This is one of those trends that some people love, and others hate. But more and more brides-to-be are personalizing everything-- and that includes their bridal hosiery.
This particular pair is from TheHosieryShop.com.
So, tell us. What do YOU think?
Trend Alert: Personalized Bridal Hosiery?
Speaking of Bridal Bouquets....
Simple and elegant. Wild and free. Whatever you do, don't be coy when choosing your bouquet. This is the time to show your personality! Here are some fresh new bouquets to keep you inspired. 
Bouquet-Tossing Tactics: Who Knew?
Yet another thing I'm finding out AFTER my wedding. Who knew there were "variations" of bouquet-tossing??? A funny article posted over at Wedding Channel lays out the details. Here are our favorite bits:
The Direct Pass: If you want to avoid the ritual of the single gal roundup, but still want to give the bouquet to someone special, consider pulling that person aside to present it to her. You can make a short speech about why you have chosen to give your bouquet to this person.
The Fake-Out: The fake-out is a close cousin to the direct pass. In this play, you only pretend that everyone has a fair chance at catching the bouquet, but you discreetly position yourself so that your body is turned ever so slightly in the direction of your wide receiver (a.k.a., the woman you want to catch the bouquet). This play is not for weak of heart or those who can't stand the accusations of "toss tampering" that are sure to follow.
The Jack And Jill Toss: Another way to avoid shining a spotlight on all your single female friends, consider asking all the single men and women to participate in the tossing of the bridal bouquet.
Other Variations: If the number of single guests at your wedding will be limited, why not honor the married couples that are present? You can have the DJ or bandleader have the couples that have been married five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and so on, years stand up. The couple that has been married the longest is then presented with the bouquet.
What do you think? Would any of these things actually work? Are you doing anything differently with the bouquet toss or not doing one at all?
Oh, wow! Mr. and Mrs. Jones
It seems like just yesterday we were telling our readers about actress Malinda Williams' blog over at Essence.com. Well, now we can tell you that Miss Malinda is a Mrs.! She tied the knot with hip-hop icon, D-Nice over the weekend. During her vows, she didn't just say "I do". We love the way our sister said, "I absolutely do!" Best wishes to a great looking couple.
See photos of the wedding and reception at Essence.com.
Bride & Groom Against the World: Controversy?
Carolyn Hax has an interesting article in today's Washington Post about the way in which wedding-planning prepares a couple for marriage. Here's what one reader has to say:
"The bride and the groom have a wedding as their first big thing they do -- together. Against all the wishes and ideas of everyone. It will help to define much of what comes next, including how much spouse allows Mom to interfere; how much spouse allows other people's opinions to overtake his/her own; how much spouse allows other spouse to walk all over him/her; and other telling issues."
Read the full article HERE.
What do you think? Does this point of view help to explain the family drama some people go through while planning the big day?
We Interrupt this Blog for... Maxwell!
Yes, ladies. Our favorite crooner is still singing and making music. (This top picture is from a Gap ad he did back in the Spring.) Here is Maxwell performing "Woman's Work" live at the 2008 Holly-Rod Foundation Event in Malibu, California. (Enjoy!)
Current tour (yes, tour!) dates:
October 8 - Boston, MA - Opera House
October 9 - New York, NY - Radio City Music Hall NY
October 10 - Wallingford, CT - Chevrolet Theater
October 14 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theater
October 15 - St. Louis, MO - Fox Theater
October 17 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theater
October 18 - Chicago, IL - Chicago Theater
October 19 - Detroit, MI - Fox Theater
October 21 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theater
October 22 - Omaha, NE - Music Hall
October 23 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
October 25 - Denver, CO - Paramount Theater
October 28 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater
October 31 - Las Vegas, NV - Pearl
November 1 - Los Angeles, CA - Shrine Auditorium
November 6 - Houston, TX - Verizon Theater
November 8 - Dallas, TX - Majestic Theater
November 10 - Birmingham, AL - BJCC Hall
November 11 - Memphis, TN - Orpheum Theater
November 12 - Atlanta, GA - Civic Center
November 14 - Greensboro, NC - War Memorial
November 15 - Richmond, VA - Landmark Theater
November 17 - Washington, D.C. - Constitution Hall
November 21 - Philadelphia, PA - Susquehanna Center
More on Maxwell's Myspace page.
The Sweetheart Table
You know what the traditional head table looks like. A bride and groom in the center of a long table, flanked by members of the wedding party. On the other hand, sweetheart tables at weddings used to be pretty rare. But things have changed. Sweetheart tables are commonplace nowadays. Besides giving the bride and groom some time alone, it also allows members of the wedding party to sit with their sweethearts, too. Just make sure you get up and mingle with your guests.
Here are some variations:
If two people can't agree on whether to have a head table or a sweetheart table, here are some possible compromises. You can have the sweetheart table set just in front of the head table. Or, if you have a very small wedding party (Maid-Of-Honor and Best Man) you can have 3 or 4 sweetheart tables as shown below.
What do you think? Do you still favor the traditional head table? Or is the sweetheart table your cup of tea?
Ray Allen's Wedding
We are just getting a first look at the wedding pictures from the wedding of NBA star Ray Allen. The Boston Celtic basketball player tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Shannon Walker Williams over the weekend in Martha's Vineyard. The wedding was held at a private home in Oak Bluffs and included the couple's three children.
Pictures courtesy of the Globe.
More DIY Inspiration
We're blessed to have so many talented ladies on our blog team. One of them is Craftgenius- wedding jewelry creator/floral designer/DIY queen. This week she shared the decor and bouquets she helped to create for a wedding in Louisiana. She says all the hard work was worth it when the bride saw her flowers and began weeping with joy. Take it away, Craft! 
-by Craftgenius
In this wedding, the happy couple exchanged vows in Houma, La. in front of 300 friends and family. The reception immediately followed in Thibodeaux, La.
Sweetheart Table
Head Table
Guest Tables
CD Favors
Bridal Bouquet
Bridesmaid Bouquet
The couple honeymooned in Orlando, Florida.
Wedding Cupcakes
We've stumbled upon some confectionery inspiration for those of you considering having wedding cupcakes. Take a look at these beauties from CupcakesTakeTheCake . 
Yummy!
Pictures of LisaRaye's Injuries
Unfortunately there continue to be disturbing new developments in the saga of LisaRaye and her husband Michael Misick, the Premier of Turks and Caicos.
Our friends at Essence have obtained these photographs of Mrs. Misick's injuries- injuries that she allegedly received as she was forced from her home on Turks and Caicos. 
Read more details on Essence.com
Maybe baby? Infertility Part III: The Tx…
- by Pocahontas
It’s amusing to hear some of the “old folks” talk about fertility treatments. Since things like Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and In vitro Fertilization (IVF) didn’t exist back in their day, they often look at these procedures with hesitation and think they would be unnecessary if the woman undergoing them would “just relax which would help her get pregnant the old fashioned way”. But if you are one of the unfortunate women in the world who suffer from an IF diagnosis, you may have to get used to hearing unsolicited “elder” advice and even advice from peers like, “why not just adopt?” when you inform people that you are doing ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology). These misguided and sometimes in appropriate comments can come with the territory. What might actually help instead is to explain the usefulness of such procedures in the lives of hundreds of thousands of women for whom they bring the gift of life in the form of a baby.
IUI and IVF are two of the most popular (yet controversial) ART tx (treatments) in the IF world today. There are others like ZIFT and GIFT that are used far less frequently. So let’s examine what each of these tx entail and which ones suit what IF situations. Remember only an experienced RE will be able to tell what will give you an optimal chance at pregnancy given your circumstances.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, but you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as “Artificial Insemination” depending on the source. Understanding-infertility.com describes it as the woman being, “ injected with carefully prepared sperm from the husband, partner, or a donor”. This technique can be used in instances where there is a male IF problem (like low motility…meaning the sperm aren’t “swimming” properly) or where the vaginal canal for whatever reason is too acidic for sperm to survive. The sperm is processed, drawn up into a catheter and injected directly into the woman’s uterus bypassing the vaginal canal altogether. Sometimes it is done without any medication. Often times it is done in conjunction with Clomid or an injectible hormone (like the ones described in Part II of this series). The drug is given to help the woman either have a stronger ovulation or ovulate more than one egg to give the sperm “more targets” so to speak.
IVF stands for In vitro Fertilization, and hopefully you won’t have to hear anyone archaically refer to it as “test tube babies” (although you might depending on the generation of the person). It is a more invasive treatment than IUI and is typically used when all other treatment options have not been successful. However, there are some instances in which IVF is the first course of action. These would be cases where a woman has had to have a fallopian tubes removed previously, where both tubes are blocked and unable to be repaired, or in cases of women with their tubes tied who decide they want more children and IVF is their only option. It is also used before other ART techniques when a man has had testicular cancer and may have to rely on previously frozen sperm or has such a low sperm count that ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) has to be used during IVF. ICSI is a procedure in which one single sperm is injected into the egg under a microscope using a needle. During IVF, a woman’s eggs are fertilized outside her womb and requires stimulating her ovulation (typically with injectible drugs), a retrieval of her eggs under conscious sedation or general anesthesia, incubating sperm and eggs together, and then tx’ing the resulting embryos back into the woman’s uterus typically 3 to 5 day later.
ZIFT (Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer) is a similar procedure to IVF except a woman must have healthy tubes for it to work since the embryos are tx’ed into her tubes as opposed to her uterus. For this reason it is sometimes referred to as Tubal Embryo Transfer (TET).
GIFT (Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer) is also similar to IVF and ZIFT except once the woman’s egg is mixed with her partner’s sperm, they are immediately placed back in the fallopian tube which means fertilization takes place there. Whereas with IVF and ZIFT fertilization takes place outside of the woman’s body.
Regardless the ART procedure used to achieve pregnancy, every IF woman’s desired end result is a healthy baby. It may not be as easy for a woman suffering from IF to achieve that result as a woman who has no issues conceiving, but if you have been diagnosed with a problem that makes it difficult to get pregnant, take heart in knowing that technology and medicine have come a very long way and with the right tx, you, too, can experience motherhood.
Speaking of Grooms: Presidential Brief-ing
The Barack Obama bumper sticker? Got it. The t-shirt? Got that too. Read on. These novelties just might be what's needed for the groom or hubby looking for a new way to show his, um... support. 
We didn't find any presidential brief-ings for the ladies. But we fell in love with this tank tee for women:
Nerdy Groom's Cakes
Wondering what to do about your groom's cake? Well, if your sweetie's a gamer, puzzle-lover, or sci-fi fanatic, you're in luck! For some reason geeky cakes are all the rage with today's grooms-to-be. Take a look.
This next one takes the cake. It's an edible version of the Death Star. The picture is courtesy of Gizmodo. 
Tell us about YOUR creative ideas for grooms cakes! Just click on comments.
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