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Beach Baubles: Jewelry with a Sentimental Flair

Here’s a genius idea for those of you who had (or will have) a destination, lake or beachside wedding or plan to honeymoon at a beach resort — jewelry designed with sand from those destinations. Dune Jewelry, founded by Holly Daniels Christensen — who is originally from Cape Cod and a bona fide beach lover — features uniquely-designed collections made with sand from just about anywhere in the world. Prices range from $40 to $184, and you can choose from an array of rings, bracelets, charms, necklaces, earrings, cuff links and key chains. I love this idea: It’s sweet, sentimental and very romantic, and whenever you wear the jewelry, you’ll be happily reminded of your wedding day or honeymoon. Here’s a sampling of some of the gorgeous pieces from Dune Jewelry.

The Island Necklace, $140, with sand from Laguna Beach, CA, left, and Siesta Key, FL on the right:

island necklace

The Island Ring, $58, with sand from Jobson Bay, Bermuda:

island ring

The Sandbead Bracelet, $120, featuring sand from Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman:

sand bead bracelet

The Traveler’s Bracelet, $150, featuring sand from Reykjavik, Iceland, can be made with up to seven different sands:

Amazing Entrance! Bride and Groom Play Guitar Down the Aisle

Groom Jordan Strauss and his bride, Andrea, made an unforgettable entrance to their wedding! At the start of the ceremony, Jordan — a guitar teacher  — pulled out an electric guitar and began playing Pachelbel's "Canon in D" with one of his groomsmen.

groom playing guitar during wedding ceremony

When Andrea made her grand entrance, she was also carrying a guitar and joined in!

bride playing guitar down the aisle

Jordan taught Andrea how to play guitar just for the big day, intentionally keeping her part simple. "I wanted to make sure that she could focus on walking and being in the moment and not have to play something super complicated," he told the New York Daily News. "She was an easy student to teach. She's a natural. I told her that from day one," he added.

bride and groom playing guitar

Wedding Bells for Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher?

There might be a happy ending for Jackie and Kelso after all! 

ashton kutcher and mila kunis that 70s show
Kelso's proposal to Jackie on That '70s Show. Let's hope he traded the balloon for a ring in real life!

Mila Kunis was spotted wearing a simple gold band on her left hand earlier today, sparking rumors that she and Ashton Kutcher — who she's been dating since April of last year — may be engaged.

The couple has yet to confirm the news, but a source close to the couple revealed to People that Kutcher had discussed proposing to Kunis around her 30th birthday (August 14). "He knows what they have is amazing and special... he's been thinking about proposing for a long time," said the source.

The pair first found love on screen as Jackie and Kelso in That '70s Show, though they didn't start dating in real life until Kutcher's separation from Demi Moore in 2011 (their divorce has not yet been finalized). 

"They are clearly very much in love, in tune with each other and so comfortable," another source revealed. "In some ways, it's like they're married already."

Crossing our fingers that the news is true! 

Scarlett Johansson is Engaged!

scarlett johansson
Photo via Instagram

Scarlett Johansson is ready for a second trip down the aisle! 

The actress, 28, was spotted wearing a massive diamond ring on her left hand while promoting Under the Skin at the Venice International Film Festival. A source confirmed to People that Johansson's boyfriend, French journalist Romain Dauriac, privately popped the question last month with a vintage Art Deco ring (see the ring here). 

Dating since November of 2012, it's been a "whirlwind romance" for the pair, a source told Us Weekly. "They're engaged and very happy," according to another source

Johansson was previously married to Ryan Reynolds from 2008 to 2011; Reynolds married Blake Lively last year in a surprise wedding.

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

Tips for Picking a First Dance Song

Choosing a first dance song seems like it should be one of the easiest wedding-planning decisions. But once couples realize how many great options are out there, the pressure can start to mount. After all, whichever song you pick will be the one that you define as "yours" for the rest of your lives together. 

But don't worry! With the help of real brides, we've compiled a few guidelines to ensure that your tune is worth replaying in 50 years. 

1. Find A Common Musical Interest

Sometimes, opposites really do attract, so it's possible that you and your fiancé don't share the same taste in music. Narrow down the selection by focusing on one genre you both do like.

Jenna Guarneri began her search for the perfect wedding song by identifying a shared interest with her then-fiancé — country music. After listening to various country albums, she heard a Lady Antebellum duet ("When You Got a Good Thing") on the radio that encompassed everything she had been searching for. 

"I played it for my husband afterward, and he had never heard of it either," says Guarneri. "He loved it just as much as I did and said that it was definitely 'the one!'"

Wedding Weight-Loss: New Exercises and More Weight-Loss Success

Saturday morning, Rene and I had an early morning session with our trainer, Bonne Marcus. Before we began the workout, we got on the scale, and I’m proud to say I am down another five pounds, and Rene is down four! I guess after the bad week we had of the party, last week’s intense training and diet really helped! The workout was really hard this week. I should have known that after not doing any strength training for three weeks, it was going to be tough. She had us doing a lot of old moves combined with some new ones.

bicep curls

There was one new one called the “Prisoner Get-ups,” and they killed me! You put your hands behind your ears with your arms to the side, go down on one knee, bring the other knee down, come up with one knee, and then stand with the other. I had to do 20 starting on each leg. It’s an amazing exercise because it’s working your arms, your core, and your legs, but it was not easy!

prisioners exerise

Celeb Wedding News: Weekend Recap

Here at BG, the Labor Day Weekend wedding news we're most excited about is that our web producer, Stefania, tied the knot on Sunday! Get a sneak peek at her gorgeous wedding on our Instagram

stefania and jason

She's in good company with her holiday weekend wedding. Actress Kate Bosworth and director Michael Polish exchanged vows on Saturday, August 31 on a ranch in Montana. The bride wore two custom dresses by Oscar de la Renta — a traditional strapless ballgown for the ceremony, and a floral embroidered tulle dress for the reception. The groom and groomsmen wore custom Brooks Brothers tuxes.

Also on Saturday: Grace Kelly's grandson, Andrea Casiraghi (second in line to the throne in Monaco), married heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo. Domingo bucked royal tradition and wore a boho-inspired Missoni gown with flowers in her hair instead of a crown. The 400+ guest list included Prince Albert, Karl Lagerfeld, and members of the Missoni family.

SNL funnyman Seth Meyers married his longtime girlfriend, Alexi Ashe on Sunday, September 1 on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. The bride wore a cap sleeve lace gown, and Meyers wore a classic dark suit. Famous faces in the crowd included Olivia Munn, Allison Williams, Ali Larter, Rashida Jones, Lorne Michaels, Amy Poehler, Fred Armisen, Andy Samberg, Taran Killam, Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Will Forte, Kenen Thompson, and more. 

10 Things Brides Often Forget to Do

I’m getting married this weekend — it feels so strange to type that out! — and now that all of the final arrangements have been confirmed, it’s been a nonstop party. I took a happy hour cruise with my relatives from Italy who flew in for my wedding and I was treated to massages, brunch and cupcakes with my favorite ladies for my "spa-chelorette" party. Up next: My rehearsal dinner and final fitting with my MOHs.

I could get used to this...in fact, I got so carried away with the revelry that I forgot to do a few things. I neglected to include my fiancé, Jason, and myself in the final headcount (our maître d' couldn’t stop laughing) and finalize our transportation itinerary. Oops. 

Since I’m suffering from a bad case of "wedding brain," I asked Valerie Gernhauser from Sapphire Events to share the most common tasks/items that brides either forget entirely or handle at the last minute before getting hitched. Follow her advice below, and try not to be too hard on yourself; after all, the most important thing is that you both successfully complete your vows. Everything else is just icing on top of the cake, as far as I'm concerned. 

A-List Celebrations: Celebrity Wedding Trivia

Attention, all pop culture fans! Weddings/365 by Harvey Solomon is a fun, fascinating, and thoroughly-researched read you’re sure to love. 

weddings 365 cover

The book provides a day-by-day selection of some of the most unforgettable celebrity weddings and is filled with little-known tidbits about their big days: what they wore, where they married, who was there and, in some cases, what went wrong! Here’s a quick quiz:

1. Whose tiara broke on the morning of her wedding? (Luckily, the court jeweler was able to repair it.) 

2. Speaking of tiaras, what pop star wore a tiara that had once been worn by Princess Grace? 

3. What country crooner became smitten with his future wife when he first saw her in the movies (hint: about weddings) and then invited her to appear in one of his videos?

4. What hip-hop star had 70,000 white dendrobium orchids flown in from Thailand for the wedding to his pop-star bride? 

5. What actress/fashion icon wore black on her wedding day (and later regretted it)? 

6. What supermodel met her rock star husband on a blind date that was arranged by a hairdresser? 

7. What couple confiscated their guests’ cell phones to ensure ultimate privacy during their sunset service in South Carolina? 

8. What multi-platinum R&B/hip-hop queen married quietly at home without even a band? (A guest played “Here Comes the Bride” on the piano.)      

Answers:

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