Your bridesmaids are some of your nearest and dearest BFFs.  Some of them have known you since you were in diapers and others know some of your deepest darkest secrets – they’ve celebrated all the important birthdays with you, they held your hair as you called earl, they provided comfort when you thought your heart was broken beyond repair, they helped you celebrate your greatest highs and have always been there for you.  And now they’re standing up at your wedding with you and your bethroed.  You’ve got to thank them.  They’ve been there through thick and thin. But, what’s an appropriate thank you gift? Personalized stationery of course! Our favorite stationer is effie’s paper - beautifully designed, clean and modern – unique paper products your BFFs will thank you for.

[photo courtesy of effie's paper]

I saw this book, I Married Adventure, online a few weeks ago and the title made me chuckle because, to me, no truer words could be used to describe marriage.  It is an adventure!  Osa Johnson’s book is about the adventures she and her husband, Martin, had as photographers, explorers, marketers, naturalists and authors while studying the wildlife and peoples of East and Central Africa, the South Pacific Islands and British North Borneo during the first half of the Twentieth Century. They explored then-unknown lands and brought back film footage and photographs, offering many Americans their first understanding of these distant lands.  While your marriage may not be about this kind of adventure, it will be an adventure nonetheless.  The book is now a collector’s item, especially for decor enthusiasts; it’s a great wedding gift for the right couple.

Love is in the air.  Everywhere I look around.  . . .

The John Paul Young disco classic pretty much captures how I’ve always felt about the month of June.  For some reason, I’ve always associated the month of June with weddings.  I went to a wedding last night.  The first wedding I’ve been to since my own.  It was wonderful to be a part of someone else’s happiness as a spectator.  The recitation of the vows.  The exchange of rings.  All of it is exciting to me each and every time I watch someone embark on such a momentous journey.   I love weddings.  I always have, ever since I was a little girl.  There’s something about the tradition.  You know what to expect but you don’t.  You know the bride will walk down the aisle on the arm of a gentleman all the while smiling at her betrothed.   You know she’ll be a vision in white as she floats down the aisle.  You know the vows she and her groom will make to one another.  It’s so routine that it’s almost rote.  But at the same time, each time I hear a couple repeat their vows, tears form in my eyes as I think about the promises they’re making to one another and their families and friends.  Love is in the air.  Inhale.

I hope so if you’re getting ready to say I DO!  But, before you do, it might be nice to know exactly what is meant by “tying the knot”.  Marriage is an institution with a rich history in many countries and cultures.  Although different cultures may have different wedding traditions, there are similarities between many of these traditions.  So where does the phrase “tie the knot” come from?  Depends on who you ask.

• Some say, it comes from the betrothal knot.  Before things got fancy and diamond rings became the rage, one’s engagement status was symbolized by people wearing knotted cords, a betrothal knot, tied around different body parts.
• In Persia and Iran, brides and grooms joined hands through a curtain separating them and a piece of cloth would be wrapped around them and tied with a symbolic knot.  Then, a twist of yarn is wrapped around the couple seven times, then around the knot seven times.
• The Celtic Handfasted Ceremony was performed without the clergy kind of as trial to marriage.  Two people who were “handfasted” if they agreed to live as husband and wife for a year and a day, after which they could agree to separate, or else formalize their marriage in the presence of a priest.  The couple  would join hands and then tie their wrists and hands together with a long ribbon or strip of cloth, symbolizing the union.  In some versions of this story, the wrists are cut so as to mingle the blood of bride and groom before tying the knot.  Others say the bride and groom would each tear a strip off of their tartan and tie them together, thus symbolizing the union of the two clans.
• It’s said that in ancient Rome, the bride wore an intricately knotted belt.  The groom got to “untie the knots” on the wedding night.
• Back in the day, Japanese priests would bind the bride and grooms hands with rope during the ceremony. In modern day, you will often see the priest place a sash around their hands rather than rope, and it is from this that the saying comes.
• Some say that the phrase comes from the old marriage custom of actually tying the couple’s hands together as part of the ceremony. They couple was not allowed to untie the knot until they had consummated the marriage.
• It’s said illiterate Swedish sailors and soldiers would send a piece of rope to their sweethearts as a proposal.  If the rope came back with a knot in it, the knot meant she’d accepted his hand in marriage.
• In Hindu wedding ceremonies, during the Gathabandhan portion of the ceremony the priest ties a knot using the ends of the clothing worn by the bride and groom. The priest ties the end of the groom’s dhoti or kurta, whichever he is wearing, with that of the bride’s sari; the knot signifies the sacred wedlock.
• And, the Mexican Lasso or Lazzo Ceremony, where a cord (often of flowers) is draped around the shoulders of the bridal couple during to ceremony to signify that they are bound and being joined together by God.

Whatever the origin of the phrase, it’s the sentiment that really speaks volumes. Tying the knot is more than just a phrase, it’s become short-hand for the uniting of two souls which is a pretty powerful statement.

Rain, rain go away . . .

The old nursery school rhyme is one many brides cry when it comes to their wedding days, but, believe it or not, rain on your wedding day is actually good luck.  Some say that this belief dates back to Hindu culture where a part of the wedding ceremony is the traditional tying of the knot; Hindus believe that a wet knot is harder to untie.

Many cultures subscribe to the belief that rain on your wedding day is good luck. Why?  Rain was viewed a symbol of fertility in agricultural societies because it restored and maintained the wellness of crops. And in these societies, crops were the main source of stability and income so, it was thought than rain on your wedding day was a guarantee of a long and happy marriage.

So, what’s a Bride to do?  Have a Plan B.  Most resorts and hotels will insist that you have a Plan B if you are planning an outdoor wedding ceremony, just in case it rains or looks like rain.  Here’s the thing to remember if rain is predicted on your wedding day – the hotel or venue is going to ask you to make the call (Plan A or Plan B) a few hours before your ceremony.  If it’s raining cats and dogs, the call  is easy.  If it just looks like rain, you’ve got a more difficult decision to make.  Either way, you’ll be fine and your wedding ceremony will be wonderful.  You’re marrying the man of your dreams, rain or shine!

As the French say, Mariage Pluviex, Mariage Heurex, which when translated means ”A happy marriage is the result of a wet wedding.”  And the Italians believe that a wet bride is a happy bride, Sposa bagnata, sposa fortunata!

Here’s to rain on your wedding day!

The countdown is on.  Your invitations are in the mail, the date is set for your bridal shower, your vendor deposits have been paid and the details for the events during your wedding weekend are coming together nicely.  Great.  One quick question – Do you know what you’re wearing to your rehearsal dinner?

Most brides focus on style at the beginning of the planning process when looking for the perfect wedding dress.  Once that item is crossed off her list it’s on to bigger and better things like food tastings, flower selection, practicing her first dance with her fiance and choosing a DJ. And then a few weeks before the wedding, as the bride-to-be is going through her Bridal Checklist and patting herself on the back, it hits her that she has absolutely nothing to wear to her bridal shower, welcome cocktail party or the rehearsal dinner that she’s spent so much time planning to a “T”.

To insure that you don’t find yourself in this predicament, add finding outfits for your wedding events to your “TO DO” list.  You’re definitely going to do a hair trial and a make-up trial, right?  Those are scheduled in to your countdown to the BIG DAY calendar.  Schedule in time to shop.  If you’re getting married on the beach in November, you can’t wait until October to begin shopping because while you’ve got visions of sunshine and pina coladas in your head, the stores around you do not. And if you’re getting married right down the street and don’t have to worry about climate changes, you still have to worry about being able to find the outfit you had in your head at the stores in your area (or online in your size).

So, do you need a team to help you look your best for your BIG DAY?  Absolutely! Glam Squads are not the province of the rich and famous; everyone deserves to be pampered during this momentous time in her life.  No one says your Glam Squad has to be filled with pricey experts, although I’m not mad at you if it is  . . . Your Glam Squad may consist of your mom who’s great with hair, your sister who’s an amateur make-up artist and your best friend who’s styled you for every other major event in your life up to this moment.  I was part of  a pretty fabulous Glam Squad that one of my clients put together for her blowout Jamaican wedding week last year.  It was so much fun to help her make her vision come true!

Compile your Glam Squad with care; make sure that the individuals you choose will be able to carve out the time for trials as well as time on your actual wedding day. Give them advance notice whether they’re traveling down the street to the church or across the Atlantic to your wedding destination.  And then, to the extent you can allow yourself to do so, trust that the experts (friends and family or otherwise) to do their jobs.

And if finding something to wear to your rehearsal dinner is beginning to seem insurmountable, Wedding STYLE by Kalyn Johnson will be glad to become a part of your Glam Squad and help you find the perfect outfit!

Rock the frock!

What?!?!? Are you crazy?  Debase your beautiful wedding gown for a few pictures? Sure, why not?  Here’s the thing – is your daughter really going to want to wear your wedding dress?  Did you want to wear your mom’s wedding gown?  So, what makes more sense?  Spending at least another $500 to preserve your wedding dress for prosperity? (Not to mention finding some place to store it) Or, spend  another $500-$1000 to trash it in a fun photo shoot and have beautiful artistic pictures to remember your  BIG DAY by?

The Trash the Dress trend, or Rock the Frock, began with Las Vegas based wedding photographer John Michael Cooper and has taken the wedding industry by storm. There are websites dedicated to helping you figure out the best way to trash your dress if you are so inclined …  As one bride told me, she absolutely loves her TD photos and she’s hanging her them in her new house instead of the photos from her actual wedding ceremony.  When I asked her why, she replied, “because they’re so cool and the photo shoot was soooo much fun!”.  It’s her perogative and yours too.

[image courtesy of ctcphotography]

I just got married. It’s been a wonderful and blissful three weeks so far. For the record, I do not purport to be a Wedding Planner by any stretch of the imagination, that’s one job I will gladly leave the the professionals (I think Wedding Planners and Wedding Photographers must have been graced with the patience of Job and nerves of steel to do what they do). But, I did learn a lot during the planning process. Overarchingly, I learned that while I’ve been to plenty of weddings, and I’ve been in my fair share of weddings, I really had no clue about all of the detail that goes into planning a wedding. It doesn’t matter how big or small a wedding is, whether it’s at The Ritz or in your backyard, there are tons of decisions that have to be made. When looked at in toto, I found the decision-making process overwhelming. However, when broken down into components it was much easier to sit down and process. So, in keeping with Wedding STYLE by Kalyn Johnson’s premise of helping you look your best the week of your wedding, stay tuned for future postings on how to stylishly navigate the wedding planning process by putting one heel-clad foot in front of the other as you traverse the well-worn path down the aisle to the alter.

He proposed!  You accepted!  The venue’s been chosen and you finally found the perfect wedding dress, BUT you haven’t had time to decide what to wear to your Bridal Shower or Rehearsal Dinner…you’re starting to get a little worried, right? You want to look fab for your BIG DAY, but not quite sure where to turn? Look no further, Wedding STYLE by Kalyn Johnson to the rescue.

Planning your outfits for each event and occasion leading up to your BIG DAY will be a cinch with Kalyn by your side.  You’ll look fabulous, your stress will be minimized, and they’ll wonder how you did it.

Whether you need assistance planning your wedding wardrobe for your Bridal Shower, Rehearsal dinner, a week-long wedding celebration in some exotic locale or your honeymoon, Kalyn will help you lookyour best.

Kalyn uses her vast resources, inspiration and creativity to develop truly amazing “Looks,” not only for the Bride, but for the Groom and the entire wedding party if requested.

Contact Wedding Style by Kalyn Johnson for a Wedding Wardrobe Consultation today.