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Top Hotels Featured in Oscar-Nominated Movies This Year

The 86th annual Academy Awards kicks off this Sunday and we’re looking forward to scoping out the evening’s glitziest looks and OMG-worthy moments: Which film will nab Best Picture? Who might get their Meryl Streep moment? Since Ellen DeGeneres is hosting, will we actually stay up until midnight this year?

Now, thanks to travel website Trivago.com, brides have another reason to get excited for the pinnacle of awards season — they’ve put together a list of hotels where a few of the movie contenders were filmed, and they’re perfect for stateside honeymoons.

American Hustle


Photo Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

Nominated for: Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Costume Design, Best Directing, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design and Best Original Screenplay

Featured hotel: The Fairmont Copley Plaza (Boston, MA)

Mary-Kate Olsen is Engaged to Olivier Sarkozy!

mary kate olsen and olivier sarkozy
Photos courtesy of Instagram (left); The Carlyle Group (right)

We're checking off another couple from our 2014 prediction list — according to Us Weekly, Mary-Kate Olsen is set to marry her boyfriend of nearly two years, Olivier Sarkozy! 

The unlikely pair — she's 27, he's 44 — went public with their relationship in 2012 at a Knicks game. Not long after, they moved into a $6.25 million townhouse together in New York City. Sarkozy, a multimillionaire banker who is the half-brother of former French president Nicholas Sarkozy, has two children from a previous marriage — Julien, 12, and Margo, 10 — and the former Full House star is ready to embrace her role as stepmother. 

"Mary-Kate has made him a better father. She remembers all the kids' special events," a source told Us Weekly. "She thinks he's a great dad." 

And Sarkozy has won over Olsen's family as well: "Mary-Kate's family thinks Olivier is the best thing to happen to her," an insider revealed. "They love him."

It's Official: Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis Are Engaged!

After weeks of did-they-or-didn't-they speculation, E! News finally confirmed that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis are, in fact, engaged to be married!

The Ted actress, 30, was spotted shopping with her mother on Thursday at The Grove in Los Angeles wearing a hefty diamond solitaire ring (it's estimated to be around five or six carats) on that finger.

Rumors first began surfacing when Kutcher, 36, accompanied his now-fiancée to her brother's wedding in Florida, where she served as a bridesmaid. A source at the time told People that they've "talked about getting married for quite a while." Earlier this month, the couple were spotted celebrating another wedding: Kunis' twin brother, Michael, got married on St. Simons Island in Georgia.

ashton kutcher and mila kunis
Photo via Kunismilena on Instagram

The high-profile couple has been notoriously gun-shy about discussing their relationship to the press — Kutcher once told Elle that "people will fill in the blanks however they want" — or via social media, but that's changed in recent months. On Wednesday, Kunis posted the above photo on Instagram with the caption, "I love you @kutcher78."

And in a recent interview with Cosmopolitan, Kunis dished on their favorite dating ritual: White T-shirt night. "It's when you wear jeans and a white T-shirt and you go on a date. Nothing fancy, it's just something that you love to do. And whether that's bowling or dinner or going to a cheese shop and have some wine or walking around," she says.

Tips for Hiring a Wedding Planner

Since my fiancé Chris and I are currently living in different cities, I was feeling pretty lonely during the search for our perfect wedding venue. Each and every one of them was incredible but something was missing...Chris! Everything feels half as fun when he's not around, but I chose my new job as San Diego 6 News' evening anchor, so I just have to suck it up and learn to appreciate every blessing (and there are many). I just wish that my fiancé was here so that we could enjoy the planning process together...soon, I hope!

It was almost as if my best friend Katie could sense my sadness because she sent me a text (one of probably 200 that we send throughout each day) about Christina from OBSESSEDevents, a friend of hers who offered to help us plan our wedding. I couldn't have heard those words at a better time. (This experience has taught me that it's ok to ask for help. When you have a moment of sadness or are feeling worn down during wedding planning, please know that this is the time to reach out.)

obsessedevents
Photo Credit: OBSESSEDevents

"Girls" Star Allison Williams is Engaged!

Allison Williams' on-screen alter ego, Marnie, may be grappling with a broken heart on Girls, but in real life, she has some happy news to share: she's engaged to be married!

allison williams and ricky van veen

Her rep confirmed that the 25-year-old actress is tying the knot with her longtime boyfriend of three years, Ricky Van Veen, an entrepreneur and the co-founder of CollegeHumor.com. (Fun fact: Williams has written and starred in her own hilarious web clips, including a Mad Men-themed video and Funny or Die episodes where she played Kate Middleton.)

allison williams and ricky van veen

The pair met while filming the pilot for her hit HBO series. The bride-to-be has her dad's blessing (NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams): "He likes him a lot," she told Larry King during a recent interview.

First Comes Marriage, Then Comes Baby — 30 Minutes Later

hospital wedding before birth

For James Anderson, everything was put into perspective when his pregnant girlfriend Brandi went into labor with their first daughter a week before her due date — he decided that he couldn't wait one more minute to marry her. “I just couldn’t shake the idea of her having the baby without the ring on her finger,” he told KHOU. “The only thing I felt was regret that I didn’t do it a long time ago.”

After rushing to North Hills Hospital in Texas, James put his plan into motion. While Brandi was waiting for an epidural, he told her that he had to run to the store real quick. Baffled, Brandi couldn't imagine what he could possibly need from a store at that exact moment.

Next, James stepped out of the room and told the nursing staff that he wanted to get married. 

“At first, we didn’t think he meant now," said Ashleigh Campbell, one of the nurses. "Once he told us, ‘yeah, we want to do it here,’ I think pretty much the general censuses was, 'Aww.'”

The nursing staff sprang into action; Campbell called up her dad, who is a preacher, to come perform the ceremony. The rest of the staff began decorating a special delivery room for the pair. Meanwhile, James was jewelry shopping, picking out the perfect ring for his bride-to-be. 

When Brandi's water broke, she was wheeled into the decorated room. The couple's six-year-old son joined them as the ring bearer. 

A Vow Renewal Inside a Bathtub of Frozen Hot Chocolate

For our Race for the Rock scavenger hunt, we chose the famed romantic restaurant, Serendipity 3, as our last location. After the finalists sipped their Frrrozen Hot Chocolates and revealed their prizes, we got to talking about how the restaurant has become such a popular spot for proposals and weddings ever since the 2001 movie Serendipity came out. The owner and founder, Stephen Bruce, even got ordained as a minister so that he could perform weddings himself! But we were pretty surprised when we heard about a popular trend there of getting married in a bathtub filled with their famous Frrrozen Hot Chocolate — and we knew we had to find out more. 

Fifteen years ago, Cleo and David Gakshteyn became one of the first couples to exchange vows while standing in frozen hot chocolate; Serendipity 3 had been one of their favorite date-night spots, so when they heard that the restaurant was looking for a couple to marry in chocolate, they knew it was the perfect fit. The bride got in the spirit with a chocolate wedding dress by Vera Wang paired with a "Chocolate Diamond" Harry Winston ring. 

serendipity chocolate wedding

After the ceremony, the groom sipped some Frrrozen Hot Chocolate out of a Stuart Weitzman "Cinderella" shoe. 

Curves Ahead: Sexy Mermaid Wedding Dresses

For true showstopper style, show off your curves in a sparkling mermaid gown. This style works best for an evening affair and is sure to garner attention! We love a few frills and layers at the bottom to balance out your curves. When trying on this style, don't forget to put on shapewear (all the best celebrities don't dare walk the red carpet without their Spanx).

This style works best for the curvy or voluptuous girl. Here, a few of our faves by Lovelle by Lazaro, Alvina Valenta, and Martina Liana.

mermaid wedding dresses

—Naima DiFranco

Sneaky Groom's Photo Session With the Engagement Ring

Most grooms-to-be say there are few things more nerve-wracking than carrying around an engagement ring — will she find it before he has a chance to pop the question? Will she notice that he's acting different? Will she like the ring? And, most importantly, will she say yes?

Reddit user BarbeRouge apparently doesn't share those apprehensions. He decided to test just how "oblivious" his girlfriend was and snap some daring pictures of the ring right in front of her.

First, a test selfie with the ring:

pre engagement photos

"She didn't realize it was right over her head," he wrote. "She was too busy watching TV. The best was we were watching one of those bridal showers on TLC; Friday is Bride Day."

pre engagement photos

Nestled in with her Eeyore stuffed animals:

pre engagement photos

Before visiting her at work:

This Couple's Incredible Love Story Will Make You Cry

Four years ago, Larry Ragsdale planned to propose to his high school sweetheart, Kelcie Yeoman, during a vacation with her family to Disneyland. But just a week before the trip, their lives were turned upside down. While driving home from showing Kelcie's sister, McKenzie, the engagement ring he'd chosen, Larry's car was struck by a drunk driver, and he nearly lost his life. He was thrown into a coma, and for months, no one knew if he'd ever recover. 

But Kelcie never gave up on him. She was by his side every day until, at long last, he awoke. They learned that the former football and track star was left partially paralyzed from the accident; he had a long road to recovery ahead of him, filled with countless surgeries and exhaustive physical therapy sessions. Determined to be with him every step of the way, Kelcie even got a job at the facility where he was recovering. 

In August, three years after coming out of the coma, Larry proposed to Kelcie with the same ring he'd chosen before that fateful night. But with their bank accounts drained from the arduous recovery, the wedding of their dreams (in Disneyland) seemed completely out of reach — until McKenzie launched a fundraising campaign and reached their goal of $20,000 in just 11 days! 

Watch the video of their incredible journey (warning: Grab the tissues first!):

—Kristen Klein

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