Christmas Weddings

Christmas is everyones favorite holiday. Well mostly everyone... Many families get together around this holiday, churches are packed and decorated, why not have yourself a merry little christmas wedding?!

 Wedding Colors

Most churches are decorated in red and green, other reception sites are probably already decorated for the holiday for parties and other holiday events. You have a cheaper decoration idea all set up for you! You can incorporate other colors into the red and green so it's not as traditional:

• silver and white
• silver and light blue
• burgundy, forest green, and gold (as long as the existing decorations aren't too primary)
• gold and cream 

Christmas Wedding Invitations

When choosing an invitation, don't go so over the top with the holiday theme that it looks just like a holiday card. Opt for a thick white or cream, non-folded card with a border and/or engraving. You can incorporate the christmas theme by using it in your border with snowflakes, holly trim or a simple drawing of a pointsetta. An issue you might encounter if you send your invitations 2 months earlier is most people have plans by then, you can send a save the date a few months prior and send an invitation 3-4 months prior to ensure the most important people come!

Wedding Cake

 For me, I feel as though the dress is the main focus of the ceremony, and the cake is the main focal point of the reception. An always popular cake is having each tier look like individually wrapped presents. Another option is an all white cake with edible poinsettia flowers cascading down the side of the tiers, but there are really quite a few other options.

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen Attire

One of my favorite ideas for Bridesmaids dress ideas for the holiday season is a long gown with a faux fur muff instead of a bouquet. You can incorporate your wedding colors, or go with a basic black gown and add sparkling jewelry in your wedding color with a beautiful bouquet. Groomsmen always look fantastic wearing basic black with a red vest and tie. 

 Wedding Gown

Wedding colors are not important for your wedding gown, and I would recommend not going for a red or green gown.... Go for something you are comfortable in and look beautiful in. You can always incorporate a red sash around your waist to bring out some color, or even go for a gown with sparkle to bring out the snowiness of the season!

Flowers and Decor

Flowers can be expensive this time of year since many are out of season. Instead of bouquets you can always do the fabulous faux fur muff, and for centerpieces you can buy ornaments in bulk and fill vases with the ornaments. Muffs may not be on your list of favorite things, so you can always have a bouquet with mostly poinsettias. Fake snow can sometimes look tacky, but they have better looking products nowadays. You can always use fake snow on the table tops and place ornaments and flowers in the center of it. Poinsettias aren't super expensive so you can use those as centerpieces and add a gold trim to the outside of the vase. Pine cones are also a really inexpensive table decor to add.

These are just a few of the many options you can use? What else would you guys add?

You Don't Need The Most Expensive!

Since I just got my wisdom teeth taken out, which means a lot of TV and movie watching. On Friday I watched about 4 hours of Say Yes to the Dress, and I couldn't grasp how much money these girls spend on their dresses! One girl spent $24,000 on a dress! If you have that much money is it really necessary to wear a dress that expensive once in your life?! Believe me I understand the wanting to look amazing on your wedding day, every girl wants that, but trust me you can find a dress that looks very similar and very beautiful for a lot less!

On that show, many of the girls have a reasonable budget (I still think $3,000 is high but that is just me,) but some are up to $10,000, not to mention quite a bit of the time they decide to go over budget. Every dress designer has a unique taste in their designs, but many have similar styles. 

This dress was designed by Monique Lhuillier, her dresses are sold in Kleinfeld's which is the store Say Yes to the Dress is filmed. Her designs are glamorous and portray sophistication and femininity. This is a mermaid gown with a sweetheart neckline and a dropped waist. It's made of silk organza and is priced around $6,000.

No design will be exactly like the next, but they can have some similarities. This is a Galina Signature Gown sold at David's Bridal. It too is made of Organza silk, but it's an a-line gown with angled draped pick-ups which creates a slimming silhouette. This gown has more of a glamorous design as well with a sweetheart neckline, and has a floral embellishment at the waist which gives it more of a modern look. The skirts look different, but they both look beautiful; both of these designs have similar looks as well as feels. The BIG difference is the Galina Gown is only $750! 

So when shopping for dresses, there are many options, that is just one example of how gowns can be similar in style without breaking the bank. Do you need to spend $7,000 on a dress you only wear once, EVEN if you can afford it? No. But if you love the dress and there's nothing else like it, then yes maybe splurge on a dress you can afford. I would much rather spend that $6,000, on other things for myself or for the wedding. David's Bridal has so many beautiful dress options for under $2,000 as well as other great bridal salons like Alfred Angelo. People at your wedding don't care about how much your dress costs, they are just looking at you. 

What do you guys think of spending $10,000+ on a dress??