I was so excited this week to learn about Bride$hare™, the fantastic creation of Dana LaRue, the bride behind The Broke Ass Bride. If you’re looking for tips on planning your wedding on a budget, well … as you can guess, the Broke Ass Bride has them!

The inspiration for Bride$hare™ started like this:

Way back when, Rebecca saw a blog post of mine lamenting the desire for paper lanterns to spruce up the space at my venue, and she contacted me to suggest we go in on them together and share them. That was just the beginning. Together, we were able to co-purchase and recycle many items from our weddings, which went perfectly with Hunter and my mission to both save green and be green in our wedding plans! In fact, the reception venue owner likes them so much, she might even buy them off of us after the fact and keep them up, which means future brides can benefit from them, too! My bridal karma meter must be off tha charts, son!

Hunter & Dana were married back in May, and in early July they went back to their same venue to enjoy their decor all over again – as guests at Rebecca & her husband’s wedding! Dana & Rebecca shared $4000 worth of expenses – saving them each $2000, AND doing something good for the environment by not buying duplicates of the same items!

Dana knew a great thing when she saw it, and has since set up the BrideShare™ site as a way for other couples to save money on their wedding plans and have a wedding with a smaller carbon footprint at the same time.

The Bride$hare™ site is described as part social networking and part wedding planning. Bride$hare™ offers brides the opportunity to team up and share the daunting task, and costs, of wedding planning while creating less waste – addressing three top priorities of brides’ current economy.

While Dana is getting most of the mad props in this post, I want to share some with her fabulous husband, Hunter, as well. Because he has to be supportive and wonderful to stand beside her as she took on creating Bride$hare™, but also because this video he made cracks me up *every* time I watch it. He is mad creative, I tell you!

Related posts:

1. Confessions of a Bride-to-be: Beyond the Event
2. Confessions of a Bride-to-be: On Becoming Bridezilla
3. Confessions of a Bride-to-Be: Where Do I Go From Here?

Having a destination wedding and trying to figure out how to get your dress there? You have a few options. You can ship it via FedEx so the dress is tracked — but you always run the risk of it getting lost, especially if your destination wedding is held out of the country.

You can also try to arrange with your airline beforehand to use the first class coat closet for your dress. (Just remember that “value” airlines like Southwest do not have this option, unfortunately.) That way your dress is actually in your possession from start to finish, as long as you are able to find a sympathetic flight attendant to help you with proper storage.

We drove – 12 hours – to our wedding, and kept my dress spread out in the backseat. (It was carefully hidden in a garment bag, of course, so the groom did not see it.) Even so, my dress still required steaming when we arrived in New Orleans.

I have a close friend that flew her dress from New York to Florida in an American Airlines first class coat closet — and even though she had the cabinet all to herself, her dress still needed spot-pressing as well. It’s best to check with your hotel or resort to see if they offer dry cleaning services on site — or to at least get a recommendation early and let the cleaners you choose know of the circumstances beforehand.

In our case, as long as we got my dress in to the cleaners by 9 a.m. on Friday, they guaranteed to have it ready by that day’s close of business for our wedding on Saturday. They had known to plan for its arrival several weeks in advance (and my dress wasn’t overly ornate).

- By Robyn Pollman

Related posts:

1. How to Select the Right Wedding Dress For Your Shape
2. Return of the Dress of the Month!
3. Las Vegas Wedding Services You Must Have

Article by Michelle O’Connor, San Diego Wedding

There are millions of wedding dresses from which to choose. How do you choose the dress that will fit your unique body shape best? The first step in finding the right dress for you is to determine what body shape you have. This is your special day, and your dress should fit your body style perfectly. Here are some tips that will help you in your quest to find the perfect dress.

Hourglass Figure
For women that have an hourglass shape, a strapless or off-the-shoulder gown is just right. When shopping for a strapless gown, lean towards the one-piece gowns instead of two-piece gowns. A two-piece gown can result in a “choppy” look, splitting you into to figures.

Bias-cut and straight designs are not best for hourglass figures. They will usually pull the eye to areas of the body that you want to minimize. These types of dresses are better suited for tall women.

The bride with an hourglass shape will want to accentuate her curves. Avoid heavily beaded dresses that can tend to make the bride appear heavier.

Pear-Shaped Figure
A woman with a pear shaped figure has smaller shoulders and upper body than lower body. A pear shaped bride should wear shoulder pads or puffy sleeves. This bride should avoid any type of body hugging gown, full skirts, or cuts that make the upper body appear even smaller or the lower body larger.

Short and Petite Figure
There are many options for the short and petite figure. Shoestring straps and off-the-shoulder gowns will work the best. A Cinderella gown will look beautiful and will add a touch of romance.

Straight gowns tend to not look as nice on a short and petite figure. If you have already fallen in love with a straight wedding gown, offset it with a full veil. Wearing the right designer wedding shoes can also add height if a petite bride would like to appear taller. Keep in mind, however, that you may not want to be in high heels all night. Switching shoes will affect the way your dress hits the floor, keep that in mind when selecting your gown.

Square Figure
The ideal gown for a bride with a square shape will create curves, or, create the illusion of curves.
The neckline of the dress should be beaded. Alternatively, the upper part of the bodice should be beaded. Bigger skirts and sleeves are also ways to add curves. The square figured bride should avoid sheath or clingy dresses that contribute nothing to creating the illusion of curves.

More Dress Hunting Tips
Finding the perfect gown can be frustrating if you do not know what you are looking for or what type of gown will work best for your unique body shape. Never give in and settle for a dress just because you are tired of looking. There are millions of dresses out there and one of them is the perfect one for you. If you have found three or four dresses that you like certain aspects or designs of, consider having your wedding gown made for you. This way, you will be 100% satisfied with the dress and feel great! A custom made wedding dress is truly a family heirloom.

Be sure to do your research at local gown stores and try on as many dresses as you like. Eventually you will begin to see a trend in the type of dresses that you like. Remember that you will be in the gown all day, during the ceremony and through the reception, dancing, greeting guests, etc. Make sure that you are comfortable and feel beautiful in your gown. This is the most important factor of buying the dress.

Do not buy a dress because you think everyone else will like it. This is your day and it is all about you. Remember that when selecting your gown.

Article by Michelle O’Connor, Destination Weddings

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