Blog Posts by BRIDES

Barrie Gillies, BRIDES

The average couple spends almost 10 percent of their budget on the wedding photos. Here's how to make the most of every penny.

1. "Consider hiring an established photographer's associate," says San Francisco event planner Amy Nichols. "Since he's building a port­folio, chances are he'll charge less."

2. "Everyone wants to feel valued," says Spencer Lum, principal photographer at New York's Friday Sunday. "If you take the time to make a genuine personal connection with your photographer, he's more likely to be flexible about the cost."

Related: 10 Shocking Secrets of the First Year of Marriage

3. Some high-end photographers offer registries. Choose one, then have your parents spread the word about how much you'd love contribu­tions to your wedding-photo fund.

4. "You're not going to get an eight-thousand-dollar fee down to three thousand," says Nichols. Find a pro in your price range, and save the negotiating for extra ser­vices (like

BRIDES magazine

A step-by-step tutorial on how to achieve Jennifer Lopez's sophisticated, sun-kissed look on your wedding day.

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48 Creative Wedding Flower Ideas

Celebrity-Inspired Wedding Hair and Makeup

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CN Digital StudioBRIDES magazine

Alrighty, full disclosure: Eileen Daspin, author of The Manhattan Diet (Wiley, April 2012), is a long-time pal of mine. Her book is a tell-all of sorts about how New York City women stay skinny. I pestered Eileen for some bite-sized, stay-slim info nuggets specifically for brides-to-be, and here's what she said.
If you had to pick five top tips from your book for brides-to-be...

1. Buy a pair of sneakers and use them. One way Manhattan women stay slim is that they walk everywhere. It's a way of sneaking in exercise so you don't notice it. Walking will also get you in a state of mind to do more rigorous exercise.

Related: Have You Seen the Obama's Wedding Photos?

2. Eat foods that taste good to you, but not too much of them. Portions today are immense. Even coffee servings are obscene. Try less of better quality. Instead of a grande cappuccino at a chain, get a small macchiato at an arty coffeeshop. In New York, I love Sant Ambroeus. The coffee there tastes so much

BRIDES magazine

A pimple on yearbook picture day? Disaster. A pimple on your wedding day? We can't even imagine such a horror. To keep you clean and clear in the weeks leading up to your wedding, follow these dos and don'ts from leading Manhattan dermatologist Debra Jaliman MD, author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist (St. Martin's Press).

DOs:
Start early! Start taking care of your skin months in advance so that you are in tip-top shape for your wedding day.

Related: The Ultimate Wedding Dress Guide

Develop a skin care regimen: Make sure you have a skin care regimen which addresses your main concerns. Everyone's skin is different, but no matter what time of year, everyone should use a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF 30 to block UVA and UVB rays.

Ditch the fake lashes and grow your own instead: Fake eyelashes are a terrible idea and dyeing your lashes is even worse. Instead, start using prescription Latisse four months before the

BRIDES magazine

Bring down the booze bill-not the party-with these expert cost cutters.

1. Create a specialty cocktail to stretch pricey liquor, says planner Marcey Brownstein. The same bottle of vodka will yield 50 white-orchid martinis (vodka, white cranberry, lime juice, triple sec) but only 25 vodka tonics-which, though tasty, are less festive.

2. Trim the costs of a full bar by skimping on less-requested spirits such as scotch, bourbon, rum and tequila, suggests Shai Tertner of Shiraz Events. Whatever you do, stock up on vodka and gin.

Related: The Ultimate Wedding Dress Guide

3. Instead of a champagne toast, have guests raise a glass of whatever they're already drinking.

4. Embrace beer cocktails, says Tertner, who favors the tailored cerveza-a mix of Blue Moon beer, pink-grapefruit vodka, Campari,and orange wheels.

5. Ditch hard liquor altogether. A beer-and-wine bar will slash staffing costs. Keep things interesting by curating a list of seasonal beers and local ales.

6.

BRIDES magazineBy Phillip B. Crook, BRIDES magazine

A peplum silhouette seems daunting if you're unsure the style will flatter your shape, but as both Michelle Williams and Tina Fey proved at the 2012 Oscars, there is a right way to wear the look, even on a petite frame.

Related: The Ultimate Wedding Dress Guide

Brides should first look to Badgley Mischka's pleated take on peplums (center), which also features a crumbcatcher ruffle along the bustline. Tina's custom black Carolina Herrera gown (left) offers a more streamlined approach to the style, with a sleek skirt and a simple strapless neckline. Michelle Williams, on the opposite end of the spectrum, punches things up in a vibrant coral Louis Vuitton gown (right) that uses streams of textured fabric across the skirt to balance the peplum's added volume.

Related: 10 Shocking Secrets of the First Year of Marriage

So don't let folds of fabric hovering above your hips scare you away. The key to all three looks is the

More than a few Hollywood starlets walked the red carpet at the 2012 Oscars wearing gowns that could easily double as wedding dresses. Here are our favorite looks.

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America's Most Beautiful Wedding Cakes

Hot New Bridal Hairstyles

The Year's Best Wedding Gowns

Courtesy of ABCBRIDES magazineThat Courteney Cox and Josh Hopkins' characters got engaged (under a tipi of toilet paper?) on last night's third-season premiere of Cougar Town isn't all that surprising, considering the regularity of scripted proposals. What's really interesting is why.

Related: The Ultimate Wedding Dress Guide

"To me, it's a survival battle," show co-creator Bill Lawrence told The Hollywood Reporter. "The reality is that surprising people with an engagement is not as good, promotion-wise, as telling people there is going to be an engagement."

Related: 10 Shocking Secrets of the First Year of Marriage

Before fans even tuned in for the show's long-awaited return to ABC, details of the 15-episode plot-beginning with an engagement and ending with a wedding for lead couple Jules and Grayson-had already been revealed in recent press by Lawrence and his creative partner, Kevin Biegel. Unconventional, maybe, but "the way TV works, there are 25,000 households, that's it, that make up the Nielsen