Author: Olga Pomeransky

Olga is manager at Best for Bride since 2005. Currently Best for Bride operates 4 bridal stores in Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Hamilton and Barrie). Best for Bride sells wedding, bridesmaids, mob dresses and more. https://www.bestforbride.com/
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Rustic Wedding Chic

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Rustic wedding chic is the careful use of country accents combined with romantic decor. Imagine white lace over weathered wood or a white candle set on top of pond rocks. Rustic chic is the pairing of the elegant and refined with the simple, down home elements. Here are some tips for creating a rustic chic wedding.

The rustic chic wedding has to have that theme carried throughout the wedding. Adding one rustic chic element to a traditional classic wedding may look out of place. If the wedding has a country or rustic theme, the rustic chic elements should blend beautifully.

Rustic chic accents include organic props which are things found in nature as well as things associated with country living. Nostalgic accents like antiques are popular for rustic weddings.

Barn weddings and receptions are becoming increasingly popular. A barn wedding can be purely country if no elegant elements are added. The barn wedding can be rustic chic with the use of romantic and classical accents. One couple installed chandeliers in a barn and draped white fabric from the ceiling for their rustic chic wedding decor.

Wooden accents are a backbone to rustic chic decor. Worn wooden chairs, cross-sections of logs serving under plates of food, weathered wood walls and tables, and small wooden touches like wooden tags on the centerpieces are examples of ways that rustic wedding can incorporate wood throughout the decor.

Other natural materials like dried flowers, stone, and sand can be used in the rustic theme. Also, materials associated with country living like burlap and mason jars are often used in rustic weddings. People can have different ideas of what should be included as country decor. The choices can be personal such as items reminiscent of memories of living in the country.

You don’t have to go to the extreme of hanging chandeliers in a barn to have an incredible rustic chic wedding. Carry the rustic decor theme to the wedding reception lighting. You can use LED lights in mason jars hung for the ceiling for rustic wedding lighting that creates a romantic glow.

The photo booths at wedding receptions have been way overdone. Many couples are looking for fun alternatives. For a rustic chic wedding, consider creating a photo backdrop with an old fashioned arm chair and some antiques. You might use an antique desk or table to display some of the antiques.

A rustic reception can feature food and drink that reflects the theme. Iced tea and lemonade in glass pitchers may be the perfect drinks to serve. The meal might be something that would be associated with down home cooking rather than something elegant. A common trend among weddings of all styles is to offer milk and cookies towards the end of a lengthy reception. This practice would reflect the down home feel, especially if the glasses reflect country living rather than the champagne flutes used for milk at some weddings.

For more great tips about creating a wedding that suits your style, visit the Best for Bride blog.

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Best Groomsmen Gift Ideas

pocket watch
Wedding planning demands a lot of time and attention to details. Sometimes, certain things don’t get as much thought as they should. Groomsmen gifts may be one of those things that don’t benefit from careful planning. In some cases, they are forgotten completely! Eek! Don’t skimp on showing these special men how much you value their time and participation.

The groomsmen gifts don’t have to be expensive to be meaningful. Traditional groomsmen gifts have gotten a bit cliché. The personalized beer glasses, alcohol, shaving kits, watches, and cuff links have become so common that they may have lost their meaning. Unless one of those things truly connects with the groomsmen on a personal level, it seems like a thoughtless token. Consider these trendy groomsmen gift ideas.

Consider the hobbies and interests of the groomsmen. If the groomsmen are football fans, perhaps football jerseys would be the best gifts. One couple got personalized Louisville Slugger baseball bats for each of the groomsmen. Golf-themed gifts are also popular.

Is the backyard barbeque the favorite pastime of your groomsmen? Maybe a grill set with authentic Koko charcoal, spice rubs, grill tools, and personalized grilling apron would be the perfect gifts. If your groomsmen are the DIY gurus of our day, they probably already have the basic tools that they use to complete projects. However, if you know of an upcoming project, you might want to give a special tool that may be useful for that project.

Food and drinks are always a hit. Instead of buying everyone the same gift basket, why not make your own with snacks that you know they love? Some people have given small, personalized coolers to each groomsman filled with their favorite snacks. One couple tied a small bottle of each groomsman’s favorite alcohol on top of the boxes that held their gifts.

Clothing can be a great gift. A graphic t-shirt with great design can be something all the groomsmen would love. One couple gave each of their groomsmen a pair of personalized sneakers. Some personalized sneakers that have been used as gifts for groomsmen have the groomsman’s name vertically on the back of the shoe. This gives the shoe a personal touch without being too garish. Pocket watches are becoming wildly popular groomsmen gifts.

Homemade objects tend to indicate that a great deal of time and thought was put into the gift. Mosaics, garden accents, or wall art can be incredible groomsman gifts. If you’re not the creative crafter, you can get some help with a website that sells handcrafted items like Etsy or Scoutmob.com. There are vast possibilities on these sites from personalized pocket knives to upcycled pallet wall art to messenger bags with vintage graphics.

For more ways to make your wedding a remarkable success for everyone involved, please visit the Best for Bride blog.

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Fake Wedding Cakes?

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Next time you go to a wedding reception, take a good look at the cake. It may look real, but actually be made out of Styrofoam and covered with fondant. Even close up, the cake may look authentic since many fake cakes are covered with the same fondant icing that commonly is used on real wedding cakes. The trend of using faux wedding cakes is growing. Why are people making fake wedding cakes?

It’s not uncommon for wedding cake to cost more than the wedding dress. The wedding cake may end up being the biggest expense for a wedding. The alternative fake wedding cakes helps the couple save a considerable amount of money. The artificial wedding cake typically costs under $200.

The faux wedding cakes are used for display purposes only. The couple might ask the servers to remove the fake cake right before cake is served to the guest to keep the illusion that it’s a real cake. The guests are served from a sheet cake which is much cheaper than a true wedding cake.

What about the cutting of the cake by the couple? Some faux cake makers have gotten creative in solving this problem. Obviously, the couple does not want to cut into Styrofoam in front of their guests. Some people will get a fake cake made, but have the top tier be a real cake for the cake cutting tradition. Another option is for a section of the false cake to be replaced with real cake. For many couples, these fixes fall short of the romantic sentiment of cutting a real cake together. The use of an artificial wedding cake is something that not all couples will embrace.

The use of faux wedding cakes can be used in other ways. A couple who is having a small wedding might have a desire to have a large, extravagant cake. Even if the guest list doesn’t warrant such a large cake, they may really want the experience of having an incredible cake. If they bought the cake of their dreams, not only would their budget suffer a tremendous hit, but they would end up wasting half the cake. Instead, they can buy a partially faux cake from a baker. The cake can be partially real cake with the rest being artificial.

Couples may view the use of a fake cake as a form of deception. The bride and groom may feel that they are lying to their guests or being fake themselves if they use a fake cake. If you feel like using a fake cake isn’t as romantic or honest as using a traditional wedding cake, then a fake cake may not be the ideal way to save money. Some couples view the faux cakes as a type of prop and not really a deception. This is a personal choice that the couples need to decide together.

Would you use a fake cake to save money? For additional ways to save money on the wedding, visit the Best for Bride blog.

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Bridesmaid Dress Trends


For decades, bridesmaids have walked down the aisle in matching dresses. They often wore shoes and flower corsages that were the same color as their dresses. There’s much more freedom in bridesmaid dress colors now. Instead of being matchy-matchy, consider a collection of colors or different shades of the same color. The effect of these bridesmaid dress trends is stunning.

Shades of Gray or Other Colors
Instead of choosing one color for all the bridesmaid dresses, the bride chooses many shades of the same color. For example, the wedding color that the bride wants to use for the bridesmaid dress color may be purple. The bride selects a different shade of purple for each bridesmaid dress. One bridesmaid may have a light purple or lavender dress. The next bridesmaid’s dress is a bit darker, and another bridesmaid has a medium purple. Another bridesmaid may have a dark purple dress. The bridesmaids may be standing in order as to the darkness of the dress color with the darkest color being closest to the bride for more contrast. The resulting bridesmaid lineup is an ombre effect.

Expanding Ombre
Similar to the differing shades that create an ombre look is a collection of ombre bridesmaid dresses that are similar but not exactly matching. All the dresses may have similar ombre patterns or some bridesmaids may have a solid color dress that matches the ombre dresses. Gray is a popular bridesmaid color. If using this color style with gray, one bridesmaid may have a dark gray dress. Another bridesmaid may have an ombre dress that includes that dark gray color and a light gray. The next bridesmaid may have a light gray dress.

Rainbow
Some brides choose bridesmaid dresses of a range of colors to match the rainbow. This full range of color is best suited for an outdoor, casual wedding.

Multicolored and Matching Colors
Another color choice is to have the maid of honor or a bridesmaid in a multicolored dress. The other bridesmaid dresses are colors that match the multicolor dress. If the multicolored dress was the one pictured in the article, the other bridesmaids might have mauve or yellow dresses that match the multicolored dress.

Color Collection
The rainbow is not the only collection of colors that brides are choosing. Some brides choose colors that look well together. In this scenario, there might only be one bridesmaid dress that is the same as one of the wedding colors. The bridesmaid dress colors are chosen, because they look stunning against the fabric of the other bridesmaid dresses. Many people tend to gravitate towards certain colors or collections of colors. This is a way for the couple to share their favorite coordinating colors and have an innovative color scheme.

The bride’s choices for bridesmaid dress colors is no longer limited to the wedding colors. Explore other options and choose what you think is beautiful and most expressive of your personality. In addition to changing color trends, bridesmaids dresses are evolving. Some of the new styles of dress construction are becoming more sophisticated than the simple dresses of the past. Tiered tops and gathered, sculpted fabrics are the new highlights of bridesmaid styles. Many dresses have more embellishments than previous styles. For the latest information about wedding trends, visit the Best for Bride blog.

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