Yesterday afternoon, my sister’s best friend from high school asked her to be her maid of honor. Already thrilled by the news of her upcoming April wedding, my sister readily accepted and is now gearing up for nine months of maid of honor mayhem.

As she pours over bachelorette party invitations and bridal shower blogs, I can’t help but think that she is the ideal maid of honor–reliable, charming in front of an audience, always willing to host a stylish soiree and still the most flawlessly fashionable person I’ve ever met. Her input will undoubtedly prove invaluable from the flower shop to the bridal boutique, and her wit and charisma make her the perfect bridesmaid leader.

For those of you still searching for a maid of honor, check out The Knot’s list of Maid of Honor Duties while you consider your options. The perfect MOH doesn’t have to be your flighty college roommate or your favorite cousin who lives out of town. Choose someone local who understands your personal style, knows how to handle a crisis and always brings out the best in you, as my sister does with nearly everyone she meets.

Right now Style Me Pretty has some gorgeous color palettes up as a part of the site’s Color Palette Contest. From romantic coral and sage combinations to deep emeralds, delicate knits and striking stripes, these color collections are sure to inspire you to come up with some amazing combos. Start by finding something that you find visually stunning. It can be anything from a lamp to a fabric swatch, your grandmother’s old Chanel suit or your favorite Impressionist painting. Then use the item to isolate the different colors and tones that really make it come alive for you. Build out these motifs and, soon enough, you will have an inspiring color palette all your own!

If you like the coral and sage combination Style Me Pretty featured today, you might just love these charming designs from Wedding Paper Divas to match!

With the stress of throwing a fabulous wedding weighing heavily upon engaged couples, it’s no wonder brides often have wacky, anxiety-filled dreams about blue frogs and wilted flowers. The Knot has gathered a charming collection of real wedding nightmares for your reading pleasure (terror?). Having the wedding of your dreams may not be quite what you expected if you share some of these brides’ nightmares. Here are a few of my favorites:

“My fiance was clueless about the planning, and I dreamed he told his groomsmen it was okay to show up with no shirts–just bow ties under their tux jackets.”

“I fell through a hole in the dance floor. Thankfully, it was absurd enough that I could laugh about it without worrying it was going to come true!”

“One of our dogs ate the wedding cake, so we had to go to 7-Eleven and feed the guests boxed cake and cookies instead.”

Check out the entire article for a good laugh to help ease any tension you might have over wedding planning!

If so, you’re probably like me, excited and can’t wait until Sex in the City hits the big screen! Expected to come out on May 30th, the anticipation is growing, excitement is running high with everyone waiting to see what happens to our favorite TV girlfriends.

If you’re still getting over Aidan or wish you could be Carrie, why not throw a Sex in the City themed bachelorette party? Get a few of your closest girlfriends together for martinis and lots of gossip and gab. And invite them all with one of these perfectly suited party invitations!

Orange is fiery and bold. A burst of citrus creates a lively mood for a larger-than-life couple who really wants to stand out at their wedding. Choose a subdued orange hue and mix it with brown in autumn or brighten up a summer wedding with bright juicy tones. Here’s another inspirational board for you brides-to-be who are head over heels in love with orange. How about mixing two popular and unlikely tones, orange and green for something unique. Inspired by the bold complementary colors of a fresh green and bright orange centerpiece I adored in Napa’s famous Copia restaurant, I pulled various similar tones to complete this distinctly modern look.

Stuck in a rut with your wedding planning? Need new ideas? Take some inspiration from bridal magazines and create a bulletin board filled with photos and pages from a magazine that catch your eye. By gazing into all the things you love, you might be inspired with a creative idea for your wedding.

Here’s my version for a fun and fabulous pink and olive color scheme.

Martini Bridal Shower/Bachelorette Invitations

There’s a lot of little things you learn about your own wedding that no one can really tell you until you go through it. I hope this post will help prevent the same thing from happening to you. When choosing your wedding stationery, don’t go conservative. With your costs exceeding your original budget, it’s easy to understand why some, like me, try to keep costs down by limiting the number of stationery ordered.

This was a BIG mistake! I later realized that there were a few people who we wanted to invite but thought we could not accommodate for. In addition, there were just some guests that we forgot to add to our original list. Talking to some other girlfriends I found out that this is really common. Some friends have had to ask families to return their invitations and RSVP cards so that they could reuse them for other guests.

As for my fiance and I? We were extremely embarrassed but were lucky that we found some extra invitations hidden among all our wedding things. Save yourself from having to ask your guests to return their invitations or worse, having to invite additional guests verbatim. Buy several extra sets to keep you covered and safe from having this happen to you.

Here’s a few new designs I love.

So, it’s Friday afternoon and I am craving something sweet. This got me thinking of the idea of edible favors. What do you think? I, personally, love the idea. In fact, after my wedding everyone treated themselves to a full candy buffet featuring some of our favorite sweets treats from our childhood. The candy buffet was a hit with our guests, but there are lots of other edible favor ideas out there too. Here are so delectable delights to whet your appetite and spark some ideas:

Mini Cupakes

Image: Brides.com

Personalized Jam

Image: Modern Bride

Candied Apples

Image: Modern Bride

Chocolate Truffles

Image: Beau-Coup.com

Lolipops

Image: Beau-Coup.com

Candy Buffet

Image: My Wedding

When I began planning my wedding, I became overwhelmed with the entire wedding lingo. What was a place card, for example, and what was the difference between that and an escort card?

A place card is used to tell guests specifically where they will be sitting. Usually in the style of a tented or folded card and done by a calligrapher, these cards are put at the table setting of each guest. Some have colored stickers on them to help waiters identify what type of entrée you requested whether poultry, fish, or vegetarian, for example. Escort cards help guests learn what table they will be sitting on. Creative couples sometimes assign places they traveled to instead of numbers to each table. I have seen escort cards lined up on a table filled with orchids, strung on a line with laundry pins, pinned to fresh fruit and my favorite hung from the bare branches of a tree.

Here’s a beautiful example of a place card from a wedding I attended last year. With candles and a vibrant pink floral centerpiece, this was definitely one of my favorite designs I’ve seen at a wedding.

I went to another wedding event recently where I realized that do-it-yourself (aka DIY) has become a must in wedding planning. There are a number of sites dedicated to it that do it well. Besides Martha Stewart, who is known for her elegant crafts and decadent details, there are a few others such as www.diybride.com that has a variety of tips and hints for brides who want to roll up their sleeves and get involved. Although I am not the Queen of Crafts, I think there are still ways for brides-to-be like me who are artistically challenged.

How about having a candy bar filled with jars of sweets with cellophane bags for your guests to take home? Personalize gift tags with your wedding information on them and leave them out for guests to seal their bag of sweet treats. I found these perfectly sweet gift tags from Tiny Prints. You can add whatever you want on them to make your wedding more personal. How’s that for doing it yourself? It’s fast, simple, and easy.

Falling Flowers