These photos are just too good not to share! Barbie and Ken finally got hitched. Check out this hilarious (and gorgeous!) photo shoot by BdG Photography that we spotted over on Rock n' Roll Bride.

Bridal prep:

When my lovely editor Stefania (you may know her as The Budget Guru) approached me and asked what has been my number-one worry throughout this wedding process, I had no idea it was going to take me THIS long to articulate what it was. Don’t be fooled, it is not because nothing worried me. Au contraire—everything worries me. I am a worrier by nature. I am that person who wakes up in the middle of the night to write notes to myself like, “Don’t forget to deposit check during your lunch break." I think brides can relate!

So, back to my point. I was wracking my brain, almost about to send Stefania an email saying, “You sure you don’t want me to write a post on what DOESN’T worry me? It’ll be lots shorter…”, when I woke up a couple of hours before dawn one night and wrote myself a note. It read: “#1 worry = not having Mom here with me."

And then I slept like a baby.

My mom and I are as close as they get. She bosses me around like crazy and I pretend to take on everything she says. I was also the only girl in my all-girl’s mission school that could tell her mom when she’d met a boy and had a crush on him. We are tight. Her opinions matter to me and I usually take her suggestions on board.

When real bride Dawn Nicole left a comment on our Facebook wall, telling us that she fully designed and printed every paper product for her wedding, we knew we had to meet this girl and get her story. And boy, we weren’t disappointed—her photos and DIY prowess may just inspire you to ditch your paperie and make your own one-of-a-kind wedding invitations.

Like most great ideas, this one was born because Dawn wanted something out of the ordinary that thousands of other brides haven’t already used. She personalized her invite with nametags, which helped her avoid having to use twice the amount of envelopes, since one set is traditionally addressed to the guest. Dawn is having a garden-style wedding and getting married in a large park, so she wanted to pick a complementary design motif. “We chose a ‘love birds’ theme because it has such a sweet feel. Plus, we plan on planting a ‘unity’ tree during the ceremony and having a ‘wedding tree’ for our guest book. It just fit!”

Kim Kardashian’s walk down the aisle took on black-and-white Old Hollywood glamour with a gorgeous white aisle runner accented by flourishes in black, as well as the famous K & K intertwined monogram logo.

Julie Goldman, president of The Original Runner Company, is the creator of that magical path toward Kim K’s happily-ever-after, and she shares the details on how Kim’s camp came to her to create the Runner of the Century:

“When we were asked by Sacks Productions to make a black-and-white aisle runner for Kim Kardashian’s wedding, we knew this would be a big project. We had done many celebrity weddings before, such as Kevin Jonas, Fergie, and Bethenny Frankel, but we knew this wedding would have the world’s attention. 

“Her runner entailed replicating the couple’s classic KK logo in Swarovski crystals – two times! Then we added a delicate vintage flourish down the sides. We had been told that there would be no other décor for the ceremony aisle, so the runner really had to make a statement. Once we saw the video of the ceremony, we knew we had done our job and added a classic elegance to the luxurious wedding.”

Here at BG, we're obsessed with checking out the latest runway collections—even if we can't travel around the world to attend them all! It was all about volume at Justin Alexander's Spring 2012 Fashion Show in Amsterdam. Sweeping ball gowns and sexy, hip-hugging mermaid styles, featuring textured ruffles and splashes of lace and beading, paraded down the runway to the heart-pounding main score of "Swan Lake."

We love the collection's flattering sweetheart necklines and fitted bodices, which emphasize a bride's waistline, with dramatic, flowing skirts that we'd love to twirl and spin in all day. Looking past all the texture in the gowns' full skirts, the dresses also had delicate details on top that made each one special in its own way. Our favorite ideas from the runway: Top your gown with a sheer bolero, add some bling with a crystal-embellished belt, or cinch your waist with an elegant sash with bow detail.

Based on this runway show and the styles we've seen celebrities don this year, we're predicting that we'll see fuller skirts gain popularity again in 2012; the bigger, the better!

See more from Justin Alexander in our gown gallery.

—Kelsie Allen

Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries surprised each of their out-of-towners this past weekend with a package of six assorted cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake, wrapped in a pretty gift box with a warm welcome note, delivered to each hotel room. The box was filled with cupcakes in the bakery's signature flavors: Red Velvet, Lava Fudge, Salted Caramel, Peanut Butter Fudge, Chocolate Coconut, and a Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream frosting. Each cupcake was topped with a fondant replica of the couple's "KK" wedding monogram. One wedding guest, Maria Menounos, shared this picture of the luxurious welcome package in her hotel room:

   Photo Credit: Maria Menounos

Although you may not have a $10 million wedding budget like Kim and Kris, you, too, can pamper your guests with cupcakes. Instead of an indulgent half dozen per person, we're pretty sure even the biggest sweet tooth can be satisfied with one of these decadent cupcake. Personalize the cupcakes with a fondant monogram like Kim (Georgetown Cupcake offers custom decorations for special occasions at no additional charge). Not into monograms? For an easy DIY project, make colorful toothpick flags in your wedding colors with the bride and groom's names or guests' names and stick one in each cupcake.

A unique wedding gift that we're suddenly seeing is personalized wire clothes hangers. We think this idea is adorable and budget-friendly, and every time the bride opens her closet doors she'll be reminded of your thoughtfulness and, of course, of her wedding day! Kim Kardashian received one as a wedding gift from her friend Larsa Pippen that reads "Mrs. Humphries" and even tweeted over the weekend, "Thanks for reminding me @LarsaPippen! LOL cutest gift ever!" 

Photo Courtesy of Twitter