Abilene Bridal - Your wedding planner for Abilene Texas and the Big Country

Abilene Bridal : Planning

Surviving the Bridal Battlefield

Two weeks till the wedding and we've decided to complicate things. Not only are we planning and paying for our own wedding, but we've decided that the housing market is hot and we're purchasing a house.

Food & Drinks: Planning the Reception

Creative cocktails and tasty dishes give guests something to rave about.

Food & Drinks: Glossary

Terms to know before you meet with a caterer.

Divine Lighting

Top tips to ensure that everything is illuminated on your big day

Surviving the Bridal Battlefield

The important decisions have been made and now it's down to the small stuff. For me, that means flowers, favors and hair - oh my!

Your Essential Guide to Receptions

How to select a site, cost cutting tips, and questions to ask.

Glossary: Key buzzwords to know before you meet with a site manager.

What in the world is a Century Tent? Know what these buzzwords mean before you meet with the site manager at your reception venue.

Wedding Planning: 30 Expert Tips and Tricks

Want to be certain all your planning bases are covered? Read the tips that no bride should be without.

Surviving the Bridal Battlefield

After picking the place and coordinating the colors, we worked on the guest list. For such an important event, you tend to start writing down everyone you know. The trouble is, your spouse does the same and so does his mother. And your mother. And before you know it, you've got people on there that you don't know and the list is so long you need multiple pages in an Excel spreadsheet to keep track.

Engagement Parties: Planning Checklist

The engagement party is the big kickoff to this exciting year (or so) and is completely optional. Traditionally, the bride's parents host the initial gathering, but the groom's parents can throw their own party, both sets can host one joint fete, or your wedding party can take up the planning reins. Here's what you need to do.

Surviving the Bridal Battlefield

The Innocents and the Interrogators

In the throes of planning, you can become an emotional mess. While you want to share the event, it can be daunting to hear advice and input from every person you know. Everyone will inquire about it, but I've found there are two types of people that inquire very differently: the innocents and the interrogators.

Center Stage

Your centerpieces are, without a doubt, an integral element of your reception decor. Guests will notice the arrangements more than the forks you chose, the tinted glassware you splurged on, or even the chiffon table overlays.

Insurance 101: Engagement Ring Insurance

You can't guarantee that love will go perfectly, but you can insure precious symbols of it. Putting a policy on your ring may sound unromantic, but nothing's sweeter than peace of mind.

Wedding Planning: 30 Expert Tips and Tricks

When planning your wedding, there are things that are nice to know, like that trumpet skirts are all the rage or nosegays are making a comeback. Then, there are things you need to know -- advice so essential that any bride who's lucky enough to hear it thinks, "I'm so glad someone told me that!" If you're wondering whether there's something you may have missed (or even if you've got everything under control), check out our indispensable planning secrets.

Photo Tips & Trends

Fabulous Tips for you to know about your photography.

Honeymoon Etiquette

Q: Who's supposed to pay for the honeymoon?

Destination Wedding Tips

Tips to help you realize your Destination Wedding!

Honeymoon Tips

Handy Tips to know for your Honeymoon.

Floral Tips & Trends

Floral Tips and Trends to make your day special.

Those perfect moments can be saved forever

Here are the hottest trends, tips and techniques that wedding photographers and videographers can use to capture your day

Lessons in guest distress

Sure, it's the happiest day of your life, but how will it go for your guests?

Nine planning essentials for your wedding

You've had your perfect wedding planned since you were a kid, right? Sure, but chances are your daydreams didn't involve vendor contracts, transportation and guest list disagreements. Those are all part of the planning process, so check out these nine tips for dealing with nitty-gritty planning details:

Budget guidelines for $25,000 wedding

Ready to dig into planning? One of the first tasks you'll want to tackle is your budget.

When the plain white cake won't do

Far beyond white-frosted tiers separated by columns, bakers are coming up with couture confections with innovative shapes, bold colors and exquisite details that are sure to dazzle even the most sophisticated couples. So how can you get the perfect cake? Let's break it down slice by slice.

Ritual Style

Try a few new twists on wedding traditions

Autumnal affairs

Brilliant colors, modern motifs, and surprising style -- you're going to fall in love with this season's spectacular ideas.

Destination: A Wedding

The trend to ditch mile-long wedding guest lists and hometown chapels in favor of faraway, sunny climes is catching on.

Reception Site Tips

Tips to have the greatest Reception!

Food & Drink Tips

Basic tips for Food and Drink.

Registering Tips

Basics for Registries.

Reception Music Tips & Trends

The 411 On Reception Music

Ceremony Tips

Helpful tips to get the perfect ceremony.

Attendants, Parents, & Guests

Basic knowledge for Parents, Attendants and Guests...

Invitation Tips

What it costs, Ways to save and much more advice for invitations...

Cake Tips and Trends

Ways To Save, Flavor It Up, and other tips for cakes...

Wedding Planning Tips

Great tips to planning a wonderful wedding.

Last Minute Tips

Tips for those last minute items.

Transportation Tips

Great ideas for the transportation.

The Bride and the Flu

Don't let illness put a damper on your wedding day.

How to throw a shower on any budget

When you hear the words "bridal shower," do you immediately hide under the bed? Feel a sudden cold coming on? Cling to your shrinking wallet?

Hey There Cupcake

No cake? No bridal party? No problem. Brides are making own rules

Tips on creating your floral fantasy on a budget

It's easy to get caught up in pre-wedding daydreams: hundreds of flowers draped over chairs and pews, sprouting from napkin rings, cascading off buffet tables, and filling the arms of the bride and bridesmaids.

To the 'Moon on a Budget

Author Suze Oreman says a great honeymoon isn't about how much you spend, it's about how much fun you have.

Wedding Outside the Box

Couples know no limits when it comes to finding the ceremony location that best suits their style.

A Not-So-Modest Proposal

Getting down on one knee is an act of drama and courage with only one goal in mind - 'I do!' Here's how to make it happen, and make it memorable.

Stick with Your Budget - and Your Dreams

So you can't afford the horse-drawn carriage you dreamed of since age five. Keep your chin up, kiss the groom and call the finest cab in town.

Over the 'Moon

Establish boundaries before the wedding to make the segue from honeymooners to homebodies simple.

To Kid or Not to Kid

Hosting younger guests on your wedding day can be a success if you think like a child

Riding in Style

Sail into the sunset in style with these unique, hot rides

The Best of the Destinations

Choose your honeymoon location wisely for fun, debt-free days ahead

The Return of the Blushing Bride

Brides' love affair with "show-and-tell" gowns that bare shoulders, bosoms and backs may be cooling down. Some of the freshest new looks - demure but still dramatic - leave a bit more to the imagination.

Beauty Treatment Timeline

Whether your beauty redo is drastic or cosmetic, make sure you're on schedule to look your wedding-day best.

Lucky 7s

For some, the number reads like a winning slot machine. For others, such as Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, it's the perfect day for a wedding.

Buying the Bling

With seemingly limitless options today's couples can pick the one ring that rules them all

Floral Accents

Roses are a June flower and June weddings are in bloom in Abilene and the area. But roses aren't the only flora making an appearance at area weddings.

Bridal Blooms

Sure, dress and the location are key, but it's the flowering accessories that make a wedding blossom

Riding in Style

Sail into the sunset in style with these unique, hot rides

Going for the Glow

Every woman glows on her wedding day, but some may seek a bit of help in the radiance department. For many brides-to-be, a march down the aisle would be unthinkable without an earlier march to the spa. These days, a bride's personal beauty plan may go far beyond basic facials and massages.

Wrap that fridge with a bow, please!

For the bride and groom who already have everything, registering takes a more real-life approach.

DIY Catering

Michael Chiarello says preparing a wedding feast on your own is a cinch. Just save the gnocchi for the honeymoon.

Cut Above The Rest

Great cakes satisfy more than a sweet tooth - they're eye candy, too

Buying the Bling

With seemingly limitless options today's couples can pick the one ring that rules them all

10 Important Things

10 Important things to consider when hiring a wedding photographer...

Honeymoon Planning: 10 Ways to Zap Stress Before and During Your Big Trip

Regardless of what cloud you're on after the wedding, the unpredictable nature of traveling and uninterrupted "together time" on your honeymoon can take its toll. What can go wrong drinking margaritas on the beach for a week, you ask? Silly, avoidable stuff, mostly. Here are 10 tips to keep moods in check.

Post-Wedding Snack Attack

Never send a guest home on an empty stomach - not even on your big day

Pictures of You

Capture your wedding day from every angle by creating innovative photo opportunities

Fantastic Food

Cater to your stomach's - and budget's - desire

Take the Cake to the Next Level

Vanilla and chocolate now compete with banana, peanut butter and fruit-filled cakes for the couples first slice

When Brides Attack

For many women, the bridezilla is in the details. Here's how to avoid getting mired in the minutia.

Tricks of the Trends

In their quest for that special something, brides may find they have a lot of company

Wedding Day Take-Over

If the idea of a ceremony far, far away seems just that, try staying local and staying completely private

Wrap that fridge with a bow, please

The new registry trend is all about what you want, not what tradition says you need. For the bride and groom who already have everything, registering takes a more real-life approach

Simply the Best Man

The groom's go-to guy has responsibilities beyond the toast and bachelor party.

Fall Weddings: 11 Glam Fall Wedding Ideas

Design an elegant fall wedding that pays homage to the season with some of our favorite new ideas.

Winter Weddings: 10 New Winter Wedding Ideas

Snowflakes and pinecones are tried-and-true winter wedding motifs, but don't feel bound to these seasonal standbys. Here are 10 ways to reinvent your winter wedding.

Pop the Cork

What's more romantic than a glass of sparkling wine to toast a bride and groom? Nothing

Eye Candy

Plan your wedding day makeup in advance to ensure you'll be putting your best face forward

How Many Guests Does It Take To Eat a Cake?

You've got your wedding all figured out... or do you? Take our pop quiz and see.

Kiss, Kiss

The good news: Your wedding ceremony will culminate with a passionate smooch. Even better news: Practice makes perfect

With This Skinny Ring I Thee Wed

Engagement rings are increasing diamond size and shedding excess bulk in the band

You've Got Mail

Invite your guests with invitations that set the tone for the big day ahead

Travel the World Close To Home

A "shadow" honeymoon destination offers a reasonable facsimile of a more exotic locale, at far less cost.

Rewriting the Rules of Registration

What has changed is the gift-giving landscape as department stores vie with registries for honeymoons, charitable giving and home-purchase down-payments -- newer options spanning the spectrum of romance to practicality for couples less enamored with housewares.