Though your wedding ceremony and reception will be two of the most unforgettable moments in your life (and the lives of everyone in attendance), wedding favors ensure that the wonderful memories will linger on just a bit longer. If your ultimate goal is to give a gift that your loved ones will remember forever, we can help. Wedding planner extraordinaire Colin Cowie shares five of his favorite ideas that are simultaneously fun, chic, and unexpected below.
1. Chocolate chip cookies: Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
A take-home bundle of chocolate chip cookies is incredibly fun and delicious. Your guests will enjoy their dessert for days on end.
2. Luggage tags: Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
For a functional wedding favor that will make your destination wedding live on and on, give your friends and family luggage tags with the name of your ceremony’s location.
3. Mini cakes: Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Your wedding cake is one of the most memorable things at your wedding, so why not let your guests take a miniature version of it home with them? It will satisfy their sweet tooth and will also be a hit on social media.
4. Monogram keepsakes: Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Nothing showcases your love more than perfectly placed monograms on small souvenirs. You may want to work with an artist or illustrator to figure out the perfect way to put your initials together.
5. Gift-filled tote bag: Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Those extra tote bags always come in handy, and they’re even better when filled with practical, beach-ready items including water bottles.
A ton of brides are going for the pretty pretty princess vibe on their wedding day, so lots of wedding dress designers automatically reach for the tulle and the crinolines. {“Fluffier! Puffier! MORE! } If you’re a bride who isn’t feeling the cupcake vibe, I suggest checking out white evening dresses, which tend to be a lot more streamlined. And bonus: Evening gowns are generally less expensive than wedding gowns. (Four of the dresses below are under $1,000.) Here are six off-the-rack I like:
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Off-the-rack wedding dresses: Yes or no? Would you want to wear an evening gown on your wedding day? Or does it HAVE to be bridal?
Well, 2015 was quite the year for celebrity weddings: George and Amal, Brangelina, Kimye, and more. It’s hard to believe there are any unmarried celebrities left, but here are 15 weddings we still have to look forward to.
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WEDDINGS THAT ARE DEFINITELY IN 2015 My gut tells me these brides and grooms aren’t waiting. I know Whitney’s been planning for a while, and based on Insta, Jamie recently kicked her wedding planning into high gear.
BACHELOR WEDDINGS Desiree and Chris are set to swap vows on TV in January. I haven’t heard about any wedding plans for Lacy and Marcus (from Bachelor In Paradise, in case you’ve forgotten), but based on Insta, they’re still going strong.
Desiree Hartsock & Chris Siegfried
Lacy Faddoul & Marcus Grodd
WEDDINGS THAT MIGHT WAIT TILL FALL OR WINTER All these brides are new moms, so I don’t think a wedding is on anyone’s front burner.
Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher
Christina Aguilera & Matt Rutler
JWoww & Roger Mathews
Olivia Wilde & Jason Sudeikis
WEDDINGS THAT COULD GET BUMPED TO 2016 These brides are all on the young side—23, 25, 25, 26—so I don’t see them rushing. Plus, Hayden’s in the New Mom Club too.
Emma Roberts & Evan Peters
Elizabeth Olsen & Boyd Holbrook
Hayden Panettiere & Wladimir Klitschko
Allison Williams & Ricky Van Veen
WEDDINGS THAT MIGHT NOT HAPPEN All the headlines about these two have the words “cold feet” in them. Time will tell.
The holiday season just got a little sparklier: Here are five spectacularly twinkly engagement rings from newly engaged Save the Date readers:
Engagement Ring 1 Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Amanda’s boyfriend surprised her with a proposal at the botanical gardens, where they were surrounded by their best friends, and this 1920s engagement ring.
Engagement Ring 2 Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Abby, a huge Harry Potter fan, got engaged at Universal Studios’ Wizarding World of Harry Potter. “It was perfect!” she says.
Engagement Ring 3 Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Keri’s boyfriend proposed at Michigan’s Chateau Chantal Winery with just a diamond, which was a gift form his mother, then Keri got to pick out the setting. “I chose a simple band to really let the diamond stand out,” she says. “I could not be happier with the outcome!”
Engagement Ring 4 Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Jacqueline’s boyfriend proposed on his birthday. “I was very surprised to be the one getting a gift!” she says.
Engagement Ring 5 Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Jessica’s boyfriend proposed by the house where she spend her childhood summers. Her ring has a hidden ruby, her boyfriend’s birthstone, in the band, “A piece of him is always with me,” she says. So sweet!
Which of these engagement rings is your favorite?
If you'd like to share a photo of your ring on Save the Date, you can click here to submit it with the contact form. Or you can email a photo to glamour[dot]weddings[dot]girls[at]gmail[dot]com. I try to run reader engagement ring posts often, so take your time and send a biggish, nonblurry photo! (Please DON'T send an Instagram photo or add text or special effects!) And if you've already sent a pic, sit tight—it's coming!
Anyone else feeling a little “been there, seen that” with the bridal flower crowns? I mean, they’re totally cute—especially when paired with fur—but I’ve been waiting for a while to see what’s next, and I think this is it:
The leaves-only crown (from Paper Crown’s Instagram) gives a similar vibe to the flower crown, but it’s dialed down a few notches. Obviously it works with actual leaves—which, bonus, are presumably longer-lasting than fresh flowers—but you could also copy the trend with tiny golden leaves and get a similar vibe. (I knew we’ve seen a few leafy headbands in the past—Petra wore one—but I wanted to mention them again for brides who don’t want to put actual greenery on their heads.)
It’s no secret that former Girls Next Door* star Holly Madison is obsessed with Disney. She’s dressed as various Disney princesses in her Instagram almost more than she’s dressed in street clothes—and she and Pasquale Rotella were married at Disneyland in 2013. So it only makes sense that this was her wedding cake topper:
That’s Princess Aurora and her Prince Charming, in case you can’t tell. {His name is Phillip, if you’re curious. I just checked! } I love that she picked a wedding cake topper that’s so “her,” instead of just a random bride and groom. AND I love that she has it on display in her china cabinet. So perfect! I feel like lots of brides probably put the cake topper in a “Wedding Stuff” box and toss the whole thing in the attic, but why not display it? Especially when it’s this cute.
We didn’t have a cake topper because we didn’t have a wedding cake—long story. But now I wish we did, because I’d love to have the keepsake. It would also be cute in a shadow box with other wedding mementos, right?
Would you showcase your wedding cake topper? Or throw it in a box?
First, here’s Cameron’s left hand nine days ago, at the Annie Walk of Fame ceremony. That bottom ring doesn’t look very engagement-y, but the top one looks exactly like the Trinity de Cartier, a three-band wedding ring from Cartier. So wait, are they MARRIED?!
Hold your horses.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Here’s Cameron’s left hand at the premiere of Sex Tape in July. Looks like the same two rings above, plus a Cartier Love Ring. Since Cameron and Benji started dating just two months before that picture was taken, I don’t think any of the rings above are engagement rings. But that’s not to say they weren’t gifts from her future husband.
Results: inconclusive.
Do you think any of those rings are THE ring? Or do I have to keep looking?
Ninety-nine percent of the time I’m all about the bride, but this post is dedicated to that guy waiting at the end of the aisle—and when he knew his girlfriend would someday be his wife. (So, fine, I’m still all about the bride.) Get some tissues ready.
This may sound funny, but after our first date. I was pretty blown away by the woman who’s now wife. She was beautiful, smart, and fun, and she was OK with the fact that I was 13 years older than her and that I was divorced. We covered all that on our first date, and when she told me that she was OK with the age difference and my previous marriage, I thought to myself, If I can win her over, I will marry her! —Evan M., married September 13, 2014
It was New Year’s Eve 2002, and my girlfriend and I had been dating for a few months. I was deathly ill with the flu but had to play a gig anyway, an after-party for Phish at Madison Square Garden. Not many people were showing up, so when my girlfriend walked in and I saw her, I got really excited. We hugged and I told her that I loved her for the first time, and she said the same to me. From then on, I knew I would ask her to marry me. —Adam S., married July 1, 2006
I knew my girlfriend was the one when there was no pressure. Ever. She had her own friends, her own life, and there was no schedule. She was so cool and easygoing. We had been dating for a while and had never talked about the next steps. We both were just enjoying the ride. I remember us eating at a restaurant near her apartment and asking her if she was feeling pressure that we needed to get married. She said that she wasn’t in a rush and that it needed to feel right for both of us. That’s when I knew that she was The One. Also, she’s gorgeous. That doesn’t hurt. —Dave T., married October 22, 2006
I wouldn't say there was one specific or pivotal event when I knew she was The One; it was more of a series of brief yet enchanting moments all over NYC. From my fumbling attempt to ask for her number while standing in a blizzard on Avenue B to braving the adventure that was the free-for-all of the darkened nighttime streets during the infamous blackout to a very public yet eternally private kiss in Union Square Park, after all of those moments (and countless others), I knew she was The One. —Dave P., married May 27, 2006
We were going on an “away” trip for the first time—to Las Vegas for the weekend. (We live in Los Angeles.) I remember that I was worried about having to poop in front of her for the first time. We started talking about the fact that she rode horses competitively as a kid and basically lived in stables. And she had a horse she loved who she trained with. She always dreamed that it would one day be her horse. And then, on her 18th birthday, her father brought her to the stable where she trained and showed her that the sign above the horse's stall had her name listed as the owner. As she started telling the story and getting to the part about her dad, she started crying. It wasn't a sad cry, but tears were running down her face as she was telling the story and laughing. And it made me start crying somehow. I was sitting in the bar at LAX airport and we were both crying as she told the story. Keep in mind, my cry was a very manly type of cry. But I was crying and I remember thinking to myself, Shit, I'm done. —Derek F., getting married June 13, 2015
I always thought the saying, “You'll just know” was a cliche, but it’s true. There was no moment, unless it was the first moment. From there, it was more of a “when” sort of thing. —Andy K., married November 17, 2012
When did your groom know you were The One? Go ask him!
Just like how the statement "one size fits all" is drenched in falsehood, so is having a bride tell you "one look fits all" when it comes to a bridesmaid dress. You can try to find a dress that looks good on all bodies, busts, and butts or a color that complements all types of skin tones, but in the end, you may feel uncomfortable, unconfident, or simply embarrassed having to strut your stuff in a gown that swallows you in fabric or accentuates your curves in all the wrong ways.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Since bridesmaid dresses, unlike that pair of jeans in The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, may make you feel a bit fidgety, here's a couple of things you can do to your dress to make it through the night without wanting to hide underneath the table.
1. First, ask the bride for a list of the nonnegotiable
Can't wear jewelry, add a jacket, or take the straps off? Feel her out on what she simply won't compromise on when it comes to altering the dress before you make any wild suggestions.
2. Wear the dress, don't let the dress wear you
You know those magazines that show who wore it better? It's usually not because one of them had a more banging body but because one of them looks more confident in the dress. So wear the dress it like it's the hottest thing in the entire world. Wear it so when you post an Instagram picture of you in it, you #BreakTheInternet.
3. Add your own twist
If the bride gives you the OK, add a funky necklace or a pair of earrings that'll add some flair to the dress and make you feel more like yourself beside a crew of girls wearing the exact same thing.
4. Have a post-ceremony backup plan
When they start pouring the bubbly and a conga line forms around the buffet, feel free to do what you want with your dress. Pin back some of the layers of fabric (so you can get low when a Ying Yang Twins song comes on) or fold the straps down for more of an evening look.
How have you spiced up a bridesmaid dress?
—Written by Jen Glantz for Brides. Glantz is a "Professional Bridesmaid" and the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire. She's the author of All My Friends Are Engaged and frequently wears old bridesmaid dresses to the grocery store and on first dates.
There's no better time to score extra-super-pretty makeup and other beauty goodies than the holidays, when lots of our favorite brands release gorgeous limited-edition items—you might want to snatch a couple up now even if your wedding (or bridesmaid duty) isn't happening until the peak spring-summer season.
This cult favorite disappeared for a while but is temporarily back in stock this holiday season; snatch up the Pink Glow for to add the most subtle finely milled shimmer to spots like your cheekbones (this will really make them pop in photos!). If your overall makeup will be more bronzy, try the Bronze Glow.
Part of a just-released collaboration between the fashion designer and beloved purveyor of densely pigmented makeup, this "sheer beige nude" (but actually more pink) lipstick is the perfect pretty neutral to complement almost any wedding makeup scheme. Good luck scooping this one up before it sells out everywhere, though.
Inspired by classic ballet glamour, this instant hit of a popular limited-edition compact gives sweetly flushed cheeks and slightly shimmering eyes in utterly wedding-worthy rosy tones.
Have you seen any great limited-edition holiday makeup items lately? Going to stash some away for wedding season? Share below!
I hate being cold more than anything. But I also hate my mangy pashmina wrap, which has been my stay-warm-at-a-wedding accessory of choice for at least a decade. Enough already! The next time I attend a cooler-weather wedding, I think I’ll pick up an extra-wide plaid scarf, like these bridesmaids are wearing. I imagine it has the same cozy factor, but it doesn’t look like these girls are draped in baby blankets. (Mine is light blue, so I’m pretty sure it makes me look like Linus.)
I’m significantly younger than my boyfriend, who I’ve been dating for two years. He was married before we met, and he’s been finalizing his divorce for the duration of our relationship. I really want to get engaged, but I feel like if I ask, he’ll say, “I’m still going through a divorce!” That’s true, of course, but I feel like I’m paying for his last relationship. I’ve never been married, and I feel like our relationship is being stalled because he already has. I expect him to be mature enough not to lead me on. What should I do?
Here are my thoughts:
It sounds fishy to me, but I’m a wedding expert, not a divorce expert, so I reached out to a pro.
Magnolia Levy, a divorce lawyer in New York City, said she’s seen complicated divorce cases that have dragged on for as long as five or six years—but those cases usually involve the division of a significant amount of assets.
The word “finalizing,” however—according to my legal team (Magnolia)—indicates that the nitty-gritty details have been worked out, and all that’s left to do is wrap up the paperwork. When one of the parties is refusing to sign on the dotted line, Magnolia says it usually an indicator that he or she isn’t ready to let go of the relationship. Yikes.
I think you and your guy need to have a sit-down talk about exactly what’s going on with his divorce, so you have some idea of what kind of timeline your relationship’s on. If they’re still fighting over the details, I understand why he wouldn’t want to propose just yet. Who wants that nastiness clouding a new engagement? But if he’s dragging his feet about signing—or you know there are no assets between the two of them that are worth fighting over—it’s probably a good indicator that you need to move on. You don’t need to say, in your big talk, “I want you to propose!” But you can say, “If we’re going to be together, I need to know that we’re on the same page.” Spell out exactly when you want to get engaged, be married, and have kids. If he starts squirming or keeps mumbling about his divorce, I think you have your answer.
Ladies, what do you think? Should Callie press her boyfriend? Or pack her bags?
I don’t know if Brittany Kerr was in NYC last weekend for her bachelorette party, but she sure had fun with her bridesmaids. (The American Idol alum is engaged to country star Jason Aldean, ICYMI.)
Obviously you could copycat her collage {I use PicPlayPost to make collages on my iPhone. } after a crazy night out, but you don’t need to do body shots for the finished product to be funny.
Oh, and here’s a sweatshirt that’s similar to the one Brittany’s wearing, if you’re in the market. (There are tons on Etsy; I tried to find the closest match.)
I know some of you still don’t believe it, but with People confirming the news, I think it’s safe to start speculating about wedding dates: Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden are engaged.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
News of the couple’s engagement broke on Friday—although I predicted it in October. One of Benji’s friends just told People: “It happened a few nights ago. All of Benji’s friends are aware and happy for him.”
And it seems like Benji’s been ready to propose for quite a while: When he spent time with Cameron’s family in Florida earlier this year, he reportedly asked for her hand in marriage. “Her mom is a fan of him as well and gave her blessing,” the friend told People.
No word yet on Cameron’s engagement ring, since you guys don’t think THIS is the engagement ring. (Maybe that three-band Cartier ring really is though? It would be an untraditional choice, for sure, but nothing about this couple screams “traditional.”)
Thoughts on Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden’s engagement? Are you surprised he asked her mom? And when do you think the wedding will happen: Sooner? Later? Never?
Lots of celebrity couples got engaged in 2014, but which engagements were the most buzzworthy? Assuming “most tweeted about” is a good indicator, I have your top 10: Here are the 10 newly engaged couples who lit up the Twittersphere in 2014.
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TOP 10 TWEETED-ABOUT CELEBRITY ENGAGEMENTS IN 2014
10. Andy Murray & Kim Sears Huh? Wikipedia informed me that he’s a Scottish tennis player and she’s—wait for it—a pet portraitist. How did they beat out Olivia Palermo, Nicky Hilton, and Christina Aguilera? (All were engaged in 2014—none got a spot on this list.) I guess the Brits tweet a lot.
8. Jason Aldean & Brittany Kerr This pair were engaged in September. Their relationship started two years ago on a scandalous note, when the two were spotted getting cozy in a bar—and Jason, at the time, was married to his wife of 12 years.
7. Solange Knowles & Alan Ferguson I don’t know how these two had time to rack up so many tweets! Their engagement news broke on November 11—and they were married just a week later.
6. Jessa Duggar & Ben Seewald Jessa’s big sister Jill, 23, was engaged to Derick Dillard in April, but Jessa, 22—engaged to Ben Seewald in August—was the only Duggar to break the top 10. (Both are now married, and Jill has another Duggar, er, Dillard, in the oven.)
5. Benedict Cumberbatch & Sophie Hunter And single ladies around the world shed a tear: The heartthrobby actor’s parents announced his engagement to girlfriend Sophie Hunter in a most old-fashioned way—a newspaper announcement.
1. George Clooney & Amal Alamuddin No one’s surprised that these two landed the No. 1 spot, right? I’m kind of surprised that their engagement news—confirmed in April—didn’t break Twitter. The two were famously married in a weekend-long extravaganza Venice just five months later.
Thoughts on the top 10? Are you surprised by any of the people on the list? (I’m shocked about some people who didn’t make it!)
After all the buildup, it’s hard to believe that Christmas is over. In an effort to keep the love going just a little bit longer, I tracked down pics from two Christmassy proposal stories.
You can read all the details of Chelsea and Joe’s goose-bumps-inducing Christmas-tree-farm proposal story— which happened on 12/13/14—on Green Wedding Shoes.
You guys see the ring on top of the bow, right? I don’t have the details on Andrew and Kelly’s proposal story, but in this case, I think the picture’s worth a thousand words, no?
Did any of you get a Christmas proposal? How ’bout one in the past few weeks?
If a wedding is all about two people in love, why not make the wedding cake all about them too? When former *NYSNC-er Lance Bass married artist Michael Turchin last week, they did just that. (Wedding details here.) Here’s their wedding cake—inspired by Michael’s artwork—from The Butter End Cakery.
If you go overboard with red, green, and evergreen, the photos from your Christmas wedding will look like the outtakes from Santa’s workshop. But a winter wedding can be totally chic. Here are my DOs and DON’Ts for making your winter wedding gorgeous, not gaudy.
DO Venture Outside in the Event of Snowy Weather. Will you freeze? Yes. Will it be worth it? Hell, yeah.
DO Use Muted Green and Pink Instead of Kelly Green and Red. Bold red and green are just visually jarring, and the combo feels majorly “done” this time of year.
DON’T Make Your Bridesmaids Wear Santa Robes. Just don’t. Although I’m glad this bride did! The photos is priceless. The groomsmen’s suits are so on-point, too. Let’s call it a DO for them, a DON’T for everyone else.
My boyfriend and I have been dating for four years, living together for two. (He’s 35, and I’m 25.) Earlier this year, I said, “I want to be with someone who wants to marry me—someone who thinks of me as his other half. I don’t want to just be a long-term girlfriend forever.” He left the room and came back with a ring (!) and said, “I do love you as my other half.” It was great, and we even went to a bridal boutique together so I could start designing my dream dress. But then he started dragging his feet when it came time to tell our friends and family members, especially his mom. Eventually he admitted he wasn’t ready for marriage, but he thought a ring was the logical next step.
OKKKKK.
So I backed off on wedding planning or even talking about marriage or our future, but I started to feel stuck. A few weeks ago, I told him I planned to move back to my hometown with or without him. (From the South, where we live, back to Pennsylvania.) All of a sudden, things changed. He gave a long speech about us being a team and him wanting us to do everything together. We went to a jewelry store and picked out rings, he told his mother and friends, and is referring to me as his fiancee. I want to believe he’s finally wrapped his brain around the idea of “forever,” but I don’t know that I fully do. I’m ready to move home and begin a new adventure, with or without him, but I need to know now if I’m making a fresh start as a single girl or an engaged girl. How can I gauge his sincerity?
Here are my thoughts:
If you feel like you could move away and leave him behind, I think you have your answer. Every relationship has its ups and downs—especially after four years—but if you’re considering spending the rest of your life with someone, you shouldn’t be in a mental space where you’re envisioning your life without him.
The idea of not having my now-husband by my side, even before we were engaged, would have felt like devastation, not an adventure. I would have been gutted if he had announced he were moving hundreds of miles away, even if he had asked me to go with him. The fact that you could make such a major decision and not involve him in it says to me that you don’t want or need him in your life.
It’s 100 percent possible that your announcement made your boyfriend realize he didn’t want to lose you. He might be totally sincere and have every intention of marrying you at this point. But you can’t stay with someone just because he’s finally decided you’re worth keeping around.
I think you need to move home and forget about finding your other half for a while. Get to a place where you feel whole on your own, then look for someone who’ll propose because he wants to, not because he feels like he has to.
Ladies, what do you think? Should Martina marry this guy? Or move on?
One Miss Lena Dunham casually posted a picture of her favorite vintage find of 2014 (a flowered baby blue jacket) on Instagram yesterday. But her Instagram followers—including me—were less interested in the jacket and much more interested in the sparkly new bauble on her left hand.
Lots of commenters posted the engagement ring emoticon {a personal favorite } and lots more pressed her for ring details, but Lena remained mum on her new bling.
I scrolled through her Instagram and Twitpics, and we haven’t seen a left-hand shot in a while. Her finger was definitely ringless when she hit up Bubby’s* restaurant in TriBeCa on December 20. She was out and about in NYC again three days later, but her sweater sleeves (on both hands) hung down almost to her fingertips, so if there was a ring, I couldn’t see it.
*That’s the exact restaurant Rory and I went to with friends after we got secret-married at City Hall in NYC. Coincidence? Um, yes. Let’s not get cuckoo here.
Lena has said—I forget, either in her book, which I loved, or in an NPR interview, which I also loved—that she and Jack Antonoff, her boyfriend since 2012, wouldn’t consider marriage until same-sex marriage was legal for everyone, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t get engaged. (It is why they didn’t make my list of celebrity couples who’ll be engaged next though.) Also, Brangelina said the same thing, and we know how that ended.
Thoughts on Lena Dunham’s ring finger? Are Lena Dunham and Jack Antonoff engaged? Or am I getting overzealous about a random accessory?
