Wedding Party Gifts

 You can't go wrong having a wedding party, it is a memory you get the chance to share together, and always look back on for your wedding day! Your wedding party spends a lot more money than you think to make sure they are involved in their best friends wedding. There are hundreds of websites out there for some great wedding gifts. Everyone loves a personalized gift, take your time finding something nice without spending a fortune. Show them your appreciation for taking time out of their busy schedules to be apart of your special day!
 

For the Men:
1. Cufflinks
2. Beer Mug
3. Pocket Knife
4. Anything cigar related
5. Money Clip
6. Purchase small cooler (personalized if you want) fill it with the grooms favorite alcohol mini size. Shock them on how well you know them!

For the ladies:
1. Makeup bags
2. A piece of jewelry
3. Pashmina
4. Wine glasses
5. Personalized cutting board
6. Jewelry holder
7. Even offer to pay for their hair and makeup on the day of the wedding

Good for either sex:
1. Luggage tag
2. Flask
3. Toiltry bag
4. A personalized tote bag filled with goodies

Summer Wedding Dos and Don'ts

Here are some important things to remember when you are planning a summer wedding. Depending on where you live, the heat can really affect a lot of things on the day of. Make sure you save room in your budget for specific things for outdoor weddings.

If you are having an outdoor wedding, DO provide heat relief! Even though you might love the sun, it does not mean everyone attending does. Be curtious and provide misters/large fans for your guest, and available spots to sit in the shade. If they are sitting in the sun for the ceremony, and you don't have shade provided, at least have fans available. Set up an area with water and other non alcoholic beverages around for grabs, or have your catering staff pass them out. Check with your venue to see if it has air conditoning, and if it doesn't spring for large fan rentals!

DO provide lighter foods options, in place of heavy. The last thing people want to be doing is sweating in the heat, sitting in the sun eating heavy food. Have a seasonal light menu, with frozen, cold beverages and food.

If you know you will be outdoors the entire night, DO make sure you think about yourself, the groom, and the wedding parties attire. Pick a wedding dress, suits, and bridesmaids dresses that are thin, light weight, and breathe. No one wants sweat stains, or being sticky and makeup dripping, especially after dancing the night away.

DO make sure and provide sunscreen, and bug protection. The last thing you want is your guest complaining about a sunburn, or bug bites. Just provide small baskets in the bathrooms for your guest with everything they might need to freshen up! You don't want your guest being miserable at any point of the day/night. Make sure your makeup artist provides makeup with SPF in it for your wedding party. Less is more on the makeup that day for sure!

DON'T time your wedding ceremony at the hottest temperatures of the day. Aim for an early afternoon, late evening wedding, when the sun is not beaming. Also, think about yourself, you don't want to be squinting during your ceremony, with your eyes watering, and mascara running.

DON'T let your cake be melting! If you know your cake will not be sitting in the air conditioned room, choose a fondant cake! A buttercream or whipped frosting WILL melt! If you really aren't a fondant person, then find a safe place for your cakes, away from the sun, or keep it in the back, and have the caterers bring it out right before you cut the cake.

DO make sure you put a dress attire on the invitation for your guest. If your wedding isn't formal, make sure they know they are allowed to wear light and breezy clothing as well.

DO stick to an up-do hairstyle. The last thing you want is your hair sticking to your sweaty back.

Upcoming Events

Join us for our Haute Bride Trunk Show April 19-21!
This is the best bridal jewelry out there, and there will be tons of jewelry, belts, and hair accessories to choose from! All pieces are made with Swarovski elements, which makes for a stunning accent to complement your gown!

Enjoy 15% off during the show! Appointments preferred (required on Sunday) by calling 713-526-9401.

Allow 6-8 weeks to order, and 3-5 weeks for rush orders.

Wedding Trends

The economy has become more consistent lately, and you can see the difference in the wedding world. Everyone is finding a new way to customize everything, and adding elements to the theme of their overall design of the wedding. Anytime you are creating a wedding, you are creating an experience, something people will remember. Even if you want a small intimate wedding, which we see more now as well, a smaller wedding does not mean less is more. Creating that intimate setting, you have the chance to have a more personalized wedding, which for some brides and grooms that can mean more. Even the bridal showers are becoming a little more non-traditional as well.

If you are looking for something new to shock your guest, here are some great ideas:

- carved ice sculpture to hold oysters, shrimp, and mussels

- mini food, everyone loves some mini portions

- a "midnight snack" this is a great idea to end the night with

- Something "to-go" as guest are leaving the party. Things like to go cupcakes, fresh cookies, coffee, beignets... etc.

- Ice sculpture bar... yes the actual bar is ice

- A non traditional cake - like cupcakes in the shape of a cake

- Glitter table cloths

- Cigar Bar

- Candy Bar
- Ice Cream/Sundae/Brownie Bar
- Flowers- the things you can do with flowers are endless! Between the altar, to the centerpieces. Flowers have become a very important part of every event, but buying flowers that are in season is much less expensive
- Providing games for those who don't like to dance
- Brooch Bouquets- this is such an adorable look if it is executed well

Themed Bridal Showers
- A couples shower- some grooms love to be involved, so don't forget about your men

- "Stock the Bar" they have cocktail style food and alcohol, and the gifts purchased are to "stock the bar"

- A monogram party- all the gifts to the bride have her new initials on the item
- A honeymoon themed shower

-

Welcome Bags

Did you put together welcome bags for your wedding? If so, we would love to hear what you put in them! If you are looking for ideas, we are here to help!

 

Providing your guest with welcome bags at the hotel is such a great way to thank them for traveling all that way for your wedding. Yes it can be an extra cost, but you also need to think of how much your guest are spending to travel to your wedding. You don't have to break the bank, the possibilities are endless, and we will help you!

 

The bag: this can be the most expensive part of the gift process, but sets the overall look of the gift. You want this to be something they will use more than once, so don't put your names on it, or anything wedding related, unless its something they can throw away. Buy items that relate to the theme of your wedding, example: a beach wedding beach bag!

 Ideas on where to purchase: somewhere that will give you a deal for the more you purchase, a wholesale website (sometimes they will monogram it as well), a cheaper retail store; like Old Navy, or dollar store. Even if the bag is smaller, or is a paper bag that is ok! If the bag is too large for the amount of items you put inside, add some fun colored tissue paper, ribbon, or even stamp the bag with something.  A little bit goes a long way, any gift will make someone feel special!

 

Whats inside: the gifts that you pick to put inside are endless! You can always pick it to your theme as well! You can buy a majority of these items in bulk from somewhere like sams, or even stop at the dollar store. Even wait until to get to the city where your wedding is, and find some stuff there that people would like.

* If you are having your wedding in a city known for something, add it to the bag, even if it's food bagged up. (Make sure the food is bagged nicely)

* If you are having a beach wedding, pick items they might need on the beach.

* Mini liquor bottles

* Snacks

* Sunscreen

* Chapstick

* Get personalized koozies made! You can buy 200 for $100! It's a great gift! (http://www.totallypromotional.com/)

* Water

* Tylenol/Advil

* Gum

* Large cups (personalized if you want to spend the money) great for an all inclusive beach wedding

* a map of the town/hotel

* a weekend Itinery (this is HUGE, and keeps people on time and not wondering where to go)

* Welcome guide (you can ask the hotel for a large amount of welcome guides of things to do in the city who aren't from there)

* beach towel (could get pricey)

* Candy

* Flip Flops

* Sunglasses

*Notepad

* Postcards

*Cigars

 

 

Leave a Thank You note! This is something you can put together for cheap! You can find any stationer at any marshalls, target, dollar store, craft store etc. Write/Print a Thank You note to each guest for making it!

 

Pack them up AHEAD of time! Don't wait until the last minute to put the bags together, you want them to look nice and that you took your time on them. Sit down with your families one day, and make an essembly line! You can knock it out in 30-45 minutes. If you are flying to your wedding, ship it ahead of time to your resort/hotel, and they will store it for you.

 

A majority of hotels will charge you PER BAG they have to deliver to each room. So if you want to save on cost, hand them out as they come in, or see if your hotel will store them behind the desk and hand them out as they check in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flower Girl Dresses

Looking for an adorable flower girl dress?

The flower girl is a very important part of any wedding and still needs to look adorable as well. She plays an important role of throwing flowers on the way of the bride and will certainly draw special attention from guests present in wedding. Remember that you don't want to make her look too mature, and want to dress her for her age. She won't need any jewelry, but you adding accessories like flowers, sashes, and bows can enhance such an already adorable dress. Even a small head piece can look so precious, and let's the little girl feel like a princess. Gloves are always a cute addition, but most of the time the flower girl does not feel comfortable wearing them.

Houston Bridal Gallery carries US Angels amazing flower girl dresses in the store, which could not be any cuter! US Angels makes a great quality dress,with a great price point, and customizable for any brides wants! You can change the colors of dresses, add flowers, and change the sashes to match your wedding colors. We carry such a wide variety of styles, which are all great choices. If you want more of the ballerina look, or want some sparkle, or even just a classic look with tiny embellishments we have it!

Style 702 Style 101
Style 132Style 409

Style 172 Style 705

Did you know it takes 5 months to receive a wedding gown?

Most bridal salons today require an appointment to try on wedding gowns, which we absolutely prefer! Your wedding gown is the most important fashion purchase you will make, and it is not something you want to rush finding. The initial appointment is the most important, we ask that you are available for at least an hour so that you can explore all of the options in the store.

We always experience girls coming in the store in hopes of finding their wedding dress, some not aware of the time frame it takes to order a dress. Every bride who plans on ordering a designer gown, needs to allow herself at least 5-6 months. I know it sounds crazy! Some designers take longer than others, and of course we have the option put them on a rush them for an extra cost. We allow our brides an entire month for alterations as well, JUST in case. We have an amazing in house seimstress who is here every week just for our brides!

Sometimes putting together the look of your bridesmaids, can take more time, or be even more complicated than finding your own dress. Bridesmaids dresses can take 3-4 months to receive depending on the designer. Not to mention the time spent waiting for all the girls measurements, and payments to come in before the order is placed. If you have a look in mind, our consultants can easily help you achieve it!

 At Houston Bridal Gallery, we want every bride to walk out having the perfect experience through the whole process. Even if you already found your wedding dress, we are a one stop shop! We have everything from bridesmaids dresses, to veils, shoes, undergarments, and jewelry!

Give us a call, make an appointment today! We would love to help you make this entire process easier on you!