May 2005 Archives

Fortunoff is having their Wedding Survival Parties again: May 15th through the 22nd in New York, Long Island and New Jersey. Should be a good place to get advice and maybe shed the my-bridesmaids-hate-each-other blues. They're promising cool prizes (including wedding bands, by the way). If you win the grill and don't want it, I've been looking for a while.

UPDATE, 2009: Fortunoff has filed for bankruptcy protection so don't expect another Wedding Survival Party anytime soon. We'll have to figure out our own ways to survive!

Monday, May 11th, on a beach on the Virgin Island of St. John, Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney were married in a quiet beach side ceremony. Renee wore a lovely strapless wedding dress designed by Caroline Herrara and Kenny was barefoot. Somebody should've suggested he get some "Just Married" flip-flops. No word on whether the bride was wearing shoes or not.

It was a small ceremony with no bridesmaids and few onlookers.

Sounds very nice!

Some wedding traditions go way, WAY back. Take the bachelorette party, for instance. Bachelorette parties really got their start in the seventies, as a spin-off of the bachelor or stag party. Why should guys have all the fun, right? Brides-to-be and bridesmaids alike look forward to the bachelorette party!

The bachelor party itself originally started in fifth century Sparta, Greece. Guys would feast and toast one another on the eve of a friend's wedding. The party was an actual dinner, attended by the groom and his closest friends. The dinner served a dual purpose: it was an occasion to celebrate the impending wedding (or mourn the passing of the groom's bachelor status) and it was a chance to raise money for the groom so that he could continue to drink with his buddies after his wife took control of the finances.

For my wedding on the beach, I told everyone to wear flip flops. My sister said, "Uh....and what else?" Hmmm. This was a tough one. Most of the bridesmaid dresses out there were too formal and just too MUCH for the beach.

The guys were wearing tan linen pants and white shirts, I was wearing a white dress (obviously). So we decided we needed to add some color to the mix. I knew I wanted bright flowers (sunset colors, is how I described it) so a bright blue Alfred Sung two-piece dress seemed like the perfect solution. Very airy and swingy, it kind of moved in the wind. Only not too much. My sister loved the color... totally worked for a redhead. And it looked groovy with the bouquet.

We bought our bridesmaid garb at a local bridal shop, but here's a sneak preview of Alfred Sung bridesmaid separates.