It's not something that many people will see underneath your wedding dress yet finding the perfect wedding shoes is of utmost importance. For many women their wardrobes are crammed full of diverse selection of footwear, from boots to ballet pump, stilettos to flip flops, accessorising your outfit with the right pair of shoes can be the finishing touch and make you feel good too.

Choosing Your Bridal Makeup Artist

All brides are going to look stunning on their wedding day. Whether a friend has applied the makeup or a professional makeup artist has; however sometimes bad things happen and thing don't go quite according to plan. The hair might fall out of place or come un-done all together the makeup may be too heavy or to light...Murphy's law is sometimes more powerful then the best wedding day planner money can buy. Here are a few tips when choosing your makeup artist for your big day!

It's All in the Details: Wedding Dress Trends to Watch Out For

Fresh, new and exciting - these are a few words which can best describe the latest bridal gown trends for 2012. Now that the current year is almost over, bride-to-bes who are looking forward to walking down the aisle next year do have a lot of choices when it comes to bridal hairstyles, as well as the trends in wedding gowns which we will learn more about here.

Bridal Gowns with Slits

Key Wedding Dress Trends to Look Out For in 2012

Choosing your wedding dress is something no bride should take lightly. With all eyes on you, and photos that last a life time, you need to look your best. Modern brides that are looking to mix tradition with fashion should take note of four key wedding dress trends this year:

1) Lace Capes and Cap Sleeves
2011 was all about the long lace sleeves in homage to Catherine Middleton at the Royal Wedding. In 2012 the sleeve has been replaced by a classy and flattering lace cape. This modest accessory is great for brides who would like a strapless dress, but are self conscious about their arms.

A Beautiful Wedding for a Beautiful Bride

Katie and Didi contacted me from Hong Kong as they had arranged to have their wedding at the Cortijo de la Perdiz here in Cancelada near Marbella. 

Heather at Fiestasol was their planner and caterer and they wanted to add some special touches and flowers to their day.  We had a lovely time with Katie listening to her ideas and creating her wedding details and never actually met with her until her wedding day.

 Katie was one of the most helpful and delightful brides I have had this year, she was a beautiful person and delighted in having the children around for her wedding.  Heather had set up a kiddies area in the courtyard for the kids and they put on a lovely show and stole the bridal flowers!!!

We created some country style enamel jugs with some foliage and a few gerberas to add the colour and tied the table names to the jugs with fuschia ribbons.  Katie had a ceremony at the villa with a gazebo set up on the lawn, there is a lovely photo of the girls looking out the window to see us setting it all up on Jeremy's blog.

Plan a Simple But Stylish Wedding

Weddings are one expense that can quickly spiral out of control, and unlike the purchase of your home, you will likely need all the money up front or at least a credit card to get the job done. Planning a simple wedding can help you keep the costs down, but that does not mean you have to have a "cheap" event because it can still be very stylish. Below are a few tips for planning your simple but stylish wedding.

Planning

Before you look for flowers, banquet halls and catering you will want to sit down and plan the entire event. Make a list of the things you want in your wedding and then come back and take out things that are not essential. You may be amazed at the money you can save with this step alone.

Guest List

Some people want to invite everyone they have ever come in contact with to their special day. However, consider the merits of having only very close friends and relatives at the ceremony itself. You can invite the rest of the town to the reception afterwards if you like. Keeping the guest list small will affect the size of the location you need for the actual wedding, thereby cutting expenses immediately.

Location

Once you have a firm guest list in mind it is time to find the location for your wedding. While fancy banqueting halls are nice, you have to ask yourself if they are that important. Some of the most beautiful weddings have been conducted on the beach or at a friend's stylish home. I got married by the side of a lake. So, forget all the fancy scenes you have seen in the movies and concentrate on making your day the best it can be within your budget.

Do it Yourself

Decorations and food add a good amount of money to your wedding. Think about creating some of the decorations yourself to save money. For instance, a beautiful trellis can be easily constructed with PVC pipe, lights and tulle. This works especially well if you will be having an inside wedding where the lights can be lowered and the trellis creates a romantic backdrop. If you are not mechanically or artistically inclined check with friends and family. Chances are good that one of them can come through for you.

Browse the bridal magazines for ideas and then look for ways to recreate them for a reasonable price. Flowers, table centerpieces, and even the cake can often be done very reasonably if you use just a bit of creativity.

Conclusion

Do not let the thought of planning a stylish wedding on a budget get you down. Look at it more like a challenge or a treasure hunt! Even your wedding gown can be absolutely stunning, but still bought for a reasonable price. Consignment shops and discount shops often have gorgeous dresses for less than $500. Remember what the day is all about: you are joining your life with the person you love, and everything else is just icing on the cake so to speak.

Steve Roberts has provided Pre-Marital Counseling for over 25 years and has seen wedding preparations from the inside out. Married 31 years to Pam, his partner in Life and profession, he has personally known the peaks and valleys of the couple experience.

A Winter Wonderland Inspiration

I love this winter wonderland board I found on the White Petal Blog.

The Winter Wonderland theme is endless for adding a creative touch to your party or wedding, using snowy branches, pine cones and frosted silvery decorations presents such a special quality.

New Wedding Stationery Range from Reviva Weddings

We are very excited to launch our new wedding stationery range, which has been designed in particular with our weddings in mind, by our hugely talented Anoulka.

Anoulka is part of our design and decoration team and is a hugely creative and talented person, who I nearly let slip through the net!

Thank goodness I didn't, as Anoulka contacted me last year and nagged me stupid to let her do a trial day, the rest is history and Anoulka is now well and truly integrated as part of the Reviva wedding team.

We have been working on a range of stationery, over the winter, to compliment our fabulous designs and weddings, currently we have my favourite, the Bali nights, our very stylish Moroccan range, the romantic Midsummer night garden collection that we specifically created for one of our brides here, and the range will continue to be developed over the next few months.

Some other ranges we are also working on at the moment, again in particular for some of our weddings this year, are a spanish flamenco fan theme which is very pretty with fan shaped menus and our new vintage candle and lantern range.


All the themes offer Save the Dates, Invitations, Order of Service, Table Seating Plans, Placecards, Tags, Menus, Welcome Gift Bag Messages, anything you feel you need to compliment your complete stationery requirements for your wedding.

We can personalise your stationery with a beautiful range of ribbons, diamante and embellishments and please do watch this space as we introduce our new ranges into the collection.

If you would like more information please do contact us or visit Anoulka's brand new website which is still under some construction, to see more of this very exciting new stationery range available now for your wedding, which we feel is very different :)

If you have a particular design you would like made up for your wedding here please do let us know or we can match to your existing stationery if you wish to continue your theme here for your table seating plans, placecards, etc and we do offer a service to organise your guest list and send out the stationery for you.

Why Have Titanium Wedding Rings Become So Popular?

Fifteen years ago very few people outside of very high end jewelry shops had even heard of using titanium for rings. While it had been used in aviation, medicine and manufacturing, the use of titanium for rings and jewelry was just unheard of for the most part.

Now titanium wedding rings are the hottest sellers in the jewelry industry. Those couples who compare gold, platinum and titanium for their rings often end up with a titanium wedding ring.

There are several reasons why titanium has become a popular choice for those seeking a wedding ring:

Hypoallergenic Properties
Many people have had the experience of buying a watch, ring or earrings and suffering an allergic reaction. Impure metals-rings are seldom 100% of any material-can cause reactions with human skin. Titanium is inert, which means it will not react with human tissue. In fact, it is often used for hip transplants due to its strength and non-reactive properties.

Cost
The cost of gold and platinum are at all-time highs. This, of course, means that gold wedding rings and platinum wedding rings are also very expensive these days. For example, a basic platinum wedding band will cost at least $1000 and a gold wedding bands, depending on the design, can be equally or more expensive. Titanium, however, has not seen such dramatic rises in cost over the years. A great, handcrafted titanium ring is typically about half the price as its counterparts.
Strength and Durability
Titanium is an extremely durable material for wedding rings. Often used for airplane and submarine components, titanium is very strong and will not ding or dent like gold-a much softer metal. Scratching, though possible, is much more unlikely for a titanium ring than a gold ring. Another great thing about titanium is that it won't react with sea water or almost all corrosive elements. This means that titanium ring wearers can wear their ring day in and day out without worrying about damaging the ring. A well-made titanium ring will last a lifetime.
Design Choices
Many people getting married these days do not want the same gold wedding band style their father, uncles, grandfather and grandfather's father had. Gold rings are just, well, too traditional and boring for many wedding ring buyers.
Titanium, unlike gold, allows for some very creative and unique ring designs. For example, a simple titanium wedding band can have a gold inlay, but it can also have an opal, Koa wood, or Tiger's Eye inlay. Titanium rings with inlays are very popular for wedding bands because they are available in many designs that are stylish, unique and a better reflection of the wearer's personality than the old standby-a yellow gold wedding band.