Blogs

It’s a good thing I was decisive when it came to finding Corey, the man of my dreams—choosing the dress of my dreams has proven to be much more challenging. 

Mori Lee Dress, Style 1808

Let me start by saying that I’m a very practical person, which makes me a very tough shopper. Seeing veils for $200 and finding a dress that I loved, only to learn that alterations would cost $400 - $500, is pretty hard to compute. Wedding dress shopping by the numbers: Thousands of gowns (priced between $100 to tens of thousands of dollars), only five to ten dresses that you actually get to try on (if you're going by the standard recommendation), just one dress that’s “The One.” In a sea of white, there's a whole lot of green! 

Even if you're skipping the garter toss tradition, there's no reason you can't still wear one—especially when they're this gorgeous! Bleu Garters specializes in handcrafting keepsake garters from fine silk and antique lace. 

“A big trend I'm noticing is brides being more adventurous with color and not sticking to white/ivory/light blue," said Jaime Lawson, founder of Bleu Garters. "Don't get me wrong, the classics are still the most popular garters, but brides have also been ordering their favorite bright colors, as well as the black floral lace garters for their wedding day!”

Garters range from $60 to $120 at shopbleugarters.com. Here, some of our favorites from the new collections. 

From the bridal collection:

Orchid

There are a thousand and one gajillon travel websites out there, and figuring out which one to trust can be a major time-suck. That’s where I come in. True story: I’m a mess when it comes to managing my miles. I know, I know, with the amount of flight time I do, you’d think I’d want to cash it all in for more rewards. Part of my problemo is that I rarely fly the same airline. The other excuse? Well, I’m not really sure about that answer. Luckily for those who are a little less organized than most type A-ers, there’s a new site that can streamline the process. PointHub.com not only helps you manage your miles, reward points, and other accumulative prize scenarios in a single spot; it also offers a side-by-side analysis of cash vs. rewards, so you can decide which is the best option for you. 

Hello, my lovely BG.com readers! With only six days left until our wedding, Luke and I are looking forward to breathing huge sighs of relief when the big day finally arrives (and also wondering how it passed by so fast!).

Here's something that will drag out that feeling just a bit longer: We're having another wedding. Well, not another wedding per se, but a reception in Singapore for my side of the family. 

Although I am Eurasian and have a lot of non-Asian influences in my life, I grew up with a very strong Chinese background. So I wasn't surprised when my mum came up to me one day and asked if we could throw a reception back home for elderly family members who can't attend my Vegas wedding. In Asian culture, it is considered to be good luck to have all of your extended family present on a big occasion. 

Check out more Chinese traditions that I plan to follow at my wedding!

Eenie, meenie, minie, MEATBALL! And pig-in-a-blanket! And baby caramel apple! It seemed like every party we went to during bridal market featured adorable, delectable bites perfectly proportioned for a dollhouse kitchen.

We munched our way from Joan Rivers’ party for Preston Bailey to Colin Cowie’s wedding-website launch, from the Upper East Side to West Chelsea and beyond…finally hitting the mini-motherlode at a book launch celebrating the creative force behind this genius cuisine: Peter Callahan. His new cookbook, Bite by Bite: 100 Stylish Little Plates You Can Make for Any Party, is a gorgeous and easy-to-follow guide to Callahan’s inventive food, as whimsical as it is delicious.

Quickie marriages certainly aren't a new thing in Hollywood. Here, 10 couples who lasted even less time than Kim and Kris.

24 hours: Zsa Zsa Gabor is no stranger to marriage, divorce, and annulments—she's been married nine times. The shortest marriage: Just one day, to eighth husband Felipe de Alba. 

55 hours: Britney Spears shocked the world when she married childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas. The married was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Britney "lacked understanding of her actions."

8 days: Dennis Hopper and Michelle Phillips tied the knot in 1970, only for Hopper to file for divorce eight days later.

9 days: Cher and Gregg Allman were first married on June 30, 1975 in Las Vegas. Nine days later, Cher filed for divorce. The couple later reconciled.

We’ve all seen it. That guy in the movie theater tweeting about how Paranormal 3 is the #bestmovieEVER and an #instantclassic. That girl in class writing a text roughly the length of War and Peace to her bestie sitting next to her. That bride, standing at the alter, texting like there’s no tomorrow. Oh wait…

Videographer James Costa captured this little gem in 2008 at the Mission Beach Women’s Club in San Diego, Calif. “It was otherwise perfectly normal except for this one funny clip of the bride TEXTING just after her dad walked her down the aisle!” Costa wrote on his YouTube page.

While the bride has a disturbing amount of normalcy during the act, the dad looks noticeably uncomfortable and seems to be on the verge of nudging her at one point. 

“The minister was busy reading his opening comments and her back was to everyone in attendance,” Costa wrote. “I was the only one to see her. Her dad glanced over at her and then saw me doing a double-take and began to laugh out loud!”

So what could possibly be so urgent that this bride felt the need to text/tweet/facebook during her ceremony?

Ideas:

After just 72 days of marriage, People reports that Kim Kardashian is filing for divorce from Kris Humphries today, citing irreconcilable differences. 

Ryan Seacrest confirmed the split via Twitter: "Yes @kimkardashian is filing for divorce this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few mins"

The news comes after weeks of speculation that trouble has been brewing for Kim and Kris. Both have been spotted out solo without their wedding rings, though they denied any trouble in paradise at the time.

Sources close to the couple, via TMZ, say that the couple couldn't agree on where to live after the wedding—Kim wanted to stay near her family in LA, while Kris wanted to live a quiet life in Minnesota. 

My business card may reflect the fact that I'm an expert in all things travel, but it doesn’t mean I know every.single.teeney.detail about booking your best vacation. In fact, sometimes I learn a few things from fellow plane passengers. 

Yesterday, for example, on a chicken bus flight (seriously, the crew was so bad they actually miscalculated the flying time, among other weirdo service snafus), I was seated next to a guy who has seen more countries in the past few months than I have in the last two years. We swapped stories about our favorites, and he gave me the gossip on one of his top travel websites—SellOffVacations.com.

Tours, like cruises, don’t like to operate on low occupancy, which means they often offer last minute deals for—repeat after me—C H E A P. My fellow flyer had mentioned he scored a trip to India for $999, including airfare, meals and lodging, as well as an equally awesome price on a 17-day trek around Morocco. Just a quick look at the site myself and I found an all-inclusive 4-night package to the Bahamas for $299 at a four star hotel. Yowzas! The only hitch? Most flights leave from Canada. Got to SellOffVacations.com for more info.

Each week, we feature music recommendations from Scratch Weddings, the nation's leader with the best wedding DJs at affordable prices. This week's post comes from DJ Vida Ventura, who keeps dance floors moving from coast to coast with her ear for great music. Vida cuts her chops at quintessential Lower East Side hot spots and chic LA nightclubs. Vida's highly-sought DJ style is eclectic and energetic, and she is passionate about bringing her skills to couples looking for a fresh, fun take on a wedding DJ. "I love to mix genres and play everything from James Brown to Michael Jackson to Beyoncé in the same set and appeal to everyone at the wedding."

       Photo Credit: D. Park Photography