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5 Genius Ways to Track Your RSVPs

Once you've sent out your wedding invitations, it's time to sit back and relax (yeah, right!) as the responses come rolling (more like trickling) in. However, as any real bride knows, the process is rarely ever that simple. RSVP cards may return to you with an illegible name, they could be damaged from the mail, or—even worse—blank. 

Here's how to prevent yourself from going postal:

A Real Bride's Guide to Hawaii

When Michael and I began the process of choosing our honeymoon destination, we both decided to write down the top two things we wanted most from the vacation. I was looking for an oceanfront suite, where I could spend our days on the beach and listen to the ocean waves crash on the shore in the evenings. Michael's main goal was to relax and unwind, but he also wanted to visit a spot that we were unlikely to return to in the near future (an eleven-hour flight is not something we want to repeat very often!).

Once we chose Hawaii, we started to research the islands to see which suited our needs. We opted for Oahu and Kauai. Oahu was our first choice due to the rich history (it's home to Pearl Harbor) and the new addition of the Aulani Villas, a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort. Since we're already DVC members, Michael and I were able to save on our accommodations for the five nights we were spending in Oahu, while still getting the Disney hospitality that we are accustomed to. This great savings allowed us to splurge on our resort for Kauai, opting for Ko'a Kea Hotel & Resort. Kauai was a no-brainer because we desperately wanted a secluded location with plenty of outdoor activities.

Tangled Ever After: The Wedding

Beauty and the Beast fans were treated to an extra bit of animated romance at the 3D premiere this weekend. Tangled Ever After, the short film sequel to the 2010 hit, Tangled, runs before each showing of Beauty and the Beast 3D and features the wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder.

Check out these sneak peek clips from the film—and see what goes wrong right before the couple exchanges vows!

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

Best Beauty Finds: Natural-Looking Clip-In Hair Extensions

If you pride yourself on being an au naturel beauty and, dare I say, downright skeptical of the fake tan à la Snookie, faux lashes of Kardashian proportions, and impostor hair extensions dangling from the heads of certain pop princesses, then you are just like me. However, as a blonde whose tresses slowly turned to icky brown over the years, I began coloring my hair to recapture the golden gorgeousness of my youth. Unfortunately, as my hair lightened, my once-thick and profuse locks slowly dwindled away.

No longer able to enjoy the luxury of wearing cute hats, and suffering countless styling restrictions, I decided I needed a change. As an alternative to glue-in, sew-in, weave-in hair extensions (nothing should ever be “glued” or “sewed” or “weaved” into your precious mane) I found this wonderful clip-in hair extensions company based in New York City—Hair Extensions NYC. The founder and creative director of this little gem is Jessica Hyllarée, a hospitable woman who graciously grants free consultations. With my over-processed blonde locks, there were many different colors to emulate, and Jessica custom-made clip-on extensions with streaks of various colors found in my hair. She measured my head and matched the precise texture and style of my hair so as to create a perfect facsimile where no one would suspect a thing.

Twilight Breaking Dawn Barbie Dolls!

Our favorite vampire couple is now being immortalized in a new way: Mattel is releasing Bella and Edward Breaking Dawn Barbie dolls!

bella swan barbie edward cullen barbie

The dolls, available on barbiecollector.com for $29.95 each starting next month, feature the same wedding-day attire we grew to love in the theaters.

We hope the back of Barbie Bella's gown is as gorgeous as the movie version. Edward's looking a little pale — even for a vampire — but the tux fits the vintage vibe of his movie attire.

What do you think of the dolls?

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

The Mane Event: Get a Perfect Blowout

le parker meridien In addition to curbing my coffee intake (boring) and breaking up with gluten goodies (even more snore pie with yawn sauce), one of 2012 resolutions is to have better hair (fun times). Since I’m an absolute disaster when it comes to styling my mop, I’m going to be relying on the skills of others to fulfill my fun resolution. And with the announcement of the Drybar—a blow-dry only hair salon with outposts throughout the country—opening in the gorgeous Le Parker Meridien in Manhattan, it looks like this may be a resolution I’ll be able to keep.

Now, if someone at another favorite haute hotel could get into the vegan bakery business, then I’d really be cooking with gas.

—Jenna Mahoney

Surprise Justin Bieber Wedding Dance

Cue the squeals—this viral YouTube video may provoke tween-like behavior, including, but not limited to: subjecting coworkers to your shower-singing voice and sighing with indignation (we can barely get our fiancés to slow dance with us!). 

Before you roll your eyes, we admit that Justin isn't exactly the first musical artist that comes to mind when we think of romantic wedding songs (sorry, Biebs). But any groom who doesn't take himself too seriously and has such dedicated back-up dancers groomsmen deserves a slap on the back. Now please excuse us while we go buy Party Rock sunglasses and practice with our bridesmaids.

 

—Stefania Sainato

Trend We Love: Frame Within a Frame

This fun photo trend is a great way to incorporate special guests in your wedding portraits, like your child attendants or your moms. Just have your chosen pair hold up a decorative frame, have your photographer position you so that you're within the frame, and snap away! After the wedding, tie it all together by displaying the photo in your home with the same frame you used in the photo.

Photo Credit: Brooke Letourneau Photography

flower girl ring bearer

Photo Credit: Renaissance Studios

45 Places to Go This Year

Last week, the travel world got all atwitter—ha—when the New York Times published their annual list of where to go in the coming year. The list has 45 exciting destinations that range from the I’ve-been-wanting-to-check-that-out-for-a-while spot (ahem, Panama and Tanzania) to the hmm-I-never-would-have-thought-of-that spot (Tibet, Glasgow, and Birmingham, England).

But what the list really did was make all the travel writers I know get out their calculators and see how many they’ve been to—and how many they plan to tick off their personal list. Since I’ve got 5 down (well, sort of 6, but I only spent about 3 hours surfing in one spot, and I only count it if I slept over), I’m down to 40. I think I’ll start at number one. And I may skip space….

panama


#1 on the list: Panama (Photo courtesy of Tourism Authority of Panama)

—Jenna Mahoney

P.S. To read more about Panama, go here. And for info on hosting a wedding there, click aquí

Have You Cheated on Your Wedding Dress?

Photo Credit: Sean Locke/iStock

Six different stores, 120+ miles, and countless online searches later, I’ve found my wedding dress. I love it! There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to be in love with it for years to come, but that doesn't change the fact that there are hundreds of wedding dresses that I find to be beautiful. I realized while constantly stalking other brides' Facebook photos and browsing my favorite wedding-related sites, like BridalGuide.com, that I'm still in awe of a lot of dresses.

In a marriage, wandering eyes are forbidden—but when it comes to the dress, is it acceptable to peek? I’ve heard of some brides who suffer from dress regret and I’m happy to report that I'm not one of them. I don't intentionally seek out gowns online, but I do occasionally stumble upon one that wasn't available or that I somehow overlooked when shopping. When this happens, sometimes I can't help but feel a sharp pang of worry: Did I get the right dress? Is this gown better than the one I chose? Will I wish that I had went in a different style direction?

I’ve come to a realization: You can only love one man, but you can love multiple dresses—and that's okay! 

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