Blogs

It may be my job description to tell you where to travel, but did you know I’m also pretty well-versed in how to travel? A series of trails and fails and successes in my personal globe-hopping experiences makes it a little easier for you.

Check out the Sept/Oct issue (on newsstands now) of your fave bridal mag for some of my tips on booking the best excursion. And the next one has all you need to know about tipping.

In addition to those "i" dots and "t" crossing type subjects, I’ve also gathered a bunch of what-to-wear advice while on the road. I stash a bunch of jersey dresses in my carry-on and add scarves, heels and chunky costume jewelry at night. And during the day, I pretty much always wear Toms shoes. To say I’m obsessed could be considered and understatement.

Behind every beautiful BG bride is a supporting case of girlfriends, sisters, or relatives who painstakingly helped her plan all of the exquisite details of her wedding day. We're honoring all of the MOHs and 'maids out there who have endured days of trying on dress after dress, gluing and assembling DIY projects, and lending an empathetic ear to inevitable meltdowns, all so that the big day goes off without a hitch.

The BG editors have teamed up with wedding guru Sharon Naylor to host an exclusive live chat on Twitter, where you can get personalized advice about all of the major elements involved with being in the bridal party! So, please plan to spend your lunch hour with us on Thursday, August 11 at 2 pm EST, where we'll cover the 3 "B"s: bridesmaid dress shopping, throwing a bridal shower, and planning the bachelorette party.

Brides-to-be, chime in with your most pressing dilemmas and etiquette Q's—what to do if bridesmaids are clashing, how much should their dresses cost, and more—and we'll help you out! Best of all, you can enter to win prizes instantly! What we're giving away:

I recently attended a preview for Blue Nile's fall collection, available in October, and was so impressed with the great trends emerging in engagement rings and wedding bands. Here, my favorites from the preview:

Stackable Rings

These thin, mix-and-match rings are a great way to show off your unique style. The old rule of not mixing metals gets thrown out the window with stackables; you're encouraged to mix white gold, rose gold, yellow gold, and black rhodium. On Blue Nile, they're seeing fiancés-to-be buying stackables as promise rings, then building onto those throughout the engagement, wedding, and anniversaries. With prices as low as $300, it's easy to change your look without the huge investment of resetting an engagement ring. We also love mixing colored gemstones. One idea: Start with a ring of your birthstone, add a ring of his, and then add additional rings over the years in the birthstone of each child you have together.

New Vintage

Don't forget to tune in tonight at 8/7c on ABC for the drama-filled season finale of The Bachelorette! Ashley Herbert's family will join her in Fiji to meet the two remaining guys, Ben Flajnik and J.P. Rosenbaum, and it looks like things may get a little catty when Ashley's sister says she doesn't see a strong connection in one of the relationships (watch the clip below!).

Ashley must then choose which guy she wants to eliminate and which guy she hopes will propose to her at the end of the show.

I predict that, despite her sister's opinion, she will choose affectionate and loyal J.P. over shy and serious Ben. But then again, Ashley's rollercoaster-like emotions could throw us all for a loop. As long as Bentley, the notorious heartbreaker who left the show after revealing that he had no interest in Ashley and only signed up for a chance to woo Emily, doesn't show up on that island tonight, I think I'll be content with the results. Both J.P. and Ben are handsome and sweet and seem to care deeply for Ashley.

What may be the most interesting part of the finale tonight is the "After the Final Rose" special, which will come on ABC directly following the show's conclusion and will bring the viewers up to speed with what has happened since The Bachelorette stopped taping. I'm eager to find out if the relationship between Ashley and her new fiancé was able to survive off-camera and if a wedding is actually in her future.

We're curious: Would you ever go on a reality show to find love? Do you think it can last?

—Kelsie Allen

Leading up to her televised wedding special, Nick & Vanessa's Dream Wedding, Vanessa Minnillo tweeted about the top 10 tips she learned while wedding planning. Check them out:

We agree! It's so hard to tell from seeing a dress on a hanger what it'll look like on you. And you may find yourself falling in love with a princess ballgown when you originally had your mind set on a sleek sheath. Need some ideas? Check out our gown gallery, where you can browse hundreds of designer dresses!

We're sure her matron of honor thanked her for that! When incorporating colors, one idea we love is to choose flowers that contrast the color of the dress. It makes both colors stand out in a beautiful way.

Take a minute to finish laughing... yes, 28-year-old Ben Skelton did actually choose a restaurant mascot as his best man in his upcoming wedding. "I've already told my best man that he's going to be my second-string best man," Skelton told the New York Daily News. "I just haven't told him that he got beat out by a cow" (ouch). The managers at a Chick-fil-A in Concord, N.C., are providing Skelton with his bovine best man, who will even don a cow tuxedo that the fast food chain designed last year for a marketing program during the Oscars. 

Apparently, Skelton isn't the first restaurant groupie to pull a stunt like this. One ultra-enthusiastic customer drove over 3,000 miles just to visit every Chipotle in his state, while another man is working on a smartphone app to help fellow McDonald's lovers track down the McRib sandwich. At a time when the economy is forcing people to choose carefully when and where they'll eat out, companies crave these "lunatic customers" whose extreme dedication creates free publicity for a restaurant. 

Heather Harmon, Skelton's 26-year-old fiancee, said she's fine with the best man decision. "I'm super excited...We'd been working really hard to put a lot of personal touches in this wedding. We didn't want it to be stuffy."

What do you think of Harmon's fast food fanatic fiance? Is this personal touch cute, or is having a giant cow in your wedding party taking things just a bit too far?

Photo Credit: chick-fil-a.com (cow); Annie X Photographie (groomsmen)

Hello everyone at Bridal Guide! I'm Theresa, a daughter, student, blogger and—as of last May—a wife-to-be. I moved to Australia from the tiny island of Singapore to pursue my continuing education but instead found love. I know, how cliché. But when my fiancé Luke and I both dived into this relationship, we knew we were headed towards a specific direction, which included marriage, kids and a white picket fence. So it wasn't too surprising to either of us that after 18 months of dating, we became engaged.

Here's how it went down: After an excruciatingly painful day at Uni (we call college "Uni" here in Australia) studying statistics, I'd come home to Luke being in an extraordinarily good mood and realized that his football team had won their game. So in order to help me relax, he suggested we head out for a cup of coffee. This cup of coffee turned into a breathtaking view of the Swan River atop Kings Park (Google it), and my gorgeous man with that even more gorgeous ring. That night, we went out to dinner at one of the fanciest restaurants in Perth and drank and ate like we were the happiest people on the planet—and we were! I honestly do not remember much of that night, but remember waking up the next morning and checking my left hand to make sure it was all real.

Hello and welcome readers! My name is Crista and I am thrilled to be writing my first post for the Real Bride Blogger community. Just like you, I am currently in the process of planning my upcoming nuptials to the love of my life, Michael (insert exaggerated “awww” here). I hope that you will find my posts helpful, honest, and relatable. I promise to share the good (we set the date!) the bad (flowers cost how much?) and the ugly (everyone has an opinion) of wedding planning.

First, I would like to share how I got to this point in my life. Michael and I met two days after my high school senior prom at a mutual friend’s house, but it would take two more encounters before he finally asked me for my phone number. After our first date at the South Street Seaport, we became inseparable. Fast forward five years, and Michael and I found ourselves back at the same spot, celebrating our anniversary. This time he had another very important question to ask me—one that I didn’t see coming. While overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, he went down on bended knee and asked me to marry him. I was shocked (really, really shocked). We had spoken about marriage and our future, but I just couldn’t believe that he was actually proposing. I asked repeatedly, “Are you serious?” Mike had to remind me that he had asked a question before I replied with a very emphatic, "Yes!"

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