Well, she’s not really a Princess (technically she’s a Duchess) but thanks to the Barbie dream factory, Kate Middleton is officially a doll, as is her hubby, Prince William, aka Duke of Cambridge. And they did a pretty good job. That’s kind of a relief, because we hate to name names, but there have been some portrait dolls made that are truly, well, royal disasters.
Given the opportunity, would you want a commemorative wedding doll made of you? Take our poll! And check out images of Doll Duke and Duchess below.
[polldaddy poll=5970486]
Will and Kate's official dolls! Oh pardon me The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.The Duke and Duchess dolls get cutesy
Is it weird to feel the love strongest after Valentine’s Day? Not for a floral design company. We’re authentic romance enthusiasts.
It’s a rush running all over town delivering happiness in solid form to people. And on Valentine’s Day it’s overwhelming – too fast, too furious and all goes by in a blink. So the day after “the day,” it finally comes washing back over you quite how much of an effect you had on people’s day, romances and relationships in that 18 hours of sheer madness. And it feels really good.
I often comment about how lucky we are to work around beauty and love all day long. And that’s meant literally – the beauty of flowers, and the glow of engaged couples is intoxicating. It’s hard not to be happy helping brides to be pick out ways to make their weddings beautiful. But there’s something so pure about delivering Valentine’s flowers to a girl who doesn’t think they are for her, or watching a couple married 30 years turn to teenagers over a bouquet of red roses. Secret admirers, mothers to sons, there’s just something special about that Valentine love. So pardon us if we’re still reveling in it. We’re suckers for romance, it kind of comes with the territory. We’d better be, or we couldn’t be in this wacky, crazy business, or at least we wouldn’t be very good at it.
Authenticity makes the difference whether you’re running for president, or if you’re running all over town with a van full of Valentine’s flowers. We are who we are, and that makes our business what it is, and our events (particularly weddings) what they are. Us? Happy and grateful. Our business? On a terrific roll. Our weddings? Beautiful, and authentically romantic.
Oh the French. We all know about the wine, the cheese, and the persistently seductive skunks (who doesn’t love Pepe Le Pew?) But wedding traditions abound! And I’ll highlight three: One Retail, One Romantic, and one Rousing. Let’s dive in.
Retail: The concept of the “bridal trousseau,” the collection of clothes and a bride assembled, was originally a French one, coming from the word “trousse” meaning “bundle.” In Victorian times it became a status symbol to have an elaborate wardrobe prepared for the wedding celebrations, and the honeymoon. Women and society have changed, but outfit-shopping for the honeymoon is a fun way to relieve planning stress. Take your guy with you – you can “bundle” up together.
Romantic: We love this one – guess why? French wedding bouquets are usually quite fragrant (if you have allergies, skip this part) and include flowers that hold special meaning for the bride and groom. Did he pick daisies outside your house before your first date? Sneak one in there. No flower in mind? Use the language of flowers, and whisper it in his ear.
Rousing: This one’s kind of nutty, and more likely to appeal to bridesmaids reading than brides, but I couldn’t resist. Apparently friends turn up outside the happy couple’s room in the night banging pots and pans, singing, and otherwise behaving badly, loudly. And, the groom is, by tradition, supposed to invite everyone in for a nosh.
So there you have it, three ways to make your (or your friend’s/sister’s/daughter’s) wedding more French. One last note: my guess is that in any culture, a rag-tag bunch of guests at the honeymoon suite door would be about as welcome as a relative of Pepe Le Pew.
