Jour L'Amour Blog

We made it through the winter holidays (and even a Mayan apocalypse) and are feeling more excited than ever about the wonderful things 2013 will bring!   We wanted to kick things off with not one, but TWO gifts that we know every Bride will swoon over.

The first fabulous gift we’re offering to all new brides in 2013 is a complimentary Chanel gift set with the purchase of any customized package totaling $2,000 or more.  You will receive the gift within 30 days of submitting your deposit.  Offer expires 12/31/13. 

Our Bridal Dossier has been an exclusive incentive for our Brides, but alas, it's going on sale to any Bride who desperately needs help.  It's been called a "life-saver" and "priceless," so I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to help more lovely Brides. 

So, what's in this eBook?

There's a consensus across the country that mint will be the new "it" color and that braids are the bridal hairstyle of choice in 2013, but I wanted to give you the inside scoop on what our creative Houston Brides are swooning over for next year.  Since we are already booking weddings for 2013 and 2014, there are some trends becoming evident that I wanted to share.  These are our top 10 (be sure to Pin anything that tickles your fancy):

1. Bridal Fashion: Color Infusion

Jessica Biel's pink couture wedding gown is right on trend and with designers like Vera Wang and Oscar de la Renta infusing their Spring 2013 lines with red & black, it doesn't seem to be slowing down.  Even our own most conservative brides are finding ways to incorporate color into their traditional white or ivory gowns.  My favorite way to wear this style is by layering tulle or lace over satin.

Mark your calendars! Our "Pearls of Wisdom" seminars are scheduled to start on October 23 from 6-7 pm at The Transformation Studio in Sugar Land.  The first topic on the agenda is...drum roll please...your Wedding Gown & Bridal Party Style!  Some of the things we'll cover are:

• Gown silhouettes
• Best gowns by body types
• Typical price ranges
• Best salons
• Shopping tips
• Style trends 
• Q&A
• AND MORE! 

All attendees will also receive a petit cadeau (small gift) for coming and will have the option to register for a complimentary 2-hour consultation ($150 value!) with us so we can answer any additional questions/issues you're facing in more detail. 

I know that seating charts can be stressful and time-consuming, so I came up with a quick, easy, and surprisingly low-tech system that will surely help.  Check out this how-to video and let us know if there's anything else we can help you with.

Many couples with one or both in the Armed Services who get engaged often find themselves in a time crunch to pull together the perfect wedding before a deployment.  Obviously, the first thing you should do if you find yourself in this situation is to find a wedding planner in your area.  They will be able to help find fabulous available vendors and work some magic to make your wedding appear polished even under a strict deadline. 

Here are some general tips to get you started:

Details: Make a List & Prioritize

Make a list of everything that would typically be needed for a wedding and put them in order of importance to you and your fiance.  Nix the bottom 3-5.  That's 3-5 details you won't need to worry about and since they're not important to you, you won't even miss them.  Then, tackle the big 3, Venue, Gown, Photography.

Date: Keep an Open Mind

If you only have 6 months to plan your wedding, approach your preferred Venue, Caterer, and Photographer with an open mind, but give them a range, such as "anytime in December."  At this point you'll have to work with their availability.  Again, a wedding planner can help you coordinate this.  Once you book them, then you'll have your wedding date set and can move on to invitations and other vendors.

We at Jour L'Amour have been so blessed with love, support, and success and are absolutely thrilled to announce that we are paying it forward.  We have partnered up with two non-profit organizations that are near and dear to us in hopes that the good fortune we have received will can be passed on to others in need.  It is also our new standard that if there is a charity or organization that is special to you, we will also donate to them in your honor.  Contact us for details.

 Feathers were an incredibly popular trend for 2011 and seemed to pick up momentum in 2012.  We're betting they'll continue to amaze brides and their guests in 2013.  They come in a variety of colors, textures, & sizes and can be used in nearly every facet of your wedding day details.  They are the perfect detail to include for winter and spring weddings and can have a vintage, rustic, or glamorous feel.

We have compiled a gallery of pictures (below) highlighting our favorite examples and a list of ways to avoid going overboard (you don't want to look like Big Bird as you make your way down the aisle, after all).

 We here at Jour L'Amour love to provide the complimentary service of creating inspiration boards that are tailored to who you are.  They help create a visual representation of what kind of wedding you imagined so we can both be on the same page and helps us to bring your vision to life.  We ask lots of questions, spend lots of time with you, and basically become your best friend for about nine months. 

If you've been engaged for longer than, say, a month, you've likely heard some of the more common traditions, like wearing "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue," but all across the globe there are much more, shall we say, interesting traditions.

1. Sudan - The Neur tribe in Southern Sudan believe that if the woman fails to bear two children, the groom can pursue a divorce.

2. Fiji - Not only are men expected to ask their father in law for his daughters hand in marriage, they are also expected to bring him a whale tooth. Excluding the black market, the only place in the world to get a whale tooth is in the mouth of the largest mammal on earth, which also happens to spend most of its time underwater. Now that's true love!

3. Ireland - When the bride and groom are dancing the bride’s feet have to stay on the floor. The Irish believe that if they don’t, evil fairies will come and sweep her away because evil fairies like beautiful things and, of course, the bride is beautiful. The fairies can only get to her if she is not touching the ground.  I think this is adorable!

Wedding stationery is one area that most brides think will save them the most money, but when they add up what they would spend on everything it can easily add up to just as much as, or more than, it would cost to hire a stationer or place an order online.  

List of Wedding-Related Stationery Needed

When most couples get engaged, they think only the wedding invitations are needed and therefore set aside a much-too-small amount of their budget.  As they begin planning more details, they realize not everything was taken into consideration, causing their budget to balloon. 

 Pinterest has been the source of wedding inspiration for Jour L'Amour, as well as for thousands of brides across the country.  Although we are a French-inspired boutique wedding planning firm, we specialize in customized weddings that reflect who the bride and groom are and we encourage them to share their individual inspiration with us via their pin boards.  We, too, wanted to share our petits tresors (small treasures) we found on Pinterest, as well as inspiration boards created for our brides by Executive Wedding Producer, Tara Raymundo. 

When I sat down to gather my top 5 pearls of planning wisdom to share with you, I thought, “How am I only going to pick 5?” Every bride and every situation is different, but I found some common threads between some of the biggest blunders that I wanted to make sure you know about.

During consultations, I ask my lovely brides what their vision is for their wedding day.  Believe it or not, nearly half of them really have no idea.  They say things like "I want it to look pretty" or "Purple is my favorite color," but beyond that, they are lost.  Luckily, I have put together some pearls of wisdom to help guide those of you who need some expert direction. 

Let your location/venue/season be your guide - If you are doing a destination wedding in Hawaii, a tropical beach motif with aqua blue, sandy beige, with a pop of sunshine yellow would be perfect.  If your venue is at an upscale hotel downtown in the winter, a custom monogram motif with a palette of pewter, slate blue, and red would be most appropriate (and absolutely gorgeous!).

If coral is the wedding color of the year, then paper accessories are the wedding detail of the year. Thanks to the likes of Martha Stewart, paper products have never been more chic! They're not only très trendy, they also take much less of a toll on your budget than traditional details. This is the perfection detail for shabby-chic weddings, rustic weddings, vintage weddings, retro weddings, and eco-friendly weddings. Not what you envisioned for your wedding day? Consider paper decor for your peripheral events {bridal shower}. Take a look at some of my favorites!