The rise of the Hollywood fashion icons have seen an onslaught of gorgeous, must-have evening dresses like no other. Evening dresses of various designs, styles, shades could drive evening dress aficionados crazy.

Armed with their magazine cutouts and pen, these aficionados rush to their favorite couturier and ask for a copy of these Hollywood starlet’s evening dresses, at a much lesser cost.

There are others, however, who prefer to design their own evening gowns. With a vision and a sketch book, these mavens draw all original evening dresses, with just a touch or an obvious inspiration of Hollywood. So here are some tips on how to design you own evening dresses, Hollywood style.

1. Watch Hollywood Entertainment News

Watching Hollywood lifestyle channels or entertainment news exposes you to a variety of Hollywood evening dresses. You can check out some lifestyle channel’s best and worst dressed. These are legit – they are sorted out by legitimate fashion critics, after all. These best dressed and worst dressed lists will give you a very useful cue on what dress designs to go for and what to stay away from.

2. Leaf through Fashion Magazines

Fashion magazines feature the latest evening dresses worn by these Hollywood stars. Fashion magazines are actually way better than watching television. Instead of encrypting the dress designs in your head, fashion magazines give you the luxury of merely showing it to your dress designer or dress maker and highlighting areas which you want altered.

3. One and One Makes One

Take an evening dress design worn by one Hollywood actress, and another worn by another Hollywood icon and mold them together to form a uniquely gorgeous evening dress. Other than being a “half-original”, you will have the privilege of choosing which designs to pick out and which to leave out.

4. Elegance Minus the Frills

A lot of the most gorgeous evening dresses actually have one or more of the following: frills, laces, feathers, sequins, crystals, diamonds, trains, corsets and double sided tapes. These are indeed lovely addition to their evening dresses. However, it does not necessarily mean it could work well for a mere mortal such as you. Have the dress made in a way that does not alter its elegance, yet takes away the frills, laces, feathers, sequins, crystals, diamonds, trains or the corsets – as well as the need for double sided tapes. Note: trains and frills are for wedding dresses. Laces and corsets are more fitting for a bridesmaid dress.

5. The color and the cut

The color may look perfect for the Hollywood star that you copied the evening dress design from, but that does not necessarily mean it will look great on your skin tone. The cut may suit her to a tee, but that does not mean it will have the same effect on you. Get inspiration from that Hollywood evening dress, but alter it to make it truly yours. Choose the right shade for your skin tone and choose the right cut for your body type.

Whether you’re looking for wedding dresses or a bridesmaid dress, BestForBride.com has it all.Evening dresses are also available.

Bridesmaid dresses, to the dismay of so many bridesmaids the world over, has a limited spectrum of colors to choose from. All thanks to the earnestness and the solemnity of weddings, bridesmaids cannot wear deep mourning purple, jet black, any variations of white, chocolate or mud brown, plaid, stripes or animal prints.

So what are the colors suited for that occasion? What are the traditional shades when it comes to bridesmaid dresses? Bridal boutiques everywhere could assert that these are the top ten color of choice in bridesmaids dresses’ fabrics:

1. Peach

Who could not fall in love with the youthfulness, playfulness and sweetness of peach? It is the color that best signifies bridesmaids. Sweet, dazzling and charming. You could stay in church for a month and try to count how many weddings actually have bridesmaid dresses in peach. Why is peach one of the most favored colors? For one, its shade is timeless and elegant. It is one of the dress shades that withstood the test of time. Second, it is sunny and uplifting. Who could resist to smile upon seeing peach bridesmaids dresses?

2. Pink

I’m talking light, soft pink. The baby’s blanket kind of pink. Not the sharp, loud pink most teenagers opt to dye their hair with. The light pink shades represent sweetness and love. Why else would Valentines Day cards have a generous touch of pink? Why else would wedding cakes have hear-shaped toppings in pink? Simple, because pink represents sweet, sweet love. Isn’t that what weddings are all about?

3. Red

Not ruby red or blood red, mind you. A lot of bridesmaid dresses are within various shades of red. It could be maroon, or rose red. Either way, red signifies, more than anything, love. Love is exactly the reason why we have weddings in the first place. Red also signifies courage. Cynics say it takes bucketfuls of courage to take a walk down the aisle.

4. Blue

Blue, as a wedding theme, and as bridesmaid dresses, is not at all surprising. Blue, after all, represents loyalty and faithfulness. You will be needing tons of that in marriage. The various shades of blue are also extremely pleasing to the eyes. Maybe because it reminds us of blue skies and sunny days and glorious walks along the park.

5. Yellow

Yellow actually represents infidelity. But that belief held by thousands did not hinder yellow from creeping into wedding ceremonies. A lot of bridesmaid dresses are in variants of yellow. Why? For one, yellow is youthful. Yellow is also cheery, sunny and very uplifting. To sum it all up, yellow brings smiles. So why should it be banned from being worn as bridesmaid dresses?

6. Green

Green, the color of hope, life and a fresh new start. No other color best represents weddings that this. Green is arguably the most widely used wedding motif since the turn of the century. After all, it best describes what weddings are all about –- hope, life and new beginnings

Looking for bridesmaid dresses and wedding cakes? Visit the bridal boutique that has it all. Visit BestForBride.com today.

Planning a wedding takes a lot of careful analysis, time management and budget assessment. However, a lot of brides fall short on the last bit. Budget forecast. The first thing they would think of is to cut a fraction of their expenses by foregoing wedding favours. Of course, it seems like a logical choice. Some bridal shops would even recommend it. Why would you tighten your spending on your plus size wedding dress? Or your shoes? Or your menu? You have been dreaming about your plus size wedding dress, your shoes and your menu for months. It would be rather unfair if you suddenly alter it, right?

However, have you considered how being unfair you also are to deprive your wedding guests of little souvenirs of your special day? Most brides have not considered that. Wedding favours are actually considered gifts from you and your fiancé to your guests.

There are so many reasons why you should not forego giving away wedding favours to your guests. We will point out a few of them in this article.

Wedding favours show your guests how much you appreciate their presence. It shows graciousness, gratitude and proper etiquette. Guests would definitely leave a wedding, whose hosts possess those qualities, smiling. Wedding favours also serve as mementos. Don’t you think it would be great if you give each of your guests a little something which would stir the earnestness and warmth of your wedding day? These little keepsakes are whole lot better and more intimate than just giving your guests copies of wedding photographs.

Wedding favours show thoughtfulness. It means that you have put in much consideration into its preparation. Guests know when wedding favours are hastily chosen from out of a bridal shop’s catalogue or if wedding favours are carefully deliberated.

Wedding favours give guests an idea of the bride and the groom’s personalities. The guests get a glimpse of the bride and the groom’s interests and persona. Hence, it is highly recommended that your wedding favours portray a bit of the bride and the groom’s fascinations.

Wedding favours symbolize love and eternity. The hopeless romantics will definitely rejoice. Receiving wonderful wedding favours would increase well-wishers and supporters of your matrimony.

To sum it all up, these wedding favours are actually essential aspects of your wedding day. It is impolite and rude to celebrate your special day without giving little thank you trinkets to your guests. These wedding favours are indispensable — although not nearly as indispensable as your plus size wedding dress. Wedding celebrations ought to be a happy, marvelous occasion. That not only goes for the bride and the groom, but for all of your guests. Make each and every person on your special day as comfortable and pleased as they could be. By the wedding favours that you so heartily chose for them, you can bring smiles of gratitude into each of their faces. Each one of their smiles and well-wishes will surely ring through your mind for the years to come.

For a bridal shop that offers everything from plus size wedding dresses to wedding favours, visit BestForBride.com.

You have probably heard of the latest craze in wedding invitations. Gone are the days when each and every bride in the country rushes to have her invitation printed with a laser-printer ink etched on glossy paper. We now welcome the era of handwritten wedding invitations.

There are actually two options up for brides and grooms-to-be. One, if you believe that your handwriting is passably artistic, you can always write the wedding invitations yourself. This exceptionally personalized means is definitely more affective if you wish to invoke a more intimate, cozy feel for your special day.

Moreover, writing your own wedding invitations slashes down a fraction of your expenses. Just buy your own scented stationery, a box of lovely, well-designed envelopes and voila, a lovely invitation without the hefty price. You can even add in a few embellishments and ornate designs here and there to complete the personalized feel to a tee.

This savings could really work well for you. You can then splurge on the wedding dress or your dreams, or on the bridesmaids dresses.

If you still wish to evoke that same intimate atmosphere, yet your handwriting is needs to be deciphered by a specialist, we suggest that you go get yourself a professional calligrapher.

The art of calligraphy’s roots could be traced back to cave paintings. Over the years, it grew to become a famous, treasured art despite the advance of other printing materials such as typewriters, and of course, computers. Despite the myriad of font styles, colour and sizes that a computer can produce, calligraphy is still sought-after. As long as there is a human being who keeps it alive, calligraphy will continue to be an art.

This art is brought to a whole new light when used in wedding invitations. Calligraphy set in glossy, embossed or silky paper gives the guests an impression of comfort and intimacy. Nothing says “you are special” quite like handwritten invitations. It basically shows that much thought and effort was put into each and every line.

A wedding invitation, much like a wedding dress, is the finest representation of the bride’s personality. A gracious invitation reflects a gracious host.

To avoid humdrum handwritten wedding invitations, you can always opt to indulge and experiment in the following areas:

1. Shape. You can always create unique shapes for your wedding invitations. You can either have it shaped like your wedding dress, your wedding cake or have it shaped like a bell. You can always play around with shapes, it is probably the safest element to experiment with.

2. Size. If you really want to make an impression, lay it on the invitation size. The bigger, the crazier. However, your guests would probably be eternally grateful if you will not send them a billboard-size invitation.

3. Design. Make sure that your wedding invitation design matches your theme. Do not depict a beach theme on your wedding invitation when you are actually going to have a church wedding.

4. Colour. Since it is a wedding, go for neutral colors, earth tones or pastels. Avoid black at all cost.

Looking for a wedding dress? Visit BestForBride.com. You can also find bridesmaid dresses and wedding invitations.

There are quite a number of not-so-lucky brides out there who have this similar sob story: “When I tried on the wedding gown at the store, it looked perfect. Now I look awful and it is already too late to find other wedding dresses.”

In these situations, all you can do is suck it in and walk down the aisle as if you are the hottest bride on earth. Alternatively, you could grab one of the bridesmaid dresses and walk down the aisle with it. Or to be sure that you would not hurt someone’s feelings, you could just grab one of your old evening dresses and pretend it is your wedding dress.’

However, to save yourself from troubles such as those, you could try to follow these tips. It does not hurt to remember that prevention is better than cure, Ladies. These tips will aid you in trying on wedding dresses.

1. Do not starve yourself the week before you try on wedding dresses. Be realistic. Starving yourself will not help boost your self esteem. Instead, there is a great chance that starvation will dampen it. Let us put it this way. You lose 5 lbs on a crash diet because you want to look great when you try on wedding dresses. A few weeks later, you plateau. On your big day, you are no longer the same size as you were when you first tried on the wedding dress. Now, that is a disaster. Try on the dress without torturing yourself. Just love your size. What matters is you will be comfortable with yourself when you walk down the aisle.

2. Try on as many styles as you want. It would be a lot better if you could determine the style and cut that is perfect for you. Find a style that is not too restricting. As much as possible, avoid too-tight dresses. These might prove uncomfortable for you on your wedding day. Instead, go for comfortable wedding dresses. If you feel comfortable in your wedding dress, you would be confident with yourself. Same goes for bridesmaids dresses, they also have to be comfortable to wear.

3. Do not alter the dress after you already purchased it. If you change the cut or the style after you have already purchased the dress, there is a great chance that you would totally ruin its overall impact. Choose a dress that you love, then leave it as it is. Remember, you wear the dress. You are in control. If you know you will look good, you will definitely look good.

4. Wear your accessories and style your hair the way you want it when you go and fit your wedding dress. It would be quite nice to see the overall impression of your wedding dress beforehand.

5. Walk around in your dress. Walk around the bridal shop and assess how comfortable you actually are in that dress. It would be a lot better for you to gauge well the degree of comfort the wedding dress could bring.

Whether you’re looking for wedding dresses or a bridesmaid dress, BestForBride.com has it all.Evening dresses are also available.

You are dead set on having a unique wedding, with a unique wedding dress, a unique set of bridesmaid dresses, a unique wedding goody bag — all from an equally unique bridal boutique. But what about your cake? Driven to find unique cake designs, you surf the internet for hours on end, seeking designs, flavors and colors that would appeal to you. It is a hard feat, since most wedding cakes are well, shaped like cakes.

So you decide to design one yourself. How do you go about it, you wonder. Here are some helpful tips to designing unique wedding cakes. Who knows, after this, you might have paved a new career path for yourself: As a wedding cake designer!

Tip #1:

Take into account your budget. Consider this: Your budget is the mold. Everything you want your wedding cakes to be should be set against the budget. Naturally, it is important to gauge your limitations before hand. It would be such a disappointment to have planned out the perfect unique wedding cakes then having to settle for something less because of budgetary constraints. That would be frustrating, wouldn’t it?

Tip #2:

Consider your motif. It would be reasonable for the color of your cake to match your theme. It would be incredibly absurd for you to choose a red-colored cake when your motif is actually aquamarine. Be artistic without being insane. Make your wedding day an affair to remember, not a day your guests would rather forget.

Tip #3:

Choose neutral flavors for your cake. Your wedding cakes design may be outrageous, but the flavors do not necessarily have to be. It would be safer to go for chiffon, chocolate or coffee. Stay away from weird flavors such as jackfruit or guava. You would not want your guests to be put off by your wedding cakes.

Tip #4:

Make sure the cake size matches the intimacy of the occasion. If you have a big gathering with over a hundred guests, naturally, you should have a large wedding cake. Alternatively, you could serve several small wedding cakes and place it at each table. If you have a small gathering, consisting only of your close family and friends, a medium-sized cake would suffice. It is overindulgent to present a 10-tiered cake when you are merely having 30 guests.

Tip #5:

Now this is the fun part. The wedding cakes design. You should deliberate on a unique wedding cake that is essentially possible to make. Ergo, do not even think about having a wedding cake designed to look like a miniature fighter jet or a cruise ship. Your wedding cake design should reflect you and your fiancé’s personality. If you enjoy hiking or mountain climbing, then you could request for a cake shaped like the Himalayas. Or, if you enjoy camping out together, you could have a wedding cake designed like a tent. You could also have your cake shaped like your wedding dress, if you wish to. The “safer” unique designs would include wedding cakes shaped like doves, bells or hearts. Whatever your design is, make sure it reflects you, your fiancé, and your special day.

Looking for bridesmaid dresses and wedding cakes? Visit the bridal boutique that has it all. Visit BestForBride.com today.

Whatever the size, anyone can look good in their wedding attire if they choose the cut, the style and the color that best suits them. However, for plus-size women, this is not as easy as it seems. Finding the right plus size wedding attire requires a lot of details to consider. Here are a few advices that you ought to consider before picking up plus size wedding attires:

1. In choosing the right plus size wedding attire, consider carefully your body type. Do you have an hourglass figure? Are you pear-shaped? Are you top-heavy? There are specific plus size wedding attires for each figure, each ingeniously designed to enhance one’s assets and cover up their flaws.

2. Another thing that most women fail to consider is the color of the plus size wedding attire. First and foremost, determine your skin tone. Do you have a winter, summer, autumn or spring complexion? There are specific shades that best suits your shade.

3. Frills or no frills? Go for the no-frills, no-ribbons look. Other than adding bulk to your frame, you would not want to seem like you snatched it from the wedding dresses rack would you? Wedding dresses are naturally exempt from the frills and ribbons rule. You are not the bride, so lay off on the frills.

4. You should consider the length of your plus size wedding attire. For casual weddings, go for cocktail dresses. For more formal weddings, it is advisable for you to wear ankle-length gowns. For beach weddings, you can either wear knee-length casual plus size dresses or opt for a more bohemian feel, with ankle-length skirts.

5. Do not overlook you height. There are certain plus size dresses that would go along certain heights. For petite women, stray away from lengthy dresses or skirts. Women blessed with height can basically get away with any skirt length.

6. Less is more. Choose a simple, albeit, beautiful plus size dress and accessorize minimally. Avoid piling up accessories or too adorned dresses. You would not want to look like a wedding favors rack.

7.If you have found the perfect dress for your shape, complexion and height, and ended up with a strapless, slinky, red number, better to leave it on your wardrobe for some other occasion. Remember, you are going to a wedding. Not a night club. Lay off on slinky clothes.

8. Most women don one piece of clothing article that basically ruins the overall feel of their plus size wedding attires. The undergarments. It is disheartening to see sweet, lovely strapless dresses, with brassiere straps poking out. Nor is it pleasant to look at sheer dresses displaying black brassieres. It is important to note that the overall impact of you plus size wedding attire is greatly affected your undergarments – other than your shoes and accessories. This is applicable to wedding dresses, as well.

9. Comfort. Of course, you have to be perfectly comfortable with your plus size wedding attire. You have to be able to breathe in that dress, eat in that dress and walk in that dress.

Your wedding day is coming up in a few months. You’re tired and frustrated and on the verge of becoming a bridezilla. Your fiancé, your mom, your relatives wonder why. Your simple answer: You are so stressed in hopping from one bridal shop to another, to look for you dream plus size wedding dress, wedding favours, wedding flowers, bridesmaids dresses and all that.

Stress, that is definitely the biggest trade-off in being utterly close-minded in your vision of the perfect wedding goodies. You shop from one bridal shop to the next, in hopes of building together the necessary material components of your wedding. Indeed, you found what you wanted… after shopping from one town to the next!

Here is the thing: These bridal shop owners know what they are doing. They have been in the business for quite some time. They can offer you suggestions and alternatives that you might even find a lot more interesting that your dream plus size wedding dress, your ideal wedding favours, and the like. They can gauge what wedding favours go with what theme. What plus size wedding dress goes well with your venue. What bridesmaid dresses to go with your plus size wedding dress. All it takes is this: An open mind. Be open to ideas and suggestions.

Choose a specific bridal shop. However, you ought to be very careful in choosing. Choose the bridal shop which has established a good reputation, a bridal shop which has been in business for a long time, one that is recommended by friends, family and relatives. Choose a bridal shop whose owner and sales staff you have a great rapport with, someone who is friendly, accommodating and definitely creative. Sort through that bridal shop’s collection of goods. Are the bridal shop’s plus size wedding dresses to your liking? If so, then start from there.

Ask your bridal shop attendant what would be the best wedding favour to go with your chosen plus size wedding dress. Welcome her ideas, albeit, remaining critical. Do not accept everything she suggests, though. It is your wedding, after all. Find a middle ground. For instance, choose a wedding favour that will still incorporate your ideas. The trick is: Keep an open mind. Together with the bridal shop attendant, leaf through magazines and sort through their shelves of wedding goodies until you find the one with the right feel.

Do not forget one other important thing, though. Consult with your husband-to-be. Wedding planning may not be the male species’ cup of tea, but give your husband his respects due by seeking his opinions as well. You never know, maybe your fiancé can come up with something a whole lot better than your concept.

Despite your wedding goodies, the fact remains that all those things that you bought from the bridal shop — they are not the true determinants of your wedding. The true determining factor of the turnout of your wedding is YOU. Only you can ruin your wedding day, and only you can make it a success

Personalized. That is the trend for wedding favors nowadays. Brides and grooms want to share with their guests something memorable, something that would remind them of that one special day each time they look at that wedding favor.

However, personalized wedding favors do not come cheap. Brides who spent a large chunk of their wedding dresses can no longer afford the luxury of exquisite, personalized wedding favors. So the big question is, how do we go about giving away lovely personalized wedding favors without overspending?

Well, if you are creative and resourceful, there are a lot of ways that you can give attain that intimate feel for your wedding favors without splurging. In this article, we will give you a few ideas for your personalized wedding favors. Unlike your wedding dresses, however, not much detail needs to be put into each wedding favor for your guests.

1. Be artistic. Pick up a couple boxes of beads and strings and make your very own bead bracelet, anklet or necklace. This will be lovely wedding favors for your lady guests.

2. You can also order a few of those corporate giveaways and add a touch of personal feel as you go along. The most common corporate giveaways are mini magnetic calculators — extremely useful, I must say — engraved pens, stationeries, paperweight and mini flashlights. All these items are not quite the wedding favors most guests would expect. That is exactly why these stuffs would be memorable for most your wedding guests.

3. Scented soaps. Yes, scented soaps have long been a staple in bridal shops and wedding favors store. Yet, yours does not have to be so generic. How? Well, for one, you can always play around with its design. You can have your scented soap shaped like a heart, a guitar, a personal computer, or a ball. You can also have your names especially engraved on the scented soaps. Or, if your vanity plays up, you can have both you and your fiancé’s faces engraved on that soaps! See, how cool is that? There are so many ways you can play up your scented soaps.

4. Scented candles. Scented candles have not gained a foothold in the wedding favors industry until recently. However, these tiny scented candles have become quite popular over the last couple of years that they have become pretty ordinary. To play up your scented candles, you can have them shaped in various silhouettes. You can also have your names or faces engraved on those scented candles. Certainly, they would make great wedding favors.

5. Now here is a trickier, albeit less expensive idea for your wedding favors. You can buy those little tequila shot glasses, a few decorative pebbles, and you can printout a tiny copy of you and your fiancé’s snapshot. Put the decorative pebbles and the mini picture inside the shot glass, and there… your personalized wedding favour.

Can you see the savings now? With that extra budget, you can buy your mom that plus size wedding attire she wants!

When that special day comes, it is sometimes hard to remember everything that needs to be done.  Will the flowers be fresh as promised?  Will the cake be as good as you remember it?  It can be overwhelming for most, but without the help of the best man and the maid of honor, it would be nearly impossible.  These dear friends really deserve something to help them remember this great day as well and a small thank you for their dedication to the task at hand.  You cannot go wrong with some jewelry for them as a sign of respect and love for all of their hard work.

One would think designating a best man or maid of honor would be an easy task, but like the rest of the wedding, it is very difficult and requires a lot of thinking and a great deal of trust.  Many of the tasks you would often forget are taken care of by these very special people in your lives.  It is very easy to forget little things that happen along the way.  By purchasing a piece of jewelry, a ring, a watch, earrings, or a necklace, you show them that they mean the world to you not only by being chosen in their special role, but overall as a friend in your life.

There are many places where you can find appropriate jewelry for your best man and maid of honor, both online and in retail jewelry stores.  Regardless of their taste or personality, you can get that special someone something unique even on a tight budget.  With a little work and some research, you can find that special person in your wedding a beautiful piece of jewelry whilst spreading the joy of the day around to those whom you truly love.

Images courtesy of Abazias.com.