Guest Blogger: Jessica Hochstadt, MS, Nutritionist and owner of “I Do” Nutrition
Jessica was a Nutritionist and Health Educator in a Boston-based hospital before deciding to focus her practice on brides with “I Do” Nutrition—a global weight-loss service that caters to brides and their bridal parties, on their schedule. She understands that everyone has a different relationship with food, and enjoys guiding bridal parties to appreciate the importance behind meal planning, understanding nutrition, and building a healthy lifestyle. In a time where our world and kitchen cupboards have become overly saturated with misinformation about nutrition, Jessica brings the simplicity back to a field that has sustained us through life.

Your wedding day is a lifetime milestone and will be one of your happiest memories. And while there will be plenty of unforeseen surprises on this day, there certain things you can plan for — like what you'll eat as you're getting ready.

About nine months before our wedding took place, my now-wife Claudia and I were entertaining some friends when someone asked who was going to officiate our ceremony. Without missing a beat, our dear friend Patty Woods proclaimed that she would. After the laughter died down, she stated that she would love to officially unite us in marriage. Having no previous experience with officiating, we didn't think much of it, and we assumed that the likelihood of this actually happening was very small.

A few days later, to our surprise, Patty presented us with the requirements needed to legally officiate a wedding. Armed with this information and her willingness to perform our wedding ceremony, we made our decision: Our best friend was going to marry us! Needless to say, it was all very exciting.

Although the process of obtaining her license was relatively simple, it did require diligence on Patty's part. First, she researched our state's minister credentials (we live in Indiana). There are many websites that can aid in this process; we used firstnationministry.org to obtain a step-by-step application. There are different packages available based on the duration of the license (two years, five years or 10 years). After paying a processing fee that cost around $32, Patty completed and submitted her application. Within a week, she received her officiant license from the State of Indiana, as well as detailed procedural requirements and instructions for filing our wedding license. 

Guest Blogger: G.E. Masana
G.E. Masana's roster of wedding clients have included magazine editors, models, art directors, actors, opera singers, cinematographers, fashion designers, graphic artists and photographers. He's been seen in Bridal Guide, Town & Country, New York Magazine, among many more. He currently writes about weddings for Huffington Post. A sought-after documentary wedding photographer, he's been interviewed by the two leading international professional wedding photography journals and was awarded by the International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers. 

Sure, it was an ancient superstition that bad luck would soon follow if the groom saw the bride in her gown before the wedding. In today’s modern world, though, even non-superstitious couples still wrangle over the question whether to see each other prior to the ceremony. The main reason couples today seem to keep the tradition alive is because they believe it builds up the mystique before the walk down the aisle. However, other couples recognize the time manage benefits of seeing each other before the ceremony — meeting earlier for photos gets you to your party sooner.

Drew Barrymore hasn't lost that newlywed glow yet — she and husband Will Kopelman recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary, but she still finds herself "smiling bigger than big" when thinking about weddings. 

In her latest tip video for her beauty line, Flower Beauty, she answers one fan's question about how to find the right lipstick for her wedding day. (Psst — Barrymore's The Wedding Singer costar Adam Sandler makes a special appearance in the video with a message for the couple!). 

A long-wear formula seems like a natural choice, but Barrymore had some major issues with her own long-lasting lipstick on her wedding day. Here's what she recommends instead:

Tell us: Have you chosen your wedding-day lipstick?

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

Guest blogger: Bonne Marcus
A fitness industry expert for 27 years, Marcus holds numerous certifications from the Aerobic Fitness Association of America (AFAA), including Step, Spin, Bosu™, Pre/Post Natal, Youth Fitness, Aqua, and Personal Training. She has taught for New York City’s top health clubs, including Crunch, New York Health and Racquet, and Reebok Sports Club. A recognized name on Long Island, Bonne has taught at Dany Holdstein’s Two Worlds, North Shore Health Club, LA Fitness, Sport time, Equinox and currently teaches at the Sid Jacobsen JCC in Roslyn. Learn more at getfitwithbonne.com.

Photo Credit: Iofoto/iStockphoto

If you've ever gone for a long, challenging run or toughed it out in the weight room with your significant other, you know that sweat can bring you closer. Working out produces endorphins, and endorphins give you that "exercise high." When you exercise together and both produce these endorphins, you end up associating those positive feelings with your partner.

Guest blogger: Kate Harrison, creator of greenbrideguide.com.
After planning her own green wedding in 2007, Kate wrote the best-selling green wedding book, The Green Bride Guide: How to Plan an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks, 2008). In 2009, she founded greenbrideguide.com to help couples use their weddings to promote social and environmental change while supporting the local green economy. Kate has a JD in Environmental Law and a Master's from Yale in Environmental Policy.

When you picture a flower girl in your mind, it’s typically an adorable little girl holding a bountiful basket of flowers, walking down a long wedding aisle. The flower girl’s job is to throw petals or flowers and decorate the space for the bride. Although it may not seem so, there is a way to incorporate eco-friendly products into the flower girl’s duty to help eliminate some unnecessary waste.

Fill your flower girl’s basket with color-contrasting freeze-dried petals instead of fresh flowers. These beautiful accents are 100 percent natural, biodegradable and non-staining, making them the perfect flower basket alternative for your environmentally-conscious special day.