The day comes and some think they have creativity enough to design their own wedding dress. Others prefer and can financially hire a designer, famous or not, to design it or go to a store and spend hours and hours trying on all kinds of dresses, sophisticated, vintage, latest trend, contemporary, it does not matter what it takes as long as it reflects their personality and of course that UNIQUE dress.

Sometimes, you focus more on the design than  in the material/fabric itself, without even realizing that many times the fabric is what makes the gown look the way it does rather than the style. It is important to take into account the fabric/material, because not everyone looks their best for example…wearing lace or tulle which probably would look great for a sweet sixteen. But do not get me wrong, I strongly belief that anybody must wear whatever makes you comfortable.

So, which is the best fabric for your wedding dress? Greek silk, English Organza? Can you afford it? Below, is a brief description of the most fabric most commonly used in the creation and making of wedding dresses.

The common material often use are:

SATIN: There are many different kind of satin, such as: pure silk satin, duchesse satin, Carmeuse, shantung satin, thick satin among other.  A matte satin would look the best.

TAFFETA: Taffeta is a stiff, medium weight woven fabric that is made from silk or synthetic blends. This fabric is used to give a luxurious feel to a garment, and is typically used in formalwear.

TULLE: This fabric often used for the veils. It can also be used in wedding gowns to give body and fullness to the skirt.

SHIFFON: This fabric is sheer, made from silk or synthetic silk and it is often used as an outer layer on the skirt of the wedding dress. It is less stiff than tulle, and more against the skin, so it can also be used for transparent sleeves or wraps.

LACE: There are many different kind of lace. Mostly, different types refer to the patterns made by the threads. Have in mind that lace gives the gown an old look, kind of like vintage. If you are looking for a modern look, lace is not the way to go.

I hope this information helps you decide what best suits you, and no matter which fabric you choose, remember the most important thing is for you to feel comfortable and to enjoy your wedding as much a you can, because in the end, that is what will matters.

If you do a simple Google search on wedding invitations, you get the sense pretty quickly that picking out your wedding invitations can be quite a science these days. I wonder how many engaged couples feel absolutely overwhelmed when it comes to choosing wedding invites.  There is so much to consider.

Many websites, whole chapters of publications and even entire books are dedicated to the topic of helping you select the perfect wedding invitation.

As a starting point, these resources point out that you should consider:

• Wedding invitation etiquette (for example, who gets one? How do you address the envelopes);
• Style (formal, traditional, modern);
• Wedding invitation wording
• Do It Yourself aka DIY wedding invitations? Catalog? Custom? Wedding invitations online? Wedding invitation kits?
• Eco-friendly wedding invitations?
• Cost

If cost happens to be an issue for you and/or you fiancé (because I do see more grooms are getting in on the selection process), it may help to know that the average amount spent on a traditional American wedding is nearly $25,000. And, according to the National Mail Order Association, nearly 3% or approximately $750 is spent on wedding invitations for each wedding.

So, where do you even start? One resource that may help comes from herecomesthebride.com: “Questions to Ask When Ordering Your Wedding Invitations.”

It’s interesting to note that according to another resource for wedding invitations, the knot WeddingChannel.com, one of the most commonly asked questions asked about wedding invitations is how to indicate whether you want or don’t want children at your wedding. According to them, “…never print ‘no children’ or ‘adults only’ on an invitation.”