I am working on the Something Blue post for my little wedding dress series and I just found this beauty from Mackenzie Michaels that I HAD to share! I love lace and I love the vintage feel of brown lace over ivory. It’s gorgeous – and it’s only $127 from House of Brides!
A wedding dress is a big – and often emotional – purchase. It’s a dress that you’ll only wear once but to many brides it’s one of the most important pieces of clothing they’ll ever purchase. Of course, not all brides buy their wedding dresses. Some choose to borrow instead. Sometimes this is an emotional decision – a heirloom gown handed down from a family member for example. When I was married, I would have loved to wear my mother-in-law’s dress. She had a gorgeous dress that could have been easily updated with a few alterations and having no daughters of her own, she loved the idea. Unfortunatly she is 5′4 and I am 5′10 so it quickly became obviously that alternations wouldn’t do much for the length.
Of course – not every bride choose not to buy a dress for emotional reasons. For some brides, a borrowed gown is simply a smart budget decision and that is why there are many companies that now offer bridal gown rentals. Renting a bridal gown is NOT for everyone though. Who SHOULDN’T rent a bridal gown? If you’re one of those girls who has dreamed about her wedding gown for years and who has her heart set on passing her gown down, renting might not even be a consideration for you and that’s fine.
On the other hand, renting is the perfect option for many brides. For example, if you have your heart set on a specific gown but it’s past your budget renting may allow you to have the gown of your dreams. Renting is also a great option if the dress is not a priority and you’d rather put the extra money towards inviting more guests, a longer honeymoon, etc.
Something to keep in mind though: renting is NOT always cheaper then buying. Make sure to comparison shop, visit salons, look at used gowns available in your area or on ebay and consider what the possible selling price would be if you purchased a gown and then sold it after the wedding to ensure that renting is actually saving you money in the end.
Considering renting? Here is a great article with tips you’ll want to read first.
No, I haven’t forgotten about this series:) For something new I thought I would share this video for a sneak peak at the new line of bridal gowns from David Tutera. David is best known as the host of the Discovery Channel series The Party Planner and he is releasing his own collection of bridal gowns together with Faviana. Will they be budget friendly? Probably not – but they look fantastic!
Enjoy:)
I had a lot of fun with my Something Old, Something New series on wedding jewelry so I thought I’d try a wedding gown version. The first thing that came to mind for Something Old was the gorgeous Vintage-Inspired styles from Whirling Turban. If you’re looking for a chic vintage look at an affordable price, Whirling Turban is a great choice. They also offer custom services which gives you tons of great options.
Here are some of my favorites – prices range from $425 to $950 or so (two of there are under $500!)
I’ll give you three guesses what I plan to feature today….
Okay 1 guess lol. Actually, jewelry is one way that brides add often choose to a touch of blue to their wedding ensemble especially if it happens to work with your wedding colors. Of course, there are different shades of blue from soft tiffany blues to dark blue sapphires. So for today – here are some gorgeous blue necklaces – click on the images to find them online.
Shown Here: Blue Pearls from AmericanBridal.com ($28), Katie Holmes Inspired Synthetic Sapphire Necklace from Emitations.com ($55), Blue Topaz Rhodium Plated Flower Design Necklace from JewelBasket.com ($79), Colored Pearl & Crystal Jewelry from the Online Bridal Store ($36), Sapphire Chandelier Necklace from Portia Jewelry ($24)
When you’re planning a wedding one of the biggest and oldest budget saver is renting/borrowing. You rent transportation, decor and other items you know you won’t need again. You rent tuxedos and sometimes even wedding dresses. Brides often borrow pieces from friends and family as well: a heirloom necklace, a gorgeous decor piece that will add just the right touch, etc.
Borrowing jewelry is another great way to save – and celebrities have been doing it for ages! Do you really think they actually BUY those multi-million dollar accessories they wear once down the red carpet? The great thing is that there are now a number of services that offer jewelry rentals. Some that you may have heard of include Bag, Borrow & Steal and Adorn Brides were you can find designer fine jewelry at a fraction of the cost to rent for your wedding day.
Another service I discovered recently is BorrowedBling. BorrowedBling works a little differently. Members pay a monthly fee starting at $29.95 per month and can then borrow as many pieces from the collection as they wish at no extra cost! This is a great way to keep yourself decked out in fantastic styles for all of your pre and post wedding events and of course the wedding itself! Here are a few pieces available from BorrowedBling.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a TOTAL Cinderella moment when I found my ring. I was THRILLED when J presented it to me when he proposed, and still laugh that he said “I hope you’re not disappointed” right before he opened the ring box, in one last miserable attempt to throw me off!
Last May I went to a brilliant bridal show thrown here in Birmingham, Al, called Style in the Sky. Anne Barge (more on my Anne Barge obsession soon!) was there complete with fashion show and seminar and Sylvia Weinstock, and David Tutera were there too. I was in total and complete bridal bliss!
At this bridal show I entered oodles of drawings. One of them was for a $1000 gift certificate to Diamond’s Direct, the jewelry store where J bought my e-ring. Right before they announced the winner I thought to myself “I’m gonna win this”, and lo and behold they called my name! I couldn’t believe it! Ah, the power of positive thinking! 
I texted J right away and told him the good news. I was shaking! Barely able to push the buttons on my phone. Minutes later I got a text back from J that said “Sure you did, Sweetie”. J, ever the jokester, thought I was playing a joke on him. *Sigh* It wasn’t until he held the gift certificate in his hands that he believed me!!
This Christmas Diamond’s Direct is having a special 20% off Holiday Extravaganza, everything in the store is 20% off, even my wedding band! For a couple of budget snobs like J and I the thought of using my $1000 gift certificate at the 20% off sale to get my wedding band practically makes us salivate. *I sure hope they accept the gift certificate during the sale! Say a prayer they do!
New jewelry doesn’t have to mean expensive. One of my favorite online jewelry stores is Emitations.com and they specialize in celebrity style replicas. If you’re looking for the kind of bling you see on the red carpet without spending a lot of money, this is the place to look. Emitations offers a great selection from gorgeous glamorous bling to classic, stylish pearls to suit just about any bride.
So for today’s Something New – here are a few of my favorite pieces from Emitations.com.
Over the next few days I’m going to do a small series on wedding day jewelry and I’m going to start today with Something Old: Wedding day jewelry made from repurposed finds. Repurposing old and used items is one way to reduce garbage and over the last few years jewelry artists are emerging who specialize in fantastic jewelry pieces made from old jewelry, brooches, lace pieces, watch pieces and much more.
Repurposed jewelry pieces are often unique statement pieces which is exactly what today’s brides are looking for – jewelry pieces that add a glamorous wow factor to your style. Etsy is a great place to look for affordable repurposed items of any kind so I took a look and here are a few of my favorite repurposed necklace designs.
To find these and other designs visit Etsy and search for Repurposed Necklace.
Isn’t this GORGEOUS?? This beautiful piece from The Honeycomb will look amazing for a woodsy outdoor wedding this fall or in the spring. The Honeycomb has dozens of gorgeous designs for just about every wedding! Check out these ones:
Credit goes to Something Old, Something New for this find.
