Oh, to have these kind of resources

You're probably picking up on the fact that I'm just a little excited for Jenna Bush's May 10 wedding. Weddingbee reports that preparation for the nuptials, First Lady Laura Bush has asked 12 designers to design a gown for her daughter. Take a look at the designs submitted.

(click to enlarge)

1. Vera Wang
2. J. Mendel
3. Arnold Scaasi
4. Carlos Miele
5. Amsale
6. Carmen Marc Valvo
7. Angel Sanchez
8. Badgley Mischka
9. Nicole Miller
10. Lela Rose
11. Marc Bouwer
12. Oscar de la Renta

I love the Nicole Miller! Fits perfectly with how I pictured her wedding. What do you think?

It's their version of the Super Bowl

I'm not lying when I say that I check Style.com almost every day, and I've been dying for them to put their society spin on classic brides. Hooray! It seems that somehow my brain sent this very important message to the editors of the website. With the upcoming nuptials of Vogue contributing editor Lauren Davis and Colombian aristocrat Andres Santo Domingo being called "the first real society wedding of the century", Vogue and W Magazine have put together a retrospective of some of the most classic society brides. Here are some of my favorites from their feature.
Given the scandal surrounding their hook-up, I love how simple and prim Wallis Simpson looked in her wedding dress when she married Edward, the Duke of Windsor (June 3, 1937).
This picture of Grace Kelly on the day (April 19, 1956 to be exact) of her wedding to Prince Rainier II of Monaco is just breathtaking. Lady Diana when she married Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace (July 29, 1981). Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy, Jr., on September 21, 1996.

Danger. . .no trespassing.

If the post title doesn't ring a bell, then my apoglogies. . .it's really for my sister, my other sister, my husband, and all other huge Project Runway fans out there. Now that the important things are out of the way. . .Kara Janx got married! The Project Runway designer (from my favorite season so far, Season 2) married real-estate broker Sharone Sohayegh in her native South Africa last year.
I love seeing what creative people like actors, designers, and artists, choose to do for their own wedding. Kara's was held at a seaside villa in Cape Town, and her decor centered around cool earthy tones. At the last minute on their big day the couple realized they'd forgotten place cards (the horror! clearly there was no wedding planner involved) and Janx came up with a creative solution. She asked relatives to gather stones from the nearby beach, and on them she wrote guests' names with a gold pen, placing the stones at each place setting. Oh and yes, the bride designed her own dress.

All photos by Joe Dreyer.

Come on, get happy!

Bridalwave recently tipped me off to these great customized bottles of Happy perfume from Clinique.
I'm not fully convinced on using it for a wedding favor (among other things, at $52 a bottle, it's pricey!), but for a gift bag, bridal shower, bachelorette party, or bridesmaid gift, I think it's a really cute option. All you need to do is upload the (high-res) shot you want to share with your friends, and Clinique will do the rest. In the finished product you'll see your favorite photo serving as the bottle's background.

Runway Report

I have to confess - I hate how wedding gowns look on the runway. Don't get me wrong, I love sleek and I love modern, but something about seeing those waif-thin models in their gowns one after the other, with that stone-cold expression on their faces - it just doesn't have any of the magic that you see in a bride on her wedding day.
Take this young lady at Vera Wang for instance. Seriously? It's like "I'm getting married. And then, I'm going to kill myself."

Sigh. With that in mind, runway season is over, and here are my top picks from this year, courtesy of The Knot and InStyle Weddings. Just do me a favor, try to picture a glowing bride with the look of love in her eyes, k?

Ulla-Maija

Monique Lhuillier

Liancarlo

Kenneth Pool

Monique Lhuillier
Jenny Packham

If I had my way. . .

So what would First Daughter Jenna Bush's upcoming May wedding look like? As promised, here's my take on things. What do you think?

From Top to Bottom
Column 1: Bates Photographic Studio, cake by Confetti Cakes, bridesmaid dress by J. Crew, image by Kim Hawthorn of Photos Unscripted.
Column 2: Flowers by Props for Today, image by Gerber Scarpelli.
Center Image: Shawn Childress .
Column 3: First image by Kuboto Photo Design, second image by Angelica Glass.
Column 4: First and second photo by Angelica Glass, church image by Bates Photographic Studio, flowers by Meg Smith.

Everybody does it

If you're currently serving as bridesmaid to one of your best friends, you're well aware that there are sometimes moments of stress, disagreement, temper-tantrums and even hideous dresses. Take a deep breath and a break with US weekly, and see your favorite celebrities in your shoes. I have to go with Cameron's dress as my favorite.

Cameron Diaz (at a friend's wedding), France, 2006

Jennifer Garner (at her former assistant's wedding), Montecito, California, 2006Katherine Heigl, (at her sister's wedding), 2007Jessica Simpson (friend's wedding), 2005

Mary-Kate Olsen, (friend's wedding), Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, 2007

Will you be my. . .?

Looking for a not-so-formal and more modern alternative to all the frilly cards and stationary out there? DailyCandy reccomends the work by Woodbridge-based card designer Amy Smyth, available at Pulp.

Lots of options for brides and grooms and their wedding parties. My favorites have to be the "will you be my bridesmaid?" cards - a perfect way to ask your friends to be there for you on your big day.

Save the date

Mark your calendars - First daughter Jenna Bush and her fiancé Henry Hager have announced the date of their wedding. The small ceremony will take place on May 10, at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Are you as disappointed as I am that it's not going to be a "White House Wedding"? Not that I was expecting an invitation or anything, but even though it would have meant less privacy for Jenna - there would have been more press coverage (and therefore more photos with details to oooh and ahhh over) for you and I. Oh well, there's still Barbara. Here's hoping!

Curious to see what a ranch wedding would look like? Stay tuned next week when I'll put up a great inspiration board for the Bush-Hager nuptials. Until then, enjoy the long weekend!

Wacky, Tacky and True

With the recent launch of Washingtonian's new wedding blog, Bridal Party , comes a fun opportunity for all you gals who have ever had to wear a bridesmaid dress you couldn't stand. Send in your most hideous bridesmaid dress photo and if you're among the best of the worst Bridal Party will feature you in an upcoming online slide show.

And speaking of hideous bridesmaid dresses, don't forget to go see newlywed Katherine Heigl's 27 Dresses, opening this Friday!
Yikes. Thankfully I've never had to be in any dresses quite that bad.

Wedding Worried

DEAR AMY: I have been best friends with "Beth" for more than 25 years (since we were 4). I am planning a destination wedding, and she is to be my maid of honor. I love her and cannot imagine getting married without her at my side, but we have a problem. Beth has been dating a terrible person on and off for the last three years. He physically and emotionally abuses her. She catches him cheating and lying all the time. Beth will break up with him for a while and find a great guy, then dump the great guy for this loser. She is completely brainwashed. I told her from the beginning that I did not want him at my wedding and that I was not going to pay for his trip (as I am offering to pay for her and a guest). She is now telling me (four months before the wedding) that if he cannot come, then she will not come. I have disliked him from the beginning, and I do not want to look at him or pay for him on my special day. She says that I am being selfish, but should I have to ruin my day so he can come to the wedding. What should I do?
-- Wedding Worried

DEAR WORRIED: You are not obliged by traditional etiquette or any other standard to include an abusive on-again/off-again boyfriend in your wedding plans. You and "Beth" have actually done a fairly good job of talking about this so far -- you have been clear about how you feel and she has too. Beth has told you that she won't attend to your friendship or your wedding without Mr. Wonderful by her side. You can't bear the thought of him being there. You have enough time to shift around your bridesmaids, so you had better do it. Let Beth know that you intend to respect her decision, even though you are so sorry about her choice. Say that the wedding just won't be the same without her. Then tell her that you hope this hasn't permanently derailed your friendship.

As usual, Amy is to-the-point, and I happen to agree with her. If it's causing that much stress, and if the person in question is indeed as unbearable and hurtful as the bride-to-be describes, then he has no business being at the wedding. If you're in a similar situation just keep this in mind: excluding the Justin Bobbys and the Spencer Pratts of this world could really cause some damage to your friendship, and it's definitely worth weighing the pros and cons before you make the decision. You want your girlfriend to know that although you are the supposed-center of the wedding day, what really bothers you is the way he treats her.

Figuring out Flowers

The ladies of Hitched are at it again! Thursday, January 24th they'll host Figuring out Flowers, a Floral Workshop with Sidra Foreman from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm. If you're a frequent reader of this blog then I think you already know my advice - bring your bridesmaids, fiancé, family or pals and make it an evening of fun!

For more information and to RSVP, visit the Hitched website.

Image: Hocus Pocus Rose, Modern Bride Magazine.

Wear me baby one more time?

Last week Britney Spears headed to her local car dealership in one of the two wedding dresses she wore when she married Kevin Federline.
Ok, ok, so I know everything Brit does these days is pretty bizarre. But it got me thinking - don't you wish you could wear it again and relive the memories?
I still daydream about transforming my wedding gown into a short (but not Britney-short) cocktail dress a la this. Interested in wearing your dress again? Check out this, this and this.

Shout out

Recently Brides.com listed our "local" Robert Andrew Salon & Spa as a best value for bridal parties in Washington. Treat your bridesmaids to a facial, massage, and lunch or dinner, and for every six you book, one gal will get the works for free. Perfect if you're really looking to give your girls the star treatment.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

In case you missed it on the Today Show, Martha Stewart Weddings has pictures of the Breakfast at Tiffany's-inspired "Today" Throws a Martha Stewart Wedding. My favorite elements are the invitations (check out the stamps!), the take-away gifts and the checker taxi cab.

Don't forget to send me pictures

Inside the adorable brown and white polka-dot thank you note my husband and I received in the mail today from Chris and Jen (you're welcome guys!) was a little slip of paper announcing their intention to travel to Tanzania and hike Mt. Kilimanjaro. Why? They're doing it to raise money for Street Sense, and they chose to support this organization in lieu of providing wedding favors for their guests.
Weddings can be expensive and it's nice to see that more and more couples are finding ways to be charitable, some even forgoing their own gifts and encouraging guests to donate to their favorite charity instead. It's become so prevalent that many organizations such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the US Fund for UNICEF will actually supply the table cards that explain the wedding donation to guests. Another option, the organization JustGive provides charity gift certificates to give to your guests that can be redeemed at local and national charities - this way your guests can decide what cause they'd like to support. To learn more about the idea of "celebrating with generosity" check out the website for the I Do Foundation.

Stamp of approval

The current issue of Martha Stewart Weddings (my absolute favorite bridal guide, and thanks to Santa, my most recent subscription!) has quite possibly the most adorable bridesmaid gift I've seen so far. Custom-made rubber stamps, each with a bridesmaid's name in elegant lettering.
How lovely is that? The magazine's example above was created by Stampworx 2000 and calligrapher Elizabeth White-Pultz. Here's a list of other possible vendors:

Simon Stamp
Village Impressions
Sweet Papery
APlus
1StopSquare

What would Emily do?

For almost 100 years, Emily Post has been the ultimate source of good taste and propriety. Her family continues her legacy and the latest offering is great-great-granddaughter Anna Post's book Wedding Parties - Smart Ideas for Stylish Parties. To celebrate, local bridal salon Harriet Kassman is hosting a book signing with the author this Sunday, January 12, from 2 - 4 pm. Stop by and check it out - you might even find "the dress" you're looking for while you're there. Thanks to Project Beltway and DC Celine for the reminder!

Izzy ties the knot

Celebrity weddings are great resource of inspiration for your own big day. There aren't a ton of photos available just yet but here are some of Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley's recent nuptials. Love, love, love the dress and veil!

Sample Sale Soiree!

Thank goodness. Not only does the New Year bring new gowns and new inventory to D.C.'s very own Hitched, but the store is also celebrating its second anniversary with a huge sale on sample items including bridal gowns, veils, shoes and jewelry. To help kick it off right they're having a Sample Sale Soiree on Thursday, January 10th from 5-8pm.
First there was Papier Parties now this? I'm just loving the idea of throwing a party around something that can be stressful. The best thing about a sample sale - once you've made your selection, your dress is yours to take home with you!

Papier Parties!

Choosing all the components of your wedding "stationery suite" can be little overwhelming. Most detail-oriented brides want to pick a theme and/or color scheme and keep it going - from the save-the-date that their guests receive in the mail, to the menu card at their place setting when they sit down at the reception.

Lucky for DC gals getting married, Sarah Meyer Walsh of Haute Papier in Georgetown makes the choosing easy. Let her create the ultimate stress-free environment and invite your bridesmaids or even some fellow brides over for a Papier party! Sarah will provide the cocktails and the appetizers along with the supplies for each of your guests to select everything they'll need for their wedding.

Haute Papier is all about luxurious, uniquely hand-crafted invitations as you can see here, so you'll have plenty to choose from.

Always a hottie. . .

I think most brides say the same thing, they don't want bridesmaid dresses that look "bridesmaid-y." I completely agree and here's a hint - they don't have to come from a brand or designer that specializes in wedding attire. Why not let your gals get all dressed up in modern gowns from their favorite stores that you know they'll to wear again?

Dress by French Connection
$188.00

Jersey dress by BCBG
$320.00

Solid silk taffeta ballerina dress by JCrew
$195.00 at JCrew.com

Taffeta halter dress by BCBG
$398.00 at Nordstrom.com

Silk chiffon Hollywood dress by Foley + Corrina
$462.00 at Shopbop.com

Silk organza Nina halter dress by JCrew
$209.99 at JCrew.com
Goddess dress by Young, Fabulous and Broke
$176.00 at Shopbop.com