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Think mountain girls aren't into diamond rings? Think again!

A friend recently announced that he was thinking about proposing to his girlfriend. As a wedding blogger, I wanted to know all of the details, including, of course, what ring he was considering. He explained that he hadn't gotten anything yet, but he was planning on getting a silver ring with a stone like turquoise or something because his girlfriend was "laid back" and "liked that sort of thing." At that point the metaphorical record may as well have skipped off the track. My husband and I looked at him with dumbfounded silence. Not wanting to judge someone else's decisions and preferences, but wanting to make sure his he had his facts straight, I suggested that he subtly feel her out to see what she might expect in an engagement ring, or call her family and friends and get their help with finding out. Guess what? She's a diamond girl. When recounting the proposal and how she almost got a turquoise and silver engagement ring, she her only words were "good thing he didn't." The moral of the story: Yes, we mountain girls can be laid back and enjoy wearing low-key, everyday jewelry like turquoise and silver. But when it comes to the engagement ring, many of us are still diamond girls.

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An Interview with Jaime

I was delighted when Blue Garters emailed me with pictures of their custom garters from their XOXO Collection. With custom garters, you can incorporate personalized touches into your wedding: your something blue, a family heirloom, or a memento from when your two were dating. I was even more delighted when Jaime Lawson agreed to an interview.

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I love honoring The Moms (and the grand moms, if you have them). And what better way to honor your moms and show them off to your guests as very special people than to give them each a corsage? It doesn't have to be over-the-top fancy. Pictured below is a simple corsage with two Yellow ranunculous blooms and a sprig of rosemary for remembrance tied with light green ribbon. For simple DIY instructions head over to Project Wedding or Martha Stewart

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When I  first called my girlfriends announcing my engagement and asking them to stand up for me at my wedding, I was determined not to be a bridezilla. For me that meant finding bridesmaids dresses they could wear again and that cost under $100. Didn't happen. I wasn't into David's Bridal's bridesmaid dresses. I found them to be too conventional and bridesmaidsy. Like really, who out there has ever worn their David's Bridal bridesmaid dress again? My maids eneded up just wearing what they felt comfortable in, which was fine. But I'm secreting obsessed with the idea of fully coordinating my a wedding party without being a total control-freaky, money-sucking bitch about it.

Rent the Runway, has an elegant solution. They have expanded their marketing scope to include weddings. Or rather, I suspect more likely Rent the Runway has responded to market demand by adding a wedding section to their website. Basically your 'maids can rent designer dresses for as little as $50. And they can pick from hundreds of styles. As a member of Rent the Runway, I received an announcement two days ago. Rent the Runway really plays into the emotional fears of brides, namely that the bridesmaids dresses wee will pick will be tacky, ugly, expensive, and elicit responses like, "YIKES!" While I'm not too keen on the emotional manipulation, I can relate to not wanting to embarrass my girls, or otherwise look back at my photos and thing, "YIKES!" Shallow, maybe, but it was a very real concern of mine while planning our wedding. No use denying it.

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I spy with my little eye something lovely and hip and sweet and fabulous all rolled up into one. Have you seen all those sweet gloved brides popping up in the blogosphere? A few 2010 brides have donned shorter gloves reminiscent to everyday wear in the mid-Twentieth century, rather than the longer Victorian style ballroom gloves. I predict this trend will continue to take off in 2011, and YAY for that. There is something so sweet about short gloves, is there not?

Crocheted gloves on a backyard bride (above two images) from Wildflowers Photography via Green Wedding Shoes

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