Wedding Tactics

I’ve been writing for Wedding Tactics for a full year now. When I started maintaining this site I didn’t know what it would become and how long I’d be writing. In fact, at the time, 451 Press was still just getting off the ground. In fact, its been pretty amazing watching the network grow along with my site.

My first posting discussed the differences between a marriage and a wedding. The first few months following this entry I used the planning of my own wedding as a guide for what to write about.

A few times I mentioned the issues in gaining a new set of parents and specifically, the mother-in-law.

I wrote a lot about dresses and veils and accessories.
And for a few months I had featured columns on certain days of the week, Trends on Tuesday and Traditions Thursday. I used these headlines as a means to explain traditions like the tossing of the garter.

April was a very popular month on this site. My stats went thru the roof, but that was a very popular wedding time of year. I get asked frequently about the Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue thing. The meaning and its history are detailed here.

One of my all-time favorite posting was about what guests should wear to a wedding. I noticed during the Spring months that several clothing stores were featuring lines of dresses for wedding guests. This is a good guide to style options depending on the wedding venue.

I got married in May. Then, I started a new job in June and my postings got a bit less frequent for awhile. Meanwhile, I did profile some great summer wedding themes.

As the year went on I tried to focus on all the different issues surrounding weddings, including mens clothing, or, tuxedos and a few funny stories too, like this one about a guy who lost his wedding ring.

And, finally, the most recent repeating column, Wedding Tactics: On Location, features vendors and venues in random cities. By featuring actual wedding business providers across the nation, I hope that readers from all states will be attracted to read and follow along and also to ask questions and participate in the Wedding Tactics dialogue. The On-Location feature can be seen here, here and here. And also here.

Thanks to all the readers who made this a successful year for me and 451 Press. I look forward to another even better year here.

Happy New Year!

When I was planning my wedding, less than a year ago, I spent hours just looking for images on the Internet to give me ideas for everything from centerpieces to hairpieces. To help you with your wedding planning, I’ve decided to create an entry consisting of photos to help give you ideas. As the seasons change, wedding colors and dress styles change, so there really are endless ideas and images to choose from. When possible, I will give as much detail about the type of flower or brand of dress that I feature. If you have questions about where I found a certain image, please email me or leave a comment and I will give you more information.

Hairstyles

I predict that 2008 will see a lot of soft low-bun hairstyles with gentle accents like flowers and beading. If you are going to put flowers in your hair, be sure to speak with a florist first and use the ones that are most likely to hold up the longest. For example, stephanotis are great flowers, their little white brilliance is perfect for bridal hair, but they wilt very quickly in sunlight and heat. Instead, use orchids, they are much more hardy.
More hairstyle info can be found by clicking here.

Placement Cards

I really like these placement cards for an afternoon beach-side wedding. While they are not the most elegant, they are cute and would go very well with a surfer/beach/ocean ish theme. You can even touch it up by using a place-card holder like a little mini Adirondack chair or a small photo frame.

Flowers
I really like this bridesmaid bouquet. First of all, I love the pink! Gerber Daisies are one of my favorite flowers. I think they are whimsical and classic — at the same time. Also, the wrapping on the stems adds a very elegant touch. Also, as a bridesmaid, it helps to have something like that ribbon to pin a few extra hair pins into. You never know when the bride might need her veil re-secured.

I just sat down to do my Trends on Tuesday research and decided on the VEIL as a topic. I typed in veil trends on Google, just to get myself started and wouldn’t you know, VEIL TRENDS is its own website! So I will use them as an example of the variety and stylistic trends found among veils this season.

Veils come short, medium and long in length and I will elaborate more on the names and intricacies of each style later in this post. Short veils are commonly called elbow length, medium is called just that, and long veils hang to your knees or even longer and are part of a train. Some veils have a separate layer of lace, called a blusher, which is designed to hang in front of your face at some point in the wedding ceremony. When and who covers and uncovers you is subject to ethnic and religious tradition as well as personal choice.

Some brides opt NOT to have a veil, and instead, choose from about seven million accessories. Accessories range from little hair clips that sparkle or have pearls on them, to feathers, little lace caps, crowns and tiaras. The possibilities are truly endless. And sometimes, downright hideous*.

The shortest veils, called a flyaway hit just above your shoulder and are best suited for day-weddings, wedding suits and simple sleek gowns. They are short and flirty and just a tad of a veil, perfect for the bride who really doesn’t want to get lost in lace.

Elbow and fingertip length are just as they sound. These lengths are most common because they are easy to find and very versatile. They are dressy and go with most gowns and wedding ceremony styles. It is generally considered more appropriate for evening weddings to have a longer veil.

(Ya’ll know I hate being all “it is usually considered more appropriate� … because I think wedding style decisions are intensely personal and rooted deeply in affordability and personal desire, so please forgive me for using this often angering terminology)

It is also very common these days to see a veil worn out of the back of the head, sort of emerging like a raging stream from the updo itself. While it might seem a little weird, personally, I think it is a style common right now because there is a movement from definitely having a veil to not typically having a veil. So the veil is sort of an afterthought, and more importantly, not in the bride’s face.

The choice to wear a veil or not is very personal and totally up to the bride. Or, in some cases, the bride and her mother or mother and mother-in-law. Some brides have less personal say in each matter.

Waltz, chapel and cathedral length are veils that extend below your knees, and up to three or more feet behind you. A cathedral veil is really only practical in a setting where you have a long aisle to walk down and you should be sure to have at least one attendant to monitor your veil as you enter and exit the ceremony.

This is just a lot of veil!

* An example of the hideous. This one reminds me of what the mother wore in the movie BeetleJuice.

Veils are gorgeous, no doubt. And they make a wonderful keepsake to hand down to future generations, but there are alternatives to the traditional veil if you’re looking for something a little different.

These are simple, yet elegant, beads that are easily added to any hairdo. Use them for your ceremony or use them as an accessory for the reception if you’re doing a clothing change.

OR

Retro has made its come-back and so has the hat. Once upon a time, no well-dress lady left her home without her hat, and todays bride can make her wedding attire completely her own with this sort of topper. (Original picture and more about bridal hats found here).

OR

Make your own Floral Wreath Headpiece! Wear your own one-of-a-kind headpiece that you’ve lovingly created with your own two hands. You’re garenteed something unique to you, and the design options are as endless as the sky is blue!