'Tis the season for holiday proposals! More than 800,000 couples will get engaged during the holiday season, according to Robbins Brothers, a destination engagement ring store. In celebration, they've compiled the "12 Engagement Rings of Christmas," showcasing the year's most popular ring designs:

Tiara

Inspired by the tiara Kate Middleton wore for her 2011 nuptials, this sparkling ring features intricate side scrolls and 94(!) diamonds around a 1.5 carat center stone (from $2,495). 

Jingle Bell Rock

We love this whimsical, modern take on a halo design: The curved, diamond-encrusted band comes together around a 1.5 carat diamond (from $3,620).

The Ritz

Romantic and elegant, this dazzling ring features a cushion cut diamond surrounded by a halo, with two rows of diamonds on the band ($6,495).

Good news—my husband is home from his deployment in Afghanistan! Words can’t describe how incredible it feels to have Michael back.

We recently celebrated a big milestone: Our first wedding anniversary. We spent this entire past year living thousands of miles apart from one another, so we encountered a few challenges that most couples will never have to face. We didn't get to talk on the phone as often as we would have liked, and I only saw a pixelated version of his face a handful of times. In fact, the two weeks we spent together in the middle of his deployment was the longest time we'd seen each other in person since we got engaged. I'll admit—it was rough celebrating our first anniversary with a phone call, but knowing that we'd get to spend our lives together as soon as he got back made it all worth it.

Even though we were halfway around the world from each other, we still learned some valuable lessons about marriage:

Toasting to our first night in our new place!

Here, we are enjoying each other's company with pizza and beer in our furniture-less apartment.

When my fiancé Edwin and I planned our destination wedding in Italy the first time around (read about why we had to cancel our wedding, here), we were surprised by how time-consuming and expensive the process was. All of that crazy-gorgeous scenery came with a cost: Guests treated us more like travel agents than the bride and groom, and vendor interactions were confusing, at best. Here are five things I wish someone had told me before I started planning.

1. It can be tough to navigate all of the legalities.

Despite the challenges, we instinctively knew that we wanted to get married abroad. We looked into Hawaii (some islands have a 10 p.m. curfew) and Mexico (bloodwork is required in order to obtain a marriage license). We even thought about eloping to Paris—what's more romantic than The City of Lights? But when we found out couples must live in the city for a minimum of 40 days in order to legally get married there, this lovely idea quickly turned into a headache. We finally settled on Italy; although they require a civil ceremony prior to any religious or symbolic blessing, we think it's charming to have a separate ceremony to celebrate privately.

Photo Credit: One and Only Paris [Photography] via Intimate Weddings

Solving the age-old conundrums about bridesmaid dresses are a wedding tradition unto themselves: What to do with the dress after the wedding? How to pick out a dress that every bridesmaid will like? How to fit the dresses in the budget? Then try to find an eco-friendly bridesmaid dress that’s chic and can be worn again. Now that’s a tall order.

If you are a bride that is not overly concerned with uniformity, consider choosing a dress style that is more practical for everyday use, or hand out information to your bridesmaids on where they can donate the dress to after the wedding. Instead of making your best friends wear a certain dress, pick a color scheme and ask them to wear a dress they already own that matches your color. It will cost them much less and they are more likely to wear this new favorite dress of theirs again.

Here are the top three ways you can repurpose your bridesmaids dress and get the most for your money while helping the environment:

Photo via Brideonline.com.au

Each week, we feature music recommendations from Scratch Weddings, the nation's leader with the best wedding DJs at affordable prices. This week's post comes from DJ Ed-O, a musical star quickly rising to the top of the Philadelphia music scene. Through his years as a popular DJ in radio and the best in nightlife, he's cultivate a unique musical style that he calls his "audio fingerprint”. Couples are drawn to DJ Ed-O's eclectic musical prowess and personal approach to spinning weddings. "Providing the bride and groom with an experience that exceeds their expectations is the highlight of any wedding. If I can capture some of the feelings and energy that they value, then it helps me do a better job selecting the best music for their special day.”

Photo Credit: Erin Lindsey Images

The wedding rehearsal dinner is an occasion where the bride and groom can relax with their families and close friends — and forget about all of the stress associated with planning such a monumental event. Knowing that the wedding party needs to let loose, a great DJ plays music that stimulates everyone to have a great time and gets them pumped up about the wedding the next day.

Guest Blogger: Nathaniel Neubauer, owner of Contemporary Catering
Nathaniel’s mom says it best: “When Nathaniel was turning three, I asked him what he wanted for his third birthday. He said, ‘Quiche.’” Ever since, Nathaniel’s love for food has never been far from reach. With his presence, Contemporary Catering quickly became a major contender in the Los Angeles catering industry. From overseeing production to designing a nine-course tasting menu with five-star service, Nathaniel’s dedication to his clients and his company is unparalleled.

Can’t decide whether to have a buffet or sit-down dinner at your wedding reception? Well, you really can’t go wrong with either option, and don't be afraid to custom-create your dining experience. At Contemporary Catering, we’ve seen couples choose to have a served salad course to help bring everyone together for a special moment of the evening (i.e. toasts or a first dance), and then go into a buffet-style meal.

There are many factors to keep in mind when planning for a buffet wedding reception: