Carlson Craft's Pocket Invitations book has arrived, and it is cool.  The book itself is a stylish brown and blue-a trendy color combination we alerted you to two years ago.  Pocket Invitations is filled with the latest trendy styles of folding wedding invitations.  Over the past several years, brides have moved to more chic invitations, to reflect their weddings better.  This selection won't disappoint.

The Pocket Invitations are not yet available online at http://bloomery.cceasy.com/, but should be soon--stay tuned and we'll post when they are.  In the meantime, please stop by our shop and check them out.  As always, you'll receive a 30% discount whether you order through us at the shop or online.

Chocolate fountains burst onto the wedding scene a few years ago, and proved to be incredibly popular.  Today, they're almost standard issue at many reception halls.  At the recent Winter Bridal Extravaganza, we were intorduced to what may be the next trend at weddings--margarita machines.

Frozen margaritas offer a number of options at a wedding reception.  You could have one mix for the kids, and one mix for the parents.  Or two different flavors for the adults.  Or even offer something other than iced tea and soda at a totally dry reception.  If you're working on a tight budget, frozen margaritas are a great way to stretch your bar dollars while still allowing your guests to "have a good time".  Plus, since frozen margaritas have a lower alcohol content than straight shots, you wouldn't have to worry too much about guests overdoing it too easily.

We don't expect to see these at more formal receptions, but plenty of couples are having more casual or even themed receptions, and frozen margaritas would fit right in to those events.

The machine below (the one we saw at the Winter Bridal Extravaganza) is from General Rental Center in Cranberry Township.  You can call them at 724-776-6990 for availability and more details.

Ladies, take this one with a grain of salt, it's written for the guys: Questions to ask before the wedding

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The Disney Princess bridal gowns can now be seen at http://www.disneybridal.com/.  Participating salons will be added soon.

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Today's Wall Street Journal reports that Disney has hired designer Kirstie Kelly to design a line of wedding gowns inspired by the Disney Princesses:

As Ms. Kelly sees it, Cinderella is "classic glamour" -- the dresses in her line come in high-shine satin with ball-gown skirts and make generous use of silver embroidery and crystals. Snow White has a slightly more conservative look dubbed "sweet elegance." Ariel and Jasmine models are considerably racier. Ariel, who played the title role in "The Little Mermaid," has a "sultry allure" and is "comfortable showing her body." Jasmine, from "Aladdin," is "bohemian chic," and her various dresses are big on sheath and lace. In all, Disney will offer 34 princess designs for its first season.

...

But don't expect the gaudy princess costumes that kids run around in. Ms. Kelly says her designs are more about capturing the "mood" of the princess than creating an exact replica of each of the cartoon characters' outfits.

That means using more subtle colors than the startling pinks, yellows and blues of the mini-princess world. The Cinderella designs, for instance, come in refined ivory and champagne, rather than the bright blue of the original attire. That also means including only delicate features from the characters' costumes. One of the five Ariel designs has a subtle mermaid styling to the skirt, for instance. Another has waves of shell-like beading cascading down to the hem.

The gowns are scheduled to go on sale at bridal boutiques in June.

View some of the sketches and their inspiration at http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117210199901415450.html (free), or read the full article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117211110257315650.html (subscription required).

If you are interested in Disney-themed wedding invitations to coordinate, check out our selection from Carlson Craft (30% discount if you order through our website at http://bloomery.cceasy.com/).

For many years, the groom's boutonniere was a plain afterthought to the bride's bouquet.  Recent wedding trends show that the groom's flowers are becoming more elaborate and dressy.  One way which boutonnieres are becoming more elaborate is by making them in a filigree boutonniere holder.  We've featured filigree boutonniere holders in a previous post, and for the Butler Days Inn Winter 2007 Bridal Extravaganza, we decided to bling ourselves out a bit.

The boutonniere below features green hypericum berries, a purple Florigene Moonshadow mini-carnation and loops of beargrass accented with a swatch of lavender ribbon.  The boutonniere holder is attached to the coat magnetically.  Approximate price is $25-$35.

This distinctive hand-tied bridal bouquet (or bridesmaid bouquet) features rich shades of lavender and purple.  This bouquet features 10 Florigene Moonvista carnations, 8 Florigene Moonshadow spray mini-carnations, 8 Florigene Moondust spray mini-carnations, 5 blue curiosa roses and Itallian ruscus.  The stems are completely wrapped with lavender ribbon, and an amethyst beaded garland is then wrapped around the stems.  Eight fuschia pins tie off the ribbon and garland.  The approximate price is $80-$100.  This is one of the sample bouquets we made for the Butler Days Inn Winter 2007 Bridal Extravaganza.

For years, the wedding books from the John Henry company have been favorites for brides seeking ideas.  This year, John Henry has a brand new Wedding Flower Style book, filled with some of the trendiest ideas and designs.  John Henry's prom guide made a big splash at last year's prom season (you can see the designs on our site at http://www.bloomery.com/promgallery.htm), and their new wedding book continues the trend.

We're the first shop in our area to have this book, and we'll bring it to the Butler Days Inn 2007 Winter Bridal Extravaganza.  If you want to look at chic bridal bouquets and upcoming wedding trends, be sure to attend the show and flip through our idea books, as well as our portfolio.

About two months ago, the New York Times published an article with 15 questions couple should ask before getting married.  Included are questions regarding health history, children, financial goals and having a TV in the bedroom.

Read the full article at Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying.