You've probably already heard of a "First Look"—the bride and groom sneak some time in alone before the ceremony and their photographer captures this private, magical moment on film. Modern couples love it because it leads to powerful, emotional photos and gives them a few precious minutes of solitude before wedding-day revelry begins. But what if you're traditionalists—like Jason and I are—and you don't want to spoil the surprise of seeing your fiancé's jaw drop to the ground when he sees you walk down the aisle in your big, white dress?

This creative take on the "First Look" trend is the ultimate compromise. Inspired by someone on a blog who took a similar shot, Julie and Ryan (the stunning couple pictured in these photos), came up with the idea of holding each other's hands behind a door (no peeking!) to calm their pre-wedding jitters. 

Here, Julie describes how she felt that day and the impact those few minutes had on her:

"At around 4:50 pm on our wedding day, I heard one of my bridesmaids call out 'He’s coming!' I could feel my whole body come alive with excitement. I stood on the other side of a big, white wooden door, waiting to hear his voice. When he said 'Hi Sweetie,' I felt my eye fill with tears. I reached out for his hand and felt his warm touch immediately...I started really crying. Happy tears. Tears of excitement and tears of sheer readiness. Ryan squeezed my hand and told me he couldn’t wait to become my husband."

The actualization of planning our wedding approximately 9530.99 miles away didn't really dawn on my fiancé Luke and I at first. That is, until we started to hit a few hurdles: You can’t meet up with your wedding coordinator next week if you're worried you’re not on the same page and you can’t call up your caterer during your lunch break to discuss canapé options because your lunchtime is their bedtime.

So today I thought I’d share a few experiences that The Boy and I have encountered and had to face head-on due to the lack of accessibility. (Emails are about the only way we contact our vendors and therefore these tips will apply to them as well!)

Photo courtesy of Christopher Robbins

After reading about a few  NYC-area couples getting married on the 10th anniversary of September 11 this weekend, we couldn't help but wonder: Would you choose an undesirable wedding date to save money?

One couple wanted a September wedding, but the only date available at their dream venue was September 11. "I've always considered it a day of mourning, of remembrace...We definitely had to think about it," said Alexis Kreimer, the bride.

The clincher was when the venue offered the couple a staggering $50 per head discount if they booked September 11.

It's no secret that you can save big by booking a less popular date. My husband and I saved at least $10,000 by holding our wedding in the winter. And an even bigger discount came from hosting it the Sunday of a holiday weekend — we got the feel of a Saturday wedding, since guests didn't have work or school the following day, at a Sunday price. 

Photo courtesy of Weddings by Chris Sherburne Photography

BG brides, can you relate to any of the following scenarios?

• Due to sheer excitement and joy, your parents and in-laws feel entitled to invite as many guests as they please; their little girl is getting married, after all.
• Your groom deems it necessary to invite the guys he used to play T-ball with—so what if he hasn’t seen them since he was four?
• You're unsure about which colleagues should be receiving invitations. 

Every engaged couple experiences The Great Guest List Debate; it's practically a rite of passage. Cut your drama in half by following my tips below.

Photo courtesy of Moran Harder Solar Photographers

1. Make a Rough Count ASAP: No matter how long your engagement is, deciding what your guest count will be should take place fairly early on when planning. This will allow you to determine your budget and select your venue; more importantly, it could help you avoid serious conflict that some brides and grooms-to-be face during their wedding-day preparations. 

It must be wedding week on The View — Kim Kardashian, along with sisters Khloé and Kourtney, stopped by the show today to talk about their Kardashian Kollection with Sears. But the news we're more excited about is that Kim is planning a big wedding giveaway for a lucky fan!

 “There’s been so many amazing things and people were so generous to me at my wedding, I feel like I would just want to give that to someone else,” Kim said.

And today, Kim released all of the giveaway details! From her official site:

"Vera Wang, Giuseppi Zanotti, Judith Leiber, Williams-Sonoma and my Glam Squad have all come on board to help me give one couple the most amazing wedding package. The winning bride-to-be will receive a stunning dress from the White by Vera Wang for David’s Bridal collection, inspired by my own wedding dress, a pair of gorgeous heels from Giuseppi Zanotti, an EXCLUSIVE monogrammed Judith Leiber bag, a Williams-Sonoma Dream Kitchen and a makeover from my Glam Squad. Not only that, but all the bridesmaids (up to 4) will receive their own dresses from the White by Vera Wang for David’s Bridal collection, the bride and her bridesmaids will get a special fitting at a David’s Bridal store in LA and the winner will get $500 from Celebuzz towards travel and accommodation. The fitting and makeover will be in LA."

Rules and how to enter are available on Kim's site.

The BG editors are already devout Groupon fans—we score local bargains on both small luxuries (everything from blowouts and takeout) to major indulgences like weekend getaways using this deal-a-day site. So we knew it was only a matter of time before budget-savvy brides would find a way to channel its power into wedding planning. We were right: When bridesmaid Rachel reached out to us with her amazing story, we wished we had thought of it first and couldn't wait to share it with you!

“From the moment Kristen [the bride-to-be] asked myself and her team of bridesmaids to throw her beach-themed bridal shower, we all started to keep an eye on Groupon to see what kind of deals we’d be able to make use of for the event,” Rachel said. Since the BMs don’t all live in Chicago (where the shower took place), they were able to track both national and online offers in other markets. They purchased the Groupons one at a time and tried to cover every aspect of the shower, including deals for pre-party salon pampering, food served at the actual event, decorations and more. Rachel took charge of the planning and “Tried to email back-and-forth to make sure we were staying on-budget and on-plan with what to purchase.”