"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

To imitate, or not to imitate; that is the question. We've all heard conflicting mantras about imitation. Many lean towards imitation being lazy, copycat-ish, even unoriginal. In some circumstances, this might be the case, but I tend to disagree. I disagree with strings attached, of course. Don't get me wrong, I think copycats are awful to quite-awful and I'm an advocate of maintaining your identity... Yet, I am a firm believer in imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, as long as you put your own spin on it. You still must maintain your "you-ness". As Dr. Suess would say, "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you."

With weddings, baby showers, birthday parties, holiday parties, (any festive gatherings really), someone has likely already had your "theme". How to deal with this? Do it again, but better. If you absolutely loved Eva Longoria's excessive use of calla lilies during her 07/07/07 Paris wedding, and love calla lilies in general--use them! There is no shame in using the same color schemes, flower genres, dress desginer etc as someone else... in fact, people do it on a daily basis. Again, you just have to put your own little spin on things.

Tweek the minor details. If you're choosing an all white/cream wedding and love how your friend used only white roses, add a touch of another type of white or cream flower or even some pearls throughout the flowers. This way, you're bringing varying shapes and designs to your floral bouquets and centerpieces, while still sticking with your color scheme.

Staying with the white wedding example... There are many fun ways to bring unique details to an all white wedding. You and your groom could exit your ceremony in a vintage white convertible instead of the traditional black limousine, (driving at a moderate speed of course, so your hair-do doesn't get all askew). Or have your flower girl wear angel wings! As if the adorable flower girl needs to be any cuter... We can all admit that she is the second most adored gal of the wedding festivities :) Here are some great websites that supply cute dress-up wings for children from varying prices ranges:

*http://www.fao.com/ On the pricier side, but wonderful quality.

*http://www.fairyandangelwings.com/ This website has the option to buy in bulk or buy a single pair of wings for less than $15. The bulk option is fun if you want to double their usage as your flower girl's birthday party favors for her friends later on... Yay for multi-purpose wedding purchases!

*if you're a crafty little minx and want to make them yourself this website has good step-by-step instructions, (please disregard the silly painted male model): http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-a-pair-of-Angel-Wings/

I feel it necessary to exclaim at this time, every event is unique! Even though many weddings may seem similar, no two are exactly alike. So eat your heart out, nay-sayers; imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery :) When something works, make it work to your advantage. Work smarter-not harder!

Until next time, I'll leave you with this: The best/funniest example of flattering imitation I've seen in a while... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW5czKqT05A ...Lady Gaga has to be so proud :)