Blog Posts by Bridal Guide

Leading up to her televised wedding special, Nick & Vanessa's Dream Wedding, Vanessa Minnillo tweeted about the top 10 tips she learned while wedding planning. Check them out-plus our take on her tips.

vanessa minnillo wedding tip

We agree! It's so hard to tell from seeing a dress on a hanger what it'll look like on you. And you may find yourself falling in love with a princess ballgown when you originally had your mind set on a sleek sheathe. Need some ideas? Check out our gown gallery, where you can browse hundreds of designer dresses!

We're sure her matron of honor thanked her for that! When incorporating colors, one idea we love is to choose flowers that contrast the color of the dress. It makes both colors stand out in a beautiful way.

So true! These days, grooms expect to have a larger hand in the wedding plans. My husband was much more opinionated about our wedding plans than I thought he would be. And our Budget Guru's fiancé has even blogged for us about his perspective on

bridal guide chick fil a cow and groomsmenTake a minute to finish laughing... yes, 28-year-old Ben Skelton did actually choose a restaurant mascot as his best man in his upcoming wedding. "I've already told my best man that he's going to be my second-string best man," Skelton told the New York Daily News. "I just haven't told him that he got beat out by a cow" (Ouch). The managers at a Chick-fil-A in Concord, N.C., are providing Skelton with his bovine best man, who will even don a cow tuxedo that the fast food chain designed last year for a marketing program during the Oscars.

Apparently, Skelton isn't the first restaurant groupie to pull a stunt like this. One ultra-enthusiastic customer drove over 3,000 miles just to visit every Chipotle in his state, while another man is working on a smartphone app to help fellow McDonald's lovers track down the McRib sandwich. At a time when the economy is forcing people to choose carefully when and where they'll eat out, companies crave these "lunatic customers" whose extreme

Venue-hunting? Don't sign that contract before reading these savvy money-saving tips from Bridal Guide's web producer (and real bride) Stefania Sainato!

The Venetian: The venue we ended up booking!

1. DON'T rule out venues automatically: Unless a potential venue is historic and world-renowned, or your name is David Tutera, it's pretty darn near impossible to guesstimate how much it's going to set you back in the long run based on photos alone. Give yourself free reign to visit any and all wedding locations that pique your interest-whether they're must-sees or just maybes-if you have the time and aren't getting hitched in 6 months or less. When we walked into The Palazzo Room at The Venetian, a venue in Garfield, NJ, Jason nearly passed out when he saw the sky-high ceilings and glittering chandeliers. But when we started to comparison-shop and crunched some numbers, we realized it matched up with many other venues in price, but actually offered more food options and

The best part of your wedding just may happen after the guests go home and you slip out of your fancy clothes. After all, it's your wedding night and the two of you want to be alone together. You want to make it special, but you don't want to burden it with too-high expectations.

"Today, there seems to be more pressure to make this night amazing and to do something that's 'wow'-perhaps because many people live together before getting married," says Ava Cadell, Ph.D., a sex and relationship therapist in Los Angeles and the author of 12 Steps to Everlasting Love (Peters Publishing). "But you don't have to make a big production for it to be a wonderful time. There are a lot of little things that couples can do." Here, some simple ways to make your wedding night memorable.

1) Flirt with each other during the wedding. Sure, you're busy attending to guests, but take the time to meet each other's gaze, touch each other's arm or hand and steal some kisses. These little things keep

More from Bridal Guide:

Although you might like to share good news when it comes to job offers or scoring that fab pair of shoes, it can cause trouble when your news is about your wedding. Here, the do's and don'ts of social networking to help you avoid any pre-wedding blunders.

We call this rule number one in wedding netiquette! Once you've told your nearest and dearest in person or via phone, there's no harm in posting pictures of the ring or even the actual proposal to share your excitement.

Related: What You Need to Do Right After You Get Engaged

An invitation to join your bridal party is a statement of how much you value a friend or family member. Rather than take away from what should be a memorable moment, give your gal pal a call. Or better yet, invite her to lunch or for drinks to pop the big question. "We are losing touch with face-to-face

Maybe you're not a fan of cake. Or maybe you love cake so much that you can't choose just one type. Whatever the reason, couples today are looking beyond the traditional wedding cake when it comes to choosing reception desserts. Here, five options we love.

Cupcakes are a fun alternative to wedding cake. And they have a real advantage when it comes to picky eaters: You can mix and match a wide variety of flavors so that there's something for everyone.

Another plus: Cupcake towers become instant décor and focal points of your reception room. "We typically work closely with the event coordinator to create something cohesive to the overall theme through color, aesthetic and quantity," says Jenine Cravatt, president of Cupcakes Couture of Manhattan Beach, CA. "This includes not only designing the desserts in a specific color and design, but also incorporating props, linens and stationery pieces that fit in with the overall feel of the wedding."

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