Real Bridal Shower: Andrea's Day
Wedding Collectibles co-founder Andrea celebrated her impending marriage at a bridal shower inspired by Indian culture. The party focused on the application of traditional Indian (temporary) tattoos (mendhi or henna), bridal shower games influenced by Indian tradition and entertainment, and a host of wonderful edible goodies.
Though henna is traditionally applied to an Indian bride’s hands and feet before the wedding ceremony, Andrea’s mendhi party was a touch she wanted as a nod to her lifelong passion for Indian culture. Her family found their love for the Indian lifestyle after the rental of a Bollywood film during a family movie night. After several trips to Little India, Hindi classes, sun yoga, and as one guest described, the development of “a high tolerance for spice,” there was no going back for the bride or her family.
The traditional elements: A mendhi artist was on hand to apply the traditional temporary adornment to every guest in attendance, including the bride. Most guests chose designs on the palm of their hands, but at least one left with a flower on her shoulder. As a hostess described, henna is popular in India not just as decoration, but also as a personal air conditioner. “It draws heat out of the body,” she said. Though mendhi is traditionally applied to the bride’s arms, legs, and back before the ceremony, Andrea wanted the special tradition a little early. Bridal henna is usually done 2 or 3 days before the wedding for good luck, and the artist will also often hide the groom’s initials somewhere within the design for him to find.
The décor of the day: Though the party space took only a small portion of the hostesses’ backyard, the event felt spacious and cool. The heat of the unseasonally warm day was guarded by lengths of sari (colorful cloth pieces) that draped from the roof of the patio – many of the guests also wore similar saris (ranging in color from pink to orange to vibrant shades of blue and green). Two large tables framed the mendhi space that acted as the event’s centerpiece.
The centerpieces fell in line with the colors of the event, focusing on reds, yellows, and oranges. The hostesses filled large glass bowls with strawberries and lemon slices submerged in water, and topped them with beautiful floating orange and yellow flowers. The home that the event was hosted at fell in line with the Indian theme as well, playing the bride’s favorite Bollywood clips in the living space and smelling ever so slightly of the delicious Indian cuisine that was later served.
The delicacies: The bridal shower menu was as expansive as it was delicious. It was a self-serve, but catered, event, and there was no lack of edible opportunities. When guests arrived, they were treated to appetizers such as panir and peppers, samosas (spicy and complex deep fried veggies and potatoes), and creamy mango smoothies. During lunch, guests found garlic naan, palak panir, chicken tikka masala, daal (lentils), and a dessert of milk cake treats (called ras mali) and son papri. The games and favors:
Instead of traditional bridal games, the hostesses modified some old favorites to fit the day’s Indian theme. Instead of a toilet paper wedding dress, two teams of guests learned how to wrap a sari. After one trial, the teams were set against each other; the winning model earned a beautiful beaded bag. Another bag was later awarded during a game that asked guests to choreograph their own Bollywood-style dance. On their way out, guests were treated to bangles (directly from India!) and a beautiful artisan tote bag.
Wedding Favor Containers: Tips for Preperation!
Stock up Early on Wedding Favor Containers
Wedding Favor Containers
Are you a DIY sort of bride whose main concern is boxing your favors – not ordering them? Wedding favor containers come in all shapes and sizes and are a perfect vessel for the DIY bride. So whip out the glue gun and keep the following tips in mind as you exercise your creativity on a few wedding favor containers:
Don’t leave your wedding favor containers until the last minute. Favors might not seem like such a big priority right now, but don’t let wedding favor containers wait until the week before. If you don’t have a choice (busy work schedule, other more-pressing DIY projects), enlist help from your bridesmaids to stuff wedding favor containers over a long weekend. Make the offer more appealing by offering drinks or dinner (and promises of everlasting loyalty) to your maids.
If you’re going edible, make sure your wedding favor containers have a cool place to hang out. Your grandmother’s cookies might be so bomb you want to shower your guests with wedding favor containers full of them, but they won’t look so tasty without proper refrigeration. Since edible favors are so popular during the summer months, disasters are not uncommon. If you can, enlist the help of your venue or caterer. They’re probably fine housing and distributing your wedding favor containers for you, but you have to know to ask!
Maid of Honor Expectations
If you’re a bride, it’s understandable for you to want to share some wedding responsibility. After you’ve selected your wedding party, it’s easy to start handing out tasks to your Maid of Honor, and she probably wants to help, but keep these things in mind before you clutter her inbox with weekly wedding update emails:
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The role of Maid of Honor only has one responsibility: showing up and standing beside you on your wedding day. You didn’t pick her because you want a free wedding planner; you picked her because she’s the best friend you’ve got (aside from your fiancé). Don’t think that she HAS to sit up every night the month leading up to the wedding designing dessert tables and addressing invitations. It’s not a crime to ask for her help, but don’t expect it as a part of the Maid of Honor contract. Talk to her as soon as you can about how much responsibility she wants – NOT how much you expect.
Bachelorette parties and bridal showers aren’t part of the deal either. It isn’t the responsibility of your Maid of Honor to plan and pay for all of your pre-wedding events, and you should probably hold off on asking for them. If someone (such as an aunt or bridesmaid) wants to host a shower for you, your level of involvement should be providing a short list of people you would like at the event (making sure that they’re all also invited to the big day); It’s up to the hostess to figure out the budget and how many people she’ll be able to afford. Pushing a large guest list or taking the initiative to assign parties to your Maid of Honor will cause undue stress and some unintended resentment. Take it easy – this is one part of the wedding process you don’t need to fret over!
In the final weeks leading up to your wedding, you will probably be very focused on your impending nuptials – and that is completely understandable. Your Maid of Honor, however, probably has other duties that she’s trying to juggle in addition to her responsibilities as your right-hand woman. She probably has a job, a family, a cat, and an infinite number of other things weighing on her mind. Is she still in school? Working on her master’s thesis? None of these things will pause for her. Try to understand if she has to slip out of a Mani/Margi/Pedi Party a little early or can’t make it to your place for invitation addressing during lunch on a weekday. She would do the same for you!
Remember, your Maid of Honor will probably want to be there for you as you make your journey down the aisle. If you make a point to discuss expectations and responsibilities before things get crazy, your friendship will come out the other side even stronger than before.
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- 1. A Maid of Honor Only Has One Set-In-Stone Duty
The role of Maid of Honor only has one responsibility: showing up and standing beside you on your wedding day. You didn’t pick her because you want a free wedding planner; you picked her because she’s the best friend you’ve got (aside from your fiancé). Don’t think that she HAS to sit up every night the month leading up to the wedding designing dessert tables and addressing invitations. It’s not a crime to ask for her help, but don’t expect it as a part of the Maid of Honor contract. Talk to her as soon as you can about how much responsibility she wants – NOT how much you expect.
- 2. Don’t Ask Her for Parties
Bachelorette parties and bridal showers aren’t part of the deal either. It isn’t the responsibility of your Maid of Honor to plan and pay for all of your pre-wedding events, and you should probably hold off on asking for them. If someone (such as an aunt or bridesmaid) wants to host a shower for you, your level of involvement should be providing a short list of people you would like at the event (making sure that they’re all also invited to the big day); It’s up to the hostess to figure out the budget and how many people she’ll be able to afford. Pushing a large guest list or taking the initiative to assign parties to your Maid of Honor will cause undue stress and some unintended resentment. Take it easy – this is one part of the wedding process you don’t need to fret over!
- 3. Your Maid of Honor has other Responsibilities
In the final weeks leading up to your wedding, you will probably be very focused on your impending nuptials – and that is completely understandable. Your Maid of Honor, however, probably has other duties that she’s trying to juggle in addition to her responsibilities as your right-hand woman. She probably has a job, a family, a cat, and an infinite number of other things weighing on her mind. Is she still in school? Working on her master’s thesis? None of these things will pause for her. Try to understand if she has to slip out of a Mani/Margi/Pedi Party a little early or can’t make it to your place for invitation addressing during lunch on a weekday. She would do the same for you!
Remember, your Maid of Honor will probably want to be there for you as you make your journey down the aisle. If you make a point to discuss expectations and responsibilities before things get crazy, your friendship will come out the other side even stronger than before.
Unique and Stylish Bridal Shower Favors
Plan Ahead for your Bridal Shower Favors
Bridal Shower Favors
A bridal shower is a pre-wedding event often hosted by a bride’s female friends and family. Etiquette dictates that all those who are invited to the bridal shower must also be invited to the wedding, but the guest list is always shorter (sometimes just the closest friends of the bride) and usually entirely female. There’s no rule that says bridal showers can’t be co-ed, but a bride’s shower can be a great time to kick back in an estrogen-fueled environment and talk about girlie things before the big day.
If you’re hosting a bridal shower, it can be a little nerve-wracking – especially if it’s your first time. Bridal showers can become mini events in themselves, and they have many of the components of the actual wedding, including food, centerpieces, and even bridal shower favors.
How can you be sure that the bridal shower favors you’ve selected will be as unique and interesting as the rest of your event?
Well, bridal shower favors have the advantage of not being intended for both genders. Bridal shower favors are more of a female thing, so traditional and universal gifts such as soaps and mini scented candles will always go over well. If you’re in a rush and don’t have much time to plan, these bridal shower favors are a good go-to.
If you have a little more time, and you want to make sure the bridal shower favors you select will be the hit of your event, consider a mani/pedi set, elegant serving dishes (for olives or cheeses), or just purchase unique and flirty packaging for hand-made gifts like chocolate or jewelry as your bridal shower favors.
A bridal shower may be for showering the bride with gifts, but that doesn’t mean your guests have to go home empty handed!
Creativity and Style: Wedding Bouquet Accessories
Wedding Bouquet Accessories Highlight your Creative Choices
Wedding Bouquet Accessories
Whether you’re building your own bouquet or looking to improve on your purchased one, wedding bouquet accessories are a stunning addition to all of your floral arrangements. Usually an accessory such as a bird, crystal, flower, or other trinket is suspended on a long, thin wire to make up a wedding bouquet accessory, so they are easy to place and arrange in a tightly-bound floral arrangement. Florists will often mark up wedding bouquet accessories, but if you have an eye for design and style, there’s no reason why you can’t fit them in to your bouquet yourself.
Wedding bouquet accessories that are simple and not so varied in color (such as teardrop or cluster crystals) are great for winter or solid-color bouquets. They won’t distract from the bold floral statement, but will add sparkle to your day.
Wedding bouquet accessories that feature garden-like trinkets (such as hummingbirds, ladybugs, and colored crystals) look wonderful in whimsical and colorful bouquets, especially in the spring.
And don’t discount the other uses for wedding bouquet accessories. To create unity and flow in your reception space, highlight and accent your cake and centerpieces with the same wedding bouquet accessories that adorned your floral arrangements as you walked down the aisle. You can add your own creative touch to every aspect of your day with wedding bouquet accessories!
Wedding Table Runners - A Simple and Long-Lasting Accent
Say it with Wedding Table Runners
Wedding Table Runners
Personalized wedding table runners are a unique and exciting accent that will compliment any event's decor. Wedding table runner are already a staple at party rentals, as they add depth and stylistic complexity to your table arrangements, and they're perfect for tables that are showcasing simple centerpieces. Wedding table runners highlight the centerpieces without distracting from the overall design (and your guests don't have to move them to see each other). Wedding table runners are a great way to make sure your centerpieces and table designs pop without being overly showy.
The benefit for personalized wedding table runners over traditional wedding table runners is obvious: they offer another way to showcase your monogram on your wedding day. By adding your signature monogram (or names and wedding date), you add unity to the other pieces of wedding decor likely to display your initials as well.
Personalized wedding table runners also make wonderful keepsakes after the big day. If they display your family name, they'll be a wonderful addition to the homes of your relatives - if they'll just be personalized with the names of the happy couple, they'll make a great addition to your dining room table. Personalized wedding table runners can be stored away for anniversaries and special occasions (not to mention for the eventual distribution to progeny), or they can be left out year-round to remind you of your love and commitment.
The Wonderful World of Wedding Window Clings
Wedding Window Clings: The Perfect Touch
Wedding Window Clings
Finding the right accessories to perfectly accent your wedding or pre-wedding parties can be hard to coordinate. There are always candles and flowers, but what unique touch will bring the whole look together? Consider wedding window clings. Perfect for any pre-wedding event (such as a bachelorette party, shower, or engagement shindig), personalized and customizable wedding window clings attach to most smooth, dry surfaces with a little bit of water, and can be removed safely and easily after the event. Perfect for any space with limited customization, wedding window clings will fit any theme or style you’re set on. Wedding window clings are also great for at-home parties such as bridal showers, as any window can become a surface ripe for customization. Wedding window clings don’t leave marks or residue, so they’re just right for any host or hostess who’s a little nervous about unintentionally permanent decorations. Of course, the most popular use for wedding window clings aren’t going to be in the view of your guests for long – think about subbing car paint (which could be potentially hazardous, especially if you’re driving a classic or rented car) for wedding window clings on the back window of your vehicle as you exit your reception. Wedding window clings also look great next to a trail of rattling tin cans as you drive off into the sunset!
Paper - Inspiration for your Wedding
Seasonal décor, such as flowers and other pretty tidbits, tend to hike up the bill of a wedding quickly and without warning.
Don't Stress About Bridal Shower Centerpieces
So you’ve been charged with decorating a bridal shower, huh? If you’re a friend or family member of the bride, this can be a daunting task.
Be Prepared with Wedding Hand Fans
Fall may be upon us, but hot days are still surprising brides all over the country. Don’t be caught unprepared!
Selecting the Perfect Bridesmaid Gifts
By the time your wedding rolls around, your bridesmaids will have been there for you through thick and thin.