Celebrity weddings can provide inspiration for you and your brides.

Actress Shannen Doherty married photographer Kurt Iswarienko at sunset on October 15 in the Malibu Hills. Here are details from her wedding that you may be able to use on the weddings that you plan.

Wedding Attire

Shannen wore three different gowns. Two were by Monique Lhuillier (one was off-white with a plum sash and the other blush toned) and the third was made from lace from her mother’s wedding gown.

A bride might want to wear her mother’s gown, but find that it doesn’t fit or that it was not properly stored and has not stood the test of time. Using lace from a mother’s gown and having a designer or dressmaker create a dress from it that can be worn on a bride’s wedding day is a good alternative.

The groom wore a black Ralph Lauren tux and changed ties each time Shannen changed her dress.

When Kris Humphries married Kim Kardashian, he changed his attire when she did. Not every groom is going to want to do that but if your bride would like her groom to look a little different when she does, suggest her groom change ties, like Kurt. He may want to also change his shirt to have a completely different look.

The attendants and guests wore black

Guests were asked to wear black and it is not unusual brides today to ask that guests dress in a specific color or style in order for them to be part of the theme of the wedding.

Flowers

Shannen carried a bouquet that included plum calla lilies and cream and blush roses.

If a bride wants to add color to a black and white, all white or all black wedding, do it with flowers.

Food

Catered by Nathaniel Neubauer of Contemporary Catering, the guests ate rib eye steak, branzino (sea bass) and beef and vegetable empanadas. The afterparty included truffle-infused deep-fried mac ‘n’ cheese squares.

Mac ‘n’ cheese creations are very popular today. Caterers can make them in a variety of ways so if your bride wants comfort food, suggest she talk to her caterer about a mac ‘n’ cheese option or even a mac ‘n’ cheese bar.

Drink

Master Mixologist James Moreland created a cocktail called “Truly Yours” that included vodka, champagne, pomegranate and pear.

Talk to the bartender in advance about creating a signature drink for the couple. A bride can have this cocktail served as her only hard liquor drink to avoid the expense of having a full bar.

Cake

By Cupcake Couture of Manhattan Beach, the cake was 5 tiers of square cakes, had white-chocolate frosting, and featured their monogram in black and was accented with blush roses.

The cake followed the theme colors of their wedding, a detail that you want to make sure gets carried out.

Shannen’s wedding will be seen next year in her reality television show ,”Shannen Says,” that will air on the WEtv network. The show is about how she planned her wedding.

In the meantime, you can see photographs in the current issue of US Weekly Magazine and online at PopSugar.

As a wedding planner, you’ll probably want to pick up the latest issue of People magazine to learn all about celebrity Kim Kardashian’s multimillion dollar wedding to NBA pro Kris Humphries. Although most brides you plan for won’t have this kind of budget, they may want to “steal” ideas from Kim’s wedding.

Here are details from the wedding, planned by Sharon Sachs:

Theme

-”Old Hollywood” Black and White

Wedding Attire

-Kim had three custom dresses designed by family friend Vera Wang. She wore a tulle-skirted ballgown for the wedding, a georgette mermaid gown for her first dance (the style of the dress made it impossible for the couple to perform the carefully choreographed dance they had practiced) and an “Old Hollywood” style bias-cut crepe satin gown for the reception.

-Kim’s jewelry was by Lorraine Schwartz. She wore a veil with a 65-carat diamond headpiece, 28 carat diamond earrings, her 20.5 carat engagement ring and a diamond bracelet, a knot with two “K”s which was a wedding gift from the groom.

(Your bride’s jewels don’t need to be real. There is plenty of high-quality fashion jewelry that will give your brides a similar look.)

-Kris wore white tails for the ceremony and a black tux for the reception.

-The bridesmaids, Kim’s sisters, wore strapless ivory Vera Wang gowns.

-The ring bearer wore a custom white tux.

-Both the mother of the bride and the mother of the groom wore white. The fathers were in black tuxedos.

(Your brides may become interested in having their entire wedding party in white after seeing this look.)

Flowers

-By Mark’s Garden in Los Angeles.

-The flowers were all white. The aisle was lined with citrus trees full of white roses and hydrangea.

- The bride carried a bouquet of white Polo roses in a cuff of silk ginko leaves.

-The bridesmaids also carried white bouquets.

(If your bride wants to carry flowers that do not distract from the beauty of her dress, she should definitely consider carrying a white bouquet.)

-Centerpieces at the reception were white flowers in crystal vases.

Food

-By reknown chef Wolfgang Puck, the menu included heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella, hand-made truffle pasta and roasted herb chicken.

Music

-The first dance was “Angels” performed live by Robin Thicke.

- Earth, Wind & Fire performed at the reception.

Wedding Cake

-Created by Hansen’s Cakes, the cake, which can be seen on their blog, was 6-feet tall, made of 8 tiers of octagonal cakes. Two tiers were frosted black but others were the traditional white.

-The flavors were marble cake and chocolate butter creme with white chocolate chips and vanilla with chocolate chip filling.

-The cake sat on a Lalique crystal table.

Wedding Favor

-Custom Voluspa candles with the initials of the bride and groom.

People magazine had exclusive rights to the photos from the wedding and feature a lot of the details so take a look and get inspiration for the wedding that you plan.

Country music singers Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton married on May 14 in front of 550 guests at the Don Strange Ranch in San Antonio, Texas. The May 30, 2011 issue of US magazine revealed some of the details of  their event that might inspire you when planning a wedding with a country-chic theme:

Wedding Attire

Miranda wore her mother’s wedding gown with custom-made cowboy boots. She changed into a short, strapless Priscilla of Boston dress for her reception.

The bride’s bouquet was made entirely of brooches, given to her at her shower by friends and family, and was wrapped in her mother’s vintage lace handkerchief.

The bridesmaids each wore different dresses and hairstyles that Miranda personally selected for them.

All attendants wore a vintage pair of cowboy boots that the bride had bought for them.

The bride’s three dogs walked the aisle dressed in fancy collars. (One dog got away from the bridesmaid who walked them down the aisle.)

Music

The groom sang a song he wrote for his wedding, “Let’s Grow Old Together,” as the wedding party walked up the aisle.

Bridesmaid Ashley Monroe sang “Makin Plans,” a song Miranda wrote for Blake, as Miranda walked down the aisle. 

The couple walked out to the song, “Happy Trails.”

The first dance was “No Doubt About It” written and sung by country legend Neal McCoy.

Famous guests, such as Reba McIntire and Martina McBride, got up and sang with the band.

At midnight, the the band was replaced with a karaoke machine.

Ceremony Decor

The barn was lit by lanterns and candles lined the aisles.

The couple stood on a cowhide rug under an arch made of deer antlers to say their vows.

The guests sat in pews from a church mixed in with rustic antique chairs.

The room was filled with peonies, honeysuckle, hydrangeas and bluebonnets.

Reception Decor

Design company, Junk Gypsy, put together an eclectic mix of items.

The pavillion was decorated with mis-matched couches, rocking chairs, neon signs and tin cans.

Antler chandeliers were draped with crystals.

The linens were made of lace and sequins.

Food

Outdoor buffet barbecue of herb-encrusted quail, mesquite-grilled beef tenderloin, homemade corn pudding and venison quesadillas.

Cake

A five-tier vanilla cake with hot-pink icing was designed to look like worn, tooled leather.

There were also red velvet and lemon mini-cakes served in shot glasses.

All cakes were by the Nashville baker Jay Qualls.

Favors

Home flip books, beer cozies and mason jars with battery-operated fireflies inside. (I’ve seen these in catalogs such as Signals.)

Wedding Planner

Kathy Best, Miranda’s publicist, planned the wedding.

Actress Reese Witherspoon married agent Jim Toth at her Ojai, California ranch in front of 150 guests on March 26. The April 11, 2011 issue revealed some of the details of her private event:

Wedding Attire

Reese wore a strapless, pink Monique Lhuillier gown with Jimmy Choo “Macy” shoes. She changed into a short, white cocktail dress during cocktail hour.

The groom wore a gray suit by Rag & Bone.

Reese’s daughter wore a blush-colored dress. Her son wore a Rag & Bone suit.

Music

The groom entered the ceremony to “Tennessee Waltz” played by a blue-grass band. (Reese was raised in Nashville, Tennessee.)

Reese entered to the “Wedding March.”

Decor

Rustic, country touches. Dinner was served in a fabric-lined tent on long, farmhouse tables arranged in a U-Shape around a wood-planked dance floor. Seating was mismatched, antique chairs, sofas, and wooden benches with Turkish textile pillows.

Tables had mason jars and antique pots with blush and white roses, green cabbage, lavender, white freesia and purple cornflowers. Lanterns and chandeliers hung from trees.

Food

Catered by Lucques, the menu included endive salad with Meyer lemon, olives and fava beans, avocado with blood oranges, and an entree of wild stripped bass, mustard- grilled chicken, or herb-roasted lamb with artichokes.

Dessert was wedding cake, a chocolate groom’s cake or s’mores.

Favor Bags

Bags were filled with Ojai honey and pecan-current scones from the Knead Baking Company.

After Party

Took place at Jimmy’s Pub at the Ojai Valley Inn and Spa.

Wedding Planner

Celebrity wedding planner Yifat Oren handled the entire weekend of events.

Reese has not yet released any photos.

What is it like to plan an extravagant wedding with a bride who has a very detailed wedding vision? You can get a taste of it when you watch the special on the Style Network, “Fast & Fabulous: A NASCAR Wedding.” A show in which we get to see the NASCAR driver Kyle Busch and his fiance, now wife, Samantha Sarcinella, plan their wedding with the help of Chicago wedding planner Susan Cordogan of Big City Bride.

Samantha and Susan had only ten months to plan the New Year’s Eve 2010 wedding with a 7 hour reception. With Samantha being on the road every week, Susan had to be someone she trusted completely to do the work in Chicago. They communicated via email, texting and conference calls. Susan had to help the bride get the venue of her choice, the Chicago Cultural Center, which is normally closed on New Year’s Eve. She also worked with Heffernan Morgan Event Design to coordinate multiple vendors because everything, chairs, linens, china, table numbers, charger plates and the dance floor, were custom made for the wedding. You’ll see how hard Susan worked on the day of the wedding to assure that everything was perfect, including having assistants sit in all the chairs to make sure they were comfortable and allowed the guest to see the bride and groom.

If you think planning celebrity weddings is in your future, you’ll want to see this show. The network will be replaying it several times this week, check the schedule on their website.

You can learn more about the bride and her thoughts about wedding planning in an interview on the Style website. (Her wedding gown was custom designed by Dubai-based designer Michael Cinco.)

As a wedding planner, you might find that some brides like to surprise their guests with their wedding. That’s what actress Valarie Bertinelli did. Guests had received emailed invitations to her home in Malibu for a New Year’s Day “special event” and didn’t know until she appeared in her wedding gown, holding a bouquet of flowers, that they were attending her wedding to Tom Vitale.

Here are some of the wedding details along with ideas that might help you in planning weddings for your brides:

Invitations

Via email

Some brides like to be “green” and not send paper invitations. There are many websites that offer email invitation designs. One with very nice designs is paperlesspost.com. They don’t have one specifically for weddings but you and your brides can customize the designs that they do have. There are designs for engagement parties, save-the-date cards, bridal showers, and bachelor and bachelorette parties.

Ceremony

A nondenominational service outdoors beneath an archway of flowers

Wedding Dress

The bride wore a custom designed blue silk chiffon dress by David Meister

A flattering color choice if your bride does not want to wear white

Reception

Outdoors under a lighted tent, the couple shared a head table with family members and served beef tenderloin, lobster and a dessert of chocolate souffles to their 100 guests

Flowers

The white bridal bouquet was arranged with peonies, roses, lilies and gardenias

Music

Before the processional - “At Last” by Etta James

Processional – Recorded sounds of Italian church bells and the DJ played Queen’s “You’re My Best Friend”

First Dance – “Your Song” by Elton John

Favors

Gift bags with champagne flutes and a bottle of Perrier-Jouet

A little expensive for most couples but if they want the look of a champagne bottle, kateaspen.com has “Bubbly” Champagne Bubbles that you can get from their retailers, or become a retailer yourself and offer favors to your brides. beau-coup.com has champagne bottle wedding bubble place card holders. You can become one of their affiliates and sell their favors too.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As a wedding planner you might enjoy a new special show that airs on The Learning Channel (TLC) on Sunday, January 9, ”William, Kate and 8 Royal Weddings.”  You can see a preview of the show above.

The show takes a look at the glamour and the spectacle surrounding previous royal weddings with interviews from people involved in the weddings and photographs and film from past events.

You may not plan a wedding for royalty in the future but it is helpful to your work as a wedding planner to d learn all you can about wedding history and traditions so you can apply that knowledge to the ones you plan today.

Get wedding planning ideas from the December 11,2010 wedding of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, planned by celebrity wedding planner, Mindy Weiss.

Here are some of the wedding details that might inspire you when you plan weddings for your brides:

Theme

The Palace at Versailles

Venue

Nicole’s dad, Lionel, host the event at his Beverley Hills home. The reception was in a tent built over the swimming pool and included hand-painted floor tiles, a blue tufted ceiling, vintage chandeliers and a wall of mirrors.

Your brides may not have the budget to create this same reception in their homes but there are venues that have and old world style, mirrored walls and/or chandeliers that can be filled with flowers to give an opulent look.

Music

The processional was “Ballerina Girl,” by her dad, Lionel Richie.

First Dance was “What a Wonderful World.”

The father/daughter dance was “Unforgettable.”

Food

The wedding menu included salad, butternut squash ravioli, a choice of filet mignon or Ahi tuna, and a dessert buffet.

Wedding Cake

The red velvet cake, was by Cake Opera in Toronto. Canada.

Wedding Attire

The bride wore three Marchesa gowns during the event. The first was ivory, lace and crystal with a ball-gown skirt made from more than 100 yards of hand-draped silk organza and tulle petals. (I suspect the second dress was actually the same as the first, the big skirt was just worn on top of it for the ceremony and removed for the reception.) 

The groom wore a Dolce & Gabana Tuxedo and a Lanvin bow tie.

Greeter

An elephant, symbol of good luck greeted guests at the door.

Live elephants can be a part of weddings but your bride might prefer using a statue of an elephant greet guests at the door or having elephant wedding favors as symbols of good luck.

You can read about the wedding and see photos in People magazine and in Germany’s In magazine.

These photos and more are also on PWSpoilers.com.

You’re a wedding planner with a bride whose her maid-of-honor doesn’t have a dress. Can you find one with only a couple of day’s notice?

That is what LaLa Vasquez ’s wedding planner, Mindy Weiss, had to do in last night’s episode of , “LaLa’s Full Court Wedding.” (I wrote about LaLa and her wedding planner in previous post.)

It proves you need to be ready for any type of emergency and that you need to have some great vendor connections that can help you find things on short notice. LaLa’s maid-of-honor did not even see the dress until she was ready to get dressed for the wedding.

LaLa herself had too many dresses. At the last minute she got another wedding dress that she was afraid to tell Mindy about. However, since she was going to wear this one to her reception, not the ceremony, it was fine.

When the bride decides to change her clothes for the reception, you must factor the time it will take her to change her attire into your timeline. You don’t want to keep guests waiting to long if she decides to make the change right before entering the reception. You can see LaLa’s dress in the photo below.

We did finally get to see LaLa marry Carmelo Anthony in their red-themed wedding. I showed their invitations and cake in a blog post in July and showed photos from the venue a few weeks ago.

You can see full episodes and clips of the entire series on the VH1 website.

The October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) celebrity wedding of “You Again” star Odette Yustman to Dave Annable of the televion  show “Brothers & Sisters,” planned by Los Angeles wedding planner Rebecca Stone, was elegant and relaxed.

Here are some of the wedding details that might inspire you when you plan weddings for your brides:

Venue

The Twin Peaks Ranch in Ojai, California is a private property. All tables, chairs, linens, china, flatware, portable toilets, lighting, etc. must be provided by the wedding party using the assistance of a wedding planner.

Music

A string quartet played during the ceremony and  a DJ worked the reception.

The processional was “All You Need is Love,” a Beatles song.

The father/daughter dance was “Butterfly Kisses.”

Wedding Flowers

Flesh-toned heirloom garden roses and hydrangeas that reflected the vintage, elegant charm she told her florist, Kate Holt, that the wanted.

Food

Filet mignon and organic chicken served family style. Guests sat at raw-wood tables with centerpieces of flowers in mis-matched copper and glass vessels.

Wedding Cake

The four-tiered red velvet cake, by Sweet & Saucy Shop, was covered with buttercream and fondant.

Wedding Attire

The bride wore a Monique Lhuillier wedding dress with Jimmy Choo shoes and the bridesmaids wore dresses from the store, Anthropologie (I did not find the dresses on their website).

The bride’s jewelry was from Neil Lane, 10 carat diamond pear-shaped drop earrings and 30-carat diamond and platinum barrettes, valued at over $300,000.

He also has an affordable line of jewelry.

You can see exclusive photos from the wedding in the October 25, 2010 issue of Us Magazine.