AisleDash

You're just a couple of weeks away from your wedding. Everything is going perfectly until "it" happens. Your bridesmaid breaks her leg and has to drop out. What do you do?

First, don't panic. It may seem like a big deal when you first hear about it, but it won't ruin your wedding. Promise.

You have several options. If you have another friend who can fill in, go ahead and ask. Will she be able to get a dress in time? You'll need to consider whether she can (and whether she'll be happy you asked or upset that she wasn't asked in the first place).

You could ask your fiance to drop a groomsman, but tread carefully here. Does he have a buddy who wouldn't mind dropping out too? If you don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, consider the next option.

Let the parties be uneven. Yes, you read that right. It's perfectly okay to have one more guy. It doesn't have to be a big deal. It's your wedding after all, and you can have any number that you'd like in your wedding party. Even an odd number.

So tell us, what option would you prefer?



Image: SimonShaw (creative commons attribution on Flickr)

Whether you're jetting to Las Vegas for an impromptu wedding or you have an elaborate ceremony and reception planned, Sin City offers so much to do and see, you and your guests are sure to have the time of your lives. One wedding-must in Las Vegas is a bridal luncheon for any of your girlfriends who have made the trip to be with you. As anyone who has been to Vegas can attest to, it is one of the best dining cities in the country. From the classiest restaurants to the funnest dive bars, this place has it all. And one well-known and rightfully popular spot is The Bellagio Buffet.

With a wide, sweeping dining area and a champagne brunch offered on weekend mornings (7am-4pm), The Bellagio Buffet is the perfect place for a bridal event to celebrate with your favorite women. The dining room is large enough that reservations aren't required yet the food is delicious enough to make you feel like you're eating in a five-star restaurant.

Show up early, with your friends and family in tow, grab a glass of champagne and a plate full of delectable food, and enjoy your Vegas nuptials to the fullest!

You have six friends who you want in your wedding party, but your husband-to-be only has four. Do you scramble to find two suitable people to stand up for him, or do you choose only the people who are most important to you and let your sides be uneven? It's a tough choice and one that isn't universally thought of one way or the other. Meaning, it's entirely up to the bride and groom. Etiquette doesn't really require the bride and groom's sides to be even, but it does require you to make your bridal party feel comfortable throughout the ceremony and reception -- precessional, recessional, etc. If you have more ladies than men, don't make anyone feel left out or isolated. And vice versa. But, thankfully, there are very simple things you can do if you decide upon uneven sides so everyone feels important and you have only the people you truly want standing up for you.

With friends and family scattered across the map and circles of friends growing wider, it's certainly possible to fill more than one guest list for a bridal shower. With the growing trend of bridal shower themes -- stock-the-bar, kitchen, couples, etc -- it's understandable that you may want to cram as much fun as possible into your engagement period. But what does etiquette say about multiple showers and, more importantly, inviting the same people to more than one?

Traditionally brides were only thrown one bridal shower by their bridal party, but that is changing as the landscape of traditional weddings changes. Regardless if your wedding isn't adhering to tradition, it is important to keep in mind that the underlining theme of a shower is to receive well wishes and gifts from your friends and family, so too many showers can risk making you look greedy. Regardless of how many showers you have, etiquette does dictate that you don't over-invite your guests, but you can certainly have more than one shower while avoiding a lot of eye rolling and whispering from those closest to you. Here's how:

We received a panicked email from a friend this morning asking for advice about her bridesmaid's dress. She is to be in a wedding up North, the bride currently lives out West, and the friend in question in in the Southeast.

The bride told her what dress she would be wearing and told her to get measured. Our friend got nervous because she wasn't sure what that entailed, seeing as how she hadn't been a bridesmaid before.

This reminded us that every bridesmaid is a first-timer at some point, and many of us are first-timers in a location that is nowhere near the bride (or anyone else affiliated with the wedding, for that matter). And so, we've put together some tips to help you stay calm and order your dress properly. Click through the gallery and put your mind at ease!

As the writers of Aisle Dash have shown, planning and hosting a green wedding really is as easy as planning a wedding that isn't quite as earth-friendly. Once you the details for your green wedding finalized, it will be time to shop for gifts for your wedding party that will show your friends -- and the environment -- how much you care.

Here are a few earth-friendly gifts to give your bridal party:

• For the bridesmaids and groomsmen who are at one with nature, purchase a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass. For less than $100, this pass is valid for 12 months and can be used by the pass-holder and any other passengers in the car. Ninety percent of the purchase price will be returned to the federal land agencies to preserve the country's parks for years to come.
• Purchase a subscription to The Green Guide -- National Geographic's consumer magazine that offers alternative products for the conscientious shopper.
• For the music fans in your bridal party, pick up a solar iPod charger. For $29.99, your iPod-toting (or any other mp3-player) friend can re-charge anywhere the sun is shining.
  
• Search for local and organic food in your area (or wherever your bridesmaids are located) at the Eat Well Guide -- then choose a local supermarket, restaurant or farmer's market to buy a gift card at.
• Or, choose some organic coffee for the caffeine-lovers in your wedding party at Bean Trees.
  

You can't go wrong with any of these gifts -- your friendly (and earthy!) thoughtfulness will be deeply appreciated.

Dear AisleDash,

I just got engaged and have started planning my wedding. I've got plenty of time and I am not stressing at all, except for one thing. I was MOH in my best friend's wedding a few months ago, and we had a lot of fun with it. I actually did a lot of the planning and even paid for a lot of things because I wanted to help my friend, and I knew a lot of things would never get done if I didn't do them myself. She was very grateful and had a beautiful wedding. Now I know she is just waiting for me to ask her to be my MOH, but I think I want to ask someone else instead. I love my best friend, but she's just not reliable. She wasn't really into the planning of her own wedding, so I know I can't expect her to be there for mine. We've been best friends for our whole lives and live in the same town but we still only hang out if I make the effort. She hardly even calls. That's just how she is.

But I have another friend who I really love, and who I know would be really helpful and involved with the wedding planning. She lives in another town but I see her way more than I see my best friend, because she makes more of an effort. My problem is that I am pretty sure my best friend will end our friendship if she doesn't get to be MOH, and she'll be pissed if I ask her to share the job. But my other friend would be so much better at it. What should I do?

-Dreading the Decision

Dear Dreading,

So your best friend never makes an effort to actually be a friend, let you pay for her wedding, and would hate you if she didn't get to be your matron of honor, even though she doesn't get excited about weddings? Why are you friends with this person? I'm sure there must be reasons, it's just that you didn't give me any of them.

Picking your wedding colors and theme are some tough choices, but once you have those decisions made and filed away, the real fun begins -- scouring the Internet and/or bridal magazines to find the perfect ring pillow, signature cocktail, invitation, etc, to match the colors and theme that are oh-so you. The pink-and-brown theme is a really eye-catching and popular one, and if you have chosen this combo to be your wedding-theme colors, your big day is sure to be a gorgeous one.

Thankfully, the fun doesn't have to begin and end on your wedding day -- your bridal shower theme can also be centered around your decided-upon wedding colors. There are online stores galore that offer the most adorable bridal shower invitations in pink and brown hues to kick off your pre-wedding party.


With this many invitation choices, deciding upon the color palette will seem -- in hindsight -- like an easy check to make on the to-do list.

Little girls love being flower girls. It's their chance to be a princess, to part of the grown-up's celebrations and to shine in their own cute way. (Unexpected tantrums aside, that is.) As a bride, you can keep them as sweet as sugar with these fabulously fun jelly bean bracelets and necklaces from London jeweler, Molly Brown.

Crafted from sterling silver and enamel, the bracelets are priced at £72.00 and would be a wonderful gift, and wedding keepsake, for your flower girls. The entire collection is very more-ish - there's a variety of pieces to choose from and each one is lovely.

For a daintier look, you could go for this Jelly Tot bracelet (£70.00) or how about this wonderful Dolly Mixture necklace (£125.00). Definitely a site worth checking out if you're looking for flower girl gifts.

Where to put your handbag when you're out in a restaurant, or in a bar, can be a bit of a puzzle. Do you keep it on your lap, or do you risk placing it on what might be quite a dirty floor? Maybe it's not such a big deal if you're lugging around an old tote of large hold-all, but what if it's a much-prized Fendi or your precious Prada? No way are you going to dump that down with other people's grubby feet.

Guess what? You don't have to. Get yourself a Handbag Caddy and you'll never have to juggle with your handbag again. The hook slides over the edge of any shelf or table and the rubber base protects the surface whilst providing a secure grip.

It's a wonderful little gismo and at $6.95 would make a great bridesmaid present or a wedding favor. Problem solved - forever.

If you're getting married in the Dallas area, and you'd like to organize a bridal-party brunch for the day before or even the day of your wedding -- a nice idea to thank your family and friends for their support and to de-stress after months and months of planning -- try Bread Winners Bakery & Cafe in the North Dallas Uptown area on McKinney Avenue (there are two additional locations: at Inwood Village on Lovers Lane and in Plano on Preston Road).

Bread Winners is a charming local restaurant that offers a full breakfast and lunch menu on weekdays and a delicious weekend brunch menu. The ambiance matches the menu -- fun and authentic. Sit outside in the courtyard and order a frozen peach Bellini or a pomegranate margarita to start things off. After brunch (maybe banana bread French toast or a smoked salmon scramble), pick up a dozen cocktail buns in the bakery for your bridal party to munch on later in the day.

Reservations are accepted and with 15 or more people, you can organize an in-house party with your own customized menu.

One of my all-time favorite stores -- off the Internet or on -- is Red Envelope (redenvelope.com). For one thing, their inventory is constantly being refreshed, with many things consistently staying available and new things being added quite often. Also, they monogram and personalize just about everything that can be monogrammed or personalized, and only for a small additional cost. And, sure, some things are high-priced but many things aren't and they offer regular (and great!) sales.

When someone is at a loss concerning what to buy for a bridal shower, a wedding, a birthday gift, I always direct them to Red Envelope, and they usually come back and thank me profusely because they found the perfect gift that was original and classy.

For my dad's 60th birthday last December, I sent him wine-filled truffles from Red Envelope, and he raved that they were easily his favorite gift. Oh, didn't I mention? They offer "gourmet treats" in addition to jewelry, accessories, home items, clothing and much more.

And, to make a great site even better, each gift -- regardless of category -- comes with a story to let the recipient know why it's so special.

Buying for your bridesmaids can become overwhelming -- you want to adequately thank them, but perhaps you want something you know they don't already have and something you also know they'll love. And you need a handful -- enough to give to each woman in your bridal party. Check out Red Envelope for some great ideas that your ladies are sure to adore.

In between spending entire coffee breaks staring at your sparkling left ring finger, one of the first things to do after you become officially engaged is to line up your bridal party. It's, of course, nice enough to just simply ask a girlfriend if she'll stand beside you on your big day, but there are plenty of fun and easy ways that take the "asking" up a creative notch. One way is by simply sending them a nice, embellished card. A few different styles can be found here and here. Throw in a "bridesmaid" tank -- in a hue matching your wedding colors, perhaps -- and your friend will be touched and stylish. For another unique way to ask your bridesmaids, visit tomorrow.

First there was probably Mary Kay, then Tupperware. Now, there's your sweet neighbor who teaches second grade selling you the latest vibrator over a cocktail. Boy, times have changed.

As a bridal party idea, bridesmaids can't go wrong with hosting a sex toy bash such as Pure Romance or the ever-popular Passion Parties. Generally, a "consultant" brings several sample toys to giggle over while everyone has a drink and pretends they're really not that interested in a purchase.

Although these kinds of parties can be great fun, this site did offer some areas to keep in mind before signing up to host. For instance:

If you're planning a long engagement -- a year or more -- it may feel like forever before you'll be married. To pass the time, maybe you throw yourself into wedding planning immediately, even though you have plenty of time. That's fine, and there are lots of things you can plan well in advance -- but there are some aspects where you'll want to hold off, or you might wish you had.

It's a bad idea to pick your bridal party too far in advance, because lots of things can happen over the course of a year or two that might make you wish you'd asked different people. We're not suggesting that all relationships sour and your best friend won't be your best friend anymore two years down the road -- but relationships and circumstances change, and these changes might affect your decisions for your bridal party.