Blogs

Tonight, we’ll get a look at how Carrie Bradshaw’s love affair with New York City began in The Carrie Diaries, premiering at 8 p.m. EST on The CW. But Carrie isn’t the only one seeking love and in the city. Here, take a look at some of our favorite New York City weddings by Casey Fatchett Photography.

Planning a New York wedding? Check out some of our favorite vendors and venues, and chat with other brides in your area in our Facebook community.

[Editor's note: While interviewing Megan and Matt for their real wedding feature, we fell in love with the story of how they met. Here, they share in their own words how they recall that special night.]

Photo Credit: Kait Dowling Photography

Matt's version:

It was a dark and stormy night... actually, it really wasn’t. It was a pretty nice, slightly warm day in the early summer. I got a call from James, asking me to hang out. I was tired and wanted to play video games or take a nap, just to get some down time alone after the semester recently ended.

“I think I’m just gonna hang out here, man,” I said.

“My brother’s here,” said James.

“Tell him I said ‘Hi’.”

James paused. Sighed. “And so’s my sister.”

“I’ll be right over.”

* * *

Maybe I should start further back. A while before this, James tells me that his brother and sister are coming up for his graduation.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving, man! We’ve had such a great time [NOT] skipping class to watch movies and order pizza this year. I can’t believe you’re leaving me behind like this. How old?”

“What?” James looked puzzled. He obviously wasn’t used to how fast and powerful my brain was.

“How old is your sister?”

Guest blogger: Sharon Naylor, bestselling author of over 35 wedding books for brides, bridesmaids and the mothers of the bride and groom. Her titles have spent time in the #1 book, e-book and wishlist spots on Amazon and BN.com for their categories. Here is an exclusive sneak peek from her new book, The Bride's Guide to Freebies: Enhancing Your Wedding Without Selling Out.

1. Keep in mind that vendors like to show off to guests.
"If I know that the bride and groom have really planned on a low budget, their flowers are small, their menu is on the smaller side, they had to choose just cake instead of cake and a dessert bar, I'll add in some impressive elements so that the couple's guests can see what we do here at our banquet hall. Who knows? Maybe someone on their guest list will be planning a bar mitzvah, bat mitzvah, wedding, or corporate gala. It's great for them to see a more impressive array of my chef's work, rather than not seeing my place in a great light becuse the slim pickings were so distracting." —Henry, wedding hall manager

Looking for ways to personalize your wedding? Make headlines with this unique concept from newsfavor.com: your very own custom hand-written newspaper keepsakes! Choose from engagement announcements:

Invitations:

Wedding programs:

And favors for your guests to enjoy:

Some couples express themselves by writing their own wedding vows, choosing a meaningful first dance song, or planning a sweet anniversary surprise. But for Nick and Wendy Lowe, their wedding day was the ultimate form of self-expression when they chose to bare all and wed in the nude.

The naturists got married on January 5 at the Wellington Naturist Club in New Zealand. About 120 guests attended the ceremony; half wore clothing, while the other half went au naturel.

"The most impressive thing really was how the guests who were not naturists pretty much just mingled and got along with everybody and didn't give a damn," the groom told Hawke's Bay Today, a local newspaper. (In case you're curious: Yes, they mentioned that it was a clothing-optional event in their wedding invitation, so guests were forewarned!)

We can’t believe that there are only a few months to go until our wedding! We're sure you've heard it a million times, but time really does fly when you're engaged. There's still so much do to and so many plans to finalize.

When we had our consultation with David Tutera, one of the areas that we really wanted his help was with our save-the-date announcement. We knew what type of  “feeling” we were trying to capture — unique, happy, and playful — but had no definite way of going about it. Ideally, we wanted to incorporate the outdoors and make it seem as if the moment was being captured live. 

After he asked a few more questions, David processed the information and came up with a wonderful idea that would incorporate all of our requests. We were beyond excited with the idea. 

The next thing to do was to meet with our photographer, Stephen of Stephen Martin Photography.

During the late fall, we met with Stephen, and he was more than willing to help. He had never done a save-the-date of this kind, but he knew the perfect location. With our plan starting to take shape, we wrote a list of supplies and were off to the store.

Six feet of canvas paper, check. A few bottles of washable paints, check. A couple of white long sleeve shirts, already had those. We were surprised that for under 20 dollars, we could make this happen.

When Edwin and I first got engaged, I insisted that we had to have a sweetheart table. There is something idyllic about sitting apart from the crowd and looking around a room filled with all of your loved ones as you take in a few quiet moments as newlyweds. Here are a few pretty stunners to inspire you! Check out place settings and wedding chairs to complete the look.

Edwin and I decided on a long table for the seating arrangements at our intimate wedding in Italy. I love how this sweetheart table is the "center" of the reception, connecting the two longer guest tables.

Photo via Heart Love Weddings*

A sweetheart table in the middle of the woods? That's my definition of wedding heaven. This gorgeous tent has a bohemian vibe—it belongs in my backyard immediately!

Photo Credit: Jonas Peterson

Your Facebook feed is likely blowing up with engagement news right about now; we're in the midst of engagement season, after all. But few things can toy with your emotions quite like seeing that an ex just got engaged.

Now imagine reading that news in Us Weekly instead — when we saw that not just one but two of Lauren Conrad's exes just got engaged, we couldn't help but sympathize.

Jason Wahler and fiancée Ashley Slack (L), and Doug Reinhardt and fiancée Allie Lutz (R). Photos via Instagram.

Whether you're single, attached, or even happily married, it's a weird feeling when an ex proposes to someone else. It doesn't matter if you haven't spoken to him in ten years and never would've married him anyway. But if you dated him more recently and were starting to plan a future together, it hurts that much harder. Here, how to cope.

Whether you've been engaged for just two days or over two years, let's all take a step back and think about how far we've come in our relationships to get to this exact moment. The stationery pros at Wedding Paper Divas have put together a fun infographic on everything from when most couples first say "I love you" to where they'll vacation for the first time together as husband-and-wife. This is based on survey data they compiled from June 2011 to 2012.

I'm happy to see that 22 percent of receptions are held in an "other" venue (i.e. not a ballroom or barn), something we've witnessed in online real weddings submissions. It's not uncommon for us to receive gorgeous photos from around the world in courthouses, art museums, zoos, and more. (Check out our list of the craziest places couples got married in 2012.)