Every Friday I have a chuckle! Why you may ask - well I always make the effort to visit the Frock Horror page on Bridalwave.tv.

Each week the editor Camilla Chafer picks out a horrific wedding dress she has found on the internet. It is amazing how many of the top gown designers can get it so wrong with some of their creations. Today she picks up on a dress by Benjamin Roberts, take a look this is definitely a dress of two halves!

I highly recommend you bookmark Bridalwave.tv and look forward to checking out the latest wedding dress disaster every Friday.

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THE BEST WEDDING TIPS ON THE INTERNET

Each week you can receive a great wedding tip by simply filling in this form:

After you have clicked on the "Send My 1st Tip" button follow these 6 easy steps to ensuring you receive a free unique wedding tip every week.

The most important step is that you you click on the confirmation link in the email sent immediately to your inbox - if you don't you won't get your wedding tips!

A TESTIMONIAL :

"Hi Elle, I just wanted to give my thanks for the generous, often funny and thoughtful planning tips I have received. Our wedding is in just over two weeks time. It's the first time we're getting married (as for many people), and inevitably, there are things we had not considered. I really appreciated many of the planning tips for this reason, also because they were very practical and down-to-earth. Great job, and many thanks again. It must be great to know you are making a positive difference to the marrying couples that receive these. Best Wishes" - Marcela Read more testimonials here

P. S.

You will also send you a Free "Wedding Dress Ideas" Report with your first tip!

In a perfect world every bride would add Wedaholic.com to her favourites and religiously check the site each and every morning! Only kidding, but it is very true to say that people only return to sites that they really value. In fact I can hardly wait until Windows Vista, the new Microsoft Platform goes mainstream. Why may you ask - how will this help Wedaholic.com?

Quite simply Windows Vista will incorporate a technology call RSS (Really Simple Syndication) - which as dull as it might sound is quite exciting! Currently I use a service call Bloglines.com that uses RSS to tell me whenever one of my favourite sites has new content, this way I can keep up to date with all the global wedding news on a daily basis. Anyone can subscribe to it and take advantage of this easy way to track any website they like, though in practice the majority of people don't know about it.

To directly quote from Microsoft :

"After finding interesting information, users are using RSS technologies to "subscribe" to the content, ensuring that the latest changes or updates to the content are delivered to them, instead of having to return to the site to check it again."

Take a look at the bubble in the image of my desktop to the left, this is telling me that there are 595 new stories for me to read. I don't have to visit each website, I simply click on the Bloglines icon to read the latest news. It's brilliant and saves me so much time.

If you never want to miss an article, blog, video, document, photo or news story from your favourite site I highly recommend you sign up to Bloglines.com - it's free and takes seconds to install.

Once signed up you can subscribe to Wedaholic.com using this feed http://www.wedaholic.com/index.xml and never miss a blog again!

If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them.

Thank you for reading.

Elle

I receive many questions regarding divorced and separated parents, without doubt it can make planning a wedding very stressful (check out my tips on handling stress here). I recently wrote this reply titled: "Tips For Handling Divorced Parents Sensitively At Your Wedding".

If you are a bride that feels you need some further advice on this issue I thoroughly recommend you read a 5 part series written by The Wedding Fairy at her fantastic wedding blog "Don't Be That Bride". You may remember I reviewed it in this post: "Don't Be That Bride - A Wedding Blog Not To Be Missed!".

Here are the links to all 5 Parts:

Part l

Read how the insensitivity of the band can embarass certain family members if they are introduced incorrectly. The Wedding Fairy recounts an upsetting story told to her by a work colleague, whereby the stepmother and groom's father are announced as the groom's parents!

Her advice to all couples is:

"THINK about the introductions in advance, and TALK/COMMUNICATE with your band about how to approach each."

Part ll

This post and the next deals with how to handle the first and last dances. Often the band can cause distress by forcing divorced or separated parents without partners to dance with other people.

"This type of behavior is not acceptable, and certainly not fair to the mother of the groom (or anyone in this situation that applies in other scenarios)- whether or not you believe that a divorced parent should "suck it up" (a sentiment which I thoroughly disagree with), you should definitely understand that the band member trying to "help" in this way is degrading, demoralizing, and definitely a NO."

Part lll

This is a detailed account of how a lovely relaxed wedding can quickly change into one of pure humiliation when a mother is forced to dance with a stranger! It really brings home the fact that communication is absoultely key. Every bride and groom should advise the professionals they employ at their wedding beforehand, to ensure there are no hiccups on the day.

Part lV

If your parents are divorced it can often be diffcult coming up with a table arrangement that suits everyone. You may want to see your parents seated together or on adjacent table (or even the same!), but trust me they will be much more relaxed if you put some distance between their tables. The Wedding Fairy describes a situation that happened at a wedding her college friend Liz went to, there were no dramas or dish-throwing but it makes you think that the mother and father could have been seated further apart.

"I can tell you right now - you will not please everyone. Finding the "perfect" table arrangement is not necessarily an option - however, creating a WORKABLE table arrangement-- when it comes to divorced/separated parents -- is the name of the game."

Part V

In conclusion we learn that wedding planning is complicated and stressful enough without keeling over from the pressure of divorced parents and their partners. It just isn't worth it, take a stance and stick to it. As the Wedding Fairy says:

"Planning doesn't involve the same discomfort issues that a wedding does (i.e. loud announcements by DJs, or very obvious seating situations). Therefore, keeping everyone happy during this stage isn't really the goal - the goal is to get the job done, and to enjoy doing it."

You only have to watch "My Fair Brady: We're Getting Married!" to see that there has to be a better way!

Every Tuesday Weddingbee.com features listings of many of the upcoming wedding trunk shows and sales in Manhattan. In fact if you know of a trunk show, sample sale, or sale that isn't on their web page please send it to them at tips@weddingbee.com

I continue to thoroughly enjoy reading WeddingBee.com following my review back in May, though at times it is hard to keep up with the number of posts!

There are currently 15 “Miss Bloggers” who submit posts to the site, in conjunction with entries from 5 “Mrs Bloggers”.

I've only been to New York a couple of times and of course loved every second of it. I can only imagine how amazing it must be to actually get married there!

Weddingbee.com is a great insight on life in Manhattan, plus it provides all brides an extensive array of amazing wedding ideas where ever they live in the world.

Have you ever wondered how fathers feel in the run up to their daughter's weddings? Well you need wonder no more as a father of a bride-to-be has come up with an innovative new blog offering advice designed to help other fathers of brides to give away their daughters without taking out a second mortgage!

The concept behind this blog is to chronicle the experiences of its writer Ken York while he helps to plan and pay for his daughter’s wedding due to take place in October 2006.

“I am about to spend more money on my daughter’s wedding than I did buying my first house and first new car combined and 90 percent of the advice I’ve found for fathers of the bride is to be supportive and write checks”.

With 2.3 million couples getting married in the United States in 2006, there are a similarly large number of fathers of the bride who are about to shell out over $20,000 for their daughters’ one-day wedding event. The average wedding today costs $26,800 according to the Wedding Report, yet there is a distinct lack of information oriented towards the father of the bride. From the time the planned wedding is announced, daughters and wives are thinking of how wonderful the day will be and immediately start to mentally review every wedding article, magazine, book, television show and conversation that they have ever had concerning weddings. The father of the bride, on the other hand, probably only has a vague memory of his own wedding day and is a bit lost in the whole planning process.

“As I go through this process people are opening up to me telling about their positive and negative experiences,” said York. “I intend to both post this information along with my research on the blog and in an E-book that I am writing.”

You should definitely point your Dad in the direction of this blog as it offers guy-oriented advice on how to orchestrate/save money on daughter's weddings as well as following Ken's progress as he humorously develops his own strategy for dealing with his daughter’s wedding.

Since writing the post "Four Wedding Blogs Reviewed" over six weeks ago I have always been on the look out for entertaining wedding blogs. In fact I’m seem to be adding a new feed to my Bloglines RSS reader every day!

One blog that continues to attract my attention is www.DontBeThatBride.blogspot.com and I would love to share it with you.

Don't BeThat Bride is written by a twenty-seven year old university graduate, otherwise known as "The Wedding Fairy", who presently lives in New York City and works as a real estate attorney.

She says that through her large social network, whispers about tacky and inappropriate bridal behavior have begun to grow into a loud reverberation. Having acted as both a bridesmaid and guest, she has witnessed unseemly behavior on the part of the brides, grooms and others associated with the "joyous occasion."

Her very first blog sums it up:

“Women lose their minds when it comes to weddings--or, perhaps less dramatically--their practical thinking skills.”

To be more specific...

"Brides-to-be so are concerned about "their day", that they completely lose sight of the larger picture. While these women may have apartments littered with issues of MODERN BRIDE magazine and Emily Post etiquette books, they forget that practical information (about how to respectfully treat their friends and family) is nowhere to be found among those pages."

You will find this blog is both a humorous and forthright take on how to avoid offending bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers and other guests in attendance at wedding ceremonies and receptions. In a nutshell "Don't Be That Bride's" mission statement is to help women globally avoid the inevitable "What Wasn't She Thinking" question!

Some of the Wedding Fairy's favorite posts are those that relate to bridesmaids and the funny (and oftentimes ridiculous) things that have happened to them along the way--for example--hair-dos gone wild as well as the arduous expenses of bridesmaid's dresses.

Most of the Wedding Fairy's posts are general (and gentle) reminders about how to treat ALL guests that are attending the wedding--whether or not they are participating in it. This includes issues about transportation and costs that guests must bear as relates to getting to the church (or temple or reception hall) on time.

I love reading all the feedback via the comments from people who have experienced similar behavior. It is truly an outlet and sounding board for wedding ideas. I believe many women will benefit from reading this outsider's perspective -- and perhaps laugh a little along the way.

This blog has undoubtedly made a huge splash into the colorful world of weddings - I urge you to check "Don't Be That Bride" out!

Elle

Further "Don't Be That Bride" Reading:
Don't Be That Bride's 5 Part Series On How To Deal With Divorced And Separated Parents

Yesterday I received a nice surge in traffic from a site called BridalWave.tv and this got me thinking that really I have limited ideas regarding the best wedding blogs on the internet. Ever since October 2005 I have kept myself to myself just trying to make Wedaholic.com a useful and fun resource for brides around the world – seems like I have been a bit blinkered. It may seem weird but the honest truth is that what with other things going on I haven’t really branched out to see who my friends and neighbours in the “wedosphere” are, so to speak.

In the beginning I wasn’t even sure I would be able to maintain the blog, in so much that you hear many stories of people that lose motivation after a few months. Thankfully that has never happened to me, I just seem to be addicted to weddings. I get a buzz from writing long in depth articles on wedding advice. For example, I’m particularly proud of this blog on Double Weddings and this one on using your iPod at a wedding instead of a DJ. Equally, I thoroughly enjoy writing articles about the latest celebrity weddings and reviews of wedding related films. My aim is to provide a entertaining mix of information for today’s bride. In fact even after the wedding I would like to think brides are still tuning in for some of the more amusing stories I post!

So my aim in this article is to walk you through some of the best wedding blogs I have found over the past day or two. Admittedly I could turn this walk into a marathon but initially I thought I would stick to a few that instantly make an impact which I have bookmarked to visit in the future.

So lets start with BridalWave.tv, the site that initially got me thinking about other wedding blogs!

BridalWave.tv

This is a wedding blog run by freelance journalist and writer Camilla Chafer. She posts daily and all in all she seems to be a very busy lady, writing for a whole host of other websites including the girl's guide to gadgets weblog Shinyshiny.tv.

Both sites are run by Shinymedia.tv and I was intrigued to find out exactly who was responsible for running this company. It seems from reading this page that they are a media company set up in August 2003 . To quote them directly, they are a “London-based pico-publisher” where BridalWave.tv is part of a very strong blog stable that includes other quality blogs like Trashionista.com/, Shoewawa.com and Catwalkqueen.tv.

So what does BridalWave.tv have to offer you?

Well it seems from a quick glance to offer an array of wedding related stories, many focused on the UK market where, like me, Camilla is based. At random I clicked on the “Attendants” link in the category listings and saw that many of the posts feature links to UK stores and sites, an interesting selection of names and brands – some I had heard of and many I hadn’t. This is great for brides, for example there is a review of “Absolutely Audrey” a shop that allows you to personalise your shoes with shoe clips for all occasions.

I could spend a whole day visiting all of the wedding ranges featured on this blog. Most posts are fairly short and to the point. The bottom line is that they are informative and definitely have something interesting to say. For example on the Keepsakes and Favours page any bride could easily while away a good hour during her lunch break surfing this page alone. Finally, before I move on to another blog please take time out to check out this - I just had to click on the category title “Yay or Nay” to find out exactly what it meant. It turns out that this is a funny review of the best and worst dresses on the market today, as Camilla puts it:

"Amongst all the beautiful gowns, a monster lurks. And not just one, there's lots and lots of these hideous creations just waiting to pounce on the poor unsuspecting bride."

She is dead right, there are some ghastly creations out there. Every Wednesday a different dress is posted on BridalWave.tv, and if your own dress looks similar to any of the ones featured you may want to think again! It’s definitely entertaining to review the comments section. In fact the “Yay or Nay section” is a feature of a few of the other Shiny Media blogs, for example check out TheBagLady.tv

Ok I have to move on. I thoroughly recommend you add BridalWave.tv to the list of blogs you read on a regular basis. It will really bring a smile to your face!

Moving on to WeddingBee.com!

On the right hand column of BridalWave.tv there is a heading called “Blogs We Read” and under it a list of other wedding blogs. (It reminds me I must set something up like this on Wedaholic myself, it just makes sense that a bride would want to jump from one wedding blog to the next.) Anyway my eye jumped to a blog called “Wedding Bee” and on arriving at the site I see that for Tuesday 16th May there are amazing 14 posts! I'm so amazed that I hit the previous button at the bottom of the page to see whether this was a one off or the norm. It is the norm. I can see myself spending a ton of time on this site! Time to put the kettle on!

Whilst reading the About page I see that Wedding Bee is authored many times a day by brides (and grooms) planning their weddings in New York. Of all the authors though a certain “Mrs Bee” seems to be the most prolific contributor to this site, so I had to find out more about her!

Its fun to read each of the author biographies and it is here that I find out that in fact Mrs Bee is actually Mrs Bee – this is her real name and she got wed back on the March 5th 2005. Sadly I can’t tell you too much more about her but fortunately some of the other authors are more forthcoming. For instance Mrs. Ladybug tells us at length about her two wedding proposals http://www.weddingbee.com/2005/12/05/the-real-proposal/ . In fact when I saw that her wedding actually happened not so long ago on 16th April this year I was intrigued to find out how the big day went. Like me you can read her whole story and relive every step. I love the photos , particularly the ones posted on 13th May and the ones of the “breakfast date”on the 4th May.

She says:

We did not take any Engagement photos. These were taken the morning of the wedding - our last “breakfast date” together before we got hitched. I knew we weren’t going to have any time to ourselves all day so this was an hour that we set aside just for us which I HIGHLY recommend you do. It could be anything.

Definitely a great idea!

I also discovered a page on WeddingBee.com that in future would be fun to have on Wedaholic, namely a page that tells the reader which articles are the most popular and who has actually been leaving the most comments.

Again you can spend a life time on this page!

In fact with Wedding Bee you have the opportunity to become a blogger on the site if you are getting married in Manhattan?

All in all there is a wealth of information on this blog - no wonder BridalWave.tv linked to this site. I particularly like the "Dear WeddingBee" posts where for example brides send in questions. For example,

"As her maid of honor, I am planning my friend’s bridal shower. I have never even attended a bridal shower, so I have no clue how to start."

You can check out Mrs Bee's great response here.

Where next?

Well both BridalWave.tv and WeddingBee.com recommend Manolobrides.com, so it makes sense to pop over and have a look.

The first thing that strikes me is that Manolo isn’t just interested in weddings, he has blogs relating to shoes, food and men. Secondly it isn’t that easy to find out exactly who Manolo is, as he states on his blog – "Manolo the Shoeblogger is not Manolo Blahnik"

Manolo himself likes to remain anonymous but his bridal blog is written by someone with the name “Never teh Bride”. Though this writer posts daily to Manolobrides.com it has been some time since she posted to her own personal blog.

As she puts it:

"The story of one woman's quest to stop being the bridesmaid, and to seize control of her inner matrimonial bliss."

Anyway lets cut to the chase - Manolobrides.com is an entertaining wedding blog, and from what I can see there is generally one post a day. The topics covered in recent days range from wedding cup cakes, how to get your own personalised wedding song, a wedding teddy gun that shoots small stuffed bears at your guests, great wedding films, advice on mother of the bride dresses and even working out for your wedding. There is definitely something for everyone!

Every day there seems to be an interesting post, so much so that I have added their feed to my Bloglines account. In fact I recommend all brides have a Bloglines account so that each morning they can easily review all the latest wedding blogs in one place without necessarily visiting each site. For instance, while you are in Bloglines be sure to add my feed.

Like the other blogs I have reviewed there is a list of recommended blog links in the right hand column - even more so with Manolo’s site. In fact when there is a list of nearly twenty blogs it really is tough working out which you should visit next. I personally look at the names and go on instinct. Scanning this list I was taken by the name "Here Comes the Blog" - it made me chuckle!

On arrival at this wedding blog, like at most blogs I visit, I try to find out a little bit about the people behind the site.

Jayne Leigh Hallock runs HereComestheBlog.com and is the main blog writer and message board moderator. She is also head writer for MyWeddingFavors.com and ElegantWeddingBands.com and has over 15 years of professional writing experience!

The blog also has five consultants, all featured on this page.

The five wedding consultants are:

Joyce Scardina Becker, wedding planning expert who runs EventsofDistinction.com and has had her work featured in TheKnot.com

Erica Goldstein, stationery and trend expert who runs PaperBride.com. Her work has also appeared on notable wedding sites such as The Wedding Channel.

Diana Kirschner, psychologist & love expert who has appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America and NPR Radio and runs her own site OpeningLovesDoor.com

Tatiana Byron, responsible for running The Wedding Salon - a luxury wedding showcase.

Karin Sloan, a veteran wedding expert, founder of Let-me-tell-you.com

With all this expert opinion it shouldn't be surprising that this blog bursts with quality information. The posts don't seem to be regular, some can be over a week apart, but certainly you can see the content is professionally written. So as I don't miss a post I have added their feed to my Bloglines account.

So there you have it - four great wedding blogs:

Camilla's BridalWave.tv

Mrs Bee and the other New York brides' WeddingBee.com

Manolo's Manolobrides.com

Jayne's HereComesTheBlog.com

In time I am sure I will recommend many more wedding blogs. In addition I will also be shortly setting up a "Blogroll" in the right hand column of Wedaholic.com so that you always have a handy list of blogs which you can access.

If you are aware of a fun and entertaining wedding blog you believe I should know about, please do not hesitate to leave a comment so that I can review the site at a later stage.

More Blogs - Updated 3rd July 2006

Don't Be That Bride - A Wedding Blog Not To Be Missed!

Let me introduce you to Kate Adam's new wedding planning blog called YouMayNowKissTheBlog.com

A few things you should firstly know about Kate:

* She is getting married in less than two months - which might just be the reason she is craving a cigarette despite the fact she has never smoked!

* Kate is using her blog as a way of relaxing before the big day and hopefully offering some advice along the way.

* She has never lived for the day, you know the girls - the ones that clip pictures from Martha Stewart Weddings as soon as their prom is over!

* Kate is feeling the heat, the stress is building up fast as the reality of planning a wedding is hitting home.

* Despite everything there is no way she will become the next "bridezilla", as Kate says about her cousin Samantha who evidently did:

She had it all down to a science and went through the whole experience like a mutant android on steroids—leaving a swath of dead bodies in her wake. I’ve sworn to myself I wouldn’t be like that. I WILL maintain a clear head through all of this. But it IS becoming harder and harder to do.

* Kate finds it hard not to ponder on cakes smashed on arrival, dresses damaged in transit, flower girls opting for a Halloween costume on the day, - where will the humiliation stop?

I highly recommend you take a time out to read her latest hilarious thoughts on planning her wedding including some amazing animations, here are some links to the first three:

1. My Awesome Ring

2. Whose Wedding Is This Anyway?

3. Gluttiny vs. Philanthropy

Enjoy Kate's Highs and Woes!

Elle

Whilst I now have over 50 posts on this wedding blog and get a thrill from knowing that Wedaholic.com is offering good advice to brides around the world. I have to take my hat off to BridesClub.com who have now reached 100 posts!

In much the same vein they offer superb advice on all aspects of wedding planning, with categories on Beauty, Bridal Party Engagements, Fashion Trends, Wedding Dresses and Wedding Flowers & Decorations to name just a few.

Additionally they keep right up to date with all the celebrity wedding news and this latest post is a great run down of 10 top stars and the wedding designers they used.

BridesClub.com is certainly a site I will be visitng on a more regular basis!

Elle