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Tips for Planning a Winter Wedding

Guest Post by Wendy Dessler

Winter-inspired celebrations offer so much material for designers and couples – sparkling stars in deep blue skies, dripping icicles, boughs of every possible shade of green, and berries in bright red, burgundy, and even grey-blue. Venues are often already decorated for the season, offering couples on a budget more value than any other time of year.

Winter means different things in different regions of the world, of course. In those where holidays are in high gear and cold weather is the norm, there are sometimes unique things you need to take into account when planning your wedding.

Special Travel Considerations for Planning a Winter Wedding

  • Proximity to the holidays could be a blessing or a curse. Some friends and loved ones will be able to take advantage of time off and long weekends. Others will have family obligations that will get in the way of attending your celebration.
  • Holiday travel can be more expensive than it is at other times of the year. Let your guests know ASAP about your date so they can research the best fares and take advantage of advance fare specials.
  • In popular holiday travel destinations, hotels book early. Negotiate room blocks and send the information out with your save-the-date or provide it to guests traveling from out of town via email or your wedding website, and make sure they understand how important it is to book early.

Winter Weather Matters

  • Climates vary widely depending on region, but in colder weather areas make sure your plans are practical. Choose indoor sites or create a solid rain plan if you dare to choose to hold events outdoors.     
  • Make your fashion plans practical. You might have always dreamed of lining up your bridesmaids in strapless, tea-length gold bridesmaid dresses, but it’s unlikely that those dreams included frostbite or hypothermia. Even if your events are indoors, don’t forget that walking from one place to another, and taking gorgeous outside photos may still necessitate some time in the elements. Choose fabrics that are appropriate for colder temperatures and plan on including a pashmina or wrap in the ensemble.
  • Note that even if you live in a sunny climate where the weather can’t possibly take a bad turn for your winter wedding, some of your guests may not. Know that extreme conditions may delay or interfere with their ability to get to you on time and try to plan for it if possible, especially if you’re considering attendants from regions with dicey winter weather.
  • Also remember to be a good host. If you have a lot of family and friends traveling to your wedding from other areas, include information in your pre-wedding materials that alerts them to the weather and what they should do to prepare. Make clothing suggestions for their entire stay, not just the wedding day. You’ll be the hero of those who might have arrived unprepared.

As seasonal weddings go, winter events can be some of the most magical and meaningful. While you plan stunning décor to go along with everything we love about winter, also plan for the safety, comfort and convenience of your wedding party and guests. You’ll appreciate the results of your careful planning as you’re enjoying your amazing day.

Author Bio

Wendy Dessler

Title: Super-Connector at OutreachMama

Wendy is a super-connector with OutreachMama and Towering SEO who helps businesses find their audience online through outreach, partnerships, and networking. She frequently writes about the latest advancements in digital marketing and focuses her efforts on developing customized blogger outreach plans depending on the industry and competition. You can contact her on Twitter.

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Victorian Fashion for Today

The early 1800’s represented a quintessential era in Victorian dresses and fashion. These vintage party dresses not only reflected the elegant silhouette of a women’s body but they also showed off the amount of wealth and class that particular women and her family had. The Victorian era revolved around extravagant and flashy clothing compared to years prior. During the Victorian era, a women’s place was at home, not like in previous years when women were able to help their husband’s at work or in the fields. Also during the Victorian era is when sewing machines and the ability to mass-produce clothing started booming. The booming clothing business ultimately lead to the extravagant vintage party dresses worn by females during the Victorian era.

In today’s world of fashion, the Victorian era and its fashion is totally, not dead. Victorian dresses are still worn in today’s fashion industry just in a slightly different way. One main area to look at, if you’re looking for the Victorian look in fashion, is wedding dresses. The idea of a large, white dress was actually inspired by Queen Victoria herself, the Queen of Victorian fashion. Wedding dresses today have beautiful necklines showing off the collar bones, which was a popular trend back in the 1800’s, also wedding dresses often have trains and long trails, another popular trend that owes its ancestry to the 1800’s.

The Victorian style also has its place in everyday fashion. When considering the three main elements of Victorian fashion it is important to consider:

* Lace

* Heirloom Styling

* Lush Fabrics

If a piece of clothing has at least one of these three elements, one can almost guarantee that it was Victorian inspired by the designer. Another large trend that was popular back in the Victorian era was corsets, and surely you are aware that corsets have made a huge comeback in recent years as girls strive to have the best bodies possible. Corsets are sewn right into dresses and shirts and are not often separate pieces like they were back in the 1800’s.

Next time you’re out shopping, keep your eyes peeled for some of these details that you now know were inspired over one hundred years ago back in Queen Victoria’s day! The Victorian style is not just for women dressed to the nines with lavish dresses and perfect bell-shaped bodies with feather hats, but also for everyday wear. Simple touches, such as lace or ruffles are trends inspired by the 1800’s, now isn’t that a fun fact!

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Confectionery Cuteness from Billie Jocobina at London Fashion Week

I got lucky. It made me a happy girl. I got given a DREAM job of attending London Fashion Week to write up the shows for ace new magazine PlusMinus. Woweee. I guess good things do happen, if you put in the hard work and positive vibes. I hit the big smoke for 5 days, expectant, nervy and excited with notepad and laptop in hand, and, maaan, it was even better than I could have hoped for. It was pure ace. The gang I worked with became brand new besties over the week, spending 24/7 together in cold queues, rushed coffee shop eatings, all of us marvelling constantly at what surrounded us… some of the ego’s at Fashion Week….say whuuuut?! Crikey. We musta seen around 22 shows in our time there, each one a thrill in its own right. The music, the models, the damn prettiness and skill of the fashion. Yup, a happy gal was I.

One of the first shows I saw and fell in love with was a presentation by new graduate designer Billie Jacobina. The presentations are a slightly smaller scale affair with a neat and petite collection which packs a punch and basically, the models pose and parade around a room for a while rather than take part in a big boom-boom runway show. They are kinda cute things these presentations, they feel intimate and you can get real up close to the clothes and models. Heart shaped eyes on me, I tell ya. My heart was pumping outta my chest a bit when the Jocobina one began as it was ALL PIIIINK and pastels, pom-poms, faux fur, jumbo doll jewellery; a sparkly explosion of saccharine kitsch, with, hello?… a Hello Kitty handbag in the mix too! Oh my.

As a graduate of UCA Rochester, Billie showed at Graduate Fashion Week 2016, and went on to be awarded The British Council GFW award which gave her the opportunity to collaborate with a brand in Jakarta and show at Jakarta Fashion Week. She sure is on a winning streak, as she also won the Fashion Scout’s One To Watch Award for SS17 which is a certain sign that she’s only just at the start of a shiny future. Her slogan for this collection was 100% SASSY, and that it was, superbly so. This collection tickled me pink and set off my LFW experience with perfection.

 

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Finishing School Advice The Women Of The Past Lived By

For the most part, finishing school is now considered a pretty outdated concept. Of course, there are still finishing schools situated across the UK and the wider world, but only the socially elite attend them. But, if you were to travel back in time 60 years, you’d find that the majority of women go on to attend finishing school after their formal education has been completed, wow!

The concept of finishing school is simple: to teach women how to be polite, well mannered, and socially accepted members of society. Back in the 1940’s and 1950’s, if you didn’t know the importance of picking up a champagne glass from the bottom of the stem and offering desserts from the left, you were considered unforgivably rude and uneducated. Today, luckily, such customs are no longer considered to be important, phew! Just because finishing schools aren’t a popular concept in 2017, that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn some things from them though. You see, the things that they taught, were things that the women of the past lived by – it wasn’t just about being a good wife (that was part of it though if you can believe it!) but also about being the best (and happiest) that you could be, ace! It sounds like we could learn a lot from the tips that the women of the past were taught in finishing school and lived by. So, here are some of the tips of social etiquette that the women from the 40’s and 50’s lived by….

Tip 1: Always look your best

One of the first things that women were taught in finishing school was to always look their best. According to a finishing school handbook this meant ensuring that their hair was neatly styled, their nails were perfectly manicured, their makeup was beautifully applied, and their outfit – day or night – was picture-perfect. Looking their best was to do with social etiquette. Part of the concept of always looking their best was about feeling confident in their appearance, as a confident woman is a happy woman, right? We might have mastered looking our best during the day with pretty hairstyles, gel manicures, and smart, stylish clothing, but what about at night? Far too many of us simple pop on an oversized t-shirt and get into bed – it might be comfy but does it make you feel good? To feel good in what you wear to bed, something pretty, like a neglige from the Vanilla night and day range, could be perfect. It’s not about looking good for anyone else; it’s about being happy in yourself and feeling good about what you’re wearing.

Tip 2: Don’t slump

For the women of the past, good posture was seen as being the key to charm, beauty and social success. Look back at old photos of women from this time period, and you will see that in each and every photo, people stand tall with their head held high. Walking along with a straight spine, squared shoulders, and your head held high gives you confidence. Don’t look down when you walk, keep your head held high – you will look better for it, as well as feeling more confident. Posture isn’t just important when walking; it’s also crucial when standing still. Instead of popping a hand on your hip and bending one knee, stand straight with your shoulders back and head held high, and place one foot slightly in front of the other. Finishing school also taught women that they looked more attractive when sitting gracefully – another thing that we can learn from today. When sat, whether at home, while out for dinner, or at a social event, always sit with a straight back, your shoulders held high and your head up, it’ll male you feel more positive and alert, and it’ll help ease backache too!

Rule 3: The E’s of beauty

The three E’s of beauty are things that women of the past swore by when it came to looking and feeling good throughout life.

Early to bed: By getting a good night’s sleep, your entire body is happier and healthier, including your skin. When you don’t sleep well, it’s visible on your face, so getting a good night’s sleep every night is pretty important.

Eat well: Eating well means eating for beauty. This means avoiding processed sugar as much as possible as processed sugar is bad for the skin and your waistline. It means eating clean, wholesome foods and drinking plenty of water.

Exercise regularly: Exercising regularly is important not only for your waistline but also for your mind – a woman who exercises regularly tends to be happier and less stressed than a woman who doesn’t. I do Yoga every day and it helps me enormously.
So, there you have it, a guide to the advice that the women of the past learned at finishing school and lived by! The overall idea of finishing schools is an old fashioned one but, we can take the best tips into our modern lives to feel better and more like we are being our best selves. How wonderful.

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Tricks For Throwing The Perfect Fifties Cocktail Party

Throwing a Fifties cocktail party can be one of the highlights of your year if you pay attention to a few little extra cute details. The Fifties may have come before the Swinging Sixties but the cocktail parties were somethin’ ELSE! Social events for the upper and middle classes, cocktail parties, featured great food, great music and beautiful, beauuuutiful dresses, gah, the dresses! One of the best theme evenings you could go to is a Fifties night – and not just for the amazing music! With these top tips, you could throw the best cocktail party of the year!

Invites- The Fifties were the decade of formality and etiquette and sending formal invitations out for parties were the norm. Make sure you include the correct details for your RSVP request and ring around the week before the party so you get your party numbers.

Food – To truly impress your guests, make sure you bypass the buffet and go for serving hot and cold finger food passed around by a waitress you can hire. This is exactly what a hostess would have done in the Fifties so emulating that era is a darling thing to do! Fruit kebabs, ham and cheese parcels, and anything in aspic would be a popular option! Offer cloth napkins instead of paper ones for a real Fifties touch of class.Fashion – One of the best bits of a cocktail party was choosing your outfit! As these are formal affairs, strapless dresses with a full skirt and petticoat were all the rage. Throw on some small fancy colour diamonds and you’ll be the belle of the ball for certain. High heels, up-dos such as a chignon and a small handbag would set the entire look off beautifully. Browse online images of 50’s movie stars for inspiration, it’s a super fun way to dress! 

Home –A cocktail party at home would have been the best opportunity a housewife would have to show off the home and all your skills for keeping your home beautiful. Cutting fresh wildflowers from the garden and arranging them around the house would be a classy and gorgeous way of brightening the home without going for standard décor. While you most probably don’t like smoking in the home, dot vintage ashtrays through the room, as smoking was popular in that decade.

Cocktails – If you have a drinks cabinet, it’s time to get those bottles polished! You can put together a drinks trolley and offer martinis, side cars, vodka highballs and whiskey sours for a truly Fifties feel.

Music – You’ll need something to bop to so if you don’t have a retro record player, download some timeless tracks onto an iPod and dock it for the night. Not too loud, mind, as you want to be able to have conversation over the music. Crank it up for dancing later on!Your Fifties cocktail party will go off without a hitch and you’ll be the talk of the town just by following these party tips. Vintage doesn’t get better than the Fifties so it’s time for a shopping trip for a brand new cocktail dress!

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