I surely don’t envy you girls who are on bridesmaid duty during the hot summer months, and I myself have done it before, so I know what to expect.  Here are some tips for making the heat a little more bearable…

1) Bring a cooler with ice packs.  You can take this with you while all the outdoor photos are being taken.  An ice pack on the back of the neck, feet, or wrists can provide instant relief.

2) Stay inside in the air conditioning until you absolutely have to go outside.  This might seem obvious, but there are so many bridal parties who suffer through standing around in the heat when they could run indoors to escape for a couple minutes.

3)  Take your heels off unless there are photos being taken.  Wearing spa sandals will keep your feet cooler – and your feet won’t sweat like they would in regular flip flops.

4) Drink water!  Throw a bunch in the cooler with your ice packs.  Skip the champagne until later – it will just make you feel tired in the heat.

5)  Bring umbrellas for the bridal party – if you have to stand in the heat, these can provide shade.

6)  Use tissue as a barrier between your underarms and dress – sweatmarks are not a good fashion accessory.

If the wedding is outside, you’ll have to suffer through it, but it won’t be as bad if you’ve taken care to stay cool before the ceremony.  Plus, you’ll hopefully be so caught up in your happiness for the couple, you won’t even notice….for a few minutes anyway. 

-Keri

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! 

xoxo  *ange

We recommend two different ways to get your dress there safely.  First, you can bring your dress on the plane and ask the flight attendants to hang it up for you.  There is usually a section in the front of the plane for jackets, etc.  Just to make sure, I would suggest calling your airline ahead of time to check and see if they can accommodate you.  That way your dress is safe and sound.  Second, you can ship your dress to someone who lives where the wedding is taking place.  Ask your bride if she can keep it at her house until you get there, or a trusted family member.

Back to my scary story.  In the end, both of our girl’s were taken care of and ended up walking down the aisle in their bridesmaid dress – thank goodness!   But not without a ton of stress and a lot of help to fix the problem.  Pass on this advice to all of the bridesmaids who will be getting on a plane to get to your wedding so it doesn’t happen to them.

-Jenni

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

Luckily, 70-80% of our bridal parties have a gal who is trying to get pregnant, will be pregnant at the wedding, or is pregnant when ordering yet hoping to back to her normal size at the time of the wedding.  Basically, we work with these situations all of the time, so it’s not usually as stressful as it may seem.

A few things to be aware of when you are in the prego-bm situation:

First, sizing will be a guessing game and you have to know that you will spend more on alterations because of this.  Oh, and sizing is the worst part!!  Stepping on your doctor’s heavily-weighed scale is bad enough.  Be prepared when you have to take those measurements.  I took mine at 7 months for a customer who lived in another state to try and help her figure out sizing and I nearly had a meltdown. 

Second (and this is especially for first-time preggers girls), your body WILL change….everywhere.  Guess big, and have the dress taken in if you still have a lot of room.  You simply cannot predict the changes you will see in all of your measurements. 

Third, communicate with your bride!  I cannot tell you how many pregnany secrets we’ve had to keep at Twirl.  Your bride is either a family member or one of your closest friends.  Be honest with her about your situation so that she is aware when shopping for styles.  There are so many options out there for maternity dresses, or styles that are prego-friendly.  This doesn’t mean you should cause her entire plan to change, but you can at least talk about options. 

Lastly, communicate with your dress vendor.  We are here to help, and many designers offer special rush options for pregnant women.  Yes, they may charge you for it, but it’s worth the peace of mind.  If you unexpectedly get pregnant after your dress is ordered, we can usually help by ordering extra fabric or getting creative – turn to us!

The bottom line is that, though it may not be the ideal time to be on bridesmaid duty, you can make it work and still look and feel like your fabulous self.  Everyone else gives you a break when you’re pregnant – give yourself one too and just embrace the situation and enjoy the wedding.

this makes 11 times a bridesmaid for me  

At our monthly girls wine night last week, it’s all the other bridesmaids and I could talk about because we’re so excited for her, and we had a great time throwing her engagement party this past weekend. 

My point?  Every one of your bridesmaids should be like this – excited, supportive, honored, and thrilled to be a part of your wedding.  DO NOT ask girls to be in your wedding if they’re giving you any of the following signs of an impending bridesmaidzilla….

- Complaining about how much it’s going to cost to be in your wedding

- Talking about what she would do for her own wedding instead of focusing on yours

- Telling you she’s really busy and probably can’t help much

- Voicing what dress styles/colors she won’t wear

We women have a natural tool inside call intuition – use yours!  Before you ask anyone to be in your wedding, sit down with your fiance and ask this question: “Who is going to stand by us, as a couple and as a family, for the rest of our lives?”  These are the type of friends and family members who should be standing by you as your exchange your wedding vows.  No, it doesn’t have to be every single person you come up with, but every person standing next to you should be on that list.  Trust me, it’s going to save you headaches and heartaches as you plan your wedding.

-Keri

If you are a bridesmaid during these busy wedding months, take a deep breath, and just know that the busy season of weddings can be a little crazy. 

I have some quick tips to keep you, your bride, and the rest of the bridal party, organized and a little less stressed:

PLAN AHEAD

-Schedule alterations appointments well ahead of time.

-Purchase your shoes and undergarments before your alterations.  Don’t wait until the last minute.

-Buy bachelorette and wedding gifts now – don’t wait until the day before the event.

HELP YOUR BRIDE

- Call or email your bride and ask if there are any tasks you can complete for her or for her family. 

-If you have an ultra-stressed bride, force her to let you pick her up one day for a pedicure or for happy hour. 

-If you are friends with the groom, call him to see if he needs any help.  Don’t forget about the grooms!

In the end, remember that book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.  The truly important thing going on is the marriage between the bride and groom.  Everything else is small in comparison.  If you go at everything with this in mind, the wild wedding season won’t seem so crazy.

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

Jewelry – This is probably the most popular gift.  After all it is necessary to accessorize when wearing your bridesmaid dress.  Dressing it up is half the fun.  For a variety of inexpensive and cute options we love Forever 21. 

If you want to coordinate your jewelry with the color of your dresses our favorite is Liz Love Collections.  She has so many beautiful stones.  With a swatch of your bridesmaid’s dress you could match them perfectly.  We even had one bride go the extra mile and she asked Liz to design a different pair of earrings for each of her girls to suit their individual personalities.  

Clutch – This was my most favorite gift.  I received this lovely brown clutch embroidered with delicate flowers for my friend Jenn’s wedding.  I still have and use it today.  It was so nice to have something to put my lipstick, etc in for the night.  I don’t know what I would have done without it.  

Shoes – Who wouldn’t love to get shoes as a gift?  We have seen it all.  Even a bride who bought her girls the most amazing bright red Manolo Blahniks.  Our favorite bridesmaid shoe designer is Blue Tux Shoes.  They are reasonably priced and have many cute strappy options to choose from.  Another fun option is to buy some flip flops or ballet flats for your girls to wear during the reception.  We love the personalized look of Phat Flops for flip flop options or for ballet flats, designer Dessy. 

Bridesmaid Dress – Many brides worry and fret over asking their girls to pay for their bridesmaid dress.  So some decide to make that the gift.  I love this!  Especially when it is a cute style that someone can wear again – what a great gift. When doing your wedding budget factoring in an extra $1000.00 might not seem that bad in the whole scheme of things.  And your girls will be forever grateful. 

- Jenni

After hundreds of years of weddings, I think we can agree that it has ALL been done! There is no color scheme that hasn’t been tested. No crazy dress that hasn’t been worn. No venue that hasn’t already been chosen. It’s even hard to come up with a first song that has never been danced to.

So I think the fact that it has all been done before is causing brides to strive even more to bring out their creative side. The couple brides that have the vision of an all white wedding have said to me, “I don’t know anyone that has ever done it before”. And aside from the fact that I currently have 3 brides all with that idea… they are right. It is not common to have the bridesmaids in WHITE!!!!

Aside from being different, it also gives off a very clean, crisp look. In the picture below, they even kept the theme going with the flowers. Again, not as common, but it looks great. And having the guys not wear the traditional tux… also stepping outside the box.

.

You have to admit, this wedding party is looking good. They chose dresses from Jim Hjelm, Melissa Sweet and Alvina Valenta.

I’m not going to lie… when it comes time for my wedding, I may not rule this idea out! I would however, choose some fabulously bright colored, fun shoes for the girls to wear and have the flowers match. I mean, I have to at least stand out a little on my big day!

The more I see it, the more it is growing on me!

xoxo *Angela