TWO NEW ITEMS Cudge.net is now stocking pillar candles and organza bags. Get 'em while they're hot!

VOTIVE HOLDER PLACE CARDS Over on the Atlanta message board at TheKnot.com, user williamson2005 provides instructions for turning Cudge.net votive holders into place cards.

CENTERPIECE ADVICE The Times Herald out of Port Huron, Michigan has some thoughts. Among them:

2. A color swatch isn't the key to picking the centerpiece colors. "Too many gals try to match the colors too closely. They'll come in with the color swatch, and we have to really work to veer them away from that. If everything is the same color, it's all going to blend to together and wash out. Contrast is the key."

WEDDING WATCH The Boca Raton News has the lowdown on the Trump-Knauss nuptials.

MOMMIE DEAREST MSNBC has an illuminating Q & A about the conundrum of the meddling mother who throws a wrench in everyone's wedding plans.

Among the observations:

Fights over wedding plans — and I mean knock-down, drag-out fights — are common. Look at it this way: Your fiancée is replacing your mother as the number-one woman in your life, and it’s a bittersweet emotional transition that many mothers have a hard time coping with. That’s what you are really dickering over. But love is not a zero-sum game. There is enough for everyone. Reassure your mother that you don’t love her less because you are taking a bride. At the same time, you must now make your wife-to-be your highest priority in order to make your marriage work well.

More here.

CHECK IT OUT Party planners in New York, Florida and Toronto may want to browse their way over to BizBash, a site devoted to ideas and resources for special events.

Their Venue Guide looks particularly useful.

TULLE WATCH People Magazine reports:

Oscar de la Renta will design Laura Bush's inaugural ball gown, the First Lady has announced. It will be ice blue and silver tulle. For the Jan. 20 swearing-in ceremony, de la Renta, who has designed for Bush for the past five years, will outfit her in a winter white cashmere day suit.

QUINCEANERA RUNDOWN The El Paso Times has a long piece up on its site explaining the quinceañera phenomenon, and offering planning advice.

First, for the uninitiated:

The quinceañera is a big celebration, not only for the young lady in the tiara but for her family and friends who come to share in the coming-of-age milestone. It's a rite of passage that has been traced back to Aztec and Mayan civilizations of ancient Mexico. The Spaniards blended the Catholic religion with a Native American ritual in which a young girl shows her devotion to God and takes the responsibility of adulthood, according to several quinceañera Web sites. For most quinceañeras, the planning begins with reserving the date with the church, which will mark the girl's 15th birthday with a special Mass.

Among The Times' advice:

SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR BEFORE EVENT Select church and set date and time for ceremony. Select hall, give deposit. Set times for reception and dance. Decide on number of guests and couples in quinceañera court. Decide on DJ or band. Some halls include DJ service. Look into hall and table decorations

Read the whole thing here.