Dimitra Designs

We like keeping ourselves up to date on different ideas for wedding designs.  While we were hopping around the internet, we came across Carly’s blog.  Carly is (very!) recently engaged to her fiance Chris, and she’s an amazing designer to boot!  She lets us into her life (and her workspace) on her blog, All this is Grace and Charm.

We’re looking forward to keeping up with her blog as she plans her wedding.  She’s already got some awesome color boards that are truly an inspiration to anyone!  We’re excited to see what amazing ideas she comes up with for her venue.  And we’re even more excited to see what kind of dress she picks out!  Carly is beautiful on the inside and out, and we’re simply in love with her funky aesthetic.

Please go over and check out her awesome blog!  Whether you’re planning your own wedding or not, you’re sure to get some creative inspiration from Carly’s creations.

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!

It’s no secret that we love wedding dresses, and we just can’t get enough of looking at them! There’s just something so ethereal and magical about a wedding dress, and the absolute joy of a bride finding the perfect dress for her. We had the pleasure of coming across FashionBride, a blog showcasing only the prettiest of wedding dresses.

We can’t help but blush when we mention they even featured us on the blog at Alma Novia 2010 Collection via Dimitra Designs – so exciting! We hope you’ll take a look at FashionBride, as we know you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it! It’s a great way to get some inspiration for your own wedding dress. Kudos to FashionBride for doing such an awesome job on posting beautiful wedding dresses!

The last thing you want on your wedding day is to be stuck looking for your lipstick or some other essential item. That’s why you need a bridal emergency kit. You can either put it together yourself, or have your maid of honor do it. Either way, these are the things that you don’t want to be without on your big day.

1. A little sewing kit. (You never know what might happen!)
2. Clear nail polish, nail polish in the bride’s color, and a nail file.
3. Makeup. (Though that probably goes without saying.)
4. Brush, comb, bobby pins, hair-ties.
5. Tissues, handkerchiefs, lint brush.
6. Baby powder. (It can help with chaffing from too much dancing. But it’s also great for getting out last minute stains on your white dress.)
7. Antacid, breath mints.
8. Tampons and pads, headache medicine, adhesive bandages.
9. Mirror, a little bottle of water, moist towelettes. (You never know how long you’ll be away from a washroom.)
10. Cellphone, a list of phone numbers. (In case you have to call one of your vendors for some reason.)

It might be your day to be a princess, but it’s also a good day to live by that old Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared.

It’s one thing to fall in love with a dress when you see it on a model. It’s another thing to try that very same dress on and come to find that it doesn’t look nearly as good on you. Save yourself some dressing-room heartache by looking for the kinds of dresses that suit your unique body type.

1. Petite girls shouldn’t go for something that’s overwhelming. That means that big ball gowns and mermaid shapes are out of the picture. If you’re under 5′3”, try looking for something with clean contours so you don’t get bogged down with bulky fabric.
2. Tall brides can pull off the kinds of dresses that the more petite brides can’t. Ball gowns, A-lines, and mermaid shapes work well. Just try to avoid something with an empire waist— otherwise you might end up looking a little tent-like. Remember to keep it in proportion.
3. If you have a more pear-shaped physique, an A-line dress can offset your bottom half. It also helps to balance your torso and your bust.
4. An hourglass figure is served pretty well by a corset dress. If you’ve got the definition in your waist, you might as well flaunt it. (Corsets also work well for the fuller busted ladies.)
5. Someone with broad shoulders should stay away from dresses with halter and off-the-shoulder necklines. This will only make your shoulders look larger! Try going strapless. Offset your shoulders with some delicate jewelry.
6. Brides with a fuller waist should try something with a princess-line cut. This look will draw everyone’s eyes up.

Knowing in advance what kind of dress will look the best on you can only make your shopping experience easier!

There’s so many talented Greenville, South Carolina wedding photographers out there, and we’re proud to be able to bring a few of our favorites to you! We recently had the pleasure of getting to know the great people at Richard Ellis Photography, and were so impressed by their wedding photography portfolios. To say that their photos are breathtaking would be an absolute understatement, as there’s so much emotion in each and every photo, with each photo capturing its subjects in just that perfect light.

The Richard Ellis Wedding Photography blog is another gem on their site! You can get a great sense of the photographers behind these scenes and how they work to capture the unique personality of the couple they’re photographing. After all, you want to be sure you’re working with a photographer who understands your personality and will take photos to make your personality shine even more! The talented photographers at Richard Ellis Photography are simply experts in Greenville wedding photography, and we know your wedding photographs will be in wonderful hands!

Late spring and summer are the most popular months of the year to get married, which isn’t surprising since they open up the opportunity for outdoor ceremonies and receptions, such as elegant flowering gardens and beach side weddings. One of the biggest challenges of a summer wedding is deciding on how to wear your hair. You want something that will be cool and comfortable, but still elegant.  It should be something that can stand up to high heat and humidity, and will stay put all day long. Here are three of our favorite summer wedding hairstyle trends:

Simple Up Do – pulling your hair up in a bun or a classic chignon is an easy way to beat the heat. There are entire books filled with pictures of wedding up dos, so you won’t have to look far for inspiration. It’s also easy to keep in place – since the hair doesn’t need to move you can use extra hairspray to combat the heat!

The Grown Up Pony – When you first hear the words “pony tail” it makes you think of grade school and going to the gym, but there are plenty of grown up and elegant ways to do a pony. Create a low pony tail to the side and decorate it with a few flowers for a simple and beautiful hair style.

Bridal Braids – Skip the pigtails and go for a loose and elegant braid that just pulls some of your hair back from your face, for a romantic feel. For more formal weddings, you can do a French braid or more elaborate hairstyle that will keep you feeling and looking cool all day.

Do you have any other ideas for beautiful summer hair? Let us know in the comments!