Past Articles

Popular songs and tips for how to trip the light fantastic during your first dance

By Anna Sachse - CTW Features

Trying to select the song for your first dance as husband and wife is a difficult task. Make it too cheesy (pretty much anything in a Disney movie) and it won’t ring true; make it too trendy (Beyonce’s “Single Ladies – Put a Ring on It”) and you’ll regret it a year later; make it too silly (Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”) and it will seem like you’re not taking the moment seriously. This is the song that will symbolize your relationship and future life together, and as if that weren’t enough pressure, all eyes will be on you while you dance to it.

Here the experts weigh in on how to pick a romantic tune that truly rocks.

Desirable Ditties

For a list of your fellow brides’ top 75 picks for the first dance song, pick up the May/June issue of Brides magazine. Compiled from readers’ favorites, the list is an alphabetical assortment of old chestnuts that have withstood the test of time (think Etta James’ “At Last”) and new and interesting favorites (think ballads by U2 and Big&Rich), across all genres. It’s a mix of classics and contemporary, but the common thread is that they all tend toward the sentimental.

How to Create the Perfect Sanctuary

By Anna Sachse - CTW Features

If all the rooms in your home, the one you probably spend the most time in is your bedroom. Hermès place settings and Waterford goblets may be a bit more glamorous, but you’re more likely to appreciate luxurious sheets, fluffy comforters and the perfect pillow every single day. Here’s what to look for when crafting the ultimate bedroom.

The Scene

“A bedroom should be cozy and welcoming … it should be designed as a place to sleep and a place to entertain each other,” says Maria McBride, wedding style director for Brides magazine and author of “Party Basics for New Nesters” (Collins Living, 2008). To that end, the best boudoirs are designed like a fine hotel suite – the television is behind closed doors, the treadmill resides in the basement and the focus is on superior bedding.

Before you set out to find the gown, you need to make sure you’re properly prepared

By Mirielle Cailles - CTW Features

The perfect wedding gown may be a bride’s most important detail for her big day, but finding it might not be the easiest task. From shapes and sizes, to silhouettes and sheen, wedding-gown shopping isn’t a cakewalk. To help calm your nerves, check out what gown expert Jocelyn Davis-George has to say about this wedding to-do.

Owner of Grace Bridal Boutique in Excelsior, Minn., Davis-George will typically start a consultation by gathering more information about the bride’s wedding day. With details like the venue and church, she likes to get a better idea of what the bride is picturing her day to look like. From there, she’ll run the bride through the gowns in her boutique, explaining the dresses and what kind of silhouette they are suited for.

“As far as a silhouette and a dress I really prefer that the bride is open-minded,” Davis-George says. “You might love a mermaid gown but when you see it on a model who’s 6’2” and 100 pounds; it may look good on her but you may not have the body to pull it off.”

Money’s on everyone’s mind, which is why designers are creating chic bridesmaid dresses fit for any budget

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller - CTW Features

It’s no secret that the recession blues have taken a toll on wedding budgets, perhaps bursting bridal dreams of wearing a designer gown. While some brides may settle for less for their wedding day, they can still outfit their bridal entourage in chic ensembles. More and more designers, from Vera Wang to Alvina Valenta, are offering their craftsmanship in the form of bridesmaid dresses, elevating the look of the entire bridal party.

Nowhere was that more evident than last year when Jenna Bush chose designer Lela Rose to outfit her 14 attendants in crinkle-silk chiffon backed with cotton voile for Bush’s May 10, 2008 wedding.

Monique Lhuillier is among the newest entrants into the category. The Los Angeles-based line, a celebrity favorite, launched a bridesmaid collection in April, offering eight styles made from silk chiffon and silk dupioni in a range of colors, including watermelon, platinum, merlot and sunflower.

If the wedding has you at wit's end, call on your coordinator to step in and quell the stress

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller - CTW Features

Out-of-touch grooms. Overbearing mother-in-laws. Troublesome bridesmaids.

It’s enough to send a bride-to-be over the edge. Keeping the peace during the wedding-planning process can often take nerves of steel. If eating right and exercising aren’t enough to mitigate those pre-nuptial headaches, brides have another alternative: they can turn to their wedding coordinator for some advice.

The call of duty for wedding coordinators extends beyond floral selections and linen options. Offering diplomacy services is all part of that fee brides pony up. A wedding coordinator can call that meddlesome mother-in-law, can provide ad hoc therapy sessions and like a concierge, deal with last-minute vendor cancellations.

Couples have a bevy of easy eco-friendly options for making their weddings stylish and environmentally conscious

By Anna Sachse - CTW Features

Whether your goal is a few simple substitutions or a more advanced overhaul, here are eight ways to go green on your big day.

Waste less paper

Simple – Use tree-free or recycled paper for everything from invites to programs to seating cards, says Danielle Venokur, founder and principle planner for dvGreen, a sustainable event design company in New York.

Advanced – “Revisit traditions with a modern eye to avoid paper altogether wherever it’s appropriate for your particular event,” says Venokur. This can mean anything from providing a single seating chart instead of multiple cards, to using e-mail invites for events like the bachelor/ette parties, bridal showers or a casual rehearsal dinner.

Brides can make a statement – and beat the chill – with jackets, boleros and stoles

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller - CTW Features

Trench coats, swing cardigans and capelets are heating up the women’s contemporary outerwear market. Coats have become the must-have daily accessory in wardrobes and the look has found interpretation in the bridal market.

Designers are going beyond the simple shrug to give brides a cover-up. Incorporating textured tulle, organza and chiffon, they’re adding frothy boleros, statement-making coats and gauzy stoles to add the finishing touch to the bridal ensemble.

“Designers are getting more creative as brides are trying to be as unique as possible on their wedding day,” says Amanda Stanger, bridal consultant at Signature Bridal, a salon in Rancho Mirage, Calif. “Brides are pretty open to any types of jackets, long and short.”

Use unique table themes to set the tone for your party

By Melissa Tussing - CTW Features

The table is the first impression of your reception. It’s the tip off of a night of dancing, eating and celebrating with friends and family.

So give your guests a great welcoming with unique table themes.

It’s fun for you – and fun for your guests when they’ve run out of things to talk about. Try these ideas:

Vineyard

Do you and your groom-to-be have an appreciation for the finer things in life? Organize your tables with a vineyard theme, says Elizabeth Hendricks, event coordinator for Oh How Charming in Los Angeles. “You can get different types of wine for each table,” Hendricks says. “You can have a pinot grigio table and then choose other wines to make up the other ‘vineyards.’”

A look at wedding decorum, then and now

By Anna Sachse - CTW Features

Changing times mean changing etiquette, right?

Because the answer is a decided “sometimes yes and sometimes no,” here’s some expert insight into what’s en vogue in wedding etiquette today.

Paper Invites

Despite the dominance of electronic communication in our society, if you want to avoid looking tacky, it appears that the classic paper invitation, reply card and especially the thank-you note are still a must, even for less traditional weddings, says Sharon Naylor, author of “The Essential Guide to Wedding Etiquette” (Sourcebooks Casablanca, 2005). If your concern is the environment, there are plenty of recycled paper options, or if you’re on a tight budget, check out discount online retailers or pick up affordable DIY materials from a local store.

New lines of slimming undergarments are helping grooms find their peak physique – no gym required

By Nola Sarkisian-Miller - CTW Features

The emergence of the male shapewear market was bound to happen. Turns out, like women, men have vanity issues and don’t mind using highly engineered T-shirts and trunks for a little squeeze here and lift there to hide love handles and beer bellies. Companies such as Equmen, Spanx and Underworks have rolled out products in the last year to a receptive and, apparently, eager consumer.

“People have been asking us for years for Spanx for Men ... We even get e-mails from men who have been wearing women's Spanx to improve their appearance and for back support,” says Maggie Adams, a public relations manager for Atlanta-based Spanx. “We kept getting more and more requests and realized it was time to take it seriously and create something for the guys.”