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Photo Credit: Julie Pepin

My wedding-planning process has (mostly) been smooth sailing. However, I've still experienced my fair share of snags, worries, and mistakes. In the name of honesty, I'd love to share some of my confessions with you, from one real bride to another!

1. I care more about wedding details then I thought I would.

In the first few months of planning, I would have told you that I'm not the kind of bride who cares about visual aspects of the wedding, such as invitations or centerpieces...but I was wrong. I went through several different options for both before making a decision. I've discovered that every wedding detail, no matter how small, is a way to express myself and the love that I share with my future husband. They give brides an opportunity to get creative with their plans and they're some of the most fun decisions we get to make!

Each week, we feature wedding music recommendations from Scratch Weddings, the nation's leader with the best wedding DJs at affordable prices. This week's post comes from Unos & Dubs, a DJ that saves a little something for everyone. As an "open format” performer, he pleases crowds with a wide variety of genres and styles, including disco, 80s, top 40, electro, hip hop, and house. He is currently a hot commodity in the nightlife circuit and frequently plays at top bars and lounges throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn's eclectic music scene. "A wedding is just a special day for everyone involved. It's really important for me to play a part in that day....I just love it."

Photo Credit: Weddings by Chris Sherburne Photography

In the decade that I’ve been traveling the world as an editor, I’ve seen a ton of hotels. I skipped around a bunch before I had the official title and in those days I also tested out hotels, motels and Holiday Inns—a lot. Every hotel has a positive (there was a place I saw in Cancún a few weeks ago that had eh rooms but an awesome beach and beautiful common spaces) and every hotel has, what my mom calls, a “yeah, but.” You know, that waiter who ruined the whole vibe of a fancy spot in Marrakech or the resort fees that are tacked on to every stay at a Hawaiian resort.

But Amanyara, an exclusive enclave of intimate pavilions and a collection of private villas on the island of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos had all of the awesome and none of the yeah buts. (Ok there was one—the threat of having to sit next to Christy Turlington on the beach! Thankfully, we only saw her husband all covered up.) 

Only six weeks before their big day, UK couple Lauren Lane and Daniel Welch experienced the unthinkable—they received an email announcing that their venue was shutting down, and as a result, they lost their deposit of $7,000.

There was no way for them to recoup the funds in time for the wedding, so in desperation, the bride turned to an unlikely source, Twitter, and posted the following plea: "Help needed with aspects of our wedding after venue goes bust with 6wks 2go & with our £4.5K! Pls RT." Even the bridesmaids pitched in by tweeting to local companies and spreading the word, asking if anyone could help them.

They received an outpouring of support (even from celebrities) that led to free donations that included their cake, photography, wedding rings, videography, stationery, favors and more. "Contrary to what some media reports have said, we received no cash donations; only goodwill and skills from local, honest companies," Lane told WebProNews.

Thanks to all of the unexpected assistance they received, Lauren and Daniel got married on their original date, February 25th. The bride told The Guardian that: "We got so much help from a lot of kind people and it made our day really special. So much has come from such an awful time we can't thank all our helpers enough. It really did make it a dream wedding for us both."

Check out photos from their gorgeous wedding below!

A daughter’s wedding is the most important day in a mother’s life, so it's only fitting that she should be just as fashion-forward as the bride! Say goodbye to dull ideas about how an MOB (and MOG) should dress and enter a world of exquisite details, sophisticated silhouettes, and figure-flattering designs. Moms, these popular styles are guaranteed to make you look (and feel) gorgeous on your daughter or son's big day.

Trend #1: Pastels

Spring into style with pastels! This season, blush pinks, mint greens, seafoam blues, and pale yellows are ruling the bridal runways. MOBs, the palette possibilies are endless.

Left: Style J145025 from Jasmine ($415, jasminebridal.com)
Right: Style 110845 from Montage by Mon Cheri ($350, moncheribridals.com)

Guest blogger: Rosanna Casper, co-founder of Idojour.com, a new wedding website where brides, grooms, family and friends can purchase a stylish and affordable mix of beautifully curated pieces. Designed to make wedding planning all the more inspiring and enjoyable, Idojour offers accessories and apparel for your wedding weekend, complemented by both inspirational and practical content. Rosanna oversees content, among many other things, and makes sure that everything comes together beautifully on the site.

Here, Rosanna shares some fresh ideas for your "something blue."

I have a confession to make. Four years into married life, I realized that I never had a something blue at my wedding. Nothing in my dress, jewelry, bouquet or even underwear had a trace of blue in it. How could I, a self proclaimed (and semi-supertitious) wedding aficionado, have overlooked my something blue? Then I started to think – what’s the big fuss about anyway?

We just finished working on a fantastic story called “It’s All in the Details,” coming up in our July/August issue. It illustrates how you can pull together the look of your reception with just a single object used as inspiration. Basically, any object (a button, vase, fabric swatch, etc) can be a starting point to help determine your colors, theme and wedding style. And with a little imagination, you’ll have an amazing wedding that makes a unique, personal statement about you and your fiancé. 

No matter what your inspiration is, whether an object, season or colors, it goes without saying that every element is key when planning a wedding reception: the lighting, colors, dinnerware, glassware, centerpieces and even the table shapes all make an impact. But one thing that may be overlooked is the type of chair or chair coverings chosen. Take a look at these incredible receptions where the gorgeous chair coverings, courtesy of Chameleon Chair Collection, beautifully enhance the look of a number of different wedding celebrations. You can see how the right chair can make any reception look even more spectacular.

For an all white wedding, these draped chairs, cinched in back with a jeweled accent, look fashionably chic: