 iStockphoto courtesy of ThinkStock.com. Question: One of my bridesmaids is a size 22/24, and I do notwant her to have to wear a different dress than the rest of my bridesmaids, who probably range from a 4 to a 12! Are there fashionable brands out there that come in a range of sizes, so they can all wear the same dress?
Answer: Whenever you find yourself in a bridesmaid-gown pickle, you could always go the custom-gown route — but Gillian Sleight, manager at the Bridal Garden in Marlton, says that with so many gown companies making larger sizes these days, it’s hardly necessary. Sleight has seen this situation quite often, and helps brides look though racks of designers — all of them fashionable, stylish, popular bridal designers — who currently carry an array of sizes that’ll fit any ‘maid, from a 00 or 2 up to sizes 24-28. Her list: Vera Wang, Alvina Valenta, Amsale, Bill Levkoff, Jim Hjelm, Lazaro, Saison Blanche, and Watters. Just remember to be thoughtful when choosing the actual style of their dress. “Pick with the larger girl in mind,” says Sleight, “because the smaller ones are more flexible.” — Jessie Holeva
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Two fabulous Philly event companies become one.
 A look at the tablescape from the recent nuptials of Joe and Dana Flacco (he's currently the QB for the Baltimore Ravens, but they're both Philly natives!) put together by The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants and Eventricity. Photo by Jason Prezant, courtesy of The Queen of Hearts. Hey brides,
Fun news!
If you’ve dug a little bit into planning your nuptials so far—or even if you’ve just attended a good handful of really lovely weddings in the area—chances are you have come across the names Eventricity and The Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants.
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 Photo courtesy of ThinkStock.com. Question: I have quite a few out-of-town guests coming in for my wedding, but I’d really like the rehearsal dinner to be just our immediate families and the wedding party. Is it rude not to invite them?
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The Wedding Shoppe's Pattie Lamantia knows how to get you couture in a crunch
 iStockphoto courtesy of ThinkStock.com. Question: Our dream venue has an open date about 18 months from now — or two months from now. We’d really like to take the closer one, rather than wait more than a year, but I’m wondering — will I have to give up having a couture gown? Or is two months enough time to get one in and fitted and ready to go?
Answer: Relax, dear bride — you may be able to get hitched on the quick and still have your dream dress: “Most couture bridal gowns take at least four months for delivery,” says Pattie Lamantia, owner and president of The Wedding Shoppe in Wayne. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck if you’re crunched for time. Turns out many designers — from Monique Lhuillier to Carolina Herrera — offer special rush cuts to accommodate the needs of brides on a deadline, for an additional fee. And there’s actually one more option, says Lamantia: “If you happen to be a sample size, we, along with most couture salons, can sell you a sample and alter it within a week.” — Jessie Holeva
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 Doesn’t it seem, sometimes these days, like everyone and their mother has some sort of side skill? They make amazing cupcakes or they’ve got a letterpress machine in their basement or they craft pretty little feathery hair accessories over the weekends? Whether more people are looking to make some money on the side or have just made the decision to devote real time to hobbies that make them happy, we seem to be hearing about this particular wedding issue more and more these days, so we thought it begged repeating. We’d love to hear from you, though, if you’ve come up against this dilemma — tell us how it was resolved in the comments!
Question: My good friend is a truly talented graphic artist, so when she offered to design my wedding invitations for me, I took her up on it. Problem is, I think what she came up with is awful — but she thinks it’s fabulous! How do I not send these invitations out, but not offend my friend?
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 An oldie but goodie for all you brides out there trying to figure out how to — or, how not to — register …
Question: My fiancé and I are in our 30s, we’ve lived together for years, and really don’t need to register for toasters and towels. What we really need is a down payment for a house — would it be OK to ask for that?
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 We have to admit, we will never cease to be surprised when this particular wedding issue comes up: the not-open bar. (Or, when a friend regales us with a story of having recently attended a wedding where word got out that only the first hour of the following reception would feature an open bar — after which, the party would play out like any other Saturday at a pay-for-your-drink establishment — which resulted in people speeding from the ceremony to the reception, tripping over each other to get to the bar, and general double-fisting and chugging (and not surprisingly, getting bombed), all in the name of not missing a single minute of the one hour of free booze.)
Thankfully, Philly has some very level-headed and experienced experts who are out there to set these brides on the path of least guest hatred — and we think this is one worth revisiting from time to time. Here, ladies, is the final verdict on charging your guests for their good time, no matter how tight your budget:
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 Photo by Trevor Dixon Any time we hear of a bride who’s going to do her own makeup, we usually think these things, in this order: “Wow”; “You’re nuts”; “You’re brave”; “You must be one of those girls who’s really good at her own makeup. How we wish we were one of those girls.”
We also, whenever we hear of such a thing, very much hope that said ambitious bride has gotten some great advice from someone in the know before embarking on this extreme beauty undertaking — since, short of making an emergent and pleading run out to Bluemercury, or something, we’re not sure how good of a fix they’d be able to find if, in the middle of their Big Day application, they weren’t feeling it.
That’s why, every once in a while, we feel the need to share these fabulous and so-smart tips from local beauty guru Claudia Seyler on being a DIY-makeup bride. So, read. Consider. Then, go for it, beautiful!
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How to deal with drunken brothers-in-law, tatted-up bridesmaids, and limited room on your guest list.
 Not surprisingly, people come to us, rather frequently, with their wedding dilemmas. Sometimes they’re local and topical (Who’s your favorite florist? What’s a good venue in the city with lots of windows that’s not a ballroom?); sometimes they’re general (What should I do for a favor? Is it worth it to get a photography package with two shooters?); and a lot of times, they have to do people. People — as in, family, friends, vendors, guests, and the sticky situations that can arise, seemingly constantly, sometimes, concerning them.
We do the best we can answering, of course — but every now and then, we like to take some good ones to our fabulous friends in the Philly wedding industry, and see what they have to say. So for our spring/summer 2011 issue of Philadelphia Wedding (on stands now!), we called up a few of these very helpful folks, and got their opinions on, in no particular order, drunken brothers-in-law running amuck at a reception; bridesmaids with tattoos in rather visible (and in some brides’ opinions, portrait-ruining) places; and what to do when you can’t invite everyone to the wedding, but want to celebrate your nuptial news with them, anyway.
Click here for their thoughtful answers — and as always, if you’ve got any stumpers, send ‘em this way! Leave them in the comments or email me at cdenny@phillymag.com.
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 We’ve heard this dilemma more than once, and we have to admit that wondering whether a toddler should be trusted with diamonds isn’t a bad question. Here, event planner and stylist Beka Rendell of Philly’s Styled Creative (what used to be Innove Events) gives us her two experienced cents.
Question: My five-year-old nephew is going to be the ring bearer in our wedding — and my mom keeps telling me that really young ring bearers usually just carry fake rings, for show. I think that’s silly! What could happen just on the way down the aisle? Is it really a bad idea to tie the real rings to the pillow?
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