Aaron Watson Photography captured this gorgeous wedding day back in October. The wedding and reception were both held at Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard. I love this couple and, lucky for me, get to live near them very soon! Here are some shots of the wedding party before the ceremony began:

Did you know you can simply walk into a bridal boutique and have them size you for a particular designer dress? This is very helpful for long distance bridesmaids! They may not be able to make it to your bridal party dress shopping day but they can still get the correct measurements to the store you will be purchasing the dresses from. Since every designer dress fits differently, it is best to take your measurements and compare them to the corresponding size charts.

If the long distance bridesmaids cannot make it to the store to try on the dress, simply look up a local boutique or two that carries the designer you are using and have her go to that store to get sized. She can then call in to your shop and get the right size ordered. Designers such as Alfred Angelo, Watters, The Dessy Group, and Bill Levkoff are very common and are generally carried in most states. Make being one of your bridesmaids as easy, stress-free, and enjoyable as possible! They will love you for it.

And only the bride should wear white. If you’ve thought about wearing a white dress to a wedding before and decided against it, I applaud you. Ladies, stay away from the white dress when it’s not your day. I’m not talking about dresses with white accents or patterns or even some floral prints with a white background. Stay clear of the white sun dresses, the White House Black Market dresses that are mostly white, the white formal dress, etc. White is for the bride and occasionally the groom.

Rule of thumb: If you have to ask yourself if a dress too white for a wedding, put it back and make another selection.

Jason Keefer Photography

My favorite wedding dress designer:  Maggie Sottero. Of course I’m a Maggie Bride.

If the gown is not your biggest concern for your wedding day or if your budget for a dress is smaller than most boutiques allow, check out this link:

Church Street Bridal

You can find hundreds of gorgeous designer dresses here. They are NEW (not secondhand) by way of overstock, fashion shows or sample inventories. My good friend found her wedding dress here for $150 and it looked stunning on her! Pack your patience and an open mind and you are bound to strike a deal. You can also check out Filene’s Basement (home of the hilarious “Running of the Brides”) as an option for a super deal on your wedding dress!

How cute are these girls? The bride wore the gold shoes in the middle and she let each of her bridesmaids pick out a fun, funky shoe to wear. The dresses were T Length so you could see every bit of shoe. It was so fun and didn’t throw the uniformed look off at all. Try something unique like this in your bridal party!

Ever really wondered what this old saying means? Old stands for a bride’s ties to her past. New is her hope for the future. Borrowed represents friendship and blue is for faithfulness. Usually a bride will try to represent all four of these by something she wears on her wedding day. “New” is the easiest one to cover – most every bride has something brand new to wear.  ”Old” may be her mother’s necklace, pearl earrings, veil or even a re-done wedding gown! “Borrowed” is similar to finding something old – maybe borrow a friend’s veil (a friend once borrowed mine, it saves a lot of money!), or a broach that you pin on your bouquet, or use a friend’s favorite make-up. “Blue”, well, you can get creative like a friend of mine did. She had each of her bridesmaids write a note on the soles of her wedding shoes in blue ink. The easiest way to incorporate blue is to have a sweet little piece of lingerie under your dress. Don’t stress if you don’t follow this wedding tradition. It’s only for fun and can be a great way to incorporate others into your wedding day beauty preparations!

Something Borrowed

The most popular color choice for bridesmaids dresses this year has been BLUE!