If you’re planning a wedding this year, you’ve probably dedicated a chunk of your time thinking about your wedding colors, specifically, the color of the bridesmaid dresses.  Bridesmaid dresses typically set the mood and color scheme for an entire wedding.

Brides today have so much to choose from when selecting a color palette for their wedding.  The top 10 colors of 2012 from Pantone, the world-renowned authority on color, range from neutral to bright so you have quite a bit of choice when it comes to your color palette.

Options are endless but if you’d like to narrow it down, the popular summer colors of 2012 are bright, sophisticated hues.  Bold shades of cranberry, papaya, and fuchsia can add a pop to your pictures or centerpieces.  Brides.com says,  ”This season, the hottest [bridesmaid dress] styles appear in a dazzling spectrum of colors”.

The lighter color scheme that includes blush, creamy off-whites, light silver, pale pinks and hints of blue is making a comeback according to The Wedding Fashion Files. Basic beach or garden themes for flowers and table decor are also classic for the summer and would pair well with the 2012 collections.  Many designers such as  Alvina Valenta, Monique Lhullier, and Vera Wang have showcased colors of champagne, mint green, vanilla and pastel pinks in their 2012 collections.

So how do you choose?   Think about your location, the time of day, the lighting available, and how formal of an event you’re planning.  Tap into your creativity and show your personality.  Visit your local paint store and pick up swatches of paint color samples and try different combinations.  And, check out the boards on Pinterest, one of the most popular resources for wedding planning.

Wedding planning sites like the ones we mentioned last week are an amazing resources to view ideas from industry professionals and other brides.  For example, The Knot shares these four “hot” wedding color combos for a summer 2012 wedding.

Have fun, show your personality, and be true to your style and you won’t go wrong picking the perfect colors for your special day.

Keep in mind, our bridal services keep gowns and bridesmaid dresses in ready-to-celebrate condition. As the only dry cleaning company in the Indianapolis area endorsed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, we take pride in staying on top of the latest trends in wedding dress design and we ensure that our team members are trained to properly care for even the most intricately designed gowns.

- S.O.

If you or someone you know is planning a wedding this summer or fall, this is the time frame in which many little, but BIG, decisions must be made.

Chances are the ceremony and reception location was secured months ago but there’s still the photographer, caterer, flowers, guest lists, invitations, entertainment, transportation, honeymoon location, dress fittings, hair.  The list is endless.

To avoid running all over town, you can do quite a bit of your planning online.  Here are a few of our favorite online sources for planning a wedding.

Founded in 1996, The Knot was one of the first online planning sites.  Aside from their popular website, they offer a magazine, books, a digital magazine available on your iPad, Kindle or Nook as well as free iPhone apps that allow you to monitor your wedding to do lists and get advice from other brides.   On their website you can search local vendors by entering your zip code and download multiple planning tools such as “The Wedding Budgeter”.

Pinterest is extremely popular for planning weddings this year.  Pinterest lets you organize your wedding finds on the web via an image that links back to it’s originating site.  Once you download their “pin it” button to your browser’s toolbar, you can surf the web for ideas, advice, pictures and blogs and “pin” them to your Pinterest bulletin board.  Like Twitter and Facebook, you can “follow” others and browse their pinboards.  Or do a search for what you’re looking for and view pinboards of folks you do not know personally.  Here’s an article we found offering you 7 Tips for planning your wedding on Pinterest.  And, by the way, you can follow The Knot on Pinterest as well as other Wedding Planning sites.

Founded by a gentleman who felt it was difficult to research quality vendors while planning his wedding, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors.    Completely free and easily navigable, WeddingWire offers online planning tools to help you keep track of your spending and payment schedules, stay on top of RSVPs, store vendor information and checklists.  “WeddingWire is about helping brides and grooms execute efficiently and effectively on their weddings”.

While you’re busy with the details of planning the wedding, let us care for the details of your wedding attire.  Whether it’s before the wedding, or after, our bridal services keep dresses in ready-to-celebrate condition.  As the only dry cleaning company in the Indianapolis area endorsed by the Association of Wedding Gown Specialists, we take pride in staying on top of the latest trends in wedding dress design and we ensure that our team members are trained to properly care for even the most intricately designed gowns .

You can read our care tips for your dress before the wedding here and learn about our experienced alterations department here.  We’re experts in caring for your gown before the wedding and preserving the gown while you’re away on your honeymoon.

- S.O.

Meet Dylan Durrett, one of our route drivers.  Dylan will soon celebrate his one year anniversary with Classic Cleaners in April 2012.  He doesn’t encounter all of his customers each week but he’s gotten to know their dogs well.  Get to know him and hear his top five items he’d take if he had to spend 100 days on a deserted island in this humorous Q-&-A.

Q:        If you had to change your full name, what would you call yourself ?  A:         Maximilian – It means “The Greatest”.

Q:        Where were you born?
A:         Indianapolis, IN

Q:        What is your favorite kind of challenge on the job?
A:         Making sure that my Route Customers are satisfied.

Q:        What is your favorite tool at Classic Cleaners and why?
A:         The Classic Cleaners wreath hangers we provide to our route customers to hang their clothes on for pick-up and delivery.  They are very convenient and keep the customer’s door frames from getting scratched by the clothes hangers.

Q:        What do you enjoy most about working at Classic Cleaners?
A:         My Route Customers are the best.

Q:        What is your favorite type of fabric and why?
A:         Fleece.  It’s warm and versatile.

Q:        What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
A:         I like being active and doing anything outdoors.

Q:        If you were a toy, what toy would you be?
A:         Buzz Lightyear because he can fly.

Q:        If you were asked to speak to a graduating high school class, what would you say?
A:         I would tell them to be prepared to answer this question when someone asks them what they would say to a graduating class, because you get asked this question multiple times in your life.

Q:        If you had a time machine and could be transported to any time, the past or the future, what time and place would you choose and why?
A:         I would go to the future to see technology advancements like the iPhone 17.

Q:        If you had to spend 100 days on a deserted island, what five things would you take with you and why?
A:
1.   Water.  You can’t drink the ocean salt water!
2.   A knife to protect myself.
3.   My tooth brush.  I like clean teeth and fresh breath (I’m one of the few who like to go to the Dentist).
4.   A fishing pole to fish for food and become a master fisherman.
5.   A Wilson brand volleyball to keep me company.

Thank you, Dylan, for those entertaining answers.

If you’d like to sign up for free pick up and delivery, Dylan promises to provide treats for your dog(s).  No dog?  No problem.  Dylan will provide you with a large garment bag to leave your items outside your door.

- S.O.

Maybe you are saying to yourself, “I know how to tie a tie.  I don’t need to read this blog post”.  But, wait.  Have you ever seen a gentleman that not only dresses well but his tie always looks absolutely perfect?

It may be because he knows that the way he ties his necktie each day depends on the fabric of the tie, the thickness of the tie, the type of collar on his shirt and the width & length of his neck.

He may also have some insight on how to match his tie not only to his outfit, but his personality.  He knows how to calculate tie length and how to accessorize his tie as well as get rid of wrinkles and stains on his necktie.

Now you might be saying to yourself, “Okay, I’m intrigued, I’ll keep reading”.  Rather than summarize the amazing website & blog we found about anything “TIE” related  (yes, a website devoted to neckties), we’ll share it with you.

We found this site, Tie-a-Tie.net, informative and resourceful and we think you’ll enjoy it along with one of it’s videos on how to tie one of the most popular necktie knot styles, The Windsor Knot.

After you perfect your necktie knotting skills wear your ties with re-newed confidence and maintain your entire wardrobe by allowing us to de-wrinkle & clean your items at any of our 17 locations.

Enjoy!

- S.O.