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Mrs. Rainbow, Tampa Age and Occupation: 22, Makeup Artist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Electrical Engineer/Programmer Engagement Date: November 27, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010 Venue: The Gamble Plantation About Me: I'm a quirky (and slightly Type-A) freelance makeup artist who was born in Washington State, raised in Alabama, and now living with my one and only in sunny Florida. I'm fashion and beauty obsessed, and have recently discovered my inner domestic diva extraordinaire. I'm a wannabe chef, decorating addict, and trying desperately to be as crafty as possible---albeit only with a glue gun. I'm hopelessly in love with my fiance, and all things sparkly and feathery. Despite the glittery exterior, I'm a total hippie on the inside. When I'm not making up pretty faces, I love doing what I can to help people, animals, and the environment. Someday the FI and I will change the world, but first we're tackling our modern-vintage-Marie-Antoinette-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland inspired wedding. I just can't wait to be Mrs. Rainbow!
About Mrs. Rainbow

“Maid” in the Shade

October 20th, 2009 @ 11:06 am by Mrs. Rainbow

A few days ago, I wrote about my bridesmaid dress drama, which you can find here. As you can see, I was basically in a state of “non-decision”, which is not exactly the best place to be when it comes to planning a wedding. After lots and lots of thought, and looking at a ton of other dresses, and even more thought, I kept coming back to this one:

Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress Z202801 BMs

source

Isn’t she pretty? I just couldn’t get this dress out of my head. Granted, I’ve never seen it in person, so it’s a bit of a leap of faith, but nothing great ever came from not taking risks, right?

Right! So now that that is taken care of, on to the next bit of BM details—what, oh what will they be holding? I instantly nixed flowers, and I’m not really sure why. I absolutely love flowers, but I think I just wanted something a little more different. I wanted to buck tradition, I wanted to rebel, I wanted to ride off into the sunset on the back of Brad Pitt’s—er, Mr. Rainbow’s motorcycle. Okay then, reeling it back in now! Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress Winky03 winky03

I started thinking of BM bouquet alternatives. Purse? No. Pomander? No. Parasol? Hmm.. there’s a thought! Parasols are very Marie Anoinette-esque and the whole shindig will be outdoors, so it’s pretty perfect. (WOW, apparently P is the letter of the day!)

First I checked out some amazing BM parasol inspiration:

Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress Large I09 large_i09

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So pretty!

Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress Bridesm04 bridesm04

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I love how the sun catches in them.

Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress 154 1

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I am LOVING all the different colored parasols!

Then I went straight to Luna Bazaar to check out their inventory. They seriously have every color of the rainbow (tee hee) and then some! I highly recommend checking them out if you’re looking for parasols, paper lanterns, fans, etc. They’re super affordable and have a great selection. And no, they’re not paying me to say that. With my mind made up, I decided to look for some little ways to jazz up the parasols. Check out this big bag of awesome:

Maid in the Shade :  wedding bridesmaid dress Mwd1045 Posy Parasol

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Complete with step-by-step instructions and a downloadable template? This is a DIY I can get down with. Martha Stewart, you do it every time. How amazing are those? Sure, they’re being held by little girls in this picture, but I can certainly see them looking a little more grown-up with the right color combination, and imagine the pictures! *Sigh* I love them.

What do you think, hive? Are they too juvenile looking, or do you think my grown-up BMs can pull them off? Will your BMs be carrying a “bouquet alternative”?

Tags: bridesmaid-dress |
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15 Responses to ““Maid” in the Shade”

1.
Miss French Fries
Bee
Miss French Fries (message)  2,218 posts, Buzzing bee

Totally awesome. :) I think we’re on the same page on a lot of things, Miss Rainbow!

 
2.
pmerr
Member
pmerr (message)  2,401 posts, Buzzing bee

I love that last one-I would love to do the whole parasol thing, but I really want flowers.

 
3.
thefuturemrsjewell
Member
thefuturemrsjewell (message)  1,829 posts, Buzzing bee

i love the dress miss rainbow! I think that will be perfect for your ladies! parasols could be totally cute too!

 
4.
Member Icon
Member
Miss Cashmere (message)  41 posts, Newbee

I’m doing the same Martha Stewart project! We’re from New Orleans so a parasol is a must for all the girls during the Second Line parade. If you want a special one, eBay has some beautiful Battenburg lace ones for pretty cheap ($30!). I’m buying blue parasols and trimming them with gold tissue paper and I bought the 24 pack so all the important women in the family can have one. I also bought some gold paint and I’m going to paint each girls initial in gold on the umbrella as well!

 
5.
Guest Icon
Guest
SeattleRed

I’m thinking the BMs will carry bouquets, but I’ll be carrying my grandma’s marriage prayer book (that has her marriage certificate in it. It was a gift from her grandmother for her wedding.) I’ll also be carrying my other grandmother’s rosary. Melania Trump did it, so I thought I could get away with doing it too. I LOVE flowers, but carrying something sentimental made a lot more sense to me. In the pictures, you can see the rosary MT carried (wow, crazy link here):

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://storage.people.com/jpgs/20050207/20050207-750-57.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20146758,00.html&usg=__DKOTDlFYETED9uqQAvXisjuylFM=&h=978&w=750&sz=139&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=cLIGAqwyy5cQFM:&tbnh=149&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmelania%2Btrump%2Bwedding%2Brosary%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26rlz%3D1I7DMUS_en%26um%3D1

 
6.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Moonbeam (message)  1,732 posts, Bumble bee

I think the parasols are great, but what about feather bouquets for them too? It just seems so perfect with your theme.

 
7.
Member Icon
Member
tallulah (message)  30 posts, Newbee

I agree with miss moonbeam- feather bouquets and those amazing parasols seems perfect for your theme! :) Also, can you send the link for the DIY parasol project?

 
8.
Miss Giraffe
Bee
Miss Giraffe (message)  4,187 posts, Honey bee

I love parasols! I def plan on getting some for my maids!

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Cola (message)  2,833 posts, Sugar bee

Very cute idea! I’m sure they will make for some great pics!

 
10.
Member Icon
Member
KtobeC (message)  103 posts, Blushing bee

I totally was thinking about parasols too! I think it’s a great idea and can give the same pop of color that a bouqet can. Love it!

 
11.
mrspaetz
Member
mrspaetz (message)  3,805 posts, Honey bee

love the parasols. i carried a red one myself (good luck in my culture) and made for awesome photos.

 
12.
alishaneva
Member
alishaneva (message)  2,152 posts, Buzzing bee

I think that’s a great idea! I’m thinking each of my BMs will be carrying a single, solitary daisy. But I’m not completely convinced that’s what I want … yet. And that dress is gorgeous!

 
13.
Mrs. Mouse
Bee
Mrs. Mouse (message)  5,821 posts, Bee Keeper

I love the colored parasol inspiration! The flowers are pretty, but I personally like the plain ones better.

 
14.
Miss Poodle
Bee
Miss Poodle (message)  3,386 posts, Sugar bee

I love your idea!! parasols are way cute!!

 
15.
Bridebella
Member
Bridebella (message)  368 posts, Helper bee

Love them! So cute and you’re so right, the photos are going to be AWESOME!

 

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Mrs. Rainbow
Mrs. Rainbow

Mrs. Rainbow, Tampa Age and Occupation: 22, Makeup Artist Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Electrical Engineer/Programmer Engagement Date: November 27, 2008 Wedding Date: May 2010 Venue: The Gamble Plantation About Me: I'm a quirky (and slightly Type-A) freelance makeup artist who was born in Washington State, raised in Alabama, and now living with my one and only in sunny Florida. I'm fashion and beauty obsessed, and have recently discovered my inner domestic diva extraordinaire. I'm a wannabe chef, decorating addict, and trying desperately to be as crafty as possible---albeit only with a glue gun. I'm hopelessly in love with my fiance, and all things sparkly and feathery. Despite the glittery exterior, I'm a total hippie on the inside. When I'm not making up pretty faces, I love doing what I can to help people, animals, and the environment. Someday the FI and I will change the world, but first we're tackling our modern-vintage-Marie-Antoinette-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland inspired wedding. I just can't wait to be Mrs. Rainbow!

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