There are several new trends showing up in wedding day attire for brides that are sure to turn heads.  As the center of attention for your special day, check out some new twists on the traditional wedding day dress according to Brides.com:

Metallics - Metallic fabrics give the gown a luxurious feel while radiating tones of platinum, silver and gold. The style of the dress may be simple, but the shining  effect of the fabric is enough to light up the room. These dresses look amazing when embellished with diamond jewelry, too!

Black  Accents - Black-on-white accents for wedding gowns create a gorgeous contrast between light and dark shades. There are so  many options for black accents, including waistline, dress straps, and chic embellishments. This new trend is definitely edgier than many of the others, as recently more brides have been introducing dark colors into traditionally white gowns.

Tea-length dresses - The short dress is one of the hottest non-traditional fashion statements, perfect for the quirky bride, beach weddings, or as a second wedding dress that a bride can change into for the reception. The tea-length dress has a cute 1950’s twist and finally gives brides the opportunity to show off some stylish bridal shoes and perfect pedicures!

Every so often I wake up in the middle of the night and instead of checking the clock and drifting right back off the sleep... the brain starts to whirl.  Well, you know when that happens the last thing you can do is go back to sleep.  So instead of tossing and turning and waking up my husband, I quietly slipped out to the couch and turned on the television.  Now, I'm usually pretty vocal about not watching reality shows revolving around weddings.  I'm sure many of them are great, but the one time I did watch, they made the wedding planners out to be either clueless or big meanies.  But at 2:00 in the morning, there's not much on so I settled on the show, "Bethanny Getting Married?".

It was like a marathon of the same show so I got to watch the planning all the way through the honeymoon in about 4 hours (love, love, love TIVO and getting to fast forward through the commercials!).  For those of you who have not seen the show, she plans her wedding in about 5 weeks because she's 7 months pregnant.  So we finally get to the big day and she's got the place of her dreams - the Four Seasons Restaurant.  Her wedding planner, Shawn, seemed like an okay guy - hard to get a deep understanding of someone in their profession in a few episodes.  Then comes the moment that I have lived a thousand times over.

Shawn walks into a side room to call the bride on her wedding day just to check in.  She, of course, asks how the set-up was going and he says all the right things - it looks beautiful, it's amazing, you're going to love it.  Meanwhile in the other room, set-up is behind schedule, chairs are stacked from floor to ceiling, all of the flowers hung by the windows are completely dead, glasses are breaking... seemed like the place would never come together.  But as Shawn knew, and I knew, and other professional planners knew, it all does come together in the end.  Sometimes it might be last minute and we have a bald spot from pulling out our hair, but it all comes together in a way that the bride had always dreamed it would be and more.

My mom had a drawing that hung in our living room when I was growing up and when I heard Shawn say almost the same words, I couldn't help but laugh.  "We're like ducks, calm and smooth on the surface and paddling like hell underneath"!  So when you watch the reality shows that make wedding planners look either like complete idiots or when they are screaming at people waving their hands like a lunatic, know that that is not a true representation of a PROFESSIONAL planner.  So keep looking until you find the duck - I mean wedding planner - that's right for you!

Brides.com recently offered some innovative ways to save money when shopping for your wedding cake without sacrificing the taste or beauty of your creation.  Here are a few tips from Betsy Goldberg, originally published in Modern Bride Magazine, to get an extravagant looking cake and satisfy your budget at the same time.

1) Use fresh flowers instead of sugar flowers.  Handcrafted sugarpaste flowers and iced accents drive up the cost of your cake because they are extremely labor intensive.  Decorating with fresh flowers, ribbon and faux pearls can give it an elegant look without the lavish costs.

2) Serve wisely.  Some couples opt to have a faux cake made with iced cardboard tiers except for the tier that you will slice during your cake cutting ceremony.  When the cake is taken back into the kitchen, the slices served to the guests can come from a much more inexpensive sheet cake and no one will know that they are not eating from the original cake!

3) Personalize your cake stand.  The stand can give your dessert huge presence and one that illustrates something about you can be the best aesthetic touch.  Betsy Goldberg recommends a bed of refined sugar or a vintage hatbox borrowed from an older family member, both of which are of little extra cost.

4) Order a chocolate cake.  Choc-o-holics rejoice!  Chocolate is rich and therefore more filling so you can get away with cutting smaller slices for guests.

Bon appetit!

Ask your friends and family who have gotten married where their guest book is today.  Chances are, if they are like me, the reply might be something like this, "in the hall closet in a box marked "wedding stuff'".  These days people have gotten smarter and gone to alternative guest books like the photo signature mat or the Polaroid picture/ photo booth picture scrapbook... something that you are comfortable placing on a coffee table and not look out of place. 

I recently found another great alternative - engravable platters!  And before you cringe by imagining some old fashioned electric engraving pen that makes a horrible noise, the guests actually use a diamond-tip Signature Engraving Scribe to leave their special message that will last forever with no risk of being ripped or torn!  Check out: www.IDoEngravables.com where you can find the perfect engravable wedding platter for as low as $65.  That's about the same price as a matching guest book and pen!

Picture serving your first Thanksgiving turkey on this special platter or using it for breakfast in bed on your first anniversary.  Special memories and functional all in one - what a great idea!

I went to lunch today with several people from a networking organization in which I am a member.  We recently played a type of game in the chapter and our team took first place.  Bunch of type-A personalities... like you would expect anything less?!  Prize for winning... $200 gift certificate for the group to go to lunch at a restaurant of their choice.  Anyway, during lunch "Jamie" (name changed to protect her identity just in case!) told us that she was a bridesmaid in a friend's wedding this past weekend. 

The wedding went great and the reception was hopping, and then lucky Jamie caught the bouquet toward the end of the evening.  If you're not familiar with this tradition, the bride tosses her bouquet to all the single ladies and the one who catches it is supposed to be the next to get married.  Not sure how much I believe in that belief because I'm pretty sure I caught a bouquet when I was about 9... and I'm pretty sure that someone there got married - or divorced and re-married - within the 20 years it took me from then to tie the knot.  But I digress...  Anyway, the DJ announced that the gentleman who caught the garter needed to place that garter on Jamie's leg and for every inch above the knee is 10 years of good luck.  Well, apparently there are many different styles of Spanx (a popular body slimming garment) and Jamie just happened to be wearing ones that were longer.  The bride and bridesmaids all circled around Jamie on the dance floor and told her that she needed to pull her Spanx up so the garter could go up high.  Jamie was not so keen of this idea since she's smack in the middle of the dance floor at the moment, but being the trooper that she is and proving her worth as a bridesmaid, she reluctantly hiked up the dress and pulled up the Spanx!

Now, besides a good laugh, there are a couple of morals to the story... when wearing Spanx, go to the bathroom and take them off or at least adjust them before you head out to the dance floor and catch the bouquet.  And second, you know you have a true friend and made a perfect bridesmaid choice if she's willing to hike up her dress on the dance floor under "cover" by the bride and bridesmaids for a good cause like wishing you a good 80 or 90 years of a happy marriage!  Thanks for sharing, Jamie!

Flower boutonnieres are great - and probably the most cost effective way to go - but if you want to get a little creative or you have a groom who refuses to wear a "girly flower", there are always personalized options you can consider to play up to their personalities.  Some suggestions from The Perfect Wedding Guide are to create a little fixture of poker chips and mini-playing cards for the gambler in your life or a sand dollar or seashell collection for the ever-popular Florida beach wedding - both cute ideas.

For the most cost effective way to do this, it would be a great "do-it-yourself" project, but if that's not your style, you can have a specialty store create it for you.  Of course if budget is a factor and you're just not the arts and crafts type, you may just want to tell him to man up and wear the flower!

We've been talking so much about personalization on this blog these days, I figured why stop now!  Say goodbye traditional Bride & Groom Wedding Cake Toppers! Many couples today are ditching the stoic, perfect looking - yet generic - Bride and Groom topper for one that’s more customized.  Maybe it’s an object that illustrates a hobby or interest that the two of you share or even a custom creation that looks like the two of you in bobble head form (check out previous blog titled, "Dade City Finest Show Up in Full Force").  Some couples choose to forego the cake topper altogether and opting for a cake design that matches the color scheme and/or theme of the evening. Either way, get creative!

If you're the topper type, here are a couple of websites to get you started: caketoppers.com and justcaketoppers.com.  They’ve got everything from elegant monograms to Las Vegas-themed toppers, as well as some really funny twists on the conventional bride and groom figures. I'm still laughing at one that I found below that's a personal favorite from weddingaccessories.net.  Now where was that one when I got married?!

Today's weddings are all about personalization, and the May 2010 issue of BRIDES Magazine has tons of great suggestions for doing just that!  With some of these distinctive new traditions, you and your fiance can give guests a special peak into your life as a couple and the family customs that have brought the two of you closer.  Here is the top 10 list of New Traditions, all of which are very creative ways to make your wedding day uniquely yours... and of course I had to add my own two cents!

1.  Group photo of all the guests - very cute addition to your thank you note cards.

2. Menu of Grandma's recipes - each table can be a different recipe of Grandma's secret dishes or you can bundle several together on a CD and make it a favor.

3. Family Serenades - well, if your family is like mine and can't carry a tune, might not be the best idea, but on the other hand that's what makes your wedding video memorable!

4. Combined Ethnic Cuisines - maybe you are of Mexican decent and he's Italian... makes for awesome food like make your own fajita station and a gelato bar - yum!

5. Favorite Professors as Officiants - or a family member or friend.  It's always more personal when the person marrying you has actually known you for more than a month!

6. Presenting the Bouquet to Mom instead of Tossing it to the Girls - Great way to express your love and gratitude to a very special woman in your life.  You can also consider the anniversary dance instead of the bouquet and garter toss.  Don't know what that is?  I'll blog on it next!

7. Dancing to your parents' first dance song - sure to bring a tear to Mom and Dad's eye.

8. Using herbs from your backyard in your bouquet - early bridesmaids' bouquets were made of pungent herbs such as rosemary and garlic - not flowers.  The smell was supposed to drive away any evil spirits eyeing the bridal party.  Provides personalization and safety - double bonus!

9.  Toasts by friends from each stage of life: childhood, elementary school, high school, college, work - I would actually recommend doing this during the rehearsal dinner otherwise you could spend your entire evening listening to toasts instead of dancing!

10. Table of family photos - I recently had a client do this and it was fantastic.  They had every single wedding picture from both sides of the family all the way back to the great grandparents.  Very much an attention grabber and conversation starter!

Carol and Mike were married 30 years ago and unfortunately things didn't work out.  They divorced and went their separate ways and on with their lives.  Years go by, they each get remarried and what once was seemed like a blip in the radar screen.  Then out of the blue, 30 years later they found each other again.  The sparks of first love flew and last summer Carol and Mike were remarried by a friend at the courthouse who knew them "back then". 

On January 9th, before moving away to start their new life in California, Carol and Mike threw a grand celebration to celebrate their reunion with about 50 of their closest family and friends.  They had the most perfect invitations - "sometimes it ends where it all began" and I had my first expereince with arranging centerpieces!  Thank goodness Carol went with simple loose stems!  Held at the Davis Islands Garden Club, the party was to take place outside on the patio overlooking the water.  We had plans for stringing white lanterns across the ceiling, uplighting the trees and having delicate drapes blowing in the breeze.  Well, January 9th turned out to be one of the coldest nights of the year with the temperature dipping down into the 30s.  So... Plan B!  Everything was moved inside - lounge area and tables on one side, food on the other and dancing in between.  It turned out to be a great evening, filled with dancing and laughter and love. 

So it just goes to show you that sometimes love never does die... it just needs to be rekindled.  Best wishes Carol and Mike for a lifetime of happiness!

We're lucky, we live in the Sunshine State, but not everyone is so fortunate.  So as a big snow storm is barreling right now towards the Northeast coast, we can sit back and kick on the AC because it's still 70+ degrees outside.  So if planning your wedding here in Tampa Bay, why not give your guests a taste of what is in store for them before they even arrive.  Obviously welcome bags at the hotel are a great treat, but sending them some information in advance will get them as excited about your wedding as you are!

For those out of town guests, when you receive their RSVP card that says they are coming to help you celebrate your big day, consider mailing them a packet of information about our wonderful city.  A local overview map and some brochures on local attractions will help them plan some extra activities during their downtime and maybe even have them turn the weekend into a week long vacation.  I mean, who wants to go out and shovel snow when you can go to the beach?!  Stop by your local Chamber of Commerce to pick up some information or local hotels that have brochures displayed in their lobby.  It's all free. And don't forget to add a letter from the two of you about your favorite spots and things to do here in Tampa Bay.

We live where people come to vacation... how great is that?!