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Drew Barrymore's #1 Beauty Tip for Brides

Drew Barrymore hasn't lost that newlywed glow yet — she and husband Will Kopelman recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary, but she still finds herself "smiling bigger than big" when thinking about weddings. 

In her latest tip video for her beauty line, Flower Beauty, she answers one fan's question about how to find the right lipstick for her wedding day. (Psst — Barrymore's The Wedding Singer costar Adam Sandler makes a special appearance in the video with a message for the couple!). 

A long-wear formula seems like a natural choice, but Barrymore had some major issues with her own long-lasting lipstick on her wedding day. Here's what she recommends instead:

Tell us: Have you chosen your wedding-day lipstick?

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

Why You Should Exercise With Your Significant Other

bonne marcusGuest blogger: Bonne Marcus
A fitness industry expert for 27 years, Marcus holds numerous certifications from the Aerobic Fitness Association of America (AFAA), including Step, Spin, Bosu™, Pre/Post Natal, Youth Fitness, Aqua, and Personal Training. She has taught for New York City’s top health clubs, including Crunch, New York Health and Racquet, and Reebok Sports Club. A recognized name on Long Island, Bonne has taught at Dany Holdstein’s Two Worlds, North Shore Health Club, LA Fitness, Sport time, Equinox and currently teaches at the Sid Jacobsen JCC in Roslyn. Learn more at getfitwithbonne.com.

couple exercising together
Photo Credit: Iofoto/iStockphoto

If you've ever gone for a long, challenging run or toughed it out in the weight room with your significant other, you know that sweat can bring you closer. Working out produces endorphins, and endorphins give you that "exercise high." When you exercise together and both produce these endorphins, you end up associating those positive feelings with your partner.

Eco-Friendly Ideas for Your Flower Girl

Guest blogger: Kate Harrison, creator of greenbrideguide.com.
After planning her own green wedding in 2007, Kate wrote 
the best-selling green wedding book, The Green Bride Guide: How to Plan an Earth-Friendly Wedding on Any Budget (Sourcebooks, 2008). In 2009, she founded greenbrideguide.com to help couples use their weddings to promote social and environmental change while supporting the local green economy. Kate has a JD in Environmental Law and a Master's from Yale in Environmental Policy.

When you picture a flower girl in your mind, it’s typically an adorable little girl holding a bountiful basket of flowers, walking down a long wedding aisle. The flower girl’s job is to throw petals or flowers and decorate the space for the bride. Although it may not seem so, there is a way to incorporate eco-friendly products into the flower girl’s duty to help eliminate some unnecessary waste.

Fill your flower girl’s basket with color-contrasting freeze-dried petals instead of fresh flowers. These beautiful accents are 100 percent natural, biodegradable and non-staining, making them the perfect flower basket alternative for your environmentally-conscious special day.

Toddler Plays Special Role as Parents' Best Man

Two-year-old Logan Stevenson wasn't your typical best man. Instead of holding the rings for safekeeping, he clutched his favorite teddybear, "Bun Bun," during the ceremony; he couldn't give a toast at the reception, and in fact, he slept through most of it. But his presence alone surpassed all of the bride and groom's hopes.

You see, Logan is terminally ill and suffers from a rare disease called Fanconi anemia, along with leukemia and other medical complications. His parents, Christine Swidorsky and Sean Stevenson, originally planned to wed in July 2014. However, after receiving a diagnosis that their precious son has a mass in his only remaining kidney (and weeks to live), they decided to get married as a family — while Logan is still with them.

logan stevenson
Photo Credit: The Today Show

In just a week, they organized their new backyard nuptials — which took place in Jeanette, Pennsylvania on Saturday, August 3 — thanks to a tremendous outpouring of support from their local community. Swidorsky and Stevenson were also joined by their two daughters, Isabella and Savannah. "This is our dream come true, all our family together, and we're all together celebrating. The celebration of my son's life and the celebration of our marriage," the bride told NBC affiliate WPXI.

Would You Take on a Second Job to Pay for Your Wedding?

Setting a budget has been one of the more frustrating exercises of wedding planning. Even though I knew weddings were expensive, I sat in denial for a few days about the fact that we could potentially spend the equivalent of a new car or down payment on a house on our wedding day. (Granted, it's a pretty important one-day event, but still.) Luckily, both my parents and my fiancé's mom have offered to help. But, they are by no means able to foot the entire bill — nor would we expect them to do so. (Learn how to broach the money talk with your parents, here.)

So, we still have to come up with a pretty penny to pay for everything by next fall. Thankfully, in addition to the amount that my fiancé Gray and I are putting aside each month, I happened upon an unexpected source of income. Just prior to our engagement, I got the opportunity to apply for an adjunct teaching position at our local community college. Teaching has always been something I wanted to do, so I jumped at the chance to teach an Intro to Journalism class.

When I first spoke with the college, I wasn’t even thinking about Gray’s and my eventual wedding. I was simply excited for the opportunity to teach and expand my resume a little bit. But post engagement, I realized that unless one of us drained our savings or we took on a lot of credit card debt, we would definitely come up short in the wedding finance department. Personally, we were against both of those options.

Wedding Weight-Loss: 20 Pounds Down, 60 to Go

I am extremely proud to say that I am now down 20 pounds! When I woke up on Sunday and weighed myself, it was one of the best feelings in the whole world. Now, I still have about 60 more to go, but this is such great motivation to keep it going.

I had a pretty laid-back weekend, mostly because I am staying sober and sticking to my new diet. On Friday night, Rene and I went out with another couple to The Nautical Mile in Freeport, NY, and I was the designated driver. It was a beautiful night, and I enjoyed myself anyway — no cocktails needed! On Saturday, I woke up and went to the gym and did 45 minutes of cardio split between the elliptical and the treadmill. Rene cooked me breakfast when I got home (two over-easy eggs and three pieces of turkey bacon) — he is the best breakfast chef ever!

eggs and turkey bacon

I cleaned my apartment, got a car wash, visited my dad, sister and nephew, and then went to the mall to find a dress for my engagement party. Shopping was unsuccessful. I went to two department stores and didn’t find a thing I liked. I did, however, fall in love with a dress from Rent the Runway. I ordered it (they send two sizes to ensure a good fit), but it'll only arrive two days before my party, so I'm pretty nervous about that. I'm still searching for a backup dress just in case. You’ll get to see what I choose when I post pictures from the party!

Top Wedding Date: Going by the Numbers

Brides love choosing unique dates for their weddings. Last year, 10/11/12 and 12/12/12 were popular choices and this year, the frontrunner is, hands down, 11-12-13 according to the David’s Bridal "What’s on Brides' Minds 2013 Survey." As of July 1, approximately 1,650 brides will be married on that day and you can bet that number will increase as the date nears.

We were curious as to why some of these brides opted for a mid-week wedding (11/12/13 falls on a Tuesday) and reached out to a few of these engaged ladies. All had purchased their gowns at David’s Bridal to wear on this special date. You’ll love their answers and some of the creative ways they’re incorporating the 11-12-13 date into their weddings.

Mona Abdi & Her Fiancé Mark

engaged couplecouple kissing

"We chose this date for a few reasons: We are both finance/accounting people so numbers are our lives! Second, I knew that Mark would never forget the date! We actually got engaged on a Tuesday and will be married in Aruba so the date works in our favor. Guests are flying in that weekend which gives them a few days to relax before the wedding."

Childhood Sweethearts' Wedding Photo Goes Viral

When we see an adorable little boy and girl holding hands, declaring that they're going to get married, we usually chuckle and think nothing of it. In fact, decades later, they'd probably roll their eyes when reminded about this memory. But for Jake Kantrowitz and Sarah Truitt, both 26, this childhood fantasy actually came true. They met when they were just three years old, and tied the knot on July 27 this year in Boston.

In honor of their roots, they used a nostalgic photo taken on a carousel for their save-the-date. Off-the-charts cuteness, right? It gets better: The newlyweds recreated the picture on their wedding day! When Levi Albert, their best man, saw the new photo, he was inspired to create a then-and-now composite using Photoshop. "I thought it would be instant karma on Reddit," he told Good Morning America.

childhood love story

It wasn't long before the photo went viral, receiving more than 41,000 "upvotes"  and 1,830 comments on the social media site. One commenter wrote, "I felt goosebumps trying to imagine their happiness. If that's not the cutest thing you've ever seen... I mean come on, what do you say to that?"

Shopping Tips for Plus-Size Brides

Shopping for a wedding dress can be an exciting (and stressful) endeavor for any bride. But it can become daunting when the average American woman wears a size 14, yet many bridal stores cater to a size six and don't carry gown samples in plus sizes. Every body type is beautiful and no one should settle for anything less than their dream dress. Full-figured brides, here are some tips to keep in mind while shopping for the big day. 


Dress by Allure Bridals, Style W321

1. Determine a budget before shopping for a gown.
Plus-size gowns are pricier than other sizes because manufacturers charge a higher percentage for more material, beading and lace. As excited as you may be to start shopping, work out your budget first. Avoid trying on gowns outside of your price range because you'll either fall in love with one and be disappointed by every other dress you see (even if they're just as beautiful), or you'll blow your budget.

If you do find yourself pining for a gown that costs more than you can afford, ask the designer if they can limit the beading to the bodice only, and skip embellishment entirely on the skirt or train. Or ask if the dress comes in another fabric that's less expensive.

What to Do With Your Dress After the Wedding

After poring through bridal magazines, trying on countless gowns in the fitting room and potentially spending more on one item of clothing than you ever will again, you finally found The Dress. Your husband swooned, your mother cried, and your friends couldn't stop telling you how gorgeous you looked on the big day. Your dress is so pretty that you wish you could wear it every weekend! Unfortunately, you can't. Well, you could...but you might get a raised eyebrow or two. So now what?

Real brides let us in on what they did with their wedding gowns after the big day. Read all of their responses, then tell us what you plan on doing with yours once you're married!

Save your dress as a keepsake.
"Growing up, very little, if anything, was ever saved in our family since we moved around so much, so I figured I was starting a new tradition by holding on to my dress as an heirloom. Of course, I had no idea then if I would even have girls in the future." — Cathe Holden

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