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With all the Royal Wedding mayhem, I decided to look into the classic art of wedding hats. I am sure we will be inspired by plenty of fanciful hats at the Royal Wedding on April 29th! Here are a few of my favorite wedding hats from this side of the pond. Don't you just love this whimsical hat from Fancy (dressmefancy.com)?  I also love the new headpieces from BHLDN.  What do you think of this traditional custom from England?  Do you think this trend will make it stateside?

—Naima DiFranco

This week's episode of Wedding Wars proved to be even more angst-filled than its predecessors, with hoowees (which is [supposedly] Hawaiian for "alliance") splitting apart and former friends competing against one another. The gift challenge—always the sweetest part of the show—involved an amazing, full DJ package courtesy of Scratch Weddings. Rich and Marina, former underdogs, proved superior by whooping everyone in the you know what and taking home the big prize. The duo must have ridden off their successful wave, because when it came time for the security challenge, the couple was paired with the other core members of their hoowee—Joseph and Elsie. The proverb "putting all your eggs in one basket" was brought to life with the men catapulting eggs into a nest held onto the women's heads thanks to a helmet. The four of them pulled out a nifty strategy early—by only launching the catapult halfway—and cleaned up the competition. Not only did Rich, Marina, Joseph and Elsie win much-needed immunity, they also won a taste of "real food," in this case hot dogs and hamburgers. (Remember, that is practically five star compared to the pinto beans and rice they've been surviving off of until then.) With controversial duo Jemol and Yolanda at risk, it was a no-brainer that they'd be sent home, as they'd aggravated almost every player on camp. Although Jemol and Yolanda were unable to hop on the phone for an interview, we wish them the best of luck in planning their dream wedding.

DIY is all the rage amongst fashionistas. We've found the perfect site for brides to be in on the latest trend. Bobbie Thomas, fashion correspondent for The Today Show, names Sheyna.com as one of her favorite DIY sites! On Sheyna.com even the least creative bride can create unique jewelry designs with this easy to use website or browse and buy others' designs. Our favorite custom creation right now is the Pearl Bead Cluster Set designed by weddingdesigns. Another is Ocean Love, at left.
The site is a veritable digital sketchpad that you can use to create beautiful earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. More than 115 million combinations are possible, with prices ranging from $4 all the way to $5000. And don't forget to check out their latest contest: Sheyna has JUST launched a bridal contest to giveaway $2500 worth of custom jewels. Submit your love story of you and your fiance to [email protected] to win! There can't only be a first place winner, that just wouldn't be fair, second third and honorable mention receive prizes too!

Get to sheyna.com and start designing!

—Samantha Corbin

Is something green the new something blue?  Hints of grassy green popped up all over the runways at Vera Wang, Oscar De La Renta, Aria and Reem Acra. And of course there was a whole crop of gorgeous jade colored bridemaids dresses, too. TELL US: Would you wear something green for your big day?  
—Naima DiFranco

There’s nothing like live musicians for getting a party to kick up its heels. But since the Budget Guru looks at cost-savers, she’s going to recommend that you take a serious look at your ever-so-humble iPod. The Guru recently came across a survey done by MyWeddingMusic.com, saying that 41 percent of today’s couples plan to use their own iPods in order to save money on their reception dance music. The O’Neill Brothers, who run that website, give their blessing with a few tips:

Designate a driver. Pick a tech-savvy friend or relative who’ll be happy to be the master of ceremonies.

Double up. Load all your songs onto two iPods or MP3 players, so that you have a back-up just in case. You don’t want to find yourselves suddenly enjoying the sounds of…silence.

Bring the juice. Be sure they’re charged—and take the chargers along to the venue.

Shake it up. Go for a variety of tunes. A polka for the grandparents? Sure, why not? Motown, be-bop, the samba, the hully-gully, the waltz—whatever you think will suit your particular crowd. The point is to get people out on the floor and keep them there. (It won’t hurt to pass out some tiny Popsicles after everyone’s broken a sweat.)

Do a test run. Don’t skip this step. Before the big day, take the player to your venue and test it out with their sound systems. It’s called “be your own pro”!

Last night, camp was noticeably quieter on Episode 6 of Wedding Wars as only seven couples remained. But the gift challenge was proverbially louder than ever with of $20,000 worth of sparkling diamonds from Hearts on Fire at stake. The winners? Kevin and Angel, who claimed a total of over $43,200 in prizes while in Hawaii. Despite their new souped-up bling, it was the two of them who were ultimately voted off the island. We checked in with the engaged duo to find out their favorite moments, what they learned, and if Angel and Kevin have rocked their bling yet.




                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         Marco Garcia/Getty Images for VH1

It’s been a crazy, busy week in the bridal world! I’ve just spent the past 8 days running all over NYC with our Fashion Editor, Naima DiFranco, viewing the wedding dress collections of well over 50 designers. We saw incredibly beautiful designs and can’t wait to feature these beauties in Bridal Guide, starting with our September/October issue. In the meantime, check out our photo albums of all the different collections on Facebook. 

Some of my favorites were dresses with sleeves (refreshing after so many seasons of strapless!). We saw cap sleeves, three-quarter-length sleeves and long lace sleeves, as designers anticipate that Kate Middleton’s dress will have some arm coverage. I also loved the ethereal tulles, chiffons and organzas, the pick-up skirts, 3-D flowers and peplums. There were lots of detachable belts that instantly change the look of a dress, some pretty boatneck gowns, one-shoulder designs and gorgeous details on the backs of the dresses. Lace, embroidery and whimsical dots and point d’esprit upped the romance factor. It’s a season of pure fantasy, fun and elegance that makes us want to get married again and again (to the same guy, of course!) just to wear as many gowns as possible.

After covering the bridal fashion market, it was on to the tabletop market to see what’s in store (literally) for your registries. Now, the days in NYC may still be too cold and dreary for my liking, but walking into the Lenox showroom introduced some much-needed springtime flavor. Check out this pretty table featuring their new “Floral Meadow” collection.