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During my three years as Bridal Guide’s Fashion Advertising Associate, I’ve probably swooned over hundreds of wedding gowns. Each time I sat through a runway show, I imagined how each dress would look on me. When my fiancé, Steve, surprised me with an engagement ring in February, I immediately started thinking about what my wedding dress will look like (once I got over my initial shock!).

However, I forced myself to wait a few months before making my first bridal appointment since my wedding isn't taking place until October 2014, so I have plenty of time. I decided to start my dress shopping journey at Bridal Reflections in NYC; the salon not only carries gorgeous gowns, but also provides excellent, one-on-one service. Here's what I learned!

1. DON'T make your appointment on a Saturday.
I knew I’d be shopping with a pretty big entourage, so it was great that we arrived early on Sunday before the salon got too busy. It’s also a good idea to ask for the salon’s first appointment of the day. Our appointment was at 11 a.m. and we were the only people in the salon. I didn't feel rushed at all, and I was able to try on about 10 gowns!

2. DO bring people you trust (and who will tell you the truth).
I brought my mom, sister, aunt, future mother- and sister-in-law, and two of my bridesmaids. I know this sounds like it might be overwhelming, but I knew that they would all give me their honest feedback. For example, my soon-to-be mother-in-law told me that one of the glitzier dresses made me look like a Vegas showgirl!

As the poet Robert Burns wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men/Often go awry.” The days leading up to our wedding seemed to pass faster and faster, and the realization that we were only four weeks away finally set in. A mixture of anxiety, excitement, urgency, and happiness overcame my fiancée Claudia and I. Our 250-person seating chart was almost finalized, dresses had been altered to size, vendors were all confirmed and the wedding-day timeline was complete. All that was left to do was sit back and wait for the wedding to arrive.

Then the unthinkable happened and we were shaken from our happy state — my grandfather fell ill and passed away quickly. He was the patriarch of our family for nearly 60 years, and at 85 years old, he was still very active and health conscious, serving as a role model and mentor to all of us. Family from across the country arrived into town to pay their respects, say goodbye, and comfort my grandmother. During this time, many family members also regretfully indicated to us that they would no longer be able to make the trip out for our wedding. Considering the circumstances, this was understandable: Our hearts were heavy and the sting of loss remained fresh and real in the following weeks. 

Photo Credit: Stephen Martin Photography

Loverly is the heart of weddings: a visual inspiration search engine designed to help brides discover ideas, people to hire, and things to buy. Loverly makes finding beautiful wedding inspiration easier than ever! Their images are powered by the best wedding publishers and wedding shopping partners on the web. Find Bridal Guide on Loverly >>

We adore classic confetti tosses, either as a way to celebrate right after your ceremony or as you make your getaway at the end of your wedding. There are few things that say “epic bash” more than confetti! However, confetti has uses far beyond the traditional toss. Let’s face it — we all adore the bright colors, so why not revolve your entire celebration around whimsical confetti colors? Think about adding a pop of sparkle by wearing a sequined bolero or including a piñata in your photo booth backdrop! Here are our favorite ideas for your confetti-themed celebration from Lover.ly:

We love these ombré invites, complete with sequins!

Last week, I had the pleasure of assisting on two Bridal Guide photo shoots. As the fashion intern, one of my most important tasks was to steam every dress prior to each shot — and this job was no small task. At photo shoots, we use steamers to eliminate wrinkles from the gowns and ensure that each dress is in tip-top, camera-ready condition. By the end of the steaming process, every dress looks crisp, smooth and picture-perfect.

Now, I don’t know if it’s considered common knowledge or if I was simply kept out of the loop, but prior to my experience at Bridal Guide, I had never steamed anything in my life (besides broccoli or carrots). Luckily, my bosses, whom I affectionately refer to as “the fashion girls,” brought along the Rowenta IS6300 Master Valet Garment Steamer to aid me in my grand endeavor.

The Rowenta Steamer is a true gem. Not only does it heat up in a mere 60 seconds (almost instantly ready for use), but it is specially crafted to diffuse steam across large surface areas. This means that less time spent steaming and there is more efficient wrinkle removal. Additionally, the hose is malleable, so it is easy to maneuver around the dress. Needless to say, I successfully de-wrinkled those gowns quickly and seamlessly and they looked beautiful.

So to sum it all up, when you ask yourself this key big-day question: to steam or not to steam? The answer should no doubt be the affirmative choice: to steam (with a Rowenta IS6300 Steamer, of course).                              

Here is an exclusive book excerpt from 13 Things They Won't Tell You. Every month, Reader’s Digest Magazine asks selected experts from a different profession to spill their secrets. Readers walk a mile in their shoes and see things that are enlightening, horrifying, and give them a whole new perspective on the people they trust with their food, health, family, money, and home. They walk away with the keys to awesome backdoor deals, insider knowledge that saves them tons of money, and invaluable advice for getting better service anywhere they go.

Now, for the first time ever, this wisdom has been collected into one comprehensive volume, complete with updates, all new interviews, and tons of additional secrets that have never appeared before.

Not everything about marriage is pretty. And the couples who make it accept and love that fact. Here's what they want you to know.

1. Only puppies want to be on top of each other—and they get tired of it, too. Sometimes, you need your space.

Back to the grind today! Here are a few lessons learned from the past week on my wedding weight-loss program. 

Get rid of sore muscles with light exercise.
Monday morning, I was still so sore from Saturday’s workout with Bonne Marcus — I could still barely get out of bed, let alone walk down the stairs. Every time I got up from my desk chair at work, it took a few seconds to get my legs to move! Bonne told me to just do some abs tonight and try some light cardio to help bring fresh oxygenated blood to my muscles, which are sore from lactic acid buildup.

Getting home from work was a disaster, thanks to a train derailment on the Long Island Railroad – all trains were cancelled, and I didn’t get home until 9 p.m., so that light cardio was not happening. I did do 50 crunches and 20 side crunches before I got in bed, so at least I did something! And when I woke up the following morning, I wasn’t nearly as sore anymore. Thank God! I thought I was never going to feel better.

You can still eat your favorite foods; just in smaller portions.
After Monday’s nightmare commute, we needed a quick and easy dinner. We ordered Chinese, and I ate just a few pieces of Sesame Chicken with brown rice.

Greetings, brides-to-be! My name is Kathleen and I’m the newest addition to the Real Bride Blogger Community. I’m so excited to be sharing my wedding-planning experiences with you all.

For me, as a journalist, writing has always been one of my biggest passions, an accounting of everything that is going on in the world, as well as people’s hopes, dreams and feelings. It’s a bit more difficult to write about yourself, but I want there to be some permanent account of the lead-up to my wedding that my fiancé Gray and I could look back on in years to come. Something that we could share with our future family. But let me dispense with the sappiness and tell you a little bit about Gray’s and my story.

Gray and I are both journalists covering the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee. We first met at a press conference in November 2010. Well, sort of. He saw me speak on a panel that previous July, but he didn’t introduce himself. He says I just didn’t notice him. We started dating that spring and moved in a year later, with both of us agreeing that we should only move in together if we intended to get married. And this past Memorial Day weekend, he proposed!

One of the best parts of his proposal was that it was a complete surprise to absolutely everyone. After a really nice dinner in Melbourne, Fla., Gray and I took a walk on a very secluded beach where he asked if I could “do him a favor.” When I said “sure,” he pulled out the ring and asked “will you marry me?”

This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post

It is perhaps the most controversial wedding gift of our time: a basket of food presented to two brides that went so horribly awry, it spawned a text and Facebook messaging war that got published in a local newspaper and has to be seen to be believed.

TheSpec.com, a Canadian news outlet, recently released the heated back-and-forth between a wedding guest and a same-sex couple, who were clearly disappointed in his gift: A basket of food that included tri-color pasta, salsas, balsamic vinegar, Marshmallow Fluff and Sour Patch Kids.

After the wedding, one of the brides texted the guest to say that she is gluten intolerant and that she'd like a receipt for the items. When the guest ignored the receipt request, the other bride then followed up. Here's her message, via TheSpec:

I'm not sure if it's the first wedding you have been to, but for your next wedding... People give envelopes. I lost out on $200 covering you and your dates plate... And got fluffy whip and sour patch kids in return. Just a heads up for the future :) [all sic]

Things devolved quickly from there. More insults were hurled about who is cheap and who is ungrateful. Here's a particularly biting message from the guest:

Choosing your wedding-day makeup isn't always as easy as it sounds. You want to look like you, but if you don't wear a lot of makeup on a regular basis, you may be surprised at how much a professional applies to achieve that "natural" look. That's why makeup trials are so important — you need to make sure you and your artist share the same vision, and you may need more than one trial. After my first trial, I was speechless... for all the wrong reasons. I looked like a clown. Eventually, I found an artist who I connected with and who did exactly what I wanted — enhanced my best features without making it seem like I was wearing eight pounds of makeup. 

When going to your trial, it's always a good idea to bring photos of makeup looks you love. With the virtual makeover app ModiFace, you can actually upload your image and try out different looks, then print out the ones you love to bring to your trial. Need some inspiration? They've compiled the five most popular looks brides are trying this season:

Neutral Elegance

Get the look: This understated look uses washes of color in peach, pale pinks, and browns to create a soft, dewy glow. 

Bold Lips

I used to think that custom-designed jewelry was reserved for mega-watt stars or couples with really wacky taste (check out this Star Wars-inspired ring!). But when I went shopping for a wedding band with Jason, my fiancé, and we were unable to find anything that would fit next to my thin pavé engagement ring, my family jeweler, Raineri Jewelers, offered to create a new, thicker setting that would incorporate the center diamond and side stones I already had. The only alternatives were to wear multiple thin bands for a stacked effect — which to me, felt more like something I'd do with anniversary jewelry, not my everyday ring — or wear my wedding ring on a different hand than my e-ring.

I was fine with option #2, but my fiancé insisted on getting the thicker setting as an anniversary gift to celebrate eight years of dating, which was a sweet surprise. I'm over-the-moon about it, along with the wedding ring I selected to match. 

Note: The rings actually do fit closely together; I just pushed them apart for this photo so that you can get a better look at both of them. BG brides, do any of you wear your wedding ring around the house when no one is looking? Guilty as charged...