Vera Wang’s Most Expensive Gown

NEW YORK, March 20 (UPI) — Famed New York fashion designer Vera Wang says the dress she created for Jennifer Lopez’s canceled wedding to Ben Affleck was the most expensive she ever made.

Wang discusses the fabulous garment on an episode of CNBC’s “Conversations with Michael Eisner” set to air Monday.

Asked what the most expensive wedding dress anybody has ever asked her to design was, Wang told Eisner: “Probably the most expensive — dress I have ever done was a dress that — actually didn’t get worn at the wedding but was (designed during) — Jennifer Lopez’s first engagement. Engagement, wow, it’s really — her — yes, it was her engagement to Ben Affleck.”

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Entertainment/2008/03/20/j_lo_wedding_dress_wangs_most_expensive/5152/

Custom Proposals Can Cost Up To $10,000

The New York Times recently reported men go to great lengths to propose to their girlfriends. Some men are enlisting an event planner to create an amazing setting for a proposal. These services aren’t cheap – these out-of-this-world proposals can run men up to $10,000.

The American Express Platinum Card Concierge, consultants who help fulfill card member requests, anywhere in the world, 24-hours a day offers a similar service to members and has noticed a trend in marriage proposals.

http://blogs.timesunion.com/kristi/?p=1685

Another Way To Use Your Wedding Dress

 In traditional American society, some conventionalists worship the institution of marriage. But in San Francisco, there are some men and women who rue the sanctity of marriage by dressing up in tattered wedding gowns and saying “I do” to a Saturday afternoon pub crawl.The San Francisco Cacophony Society hosted its 10th annual Brides of March Pub Crawl on March 15, which began its congregation at Tunnel Top bar on Stockton and Bush streets. By 3 p.m., hundreds of male and female brides were jam-packed in the two-story neighborhood bar, creating a traffic jam in the surrounding area.

Many of the brides pounded Irish Car Bombs as they prepared to embark on a 12-stop pub crawl that would roll over well into the late evening and continue all night, making its last stop back at Tunnel Top.

“San Franciscans love to indulge in their alter-egos,” said Joe Schwan, 41. “That’s why San Francisco has more dress-up events and parades than anywhere else in the world. We all dream about being something that we’re not, and dressing up for events like this is how we make that alter ego come to life.”

http://xpress.sfsu.edu/archives/arts/010652.html

At least these gals get to wear their dresses twice. To each her own!

See also inexpensive wedding gowns

USB Rings Are A Girls Best Friend?

Engagement rings have always been able to bring soon-to-be married couples closer together but one German designer has taken things a step further.

Jennifer Flume has come up with concept rings which contain a USB device, allowing husband and wife to share data wherever and whenever they want.

The Swarovski Crystal Engagement Ring allows wearers to store pictures of their loved one, romantic poems and any other sort of data they feel they need to carry around on their fingers.

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=123194&in_page_id=34

I think most women would definitely prefer a diamond!

See also discount engagement rings

Green Wedding Planning Ideas

Instead of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, Kerry Hawk is adding green to the mix.

Hawk, owner of Blue Sky Events, started coordinating green weddings two years ago after a couple requested an eco-friendly wedding.

“I learn a lot from my brides,” Hawk said, “and I encourage others to think about it.”

Blue Sky Events will have a booth at Friday’s Green Business Expo at MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa. Attendees can learn about other local green services and products at the expo, which will feature a Green University, where speakers will discuss topics relating to business and the environment.

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20080320/NEWS/17332351

Naked Weddings

As nude recreation grows in popularity, weddings sans clothes are also gaining steam, in private clubs, on cruise ships and in any available open field.

On a sunny, August day in the Berkshire Mountains, 600 guests stood waiting to witness Pamela and Lee tie the knot. But as the bride walked down the aisle, no one marveled at her wedding dress.

She wasn’t wearing one. And Lee, her husband shortly to be, wore little more than a top hat and bowtie. As for the audience, some people wore hats and others had shawls around their shoulders, but most did not dress at all that morning. Only 12 were fully clothed.

“We worked for many months to craft a ceremony that was very expressive of our thoughts and our beliefs,” Pamela said. Having a nude wedding was “so expressive of who we are,” she said. “It’s so natural, it’s so unpretentious.”

Pamela and Lee, both in their 50s, are part of a growing number of nudists opting to have nude weddings to complement their lifestyle. As nudists, they eat, sleep, exercise, and sometimes work in the raw. For them, nude weddings are simply a natural extension of their everyday life.

http://greatreporter.com/mambo/content/view/1626/1/]

Oh my!  I don’t think that grandma would want to come to one of those.

Get the Most from Your Wedding Photos

No two weddings are the same, so why do so many look exactly alike in pictures?

Thinking outside the box when it comes to your bridal photography can make all the difference when it comes to capturing the memories.

“The more involved you are, the more personal it becomes,” says Susie Coelho, author of “Style Your Dream Wedding.” The book, published this week, features real wedding pictures – some cinematic, some candid and others downright silly. The overall effect seems more natural and true to the actual day and less like your great-aunt Bertha’s reception.

Amy Squires, a California-based photographer whose photo graces the cover of the book, suggests meeting with your shooterin advance to make sure everyone gets along, and to clue them in on what to expect. “I know exactly what to shoot – I know you want photos with your dad; this is something that we do every weekend,” she says. “But is there something unexpected that is going to happen that I don’t know about? Is there some sort of ritual or some sort of surprise that I need to be aware of?”

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2008/03/09/2008-03-09_capturing_your_wedding_in_a_truly_unique.html

See also wedding photography tips

Choosing the Right Wedding Flowers

New York — A wedding is one of the most important events of a person’s life. Unfortunately, the planning can be one of the most confusing. From venues to food to music to dresses, the decisions for the “perfect day” are endless.

And then comes the flowers, the major focal point of the occasion. However, picking wedding day flowers can be a source of gratification, not stress, as long as you know what to look for.

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080309/LIFE/803090304

See also wedding flower ideas

Marriage Advice from the Church of England

There was a time when the vicar’s role in a marriage stopped at the church gate after the confetti was thrown. 

Now, however, clergy are to offer advice on everything from financial planning to who should do the ironing. They will even venture into the bedroom.

Worried by the high numbers of divorces, the Church of England has produced its guide to the perfect marriage, called Growing Together, to help couples prepare properly for the rigours of modern marriage.

In 120 pages, the guide advises couples to make priorities among their goals in life, including sex, children and sport, even suggesting that they consider who does the cooking and who cleans the lavatory.

It tells prospective husbands they must learn to improve their capacity to listen, while prospective wives need to be honest about how they intend to spend their money. It also says the couple should talk openly about their love life.

“Sex, far from being naughty, is something holy and wonderful and something to be celebrated. Like any other skill, it has to be learned, and their task is to be each other’s teacher,” it says.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/09/nmarriage109.xml

Straight Talk Commentary on a Bridal Show

This past weekend I went to the annual bridal expo with a friend who is getting married soon. As my wedding was many years ago, I was astounded to see how far the bridal industry has come. Or maybe I should say I was astounded to see how far the bridal industry will go (to separate people from their money, that is).

As we walked amongst the booths, I found myself thinking that this expo was a microcosm of what’s wrong with our economy and the “spend at all costs” mentality in this country. At one booth we were cheerfully informed that the average wedding now costs $28,000. The consultant went on to explain that this sum of money would buy you an average wedding. To have a wedding that people will remember and talk about for years, the bride should plan to spend upwards of $35,000. All I could think was, “Holy cow! Thirty-five grand is like two decent cars or a very nice down payment on a house.”

We journeyed on. Two national banks had booths selling wedding financing. Right there on the expo floor you could venture into a private cubicle, talk to a banker and come out with a loan to cover that $28,000 (or more) wedding. Or a high limit credit card. Whichever “works best for your unique wedding.” Who knows what interest rate you would get, but that’s not the point. These banks are selling the once in a lifetime experience and happily feeding into the idea that money is no object. One bank’s signage read, “Let us help you make your wedding day dreams come true.” It should read, “Let us help you go into debt for this one day so that your future decisions will be hampered by your wedding day debt load.”

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/03/08/102051_financial-lessons-learned-at-the-bridal-show.html