All white bouquets: Beautiful or boring?

-Blushing Bridezilla

Regardless, here’s a little poll for your continued amusement.

Below is a copy of the press release. Feel free to forward it along to anyone and everyone you think may even have a slight interest. Thanks loyal TWSW readers!

CONTACT: Available upon request. Please send any inquiries to thatswhatshewed at gmail dot com.

BRIDAL PARTIES UNVEILED BY WEBSITE “THAT’S WHAT SHE WED”
Three twenty-somethings have come together to rid the world of tacky weddings – or at least mock them within an inch of their life. These three local ladies have formed their home base at http://thatswhatshewed.wordpress.com – a haven for their sardonic wit and insight into the seedy underbelly of wedding subculture.

“Right now, we’re at a time in our lives where many of our friends from high school and college are taking the plunge and marching down the aisle.  It’s like a tulle explosion.  We’re offering some friendly (and occasionally not-so-friendly) commentary on several aspects of the big day and having some fun in the meantime,” explains Seeking Plus One.  She’s the resident single girl and self proclaimed anti-romantic.

The trio offer 3 very different perspectives on the topic.  Fear of Falling Bouquets is in a long-term relationship, but in no hurry to secure a diamond of her own anytime soon. Blushing Bridezilla is engaged to her high school sweetheart and is currently in the process of planning her own wedding.  Together with Seeking Plus One, they created That’s What She Wed.

The real kicker is that both Fear of Falling Bouquets and Seeking Plus One are serving as bridesmaids for Blushing Bridezilla…who selected $300 bridesmaids dresses.  The ladies are hoping to offset their costs (without joining the bridal party nude), and have set up a donation site to reach their goal.

Until that goal is met, no gown, no bride, and no flower arrangement is safe.  For more information about That’s What She Wed, or to contact any of the women, please visit http://thatswhatshewed.wordpress.com.

So, aside from being a bridesmaid in Blushing Bridezilla’s wedding, I’m also scheduled to be a bridesmaid in one of my best childhood friends’ weddings in June. So, I sent photos of the infamous $300 dress to my other friend, Tina,  showing off how beautiful it is, and trying to convince her subtly that she should use the same dress for HER bridesmaids.

The more I thought about it the more I realized that I could rationalize $300 for a bridesmaid dress if I got to wear it for 2 different weddings! So, in an effort to save myself money and recycle the same bridesmaid dress, I am going to write a list of the top 10 reasons, directed to my other bridal friend, as to why this dress would be PERFECT for her wedding too.

1. The dress is super flattering. Seriously, it just works wonders – I’m not exaggerating. I did not want to take it off. I pretty much guarantee that if Stacy London were at the dress fitting with us, she would have started crying.
2. The color is majorly classy! No pastels. Anyway, it’s a color that pops and would obviously photograph really well. Also it looks good with all of your bridesmaid’s skin tones.
3. Because the  color is gorgeous and rich, it lends itself to a variety of floral/bouquet options…so you can pick anything from white roses or lilies to colorful poppies, and anything in between.
4. I know you like the color because you have a leather purse in the exact same color. Even if you don’t use the purse anymore, I know you like the color! (this point kind of goes back to point #2 but it counts as a different point because I say so)
5. The length of the dress! Majorly classy!
6. The drapery of the dress is gorgeous and VERY Rami from Project Runway. In fact, you should just use these because I mentioned Project Runway and the dress in the same sentence. I think that should be enough of an argument.
7. It’s a fancy dress but not too fancy, so it will look great and be appropriate for your outdoor summer wedding.
8. It is more environmentally friendly because I will only have to buy one dress. Don’t you like Planet Earth? You DO know that the polar bears are dying, right!?!??!!?!
9. It’s also more ECONOMICALLY friendly. If you were to pick a different dress that was $150, that’s about 7 full tanks of gas for my little Saturn.
10. No one will EVER know you just recycled the dress idea that Blushing Bridezilla had. Except for like the 20 people or so who both read this blog and also will be attending your wedding. But they’ll never say anything or call you out. RIGHT, PEOPLE!? RIGHT!?!?!??!!?!

So, there you have it, Tina. ALL the reasons you should also pick this dress. It’s not ONLY to save me money. It’s also to save the polar bears.

Does anyone else have any other killer points that should be tacked on to the end of the Top 10 list!?!?

- Fear of Falling Bouquets

Who should I pick?

Shelly Mosman Photography
Meghan Doll Photography
Sewell Photography
Wendy Woods Photography
Scott Streble Photography
Red Ribbon Studio

-Blushing Bridezilla

We got BASHED for advertising our site and for politely asking for donations for our dresses. I had no idea people got so upset about OTHER people’s weddings decisions. This whole process has been quite the learning experience for all three of us. It’s been fun trying to promote the site with no money and no ninja Internet resources. So, yeah – sorry about ghettoly advertising on websites and such – we had NO idea the backlash would be so wildly disproportionately unbecoming of people.

Let’s try to make this a pleasant place where people can get inspired by the process. Let’s quit the name-calling, please. Thanks!

- Fear of Falling Bouquets

So, apparently our idea has ignited a spark of controversy on The Knot. They think asking people to donate to our Bridesmaid Dress Fund is tacky – we disagree but hey, we’re biased. Check out the crazy stuff these people have been saying!

http://talk.theknot.com/boards/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=54980812#54980812

For all the other soon-to-be brides and grooms out there, here are a few compilations of good playlists (uhm, maybe not “good” depending on your own personal flava) for an engagement party versus a bachelorette party. Obviously, both have very different feels – so don’t hit shuffle by mistake. Ready. Set. Download.

Engagement Party

Since this party is substantially more formal than the Bachlorette Party, and the couple’s family and friends will all be present, it’s better to play more classic songs instead of Top 40 hits.

1. The Best is Yet to Come, Frank Sinatra

2. That’s All, Michael Buble

3. ‘S Wonderful, Diana Krall

4. Can’t Help Falling in Love with You, Elvis

5. Better Together, Jack Johnson

6. All I Want Is You, Barry Louis Polisar

7. God Only Knows, The Beach Boys

8. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen

9. Accidentally in Love, Counting Crows

10. Such Great Heights, The Postal Service

11. It’s Good to be in Love, Frou Frou

12. First Day of My Life, The Bright Eyes

13. Count on My Love, Liz Phair

14. Love You Madly, Cake

15. In My Life, The Beatles

16. Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole

17. At Last, Etta James
Bachelorette Party

So the bachlorette parties obviously range from bride to bride. From going out to the bars, to staying inside and playing games, to making cocktails, the point of the Bachlorette Party is to have fun, relax and enjoy a Girl’s Night Out before tying the knot.

1. Fergalicious, Fergie

2. Crazy in Love, Beyonce

3. Everytime We Touch, Cascada

4. Maneater, Nelly Furtado

5. Sexyback, Justin Timberlake

6. Bonnie & Clyde, Jay-Z

7. S.O.S., Rhianna

8. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cyndi Lauper

9. Like a Virgin, Madonna

10. Dancing Queen, ABBA

11. Save a Horse, Big & Rich

12. Ready to Run, The Dixie Chicks (for a sample of this jam, check out the post: Sprinting in the Opposite Direction of Relationships)

13. Doo Wop (That Thing), Lauryn Hill

14. Used to Love U, John Legend

15. Don’t Phunk With My Heart, The Black Eyed Peas

16. Wind it Up, Gwen Stefani

17. Don’t Stop Believin’, Journey (I think it’s illegal not to include this song on any playlist where drinking will be involved)

Well, Blushing Bridezilla totally did a 180 on the bridesmaid dresses! Although I’ve never been bashful with prints, I’m a bit weary of this Tarzan/Jane look. Anyway, see for yourself the brand new dress choice.

Fear of Falling Bouquets

Today I heard 90% of women change their last name when they get married. That’s a lot of name changes. Now, I definitely feel like it’s a personal decision and I respect what other people choose to do, but I don’t want to change my last name. To me, it seems like I would be giving up a chunk of my identity for a man. I thought marriage was supposed to be about two people coming together to form an equal partnership. It seems like giving up my last name is a great way to start things off on an unequal foot. Didn’t women originally start changing their last name when they were considered the property of their husband? This doesn’t seem like the best tradition to keep around.

There are no good solutions to this debate. If you change your last name, you give up part of your heritage and identity. If you keep your last name, there can be issues with naming children if you have any. If you hyphenate, then it becomes a pain in the ass, because people get confused. Also, what are 2 hyphenated named people supposed to do when they get married or have kids? Have 4 last names? Keeping your last name and making it a middle name seems silly too. First of all, nobody ever uses middle names and second of all, it seems to defeat the purpose of having your surname represent your heritage. Making a new name all together seems pretty ridiculous too for the same reason as making your maiden name a middle name-your surname really wouldn’t represent where you came from.

I don’t know the answer, but I can tell you I will be keeping my last name and my kids will have it too (if I choose to have any). My fiancé doesn’t care if I change my name, but he wants to keep his and if we have kids, he wants them to have his last name too. I guess we have a compromise to make.

What are your thoughts on the name change debate?

-Blushing Bridezilla