First and foremost, from us to you, I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. Bliss and I enjoyed our first Christmas and New Years together and had a wonderful time with family and a few friends. Many of you reading this blog are still single (engaged) or are newly married, so what I am going to talk about today has either happened or it is going to happen.

Holidays seem to be a natural breeding ground for tension. Amidst the wonderful food, gifts and holiday cheer there can be secret seas of tension brewing that you may not even realize. Your husband’s parents would rather have had you for Christmas. Aunt Gemma doesn’t understand why you didn’t call her before Uncle Richard. Maybe your parents wanted you to visit them instead of staying at home by yourself. No matter what the issue may have been, there can be sore feelings if they are not dealt with early and if you and your husband do not prepare ahead of time. Thankfully, Bliss and I were able to avoid any major issues, and we did it with the help of three concepts:

1. First, clearly communicate well ahead of time (before October) where you will be spending the holidays and who with. We asked both our parents which holidays they would rather spend with us, and we did our best to keep everyone happy while still making time for our own traditions and time together.
2. Second, Bliss and I talked extensively about what our family’s traditions were. Whether we ate ham or hotdogs for Christmas Eve, what we put in our stockings… etc. This is a great way to introduce your significant other to your childhood as well as prepare them for some possibly different traditions than they are used to.
3. Finally, make the most of your holidays. Bliss and I worked really hard to not make mountains out of molehills. As we got to talking about the holidays and everything that went with them, we began to realize that if Lord willing, we are married for 50 years, that is only 50 Christmas seasons we have together. Only 50 Christmas seasons! That new perspective drove us to make the most of our holidays and the most of the time we had with the families. Were they perfect? Not at all, but we enjoyed being with one another and that is what made it perfect.

Talk to you soon! ~Shelby

*Photo by: Lindsay.Dee.Bunny*

I am going to level with you … be straightforward as it were. About six months ago, I had somewhat of an “I’m fed up with this” outburst on the Hill City Bride facebook page. At the time, I had encountered several passé “trends” that people were still including in aspects of their weddings, and I had just had enough! Well, I posted the following status …

I am seriously thinking about doing an “in” and “out” posting … like what trends are in and which ones are out. I have some that I can NOT stand!! Any ideas on what should go into this posting? Feel free to sound off … I know I will when I write it.

As suspected both brides, former brides and wedding vendors stood their ground and posted what they were tired of seeing, and (in my humble opinion) things that should never be. So, welcome to my “In and Out”. Truly, this is not meant to offend as these are just opinions, but if you take the advice of professionals and those that are in the know, I would heavily consider listening to the experts (names withheld to protect the not so innocent).

Here is the first of my two postings …

Strapless Dresses or a Too Revealing Dress

Ok, seriously. I think strapless dresses are beautiful but so are one shouldered and cap sleeved. I feel like each and every bride in each and every photo is wearing a strapless dress (ok, not 100%, but it is such a nauseatingly high percentage). In my opinion if everyone is doing it, it’s not really a fashionable trend anymore … why not dare to be different? Kudos to those of you who are bucking the masses and opting for something out of the norm.

Also, modesty is beautiful … not that you have to don a turtleneck to ankle to wrist dress (please don’t as that went out in the 80s!), but don’t show all your wares. Truly! As one vendor put it, “Dresses that are too tight or too low cut (are out), especially for a church ceremony! Save that for the wedding night. Classy can still be beautiful.” I think we just witnessed this when Kate married Prince William, don’t you think?

Smashing Cake

This is one that I have never understood. You just proclaimed your love for each other in front of God, family and friends. Two people have dated and decided to spend the rest of their lives together, and they demonstrate their love by … squishing icing and cake into each others faces? What bride wants to have her makeup smeared, and what groom wants a nostril full of buttercream?

If you simply must be playful, don’t be vindictive. A sweet (no pun intented) way to have the same effect is to lovingly take a dab of icing and touch the end of your bride’s nose playfully or put a bit on your lips and kiss your new husband on the lips. Think of a creative way to have fun instead of being mean. Enough said.

Candle Contraptions

I had not really thought about this but one responder said, “… candle contraptions that take forever to light …”. How true is that! I have been to one to many weddings where it took an eternity to light the candles. It is not the best way to honor your groomsmen by having them set an entire legion of candles ablaze with a long stemmed bronze fire stick … seriously, has he even lit a candle in his bachelor pad before? Think about this before you opt for bonfires on the sides of your wedding set.

Photos with a “Pop” of Color

My, oh my. This is NOT a trend … at all. No matter how much you want to do this, please do not. Having a black and white photo with one thing in color (or any amount of things, normally it is a bouquet or some other focal point) is very passé. Please do not do this as this trend was out a long time ago. There are ways to focus on the beauty of an object without making it the only thing that is in color. Truthfully, this is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me!

Receiving Lines

Forming a line where each guest has to meet every bridal party member (do they really want to meet your best friend from elementary school?) takes time away from important things along with creating some awkward situations and overly quick introductions. While filtering guests through a line is out, saying hi to all of your guests is not … be polite and try to make your way around to talk to each guest and/or table individually. That way you can have as much time as you need (or don’t need) with each person, and the time is much more meaningful than if you are forced to spend seconds with people being funneled through on their way out of the ceremony.

Ok, that’s it for Part One … stay tuned for Part Two coming soon!

Images from top to bottom by: Wonderlane, reynolds.james.e, jeremiahandrews, canorus, and mbaylor all from Flickr. 

Well, leave it to Martha Stewart to come up with a great idea not only that provides a great conversation starter that also gets people talking about the bride and groom. The instructions, copy and photos come straight from Martha Stewart Weddings. Enjoy this cute, easy, doable DIY!!

Play It
During cocktail hour, each guest sticks a flag into the year she met either the bride or groom.

Make It
Save our clip art on a disk. Have it printed on oversize paper and mounted to foam board at a print shop. Cut flags from origami or scrapbooking paper; punch two holes and thread a corsage pin through. Stick into a fabric-wrapped foam board on a tray. Pins, by Lomey, from michaelsfloralsupply.com.