Inspiration Board - Purple

My sister and her boyfriend are thinking of settling down. This I knew from the guy. They first thought of getting married this year, but with the recent turn of events, the preparations seemed to take so long. My guess is they're getting hitched next year (hopefully, they've been together for 10 years now).

She loves the color purple, and for her wedding she's thinking of mixing it with green or wine (my mom doesn't approve of purple, though -- it reminds her of Lent). So I came up with this inspiration board that has purple as the main color and green as accent. Enjoy!

First column, from top: Style 7014 Bridesmaid Dress from AlfredAngelo.com; Bouquet of purple tulips and green hydrangeas from TheKnot.com; Purple Rose Cufflinks by Robert Charles from KJBeckett.com; Mini Rosebunch Favor Pot from FavorStudio.com.


Second column, from top: Jordan Almonds from CandyWarehouse.com; Silver 'Sibak Tatah Leaves' Amethyst Bracelet from Overstock.com; Lombardia Colecciones Novia from LaSposa.com; Ladies Purple Satin Peeptoe Evening Shoes from FootwearStudio.co.uk; Bundled Flowers invitation from InvitationConsultants.com.


Third column, from top: Lilacs in May wedding cake from JacquesPastries.com; Purple Flowers and Candle reception centerpiece from ProjectWedding.com; Jessica Lynn Flower Girl Dress - Belle from EmeraldBridal.com.

Bouquet and garter toss alternatives

One of the highlights of a wedding is the bouquet and garter toss during the reception. The tradition of throwing the wedding bouquet and the bride's garter stems from an age-old belief that the bride and anything she wore or touches were lucky. Thus, guests would get a piece, even tear a portion of the bride's dress, as a souvenir of good luck which they could take home.

In these modern times, it is believed that whoever catches the bouquet and garter would be the next to marry. But nowadays, couples want a newer and fresher version of the bouquet and garter than just tossing it to guests. Here are some ideas you can do as an alternative take on this tradition:

1. A cousin of mine did this: instead of a tied bouquet, she had 11 roses on hand. She invited 12 of her single friends in front and tossed the flowers to them. The one who didn't get a rose is the lucky girl.

2. A friend of mine tied ribbons on the stems of the gathered flowers, one of them of a different color. Whoever gets to pull the different colored flower gets the bouquet.

3. Have the bride blindfolded and let the single ladies gather around her in a circle. As the music plays, the bride turns clockwise while the ladies turn counterclockwise. When the music stops, the bride hands the bouquet to the girl directly in front of her.

4. For the garter, have the guys gather around. When the music starts, the garter is passed among the boys. Whoever gets the garter when the music stops is the lucky guy.

5. For our wedding, we had the garter game first. The lucky guy sits on a chair while the girls surround him. It's like the Musical Chairs game, except that there's only one chair and the girls have to sit on his lap when the music starts. Whoever gets to sit on the guy's lap when the music stops is eliminated. The game goes on until there's only one lady left. The last girl left standing gets the bouquet.

6. For a little bit of fun, have the groom blindfolded. Let other women (bridesmaids, female friends, aunts, and even grandmas) join the bride in showing their legs. The groom has to guess which leg is the bride's before he can take off the garter.

7. If you have more married friends or guests than single ones, you can call on the married ladies on the floor. You can start by asking who has been married for X number of years and start eliminating them from the fewest to the most number of years she has been married, until there is one lady left, the one who's married the longest. She gets the bouquet.

8. Instead of throwing the bouquet away, you can give the bouquet to the woman closest to you -- your mom, sister, or best friend. Sort of like a dedication bouquet.

9. In lieu of a garter toss, you can have a dose of entertainment as you watch the guys vie for the garter by way of a Limbo Rock. My cousin did this during his wedding. Whoever gets to win gets the garter.

Some couples opt to remove this tradition from the reception program. But if you want a spark of enjoyment, you can just tweak this tradition to give your wedding reception a little spice.

Photo credit: The Bride's Things by gbosworth from sxc.hu.

The Philippines' Wedding of the Year: Mar Roxas and Korina Sanchez

It was the biggest news yesterday here in Manila: Senator Mar Roxas tying the knot with broadcaster Korina Sanchez.

Touted as the wedding of the year, primarily because of these two big personalities in politics and media, respectively, their wedding had a Filipiniana theme with white and ecru as the color motif. The ceremony, held in the colossal Sto. Domingo Church, was said in Tagalog.

I would say Korina Sanchez looked radiant in her Pepito Albert Filipiniana-inspired wedding gown made of pina fabric. It had a serpentina silhouette and off-shoulder neckline. The gown's main highlight, in my opinion, was the five-meter long cathedral train.

Some guests may describe the event as "simple" because they did away with the planned reception at Araneta Coliseum (they donated the amount set for the reception -- a whopping Php 2.2 million or almost US$ 47,000 -- to foundations helping typhoon victims) and the utilization of white blooms for the bouquets and venue styling, but it was all in all laden with pure elegance -- and, well, a bit of showbiz and politics, what with the who's who in attendance.

I would have wished they had a more private wedding, but they're public figures and they owe their earned fame to the Filipinos, so I guess having a very public (yes, the masang Pilipino were allowed to witness it in church) was just right.

Congratulations and best wishes to the new couple!

(Post-script: how I love the vintage top-down Mercedes Benz they rode to Bahay na Puti...)

Photo credit: Inquirer.net.

Create your own inspiration board with Dessy's Pantone Wedding

Want to create your own inspiration board? Thinking of great color combinations you could use for your wedding? The Dessy Group has teamed up with Pantone to build the Pantone Wedding, a site where you can choose from Dessy's dresses and accessories according to your favorite colors.

I tried out the site, and it's pretty easy. All you have to do is create an account and you're ready to go!

Before creating your inspiration board, you must choose the color combinations you like from the swatches on the top right. After picking your colors, an array of dresses and accessories will show on the right side. Just click and drag the ones you like on the board. You can also write a note on it. It's that simple.

If you're done with your inspiration board, you can easily save it in your account for future viewing. And if you like to share it with others, perhaps with the members of your entourage, you have the option to post it in your blog or email the board's link.

What I like about this wedding tool is that, first of all, it's free and it instantly gives you a preview of how your entourage will look like wearing those dresses in the color motif you want. It's also easy to use, because you can easily create an inspiration board by just clicking and dragging. You can also adjust the size of the items so they could fit on the board. And if you want to remove a picture, you just have to press delete.

The downside, though, is the limitations in terms of the selections. It features mostly bridesmaid dresses, a few flowergirl dresses, and fewer accessories. I hope Dessy would feature more of their collections here, which will also include wedding dresses and a lot more accessories for men and women.

Here's a sample inspiration board I made using Pantone Weddings:


Overall, this wedding tool is fun and easy to use. The Pantone Weddings is very helpful, especially if you need to visualize how your colors will blend. Try it!