A popular 2008 trend according to the Knot is changing things up (your hairstyle and dress) from your ceremony to the reception. Think long formal gown and elegant upsweep then a quick switch to a short dress and your hair in romantic waves. Here are some styles that get you from ceremony to reception in a fashion flash.

For the ceremony combine modern elegance and formal style to get simply gorgeous. (Photos from left: Amsale ball gown, the Knot, St. Pucchi Silk Charmeuse dress from Elegant Bride and Reverie by Melissa Sweet from the Knot.)

Perfect party dresses: from left (White kava blouson dress by Kate Spade and Romona Keveza dress both from Modern Bride. BCBG Maxazaria Strapless Applique dress from Nordstrom.)

I’ve found a whole bunch of cool wedding things for you to browse through. Like how about wearing sneakers on your wedding day or would you ever get married at a fast food restaurant? Check out the fun finds I found this week!

1) Celebrity wedding goddess Mindy Weiss planned a wedding where her bride switched into these Steve Madden shoes. She said it made cool photos and was like sneakers with heels. I think Stargaze the silver sandal on the right would be perfect for a seaside wedding.

2) Three couples got married in a row at White Castle, a fast food restaurant chain. Talk about a budget wedding-can I get an order of fries with that?

3) If you and your girlfriends love the Harajuku girls from Gwen Stefani’s video and album, check out these Harajuku Lovers fragrances from Sephora. They’d make unique gifts for your bridesmaids and flower girl too!

4) Take these gorgeous journals from Paper Source with you on your honeymoon and let them inspire you to record all those memorable memories of being newlyweds!

An article on MSN.com caught my attention. Titled, “Biggest Wedding Regrets,” it reported various responses from newly married brides about the things they wished they had done differently. I’m listing a few of my own regrets with some from the article here. Hopefully, it’ll get those of you who are in the process of planning to realize the imperfection of all weddings, as well as help those who have already gotten married to accept your wedding’s little mistakes and dramas.

1) RECEPTION

One bride regretted having a chocolate fountain at her wedding because of the mess it caused with the flower girls and their dresses. She recommended either not having one or packing a kit filled with things like towelettes in case of this type of emergency. Another bride wished that she hadn’t relied on online maps as directions. To prevent your guests from getting lost, run through the directions at least once and then make sure to include direction cards with your invitations.

2) BRIDES

Brides regretted everything from wearing false eyelashes to not having a picture of the bustle before the actual wedding. The main theme here involves the importance of practicing beforehand. Make sure you try on everything prior to the big day.

3) WEDDING PLANNING

I wished I hired a wedding coordinator earlier in the process, and that I hired a videographer so my dad wouldn’t have felt like he was “working” during my reception. Think about whether you would rather spend a few thousand dollars for a more reputable company or for additional services.

Another bride said that she regretted doing her own invitations. Again, I think it’s important to weigh the cost of time versus money. Spending a little more money might be worth it if in return you’re getting better quality vendors and less stress from doing your own invitations. Also, I ordered my stationery online from Wedding Paper Divas (Wild Grass Save the Dates) to save money without having to sacrifice style or taste.

photo from: The Knot

Why not extend the bachelorette party with your girlfriends to a whole weekend instead of just one night? It’ll be a chance to relax with the girls, reminisce about your single days and celebrate the upcoming wedding. Check out HolidayGoLightly for planned destinations that include all types of trips, from adventurous tours like going surfing on Oahu to taking a relaxing sunset sailing tour at Martha’s Vineyard. Budget Travel also has its own magazine on traveling specifically with your girlfriends, and their website has great articles, including how to be sensitive to your bridesmaids worries about cost, an article titled, “How to Plan a Bachelorette Party” and a ton of featured deals for you and your girlfriends.

After you’ve figured out what you’ll do, send out these fun, chic cards to invite them all over for a memorable time!

This Spa Days Bachelorette Party Invitation would be great for–what else?–a spa themed weekend getaway! Or, if you’re having an elegant gathering involving museums, parks and maybe some shopping, send out these Lovely Butterfly Bachelorette Party Invitations.

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And, for an adventurous weekend including a few wild nights out, check out this Party Girl Bachelorette Party Invitations.

I love checking out other wedding blogs, so was intrigued when I read Simply Stated: Nearly Wed recently. The blogger’s entry was a debate about save the date cards and whether they were necessary or overdone in weddings today.

According to the Wedding Report, a 2008 industry trend calls for couples to personalize their complete wedding suite, which includes Save the Date Announcements. And, while most are used specifically for destination weddings or weekend weddings, I personally think that they are a beautiful and fun way to introduce your wedding to guests early.

I’ve received several types of save the date cards in the past, from magnets to photo cards, and have always enjoyed getting them. In addition, if you have a lot of out of town guests like I did, or your wedding date is near a major holiday, and you may want to ensure that the majority of your guests will come by sending out one of these cards as a nice courtesy. Here are a few fresh save the date designs from Wedding Paper Divas that I love.

Blooming Branches

Berry Buds Ecru Save the Date Cards: Chocolate

Fern Save the Date Cards

I didn’t plan what I was going to wear for the rehearsal dinner prior to my wedding day, and I was TOO tired to think about it when our day got close. In the end, I disliked what I was wearing. I was cold and uncomfortable not the way I was hoping it would be the night before my wedding day. So here’s another tip for all of you brides out there: Make sure to pack everything a month or so before your wedding day. And check out these designer styles for a bit of inspiration.

For the rehearsal dinner from left: J Crew Metallic Rose Laura Shift dress, Ann Taylor Cobblestone Print Dress, Banana Republic Silk Cap-Sleeve Lady dress, and Victoria’s Secret Sleeveless Silk Charmeuse dress. Monogram Flourish Rehearsal Dinner Invitations in Dark Gray.

Okay, I know I’ve committed a big faux pas by not sending out my wedding thank yous yet. The worst thing is that I’ve already had more than one person call to make sure I got their gifts. I thought I’d never be one of those laggers, but I didn’t expect our pictures to come back so late. And, now that our thank you cards will be getting out there about the same time as our belated honeymoon, I can only wonder if we should have sent our honeymoon pictures with our thank yous.

Then I came up with another idea–sending out a wedding picture with our thank you cards and a honeymoon picture with our marriage announcements.

I picked the Monogram Stripe photo thank you cards in Meadow to match our wedding color theme.

This Bold Bloom Marriage Announcement may be perfect for our honeymoon picture in Greece.

How would you like a cake topper that really looks like you? I know we’ve featured some cool toppers in past entries, but I had to show you these. Instead of purchasing plastic figures that kinda, sorta, look like you two, how about having ones that are a splitting image. Unusually Creation takes your photos and creates a figurine in your likeness. They’d also be great as unique favors.

Summer weddings present a chance for you to soak up the sun and celebrate your love. To help you decide on a chic summer theme for your nuptials, we polled the stylish staffers at Wedding Paper Divas to find out what’s hot in summer weddings this year. Here’s our Top Four Favorite Summer Weddings list:

-50% of our staff thinks that beach or lakeside weddings are the perfect blend of summer fun and simple elegance.

-Destination weddings earned quite a few votes, with 21% of our experts weighing in that traveling makes a summer wedding more memorable.

-Eternally stylish, Big and Traditional weddings won more than 17% of the vote.

-13% of our wedding pros thought An Afternoon Tea would be the best way to spend your summer reception.

What would be on your list of Summer Wedding Favorites? Do you have any questions for our staff? Leave a comment and let us know!

If I had to do it all over again, I might have chosen a beach wedding. There’s something so sweet about the smell of sea breezes and the cool tones that accompany a beach scene. Imagine your hair down, a flowing white dress, casual attire and the beauty of white sands and gorgeous blues and sea greens. Here’s my idea of an idyllic beach wedding.

Photos of casual wedding gowns from Brides.com. Jewelry and bridesmaid dress from Ann Taylor. Sweetheart table beneath a huppah from Alexis and Eric’s wedding in Coronado, California from The Knot. Starfish cake from La Patisserie: A French Bakery by the Sea in Cape May, New Jersey. Seaside Elegance wedding invitations from Wedding Paper Divas.