my learnings from ACC255.

Here is a list post about thing main things that I have learned in ACC255 at Illinois State University.

1) I learned how to create a blog by using blogger.com. 

2) By making my blog, I learned how to post blogs so that everyone can see them when they come to my blog page.

3) I learned how to make a up and working website by using webs.com.

4) I composed articles and posted them onto webs.com and those articles were called "pillar articles".

5) The pillar articles that I completed, I learned that that have to be at least 1000 word, they share expertise in your area, and that they are "timeless".

6) I learned how to make a "how-to" article and also a "solve a problem" article.

7) I learned how to create CafePress products. 

8) After I created the CafePress products, I learned how to promote them onto my blog and also my website.

9) I learned how to make page counters which I placed on my webpage and also at the bottom of each of the articles. 

10) I learned how to adjust my blog and place AdSense ads onto the blog. 

11) I learned how to sumbit my blog and webiste into 3 different search engine directories. 

12) I learned how to sing in with Amazon and was able to promote their products. 

13) After I was able to promote their products, I learned how place their products onto my website. 

14) I learned how to make different pages on my website and was able to change the name of them. 

15) I learned how to sign up  onto an ezine database so that the public would be able to look at my work. 

16) I learned how to post articles onto a ezine database and went through the process of them accepting or declining them. 

17) After I completed all of my blogs and articles, I learned how to create an e-book.

goodbye to dresses.

I decided that my last post for this project will be a summary of all of the blogs that I have done! I truly loved to research on wedding dresses and personally cannot wait until I get to find my perfect wedding dress! I loved to look up pictures of dresses, research for new ideas to blog about, and find our about new and not as popular designers. I think that by doing all of this research about wedding dress, I hope that for me, it won’t be too hard to find my perfect one someday. For the brides out there that are looking for your perfect wedding dress, all you have to do is start searching, and you will be spending hours upon hours just looking at all of these dresses that are out there. Trust me, there is every kind, style, and type of dress! Don’t stress about not finding the perfect one!

To find out more about wedding dresses, my website that I made for this class is http://dressperfectwedding.webs.com/. I have eight articles, a page with all sorts of wedding dress links, and a page about different products that I have posted. Some of my favorite blogs have been “dress your shape”, “look at those skirts”, “dress by season”, “matching your wedding cake”, and my absolute favorite, “shoes, shoes, shoes, what kind of shoes to wear”. I hope that everyone has enjoyed looking and getting ideas off of my blog and has provided some sort of insight to your search for your perfect wedding dress!

shoes, shoes, shoes. what kind of shoes to wear?

Have you decide on what kind of shoes you will wear on your wedding day? Every bride has a different personality which all lead to different kind of shoes! Laid back, fancy, comfortable, modern, elegant, conservative, risqué, alternative, traditional, and many more…. These are all different ways to describe how a bride could wear her shoes on her big day. What kind of shoe to wear for your wedding is completely up to the bride. To me, the first thing that I would consider is to make sure they are comfortable. But to other brides, they want the more fashionable shoe. I just pray that I will be able to find a comfortable and fashionable one!

You don’t always have to have the traditional white heel and stay in it the whole entire night. A trend that is becoming more and more common is to have shoes that are the color or your wedding. A pink, red, purple, or whatever your color of wedding you have, looks super cute under that white perfect wedding dress. When you walk, you will be able to just get a glimpse of the color. I have posted a picture of what I mean by this below with purple shoes! Also, I have seen some brides that change into a more of a comfortable show for their reception; this is just something to think about. Plus, with this you will be able to dance much better!!

Something different that I am doing for this blog is that these pictures are from some of my personal friend’s weddings. I have asked all of these brides to use a picture from their wedding to show of their shoes!!!

Thank you brides for letting me use your shoes in this project!

Bride: Jill McDonald

Bride: Alissa Ekhardt

Bride: Kody Verardo

Seth Morris Photography

Bride: Lisa Sandrock

Bride: Sam Greving

Ashton Moirssey Photography 

Bride: Stefanie Pitzer

Photo 98

history of the wedding dress.

The history of the wedding dress is actually pretty interesting. I found and reviewed an article at http://ezinearticles.com/?Wedding-Dresses&id=355248 that explains it very well. To recap the article it starts out that  the wedding dress has changed over many centuries, and actually back then, the colors that were normal were red, purple, and black. The color of wedding dresses changed to white and variations of white because it was the most practical shade for most purposes. The style of the wedding dress has changed in many ways over the years. Things that have changes have been hems, length of dress, sleeve lengths, and accessories. You can see these changes in pictures from the past compared to pictures that you see in magazines and weddings today. These changes aren’t bad, and actually some of the traditions are coming back into today’s traditions that have been traditions of the past. It then explains that when choosing a wedding dress, you need to consider the size of the bride and also the financial standing of the cost of the perfect wedding dress. This article is a very simple article about the wedding dress. To find more articles like this one on this topic, you can simply go to http://ezinearticles.com/ and type in wedding dresses. Then a whole variety of articles will show up and you can learn so much more about the topic of wedding dresses. I personally have three articles that are posted at this website so when you are searching for wedding dresses, one of those may be one of my articles!

ruffles!

One last topic that explains new trends that are taking over the runways is ruffles. I noticed these dresses with many ruffles on them when I was researching on the different kind of bows that brides are wearing now days. The dresses with ruffles on them have ruffles places on the shirt, the waist, and even can be found on the strap. I think that ruffles have been something of the past when you look at famous, and traditional dresses, but to me, they are bringing this style back into the picture with wedding dresses. The way that designers can sculpt the dresses to look so dream like and perfect, to me, is amazing. And when ruffles come into place, is where designers can make a dress look the way that they want it to look. Isn’t it amazing how these designers can make a dress look so out of this world!

One thing that I love about the dresses with ruffles on them is that if the ruffles are placed at the right place, and if the fabric is laid in right way, it can change the appearance of your body. The way ruffles are laid, it can make your waist look slimmer. The ruffles are twisted and tied in a way that sculpts your body and makes it look wonderful. BUT consequently, some of the ruffles on certain people could make your waist and stomach look larger then you want. This is something that you have to make sure you keep in mind when you are looking for your perfect wedding dress. 

The dresses that I have posted below are from http://www.jlmcouture.com/Lazaro. 

eco-friendly wedding dresses.

You would be surprised on what you kind of dresses that you can find these days! Some brides only think that you can go to a bridal store and try on dresses all day and hope to walk out with the purchase of your perfect wedding dress. For brides that want to #1 save money, and #2 are good for economy, this is for you! There are some women out there that love natural products, and want to make sure that they are wanting to go all green. A way to do this, is to make your own dress or have someone else make it that know how to work with organic fabrics. Some of the fabrics that you cause are hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, other silk blends, or vintage fabrics. Some of these fabrics come in different colors, and then you could dye that fabric to make it look the color that you want. Some of the designers that offer these kind of dress are Natural Bridals, Nicole Lenzen, Olivia Luca, Puridee, Tara Lynn, Wai-Ching Bridal, Annatarian, Leanne Marshall and many others that can be found at http://inhabitat.com/.

Something that you could do to keep your trend going with going all green, is that you can find accessories that are eco-friendly also. Look for shoes, hairpins, and other accessories that you could make or find to buy. The website that I posted above, you can also find articles and stories about brides that have eco-friendly wedding dresses. They tell their story how and why they chose these dresses that they got married in.

look at these skirts!

Have you noticed all of the different kinds and styles of skirts that you see now days? They are absolutely breathtaking. With the twirls, flowers, textures, shapes, everything! There are so many different things that these wedding dress designers can do that make a dress look breathtaking! There are some skirts that are full and flattering, then you see dresses now with pockets. Also, flowers on the skirt, a twirl affect of fabric looks really cool. To me, I think that the skirts of a dress can make or break the whole look of a dress. You can see in these dresses that these skirts don’t overpower the dresses they compliment them.

I have posted a couple of pictures below of dresses that I think are so intriguing. These designers have sculpted these skirts of these dresses to make them look like they are something different then wedding dresses. The designer that I found that I liked the best with her skirts is Paloma Blanca. You can see all of their dresses at http://www.palomablanca.com/.

Also, one thing that you need to keep in mind when you are looking for which type of wedding dress fits best for you is what kind of style fits your body shape the best. I have a blog about the different kinds of body types vs. what dress works best for you and the link for this blog is http://dressperfectwedding.blogspot.com. Here you can see pictures of each body type and it shows you a couple of dresses that fit each different figure. I hope this helps when you are trying to find your perfect wedding dress! 

style me pretty!

I have recently found a blog that I have absolutely fell in love with. The blog is called “Style Me Pretty”. Something that is different about this blog then mine is that theirs is in about weddings in general and mine is about only wedding dresses. Their blog does talk and show the wedding dresses that the brides wear for weddings though. They go into certain weddings, take pictures and then blog about the experience, the flower, the attire, the decorations, EVERYTHING! Each blog is like a little storybook about different weddings. I love to look at these different blogs because you get so many different ideas about decorations, attire and the other aspects of weddings.

Something else that they have on their website is that they have a tab on the top that leads you to vendors for weddings. After you click on that tab, you then pick your location, and then your topic that you need to find information on for your wedding. Some of the topics that they have are beauty, cakes, bridesmaids, boudoir, catering, fashion, florals, favors, and MANY MANY more! The things that I focus on in my blog are designers that go along with different styles and trends of wedding dresses.

Another tab on their website are DIY projects which I LOVE! I love to see projects that are simple and cute AND they could also save your money when planning your wedding. The last tab on their website is called Wedding Inspiration. This is where when you are planning a wedding you can sort out the things you find and want to have in your wedding and plan them to fit together.

This is a great website for all of the brides out there that are planning their wedding. You can and will find so many different ideas that you could very simply incorporate into your very own wedding! The link to that website is www.stylemepretty.com.

dress with a vintage touch.

Have you notices that many of the old styles from your generations past have been showing back up today with the new traditions. How about ruffles? I am sure you have seen more lace in bridal salons. Long trains? All of these things have been huge traditions of the past and they are slowly, but shortly making their way back to style. You may see a dress with a lace bodice, and not all over lace, but more and more lace is coming into the picture lately. Actually, it was about 4 years ago, my cousin got married and she wore a mermaid style dress, and it had a lace overlay. I saw this and absolutely fell in love with lace. Lace in this ear has become very elegant, free flowing, and fancy. It makes the bride look elegant and proper, and I love that! Ruffles… Haven’t you seen the big pick up skirts that have cathedral length trains? Back then, they had the big skirts that had a definite waistline at the hips and then came out, straight from the hips… Now the dress all flows into one piece and looks like it all flows together. The bottom of these skirts look like a cupcake bottom! Keep you eye out for these new styles of dresses that are making a come back into this era. And even if you absolutely cannot stand lace or ruffles, TRY IT ON! You never know until you try them on! OR ask for pictures from your mother or grandmother to see what their style was. It may be pretty close to what I am talking about!

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

All you have probably heard of the saying and tradition that you have to wear something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. This actually came from an English poem and it refers to a good luck token for the bride who would do these customs. These four things are custom that most likely your grandmother and mother did. Some brides choose not to follow this tradition, and some do. This blog is for those brides today that would like to follow this tradition and give them a little more expertise in finding these things.  For something old, use something that is from the bride’s family and the past like a piece of fabric sewn onto your dress or wrap around the bridal bouquet. Something new should be easy; you can use your new shoes, jewelry, your new wedding dress, or a piece of lingerie or garter. When looking for something borrowed, think about your family and if you could wear a piece of jewelry, their veil, a headpiece, or purse that would go along with what your dress looks like. Lastly, something blue is where you can bring some fun into this… think outside the box here. Cute blue shoes, a garter, hair pins, an old handkerchief that might have blue embroidery on it, ribbon on your bouquet…. and the list goes on. For today’s brides that want to have a more modern flair, use these items to spice up your perfect wedding! There are many options that could fulfill these items. Talk to your family and friends to help you out also!

bows.

Have you seen all of the new trends that today’s designers are creating? Here is another article that explains a new trend that you are seeing more and more on the runways. This new trend is that BOWS are on many wedding dresses, so look out when you are looking for your wedding dress. There are some absolutely gorgeous wedding dresses out there that have a bow on them. You will find bows on the waist, on the hip, on the skirt of the dress, or it will be tied on the back, or where ever you can really put one. Personally, I would have thought that this would seem a little childish to put on your wedding dress, but I take that back… these dresses that have an accent of a bow on them are breathtaking. It is an extra touch that is placed on the dress for a reason, and that reason is to add some va-va-voom! So, when you are looking for something different on your wedding dress, try on a dress with a big bow on it. You may LOVE it!

I have placed some pictures below to show you how over the top some of these dresses can be, and also, how simple and elegant a bow can make a dress. These dresses are from the designer Vera Wang. These dresses are amazing. All of them show the elegance of the bride, and they all have a very edgy, modern feel. Such a wonderful designer!! To see more of her dresses, the link is http://www.verawang.com/. 

dress designers.

There are hundreds and hundreds of wedding dress designers and you may know some of the more popular ones that you hear about all of the time, but what about those designers that are kinda hard to find and hear about. I found a list of many wedding dress designers that is from The Knot. You can start out here and search some of the desigers that you don’t know much about. If you are starting out with your wedding dress search, this would be a really good way to start learning about all of the different wedding dresses out there. The link for the list of wedding dress designers is http://wedding.theknot.com/.

I found another great website! It is a blog that has many different topics about wedding dresses. They also have many blogs that they have posted that are about different designers. They have the different designers spotlighted and they will tell a little bit about them and then post a few pictures that are some of their most recent releases. This is perfect because you can right away see the different types and styles that each designer offers! They are amazing designers that you may or may not hear about them much. This blog definitely lets you find out more about them that you didn’t know before! The URL for that blog is

http://www.weddinggowntown.com/.

Both of these websites are a great way for you to start your search when you are finding your perfect wedding dress. Or if you are just wanting to find out about designers that you have never heard about!

bride gifts.

Are there any brides out there that need a shirt that you can wear for your bachelorette party or for the day of your wedding? Or just to show off that you are the bride? I have just the site for you. There are 5 different designs and they are custom made by me. The colors that I have picked to do these shirts in are white because I have used green, pink, and yellow designs that say BRIDE. You can also buy gifts that have BRIDE written on them. They offer mugs, bags, totes, hats, tank tops, hoodies, and more….

There is also one shirt on this website that says “BRIDESMAID”. This would be for the bridesmaids on your bachelorette party night or for the day of the wedding. If you want everyone to match in some way, this is the way you should do it!

These shirts are for the brides and bridesmaids, but that doesn’t mean that they are the only ones that should buy them. Mother of the bride and mother of the groom’s out there…. This would be a great gift for all of the women in the wedding party, no matter what kind of event you want to showcase these off. And remember, you don’t always have to buy the shirts. How cute would it be if the bride and her bridesmaids have had a tote to use for the day of the wedding? Everyone knows that girls need some kind of bag/tote to haul all of their stuff around for the day of the wedding. The link for the wesbite to buy these gifts is http://www.cafepress.com/dressperfect. Check it out!!

different dresses for different ethnic groups.

When looking around the world at everyone’s traditions, we all know that everyone does things differently. Every ethnic group has their own tradition values, and ways that they dress. Have you ever wondered what other ethnic group’s weddings look like? Some are much like ours, but some are completely different. Some have one, two, three, or possibly four different dresses for their wedding. Some have a whole weekend celebration and other have a one-day event. No matter where you live or what ethnicity you come from, there is no question about your wedding to be beautiful. I have posted some pictures of some wedding dresses that have descriptions as to what they mean. I hope you enjoy learning from all around the world!

China: you see dresses that are red because they symbolize that with good luck and it is strong color that can keep away evil spirits.

Japanese: Wear a traditional white kimono called chrio-maku for the wedding ceremony. Then for the reception, usually an elaborate pattered silk kimono called uchikke that is worn over the white kimono.

African: These brides wear a headpiece called “gele” a shaw called “iborum” a loose blouse called “buba” and a skirt that wraps around the body called “iro”.     

Scottish: Composed of kilts, jackets, sporrans, vests, and hoses.

Spanish: Slim dress covered by a bolero or a flamerco-style jacket.

 

For these pictures, I found the at www.google.com. I researched about all of the different ethnicities and found pictures that went along with the article that I read. 

running of the brides.

Watch out! Here come the BRIDES. If you have never heard of this event, you will have to research some and try to attend if you can. It is definitely worth it! This event is simply amazing. If you are looking for a couture and more expensive dress, this is the event to go to. They offer anywhere from 1400 to 3000 dresses and they cost fro $249 to $699. The original prices of these dresses are anywhere from $900 to $9000, that is a steal!!!! My hairdresser actually went to this event in Chicago, IL for a wedding that she was the Maid of Honor for and this is what she did. They shipped up a box full of wine, signs, snacks, first aid kit, etc., to the hotel like a week before the event. They took the train to Chicago and they camped outside the store a day in advance. They all took turns and took naps at the hotel (which was very close). They all also had jerseys made so they knew who all was in their “team”. She said that they sorted and swapped through hundreds of dresses and the bride did find her dress there!

The website of the event is http://www.filenesbasement.com/. At this website, they have all of the different dates that they offer this event, helpful hints, videos and pictures of this event, and some of the secrets that you will want to know before you go.

To see a video recap about this crazzzzy event, go to this link: http://www.tressugar.com/. You will gain a better understanding of what actually goes on at the Running Of The Brides event.

dresses for the maternity bride.

This post is for the women out there that are pregnant and are struggling with finding their wedding dress. There might not be very many brides that have this problem, but of course it happens, more then you problem think. There are some women that like to show off your baby bump, and others that want to try and hide it and cover it up with loose fitting clothes. Both of these kinds of brides are in luck. If you can believe it, there are all sorts of different fits for the maternity brides. Don’t stress out about finding your perfect wedding dress. You can’t get upset when you are looking for you perfect dress. I know that your whole body is going through different changes but that will only make you upset and also make that little baby stressed too! Relax and enjoy being pregnant. After all, you are getting married to! Have fun with it!! Something to remember when ordering your dress for your big day, is to consider what your due date is. They will want to estimate how big you will be on the day of your wedding. Sometimes you might want to order a bigger size or some dresses are made that you won’t have to worry about it.

 

I got these dresses from http://maternitybride.com/. They have many dresses at this website for maternity brides. AND they are all simply beautiful. Don’t think to yourself that just because you are pregnant, doesn’t mean that you can look beautiful and beaming. You will be able to find your perfect wedding dress if you look. 

matching your wedding cake.

Are you stuck and bogged with so many ideas that you don’t know what you want your cake to look like? Some brides want a simple design, some don’t even want to have a wedding cake, and others don’t know how to design the cake for your big day. Something simple that you could do to decorate your wedding cake is make the cake match your wedding cake. I have seen this technique many different times in wedding cakes. Some brides will only have the lace pattern. You can resemble a lace or beaded pattern all of the cake or it could be a trim around one of the layers. Also, others will go above and beyond and make each layer of the cake resemble a certain part of the dress that she likes. You could resemble the way the fabric flows by making the fondant look as if it had a drapery effect. Another way is by using edible pearls or diamonds, depending on what your dress has on it. Either way you do this, it looks very elegant and it also makes your cake have some meaning to it.

A way you can add color to your cake is by adding your accent wedding color as ribbon or having a tier of the wedding cake this color.

Look how amazing these cakes look. The cakes that I have found have the dress that it is matching. These are some great artists that can make this look as beautiful as they are!

 

what about having two wedding dresses?

You are staring to see this happen more and more often with brides in today’s wedding scene. Brides have been getting two different dresses for their big day. They will usually find a formal and traditional wedding dress. Nothing different has changes from that. The thing that is different is that they will then find a dress that they wear for their reception. This dress could be a short dress to show off some leg, a more fitting and party dress, or I have even seen their reception dress be in a different color other then white. They usually change into these reception dresses sometimes before the reception, that way when you are announced, you are wearing something different and everyone will be able to see it all at once. Other brides want to have their traditional dress on for a certain amount of time during the reception. It could be that they want to make sure they have pictures taken in her first dress for the toast, dinner or the cake cutting. And when whichever activity is over, then they will go and change. It is completely up to the bride, as to when she wants to change into her second dress. There isn’t a right or wrong thing about this. Whatever the bride wants to do is what should happen!

The pictures that I have posted below are dresses that are called two-in-one dresses. I found these dresses at http://www.davidsbridal.com/. This means that the long and traditional dress will have a skirt that you would be able to take off and it will turn into a short wedding dress! How cool and simple is that? Remember, there are many short dresses that would work as a second dress. I just thought these were pretty cool:)

flowers and textures are everywhere.

Have you noticed all of the modern and edgy new dresses out that are sweeping the runways? They all have a new vintage and modern flair to them that is just outstanding. Something that I have noticed in many of the dresses is that there are flower and texture embellished all over. I think they are very romantic and stylish. You can see these flowers at the bottom of skirt, at the waistline or all over the skirt. There are dresses that have a couple at the hip of the dress to give a center focal point and then there are dresses that you see the flowers up by the neckline of the dresses. The flowers can be placed anywhere on the dress and it doesn’t matter where they are placed, the dress always looks beautiful. To me, this makes or breaks the dress. By having different elements on the dress shows your character. It could be by having these kind of vintage and modern touch of a flower or of course the beading and embellishments that could be placed anywhere on the dress also.

In the below pictures, the pictures are from a recent runway show from the Spring 2011 collections of Christos Bridal.

Roses on this skirt make the dress flow and give it a very different look that you are starting to see more and more often.

Just a couple of roses can add just a touch of femininity to your style.

Look at this skirt! The texture with this dress is absolutely amazing. 

You can also have flowers that cover the whole entire dress.

I found these dresses with the flowers and texture at http://thebeautybridal.com/. If you would like to see more of these kind of dresses, that link is http://www.christosbridal.com/.

veils for your wedding dress.

Some brides have always known that they have wanted a veil to match their dress and others don’t like that idea and will not want to wear one. Whichever kind of bride you are, make sure you wear what you want to wear. If you don’t want to wear a veil, then don’t. Make your day and how you look be what you have always envisioned.

There are a couple different ways to come about finding your veil. The first one is that some dresses will come with a matching one or one that is the same series or line that they are offering at that time. Many designers will create a certain number of dresses and make a veil that will match all of them because they are all similar in some way. Second, if a dress doesn’t come with a matching veil, (which happens often), you have the option of searching and finding your perfect veil or even making your so that it will be able to match your dress. In this case, you will look at other designers and try to match the lace or beading on your dress so that it all matches perfectly. Lastly, ask you mother or grandmother what they wore, many times, the past generations’ will be able to match your dress and how cool would that be if you wore a family heirloom as your veil. Bringing a item from the past is not only memorable, but your past generations would be so proud to think that they wore it also on their big day.

I have posted a couple of pictures to give you an idea of how the veils can match your dress in many ways. From it either being very detailed, to not detailed at all. 

All of these veils are fromhttp://www.maggiesottero.com/. There are many more beautiful dresses from them and veils that match your dress perfectly. 

dress with modesty.

There are some religions, family traditions, and family beliefs that don’t think that wedding dresses should have open shoulders or a low cut bust area. Some families have never accepted this into their life and this is just what these brides know what to wear. Some of the more modest brides will be discouraged and stressed about finding the right dress because they might think that it will be difficult to find a modest but modern dress for their perfect wedding.

Don’t worry though, there are actually many wedding dress websites that off modest wedding dresses. Some of the websites that I have found even have their own section of modest wedding dresses so it will be easier for you to narrow your search down.

Some brides are a little modest and others are very modest. There are many different sleeve options that can fit any one of these brides. Also, the neckline can be big things also, some want it to be all the way up at the neck, and others are more concerned about just getting their shoulders covered.

The website that I have chosen to get pictures from does not only have modest wedding dresses, but it has them discounted and at a sale price. So you will be able to save some money this way if you choose one of these dresses.

 

Also, please go to this website because it also offers many more dresses then the ones that I have posted here. There are some beautiful dresses here. The link is http://www.romanticgowns.com/.