After I caught the wedding video game bug, I thought I would peruse the web for more fun and addicting wedding-related games.  I know you’re thinking, “What a tough job!” And I would reply, “Yeah I know but somebody’s got to do it!”

Wedding video games are a must for bridesmaids and brides-to-be. How else will you guys survive all of the never-ending drama, countless to-do lists and appointments before the big day? So I look and found a few video games related to the big day. But unlike the wildly popular and deservedly so, Wedding Dash game, these kind of sucked.

The first Wedding Dress Up Game by Heavygames.com, might have been fun if I was a kid but it lost me after the first minute. Basically, you dress the bride and groom. And after that? Well I thought there would be something else but that’s it! That’s the entire game.

The other Wedding Dress Up Game by Bridedressup.com, is even worse. In fact, this game may be some bride’s worst nightmare! You change the hair, makeup, jewelry, bouquet and dress of the bride. The horrifying part? The bridal gowns are like something out of a horror movie.

The final verdict? A definite waste of time. I give both wedding fashion games a big thumbs down for bad dresses and low entertainment appeal.

Do you dig Eva Longoria’s beautiful bob or desire Miley Cyrus’s lovely long locks? Wouldn’t it be great if you could try on these looks before your wedding day? Well I found a great new site called TheHairStyler.com that lets you do so in the comfort of your own home.

This is a great way to find out if that funky updo done right by Fergie at the MTV Video Music Awards or that straight do made lovely by Drew Barrymore would flatter your skin tone and face shape.

Here’s a tip: Get your bridesmaids together and make a night of it! Just upload your picture or use their model photos and have fun trying on bridal hairstyles and everyone’s hairdo from Beyoncé to Katie Holmes. If you find the hairstyle of your dreams, TheHairstyler.com gives you all the information you need for your stylist to create the perfect look for your perfect day.

My review? I give this one a thumbs up for fine fun and gorgeous looks for your wedding day!

Sign-Up for FREE at TheHairStyler.com!

Either a fun preparatory game to enact your wedding day or just a much needed distraction, Wedding Dash gives players a chance to live their dream day in advance. A spin-off from the immensely popular Diner Dash series, this one is equally addicting with a few unique wedding day details to keep it interesting.

I tried it and understood immediately why they call it “Wedding Dash” as you will be dashing around in a hurry attempting to keep the bride happy. The funny part is watching her turn green right before your eyes when you don’t. Here comes Bridezilla!

Then, there are the details that all brides-to-be worry about like the menu, seating guests in their correct seat, making sure they get their entrees at a reasonable amount of time and keeping the bridesmaids from fighting. This game was a riot! Entertaining, loads of fun and addicting, you will want to dash online to get it!

Play Wedding Dash and other wedding games for free!

I had a chat with Belanima store owner Quinn Cao about weddings, bridal parties and living luxuriously. Keep reading to find out more about her store, products and information on how you can create an unique, eco-friendly, spa night with your girls before the big day.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you came up with the idea to create your online store Belanima.
After I lived in Europe and Asia, I felt the need to return home and fulfill my dream to support the local economy.  The result was Belanima, an online store that brings accessible luxury at a reasonable price to everyone and with products that help reduce the stress of everyday life.  Basically, I wanted to create a community where people can find out how to live a luxurious eco-chic lifestyle.

What does Belanima mean and why did you decide to use it as the name of your store?
Belanima is Italian for “beautiful soul.” I thought it was perfect for the name of my store because it reflects what I wanted to achieve. I wanted to share these amazing eco-friendly products with everyone and bring to light the importance of inner beauty, a beautiful soul.

As you probably already know, weddings can be stressful. What are some products you would recommend for the bride and her wedding party before the big day?
As a bride two years ago, I know how stressful wedding can be. I wish I had Belanima back then, prior to my own wedding. Products such as our bath tea, lustrate bath soak, soy candles, relaxing mist, lavender eye pillow are all great for creating a spa like environment in the home or hotel suite. Use them to create the ultimate bridal shower experience or as a night before the wedding destressor and as a fun way to get the girls together.

Another idea is to give out special thank you gifts to the bridal party with jewelry or a customized gift bags filled with the products of your choice from our store. Actually right now I’m working on special handmade gift bags for a friend and her 8 bridemaids.

I noticed that you have a line of organic beauty products. Can you tell us about a few of them and what makes them organic?
We are doing our best to use all organic ingredients for our products. They are also handmade and the ingredients are actually being harvested locally in Napa, California. Even our packaging is being made locally. In fact, one of our vendors that we have doesn’t use much chemicals at all. One of our products is a bath soak that relieves stress and is the most natural cure that has been use over 100 years.

Why is creating an eco-friendly line so important to you?
It has been a dream of mine to make a difference in the local economy and help our planet. We are trying to reduce our carbon footprint. I feel very passionate about this. I believe that we can all make a difference in keeping our environment healthy for future generations.

A bride’s wedding party is truly her lifeline when it comes to her big day. Do you have ideas or suggestions about what she can do to say thank you to them for everything that they’ve done?
I would suggest our custom jewelry and signature necklace. Also, I’m excited because we just started a partnership with Frette (you can check out the company at www.frette.com). Since, I truly believe that weddings are a magical event, our partnership ensures that you will get the most luxurious gift bag from Frette filled with our amazing relaxing bath products.

What is your favorite Belanima product?
I like all of them but if I have to pick one, it would be the eye pillow. I love to travel and it helps me to sleep on the plane.

It is always a challenge to find unique wedding favors that fit in with a couple’s wedding theme. What type of wedding theme is best suited to your line of products and which products do you recommend as favors for guests?
There are many different type of themes such as wine theme, eco-friendly and spa theme weddings suited for our line of products but we can work with the bride to help her get any wedding of her dreams.

Thanks Quinn! Anything else I missed that you would like Wedding Fashion File readers to know about you or your company?
I love to travel. I lived in London in the past and our company is continuing to grow. We’re hoping that we’ll be in the UK in the very near future. We love to hear feedback from our current clients and potential clients. Please email us with questions, suggestions and how we can improve our products.

Copenhagen Fashion Week took place on August 2-9 this year. If you haven’t heard about it, it is a week organised by the Danish Fashion Institute for the purpose of helping to promote Danish fashion.

The week attracts more than 50,000 buyers, designers and members of the fashion press each year, and this year was another big hit.  The weekend was a fashion and style extravaganza comprised of fashion shows, exhibitions, concerts, as well as exclusive parties and designer sales… all the things that make us at Wedding Fashion Files drool!

Some of the highlights included Marc by Marc Jacobs, a fashion photography exhibition by acclaimed photographer Morten Bjarnhof, as well as a chance to win trip a to the fashion hub of the world {Paris, bien sur}, and free makeovers from The Body Shop and ILLUM Cosmetics. Pretty sweet!

A shopcrawl was also organized, sending hordes of hungry fashionistas through the streets of Denmark to boutiques and high street names alike, snapping up special bargains at sample sales and promotional events.

There was also an exclusive fashion exhibition with designs by Designskolen Kolding MA fashion design graduate Christel Thue Høgsted and Royal College of Art MA fashion design student Maria Kamper.  Entry to this exhibition was only granted to 300 people who recieved special keys.  They were then asked to pass the key on to anyone else they thought might like the exhibition, and were permitted to make copies.  This was an expression of sharing the love of fashion amongst friends, and a pretty innovative and sweet touch for what is often considered a cut-throat industry.

Sadly, the week has ended, but what a week it was!

*images*  Emilie Sadria, Danni Niebling

Are you getting ready to head off to an upcoming wedding and are standing in front of your closet thinking, “I have nothing to wear!”? Well I’ve found the perfect website for all of your wedding outfit needs.

Jaques Vert has stores across the country and also sell their gorgeous clothing for women online.

The Jaques Vert website is easy to navigate and a great feature is that you can shop by collection. This means you can go directly to their Wedding Outfits section or browse any other types of collections in a flash. They also have great accessories such as shoes, hats and jewelry to pair with your new summery dress or skirt and jacket.

The best part is that MoBs, wedding guests and new wives packing for their honeymoon can spend less time worrying about what they’ll wear and more time thinking about the fun stuff…like that upcoming wedding and honeymoon.

*Images* Jaques Vert

These days brides have more options when it comes to their special day and this includes hairstyle. While traditionally, brides wore their hair up, today modern brides can choose to get formal with an upsweep or beach casual with long flowing locks. The choice is really up to you. To help you get clear about whether you should go up or down on your wedding day, here are a few things you should consider.

1. Weather. Although there is no real way to predict the weather, finding out whether it will be windy and cold or sunny and hot based on the season or from past years may help with your decision. If it’s going to be a windy day, having your hair blow constantly in your face is something you might want to avoid for example.

2. Style. Think about your overall style and the look of your dress. If you have pretty details on your dress that you want to show off, an updo works best.

3. Comfort. Consider the fact that you will be wearing the same hairstyle during the entire time (unless you hire a stylist at your wedding). And speaking from experience as a bridesmaid, you don’t want to be tugging at your hair the whole night.

4. Hair Accessories. Think about what hair accessories you will be using. Then talk to your hair stylist about the different options you have for using that accessory. An updo, for example, may work best with the accessory you got.

5. If all else fails, do what I did. Get the best of both worlds by going half-up. This way I was able to have a semi-formal hair do and make use of the hair accessory I bought.

Images from Hairstyler.com

July 25th saw Prince Christian of Schaumburg-Lippe and Lena Giese wed in a religious ceremony at Castle Glücksburg in Germany.

It was a colorful affair with almost all the guests  dressed in bright colors, and dashings of yellow and green throughout the wedding party outfits.

The bride wore a simple white gown and jacket with a long, laced veil trailing behind. Her hair was pulled back and she wore a single necklace around her neck. The wedding colors were green and gold and seen in the flower girls’ gold dresses with green sashes and the groom, who was oddly suited in a diagonal striped tie and vertical striped trousers. Yellow and green was seen also in the bride’s bouquet, the groom’s boutonniere and gracing the flower girls’ baskets.

Sleeves seemed to be another theme at this royal gathering of under two-hundred guests. I thought the bolero jacket worn by the bride was befitting of royalty but the puffy sleeves on the adorable girls were less than flattering. But I guess little girls can get away with anything.

Among the royal guests were Queen Margarethe of Denmark who wore a pink and blue floral dress with matching hat. Princess Elisabeth of Ysenburg who also attended wore a vibrant colored dress with pinks, blues, purples and blacks and had an interesting black feather and pink flower atop her head. I thought Ilona Princess of Schaumburg-Lippe, the mother of the groom, was smartly dressed with a simple blue dress, hat, and black clutch. Her pumps, however, were an interesting blend of colors found also in Princess Elisabeth of Ysenburg’s outfit.

All in all, it was quite an interesting wedding, if not a traditional affair, then one certainly befitting of royalty.

It used to be that being a bridesmaid meant you were doomed to wear the same ghastly gown. I’m thinking pouffy sleeves and pink chiffon tied up with bows and ribbons.  Today’s bridesmaids have it easy.  There are a variety of elegant choices out there that will keep the

bride happy and her maids even happier with dresses that are complimentary and not so matchy-matchy.

If you are on the fence about whether to have all of your bridesmaids wear the same bridesmaid dress styles and colors,  or let them each wear a different gown consider these things:

Fit to flatter. Everyone’s body is different. Consider whether it might be more comfortable and flattering to fit your bridesmaids with individual dresses that suit them rather than to have one dress style fit all.

Consider convenience. If you have 10 bridesmaids and all of them are out-of-town you might want to consider going with what’s easiest.  Think about choosing dresses available in national chain stores, or a brand such as Alfred Angelo that will easily let you match colours.

Pick a theme. As long as one element is consistent,  the details of the dresses won’t matter so much.  Ask them to choose dresses that are a specific legnth, or have one type of neckline.

Accessorize: Consider gifting your bridesmaids with a wrap or shawl,  and a handbag, all in the same style or colour.  This will tie in your bridesmaids’ look even if their dresses are different.

What do you think? Is not having your bridesmaids wear different dresses a major faux pas or a must?

What is an easy way to add glamour to your wedding day? Add a bit of pizazz with stylish wedding hair accessories.

The fun part is choosing which ones suit your fancy. Feathers, tiaras, combs, hair vines, circlets… there are so many options!  Here are my favourite picks:

Feathers: Feathers add a wow factor to bridal hair and are all the rage these days seen in everything from wedding invitations to wedding cakes. They are perfect for stylish and dramatic brides seeking to be the center of attention. If you dare, know that guests will look and stare in reaction to this one of a kind hair accessory. Think Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex in the City movie.

Flowers: If feathers aren’t your thing and you are a more of a romantic bride, consider adding fresh flowers to your hair. They are naturally romantic and add a subtly sweet touch to any hairstyle up or down.

Veil: Traditional brides may want to stick to the simplicity of their veil. And why not? Unfortunately, like your wedding dress you only get to wear it once.

Tiara: Tiaras are for brides wanting to fulfill their childhood fantasies of being a princess. However they don’t have to be towering, elaborate constructions.

Simple circlets and hair combs are growing in popularity and have a sleek, modern look.

I love this simple one from BD-i Design.

Hair Pins: Add sparkle to your hairdo, with jeweled hair pains. This one from Jo Thorne is unique, feminine and contemporary and is a must for modern brides.

The good news is that there is a wide variety of gorgeous hair accessories for every bride, from romantics to modern divas.  You just need to go out and pick the right style for you!