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NEW YORK – Pop star Avril Lavigne, the designer, promises a “badass” wedding dress she might make herself when she marries rocker Chad Kroeger.
“Either it’s something I’m going to design, or partner up with, collaborate with another designer,” she told reporters Monday after presenting the spring collection of her Abbey Dawn clothing line.
Of the 37-year-old Nickelback frontman’s proposal after a whirlwind romance, Lavigne said: “It was really natural, and we met in the studio and were friends for a while, and one of our last days in the studio was when he proposed, and it was super romantic and it had a lot of meaning behind it.”
Lavigne, 27, was mum on the subject of her ex, Brody Jenner, whose family she remains friendly with. She used one of his sisters, 15-year-old Kylie Jenner, to open and close her downtown runway show.
In a messy topknot, the teen wore a tight, white dress adorned with the brand’s initials in black, block letters. Kylie was also the last to walk, in red, ultra-short shorts with garters attached and a black leather and lace biker jacket.
Lavigne debuted Abbey Road in 2008 and also sells signature perfumes. Her rocked-out clothes for spring include human skeletons in black on the front of stretchy, striped dresses and in white on others. Lavigne also used skulls in black lace on jackets and at the hems of minis.
Skulls with little neon rainbows were in another print used for tops, shorts and more mini dresses, matching pink and purple buns atop the heads of models and the streaks in Lavigne’s hair.
I recently met with a couple to finalize their ceremony. When I asked how they were doing, Meredith, the bride, sighed, “Well, we’re not as happy as when we first met you. We’re just so tired of dealing with people — we want it to be over!”
You don’t need me to tell you that planning a wedding is a wild, wacky emotional roller coaster ride. But here’s the thing about emotions. Emotions can either allow us to react to people and situations in a healthy way OR they can trip us up and cause us to sabotage our relationships and plans.
What we “think” influences what we “feel.”
Emotions that prevent us from acting in a way that is in our own best interest are grounded in some very irrational thoughts — lies — we play so often in our heads that we simply accept them as true, even though they’re not.
There are two common “lies” couples tell themselves while stressing with wedding planning. Buy into them and your emotions quickly get out of whack.
Emotional Lie #1:
Towards the end of Betsy and Marco’s outdoor ceremony, just as I was about to give them a blessing, Betsy’s mother stood up and walked towards me. I was puzzled, but naively thought maybe she was supposed to read a poem and they’d forgotten to tell me. So, I walked over to her. Then, in a voice only I could hear, she uttered these immortal words: Do not pronounce them husband and wife, I have reservations.
Beyond stunned and tapping into my New York-bred instincts, I replied: The only reservation you better have is for dinner! I raced back to the couple and quickly pronounced them husband and wife. Afterwards, I found Betsy and gave her a hug, during which she whispered: I guess I forgot to tell you about my mother. Huh?!
Everyone knew her mother wasn’t happy with the marriage; everyone knew her mother was “unpredictable” and everyone told Betsy not to invite her. And Betsy? Well, she felt she “should” invite her. So, out of guilt, she invited her mother, knowing she most likely would attempt “something.”
The first crazy-making lie that couples play in their heads: There are things you “should” do in your wedding because that’s how things “should” be.
Don’t plan your wedding out of a sense of “should.” Plan it out of a sense of what you and your partner want to do. Be guided by what reflects you as a couple. There’s no reason why you “should” invite someone who has the potential to take your day hostage by selfish whims.
Emotional Lie #2:
Rita and Norman were getting married at a 5-star resort. Rita’s parents were divorced and her father was footing the bill. There was just one catch — if she invited her mother, he wouldn’t pay for the wedding.
While she loved her mother, Rita wanted a fab wedding that would blow people away and now her father was putting her in a hopeless situation. Eventually, she agreed to his terms and didn’t invite her mother. “What can I do? He gave me no choice,” she lamented. Rita, though, did have a choice and she chose to cave in to her father.
Because she wanted her “dream” wedding, she convinced herself she was powerless. Wrong or right, she needed to own that choice and not blame anyone, (of course, she took her frustrations out on hapless Norman).
The second lie that couples play in their heads: When it comes to the essential aspects of their wedding, a couple doesn’t always have a choice.
Sure, there are many aspects to a wedding where it’s just easier to let mom or dad have their way. But when it comes to the fundamentals of the celebration, you and your partner do have choices.
Couples often tell me of the compromises they’ve made so as to “make peace.” That’s fine, so long as you remember that this is your wedding. When you “make peace,” make sure you’re remaining true to you and your partner. Otherwise, you will have no peace!
A shared vision is your wedding planning compass:
• Where are you and your partner willing to compromise?
• Where are you and your partner not willing to compromise?
• Are you on the same page, right now, today?
As a couple, you need to answer these questions before you navigate the emotional minefield of wedding planning. Otherwise, you’ll be held captive by all the things you think you “should” do and will convince yourself that you are powerless.
Reject these two common lies and you’ll stay sane throughout your planning!
Think it’s impossible to have a beautiful beach wedding on a budget? Miami-based couple Kristen Abele and James Schulman, both 28, will prove you wrong. After spending a total of $8,000 on their January 2012 nuptials ($20,000 less than what the average couple in Miami shells out for a wedding), Abele shares how she and her now-husband were able to pull it off. (As told to Natasha Burton)
Deciding to spend less on our wedding wasn’t so much a big, conscious decision as it was a life necessity.
James and I had always wanted to own our own business together and the timing happened to just work out right before we got engaged for us to begin our endeavor: a content marketing and copywriting business based here in Miami, called The Found Gen. We started to test the waters with clients and quickly found ourselves in demand — which is the best case scenario for any new business.
Given that we were in the first year of business when we started planning our wedding, our budget was a priority. We needed to be able to pay rent each month and buy groceries before we could worry about cake toppers and table settings. But regardless of our financial situation, our style didn’t call for all the lavish luxuries that some weddings demand.
Still, my husband and I were both aware of the pressure to have an over-the-top wedding, especially from social media. For that reason, I stayed away from Pinterest entirely. At first, I followed a few blogs I liked but after a few months I realized I didn’t need to see anyone else’s wedding — I needed to focus on my own. I stopped looking for more ideas and instead just turned to APW (A Practical Wedding) for advice on what I was going through daily, which included the little dramas that are inevitable with wedding planning, like budgeting and marrying into a new family.
Above all, my husband and I wanted our wedding to be fun, carefree and a hell of a good time. So, we focused on the necessities: food, booze and a few core decor elements — you know, like tables. To crunch the numbers, I downloaded a program from Google Weddings. And we stuck to it.
We cut a lot of costs by avoiding many the formalities of weddings. We ditched the idea of having a bridal party. Instead of a cake, a family friend offered to bake outrageously delicious cupcakes. We bought local flowers, which were in season and cheaper to come by. And we limited our guest list to 100 people.
We also saved tons on our venue. Through a family connection we nailed a little-known beach space called The Key Biscayne Beach Club for — I kid you not — $300 for eight hours. It’s a small low-key club for Key Biscayne residents and my stepfather’s parents were members there for years. Even after his parents were no longer members, the people at the club remained close to the family.
They’ve had weddings there in the past — $300 a night is the going rate to take charge of the space — and for us, it was a perfect place to get married: It’s a small piece of beach space with a concession stand, a tiny playground on the sand and an indoor space normally filled with plastic tables and chairs. Most beachside weddings in Miami are usually held on South Beach and are associated with four or five star hotels — there’s really no way you could rent the space for less than $10K. So, this was a dream come true.
To keep with the beach “theme,” we had beach balls for our guests to throw after the ceremony rather than rice. Although, I admit I didn’t think everyone was going to peg us with the balls — I was more expecting them to toss them around like at a graduation!
My stepfather, who officiated our wedding, rocked a tux and flip-flops. Our tables were decorated with pieces of local coral. But we really tried to let the beach speak for itself. We wanted to incorporate simple design and coloring -– we paired blue glass vases with white flowers — and not overdo it with the décor.
Of course there were issues — what would wedding planning be without a dash of drama thrown in? We had some trouble fitting the rehearsal dinner into our budget. In the end, we ditched a sit-down dinner and invited all of our guests to a local pizza parlor instead. We ordered pies for everyone and had BYO booze. The total tally for 80 guests was $300. The bonus factor? It was such a casual affair that my aunt hired a mariachi band to serenade the whole restaurant as a surprise. People who weren’t part of our party started to join in on the dancing — it was a blast!
My ring was also a sticking point budget-wise, so we ended up turning to heirlooms to get us through. My mom gave me an old diamond cross necklace she received from her parents as a wedding present. Then, a local jeweler took the diamonds and the gold that held the cross together to forge me a band. It cost $100 for the labor — that’s it.
One of the things we did splurge on was my dress. I got it at David’s Bridal and, at $800, it was one of our pricier items. I had tried on about six dresses when the woman helping us brought out this ball of white poofiness -– even though I had been adamant about not wanting a ball gown. My mom told me to humor her and, low and behold, it became the dress. One major factor for, ahem, saying yes to the dress, was that I could comfortably sit down in it. So, once I realized I could do that, I was sold.
Our dream wedding, if you take price out of it, would have been exactly what we delivered in the end: a good get together with friends and family. The whole night didn’t feel like a wedding at all — in a good way. It was just a fun excuse for all of us to get together again.
The best part of the night, at least for me, was during my first dance with my husband. I’m kind of a goofball and, while dancing to “At Last” by Etta James, I just naturally started to serenade my husband while making all sorts of silly faces. Picking out my best friends’ laughter in that moment meant the world to me: I realized I was married, having a ball, and my friends and family from all over had come to share that experience with us.
Click through the slideshow below to see snapshots from Abele and Schulman’s wedding.
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Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Avril Lavigne
Avril Lavigne is “excited” about planning her wedding theme.
The singer has big ideas when it comes to her upcoming nuptials with Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger. Avril hasn’t begun brainstorming for the details of her ceremony, but hinted she may design her own bespoke “bad ass” wedding dress.
“I’ve been thinking about it; I haven’t come to a decision on themes yet, but I’m really excited to start planning and even more excited about the wedding dress,” Avril told US Weekly. “I have a lot of ideas and I’m trying to figure out which direction to go.”
The star has displayed a variety of different looks and styles since she rose to fame as a teenager. Avril’s interest in fashion has developed into her own clothing line Abbey Dawn, which she showcased the latest collection of at New York Fashion Week on Monday.
The individual singer says even though it is too early to discuss specifics, she does have a few ideas about the dress.
“I have my idea of what I want,” Avril told People. “It might be something that I buy a few different dresses and rip them up and put them all together and dye them, or maybe I’ll kind of do a collaboration with another designer.”
© Cover Media
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Courtney Robertson and her wine-loving future hubby, Ben Flajnik, are the cutest couple to come out of The Bachelor, and we can’t wait for them to tie the knot! These two have been engaged since the finale of Ben’s season (when he got down on one knee and popped the question), and it looks like they’re finally ready to make it official.
Unlike The Bachelorette‘s power couple Jef Holm and Emily Maynard (who want a small wedding), Ben and Courtney’s off-white nuptials will be enormous. “I thought it would be about 200 people,” Courtney tells Celebuzz at the In Touch Idols and Icons MTV VMA After Party on September 7th, “but now it’s looking more like 300. Oh my goodness, that’s a lot!”
Ben has a “lot of friends” who want to get in on the action (this is what happens when you hang out in a vineyard all day, apparently), but these eager beavers will have to hold their horses. After all, the planning stages have only just begun! “We’re not far along at all,” Courtney says, adding, “We’re enjoying things the way they are now.”
We can’t wait for this happy couple to say “I do,” but the real question? Will they serve white or red at the wedding?
Source: Celebuzz
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Social Media Gets Some Much Needed Bling
Our clients love to shop at Eternity Wedding Bands because we genuinely want their special day to be absolutely perfect. Yes we offer a variety of stunning rings, but we also offer wedding ideas by keeping up with current engagement and wedding trends
Syosset, NY (PRWEB) September 11, 2012
When it comes to wedding engagements, purchasing the perfect wedding band is only just the beginning. Eternity Wedding Bands, an online customizable wedding band and eternity ring retailer, stays with current trends by offering fresh wedding ideas and advice for their clients via Pinterest and Facebook.
Weddings are an exciting occasion for the bride, the groom, family and friends. Every little detail is important when it comes to one of the most important milestones. Eternity Wedding Bands has been offering customers the most stunning, customizable wedding bands in a variety of precious metals, precious gems, shapes and cuts for over 9 years. Repeatedly, customers have been more than satisfied with the selection, the helpful staff and the final product.
Scott and Claire Simon, the dynamic couple, devised the idea for Eternity Wedding Bands after their futile search for a suitable wedding band. Since 2003, the husband and wife team have been working hard to help couples find the perfect ring to symbolize their eternal love for each other. Their business model however does not just stop at the wedding band. Scott, Claire and the staff at Eternity Wedding Bands keeps up to date with wedding trends, wedding ideas, engagement themes and anything wedding related.
“Our clients love to shop at Eternity Wedding Bands because we genuinely want their special day to be absolutely perfect. Yes we offer a variety of stunning rings, but we also offer wedding ideas by keeping up with current engagement and wedding trends” states Claire. The staff engages in a variety of social media platforms such as Pinterest and Facebook. On their Pinterest page, clients can find a variety of idea boards covering popular engagement/wedding rings, wedding inspirations, wedding hairstyles, wedding themes and more. They also are highly active on Facebook with frequent updates on tips and tricks to take care of different types of jewelry, informative infographics and articles relating to jewelry and weddings.
Eternity Wedding Bands is expanding their social media presence with over 4,000 fans on Facebook and over 100 followers on Pinterest. For wedding band inspirations or to simply check out inspiration boards and other featured articles, be sure to check out their Pinterest page and their Facebook page!
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British design duo Marchesa have confirmed that they created the custom-made wedding gown worn by Blake Lively, whilst groom Ryan Reynolds wore Burberry.
BY Bibby Sowray
11 September 2012
Blake Lively wearing a Marchesa creation at the 2011 BAFTAs. Photo: Rex
Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, the British design duo behind Marchesa, have confirmed that they designed Blake Lively’s wedding gown, as well as those of her bridal party.
In a statement the label described Lively’s dress as having a “hand-draped silk tulle bodice adorned with custom crystal and rose gold embroidery”, adding that each member of her bridal party wore a “unique custom blush silk chiffon Marchesa gown with crystal embroidered detail”.
READ: Blake Lively ties the knot with Ryan Reynolds
US publication
Martha Stewart Weddings
, who helped organise the nuptials, also confirmed that the actress wore custom-made shoes by Christian Louboutin.
It was assumed that the
Gossip Girl
actress had chosen either Chanel or Gucci to create her gown as she has acted as ambassador for both fashion houses. However, she has chosen Marchesa for numerous red carpet appearances in the past and is said to be friends with the designers.
Blake with Marchesa designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman. Photo: Rex
The groom, Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds, and his groomsmen wore suits designed by Burberry’s creative director Christopher Bailey, with whom he is friends.
The publication also said that the newly-weds exchanged rings by famed jewellery designer Lorraine Schwartz.
“Ryan and Blake opted for an intimate, personalized party, gathering their immediate and extended family at a rustic barn in South Carolina,” the magazine posted on their website yesterday. “From the heartfelt ceremony to the fun-filled carnival hour and elegant reception, it was a truly enchanting celebration.”
IN PICTURES: Celebrities wearing Marchesa
The couple, who have been in a relationship for a year, had managed to keep both their engagement and wedding a secret.
Photographs and further details of the wedding will appear in the winter issue of
Martha Stewart Weddings
, which will hit news-stands in December.
I’m sure I don’t need to conjure up a pop culture reference for you to picture the stereotypical couple planning their wedding. The bride goes crazy trying to organize everything down to the color of the linens and the perfect placesetting, while the groom sits back and worries about nothing. Occasionally, the groom will groan about the bride’s new tendencies toward obsessive compulsiveness, while the bride wrings her hands in frustration at the groom’s lack of interest in what’s supposed to be the “absolute most perfect day ever.”
I hate stereotypes. But in this case, the origin is easy to pinpoint. From the time women are little girls, they are taught to think about, dream about, “make pretend” of their wedding day. They play “wedding” in preschool and tote around wedding belle Barbies. I bet most of our female readers even used the arm chair cover of a couch as a makeshift veil once or twice in their childhood. Most men aren’t socialized to care about “the big day” in quite the same manner. But unlike the stereotyped relationship I describe, most couples’ issues stem from three major scenarios. Sure they may seem like the stereotype to begin with, but beneath the surface they’re more complicated. Today, I want to discuss those three issues and give you some suggestions on how to handle them.
“My partner is doing nothing to help with the wedding. All the work is falling on me.”
I don’t want to jump the gun and say it’s always women who express this statement, but with my experience, it mostly is. If you’re frustrated with your partner’s apparent disinterest, instead of accusing him or her of being lazy, talk to him or her about it. You might find (such as the case with my own wedding), your vision for the “perfect day” put you into automatic. Your partner may not know how to help or may be nervous he or she will do the wrong thing. Once you talk it over, try delegating the work. If you like control, this will be a hard step for you. Make a list of things that need to get done and divide them up between you and your partner. If your partner has no interest in picking out flower arrangements or deciding on wedding cake flavors, give your partner other tasks like reviewing contracts, calling to confirm details, or checking up on unanswered RSVPs.
“My partner and I have completely different tastes and I haven’t gotten a say in anything so far.”
This is one I hear men say more often than women. And my response has always been the same: weddings are more of a compromise than marriage. The couple not only needs to compromise with each other, but they need to compromise with their friends, their family, and even their vendors. Once you’re done compromising with all the exterior factors, it’s really hard to want to compromise with the person you’re about to marry. Especially if you’re the type that needs everything to be perfect and in order. In this case, I suggest talking to each other about ways in which you can incorporate a little of both of you. For example, my partner would have loved a football-themed wedding, but I wasn’t having it. I, on the other hand, wanted jewel-toned colors inspired by peacocks. After a little lovers’ quarrel, we came to our compromise. My partner got to pick the colors (same as his football team, of course), but I got to pick the shades of the colors. (After all, I didn’t want my wedding to look like a pep rally.) If you two can’t agree on something, find ways to express both of you separately.
“The details just don’t seem to matter to my partner. I ask his/her opinion, and the response is always whatever you want honey.”
I know this will be surprising, but again, the first thing you have to do is talk to each other without fighting. Maybe the details really don’t matter to your partner. Some people are just that easy going. It doesn’t mean your partner doesn’t care about getting married, just that the specifics of the wedding aren’t terribly high on his or her priority list. It’s also possible that your partner, like in the scenario above, doesn’t feel like he or she has a real say in the matter anyway. Whenever I get on my partner’s case about “not caring,” he reminds me of the times I asked his opinion, but did it my way anyway. Generally, if you’re dealing with this scenario, the fix will be the same as one of the two above: delegate or compromise.
The bottom line is weddings are stressful and can often cause a strain on your relationship. Generally, the strain comes from a disconnect between your expectations and reality. When all else fails, always remember that your wedding is just one day of your life. And ultimately, the day should reflect the two of you coming together.
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