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Real Wedding Album: Chandra & Daniel

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These beautiful wedding photos were sent to me along with a sweet, sweet love story. Enjoy!

Daniel and Chandra chatted on Facebook before she agreed to a movie and ice cream with him. After their first date, she came home bawling her eyes out to her sister, who assumed the date had gone horribly wrong. So you can imagine her surprise when Chandra said, "I'm going to marry him. He's the one!"

Fourteen months later, Daniel proposed—"a fairytale moment"—on top of the Tower of The Americas in San Antonio, Texas. They settled on a rustic-style venue, but three months shy of their wedding date, Chandra had a change of heart—about the venue. They were delighted when a family member offered to let them use a piece of property to host a garden-style wedding, and happily canceled their original venue. Two days later, the family member canceled on them, and they were out a venue. Yikes!

And then they found exactly the venue they were looking for, Fair Oaks Ranch, a country club that Chandra's uncle was a member of. And Chandra got down to the business of planning their wedding, in less than three months and on a $10,000 budget. The two were married on November 9, 2013. And the results of her hard work are pretty amazing:

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What's your favorite part of Chandra and Daniel's wedding?

Remember: This is a real couple's story. You don't have to love everything, but you do have to be nice in the comments. Please.


Want to share YOUR gorgeous wedding photos on Save the Date? Click here for submission guidelines!


4 Ways to Get Your Wedding Guests to Put Away Their Freakin' Phones

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As a celebrity-weddings-obsessed blogger, I have quick-draw access to my cell phone 24/7. I also have kids, so if you ask me to turn off my phone off at your wedding—or, worse, turn it over—it's not gonna happen. I'll gladly turn off my ringer out of respect for your nuptials, but knowing that my kids are safe is more important to me than your cake-cutting. #sorrynotsorry

Still, I think that cell phones at weddings have gotten out of hand—and I'm not alone. Writes Save the Date reader Olivia: "The more I go to weddings, the more one thing in particular stands out: guests whipping their cellphones out during big moments! Whether it's the bride walking down the aisle, the first kiss, the cutting of the cake, or the father-daughter dance, everyone has their phone in front of their faces! Agh! Am I being too uptight, or is this incredibly rude? And how can I avoid this at my own wedding?"

Like I said, I think banning cell phones from your wedding is obnoxious—Who are you? Kimye?—and it's probably not going to happen if you have, say, celebrity-weddings bloggers or doctors or parents on your guest list. But there are some steps you can take to keep people's cell phone usage to a minimum during your ceremony:

Put a note in your wedding program. "We ask you to kindly turn off your ringers during the wedding ceremony and refrain from taking photos. We have professional photographers on hand to capture all the special moments and are excited to share their photos with you."

Ask your officiant to make an announcement. "The bride and groom have asked me to ask you to put your phones and cameras away. Sit back and enjoy the ceremony!"

I also think it makes sense to ask people to chill with the cell phone usage during the "big" reception moments—cake-cutting, father-daughter dance, etc. For one, if they're snapping pics at the same time as your pro photographer, the background of your wedding photos is going to look like this:

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And that doesn't make for pretty pictures. Plus, the flashes from the cell phone cameras—AND the people jumping in front of your photographer—can ruin your pro pics. Click here to see some examples of photos that wedding guests ruined and to read a plea from a wedding photographer for "unplugged weddings." With that in mind, during your reception:

Ask your DJ or band leader to make an announcement. I think you can ask him (or her) to be a little bit humorous with this. "Ladies and gentlemen, please put down your cell phones and join the bride and groom for their first dance. Let's leave the picture-taking to the professionals! Also, Words With Friends will still be there when you get back!"

Put a sign on the reception tables. These can also be a little bit funny while getting your point across. "We encourage you to share your selfies with #kimandrorywedding. (We are not responsible for any alcohol-induced duck faces, however.) Please refrain from posting photos of the bride and groom on social media."

Do you care about people using their cell phones at your wedding? Do you think wedding guests have gotten out of hand with their cell phones?

I really do. And I feel like when guests are constantly uploading pics or tweeting, they're missing out on the wedding itself. And that sucks, since the bride and groom put SO much effort into it.

"Can I Wear This Kinda White Dress to a Winter Wedding?" (I Think So)

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Tutu Dress from Free Pople, $178.


"Is it OK to wear this dress to a winter wedding?" asks Save the Date reader Jessica.


Here are my thoughts:

Sure, it has a poufy white skirt, but a guest wearing this dress just isn't going to be mistaken for the bride, so I don't see what the problem would be. Plus, it's so hard for find a dressy dress that's also warm—and I'm SO over scarf-y "wraps"—so I think even an uptight bride would HAVE to forgive you for "wearing white" in this instance. I'm also kind of digging the tights.

I'm actually kind of partial to the navy-skirted version, but I prefer to dress in head-to-toe black.

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I think either dress works for a wedding guest though—it's just a matter of taste.

Would you wear this white-skirted dress to a wedding? Or is it TOO much white for you?

Have a wedding-y dilemma of your own? Email me!

You HAVE to See This Spray-Painted Proposal Story—Even If You Think You Don't Like Graffiti

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I don't love it when kids spray paint stupid stuff just for the cheap thrill of vandalizing —Here's lookin' at you, Biebs—but I very much appreciate graffiti as art, especially when it involves a marriage proposal. The person behind the profreshionalism Instagram account, which documents NYC graffiti—posted this snap on Monday:


And Gothamist got the back story from Amber, the newly engaged girl:

"So, the story basically is this: being that I come from a Yemeni American Muslim family, getting engaged is rarely a surprise as the potential fiance has to seek permission from my father to get engaged to me, and we then have a ceremony with close family where the ring is then placed on my finger and the celebrated.

"Bart's philosophy is there aren't enough good surprises in the world and given so much of our engagement was planned out, this came as a shock—mere hours after we officially got engaged at my home with our families! It was the very next morning.

"Bart insisted we go to the High Line early for a walk and coffee. As we approached a familiar spot he gave me a piece of paper and I caught the colors on the wall out of the corner of my eye and realized the sketch proposal on paper was twenty something feet long. I cried and said yes. It was such a mind blowing surreal moment!"

Click here to see the original post—and to see the sketch.

Thoughts on this spray-painted proposal story?

I think it's sweet—especially because the guy went out of his way to surprise her even though they were technically already engaged.

7 Jaw-Droppingly Cool Flower Ideas for the Not-So-Average Wedding

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I've been a long time fan of Clementine Floral Works, a magnificently eclectic flower shop tucked into one of Los Angeles' hippest neighborhoods. The store has been open for just two years, and it has already cemented itself as must-see stop on the shopping strip of Silverlake's Sunset Junction. Owners Teri Ryan and Cain DeVore, and Weddings Specialist Sharon Lowe invited us into the shop and cooked up some killer arrangements for brides looking for something extra special. Behold!

The Eclectic Wedding

Teri says, "These are for an artsy, high style wedding. We would put these out on a long, rectangular table, and have them dispersed down the table. Cain and I found this china on a road trip. We bought a van in Detroit, and then filled it up shopping at flea markets as we drove across country. And now we use it for the shop!”

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The flowers are fever few, narcisuss, green mist and poppy, and they are in vintage china from Spain and vintage ribbon from an estate sale in northern California.

Another shot, it was so pretty I couldn't resist!

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The Outdoor Wedding

Sharon says, "We see these at an outdoor wedding, like a picnic, at a beach, or in a barn. They’d be great at a lunch weddings, which we predict are going to become more popular in the near future. We would also always add tons of herbs to an arrangement like this when they are in season, like rosemary, oregano, and sage."

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Garden roses, parrot tulips, decorative kale, blooming acacia in wooden bowls and on collected wood boards, used as a risers. The vintage deer postcard would be used as a menu or an escort card.

The New Vintage Wedding

Sharon says, "The tin reminds us of a briefcase, but for flowers. For this, we would use assorted vintage tins, so they wouldn’t all match, but they’d be in the same family. The knobs would be great napkin ties."

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Ranunculus, gravilia, decorative artichoke, carnations, wild jasmine, and species geranium with collected vintage tins and plates vintage-inspired knobs

The Boardwalk Empire Wedding

Teri tells us, "Here we have carnations, gladiolas and chrysanthemums, all flowers that have a bad wrap these days. We are bringing them back! They have a real 1920s prohibition, throwback vibe, and are for a super duper flower lover. We predict that in 5 years, carnations will be the new peonies!"

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Carnations, gladiolas and chrysanthemums in collected vintage pieces

The Glam Garden Party Wedding

Sharon tells us, "This is our new version of using succulents. They can work on a table or as cool ceremony pieces. And, because they are plants, you can keep them after! These would cast amazing shadows going down the table. You could even put them on a mirrored runner or a dark table for some extra drama."

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Fishhook succulents, with anemone and jasmine in glass vases. Accented with vintage fabric and candles

The Romantic Wine Country Wedding

Teri tells us, "We love the purple and teal together, they are great for an evening wedding. This arrangement feels more masculine, which feels new. The flowers are bold and structured, and the napkins are tailored."

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Lilac, magnolia blossom, hellebores, muscari, and anenome in California pottery, on Malibu tile, with hand-embroidered napkins and vintage ribbon

The Traditional Wedding (with a Twist!)

Teri says, "The hydrangea and roses are traditional, but we added daffodils to update it and make it less stuffy. We love the crystal ash try with water and floating flowers for something unexpected."

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White hydrangea, daffodil, ranunculus, garden roses, and narcissus in mercury glass, vintage wine glasses and polished silver tea pots

Teri and Sharon's advice to couples when thinking about flowers for their big day: "Keep in mind what you really like, as opposed to what is popular. What would you want on your dining room table if you were to have 200 of your closest friends over for dinner?"

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The inside of Clementine Floral Works, how gorg?!

On choosing the perfect arrangement: "Pinterest can be really confusing for a bride because there are so many images and they don't represent seasonal availability. We recommend you go into a flower shop and experience it in 3D. Make sure to touch and smell the flowers. If you are serving steak, and it smells like freesia, that’s just not right!"

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Another shot of the shop!

Don't miss out on visiting Clementine Floral Works when you are in Los Angeles, or you can check out some of their work on their website.

Which is your favorite? What flowers did you have at your wedding?

Elie Saab Latest Show-Stopping Wedding Gown—Plus, 4 More Wedding-Worthy Dresses From Today's Couture Show

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Brace yourselves, ladies: Elie Saab's latest couture dresses are going to make you swoon so hard, you might fall down and bump your head. (SO awkward if you're in the office today.) Have a seat before you take in all this gorgeous.

First off, the to-die-for wedding dress:


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I'd love to see these three dresses on a bride, especially the pink one!

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And I saved the best for last: This ultra-romantic gown would pretty much be the most dramatic wedding dress, ever. Drop-dead gorgeous. (Paging Kim Kardashian? That'd be one way to wow 'em!) It's like my favorite Heidi Elnora wedding dress—the watercolor one—on steroids. If steroids took your pretty and amplified it like 1,000 percent.

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Which one of these wedding dresses is your favorite?

No. 5, please!

How to Layer Colors and Get This Dreamy Wedding Manicure (as Seen on Jennifer Lawrence at the SAG Awards)

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I think the perfect wedding manicure strikes a delicate balance—much like a wedding dress, it should reflect the bride's personality and accentuate her natural beauty without taking on a life of its own/being too over-the-top. And I think the nail polish Jennifer Lawrence wore at the SAG Awards would be a perfect wedding manicure for just about any bride. Her holographic palest-lavender color was glitzy but not flashy and looked wedding-white when the light hit it.

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Want to know how to copy Jennifer's nail polish for your wedding? Here's the exact recipe Deborah Lippmann used on her (yes, Deborah herself did Jennifer's nails!).

1. Apply a single coat of sheer pink Tiny Dancer nail lacquer.

2. For the second coat, use sheer, shimmering-lilac Whatever Lola Wants.

3. End with Gel Lab Top Coat for a high-shine finish.

Do you love this wedding manicure idea as much as I do? What do YOUR perfect wedding nails look like?

4 Super-Unique Engagement Rings That I Can't Stop Staring At

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All the East Coast snow KINDA got to me yesterday. At one point I handed my son a roll of Scotch tape and got lost in a world of sparkly engagement rings by Erica Courtney. (The wedding bloggers' version of, "Calgon, take me away!") I'm pretty sure you're all going to be hypnotized by this bling too, so proceed with caution.


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Champagne


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Juliette


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Charlotte


Which of these engagement rings is your favorite?


Just Engaged? Here 4 Things That Suck About Wedding Planning—and 4 Ways to Make Them Less Suck-y

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Stressed out by wedding planning? Kiss a puppy!


If you've been dreaming about a getting engaged, when you finally get a ring and get down to the business of planning a wedding, you'll probably be surprised by how much of the wedding planning process kinda sucks. Sorry. To the rescue? Me, with four easy easy ways to make the suck-y parts of wedding planning suck a little less.

WEDDING DOWNER 1: Everything cost 1,000,000 times more than you anticipated.
Unless you're in the business of event planning or you've been crunching wedding-y numbers for years, you're probably going to be surprised by how much it costs to alter a wedding dress or serve your guests a no-frills chicken dish.

SOLUTION: If all the numbers are making your head spin, start by putting the amount you want to spend on your wedding into a budget tool (this one is my favorite) to get a reasonable idea of how much you should be allocating to each of your wedding expenses. That tool gives you a basic idea of how to break down your budget and lets you adjust the numbers if you want to spend, say, more on your dress and less on stationery.


WEDDING DOWNER 2: Everyone wants to help plan your wedding—or, heck, plan it for you.
Your mom's already pulled her wedding dress out of storage, and your mother-in-law handed you a binder with decor inspiration.

SOLUTION: You can't blame them for being excited—even if their attempts at being helpful are really cramping your style. If you're feeling smothered, give the moms a job. Maybe you don't care about wedding favors or dread researching hotels for your guests. Tasks you don't want to focus on anyway are great outlets for all their planning energy.


WEDDING DOWNER 3: Your groom is useless.
Want your guy's thoughts on table linens? Invitations? Aisle decor? Ask once. If he just doesn't care, don't give yourself an aneurism trying to get his input.

SOLUTION: Put him in charge of things you know he's excited about. Rory REALLY wanted to pick our wedding band, so I told him to go wild and backed off. (Fine, maybe I gave him a HELPFUL list of things to check for when reviewing the contract. But I mostly backed off.) I also put him in charge of planning the honeymoon. "Don't ask me," I said. "Just get it done." Was it EXACTLY as I would have planned it? No. But I saved myself a lot of stress by letting it go.


WEDDING DOWNER 4: People are bitchy about your ideas.
Your bestie knows you want a short wedding dress, but she keeps emailing you pics of floor-length gowns. ("Short's not formal enough!") And your boss won't stop sending you destination-wedding venues, even though you'd never get on a plane for your wedding.

SOLUTION: Learn how to smile and nod. You don't have to love all their ideas—or any of 'em—but you'll save yourself a lot of angst if you smile and say, "That's a great idea! We'll definitely think about" rather than butting heads about why you will NOT have carnations at your wedding, or whatever.


Are you feeling like wedding planning sucks? Or is it all rainbows and butterflies for you?

Kim Kardashian Shares New Details on Her Wedding—Including When and Where! (Plus, Versailles Puts and End to THOSE Rumors)

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Kim Kardashian went on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night to share the latest deets on her wedding to Kanye West.

"We will be getting married this summer, hopefully, in Paris. We love it there," she announced. "It's our second home. We spend so much time there, we have an apartment there. We really love it."

She and her groom just got back from a quick jaunt to Paris, where they took in some couture shows and toured Versailles—which reignited the rumors that the duo would tie the knot there.

Those of you who were appalled at the thought of Kimye's nuptials going down at Versailles will be happy to hear that the chateau's official Twitter account (


Thoughts on Kim Kardashian and Kanye West's summer-in-Paris wedding plans?

I'm hoping it will be less of a media spectacle than it would be if it was in, like, L.A. Although I'm sure someone will dispatch helicopters.

"I Want to Marry My Guy—but He Doesn't Want Kids. I Do." (I Say, Yikes!)

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Writes Save the Date reader Madeline:

I've been dating my boyfriend/best friend for more than five years, since I was 19 and he was 22. In 2009 he moved in with me and my mom, and we all still live together for financial reasons.

In other not-so-great-for-the-relationship news: He has a full-time job and I'm in college full-time, so we're both busy—and at this point we're in a mostly sexless relationship. I'm the only one who initiates sex (or even kissing) or romantic things, like date nights. I've tried almost everything to amp up the sex and romance, but most of the time, nothing works.

Despite this, I know my guy loves me. He says it every day. And I know I can trust him and tell him anything, because he really is my best friend. He also does nice things for me. He helps me cook. And he'll help me clean up a mess, even if it isn't his. He also never looks at other women. He says he wants to get married someday. But he hates kids, while I love them, and "someday" isn't the timeline I had in mind. I want us to be married and ready to have kids by the time I enter graduate school.

So I guess I have three questions: Does it seem like my boyfriend's still interested in me at all? Is five years too long to wait for a proposal? Is our relationship—not agreeing on a marriage timeline and whether to have kids—even worth taking to the next level?

Here are my thoughts:

Hoo boy. Well, to answer the easy question first, I don't think five years is necessarily too long to wait for a proposal, especially since you started dating when you were a teenager.

Still, I'm not sure you'd want to accept a proposal from this guy if and when he finally gets around to pulling one together. The sexless relationship is definitely a problem, and it doesn't seem like one he's willing to work on. I understand that your lives are busy, but—reporting live from my thirties!—they're not going to get less busy as you get older.

Sex stuff aside, I think the kids issue is your biggest problem. You used the word "hate," which gives me impression that he's NEVER going to want kids. And I feel like you do. You CANNOT marry this guy hoping that he'll magically change his mind or you'll be able to talk him into babies. And you can't marry him hoping that you'll "get over" the baby thing. It's fine if he doesn't want kids, ever. People who don't want kids shouldn't have 'em. But if you DO want them, you deserve to have them. And your marriage isn't going last if you resent the hell out of him.

Of course the loving each other and the being best friends count for something, but it sounds to me like you have a really great roommate, not a life partner.

So you need to sit this guy down and ask him exactly where he stands. (I like to save hard conversations for long car rides.) I think you need to ask, point blank, "Do you plan on marrying me?" Assuming the answer is yes, explain that for the sake of your sanity, you need a better idea of his marriage timeline. If he says "someday," insist that he give a more specific answer. "Does 'someday' mean two years from now? Five? Ten?" If he gives you an answer that you can live with, then you can move on to the topic of kids. "Are kids completely out of the question for you? If having kids is important to me, is that a deal-breaker? When would you be OK starting a family?" (The last question is important, because you don't want him to agree to having kids, then brush you off for a decade.)

If you get all the best-possible answers—"Yes, I want to marry you. Within the next two years. And I want kids, but not for five years."—then you need to address the lack-of-sex thing. It sounds to me like he might be depressed, because regular "busy-ness" is not enough to keep most guys from having sex, especially if the girl is initiating. I think maybe individual and couples therapy might good for both of you. Clearly you have a lot on your mind, and your relationship's going to need some work if you want to get it back on track.

Ladies, what do you think? Should Madeline stay with this guy? Or is it time to move on?


Have a wedding-y dilemma of your own? Email me!

The Bachelor Wedding: All the Deets on Catherine Giudici's Monique Lhuillier Wedding Dress

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Catherine Giudici is one lovely bride! The Bachelor bride wore a strapless lace fit-to-flare Monique Lhuiller wedding dress—I'm pretty sure is the Perfection from Monique's spring/summer 2013 collection, minus the bow—with a mega-sparkly sash. Perfection, indeed. Here's a pic from the designer:

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Here's more scoop on Sean and Catherine's wedding. I'll keep you posted when I get more info, and I'll update the post when I know the style name for sure!

Thoughts on the Monique Lhuillier wedding dress Catherine Giudici wore to marry Sean Lowe?

33 Couples Were Just Married During the Grammys—and Queen Latifah Officiated! #samelove

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That one time, when I started crying during the Grammys: Almost three dozen couples swapped vows after Macklemore&Ryan Lewis and Mary Lambert performed "Same Love" at the Grammys tonight.


Queen Latifah officiated the the ceremony, which included couples that are gay, straight, and of different ages and races. Immediately following the super-fast vows, Madonna joined the celebration with "Open Your Heart." And then EVERYONE got a well-deserved standing ovation.

SO FREAKING AWESOME.

Thoughts on the 33-couple wedding at the Grammys? I looooved it! Obviously.

TONS of Pics, Live Tweets, and Video From the Bachelor Wedding: What You Missed After the Cameras Stopped Rolling

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Did you think the Bachelor wedding ended after the special? While you were sleeping last night, the Bachelor's Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici were enjoying their first hours as Mr. and Mrs.—and there are TONS of photos and tweets—and a little video—to prove it. Enjoy this up-close look at their day!




































Thoughts on Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici's wedding? What was your favorite part?

The BHLDN Wedding Dresses You Love Are Coming Soon to a Store Near You!

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Tallulah Gown, $3,200. Lulu Gown, $2,600. Onyx Gown, $1,800.


I've been obsessed with BHLDN wedding dresses since the brand launched, but I can understand why a bride might be wary about buying her wedding dress online. So I'm happy to report some exciting news for brides who want to try on BHLDN dresses in person: The brand is opening three permanent shop-in-shops this year. Which means lucky brides in three cities will be able to shop BHLDN wedding dresses (and bridesmaid dresses, decor, and accessories) inside their local Anthropologie.

The first shop-in-shop is opening near Boston, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Then locations in Georgetown and New York City will follow. Plus, there's already a shop-in-shop Beverly Hills—and the Houston and Chicago storefronts.

So you can't get BHLDN wedding dresses in-person EVERYWHERE just yet, but if you dream of wearing a BHLDN gown and want to try before you buy, new opportunities are popping up all the time.

Are you a fan of BHLDN wedding dresses? Would you buy a wedding dress without trying it on first? Which of the dresses above is your favorite?


Snooki's 17 Bridesmaids—and How to Make a Huge Bridal Party Look Cohesive

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Two shocking tidbits I picked up from the current issue of Us Weekly: Snookiisn't putting her bridesmaids in leopard print {she said something to the effect of, "I'm over it." }, and there will be SEVENTEEN of 'em. Yep. 1-7. It seems her groom, Jionni LaValle, couldn't narrow down his list of 17 potential groomsmen, so she decided to roll with it.

Having a super-size wedding party can be a lot to manage for the average couple—plus, it can be expensive. (That's 17 bouquets and 17 boutonnieres—plus, 34 bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts.) But assuming Snooki and Jionni have a wedding planner to wrangle their people and money isn't a pressing concern, why not? Money and wrangling aside, I think the biggest issue is making that many people look good together. My suggestion: Put all the guys in tuxes—every dude looks good in a tux—and go with mixed-metal allover sequins for the ladies. So cute for a guidette wedding, no?

To make everyone look cohesive, I'd pick one designer (so the colors and silhouettes sorta go), then send the bridesmaids a bunch of potential dresses and let each girl pick her fave as a bridesmaid dress. Here's how I'd pull it off with Badgley Mischka dresses from Rent the Runway—some rentals are just $30!


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Top row: Chrysler at Night Dress, $30 rental. Sound the Alarm Gown, $80 rental. Fifth Avenue Showstopper Dress, $75 rental. Crystal Pop Gown, $100 rental. Bottom Row: Screen Siren Gown, $80 rental. Award Winner Gown, $70 rental. Rolling in the Glitz Gown, $160 rental. DaCruz Shimmer Mini, $30 rental.


Thoughts on Snooki's 17 bridesmaids? Would you put your 'maids in mixed-metal sequins, or do you want 'em in something less blinding? Which of the dresses above is your fave?

It Seems Wearing THREE Wedding Rings Is Now a Thing. (Related: We're Getting Dangerously Close to Bling Overload)

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Just when I had started to embrace the two-wedding-ring trend—as seen here on Jenna Dewan-Tatum—Amy Adams has to go and rock THREE wedding rings and totally blow my mind. Mostly because I'm really digging all that bling. Here's Amy looking mega pretty at the SAG Awards:

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And here's an up-close-and-personal look at her ring finger:

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I know, I know. Three wedding rings (plus an engagement ring) seems like it's approaching bling overload. But because all three rings are super dainty and her engagement ring isn't planet-size, I think it works.


* * * * * UPDATE * * * *

As clever reader mamaworker pointed out, Amy Adams isn't married yet—that we know of. Which means one of three things: 1) Secret wedding. (!!!) Or 2) The rings are a reflection of some other special sentiments—it's worth noting that she and her fiance have a daughter together. Or 3) She added some extra ring-finger accessories for the awards. So many questions. So few celebrities calling me to clarify. **sigh**

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What do you think of Amy Adams' left hand? Are we liking the three-wedding-rings look? Or is it just too much?

P.S. Speaking of shaking things up, check out this unconventional bridal look:

5 Mega-Pretty Engagement Rings You've Never Seen Before

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I just found a page with custom engagement rings on Brilliant Earth's site, and I can't get enough of them. First, because they're gorgeous. And second, because they're made with recycled metals and "beyond conflict-free" gems. What's not to love?


Engagement Ring 1
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Sapphire and Diamond Halo Ring, $4,200.


Engagement Ring 2
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Diamond and Topaz Blossom Ring, from $4,400.


Engagement Ring 3
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Vintage-Inspired Rose-Cut Halo Diamond Ring, from $3,900.


Engagement Ring 4
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Sapphire Accent Split Shank Ring, from $3,400.


Engagement Ring 5
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Six-Prong Floral Ring, from $3,600.


Which of these engagement rings is your favorite?

Two People You MUST Have In Your Wedding Pictures. (Related: Your Flower Girl Is SO Over All of It)

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Obviously you want to ask your wedding photographer to capture various photos of you on your wedding day—the bride and the groom are KINDA the point of it all. But we specifically asked our wedding photographer to spend some time shooting the oldest people (namely the grandparents) and youngest people (the tiny attendants) at our wedding. Neither group is likely going to be in the middle of the action, but their reactions to all of it are often priceless. Case in point: The photo of this flower girl who's SO over it all, captured by wedding photographer Jenny Jimenez, which I found on Junebug Weddings. (Read a cool interview with the photographer here.)

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You know, most grown-ups will put on a happy face for your photographer (as evidenced by the bridesmaids in the background) but I think the best wedding pictures show some real emotion—even if that emotion is "I CANNOT smile for another photo." And I think you get the best emotional reaction photos from the very young and the very old.

What pictures are on your "must-take" list?


p.s. Remember this is a real photo of someone's sweet little girl, even if she's not feeling so sweet in the moment. Please play nice in the comments!

This Butterfly Wedding Dress Made My Heart Skip a Beat—and You Can Make It (Yes, Make It!) on the Cheap

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After I got married, pretty much everyone started designing butterfly-topped wedding dresses. Monique Lhullier did this one in 2010, then Elizabeth Fillmore and BHLDN respectively came out with the styles below.

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It's good that these dresses were created long after my wedding, because I really, really would have wanted one—probably the Monique—and a dress with that much detail work (all those itty-bitty wings!) would be majorly expensive. So naturally when I stumbled across this pic on Instagram, my heart skipped a beat.


That pic lead me to the people behind the Cricut Explore—more on that later—who shared a better photo of the frock.

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LOVE!

And get this: Their designer made the dress and added all that embellishment (including the adorbs little collar necklace!) for around $100! I don't recommend the average bride goes around stitching her own wedding dress. (Wedding planning is stressful enough!) But I got how-to information from the people at Cricut, and it seems it would be SUPER-easy to DIY the butterflies and attach them yourself. (Or work with a seamstress, if DIY isn't your thing.) The butterflies on the dress above were made from paper, but if you wanted wearable bugs that wouldn't tear, the Cricut Explore (which was used to make the butterflies) can cut fabric and even leather. (You would spray the fabric with stiffener ahead of time so the butterflies wouldn't be floppy.)

Designer Desiree Moss cut her 180 butterflies from about 20 pieces gold paper using the Cricut Explore then used ModPodge to attach them to the bodice and hot glue to position the wings. She then glued 3D butterflies down the skirt, positioning some underneath the layers of tulle.

(If you were making b-flies for your wedding dress, like I said, I'd stitch them on or hire a seamstress to do it.)

To make the necklace, Desiree cut the base using the Cricut Explore and wool felt, then glued a ribbon on either side and embellished it with beads "to make it look glitzy." That I think even a bride with limited DIY skills could handle. It would be super-cute to make matching necklaces for your bridesmaids!

And instead of stitching the dress yourself, you could start with a simple dress—like this Wtoo bridesmaid dress—which would only set you back a couple hundred dollars.

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Would you DIY any part of your wedding dress? Or are you leaving that to the pros?

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