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When real bride Dawn Nicole left a comment on our Facebook wall, telling us that she fully designed and printed every paper product for her wedding, we knew we had to meet this girl and get her story. And boy, we weren’t disappointed—her photos and DIY prowess may just inspire you to ditch your paperie and make your own one-of-a-kind wedding invitations.

Like most great ideas, this one was born because Dawn wanted something out of the ordinary that thousands of other brides haven’t already used. She personalized her invite with nametags, which helped her avoid having to use twice the amount of envelopes, since one set is traditionally addressed to the guest. Dawn is having a garden-style wedding and getting married in a large park, so she wanted to pick a complementary design motif. “We chose a ‘love birds’ theme because it has such a sweet feel. Plus, we plan on planting a ‘unity’ tree during the ceremony and having a ‘wedding tree’ for our guest book. It just fit!”

Kim Kardashian’s walk down the aisle took on black-and-white Old Hollywood glamour with a gorgeous white aisle runner accented by flourishes in black, as well as the famous K & K intertwined monogram logo.

Julie Goldman, president of The Original Runner Company, is the creator of that magical path toward Kim K’s happily-ever-after, and she shares the details on how Kim’s camp came to her to create the Runner of the Century:

“When we were asked by Sacks Productions to make a black-and-white aisle runner for Kim Kardashian’s wedding, we knew this would be a big project. We had done many celebrity weddings before, such as Kevin Jonas, Fergie, and Bethenny Frankel, but we knew this wedding would have the world’s attention. 

“Her runner entailed replicating the couple’s classic KK logo in Swarovski crystals – two times! Then we added a delicate vintage flourish down the sides. We had been told that there would be no other décor for the ceremony aisle, so the runner really had to make a statement. Once we saw the video of the ceremony, we knew we had done our job and added a classic elegance to the luxurious wedding.”

Here at BG, we're obsessed with checking out the latest runway collections—even if we can't travel around the world to attend them all! It was all about volume at Justin Alexander's Spring 2012 Fashion Show in Amsterdam. Sweeping ball gowns and sexy, hip-hugging mermaid styles, featuring textured ruffles and splashes of lace and beading, paraded down the runway to the heart-pounding main score of "Swan Lake."

We love the collection's flattering sweetheart necklines and fitted bodices, which emphasize a bride's waistline, with dramatic, flowing skirts that we'd love to twirl and spin in all day. Looking past all the texture in the gowns' full skirts, the dresses also had delicate details on top that made each one special in its own way. Our favorite ideas from the runway: Top your gown with a sheer bolero, add some bling with a crystal-embellished belt, or cinch your waist with an elegant sash with bow detail.

Based on this runway show and the styles we've seen celebrities don this year, we're predicting that we'll see fuller skirts gain popularity again in 2012; the bigger, the better!

See more from Justin Alexander in our gown gallery.

—Kelsie Allen

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries surprised each of their out-of-towners this past weekend with a package of six assorted cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, wrapped in a pretty gift box with a warm welcome note, delivered to each hotel room. The box was filled with cupcakes in the bakery's signature flavors: Red Velvet, Lava Fudge, Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate Coconut, and a Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream frosting. Each cupcake was topped with a fondant replica of the couple's "KK" wedding monogram. One wedding guest, Maria Menounos, shared this picture of the luxurious welcome package in her hotel room:

   Photo Credit: Maria Menounos

Although you may not have a $10 million wedding budget like Kim and Kris, you, too, can pamper your guests with cupcakes. Instead of an indulgent half dozen per person, we're pretty sure even the biggest sweet tooth can be satisfied with one of these decadent cupcake. Personalize the cupcakes with a fondant monogram like Kim (Georgetown Cupcake offers custom decorations for special occasions at no additional charge). Not into monograms? For an easy DIY project, make colorful toothpick flags in your wedding colors with the bride and groom's names or guests' names and stick one in each cupcake.

A unique wedding gift that we're suddenly seeing is personalized wire clothes hangers. We think this idea is adorable and budget-friendly, and every time the bride opens her closet doors she'll be reminded of your thoughtfulness and, of course, of her wedding day! Kim Kardashian received one as a wedding gift from her friend Larsa Pippen that reads "Mrs. Humphries" and even tweeted over the weekend, "Thanks for reminding me @LarsaPippen! LOL cutest gift ever!" 

Photo Courtesy of Twitter

After I got engaged, one of the first things my mom did was she pulled out her preserved wedding gown from the 1980s, that she had stored away in her closet for that very moment. I'll never forget the look on my dad's face when he walked up the stairs and found quite a scene: My mom had draped the dress over her front side and stuck her arms in the poufy, lace sleeves, veil and all, while I was bowled over in laughter with tears silently streaming down my face. It was a gorgeous wedding dress—don't get me wrong. I just always envisioned having a custom-made version of my own. 

So it was only fitting that my mama dukes is the one who told me about this fascinating story, which aired on The Today Show this morning. The video segment was about Allison Rinaldi, a 23-year-old graphic artist who wed husband Chris Rinaldi on June 11 in the same dress that her great-great grandmother, grandmother, mother and aunt wore to their nuptials. “When I wore this on my wedding day it meant a lot to me to be connected with those marriages that went before,” Barbara told TODAY.  The dress was first worn in 1884 and its last appearance before Allison was in 1982. The priceless family heirloom is "Made of tone-on-tone ecru silk brocade and patterned with chrysanthemum flowers." Allison loved its history so much that she went to great lengths to wear it, even working with a personal trainer to be able to make it fit on her size 6 frame.

      Photo Credit: Jessica Lauren Photography

For my wedding, I knew that I wanted to have ceremony programs, but I was having the hardest time finding a style that I liked for a reasonable price. My favorite professional ones would’ve cost at least $5 a pop (and with 135 guests coming, that was out of the question!), and the DIY kits at craft stores just weren’t doing it for me. So after a lot of daydreaming, I came up with a design I loved that I could make myself.

I'm just going to warn you now: This was a time-consuming project. In retrospect, I really should've started it more than two weeks before my wedding.

The first—and most important—step was finding the right card stock to match the other elements of my wedding. I heard about a great paper product company called Paper Source and was thrilled to find there was a location less than an hour away from me. 

This couple had a special guest at their engagement photos... a zombie! You have to see this sequence, shot by Amanda Rynda Photography:

We love creative engagement photos! What's the best you've seen lately?

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

If you’re looking for a great gift idea for your bridesmaids, then check out “The Bina,” an ingenious new take on the standard pashmina. It’s a fantastic, versatile “shawl” that you can wear in more than a dozen ways! I recently met with the designer, Bina Brianca, who demonstrated how to wear her creation. Within seconds, she could wrap, snap, and style The Bina into a number of chic looks.

Of course, when left to my own devices, I forgot how to turn The Bina into a blouse. But fear not: With each purchase, you receive a booklet describing how to create each look. I love the way the soft jersey material drapes, and when the AC gets a big frigid in the office, it’s the perfect cover-up. Here’s a sampling of just a few looks: