Blogs

One unadvertised perk of being a university resident hall director — your dormitory can help you pull off a truly memorable proposal!

Photo via Reddit

When Frank Tierney, a resident hall director at the University of Buffalo, popped the question to his girlfriend Katelyn Illingworth in front of his dorm, "Will you marry me?" popped up in the windows of the 10-story building.

"[We] blacked out all the windows with poster board," shared Tierney's friend on Reddit. "Then we traced out letters and poked holes along them, inserting the lights into the holes."

The process took about two weeks of planning for the group of 10 friends who helped pull off the proposal. 

"When he stopped her in the middle of the parking lot, he gave his speech and we all waited for the signal. When he got down on one knee, we turned each floor on in descending order with a person in the stairwell shouting to each floor when to turn their lights on."

Watch the video here!

—Kristen Klein

BG brides, did you tune into the 71st Annual Golden Globes? We curled up on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn to scout the evening's most covetable fashion looks and there were some huge hits — 12 Years a Slave's Lupita Nyong'o in a red Calvin Klein cape, Naomi Watts in Tom Ford, and mama-to-be Olivia Wilde's emerald Gucci dress.

But overall, the looks were downright...polarizing. (Jennifer Lawrence, we love you, but those comparisons between your Dior dress and Ariel from The Little Mermaid are spot-on! See a hilarious photo here.)

Thankfully, all of our favorite starlets were on the same page when it came to hair and makeup. Check out the most glamorous beauty looks below and tell us which one you'd most like to wear on your big day!

Margot Robbie
Sign us up for that amazing glow, stat! The Wolf of Wall Street actress's dewy makeup and side-parted bun is perfect for the bride who wants a natural yet photo-ready look on her wedding day. Her makeup artist, Jenn Streicher, applied St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse to create a golden, sun-kissed base.

Photo via Alexandroh on Instagram

Amber Heard
Viewers had strong reactions to Heard's teased-up-to-there bun, but we thought her bronze smoky eye was perfection! Tell us: Would you wear a loose updo on your wedding day?

For anyone who's ever pined after their own Mr. Darcy, you're going to swoon over this proposal story that's two centuries in the making. Bethany Albert was visiting her parents over the holidays in Tacoma, Washington, when she unknowingly found herself starring in a real-life version of Pride and Prejudice! 

The action unfolded on Christmas Eve, when she stepped into her family's home and was seized by her sister, who exclaimed that "Mr. Bingley had returned to Netherfield at last!" The English lit major and Jane Austen fan froze when she realized what was about to unfold: "It took less than ten seconds; another sister was taking pictures and this had my boyfriend written all over it. Also knew that we were going to get engaged at some point, but he still managed to surprise me," the bride-to-be writes on Reddit.

Albert changed into a dress more befitting of the era and was handed a script. She reprised the role of Elizabeth Bennet and acted out pivotal scenes from the novel with her parents (the honorable Mr. and Mrs. Bennet), brother-in-law (Mr. Bingley) and her boyfriend, David Slater (Mr. Darcy), among other relatives. She "just about lost it" but everyone else managed to stay in character for the entire half hour.

Then, the literary heroine and her dashing suitor took a private walk outside, where he reenacted Darcy's second heart-stopping proposal in her neighbor's yard ("my affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me forever").

Check out their adorable photos below!

Q. “I need some easy but healthy lunch ideas. It’s always the meal I have trouble with.” —Jessica W.

A. I am a big fan of eating a balanced meal. This means it includes lean protein (chicken, turkey, low-fat dairy, and beans), carbohydrates (whole grain breads, brown rice, and vegetables), and fat (avocado, olive oil, and nuts). Despite what you’ve heard, eliminating anyone one of them is never recommended. Lots of brides think they have to give up carbohydrates, and it’s just not necessary. Give up the carbs and you may not have enough strength to walk down the aisle!

Photo Credit: Heart Love Weddings via Lover.ly

Enjoy some of my favorite lunch ideas:

1. Turkey burger in ½ a large whole wheat pita pocket with romaine lettuce and tomato slices.

2. Egg white omelet with vegetables and a slice of Ezekiel sesame bread (a bread with no sugar found in the refrigerated section in the supermarket).

3. Mixed green salad with grilled shrimp or chicken. I use balsamic vinegar dressing and sprinkle a little parmesan or feta cheese on top.

4. Turkey chili over a small baked potato or brown rice.

5. Seared Ahi tuna on top of mixed green salad with avocado, water chestnuts, shredded carrots, and sliced almonds with a low-calorie sesame dressing.

Hello, amazing BG readers! This is my first post as a Real Bride Blogger and the first formal announcement of my engagement to the world, so it's an exciting day for me.

First, to all of my fellow engaged ladies out there — CONGRATULATIONS! This is truly going to be one of the most special times in your life. Make sure you take a deep breath and enjoy every minute and aspect of planning. Don't settle and most importantly, don't freak out. Everything will come together and your big day will be more magical than you ever imagined possible.

So, who am I? I love weddings; it's what I'm good at and it's what I do for a living. I'm a professional wedding designer and planner for my own company, Davia Lee Events, which is based in Santa Ynez, CA. At work, I tell it like it is and I have a special knack for bringing a bride and groom's vision to life. I've planned stunning weddings that we all dream of having, and I've planned weddings that are sweetly simple and unique. I've dealt with screaming kids, hilarious drunk groomsmen, and unpredictable Mother Nature. I also pride myself on creating awesome pros-and-cons lists to help couples make decisions.

But beyond all of that, I'm a bride, too. I have dreams, hopes, and endless ideas for my wedding, but I also have a budget and challenges just like anyone else reading this. I am beyond excited for this opportunity to share everything wedding-related with all of you throughout my journey: the good and the bad, as well as the glamorous and not-so-glamorous. Yes, my POV may be slightly different because I have years of orchestrating nuptials under my belt, but this time, it's my turn to walk down the aisle, so emotions will run high!

BG brides, not since The Royal Wedding has a celebrity's wedding cake received as much fanfare as Kaley Cuoco's! And with good reason — The Butter End Cakery fulfilled the Big Bang Theory star's wish for something "over the top" with their upside-down chandelier cake. Thanks to custom rigging, sandbags, and clever engineering, the blinged-out confection miraculously stayed in place for her entire reception on New Year's Eve.

Unable to get these magical (albeit outrageous) images out of my mind, I did some digging and it looks like the new Mrs. Sweeting might be on to something. Cakes are soaring to new heights at non-celebrity receptions, too. Check out some of my favorite editors' picks below!

Cake Design: The Butter End Cakery / Photos by: The Butter End Cakery (left) and Kaley Cuoco / Twitter (right)

If you've ever looked up engagement photo inspiration, you've undoubtedly seen some of the same types of pictures over and over — couples posing in a way that not-so-subtly shows off the ring, a bride-to-be gazing adoringly at her fiancé as he stares off into the distance, the fairytale "foot pop" while kissing, and couples tossing leaves, to name a few. 

After getting engaged, Marian Schembari and her fiancé, Elliot Speed, didn't originally plan on taking engagement photos, but when they kept seeing these types of pictures pop up on Pinterest, they decided to do a spoof shoot, where they swapped the traditional gender roles or did extreme versions of the stereotypical images. Their close friend, wedding photographer Malia Moss, followed the couple around San Francisco snapping the hilarious photos. "It was the most fun I've had at a photo shoot in my entire life," Moss told Yahoo Shine. Check out the results!

I hope everyone had a very happy new year and is looking forward to a fantastic 2014! I know I am — as I told my fiancé Rene last Tuesday night when the ball dropped, this is our year!

As did most people with the start of a new year, I made some resolutions I plan on keeping.

1. Lose another 40 pounds.
2. Get healthier.
3. Save money.
4. Take more time to enjoy life.
5. Smile more.

I've made these resolutions before, but I've never kept them, which is what happens to most of us. The difference this year is that I’m already half way there, and once you see results and have your heart set on the end prize, there is no turning back. My success so far in the past seven months helps me trust that I will meet my goals and resolutions — and you can, too. If you put your mind to it, and you don’t let anything or anyone get in your way, it can happen. I hope this helps motivate you to achieve your resolutions this year, because it really is possible, no matter what the resolution is.

While on the treadmill last week, I decided I was going to increase my workouts for the month of January. This morning, I woke up at 4:30 instead of 5 (crazy, I know), and did 30 minutes on the treadmill before my 30 minute spin class, burning tons of calories before I even started my day!