Ask A Bride Pt 1: Ashley's Memphis Wedding

Hello SASsy Friends, I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July holiday. When planning a wedding, everyone seems to have endless and usually unsolicited, advice for brides to be.  For brides, it can be quite overwhelming, but the best way to get advice is to ask others who've recently been down the aisle.

This week, you will meet two very different brides Ashley and Danielle.  Both ladies were recently married in two very different style weddings.  These ladies have survived the trip down the aisle and were excited to share their advice with The SASsy Report.

Our first bride is Ashley, who had a beautiful wedding in June of this year.

SASsy: Hi Ashley, could you please share with us your favorite part of wedding planning?

This question is rather difficult since I found wedding planning to be harder then I originally thought it would be.  My favorite part was probably creating my wedding board on Pintrest that allowed me to keep track of all the beautiful things I saw and ideas even though I wasn’t able to use them all.

SASsy: I believe you live in DC but your wedding was in Memphis.  Was the long distance planning difficult, if so how so?

    I am from DC originally but moved to Memphis a month before I got engaged.  I decided to plan my wedding in Memphis instead of DC for a few reasons 


 I thought the stress of wedding planning would be too much to do from a distance, and since I currently live in Memphis I wanted my friends and family to have the opportunity to see where I live now and what my new life is like.  


SASsy: What criteria did you use when selecting vendors?

    I got recommendations from people that I thought had good taste and I used vendors that were responsive.  I was extremely surprised by how so many people in the wedding industry were not responsive to phone calls, emails, and voicemails.  The vendors I used were were easy to get in touch with,  and more importantly, stay in touch with.



SASsy: What were the theme and colors of your wedding and how did you incorporate them throughout the wedding?

    I didn’t have colors in the traditional sense. My bridesmaids wore a grey/silver dress, my flowers were white and green, and we have silver/grey accents.  I wanted to keep things neutral and elegant without feeling like there was a particular “theme.”

SASsy: When shopping for your gown, was there a specific style you were looking for?


I actually designed my gown myself.  I knew what I wanted my wedding gown to look like but wasn’t sure if I would find it.  My earliest criteria were sweetheart neckline and mermaid silhouette.  On my first trip shopping I swooned over a Lazaro mermaid and a trumpet Pronovias. 


 On my second trip shopping, I drove to Atlanta from Memphis to go to several stores.  However, the drive took longer than I expected and I missed all of my appointments except for one.   My bridal consultant asked me what I wanted my dress to look like, and I pointed to three different parts of three different dresses.  


They said they could make the dress how I wanted it and voila. I had found my dream dress.  The final product was a sweetheart neckline, mermaid silhouette  with tulle extending beyond the dress, with a low v-back.  

SASsy: Was there one specific aspect of the wedding that was more important to you than others, if so what was it?

FUN!   At the end of the day, I wanted everyone to drink, laugh and dance all night.  We played a lot of contemporary music instead of just Motown and top 20 hits that you get at most weddings and people were on the dance floor with a drink in their hand the whole night.

SASsy: I heard you came up gave out BBQ rub as a wedding favor.  That’s one of the most creative favors I’ve heard of!   How did you come up with that idea?

Wedding favors are tricky because it’s not really an area you want to spend a lot of your budget on, but if you are going to spend any money on wedding favors, you want it to be something that your guests will actually keep and not just throw away.  


Memphis is known for its dry rub, I love to cook and my husband loves to eat BBQ.  I figured it would be a cute idea and something people could actually get some use out of.  I was able to get cute jars from Michael’s at a great price and a friend’s family owns a catering company that I got the rub from.  It went over well with the guests and I’m really glad I did it.


SASsy: Did everything go according to plan, or were there a few unplanned moments that made the wedding even more enjoyable?

I had a hair catastrophe two days before my wedding and ended up getting my hair done three times before it was right, I got 4 emails the day of my wedding from people who RSVP informing met that all of a sudden they would not be in attendance, and the church didn’t have the communion ready during the ceremony and we had to wait for someone to run and get it and bring it in the sanctuary.  


In the grand scheme of things, none of that impacted my day and things were wonderful.  Just be prepared for problems to happen, but don’t let them detract you from the point of the day - starting a life with your spouse and the love of your friends and family.

SASsy: If you could do anything differently, what would it be and why?

I would have given myself more time.  I got engaged at the end of September and got married the first weekend in June.  Because of the holidays, I only really had about 6-7 months to plan a wedding for 150 people.  If I could do it over again, I’d give myself more time because I thing I would have enjoyed planning my wedding more if I didn’t feel so rushed.


SASsy: What advice you would you offer other brides to help them through the wedding planning process?


Give yourself enough time to plan so you don’t feel rushed and overwhelmed.  The process can no doubt be overwhelming, but giving yourself time to savor the moments and made thoughtful decisions is important.  


Also, wedding planning is a dictatorship. You are the dictator. That doesn’t mean you need to be a crazy bridezilla. It does mean that you are going to get a lot of input from everyone around you and it is important to remember that it is your day so do what you want.  


I would like to thank Ashley for helping out with the blog this week.  If you have any questions or topic suggestions, please leave comments and they could be featured in an upcoming edition. And be sure to check out Part II of our Ask A Bride series on Thursday!


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SASsy & Sophisticated Bridals Vol 2

Hello SASsy Friends and welcome to SASsy & Sophisticated Bridals Vol 2: Designer Feature Edition!

This week I interviewed up and coming accessories designer Citizen LMS by L. Marissa Scott for her take on the latest trends in bridal accessories and how to achieve the bridal look of your dreams!

SASsy: Hello, and thank you so much for being a part of The SASsy Report this week.  To start off our  interview, I would like to hear all about your favorite trends in bridal fashion and accessories.

Citizen LMS: It’s been a really exciting year in bridal fashion and it seems more and more that the average bride to drawing additional inspiration from couture runways to add a little jazz to the traditional bridal look.

One of my favorite trends is adding pops of color into your accessories, whether it’s a bracelet, shoes, or a clutch. Adding that extra element not only breaks up the monochromatic white, but also adds a little unexpected whimsy to any look.

The second trend that I’m seeing a lot of, and love is the birdcage veil, hair combs, and bridal headbands. The birdcage veil is a throw-back to vintage glamor and makes a definite statement. Headbands or bridal combs have the same nod to vintage glam and are just as stunning but a bit more subdued in tone.

The final trend that I’m swooning over, is wedding gowns in different colors. My favorite being Monique Lhuillier’s beautiful ballet inspired blush dresses in her spring 2012 collection and Vera Wangs’s dark romantic collection for fall 2012 that features nude and black gowns of tulle, silk, organza, and chiffon. 

 Monique Lhuillier 2012 Blush Wedding Dresses

SASsy: Do you prefer a more classic and traditional bridal look like Kate Middleton's or do you lean towards a more contemporary look like Carrie Bradshaw's from the Sex and the City movie?

Citizen LMS: I think I’m a mixture of the two, but I lean more towards Carrie’s sense of style in that I love mixing vintage with contemporary. What I love most about Carrie’s style is her bravery. It takes guts to be able to wear a bird on your head proudly while everyone around you is guessing what it is. You either love it or hate and her character has always seemed to exude “I don’t need anyone approval I wear what I love”…a bit of a style rebel if you will.

 Christina Wu Contemporary Gown with Traditional Touches

SASsy:  So for brides who love Carrie Bradshaw's "rebel" style,  what would you recommend them do to complete their look?

Citizen LMS: I think it depends on the style of the dress and what your comfortable wearing: My general rule of thumb is if you have a dress that’s strapless or some sort of modified sweetheart neckline go for a statement necklace or statement earrings.

 Try one or the other; wearing two together at such a close proximity to one another will make the look a bit clunky. Also don’t be afraid to try wearing multiple bracelets on one arm. The simpler the dress the more avenues you have to play with your accessories. If your dress is more embellished then I would suggest just going with a gorgeous hair comb and/or earrings.

Elaborate Wedding Dress with Simple Earrings

SASsy: For brides interested in a more traditional look, how can they still look young and fresh while keeping with bridal traditions?

Citizen LMS: I think with a traditional look, the fit is super-important and you want to look for lace details done in an unexpected way. For example, Marchesa’s 2012 spring collection features some of the most gorgeous lace applications done over barely-there tulle. It’s a nod to vintage elements but done in a modern way.

 Marchesa Lace & Tulle Wedding Dress

For accessories I would say keep it simple and clean as to not compete with the elements of the gown. To help you look young, try make up that brings brightness to the eyes, blush that brings dewiness to the cheeks, and pink/nude lip that looks fresh, natural, and has a bit of shine.

SASsy: How can brides on budget  but wanting a super glam look achieve this without breaking the bank?

Citizen LMS: My two suggestions are secondhand/vintage shops and DIY.  Trying to find beautiful accessories can put a huge dent in your budget and one way to combat that is to check out secondhand/vintage shops for broaches, hair clips, and earrings. It’s a great way to find one-of-a-kind pieces at a fraction of the cost.

You could even raid your grandmother or mother’s jewelry box for pieces as well! If you still can’t find the items that catch your eye or if you come across something you love but the clasp is broken, try getting a few pin or bracelet/necklace closures from your local Michael's. Most of the time all you have to do is replace the jump-ring that attaches the broken closure to the jewelry with a new one. For more labor intensive project try perusing a few DIY Bridal blogs on the net.

SASsy: Traditionally, a bride should have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  Accessories are a great way to get all of these!  What are your recommendations?

Citizen LMS: Accessories are a totally efficient way of covering those bases. Something borrowed and old could be a piece of jewelry from someone in your family and the something blue could be your garter.

SASsy: Final question, what is the best piece of advice you can offer brides, as they get ready for their big day?

Citizen LMS: The only advice I could give is to drink in every moment you can as you get ready for your big day. I’m sure its stressful and brutal dealing with the millions of balls you have to juggle but take some time out to just breathe and take it all in, a happy bride is a beautiful bride! Congrats to all you lovely brides to be and have a blast coming up with your wedding looks!!

I would like to give a huge thank you to L. Marissa Scott for contributing to this week's post.  Please be sure to stop by her blog, citizenlms.blogspot.com and follow her on Twitter @CitizenLMS for the latest updates on her designs.

Coming Soon on The SASsy Report:

• Ask a Bride: Danielle- she had a beautiful wedding in Atlanta, GA and flawlessly pulled off 2 very different dresses
• Vendor Feature:  The Blessed Bride - full service wedding planning and event design company
• Ask a Bride: Ashley- A Memphis wedding with the perfect guest favors
• Bridal Salon Review: NYC
• Bridal Fashion Review
• What Bridesmaids Really Think About Their Dresses
• Ask a Groom- my own groom to be will be interviewed by a guest writer

Want to see your bridal questions answered on The SASsy Report?  Leave your questions in the comments below and I will answer them in next week's blog!


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