Blogs

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 one of her favorite new wedding trends.

It’s a bit bold and a tad daring, but we at idojour.com love the idea of brides dressing their 'maids in pretty frocks with prints and patterns. The big question is, how do you work with prints as part of a cohesive look, especially when you factor multiple girls, shoes and flowers? We decided to ask the folks at Ellis Flowers for their expert advice on what accessories they would pair with these five very different but beautiful looks.

Printed Blues

When working with graphic pattern, such as these gorgeous blue dresses, it's best to accessorize with a single color. We love the idea of pairing these dresses with a bold contrasting color, like orange.

Photo via New York Daily News

Back in 1952, Isidore and Joan Schwartz tied the knot at New York's famed Waldorf-Astoria hotel. And now, the happy couple will be returning to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary for just $16.80—the same price they paid on their wedding night (today, room rates start at $319). “I’m going to see if anything looks familiar,” Isidore, 88, told the New York Daily News.

Why did this couple score such a steep discount? Turns out, the Waldorf has a little-known policy that allows a couple who spent their honeymoon at the Waldorf to celebrate a milestone anniversary (50 years or more) at the original room rate—all they need is their receipt. Not many people know about the deal—about two or three couples take advantage of this amazing perk every year.

Isidore, 88, and Joan, 82, met on a blind date on Thanksgiving 1950, and were married 16 months later. Recalling their reception: “I remember standing on some sort of balcony, looking down at the wedding party, and seeing all my relatives grabbing at the food,” Joan said. $4.75 covered a steak dinner for one, and ice sculptures at the reception, too.

“It was a great party. Everyone had a great time,” said Isidore.

We recommend saving your wedding night receipt—just in case!

—Grace Gavilanes

Each week, we feature music recommendations from Scratch Weddings, the nation's leader with the best wedding DJs at affordable prices. This week's post comes from DJ Jon Blak, whose client list includes Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri and Ryan Leslie. He describes his style as "retro/future”, a seamless blend of old and new that translates well to wedding guests of all ages. "I love the challenge of crossing genres and generations and playing a diverse mix that's totally seamless. At the end a wedding, I'd like the bride and the groom to be exhausted from dancing!" Jon is known infusing any event with energy and cool, while always keeping the client's musical preferences front and center in his music selection.

Photo Credit: Holli B Photography

When Lillian Hartley, 95, and Allan Marks, 98, tied the knot this week, they unknowingly became the world's oldest newlyweds. Their combined 193 years broke the previous record of 191 years.

"Honest to God? Oh, I can't believe it," Hartley told The Desert Sun about breaking the record. "Oh, I'm impressed with myself." 

 Photo via The Desert Sun

The happy couple met 18 years ago at temple on Yom Kippur in Palm Springs. He complimented her dress, and their relationship grew from there.

“I believe in fate and destiny a little bit and I think that was meant to be,” Hartley told ABC News. “I had been a widow for six years and I really loved my freedom. …I said, ‘Oh, I don’t want a relationship,’…and then he came along, and somehow hooked me.”

A true modern-day proposal story: BuzzFeed contributor Len Kendall used Internet memes, Pinterest, and Twitter to propose to his girlfriend Katie today.

After posting his initial photo (left) on BuzzFeed, he encouraged users to submit their own meme-inspired photos. Within an hour, more than 160 users had posted photos in the comments. BuzzFeed created a Pinterest board with some of the best submissions, and the hashtag #sayyeskatie picked up steam on Twitter.

At 12:57 pm, Len announced that Katie had, in fact, said yes.

Below, check out some of our favorites.

It's only natural for a day that comes around just once every four years to attract some fun folklore and superstitions. We did some digging on the tradition of women proposing to men on this day, as seen in the 2010 flick Leap Year.

These days, we all know it's perfectly fine for a woman to propose to a man. But centuries ago, it was unthinkable—except on leap day. As the story goes, St. Bridget struck a deal with St. Patrick after complaining that women did not have the right to propose marriage. St. Patrick suggested that women have the right once every seven years, but St. Bridget negotiated it down to once every four years—and that day would be leap day.

The more likely scenario is that, since February 29 was seen as a "bonus" day, people felt that the traditional rules of conduct did not apply. Regardless, it's become a fun tradition over the centuries for leap day to become a Sadie Hawkins Day. 

Although there's a myth that it's illegal for a man to refuse a leap day proposal, there's no basis to the so-called 1288 law by Queen Margaret of Scotland that required fines be levied if a proposal was refused, ranging from a kiss to a monetary fine to expensive gifts for the scorned woman. Regardless, one tradition says a man who refuses must buy the woman 12 pairs of gloves to hide the embarrassment of having no engagement ring. Another says he must buy her silk. And another story say that a man who refuses will suffer severe bad luck and ill fortune. 

It’s one of those universal beauty truths: Skin-toned polishes are a particularly great option for brides who are (like me) challenged in the nail-length department. A neutral, flesh-like tone can leave even the stubbiest nails looking subtly but wildly chic. That said, the perfect nude-y neutral shade is not so easy to find. Some formulas are too sheer, others too chalky. After trying dozens of shades, I found the perfect hue a couple of years ago, and have stayed with it ever since. Behold: OPI’s Samoan Sand. Turns out my go-to shade has other fans, too.

Both Amy Adams and Stacy Keibler rocked the refined shade on the red carpet last night. The polish paired perfectly with both silver (on Amy) and gold (on Stacy) gowns, so just think how killer it will look with bridal whites and ivories. Oscar-worthy and aisle-worthy!

—Mary Clarke