Which one...Which one...

Which one...Which one...

Choosing Your Bridesmaids Dresses

One of the most crucial aspects of planning your wedding is deciding on how to dress your bridesmaids. Coordinating dresses for a diverse group of women can be a tricky task to handle. You're dealing with various body types, skin tones and personal tastes, and finding one dress to satisfy all these differences can be challenging. Fortunately, a recent trend of mismatched bridesmaid dresses has made this decision easier and more creative. This may sound scary to a bride who insists that everything at her wedding look uniform, but if done correctly it can be just the right twist. There are endless ways to mismatch dresses but here are some useful examples:

One choice is to have each girl wear a different dress using the same color. The dresses can vary in length, fabric, texture and/or patterns. They can be variations of one dress or different dresses altogether.

Although these dresses are daringly different from one another, the element of ruffles and color help pull them all together.

You can step out of the box a little further and play with complimentary colors and patterns:

Or colors that fall into the same palette:

When using a combination of different colors and styles, be careful not to choose looks that clash. Try to find some element of consistency, like length or similar accessories.

Model and actress Molly Sims executed this trend beautifully.  The ladies are wearing elegant dresses that fall to the same length but have subtle differences in color and style. Notice how the print of one girl's dress is found in the strap of another; also, at least four of the dresses feature black stripes, two horizontal and two angled vertically, a great way to tie everything together.

If you're dead set on keeping each dress the same but still looking to add some flare, there are options for you too. You can keep the dress the same but play with colors or lengths:

This blend of beige, yellow and other ethereal colors adds uniqueness, but the consistent style of the dresses keep it cohesive.

You can also add a subtle (or bold) twist by playing with different accessories or shoes.

This bride kept all the dresses the same but added her personal touch by giving each bridesmaid a different color cardigan. Original yet simple.

Whether you dress your bridesmaids traditionally or decide to mix and match, the only thing that matters is whether you're thrilled with the end result. Remember, your bridesmaids are a reflection of you and should look both cohesive and beautiful. But not too beautiful – this is YOUR day after all.

Xoxo Chelsea

Personalizing Your Wedding Dress

Personalizing Your Wedding Dress

Something Old & Something Blue

When a bride is getting ready to walk down the aisle the phrase something old something new something borrowed and something blue comes to mind. While there are many different options for a bride to choose from for her somethings there is one that has become prominent to me. A bride can use one of her father’s old shirts and cut out a small heart and sew it onto the inside of her dress. It is a way to keep dad close on you wedding day and makes your dress unique. You could use any shirt of your choice from a t-shirt to a nice button down. The heart can be any size and be placed anywhere the bride would like. By picking a blue shirt it can be something old and something blue.
 

A dad’s major part in the wedding is usually paying for it and of course walking the bride down the aisle. Using a piece of dad’s shirt is a way to show how much you love him and how much your relationship means to you. An old shirt has a history just like a father and daughter relationship.

~Samantha

Woof Woof!

Woof Woof! 

Including Pets in Your Wedding

On their wedding day, brides and grooms want all of their closest friends and family around them to celebrate their happiness.  So naturally, some couples want their beloved pets included in the celebration! In many cases, a debate over whether a pet’s unpredictable behavior is worth the trouble ensues; but with careful planning, your pet can be included in the festivities, without loads of stress and worrying!

Here are a few things in mind when planning on including a pet in the wedding:

• Most often, the pet in question is a dog. In this case, you want to make sure you know how your pooch will react in a variety of situations. How does he deal with being in large groups of people? Does he obey and pay attention to you when there are distractions around? If you want to include your dog in the ceremony, you need to ensure he will behave and take part as planned, and avoid a disruption that will cause embarrassment or delays.

•  Don’t take responsibility for your pet on your own wedding day. It’s a much better idea to give doggie duty to someone else the pet is comfortable with, to allow you to mingle and enjoy your day. If you don’t want to burden one of your guests with the responsibility of pet sitting, then it might be a better idea to let the pet stay home.

• If your pet isn’t ready to participate in the ceremony, there are other ways you can include him in your special day. Pets create great photographic opportunities; let him hang around while the bridal party gets ready (but make sure he can be trusted with all the fragile fabrics around!). Or, just bring him out for photos between the ceremony and reception.

• It can be helpful to bring a pet’s toy or bedding to make him feel more at ease in large groups of people. Similarly, if he’s used to being on a leash, do so.

• Don’t let the pet outshine the bride and groom! Give the pet a small role, to add a dimension of fun to the wedding. But have the pet’s caretaker whisk him away after his job is done, to ensure the bride and groom are the focus of the day.

Pets can be wonderful, memorable additions to a wedding, and with proper planning, it can be done without it causing a problem. But if your pet is just too unpredictable, or you don’t think you’ll be able to manage it, making the decision to leave the pets at home would be wisest.

Hope that helps!

- Carina

Congratulations Paisley Events!

Congratulations Paisley Events!

NYBG, Here We Come!

Hello Paisley Press followers! 

Today I am pleased to formally announce the partnership between Paisley Events and......(drum roll, please)..... The New York Botanical Gardens!

This coming year (2014), the New York Botanical Gardens welcomes Stephan Starr Events and Catering. Stephan Starr won the bid for the NYBG new catering company this past February. Replacing Abigail Kurish (the 13yr long resident catering company who've chosen different cooking grounds), Stephan Starr will revamp and recreate the two food hubs in The Gardens. 

Chief Catering and Events Manager, Sarah Silfko, met with Paisley Events owner and executive consultant, Katherine Jacox, this spring and it was then Ms. Silfko offered Paisley Events the once in a lifetime opportunity to join Stephan Starr events as their sole Recommended Wedding and Events Coordinator! 

The Gardens have three incredible venues (The Conservatory, The Stone Mill, & The Garden Terrace) that brides and grooms can select for their wedding reception. Stephan Starr Catering provides the menus that may or may not include selections from Mr. Starr's three most infamous restaurants: Buddakan, Morimoto, and Caffe Storico.

We, here at Paisley Events, cannot wait to work with Stephan Starr Events and the amazing couples and clients at the New York Botanical Gardens!

 XOXO

Happy Planning!

Trash The Dress: A Trendy Alternative For Your Post Wedding Gown

Now one of the ways I choose to spend my precious time here in Chapel Hill, North Carolina is by serving fancy cocktails to whomever may come through our doors in a little martini bar on the corner of East Franklin Street. Some days however, I am greeted by rather interesting patrons such as the couple who came in on Saturday night to watch the NASCAR race and gave me a rather interesting insight and an even more interesting conversation topic. We started talking about the phenomena and trend of “Trashing the Dress” as the cars raced around the track and stopped ever so often to have their oil changed. Pardon the irony of the connection in our subject matter, but I started thinking about this trend and actually took a liking the idea of girls leaving behind the tale as old as time tradition of saving their dress for the generations to come and adopting a new and modern idea…

TRASH THE DRESS

Reasons to Trash Your Dress:

1)      “I want to save my dress for the generations to come… but is anyone actually going to wear it?”

      OK ladies… how many of you actually wore your mother’s or grandmother’s dress in your wedding? Let’s be honest here! Every little girl dreams of the day where she gets to go into that bridal boutique and try on a thousand beautiful white dresses until she finds “the one”! So, why not trash the dress if no one else is going to wear it?

2)      “Well, I may need to wear it again… but that could be awkward?”

Again ladies… let’s be honest with ourselves, how many of your (and let’s hope not) next husbands would like for you to wear the same wedding dress again? I don’t think so ma’am! The lovely gentleman I mentioned from the martini bar did mention a funny concept of a reversible dress- “White on the inside and pink on the inside, that way you can use it twice in case you get married again.” What a wise fellow! But you should trash that dress and if you decide to marry again, then you get to go shopping again- every girl’s dream!

 

3) Leave the wedding behind…

Personally, I think this is a cute idea! The philosophy behind this (and pardon my thinking too much) can be reason enough to trash the dress. The idea of leaving behind your wedding dress, the material things that it represents, and moving forward with your marriage plus the love shared between the two of you… it’s kind of a big deal! Also- what a fun stress reliever!

Speaking of FUN!

Check out these fun ideas for Trashing YOUR Dress…

Country Girl… Mud it up! Hop up on the tractor, dirty up that dress, and make not only great photographs, but memories as well. 

 

Mermaid at Heart? Jump in the ocean, play in the sand, or let the

waves crash on your dress for the perfectly-timed

 trash the dress photograph!

Let’s Get Dirty. Those NASCAR themed oil covered shoots make for a sexy sensual and even incredibly beautiful trash the dress shoot. Shot in black in white or even close ups in color can make for an amazing experience and even better images to keep forever. 

The Desperate Housewife… food fight! How cute would it be to have a trash the dress shoot of you and your newlywed husband in your brand new kitchen with flour tossed on each other’s faces, blueberry pie smashed onto your once pristine white gown, transitioning into a beautiful new life together (not to mention the fun of a food fight with each other!)

Now, if you want to keep it traditional, if you’ve always dreamed of a $15,000 Vera Wang, this isn’t for you! (But hey, you could always invest a small bit in one of those handy dandy used dresses and play around with a trash the dress shoot just for fun!).

XOXO, Audrey

Peeing in "The Dress"

Peeing in "The Dress"

How to Accomplish the Seemingly Impossible

You’ve all heard of the bathroom nightmares brides face trying to go to the bathroom in their bridal gowns. Of all the things brides have to stress about on their big day, this should not be one of them. How many members of the bridal party does it take for the bride to be able to pee in her dress? Well, normally it takes about three bridesmaids to hold up a hefty size gown while the bride pops a squat.

           A bridesmaid on weddingchannel.com posted about her experience at her best friend’s wedding, “My best friend got married two years ago. We asked her before the dress went on if she needed to pee and she said no. As soon as she had the undies, 20 lbs dress with the puffy lining (it actually had an extra slip with MORE poof), and the whole shebang she had to pee. All three of her bridal party went into the bathroom with her, lifted the dress up high and positioned her on the toilet. It was crazy, but we have some good memories." 

Photo credit: www.projectwedding.com

Fear no more! There is in fact an unconventional way for the bride to go to the bathroom by her self! That’s right, privacy ladies!

Just 5 simple steps:

1.      Take underwear OFF

2.      Face the toilet

3.      Pull the front of your dress up to your waist

4.      Walk forward, straddling the toilet

5.      Sit down and lean forward 

You’re welcome.

Skeptical about this new approach? Brides everywhere are raving about it and wish they new about it sooner! A bride posted about her experience using this technique at her wedding on finalstitch.co.uk, "It worked for me in my mermaid style dress so I imagine it'll work even better for the more classically shaped wedding dress."

xoxo

Miranda 

Under Water Garden Inspiration

Under Water Garden Bliss

For some, garden weddings are the perfect depiction of soft love and bliss. For this couple, its everything and more!

Hello Press followers! I apologize for the slow season on the blog! But with wedding season ready to kick back into gear, I promise to keep your interests peaked! 

This evening, while perusing the various wedding inspiration blogs, I came across this amazing couple and their picture brilliant wedding style shoot! Green Wedding Shoes usually keeps my mind a-spinning with ideas and thoughts, but this took the gold! You can read more about the couple and their vendors here: Click Me!

The whole inspiration for this wedding was based of the brides unique dress! Watercolors really bring out the fun, ethereal side of a theme. According to GreenWeddingShoes, the whole shoot was designed with couples having a budget or a DIY wedding in mind.  The best DIY to achieve a similar look would be DIY dip-dye or watercolor art! Its as simple as grabbing a strip of paint and dye! 

I hope you enjoy this style shoot as much as I did! Who wouldn't want a sea of color for a garden or sea or both! Themed wedding!

---

xoxo

Katherine