Well Heeled
Make your maids happy with these easy-to-wear slides. Photographs by Carlos Alejandro
Gold slingback pumps by Kate Spade, $298 at Peter Kate Shoes, Greenville
Gold sprinkle mesh by Stuart Weitzman, $265 at Dale’s Shoetique, Greenville
Bon Appetit from the Carnival of Love collection by Seychelles, $90 at Bel Boutique in Dover
Sherbert high heel by Beverly Feldman, $220 at Vivi G. Shoes, Glen Mills, Pa.
Page 2: For Special Folks | Do something amazing. Here’s how.
For Special Folks
Do something amazing. Here’s how.
“There’s an old tradition of giving a gift to the parents if they’re paying for your wedding,” says Samantha Diedrick of Secretariat Wedding & Event Planning. But even if they’re not paying, there are other ways to make your folks feel special. Experienced planners have some ideas.
Present parents with a gift at the rehearsal dinner. “Jewelry is huge for the moms,” says Casey Kieffer of Make My Day Event Planning in Milford. Gifts for dads are usually “little fun things like personalized golf balls, an engraved pocket watch or a really nice pen.”
One gift Kieffer recalls was a poem the bride and groom wrote and recited, then framed for their parents. “We also did a beach wedding where the mothers used conch shells to pour sand into a large vase during the unity portion,” Kieffer says. “Then the bride and groom gave their mothers the conch shells as keepsakes.”
There are meaningful ways to warm the hearts of the dads, too, such as asking him to be best man or to choose the song for the father-daughter dance. Or demonstrate the importance of your family’s heritage.
“Include aspects from your ethnic or cultural background into the planning,” says Mark Kingsdorf of The Queen of Hearts in Philadelphia. He points to the food served at the reception. The couple could also incorporate a glass breaking into a non-denominational ceremony if one of the parents is Jewish.
A little attention is usually all a person needs to feel special. Have your parents introduced as they enter the reception, pay tribute to them with a special toast, or send them a note when you return from your honeymoon. Find your own special way to share the love. —Susan Oates
Page 3: Banning the Bachelorette
Banning the Bachelorette
Tired of the same old party? Would you like to do something different? Here are a few suggestions.
Head Outdoors Pitch a tent at Cape Henlopen, Killens Pond, Lums Pond or Delaware Seashore State Park, or take a hike.
Get Cooking Take a class together. The Big Fish Grill in Rehoboth Beach offers $75 classes for 10 people or more on Saturdays off season. Register at 227-FISH. The Delaware Historical Society offers open-hearth cooking workshops at the George Read House & Gardens in New Castle for $60 a person. Go to www.hsd.org. Foodies who want to cook with a celebrity chef can book a party for $30-$70 a person at Celebrity Kitchens in Wilmington. Call 427-COOK.
Soak up Some Culture The Delaware Theatre Company and the Grand Opera House offer group discounts on tickets. DTC even has a special Girls’ Night Out and Wine Down Thursday. The Delaware Art Museum and Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts are open on weekends, or combine art with cocktails during Wilmington’s monthly Friday night Art on the Town event.
Sip a Spot of Tea Tea parties aren’t just for showers. Enjoy with girlfriends at the Hotel du Pont, Magpie Tea Garden or Fa-Sol-Latte in Wilmington, the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel in Rehoboth Beach, The Victorian Lady in Milford or Hattitude in Middletown.
Bliss Out The same goes for spas. Bling Salon & Spa in Lewes books spa parties with champagne, wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Customers may bring food or order in. Most spas offer similar services. Or bring the spa to your house. Katrina Holloway, a Wilmington-based consultant for The Body Shop at Home (www.thebodyshopathome.com) pampers party guests with cosmetics, foot soaks and facials. —Katie Ginder-Vogel
Page 4: Making Merry Maids | Unique gifts for special people.
Making Merry Maids
Unique gifts for special people.
You’ve chosen them to share your pre-wedding jitters and joys, your walk down the aisle and your happily ever after. So you naturally want to find a special way to thank your bridesmaids.
“The best gifts are both personal and practical,” says Casey Kieffer, co-owner of Make My Day Event Planners in Milford.
One highly personal gift is a mini photo album customized for each bridesmaid, each filled with photos that reflect her relationship with the bride, Kieffer suggests. An alternative is to accompany the blank albums with IOUs to fill the pages with photos of the wedding party after the big day.
Monogrammed tote bags are a perennial favorite. To make them even more personal, Samantha Diedrick, owner and president of Secretariat Wedding & Event Planning in Wilmington, recommends putting items that fit the personality, style and interests of each bridesmaid inside.
“One bride chose gift certificates for things she and each bridesmaid liked to do together, such as tickets to a concert, a round of golf or a gift certificate to a favorite restaurant,” she says.
Marilyn Glasgow-Olowo, owner of MoaCreations in Townsend, offers several other variations. A bridesmaid with a sweet tooth might enjoy a bag or basket filled with gourmet chocolate confections. A coffee lover may enjoy an assortment of beans to brew and treats to complement each cup. Manicure or pedicure essentials packed in a soaking basin can be personalized with the inclusion of each attendant’s preferred color of polish, she notes. —Marilyn Odesser-Torpey
