Before And After I Do

From the extravagant dresses of Giorgio Armani, Versace and Vera Wang… to the jewelry courtesy of Cartier, we get an education in fashion from the red carpet (the good and the bad). But as fashion moguls love to play “dress the celeb” (the
most powerful marketing tool they’ve got) but not so much “dress the everyday bride.” What does that leave us with?

What can we immediately take away from the Oscars for our wedding? I’ll give you a clue. It rhymes with bear, care, share, tear… Yup, the “Hair!!!”

Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine	Adriana Barraza from Babel
Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls	Hellen Mirren from The Queen
Jennifer Garner, Do you miss Alias like I do?	Queen Latifah
Jessica Alba I loved Dark Angel!	Rinko Kikuchi from Babel
Reese Witherspoon	Jessica Biel Loved her in The Illusionist
(( Images and more Oscar 2007 photos via Yahoo! Movies ))

So start visiting Oscar.com 79th Annual Academy Awards website and swipe some wedding hair style ideas.

My cousin just got married. I would describe my cousin and his fiancé as a more offbeat bride and groom… traditional in some parts (like having a tux and beautiful wedding gown) but when it came down to delicious desserts they went with wedding cupcakes.

Look how elegant yet festive cupcakes can be! There are enough decorating alternatives to adorn the top of a cupcake to make them compliment your wedding day theme.

According to Favor Ideas, wedding cake prices depend on size, type of cake, the icing or frosting and the shape. Favor Ideas says, “On average, today’s wedding cake costs between $3-6 a slice.”

You may have read a few wedding planning tips WeddingBudgetHell.com and what we’ve found is this popular tip: “Enlist Help.”

So do you have a friend who bakes delicious cakes or cupcakes? Does a friend of a friend know someone who loves to bake? If not, fear not…

Plan a day to go bakery hopping and start taste testing.

Here in San Diego, we have the California Cupcake Company with delivery services that can whip up some delicious cupcakes for an average of $2.50 - $3.00 each. Although they don’t have a retail store, they can put together a sample cupcake pack of six flavors for tasting. The cost of sample packs are $15.00 ea.

Sharoni emails, “We celebrated last Friday — one, to avoid the crazy rush (and expense) of restaurants tonight, and two — because the hubby had to go out of town this morning. I like to be wined and dined, so we went out to dinner. He sent me a beautiful bouquet of red roses, and I sent him a fabulous lingerie cookie bouquet from cookies-by-design. He got a kick out of it.”

Liza emails, “We were in Maui. My company paid for 5-days in Maui.”

Noelle email, “We’re spending it indoors, under the covers, in front of the tv catching up on shows we missed over the weekend and eating Chinese food!”

Mario emails, “Carol has school today thus we’re not going anywhere. Maybe we’ll do something on Saturday.”

Myself? We watched the new Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore movie, “Music and Lyrics.”

Your engaged. Congratulations! Here’s a few of our favorite reading materials to help you stress-less during your wedding planning.

	Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget by Denise Fields, Alan Fields based on 252 Amazon Customer Reviews
	The Bride’s Book of Lists: Things to Do & Questions to Ask by Amy Nebens, Greg Stadler based on 8 Amazon Customer Reviews
	The Everything Wedding Checklist by Janet Anastasio, Michelle Bevilacqua based on 2 Amazon Customer Reviews
	Instant Weddings From “Will You?” to “I Do!” in Four Months or Less by Jennifer L. Shawne based on 5 Amazon Customer Reviews
	1001 Ways to Save Money… and Still Have a Dazzling Wedding by Sharon Naylor based on 18 Amazon Customer Reviews
	Anti-Bride Guide by Carolyn Gerin, Stephanie Rosenbaum based on 39 Amazon Customer Reviews
	Intimate Weddings by Christina Friedrichsen based on 8 Amazon Customer Reviews