Baby, it’s cold outside. Who cares, let’s get married!
The beautiful and crisp fall days are among us and getting married in the great outdoors is so inviting. The goosebumps and chilly air are no reason to move the ceremony or cocktail hour inside. Granted, you’ve got your main squeeze to keep you warm, but here are some unique ideas for the others!
Wrap up in a beautiful white or off-white stole like this DKNY faux fur jacket. Not only will it keep you warm during pictures but it will look elegant and timeless. Stoles could also make great gifts for your bridesmaids. How about this beautifully designed faux fur Bolero by Kate Unger.
A basket of pashminas for your guests is a classic and always popular favor. The really memorable part will be the way you showcase them. If it matches the theme of your night, try an old suitcase or chest. If you are looking for something more formal, try laying them on a nice mirrored table or lace table cloth.
But if you really want to do something your guests will be talking about, how about surprise them with a warm drink as they are seated — something like a hot apple cider or a hot toddy. Check out this awesome hot toddy bar where guests can make their own. The napkins with the instructions add such a subtle and carefully thought out design element while being amazingly functional! Here’s our favorite recipe. Brilliant!
The Much Anticipated Brideside Invite-Only Beta!
Hey ladies, if you or someone you know if about to start the hunt for bridesmaid dresses, send them along to www.brideside.me for a chance to participate in our invite-only beta! We are really excited to start working with brides and bridal parties, offering customized styling advice and access to some really beautiful dresses. Sign up at Brideside! Hope to hear from you soon, xox, The Brideside Team
Music From the Runway
The sights at New York Fashion Week have been amazing and inspiring. But what you obviously don’t see, are the jamz these women are stomping down the runway to. Thanks to Net-a-Porter and their clever “Net-A-Playlist” you can get a glimpse of what it all sounds like. Click here and enjoy!
Maid of Honor Toast: 5 tips to help you nail it and sit back down so you can enjoy your entree.
This is how much Brideside loves you. We’ve been watching YouTube clips of random women giving Maid of Honor speeches to figure what exactly goes into the secret sauce. Bottom-line: you don’t have to steal the show. Keep it simple and smile. Presenting our 5 tips:
Get Excited! This is a huge deal. You were asked by your best friend to give a toast on the day she will remember for the rest of her life. Take it seriously and don’t procrastinate. The Knot recommends starting 3 weeks ahead of time, getting feedback and letting time and your creative juices take over the editing process.
Remember the Basics. At the beginning, thank the bride and groom for putting on such a lovely party and thank their families if that’s appropriate too. Most importantly, add some context around how you know the bride with a quick little story (only a joke if you have a good one).
Recognize the Union. Though you may be best friends with the bride, acknowledge both of them. Share a quick anecdote about how you knew your gal pal was head over heels, and reciprocate with a tale of how you knew she found her soul mate. It’s classy and will go a long way.
Props Props Props. Some of the best toasts we watched involved a “prop,” a little piece of memorabilia that the bride wasn’t expecting that brought a huge smile to her face! The MOH also looked poised because she had something to do with her hands.
Take a sip! Don’t forget that you are giving a TOAST not a speech. Drive it home to the end and be sure to close with a little blessing, a quote, a song lyric…something to give your few moments an ending. And then don’t forget to take a sip after you raise your glass!
You may now kiss the bride and those amazing red lips of hers.
You’re beautiful and confident and can pull off red lips. The experts at InStyle have helped Brideside to uncover the perfect shades for a few skin tones.
For those of you with a fair complexion, look for more blue-based reds like Revlon’s Color Burst lipstick in True Red. Feel free to create thick dramatic lines with your eyeliner and mascara, but use sheer eyeshadow palettes so not to over do it.
If your skin is more olive like Minka Kelly’s, you can pull off just about any shade of red because of the warm colors in your skin. Take a look at Nars’ Heat Wave, but avoid too much bronzer or it may [quite literally] overshadow your look. To complement darker skin tones, you have a host of options. To highlight brown tones, chose reds with a more brown base. If you have more blue like Jennifer Hudson, take a look at more ruby colors with splashes of pink like Chanel’s Rouge Allure Velvet in La Fascinante. But bottom line, keep the eyes simply highlighted.
If we haven’t sufficiently convinced you that there is a shade for you, try a little tinted red gloss like YSL’s Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in Orange de Chine. Now pucker up and have the time of your life.
Yes, you can put your bridesmaids in white dresses too.
Have you ever looked up “bridesmaids” on Wikipedia? We have. And apparently, Roman law dictated that a bride and groom be accompanied by five men and five women dressed identically to them to confuse evil spirits. You’re welcome. Not only did we just give you the ultimate cocktail party go-to, but Brideside is taking it back and exploring the white bridesmaid dress.
Not only do white bridesmaid dresses suggest, “Wow, that bride has guts, style, and knows how to hold her own,” but they are also extremely versatile. You can use amazing flower arrangements or statement jewelry if you want to bring in your color accents into the apparel.
Brideside is also a huge fan of texture as a way of helping the bride stand out. Play around with different silhouettes and fabrics to give your bridesmaids an understated white look. Then put yourself in a more elegant material and neckline like this stunning lace gown.
This is the perfect example of how white on the beach really works!
Now, this is how you throw a bridal shower
Maybe it’s because here at Brideside we are partial to nachos, chandeliers and our own bottles of Veuve Cliquot, but this shower, pulled together by event designer Brooke Keegan, is a vision. Click any of the pictures below to see the full-spread, featured by Wedding Chicks.
Nachos and balloons with dangling photographs…genius!
Cheers!
The. Best. Gift Idea For Your Bridesmaids.
“LIKE” Brideside on Facebook for a chance to win custom acrylic monogrammed necklaces for you AND your bridesmaids! These statement pieces, brought to you by Signature Style, are gracing the necklines of Taylor Swift and Brooklyn Decker to name a few. They make beautiful bridal party gifts and are something your bridesmaids can wear forever. Just click the pic and like us! 
Preppy, stripe-inspired weddings are catching on this year. We’ve lusted over the striped paper straws, ribbon-adorned cakes and striped invitations but several brides have taken it to a new extreme: striped bridesmaid dresses. We’ve gotta say, the impact is astonishing. The pictures are gorgeous and it’s obvious that any bride who dresses her maids in stripes in confident in her taste and overall wedding vision. Here are some of our faves.
At first, many are perplexed by the thought of gray bridesmaid dresses. Isn’t it a drab hue? Well, like many brides, we think it is the complete opposite of drab. It’s elegant, chic and totally romantic. We especially love when yellow is added for a touch of brightness. Here we share a few looks we love, including some creative ways to mix the hues.
