Make your wedding day colorful!

The colors a bride has to choose from are nearly limitless. Finding the right color to truly enhance her natural skin tone, hair color, figure and height can be a lot of fun. Often times a bride wants to consider what a color’s meaning may be as well. Here are a few considerations.


RED is of course the color of love! It’s also representative of fiery heat, increases interest and enthusiasm, warmth and of course passion. What a fitting color for any wedding! PINK can be for quiet love, romance and even excitement. It’s an interesting combination as well as a good choice for the bride, who wants to be a bit softer in her statement, yet still create a sensational entrance. YELLOW means joy, happiness, optimism and hope. This is a fantastic color for a second wedding as well as for the bride whose personal coloring shines with such a vibrant color.

Classy blue wedding dress bride on a beach

There are hues of BLUES that have many meanings, such as peace, unity, trust, loyalty and even sophistication. Then there’s PURPLE or LAVENDER meaning ceremony, femininity, grace, elegance and spirituality. GREEN is good luck and renewal. All these colors are simply perfect for the bride who wants to fully enjoy the intensity of her very special day. What a true blessing that society no longer dictates how a bride expresses her love for her man. With an open, sincere, joyous public display that’s just as tasteful as the traditional expectations of yesteryear.

When it comes to wedding dress fashion, the choices are only limited by imagination. The days of limitations are long gone and the excitement of planning a wedding has reached new heights. The most important decision for the bride (after choosing her man, of course!) is deciding on the perfect wedding dress to express her love and desire. For so many decades, custom called for white. Representing purity, it was the only color choice allowed by society. In keeping with “something old, something new, something borrowed”, blue was acceptable. What about the color of love and desire?


Back then, a red wedding dress would have been absolutely unacceptable. The bride would surely be subjected to social out casting if she dared to openly express her womanly wiles. Well, what better day than to entice her man with a promise of exquisite passions than on her wedding day? Now any color wedding dress is more than acceptable and this wonderful change opens new doors that our grandmothers could only secretly wish for!


There have been some interesting traditions beyond custom demanding a bride wear a white dress. For instance a bride was once expected to do what was called “Collecting”. She would go door to door with a bag (such as a pillow case) and collect pre-wedding gifts. Possibly a precursor to what we now call a wedding shower. If she didn’t follow this tradition, she could actually be considered snobbish in some circles. Try going door to door demanding wedding gifts now! Neighbors may not appreciate such a bold move. How interesting that a red wedding dress could be considered bold, but collecting gifts door to door was not!


Then there was another custom that many wouldn’t even consider in modern times. It was called “Flouncing”. There was a party of sorts that was held with family and friends present. Not an unusual gathering of course, but its purpose was another thing all together! This “party” was held to establish a “formal” contract. Meaning, if either the future bride or groom were to change their mind before the big day, the other could actually demand half the offending person’s property. Now try that these days and see how well that holds up!


Any way one looks at it, there’s no question that some traditions are better left behind. The idea that a bride has to be limited is just ridiculous. It’s HER day and now she gets to have it HER way! So whether it’s a red wedding dress or a wedding dress that showcases all the colors of the rainbow, society won’t frown or ridicule. Instead she can bask in the glory of her man’s adoration and the envy of the guests lucky enough to be there for her special day.

Statistics on Weddings in the United States

• 2.3 million couples wed every year in the US or 6,200 weddings a day

• Average age of a bride in the US is 25.3

• Average age of a groom is 26.9

• Average number of guests invited to a wedding is 178

• One-third of those getting married each year have been married before

The money behind the marriage

• $72 billion per year is spent on weddings

• the average wedding budget is $20,000

• $1,016 is the average cost of wedding rings for the bride and groom

• Traditionally, the father of the bride would pay for everything.
Modern time of 21st century, the bride and groom themselves pay for the wedding about 30 percent of the time; the bride’s parents pay about 17 percent of the time. As for the rest of the time, costs are covered by different sources – the bride and groom and one or both sets of parents, according to surveys by Bride’s magazine.

• $19 billion per year is spent on wedding gift registries

• $8 billion per year is spent on honeymoons

• Average honeymoon budget is $3,657

• Over 91 percent of all to-be-weds register for gifts. The couple receives gifts from an average of 200 guests

• Most wedding guests spend between $70 and $100 on a gift

Timing of weddings

• June is the most popular month for weddings, then August, followed by September and October

Monthly breakdown:
January 4.7%
February 7.0%
March 6.1%
April 7.4%
May 9.8%
June 10.8%
July 9.7%
August 10.2%
September 9.6%
October 9.4%
November 7.4%
December 7.8%

Where do weddings take place?
• 80 percent of weddings are performed in churches or synagogues

Honeymoons

• 99 percent of newlyweds take a honeymoon

• Average couple will spend three times more on their honeymoon than a regular vacation
• 40 percent of honeymooners will travel within the United States, about 60 percent will travel to a foreign country
• Honeymoons usually last 7 to 9 days
• the most popular destinations are Las Vegas, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and
Jamaica
• 35 percent of brides and grooms have a valid passport

Other Interesting Tidbit

• Top wedding city in the world – Istanbul, Turkey with 166,000 for the year
• Las Vegas, Nevada is in second place with 114,000 weddings.

Sources for statistics

US Census Bureau
The Knot (http://www.theknot.com/au_industrystats.shtml),
The Association for Wedding Professionals International (http://www.afwpi.com/wedstats)
Sellmoreweddings.com
Sellthebride.com (http://www.sellthebride.com/tipsstats.htm)
American Demographics
Bride’s Millennium Report: Wedding Love & Money
Bride’s magazine

Some women still prefer taking a traditional route when it comes to planning their wedding. In that case a white dress seems to be a part of the planning that gets very little consideration because of its lack of personality in terms of color. Then there’s the sassy bride who loves to make a fashion statement and grab the undivided attention of her groom in every way that counts. No longer is a demure walk down the aisle something that society demands. Now a dramatic entrance with sexy undertones is perfectly acceptable!

At many weddings, people are just as interested in the groom’s expression when he first sees his bride in her wedding dress as well as the bride herself. Capturing this moment on camera is just one of the priceless mementos of that special day. That image will capture awe, desire and powerful emotion reflected in his eyes. It’s a treasured memory he’ll carry all the days of his life. Because color is such a stimulating factor, the impact can be tremendous when the bride has chosen a wedding dress of color that matches the day and her individual womanhood.

Jewelries to match your red wedding dress

A red wedding dress is a perfect place to start when perusing all the colorful choices available for today’s fashionable bride. After all, it’s a powerful color for conveying the intense passion a couple experiences on their special day. Every little detail counts when planning the color and theme. There’s even wedding jewelry and hair accessories that can be perfectly matched to the bride’s wedding dress as well as the wedding party’s chosen outfitting. Freedom of expression has never been as respected as it is today.


Every color of the rainbow is now at the bride’s disposal for choosing a wedding dress that matches perfectly to her coloring, personality and wedding theme. Not to mention the fact that she can truly utilize her femininity for creating an intoxicating response from her groom! A response that will carry over into everyday life once the wedding day has passed and gone. The beauty of this freedom is a lack of fear from the wrath of society that our grandmothers knew. Now the customs of yesteryear can be brought to a whole new level with color as a dominating factor. There’s no longer a need for silly rules that can put a damper on what should be a joyous occasion.

Distress bride

The wedding dress has changed in style and fashion throughout the ages. In the long past, wedding was a matter of politics. Brides had to dress in a way that would best reflect their families. The higher the social standing of the bride, the richer the colors and the more rich the fabrics used. Velvet, fur, and silk were often incorporated into the design. The styles and colors of the affluent brides were copied by the brides of lower social standing as best as they could.

It was not that long ago where a white wedding dress was a rare sight. In 1558, Mary Queen of Scots was one of the first women to wear white when she married Francois II of France. White was still not the traditional wedding color and was considered rather ill-boding. White was the official color of mourning in France at that time. It was not a subtle message. It was only in 1840 that white became popular, after Queen Victoria married Albert of Saxe-Coberg. In order to make use of some white lace that she owned, Victoria asserted on a white dress. After the wedding portrait was published publicly, many brides copied the dress in honor of the Queen.

Blue wedding dress - Symbolizes purity of the bride.

The tradition of the white wedding continues to this day. Along the line it picked up the association with purity and symbolising virginity. Originally blue was associated with purity and the white dress was not meant to symbolise the innocence of the bride at all. Today the white dress is usually a nod at tradition and has very little to do with virginity and purity.

Should wedding ring be plain and simple or do you want your bands to mean something and be unique. The wedding ring is a symbol of bonding of two souls. Choosing the wedding ring has become one of the major decisions most couple perform together.

The style and design of the wedding ring the bridal pair’s sense of style and level of sophistication.

The inlay looks nice and the tungsten is very reflective.

Some would chose this ring as their wedding ring and be very pleased with it. The inlay looks nice and the tungsten is very reflective. Since this is a ring you’ll wear every day, it should really match your lifestyle. Wedding rings are not the accessory for paying homage to the fad gods. Make sure to select a classic style that will not look dated decades down the road.

Enter Coupon Code MHELAC at checkout.

Red Hot Brides! wants to extend a FREE invitation we received from the Wedding Salon to our readers to attend The Wedding Salon on Monday, May 3rd, at The London West Hollywood. This show will feature the latest trends in bridal for Summer 2010 including glamorous gowns from R-Mine Bridal’s boutique featuring the latest designs y Marchesa, top cake-makers including Hansen’s Cakes, Famous Cupcakes and more! Some other highlights include top Destination Wedding & Honeymoon resorts such as The Resort at Pelican Hill, Kona Village, The Leading Hotels of the World and Palace Resorts. Our brides will additionally enjoy fabulous table décor by Celebrity Event Designer, Edgar Zamora, of Revelry Event Designers and The Registry at Bloomingdale’s amongst others!

Simply enter in the code MHELAC at check out. Normal admission cost is $50.