Hot wedding trends for 2014

If you are a fashion aficionado, checking on runway reports and new trends keeps you in the know and in style.   this is no different for the bride to be.

As a bride you might already have your mind set on the type of dress you want, or you might not have a clue where to start. Checking out up and coming trends can help you no matter what position you find yourself in.   You will be able to look at different styles and possibly find your dream designer.

For 2014 we are finding streamline silhouettes, crisscross backs, ankle lengths and my favorite trend Ombré. 

Streamline Silhouettes

Simply described these dresses are made for the modern bride.   Sleek, modern and sophisticated. This style is free of intricate details and built on straight lines.   here are some looks from Amsale.

Crisscross Backs

This style brings stylish design to a part of your dress that will be a focal point for at least part of your nuptials.  It will bring drama to your dress and allow you to play with various up do's ( you won't want to cover up this dramatic presentation). Here is a crisscross style from Temperly bridal.

Ankle length 

As with many fashion trends the 50's ankle length or tea length style has made a comeback. The tea length dress is a dress of varying styles of top that falls to between the bottom of the knee and the bottom of the calf.  From Audrey Hepburn in a dress designed by the fashion house of Balmain to runway looks by Marchesa and Monique Lhuillier this is a great style for vintage or garden weddings.

Ombre

Ombre is having colors or tones that shade into each other. This trend is popular in many areas of fashion and beauty. I am a fan of Ombre wedding cake I just love to see them. Ombre wedding dresses bring a fun colorful look to your wedding dress and your are not limited by the style of your dress. The Ombre look can be as subtle or as dramatic as you want. Monique Lhuillier brings the Ombre design to many of her evening gowns, now she brings this to her wedding dress line for 2014. Kelly Faetanini brought this Ombre style to her wedding dress line as well with a little more of a dramatic flair.

Subtle - Monique LHuillier

Dramatic- Kelly Faetanini

Be Inspired by wedding trends

How to make your wedding personal

Design a wedding that is completely and utterly yours - Colin Cowie

All of the events that you plan are special and deserve personal touches that make your guest say wow. Your wedding is one of the biggest of all of the events that you will plan as a couple, let the small details reflect you in a big way.



Your personalization could start as early as save the dates or invitations. Traditional invitations are always beautiful, however unique invitations can help add a personal touch. Do you both share a common interest? Make that be your beginning point in personalizing your wedding.

Photography



You cant get more unique than these film roll wedding invitations. Buy film rolls and follow instructions to make these wedding invites that will have your guest saying wow.

What do you do with all that film?

Use photos of yourselves in unique frames as your centerpieces or to decorate your seating card table

Weddingbycolor.com

Is travel a common interest you share with your future spouse?  Then why not personalize with a travel theme.  This theme will of course be perfect for a destination wedding, however since there are no hard and fast rules in planning YOUR wedding use it to reveal a part of you both as a couple.

This is a wonderful invite from Meant to be Sent an Etsy shop (I love Etsy) http://www.etsy.com/shop/meanttobesent

When it comes to travel themed wedding centerpieces the world is at your fingertips (sorry I could resist).  There really is no limit to the direction you can take with your centerpieces.  I have a friend who instead if table numbers she used different states.  Each state represented places they had been to together or wanted to go to.  

You can use globes, books, maps, small suitcases.  Look up airport abbreviations and use them instead of table numbers.  Here are a couple if ideas for your travel theme centerpieces

Photo credit: Style Me Pretty

http://www.stylemepretty.com/gallery/gallery/3490/

Picture credit: Hazelnut Photography

Http://hazelnutphotography.com/home-1.html

Be Inspired by your world and make it personal

What will be your something blue?

Something old, Something new, something borrowed, something blue...what will be your something blue? There are so many ways to bring this old wedding tradition to life. 

I will start with my favorite....shoes. I am really in love with the colorful shoe for your wedding day, it is just one more way to bring your personality to your wedding. So if this is a trend that you will include during your nuptials...why not blue?

Found these great Badgley Mischka dress pumps, as long as your shoe budget allows it these Badgley Mischka dress pumps have for me, earned a spot in the wedding shoe category. They will make great statement shoe on your wedding day, not to mention that you could wear them again on some of your hot dates with hubbie.


Jewelry would be a great way to add color to your wedding. I always believe that jewelry for your wedding should not be overdone, however bring in color in earings, necklace or bracelet would work really nicely. The list of blue gems are endless and the hues are bring even more. The sapphire ring that has been passed down in your family can be worn on your right hand and will cover both your "blue" and "old" bases.

Flowers are such an integral part of weddings why not include blue in your wedding bouquets.  If blue is already part of your color scheme speak to your florist about some of your blue floral options and if they will be the best options for your day.

Forget-me-nots are cute accent flowers that also represent faithfulness and true love.

Other blue flowers include hyacinths, hydrangeas (top left to right) , lobelia and delphiniums (bottom left to right).

Are you having a beach or garden wedding? Do you need a non floral option and a touch of blue?  Try a parasol.  This is an inexpensive option you can include.  For an unexpected twist, buy two parasols one plain and one printed.  Keep the printed one up front and when you are ready for the recessional use the printed one. Also, the parasol makes great photo prop.

Whatever way you choose the bring in your blue, make sure beyond the traditional aspect of the blue, make it personal to you.

Affordable wedding bling

My 11 year old daughter has a current, I would say obsession with Mindless Behavior. They are a Hip Hop teen group that have tons of teen girls between 11-15, screaming and crying upon a sighting. Something like you would see for Michael Jackson and the Beatles. My own daughter breaks out in to a sweat just talking about them and composing the speech she will use when she should run into them on the street. I never experienced this as a teen and so it is a bit strange to see.

I have to admit as an adult, outside of meeting Jesus, I would be tongue tied if I met one man. Like my daughter I watch every show , try to read everyone of his post and dream of the day when I will meet him. Who is this person? David Tutera. This brings me to today's post. Once again he has wowed me, he has come up with a new line of Fashion Jewelry. The Embelish line will be debuting online exclusively at www.davidtuteraembellish.com.

I will share what I love about this collection....everything.

1. Affordability - So many of us dream over wearing red carpet style jewelry, not so many of us can afford it. David's collection ranges from $15 - $350. Yeah!!!

2. Stylish - David Tutera and stylish...synonomous. There is nothing that David doesn't put his hand to that is not stylish.

3. Site - the Embellish site is convenient and well organized. You could shop by color, and by style.

The only thing I would add is more browns...I just love my browns and oranges.

Every bride should be a princess on her wedding day, now the king has provided style and affordability so she can be.

Weight Loss Tips For Brides

Looking your best on your wedding is as important as finding the right venue and the right dress. Eating healthy for Wedding day weight loss is a great idea for the short term goal. Developing healthy habits will not only keep your wedding day figure but will be beneficial for a lifetime.

1. Don't skip breakfast, in the eternal words of mom "it is the most important meal of the day. Include eggs as part of your breakfast they are a great protein filled with tons of vitamins. Speaking of vitamins they are all in the yolks, so don't be so quick to discard this sunshiny part of your egg. Eggs are rich in fat soluble vitamins including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Pair your eggs with fruits or veggies.

Oatmeal is a great breakfast start also, it will keep you longer before you feel like snacking. Top with fruits like blueberries, raspberries, bananas, or a number of other fruit.  1/3 cup rolled oats (cooked with water), topped with cinnamon and ¼ cup fresh berries is under 100 calories.

2. Plan, Plan, Plan

Plan your snacks in advance to avoid falling into the trap of unhealthy snacking. You should include two snaks per day between meals to keep you from overeating. Choosing the right snacks is very important.Plan out your other meals,and exercise time as well. When you go on your weekly supermarket trip have in mind what you need for the week. Buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables so that it will save you time and you wond be deterred by the work of cutting and storing. If you will not be taking lunch to work on one of the days, take time to look at healthy options availavable to you at the drive-thru window. You could take a look at these options here, or read books like Eat this, Not that restaurant edition

1/2 CUP STRAWBERRIES dipped in chocolate (microwave 1 tablespoon chocolate chips in 10-second increments until melted) (93 calories, 4 g fat)

1 CUP CAMPBELL'S SELECT HARVEST LIGHT SOUP Roasted Chicken with Italian Herbs (80 calories, 2.5 g fat)

A 100 calorie pre-packaged snack

Vanilla and Banana Smoothie: ½ cup sliced banana, ¼ cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, and a handful of ice blended until smooth. (under 100 calories).

Check out these other tasty snacks under 100 calories

3. Reserve alcoholic drinks for special occasions. The worst thing to do while dieting is drinking empty calories. Alcoholic drinks are laden with calories that could kill your dieting efforts.

4.Exercise Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise per day.Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. To maximize weightloss turn up your routine to 300 minutes per week.

5. Find a partner If your husband to be wants to lose some weight also, this would be a great opportunity to work together. Maybe your Maid of Honor will work with you. As a matter of fact, you could enlist your whole bridal party and start your own bootcamp. Just remember don't work them to hard you want them to be happy that they are in your wedding. Be Inspired by healthy eating and look fabulous on your wedding day.

Rustic weddings

A rustic wedding may bring different images to your mind. No matter what image comes to your mind the word "rustic" almost always brings and an image of the simple things in life. Things that bring a comfort of home and a sense of nostalgia. A sense of using the beauty of nature to enhance your day. Finding a way to combine this comfort with the elegance of weddings is not as hard as you may think.

rustic wedding by aleximani

Venue

As with any wedding the venue is going to set the tone for the type of wedding that you are having. A fancy catering hall may not be your best option for a rustic wedding. Rustic weddings use items like wood, re-purpused furniture, lanterns, etc, that may not necessarily fit into a formal catering hall. Some areas of the country might lend broader options for rustic wedding than others, however if you look hard enough you can find the right location no matter where you are. Barns come to the forefront of my mind, but you can also consider vineyards, warehouses, and a local Bed and Breakfast and other old buildings.

Accessories

The accessories that you can use to make this day come to life are limitless. Wedding decor can include jars with candles, re-purposed wood, old suit cases, trunks thrift store finds, even garage sale finds may prove useful. Sometimes you could take new things and make age them so they give the appearance they have been here a long time. You could find may weathering and aging techniques online depending on the product you want to age. Great opportunity to use something old and special to you , maybe and item or two from grandma's house. There are even places that will allow you to rental vintage items, it doesn't get easier than that.


Food
Comfort foods come to mind when I think rustic, finding the right caterer will be important also to bring your theme alive through food. Serving in unusual containers and serving the non traditional could all play a part for your very rustic event

The important point is that you stay true to your theme and to yourselves as a couple, at the end of it all it is your wedding day and it is a reflection of you as a couple.

Vintage Rental Sites


Found

Ribbons and Rust

Adding Feathery touches to your Wedding Day

Feathers add a nice, whimsical touch to your day, picking the right accessories could bring a whimsical touch without looking overdone and childish.


Feather wedding centerpieces are a nice replacement of floral centerpieces, with the different colors available to you can go for a monochromatic color scheme or go for a touch of color. There are different wholesale and event supplies resources which can make feather centerpieces a cost effective DIY wedding project.






http://www.eventswholesale.com/




Feathered d'Orsay Sandal. Jen + Kim for Coloriffics.Style Swan davidsbridal.com




Jeweled & Feathered Wedding Flower



Peacock bouquet

Other event supplies resources

Save on crafts

How to select your bridal shoes

Brides concentrate on selecting the right wedding look, from head to toe. Knowing how to select each item so that it fits your personality, style and budget is important. More focus is being put on wedding shoes, brides are selecting shoes that fit their personality and that sometimes means moving away from the traditional white bridal shoe. Take a look at this video to help you select the right bridal shoes.

How to Pick Wedding Shoes