Monthly Archives: October 2011

Bridal Stress Got You Down?

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If you are lying awake at night counting centerpieces instead of sheep, if every minute of every day is spent talking about, thinking about or obsessing about wedding plans….. it might be time to unwind a little.

The thing about stress is that it affects you not only mentally but physically. Some people gain weight while others lose, some people have insomnia while others oversleep. No matter how you look at it, being stressed out in the weeks and months before your wedding is bad for your health.

How to De-stress your life :

Stay Organized – Make sure you have a great wedding organizer or even a simple binder and a checklist.

Budget – Stay within your budget and do not overspend. Debt is a huge stress for anyone.

Help – Hire a Bridal Consultant or Wedding Planner if you can afford it. If you can’t, ask friends or family to handle the small things for you and do not second guess every detail.

De-Activate – Don’t plan so many social events that you have no time to yourself, decline a few invitations and use that time to read or catch a good movie.

Unwind – Find time to do something out of the ordinary….nothing wedding related. Having coffee with the bridesmaids is a guarantee that you will talk about nothing but the wedding. Physical activities are guaranteed stress busters; Zumba class,  Laser tag, Aerobics, biking or anything that will increase your heart rate and get your mind off of things.

 Hire – Use only trusted professionals so you don’t have to worry about whether or not the caterer will show up or if the flowers will wilt before the end of the night. Check our each wedding vendor completely so there are no surprises and your work is done.

The worst thing you can do is to try to avoid the problem or mask it with alcohol or  prescriptions. A glass of wine is nice with (or without) dinner. But no amount of wine, or beer or vodka will not get rid of your problems, it just makes them worse. Facing the problems and dealing with them is the only way to make it go away.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

 

 

Having The Frosting And Eating It, Too!

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If you think picking out a gown is difficult, just wait until you have to decide on your wedding cake. The look, the taste and of course – what type of frosting? The cake and the frosting you choose will depend on many factors; the location of the wedding, the outdoor temperature, what style of cake you want… and (of course) your taste.

There are 3 main types of frostings used in wedding cake decorating:

Buttercream frosting is made from butter or margarine combined with powdered sugar, flavorings, and liquid. This is by far the most popular frosting because it is easy to work with and very adaptable, plus it holds up well to humidity and temperature variations. These characteristics are especially important in the case of an outdoor wedding where there is an uncontrolled environment. If you love the look of fondant but can’t live without  buttercream frosting, relax…. a skilled baker can replicate the look of fondant with buttercream.

Whipped Cream frostings are made from powdered sugar, flavorings, and whipped cream – what could be simpler? Unfortunately the whipped cream is sometimes a problem since this type of frosting requires refrigeration and does not hold up well to heat or high humidity. However, this is the sweetest and fluffiest of all frostings and is a real treat  if the conditions are right. As far as the design is concerned, the possibilities are endless with a talented baker.

Fondant creates a very smooth and elegant cake covering but is less sweet and more dense than other frosting types which have lighter whipped textures. The main benefit of fondant is that, unlike buttercream frosting, in a fairly short amount of time you can have a silky, perfect-looking cake. In just a matter of minutes you can roll out your fondant, cover your cake, and smooth. You can also use fondant to create interesting shapes and figures for your cake that you wouldn’t be able to do with plain frosting. Accomplishing the same thing with buttercream frosting can be nearly impossible, even for the most dedicated cake decorator. However, fondant doesn’t always taste as good as buttercream.

There are no clear-cut rules  but, consider the taste and temperature to be the deal breakers. You absolutely cannot have a cake with whipped cream frosting in the middle of July in Louisiana and you will never get the same texture and taste of buttercream frosting using rolled fondant. Figure out what is the most important thing to you and use your baker’s expertise and advice to be able to accomplish your main goal – having a beautiful cake that holds up at least until it is cut.

Last but certainly not least – arrange to taste cake samples. If the cake looks great but doesn’t taste the way you want – go back to the drawing board.   For a lot of us – this is definitely the best part of wedding planning!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

Removing Pesky Stains ….

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Red wine (in moderation) is good for you…. or so I’ve heard. I repeat this over and over so, I hope it’s true. Cranberry is definitely good for your kidneys, this I know is true.  But what do you do when a glass of Red wine spills down the front of your very expensive white silk bridal gown? Or if your semi-healthy cranberry/vodka  cocktail is knocked over with a disastrous result?

Lets face it – no one plans for accidents and sometimes even your best efforts cannot remove a stubborn stain. No matter what happens keep the day in focus but, try your best to be prepared. hen al else fails, try these tips:

BLOT- never rub because it causes the dye to sink into the fibers. Most fibers are treated with chemicals -most notable formaldehyde. This is especially true nowadays when so  many gowns are made overseas. The fabrics are treated with chemicals to preserve them during the shipping process and quite honestly to keep foreign contaminants our of the U.S. Rubbing the stain penetrates the barrier and almost certainly seals the stain permanently. DO NOT RUB.  Take two pieces of absorbent cloth, one in the inside of the garment and one on the outside and blot until there is no residue on the cloth.

RINSE – once the liquid  has been blotted and the surface is almost dry, hold a clean cloth under the garment and soak it with club soda. Try to do this without having the club soda run down the front of the gown. Repeat the blotting process until nearly dry again.

DUST – dust the remaining spot with cornstarch, talcum powder or salt. This will absorb the remaining liquid and then be easily brushed off. Do not rub the salt into the stain. DO NOT EVER RUB satin fabric, it will permanently ruin the finish.

DEAL – with whatever is left of the stain as best you can and more importantly RUN to the dry cleaner as soon as you can after the wedding.

There are of course, a lot of other stain removal ideas ( in no particular order)and a lot of other stains. Spaghetti sauce, chocolate, ink, marker and other mutli-colored food satins.

Bleach Pen or Shout – use according to directions

White wine – only to be used over a red wine stain to dilute the red pigmentation

Vinegar – in place of club soda. If you don’t mind your gown smelling like vinegar.

Wine away – a more eco-friendly option to bleach.

Last but nor least lets talk about fabric’s mortal enemy: Candle wax. Lets say you are lighting a Unity Candle and OOPS- the candle wax drips down the front of your gown. Don’t touch it until it hardens.  Freeze with ice and then scrape off whatever is on the surface. You should not try to use anything on your own since the products used to remove the remainder of the wax are highly flammable and leaving it will not make it worse.

If all else fails and you are left with a slightly stained gown for the remainder of your reception, I advise what one reader suggested: Own it! You can’t go back in time and you can’t spend your entire evening obsessing about something so unimportant. Look into the eyes of your loved one and remember what really matters.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wedding Fainting Mystery Explained

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I watch America’s Funniest Home Videos to see the animal and wedding clips. By the time the show is over, I am in hysterics over the videos – usually the video montage sections. In almost every wedding video montage is a clip of someone fainting at the altar. The truth is that no  matter how funny the videos are –  fainting at weddings is embarrassing and can actually be dangerous. So, what causes all of this fainting and why is it almost always at weddings?
 
Standing – The most common reason for fainting during weddings is that people tend to stand with their knees locked. When you lock your knees it cuts off blood flow from your lower limbs back to your heart. If the blood has trouble getting back up to your brain, you’re in danger of passing out. Keep your knees loose and shift your weight occasionally, especially if you start to feel some numbness.Fainting is one quick way for the body to get blood back to the heart and brain.
 
HEAT-  Another reason is the temperature of your surroundings.  Do they tend to have the heat turned up to blasting? Does the air-conditioning constantly break down? Find out if there will be a staff member on hand the day of your wedding so any adjustments can be made.
 
Dehydration – Heat and alcohol don’t make  standing upright for periods of time very easy. Have plenty of water ( and maybe some Gatorade) in the dressing area and limit your alcohol intake to one glass of champagne, for a pre-wedding toast! Also provide a light healthy snack for your attendants so that they can nibble on something tasty and easy to eat like bananas or nectarines to keep their electrolytes balanced.  No Red Bull or energy drinks, no espresso and limit the caffeine-  they may work short term but you don’t know when they will wear off and its not worth the risk.
 
Gown – Hard to believe that the gown of your dreams ould cause you to pass out. But, if you are packed into your wedding gown tighter than a holiday ham it could seriously  restrict your air passages. There is a reason that what we know as a chaise lounge used to be called a fainting sofa, women would pass out frequently from their corsets being too tight. Keep that in mind.
 
Last but not least, try not to worry about every single detail since anxiety and stress are a fainting spell waiting to happen.
 
-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago
 

Bridal Hairdo’s … And Don’ts.

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The way you wear you hair on your wedding day is dictated by two things: Your headpiece and your personal preference. Now that I have completely narrowed it down, here are the highs and lows of up and down hairdo’s:

#1) Wearing your hair completely different (even for one day) is not as easy as it sounds. If you are used to wearing your hair down, make sure you like the way you look with your hair up before you decide this is the way to go.

#2) Wearing your hair down sounds easy but it still involves a great style and the right product. The last thing you want is for all of your curls to flatten out after the ceremony. The same goes for straightening curly hair. Also beware of changes in weather. Speaking from experience a misty rain will turn a loose curl into Tina Turner’s wig in about 15 minutes.

#3) Practice, practice, practice – Make sure you have a trial hairdo with your stylist and the headpiece as soon as possible. If you don’t like the results, try again. Keep trying until you have the hairdresser, product, and end result you feel comfortable with.

#4) Don’t experiment too close to the wedding. No one should be severely changing their hair color or style a week before their wedding.

#5) Be realistic. Not everyone is the same – so the style you imagined may not look as good on you as you thought it would.

#6) Only use trusted professionals. Because your friend or neighbor says they can do hair doesn’t mean they should.

#7) If you can’t decide if you want your hair up or down, why not try two different hairstyles, one for the wedding and one for the reception?

Most importantly, you want your look to be timeless. The last thing you want when you look back at your wedding photos is to be reminded of a popular hairstyle that didn’t transition well into the next decade. Today’s brides want soft, loose, natural looking hairstyles.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Seating Planning Made Easy!

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There is only one problem when it comes to planning seating for your wedding reception: How do arrange people so everyone is happy? Well, let me assure you that no matter what you do – everyone will not be happy. Some people will love being at the table with people they already know and some people will want to mix, mingle and make new friends. The only thing that matters is that you and your fiance agree on the seating.

The seating is not something that everyone needs to be involved with. The wedding planner (if there is one)  and the bride and groom. If you start involving parents, siblings and attendants, this is a recipe for disaster and arguments will undoubtedly follow.

Seating Chart tips:

Reserved tables are all you need. Why put yourself through the extra work of having a reserved chair for each guest? It just gives people something else to complain about.

 Do NOT seat battling friends or relatives next to each other.

Seat tables by age group or relationship to one another.

Seating singles at the same table will allow them to mingle without the odd stares of married folk.

Last but not least, when it comes to the head table, anything goes. You can include spouses if you want. You can do the traditional raised table at the head of the room with the bride and groom in the center. You can have the bride and groom at their own table, anything you want. But, make sure it is differentiated somehow so everyone can at least see the head table.

Remember – if you choose to have children at your event, you should either have someone at the table to oversee ( babysit) them or seat them next to their parents so they can monitor them.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Halloween Weddings

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Most adults don’t really get into Halloween as much as children. However, if you are one of those rare couples who really get into the spirit -Halloween is one of the most perfect times of year to get married. From the invitations to the decor, there are endless possibilities to get you and your guests in the Halloween Spirit. You can keep it low key and lighthearted or use this as the perfect opportunity to have a full costume ball.

GREAT Halloween Wedding Ideas:

Have your reception in a mansion or historical venue to take advantage of  the ‘haunted feeling.

Lighting can go a long way to create a spooky effect without being ridiculous.

Choose a bridal gown with black accents; belt, beads, headpice, etc for a Gothic look.

Bridesmaids gowns in deep fuschia or purple with black accessories will create the same effect as ‘Halloween’ Orange.

This would be the perfect time for the groom to wear tails. Very Phantom of the Opera.

Monogrammed, carved mini pumpkins as place card holders – complete with candle.

Dramatic centerpieces, maybe tall twigs that have crooked branches wrapped in lighting.

There are only a few mistakes you can make – the worst is making the entire event cheap with candy corn, spidery ghosts, trick drinking glasses or fake blood of any kind for any reason. Other than that, this is a spook-tacular time of the year to get married!

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Bachelors and Bachelorettes Gone “Not So WILD”!

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I’ve heard that Bachelor parties can get wild. I also know that  Bachelorette parties can be very tame compared to their male counterparts. I also know that the movies that represent this rite of passage are less than accurate.  From “Very Bad Things” to “The Hangover”, I laugh at so many parts that I usually have to watch again and again to see what I missed but, I laughed knowing they were just movies…. written to be absurd, ridiculous and hilarious. There was a brief scene in “The Bridesmaids” that eluded to some level of debauchery but it never came close to killing a hooker or pulling your own tooth.

Three things you need to remember about Bachelor/ Bachelorette Parties:

-The night before your wedding is the absolute worst time for this party. You do not want to be hungover or even tired on your wedding day. It will show in the pictures.

-This event is not the time to be engaging in questionable activities with the opposite sex. If you haven’t sown enough wild oats before you got engaged, there is a problem.

– Booking a Limo is the absolute best way to move everyone from one place to another. Drunk drving is bad enough to be illegal – Oh wait… it is. The bonus is that a lot of Limo companies offer packages.

If your best man or maid of honor doesn’t have any restraint or has issues with crossing the line between good and bad taste, there is hope. The new trend in Bachelor/ Bachelorette Parties is  getaways. Whether it is local or low-key, skydiving, white-water rafting, golfing or taking in a spa package – you can have a great time with no regrets. Sure, you might not have an iconic story of a night of wild abandonment but, spending the entire weekend relaxing and re-connecting with your dearest friends is a lot more exciting than it sounds… and you can put the pictures on Facebook.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Wedding Expenses – Who Pays For What?

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Many years ago it was completely understood that the bride’s family paid for the wedding. The groom’s family paid for the rehearsal dinner and the honeymoon and everything else was up to the parents of the bride. Of course times change. Today’s couples are not only slightly older but, have usually lived alone or out of their parents home for an extended period of time. Nowadays, aside from how much you are going to spend on your wedding, the next biggest concern regarding your budget is who pays for what.

Before you start making the guest list, have an open honest conversation with all parents at the same time. Ask how much they are able or willing to contribute and then you can move on to figuring out how much you are able or willing to spend, keeping in mind that the average U.S. wedding cost hovers around $30,000.  Having an honest conversation will determine everything from where you have the wedding to what you will wear and avoid any unpleasantness related to the cost of the wedding.

In most cases, everybody has already had the discussion about finances leading up to the moment when the engagement ring arrives and they know full well how much they are going to contribute. In rare cases, nobody has any clue about their responsibilities. In order to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes, here is a slightly modified traditional checklist of ‘who pays for what’ and remember these are NOT rules, just guidelines.

Bride & Family:

  • Invitations, announcements, programs, Thank You notes, place cards, guest book and accessories.
  • Church or synagogue, musicians, organist,
  • Bridal Gown, veil, shoes, accessories and trousseau.
  • Flower arrangements for Church, Reception, Bridesmaid Bouquets and Huppah ( for Jewish ceremonies)
  • All professional services, including food, drink, decorations, and music.
  • Engagement Party and all related expenses.
  • All Photography and video.
  • Groom’s ring.
  • Wedding transportation to and from ceremony and reception.

Groom & Family:

  • Marriage License and officiant fees.
  • Groom’s outfit
  • Bride’s bouquet and going-away corsage, boutonnieres for men, and corsages for mothers and grandmothers.
  • Complete honeymoon.
  • Rehearsal dinner.
  • Bride’s ring.

Of course this is merely a guideline and anyone who is willing to help is encouraged to do so. The absolute best scenarios are when everyone works together and shares the expenses equally.

-Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago

Spring 2012 – What’s in Store?

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As the New York Bridal market is about to begin, retailers anxiously await the unveiling of the new collections. Color, fabric, cut and style… who will be showing what and which gown will be the one that sets women’s hearts fluttering?

Since the Spring Collections will be available in Bridal Salons in January for the busy season, this is the big one. The trends for 2012 will be defined at the Spring Bridal Market.

My predictions are for more color in Bridesmaid dresses. I firmly believe that women are ready to come out of the dark ages and express themselves with a burst of color, getting away from the  little black bridesmaid dress. The most popular colors? Greens, Oranges, Yellows and Reds. White could be a big color for bridesmaids, having seen several examples of the monochromatic scheme done in spectacular fashion this year!

Continuing the hiatus from extravagant veils, I believe women will  focus more on  glamorous headpieces and more natural hairstyle with lighter veils. Accessories are big. The right necklace and earring can make or break the look  and accessories are a crucial part of the wedding ensemble.

As for Bridal gowns, I think this season is going to show us a lot of tulle. Tulle skirts, big or small will be popular. Also heavily encrusted bodices and perhaps (dare I say) a few designers will produce something other than strapless. The designs will probably first manifest  in the form of spaghetti straps but, its a start. Belts will continue to accentuate mermaid and other slim styles and corset tops will still be popular with voluminous skirts made from yards and yards of various ruffled fabrics.  I also think we will see less of the pick-up skirt which I personally think is difficult to manage, anyway so “buh-bye”.

I can’t help but wonder if any of the high-profile weddings this year have inspired copies. I will be waiting with baited breath to see how many designers will come forward with their version of Catherine Middleton’s gown! Since the Kardashian gowns are already being copied by Vera herself, there is no need for anyone else to follow suit. But this is where I think the heavy tulle influence will come in.

I am equaly sure as our fashion team gets photos they will be posting them from New York, so stay tuned to see if any of my predictions are correct- and don’t be afraid to tell me I was wrong!

– Penny Frulla for Bridal Expo Chicago