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After a series of four harrowing hair trials, I'd love to share my experience with BG brides in case anyone is going through the same thing (you're not alone!) or in the process of scheduling their beauty appointments for the big day. This is my story about the connection between hair and self-image — including a few hard-earned lessons I learned along the way. 

I looked into the mirror and saw an imposter staring back at me in a haze of hairspray. I recognized the wide Katy Perry-like eyes, but everything else about her was foreign. She had a retro bouffant ‘do warped from the ‘50s, with boho braids wrapped around the sides of her head. I could barely make out the sparkling headpiece on top because it was drowning in a nest of curls.

This wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I showed the hairstylist my inspiration photo of Kate Middleton (my fashion hero!) at a royal gala, looking resplendent with her updo and amazing Jenny Packham dress. This hairdo looked like the Duchess of Cambridge got into a tussle with a pin-up and a flower child, and there was no clear winner. Would my fiancé Jason even recognize this bride coming towards him down the aisle, with her Medusa tendrils?

Photo Credit: Lucky Me Photography on Lela via Lover.ly

Q: I was surprised to receive an invitation to a friend’s wedding that only had my name on it. She knows I’m engaged and has met my fiancé a few times. Shouldn’t his name be on the invitation as well? 

The bouquet and garter toss are time-honored traditions, but these days, more than half of BG brides skip at least one of the tosses.

One couple decided to put a new twist on the tradition that was anything but stale — Natasha and Jake Johnson launched themselves in a human slingshot before making their tosses! Their venue, Hobble Creek Lodge, already had the slingshot on premises; after taking turns going up in it the night before the wedding with their bridesmaids and groomsmen, they decided to do it during the wedding as well. 

"Jake and I joked around about me doing the human slingshot in my wedding dress but I thought, 'No way, it will ruin my dress,'" Natasha told HuffPost Weddings. "Well, I changed my mind the night before the wedding and said, 'Why not!'" 

Really, should we even have to tell you this? But in a trash-the-dress session taken too far, one bride willingly lit her dress on fire before running into the ocean to extinguish it, all in an attempt to capture a memorable photo. 

The bride was not harmed in this video, but this so easily could've gone terribly, terribly wrong. Natural fibers — like cotton and silk — are extremely flammable, and the flame can travel much faster than you'd think.

Bottom line: If you want a photo of your dress on fire, add some flames in Photoshop. Don't put your life at risk for the sake of a picture.

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

I mailed out my wedding invitations recently (hooray!) and the responses have been trickling or pouring in, depending on the day. Now that the big reveal is over with most of my guests, I'm excited to unveil the design to my fellow BG brides as well. The photo below doesn't do the invite justice — it was printed in gold glitter ink that shimmers in the light. I worked on it with Arlene Segal, the talented owner of Arlene Segal Designs in Miami, FL, and the style name is "Somewhere in Time," in case anyone is interested in using the same design for their own wedding.

"Somewhere in Time" Wedding Invitation (Style #BW-130)

As a general rule of thumb, it's recommended that brides start shopping for their invitations about five to six months before they wed. Like many other aspects of planning, this process took far longer than I had anticipated; the amount of paperie options is truly staggering and so is the cost of wedding invitations. Between selecting the printing method, font, paper stock, wording and method of addressing envelopes, it all took a great deal of thought. That didn't even include the time spent assembling them!

When I first got engaged, I immediately bought a humongous binder (which I still own) containing worksheets on how to help novice brides like myself plan their wedding with organized glee. I filled out many of the pages and felt like I had just passed a final exam — until I got to the transportation section. How do I get my guests from Point A to Point B and map out our itinerary? Who do we include, who do we not include and where on Earth are we all going?! The whole concept was starting to sound more like a lecture from my algebra teacher (a class that I failed in school).

So I did what any obsessive-compulsive bride in my situation would do: I Googled as much info as I could find until finally, I developed a game plan. If you're anything like me and are overwhelmed by the logistics of transporting yourself (and your bridal party) to and fro on the wedding day, you've come to the right place. Here are some basic guidelines for tackling all of your transportation conundums.

Photo by: Artful Weddings via The Bridal Detective

1. Timeline

When Joe Pagani proposed to Emily Pavis last year, he gave her an amazing custom-designed engagement ring inspired by R2-D2 from Star Wars (see the ring here!). And on their wedding day, Joe got his own Star Wars ring — a C-3PO wedding band (for non-Star Wars fans, C-3PO is a golden robot who is R2-D2's best friend):

Photo courtesy of CustomMade

Photo Credit: Ryan Richardson

For "self-proclaimed geeks" Joe and Emily, their Star Wars wedding rings bring them back to childhood — both loved watching the movies while growing up. Working with the same CustomMade designer who made the R2-D2 engagement ring, Paul Bierker of Paul Michael Design, they created their perfect droid duo. The couple eloped at the Race Point Beach lighthouse in Cape Cod, MA, and one of their best friends officiated the intimate ceremony.

Photo Credit: Avava/iStockPhoto

One of the more annoying parts about changing your last name is finding a new personal email address to reflect it. With more than 425 million active users on Gmail and 281 million on Yahoo, there's a pretty good chance that your name is already taken. 

Back when Gmail was just a baby, I thought about registering for a second email address — my first name with my husband's last name. But since that was at least three years before he'd even proposed, I decided I'd better not jinx myself. I'm kicking myself now, though! When I tried registering for a new email address after the wedding, I basically had two options: add some numbers on the end, or make up some combination of my first, maiden, and last names.

But there's good news for Yahoo brides — they're purging unused accounts, meaning that your new name might become available! Sign up here to be put on the waiting list for your desired name. You can request up to five names and, if you're first in line for any of them, you'll receive an email to claim it in mid-August.

Tell us: Did you pre-register your new email address before the wedding?

—Kristen O'Gorman Klein

Welcome to our big 3-in-1 issue! You'll not only find fabulous wedding fashions, beauty, reception and planning news in our September/October magazine...

Get a behind-the-scenes look at our cover shoot here:

...but on the flipside, you’ll discover a special “Your Home” section:

Bonus: All of these registry-perfect products from Kohl’s are available for you to win, along with a honeymoon in Aruba, so be sure to enter our sweepstakes at bridalguide.com/winkohls!

And speaking of honeymoons, you’ll also find a separate Honeymoon Guide magazine with this issue: