When Andrea Silva-Molina opened her new bridal store, ECO-Bridal Gowns, in Highland a month ago, she focused on gown rentals, a trend she found throughout Latin America and Europe that makes high-end dresses affordable for all brides.

She soon added consignment dresses, which were scarce when she was planning her own wedding.

Then she found less expensive lines of new dresses from Forever Yours and Pronovias, and her shop was complete.

ECO-Bridal’s rental prices are especially affordable. For just $75-$95 brides can rent a dress for seven days, and they can also hire the shop’s seamstress to adjust the hem. (Though, understandably, that is the only alteration brides can make, and dresses also need to be dry-cleaned before they are returned.)

Silva-Molina says the model of offering a range of price points is working. She’s been inundated with appointments and foot traffic from Highlands Square shoppers. Beyond the comforting price tags, she believes her retail philosophy also attracts brides.

“It’s owned by real women, and it’s for the real women. The smart girls out there are going to appreciate what we do,” she says.

2559 16th St., 720-232-2950

For some odd reason the Father of the Bride Toast can be absolutely tear jerking, full of laughs or down right lame (if not properly prepared). If you’re not careful and in control you just might end up with the latter (eek!). As you are approaching the last weeks make sure your dad has seen some wedding speech guidelines and advice before he stands before your guests with the ever so taunting microphone and embarrasses you and your new honey or himself. Granted some people are great speakers but really only a handful of individuals are naturals with public speaking and the rest have to work at it or just produce an awkward flop. Trust me this is something to take into consideration, especially if like me where you come from one of Colorado’s intimate small towns and your dad’s social life is based on fly fishing and driving a truck.

For example: At our wedding, my dad grabbed the microphone and started to babble on about how he tried to influence my older sister and I to be “outdoorsy” and tuff but failed when it came to me…uh…what?… excuse me…Wow, not a good idea to bash the bride, especially if the facts are wrong. We’re not sure what his main point was during the toast in the midst of his rambling and could only think about the dance time he was waisting. Be on your “A Game” chicas!! You never know what kind of curve ball your dad is going to toss…you never know.

Your down to the wire and the wedding is only a few weeks away…Oh no..it’s stress time…or is it? Stress is normal but stressing out is not and is absolutely unnecessary. You think I’m crazy but it’s true! It’s not healthy to stress so much that you can’t function and your friends and family are deathly afraid of you. Remember everything always works out, it really does! This is a happy and important event in your life that you want to remember in a positive way. There are several ideas on how to bring your wedding day stress down to a minimum and still be on your toes ready for a curve ball ( let’s face it those are to be expected too, but not to be worried about ). Our top four wedding stress eliminators are:

1. Organize and Make a checklist- Having a check off list offers some relief to visually see that there isn’t as much as you thought and that you are putting a dent into the pile. Organization and planning ahead helps keep you in the zone, plus you can hand the list to whomever is your “Go to person” on the wedding day. (Yes you need one of those and no you or the groom cannot be that person…I don’t recommend mom either, she’s going to be busy too!)
2. Delegate the wedding planning- After you have put together your list you CAN and should ask for help. Give some friends and family members a few errands. They love being a part the creation anyways and it helps you out (you can’t be the star, the maid and the chef…sorry not this time)
3. Snack Healthy- This is a crucial time for you to be on your A game and starving yourself just doesn’t cut it. Yes you have to put on a big white marshmallow in a few weeks but your body needs fuel. Fruit is perfect for energy boosts and stress relief, plus there is so much water in the fruit that it’s the healthiest snack with super low calories out there!
4. Do what makes you feel good- There are certain activities that make you feel good and super relaxed… plan them into the next few weeks (alone time, girlfriend time,  and honey-bunch time). Avoid trying new things that could be more a pain getting out to do than not. If you are a movie lover go watch a movie, if you love the outdoors go for a light hike or a nice walk at a nearby park, if you love sipping on wine and girl time you better get on the phone and call one of your girls! Figure out what you need and make time!

In my search for some great ideas for “healthier” meals I came across this article about Weight Loss via Taco Bell Fresco Menu. Taco Bell now has commercials with a woman who disciplined herself with lower calories and ate the fresco meals instead of the bean burrito or the cheesy quesadilla for two years and in result lost about two pounds a month which can add up!! She monitored her calorie intake and was more active, she just so happen to be a Taco Bell fan (which I am too!!) Of course there is an outrage that Taco Bell is trying to ride health band wagon but I don’t care. What I am stoked about is that weight loss the right way is taking place and anyone can do it! No joke, I swear my life on it! A few weeks ago our neighbors shared with us that there was a study that proved “no matter what” you can’t lose weight and keep it off… uh, excuse me! There is so much proof out there smacking us in the face of real people making good choices and making a difference in life that you would be blind to believe it is not possible. But maybe that’s it, we are so numb to the world and our bodies that we don’t see that the simple things in life are what matter.  Over the last six months I have been steadily focusing on my activity level and how I eat which has led to weight loss and great results in body curves. I went from 126 lbs to a solid 118 working towards 115. I am not a health freak or a doctor nor am I obese or extremely overweight ….I just didn’t feel good and the slightly squishy belly was not my best friend. I love that Taco bell is putting this lady out there, she made a choice just like any body else and she followed through with it. While you are getting ready for your big day take care of your body and be active, but also remember you are human! (Enjoying a night with ice cream and popcorn is fine…as long as you’re not doing it every night). Lose weight the healthy way!

No matter where you go in the state of Colorado or any state  there is talk about the economy and how to save on everything, especially   weddings. The newly engaged are searching every where for new ideas on how to save and how to budget their momentous occassion but still keeping the magic and quality to the event. There are several companies you can visit for cheap wedding invitations or you can create your own like we did!

My husband and I were also on a tight budget when we planned our wedding and were concerned about the cost of our invitations…just close family alone we needed to send out 150 invitations..EEK! (You and me both know this is crazy…!) But coming from large families that still live in the area we sort of knew it was inevitable that we would need to invite them all. Luckily both of us are pretty creative and handy with the computer! So we went to the local Target to buy a wedding invitation kit that matched our theme the best. Of course there aren’t hundreds of options like many of your companies online but really…how many invitations do you really need to look at to find the right one? (It depends on the couple I suppose…) After ten minutes we found the right kit and were off to create away. We then used our computer and the lovely program of Excel to print all the return and receiving addresses, formal invitation and rsvp cards. To dress it up we used several of our favorite engagement pictures as backgrounds on the “official” invitation and the r.s.v.p. cards. Yes this took more time and patience than picking out the invitation online and typing in your wedding details, but we also got to design the invitation around us and our wedding theme.

If you rather have a professional printing company take care of the creation process take a look at the  Top Ten Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Invitations.

Ladies it is here! The best online wedding planning tool has been created and it is FREE! Can you believe it? FREE! I couldn’t at first so I went to My Wedding Workbook online wedding planner to check it out and was overall impressed with the thorough details involved in planning a wedding consolidated into a user friendly interface that you can access anywhere online…which means anywhere ladies, anywhere!! Pitch the book and save the trees (and your green presidents) because you won’t find anything better than this free online wedding planner!!

Not only is cutting the cake a part of the wedding tradition events that take place on your wedding day, but it is usually what your guests are looking forward to the most, next to dancing of course. The guests get to admire the beauty and creativity of the cake during the reception (while you and your groom take some last minute pictures), they also get to take pictures of the two of you sharing the first “bite” together in front of your chosen delight and they get to enjoy the yummy flavors and textures of dessert. Now these days the tradition has evolved and so having a “cake” is not absolutely a must, but having some type of dessert to represent the cake is acceptable. For example, I have been to a couple weddings in Colorado where the bride and groom decided to have a neatly and fun stack of cupcakes. The cupcakes were simply decorated but created a fun design with different colors and shapes. It was perfect! The cupcakes fit the whole style and fun spirit of the couple. Plus the benefits…cost of course, you don’t spend quite as much for cupcakes as you would with a full blown out “wedding cake” with tiers and fondant decorations. We’ve seen cupcakes, cheese cake, chocolate fountains and more, but it all depends on your wedding style and your personalities. For our wedding we did have a multiple tiered cake with a fountain underneath the bottom layer, but our wedding was formal and somewhat magical setting. My brother in law and his wife had a cute little chocolate cake just for the pictures and then the guests got to indulge in the awesome chocolate fountain….so the sky is the limit. Here is a great site for Colorado wedding cake designers or pastry chefs! Remember anything is possible with desserts these days! Bon appetit!

 Colorado Wedding Cake businesses 

 Colorado Bakeries

Of all the choices, besides choosing your dress, you have to make I would say that the photographer is right up there on top…the company or photographer that you choose is in complete control of your wedding memories that you share with your future family. Bride and grooms are so overwhelmed and blown away on the day of their wedding that afterwards it seems to be a blur…a beautiful and amazing blur of course, but  a blur still…so those wedding pictures are a must! Now there are family members that have their cameras on hand and snap away happily but some how the angles and shots they take aren’t quite as appealing as what the professionals capture. So how do you go about finding the right photographer, especially if you are out of state? These are a few steps that will lead you to finding the right memory catcher who will go above and beyond photography and capture time …

• Make a list of what you want included with your photography session. Having a list of “would be nice but not necessary” and “absolute musts have” are important. Here are a few examples of what to think about: engagement photo session, prior event photography (i.e. bachelorette/bachelor parties or showers), how many hours of photography coverage do want (before, during and after), style (traditional, modern/trendy, mystical, etc), rights to all the photos, photo book or CD, pictures posted online for friends and family, etc
• Decide on your photography budget. How much are you able to or willing to spend on your pictures. Just remember the pros and cons of spending more or less. When you spend more there are more options but maybe a little less control and when you spend less there is less coverage or not as many options such as a website or a book made.
• I always recommend going through family or friend referrals, they know most about compatability and style…plus the cost is usually much better than the photographers that have a fancy website they paid a bunch of money to be on the top of interent searchers… Make sure you like the style and variety.
• If you are searching online I recommend this Colorado Wedding Photographers site for a great listing of some of the best photographers in Colorado. It includes pricing ranges and location listings. I would find three that you really like and then email the website link to your parents and a few friends and see which ones they like or what their opnions are. From here you are usually able to narrow it down to 2-3 photographers.
• Call the photographers and go over what they provide and how that relates to your “absolute musts” and “nice to have” lists let alone your budget! From there you will be able to find what fits you best for your special occassion!
• If you know you will be making your own wedding photo book and other prints here and there I would make sure you get the rights to your pictures. Some times great photographers go out of business and you lose access to your pictures! We made sure we had the rights to our pics!!!!
• Just remember that price does not always equal QUALITY! Choosing someone that you feel understands you and your style is always better!