Olga Pomeransky, Author at The Best Bridal Store - Your source for everything you want to know about weddings

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Best Bachelorette Party Themes: And How to Execute Them

These days approximately 94% of brides choose to have a bachelorette party. Whether they embrace an intimate weekend together or a night out on the town with their best friends, celebrating the end of their singlehood has become a staple to the wedding experience. As of late, women have become more creative than ever with the themes they choose to follow. Nowadays, there is so much room to personalize these weekends or nights and you are able to make the bride feel special for the entirety of the weekend.

With the plethora of options available, it can be overwhelming to start planning for one. Begin with the basics. There are a lot of necessities you’ll need no matter the theme to execute the weekend successfully. Next, decide on a direction. Whether you’re the maid-of-honor taking the lead, or the bride herself figuring out the plans, it’s crucial to pinpoint what you’re striving for. One of the most important steps is to get the personality of the weekend figured out and make sure you don’t stray away from that.

Keep reading for the essentials you’ll need, no matter the theme, as well as unique ideas for any version of a bride!

First things first, the essentials…

Before deciding on any theme, it’s crucial the bridal party and anyone who joins the party, are prepared with the staples and essentials for the weekend. To start off your go-to bag, be sure to include some medical necessities. Tylenol to help with those hangovers you might experience and maybe even some disposable masks to ensure if any guests forget theirs you have them covered. Understandably, these items can be forgotten or you simply didn’t realize you’d require them. With new online services, you can opt to have those over-the-counter items delivered to your location – to save you from getting that dreaded FOMO and having to run to the store. Another thing to keep in mind to pack is an organized planner. If you are the maid of honor planning or hosting, it’s crucial to have a flexible schedule written with a loose itinerary. With a planner you can have something to base the weekend on and ensure you hit everything you wish to do!

For the Laid Back Bride…

Yoga escape

In the past when you thought of bachelorette parties, your mind may have gone to the typical Hollywood portrayal. Spending the night in a new city and traipsing from bar to bar with the whole group. However, this does not have to be the case. While that can be a lot of fun and a priority for some brides, there are others that prefer a more laid back and relaxing atmosphere. A yoga escape might be the perfect solution for that “laid back bride.” Meditating and eating healthy are great ways to really decompress from that stressful planning and enjoy the end of singledom. Not to mention, this can really give you a chance to take a step back and really show appreciation to your bride tribe!

First things first, find a retreat you like. There are plenty around and you might be surprised at how many are close to you. If you have a bigger budget, look into resorts in the Caribbean or in a tropical location. There are wellness resorts that offer an extensive amount of relaxing amenities other than yoga, so do some research on these. It’s important to note that you don’t have to be an expert yogi to go to these retreats! On the other hand, there are cheaper options as well! Opting for a local spa or creating your own yoga morning at a neighborhood park can still fulfill your bride’s wish to remain low-key. Be sure to get a gauge on everyone’s budget and availability and discuss how the majority wishes to execute.

For the Adventurous Bride…

Glamping Weekend

Whether you are outdoorsy or not, a glamorous-camping weekend has a little something for everyone. Immediate access to hiking trails while having an insulated area to spend the night allows for a comfortable weekend that isn’t as extreme as camping. This escape into the woods is another perfect way to remove yourself from the every-day stress and responsibilities. Not to mention, there are so many activities to do throughout the weekend!

You can get extremely creative when planning a wedding-themed camping trip. Start with the party favors! Creating a fire starter kit for all of the guests as they arrive is the perfect way to really immerse them into the theme. Similar to the yoga retreat, you can make this atmosphere low-key and cozy. Piling the cabin or tent with blankets gives the perfect vibe for a Friday-night card game and ultimately leading into a Saturday morning hike. Exploring a new area is a perfect symbolic challenge for that adventurous bride. The best part, this weekend is very easy to keep on a budget! Bringing your own food and drinks will keep the cost down and give an easy way for others to contribute. If you’re feeling extra creative, bring a DIY craft for one of the days. If some of your bridesmaids aren’t the best in nature, they’ll have the perfect activity to do to keep everyone happy.

For the Life of the Party Bride…

Casino night

Now, for the more traditional bachelorette weekend, a weekend out on the town. When thinking about the classic girls weekend, your mind may land on Las Vegas. A weekend spent with your best friends, letting loose is a lot of brides’ dreams. However, getting to Las Vegas tends to fall out of most financial plans. Luckily, this lively atmosphere can be found in a lot of places. Local casinos tend to come with hotels attached and can give you that Vegas feel.

However, there are even ways to incorporate a casino night at home! A staycation casino night might be even better than the real thing! Throw an elvis themed costume party, organize a poker night, or even dress up in your favorite outfit and head to dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town. Buying into the theme is crucial and there are so many small details that can really make the night special. Give your bride that cheesy veil to wear the whole night and maybe the hot pink sash paired with the tiara. Singling her out and making her feel special will make the night memorable. Don’t forget to add in a killer playlist to really put the cherry on top of the night.

Whether you’re in the mood for an out-of the box idea or prefer to stick with the classics, there are plenty of ways to make your wishes come true for your bachelorette weekend. This is one of the most enjoyable aspects for the bride-to-be – have fun with it!

Here are some more ideas to consider:
– Puzzle it out together in an escape room
– Pamper yourselves at an Austin med spa
– Keep it civilized with Napa Valley wine tasting

Comment below your favorite bachelorette party theme you’ve gone to! We’d love to hear more ideas.

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A Comprehensive Guide to Online Bridal Showers

A bridal shower is a much-anticipated pre-wedding event for brides. She gathers with her bridal party and closest female friends and family members to celebrate her upcoming wedding. Tamer than a bachelorette party, many bridal showers take place during the day (some over a long weekend) and involve light drinking, eating, and sometimes a spa day or other fun event, like shopping.

The bridal shower that we know today originated in Holland in the 16th Century, an offset of the dowry system, where the bride’s family had to pay her husband to marry her. Friends and sometimes distant family members would chip in and pay for her dowry for poor brides, who couldn’t afford to marry.

Today, at least in Western society, bridal showers serve a broader purpose. Marriage usually changes the dynamics of friendships and familial relationships, so bridal showers are an excellent way for her friends and family to spend more time with the bride before her priorities shift towards her husband and their family. Proving that old traditions die hard, brides today are often showered with expensive gifts or cash that can enhance or contribute to their wedding day.

Unfortunately, the social landscape is looking a little different right now due to social distancing guidelines. Many brides aren’t comfortable throwing large, lavish gatherings while Covid-19 ravishes our world without a vaccine in sight. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to mean that they don’t get to have their bridal shower; they have to get creative and throw a virtual bridal shower or even a small backyard shower. Please keep reading for our comprehensive guide on how to have an online bridal shower.

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Diamonds Shapes of Your Engagement Ring: Ultimate Shapes vs Cut Guide

When it comes to diamonds, many people talk learned of shape and cut as though they are the same thing. Confusingly, often they can have the same meaning – after all, things (including diamonds!) are cut into shapes. But when it comes to gemstones, there is a slight – but significant – difference between the two. Let us examine these, before looking at the most popular shapes for engagement rings, and the cuts that are required to achieve them.

What is a Shape?

As it sounds, a shape is the external silhouette of a diamond. For example, a diamond that takes the form of a heart (one of the most popular diamond engagement ring styles) is said to be a ‘heart shaped’ diamond. While you could say that it has been cut into a heart shape, you could not say that it was a ‘heart cut’ diamond.

So, What is a Cut, Then?

The cut, as well as forming the external shape, includes all the facets which are formed on the diamond. These facets (the word means ‘little faces’) give diamonds – in fact, all gemstones – their unique sparkling properties. This is because the crystals from which the stones are made reflect light in certain ways, and the cut can enhance or mute this according to the taste of the cutter.

Adding to the confusion, there are different kinds of cut too. Some words associated with the cut of a diamond: dull or brilliant, deep or shallow, refer to the reflectivity that the finished stone will throw out. So a flat, squared stone will almost always be ‘shallow cut’ because the stone does not have the literal depth for a ‘deep’ cut. The other kind of cut is usually named for the shape of the finished stone, but it refers to the many facets cut all over the stone, not just those used to create the external shape. A good example is the first and most popular shape and cut for a diamond that is to be used in a diamond engagement ring: the brilliant round. Brilliant means that the facets are designed (usually a vertical array) to make the diamond throw off a maximum of light, creating a brilliant sparkle, while ’round’ refers to the shape of the diamond, when seen from the top down. Let us look at popular engagement ring shapes and cuts in more detail.

Brilliant Round

As mentioned above, this stone is round when viewed from above. However, from the side, the diamond will have the traditional diamond shape, with a pointed end widening out to a girdle, before turning in and ending with a flattened top, called a table. When these stones are loose, they can be rested on their tables and examined for flaws, color, clarity and so on. This shape is the most popular as it shows good diamonds off to their very best.

Princess Cut

The second-most popular diamond cut for an engagement ring, not only does this stone have a beautiful name, it has a beautiful and rather unusual shape, being squared, but with those brilliant vertical steps to enhance the sparkle of the stone. If you have a stone that has slight imperfections that might be shown up by the spare lines of a brilliant round cut, a princess cut can be more forgiving, minimizing flaws and enhancing that desirable sparkle and symmetry.

Emerald Cut

An emerald cut is immediately familiar to anyone who has ever looked at emeralds! It is a rectangular cut, often with shaped corners, and lending itself well to flat wide stones – a formation that natural emeralds often appear in. While it is unusual to have diamonds with an emerald cut, it is not unheard of, and some people prefer the more muted hint of inner fire that this cut can give a diamond, rather than the overt sparkle of the traditional diamond cuts. Emerald cut stones have flat horizontal facets cut in steps that can be very forgiving of larger inclusions or clarity issues with a diamond. While it sounds like a ‘cheat’ in fact, diamonds are often improved, with the value increasing dramatically, by using the right cut to obscure faults and enhance the stone’s good points.

Oval Cut

The name is a perfect descriptor, and oval engagement rings look striking, adding to the aesthetics of the hand they are worn upon by making the fingers seem long, slim, and elegant. Again, the cut can be used to disguise flaws in a stone, or it can be used to maximize the carat value of the stone, with the shape being chosen to snip off occlusions, leaving only high-quality gem behind.

Marquise Cut

Always an evocative name because of its association with aristocratic wealth and opulence, a marquise cut stone is shaped rather like a narrow rugby ball: an oval that ends in two points, rather than curving softly. Like the oval cut, a marquise cut engagement ring is strikingly attractive, lengthening the fingers and giving the whole hand an elegant and delicate appearance.

Pear Cut

This unique cut is somewhere between an oval, with one curved end, and one more acute end – something like a tear drop. If the ring is designed so that the tapered end points towards the finger nail, it can create a wonderfully baroque, and yet aesthetically pleasing look.

Trillion Cut

For something distinctive and yet still beautiful, with that evocative brilliant sparkle, a trillion-cut diamond ring is rapidly gaining popularity. This stone is broadly triangular when seen from the top, can boast great depth, if the right size diamond is used, and looks very attractive when set into an engagement ring.

These are just some of the more common shapes and cuts that are used to create diamond engagement rings and hopefully now you can distinguish between a shape and a cut when discussing your own diamond preferences. Do make sure you look for accreditation from GIA and AGS, when buying a diamond: these two institutions are the guardians of diamond integrity in the USA, offering verifiable certification for all stones that pass through their hands. For more information and some extra shapes and cuts, check out this useful guide on diamond shapes from Pricescope, one of the largest impartial diamond and jewelry forums. Consequently, if you are looking for wedding gowns or bridesmaid dresses, check out website at Best for Bride.

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6 Wedding Planning Hacks That Will Save Your Nerves And Money

Anyone who’s ever planned a full-sized wedding will always tell you one thing: it’s absolutely stressful. There are so many big and small things that require all your focus. From the venue selection to the catering, lighting, dress, florals and more, there’s a ton of stuff that requires your attention.

So, what’s the solution? How can you make your Big Day feel as awesome as possible without succumbing to all the stress and nerves that go with the whole thing? We’ve got some pretty amazing hacks to help you out right here:

Go vintage with the dress

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Photo by Vitor Pinto on Unsplash

Out of all wedding expenses, it’s the dress that costs the most. Logically, every bride knows that you’re only going to wear it once – but! You’ll only wear it once, so why not make it the best dress of your life, right?

However, you can always do splendidly in this regard without actually spending a ton of money. In fact, you can easily get a classic vintage wedding dress and get it altered to your liking by a reputable wedding gown tailor. The classics never fail and if you find one at an affordable price, it can save you a lot of hassle, expenses, and a ton of headache to simply get it professionally outfitted at a wedding gown alterations shop instead of going to an upscale boutique.

Outsource vendors

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Photo by Alasdair Elmes on Unsplash

Wedding planning is all about finding the best vendors at reasonable prices, but many couples don’t know where to start. The answer is simple: ask your venue. This is the easy part, because the venue owners usually have preferred vendors and you might not get the best prices.

But talking to them will give you a baseline on the expenditure, so when you find and meet new ones, you’ll have an idea on the benchmark prices of most services and how they are provided. You’ll also get some great recommendations. Some might even overlap, so you can always prioritize those at the end of the day.

Keeping on top of your expenditure

Wedding preparations can turn into a black hole where you can throw an inordinate amount of money until you end up with nothing. Money management can become really, really hard once you start prepping for the big day. There are vendors asking for money here and there, and no matter how many recipets you try to save, you always end up losing track of where those bucks actually went away.

The best way to manage this problem is to rely on technology. In fact, there’s an app called Honeyfi that lets you manage your savings in the best possible way. It allows you to manage your money in a responsible way while helping you keep track of your spending.

Get smart with communications

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Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

The biggest hassle you’ll encounter before your Big Day will come in the form of communications. Once you’ve decided on all your vendors, venue, and more, you’ll have to keep in contact with all of them. Most days, your email is going to get spammed with a massive amount of queries and coordination messages. This is why it’s always smart to create a separate email ID for your wedding plans. This way, you’ll always have all your wedding-related correspondence, quotes, and important messages in one place.

Secondly, you can also invest on a wedding website, which is an excellent way to coordinate and communicate with all of your guests. These websites are a great way to feature all the important details that your guests need to know about – i.e. gift registries, venue directions, dress code, etc. – all at the same time. No one can fall prey to bad communication this way.

Rely on backup plans

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Photo by Shardayyy Photography on Unsplash

Outdoor weddings and unreliable vendors are a dime a dozen in this market, so you always need to have a backup plan. If you’re getting married during the rainy season, then you need to make sure that your venue is covered. Even if you’re hosting outdoors, make sure that your marquee is water-proof and able to withstand the elements.

You also need to have a second DJ option, and if you’re able to hold some backup in catering, then you need to get that as well. This way, you’ll be truly stress free on your big day, in case any of your original plans fall through.

Do everything in advance

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Photo by Photos by Lanty on Unsplash

The one thing that always hits like a curveball from the left field when it comes to wedding is this: unpredictability. You just never know when you might hit an unexpected speedbump, which is why it’s always best to be prepared in advance.

Now, you might be wondering how you can do that, and it basically entails taking care of all the major stuff beforehand. Summers are busy wedding seasons, so you need to order all your things in advance. As far as dresses are concerned, find a good custom tailoring service and get them altered a few months ahead so there aren’t any mishaps and you’re able to shop for shoes and jewelry accordingly.

The only thing that needs to be last minute is catering and floral arrangement. Anything that can be done in advance should be done that way.

So these are some wedding planning hacks that you can use to save a ton of time, money, and stress. They’ll definitely help you out in the long run and keep your groove going as the Big Day comes closer and closer!

Tony Kantzavelos is the owner of LoveYourDress and Love Your Tailor Toronto. Specializing in dress cleaning, clothing alterations and tailoring since 1986. Tony loves sharing tips and trade secrets for customizing and taking care of almost any kind of dress, and especially helping women look their best no matter the occasion.