Me? Depending on the mood, I can see merits of all of three, although lately I’ve been feeling partial to the tiara, although just not the full-on, Homecoming-Queen tiara, proudly rising ten inches from the top of Mary Sue Gentry’s bouffant, but rather a more modest affair, understated and elegant, that accentuates rather than dominates the brides beauty.

Of course, you know me, I’m not willing to spend a lot of money, defined as much more than $100, on something that will likely be worn just once. (The exception to this rule being, of course, the wedding dress itself. In that case, the sky’s the limit.)

For my tiara of choice, I’m thinking about something more like this:

The Alan Hannah Devoted Statement Pearl and Crystal Swirl Tiara, which is dramatic enough to be noticed, but not so dramatic that you feel you should be standing on a stage holding a bouquet of roses and waving to the judges. (Image via Jon Richard)

Obviously, at under $200 this piece is not made of diamonds and south sea pearls, but crystals and fresh-water pearls, which will be fine, since most of the guests at the wedding won’t be close enough to notice the difference, and since your last name isn’t Rockefeller, most of the guests won’t expect it to be “real” anyway.

The post The Tiara first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

Take, for example, the bridesmaid dress. It’s an item of clothing that may, depending on the desires of the bride, may be made of an unusual color, or unflattering cut, and may most likely never be worn again. And yet, it can be a very costly thing, costing hundreds, or sometimes even thousands of dollars.

That’s why I’m always on the lookout for places that sell decent-looking bridesmaids’ dresses at decent prices. And why I usually recommend to brides that they at least consider allowing their attendants to have dresses that can be worn again, in other social contexts.

A >strapless chiffon dress with a beaded, sequin belt like this one (selling for around $100) is neither too expensive, nor too outré to be worn again.

A shorter dress, knee-length with a full skirt would be even more versatile…

The average bridesmaid would be very happy to have a dress like this hanging in her closet after the wedding was done.(Both dresses above are from Jessica’s Fashion.)

So, the secret to saving money (and bridesmaids’ feelings) to spend the time searching for the right dress at the right price, and to be flexible in what you’re willing to allow your bridesmaids to wear.

The post Bridesmaiding on a Budget first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

My American readers are likely not familiar with the English term “hen party”, which is what Americans sort of refer to as a bachelorette party. I say “sort of” because the English hen party has largely jumped the barriers of propriety and taken pre-wedding festivities to places that the tamer American bachelorette party would never go, with some hilarious and disturbing results.

The average American bachelorette party is (despite what you may have seen in the movie Bridesmaids a fairly tame combination of cupcakes, weak booze, and endless chatter, with maybe, possibly, sometimes if you’re daring, a Fabio-esque male stripper tossed in. By comparison, the English >hen party starts with costumes (see the photo above), from fairies, to devils, to escaped prisoners, to chickens (see above), with the bride-to-be getting the best costume, and a beauty-queen style sash of identification. Then, add in booze and lots of it, some goofy, ice-breaking party games, and when everyone is having fun, take the whole show on the road, head out to the nearest pub to initiate the pub-crawl portion of the festivities.

The hen party is much more rambunctious and boozy than the bachelorette party, and as a consequence is much more likely to end in tears and vomit than the average bachelorette party. It’s also much more likely to end in hilarity and good fun, too. So, next time some one mentions a hen party, think costumes and liquor, not cupcakes and squeals of fake delight.

The post The Hen Party first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

There are a couple of different reasons that you may want to hold a silent disco at your wedding with the most popular being to get around any noise restrictions a lot of venues have. The last thing wedding venues want to do is annoy the neighbours by having music blaring out into the small hours every weekend. Well in steps Silent Disco Direct to ensure that when the music cut off comes into play the music cuts to headphones, this means that each guest gets a pair of wireless headphones and can continue to enjoy the DJ.

The second biggest draw for have a silent disco hire is that you can run different music styles on different channels. This means that you could have some old Mo-town running on one channel, the latest chart music on another and some Râ€nâ€B hits running on the third. Each headset then having the ability to rotate through the different channels so every guest can pick exactly what they are interested in. Everyone is happy!

So if you think this is something that you could be interested in then get in touch with your local silent disco hire company and organise a wedding that will have people talking about it for months!

The post The Silent Disco Wedding first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

Groom’s cakes shaped like tires spinning chocolate mud onto a pretty bride’s cake. The thing about this is that, as you can see from the examples above, the skill level of the cake decorator has to be pretty high for this to not look like an awful mess.

The post The Mud-Slinging Grooms Cake first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

Menâ€s Diamond Crosses

Menâ€s Diamond Cross pendants comes in a variety of sizes, designs and shades, thereby giving the option of choosing one that best suits you. Also, they can be customized according to your need so that you are able to get something distinct and eye catching. Their prices vary depending on the amount of diamond it has and its size. Because there is a great variety available, you can choose one that is affordable for you.
Before planning on buying a Menâ€s Diamond Cross, there are a number of things that you should consider so that you make a smart investment. The first thing is to decide how much you are willing to spend on it. Remember that more money does not guarantee more class. However you should have a modest budget so that you can play around with it, and are able to stretch a bit in order to get what is best for you. Another thing to consider is the size. Choose a size that compliments your body type. A big cross is likely to give you the “bling” factor, but it might be bulky and become a nuisance to handle and maintain.

Since it is diamond, it is a great investment and is likely to appreciate in value. Therefore, you must consider the caratage of the diamonds so that you are able to make the most out of your investment. Also, the color of the diamonds should complement your style, so that you give off a vibe of fashion and class.

TraxNYC is one of the companies specializing in custom made jewelry and also have a great collection of designs for Menâ€s Diamond Crosses to choose from. Their customers include well known celebrities like Ludacris, Akon and Jay Z. They offer a variety of designs for Menâ€s Diamond Crosses to choose from at affordable prices, and their latest designs can be seen at traxnyc.com.

The post Men’s Diamond Cross first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.

Pencils given out as a wedding favor, an idea which can only be described as smart, fun, and affordable.

But, of course, this is the perfect favor for teacher’s wedding, especially if you use promotional pencils, with the bride and groom’s names, or maybe a witty/charming/lovely saying.

The best part of this idea (aside from the fact that it’s 100% less boring than jordan almonds and just as inexpensive) is that it can be adapted for any sort of wedding, from the most stylish (see the picture above), to the most whimsical (use mulitcolored pencils with humorous sayings).

Or, if you’re into tradition, try yellow #2 pencils, which would work well with a more casual outdoorsy wedding featuring sunflowers and daisies.

The post The Teacher’s Favor(ite) first appeared on Manolo for the Brides.