Carnation,

Congratulations to you and your daughter. It's very exciting!

My advice:
- Find a photographer you trust and look at as many books of his/her pictures as they can dig out. I had a ball with my photographer because we were on the same page as to what we wanted the finished product to look like. I had also know my photographer forever because we worked together when I was on yearbook staff in middle school and high school. I love my pictures.
- Do what yall want to do, even if its not exactly in keeping with local tradition. I got married in the fall which is my favorite season of the year because of the color (and football, of course)! My mom wanted me to have a punch for the reception but I hate punch. I had hot cider because that says fall to me more than punch and it would be something different.
I also let my girls choose their dresses and accesories instead of setting one style. Of course, I picked the color but they had the freedom to pick any dress in the collection that they could find in that color. It looke great and everyone was comfortable in the dress they had picked.
- Set a budget and be honest about it. I wish my mom would have been more open with me about what she wanted to spend on the wedding. It caused major stress when her standard reply became "If that's what you want." In my mom's speech that translates to "Go ahead, do what you want but I think it's too expensive/trendy/weird."

Good Luck!!

Has anybody heard of a new kind of artificial flower that has some kind of wax covering that makes it look real? This Southern Living consultant here keeps swearing that she's seen them and the roses look so real that you have to touch them to see if they are. I've searched on the Web and called florists with no luck.

We found a reception site--it's on campus too! YESSS!!!!

I think I saw something about that in a recent issue - have her find you a website, if not a sample. The ones I saw were magnolias, which are somewhat waxy to begin with, but looked amazing!

Good work on the reception site!!

Yeah on the reception site! Some silk flowers on scattered church window decorations/pew decorations and kissing balls are much easier to keep looking nice!
Silver

:D I'm feeling very satisfied right now because her informal china was on sale today PLUS there was a $10 off anything store coupon in the paper...I ended up getting 2 plates, which normally would've been $15-20 each, for about a dollar each.:D

Hooray! You should list what her patterns are!

Well, they chose Colorwave by Noritake. That's a good choice--so versatile, I think! The groom's mom has given them some formal china that a client gave her so they only registered for informal.

Carnation! That's mine, too!!! What color? Ours are blue. AND, the girl I sit next to at work has the same pattern/color - which we did not discover until she saw my registry. Excellent choice! :D

I like that Colorwave. I wonder if I can convince DH that it's time to change informal patterns?

AOII Alum, I kind of did that. My informal is Poppytrail Moulin Rouge and it has a stained-glass flower pattern in primary colors. I also like FiestaWare, so lately I've been getting pieces in the primary colors to dress up my first pattern.

Xo_kathy, I don't know if they've chosen a certain color or are just going for a rainbow effect...I do know that it's hard to find a lot of the pieces, apparently because it's popular!

I like the multi-color look, too. We almost went with that in FiestaWare. You can get all the Colorwave stuff via Bed Bath and Beyond website (though only certain stores carry it in stock)

I've just found the best book--Bridal Bargains by Denise and Alan Fields. Hundreds of moneysaving ideas plus they go into detail about how brides are ripped off all the time.

Boo on mother of the bride dresses. What's with these old lady designs in the stores with all the sequins and crap? My sorority sisters are taking me around Atlanta so we can find a dress that fits in more with my jeans-and-T shirt style!

I say....buy something you like and you fit well in!

If you don't sew....have one custom made for you.

When my oldest daughter got married, I wore BLACK (not happy about paying for the wedding...and the marriage lasted all of 3 months!!! geez)

When daughter #2 got married, I wore a wonderful floral guaze slip and over tunic!

Have you checked out some of the catalogs lately? I saw a dress in one that was a whopping $99, and I can certainly see it being used as a wedding dress! There are others that would work for MOB (I love that acronym!!) dresses, all under $100.

Carnation,
Check out Chadwick's on-line...always a sale going.
PM me about a store that you may be able to visit for exquisite $99 Bride's gowns.
Silver