Happy bridesmaids see-th I!

In the process of planning for your wedding, your usually rational thought processes are clouded by thoughts of traditional versus non-standard color schemes, bonbonniere, which flowers say what about you, and whether to let the DJ play ‘Time Warp’ during dancing. That is why many brides think it is actually easier to just give the same gift to every bridesmaid, than it is to pick individual ones. The trend towards getting the same gift for everybody is very quickly going the way of pink lace!

If you decide on getting the same gift for everybody, you need to take quite a few different tastes into account. If you are giving out earrings, does everyone have pierced ears? Will that non-drinking bridesmaid ever use the wine glasses you bought? Of course, buying different gifts does mean that you need to balance the value of one against another. However, as long as you spend similar amounts on everybody (and are lucky enough to have friends for whom the joy of your wedding day is more important than petty jealousy over someone else getting a better gift), there shouldn’t be any equality issues.

An easy to personalize gift - Makeup

You could:

• Buy makeup for all, but a different sort for every girl
• Get similar photo frames, each with a photo of you and her together
• Give them a hand in selecting the bridesmaid jewelry, and make that their gift
• Personalize a soap and lotion pack for everybody

One easy and modern way to solve the dilemma is to give a gift voucher. Those plain white envelopes with a storeperson’s writing, or a text-only email landing in your friend’s inbox are not very romantic or personal, so why not have the company that are making up your wedding invitations also create a personalized gift voucher? You can give this along with the ‘real thing’, or choose an online store like a jewelry store, or a bag or accessory store to deliver the gift vouchers by email, so your friends can save the pretty pictures you drew!

BelFiore Bridal also have some great tips for all of the tricky dilemmas that your friends will throw up for your wedding, as does Wedding Fanatic.

Most people do a fair bit of research on their bridal jewellery. You’ll look into things like what necklace shapes and styles will best complement the neckline of your gown, whether your dress is simple enough to accent it with a tiara or hair jewelry, what earrings your little cousins are less likely to rip straight out of your ears, and which bracelets won’t get filled with cake so easily!

Wedding jewelry - simple, stylish, or super-over-the-top?

One thing that a lot of people discount because it seems too ornate, or too expensive (not actually true, happily!), is incorporating your wedding jewelry into your dress! Bridal Market Week in New York late last year saw the resuscitation of this trend, when Crystallized Swarovski Elements collaborated with some of the States’ hottest designers. Zuhair Murad, Vivienne Westwood, Alice Temperly, Vera Wang and Julien McDonald were among those involved in the resurgence of a wedding dress as part of the bridal jewelry.

If you’re going to indulge in this sweet, ethereal and decadent trend, we have some dos and don’ts for crystal dresses as bridal jewelry:

Do:

-          Go as ornate as you like with your actual wedding jewelry. As long as it is still tasteful! Most crystal wedding gowns are more of a shimmer than all-out Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves material.

-          Allow yourself the luxury of some color in your wedding jewelry - there’s no need to coordinate to the accountancy rulebook. It’s all about your personality.

-          Consider using mirror backed crystals … in moderation. If you see Michael Jackson standing at the window of your bridal shop, salivating while looking at your dress, you might want to lose some of the mirror ;-). Just a bit!

Don’t:

-          Forget to co-ordinate your veil. Crystals can be scattered through for a starry night effect, or form part of the trim for a regal look.

-          Be afraid to splash out on wedding jewelry, or one show-piece in particular. Crystal jewelry is very budget friendly compared to traditional stones.

-          Choose jewelry and a dress that will interfere with each other. It’s just as awkward as that time you and your boyfriend got your braces caught together. And just as embarrassing!

And just a warning, if you choose to check out the full complement of dresses from the show - you will see bald brides, as well as some that look decidedly like they haven’t yet completed a full course of hormone therapy! But aren’t the dresses beautiful …

Vera Wang Crystal Wedding Gown

Julien McDonald Crystal Wedding Gown

Zuhair Murad Wedding Gown

Monique Lhoullier Crystal Wedding Gown