Expo Recap ... Back to Bloggin

On January 25th, the semi-annual Florida Bridal Expo opened its doors at the Hilton from 12-5pm. The event was a huge success. There were tons of incredible giveaways, NY style fashion show, and an array of vendors that decorated their booths to a tee. We had an emotional Grand Prize Winner that took home the prize. The bride is a well-deserving fit and we can't wait to help her get started on her wedding gown search.

We had so much fun meeting all of our future brides. We can't wait to help them figure out all the fine details to complete the wedding-day look. If you are one of those bridees-to-be and have a question or ready to get started, give us a call. This weekend we have our Marisa Bridal Trunk Show. The exclusive dresses are from the 2009 collection. They don't advertise online or in magazines. This is always a perk and a great way to make sure everyone isn't asking for your dress.

Now that the expo is over, we will be back to blogging. February is a fun-filled month of events so make sure to keep checking out the blog for advice, ideas, event info, and more. We always appreciate your comments and feedback, feel free to post.

Upcoming Events:

Marisa Bridal Trunk Show: January 30th-February 1st

Let's Eat Cake: St. Jude Fundraiser at Paramount Plaza. Come taste cake and cure! Created by Melissa at Masterpeice Weddings. Tickets will be available soon at Solutions Bridal

The Bridal Party: A Girls Night Out, February 19th Call for details!

Lori London Accessories Show: Creative Director, Adam will be bringing in the 2009 collection of feathers, flowers, tiaras, hair pins, and veils, February 20th-22nd

Masterpiece Weddings

This past Saturday was a great day at Solutions Bridal. We had a wonderful guest, Melissa, chit chating and providing great advice on wedding planning to our brides. She was handing out all different kinds of amazing chocolate truffles from KB's Kake Kreations too! If you haven't heard about Masterpiece Weddings make sure to check out their website, at http://www.masterpieceweddings.net/. Masterpiece Weddings will also be at the Florida Bridal Expo on January 25th, 2009, at the Hilton from 12-5pm. See you there!!

Can't get enough of Bride Wars

To continue a little more on our last blog, we just loved the newly engaged best friends (Liv) Kate Hudson and Emma's (Anna Hathaway) dresses.

They always shared a dream of marrying at the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City. Their wedding plans are similar, however their styles are completely different.

Lawyer Liv favors designer pieces in neutral and muted tones for a classic, streamlined look, while school teacher Emma mixes and matches vintage clothing with colorful accessories.
Liv, in the top right photograph, is wearing a Vera Wang classic tulle wedding dress. The idea for her dress was that she was the iconic bride-the bride on top of the wedding cake.
School teacher Emma's taffeta dress, which was also designed by Vera Wang, had a soft, feminine feel. It was constructed to look as if it was passed down from Emma's mother. Even though they are best friends, they are very different people. This dress is something that looks timelessly romantic.

Bride Wars

Every so often Hollywood comes out with a movie based around the fascination that women have with their wedding day. The newest blockbuster, Bride Wars, opened this weekend just in time for all those brides preparing for their own upcoming spring and summer nuptials.
Bride Wars stars Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway are two life-long friends who both get engaged and want their weddings at the Plaza. After their high end wedding planner accidentally plans both weddings at the Plaza for the same day, the war is on.
The whole idea for the movie is a little far fetched, at least based on the brides that we've seen. Imagine two best friends trying to sabatage each other's wedding day! However, Bride Wars promises to be a great comedy for brides, or anyone who has ever dreamed of becoming a bride.
Here are a few other great wedding movies, just in case Bride Wars puts you in the mood to rent and watch some more:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 27 Dresses, Wedding Crashers, The Princess Bride, Monster in Law, My Best Friends Wedding, Father of the Bride, Runaway Bride, and The Wedding Singer....just to name a few.

Let's Eat Cake!

I am so excited to talk to everyone about the Let's Eat Cake Fundraiser benefiting St. Jude Children's research hospital. St. Jude is such an amazing organization here are a few interesting facts :

~St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded in 1962 by the late entertainer Danny Thomas.

~In 1962, the survival rate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood cancer, was 4 percent. Today, the survival rate for this once deadly disease is 94 percent, thanks to research and treatment protocols developed at St. Jude.

~St. Jude is a place where many doctors send some of their sickest patients and toughest cases

~All patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude are treated without regard to the family's ability to pay.

~Eighty-five cents of every dollar received supports the research and treatment at St. Jude.

How AMAZING! The first time I went to St. Jude's website I felt compelled to find a way that I could help. Although I am in college and cannot make large donations, I have supported many different fundraisers and campaigns that raise money for St. Jude. The Let's Eat Cake fundraiser is definitely the most creative one I have seen yet!

Let's Eat Cake is is a wedding cake competition, put on by Masterpiece Weddings, featuring Wedding Cake confections from all over the United States. Bakers will feature their cakes to be judged by Local and National Culinary Celebrities. In addition bakers will be asked to make enough cake to feed the general public, so that they may judge the cakes as well! The goal for Let's Eat Cake is to raise $50,000 - 100% of which will go directly to St. Jude! You can find out more information at www.letseatcakefundraiser.com.

Unique Weddings

In the latest issue of Brides Magazine, we loved the article on Unique Weddings. Every bride comes in with a vision of their perfect dream wedding. Yet, there are simple little things even the most prepared bride might not think of. Listed below are some ideas to make your special day unique and even more memorable.

1. Create a wedding program: It is a cinch to customize-all you need is a rubber stamp of your monogram to embellish a note card. Place a separate sheet inside with the program details inside and tie on embroidery thread.

2. Give a custom flourish to all your printed material with your own logo, maybe with an image that's meaningful to you and your spouse, like a hobby or place.

3. Surprise guests with a special handwritten note in each place card. If you have a large guest list, try a lipstick-smooch mark and a "Glad you're here today!"

4. New twist on guest books. Traditional guest books often ended up stashed in a closet, instead choose a coffee-table book covering a subject you love and that you will want to display at home. Guests can write on the photos or in the margins.

5. A decorative brooch turns a simple bridal gown into a look that is all yours. At Solutions Bridal we have gorgeous Mikaella and BelAire brooches.

6. Colorful Crinoline. We loved the idea of one of our recent brides who had the unique idea to have pink crinoline under her wedding gown. A little history on crinoline: it was originally a stiff fabric with a weft of horse hair and a warp of cotton or linen thread.

From Brides Magazine February/March 2009.

Architect to Fashion Designer

Judd Waddell a former architecture student who turned to fashion design designed this stunning wedding dress. As an architecture graduate student myself and also working at Solutions Bridal, I have a great appreciation for Judd Waddell's dresses. I love the simplicity and structure of his designs, which he states in his basic design philosophy "notice the woman first, and the dress second." Come in to the store and check out our Judd Waddell dresses as well as the other fantastic designers.

Reflection

Looking back over last year, I realized that Solutions Bridal has had many significant and exciting changes. For anyone who is an avid visitor to our salon, you've surely noticed the small changes that we make almost weekly, such as rearranging the dresses and changing the mannequins.

However, over the past year:

We acquired a new mother of the bride line, Jade, that has dresses made for every type of mom. We picked up many new bridal dresses, and picked up a new fabulous designer: Mikaella. As our accessories collection expanded, we put up three new shelves to display our favorites by the front desk. We were all pleasantly mesmerized by the changes in the world of bridesmaids as they first came out with above-the-knee dresses, and then dresses with prints instead of the same ol' solids. Hollywood Fashion Tape appeared on our shelves as our most recent life saving device for brides on their wedding day. We also picked up Ashton Alexander jewelry with many pieces in stock to help our last minute brides. My favorite addition to our salon in 2008 is the Valentine shoes, which have stunned many of our brides. They are some of the most beautiful shoes.

We forsee many exciting up and coming events for 2009 that I can share with you now. We will have a designer rep from Lori London coming in, which is always an exciting event. Solutions Bridal has also picked up a new designer, Alfred Sung, that will be coming in the salon this year.

We look forward to working with all our brides in the year to come, and can't wait to help you achieve your perfect bridal look.