New Arrivals!

Christmas has come a little bit early to Solutions Bridal in Gainesville. A few of our new stock pieces from our designers Fall 2010 collections have come in! Meet "Dallas" from Watters bridal:





This gorgeous dress is similar to one of the store favorites from the Spring 2010 collection, "Torreon," except Watters has added straps and made a few beautiful changes to the embroidery and lace.

We also received some new bridesmaid dresses from the Dessy Group. This cute dress would look great on a large group of girls or be stylish on it's own as a rehearsal dinner dress:



One of the great things about the Dessy bridesmaids dresses is that they come in a wide variety of colors. Bridesmaids can match any color palliate that a bride could dream of. They even come in white and ivory , so a bride can even do one of the bridesmaid dresses as a reception dress.

Real Wedding: Michelle & John Dill

Michelle and John are the ultimate Solutions Bridal couple! We helped with the gown, accessories, bridesmaid dresses and tuxedos. During all of this, we really got to know the couple. We even got to see Michelle the day after as she dropped off the tuxedos. (Note to wedding planners: please include this in your services)

Their photos just went up on Damon Tucci's blog!

Badgley Mischka Trunk Show!

Starting tomorrow a very exciting in-store event is taking place. The Badgley Mischka Trunk Show! The dresses will be a mix of best sellers as well as their new line, plus you can take advantage of the 10% off discount throughout the weekend. Dresses range from 3500-15000 giving every Bride plenty of amazing styles to choose from. Shawne, one of Badgley Mischka's fashion experts, will also be joining the fun until Sunday. Charity De Meer, a local Orlando photographer will be taking photos on Saturday and Simone from Makeover Station will be offering free makeup trail! We will be kicking off this amazing trunk show with Mimosas to celebrate the weekend! We invite all Brides & Bridesmaids to join us for this special event.

Re-wearing your bridesmaid dress.

This past weekend I stumbled upon the style guide for bridesmaids. As every soon-to-be bride knows, picking out the perfect bridesmaid dress can be a stressful event. Questions arise rather or not the girls you've selected will be able to re-wear their bridesmaids dresses. We say go for it! In Style Weddings Summer 2009 issue gave some great hints on how to re-wear and turn your bridesmaid dress into a hot new look for a party or date, and with the right accessories for the office too! Some ideas to re-wear your bridesmaid dress to the office are to match it with a short sleeved cardigan, heels and fun accessories such as a plated necklace. Re-wearing your bridesmaid dress to a date or party is less of a challenge then you might think. Matching the dress with a vintage belt, clutch, and a unique cuff is the perfect look to a semi-formal night out. Hope these ideas are insightful & valuable! -Brittany E.

Vendors We Love: Posh Pastry!

It all started with a birthday cake...

Another vendor we absolutely love in the Gainesville area is Kristy from Posh Pastry! We recently got to spend time with Kristy when she participated in Denim & Diamonds Bridesmaid night at Solutions Bridal. Kristy wowed our brides and bridesmaids with DELICIOUS chocolate covered pretzels and DECADENT chocolate cake samples. We asked Kristy a few questions about Posh Pastry and how she got started in the biz.


"I wanted to make a cake for my son's first birthday, so I went to Michael's and took the cake decorating classes. I made his cake and it was a big success. Everything grew from that one little cake. I made more and more cakes for friends and family, learning lots along the way. I took all the classes that I could find, even attending professional classes at a pastry school. I was asked to make a very large alligator cake for UF and that's when Posh Pastry was born.
We built my cake studio, registered my business and got it licensed the week before the cake was due."

Posh Pastry offers the bride much more than a traditional wedding cake.

"I offer a new, fresh, approach to wedding cakes. Posh Pastry doesn't make
your grandma's style cakes. I specialize in modern cakes with a clean
contemporary edge. Each cake is completely custom designed just for the
bride and groom. We can do almost anything with cake. I've never said, 'I
don't think I can do that' and that has led to some pretty cool cakes! Our
sculpted cakes really set us apart from the rest. I've made a six foot
alligator, a life size guitar, a Porsche, and even a bag of Twizzlers!"

Posh Pastry also offers custom designed gourmet chocolate pretzels. They are
hand dipped and custom decorated to fit any color scheme, so they make great
favors. They look beautiful and taste amazing!!

The Best Bridesmaid Gift!

As a bride myself, so I am always scouring the internet for the perfect bridesmaid gifts for my girls. I want it to be something meaningful... something they will actually use... and something that well, let's them know how thankful I am for them!

One of our brides, Sarah, came in the other day to reveal a super sweet surprise bridesmaid gift for her girls. They came into the store to get fitted for their bridesmaid dresses, and Sarah surprised them by purchasing their bridesmaid dresses for them!! It was such a cute surprise, and I know it made her bridesmaids' days!

Here is the Jim Hjelm dress Sarah chose for her bridesmaids:



Source.
Now I wish I had thought of that when putting together my initial wedding budget!

Stylist Being Shabby

Recognize any familiar faces? Posing in the photo is the full Gainesville Solutions Bridal Staff including the owner, Newell Fox. Hopefully, there won't be any consequences for posting this picture of him. shhh....

Every year we have a party just to celebrate having fantastic clients and industry friends. This year, we wanted to make sure the party was a time remembered. We decided a theme was going to be the best way to do it! A couple of years ago I had a bride throw a party were all of her friends wore their bridal gowns and bridesmaids. They wanted one more reason to wear the dress again.With this idea in mind, as a team we came up with the Something Shabby idea. Based off the old "Something blue, something OLD" saying. Our clients are always concerned if they will be able to wear their bridesmaid dresses again. This party gave them a reason to. The party was a huge success and we hope to make it into an annual celebration. And of course we look forward to seeing our boss in a full green seersucker suit again.

Thanks to the following vendors for adding their special touches to the evening:

Celebrations Catering: for splendid appetizers that always expand our palate

Unique Designs: for your creative minds, inspiration, and couture invitations

Solutions Entertainment: for making it into a true party

Party Time Rentals: for transforming our salon into a lounge for the evening

PhotoBooth: for making into an even more humorous night

Relax...

This past weekend we had a great massage therapist in the store! JoAnn Perryman is an amazing masseuse and treated our brides to complimentary massages this weekend. It is so important to relax before your big day, or even the day of. JoAnn does everything from aromatherapy to hot stones to deep tissue or even cellulite treatment. Our suggestion for the big day is a light swedish massage that can be done in your home or venue of your wedding! If you would like to book a relaxing massage with JoAnn, she can be reached at (352)317-7938. Remember to relax as your big day is getting closer! :)

And you thought you had it bad....

Just the other night I was speaking to one of my friends about her bridesmaid dress. She loves her dear bride very much, but not so much the dress. The bride has nine bridesmaids and to try to accommodate 9 different style and bodies was nearly impossible. She really wanted to keep them in the same dress to keep more focus and variety in the flowers. Basically, the bridesmaid dresses worked as a nice backdrop to the gorgeous fresh flower bouquets.

My friend understood that she was the bridesmaid and not bride so ultimately it wasn't her decision. And then she admitted that it wasn't horrible and it could always be worse. I agreed, it could always be worse. This sparked my memory of a website one of the consultants found years ago. UglyDress.com. You have to check it out. Bridesmaids all over have submitted their most horrifying experience of being a bridesmaid. Its sure to make you laugh and take you back a couple of years. I rest assure you, non of the dresses displayed on the site are available or found at Solutions Bridal. So, if your bridesmaid, I promise your Solutions Bridal Bride won't end up with one of those!

After doing some research on bridesmaid dress disasters I came across a $5,000 contest at The WEtv.com for the ugliest dress. That's right, an opportunity to trade in the ugly for cash! The picture shown appears to be in the lead.

Go Oscar Glam For Wedding Grace!

On February 22nd, 2009 the 81st Annual Oscars went live. Our award-winning celebrities graced the red carpet in fabulous designs by Oscar De La Renta, Roberto Carvalli, Prada, and more. As most girls do, we look at celebrities for a sense of whats hot and whats not. This year the red carpet was filled with sweetheart necklines, dropped waist, rouged bodices, one-shoulder, pocket-included gowns, and many other styles available in wedding gowns. If your looking for a trendy, but elegant look for your wedding day take a look at the Oscars for inspiration. Several looks found are available in a more toned down version for your wedding day. Have fun getting inspired!

Shown in Pictures: Angelina Jolie's Elie Saab Dress, Look Alike: Dessy's Bridesmaid Style 2746
Sarah Jessica Parker's Dior dress, Look Alike: Anne Barge Bridal LF161
Taraji Henson's Robert Cavalli Dress, Look Alike: Vera Wang Bridal

Whoah WTOO

The new WTOO(Watters) collection has arrived at Solutions Bridal! As mentioned by our bride last night, " Way to go Watters. " WTOO is part of the Watters and Watters line. It represents the same quality and femininity that you find in their other collections, but with a more affordable price. Their dresses range from $170-$210. Typically dresses in this range lose a sense of style and have the standard bridesmaid dress look that will sit in the back of you closet. Not with WTOO. Designer Vatana Watters created an whimsical line. Their style tends to fit best with beach, garden, or any Florida wedding. In the new line they introduced some lovely new colors and fabrics. Being a food lover myself, I love how they use food names to describe the colors.

Take a look at the new WTOO collection here.


Also, The Solutions Bridal Gainesville will be hosting The Bridal Party on February 19th. This is a special event for our bridesmaids, flower girls, and mother of the bride/groom. There will be live music and yummy treats. This is a great opportunity to check out the new WTOO line and find dresses for your Bridal Party!

There will only be a limited amount of appointments available for this event. Please contact your consultant to schedule yours! The Event will be from 10:30-9pm with most the fun from 5:00-9. We hope you can make it!