Wedding Preparation

Your wedding day is supposed to be perfect, but sometimes, well, things happen. Here are three quick and easy solutions from DimitraDesigns.com to solve some common wedding day woes.

The Problem: Lipstick on Your Collar, er, Wedding Dress
OK, so we all smudge our lipstick and maybe you managed to get some on your wedding dress. Don’t worry! Lipstick stains may be tough, but they’re not invincible. Start out by sprinkling a little baking soda on a stain and letting it soak up any moisture or grease that’s in the lipstick. Then, brush off the excess powder. Gently disguise any discoloration with chalk. Then, seek a dry cleaner after the ceremony. The baking soda (or talcum powder) trick works on greasy food stains too!

Want to avoid this problem from happening? Make sure you put the wedding dress on then apply make up. Always wear a covering over the gown (e.g. towel) while you get your makeup put on so there’s no chance of getting anything on the dress.

The Problem: Your Special Time Came Unexpectedly
Oh, no. No, no no. This is one of the bride’s biggest fears ever. Make sure you come prepared by wearing the right underwear. We know it might not seem sexy to swap out your thong for a pair of briefs, but it’s better to be safe than sorry if you know your period is coming up soon. Put on a pair that’s comfortable and can easily accommodate you wearing a pad or pantyliner. You can still choose a pair that’s sexy! Don’t ever use a tampon unless you have started your period already! Then, equip a bridesmaid, friend, or family member with a bridal emergency kit that includes enough tampons and pads to take care of a problem should it happen.

If you have a leak or an accidental run-in with your time of the month, you can get any stains out with cold water or hydrogen peroxide. Just make sure to dilute the hydrogen peroxide (one part to nine parts water) so that it doesn’t bleach the fabric. Use chalk to disguise anything that won’t come out.

The Problem: Oh My God, I Hate My Hair!
It’s your perfect day…and your hair looks like a train wreck. You can avoid this wedding day disaster by scheduling trial hair runs before your wedding day with your stylist. This way, you know EXACTLY what you’ll be getting on your day. Just take pictures, work with your stylist on a routine, and make sure that you both are on the same page when it comes to your hairdo.

If for some reason something happens, have a friend or a family member on hand who can improvise a hairstyle if needed. Also, give yourself plenty of time before the wedding in case a hair mishap happens.

Did you know that you can serve up a signature cocktail on your special day instead of doing the traditional champagne toast? Wedding drinks don’t have to be dull and stale. You can actually have fun with what you serve while still keeping with tradition. Here’s one idea from DimitraDesigns.net on how to make the most of your wedding toast while fulfilling a lucky bridal tradition.

Remember the Victorian bridal saying of “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue”? Don’t think that you have to be wearing all of these things in order to get the same lucky effect! What if your something blue was actually something quite…delicious? This cocktail recipe for The Something Blue will be sure to delight guests on your special day while ensuring that you won’t be overwhelmed between the borrowed, new, and old wardrobe items.

The Something Blue

To make this drink, combine the following in a chilled champagne flute:

• 2 oz Hpnotiq
• 2 oz white wine
• 1 oz ginger ale

Serve and toast to a beautiful day  – and a long and happy marriage!

You want to look perfect on your wedding day.  (That goes without saying, but we’ll say it anyway.)  The crowning glory of your wedding look has to be your headpiece or tiara.  (Pardon the pun.)  Take your time when you’re picking out this important accessory.  It’s going to be something that you’ll remember forever.

Before you go shopping, do your hair in the style that you will be using for the wedding.  It doesn’t make sense to try in headpieces and tiaras when your hair is down if you’ll be wearing it up on your big day.  This will also help you determine whether a tiara, headband, or other headpiece will be the way to go.  Arrange everything the way you want it to look on your wedding day.  If you want the veil over your face, figure out how that looks with the headband or tiara.  Take a look at how it falls, too.  You want to make sure you look right from every angle.

Have a friend take pictures of your hair, the veil, headband, tiara, etc. once you get it exactly the way you want it.  Take pictures from every angle possible— front, back, side, close up, and far away.  These will serve as a reference when you try to recreate the look on the big day.

Planning a wedding isn’t easy!  Dimitra Designs understands that.  We want to make sure you are relaxed enough to enjoy your big day when it comes.  We have a few tips for keeping yourself sane as you plan your wedding.

1) Think about whether or not you really need something.  As you look through books, magazines, stores, and websites to plan your wedding, ask yourself a few questions.  The biggest question should be, “When I look back on my wedding day, will I remember this item?  Will it make the day any better if I have it or worse if I don’t?”  If the answer is “No,” you should just skip it. That way you’ll avoid things that can end up taking away from both your time and your budget.
2) Delegate and let other people help you!  If you can let yourself give up control of some of the little details, you’ll save yourself a bunch of headaches.
3) Have fun with the decisions you make.  Make sure the wedding reflects your style and personality.  If you two like movies, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a movie theater themed wedding.  It will be fun for you and your fiance to sit down together and think of some of the ideas.  It can be a great bonding experience for the two of you.

At Dimitra Designs, we have a great selection of strapless wedding dresses.  Strapless dresses walk that fine line between being revealing and being elegant— and we think they do it beautifully.  We want to make sure you stay elegant on your wedding day.  Be confident in your strapless wedding dress!

-First of all, the proper fit is very important.  You don’t want your strapless wedding dress to be so loose that you keep pulling it up all night.  But you also don’t want it to be too tight, either.  That will just look tacky.  Like the strapless dress walks the line between revealing and elegant, you need to walk the line between loose and tight.  A properly fitted strapless wedding dress should firmly grip the top of your bust without revealing too much cleavage.

-All of the strapless wedding dresses at Dimitra Designs are masterfully crafted.  You’ll notice that they retain their hourglass shape even when they’re on the hanger.  This is important when you’re shopping for a strapless dress.  Your natural body shape should simply reinforce the hourglass shape of the dress.  It makes it more stable.

-Always wear a bra with a strapless dress.  You want to avoid any Janet Jackson-like wardrobe malfunctions.  In the rare event that your dress falls down, you’ll have the bra to keep you covered.  (Hey, we don’t know how crazy your wedding reception will be!)

Most importantly, make sure you feel beautiful!

You’re shopping on DimitraDesigns.com because you’re a classy bride with classy tastes.  But that doesn’t mean that you have to totally nix the idea of a bachelorette party.  There are plenty of ways to have a good time with your girls without getting too raunchy.  So forget about the strippers for a while, and try out some of these mellow bachelorette party ideas.

-Just go out to dinner!  It can be a great opportunity to share some memories about the bride-to-be.  Pick her favorite restaurant, and have a pleasant evening.

-Play a mellow game.  One of our favorites is one that tests the bachelorette’s knowledge of her future hubby.  So have one of the girls ask the groom 20 questions beforehand.  General stuff like his favorite color, movie, and most embarrassing moment.  See how many the bride can get right!

-Have a spa day.  Planning a wedding is stressful, so we’re sure everyone could use a little time to relax.  Massages, manicures, and pedicures are a great way to do that!  Plus, many spas offer group rates.

-You can even go to a concert or a play.  There’s bound to be a local community or college theater out there with something you girls want to see.  It’s a perfectly classy bachelorette party idea.

If you choose to carry on the garter tossing tradition at your wedding reception, you need to remember a few things.  After all, you want this to be part of your reception that people remember— not something that you and your husband will be embarrassed about for years to come.

Why do it, anyway?
The tradition dates back to 14th Century France.  Brides of the day used to toss easily removable parts of their clothing to guests as a gesture of good luck.  The garter was usually one of the things she tossed.  It evolved into the groom tossing the garter at the unwed male guests.

Traditional or unusual
The bride usually sits in a chair in the middle of the dance floor.  And the groom removes the garter from her leg.  Now, brides, you have to keep a few things in mind.  Try to put the garter just above your knee so your husband isn’t showing your “goods” to the whole world.  And, we’ve touched on this in this blog before, you need to wear some reasonable undergarments.  You just never know what could happen with the garter toss.
-Choose a fun song.  How about the “Mission Impossible” theme?
-Try doing a “married” toss instead.  If you have more married male guests, you can invite all of them to catch the garter.  The winner here would then present the garter to his own wife (in private!).
-You can get silly and have the bride sit on the best man’s lap while the husband looks for the garter.

Every bride wants to feel as feminine as possible on her wedding day, and the shoes play a big part in that.  If you’re not the kind of girl that wears high heels on a regular basis, you need to work your way up to those fabulous wedding shoes! Here at DimitraDesigns.net, we want you to look and feel your best.  It’s not as difficult as it seems— it’ll just take a little bit of practice.

-Start small and work your way up.  You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to run, right?  Begin with a shoe that has a broad, low heel.  Something in the 2”-3” range is a good idea.
-Once you get good at that, upgrade to a low kitten heel.  These will get you used to walking on a heel that’s a little narrower.  They’re still very low, so you don’t have to worry too much about balance.
-Then you can go on to try some wedge heels.  The wedge adds a little bit of extra balance and comfort while you get used to the height of the heel.
-Finally, go ahead and try some stiletto heels.  You don’t really need to go any higher than 3”4”. That’s the perfect height.

When you walk down the aisle, you want to make sure you do it with ease!  Gradually working your way up to a higher heel should make that transition fairly simple for you.

We don’t think about our undergarments too much on a daily basis.  If you’re like anyone here, you just grab something out of the drawer and go about your day.  But your wedding day is a different story.  And we’re not talking about picking something that’s frilly, lacy, or sparkly.  On your wedding day, you need something that’s functional underneath that dress.  Think of it like a movie set— sometimes the lead actress (your dress) is only at her best when she has a great supporting cast (the undergarments).

-If you’re wearing a strapless dress, you’ve got a lot of options.  Ladies with smaller busts can get away without a bra if they ask their seamstress to just sew in some bust cups for definition.  If you want a little support, a strapless bra works perfectly.
-Some dresses, however, need to be worn with a bustier instead.  If your dress has a dip in the back of the bodice, you’re probably in the club.  Just pick a smooth microfiber one with no visible boning.  If you go with something too fancy looking, it’ll be visible through your gown.
-Dress too revealing for a bustier?  Then get yourself a high-quality stick-on bra.  It sounds silly, but they absolutely do the trick.
-Lots of brides choose a brief or boy-short panty instead of a thong.  This is probably a good idea.  There’s nothing worse than the feeling of a petticoat on a bare behind!
-If your wedding gown is sleeker on the bottom, you’ll need some special undergarments.  It might be in your best interest to go with a smoothing foundation-garment that stops mid-thigh. Not the sexiest thing on the planet, but you won’t have any visible panty lines!

Looking your best on your wedding day is about making a positive life change.  Don’t fall into one of those fad diets.  You’ll just end up gaining any weight back once the wedding is over.  Start married life of right with with a healthy lifestyle!

Here are some basics:  Eat more fruits and veggies, cut down on sweets, avoid fried and fatty foods, choose lean meats, and eat at least 8 glasses of water a day.

Pick a good day to start gradually making some changes.  Make sure you have enough time before the wedding.  Just go through your cabinets, pantry, and refrigerator.  Clear out anything that might sabotage your efforts here.

Try keeping a food diary.  If you write down what you eat, you’ll be less likely to eat things you don’t really need.

Swimming, cycling, and walking are some great exercises to get you started in a cardio routine. Exercise is important!  If you just eat fewer calories without exercising, your body uses lean muscle mass as energy.  And that’s not going to help you in your lifestyle goal!

It’s important to look and feel your best on your wedding day.  If you start making healthy lifestyle choices now, you’ll look and feel just as good on your 25th anniversary!