The Bride's Stuff | 12k Wedding Blog

March 8, 2010 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

So a little birdie (Twitter, of course), told me that Anthropologie is going to start offering wedding gowns. I’ve only discovered Anthropologie myself in the last couple years, but I loooove their stuff. It’s always so girly and feminine. Sometimes a little too vintage-y for me, but overall, very nice stuff.

Now, all you brides getting married this summer, don’t get your hopes up. The line of bridal gowns isn’t set to debut until next spring.

Check out the full story at InStyle.

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Technorati Tags: Anthropologie, Bridal Dress, Bridal Gown, Urban Outfitters, Wedding Dress, Wedding Gown

Bride on a Budget Sale at Roma Sposa

February 18, 2010 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Free Stuff, Discounts, Contests, The Bride's Stuff

If you’re in the Metro Detroit area, chances are you’ve heard of Roma Sposa. It’s a couture bridal salon in Birmingham. While there’s no way I could deny that their dresses are gorgeous, I will tell you that they probably carry several gowns that cost more than our entire wedding.

But you’re in luck, my dear readers. Turns out they’re having a sale during the last weekend of this month. They’re calling it the Bride on a Budget Sales Event. There is a $5 entrance fee, but apparently it’s to benefit a charitable cause.

And get this:
Gown pricing will start at $599.

My advice is that you not go in with a single no-other-Vera-Wang-dress-will-do in mind. That’ll likely still cost you an arm, a leg, and your first born child.

Instead, go in with an open mind. Shoot, try on a dress opposite from they style you think you want for yourself. You might be pleasantly surprised. And if not, no harm done.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal, Bridal Gown, Dress, Wedding Dress

Getting Things (MYSELF) In Order

February 12, 2010 by DetroitGyrl | Filed in: DIY, The Bride's Stuff

There is so much to do…how will I manage to organize everything?

A Binder. A Binder?

Yes. A Binder.

Ok – where do I get a binder from? You can make it?

Whoa.. Make it?

Yes – DIY!

Things I used:

1 – 1.5 inch Binder

2 – Inserts from Russell and Hazel (these inserts cover everything from Budget to Wedding time line to Vendor Contact Lists) http://www.russellandhazel.com/content/wedding-templates

3 – Section Dividers

4 – Time

I also found some pictures online and used them for the front cover, back cover and side outer inserts to make it pretty.

You could also go to a bookstore and buy one.. but who wants to do that???

I also bought one of my favorite mini 3 subject notebooks (costing under $3) to take with me to meetings with vendors, to dress shops and to meet with the wedding party… because no one wants to carry that big binder every where they go..

But if they do – I also got a $1 bag to carry everything and keep it all together.. because I’ll probably take the binder every where I go – but just break out my notebook when the time is right.

What are some of the ways you have found to stay organized?

~DetroitGyrl

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Headpiece: Splurge or Steal

August 5, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: DIY, The Bride's Stuff

Now that it’s getting down to the wire (T minus 17 and counting), I’m trying to figure out my accessories.

Bridal headpieces come in all different styles and designs but I think I’ve narrowed it down to two I really like. One, the mantilla veil, I think is a little more formal and I think I’ll wear one like that for the ceremony. But for the reception, I don’t want to be weighed down by a veil, but I would like a little fancy in my hair.

I’ve decided to wear my hair down, something like this, but with tighter curls:

I love the idea of a casual headband dressed up for the occasion. It should stay put and hopefully I won’t have to fuss with a comb or bobby pins while I’m cuttin a rug on the dance floor.

The steal option would involve a little DIY, but it shouldn’t be too involved. I’d by a regular headband and just wrap it in ivory ribbon before securing the flower to the headband.

Splurge ($675):

Source: Jennifer Behr Bridal Collection

Steal(~$55):

Source: Etsy Seller jennypickle

So I need a little reassurance before I order the steal flower. Help me out here – should I do it?

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Headpiece, DIY, fascinator, feather, flower, headband, Headpiece

Red Satin Shoes

July 9, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

I would really love some red satin shoes, but alas, the feeling isn’t mutual. At least not for the price of the ones that I like. Mr. Blahnik, Mr. Weitzman, Mr. Louboutin, can’t we all just get along?

Red Satin Shoes

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Technorati Tags: Bridal, Bridal Shoes, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Nine West, Red, Shoes, Stuart Weitzman

25% off MAC Makeup

June 17, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff, Wedding Party

Pssst.

A little birdie told me that MAC Cosmetics would be selling be their products at 25% off today and tomorrow, but only on their website. Use promo code SUMO to get the deal.

I love me some MAC but the MAC prices don’t love me. This is a perfect opportunity to get a few essentials for your wedding, especially if you’ll be doing your own makeup.

Happy shopping!

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Technorati Tags: cosmetics, MAC, Makeup

Bridal Hair Style Possibilities

June 7, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

Everyone’s been asking me how I want to wear my hair for the wedding. Up until this point all I knew was that I wanted it down as opposed to an updo. After looking around the web though, I keep coming back to the same style with only slight variations. Loose curls – that is all.

Sanaa Lathan

Gabrielle Union

Viola Davis

Taraji Henson

Nia Long

Kerry Washington

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Technorati Tags: Bridal, Hair, hair style, hairstyle, Headpiece

Bridal Shoes for the Wedding

May 25, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

I was in Steve Madden the other day with some of my best girls looking for shoes for the bridesmaids. They didn’t have the ones we wanted for the bridesmaids in stock, but they did have these fancies. They’re called Geneviva by Steve Madden and they are a champagne colored peep toe with 3.5ish inch heel. I tried on the 8 and they felt okay but I ended up going up a half size on the advice of the ladies so I could fit a comfy insole inside.

I still have to try them on with my dress to be sure I like them, but I believe I have to return them within 10 days if I want a full refund. So I’ll definitely be trying them sooner than later.

I can’t say for sure that this is my final answer. But they are the answer for now at least.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal, peep toe, Shoes, steve madden

The Perfect Pearl Necklace for Wedding Day Jewelry

May 17, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

I was on Bag, Borrow or Steal some months ago and found several necklaces that I really liked. My favorite was this one by Kenneth Jay Lane.

Kenneth Jay Lane Pearl and Flower Necklace

While this necklace is still a possibility, I started looking around for something else with similar characteristics. I want multi-strand, with some sort of focal point. Here’s what I came up with so far.

Vintage Pearl Bouquet Necklace

Rhinestone Sparkle Necklace

Forever in Bloom

Sparkling Elegant Leaf with Pearls

There is always the possibility of making my own. Anyone else ever made a pearl necklace before?

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Technorati Tags: Accessories, Bridal, jewelry, necklace, pearl

DIY Hair Flower

March 10, 2009 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: DIY, The Bride's Stuff

Now, I’ve seen other people do this, so I figured I’d try my hand at it.

Disclaimer: Never mind my hair or my t-shirt. Neither were prepared for this picture.

My DIY hair flower took me about 20 minutes to make and cost less than $5.

My supplies:

One fake white rose (hold the dew drops please)
One red and brown feather accent
One button
Needle and thread

First, I deconstructed the rose. This always seems to be the first step in other tutorials so I followed suit. It came apart pretty easily just by pulling the pieces. I was left with five individual layers of petals. Now that I had the extra plastic pieces out of the way, I re-layered my petals leaving them light, fluffy and open instead of tight and closed like they were at first.

Next, I took out my handy-dandy sewing bag. Now, I’m nobody’s domestic goddess. I don’t whip up full outfits in a single day, nor do own a sewing machine. I just happened to amass a large amount of random buttons, thread and needles and they’ve all ended up in this sewing bag. Anyway I used my white thread and just sewed all the petals together. It’s not a very neat job, but it doesn’t matter much because the thread is the same color as the flower and it’s very well hidden by the fluffiness of the petals.

Also in my sewing bag, I found a couple different buttons that I liked, but opted for the rhinestone button. I was a little worried that it would flop to much because the opening for the thread is only on the back side. The other buttons had true button holes where the thread would go all the way through and the button would lay flat. But I liked the look of the rhinestone button better so I went with it.

Since I’d already sewed the petals together, I used the same thread to sew the button into the center. I just made sure to pull the thread as tight as I could so the button would flop as little as possible.

After I had the flower and button assembled, I sewed on a feather accent I got from Michael’s. There has to be a better way to describe it besides ‘accent’ but I can’t think of it right now and that’s what it says on the tag anyway.

I used the same thread and attached the feather. My flower instantly went from sweet and feminine to a little edgy and feminine.

All in all, I like how it turned out. I do have one thing I might try later though. My petals at the back of the flower are a little to loosey goosey and could easily get all tangled up if handled too much. I don’t have any on hand right now, but I think I might try some sort of fabric stiffener spray.

Who knows if I’ll actually end up wearing this flower (I’m constantly changing my mind these days) but it would nice with a birdcage veil. Just sayin’.

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