Saturday, July 30, 2011

Wedding Party Gifting

** This will be a two part post!**

So many brides and grooms agonize on what to give their wedding party. Ladies and gents, this should not be a stressful situation!

1. The wedding party should feel blessed that out of all the people you know, you wanted them to be by your side.

2. Your gift shouldn't have to be an extravagant gift in order to be deemed special.

For the Ladies:

Here are some timeless gifts that can help you ensure that your brides look the way YOU want them to as well as giving them a gift.

1. Hair - believe it or not, a person's hair can cost quite a bit and is always an gift that is appreciated. My favorite is the timeless chignon that can be used for so many events. It isn't the tight updo circa 1990s, but it isnt too laid back either.

Here are some great chignons:

Classic chignons (from ballerina style to messy)
French Y-braid with chignon

This is my favorite type of chignon. It adds texture and depth to this simple hair do!


2. Jewelry - some people are gold people, some people are silver. What are you? do you want all your bridesmaids to wear silver and diamonds? Silver and sapphire? What fills your fancy?

Choosing jewelry does not have to be expensive, or real! Here's a great site with many different styles of jewelry in a vast array of rainbow colors.

If you find that you really like a certain style at say: Shane Co, Kay, Etc, you can always try to buy in bulk! Most places will give you a discount if you buy a certain number of pieces.

Thinking about being crafty??

My girlfriend Elissa and her Husband DeEll went this route. They are avid Agate pickers and found agates that were all around the same shade. They had them polished up and set into earrings and necklaces for the girls, and cuff links for the guys!


If you like the crafty idea but are sans crafty, Etsy is a great place for both hair accessories and for jewelry!

My favorites:

For Jewelry - Underhercharm has great little charms!! They are reasonably priced but can take up to a week or more to receive.



Personally, I would get a different chain than the ball chain that is presented here. I do love the simplistic style of this piece.

This next designer is AMAZING!!! I worked with her closely for the 10 months before my own wedding designing pieces for my girls and myself. It is the Minnesota made Zoey Catherine! (You can find her on facebook too). A girlfriend of Mine, Brittany Collins, had her bridal piece made by Zoey Catherine and gave me the idea to custom make my own bridal piece; that and upteen hours of searching with no original finds!









If you want a bit more sass to your bridal piece, Zoey can add color and texture! She is also awesome at making french netting bird cages for the vintage girl!



I even had Zoey create a piece for my bachelorette which was similar to this one!



































My favorite types of gifts are ones that you can use and reuse. My ladies are big fans of the bags I chose for them. They were purchased from The Knot which is a great all-inclusive website.

inside the bag I put a pink parasol (umbrella) and flip flops for later that evening. There are millions of bags to choose from, but I chose this because I had a beach wedding.

Do you have a bit more to spend on your bridesmaids? Then I suggest getting them all NELLE clutches! They are awesome hand designed purses by a girlfriend of mine, Laura Nelli. She has a variety to chose from and no doubt you will find her work amazing!! Plus, you can't put a price tag on something that ties up your dress perfectly!


The front clutch in the picture is actually the one I have for my wedding. It matched MAGNIFICENTLY!!!


Happy Hunting Ladies!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Girl Put your records on

When nearing the final days prior to wedded bliss, the small things tend to rear their ugly little heads. What you thought was something minuscule, is not at crunch time and you need to make a decision quick to get everything moving.

One of these such "things" is the music your DJ is going to play. Now, any good DJ will play what fits the mood, BUT there are a few that will need some direction.

Many DJs will ask if there is specific tunes that you want to be played. Now, instead of making a CD of what music, they want you to make a list and present it to them and they will play it where they see fit if it is in their playlist.

Now.... what do you play?! when it comes to thinking of the actual songs, it is quite difficult; especially when you have a deadline. Here are a few songs that, I have found, everyone loves dancing to.

Group Dances: Great way to get people out on the dance floor! People especially seem to like when the dance moves are laid out for them and they don't have to worry about looking like a fool!

Cha Cha Slide - Dj Casper
Cupid Shuffle - Cupid
Electric Slide - Neville Livingston
Shout - Isley Brothers
Twist - Chubby Checker
YMCA - Village People

If you have kids there:
Chicken Dance - Lawrence Welk
Hokey Pokey - Richard and Linda Thompson

These songs are only appropriate if you have a special relationship with them or a massive amount of kids.

Songs that people love to dance to in general. Remember to use your best judgement when it comes to what time frame they should be played at. Harder tunes should probably be played after 9:30 or 10:00 when small children and grandparents usually leave. Also some of these songs are just played though they may not be actually sending a happy message about love and marriage:

1, 2, 3, 4 - Plain White Ts
500 miles - The Proclaimers
All I want is you - Barry Louis Polisar
Better Together - Jack Johnson
Bottoms up - Trey Songz Ft. Nicki Minaj
Chemicals Collide - Cloud Cult
Dog Days are Over - Florence and the Machine
Dougie - Cali Swag District
Dreams - Fleetwood Mac
Forever and For always - Shania Twain
Hey Soul Sister - Train
ice ice baby - Vanilla Ice
I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
Just the way you are - Bruno Mars
Landslide - Fleetwood Mac
Love Story - Taylor Swift
Lovin you is easy - Sarah Mclachlan
Lucky - Jason Mraz ft. Colbie Caillat
Mama's Song - Carrie Underwood
Marry Me - Train
Marry You - Bruno Mars
Mine - Taylor Swift
Moment for Life - Nicki Minaj
My humps - Black eyed Peas
Only Hope - Switchfoot
Rhythm of Love - Plain White T's
Say Hey - Michael Franti
The only Exception - Paramore
The way I am - Ingrid Michaelson
Time after time - Quiet Drive
White Sky- Vampire weekend
You Belong with Me - Taylor Swift

There is usually a song cue for the garter toss and the Bouquet toss. Here are some songs that may just fill your fancy!

Bouquet Toss:
Girls Just wanna have fun - Cindy Lauper
Hey Ladies - Beastie Boys
Its Raining Men - The Weather Girls
One way or Another - Blondie
Single Ladies - Beyonce
Talk Dirty to me - Poison
You sexy thing - Hot Chocolate

What a Man - Salt and Peppa
Garter Toss
Another One Bites the Dust - Queen
I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
Hit me with your best shot - Pat Benatar
Hot in Here - Nelly
Wild Thing - the Troggs

These of course are only suggestions. If you have other songs that you just love hearing at a wedding, let me know!