Bridal Edition 2013

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Lifestyle

Star-Herald

Sunday, February 17, 2013 1B

Weddings acquire colorful boost in today’s fashion

By JOE DUTTON Staff Reporter

Weddings have always been a tradition set in black and white, but in recent years, adding color and unique themes have taken their place in front of the altar.

Since the days of Queen Victoria, a white wedding dress has been the staple of a wedding gown, but according to Angela Engelhaupt, owner of Angela’s Bridal and Boutique, wedding dresses were originally light blue. Now women are going back to the colorful look and are able to pick any shade they desire.

“Wedding dresses have color from reds to blues to greens to everything. It’s all in

what the bride wants to do,” Engelhaupt said. “It’s definitely much more open-minded that it used to be.”

Engelhaupt said lace has been popular since the debut of the Kate Middleton wedding dress, as well as a lot of sequins and sparkle. Even the simple and chic classic look has not yet been ruled out, giving the bride plenty of options.

“The bride gets to call the shots on her special day, but that’s what it’s all about,” Engelhaupt said.

Brides-to-be have many options in styles, including the dropped waist, mermaid, ball gown, sheath and A-line dresses. According to Engelhaupt, brides should narrow down See WEDDINGS, page 2B

Photos by Joe Dutton

Angela’s Bridal and Boutique has everything to accommodate brides and grooms for before, during and after the wedding, including special shirts for the special occasion.

Angela’s Bridal and Boutique Owner, Angela Enhelhaupt holds her favorite dress in her bridal boutique, where brides can try on and review their dresses before making their final decisions.

A groom’s cake can add some wow to wedding day

Put a ring on it

By LOGAN ALLEN Staff Reporter

Some men might be M.I.A. when it comes to planning the big day, but they certainly take the time when it comes to choosing the ring that will grace the finger of their betrothed.

Between choosing the stone, cut, setting and metal, the options become endless, and today’s bride wants something unique that is a reflection of her own style and the love between her and her future husband.

“People like things that are kind of unusual and unique,” said Tami Reichert, owner of G & T Reichert’s Fine Jewelry. “We do a lot of custom work. A lot of guys come in with something very specific in mind.”

A gentleman can bring in a photo or drawing of what he wants the ring to look like. Reichert then works with him to create a custom creation that is sure to wow his sweetheart when he is on bended knee. “It’s fun,” said Reichert. “It’s really special for the bride, because it was created by her fiancé, and that’s a pretty priceless thing.”

“A lot of guys like to surprise the girl, and I think that’s a great idea because there’s nothing more amazing than the moment when you’re presented with an engagement ring; it’s just something you’ll never forget your whole life,” she added.

But in the past five years, she’s seen a growing number couples create the ring together, as well. The prospective groom can choose something simple for the proposal, a solitaire with a simple band, and then the couple will design an accompanying band, or remove the stone altogether and incorporate it into the wedding band. “So they’re both involved in it. She still gets to pick out her part, and he still gets to surprise her,” she said.

A popular design is still a halo of small diamonds fit around a princess or round cut stone. “The halo design gives it a bigger look,” she said.

By CARA PESEK World-Herald News Service

Photo by Logan Allen

Tami Reichert, owner of G & T Reichert’s Fine Jewelry, weighs in on the current trends in engagement rings. A new trend she is noticing is the use of rose gold, and how it can be combined with other metals for a unique and beautiful look.

A continuous row of diamonds around the band is also popular because it represents unity, she said.

White gold is still more popular than yellow gold. And platinum is also a favorite, but carries a heftier price tag.

In a new trend, Reichert said she’s seeing more rose gold, which is a softer colored gold. It has a slightly pink hue that compliments white

gold or platinum, so that they can be used together for a unique look. “It was popular years and years and years ago. Probably in the early 1900s.”

Vintage styles are still in high demand, she added. Over the course of a lifetime it will maintain its classic appeal.

For those who want something a See RINGS, page 2B

On their wedding day, Carrie Mardock presented her new husband, Eli, with a Prophet synthesizer.

It wasn’t really a synthesizer. It was a cake in the shape of the instrument, complete with black and white fondant keys, knobs and dials inlaid with silver, and a functioning light that glowed throughout the reception.

And — the metaphorical icing on the elaborate cake — it was vegan.

“Since Eli is vegan, he often gets left out of having fancy desser ts,” Car rie said. “So when we were planning our wedding, I knew I wanted to have an amazing vegan groom’s cake.”

Eli Mardock, a musician who’s the former front man of Eagle*Seagull, is likely one of relatively few grooms to receive a personalized synthesizer groom’s cake, but he’s among a growing number of grooms who receive — or actively choose — an elaborate cake of their very own, said Ed Otto, owner of the Cake Gallery.

Otto has spent the past 10 years tracking wedding cake data from about 400 bakeries across the countr y and he’s followed trends in groom’s cakes since 2004.

According to Otto’s data, groom’s cakes always have been (and continue to be)

more popular in the Midwest and South than on the coasts. In the Omaha area, about 29 percent of weddings feature a groom’s cake — a percentage that has held more or less steady since groom’s cakes rose to popularity in the 1980s, Otto said.

While their popularity has remained the same, though, the style of groom’s cakes has changed.

A groom’s cake 20 years ago may have been a simple sheet cake adorned with the groom’s favorite sports team logo.

Sports-themed cakes are still popular, Otto said, but they’ve become much more ambitious. Popular three-dimensional shapes include football helmets, replicas of sports stadiums and busts of popular players.

And the designs have branched out beyond sports, too.

In just the past few weeks, Otto has made groom’s cakes in the shape of a catfish, a camera and a Corvette. Booze bottles — think Crown Royal and Bud Light — also are in demand, as are moviethemed cakes and cakes in the shape of athletic shoes.

It was six years ago, Otto said, that the trend first started gaining ground, coinciding with the rise of reality television shows about cakes, particularly “Ace of Cakes” and “Cake Boss.”

See CAKES, page 3B

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Bridal Edition

2B SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013

Star-Herald

WEDDINGS: Acquire a colorful boost in today’s fashion Continued from page 1B what they really want and try on different dresses that will flatter their body type.

Engelhaupt said as long as she has the desired dress in stock, she can make alterations in a matter of months if the bride and groom are on a quick deadline for the wedding, but they should also plan well in advance.

“My recommendation is a year, but if you get engaged and you have six months to plan it, it’s definitely doable,” Engelhaupt said.

As brides are adding color to their dresses, bridesmaids and groomsmen have also added a splash of color in recent years to accent one another with a particular color chosen by the bride and groom, often reflecting the time of year the wedding takes place.

“I think just more or less it’s different colors you see coming out, different colors going with different seasons,” Engelhaupt said. “A lot of springtime colors will be your blues, pinks and your yellows, and your fall colors are a lot of oranges, reds and browns and lots of ivories.”

For the groom, Engelhaupt said the typical black and white or plain white tuxedo has given way to a chocolate, grey or pinstripe tuxedo,

making for a lot of options for men too. Even the groom’s pants have a wider selection from pleated, flat front and slim fit styles.

“Now they’ve got the option to pick different styles of pants and different styles of jackets. Lapels have gone from bigger to smaller and you can go longer in your jacket,” Engelhaupt said. “The classic look was the jacket with the tails, and now it’s more like a suit jacket to give that more classic sophisticated look.”

Another trend that has taken over the traditional wedding ritual is personality-based themes, making the wedding more of a unique experience for guests.

“We had an example of a wedding where guys were going to wear jeans and sports jackets and the girls were going to be a little bit more dressed up and wear flip flops,” Engelhaupt said. “It’s all depending on what your character and personalities are.”

Engelhaupt said her new store also carries the boutique side of wedding preparations to help dress up men and women before and after their wedding by providing themed shirts, hats and more.

“Different clothing for a night out, a night out with the girls, going on vacation. We even have a few things for the brides that they can

Photo by Joe Dutton

From gold to black heels and flip flops, the new Angela’s Bridal and Boutique has every shoe style a bride would need to accent her style and wedding dress.

accentuate with, whether it’s their ‘bride’ shirt or ‘just married.’ We’ve got shirts like that just to celebrate

that feeling,” Engelhaupt said.

“Kind of fun things like that, that you can wear to keep that excite-

ment going even while you are on your honeymoon or if you are just local.”

Steps to finding the Cinderella wedding shoe

RINGS: Many choices for many tastes

NEW YORK (AP) — No offense to Cinderella, but she sort of had it backwards. The shoe should be at the end of the to-do list for a wedding fairy tale.

After the engagement, first consider the venue, then the dress — then the shoes and other accessories, experts say. Collectively, they should have a complementary vibe.

“It’s all a picture that comes together,” says gown designer Reem Acra.

No flip-flops for a formal setting and dress, and satin pumps would be silly on the beach.

Tanya Dukes, accessories editor at Brides magazine, suggests these practical questions: ■ How high for the heel? Think of the proportions of the dress, how tall you’ll stand and if you are used to wearing heels at all, she says.

■ Is the wedding outside? A lawn wedding, for example, could be trouble for a spiky heel. A wedge would fare better.

■ How formal is the occasion? Fabric matters here. “Satin is the traditional choice, and it’s a safe bet,” Dukes says.

And then there’s deciding whether you ever want to wear the shoes again.

“Most women don’t wear their bridal shoes again not because they’re not wearable, but because they’re a memento,” says footwear designer Stuart Weitzman, who got his start in business in bridal more than 25 years ago. “I make every bridal shoe in dyeable satin, so you could wear them again, but you’d lose the memento, and then you’d wear those dyed shoes once and ruin those ‘bridal shoes.’ Most women never throw them out.”

Weitzman says his success in this market is due partly to an observation by Judith Leiber, founder of the famous beaded bag collection, who noted an “ugly bluish tone” to most wedding shoes. He created a pair out of Swiss lace, won a design award for them and the rest is history.

He sees as much variety in wedding-shoe styles as he does on the street: Women want sandals, stilettos, platforms and lace booties, but the traditional pump is the most popular.

Shoes often spend most of the big day covered by the gown’s hemline, but they can be a glimpse of the bride’s personality.

The moment the shoes will probably get the most attention is right before she kicks them of f to dance, says Acra with a laugh.

Crafting a head-to-toe mood is a delicate balancing act between modernity and timelessness, she explains. Now, the shoe?

That’s a place to have a little fun.

“If I have a bride in the

little more unique than the traditional diamond ring, Reichert said. “You’re not just limited to diamonds. The colored stones are popular. Sapphires, aquamarines.” And choosing a stone other than a diamond can help save some money.

Former First Lady and style icon Jackie Kennedy sported an engagement ring from President Jack Kennedy with a sizable emerald alongside a diamond of equal size.

Engraving the inside of the band is another way to personalize the ring. Reichert said that dates are a popular choice, as well as little secrets shared between the couple.

showroom, I might say, ‘Why not an orange shoe?”’ Acra says. “It’s fun to have something different. I love playing with shoes. I really prefer colored shoes or something with bling or fun.”

Metallics are a good middle-of-the-road option, as is blush pink, and even black is doable, especially if you add a black ribbon sash around the waist of the dress.

“I do think more out-ofthe-box choices will be revisited and worn again,” says Brides’ Dukes.

“Maybe something with a lot of color, you’re more likely to wear that again, like a red shoe, or cowboy boots or sneakers.”

She adds, however: “If you want the memento, your Cinderella slipper, and you want to keep them pristine, then white is a valid choice.”

There is more variety now than ever in gown silhouettes — including shorter cocktail dresses, asymmetrical high-low hemlines, slim columns and mermaid shapes, in addition to the ballskirt — and that does mean almost endless choices in footwear.

Bring multiple pairs of shoes to gown fittings to explore the options, recommends Acra, who chooses the overall look for models in her bridal runway shows and personally consults with some private clients.

The most impor tant thing, as with all decisions on the bride’s look, is that she is happy and comfortable in it, Acra says.

“When you’re walking down the aisle, really no one will be looking at your shoe. But you’ll remember what you were wearing, and if it was bright red, when you talk to your children 20 years later, you can say, ‘I was ahead of my time.”’

Continued from page 1B

“I’ll have rings come in many years down the road, and they’ll have engraving inside of them from their grandparents. It’s like a little picture into the past.”

Men’s styles have remained decidedly simple, designed for comfort more than anything else. But some are straying from the traditional yellow gold band. “Durable metals are important,” said Reichert.

“We deal with a lot of tungsten and titanium and carbide steel.

Those are not only popular because of price point, but because they are a little bit more modern looking.”

Few men care for stones, but bands that combine a couple different metals are be-

coming a little more popular.

A titanium ring with a band of onyx running along the center is an option.

For a man that isn’t used to wearing jewelr y, a lightweight titanium ring is a good choice. And with prices starting at $88, he can spend more money on his future wife’s wedding ring.

Reichart said that her customers usually spend about $1,500 to $2,000 on a wedding set. “Everybody has a budget.

The three-month rule was put into the public by the diamond promotion ser vice years ago. It’s just whatever the person feels they can afford. We have wedding sets starting at about $500 up to about $10,000.”

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Bridal Edition

Star-Herald

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2013 3B

Guests may enjoy games, contests, icebreakers

By MELISSA KOSSLER DUTTON Associated Press

At Bernie and Jordan Hajovsky’s wedding reception, it was useful to know details about the happy couple: Guests had to answer questions about them before they could join the buffet line.

The newlyweds hoped the trivia game and other activities would make the reception more memorable.

“I really wanted people to walk away feeling they had been involved and that it was the most fun wedding reception they had ever attended,” said Jordan Hajovsky, of Austin, Texas.

Games, contests and other icebreakers have become increasingly popular at wedding receptions, said Sarabeth Quattlebaum, spokeswoman for the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners, in Dallas.

“Couples want a party atmosphere and have realized that the more guests mix and mingle, the more relaxed they’ll be,” said Quattlebaum, owner of Sarabeth Events in Keller, Texas. “This also adds a personal touch to their reception party.”

Disc jockey Peter Merry says more and more couples are asking him to help organize reception activities, such as contests to win table centerpieces or asking guests to serenade the bride and groom with songs that include the word love in the lyrics. Other couples are incorporating photo booths, where guests can have their pictures taken in silly hats and holding goofy props.

With guests from different phases of their lives who may not know each other, brides and grooms want to provide opportunities to interact.

“If you can break down any discomfort, guests will stay longer and have more fun on the dance floor,” said Merry, of Dallas, author of “The Best Wedding Reception Ever” (Sellers, 2010).

DJ Jimmie Malone, who owns the company Exceptional Receptions in Binghamton, N.Y., encourages couples to include activities to set the tone and help balance the wedding’s “pomp and circumstance.”

“It keeps guests engaged,” Malone said.

Stephanie Goetz of Binghamton said the games at her 2011 wedding “helped break the ice. Between the different families and friends, the majority of people didn’t know each other. It was a lot of fun.”

Malone sometimes leads guests through an elaborate game in which they must pass a drink, a set of car keys and a dollar bill around the table. He keeps the crowd laughing and guessing about what the items mean. At the end, he announces that the person holding the money is “$1 richer” and that the holder of the drink must serve as the table’s bartender for the evening.

The person with the car keys? Malone tells them jokingly, “Congratulations you just won a new car.”

The centerpiece goes to the “generous person” who donated the $1.

If you can get guests “laughing early in the night, it sets the tone for the rest of the reception,” he said.

At other receptions, he has organized a version of “Let’s Make a Deal,” rewarding guests who can produce an expired driver’s license or the oldest penny in the room.

Of course, the games may not work for all the guests.

“It’s very easy for people to duck out,” Malone said. “If a table chooses not to play,” it’s not a problem.

Most times, the games help create a sense of camaraderie at the table where guests may not know one another, he said.

Along with trivia, the Hajovskys arranged for an instructor to teach line dances. Jordan Hajovsky loved watching her new friends interact with her college friends and family.

“It got everybody on the dance floor,” she recalled of her March 30 wedding.

Quattlebaum likened the trend to decades-old traditions such as stealing the groom’s shoes at an Indian wedding, or lifting the bride and groom in chairs while dancing at a Jewish wedding.

“These are all examples of wedding guests coming together as strangers and doing something to unite each one of them by working together toward a common goal or game,” she said.

AP

In this June 11, 2011, photo courtesy of Lynn Barsigian Photography, wedding guests are ready for a trip into a photo booth sponsored by Exceptional Receptions in Binghamton, New York. Couples are starting to include photo booths as an activity for the guests during wedding receptions. Wedding planners say the activities make the evening more fun.

CAKES: Groom’s cake can add to day Continued from page 1B “Everybody agrees that it’s related to cable TV,” Otto said.

Including Heather Hansen, a cake decorator at Hy-Vee. She, too, has been receiving requests for elaborate groom’s cakes since the TV shows debuted.

In the past two years, though, she’s seen the trend become widespread.

She estimates that she creates — from cake, fondant, frosting and Styro-

foam — one elaborate groom’s cake per month.

She’s made cakes in the shape of the TCU horned frog and, for a pilot groom, a 3-D airplane.

Often, Hansen said, couples spend far more on the groom’s cake than they do on their traditional cake.

She theorizes couples are drawn to creative cakes because of the wow factor they add to the wedding day.

“Everyone’s been to weddings and they’ve seen the same thing over and over.”

Most likely, they haven’t seen a cake in the shape of an airplane.

Or a synthesizer.

Carrie Mardock didn’t mention the cake to her groom before their July 2011 wedding.

It was simply waiting at their reception, and after they arrived, she waited for Eli to notice.

“It didn’t take long. He just didn’t realize it was a cake at first,” she said. “He thought it was awesome, just like I was hoping.”

LEFT: In this undated photo courtesy of Lynn Barsigian Photography, a wedding guest reacts to the news that she has a won a new car in Binghamton, N.Y. The joke was part of an icebreaker at a wedding reception earlier this year.

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