Crazy bridal fashion

I stopped by to give my catering manager and sales manager thanks gifts this week. Tim and I debated for a few days what would be good to give them for their efforts. We settled on a bottle of wine along with a stemless wine glass set. We figured that by having one food item and one useful item they'd at least get to enjoy one thing (in case they don't like the other).

Catching both of them at the hotel can be tricky. During the wedding planning phase, I definitely ran into days they were out of the office. The issue is that they don't have the same day off week to week. I was thrilled when the front desk person told me they were both present.

It was lovely to see them. I'm sure they were happy to know that I wasn't there to agonize over details or fret over things that weren't perfect. I can't help wonder how my bridal demands and hysterics compare to others they've worked with. The three of us had a fun chat.

While we talked a little about the wedding itself and looked at my Polaroid guestbook, the bulk of the conversation moved on to the crazy weddings out there. First, I mentioned a very popular local spot for pictures where we must have seen seven other wedding parties wandering about the grounds. What was eye catching were the number of *brightly* colored bridesmaids. Maybe it's a trend among the younger brides, but I just couldn't stand the hot pink bridesmaids along with their matching hot pink stretch Hummer. Eeck. The bridesmaid in chocolate and lavender looked fine. Then there was the fluorescent-like aqua and kelly green bridesmaids. Unique but how will one ever re-use those colors unless they come in a set?

From there we started talking about all kinds of crazy styles - tatoos, 1920s, hoop skirts, multi-color wedding gowns, big hats. The movie "29 Dresses" was cute and mostly just entertaining because I thought the bridesmaid dress they created for the movie were funny. I actually kind of like the goth wedding. The catering manager jumped in saying that she had just booked a woman for next year who will indeed be having a goth wedding at the hotel. She said the bride wears the style well and has purple hair they will be hyped up more for the wedding. Boy, I'd love to get a peek at that event.

The craziest wedding images were shared by the sales manager. The website address alone gives some idea of what to expect - Hot Ghetto Mess. (The website itself is quite an eye-opener for me.) She described a summer wedding where the bridal party wore LEATHER. Yes, imagine five to seven black women dress in tight leather dresses. This was a posh wedding where being in the bridal party meant each woman also received a 2 carat diamond Tiffany bracelet. To top it off, the bride wore a white leather gown trimmed with white fur. I haven't found a picture of the bride, but this might be the bridal party . The outfits look great, but in my circles there's no way anyone would go for this in a wedding.

To each their own. It definitely makes for great entertainment!