The Perfect Bridesmaid

Bridal Shower Game: How Well Do You Know The Couple?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Find out which guest knows the couple the best with this exciting game. The best way to do it is to do multiple choice and hand out papers with the questions and answers.

The guest with the most correct answers gets a prize.

Sample questions to ask:

What was the (bride's) and (groom's) first date?
a) Movies
b) Skydiving
c) Day at the beach
d) Starbucks

Other questions you could ask would be:
Where did the groom propose at?
When was their first date?
Where are they honeymooning at?
Who introduced them?
How did they meet?

5 Sewing Projects To Do With Old Bridesmaid Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:02:00 +0000

Looking for new ways to use the countless collection of bridesmaid dresses that you have in your closet? Luckily, we have a few DIY sewing ideas. Yes, most of these will require some skills in sewing, but if you're not interested in donating the dress or turning the dress into another couture creation.

1. Turn bridesmaid dresses into chair covers and tableclothes. What a great DIY idea if you're crafty!

2. With Christmas around the corner, make a tree skirt. Especially nice if your bridesmaid dress colors were red or green.

3. Make new pillow covers. Use the fabric from an old bridesmaid dress and turn it into an accent pillow cover. Just buy the pillow inserts at a crafts store and you'll soon have some new pillows.

4. Make window valances, the things that go above windows.

5. Make a Barbie bridesmaid or princess dress. Thanks to the patterns at Miss B Couture, you can sew a whole new wardrobe for Barbie and friends.

Bridal Shower Etiquette: How Large Should the Shower Be?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Q: The bride gave us her guest list for the bridal shower. There's seventy people on it! Do we have to invite everyone to the shower?
A: No. Wedding showers aren't intended to be just gift-grabbing parties-the original purpose is to let the bride celebrate with her closest friends and family.

Our tip: go over the guest list with the bride and see if there are people she can leave out. Tell her that you simply can't afford to invite everyone on her list and that you were planning a more intimate affair. Who can be left out? Those the bride doesn't know well and those who are being invited to other showers, for starters. And, of course, make sure that everyone on her list is being invited to the wedding.

Bridal Shower Etiquette: Should the Groom's Mother Help Pay?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Q: We're having a large bridal shower for the bride including inviting several members of the groom's family. Is it okay to ask the groom's mother to help pay for the shower?

A: No. The host of the bridal shower pays for the shower, not anyone else. As bridesmaids, you shouldn't expect anyone else, whether its the guests or the mother of the groom, to help foot the bill. By all means if she offers, feel free to accept, but she is under no obligation to help pay for the bridal shower.

Of course, you're under no obligation to invite the groom's family to the shower.

Bridal Shower Etiquette: Should the bride's mother pay?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:15:00 +0000

Q: We're having a large bridal shower for the bride. Is it okay to ask her mother to help pay for the shower?
A: No. The host of the bridal shower pays for the shower, not anyone else. As bridesmaids, you shouldn't expect anyone else, whether its the guests or the mother of the bride, to help foot the bill. By all means if she offers, feel free to accept, but she is under no obligation to help pay for the bridal shower.

Bridal Shower Theme: Cocktails & Cupcakes

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:56:00 +0000

Bridal Shower Theme: Cocktails & Cupcakes

Cupcakes are huge right now-and for good reason! You get to eat a nice serving of cake (or 4) without feeling guilty. Add in your favorite cocktails and this girlie party is sure to be a hit.

Invitations

Set the tone for the bridal shower with the invites. The one to the left, a Cupcakes & Martinis Bridal Shower Invite sets the right tone. Will anyone doubt that the desserts will be aplenty at this party?

Or this cute Cupcakes & Cocktails Bridal Shower Invitation. The guest's mouths will be watering with anticipation. Plus, this lets guests know that it won't be a stuffy tea party.

Food

With cupcakes and cocktails you can't go wrong. Aim for a menu that encourages noshing and mingling allowing the guests to get to know each other while the bride is opening gifts.

Sample Menu

Caramel Apple Cupcakes with Apple Martinis
Champagne Cupcakes with Mimosas or Champagne
Guinness and Bailey's Irish Cream Cupcakes with beer, red wine, or Chocolate Martinis

Some helpful tips:

Chocolate cupcakes pairs well with other chocolate drinks like chocolate martinis, red wine, and beer. The lighter cupcakes pair well with white wines and champagne.
To balance out the sweetness of the cupcakes, serve extras like mixed nuts, cheese & crackers, and pesto pinwheels along with fresh fruit like strawberries, berries, and grapes.
Aim for 6 mini cupcakes per person or about 4 regular size per person-guests will want to munch on a variety of flavors. When in doubt-always have more.

Have the cocktails ready for mingling by preparing them ahead of time and placing them in mini martini glasses.

Follow the lead of Rene on Rene Takes the Cake. Her cupcakes & cocktails party featured Chocolate Espresso Martinis, Chambord and Champagne, and Stellatinis which were made from strawberry lemonade, vodka, and sprite. Each drink was then paired with it's cocktail inspired cupcake.

Take cupcaking to the next level with cupcake fondue-yep we said Cupcake Fondue! A truly creative, one-of-a-kind idea you basically take mini cupcakes and dip them into frosting. Easy to do too!

Try the cupcake blog Cupcake where you can find unique cupcake recipes like Sweet Potato Cupcakes, Coconut Lime Cupcakes, Churros and Chocolate Cupcakes, and Sweet and Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes as well as hundreds of other creative cupcake flavors.

Need to order specialty cupcakes? Try Crumbs where among the offerings you can order Cosmo, Grasshopper, and Key Lime cupcakes, all of which are kosher. Try BabyCakes for gluten-free or spelt cupcakes.

Favors

Have extra favor boxes on hand for guests to take the left-over cupcakes home with them. Less calories (and less clean-up) for you!

Stick with the cupcake theme-send guests home with personalized cupcake mixes or give everyone personalized cupcakes. Or go with the cocktail theme-send guests home with personalized cosmo mixes.

Make cupcakes in a jar for favors. Not only are they easy to make but since they're in a jar, they're easy to transport in a car (or on the subway.)

Had enough of food? Why not do towel cupcakes or mini cocktail shakers?

Bridal Shower for Couples who live together?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Q:The bride and groom have lived together for a few years. One of the other bridesmaids said they don't need anything and she doesn't want to throw them a bridal shower for that reason. Should we?

A: There's nothing wrong with a couple who is co-habitating or living together having a bridal shower. Of course, a practical reason for couples not to have a shower is that they don't need anything. However, there's other options: make it a themed shower like stock the bar or lingerie or make it a no-gifts party. But don't let the fact that the bride and groom are living together stop them from having a shower.

How to Save Money on Bridal Shower Invites

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0000

1) Don't send any. While not our favorite solution, don't send traditional bridal shower invites out. Instead try making phone calls or sending e-mails. It gets the job done for free.

2) Use our printables. Scan our selection of free printable bridal shower invites and use those. There still is a cost-you do have to print them out. The other downside-you don't have creative control or sometimes a way to personalize them.

3) Get a professional to make the invite. Many graphic designers will send you a personalized custom design that you can then take to a print shop and have printed. (Tip-try the ones on Etsy like Etsy seller kottageon5th.) The cost advantages can be nice-you get a custom invite for your friend's soirée that can often be printed for 10 cents a copy.

4) Zazzle-we're biased. We love Zazzle-it's a great publishing platform that allows you to make invites pretty much anyway you want to. Add poems and wording, upload photos, change fonts and colors, you've got plenty of options. You can also search the thousands of pre-made customizable designs they have-try searching for African-American bride or spa-themed shower to give you an idea of the many options. And the price can't be beat. 25 invites will set you back around $44.

FREE Bachelorette Party Invites: Glam Girls Night Out

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:59:00 +0000

Betsy White has a great downloadable DIY bachelorette party invitation-a stylish Glam Girls Night Out template available in four colors.

Popsicles with a twist-Alcohol, Tea, & Chili!?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0000

From "Ice Pops" by Shelly Kaldunski

Orange-blackberry sangria ice pops.

Recently we wrote about booze-infused cupcakes for an alternative to traditional cupcakes for a wedding shower-well now you can have your booze and lick it too! (Okay, some have alcohol but some don't.) Apparently adult popsicles are becoming a new trend. While most of us think of popsicles we think of our childhood days with a cherry pop in the hot summer day while drinking juice outside in the backyard but today's popsicles can come in a wide variety of flavors like Coconut Curry Banana Pops With Salted Macadamia Nut with unusual ingredients like corn, chocolate, ancho chili, cinnamon, or chai tea. Very different from the ones we find in the supermarket.

How refreshing would these be on a hot summer day-we're talking the perfect dessert for a bridal shower in Atlanta or Houston. Not to mention that with the wide variety of recipes, it's easy to find one (or three) that complement the other food you'll be serving. For example, Vietnamese Coffee Popsicles would be nice for a coffee & tea tasting or brunch. For more recipes, go here or check out the book Pops: Icy Treats for Everyone.

Recipe: Orange-Blackberry Sangria Ice Pops

Makes 12 to 14 servings

2 oranges

750-ml bottle light, dry,

fruity red wine such as

Rioja or Beaujolais

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons

sugar

1 small tart green apple

such as Granny Smith,

peeled, cored, and cut

into 1/2-inch pieces

1 cup blackberries

Pinch of salt

1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove 5 wide strips of zest from 1 orange. Juice the fruit and strain into a measuring cup. You should have 1/3 cup. Cut the top and bottom from the other orange. Set the orange upright and, following the contour of the fruit, cut off the peel, pith and membrane. Holding the orange over a bowl, cut along each side of the membranes between the sections. Let the sections fall into the bowl along with any juice. Cut the sections into 1/2-inch pieces. Strain the juice into the measuring cup or reserve for another use.

2. Pour the wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, orange juice, orange zest, orange pieces, apple pieces, blackberries, and salt. Pour in 6 tablespoons water. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

3. If using conventional ice pop molds, divide the mixture evenly among the molds, ensuring that each has about the same amount of fruit. Cover and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours and up to 3 days. If using sticks, insert them in the molds when the pops are partially frozen, after about 1 hour, then freeze until firm, at least 3 more hours. If using an instant ice pop maker, follow the manufacturer's instructions to fill the molds and freeze the pops.

- From Ice Pops by Shelly Kaldunski

Per serving (based on 14): 82 calories, trace protein, 11 grams carbohydrates, 8 grams sugar, trace fat, no cholesterol, 17 milligrams sodium, 1 gram dietary fiber.

Celebrity Bachelorette Party: Khloe Kardashian's Santa Monica Bash

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0000

How do the Kardashians party before one of them gets married? By heading to the Santa Monica Viceroy Hotel! The night started with ten of them having cocktails in two adjoining upstairs suites in the hotel before having dinner at an outdoor candlelit patio. The girls even gave bride-to-be Khloe a champagne toast as a cale was brought out to celebrate her nuptials.

At this point, filming for the reality show stopped and the real party began! The group headed upstairs to their suites again and the private party went on till 2am, with the girls drinking into the wee hours. The girls opened X-rated party gifts from Agent Provocateur, where Kim and Kourtney had been spotted shopping earlier in the day. At one point Khloe received another cake. Supposedly this cake was a little cake in Lakers colors with a large appendage rising out of the middle of it and the words, “The Taste Of Things To Come”!

Recreate her bachelorette party:

Stay at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica. Some of the amenities at this swanky hotel include: in-room beauty bars featuring full-sized spa products; two outdoor plunge pools; and in-room and poolside spa and beauty services by GreenBliss EcoSpa, Santa Monica’s original mobile eco-luxury spa service. Rooms here range from $295 to $600 depending on the day. Look for the special offers to save money.

Pick up a naughty cake from a local exotic cake bakery like Exotic Cakes. We loved how Khloe's friends customized it for something near and dear to the bride-the Lakers! Not in your budget-make your own using naughty cake pans from Bachelorette.com.

Give out swag bags or goodie bags. The Kardashians chose sexy lingerie label Agent Provocateur to use as gifts for their friends. Now we don't know what they bought, but handing out gifts like lace camisole favor bags filled with candy, sexy female form bath soaps, or personalized bath salts will make the guests feel sexy and loved.

(Info from Radar Online)

FREE Printable Bridal Shower Invitations

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 12:00:00 +0000

We found more FREE printable Bridal Shower Invites for you. You can download the pdf file of the one above and another similar one at Free Printable Greeting Cards. The pdf file is free, but you can purchase a premium version that allows you to edit it for $4. For more FREE printables look here.

Sangria Cupcakes? Lemon Drop Cupcakes?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Okay, the cupcake trend might be slowing down a little but we are still always looking for variations on our favorite dessert. Try this one-alcohol infused cupcakes. Cosmo has a few booze-infused recipes for cupcakes. With recipes like Lemon Drop Cupcakes (limoncello), Sangria Cupcakes, Malibu Madness Cupcakes (rum), Cosmo Cupcakes (triple sec), or Cupcakes for your guy (whiskey) they're sure to be a hit at a bridal shower or bachelorette party. These recipes would especially complement stock the bar showers or alcohol tastings.

(Photo copyrighted-Garrison Photo)

Want even more alcoholy cupcakes or pastries? Try the book The Boozy Baker which has the above recipes plus tons of more including Southern Comfort Red Velvet Cake, Jagermeister and Honey Bundt Cake, Champagne Layer Cake, Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Orange Liqueur Cream, Schnappy Butterscotch Pudding with Pretzel Brittle, and tons more!

GIVEAWAY: Shabby Apple 90 Words Per Minute Dress

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:22:00 +0000

GIVEAWAY: Win one of Shabby Apple's gorgeous dresses. The one up for grabs-the beautiful 90 Words Per Minute Dress in size SMALL. (The dress shown is the actual dress you will be getting!) We are huge fans of Shabby Apple and for good reason-their vintage-y, romantic dresses are perfect for almost everything-wear this dress to Sunday brunch then to church then out for drinks with the girls. Its versatile and cute!

Up for Grabs: The Shabby Apple 90 Words Per Minute Dress in Small. Shown above.

To enter: Follow us on Google Friend Connect-this MUST be done to enter.

For all entries: Leave a comment. Be sure to leave an e-mail address in your comment if there is none in your profile.

For more entries:
Be sure to leave a comment for EACH additional entry that you complete.

1 extra entry-Join Swagbucks. If you haven't already heard of Swagbucks, it's a great site where you can search online and get "bucks" redeemable for Amazon giftcards, real cash, & much more!

1 extra entry-Sign up for Groupon. If you've never tried Groupon, it's an awesome money-saving site where one deal a day is offered at discounts of 50 to 80% off attractions, restaurants, salons, & more in a ton of cities ranging from NYC to Knoxville to Tulsa.

1 extra entry-Join Ideeli. Ideeli is a members-only shopping site with designer names at 50 to 80% off. Recently, you could have scored designer duds & merchandise from French Connection, Bill Blass, Cuisinart, L.A.M.B., & so many more! There's items for women, men, kids, and the home as well as travel packages.

1 extra entry-Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post. (You may do this up to 3 times!)

This sweepstakes is seen on Cashnet Sweeps, Online-Sweepstakes, Contest Hound, and Prizey!

Disclosure: We have not received any monetary compensation for this review or giveaway. We supplied the dress. Shabby Apple is not affiliated and/or connected with this post at all.

The Legal:

Contest begins July 30, 2010 and ends on August 12, 2010 at midnight EST. All entries must be posted by midnight to qualify.
You must include your email address or your entries will not be counted. (Or check to see if your e-mail is included in your blogger profile.)
US residents only-lower 48 states too please!
18 and over only.
Void where prohibited/where illegal. Winner is responsible for any and all taxes and fees that result from winning this.

Alfred Angelo Girls Night Out Party-Save $$

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Wedding designer Alfred Angelo is hosting a Girls Night Out on Thursday July 29th from 6 to 8 pm. The first 50 shoppers at every location will receive free gifts, as well as treats and beauty services. It looks like it's only at Alfred Angelo locations. If you bring the printable coupon, every bridesmaid can get $20 off the bridesmaid dress so if your bride is dead-set on Alfred Angelo dresses this might be a chance to save!

DIY Chocolate Bridal Shower Favors

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:53:00 +0000

We scoured the web for the best chocolate bridal shower favors that you could do yourself. Chocolate? Saving money? Who wouldn't want these to be front and center at the next bridal shower. Just be sure to read the instructions thoroughly and plan some time for making them.

1) DIY Chocolate Covered Pretzels from Style Me Pretty-Yum! These pretzels look so good-the guests may not be able to wait until the end of the shower to enjoy them. Get the step by step instructions here.

2) DIY Custom Chocolate Bars from Wedding Window-Find out how to take regular candy bars and jazzy them up for bridal shower favors. Customize the wrappers to say anything! Easy step by step instructions can be found here.

3) Dark Chocolate Drizzled Mints-Taking Altoids and covering them in chocolate? Our first thought was how unusual and refreshing. Get the instructions here.

4) Chocolate Gobbler Cobbler Recipe-Send your guests home with a recipe and the ingredients for a tasty cobbler. (We love the idea of doing this for your favorite recipes too!) Guests get to make a tasty treat at home and you did the prep work for it. Find the template and instruction here.

5) Chocolate Covered Fortune Cookies-From Martha, learn how to make chocolate covered fortune cookies. Fill the cookies with sayings or thank-yous from the bride for attending the bridal shower.

(All photos are copyrighted from their respective blog.)

Bridal Shower Games: Couples Games

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 02:47:00 +0000

Whose Kiss?

What You Need

Blindfold
Guests!

How to Play

Blindfold the bride.
Have each male guest kiss the bride on the cheek-announce a number for each guy so the bride can keep track.
The bride has to guess which male is her groom!

Variation: Reverse the game and have the girls kiss the groom.

Who What?

What You Need

Bride & Groom
Drinks/Signs

How to Play

Ask the bride and groom who is going to handle several household chores or who is more likely to do certain things. Have them sit back to back so they can't see each other.
The bride and groom have to each have 2 signs-one that says her, one that says me and one that says him, one that says me. As an alternative, you can give each of them 2 drinks-one standing for themselves and one being for their partner. (Think beer for him, martini for her.)
Ask a variety of questions like:
Who is going to take out the trash?
Who is doing the dishes?
Who is most likely to be late to dinner?
Who would rather stay home on a Saturday night than go out?
Who will mow the lawn?
If the couple both get the answer right (i.e. they both answer the groom will do it,) the couple gets a point. If not, they each have to take a drink or do something embarrassing if you're using signs.

Almost Newlywed Game

What You Need

Guests!

How to Play

Before the shower, ask the bride and groom questions about each other like Who is doing the dishes?
At the shower, split the group into teams.
Ask the questions and see if the teams can guess what the couple answered.

FREE Printable Bridal Shower Round-Up

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:02:00 +0000

We've added an exciting page to our site-a Printable Bridal Shower Round-up. Everything listed is FREE! What's listed-bridal shower invitations, bridal shower games, and other printables for a shower like menus and favor tags. The list is a work in progress; bookmark it for future reference.

FREE Printable Bridal Shower Game: Purse Scavenger Hunt

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:28:00 +0000

Since practically every female carries a purse, this game is an easy one to start off with.

We've made a FREE printable Purse Scavenger Hunt game. Simply download, print it out, and then make copies. Have a time limit for the game-3 or 5 minutes should be good enough. Download the game here. Please note that the image is copyrighted-weddingclipart.com

If you choose not to use our game, make your own. Ahead of time make a list of items that might be carried in a purse. Use some basic items and some unusual ones. As you call out the list, the guests get a point for each item found in their purse. The person with the most points wins!

Sample List

Basics:

Hairbrush

Lipstick

Pen

Keys
Tampon
Photos

Movie ticket

Business Card

Unusual:

Be creative and come up with some unusual ones!
Plane ticket
Battery
Calculator
Baseball cards

Beach Tag
Condom

Carrie Underwood's bridesmaid dresses

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Now bridesmaids can wear Carrie Underwood's choice of bridesmaid gowns (or the closest thing to it.) Designer Monique Lhuillier created four different silk chiffon goddess gowns for Carrie’s eight bridesmaids. While those gowns were custom creations, just like Carrie's bridal gown which was also designed by Lhuillier, Monique Lhuillier has a line of bridesmaid dresses that can be purchased in her flagship stores in California and Minnesota, as well as online.

Among the gowns in her collection:

(All photos are copyrighted-Monique Lhuillier)

Take at look at this symmetrically draped column gown made of delicate crinkle chiffon featuring a floor sweeping asymmetrical drape and a sensational side slit. It's definitely a different take on a long formal gown.

Or this racerback bubble dress. Formal enough for the wedding, this dress could easily be worn again for date night. This delicate crinkle chiffon halter neck dress features a hand tufted crinkle chiffon rose detail at front neckline as well as a modern racer back cut.

This dress takes a simple V-neck dress and adds some touches. A deep overlap pleated “v” neck dress with silhouette cinching self tie belt at the waist and overlap pleated tulip skirt lends a sophisticated twist on unique.

The dresses all start around $315 and come in ten popular bridesmaid dress colors like merlot, navy, robin egg blue, spring (green), camilla (pink), black, white, vanilla creme (off-white), sunflower (yellow), and platinum. The dresses are available in sizes 2 to 16. Like mentioned before, they can be ordered online.

Bridesmaid Gripe: The bridesmaid dress is too expensive!

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:17:00 +0000

It's every bridesmaid's nightmare-the bride sends you a photo of the bridesmaid dress to be in all its glory. Yeah, the strapless layered chiffon gown with gathered bust in cantaloupe is gorgeous but then you see the price. $480!? Is the bride crazy?

What to do:

If the dress has already been bought, unfortunately it's now best to just keep quiet. With most bridesmaid dresses, they can't be returned or exchanged. It's now best to forever hold your peace. Exception: If the dresses can be returned, then speak up.

Don't just flat out reject the dress-that will put the bride on the defensive. Instead respond back that while the dress is beautiful/perfect for a beach wedding/just what you were thinking of, the price is more than you had budgeted for a bridesmaid dress.

Offer to come up with alternatives. Send her photos of similar dresses stating that while you love the first dress, these dresses are just as nice and are half the cost.

Be prepared for the bride to be mad about your rejection of the dress. The bride is probably going to bring up your trip to Cabo or new big-screen TV. Be calm.

Give the bride a specific price point that you had budgeted for. Tell her that you budgeted $200 for the dress and that a dress of $350 is just too much. This allows the bride to search for a dress in the budgeted amount, as well as offer suggestions on how to bring the dress down to the budgeted price. i.e. The bride offers to pay the difference, to pay for alterations, etc.

Cash Only Bridal Showers?

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 17:26:00 +0000

Q:The bride and groom haven't registered anywhere-they don't want any gifts for the wedding and only want cash. Since the bride hasn't registered, should we still have a bridal shower or is it rude?

A: Cash only wedding showers are considered rude. Many guests feel that if the bride doesn't want gifts then she shouldn't have a bridal shower since the bridal shower is the only wedding occasion when guests are EXPECTED to give gifts. Besides the actual shower would be boring-"Thanks Aunt Theresa for the fifty. Thanks Karen for $35. "

If the couple really don't need anything, then think about a specific theme shower, like stock the bar or lingerie. The bride might not have been thinking of items like that when she didn't register.
Don't put cash-only on the shower invites. It's incredibly rude-if you decide to throw her a shower anyways, let the guests ask you where the couple is registered and then you can tell them that you think they just want money.
Don't have a shower at all. Showers are for gifts-if the couple really don't need or want anything, then skip the shower.

SALE on Bridesmaid Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:40:00 +0000

This weekend the recessionista gods have heard your plea because many bridesmaid dresses are on sale online and in stores. Yeah!

Ann Taylor-Save 40% on everything, on-line and in the store! Code is JULY40

Shabby Apple-Get your pick of vintage-inspired dresses at 20% off through July 31st. Code is summer20

J Crew-Final sale is going on now. Head over to get your picks at great discounts.

Bridesmaid Dresses: Garden Print Dresses

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 23:44:00 +0000

Photo copyrighted Lori Barbely Photography via Celebrity Bride Guide

Inspired by Project Runway designer Jesse LeNoir, who created one-of-a-kind bridesmaid dresses for his bridal party with a unique garden print on them, we looked for more garden print dresses that could be worn for a bridesmaids. We love the idea of floral print dresses-they're country club chic while being just a little different and adding some color to the bridal party. They're simply perfect for garden ceremonies and receptions-the flowers bring a touch of nature into the dress.

For Jesse LeNoir's wedding, he even let the dresses dictate the wedding theme, ending up with a predominantly white palette with light blue, green, pink and purple. The theme ended up being a white canvas with a floral painting inspired by the colors in the dresses.

Our picks:

Day Dresses by Tracy Reese

Love this day dress by designer Tracy Reese. Bright and vibrant, it features a ruffled V-neckline, wide shoulder straps and a woven belt with a distressed goldtone O-ring buckle. Best of all, its under $200.

Dresses by Elie Tahari

This floral-print dress by Elie Tahari takes a different approach to a traditional floral print dress adding sequins to the bold floral print. The pencil skirt is also flattering and sophisticated.

Evening Dresses at ModCloth

Okay most garden dresses are going to be vibrant, but you can still find ones in other color combinations like this black and white floral dress from Modcloth. Flattering and beautiful, the best thing is the price-just $52.99. And there's ton more options where this one comes from with plenty to choose from under 50, 60, and 80 bucks.

Cocktail Dresses at eDressMe

Just because its a floral print doesn't mean the dress can't be sexy. This dress is one shouldered with flower embellishment and is pleated throughout the body. The fun floral print will make it perfect to wear to a cocktail party reception in spring.

Petite Dresses by Jones New York Signature

A fresh floral watercolor print blossoms on this pretty fitted sheath dress by Jones New York Signature. Available in petite and plus sizes, sheath dresses are flattering for a variety of body types.

Dresses by French Connection

Who says floral dresses have to be short? This fantastically vivid floral maxi dress from French Connection has a black fabric and gold bead-embellished halter neckline and inset waistband for extra pizazz.

Evening Dresses by Xscape Evenings

This floral print long gown shows that the garden theme can even be used for more formal weddings. The black and white print makes the dress perfect for formal occassions.

DIY: Hot Pink & Zebra Bachelorette Party Invite

noreply@blogger.com (The Perfect Bridesmaid) — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:52:00 +0000

For her friend's bachelorette party, Kate made these incredible hot pink, black, & zebra bachelorette party invitations.

What's needed:

Gluestick
Bonefolder
Hole puncher
Cardstock (Black, Hot Pink, and Zebra)
Envelopes
Ribbon (Zebra)
Envelope liner templates

Get the rest of the easy step-by-step instructions on her blog.

Image copyrighted-http://kkarsten.blogspot.com/2009/06/kristies-bachelorette-party-invites.html