Are you planning to wear your mother’s wedding dress at your wedding?  Though it may be a beautiful dress, you may decide to chose one of your own.  But if you still would like to use her dress in the wedding, there are ways of doing it, if you and your mother willing to take the dress apart.

Here are some ideas for using pieces of the dress:

• Make the ringbearer’s pillow
• Create a handkerchief to carry during the ceremony
• If you will be carrying a bible, cover it with fabric from the dress
• If you will be wearing gloves, remove lace or appliques and sew them onto your gloves (celebrity wedding planner David Tutera did this)
• If you are wearing satin pumps, see if a cobbler can attach appliques from the dress to your shoes
• Make a sleeve for your hand-tied bouquet (another idea from David Tutera)
• Sew a piece of the dress inside the lining of your dress. Make it more special by embroidering your parent’s wedding date on it

It is best if you have a skilled seamstress help you cut up the wedding dress.  A seamstress will know how to carefully save appliques and beading and how to work with delicate fabric that may be decades old.

If you want to keep the dress intact, but still use it in your wedding, consider wearing it in engagement photographs or wearing  it to your wedding rehearsal and having a photographer snap photos of you, your groom, and your mother that you can give to her as a keepsake.

I was in my dentist’s office the other day getting my 6 month check-up.  In his waiting room were issues of magazines that were all about teeth, they was published for patients to read in a dentist’s waiting room.  The “wedding issue” caught my eye.  It reviewed the various different treatments that brides often request before the wedding day so they can smile comfortably in their photos.  Procedures include teeth whitening, veneers, braces and tooth implants.  You can a read shorter version of the magazine, Dear Doctor, on their website.

If you are considering doing anything more to your teeth other than cleaning and whitening, allow plenty of time for the procedures to take place.  Tooth implants take several months to complete and braces may need to be worn a year or more before they can be removed.

If your smile is a concern, speak to your dentist t as soon as you get engaged so you are sure to have the smile you want on your wedding day.

American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi planned her own wedding when she married Mike McCuddy in small (36 guests – no celebrities) intimate ceremony near her home in Prospect Harbor, Maine on July 5, 2009.  Photographs and a description of the event are featured in the July 20, 2009 issue of In Touch Weekly magazine.

Here are some ideas you can steal from Kara:

Something Borrowed and Recycled!

• Kara’s matron-of-honor wore the dress that Kara wore as a bridesmaid at her wedding

• Kara wore her late mother’s wedding dress at the pre-wedding reception (her wedding dress was a mermaid-style, strapless gown by Vera Wang)

• She wore her grandmother’s pearl earrings and bracelet

The Ceremony

• The 30-minute ceremony was held in a church across the street from her home

• The couple used traditional vows rather than writing their own

• They included moments of remembrance for her late mother and his late sister

The Receptions

• The pre-wedding and post-wedding receptions took place in her backyard

• Pre-wedding reception food included crepes, quiches, pastries and muffins

• Post-wedding reception food included Maine lobster and salmon – food was organic

• Music was handled by a DJ and featured karaoke

• Colors were cream, white and natural beige

• Desserts were red velvet cake and whoopie pies

• Favors were personally inscribed iPods loaded with music selected by her business partner (instead of  iPods, select music and create personalized CDs to use as favors)

If you are having a small, intimate wedding, you, like Kara, may be able to handle the details yourself.  Be organized and keep things simple, but beautiful.

Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan, costars of the movie Step Up, got married Saturday, July 11, at Church Estate Vineyards in Malibu, the same venue both Fergie and Josh Duhamel and Natasha Bedingfield and Matt Robinson used for their weddings this year.

Here are the ideas from people.com’s report that you’ll want to steal:

• A short, 15 minute outdoor ceremony

• A fairy theme carried out by two flower girls who wore wings

• Bridesmaids wore long, flowing,  pink, halter-neck dresses.  The halter neckline varied a little among the women.

• Jenna wore a Reem Acra strapless wedding gown with a sweetheart neckline

• Flowers at the ceremony were were white and pink roses

• The sit-down reception took place in a tent

• The cake was shaped like a castle with fairies.  Flavors included red velvet, chocolate and white.

• The favors were crystals, which kept to the fairy theme

Trying to decide on a color theme for your wedding?  Think about using black and white, it’s classic, elegant and can also be a little bit edgy.   Both Fergie and Josh Duhamel and former reality show bachelorette, Jen Schefft, used these colors for their weddings this year.

Here are some ways you can use black and white in your wedding:

Reception Decor-

• Centerpieces of white roses, calla lilies, carnations, or white dendrobium orchids.  Use black vases to keep with the theme.

• Black flowers, whether tulips, roses, or calla lilies, will give the wedding a real edgy look.

• Black and white checkered dance floor (which you can get from a party rental company).

• Black linens, both tablecloths and napkins, with white china, white linens and black china, or mix it up with white tablecloths, black napkins and black china.

• White chairs or chair covers with black sashes.

• You can also incorporate an accent color of pink, lavender, or, for a very dramatic look, red, in your centerpieces or chair sashes.

Cake and Desserts-

• Wedding cake iced in white, piped with black scrolls, lace-like designs or banded with black ribbons.

• Large strawberries decorated to look like they are wearing a black tuxedos.

Favors-

• Black and white favor bags, you can even find ones that look like mini bride’s dresses and tuxedos.

Wedding attire-

• Jen Schefft wore a white Carolina Herrera wedding dress with a black bow and black peep-toe pumps.

• The train of Fergie’s white mermaid wedding dress was held with vintage black and white crystal floral brooches.

• Bridesmaids can wear black dresses with white sashes and carry white bouquets.

I found a set of interchangeable black and white simulated pearl earrings from the Jacqueline Kennedy jewelry collection at www.QVC.com.  Wear the pearl color that will stand out the most with your hair color or have some fun and wear one of each color!

Kendra Wilkinson, Hugh Hefner’s ex-girlfriend and a former star of The Girls Next Door, wed Philadelphia Eagles football team wide receiver, Hank Baskett, on June 27 at the Playboy mansion in Beverly Hills.  The July 13, 2009 issue of Us Weekly magazine gives details that you can use when planning your own wedding.

Here are the ideas you’ll want to steal:

• The civil ceremony was outdoors.  There was a white aisle runner which led to an arch of roses and hydrangeas.

• The reception in the backyard was tented, decor was also all in white.

• Kendra co-designed her strapless, duchesse-satin wedding gown with R-Mine Bridal’s Armine Ohanessian.  The groom was dressed all in white.  The bridesmaids wore short lavender dresses and the flower girl wore a white dress with a lavender sash.

• Flowers were roses, hydrangea blossoms, and orchids in white and lavender.

• The cake was layers of chocolate and strawberry, frosted white, decorated with their monogram and topped with a replica of Kendra and Hank.

• Food was served buffet style and included lobster, rib-eye steaks, sushi and mini cheeseburgers.

• Music choices:

• Processional – The Wedding March

• First Dance – I Cross My Heart a George Strait song

• Father-Daughter dance (Hugh Hefner and Kendra) – As Time Goes By – from Hefner’s favorite the movie, Casablanca

• Bouquet toss – Let’s Get It On by Marvin Gaye

Find great photos and more details in the magazine.

Can’t see yourself in a white wedding dress?  No one says you have to wear white or ivory on your wedding day.  Brides are starting to select many colors, pink, green, lavender , blue, or whatever reflects their style and makes them feel great on their wedding day.

In the June 2009 issue of Vogue magazine, fashion writer Amy Larocca tells her story of selecting her Carolina Herrera gown in Wedgewood blue.  Some reasons why she did it:

• She never had thought of wearing a “wedding dress” even though she loved being a bride.

• She had already been living with her fiancee for two years, and it didn’t appeal to her to appear in virginal white.

• She wanted a dress that flattered her and was comfortable.

In her article, Amy reminds us that celebrities have gotten married in non-white dresses, Sarah Jessica Parker in black (although she recently said she regretted the choice), Gwen Stefani in a pink ombre dress that she wore at both of her wedding ceremonies, and Portia de Rossi wore pink for her wedding when she married Ellen DeGeneres last year.

So, if you are considering a Cinderella themed wedding where you want to wear blue, are having an Asian themed wedding and want to wear red, or just would not feel comforatble in white, find a dress in your color and enjoy it.  Make sure you tell your florist, wedding planner, cake designer, and anyone else involved in the design of your wedding so they can help you select coordinating colors for your ceremony and reception.  Tell your photographer and videographer too so they can plan how to put you in the most flattering light.

Don’t select your wedding day transportation until you have selected your wedding dress.  Why?  Because you need to make sure you can enter and exit the vehicle without ruining your gown.

Brides I have worked with hired stretch limousines on their wedding day.  These cars have not been a problem no matter what style of dress they were wearing because  these cars are close to the ground and the doors are large.  However, Hummer limos are now a fairly popular choice with couples.  I was given the privilege of riding in one recently.  It was a fun ride but in order to get into the car, I had to duck my head and climb up into it at the same time.  I can’t imagine it would be easy for you to get into if you are are in a ball gown or mermaid dress or if your dress has a long train.

So, when you are investigating the mode of transportation you want to use on your wedding day, whether it is a vintage car, a horse drawn carriage, or a limo, think about the style of your wedding gown and look at the vehicle before you make a commitment.

Planning your second wedding and trying to figure out what to wear? In the May issue of The Oprah Magazine, their Creative Director, Adam Glassman, answered the question of what to wear when getting married for a second time.  His suggestions:

• Wear whatever makes you feel alive and happy

• You can wear white, but you can also wear any other color, red, black, etc.

• The dress can be long or short and don’t hesitate to wear a big gown, especially if it is your fiance’s first marriage

Don’t just look at wedding dresses, check evening gowns at department stores, you might even find something special on the sales racks.

Is the first item on your wedding planning checklist, “try on wedding dresses”?  Not so fast.  In the Spring 2009 issue of InStyle Weddings magazine, designer Vera Wang cautions again making the dress your first purchase.  She says, “Unless you decide on the venue and know how many guests you’re having, you can’t properly choose a dress. . .”

Why?  A ball gown or a dress with a train would overwhelm a small venue with 75 guests.  On the other hand, a bride in a short, casual dress would be lost and out-of-place in a large venue with 300 guests.

So pay attention to what Vera suggests.  She is, after all, one of the top celebrity wedding dress designers in the world.