Even if you don’t like to admit it, you are a “shoe girl” at heart. Everyone is, and once you have your dress picked out, the next major step is shoes! They’re ever important – they have to be comfortable, height-appropriate with your dress, and nevertheless perfectly gorgeous, even if no one else is going to see them. Trust me, you’ll glow that much more knowing that every single piece of your bridal look is stunningly perfect. Just like your beautiful sheath wedding dress from The White Gown, you do not need to spend a fortune to find shoes that have the perfect little “wedding touch”. On this sunny Saturday, as you lovely ladies are rolling in from our Fit To Be Bride Bootcamp, we have two sweet and simple DIY’s to add the finishing touches to your shoes!

Covered Buttons! You’ve got them on your dress, so why not continue the theme with your shoes!? Now, this beautiful pair of Rosamosario pumps via Net-A-Porter are currently unavailable, but the look is easily attainable. Peruse the garment district or Etsy for covered buttons in bulk. It’ll be easier to pick a perfect color match if you browse in-person. You’ll want to find buttons that are relatively flat on back (or can be snipped and perhaps shaved down), to make them easier to affix to the shoe’s heel. Use the heaviest duty glue you can find and have at it! Note: these buttons more than likely will not be coming back off the shoes after the wedding, so try not to make this a temporary DIY.

Image courtesy of Net-A-Porter

Now here’s your temporary DIY! Detachable Shoe Bows! These are super cute for the wedding, or you know, just everyday life. All thanks to Lauren Conrad for the easy DIY video below. Enjoy!!

Aja Falker

Jennifer Roberts

I know we all think the same way. We’d love to walk down the aisle in a custom-made designer dress, with a price tag equivalent to a down payment on a house in the burbs. Even better than the dress is the notion of telling virtually everyone at the wedding that yes, you are wearing Vera…or Oscar…or Monique. The reality is that you really don’t have to spend a fortune to get an amazingly gorgeous dress that’s all your own – at The White Gown, of course. There are increasingly new ways to incorporate those designer names in your wedding without having to sacrifice your first born. The latest in unconventional approaches to having a designer name attached to your wedding? Flowers! Vera Wang has partnered with FTD to introduce a line of wedding ready bouquets, boutonnières, and table arrangements that are ready to order.

The line is broken up into three sections:

Traditionalist, filled with white roses, orchids, and calla lilies.

Romanticist, filled with pink roses, stargazer lilies, and orchids.

Modernist, filled with deep lavender hydrangeas (my personal fave), calla lilies, and larkspur.

Happy Bragging!

All images courtesy of FTD.

The White Gown has partnered with Molly Winter Fitness to bring you: “Fit To Be Bride”! A complementary (read: FREE) summer workout series to help you look stunning in your simple wedding gown and release much needed endorphins as it gets close to the big day! Don’t forget to sign up!!

Here’s all the info you need:

Who: The White Gown, Molly Winter Fitness, and YOU!

When: May 18th, June 15th, and August 17th at 9:30am

Where: Pier 45 at Charles Street, Greenwich Village (May 18th), TBD (June 15th and August 17th)

How: Sign up by e-mailing us at info@thewhitegown.com!

If you’re unable to stop by, Molly has provided us with a few tips for getting set for the big day. Here’s #3!

Still searching for the perfect gift for your bridesmaids? We have a great DIY for you that’s not only a people pleaser but a total budget dream. After dumping a lot of your stress on them throughout the planning process (trust me, they’re happy to do it!) – the countless vendor visits, the trip to The White Gown to pick out “the dress”, your bridesmaids need a little “me” time to calm down from the emotional high that was your wedding. What better way to help them do so than homemade Bath Salts and Body Scrub? They’re perfect for a night of soaking with their favorite book, dim lights, and a few lit candles.

Below, we have for you two recipes for Bath Salts and Body Scrub courtesy of Everything Etsy and Martha Stewart. You can get mason jars in bulk SUPER cheap online, which make for the perfect packaging, tied together with a sweet piece of ribbon, perhaps matching your wedding colors? Enjoy!!

Bath Salts Recipe, from Everything Etsy

Image courtesy of Everything Etsy

Supplies:

• 1 cup Epsom Salt
• 1 cup Sea Salt
• Essential Oil (Lemongrass, Lavender, Eucalyptus…)
• Food Coloring

Gather your supplies and start by mixing 1 cup Epsom Salt and 1 cup of Sea Salt together in a large bowl.

Add 3-6 drops of food coloring.  A little goes a long way, so start off with just a few drops and add until you get the perfect color.  Mix well.  {And then mix a little more!}

Add 5-10 drops of essential oil and mix, mix, mix.

Spoon your bath salt into beautiful jars or bottles, top it off with twine or ribbon and you are finished! It’s that simple!

Body Scrub Recipe, from Martha Stewart

Image courtesy of Paula Deen

Jami Gallaway

Holly Holt

Colleen Hanley

Helai Hesham

Sandra Engstrom

Kimberly Shemer

Ladies, here’s the latest from Rachel, and her experiences with shopping for vendors!

I can’t speak for everyone, but I have been told by many a person, blog and magazine that the best way to plan a wedding on a budget is to do your research and shop around. What these voices leave out, however, is how to let down a vendor as softly and painlessly as possible. More importantly though, they forget to mention that the New York wedding industry is smaller than it looks and everyone knows everyone! While this is great when you need a referral, it can get dicey when the vendor you choose happens to know the vendor you dumped. So what do you do? Here is some advice from the Wedding Bee that I found super helpful.

Basic Guidelines:

• Thank the vendor for corresponding.
• Compliment the vendor.
• Give a reason why we went another direction.
• Thank the vendor for their time.

And here is a generic “No, thank you” e-mail:

To (vendor),

We wanted to thank you for taking the time and effort to keep in touch with us and to (provide service). While we were impressed by your (service), another (vendor) was able to offer us something that was more suitable to our requirements and price range.

Thank you very much for your time,

(sign off)

Read the original post at: http://www.weddingbee.com/2010/08/25/rejecting-a-vendo/#ixzz2Sl1JoinJ

Happy shopping!

Image courtesy of Bridal Buds

In honor of Monday’s Met Gala, we’ve brought to you the most stunning looks from fashion’s biggest night. The Met Gala is to the fashion world what The Oscars are to Hollywood. Hosted every year by the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in collaboration with fashion mag heavyweight Vogue, the Met Gala celebrates the yearly opening of a new exhibition at the Costume Institute. This year’s exhibition? “Punk: Chaos to Couture”. In keeping with the theme of each exhibition, the most daring celebs and public figures try their hand at best capturing the inspiration of the night in their looks. Take a peek below at some of the most stand-out looks from the night. Enjoy!

Jessica Alba in Tory Burch

Rooney Mara in Givenchy

Alexa Chung in Erdem

Allison Williams in Altuzarra

Sarah Jessica Parker in Giles

Jennifer Lawrence in Dior

Minka Kelly in Carolina Herrera

Miranda Kerr in Michael Kors

All images courtesy of Style.com

Wondering which of these pretty little Nicole Miller dresses we will see at her trunk show this weekend?!?! Did you book  your appointment yet?

Photos courtesy of Nicole Miller

The White Gown has partnered with Molly Winter Fitness to bring you: “Fit To Be Bride”! A complementary (read: FREE) summer workout series to help you look ravishing in your organza wedding dress and release much needed endorphins as it gets close to the big day! Don’t forget to sign up!

Here’s all the info you need:

Who: The White Gown, Molly Winter Fitness, and YOU!

When: May 18th, June 15th, and August 17th at 9:30am

Where: Pier 45 at Charles Street, Greenwich Village (May 18th), TBD (June 15th and August 17th)

How: Sign up by e-mailing us at info@thewhitegown.com!

If you’re unable to stop by, Molly has provided us with a few tips for getting set for the big day. Here’s #2!