Photo of the Day
We love the emotional reactions during this couple’s first look!
We love the emotional reactions during this couple’s first look!
Photo Credit: Romona Keveza
Tip of the Day: Love the Little White Dress look that some brides are choosing for their big day? If you can't bear to part with a full-length gown, consider wearing a short, all-white stunner at your rehearsal dinner, engagement party, or bridal shower, instead.
Search for budget-friendly styles at department stores you may already shop at, such as Ann Taylor, to make use of coupon codes and reward cards. Or, look online and check RetailMeNot.com for free shipping codes. After the holidays, you can even use gift cards from your favorite stores to score that LWD for next to nothing, or even free!
Plus, check out more Short and Sweet Rehearsal Dinner Looks.
With just one more episode remaining before the series finale on December 17, The CW has released some evidence that Blair and Chuck will be exchanging vows on the final episode.
Blair, in a gorgeous Elie Saab gown, with BFF Serena.
Blair's step-father, Cyrus Rose, performs the ceremony in Central Park.
Now, we all know that Gossip Girl loves a good dream sequence, so the jury's still out on whether this is really happening. What do you think?
—Kristen O'Gorman Klein
Re-create one of your favorite shots from your parents' wedding!
'Tis the season for holiday proposals! More than 800,000 couples will get engaged during the holiday season, according to Robbins Brothers, a destination engagement ring store. In celebration, they've compiled the "12 Engagement Rings of Christmas," showcasing the year's most popular ring designs:
Inspired by the tiara Kate Middleton wore for her 2011 nuptials, this sparkling ring features intricate side scrolls and 94(!) diamonds around a 1.5 carat center stone (from $2,495).
We love this whimsical, modern take on a halo design: The curved, diamond-encrusted band comes together around a 1.5 carat diamond (from $3,620).
Romantic and elegant, this dazzling ring features a cushion cut diamond surrounded by a halo, with two rows of diamonds on the band ($6,495).
Good news—my husband is home from his deployment in Afghanistan! Words can’t describe how incredible it feels to have Michael back.
We recently celebrated a big milestone: Our first wedding anniversary. We spent this entire past year living thousands of miles apart from one another, so we encountered a few challenges that most couples will never have to face. We didn't get to talk on the phone as often as we would have liked, and I only saw a pixelated version of his face a handful of times. In fact, the two weeks we spent together in the middle of his deployment was the longest time we'd seen each other in person since we got engaged. I'll admit—it was rough celebrating our first anniversary with a phone call, but knowing that we'd get to spend our lives together as soon as he got back made it all worth it.
Even though we were halfway around the world from each other, we still learned some valuable lessons about marriage:
Toasting to our first night in our new place!
Here, we are enjoying each other's company with pizza and beer in our furniture-less apartment.
We love how this unique photo shows off the rings and the intricate details of the wedding gown at the same time!
Photo Credit: raisethecake.com
Tip of the Day: Make your wedding cake look taller and more ornate by placing decorated cake stands in between its layers. You can rent the cake stands from a rental shop, bakery, or wedding coordinator. Or, try making it a fun DIY project. If you prefer a less "blingy" look than the one shown here, select stands in monochromatic or alternating colors, instead of using rhinestones.
Plus, check out 10 Pretty, Romantic Wedding Cakes.
When my fiancé Edwin and I planned our destination wedding in Italy the first time around (read about why we had to cancel our wedding, here), we were surprised by how time-consuming and expensive the process was. All of that crazy-gorgeous scenery came with a cost: Guests treated us more like travel agents than the bride and groom, and vendor interactions were confusing, at best. Here are five things I wish someone had told me before I started planning.
1. It can be tough to navigate all of the legalities.
Despite the challenges, we instinctively knew that we wanted to get married abroad. We looked into Hawaii (some islands have a 10 p.m. curfew) and Mexico (bloodwork is required in order to obtain a marriage license). We even thought about eloping to Paris—what's more romantic than The City of Lights? But when we found out couples must live in the city for a minimum of 40 days in order to legally get married there, this lovely idea quickly turned into a headache. We finally settled on Italy; although they require a civil ceremony prior to any religious or symbolic blessing, we think it's charming to have a separate ceremony to celebrate privately.
Photo Credit: One and Only Paris [Photography] via Intimate Weddings
Solving the age-old conundrums about bridesmaid dresses are a wedding tradition unto themselves: What to do with the dress after the wedding? How to pick out a dress that every bridesmaid will like? How to fit the dresses in the budget? Then try to find an eco-friendly bridesmaid dress that’s chic and can be worn again. Now that’s a tall order.
If you are a bride that is not overly concerned with uniformity, consider choosing a dress style that is more practical for everyday use, or hand out information to your bridesmaids on where they can donate the dress to after the wedding. Instead of making your best friends wear a certain dress, pick a color scheme and ask them to wear a dress they already own that matches your color. It will cost them much less and they are more likely to wear this new favorite dress of theirs again.
Here are the top three ways you can repurpose your bridesmaids dress and get the most for your money while helping the environment:
Photo via Brideonline.com.au