tips to designing a wedding garter that suits your personality

step one:    who are you?

it is really important that you consider yourself before you decide your wedding garter design. in fact, this is important to do before making any wedding related decisions! take some time to consider who you are, what you want, what you like and the kind of life you want to lead with your new husband. start thinking about not only the colors you like, but what makes you happy. maybe look through your own photo albums, fashion magazines, items around your house or nature pictures on flickr. there are lots of sources of personal inspiration, it just matters what is important to you.

step two:    be you!

now that the you know who you are, don’t be afraid to be you! the wedding garter is hidden under your dress, so you can feel safe in expressing your personality. the wedding garter is a small, keepsake from your wedding that should truly represent who you are, what your style is and what is important to you. because it is hidden and something to be shared between you and your finance’, you can feel safe in choosing polka dots, animal print or a really bright color if that is a reflection of your personality!

step three:    choose your background

the background is the starting point and the base on which an accent color or theme is placed. you will want to choose a background that ultimately complements your personal sense of style and then the accents that you put on top of it. for example, backgrounds can be ivory to match your wedding dress color or white to make the other colors or embroidery on your wedding garter pop. they can be blue to serve as your “something blue,” or made with a scrap of your mother’s wedding dress to be “something borrowed.” backgrounds can also be more elaborate by using materials such as extra fabric from the hem of your wedding dress or the bridesmaids’ dresses. backgrounds generally come satin and grosgrain and in three different widths:  2 inches, 1.5 inches and 1 inch.

step four:    choose your accent

the accent is the next color or theme placed on top of the background. accents can be bows, stripes or both. accents can be hand embroidered with monograms or wedding dates. accents are an opportunity to infuse a little color into a garter and show more of the bride’s personality. for example, accents can be a bride or grooms’s favorite colors or school colors. they can match a wedding’s color scheme, the bridesmaids’ dresses or the brides’ flowers.  accents are also a perfect spot to add “something blue” to the bride’s attire.

step five:    email julianne

to design your perfect, custom wedding garter, email julianne directly at info@juliannesmith.com. julianne will work with you to develop a one-of-a-kind wedding garter that suits your style and your taste.