Some wedding lore makes me laugh...

While double-checking the symbolism of certain wedding flowers, I stumbled upon this very funny Old-World rhyme about the color of a wedding dress. Way long ago, white wedding dresses were a sign of being fabulously wealthy, and not every woman could get her hands on a white dress. At the Morris Museum, where I recently gave a lecture, their historical wedding gowns on display showed bright emerald green dresses from the 1800s, sapphire blue dresses...and even today's bride might choose a dress with a touch of color to it. Top-name designers are showing pink dresses, sage green dresses for organic weddings, lilac dresses, metallics and brights. With modern fashion trends in mind, how funny is it to see a poem like this one:

Married in white, you have chosen alright.
Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in red, You will wish yourself dead.
Married in blue, you will always be true
Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow.
Married in black, you will wish yourself back.
Married in pink, of you he'll think.

Of course, we know that cultural weddings often call for gorgeous red wedding dresses, and it would be a bit dramatic to think a bride is wishing herself dead!

It's quite funny to look back on the role that superstition and 'what's proper' played in weddings of olde, and aren't we lucky that we can choose a gown of color if we want to?

Money-saving DIY ideas

I LOVE Amy Palanjian's column 'Things We Make' for the terrific DIY projects and inspiration. Check it out!

I also saw on the Hallmark Magazine website a fantastic photo feature on 'recycling' the lace from your wedding gown or bouquet fabric. They're talking making a shadow box or frame to feature one carefully-cut lace design, and I think this would make an AMAZING gift to give to your mom, grandmom, daughter, the bridesmaids. Since the bouquet toss tradition started out originally, long ago, as wedding guests tearing at the bride's dress to get a little scrap of fabric and thus a bit of her luck (and sometimes it got brutal!), giving out snippets of your gown or veil lace or that from your bouquet handle is a precious gift!

Congratulations Ellen and Portia!

The morning news is filled with stories about Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi getting married this weekend, and my InBox is filled with questions from reporters on the best advice for gay and lesbian weddings, what the new trends will be, and how weddings can be personalized. My answer: every one of my wedding books is appropriate for ALL weddings. There's no different information, since weddings are all about two people in love, uniting their lives in a very special and personal display of commitment, shared by closest loved ones, and designed to reflect the couple's idea of beauty and sentiment. All the best weddings include elements of the couple's love story, so there's my book 1000 BEST SECRETS FOR YOUR PERFECT WEDDING. On a budget? Pick up 1000 BEST WEDDING BARGAINS. Want to give a smashing toast? Read YOUR SPECIAL WEDDING TOASTS. Want your vows to have extra meaning? YOUR SPECIAL WEDDING VOWS. Want to be organized? THE BUSY BRIDE'S ESSENTIAL WEDDING CHECKLISTS. Moms need answers? THE MOTHER OF THE BRIDE BOOK, MOTHER OF THE GROOM and my podcast "Here Come the Moms."
Right now, I'm marveling over Portia's beautiful gown -- she has gorgeous shoulders and that gown couldn't be more perfect.
I just read an article in Special Events Magazine saying that the term 'gay weddings' will very soon not need the qualifier, since every wedding is an opportunity to gather friends and family for a happy celebration. I'm thrilled to be in this business, helping couples in love plan their Dream Days. That's what makes each step to my computer in the morning (my 20-step commute!) a joy.