It's incredible how the most amazing day of my life went by in the blink of an eye. On July 1st, Michael and I exchanged vows at our Staten Island parish church, Our Lady Queen of Peace. Afterwards, we held a reception with 120 guests at the Lighthouse in Chelsea Piers, Manhattan. Our wedding was steeped in tradition, yet it also reflected our personal style: modern romance. Watch a trailer from our wedding video here!

After another overwhelming (but fun!) round of gown shopping, I am one step closer to making a final decision on what I'll wear on my wedding day. (Catch up on my first salon visit here!) Being surrounded by thousands of gowns can either be a bride's dream or a bit of a nightmare. My best advice is to have some idea of what you like before you shop. Browsing our gown gallery and the pages of Bridal Guide helped narrow my focus. Moral support is also essential! Here, my fellow BG fashionistas report on our experience at RK Bridal in New York City.

The search continues…since BG fashion experts advise visiting more than one bridal salon, we headed to NYC landmark RK Bridal. RK is known for their huge selection of designers (they carry over 12,000 gowns) at a variety of price points—including Casablanca, Mori Lee, Justin Alexander, and Enzoani.

RK Bridal had lots of knowledgeable consultants on hand to help the influx of brides on that busy Friday afternoon. Amy navigated through racks and racks of gorgeous gowns and cherry-picked a few contenders. From her previous shopping experience, Amy knew she wanted to explore different necklines, new colors, and other fabrics.

Here were some of our top picks:

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.

Dessert is a time to spoil yourself — not to spoil an otherwise green wedding. Check out these five fun, easy and eco-friendly treats. Each idea can help reduce costs and excess waste that become a big burden after your wedding. Encourage guests to take home leftovers, and provide them with plenty of recycled paper bags or boxes for easy on-the-go bites.

Tower of Treats
Create a cake-shaped tower of treats. These can be anything from gourmet powdered truffles to kitschy Ho-Hos. You can also display cupcakes on tiered trays for a similar effect. Towers of treats are a bit more interesting than a regular cake: Choose your favorite items, and it’s even more fun to take home the extras.