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As my wedding inches closer and closer (it’s on Sunday, September 1st!), I can’t stop playing the "Next week at this time…" game with my fiancé, Jason. It’s quickly progressed from "…I’ll be picking up my dress” and "…you’ll be a nervous ball of energy waiting for me to walk down the aisle" to "…we’ll be celebrating and dancing surrounded by everyone we love most" and, finally, "…we’ll be in Hawaii watching the sun set at the infinity pool without a single care in the world."

We haven’t been on a vacation in years, so the mental image of frolicking on a tropical island for two weeks with no to-do list in sight trumps whatever little anxieties I have about our big day. But before we can swim with sea turtles or indulge in five-course meals, we desperately need to pack!

I’m making it as painless as possible by relying on multipurpose items that cover all the bases, from beaching it and taking cat naps to sightseeing and dining out (if I ever make it past the first two aforementioned activities, which I highly doubt). Here are some go-to fashion items I’ve tested and worn several times that are coming along for the ride. Plus, check out some of our best editors’ picks for beauty products and carry-on luggage, too.

Photo Credit: Reflections Creative Photography

May 1, 2013 was just a normal day at work — or so I thought, until I got a phone call from a family member who told me that my father, Walter Schupp, Jr., had suffered a massive stroke and was in critical condition. I was in shock: He's only 47 years old! I rushed out of work and met him at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest, where he was being transferred. When I saw him, he couldn't speak, couldn't move anything on the right side of his body, and was highly cognitively-impaired. I was terrified, and it was difficult for me to even look at him. The doctors took me aside and told me that it didn't look good, especially since he'd had his stroke over six hours prior to being transferred. 

My family and I were left with a very important, life-changing decision. The doctors gave us two choices: Leave him on life support (in which case he would be a vegetable for the rest of his life), or have the doctors perform a highly risky procedure that wasn't recommended to be done past a certain amount of hours (and he far exceeded those hours). They told us that he may or may not make it out of the procedure alive, and that if he did make it out, they weren't sure if the procedure would even help.

Last Friday was the big day — our engagement party! I can’t even imagine what I’m going to feel like on my wedding day. I woke up extra early to pack everything up while Rene picked up the flower centerpieces from the florist and the empanadas we made for the party. I had a make-up appointment at 2:30 and a hair appointment at 3:45, and before I knew it, it was time to leave.

My dress from Rent the Runway arrived on Wednesday, and I absolutely loved it. I ordered a size 14 and a size 16, and I ended up wearing the 16. The straps and chest area was a little big, but it gave me enough room to breathe and not worry about anything. The back-up dress I had purchased (just in case the Rent the Runway dress didn't work out) was a size 14, and that fit me perfectly as well. I don’t even remember the last time I was able to zip up a 14 without worrying it was going to bust open! From now on, the sizes will just keep getting smaller, and that is a really good feeling.

It’s a given that in these months before you take that walk down the aisle, you’re fully immersed in all things bridal: Find a dress, book a site, research and hire vendors, choose your wedding party — the list goes on and on. But in the midst of all these pre-wedding-day activities it’s easy to lose sight of what your wedding really means: You and your fiancé will be married and will exchange vows to love one another “‘til death do us part.”

Of course, a long-lasting, happy marriage is the ideal, but reality guarantees that it can also be challenging and overwhelming at times — which is why I always recommend that couples do some pre-marriage prep along with their pre-wedding-day prep. You and your future husband should take the time now, if you haven’t already, to talk openly and honestly about your plans and expectations for married life. What To Do Before You Say “I Do”, a new book by Susan Ziggy, came across my desk recently, and it’s a great read. As Susan says, “Relationships really are jobs. You have to show up every day and pay attention to what is required…getting through the hard stuff can make it better in the end. A long term relationship is priceless, divorce isn’t!”

With so many different options available — from splurge-worthy platinum to classic gold to budget-friendly tungsten — it can be a bit confusing to determine the right type of metal for your wedding and engagement rings. To help you out, we chatted with our friends at berricle.com to find out what you need to know about the most popular metals, in order here from the most expensive to the least:

Platinum

Platinum is considered to be the "most precious" of all precious metals — it's rarer than gold and, as a result, costs more. It’s usually mixed with other similar metals, known as the platinum group metals: iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium. Platinum is extremely dense and much heavier than gold or silver, giving it a remarkably high level of durability — it doesn't wear or tarnish like other metals, and it's not susceptible to problems like stress-cracking or corrosion that can plague white gold. But without regular cleaning, its white appearance can develop a hazy patina over time. Caring for a platinum ring couldn't be easier, though — just soak in a mix of mild soap and warm water, and then gently rub it with a soft brush. And although platinum is scratch-resistant, it’s not scratch proof — but scratches can easily be removed by buffing. 

Guest Blogger: Jessica Hochstadt, MS, Nutritionist and owner of “I Do” Nutrition
Jessica was a Nutritionist and Health Educator in a Boston-based hospital before deciding to focus her practice on brides with “I Do” Nutrition—a global weight-loss service that caters to brides and their bridal parties, on their schedule. She understands that everyone has a different relationship with food, and enjoys guiding bridal parties to appreciate the importance behind meal planning, understanding nutrition, and building a healthy lifestyle. In a time where our world and kitchen cupboards have become overly saturated with misinformation about nutrition, Jessica brings the simplicity back to a field that has sustained us through life.

Understanding Cravings

Cravings are the Achilles heel of every diet. They are the unplanned guests at your dinner party (or evening in) who just wont let you be. They gnaw at your willpower and, if given into, can destroy a diet with one bite.

Like any enemy we face, we must first understand cravings before determining the best way to destroy them. 

Cravings stem from three places: environmental cues, emotional cues, and physiological cues. 

Anyone who's ever been married or engaged could tell you that planning a wedding is no easy feat. From the venue to the photographer to the flowers to the favors, it often feels like there are 100 decisions that you have to make on any given day. 

Add recording an album and touring all over the world on top of that, and it's no surprise that Kelly Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock just decided to throw in the towel and elope instead.

Photo courtesy of Kelly Clarkson on Twitter

"We are so busy that we finally just came to terms the other night and were like, 'So, we change our minds and want to elope.' We just got so overwhelmed by it — all the decisions," she told People. Plus, after sending out their save-the-date, more and more details started leaking to the public. "It got crazy," she said.

Instead, they informed their intended guests that now, they'll be joined just by their minister and Blackstock's two children. "We don't need another day where we throw a big party," she said. "Our lives are so in the spotlight all the time. Everything is such a spectacle, we were like, 'We would rather have an intimate moment that's special.'"

After the elopement, a friend of the couple plans to throw a "stock the bar" party and invite the friends and family members who would've been included in the original wedding.

Being a bridesmaid is an honor — often an expensive, time-consuming honor, but an honor nonetheless. That being said, it really bugs me when I attend a fancy wedding and see the bride’s closest family and friends dressed in the matching formal gowns, with flowers and updos and heels... and their everyday makeup. When a bridesmaid looks like she slapped on whatever was in the bottom of her makeup bag that morning, a little piece of me dies. 

Nobody understands more than I do that we can't all afford $65+ to hire a makeup artist. I've always loved doing makeup, so when my best friend of over 20 years asked me to apply makeup on the rest of the bridal party, I happily agreed. I spent the weeks leading up to the wedding choosing colors and products, keeping in mind the different skin types and tones of the group, plus the various ages of the bridal party members (from pre-teen junior bridesmaids to the mother of the bride). Clearly, one “face” was not going to cut it.

Here's how you can get a fabulous smoky eyed look that is party-appropriate and special enough for the wedding of the season!

Consider dress color. If you're wearing a jewel tone (think blue, green, purple), you can absolutely incorporate this into your eye shadow application. If your dress is a warm color, like red, orange, pink, you may want to stick with the traditional black/gray palette to avoid scaring people away at the buffet line (unless you want all of the mini crabcakes for yourself, of course; in that case, pinkeye away!).  And if you’re wearing black or gray, you can pull off any shade.