Tips to Designing a Wedding Garter That Fits Your Personality

Trying to decide which wedding garter to wear on your wedding day? It is a big decision, I know. Your wedding garter is small and the perfect wedding keepsake, so the pressure is on. However, the wedding garter is also hidden under the dress, so it give brides a little leeway to take a risk. In my humble opinion, the best wedding garters are those designed to match the bride's personality!

Here are some tips on how to design a wedding garter around your personality…

Tip #1…who are you?
It is really important that you consider yourself before you decide your wedding garter type. In fact, this is important to do before making any wedding 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 pictures on Flickr. There are lots of sources of personal inspiration, it just matters what is important and pleasing to you.

Tip #2…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 resent 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 fiance', you can feel safe in choosing polka dots, animal print or a really bright color if that is a reflection of your personality! On the flip side, if you are simple and/or elegant, then go with it!

Tip #3…go minimal
The wedding garter is a small space, usually only about 1 to 2 inches wide. with that in mind, i suggest that you pick one or two themes, decorations or color palettes to go with. After that, it just gets too busy.

Tip #4…choose your background
The background is the starting point and the base on which any accent color or theme is placed. You will want to choose a background that ultimately complements your personal sense of style. You'll want a background that goes with any 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 be wild with animal prints or refined and simple, if that suits your personality.

Tip #5…choose your accent
The accent is the next color or theme placed on top of the background. accents can be bows, stripes, charms, jewels, pins or embroidery…pretty much anything that you can attach to your wedding garter. If you go with a simple background, the accents are an opportunity to infuse a little color into your wedding garter and show more of your personality. You will want to choose an accent or accents that compliment and standout against your background.

Do you have any other ideas for how to design a wedding garter around your personality?

Check out my garter 101 blog series for more questions and answers about wedding garters.