Dimitra Designs Online Bridal Shop

It can be difficult to find an online bridal shop that you can trust.  There are so many online bridal shops that boast "designer" dresses, only to take your money and send you wrinkled, horribly sewn knock offs instead.  Luckily, I can introduce you to a beautiful online Bridal Shoppe that will have everything you want to find: Wedding Gowns, Bridesmaids Dress as well as Flower Girl, Mother's and even Rehearsal Cocktail dresses! Meet Dimitra Designs. With a store located in Greenville, SC, Dimitra Designs has everything you will need for your wedding day.  Skilled bridal consultants are available in store and can also be reached via their website form.

Here are just a few of my favorite swoon worthy designers that Dimtra Designs carries:

San Patrick

Sottero & Midgley

And don't forget about your bridesmaids.  I am in love with the Mori Lee Collection.  Is has a huge variety of styles and colors... the best part?  These dresses are so affordable!

As if that's not enough they have my-favorite-ever-wish-I-could-get-married-again-so-I-could-wear Benjamin Adams Shoes! DROOL!

If you are looking for any type of bridal attire, I highly suggest you give them a look.  I'm pretty sure they have something for everyone!

Even if you're not looking for any dresses or accessories, you should at least check out their blog. You can find lots of inspiration and ideas there!

xoxo,
Tara

Bridesmaids Gifts... Strassing Flip Flops

One of the first things I started thinking about once I got engaged was what I was going to do for those special ladies in my life! I decided early on that I was going to have a bag full of goodies for the girls. So.... I ordered these totes in black from 31 Gifts. I had each of the girls letters embroidered on them for a personal touch. I figured that after the wedding, it can be used for crafts, cleaning supplies, mini diaper bag, cosmetic tote... whatever strikes their fancy!

Today, I decided it was time to start filling the tote with all of my handmade goodies. First up, flip flops for the reception. Now, later on I will tell you all about my flip flop basket for all of my "lady" guests. But, these ladies need stand out flip flops for getting down during the evening! I bought each of them a pair from Old Navy and then individually strassed each pair. I made a special pair for my Matron of Honor in pink. These were harder than I anticipated. After doing hundreds of cake toppers for brides, I thought this would be a piece of cake. It was not. The rhinestones kept moving around and sliding off so I had to put a line of GemTac glue on, wait for it to dry a bit and then put the rhinestones on. The whole project took me about 6 hours for 6 pairs of flip flops.

So - Item #1 is completed! YAY for strassing flip flops for my girls! I hope they love them. As I finish other gifts... I will be sure to post them!

XOXO,

Tara

Strassing My Shoes and The Crafty Blues

This past weekend I attended a Craft Bridal Fair at a local craft store. They had calligraphy lessons, bouquet arranging, centerpiece ideas, DIY favors and a lot of other fun DIY wedding ideas. I stuck around for a few of the demonstrations but the aisles of fun were just calling my name! So, as I slowly walked up and down every single aisle my mind started whirling. There were so many great ideas I came up with that I became dissapointed that I could only have one wedding.

With my cart full of craft items (only a few things actually for the wedding) I rounded the corner to go down my last aisle... the clearance aisle. Now, if you are anything like me the clearance aisle of a craft store is just a treasury of stuff that you don't need but have to have... after all it's on clearance - who knows if you will ever be able to find it again!?!?!

Well, ladies, I found the most wonderful, exciting items for my wedding... Christmas Ornaments! No, I am not having a Christmas Themed wedding but these babies were .25 each and FULL of possibilities. With enthusiasm I snatched every single one the had... and now? I have no idea what to do with them. *Sigh*

I guess over the next couple of months I will have to think about what in the world I can do with these. I am sure I will think of something!

NOW... My last post I talked about strassing shoes. During my trip I picked up hotfix rhinestones and started my journey of placing thousands of rhinestone on a pair of shoes. I worked on it for a couple hours last night and here is my progress so far:

BEFORE:

NOW:

It is a little frusterating getting all of the small rhinestones on the shoe but overall, its still kind of fun. Let's see how I feel in a few days!

But still, what in the world am I going to do with 20 large, silver Christmas ornaments?! I'm off to brainstorm......

DIY Wedding - To Do or Not To Do... That is the question!

As I continue my "wedding research" I have fallen in love with so many DIY projects that I have seen! All of you brides out there have many creative and fun ideas! I keep telling myself that I shouldn't start too many projects... but you all are making it SO hard not to be inspired! With the wedding less than 8 months away - I have decided this...

I am only planning on getting married once. This is the only chance I have in my entire life to create things exactly how I want them and have a roomful of people appreciate my vision. I do not want to look back at my wedding day and think "I really wanted to do this... but I didn't/ran out of time/couldn't figure it out/was lazy/etc."

So... even though I was not originally going for a DIY wedding - I think it may end up that way! Here are just a couple ideas that have inspired me!

1) Rhinestone Shoes... Oh how I love thee. This is one of the few projects that I actually think is worth the time and money it will save me. Before I even picked out my dress I had my shoes picked out. They were beautiful Benjamin Adams "Gaga". Well - $375 seems a bit steep but if you know me (and my love for shoes) I was willing to pull out the cash. Luckily, I happened across this picture:

Apparently Miss Eye Candy has a LOT of time and patience (not to mention a steady hand!)... and it was just what I needed to take the plunge! So after reading her comments I found out that she got her stones for a fabulous price (Under $20 for 10,000 stones!) and the shoes were on sale too! So, I happily hightailed it over to The Crafts Outlet.com and ordered my stones. Now... If I only had the shoes.

During my search for the perfect shoe to "strass" (which is apparently what you call spending over 40 hours gluing tiny rhinestones on shoes) I found this AMAZING blog: Redo My Shoe. This amazingly talented man takes the king of all shoes: Christian Louboutin and adds swarovski crystals to create what I could only call art! I spent my entire evening DROOLING over his beautiful creations! The love he has for his shoes bring tears to my eyes. Here are a few for you to admire:

But... back to reality. I may be hitting up the craft store tomorrow to get some rhinestones while I wait for my large batch to come in. I mean, I have to practice right? I have already dug out the perfect pair to practice on. Baby blue, suede peep toes! You all will certainly get an up close and personal look once I get started!

2) On the subject of Rhinestones - Love the look of Crystal Monogram Cake Toppers. But - I am NOT a fan of the price. The Nubian Bride said it all! I couldn't agree more. SO - As you all guessed- I scurried over to craftcuts.com and saved it to my "favorites". I have not ordered it yet but that's only because I haven't decided on my "official monogram". But I will be ordering as soon as I decide on the font I would like everything to be.

I have already made my bubble tags, Tears of Joy packets and some "back up" Thank You Cards. I guess I can officially call myself a DIY bride!

Until Next Time!...............