Trends for Summer Brides 2005 - Martie B. Duncan Shares Her Wedding Points

Martie Duncan is a recognized expert on all things 'WEDDINGS. She not only has helped hundreds of couples, including some celebrities, walk down the aisle with style, but as the founder of Wedding Points she also consults with leading retailers and manufacturers to understand the landscape of the wedding industry. Today, she has her finger on the pulse of emerging wedding trends as theyre introduced and taking hold across the country. Along with her numerous credits as a writer and radio personality, Martie was also tapped to be a Wedding Advisor to The Oprah Winfrey Show, she appeared on and assisted with many wedding segments from 1994-1996. Martie was also the Wedding Advisor for the Tri-Star film My Best Friends Wedding" starring Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 5, 2005 -- Martie shares todays newest wedding trends for Summer 2005, which she notes are following the styles and fashion in lifestyle and home entertaining.

Banish Bridezilla:
Its easy to see why brides get overwhelmed. With work, personal life, fiancé, family and a major event to plan, it is no wonder some brides meltdown. The biggest trend for weddings today is relaxed elegance. No more CBS (crazy bride syndrome). Cool, calm and relaxed is the mantra for 2005. The number one rule to staying calm is to take care of you. Get enough sleep. Drink lots of water. Pick up a yoga or Pilates class in spite of having zero extra time. Declare at least one day per week a NWZ (no wedding zone) where any and all talk or planning is prohibited. Banish Bridezilla- 2005 is the year of the calm, relaxed bride-to-be," declares Duncan.

Menu and Decor:
The buffet is back, baby! Lavish buffets today include sweet tables, sushi stations, carving stations, martini or champagne bars and interactive stations where the food is prepared in front of you. These buffets are stunning to look at and delicious, too. Dessert action stations featuring a new twist on smores is fun and interactive for all ages. Alternatives to the standard sit-down 'wedding fare are anything but boring. A chic buffet will add a sophisticated, multi-dimensional feel to your reception.

Florabunda:
Translation, the abundance of flowers. Using mounds of flowers in the same shade or lots of one type of flower is hot right now. Bountiful arrangements of one color or one variety of flower makes a strong statement. This look uses no greenery for filler and tons of flowers shaped into balls or linear shapes. These types of arrangements require lots of flowers, so youll need a big flower budget. Use matching linens to add depth to the color scheme and to add more visual impact to the room.

Make A Colorful Statement:
Its Color for weddings today! While the monochromatic look of all white will always be classic, todays brides are using color more than ever to set the tone for their wedding. Bright colors are the trend and the anchor color for most arrangements is green. Not muted shades, either, but bold colors prevail. Bright apple green, turquoise, aqua and lime green are used around other bright colors. Bold pinks, orange and reds are all used in combination with green to make a bold and powerful statement.

Use Interior Design Features:
Make your venue look like your favorite cool lounge or your dream room. Draped tents, mood lighting, chandeliers, lanterns and conversation pits as found at cocktail lounges are all stylish trends. Set up a relaxed bar area where your guests can hang out, complete with sofas and cocktail tables to encourage mingling. Use these in conjunction with tall, round cocktail tables. Designers are using a variety of containers for serving pieces and flowers and this is a great trend for weddings, too. No need to match everything; go eclectic and mix and match your pieces -or match everything and go totally monochromatic with one accent color to make it pop.

Sparkle:
Using beaded linens to add a subtle shimmer to the evening is all the rage. No matter if you have a small budget, just add a beautiful sparkling overlay to your head table or cake table for some extra shine. If you really want to play up the look, use the overlay on top of standard linens to make the room come to life. It is an easy way to really make a glamorous statement. BBJ Linens has a fantastic assortment for rent and will ship anywhere. You can just put it in their easy to use return duffle to send them back, too.

Fashion Wedding Gowns Ribbons and Brooches:
Look to wedding designers to pick up on popular trends from the catwalk and red carpet. Strategically placed brooches add pizzazz to a neckline, shoulder, sash or wrap. Ribbon trims, belts, sashes and streamers add a punch of color for brides who want to personalize their look with color without going all the way to the extreme of wearing a gown in color. Monique Lhullier is the designer best known for this look. Vera Wang also likes to pull color into her designs for a fresh look.

Bridesmaids Get Shorty:
Below the knee length dresses are back! Look at many of the collections from Threads, Watters and Watters and others and youll notice that designers are showing styles in this fashionable shorter length.

Invitations:
To answer that first fleeting money saving thought: no, an Evite is NOT an appropriate way to invite people to your wedding! Invitations set the mood for the whole event, so think of them as a spectacular opportunity to show off your personal style. Whether you choose simple, elegant and traditional or something with a fun twist, make sure your choices create an expectation of mood, theme and formality for your guests. With so many choices these days, getting started can be a little intimidating. The hottest trend in invitations today is letterpress. Martha loves letterpress, Colin loves letterpress and thus it has made a comeback. Letterpress is a centuries old craft that has been passed down generation to generation. Also, square cards are all the rage.

About Wedding Points - by the WPL Group, LLC:
Wedding Points is the loyalty rewards points program which allows engaged and newly married couples to earn value back for shopping from a network of merchants. From the engagement, to the wedding, to the honeymoon and beyond, couples face the enormous task of getting married and joining two lives and two homes into one. As they plan their wedding and set up their new household, couples spend a lot of money. Wedding Points is not only designed to offer something extra to members for their loyalty by offering rewards for shopping, but the website offers an on-line magazine with real advice from an experienced group of experts and offers real-time advice for couples with wedding questions.

Brides and grooms join Wedding Points for free and accumulate points every time they spend money with Wedding Points merchants. Members redeem the points they've earned for great rewards including gift certificates, merchandise, or even a dream honeymoon! Our merchants want to acquire our members as life long customers. That's why they are willing to offer value back to our members.

About WPL Group, LLC:
WPL Group is a privately funded company operating out of Birmingham, AL. Over 120 national on-line merchants are in the Wedding Points Merchant Network and at this time include: SharperImage.com, Target.com, Dell.com, Blue Nile, Sephora, Domestications, Bare Necessities, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise Lines. In addition, there are over 400 local independent retailers. For more information and FAQ please visit the website. www.weddingpoints.com

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