THIS MONTH'S VIVA LA WEDDING Q&A

Q - Can you explain the difference between an escort card and a place card, or are they the same thing?

A - Escort cards are a must if you're hosting a large seated dinner. They go on display in a place that's easily accessible to your guests during the cocktail hour and communicate one crucial piece of info: what table they are to sit at for dinner. The tented card is traditional however brides are getting more and more creative and lots of variations of the escort card can now be found. As long as your guest's name and their table number is obvious, the design is really up to you!

Place cards go on the actual dining tables at each place setting showing your guest what seat they should sit at during dinner, once they've used an escort card to find their table of course! Unless you really want to structure the seating, place cards are optional.

VIVA'S BOOK CLUB - THE BIG WHITE BOOK OF WEDDINGS

Named “Top Trendsetter of The Year” by Modern Bride and “Best Celebrity Wedding Planner” by Life and Style Magazine, David Tutera is now opening his files to reveal a wealth of detailed information about planning the perfect day in his latest book The Big White Book of Weddings: A How to Guide for the Savvy, Stylish Bride. The same insight he gives to his A-list clientele is now at your fingertips!

Covering the entire wedding experience from brainstorming, budgeting, invitations, gift registries, food, music, traditional reception rituals, and even what happens after the wedding's over, Tutera has created a must-have for brides to be. Full of the personality that David brings to every wedding he plans and every TV show or magazine article he appears in, The Big White Book of Weddings is the book every bride needs to make her wedding unforgettable for all the right reasons!

The Big White Book of Weddings hits stores January 5 2010.

Other books by David Tutera - Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings (2010), Big Bithdays (2006), The Party Planner (2005), America Entertains (2003), A Passion For Parties (2001).

INSPIRED BY THE RED CARPET, WORN ON THE WHITE CARPET

Celebrity wedding planner David Tutera and special occasion dress house Faviana have joined forces to launch David Tutera By Faviana, a line of luxurious wedding gowns inspired by celebrity red carpet fashions.

“I have been planning and designing high-profile weddings for over 20 years and know what brides look for in the search for the perfect dress,” says David Tutera. “Walking down the aisle at a wedding ceremony is like walking down a runway. I am delighted to work with Faviana to bring celebrity style to the bride through red carpet fashion trends translated into wedding day styles at accessible prices. Every bride should feel like a celebrity on the biggest day of her life…her wedding.”

Each dress is appropriately named after a red carpet star and her head turning sense of fashion. Charlize, Cameron, Gwenyth, Penelope to name just a few. Viva's favorites? Eva (bottom left) and Fergie (bottom right). Both dresses start off full length for the ceremony (back of full length dress shown in pictures) with the lowest part of the skirt removable to reveal a short party dress for the reception. So fun and flirty! Perfect styles for 2010 as two in one dresses are an upcoming trend.

The collection is expected to be in stores in January 2010. We'll keep you posted on where you can get a David Tutera By Faviana dress in Canada.

Mark December 12th on your calendar...

I came across this today and wanted to share it before I headed out on my trip tomorrow.

Help Portrait has come up with a great idea for folks who own a camera.

1. Find someone in need.
2. Take their portrait.
3. Print their portrait.
4. And deliver their portrait.

From their website:

"The brainchild of celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart, Help-Portrait is a movement of photographers, coming together in every major city, to use their photography skills to give back to the community.

On December 12th, photographers around the world will be grabbing their cameras, finding people in need, and taking their picture.

When the prints are ready, the photographs get delivered.

Yep. It really is that easy

And by the way, we don't want to see your photos. This is about GIVING the pictures, not taking them. These portraits are not for your portfolio, website, or for sale. Money isn't involved here. This holiday season, you have the chance to give a family something they may have never had before - a portrait together."

Luckily (for me) I will be back in time to participate and I hope you will seriously consider it as well.

If you are wondering what it would be like you can read about photographer Jean Labelle's Help-Portrait shoot here.