Congratulations, Chelsea!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Did You Hear the News?

I planned to write some tips on how to submit your wedding write up to your newspaper, but then I wondered. How many brides do that anymore?

There's no doubt that the newspaper industry is suffering. People have shifted to online news and get inundated by television news outlets. Then there's twitter and facebook and myspace and blogs, oh my! Who needs to put an announcement in the newspaper anymore?

So, before I tell you HOW to do that, please tell me...Did you or do you plan to submit your wedding to your newspaper?  Please take the poll and leave a comment with your view on this.

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Be Our Guest

Meet Ashley, a recent bride and author of Bride on a Budget. 
Photo Credit: Micha Everett Photography

No doubt we are slap dab in the middle of wedding season 2010!  Our extended family is blessed to be celebrating a wedding in three weeks, so everyone has begun to ask, "What are you wearing?"  Yes, it's true, the focus will be on what the bride is wearing.  Yet guests care about how they look, too.  There will be photographers and cameras, you know!  So here are a few things to keep in mind.

White is out, unless you're the bride. That goes for the guys, too.

Great choice by this couple!

Black is for evenings, as well as sequins. Wear those after 6:00.

Don't wear overtly sexy attire. If you wonder if it's appropriate, the answer is no.

You don't need to coordinate with the bride's colors. You couldn't possibly be expected to know all those details.

Guys should wear suits, possibly a sports coat, for informal day weddings. The best choice for later in the day is a dark suit.

Anything more formal, such as a tux, will be stated on the invitation.

A perfect dress for a wedding.

There you have it.  Easy, right?  WRONG!  I am still debating what to wear to the wedding in three weeks.  I have the perfect black dress, but the wedding is at five o'clock, so I am rethinking that.  Thanks to Ashley, from Bride on a Budget, and her guests for showing us all how it's done.  Her guests looked amazing!   (Please visit Ashley's blog to see all her DIY projects and budget tips.) 

Let's see if we can help each other out with what to wear.  The Green Hanger Shop usually charges a small fee for its listings. However, we have created a new category  that offers free 30 day listings for dresses that guests have worn and are ready to sell.

The best thing to wear? A SMILE!

Drop by and register as a user with us to submit your free 30 day ad. (They will be approved before posting.)  We are looking for gently used, clean, and current dresses, shoes, and accessories.  Guys are welcome to submit their wedding attire, too! Free ads are for items priced $50 or less only.

If you have something to share or need something to wear, please~

Be our guest!

~Judy

The Gift of Giving

You got the wedding invitation, so now it's time to get the gift.  (Yes, if you were invited, I want you to give them a gift whether you are going or not.)  What do you get and how much do you spend?  I can make this easy for you.  Well, actually, the couple has already made this easy for you.  USE THEIR REGISTRY!  They took the time to create one in order to help their guests choose items that they could use to start their new life together.  Hopefully, they included all price points, so you can find something in your budget.  And don't feel pressured to spend a certain amount.  You should only spend what you can afford.  Have your own ideas about what you want to give?  Don't go there.  I am telling you the simple truth.  Stick to the registry and you will never go wrong.

The Favour of a Reply

I received a very special post today.  The real deal.  The snail variety.  An invitation!  My niece is getting married in August and wow! it's time to be invited.  Seems like only yesterday they were announcing their engagement.  This is the bride we honored with the shower a few months ago.  I am very happy and excited for her, her fiance', and both families. 

The invitation was elegant and traditional, much the same way I anticipate the wedding will be.  It contained a very important element, the RSVP card.  The card is already addressed, and postage was provided.  It simply requires that I write the number of attendees and our name.  It is that simple.  Even though she knows I will be there with bells on, the card will go out to her tomorrow. 

Now, believe it or not, she is not going to receive all of her RSVP's back.  Having planned two wedding events, I am sad to say that some folks do not take the time to give the family the courtesy of a response.  I must put on my 'Miss Manners' hat and ask, "PEOPLE!! WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!!" 

If you can give me one good reason why you do not respond to wedding invitations that enclose preposted cards, please do.  I await your reply.

Watch Your Back!

I like to think that I could never be tricked or scammed by a stranger, but the Internet has created a whole new breed of scammers.  All websites are subjected to them at some point, and The Green Hanger Shop is no exception.

It starts innocently enough with an email.

"Hello, I am interested in your displayed wedding dress on www.thegreenhangershop.com. I needed to know if the sale is still on.Kindly e-mail me at abig_weir2810@hotmail.com and let me know.Thanks. Abigail"

The seller, anxious to respond to a potential buyer, fails to notice the lack of specific questions and the odd language.  This scammer gets off to a good start.  Most use very poor English. So the seller responds and then receives this.

 "Hi Jackie,

 I am sorry i didn't respond to your e-mail soon.Thanks for replying my e-mail.I am interested in the purchase of the gown for my wedding.Really, i like the dress as it is on the Listing.The dress is absolutely beautiful.,I have few questions though regarding the gown What is it condition? Does it come in factory bag or box for shipment ? Do you have photos to see for close viewing? Please e-mail me asap and let me know your asking price without shipping cost.I'm not local, i live in fort worth, Texas and i am afraid i won't be chanced to come see it and try it on and that's why i will be responsible for the shipment. All this i need to let my fiance know about because he's funding . I look forward to hearing from you.Thanks."

Sound legit to you?  Not me. The language, again, is just off enough to raise some red flags.  They won't be "chanced"?  "close viewing" ? "funding"?  I know there are those who will say, "But maybe they are real, how do you know?"  Okay, keep going if you dare, but for me, the gut check has already told me to stop communicating with this one. Maybe I am just too much of a skeptic, but I strongly believe in the "Better safe than sorry." approach.

Sure enough, a trusting seller didn't catch the signs. This is what happened next. She wrote:

" Hi! I just wanted to let you know that for the past 2 weeks I have been communicating with someone by the name of Abigail Weir who is supposedly interested in purchasing my wedding dress that I have posted on your website. I wanted to make you aware of the situation, I received a check via FedEx on Wednesday made out to me personally with no signature. She asked me to sign the check with her fiance's name and I have refused to do so. I also didnt mention that they have over paid me (supposedly in error) and she has asked me to pay a vendor with the remaining monies that the check is for. I have refused to do so. I have no contact phone numbers nor an address for this person, but in case someone else complains about her then you know there is a scam going on.

For all I know she may be for real but I havent received any more contact from her except for last evening when she told me to sign her fiance's name, Michael Rivera. I contacted my Bank to see if this was valid, and as we all know its fraudulent."

So there you have it.  The scam in all its glory.  I still can't believe they get people to fall for it, but they do, and it must prove profitable for them. 

You might say that you won't use the Internet for buying or selling.  You will miss out on some wonderful opportunities though.  I choose to approach people I encounter for what they are...COMPLETE STRANGERS.  Do not be afraid to ask probing questions. Only use secure payment transaction services, such as Paypal.  Do not be too quick to ship an item.  Give the banks or Paypal time to secure the payment. 

If you fall victim, and I hope you never do, you may report the incident to your local law enforcement, and even the Internet Crime Complaint Center, but keep in mind that they are dealing with matters of life and death.  Unless you are in danger or have lost a large amount of money, a good defense is your best protection.  I appreciate the sellers who kept me informed about what was happening, and I encourage anyone who suspects a scam to let the website know.  The Shop may have defeated this one, but another will appear sooner or later.  It is an unfortunate fact of life in this new age of ecommerce.

And that is the ugly truth.

One Girl's Watermelon, Another Girl's Find

"Did you see that? Did you see the way he looked at that bridesmaid? "
"Oh, no. He was just looking around and accidentally there was a bridesmaid."

I love that line from the movie, Romance On the High Seas, a great 1948 flick starring Doris Day.
And it's true. Next to the bride, of course, bridesmaids can definitely turn some heads.  Unfortunately, bridesmaid often pay a high price for that head turn. 

According to 20 Something Finance, by G E Miller,
'The bridesmaids definitely have the roughest go financially, with a huge burden being put on Maid of Honors, in particular.

The Cost of Being a Bridesmaid:
■Gift for the Shower: ~$50
■Gift for the Bachelorette party: $25-$50
■Gift for the Wedding: ~$50 (yes you have to buy gifts for each party)
■Dress: $150-200
■Shoes: $30
■Alterations: $50
■Undergarments: $30
■Hair: $50
■Makeup: $50 (some brides ask to have done day of, others brides – the good ones – don’t)
■Total cost of being a bridesmaid : ~$500'

Ouch!  Looking over Miller's assessment, I agree with his figures.  No wonder brides have begun some new trends.

One is letting brides choose 'off the rack' dresses in a particular color.  This allows them the freedom to choose a dress they like at a price they can afford, hopefully.  And the likelihood of reuse is fact, not fiction.

Another is choosing black dresses for the bridesmaids.  Again, a money saving move since they may already own a black dress.  I've seen many weddings where black was the choice and they were elegant, elegant, elegant!

I love preowned bridesmaids' dresses!  They are some of the best deals out there and make such good $en$e.  If your bride friend subjected opportuned you the chance to wear watermelon, a color you would otherwise avoid, I have lots of other bridesmaids-to-be looking to take it off your hands! 

Here are some options available for your summer wedding attendants (or attendance) in  2010!

David's Bridal ~ Clover

Jenny Yoo ~ Persian Pink

Thread Design ~ Sea Grass

Siri ~ Candlelight

And, of course, Watermelon!

Just remember, don't toss the dress out with the birdseed!  List it on The Green Hanger Shop!