Blogs

A Monique Lhuillier runway show never disappoints — this season, we got an exclusive backstage pass to see how the magic happens. Kérastase and MAC created a fresh and glam beauty look inspired by '60s starlets, like Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. Come check it out!

Get the Look: Retro-Chic Chignon

First, Kérastase lead stylist Nina Dimachki applied a mixture of Volumactive Mousse, Volumactive Spray, and Ciment Thermique to add texture and create a second-day hair effect. Then, she blow-dried the hair to set the product, curled it with a one-inch iron and pinned up the curls while they were still warm.

Guest Blogger: Nathaniel Neubauer, owner of Contemporary Catering
Nathaniel’s mom says it best: “When Nathaniel was turning three, I asked him what he wanted for his third birthday. He said, ‘Quiche.’” Ever since, Nathaniel’s love for food has never been far from reach. With his presence, Contemporary Catering quickly became a major contender in the Los Angeles catering industry. From overseeing production to designing a nine-course tasting menu with five-star service, Nathaniel’s dedication to his clients and his company is unparalleled.

We believe fruit is a must for every meal, but what we don't believe in are fruit carving displays circa 1982. Fruit deserves to be to be served up in a much more appetizing and fresh way, and not just limited to cheesy buffets and sugary-sweet desserts. There's no reason fruit shouldn't be used in every course at your wedding, from chef-driven cocktails infused with exotic fruits to fruit in salads to fruit-adorned appetizers, like seared scallops with mango-melon salsa, and even savory main courses, like slow cooked lamb with a pomegranate orange sauce. 

Cocktails:

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. 

I got really excited about the cake topper at my wedding. I searched high and low for the perfect vintage piece, from local boutiques to eBay to my grandmother’s antique-filled attic. I was looking for something timeless and sweet, something that embodied our style and attitude. The topper I decided on was porcelain. It was from the 1920s, and the bride and groom were dressed as dapper flappers. Our whole wedding was vintage, and the cake topper was the perfect finishing touch.

Photo Credit: Redbreastedbird.blogspot.com

Put the finishing touch on your eco-friendly wedding with these cute and responsible cake toppers.

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. 

Once upon a time, a letterpress stamped our crests into rich paper, ecru or eggshell. We wrote in calligraphy, each letter a work of art. A wedding required a forest of trees that were felled, ground to a pulp, pressed on a screen, and dried in the sun. Today, the paper making process is industrial and includes cutting machines, duplex board machines, hydraulic head boxes, and pressurized screens. Smoke billows from tall chimneys and from the exhaust pipes of tractor-trailer delivery trucks bound to all four corners of the lower 48. We drive to buy the paper, choosing boxes from piles of boxes stacked to the ceilings of office supply superstores. Then we send it back out on another truck, to another destination. All of this energy — the fossil fuels, the man-hours — turns a wedding into a giant carbon footprint.

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. 

Photo courtesy of zuukusa.co.cc

There is nothing more fun than frolicking through a cloud of celebratory confetti. Launching things in the air is a timeless staple of any celebration. There is something so exciting about letting loose – hurling something into the wide blue sky to express the deepest joy. But there is a downside to all that hurling: waste. Traditional confetti falls everywhere: in your hair, on your clothes, and on the ground. All of those tiny pieces can be a real mess, especially if they aren’t environmentally safe. Protect nature and have fun with these great eco-friendly confetti options. Hurray!

Snowflakes

Guest blogger: Ms. Herringbone, polkadotbride.com.
Ms Herringbone writes for Polka Dot Bride, Australia’s premier wedding blog dedicated to anything and everything wedding related that may be useful to today’s bride — style, unique finds, fabulous suppliers, real wedding inspiration — and a little bit of fun thrown in!

Due to its impressive size, Australia has a hugely diverse landscape that encompasses pristine beaches, red deserts, tropical rainforests and mountain ranges. It’s no surprise then that Australian brides are just as varied, with a fantastic wealth of advice to share from their wedding day. Here are the top five tips from newlyweds featured on Polka-Dot Bride in the last year; even though we're worlds apart from BG readers in the United States, we share these universal wedding truths in common!

1. First and foremost, stay true to yourselves as a couple.
"We made the decision to elope and were scared of hurting our families; however, we weren't going to be able to have the wedding that we wanted any other way. It was getting too big and out of hand otherwise. People might be disappointed if you choose to elope, but they'll also understand. Take the pressure off yourself, no one else is going to notice so-called 'imperfections.' The most important thing is who is standing up there at the altar with you, pledging their life and love to you." — Celeste and Cristian

Dreaming of a fantastical gown that will feel as light as air and move beautifully as you walk? The ruffled ballgown is the dress for you. We love the frilly movement of this gown and the optimism of the silhouette.

If you want to extend the princess fantasy feel, look for ruffled ballgowns with a little sparkle throughout the bodice. With its youthful joie de vivre, this silhouette is better suited to brides in their 20s. This look is paired best with a cleaner updo. Here, a few of our favorite ruffled ballgowns from Val Stefani, Oscar de la Renta and Mary's Bridal.

—Naima DiFranco

The biggest wedding season, June through September, is right around the corner. We asked celebrity event expert Brian Worley, co-owner of Your BASH! Event Production, for his take on what the hottest trends (no pun intended) will be for summer celebrations. Brian has not only created weddings for Hollywood celebrities, but he’s also hosted a number of TV shows including WE tv’s Platinum Weddings and TLC’s Battle of the Wedding Designer.

Here are Brian’s top three trends:

1. Go Bright: Summer weddings will encompass bright colors using various hues of green and bold jewel tones such as emerald, which is the color for 2013. Outdoor weddings will pull upon vibrant colors to act as natural electricity rather than lots of bright lighting.

These electric weddings will incorporate beautiful linens that pop and flowers that contrast the linens and really act as a centerpiece of color.

Guest blogger: Allison Silber, founder and creative director for engagedandinspired.com.
Engaged & Inspired is a wedding publication for crafty brides who strive fill their wedding day with loads of personality. The team of real brides post about the highs and lows of wedding planning and what it takes to pull off their big day. Aside from running Engaged & Inspired, Allison also offers planning and design services to the Carmel Valley area.

The invitation is the first impression each guest will have of your wedding day — it sets the tone for your entire event. It's a way to offer guests a special treat to come home to, since physical mail is becoming more and more uncommon. The days of generic paper design are over: there are plenty of ways to make your invite even more awesome, and I'm here to show you how to do that!

Photo Credit: Jose Villa via Kiss the Groom

1. Wrap it up beautifully.
Wrapping the invitation with twine, lace, leaves or some other special token is a simple way to complete the package.

After waiting over a year to celebrate our marriage, Michael and I were so excited to throw a wedding at the Soledad Club in San Diego, California on January 19th. Though we officially tied the knot in a quickie civil ceremony before he left for Afghanistan (read more about our decision to elope here), we weren't able to do a proper party until he came back. Surrounded by ninety of our closest friends and family members, we finally got our chance. Check out all of the fun details and photos from our big day below!

My Wedding-Day Look
I got ready with all of my best friends — Kate, Kelsey, Carrie, Minty and Christina. While Carrie managed eyelash application, Kate was the master curler, and we listened to random hip-hop music while I munched on Starbucks sandwiches. It was all very laid-back. Just being able to sit and soak it all in was divine. 

After reading countless wedding beauty forums, I realized that if I wanted my makeup to look great and last all night, going pro was the way to go. However, the top-rated makeup artists in my city charge at least $300 for a trial run and day-of application. So, I ended up taking my chances at a MAC counter the morning of my wedding, and I could not have been happier with how it turned out.