June 8, 2010

All You Need Is LOVE

Seems that people often forget that the one ingredient that truly makes a wedding successful is…L – O – V – E!

Today, brides seem more caught up in the details of creating the perfect wedding rather than in the marriage and love itself. Yes, I know, I am a participant in this process as the wedding planner, but I do believe we all have to stop and remind ourselves that it really is about the LOVE.

Of course selecting the date, the venue, the dress, the color scheme, the flowers, the menu, the music, the cake and the favors are important and those things quickly become overwhelming. But, we must all stop to remember that the real reason a wedding is happening is because two people fell in love with one another and NOT just in love with the idea of having a wedding.

I was walking down the street the other day and a fan stopped me to say hello and was so excited to speak with me. She was dying to ask me the question, “When do you know it’s the right time to get married and have a wedding?” I told her the answer is simple…ALL you need is LOVE! You shouldn’t have questions, you should just know you are meant to get married and this knowledge comes from having true love. The wedding is merely the icing on the cake.

My job as a wedding planner is to create memories. A couple’s love for one another should always be felt from the moment guests receive their invitations to when they arrive at the wedding until the moment they leave—that, my friends, cannot be created.

Before you actu­ally start search­ing for your  gown you might need to know a few terms.

Below is a list of terms that will make your wed­ding dress buy­ing easier.

Wed­ding Dress - Bodice

• Corset — A tight-fitted top with bon­ing for support-zipper or laceup back.
• Empire — Rounded bodice that ends just below the bust line.
• Hal­ter — A top that the straps wrap around the neck.
• Midriff — bodice fits tightly around the ribcage.
• One-shoulder — reveals one shoulder.
• Princess-line - bodice has two seams that run over the bust line to the seam.

Wed­ding Dress — Necklines

• Bateau — Cut straight across the collar-bone line.
• Square — Neck­line is shaped like half of a square in the front and/or back.
• High-Neck — The neck­line reaches high to the neck.
• Hal­ter — Higher-neck with straps that tie behind the neck.
• Jewel — Round neckline.
• Off The Shoul­der — Sits just off the shoulders.
• Por­trait — Rounded scoop from shoul­der to the other.
• Scoop — Deeper, rounder cut that reaches from shoul­der to shoulder
• Strap­less — Sit on ribcage around whole top half with no straps.
• Sweet­heart — Top half of the dress shaped in a heart, point in the mid­dle of the chest.
• V-Neck — The mid­dle of the neck­line comes down into a V-shape.

Wed­ding Dress — Sleeves

• Bal­loon — Full from the shoul­der and over the upper arm, nar­row over the lower arm and wrist.
• Bell — Tight and nar­row at the top of arm and comes down into a wide open bell shape.
• Cap — A small sleeve just cov­er­ing the top of the arm.
• Fit­ted point — A long sleeve that comes to a point on top of the hand.
• Juliet — long sleeved that reaches down to the wrist has either a straight or pointed end.
• Poet — Gath­ers at the shoul­ders with rounded, loose exten­sion over arms, then gath­ers down to wrist.
• Spaghetti strap — Very Thin straps.
• 3 quar­ter length — Sleeve that end between the elbow and wrist.
• Tulip — A petal-shape, flaps over the shoul­ders, resem­ble a flower.

Wed­ding Dress — Skirt styles

• V-Waist — Waist drops just below waist­line cre­at­ing a V shape.
• Empire Waist — The waist­line begins just below the bust line.
• Ball gown — Fit­ted at the waist, and comes out into a full ball gown.
• Flared — Fit­ted at the waist, comes out into a tulip shape at the hemline.
• Flounce — looser skirt that flares out and has a ruf­fle at the hemline.
• Pan­nier — Fab­ric drap­ing on both hips
• Pencil/ Col­umn Skirt/straight skirt — Straight-lined skirt with no flare or fullness.
• Pleated — Vary­ing num­bers of pleats along the front of the skirt.
• Mul­ti­ple pleats — accor­dion style
• Two larger pleats — box style
• Side slit — Slit on the side of one leg, allow­ing for movement.
• Straight — The skit extends straight down, with no flare at the hem.
• Tiered — The skirt has sev­eral over­lap­ping lay­ers of dif­fer­ent lengths.
• Wrap — The skirt over­laps the body and wraps at the waist.
• A-Lined — Form fit­ting bodice that flares out from the waist­line, Seam­less waist.

Wed­ding Dress — Skirt Lengths

• Ballerina/Tea Hem is just above the ankles.
• Floor Length — Reaches the floor on all sides.
• Inter­mis­sion — Hem falls between the knees and ankle.
• Knee Length — Reaches just below the knee.
• Mini Skirt — Reaches above the knee.

Wed­ding Dress — Trains

• Cathe­dral — Choice for ultra-formal weddings.(Extends 6–8 feet)
• Chapel — Choice for for­mal weddings.(Extends 3–4 feet)
• Extended — Known as a Royal train.(Extends more than 4 feet)
• Sweep/Brush — Short­est train, it just grazes the floor behind the bride.
• Watteau/Back Drape — Train extends from attach­ments at the shoulders.
• Detach­able Train — Are remov­able trains that joined to the gown at the waistline.

Acces­sories

• Crinoline/Petticoats/Parasols — Stiff­ened slip worn under the wed­ding gown. It gives a full­ness affect. *Com­monly used for A-lined dresses and Ball gown dresses
• Gauntlets — Gloves that extend above the wrist(From Wedbids)

Kanoe Kamanao –  #10 All American Setter – University of Hawaii Volleyball

Micah McMullin – Pro Body Board Surfer on cover of BODYBOARD Issue #15

Lawrence Wilson –Played for the Ravens & Houston in the All American League

Mel Purcell – Cleveland Browns

Jason Rivers – #84 Titans & Washington in Arena Football

C.J. Hawthorne – Buffalo Bills

Elizabeth Kaaihue – #7 University of Hawaii Volleyball

Kaulana Gould – #5 University of Hawaii Softball

At Princess Brides’ we are very proud of our Hawaii Athletes…these athletes have been our brides and grooms and in bridal parties.
Come and see our “Wall of Athletes”.

The winner of Saturday’s $500 Gift Certificate Giveaway at the Hawaii Bridal Expo  is Cheria Koki.   Cheria selected a beautiful wedding dress from Allure Bridals.    Congratulations to Cheria Koki!