Bridal Fashions on a Budget

Faviana rolls out a new line of gowns perfectly tailored for the recessionista bride

By Timothy R. Schulte

Image courtesy Faviana

In this economic climate, wedding-related businesses are doing all they can to help out brides who may be working with a tighter budget. For some vendors, that may mean slashing prices on their products and services. For gown maker Faviana, it meant rolling out something completely new.

For 2009, Faviana, which has traditionally designed eveningwear for about any occasion other than a wedding, created a special White Collection of gowns for budget-conscious brides.

"This is the first time we've done a special grouping geared to the bridal market," says Linda Mann, a spokeswoman for Faviana.

Like other Faviana gowns, the White Collection gowns retail no higher than $500.

Paying the Right Price

Paying the Right Price: Shoes

By Anna Sachse

The engagement ring may put the wedding in motion, but it’s the fancy footwear that a bride wears on the big day that is going to get her down the aisle. But that doesn’t mean the shoes should carry an engagement-ring price tag.

Pay the Right Price for You

How much to spend is a personal decision. Kate Spade, Vera Wang, Jimmy Choo and Stuart Weitzman all make gorgeous but expensive bridal shoes. “If you are used to wearing Louboutins on a regular basis, then you’re probably not going to shop for bargain brands for your wedding day,” says Desiree Stimpert, the Guide to Shoes for About.com. “But beautiful shoes can be had in every price range, and women shouldn’t feel bad about finding a good deal on shoes that work for them, especially if the shoes will only be worn once.” Compare prices online, or hit up outlets, discount shoe stores, large bridal chains and sales and clearance sections at department stores.

However, if you are thinking about metallic shoes or something that is dyeable, you might consider spending a little more, since you’ll be able to incorporate the shoe into your everyday wardrobe, says Alison Rowe, accessories editor for Modern Bride magazine. And comfort is often worth the extra expense. Mika Inatome has a line of bridal shoes that feature a quilted insole and Cole Haan introduced a line of very stylish bridal shoes that incorporate Nike Air technology.

“The two most important factors when choosing wedding shoes are comfort and how well they work with your dress,” says Stimpert. “For those reasons, I recommend either sticking with a brand or designer you already love, or trying on a lot of different brands until you find the style/comfort/price combination that works for you.”

Keeping Kids in the Picture

How to make your nuptials as friendly for the little ones as they are for the adults

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller
CTW Features

Children often get invites to serve as the precious flower girl or dapper ring bearer at a wedding. But they rarely make the guest list to the wedding itself.

That's changing these days as couples marry later in life. They tend to have friends and relatives who have children - and, well, baby-sitters aren't always an option, especially in these tough economic times. Guests who have to travel across the country may skip out on a wedding if baby-sitting is a challenge.

"We felt it was more important to have our friends attend and share in our day than for them to miss it on account of baby-sitting issues," says Ira Sherak, 39, an animator whose recent wedding in Pasadena, Calif., included guests from the East Coast.

The key is to make the nuptials kid-friendly without ditching the romance, sentimentality and beauty of the occasion.

Some couples choose to include the children in the reception, providing activity books at the tables and even instant cameras for them to use. They may bring in extra entertainment, such as a clown or juggler for a kid's segment. Couples also can ask the DJ or band to play music catering to children's tastes, even creating a kids-only dance.

Sherak chose to host a private room for the dozen or so little guests, replete with a DVD player, TV, toys, games and snacks. He hired two chaperones from a baby-sitting service, using referrals from friends and family. One stayed in the room at all times and another was available to escort kids to the bathroom and to their parents.

To minimize costs, Sherak suggests bringing in your own meals for the kids.

"We let the chaperones get pizza for the kids instead of letting the caterers charge us $45 per kid for chicken nuggets & milk," he says.

Kidfriendlyweddings.com suggests even more activities for the kids' room to keep boredom at bay, including filling a piñata with treats, playing musical chairs and even covering a table with butcher paper for kids to unleash their inner Picasso or Monet.

Even with the best of plans, couples should be aware that their little friends aren't perfect, and a meltdown or some rambunctious behavior may be inevitable. With some extra planning, though, children can secure those coveted invites to a wedding and participate in a milestone moment, learning about a rite of passage.

Stressin' About Showers

If you think throwing a shower is easy, think again

By Timothy R. Schulte

Formulaically, bridal showers are easy. Food, drinks, gifts, done. Logistically, they are easier said than done.

At least that is what I found out when trying to broker a shower between the women contingents from both my family (mom, sister, sisters-in-law) and my fiancée’s (my future mother- and sisters-in-law).

The nexus of the problem was when to have a shower. I live about six hours from my hometown, where my mom, sister and one of my sisters-in-law live, so when shower chatter started around Easter, I immediately began thinking this summer would be a good time. My – our – wedding is in April 2010. And if I am driving home for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am not too eager to do so again in January or February (who knows what the winter roads will look like?), and March and April will be busy enough as it is. Plus, a couple handfuls of weekends are negated throughout the task of coordinating the schedules of eight or so people … So that is how I figured on the summer would be easiest.

Perhaps I was naïve because my sister, though, was not having it. “Too early.” “Tacky.” “It needs to at least be after the New Year.”

These are not the type of phone calls you want to start at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday.

We eventually, quasi-amicably, agreed to an October date, but I still wanted to figure out who was right in this matter. So I called the Emily Post Institute, hoping to get a definitive answer on whether I was accurate or amiss in my reasoning.

“You’re both right,” said Anna Post, the great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post and author of “Do I Have to Wear White?” (Collins, 2009). “It is on the early side, but if you have reasons why you’re doing it then that is more important than some arbitrary date on the wedding calendar.

“As long as you’re on the same page … I hope that everyone can be flexible,” she added.

Part-right is better than totally wrong, I guess, but Post did say that, technically, my sister was right in that we were on the early side.

Really, there’s no set rule, Post said. Showers can take place from a couple months out of the wedding to help build some momentum up to the big day, but just don’t want to have it too close, either. In terms of travel, if you have lots of bridesmaids traveling, a modern trend is to do combo bachelorette party/shower weekends.

Here are a few other shower-etiquette tips from Post:

• The bride’s mom or sister generally don’t host a shower, but it’s OK nowadays.

• Bridesmaids are not required to host a shower.

• You can have more than one shower, but you shouldn’t invite the same guests for more than once.

• You can’t invite someone to a shower and then not invite them to the wedding – office showers being the exception.

• Some people play games or have a theme, but it’s up to you.

• Depending on how much travel is involved, send out invites three to six weeks in advance; Post usually recommends a month.

• It’s OK to put registry info on an enclosure in the invite, just keep it off the shower invite itself.

Keeping it Diplomatic

If the wedding has you at wit's end, call on your coordinator to step in and quell the stress

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller

Out-of-touch grooms. Overbearing mother-in-laws. Troublesome bridesmaids.

It’s enough to send a bride-to-be over the edge. Keeping the peace during the wedding-planning process can often take nerves of steel. If eating right and exercising aren’t enough to mitigate those pre-nuptial headaches, brides have another alternative: they can turn to their wedding coordinator for some advice.

The call of duty for wedding coordinators extends beyond floral selections and linen options. Offering diplomacy services is all part of that fee brides pony up. A wedding coordinator can call that meddlesome mother-in-law, can provide ad hoc therapy sessions and like a concierge, deal with last-minute vendor cancellations.

“Take among the most important days of a bride’s life, add some nervousness, stress and emotions and things happen,” says Laurie Davies, owner of Five Star Weddings and Events in Laguna Niguel. “As a wedding coordinator, our job is to make them relaxed … to tell them, ‘Not a problem. Let me take care of it. This is what you pay me for.’”

A common emotional trigger for the couple is when reality sets in that there will be a marriage to cope with following the big wedding party.

“It becomes real to them when the invitations are printed, so the couples have to go through their issues and mourn the end of their single lives,” says Michael Willms, owner of Entertainment Design Events in Beverly Hills, Calif.

While coordinators may not bear a marriage and family therapist license, they usually bring to the table a wealth of contacts and experience. The key to diffusing tension is listening to their clients and giving them an audience, says Willms. The strategy works when he has to place a dreaded phone call to an imperious family member.

“I help them own a part of the solution and that makes them feel good,” he says. “A lot of times people want attention and they just want their voice to be heard.”

Davies approach when working with clients is to get a read on how brides cope with stress. Does she respond to emails instantly with novellas focusing on minute details? Or, does she take days and is more laissez-faire about the event? Davies also digs to find out if there are control freaks in the family.

To cope, she suggests couples pick their battles.

“One client’s mother-in-law didn’t like the invitations and wanted to print her own to send to her friends, something which I had never heard of,” Davies says. “I asked the bride if the invites were important to her and she said, ‘No.’ So, I told her to give this one to [the mother-in-law] and stand her ground on another issue that was more important to her.”