Bridesmaid Tips and Advice

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Check it off your list – When to buy attire for your wedding

September 12, 2011 in Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | No comments

Almost daily at Twirl Lexington we are asked, “when should I order my wedding gown and bridesmaid dresses?” While there are many factors that go into this decision, our advice is to do it as soon as you know it is the one! Below are the top three reasons why you order when you know what you want.

Delivery Time Varies: Most of the bridal gown designers we offer at Twirl Lexington have a four to six month delivery time. Most of the bridesmaid designers we offer have a three to four month delivery time. Of course, this all can change on a moment’s notice, especially during busy ordering times! This is just one reason to go ahead and order when you decide it is the one…to avoid stressful delays caused by unforeseen events such as weather delays, fabric mills running behind, and even Chinese New Year (for those produced overseas).
Discontinued Fabrics/Colors: Retailers are not given much notice on discontinuation of colors and fabrics. If you have your heart set on a certain color…order it before it is gone. This recently happened with one of our designers due to the fabric mill they used not producing the fabric any longer.
Peace of Mind: You have the dress of your dreams with plenty of time to spare for alterations! You can check your wedding dress and the bridesmaids dresses off the list and move on to planning more fun details for your big day!

So, go ahead, choose your dress, set up a fun bridesmaid fitting party at Twirl Lexington and take it off your long list of To Do’s before your I Do’s!

Happy Shopping!

Bridesmaid Appointment Tip

August 19, 2011 in Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | No comments

I love it when bridal parties come in to shop for bridesmaid dresses and someone remembers to bring a camera. Looking at bridesmaid dress styles on the Internet is helpful, but seeing a snapshot of yourself or your bridal party in dresses you’re interested in is even better. It’s one thing to see a model in a dress that has been altered to look just right for a photo shoot – seeing how a dress falls on a real person gives brides a much better idea of the true look of the dress.

A couple hints when bringing your camera:
-Remember that taking snapshots is just helping you to get an idea on the cut of the bridesmaid dresses you like. It doesn’t mean every single girl needs to try on the dress. Whether you’re shopping at Twirl Lexington or at another bridal boutique, sales consultants can help you determine dress silhouettes that look best on certain body types.

-Tell your bridesmaids to bring a strapless bra and heels. Some bridal stores provide heels in the fitting room, so it’s good ask when you make your appointment.

-Also remember that not every store allows photos, we at Twirl don’t have a problem with it, but many places do not allow photos, so respect their wishes.

Happy Shopping!

Double-Duty Dresses

July 22, 2011 in Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | No comments

Do you feel like Katherine Heigl in 27 dresses, with a closet full of old bridesmaid dresses you wouldn’t be caught dead in (except as a Halloween costume)? Never fear – Twirl is here!

Our designers are simply getting better and better about introducing “double-duty” dresses – the kind you actually can wear to another event. With our oh-so-lovely economy, that’s great news!

I have several dresses in our closets that we wear to other events, or even to work… without looking like we’re on our way to a wedding the same day. Check out a few of the styles at Twirl Lexington right now that would be perfect to wear to another wedding, a day at Keeneland or to a cocktail party!

The old cliche “you can cut it off and wear it again” does not apply to some dresses, but one of our former Twirl brides just sent us a picture on the Twirl Lexington Facebook page that had us super excited! She took the long bridesmaid dress that her sister wore in her wedding and had it hemmed to make an uber-fabulous cocktail dress! See the before and after shot below! Many thanks to Belinda at The Needle’s Eye for bringing new life to this bridesmaid dress for Jennifer.

So, brides, it is possible to find a dress that your girls can wear again…just come to Twirl!

-Ty

Guests at you Rehearsal Dinner

June 14, 2010 in Angela, Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | 3 comments

Recently I have been asked by several brides, “Who are you supposed to invite to the rehearsal dinner”? My answer usually is, “well, this is your wedding – - so whomever you want”. But if you look up wedding etiquette (and this is what I have always thought myself) – the answer is: the bridal party (bridesmaids and groomsmen), immediate family and out-of-town guests.

The bridal party and immediate family are a given – but people are usually thrown for a loop with the out-of-town guests (especially when there are a significant amount of them). This is how I look @ it. The rehearsal dinner is the perfect time to spend catching up with the family and friends you don’t get to see on a daily basis. You can exchange the “How have you been’s”, “What have you been up to’s” even the “thank you so much for coming’s”. This dinner should be relaxed, laid back and it’s not meant to break the bank. It should not “out shine” your wedding by any means. Choose a restaurant with a great entertaining area (maybe a patio or larger private room) and in a price range you (or whoever is paying) can afford. Spend your time laughing and telling stories and catching up with everyone. This should include the out-of-towners. Keep in mind that, in most cases, they have paid for their plane ticket, their hotel room, their transportation and no doubt a wedding gift for you. The night before the wedding, they most likely won’t have plans (seeing as though they don’t live in the area) so all the more reason to include them in your rehearsal dinner.

All this time spent catching up means you don’t have to do it at the wedding. I can’t tell you how many times I have watched the bride and groom spend their ENTIRE reception walking around, thanking people for coming and catching up! The bride and groom should be enjoying the delicious food they spent months picking out – and sipping on the champange they have been toasted to with – and creating new memories on the dance floor while listening to the music from the DJ or band they just had to have. They should be a part of the wedding they created and enjoy their perfect night.

No matter how it plays out – just sit back and enjoy the moments. They are going to FLY BY!

Memory Lane

xoxo *ange

Organized Brides

May 10, 2010 in Angela, Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | No comments

Does being more organized make planning your wedding easier when it comes to bridesmaid dresses? I really think this can be answered both yes and no.

The answer would be yes for the obvious reasons. I love when a bride walks into Twirl with a giant binder and begins flipping though the tabs to show me the different aspects of her wedding. The venue, the flowers, the colors of the linens, etc…etc. This is great because I get to experience the true vibe of her wedding. This makes my job easier when it comes to helping her find bridesmaid dresses because she has painted a picture of her wedding for me.

Now as wonderful as organization is, it can sometimes make the bride’s tasks become frustrating. Like many brides do before they come to Twirl, they spend a lot of time on-line and in magazines looking for their “perfect” bridesmaid dresses. This usually leads them down one of two roads.
*The first is they have found the “perfect dress” (on-line or in a magazine). The one they MUST have.

The trouble they sometimes run into is that there isn’t a boutique in Arizona that carries a sample for her to see in person. The brides and her girls then spend lots of time trying on other dresses, but the bride just cant get the “perfect dress” out of her head. Nine times out of ten when the bride does finally find a way to get her hands on the “perfect dress”, she ends up not even liking it in person. The fabric is not what she expected… or the color swatches looked different on-line… or it doesn’t flatter her bridesmaids. And because she didn’t really pay attention the first time around with the bridesmaid dresses because all she knew was the one she thought she really wanted wasn’t available, she is now back at square one. It is almost like a mini dream gets crushed… and when it comes her wedding, that is never good.
*The second path of organization that can bring un-needed stress into a bride’s life is when she finds a color she MUST have.

There are hundreds of color options when it comes to bridesmaid dresses, however, there are millions upon millions of colors and different shades of those colors in the world. When a bride comes into Twirl with a piece of fabric or a paint chip or a shoe and knows that come hell or high water this must be the color of her bridesmaid dresses, things can get a bit tricky. Not every color comes in every fabric. The bride will almost always find a fabric she loves and a card of color swatches that do match her must have color. She then has to decide if the dress is more important and should she slightly alter her shade of “teal”? Or is the must have color more important and should she go with a dress she likes less?

To some this may seem silly, but it happens all the time. The one piece of advice we can offer is never be 100% set on anything until you see it in person. Colors, dresses, fabrics, styles… they will always look different in person

: sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse (depending on who you ask). We hate to see brides upset or frustrated. Choosing bridesmaid dresses should be yet another fun part of the wedding planning. Especially because it involves your closest girl friends. So perhaps starting with an open mind can help bring the stress level down a knotch or two. And as always, we are here to help in any way we can!

Happy Wedding Planning.

xoxo *ange

Wedding Songs

March 1, 2010 in Angela, Bridesmaid Tips and Advice, Uncategorized | No comments

How does one decide their perfect wedding songs? There are so many choices!

The first one that comes to mind and is a must is your “First Dance” song. Some couples make this song “their song” – which usually means it was the first song they heard together on their first date. Or maybe the first song they danced together to. Or in some cases I have seen (heard) it be a song with a message that represents their relationship. When my best friend got married, her “First Dance Song” was called “Looks like we made it” by Shania Twain. It couldn’t have fit their relationship any more perfect than if the song had been personally written for them. I like this idea the most. This way while people are watching you share your first dance, they can listen to the words tell a story about the couple. I have been to one wedding where their “First Dance” song was the first song that came on the radio on their first date. To this day I don’t remember the name of the song or who it was by, but it was heavy metal and I can imagine very awkward to dance to (considering how awkward it was to watch them try to dance to) and there was clearly no “special message”.

Once you have the very important “First Dance Song” taken care of, it’s time to move on to the equally important “Father Daughter Song”. I understand not everyone is close to their fathers, or perhaps their fathers are not around to share in this special day… but the weddings I have been to the Fathers have been present and this dance has been special. Being a HUGE country music fan (largely in part because of the story that most country songs tell) there are several songs that come to mind for this particular dance. Tim McGraw’s “I Loved her First” or perhaps “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle (which has been re-done several times by country artists such as Garth Brooks).

The one thing that is kind of a bummer is that there are SO many songs out there… but some how only a handful of them make the list for these two categories of wedding songs. Before my best friend got married, she had a few of us over and we spent hours trying to help her find her “perfect” song. We sat around her kitchen table with her i-Pod plugged in, our lap tops on hand and a box of old CD’s we hadn’t seen for years. We opened a bottle of wine and spent the whole night coming up with different songs that brought back memories for us… but also told stories that related to my friend and her soon to be husband. We had so much fun. I think involving your bridesmaids in this task is a great way to get different opinions and they will no doubt come up with songs or artists you may not have come up with on your own.

Now in all fairness, I would almost guarantee that @ some point, you will attend a wedding and hear the same song that you heard at a wedding the year before during one of these two dances. Does it really matter though? I don’t think so. In the moment that the song is playing, and the two people are dancing… all that matters is the happiness that theses people are sharing and the beautiful message or story that is being told by the song. If you do like one of the more popular first dance songs, perhaps you can make it your own by having it sung to you by someone important to you instead of using the DJ version. Little touches like that can turn something that’s “already been done” into something that is yours.

I am going to leave you with the “First Dance” link below. I know you have all seen it a million times… but I think it is just too fun and fabulous to not mention!!! I am not going to lie… depending on who I end up marrying, if they are “cool” enough… I many just reenact something like this myself.

First Dance Song

Happy Wedding Planning to you all! I hope you have fun going through old song books and current popular albums in search of your perfect wedding songs.

xoxo *angela

Tips for Trimming Your Destination Wedding Guest List

November 23, 2009 in Angela, Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | No comments

Months before your wedding you have to create your guest list. You begin your list with the obvious family members, then add your close friends. You then move on to your neighbors and you can’t forget your parent’s friends who have watched you grow up. Then you have your co-workers and the family members of your best friends (I mean in some cases they are practically family)! Then you take that list and double it (because the groom no doubt has a similar list) and when you finally step back and look at the GIANT list you have both created, you need a moment to catch your breathe. That is a lot of people you are going to have to pay for to eat, drink and dance the night away at your big event. But how do you know who to leave out? Where do you start making cuts? Feelings are at stake here.

Ever since I can remember, I have always envisioned my wedding HUGE! I’m talking everyone I know and then some. But over the past years I have had the pleasure of experiencing these “HUGE weddings first hand. As much fun as I have being a guest, I sit back and watch the bride and groom move from table to table thanking people for coming, repeating the line, “It’s so good to see you” and never actually seeming to snag enough time to enjoy their food, or drinks or even the dance floor. There are hugs to be given and hand shakes to be exchanged – and with a wedding this size, it could take hours.

All this has caused me to re-evaluate my “HUGE” wedding dreams. I have begun to wonder how people can get away with this though. Having a smaller wedding and truly only inviting those closest to you. Then it hit me – DESTINATION WEDDING!

I can’t even count the number of brides in the past month that have said they were having a destination wedding! These ladies are brilliant! They are clearly a few steps ahead of me. You can still invite the large number of guests you would if you were staying in town , but realize that not everyone will be able to make it (work, kids, life… whatever). Those that are closest to you (whether they are friends or family) will figure out a way to be there. Another way to keep the idea of a smaller wedding within reach would be to consider a smaller bridal party. It is easier to coordinate with the travels – and you can, in some cases, help your bridal party pay for a portion of their “trip” (something that might not be possible if you had 8+ girls). It could become your wedding party gift (which would be so helpful). For the other girls, if they are your close friends/family, they will no doubt still attend. A perfect example of this was Keri’s wedding (one of Twirl’s owners). She decided to do a destination wedding – and opted to not have all 16 of her closest friends in her bridal party. All of her closest friends were of course still in attendance, but she chose to only have her future sister-in-law and best friend stand up for her. It was Perfect!

So aside from creating a smaller wedding, it becomes a mini vacation with everyone. The groups can split up the couple days before the wedding. Girls can do their girl stuff and the guys can do their guy stuff! Then everyone can come together for the wedding and have a wonderful time. The bride and groom can enjoy their wedding as much as their guests…with all their guests.

Regardless of where you have your wedding or how many people attend, this is your day! I hope it’s one to remember!

xoxo

Best Dressed Bridesmaids

October 19, 2009 in Bridesmaid Tips and Advice | 2 comments

Our guest blogger is Brooke, a bridal party consultant at Twirl and the author of her own blog, JustBblogging.com.

I have been a guest to many weddings and had hard enough time deciding which dress I would wear to the bride and groom’s special day. Little did I know when it came to my own sister’s big day I would need so many different outfits for so many events! From the day she became engaged to the actual event, I was worrying every step of the way about what to wear. Thankfully I had already brilliantly picked out our bridesmaids dresses by Thread from Twirl so I knew I had one ensemble taken care of.

Now that I’ve been through it, I wanted to help all of you bridesmaids out there with what is appropriate and fun to wear when being involved in a bride’s special day.

Picnik collageluncheon

The bridesmaid luncheon was the first of many events to come. This wedding was a marathon, not a sprint, to the altar. A luncheon is casual but intended to be girly. All 12, yes I said 12, bridesmaids took this chance to bring out their feminine spring dresses one more time before Fall was really going to hit Seattle. J Crew is a great place to find something classic with feminine details for this event. The Slub Silk Daydream Floral Lorelei dress shown screams luncheon. Pair it with gorgeous jewelry and a great belt and you’re ready to lunch with the bride one more time before she’s a Mrs.

Picnik collageTravelersDinner

For my family’s special event, my always-creative mother put together a ‘Travelers Dinner’. A lot of our family and friends live in Washington State, where the wedding was held, so this was a time to celebrate with them before Whitney and Matt’s big day. We were blessed with great weather in Seattle that weekend which only meant we couldn’t dare be indoor. The party revolved around the wood fire pizza oven brought by a local restaurant that coincided with the Italian theme. For a casual dinner you can take off your heels, slip on some flats with some jeans and a cute top, and enjoy the atmosphere. My most important tip outdoor events…bring a sweater! Anthropologie has great sweaters that are light weight for those of us down in Arizona, but they also have cozy cardigan coats if you are traveling elsewhere with a cooler climate.

Picnik collagerehearsaldress

Finally it came to the last event before the big day, the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. That cocktail dress hanging in your closet waiting for a night out is the perfect choice for this last affair. Remember though ladies that you already had the bachelorette party, so keep it respectable. If in doubt, little black dresses go a long way. BCBG has unlimited black dresses for you to fill your closet that you can wear over and over again to new events. The little black dress is an icon for a reason and viewed classic. Show your personality with your accessories if you want that metallic or pop of color. Make sure you’ve walked in your heels a couple times so that you don’t trip down the stairs during rehearsal like I did…

Picnik collagestella

The day of my sister’s wedding was a calm one. I don’t know how she managed to be so graceful but she handled the morning with undetected worries. I, on the other hand, was worrying about my speech and couldn’t believe it was my big sister’s wedding day, but was so happy for her and Matt. The last thing I needed to worry about that day was what I was going to wear. Fortunately, I was able to choose my favorite dress at Twirl; the Stella by Thread. Whatever bridesmaid dress you are wearing, just be sure to bring all the appropriate undergarments for your dress and the day will be problem free. Once the bride and groom have said ‘I do’, you have made it through all the wedding worries, it’s time to celebrate having no clothing catastrophes – and most importantly, time to celebrate the new Mr. and Mrs. My own last hope and tip to you is that don’t show up to the morning after brunch in your sweats or bridesmaid dress!

Sincerely, B