It is often said that the wedding day is all about the bride. There is one simple reason for this—the bride almost always puts in more work. Whether it is due to tradition or proclivity, women tend to do most of the wedding planning. Their number one priority, of course, is the dress. While the groom-to-be need only be fitted for a tuxedo, the bride-to-be has to find the perfect dress and numerous bridal accessories.
On average, she will start shopping for her dress nine to twelve months before her big day. And as soon as she finds it, she will start shopping for accessories. Altogether, these extras may be as expensive as the actual dress. Let us take a moment to review the most popular bridal accessories.
The Veil
The veil is an antiquated fashion accessory in the West. Women almost never wear them, unless they are attending a funeral or are the bride at a wedding. There is something about the tradition of lifting the veil and kissing the bride that sets most female hearts a-flutter. It doesn't even matter that veils can be quite costly. The cost of this traditional accessory starts at about one hundred dollars.
Choosing a veil often depends on the formality of the event. For a highly formal indoor wedding, most brides select a longer, more elaborate veil that falls to the elbows or below. These veils are typically made from tulle and have more than one layer. Popular formal veils include the elbow, the fingertip, the chapel, and the cathedral veil. These styles can cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, and they are generally only worn at formal affairs.
As wedding costs continue to rise, couples are looking for ways to cut costs. One of the easiest and ways to trim the proverbial fat is to go with simpler, more casual bridal accessories. When a couple plans an outdoor wedding in the grass or on the sands, they can sometimes save a few hundred dollars on the veil alone. Short veils like the blusher are made with only one layer of fabric and are much cheaper than the aforementioned styles. They fall just below the chin and can be used with nearly any style of dress.
Shoes
More often than not, shoes are the single most expensive bridal accessory. They are so important that brides-to-be often shop for them at the same time they shop for their gowns. Finding the perfect pair of shoes is seldom easy. For one thing, there are over eighty major shades of white, so matching a pair of shoes to a particular dress can be a real chore. Fortunately, there are shoes that can be dyed to match nearly any dress. These dyeable shoes can be found at most bridal boutiques and salons.
But at the end of the day, color is a secondary concern. Brides-to-be sometimes forget that they will be walking and dancing in their bridal shoes all day long. Therefore, they had better be comfortable. Otherwise, you might spend your wedding night with your feet soaking in Epsom salts.
Brides at informal or casual weddings should always go with flats or sandals. These styles are extremely comfortable and versatile. If you must wear heels, make sure that it is a pair you have walked in extensively before the wedding day. Women who have limited experience with heels should steer clear of anything over two inches. These shoes can be extremely uncomfortable, even painful when worn for hours on end.
The Bridal Bouquet
The bridal bouquet might seem like a relatively unimportant accessory, but it does play a rather large role on the wedding day. It is with the bride when she walks down the aisle. Then it is handed to the maid of honor while her best friend recites her vows. Finally, it is thrown by the newly wedded bride to a group of single women at the wedding reception. Legend has it that the girl who catches the bridal bouquet will be the next to marry.For obvious reasons, the bride-to-be almost always selects the bridal bouquet on her own. There are no hard and fast rules. Sometimes she chooses flowers that match the style or at least the color of her dress. Other times she selects a bouquet that is keeping with the wedding theme or the wedding colors. But many times, the bride-to-be simply goes with her favorite flowers. The choice is hers. The price of these arrangements usually runs between one hundred and two hundred dollars.
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