Month: December 2011

Tossing the Bouquet Toss – All The Single Ladies Will Thank You.

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It’s an iconic image – the bride leaving the reception and tossing a bouquet into a cheering crowd of happy single gals.  In real life, when the DJ fires up the Beyoncé song and calls out all qualified bouquet catchers frequently, women of a certain age or mindset disappear into the woodwork.  Or the ladies room.  When I was on bridesmaid duty, I always found that was a perfect time to go sprinkle rose petals in the bridal suite.

An inspired bouquet. Let us inspire you!

So, how do you incorporate this tradition without setting your single friends’ teeth on edge? Here’s my favorite spin.  Instead of throwing your flowers at someone, which is a little hostile when you think about it, GIVE them away to a lady (or gentleman – we don’t judge) you love and wish to honor.  Grandma, Man of Honor,  childhood best friend,  you pick.

I’m betting there’s someone attending your wedding who’d be thrilled to pieces to be presented with a special posy.  And I can tell you from personal experience, there are girls who will be thrilled with the peace of not having their marital status paraded around the dance floor.

Love to all the Single Ladies!  And Love to that handsome fella who made me a Mrs!

-Dinah

Dinah, her GORGEOUS bouquet and her even MORE GORGEOUS husband.
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Millionaire Matchmaking, Bachelorettes, and those crazy housewives

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Reality TV is a fact of life these days. Finding your Mr. Or Ms. Right on national television? I’m pretty sure that’s official country song wrong place number 23 to look for love. There are, however, things to be learned from the seekers of everlasting happiness and romance in prime time.

Patty Stanger, “The Millionaire Matchmaker” on Bravo, spends an hour a week matching up difficult personalities. The editing surely makes things a) more amusing and b) less frustrating than they appear in the tiny mirror on the side of our guilty-pleasure-mobiles. But Patty does have some valuable things to say (and some funny ones to be sure).

The most important advice I’ve heard her give is “make love a priority and love will come.” the same needs to be true after love has been found. When planning your wedding, love still has to be the priority so that it will know how to stick around.

The Bachelorette is incomprehensible to me, personally. It’s some perverse version of sorority rush with all the catty parts and none of the redeeming sisterhood. If you can learn anything from this one, it’s be careful what you wish for. And for goodness sake, don’t wish to be locked up in a house full of weepy overly made up, emotionally underdeveloped girls.

Last but not least we have the Unsinkable Kim Wozniak, of The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She found her latest football player love at a charity event she was attending to support another housewife’s penchant for dancing badly in public. And now she’s (on the show) about to pop with a new baby boy. Now that’s one way to make love stick around

The reality tv trend has got to hit a wall at some point. Let’s keep the super glam wedding shows and dispense with the drama. Is anybody with me?

Where’s my remote?

-Dinah

Head to toe! Let Your Whole Body talk! And other Drag Queen Wedding Beauty tips.

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Drag Queens are Fabulous.  I’ve been watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on Netflix, and Ru is beyond fabulous – she’s wise, elegant, and one heck of a make-up artist.  So here are some “Drag” tips gleaned that are gold for Brides (and maids, and Moms…and the occasional Groom).

1)   Accentuate the positive.  Find your best feature and flaunt it.  RuPaul accents her height, and her fabulous bone structure.  Find a dress that suits you, and your body type. Ru has award winning stylists, we can find you some too. In SoCal, head straight over to Desert Bride for expert counsel and assistance.

2)   Ignore all things Negative.  Drag queens frequently have overcome a lot to be happy with who they are and to be comfortable expressing themselves.  So once they get to that point, they are FUN and HAPPY.  Stay fun!  Depressed?  Put on Abba – maybe “Gimme gimme gimme (a man after midnight)” and lip sync for your sweetie.  You’ll both laugh – and laughter is good.

RuPaul, all crystals and confidence.

3)   Lashes, lashes, lashes.  This one’s fairly self explanatory – drag queens don’t go to Rite Aid without their fake lashes on, girlfriend, so you shouldn’t think about going down the aisle without yours. Once you see how they “pop” your look, you’ll thank me. Or Ru. Or both.

4)   Think creatively!  Do you think  the fashion world comes up with looks like the Sex and the City “bird on her head” wedding look? No – it comes from the fringe (read: drag queens, art school drop-outs,  nouveau bohos and assorted other creative types) and works it’ way into couture.  Trust me – Lady Bunny had a bird on her head long before SJP.

5)    Let your whole body talk. it’s a confidence thing.  When drag queens hit a stage or a runway, they’ve got a power, a confidence, an attitude that brides would do well do take a dollop of to add to their sugar and spice.  Nice is good, but Fabulous is great.

Work that aisle like a supermodel girls! (Turn to the left! Work! Turn to the Right!)

Sashay Chanté…

-Dinah