Blogs

When Mira and Bob Graves tied the knot back in 1942, they did what many young couples of their generation did — they had a quick no-frills ceremony before Bob was shipped off to war. They'd only been dating for a few months, but they decided to elope right after witnessing their friends exchange vows in Reno. 

72 years later, the happy couple lives at Antioch's Quail Lodge Retirement Home, where they were named king and queen of the home's Valentine's Day celebration. The only problem: When asked to provide a picture of their wedding, they couldn't — because none were ever taken. 

Though the couple has never regretted their low-key wedding ceremony, they jumped at the chance for a wedding do-over when the home's director, Jennifer Noble, made the suggestion. Noble sprang into action, working with the local community to secure a gown, tux, cake, flowers, music and, most importantly, a photographer. 

Watch the sweet video:

—Kristen Klein

When Karley was diagnosed with cancer, it immediately put everything into perspective and made her focus on what was most important: Her relationship with her boyfriend, Ian.

"What am I waiting for...He made me feel special, he made me feel like what I had to say was important, that he cared and he was really listening. I was blown away that there was this depth of emotion that he was showing me," Karley says.

With the epiphany that she wanted nothing more than to get married, she decided to plan a surprise proposal (and wedding!) under the guise of Ian's 50th birthday party at The Imperial in downtown Vancouver. We love that she included their children and all of their family members and friends in the secret.

Watch all of the action unfold, courtesy of this video from Fill in the Blank Studios:

Vancouver Wedding Videographer | Happy Birthday...Marry Me? from Fill in The Blank Studios on Vimeo.

Plus, check out this story of a groom who surprised his bride with a wedding based on her Pinterest board.

Tell us: Would you want to get married in a surprise wedding?

— Stefania Sainato

Fitness plateaus are very common — and very frustrating — for those who exercise regularly. Even the most dedicated of my brides encounters times when their workouts don’t seem as effective, and their progress seems to come to a halt. Making a few small changes to your fitness routine and diet should help you break through that plateau and have you on the way to looking and feeling great on your big day!

Change up your workouts, and you can change your body.
Have you been doing the same routine for months without change? Well, your muscles are bored! Because our bodies adapt quickly to exercise, variety is the key to continued success. Never stay committed to one exercise routine, group fitness class (unless it’s mine, because I mix it up all the time),  or cardio choice. 
Use the F.I.T.T principle — frequency, intensity, time and type —  to change your workout routine; this can be adapted for both cardio and strength training.

Frequency: Increase or decrease how often you work out.
Intensity: Increase or decrease the difficulty or level at which you work out.
Time: Increase or decrease how long your workout sessions last.
Type: Change the type of exercises you perform.

Gone are the days of only strapless gowns being available to new brides. This season, a slew of gowns featured delicate, dreamy lace sleeves. I love the lacy sleeve option, as it doesn't feel matronly; it still has a sensual allure. I also think the peek-a-boo lace gives a demure romance that is befitting your big day. Best of all, it gives the bride the comfort of not having to pull up her dress all night long. Following, three of my faves this season: Moonlight, Enzoani and Mia Solano.

—Naima DiFranco

In The Emily Post Institute's latest book, Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette: 6th Edition, Emily's great-great-granddaughters Anna and Lizzie Post tackle modern-day wedding questions that the original etiquette expert never could've dreamed about, from how to use (wisely) use technology, the rules for same-sex weddings, and much more. Here, the fourth generation of Posts tackle the big question of whether you should DIY your wedding music.

Photo Credit: Leah McCormick

There’s no question that the digital music revolution has made it possible to have great music at your wedding at a fraction of the cost of a DJ or band. The playlist can be completely tailored to the event: the rehearsal dinner, ceremony, reception, after party — even brunch the next day.

Building a Playlist

What you won’t spend in dollars, you will spend in time to create your playlists. Check online for sites that offer suggested wedding playlists that can be downloaded — just be sure to edit out songs you don’t like or want.

Using iTunes or Spotify is easy and fast and allows you to add professional touches such as cross-fading songs so there are no long, empty pauses or abrupt song changes. You can also create a wedding playlist folder with subfolders for each different component: prelude, processional, ceremony, recessional, cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing.

Nate Bagley, a single man from Utah, noticed that the majority of our national discourse on love and relationships falls into two categories: negative news (i.e. divorces and scandals) and unrealistic fairytales (we're looking at you, The Bachelor). But what about the normal, everyday couples who were building happy marriages and families — why was no one telling their story?

Fed up, he decided to do something about it: Find ordinary couples doing extraordinary things in the name of true love, all across the country, and talk to them in the hopes of learning what makes them tick. Bagley funded the project by using his life savings and raising funds through a Kickstarter campaign.

"I've interviewed gay couples, straight couples, rich couples, poor couples, religious couples, atheist couples, couples who have been together for a short time, and couples who have been together for over 70 years," he writes on Reddit.

(Photo Credit: Nate Badgley / Facebook)

Badgley plans on compiling all of the interviews into a documentary; in the meantime, he took to Reddit to share what he's learned so far:

When Rob Micallef decided to propose to his girlfriend of four years, Jessica Sammut, he knew he wanted to include her favorite dog — the French bulldog — in the proposal. The Brooklyn resident reached out to a Meetup group called "A Frenchie in Brooklyn" and coordinated this sweet proposal with the group's leader, Tiffany Nakamura.

While taking a stroll through Fort Greene Park on Saturday, the couple conveniently crossed paths with Nakamura, whose bulldog was wearing a heart-shaped balloon. Micallef suggested they follow the dog, which led them to a group of 14 more bulldogs wearing balloons as well! On Micallef's signal, the dog owners flipped over the poster boards they were carrying to reveal his message: "Marry me Jess."

This article originally appeared on Yahoo Shine

Americans will spend more than $36 billion on Valentine's Day this year, but one guy in Kansas is putting the rest of us to shame with his series of dreamy (and free) love notes to his wife. About a month ago, Jesse Hale started writing his wife, Holly, sweet nothings on sticky notes as part of a project called 100 Days of Valentines. This week, he released a video of his first 25 days, and it has us swooning:

And it seems Holly has Hale swooning, too. "My wife is super awesome and talented. I have liked her since the day I met her," Hale said in an email to Yahoo Shine. "The feeling wasn't mutual at the time. I eventually wore her down...I mean won her over," he added, joking.

Does it ever feel like everyone on your Facebook news feed announces their engagement or shares their gorgeous wedding photos around the same time? According to TIME's new app, there's a reason for that — your real-life social network often influences your feelings about marriage.

The tool predicts the age you'll tie the knot based on the median age of your Facebook friends who list their relationship status as married, engaged, in a domestic partnership, or in a civil union.

Obviously, it's not 100% accurate — it told me I should've gotten married two years later than I actually did (oops). But it's still fun to see how your age of marriage compares to that of your friends. Try it out, and let us know your results!

—Kristen Klein