A Touch of Old-World Elegance

Friday, 19 June 2009 at 12:43 am (Bridal Fashion, Wedding Accessories)
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In the course of planning my wedding, I discovered that there were brides who viewed their wedding veils as dispensable items. Then again, there were some, who, like me, viewed it as a very important part of their ensemble. And why not? Used strategically, your wedding veil can either obscure your set your look off to perfection.

That said, choosing your veil is just as important as finding your dream dress. There are many factors to be considered as well–your budget, the kind of material, what embellishments you’re going to add, and so on. In my case, however, I knew what kind of veil I wanted off the bat. Because I didn’t want to have a grand production of a bridal gown, I knew that I definitely wanted a veil that made a statement. I wanted a mantilla veil.

Traditionally made out of Chantilly or Blonda lace, and worn most often by Spaish maidens and matrons of good social standing in the 17th and 18th century, mantilla veils embodied such grace, charm, and old-world elegance that they later on were used in weddings as well. What bride wouldn’t want all of that, right? ;-)

As I was having my gown made by a designer, sourcing out the materials for the kind of veil I wanted was no problem at all. Sites like IrisDBridal also served as a great resource, with the extensive collection of mantilla veils that they had. Similarly, the shop also offers custom order feature with a step by step guide, which allows brides to literally tailor-make their veil to their exact specifications. At the end of the day, I was quite happy with the end product. Pretty, wasn’t it? :-)

my veil1

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Finding Your Dream Gown

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 at 4:14 am (Tips and Tricks, Wedding Planning How-To's)
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A book called Shopaholic Ties the Knot hit the shelves around the time that I got engaged. Already a fan of the Shopaholic series, I immediately bagged what was at the time the latest installment, and was both amused and horrified at Becky’s (the protagonist) antics.

Inadvertently getting caught up in wedding preparations (with primo interference from an evil soon-to-be mother-in-law to boot), Becky ends up with two weddings set in two different continents. She also ends up reserving a quite a handful of wedding dresses, and was nowhere near making a decision even a month before her wedding. ;-)

That said, let me tell you from experience how easy it is to get caught up in things. Like finding that dream dress. After all, what bride hasn’t had a vision of herself walking down the aisle in a designer wedding gown, looking very much like a fairy tale princess? Whatever your fashion aesthetic may be, finding the perfect gown requires a lot of hard work. Whether you’re going for off-the-rack, or are looking to have one custom-made for you, here are a couple of things that might help you make your choice:

Wedding gowns usually come in five basic silhouettes, namely:

  • A-Line/Princess Silhouette – By far the most popular kind of silhouette, as it flatters just about all body types. Very figure friendly–it provides a convenient and stylish camouflage to common problem areas by not clinging to the waist and hips, and likewise gives an illusion of length to brides who are on the petite side.
  • Ball Gown Sillhouette – Think Princess Diana or Cinderella and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what this silhouette looks like. With its tightly-fitted bodice and full skirt, this style is best worn by taller brides.
  • Empire Silhouette – Cut just underneath the bust line, this type of silhouette is by far the best for brides who would like to emphasize their bossom while hiding their waist and hips.
  • Sheath Silhouette – Generally unstructured, and crafted out of soft fabrics, this type of silhouette is often a no-fuss, elegant, and typically floor-length. While best suited for brides who are both tall and trim, this kind of silhouette is similarly figure friendly, and gives petite brides the illusion of more length.
  • Mermaid Silhouette – This type of silhouette more or less leaves little to be imagined, with the fabric cut close to hug every curve to a point just above the knees. With its very unforgiving nature, this silhouette is best left to brides with perfect figures. ;-)

Other things to consider are:

  • The kind of ceremony you’ll be having–whether it’s formal, semi-formal, casual, etc.
  • If you’re having a church ceremony, you might also want to check if there are dress restrictions. Many churches frown on strapless, off-shoulder, or halter type gowns, and may require you to wear a shrug or some form of cover up for the ceremony itself.

Once you have a pretty good idea as to what you want, you can now scout around and see what’s out there. It doesn’t matter if you’re buying one off-the-rack, or if you’re having a designer custom-make one for you. What’s important is you arm yourself with information and choices.  Once that’s done, all you have to do is zero in on your favorite, and make your dream gown truly your own.

Have fun shopping! :-)

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What to do and when to do it.

Wednesday, 17 June 2009 at 2:30 am (Uncategorized)
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We earlier discussed the importance of setting a realistic timeline in order to get your wedding preparations down pat. An important part of this is to likewise set goals that you need to accomplish within a certain period.

What follows is a simple and easy-to-follow wedding checklist you can refer to in the course of planning for your big day. You can also visit sites like The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings and About.com (I relied heavily on the first two and on a local site called WeddingsAtWork) for more extensive checklists that will ensure that nothing gets left out. ;-)

10-12 Months Before the Wedding
- Let your friends and family in on the happy news. Depending on your country’s culture, this may also necessitate announcing your engagement via the newspaper, or official engagement announcements sent through mail, and such.
- Have your friends/family throw you an engagement party. Or throw one yourself. Either way, it’s a pretty good excuse to get together and have a good time. ;-)
- Set a date.
- Set a working budget.
- Hire a wedding planner based on your needs. Some brides choose to leave it to the planners, others are more hands-on, and opt to hire them just for the day itself.
- Scout around for ceremony and reception sites. Make your reservations as soon as you’ve decided on a particular venue. These are the first to go.

8-10 Months Before the Wedding
- Choose and meet with your officiant regarding the ceremony.
- Choose and meet with the members of your wedding party.
- Start drafting a guest list.
- Start scouting around for your wedding gown. You can choose to buy a dress off the rack, or have one made specially for you.
- Choose (and hopefully book) your caterer, florist, musicians/bands, photographer and videographer.

4-6 Months Before the Wedding
- If you’re sending out save-the-date announcements, now’s the time to mail them.
- Choose and purchase your wedding rings.
- Have your invitations done up.
- Scout around for wedding favors (if you’re giving them out).
- Scout around for your groom’s attire.
- Scout around for gifts to give to each other, your parent, and your wedding party.

2-3 Months Before the Wedding
- Finalize and accomplish all wedding requirements.
- Send out your wedding invitations.
- Firm up arrangements between the following: your officiant, caterer, photographer/videographer.
- Book your hair and makeup stylist.
- Attend the bridal showers your friends and family will be throwing for you.

On the Month of your Wedding
- Secure your wedding license.
- Have a final gown fitting.
- Finalize all arrangements with your vendors and suppliers.
- Finalize your wedding program.
- Ask your coordinator, mother, of maid of honor to do a final sweep in terms of RSVPs.

A Week or Two Before your Wedding
- Pick up your wedding gown and your groom’s attire.
- Finalize seating charts.
- Inform your caterer as to the final head count of guests attending the reception.

A Day Before your Wedding
- Relax! Have a day at the spa. Get a manicure and pedicure. Tomorrow’s your big day!
- Turn over wedding related concerns to your coordinator, maid of honor, or other friends. You don’t need to be stressing over them at this point.
- Get plenty of rest.

On the Day Itself
- Walk down the aisle and have a blast afterwards! :)

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Wedding Planning 101

Tuesday, 16 June 2009 at 1:51 am (Tips and Tricks, Wedding Planning How-To's)
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He got down on one knee, slid the most beautiful ring you’ve ever seen on to your finger, and you said yes. What then?

Once the initial high wears off, you’re going to have to deal with the practical side of preparing for your walk down the aisle. Planning your wedding need not be a stressful and overwhelming thing to do. If you want to avoid crying into your wedding cake on what should be the happiest day of your life, then here are a few tips that just might keep you sane. ;-)

Budget, budget, budget.
With the thrill and excitement of getting engaged, it’s easy to lose sight of things and have them snowball into unmanageable proportions. Before you take actual steps forward, you and your fiance might want to set a working budget. You can be as flexible or as rigid as you want in following the aforementioned budget, but having a ballpark figure of the amount you’re willing to spend will definitely help you in your decision making process.

Set your priorities.
With that magic number in mind, your next step would ideally be to categorize what you’re going to be spending your hard earned cash on in terms of their importance to you. For example, when my hubby and I were planning our wedding, we categorized expenses into must-have‘s and nice-to-have‘s.

One of our must-have‘s was serving our guests good food. Next on the list was a good provider for photo and video services, because these would serve as a lasting documentation of our special day. Our final must-have were our wedding rings, which we designed ourselves with the help of a jeweller. Everything else more or less fell into the nice-to-have category.

This isn’t to say however, that we scrimped on the other items that didn’t fall into the must-have category. It’s just that once we had a perspective as to what we were willing to spend most on, everything else fell into place.

Set a timeline.
Depending on the date you choose, you can have as little as three months to perhaps a year or two to plan your wedding. Howevfer, if you’re eyeing highly popular venues or are looking to work with the best vendors or suppliers in your area, then you might want to book them at least a year in advance.

Lastly, don’t try to do everything by yourself. Ask for help when you need it. You can keep it close and ask friends and family, or you can choose to hire professional consultants who will ensure that nothing falls through the cracks. What’s important is to remember that your wedding won’t be about how much you spent for your cocktail napkins or your souvenirs–it’s about the lifetime commitment you and your significant other will be making before those nearest and dearest to you. :-)

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Hello world!

Monday, 15 June 2009 at 5:02 am (Uncategorized)

Welcome to I Hear Wedding Bells!

In this blog, we discuss all things bridal–from coming up with a theme, choosing your color palette, finding the perfect gown, and everything in between.

And all this without breaking the bank! ;-)

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