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Thursday, November 20, 2008

Are You Changing Your Name After The Wedding?

Join in the debate. Are you changing your
name after the wedding? Are you keeping
your maiden name or are you using the
hyphen as in Maiden-HisLastName?

This is a question most professional women
wrestle with when they decide to marry.
You are established in their profession
with your maiden name. Changing to his
name can cause confusion. Doggoneit, you've
worked hard to establish yourself, will you
lose your identity if you use his name?
And if you keep their maiden name, what name
will they give your children? Will it cause
confusion and teasing by other kids at school
if mom has a different last name than dad?

If you decide to use the big hyphen, will the
names be a mouthful together? Or do they
flow nicely?

Many professional women decide to use their
maiden name for business and their married
name for everything else. The kids get the
married family name.

Its confusing and its a big decision. It also throws
a monkey wrench in the works if HE has a strong
opinion. I know when I married that it was so
confusing. I kept my maiden name for work and
my married name for everything else. There was
actually one day where I sat down and said
"Who am I? I'm so confused". I was also looked
at suspiciously when I pulled out a credit card and
drivers license and it didn't match the name on the
check book. Eventually, I hyphenated and
I became known by both names.

Changing all the legal forms was a royal PIA.
It took HOURS and hours and a lot of forms.

If you are going to change your name, I came across
a major time saver. There is a service that will help
you change your name after the wedding and submit
all the forms for you. I wish I had this service when
I got married. I still remember sitting in offices
for freaking evah to show my IDs and sign forms.
This is a true Godsend for new brides. Check it
out.
MissNowMrs Online Name Change Service

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Gift Ideas for Bride and Bridesmaids Holiday Gifts, Discount Coupons




Its that time of year again when we beat our heads
against the wall trying to find the perfect gift for
family and friends. Not only does it have to be
perfect and they have to love it, but we have to
be able to afford it. That's the hook. We've
found some great deal and holiday freebies
to help make the gifting go farther.

So we've assembled some coupons and ideas to
get your holiday shopping off to an easy start
for the bride and bridesmaids on your gift lists.
And of course, we are always looking for
out of the box ideas, so give it a whirl.

And remember, as the bride, its nice to gift your
bridesmaids with a token of your appreciation at
the holidays. They need to know you appreciate
their participation in the wedding and the expenses
they are making to help the bride in her
journey to become the Mrs.

Everyone loves makeup, skincare & fragrances:
Vegan Soaps
These would make nice little unique
gifts for your maids. Lush makes all handmade
cosmetics and bath products. And here is a coupon
for a very unique freebie! ;)
Free Sex Bath Bomb


Save up to 50% on brand name cosmetics
& skincare at Makeup.com Discount.



Shop this week's very Special Deals at
StrawberryNET!
They are also offering a free Stila eyeshadow
(Stila eyeshadows ROCK!) and free shipping and
additional discounts.

Specials from spalook.com
All sorts of freebies, discounts, free shipping
on bath and body products that are very giftable.

Check out our special offers at SkinStore.com!
The SkinStore has a lot of natural skin
care products.

$10 off $60 at Beauty.com!
Every major hot brand of cosmetics and skin
care is here with lots of freebies and
free samples.

Enjoy 15% off your entire
purchase at ShopTheBunny.com!

Cute jewelry from Playboy that's on sale which are
cute gifts for your maids. Playboy tees and they even
have gifts for your dog!

Lucky Brand Jeans: Free Shipping on
Orders of $100 or more
There are so many cool gift ideas for everyone
on your gift list here. My mind is spinning with
ideas after I hit this site. Unusual, unique and
fashionista quality!

Up to 60% off our latest retiring colors and
styles at VeraBradley.com!
Great stocking stuffers and gifts for the
Vera Bradley fans on your holiday list.

Hot looks under $20 at Deréon.com
Beyonce's style at affordable prices! Wow!

Receive free shipping when your order totals $75
or more! Visit us at Fabulous Furs the worlds finest
FAUX furs for the house and all members of the family.

Upload or E-mail your digital
photographs to have your photos lasered on
14K Gold or Sterling Silver Jewelry at

PicturesOnGold.com
Personalize your gift that will
be cherished forever. Bought one for my mom,
she still cries when she sees it. Thumbs up. Its
an amazing conversation piece. How about having
one made with the engaged couples picture and
giving it to the bride for the holiday?

The perfect gift? Gifts.com gift cards!
One size fits all and perfect for y'all
who hate to shop.

I've got more ideas, stay tuned!

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Wedding Question: Plus size wedding dress


Again, keep your wedding questions
coming. Email them to
Weddingzilla@tootsieworld.com.

Dear Weddingzilla,
I'm a plus size bride in a skinny world.
I'm having a hard time finding a wedding dress
that makes me feel beautiful. I feel so
bad when I see a dress I love on a skinny
model.
More to Love

Dear More,
I feel your pain. Too many times the
manufacturers want to send us bridal shops
samples in their sample sizes...size 8, 10 & 12's.
We order larger sizes and smaller sizes. But
sometimes you want to try on the dress we ordered
in a size 4. Many times, the larger sized samples
sell as soon as they come in and it takes us another
16 weeks to get them back in stock for you to try
on. Believe me, we feel as bad as you do when this
happens.

Make an appointment with a bridal salon and get an
idea of what looks good on your figure. A good
bridal consultant can show you styles that will
flatter and elongate your figure and make you feel
beautiful and LOOK beautiful.

Stay away from huge ballgowns because they will
make you look shorter and heavier. Avoid the mermaid
silhouette unless you are built perfectly in proportion.
Look for draped waistlines or basque waistlines
and a-line skirts. Charmeuse fabrics will cling and
show every bump and bulge. And yes, you can wear
strapless gowns!

And buy the best fitting undergarments you can afford
because the right undergarments will uplift and support
your bust line. The uplift takes off pounds.
They'll pull you in and make your dress fit smoothly.
Don't cheap out and buy a cheap bra, buy the one that
does the job.

The right undergarments will take pounds off your figure
without making you uncomfortable just by aligning your
body to the lines of the dress. We use Felina and
Goddess bras in the bridal salon because they have the
best support and fit. Here's a link to a site that
carries the bras, click on bridal:
Get Oprah's Favorite Bra Today!

PlusSizeBridal.com shows dresses
photographed on plus sized brides. You'll be able
to see the styles that will look fabulous on YOU!
Hope this helps!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Dear Weddingzilla, Wedding Questions and Answers

You have wedding questions, I have
wedding answers. Keep them coming,
email your questions to
weddingzilla@tootsieworld.com.

Here are the latest from my e-mail bag.


Dear Weddingzilla,
I'm having a hard time trying to figure
out a hairstyle for my wedding. I clip pics
out of the bridal magazines and don't know how
they will look on me. I'm afraid to take a chance.
Helppppppppp!!

Dear Helpppppppp!!,
There is a really cool site called the
Hair Styler that will show how you look
in different hairstyles and with different hair
colors. They have a whole area of wedding hair
styles. They have a free area and a member area.
Its $14.95 for three months and its a lot of fun.
I actually tried it myself and found a way cool
style that I was afraid to try. I just uploaded
my photo and clicked until I was happy.

Print out what you want and take it to your
hairstylist and have a practice session with
your tiara and veil. You'll be picture perfect
on your wedding day.

Here's the link:
Looking for a bridal hair style? View
yourself in various wedding hair styles
at TheHairStyler.com


Hugs,
Weddingzilla


Dear WZ,
I can't find a dress for my junior maid who
is 12. She's too old for a flower girl dress
and too small to fit into a bridesmaid dress.
Thanks, Ash

Hi, Ash,
Twelve is a really hard age because she's in the
in between stage and she's been largely ignored until
lately. Your only recourse in the past was to cut
down the smallest bridesmaid dress or have it made.
But no more! Forever Yours makes dresses for all the
members of the wedding party from flower girl, junior
maid and bridesmaid in the same style and fabric,
but modified to fit the age of the girl. It will
have the big girl look but have straps to keep it in
place and be more modestly cut.
Other companies who are doing it are House of Wu,
Alexia Designs and Eden bridals.




This picture shows how the dresses are adapted
to the different age groups, by Forever Yours.

Hugs,
Weddingzilla

Monday, November 10, 2008

A One Fingered Salute to Proposition 8

While surfing the blogosphere, I came across
an interesting post on
Eating Out Loud
, regarding Proposition 8, the
California proposition that wants to overturn
Supreme Court legislation allowing gay couples
to marry.

"I decided to snap a photo of my ring placed on a
slightly different finger than normal to express
exactly how I feel toward every single person who
voted Yes on Prop 8. It’s my personal version
of ‘let freedom ring’. The battle for equality
changes course but it’s very far from over."

This movement has been moved over to
Diary of a Modern Matriach
where couples of all persuasions are showing
their displeasure with the ruling.

As a wedding professional, I've dressed many
gay couples for their discreet commitment
ceremonies long before you ever heard of
commitment ceremonies. I saw two loving
people who wanted to dedicate their lives to
each other. They were no different from you
or me other than the fact that they loved someone
of the same sex. Their lifestyle certainly
didn't affect my life in any way, nor those of
my children.

I grew up in a rural area, read Amish farm
area. There were spinsters who raised children
together and bachelor farmers who lived and
farmed together for their entire lifetime.
They were gay and they were Amish. And no
one spoke about it, it was just accepted in
the ultra strict Bible belt area.

In the wedding industry, I have many gay friends
who are very active in the industry. Your wedding
dress may have been designed by a gay designer.
Or not. You'll probably never know. But I do.

If two people want to get married and spend
their lives together, why should anyone have the
right to say that they can't? No one told me
that I couldn't marry the first ass that I married.
Nor when I married Mr. Wonderful and found my soul
mate. It was my right and my freedom to do so.
Everyone should have that right.

And before all of you haters hit me up with your
religious beliefs, gimmeabreak. I did 8 years of
hard time in Catholic schools and I know the Bible.

I keep going back to the fact that God loves us
all. He made us all in His image. So if God loves
us all the same, why can't you? Because someone doesn't
act, think or appear the way you want them to be,
doesn't make them bad, evil or a sub par citizen.

And don't thump your Bible at me. I don't want to hear it.

Shoe Fashionistas Unite

I was born a shoe fashionista. I have to have
shoes, shoes and more shoes. I worked starting
at age 12 doing whatever I could to get more shoes.
I babysat, ironed, cleaned houses, washed and walked
dogs. I stashed my cash until shoe shopping
day came about. Then I boarded the bus and came home
with my loot. I had shoes to match every color in my
wardrobe. I worked hard for them, I took care of them.
I appreciated them more because I got them from doing
jobs no one wanted to do and I sweated for them.
Some pairs ended up in my sisters closets, some are still
with me to this day. I collected shoes and still do.

Weddings have always meant new shoes. Whether I was IN
the wedding or a guest, I had to have new shoes.

I want style, I want fashion, I want comfort. Yeah,
I know what you are thinking, you can't have it all.
Style doesn't always equal comfort as we women know,
but the shoemakers are getting better. Its easier
than its been in light years to find shoes that feel
good and LOOK good. But its the hunt, the quest, the
search for the perfect pair to wear with the dress.
Because even if you get bigger in the waist or hips,
a great pair of shoes will take your eye away from
the bulges. In fact, my husband bought me a t shirt
that reads something like a great pair of shoes makes
your ass look smaller. And it does!

Wedding shoes are sometimes so freaking uncomfortable
because fabric shoes don't stretch. But who says
you have to wear dyed to match shoes today? Brides
are choosing options like metallics in silver, gold
or bronze or leather options for their maids. And they
are thinking outside the box when it comes to their
own footwear choices. No longer are they wearing a
white satin low heeled pump. And please God, no
flip flops or tennis shoes. But they are wearing
silver encrusted heels, colorful leather shoes to
match the flowers in their bouquets or buying their
dress around a special shoe. (That's a shoe fashionista
after my own heart!)

I came across a web site that nearly made me weep with
joy. This is a real shoe fashionistas nirvana.
My key board is full of drool. Check it out!
This is too good to keep for myself. I am partial
to the leopard peep toes, OMG..I love them!
Only the greatest collection of shoes on sale at Heels.com. Tons of great shoes on sale!



Shop Women's Shoes at Heels.com. Free Shipping!
These shoes are SOOOOO Hot! They would
make amazing wedding shoes. Love 'em!
HOT SHOES!