Amanda-Lina's Sposa Boutique

BE SURE YOU CHOOSE DRESSES FOR YOUR BRIDESMAIDS THAT EVERYONE WILL LOVE

Your bridesmaids are your best friends and your closest relatives, the special ladies who will walk before you down the aisle, the amazing superheroes who will help you plan the Big Day and the genuinely concerned women who will lend you a hand on the day of the wedding as well. Naturally, you want your bridesmaids to reflect you and your style – but you also want them to feel perfect on your Big Day.

Guests Come First

Get a grip on the approximate number of guests you'll invite before settling on a venue. This will ensure there's ample space for your crew. As a rule of thumb, allow for 25 to 30 square feet per guest. That may seem like a lot, but it's not if you count the space you'll need for the tables, bustling waiters, the band and a dance floor.

PROUD TO PRESENT SIMONE CARVALLI

Amanda-Lina's Sposa is proud to introduce Simone Carvalli as part of our extensive wedding and bridesmaid dress selection. The newest Simone Carvalli Haute Couture Bridal Collection puts emphasis on sophisticated silhouette, exquisite Swarovski crystals beading design, luxurious silk fabric and contemporary applications of classic style.

Shop for your wedding dress with your mom with ease

Shopping with mom can be an amazing experience – but it can also add to the stress, especially when it is your wedding dress that you are searching for. How to make this easy and productive for both of you? How to involve your mom in the wedding gown shopping process? We have some tips for you – read on and learn more about this.

• Be very sensitive and very honest. Your mom only wants to help, and even though her ideas may not always coordinate with yours, she isn’t doing this on purpose. Be honest with her, tell her when you don’t like something, but also make sure you don’t hurt her feelings. You wouldn’t like this to be done to you, would you?

• Be constructive when giving feedback. Don’t just toss “no” in the air and leave it like that. Tell your mom what you like and don’t like about her ideas. This way, she will adjust to your wedding dress dreams and she will be able to help you more with this important decision.

Chocolate wedding favors are the ultimate crowdpleaser. It's hard to find someone that isn't a fan of a classic chocolate candy, which is why it's a great option for party favors. Super simple, chocolate can be paired with anything (like bacon!). Better yet, there are so many different ways you can give chocolate favors—box them up, customize them, wrap them in a personalized label, even put your picture on it. No matter what you choose, your guests will be reminded of how sweet your wedding celebration was when snacking on your chocolate favor.

Marbled Chocolate Wedding Favors

The bride and groom decided to welcome their visiting guests to their D.C. wedding with a sweet treat of marble chocolates, which went with their theme.

How Saving the Top Tier of Your Wedding Cake Became Tradition

Alongside matrimony comes a slew of traditions, from kissing the bride to tossing the bouquet. But a certain ritual extends far beyond the wedding day, leaving many to wonder, well, why? Saving the top tier stems back centuries and gives couples the chance to indulge in their confection outside of that one precious wedding-day bite. But where did the tradition start, and why just the top tier?

Multi-tiered wedding cakes have been the norm since the 19th century, says food journal Gastronomica. Royal cakes, from which they originated, most often had three parts—a top, middle, and bottom tier. When Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) married Prince Philip in 1947, each tier of her cake had a different purpose: one for the wedding, one sent off as a gift, and one preserved for a future occasion. We're guessing that's what led to the modern ritual, which calls for slicing the bottom tier at the reception, sending pieces of the middle tier off with departing guests, and saving the top tier for something special.

Choosing your wedding favor can be tricky. You want to give wedding guests something they'll actually use, but you also want it to be unique to your special day. Enter the boozy wedding favor. Alcoholic favors are always a crowd pleaser, and they're super easy to personalize. (Just add a monogrammed label or wrap it in cute packaging.) Here, a few of our favorite boozy finds that your friends and family will most definitely appreciate.

Mini Gin Bottles

For her Brooklyn wedding, this bride had Breuckelen Distilling hand-fill round mini bottles with gin as favors for the wedding guests. Every bottle came with foil-stamped tags and stickers that the bride designed herself on For Your Party.