Choosing and Wearing your Tiara and Veil

Once you have chosen your dress you will be looking for and choosing what to wear on your head. This may not be as exciting as choosing your dress but there are a number of options. The fashion this year is most definitely still for tiaras. The magazines are full of pictures of brides wearing fabulous tiaras and I wonder if tiaras will ever go out of fashion. They come in a wide range of designs and prices and look good on everyone from bride to bridesmaids. Whether or not you decide to wear a veil unless you want to wear fresh or silk flowers in your hair a tiara will finish the look for you. Tiaras with sparkling crystals or diamantes look absolutely fabulous and need not cost a fortune. This is something you can buy on the internet with confidence at much lower prices than in the shops. As long as you check that the site is reputable e.g. do they take credit cards and not just Pal Pay, do they have a good range of tiaras, are the pictures of the tiaras clear? One site that has a fabulous range of tiaras from top designers is http://www.princesssparkle.co.uk/ or  http://213.198.15.144/index.html. Do not assume that because you are buying from an internet site that you are getting a good deal. We have seen many sites charging exorbitant prices for what are little more than bits of wire with a crystal on the end.

A good site will sell branded tiaras and you can try these on in a shop and compare the prices! Some sites ask you to complete an order form and send it with a cheque!! There are hundreds of sites out there, many selling cheap mass produced rubbish made in the far east. You will see identical tiaras (mostly extremely tasteless!) on a lot of these sites. Do not buy from them unless you want to spoil your look with a tacky tiara! There are also many sites where the tiaras are handmade by woman sitting at home! Some of these are absolutely gorgeous but tend to be very expensive. You do not want to pay a fortune for a few crystals wired onto a cheap head band. Others are very basic and not very attractive. Some sites sell tiaras made by known designers as their own design and charge well over the normal retail price for them, pretending that they are hand made to order. Look long and hard before you buy.

Veils can be very expensive and again these can be bought for as low as a third of the shop price from online stores. If you find a good one they will probably sell veils, tiaras, petticoats and even shoes. Just make sure that you know what the returns policy is so that if you are not happy with your purchase you can return it. A good site to buy veils in www.princesssparkle.co.uk.

Your tiara should be positioned carefully on your head and your hairdresser will be able to attach it so that it will stay in place during the entire wedding day. If you are wearing a veil that is positioned directly behind the tiara. Some brides choose to wear their veil positioned at the back of the head and this does look pretty.

If you are marrying in church it is traditional to wear the veil on the head with the top layer (sometimes called a blushes) over your face as you walk down the aisle. Traditional the person who is ‘giving away’ the bride then lifts back the tops layer to reveal the bride’s face to her groom.

Nothing Says Italian Like a Little Bling!

Now don't just put the bling on the bride, cover your cake with crystal decorations as well.  Favors by Serendipity at http://www.favorsbyserendipity.com/ have a variety of cake toppers and cake bling, something for every bride! 

Planning an Italian Wedding?

Amazon.com offers "Abbodonza, Planning an Italian Wedding" by Lori Granieri. One review of this books says:


"This book was well-written and very helpful. it gives specific menu ideas along with recipes, information about what certain foods symbolize, and foods from the different regions of Italy. It also goes into detail about the Italian wine regions and gives ideas for serving wines. This book includes information about Italian wedding traditions and stories from people about their Italian traditions and experiences. It gives ideas for wedding locations, how to plan it, tips on planning a wedding in Italy and suggestions for wardrobe, music, Italian dances and a lot more. This book is obviously well-researched and also speaks from first-hand experience only gained from living Italian!"

Placecards for Families With a Sense of Humor

This placecard makes me smile, so I thought I'd share it with you! My family has a sense of humor and would laugh, gauge your family's funny quotient before using these!


On a plain piece of of placecard like paper type:
Yo Krista!

You Sit Here

(Put an arrow below pointing down)

What? Italian Wedding Soup Isn't for Weddings?

Much to my surprise (as an American of non-Italian descent) when I reserched it, I found that contrary to popular belief, Italian Wedding Soup is NOT a traditional Italian wedding dish. Instead the soup got it's name from the delectable marriage between the meats and green vegetables in the rich broth. Called "minestra maritata" (married soup) in Italian, this is indeed a perfect pairing of meats with vegetables. "Married" in the stock pot, the complementary flavors warm you into a sweet lull.

The meatballs are baked which reduces the fat and you have the bonus of making the meatballs ahead of time which allows this dish to come together in minutes. Try as I might to make extra, this soup is always slurped down until there is none left.

Rustic Italian Peach Wedding Cookies

Rustic peach wedding cookies are a beautiful additon to and Italian theme wedding.  While they take a bit of work to put together, the oohs and ahs from your guests make them well worth the work. 

The recipe makes 15 cookies.  Remember, even if you're having 100 guests you don't need one cookie per person if you are making an assortment of cookies.  You can make this recipe in larger quantities once you decide it's perfect for you weddding cookie table.

Italian Peach Wedding Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup apricot preserves

1/2 cup chopped almonds

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons instant tea powder

2 1/2 tablespoons brandy

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup red decorator sugar

1/2 cup orange decorator sugar

Directions


Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C).

Combine sugar, oil, milk, eggs, baking powder and vanilla in large bowl. Blend in enough flour to form a soft dough.

Roll into walnut size balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheets

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cookies will be pale. Remove to rack to cool.

Hollow out cookie center. Reserve crumbs. Combine 2 cups crumbs, preserves, almonds, cream cheese, instant tea powder, brandy and cinnamon. Mix to blend.

Fill cookies with crumb mixture. Press 2 cookies together to form peach.

Brush lightly with brandy or water and dip one spot in the red sugar for blush and roll entire cookie in orange sugar. Top with a icing leaf or purchase the plastic peach leaves.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 411
Total Fat: 15.7g
Cholesterol: 35mg