The Perfect Rehearsal Dinner Outfit

There has always been much debate on what to where to your rehearsal dinner and how formal you want to get. But the decision is totally up to you! I have always believed that weddings are such a special occasion and the Bride is going to be in every photo imaginable, so why not look your very best? I love that their are so many options out there and now you don't have to look much farther than the Bridal Salon that you purchased you bridal gown at.

We know it's been talked about for years, and we all thought people were just fibbing. But now the way they are designing bridesmaids dresses they can be used for absolutely any special occasion and no one will even know the difference. I have heard over and over again brides say " Oh I love this dress, but it just won't work for all of my bridesmaids" or for whatever reason. I say, if you love it, buy it for yourself and wear to your rehearsal dinner. I am all about women showing their feminine side and I want to see Brides shine for all of their wedding events. And the rehearsal dinner is no exception.

The key to making sure that no one even makes a comment that you are wearing a "bridesmaid dress" (SHHHH) is making sure your accessories tell the right story. Choose an open toe nude heel, for one they make you look taller and leaner, and they will keep your look from becoming too made up. (Beauty should look effortless, no matter how long it took you to look like that!)

Keep your jewelry from looking too formal, skip the rhinestones for this look and turn to a mixture of beautiful colored stones and pearls. Hair should also look effortless, if you wear it down sweep some back to frame your face and make sure it has a natural body to it. If you like your hair up, sweep it back and tie a loose bun or twist in it. Make sure you leave some strands out or you risk looking like a stern librarian!

Now's the time to wear the color that you loved but your bridesmaids refused to wear! Or if you want a more elegant look order the dress in black or a gorgeous champagne. If you are traveling for a destination wedding purchase a dress in a jersey fabric. It's wrinkle free so you can literaly take it out of your packed suitcase and throw it on for the rehearsal.

Done right you will stand out amongst everyone at the rehearsal, and you should, your the Bride. Your look should be effortless, so don't think into styling too much. And remember it's a good investment because you can wear the same dress to your friends wedding 2 months later!!

Where to Donate your Bridal Gown or Prom Dress

Since we are full swing in the middle of Wedding and Prom season I am getting a lot of phone calls about where to sell or donate bridal and prom dresses. (We are all watching our pocket books a little closer now a days!)
As far as selling there's always ebay, although with an overflow of discount bridal stores also selling on ebay, prices are going way down. If you have a couture bridal gown, weather it be new or gently used you can take a trip to Chicago's bridal consignment store White Chicago. Here you can drop off your bridal gown to be sold by trained bridal consultants. It stays there for 3 months and I believe you get 40% if it sells.

Donation to me is the best way to make an impact and be able to make some money come tax time. All donations are tax deductible and if you end up shipping the dress, shipping is also tax deductable. Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation is a wonderful place to donate your new or used bridal gown. They will take all donations and go around touring in different states to sell the gowns to hopeful brides. We have made donations to Making Memories for 3 years and it is an easy process and since everyone is touched in some way by the disease, also a fulfilling donation.

There are many other ways to donate your bridal gown and make it count towards a good cause. The Bridal Garden in New York takes donations of new and used bridal gowns with the profits benefitiing the children of New York. Again a great tax deduction for you and a great way to give to others at the same time.

If you have a prom dress to donate I recommend the Sista Pride's Princess for Prom. It runs right out of Milwuakee by The Boys and Girls Club and is for a wonderful cause!

And I know you all want to hang on to those wonderful Bridesmaid dresses from the 80's and 90's but let go and make room in your closet for other things. If you think that no one would want or use a tacky dress, think again! Many Highschool Musical and Theatre departments are happy for these kinds of donations. They work perfectly for plays or musicals set in different eras, or they alter and change them to look completely different. Call your area schools to find out if they are in need, this is also tax deductable if they have a form for you to fill out.

We get calls all the time about where to sell gowns or what to do with bridal gowns when a wedding is canceled and the dress is new and unaltered. In that case it's a wonderful opportunity to take an unfortunate situation and make it into one that benefits many.

Harley Davidson Wedding Show

Lights, Cameras, Fashion

We just had the wedding show at the Harley Davidson Museum put on by the Wedding Planner and Guide and it was a blast. First of all I have never been to the Harley Museum, and although I have never been into motorcylces, I was thoroughly impressed! Whoever designed the venue and museum did a great job. They mixed industrial, with modern, and added a touch of chic to come up with an amazing location for parties and weddings, as well as for everyone that is crazy about Harley's.

The wedding show itself was a huge success and it was great to see everyone play up the Harley colors and theme and mix it with the elegance of bridal fashions. We decided to add a little playfulness to our booth for this show with the use of the Harley black and orange and then adding the top color of the season PINK!

I think everyone that came to the show was relaxed because of the atmosphere that was made from the venue. And everyone stayed a bit longer than normal to chat up what fashions are hottest right now.

I was so excited to see what the Fashion Show would look like. We had our veil designer make some amazing new one of a kind veils and headpieces specifically for this show and I couldn't wait to see how the model worked those and our dresses on the runway. (Last minute change, the day before the show our model was changed! So it was a bit stressful to refit her the day of, but I loved how she worked the runway! She was amazing and so nice.)

The fashions shown for the night were a mix of couture and traditional bridal. We wanted to introduce the new look for 2010 in a way that knocked peoples socks off, and show off the new cage veils that are so hot right now. Of course we had to celebrate the Harley traditions as well, so we introduced the newest fashions with touches of Black, Orange, and off course a bit of Pink!

The Fashion show went off without a hitch, (that's without talking about the behind the scenes craziness!) The music and beat was perfect for the theme and attitude of the show, and the models strutted their stuff like there was no tomorrow! We saw color, ruffles, flirty bridesmaids, and simplistic bridals. I felt like I was in New York watching the fashion shows during Fashion Week.

The bridal industry is blowing up for 2010 with amazing colors, couture fit gowns, and elegant but laid back wedding themes. We love that people are focusing on the happiness of the day and not getting caught up in making it all "perfect". Brides want a dress that fits their personality and it doesn't matter if it's the newest trend or not. Bridesmaids are wearing their dresses again, (Yes, you better believe it!) and the men are looking less made up and more handsome than ever.

The Harley Bridal Show gave us a glimpse into the trends and fashions of 2010, not only for gowns, but in table trends, journalistic photography, and the newest way that brides are stepping back and letting things happen. The Industry is abuzz with excitement of the upcoming season, and we can't wait to see it all come together!

Amelishan reviews The Morning Blend Wedding

The wedding was beautiful and we couldn't have asked for things to go any smoother than they did. Melissa glowed all night and Vache was such a handsome groom. We had a blast sponsoring the bride and her bridesmaids and I am sad to see it all come to an end. We want to wish Melissa and Vache the best of happiness and many years of love. We also would like to thank Channel 4 and The Morning Blend for having us be a part of this unique and wonderful experience!

Click here to view Amelishan on The Morning Blend and to see shots and footage of the wedding

The Morning Blend Wedding Was Friday!

Melissa and Vache are finally married!! Last night, Friday May 15th, Melissa and Vache (the winners of The Morning Blend Throws a Wedding) got married at the Titanic Exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Everything was beautiful!

Here I am getting started with the dresses

Here Roxanne and I are with the Mom's and two soon to be sister in laws

The day started at 3:00 getting all of the girls ready, Jennifer, Krista, Stephanie, Silva, and Sosi. They were a blast! All of them were so nice and easy to work with. A brides dream! The dresses looked so beautiful on the bridesmaids, and the color was amazing with the flowers. The mothers looked wonderful in their dresses which were very flattering on them both. Recommendations for brides and bridesmaids: Hollywood double sided tape is amazing for "just in case" situations. (Keep it in your clutch for touch ups.)

After Melissa and her bridesmaids finished getting ready we headed up to the Rainforest section of the Museum to get started on photos. How fun! Melissa is going to have amazing wedding photos due to all of the wonderful backdrops in the museum. We then went into the dinosaur exhibit to take photos in front of the T-Rex eating the other dinosaur exhibit. The photos turned out great and everyone looked amazing in them.

Alison and Molly Faye

Here I am with the beautiful Bride

Melissa with her mom and sister

We went back to the fitting room to see how Jennifer's daughter Hailey, the flower girl, was doing getting dressed and made up. She was adorable and was so good throughout the night. Alison and Molly Faye stopped in to see how everyone was doing and we had a quick chance to take some photos with them. The girl's made all of the needed last minute adjustments and then we were off to the titanic exhibit for the ceremony.

I wasn't able to take any photos during the ceremony, but it was beautiful and so touching. The ceremony was held right in the Titanic exhibit and the quests chairs were seated amongst the cases of artifacts from the wreck of the Titanic. Immediately following the ceremony Melissa and Vache were interviewed by Alison and Molly Faye from The Morning Blend. They then interviewed Grandma Rose, she was the sweetest thing ever. It was her father that was a Third Class survivor on the Titanic! Amazing and romantic story of survival and searching for loved ones!

The guests were then invited to finish the tour of the Titanic exhibit and at the end we all gathered for a traditional Sipper toast to congratulate the newly married couple. While the guests toured the museum and had hors devours and drinks. We finished up the photos and took some of the family in the Streets of Old Milwaukee. The cake cutting proceeded that and then the prayer.

Jennifer and I then proceeded to bustle Melissa's dress. The alterations and bustle were done by Perfect Fittings and looked beautiful. Melissa was a good sport with standing and being patient with me because at that point her feet hurt really bad and she was ready to sit down and eat. I also discovered I have to start lifting heavier weights because my arms got tired from bustling the dress. Great!


The food was great. I sat at the table with the Hosts, Producers, and camera crew from channel 4's The Morning Blend and they were so pleasant to talk to. I love doing work with them because they are all down to earth "real people". A lot of people were coming by our table to get their pictures taken with Molly Faye and Alison. And they were great sports about it. Melissa and Vache were making their rounds to say hi to everyone. They were so thankful for all that Amelishan and all of the other vendors gave them. I have never worked with such a grateful and worthy couple and I am truly so happy for them!

Alison, Me, Melissa, and Molly Faye

After dinner they cleared the tables for the dance floor. The first dance of the night was the traditional Armenian Bride and Groom dance. It was so fun to watch and everyone there knew how to do it! I have never seen this tradition and it was so amazing to be a part of. The rest of the night everyone had a blast dancing.

Melissa and Vache glowed the entire day! You could tell how in love they were, it just radiated from them. I was exhausted by the end of the day, but in a good way! I was so fortunate to be part of this couples day and part of this unique experience. Tune in Monday May 18th when I will be on The Morning Blend talking about the wedding day. They will also be showing clips of the night and pictures. So you can get a peek at how everything went. You can't miss it!

Amelishan on The Morning Blend

Amelishan appeared on The Morning Blend this morning showcasing the newest trends for Mother's and Social Occasion. We are currently receiving the new styles for Fall 09' and 2010 and love what the designers showed us in Chicago. The styles are fresh and young and the colors are vibrant and fun! With over 800 Social Occasion dresses in stock in sizes 4P to 32W we cater to Mother's that are looking for unique styles and accessories to match for a wedding or special event.

Be sure to check us out again on The Morning Blend Monday May 18th where I will be on giving a recap of how Melissa's (The Morning Blend wedding contest winner) wedding went.

3 Day Mother's Sale: Take an additional 20% off all already reduced Mother's dresses and 10% off regular priced dresses. PLUS take 10% off all accessories with the purchase of your dress. Thursday May 7th through Saturday May 9th.
We will be closed Sunday for Mother's Day!

Watch our fashion show on The Morning Blend at www.themorningblend.com

Pronovias and San Patrick Event

Amelishan Bridal is having an in-store Pronovias and San Patrick Event. All bridal gowns by these 2 designers will be featured May 1-3. With the purchase of a Pronovias or San Patrick bridal gown you will receive $100.00 off.

Pronovias and San Patrick bridal gowns are designed and shown in Spain. The art and beauty of each and every one of their gowns is to die for. The fabrics are unique and comfortable, and the fit is something of artwork itself.