DimitraDesigns.com News

You’ve finally found it – the absolute perfect wedding dress! It hugs your body in all the right places and looks just like you’ve always imagined. The only problem? You’re unable to afford it. Why should you lower your wedding dress expectations just because you don’t have enough money to pay for the cost of the dress upfront? You shouldn’t! At Dimitra Designs Bridal Emporium we have an amazing layaway program that will help you afford your dream wedding dress.

Planning a wedding is a very costly event. The food, reception, limos, gifts, favors, centerpieces and dresses are just a few things that will put a nice dent in your wallet. When everything else adds up to be expensive, DimitraDesigns.com has one way you can save some cash for a wonderful event!  Our line of affordable wedding dresses carries brand name, couture and exquisite gowns. With so many of these great affordable wedding dresses available there’s sure to be one that fits your taste and budget!

Right now, we’re offering up to 75% off of some of our most popular dresses! Many keep true to the styles and trends that are in for the 2013 bridal season, such as lace overlays, touches of color, detailed backs and necks, etc. Some designer names on sale include: Alfred Angelo, Kitty Chen, Anais Collezioni, Sophia Tolli and more! We also carry a variety of sizes so you’re sure to find the perfect fit! These dresses are flying out of our inventory and many have already been sold, so don’t wait to grab this great offer. If you have any questions on our line of affordable wedding dresses feel free to call us toll free at 866-866-0968. Check out these great dresses and large selection of other items and accessories for your wedding at DimitraDesigns.com!

This is your ‘Save-the-Date’ for big savings! More than 2,000 stores and merchants have pledged together to offer Free Shipping on Friday, December 16^th because it’s the last day for many stores to ship in time for the holidays – Dimitra Designs included! By offering Free Shipping to any bride-to-be’s ordering that day, we hope to remind you to order in time for Christmas!

What to know:

On December 16^th, you’ll receive free shipping on any order, including our bridal dresses and white debutante dresses. Just use the coupon code “SHIPPING121611” when you check out. The code is only good on the 16th, so don’t forget it! In fact, we’re not the only store offering free shipping that day. You can find out who else is participating in Free Shipping Day at their site, FreeShippingDay.com. This way you can’t forget to shop on the 16th!

We know many brides will likely want to share her wedding dress, headpieces and shoes with friends and family who are in town just for the holidays. That’s what makes our participation in Free Shipping Day even more important to us. So brides, take out those wish lists you’ve been building all year and start shopping. We promise you’ll receive your orders on the 16^th in time for Christmas, so don’t forget to mark your calendar!

It’s probably the single biggest decision you have to make on your wedding day. It’s the biggest cause of stress, and it’s what will set the tone for what you do or don’t do on your special day. It’s your budget. Many brides and grooms find the topic difficult if they haven’t had a serious talk about their finances in the past, and they may not be sure how to broach the subject with their parents if they need some help.

It’s inevitable that there will be some stress during wedding planning, but how you actually handle this stress is what’s key. Use your budget as a chance to practice working together and handling money for when you get married. Here are a few tips to help make budgeting for your wedding a breeze:

Start Early – After you get engaged, start envisioning what details are the most important to both of you for your wedding day. Do a little bit of research to find out how much those things typically cost, and then discuss how much you’d like to spend on your wedding. Detailing out estimated costs gives you an idea of savings goals you’ll need to set or amounts you might need to ask parents to contribute

DIY & Save – If your dream wedding goes way beyond your budget, look for ways you can Do It Yourself and save. If you really want to splurge on your gown, you might need to put together your own centerpieces or design your own invitations. Not only can it help balance your budget, but it adds an extra personal touch to your wedding.

Be Honest – Once you know how much you have to spend, it’s in your best interest to be up front with your vendors. It’s easy to get side tracked by add-ons and extras, but it’s going to hurt your bank account in the end. Let them know your budget and ask them for all of their options in your price range. They’ll help you find a solution that works for you both!

As you get closer to your wedding day and all the pieces start to come together, you’ll need to start planning out the finer details of your bridal look, which includes your makeup. Whether you want a professional salon to do your makeup or even if you’re doing it at home on your own, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure you look like your very best self on your big day.

• Do A Makeup Trial – or several, depending on what you can manage. It’s important to have a game plan before the wedding day so that you don’t end up with makeup you hate and no time to change it. Take photos after each makeup trial and see how the makeup looks on camera, both in natural and artificial light.
• Don’t Tan – if you end over over-tanning right before the wedding, there’s not much that can be done to fix it and you’ll look unnatural in your wedding photos.
• Stay Hydrated – double up on your water intake about a month before the wedding to keep your skin clearer and glowing. If you’re well hydrated you’ll have a much better canvas for applying makeup.
• Be Yourself – If you’re not comfortable with your look, speak up! You want to look like a more glamorous version of yourself, but still be yourself. If you’re uncomfortable with dark liner, or you never wear blush, let your makeup artist know so they can find something that suits your needs

With a little preparation, your wedding day makeup will be the perfect compliment to all of your planning!

While we know there’s nothing more romantic than a wedding, the planning of said wedding can turn into a lot of stress! Even the most well balanced bride and groom may find themselves overwhelmed with wedding planning on top of their daily grind. That’s why it’s so important for engaged couples to make some time for each other during the planning process.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and it’s the perfect excuse to schedule some couple time. No wedding talk, no color palates or flower choices – just you and your honey spending some quality time together!

It’s so important to make the time to connect, both to de-stress and to remind yourselves of why you’re getting married in the first place. It makes the time you do spend planning so much more enjoyable. If you’re not sure what to do this Valentine’s Day, you could make some time for any of the following:

• Dinner and a movie

• Dancing out at your favorite club

• A night out at a hockey game (or your sport of choice)

• A couple’s massage

• Cooking at home together and a night spent cuddling on the couch

It really doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you focus on each other! We hope all of our brides and grooms have a wonderful Valentine’s Day this year!

We are so very, very excited about today’s post. If you’re in the South Carolina area like us, you’ve probably seen the wonderful morning show Your Carolina with Jack & Kimberley. Last week, they launched their latest contest: Get Engaged Live On Stage! One lucky girl is going to get the proposal of a life time right on the Your Carolina set:

Why are we so excited about this? Not just because we love weddings and proposal stories, but because we’re sponsoring part of the giveaway! If you’re ready to take the plunge and ask the woman of your dreams to spend the rest of her life with you, AND are willing to do all of that on tv, that lucky lady will win the wedding dress of her dreams from Dimitra Designs!

So guys,  now is your chance to get engaged and win some fabulous prizes. Let Your Carolina and Dimitra Designs help you create the wedding of your dreams. You have until February 9th to enter!

We love hearing proposal stories! Asking your sweetie to marry you is romantic any time of the year, but there’s something extra special about a Christmas proposal that we can’t get enough of. If you’re planning on getting engaged in the next few weeks, we wanted to share a few of our favorite ways of proposing during the holidays!

• Find a unique way to wrap your extra special Christmas gift! You can tuck it in the bottom of her Christmas stocking, or put it inside box after box and make her work for her present. You could even put it inside a giant box and then fill the rest of the box with tinsel or packing peanuts so she has to search for the ring.

• Ask her with lights. One of our co-workers recently asked his girlfriend to marry him in the cutest way. She took her family to a local park that does a walk through holiday light display. He was waiting near the end with his own light display that said “Will you marry me?” and completely surprised her! You can do the same thing at your local park, on your house, or even in the back yard.

• Hide the ring in your tree, or place it strategically when she’s decorating so that she stumbles across it, and then propose in front of the tree.

What are some of your favorite holiday proposals? Let us know in the comments and we’ll share the best ones!

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org

It’s important to relax during wedding planning – it’s a stressful time, so spend time with friends and family, kick back, and enjoy the happiness of your upcoming wedding. Watching fun wedding movies can be a great way to unwind and relieve some of that stress. Here’s our Dimitra Designs list of our top wedding wedding movies!

1. The Wedding Singer – Starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, this hilarious movie highlights how friendship can turn into love, with a little Billy Idol in the mix.

2. Sabrina – Audrey Hepburn is one of our favorite actresses, and she exudes that Audrey class and sophistication throughout Sabrina!

3. My Best Friend’s Wedding – Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney go through the emotions of an upcoming wedding in this romantic comedy with an impromptu song and dance to remember!

4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding - No family is exactly “functional”, and this wedding movie showcases all the family craziness that goes into planning a wedding, and how much they all love each other, despite the chaos.

5. Sweet Home Alabama - Reese Witherspoon plays a Southern belle in this movie, and she learns to love her Southern roots!

There’s tons of other great wedding movies out there, so tell us, which wedding movies do you absolutely adore? Help us add to the list!

If you’ve been reading our blog, you know how excited we are for our new website, and we continue to be excited for the success of our retail location! We’ve just added a sparkling new Events Calendar to our website to help you stay up on all of our store news, events, pageant happenings, and of course, our great bridal sales!

Here’s a glimpse of upcoming events in October and November:

October

Oct. 17 – Miss Greater Mauldin Scholarship Competition at Founting Inn Civic Center
Tickets $12, More info at http://missgreatermauldin.org

November

Nov. 27-28 – Huge Bridal Thanksgiving Sale!

Nov. 29 – Extravaganza Bridal Show
Vendors, free gifts, and valuable coupons for our lovely bride-to-be’s!

We’ll be adding more bridal events to our calendar soon, so be sure to check back often and see what’s new! Mark your calendars for our great Thanksgiving sale, we’re excited to bring you such an exciting sale and helping you save more money.