to post again.  The idea of being "green" is pretty well known; reduce, recycle, and reuse to make a smaller negative impact on the environment.  But mixing eco friendly with weddings can be daunting.  The more research I do, the more I realize that there really isn't an area of a wedding that can't become "green" in some way.  Make a list of what aspects you want to be green in your wedding and make sure you are clear with your vendors on your expectations.  Most vendors have a few eco friendly options and there are some eco friendly only vendors too.  PapelVivo offers stationary using recycled post consumer fiber and they offer DIY kits!  I also found a post featuring eco friendly wedding rings.  And who can resist this post of an eco friendly wedding inspiration shoot including "green" dresses, decor, invites, and flowers!  Speaking of dresses, Terra Amore is another bridal designer with an eco friendly line.

Looking to spread the green love to your guests but not sure about giving them seeds, a plant or a tree?  Offer eco friendly favors, such as myEARTH360's water bottle, tote bags or bamboo coasters.  Or are you going to be a guest at an eco wedding?  A great gift would be produce bags or salad servers in addition to other home items from the couple's registry.  I even found a post featuring a CA photographer offering a 6 hour wedding package to a green wedding!  So, keep looking out for eco wedding finds and I will do my best to keep you updated.  Enjoy! 

 PapelVivo stationary. Source

Balsa Wood Flowers. Source