Review: Sole Serum

A Bride On A Budget received this product for this Sole Serum review. All thoughts, opinions, and heels belong to A Bride On A Budget.

Part of the fun of being a wedding guest is getting to dress up. The times that normal people get to wear fancy dresses and amazing shoes is slim, so you have to take full advantage of that when you head to a wedding.

Especially if you're someone like me who works from home. The times I actually spend in shoes is minimal, so when I have a chance to wear pretty heels, I'm excited.

Those are the heels I wore to my brother's wedding in August. Super pretty ... but super high. And for someone who wears flip flops the majority of the week, I just don't have feet that are used to the pain heels can bring.

I'm good with walking in heels. I'm never wobbly. But there are times when I just want to stop standing and rest my feet.

Unfortunately, at a wedding, there's not that much time to do that. Between mingling and dancing, there's not much time to sit. Plus, you're at a wedding, most of which consist of an hour cocktail hour and a four hour reception. You don't want to spend any part of that (besides dinner) glued to your chair. And if you're a bride, you don't even get the luxury of sitting during dinner. I mean, there's a very good chance you don't even get dinner.

Enter Sole Serum.

We were two tubes for this Sole Serum review, right in time for my brother's wedding.

The product is a lidocaine foot spray made with a trio of oils: lavender, peppermint, and tea tree (you can find the full list of Sole Serum ingredients on the brand's website). Lidocaine, actually, can be used as a local anesthetic for minor surgery, mostly because of its rapid efficacy. Basically, it works quickly.

But how does Sole Serum work, you wonder.

When your feet start to hurt, pump twice onto your foot, then massage. Wait about a minute until it dries, then put your heels on and get back to dancing. You should feel better within 10 minutes.

But ... does it work?

I think it depends on how much pain you're in when you use it. When I used it the first time, it was after I had been wearing heels while getting ready, then all around the church parking lot prior to the ceremony. I was talking and walking with no seat in sight. I took off my heels to drive an hour to the venue, giving my feet a rest. I changed back into heels right before entering the reception and was on my feet during the entire cocktail hour. By dinner hour, my feet were really in pain. I used the Sole Serum and stayed in my heels a bit, but I ended up changing into flip flops to make my feet happier.

The next day, though, my feet were sore (I know, I'm a wimp). So I decided to have an experiment. I used Sole Serum on my left foot but not on my right foot. It actually eased my foot and calf pain, so I was really happy about that. Of course, it was less pain than the day before, so I would definitely suggest you using this as soon as you start to feel pain if you really want it to be effective.

And yes, I used it on my calves. I know, that sounds silly since it's meant for feet, but I get calf pain a lot (it's one of the things that has been passed through generations in my family -- lucky me). I actually liked it for that. It calmed the pain, which is usually just relieved by aspirin. And really, I would prefer a pump of this instead of popping pain meds.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you feel pain when you wear heels?

Wedding Jewelry (Something borrowed or something new?)

When I was planning my wedding attire, I was sure I was going to wear the earrings my grandma got from my grandpa. There's a whole long romantic back story that I often tell about them, but I'm not exactly sure how much of it is accurate and how much of it I've romanticized over the years. But I can tell you for certain that they're from him to her. And I can also tell you that I wanted to wear them on my wedding day.

Except I didn't wear them.

I couldn't ever find a necklace to match the style and story behind the earrings, so I wore them for our rehearsal instead (sans necklace). My mom lent me a set of jewelry with pearls for our wedding, and since pearls are just as special to my grandparents' love story as the earrings, it worked for me.

I put a lot of thought into every single wedding moment. (That's partially why I drove myself slightly crazy and definitely why, fifteen months later, people still randomly talk about our wedding.)

More often than not, though, people buy new wedding jewelry because life isn't filled with enough moments to buy yourself something sparkly without hesitation. If you're on a budget, though, picking your sparkles from someone else's jewelry box will save you money.

So, I have to ask: Wedding jewelry. Is it something borrowed or something new?

For bridesmaids, my vote is something new. At every wedding I've been in, the bride has given the bridesmaids jewelry to wear at the wedding. I followed suit and gave my bridesmaids Alex and Ani necklaces (and my maid of honor got a matching pair of earrings). I also gave my mom a necklace from Dogeared (which she wears all the time, but didn't wear on our wedding day).

For the groom, I'm voting with something new as well. We got Pete new cufflinks to wear with his tuxedo. He did choose to wear his own rings, though. And, now that I think about it, I did buy a new Alex and Ani ring to wear on our wedding day. It matched the necklaces I got my bridesmaids.

So, I guess my real vote with be: go with a mix of something borrowed and something new. If you do that, you can cross those items off your list, sending you on a hunt for something old and something blue.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you planning on buying or borrowing jewelry for your wedding?

Wedding Websites (What do you think?)

Someone asked me what other websites I used for wedding planning. My answer: Pinterest. No, seriously. I went to Pinterest for ideas (you can check out A Bride On A Budget on Pinterest for ideas for your wedding). Other than that, I was really old school. I loved magazines. I got two bridal magazines a month and I read them cover to cover.

But that's just me.

What about you? I know a lot of people aren't like me, though, and they actually want a website for checklists, a website for advice, and wedding website for their guests.

You can do the latter for free at sites like Wedding Paper Divas.

Personally, I didn't make one. I didn't want to create a wedding website (but, I mean, A Bride On A Budget is a wedding blog, so I sort of figured that was enough). I love the ones that people do create but, for someone like me who is a public person with two successful websites, I couldn't make the information about our wedding venue and time public. It sounds nuts but I was worried about wedding crashers (and that's not really an unjustified concern for me). I didn't even post the venue name on A Bride On A Budget until after our wedding. So, had I created a wedding website, it would either need to be private (so our guests would annoyingly need to enter a password to check it out) or any personal information would need to be excluded (making the website useless for our guests).

Wedding websites, though, are very cool. If you order your wedding invitations from a site that offers a wedding website, you can actually match your wedding website to your invites. That type of coordination is never lost on me. Plus, it's a great place for you to post information for your guests: hotel discount rates, wedding registries, information about the wedding party, a cute story about how you and your groom met, and more. You can add as much or as little as you want.

What some people do, also, is they use the wedding website as a place to collect RSVP's. Your guests will just log on and RSVP yes or no. This will close on your RSVP date, meaning you don't have to worry about late RSVP's. If they missed the deadline, the form is closed, and that's that (okay, not really; people will still call you but you may still avoid some of the RSVP headache we had). That's super convenient.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you planning on creating a wedding website?

Wedding Paper Divas: 10 Free Save The Date Cards

I have a board on Pinterest for Save the Date ideas. There are a lot that I'm in love with, so I'm not sure how I'm going to narrow it down. Luckily for me, we don't have a date yet, so I don't have to make a decision.

I love Save the Date cards, but they're just so expensive. I fell in love with Save the Date magnets -- but they're about $2.50 each. That definitely adds up.

If you have a date already but no cards, you're in luck. You can get ten free Save the Date cards or postcards for free from Wedding Paper Divas.

Just click that link to head over to the site (which has a ton of wedding stationary), choose your favorites, and add them to your cart. When you're done, enter the code 10WEDSAMPLES at checkout, and your cards will be free. If you choose standard shipping, that will be free as well.

If you got engaged recently, you probably don't have a date. Don't worry. This is just to give you an idea, which will definitely help you later on.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you plan on sending out Save the Dates?

Choosing Unique Wedding Shoes

This post is written by Pete. For all his posts, check out this link.

When ya wanna keep it fresh, whether you're at a wedding, at your wedding, just going out for a casual dinner, going to the grocery store, getting the mail, driving to the bank, or just walking around inside your apartment, ya gotta have nice footwear to round out an outfit. Case in point: your wedding suit.

When renting a tux, your options are pretty limited. The only real control I felt I had over how I looked was the shoes I chose. I can't speak for other guys, but the shoe choices I was given by Men's Warehouse made me laugh to keep from crying. But alas! I saw an opportunity, a chance to do something that was unique. I mean ... I could actually have a chance to have some say in our wedding?

Photo credit: Derick & Christy Photography

Shoes boys, it's all about the shoes. While the ladies make 99.999% of the decisions regarding how your wedding will look, where it will be, how it will smell, feel, etc., part of that .0001% of the input we get is what kind of wedding shoes we can wear. As far as colors go, I didn't want to go for the black tux penguin look. Lisa and I were married in a coastal area, so I really wanted a suit with some color. Luckily Men's Warehouse had something right up my alley -- light grey and lilac. Smooth. Now for the shoes.

I could have chosen the plain, boring, blindingly-shiny gaudy shoes that were optional with the tux rental, but I had a better idea: design my own. I was going to do skate shoes, but the ones I'm partial to are way too thick and fluffy. I eventually narrowed it down to two choices: Vans and Converse. Both go with anything. The versatility is unparalleled -- casual, with shorts, at the beach, socks, no socks, jeans and a t-shirt, right on up to a tuxedo. The question now was: Which brand had the colors I was looking for?

The answer to that question, at least for me, was Converse. On the website, you can design and customize your own sneaks in an almost infinite number of ways -- from the color of the eyelets to the color of each side of your sneaker to the color of the thin stripe that runs around the outside of the sole. Using Converse's design platform I was able to create a pair of hi-top Chuck Taylors that highlighted and matched the colors of my suit perfectly. I even had the word "Hubby" stitched into the canvas on the heel. Brownie points!

Lisa's addition: We actually got matching Converse. I wore mine during our reception. It was a lot easier to dance in sneakers than heels. To match with Pete, I had the word "Wifey" stitched on the back of mine.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What type of unique wedding shoes would you choose?

The Ultimate Wedding Flowers Guide

I was emailing with one of my friends once (a friend who I should keep better touch with, you'll agree after this story) and she mentioned she had gotten married. I was so excited for her and wanted to see pictures. She looked like a princess. Her photos were gorgeous ... and so was her cascading bouquet. I decided at that moment that it was the style I wanted.

So I went on Pinterest and started pinning cascade bouquets. I also decided early on that Pete would have a calla lily boutineer, in memory of his mom, since that was her favorite flower.

Other than that, though, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted as far as flowers. I went with my mom to a florist, armed with the little information from the paragraph above. The florist was great. She sat down with us for a really long time to help us make decisions. We went to a second florist (because you need to shop around and compare) and he was fantastic. It helped that we had a much better idea of what would work. The better you can articulate what you want, the smoother your appointments will go.

Both the florists we saw were so unbelievably friendly and helpful. But what if yours aren't? Or what if you are DIY'ing your flowers? To help you, I put together the ultimate wedding flowers guide. This is exactly what I wish I had before I went wedding flower shopping.

The Ultimate Wedding Flowers Guide

A quick list of who and what (may) need flowers
Traditionally, you will have a bouquet as will all your bridesmaids. Your flower girls may have petals to drop (although ask your church or venue if that is allowed before you place an order because many places won't allow this anymore). You also usually order a corsage for your mothers and grandmothers.

On the guy's side, your groom will have a boutineer, as will his groomsmen. You also want to get one for any ring bearers and your fathers and grandfathers.

If you are getting married at a church, you might want to order alter flowers and pew bows. If you want floral centerpieces for the reception, you're going to want to order them with the rest of your flower package.

Some brides are ordering a toss bouquet now too. I actually ordered one because I didn't want to throw my beautiful cascade bouquet -- and it got left behind at the church so I never got to throw it. I just tossed one of my bridesmaid's bouquets instead. That's why a toss bouquet is on my list of five things you can absolutely skip and no one will notice or care.

How to choose your wedding flowers
When you go to a florist, he or she will have a bunch of flower books for you to peruse. See, those books came out way before Pinterest put options a click away. So these books were a great reference for you to choose your flowers. They are generally sorted by color, so it's easier for you to pick flowers that will match the rest of your wedding. Under each color, you will see example bouquets. Generally, brides will just pick one but if you have a different vision, you can explain it to the florist (or show a pin) and it can be made for you.

Along with these bouquet books, your florist may also have a book of just flowers. It's more of a botanist book than a florist one. But it's so helpful. Your florist may suggest a boutineer flower that you have never heard of. Instead of just nodding in agreement and hoping for the best, the florist can open to a page with the image of that flower on it so you can actually see what he or she is suggesting. Plus, when you flip through that book, you may spot a flower that you have never seen but fall in love with and need in your bouquet.

Does season matter?
To a degree, yes, but not as much as you think. I'm sure you've heard to order in season because it will save you some money. But many flowers, and probably the ones you want, are year round. You'll want to avoid roses in February since Valentine's Day drives the price up, and you should stay away from anything that's really difficult to order (your florist will give you a heads up on this).

Honestly, though, if you're worried about your budget, there's a good chance you won't be eyeing any extravagant or foreign flowers. Your florist will steer you in a good direction and you'll follow.

Now, there are the purists who will say that season really matters, some flowers can't be ordered in certain seasons (without a crazy fee), blah blah blah. But if you're flexible, you can choose beautiful, budget-friendly flowers in any season.

Can you change your order?
If you're fickle, you're in luck. Your wedding order will not be placed the minute you sign your contract (at least, it shouldn't be). Talk to your florist about when, exactly, your flowers will be ordered and when you can change your order, if need be. Maybe you will change your mind, maybe a bridesmaid will drop out and you will have to cancel her bouquet. Things happen and your florist should work with you.

Your florist doesn't have everything in stock all the time. In fact, there will be an order placed specifically for your wedding flowers. But once the order is placed, though, that's that. No changes (unless you want to pay additionally plus an expedited fee).

How to save money on your wedding flowers
Wedding flowers can end up being really expensive. Ours were the third most expensive item we paid for (and only a $50 difference from our six-piece band). But, even still, the price we paid was incredible. We ordered from the second florist we saw because one) we got more and two) it was half the price of the first florist. So, like I said, shop around.

But even with only one shop to choose from, your choices can help keep your cost down. First of all, the type of flowers your choose make a difference. If you want an entire bouquet of orchids, it will cost you a lot more that a bouquet of daisies. But that doesn't mean you can't have orchids. It just means your have to add some cheaper flowers as filler.

Take my bridesmaids bouquets for example. I wanted a pretty bouquet of wildflowers so the florist ran down wildflower options with me. Tiger lilies? Yes. Roses? Sure. Hydrangeas? No thanks. And then he stopped me. Stem to stem, a hydrangea may be more expensive than an anemone but it also takes up a lot more real estate in a bouquet. So if you add one, your bouquets will look fuller without costing you more.

You can save on boutineers too. I originally wanted all the groomsmen to have calla lilies, but that would have been pretty pricey. And, just like my bouquet was different than my bridesmaids, the florist suggested Pete's boutineer should be different than his groomsmen. So he got a calla lily and they got roses. So did my dad. And as for the ring bearers, well, they're little. So a full boutineer would be too big for them. Instead of a rose, we went with a rolled rose petal. It was so cute -- and saved me a couple bucks.

For the church, you can order pew bows without flowers from the florist as well, but I vote for adding a flower to them. It really does make a big difference. I didn't think so until I actually saw our wedding photos. Good thing my mom talked me into that one.

Do you need flowers?
The truth is, you don't need anything. You can always replace flowers with something else. Don't want floral bouquets? Make a brooch one. Don't want floral boutineers? Go with a starfish. Don't want your flower girl to drop petals? Have her blow bubbles.

You can skip flowers altogether, if you want. It's your wedding, so it's up to you.

How can you preserve your wedding flowers?
Silica gel. Definitely silica gel. It's so much more amazing than drying them. I have a full post about that here.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What type of wedding flowers are you ordering?

What are you doing with your flowers after your wedding?
Check out our Five Things To Do With You Wedding Flowers After The Wedding post.

Planning A Last-Minute Bachelor Party

This post is written by Pete. For all his posts, check out this link.

As I'm typing this, I literally just got back from a friend's bachelor party, so I figured I'd write about the ins and outs of how my buddies and I implemented a last-minute bachelor party. I apologize for any grammatical errors I may make and any irrelevant tangents I may go off on. The keys on my laptop appear to be moving around on the keyboard. I think I drank enough whiskey and beer to do some brain damage. I probably won't be back to "normal" until Wednesday ... just in time to fly to Florida to see some friends and enjoy another weekend. I'm my own worst enemy.

We planned this last-minute bachelor party in under two weeks. It's possible, but you do need to follow my three simple steps to pull it off.

Planning A Last-Minute Bachelor Party

Step 1: The first thing we did was ask my buddy "So whadaya feel like doing for your bachelor party?" It's always fun to try and do an activity that's unique to the area where you're having the party. You also want to consider the time of year. Like, if you live by a large body of water and you're planning a summer bachelor party, you can have a boat bonanza -- water-skiing, jet skiing, or just lounging on a boat and drinking delicious booze. As far as the specific individual who is "supposed" to plan the bachelor party, "they" say the best man takes the lead (Side note: Ever wonder who this "they" is that says everything?). We didn't do it that way because we didn't have time and the best man lives in California and wasn't coming to the bachelor party anyway. Instead, we (the guys who were going) all threw ideas out, did some research, and kept it simple. You could also decide who the most reliable person in your group is and ask him if he wants to handle the planning.

My buddy decided he wanted to go to Myrtle Beach, stay at a hotel on the beach, and play golf Saturday morning. We accomplished the first two, but we went completely overboard Friday night so golf never happened. Dammit. And we made a pact before we went down that we were gonna take it easy Friday night.

Step 2: Start a mass text with everyone who you plan on inviting to the bachelor party. You can do a mass email too, if that's your thing. Doing this makes planning infinitely easier. You can all decide on a date that works for everybody, and you can exchange information as the planning progresses.

Step 3: Book everything -- quickly. Once we knew what we wanted to do, it was time to get it done. We looked at hotels by proximity to where we were golfing and to where all the fun nightlife stuff was located -- in this case Broadway at the Beach. We didn't want to book a hotel that was light years away just because it had the lowest price. I used Google Maps to look for reasonably-priced hotels on the beach that were close to Broadway at the Beach.

(Lisa's note: You can use a site like BookIt.com or Hotels.com to compare prices and find the lowest one. To make it even sweeter, go through a cash back site like Top Cash Back to get a percentage of your spending back. I always go to Hotels.com through a cash back site when I'm booking to save a couple bucks.)

We found a winning hotel that was going to be lucky enough to be graced with our charming brand of non-family friendly behavior. One of our buddies knew a good golf course that was close to the hotel (which didn't matter in the end). And Broadway at the Beach was a five minute cab ride away. Bingo, bang-o, blast-o!

BRIDAL BABBLE: What tips do you have for planning a last-minute bachelor party?

Would You Wear White To A Wedding?

Someone wore white to our rehearsal dinner and a friend pulled me off to the side. "Did you see ... " she said and, before she could even finish, I said yes. Personally, I was in a very light cream hi-low dress because I couldn't find a white dress I liked. So was I upset? Not really until the next day when the same woman wore a partially white dress.

My friends and I still talk about it from time to time. It actually came up over the weekend with a friend. And today, Pete actually brought it up. Even he knows you shouldn't wear white to someone else's wedding.

But ... the more I thought about it, the more I wondered: Would you wear white to a wedding?

So my gut reaction is no. With the exception of a black and white wedding, only the bride should wear white. That's what I say.

Except ... well, let me tell you a story.

I was in charge of taking my cousin to her surprise bridal shower. I went up to New York for it and had packed one dress for the event: a cute, white lacy dress that I had just bought. My cousin's maid of honor got in touch with me about an hour before I was set to leave to let me know me know my cousin had bought a white dress for the shower. Her fiance knew it was bridal shower day so he was going to try to get her in the dress, but it was up to me to guarantee that she didn't leave the house in anything else.

I looked down at my dress and sighed. If I showed up to her house in a white dress, there was a chance that she wouldn't want to match and she'd change. And that would screw up everything. I had left behind a simple black dress when I moved (left it behind, mostly, because I didn't have intentions of ever wearing in again) and that's what I wore. My grandma assured me that I didn't have to change and that my new dress was pretty and perfect, but I changed anyway.

And I'm glad I did because, see, I didn't know that brides wore white to their bridal shower. I don't know where that started, but it sort of appeared out of nowhere and I was unaware.

But no white at a wedding unless you're the bride. That's a thing.

Except ... well, let me show you a picture.

That's me at my friend Nicole's wedding four years ago (this month). I wish I could say that's me on the right, but you guys know better. I'm the happy one in the black and white on the left; her cousin Lauren is in the red.

Yes. I'm in black and white. Pete's friend had actually given me that dress a week or so before the wedding and I was so happy to have somewhere to wear it because it was all sorts of beautiful. And I'm smiling and happy at the wedding (although completely exhausted because this is so close to the end of the night). And Nicole is there, smiling like a pretty princess even though my dress is half white. And, honestly, even though the person in the back of this photo is also wearing white.

You know what? I didn't realize until this weekend -- when it once again came up that someone wore white to my wedding -- that this is what I wore to Nicole's wedding. I've had a photo from her wedding on our fridge for over three years and I still didn't realize I wore white.

So, the truth? You're not supposed to wear white to a wedding that isn't yours (unless it's at the bride's request), but sometimes, you just absolutely don't realize it.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you wear white to a wedding?

What Every Bride Needs To Know Before Wedding Dress Shopping

I'm insanely picky. Making decisions, that's not my forte. I just want to be absolutely, unequivocally sure that I'm choosing the correct option. Yes, the correct. Not the best.

And therein lies my problem. I can't pick an option that works. I have to pick the one that is right. And since I can't know what is right until I exhaust every option and then make a decision, well, decisions are difficult.

I'm not like this with every decision. If you ask me if I if I want coffee, I will say yes regardless of the time. Chocolate? Count me in. But deciding on a wedding dress? It took me three cities, 50 dresses, and an overnight stay in a cheap hotel.

Part of the problem (besides my indecisive nature) was that no one told me anything about wedding dress shopping before I went besides the cliche, "When you find it, you'll just know." Not only was that poor advice, it also never happened. More accurate advice would have been, "If you're trying on number 50, just buy it and stop dragging your mom around to dress shops."

To prevent you (and your mom, maid of honor, whoever) from that same fate, I put together a list of what every bride needs to know before wedding dress shopping that will hopefully help.

What Every Bride Needs To Know Before Wedding Dress Shopping

Appointments are required. And long.
You can't just show up to a bridal shop to try on dresses. You need to make an appointment. See, it's not like a regular store where you can pick up a few items, head into a fitting room to try them on, and then decide. You need a consultant. She knows the store and where specific dresses are located, she knows the inventory, and she knows just how to lace up that corset back. And since that consultant will be with you during the entire time, you need to make an appointment to book her.

An appointment will generally take between 90 minutes and two hours, so block that time out. If you're booking appointments at multiple dress shops on the same day, be sure to block out a couple hours for the appointment and travel time.

When you make an appointment, be sure to ask if you have to pay a fee. There are shops that will charge you (as a way to deter the people who are trying on dresses because they're bored). Often, that money will be applied to your dress purchase, if you choose to shop there. Definitely ask first.

Bring high heels. Or don't. That's okay too.
This is pretty well known if you've been in a wedding party before, but for some reason, I just completely blanked. You're supposed to bring your wedding shoes with you to try on dresses, but that's pretty impossible since you usually don't choose your wedding shoes until you know the style and color of your dress. Instead, you'll want to bring heels that you're comfortable in and that are pretty much the height of the heels you anticipate wearing on your wedding day.

If you walk in the bridal shop without heels, it's okay. You don't have to feel completely inadequate to dress shop (therefore getting embarrassed and having your decision making thrown off). Every bridal shop I went to had heels that brides could use when trying on the dress. It just gives you an idea of how the dress will change with heels.

When you go for your fittings, though, you definitely need to bring your wedding day heels.

You sort of have to go in with an idea of what you want, but there's a good chance that will change once you start trying on dresses.
I was sure, absolutely sure, that I was going to have a ball gown. I wanted a huge princess bottom. Indecisive Lisa had that narrowed down. "Are you sure?" the first consultant asked me. "Yes, I'm sure," I told her. So she walked me through the store and we picked up a few ball gowns for me to try on. They were heavy. Really heavy. There's so much material to them that the dress weighs a lot. I was willing to make the sacrifice until a consultant offered up this tidbit: You'll be wearing that dress all day, walking in it, dancing it, and just wearing it. It might weigh you down.

I was still set on a ball gown when I was in another store. A consultant laced me into the corset, then had to grab the phone or help another customer or go to the bathroom. I'm honestly not sure where she went, but she told me and my mom that she'd be right back. So there I stood in this pretty ball gown for three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes. And that's when my breathing started to get labored. "I can't stand anymore," I said to my mom as I sat down -- very properly -- in this dress. The corset made it so I couldn't hunch my shoulders even one bit. After a few minutes, I was over. "Can you actually wear that all day?" my mom asked me. "Nope," I said. And my dreams of a ball gown turned into a less-heavy A-line.

Pictures help, but might not always be allowed. 
My mom was taking photos of me in every dress so we could compare them. Without those, the dresses would have started to blend together. There were two boutiques I went into that wouldn't let us take photo though. It was to protect the designers, they told me, but I honestly think they were worried customers would try on expensive, high-end dresses, take photos, and then order cheap knock offs online. So before your mom turns into the paparazzi, be sure to make sure the shop will allow it.

Dress shopping will make you feel fat, which isn't the best mentality to shop.
I wanted to feel like a princess on my wedding day. I think everyone does. But I didn't feel like that when I was dress shopping. See, in real life, I wear either a 0 or a 2. Dresses are cut slimmer, so I wear a 4. But when I tried on wedding dresses, the consultant was grabbing sizes 10 and 12. I thought she would use every clamp in the store to close the dresses, but I was wrong. So many of them fit perfectly. I was feeling bad, but then a consultant told me, "You were made for a wedding dress." They were fitting perfectly and I started to focus on that rather than a number on a tag.

Sample dresses don't necessarily save you money.
The Internet is filled with wedding dress advice that says to buy a sample dress because it will be offered at a discount and will save you money. It's been tried on, sure, but the discount is alluring to brides who are spending thousands of dollars on a wedding. But I'm here to debunk that once and for all. See, at the first shop I went to, I sort of loved a sample dress. I almost bought it, actually. It was discounted to $2,750. It was a big big price tag, so I said I had to think about it. I texted a bunch of people to find out how much they paid because that sounded ridiculously high to me, but it was the first shop I went to so I didn't have much to gauge it on. One of Pete's sisters told me to get it because my boobs looked incredible and his other sister told me to sop around. Basically, it was a split vote.

When I was shopping in another town, I mentioned the dress to a consultant. That shop carried the designer but not that dress. She could, however, order it for me for $3,000. That store offered a 10% discount if you ordered the day of your first appointment, making the dress only $2,700 -- cheaper than the sample. The motto? Shopping around may save you more than buying a sample and you get a brand new dress.

Don't shop by the price tag.
I set my wedding dress budget really high. It wasn't that I wanted to spend an exorbitant amount, but I didn't want to limit myself. I wanted to let myself fall in love with a dress and then worry about the price later. That's how I ended up trying on a $4,800 dress that, according to the consultant, could be changed into the dress of my dreams with about a grand worth of alterations.

I didn't buy that dress, but I didn't buy a bargain dress either. For my veil, belt, and dress, I spent less than 25% of my wedding dress budget. And I got a really pretty dress that people just loved. I also lent my veil to my brother's wife on their wedding day, so that stretched my money further. But, honestly, when I was trying dresses on, I never looked at the price tag until after I decided if I liked it or not. I didn't want the price to influence the amount I did (or didn't) like a dress.

Buying off the rack is okay.
I bought my dress off the rack. I was in a small boutique in Raleigh (about two hours from home) on day two of our impromptu overnight shopping trip. It was made by an American designer who, when the consultant called to see if there was one in my dress size of 10 rather than the 8 that was in the store, said no. That was the only one and there was no way he was going to make me another that was larger (so it was up to me to lose a couple pounds if it didn't fit right). I paid for the dress and took it home that night (and let it sit in my closet for ten-ish months).

When we did get home, I watched a news report out of Raleigh about a wedding dress shop -- that we had been in the day before -- that was taking money from brides, but not ordering their dresses. They'd say the dresses hadn't come in yet (which was true, I guess, because a dress can't come in if it's not ordered) and they would make the bride scramble to pick something in the shop at the last minute. Those brides weren't safer ordering brand new dresses, so heed that warning and don't let the rack scare you. Plus, you can always get your dress steam cleaned before your wedding if you are concerned about it being handled.

It can be altered.
If you buy a dress, but it's missing some bling, you can have a blingy belt sewn in. If the top is just a little too big, you can add cups. If you want a bustle, a seamstress can make that happen. If it's too long, it can be hemmed. Don't let minor faults in the dress stop you from buying it.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other advice would you give to a bride before wedding dress shopping?

Groomsman Gift Idea: Bluetooth Speakers #spon

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

This post is written by Pete. For all his posts, check out this link.

Anybody who has the distinct "experience" of knowing me will tell you that I am completely over the top -- to the point of being terribly annoying -- when it comes to playing music and the ever new and novel ways I am always finding to make sure that I can have music playing 24/7 ... in elevators, while walking down the street, you name it. Lisa even says that I have theme songs, or more accurately, a soundtrack, nay, a playlist of songs that when heard by others reminds them of me – case in point – my latest obsession:


For a long time I had several problems -- well actually, I'm action-packed with problems, most of them mental, but for the purposes of this article I'll stick to the ones regarding my music-listening experience. In my search to find a portable way to have a musical backdrop to my entire life, I encountered several problems throughout time. Starting in elementary school and through early high school it was all about big bulky headphones plugged into a Walkman the size of a brick that played cassette tapes. Then from late high school through college, up until mid-2012, it was a portable CD player that consumed AA batteries like a boozebag bum drinks whiskey. I remember spending almost $100 a month on Duracells back in the day. Luckily, my dad bought me rechargeable batteries, which while saving me money, also sucked. I'd get 15 minutes of listening time before I had to recharge them.

This was all well and good at the time because I knew no different, but in hindsight it's obvious that these items were bulky and the music was confined to my own ears by either big doofy and clumsy headphones or tiny ear buds that constantly fell out -- usually when I was on the treadmill at the gym. An ear bud would fall out, which would distract me. And as my attention was focused on getting the ear bud back in my ear, I'd almost get thrown off the treadmill into the person on the treadmill behind me. Ah Christ, and don't get me started about the wires that tethered me to my device. They'd tangle into incomprehensible knots or get caught on people and/or various objects as I walked, yanking the cord out in the middle of my favorite part of the song I was listening to. WORST!

Fast forward to the smart phone era. It wasn't until this period in human technological development that my dream of having a compact, battery-efficient device that was loud enough to blast music to the world for them to share with me began to come true. Now I could store thousands of songs on a device small enough to easily fit in my pocket. But I still had to use headphones and the internal speaker on smart phones are not nearly loud enough for me to hear my music as I'm walking down the street, riding a bike, or at a party. I mean, I could plug a 1/8" chord into my phone and connect my phone to a stereo, but I wasn't about to start carrying a boombox on my shoulder everywhere I went again (yes, again). But eventually, as if the magical mystical forces of the universe had finally sensed my frustration, there was the creation of Bluetooth speakers. As far as I'm concerned this was the single greatest human achievement after the polio vaccine. And the best news of all is that you can get inexpensive Bluetooth speakers, which finally brings me to the topic of today's article: Bluetooth speakers are an awesome idea for a groomsman gift.

Groomsman Gift Idea: Bluetooth Speakers

We currently own five Bluetooth speakers, but there are two in particular that stand out as a great groomsman gift because they're a perfect combination of affordability, convenience, portability, and sound quality. Both are made by Insignia and serve different, and extremely practical, purposes.

The first one is Insignia's Plug-In Bluetooth Speaker. It retails for only $29.99 at Best Buy and has a very well- rounded sound. It doesn't sound "trebly" and cheap like many small speakers can. It's also very compact (it's just under 4" x 4"), which makes for easy transport if you want to bring it with you. My favorite feature is that it plugs right into an outlet to play and charge, which I love because there's no need for a charger and USB cord. When plugged in, it stays almost flush against the wall, making it an inconspicuous source of sound. It's white so it blends into the wall (if yours are white like ours), making it an integrated part of any room. A nice touch is the small rubber strips on the back, which prevent the plastic from leaving any marks on the wall.

Insignia's other speaker is in a class all its own and is unlike any other Bluetooth speaker I've seen. It's the smallest one I've seen, making it very portable. Probably why it is aptly named Portable Bluetooth Speaker. While the plug-in speaker works more as a room fixture, this one is made to be on the go. It retails for only $19.99 from Best Buy, making it very affordable. It's shaped like a teardrop and comes encased in soft silicon that tapers into a hook at the top. This is a fantastic feature because you can basically attach it to anything -- a belt loop, a travel pack, a towel rack, a dog's collar, a necklace, a baby's crib, my grandma's wheelchair, pretty much anywhere. It's also splash-proof so you don't have to worry if you get a little water on it. It's surprisingly loud too!

While most men don't know it, every guy needs a Bluetooth speaker. I found out that once I had one, I couldn't imagine life without one. Guys who think, "Nah, I don't really need a Bluetooth speaker" are dead wrong. You do. Like food, water and shelter. It's one of those things that, while you got along in life just fine without one, you can't imagine how you could ever live without it once you have one.

The benefits are innumerable. Here's my top three: One) They take up minimal real estate on counters, tables, etc. Two) Many of them have amazing sound. I own one that if you didn't know it was a small Bluetooth speaker, you'd swear it sounded like a stereo that was many times larger than the speaker itself. Three) There's no cord. A Bluetooth signal is pretty hardy too. Up to a 30 foot radius for many. This is cool because you can walk around your house with your phone in your pocket without losing the connection. Four) You can have music, podcasts, whatever, playing anywhere. Gone are the days of having dedicated stereo systems that stay in one room.

Some of my favorite locations to bring a Bluetooth speaker are: the bathroom (I don't know about you guys but having The Allman Brothers playing while in the shower is about as good as life gets); the kitchen (we have one of our speakers sitting on top of the fridge so I can have music playing while I cook); the car (I only did this briefly when my car stereo broke; vacation (this is one of my favorites in particular, mostly because I can have The Allman Brothers playing in the hotel bathroom while I shower. I actually did this last month when Lisa and I went to Japan); the beach (hands down, you gotta  have music at the beach while you hang out on the sand or you might as well go home and come back when you have a Bluetooth speaker. Not only is it a space saver, but many of them afford you a good amount of volume so you can hear your music over the sounds of the ocean).

While I firmly believe that a Bluetooth speaker is an awesome and budget-friendly groomsman gift idea, Lisa and I felt that there was something missing, like we needed something else to go with it – a "jelly" for the Bluetooth's "peanut butter" if you will. Then BOOM! BANG! SMASH! POW! It hit me -- an Amazon gift card that your groomsmen can use to buy some new songs to play out of thir Bluetooth speakers. What a thoughtful compliment. You can put as much, or as little, money you want on the card. Plus, this design even allows you to add an image of what you think the groomsmen should get with the card, so you can add a picture of music to explain why the card goes with the speaker. You can have the gift cards emailed to you, then just print it out and attach it to the thank you card. And Amazon is better than iTunes because you don't know if your groomsmen have iPhones or Andriod phones.

So go ahead fellas, trust me and do this. There are plenty of super affordable Bluetooth speakers out there that are less than what I paid for the travel mugs I gave as a groomsman gift. Pick a speaker up for yourself too, if you don't have one. Once you get a Bluetooth speaker and start discovering all of conveniences it provides, you'll be saying to yourself, "Man, I don't know how I lived this long without one!"

BRIDAL BABBLE: What do you think about giving Bluetooth speakers as a groomsman gift?

Four Places Safer Than Instagram For Your Wedding Photos

I'm writing this from a place of relief. But, had I written it five minutes ago, it would be coming from a place of sadness (located in the middle of my bed, under the covers, with some treats brought back from Japan in my mouth).

See, five hours and five minutes ago, my Instagram account was gone. Absolutely gone. Deleted. Unable to be accessed. All my photos, likes, and followers ... vanished. With no warning or explanation.

This, of course, included photos like this one of all our wedding items packed into our guest bedroom and this one with them all packed into the car. All my photos -- and all my access to the tagged with our wedding hashtag -- were gone.

I'm gonna be honest: It was awful. I was so lucky to have gotten my account restored, but the couple dozen Google searches I did when trying to remedy this gave me little hope. When most accounts are gone, they're gone forever. I was texting my friend Beth and she said I should use this as a cautionary tale. I absolutely agreed. Because how many of you have photos -- especially wedding photos -- up on Instagram, thinking that they will be there forever. They might not be, as I've witnessed. So, here's a list of four places safer than Instagram for your wedding photos.

Four Places Safer Than Instagram For Your Wedding Photos

1. On A Flash Drive.
All our professional wedding photos are on a flash drive. I feel really safe with them on there. Flash drives can wear out, actually. They only can take a certain number of uses before they stop working. Every time you write or rewrite to a flash drive it uses some of its memory. Eventually it will run out of memory, can become corrupted, and that's that. So what I actually did was back up my entire flash drive onto my laptop and I don't ever access the flash drive, really limiting the amount of times it has been accessed.

But, for goodness sake, if you really do want to use the flash drive every time you need to see your wedding photos, don't just pull it out when you're done. You have to remember to eject it.

2. In A Photo Book.
I love tangible products because they can't just disappear like my Instagram photos, so I'm a big fan of photo books. There are a lot of sites where you can make digital photo books -- Montage, Shutterfly, or your favorite site. You can upload your photos, choose your layout, and add pages if you need. If you're old school, you could always print your photos and put them in an actual photo album.

Our photographers actually made us a book of our proofs, using thumbnails of each of our 1,300 photos so we at least have a tangible copy of each.

3. In A Google Drive Hangout.
When we got back from Japan, Pete created a Hangout on Google Drive. He uploaded over 300 photos from our trip to it. Then, he sent the link to everyone from our trip (we went with about 20 other people). Everyone is able to upload their photos so we are all able to share.

This is great for your wedding. You can create your hangout before the wedding and add the link to your wedding website. Your guests can add photos of when they're traveling to your wedding, at your wedding, and more. And that means no need for a wedding hashtag.

4. On Snapfish.
Minutes after my Instagram account was restored, Beth told me I needed to back my photos up somewhere. "As soon as I figure out how to save them, I will," I told her. See, with Instagram, you can't hold down on the photos and save them like you can in a text message. Beth was awesome and logged into the Snapfish app on her phone and found out that you can save your Instagram photos to your Snapfish account.

If you're like me and don't have any room on your phone, you can actually upload via the website too, which is easy. Plus, new Snapfish members get 100 free photos (if you sign up here), in case you wanted to print some too.

The moral of the story? Your wedding photos aren't safe on social media, no matter how safe they seem. So definitely back your wedding photos up somewhere. They'd be awful to lose.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What place do you feel is safer than Instagram for your wedding photos?