Newlyweds share tips for memorable wedding day

For many newlyweds that moment of saying I do was preceded by countless dizzy spells and stumbling steps, bouts with butterflies and clashing color schemes, as well as panic attacks over changing checklists and growing guest-lists.
Casey Baum, who married the love of her life, Jeb Baum, at Owen Farm in Ashland City recently took time to reflect on her experience.
"My biggest concern at our wedding was to make sure everyone had a good time," Casey said. "We kept our ceremony as short as possible so that we could spend the majority of the time with our friends and family celebrating the wonderful moment. We also made sure there were plenty of food, drinks and dancing so that everyone would have a memorable time as we became husband and wife."
Casey said she and Jeb wanted everybody to be involved in their wedding as much as possible, but noted that they were fortunate to have family and friends that wanted to just be there and to help out if needed.
"The wedding is for the bride and groom — not anyone else," she said. "So overall, the feeling of the bride and groom need to be considered over everything else."
For Casey and Jeb, the wedding location was a critical consideration, reflecting something moving and personal about the couple.
"We chose Owen Farm because it overlooks the river that we very first met on," she said. "My husband and I have a love of boating, canoeing, fishing and anything else outdoors. The water and the county atmosphere of the beautiful Owen Farms was a reflection of who we are."
Casey believes that personal touches are vital to a moving, memorable wedding ceremony that makes it unique.
"Every single thing we did was personalized," she said. "Our ceremony referenced our love for the water, outdoors and loyalty to one another for the rest of our lives. We displayed black and white photos of our parents at each of their weddings, had my mother's wedding dress as a decorative accent, and had a collage made of baby pictures of Jeb and me."
Sticking to tradition, Casey wanted to ensure that Jeb would not see her in her wedding dress until the ceremony was underway.
"The look on his face when he first saw me in my dress is something I will never forget," she said. "It meant more for me to see that expression at our ceremony with all of our friends and family."
Casey offered several additional pieces of advice for planning a wedding.
"My main tip is to not stress," she said. "At the end of that day, no matter what happens, you will be husband and wife and that is all that should matter."
She also added the importance of not being afraid to ask for help.
When it comes to the bridesmaids and the groomsmen, choose people you hope to have in your life for many years to come.
"To me, the most overlooked part of the wedding is the pictures," she said. "At the end of the day, the decorations get taken down, the cake is eaten, the music is gone, and all you are left with are the pictures that were taken. Our wedding photos mean so much to us because they capture such a wonderful time in our lives."
Also, it's not so much the budget as those helping hands from the heart that will serve to make a memorable wedding event.

"As long as you are smart about what you spend it on, money should not be an issue for your wedding," she said. "This is the biggest day of your life. It is the beginning of your life as husband and wife."

Pharaoh's to make Mardi Gras history on Saturday with 'fairy tale' wedding during ball tableau

Mobile Mardi Gras societies, and ruling associations, have been crowning kings and queens for more than a century, and doing so in the most lavish fashions imaginable. But for the first time in known Carnival history, a man and woman will be united in matrimony during a society tableau.
On Saturday night, after the Pharaoh's 30th parade through the streets of Mobile, Pharaoh XXX - otherwise known as "King Dan" - will marry his fiancée, and this year's Queen of the Nile, Sonja Lomax McGraw. Their wedding, which is thematically based on Verdi's opera "Aida," will be the crescendo of the evening's festivities.
In an interview with the Press-Register/AL.com, the soon-to-be newlyweds said their wedding was originally intended to have a Medievil theme, and be held at the Saenger Theater. But serendipity reigned, and two years after becoming engaged at a Pharaoh's luau, the society that has been King Dan's home for 17 years will provide the framework for their nuptials.
"Being an event coordinator, I can't just walk down the aisle," Dan said. "There are expectations."
The king said his events business - a "one-stop shop (that can do) everything except flowers and food - keeps him out of town on almost every holiday, so Mardi Gras was a perfect home for their wedding. The "blended" family includes four children, all of whom will participate in Saturday's wedding, he said.
"Being an event coordinator, I can't just walk down the aisle," King Dan said. "There are expectations.""To be the first monarchs to get married, I'm ecstatic," Dan said. "It has become very, very theatrical.
"I wanted to go over the top with just about everything."
The wedding will include the entrance of family members to their own signature songs, and the rings being delivered in an ark by the society president, he said. Presentation of the bride by her father, as well as the traditional dances after the ceremony will be included, as well.
"Sonya and I have designed everything around it, it's still Mardi Gras, but we've thrown these wedding innuendos in there too," Dan said.
Considering who is officiating the ceremony, there's no doubt about the wedding's ties to Carnival. Uniting Dan and Sonja will be Rev. Wayne Dean, who is celebrating his own 30th anniversary this year, as Chief Slacabamorinico. "Ol' Slac," one of his Merry Widows and the claret-clad Mistresses will participate in the wedding, Dan said.
"In every aspect of the wedding, we want it to be Carnival," he said.
For Sonja, having such a unique ceremony brings a dream to reality that started when she was a little girl, watching the royal wedding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
"This is what I've always dreamed of, and even bigger," McCraw said. "Every little girl wants to have a fairy tell wedding.
"Well, this is a fairy tale."
She said she wouldn't be surprised if other mystic couples rush to follow the Pharaohs' lead during future Carnivals, which puts even more pressure on the originals.

"We know that people are going to make it bigger, time and time again, but we really want ours to be the benchmark for it," McGraw said.

Backstreet Boy Howie D. Surprises Florida Couple at Their Wedding

A Florida couple got the surprise of a lifetime when a Backstreet Boy crashed their wedding.
“Even now we’re still a little shocked,” the groom, Ryan Kastovich, 25, told ABC News today.
Kastovich and his bride, A’riel, 24, were in the middle of their wedding reception Saturday at the Front Street Civic Center in Melbourne when they were handed a letter from the Backstreet Boys' management team.
The letter, congratulating the couple on their marraige, was signed by four of the five Backstreet Boys’ members.
Minutes later, the fifth member of the group whose name was missing, Howie Dorough, walked into the reception.
"I’m freaking out and looking back and forth. I just thought, ‘No way,’” Kastovich said.
“I said to myself, ‘Is this real life? Is this happening to us right now?,’ and it was,” A’riel told ABC News.
Dorough found out about the couple’s love of everything Backstreet Boys after they posted aYouTube video in October inviting the band to their wedding.
“I was thinking people do prom proposals and get responses and they’re [Backstreet Boys] important to our relationship so I’ll try,” A’riel said. “It’ll be a great opportunity and memory for us.”
The couple’s YouTube video invitation was covered by, Rob Landers, a reporter for Florida Today, and spotted by a close friend of Dorough’s.
The friend, Tom Biddix, reached out to a local DJ who then contacted Landers to get the couple’s wedding information.
“I heard from the band’s management team on Tuesday, spoke with them on Wednesday, talked to Tom on Thursday and then had conference call with Howie and Tom on Friday,” Landers told ABC News of the short timeline to coordinate the surprise.
The only guests at the wedding who had any idea about the surprise were A’riel’s parents and one bridesmaid.
"They kept it secret for about five days which is amazing," said A'riel.
“I think they were going to faint at that time,” another wedding guest, Kastovich’s grandfather, John Kastovich, told ABC News. “It was incredible. Nobody had any idea.”
The Melbourne-based couple wanted the Backstreet Boys to sing at their wedding because they claim their lifelong mutual love for the band was the “spark” in their relationship.
“That was kind of the spark when we met,” A’riel said. “As Ryan being a straight male and saying he loved them, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? I love them,” and that was it.”
Dorough serenaded the couple with A’riel’s favorite song, “All I Have to Give,” and even gave the groom a chance to join in.
“He asked me to finish off the song and it was only two words but I felt like the sixth Backstreet Boy that never existed,” Ryan said.
After posing for a few more pictures with wedding guests, Dorough left the wedding reception just as quickly as he had arrived, leaving near-speechless wedding guests and newlyweds in his wake.
“The best man and maid of honor speeches were after that and they were like, ‘How do we top that?,’” A’riel recalled.

“We’re so happy,” Ryan said. “To get married to your best friend and then to have Howie be there, I don’t even know what to say."

One-stop wedding wonderland at Southern Utah Wedding Showcase

Before saying those two little words, “I do,” Southern Utah brides need four little words: Southern Utah Wedding Showcase.
This annual one-stop-shop wedding extravaganza returns to the Dixie Center St. George, 1835 S. Convention Center Drive in St. George, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will be chock-full of what brides-to-be want the most.
“It’s a one-stop shop and gives a bride a feel for what they want for their wedding,” Cristina Zollinger, owner of the Southern Utah Wedding Showcase, said. “It helps them find a planner and have a face-to-face encounter with them.”
There will be prize giveaways at this year’s showcase, including a 2-carat diamond ring and a full wedding package worth $35,00, which features a handmade dress worth $3,000; a video service to capture the winner’s wedding on film; wedding photography, including engagement photos, bridals and day-of photography; invitation printing; a wedding venue; flowers; a wedding planner; and more.
The showcase will also feature three fashion shows, including a display of styles from the new Men’s Wearhouse in the Red Cliffs Mall. There will be 75 vendors and 97 booths featuring lavish displays of products and services for the entire wedding party, Zollinger said. Top wedding merchants from Las Vegas, Southern Utah and northern Utah will be on hand to answer questions and even offer special deals that won’t be available anywhere else.
“I want to make this showcase a big deal,” Zollinger said.

Brides, grooms and planning helpers can skip the driving and virtually plan an entire wedding in one location while roaming the aisles and checking out the offers and wedding wares at the Southern Utah Wedding Showcase.

To marry in Michigan: Pick a destination wedding spot

Want to get married in a castle?
You can do it in Michigan.
Also available for your destination wedding: A bluff overlooking beautiful Torch Lake, Lake Michigan beaches, sumptuous wineries with an Old World feel — even a lighthouse.
At Castle Farms in Charlevoix — a turn of the 19th century estate built by a Chicago businessman in the style of French castles — brides and grooms can pick from five reception rooms for parties from 60 to 350 people, said Johanna Alexander, on-staff wedding planner. There's space for both indoor and outdoor weddings.
"The castle itself is really just a unique venue," she said.
A-Ga-Ming Golf Resort hosts just one wedding per weekend — a few dates are left this season — overlooking the crystal blue waters of Torch Lake for parties of 10 to 250.
"The lake is just such a great backdrop for a wedding," said Lauren Smiley, group sales manager at the resort near Traverse City.
Another draw: Lodging. "A lot of our guests want to be able to stay on site and walk to the reception and the ceremony," she said.
Here are these and other Michigan destination possibilities — but truly, with islands, beaches, woods, water and many, many quaint downtowns, the possibilities are as endless as your imagination and the proximity of caterers.
Castle Farms
Where: 5052 M-66 North, Charlevoix
What: Built in 1918 by Sears, Roebuck & Co. president Albert Loeb, it was designed by architect Arthur Heun based on stone barns and castles in Normandy. It was a working farm and in later years was used as a concert venue, among other things. Current owner Linda Mueller renovated it as an event space, and it has been hosting parties and weddings since 2005. It can accommodate weddings from 60 to 350 guests in indoor and outdoor settings.
Why: It's living the dream of a fairy-tale-castle wedding, without passports or plane tickets to Europe.

What else is there? Plenty for guests to do in and around Charlevoix, including dining, shopping, art galleries and plenty of lake and outdoor activities at nearby state parks.

LILY COSTNER : LA "FILLE DE" LA PLUS SEXY D'HOLLYWOOD ?

Elle nous avait tapés dans l'oeil en octobre 2014 lors du festival de Rome, elle récidive en ce début d'année 2015. Venue soutenir son père lors de la première de "Black Or White" le 20 janvier 2015 à Los Angeles, Lily Costner lui pique la vedette avec panache.

photo: robe de soirée chic
Qu'on se le dise, les stars d'hier sont incontestablement à l'origine des stars de demain. Si autrefois les enfants d'acteurs et chanteurs pouvaient suivre une toute autre voie que leurs géniteurs, aujourd'hui fils et filles semblent irrémédiables attirés par le feu des projecteurs.Rumer, Brooklyn, Dylan ou ici Lily Costner, voilà ceux et celles sur qui il va falloir compter dans les années à venir. En ce début d'année, c'est d'ailleurs cette dernière qui s'offre un coup d'éclat en piquant la vedette à son père, le sexy "Bodyguard" lors de la première de son propre film !
C'est accompagné de sa femme, Christine Baumgartner et de l'une de ses filles (et de ses sept enfants !), Lily, que Kevin Costner a décidé de se rendre à la projection de son nouveau film qui n'a pour l'instant pas de date de sortie prévue en France, "Black or White". Grave erreur puisque monsieur a beau être la tête d'affiche du long métrage de Mike Binder, les deux jeunes femmes l'éclipsent totalement, surtout sa fille qui fut Miss Golden Globes en 2004.
Lily Costner, une opération séduction réussie
Belle plante de 28 ans, en parfaite fille de star, Lily a connu les tapis rouges dès sa plus tendre enfance et c'est sans doute pour ça qu'elle sait comment attirer tous les regards. Place à une longue robe d'un rouge insolent regroupant quelques-unes des tendances mode du moment comme les découpes futuristes au niveau des flancs et le fendu haut sur la cuisse. Une combinaison qui permet à Lily de prendre la tête de la petite tribu des filles de les plus sexy et visiblement aussi bêtes de mode. Bien inspirée, elle complète sa tenue avec une minaudière noire coordonnée à ses escarpins.
Les cheveux lisses et brillants et les lèvres ourlées d'un rouge faisant écho à sa robe, Lily fait l'unanimité.
voir aussi: robe de soirée sexy

Celebrity wedding in Buffalo, a 'Parenthood' kiss and Trump on Rivers

Let me play gossip columnist for the day.
According to an informed source, there is going to be a celebrity wedding in Buffalo over the summer.
OK, the source doesn’t have to be anonymous.
It is Vanessa Williams’ brother, Chris Williams, who is one of the stars of the upcoming NBC comedy, "One Big Happy," produced by Ellen DeGeneres.
At a party here, I overheard Chris Williams telling another person at the party that he was a Buffalo Bills fan. So I stopped and asked why. He explained that his mother lives in Buffalo and his sister is going to be married there this summer.
Then he told me his sister is Vanessa Williams, the actress and former Miss America.
“She is excited and said we’re going to have a destination wedding and I was really excited about it,” he explained “Then she said, 'we’re having it in Buffalo in the summer.' And I said, ‘ok, that’s good.’”
His voice went into a high pitch when he said ‘that’s good,’ an indication that he was repressing his true feelings. Where was he really hoping the destination would be?
“I was hoping for someplace tropical, so Jamaica would be nice,” said Williams.
In September, Williams, 51, announced on a daytime talk show that she and Jim Skrip, a St. Bonaventure graduate who lives in Depew, made their wedding plans official a few weeks earlier.
The couple met a couple of years ago while on separate vacations in Egypt. Williams previously told The Buffalo News that she and her daughter were on a Nile cruise when she noticed another tourist wearing a Sabres shirt.
Williams said, “I went up to him and asked him, ‘Are you from Buffalo?’ ”
The two began a long distance romance. Williams lives near New York City. She said a while ago that she gets to Western New York often.
She has described Skrip as “just a nice, regular, gorgeous guy.”
Williams previously was married to her onetime manager Ramon Harvey for 10 years and to former NBA player Rick Fox for five years.
Now on to more romance.
At the same party where I met Chris Williams, I interviewed Erika Christensen, one of the stars of my favorite network TV drama, “Parenthood.” She plays Julia, who was separated from her husband Joel (Sam Jaeger) for a long time before they officially got back together in last Thursday’s moving episode.
The long-awaited final reconciliation came at a skating rink, when Joel surprised Julia by joining her and their two children. The reconciliation was sealed with a kiss.
“That was really fun,” she said, before explaining how it happened. “Actually, that wasn’t scripted that Joel kisses Julia. It was a moment, I guess. It kind of proved that it just felt right. (Sam) said, ‘it feels like that is right, doesn’t it?’ And absolutely it did. And it’s great because they needed that shot of the kids grasping that this is real and it is happening. What better way to communicate that definitively than with a kiss.”
I’ll have much more about the end of “Parenthood” – it only has two episodes left – shortly.
Donald Trump of "Celebrity Apprentice" is a reality TV star who seems to live in his own reality. So it may be tough to take his word about how special tonight’s episode of the series featuring the late Joan River is going to be.
But here’s what he said about the first of tonight's two episodes, which was taped a few days before Rivers’ tragic death: “We have an unbelievable show coming on Monday, maybe the best we’ve ever had. We’ve had some great shows. Joan Rivers, it was a big decision. Joan came back twice. She’s on two shows, and this was the first of the two. And she came back, and she was fantastic. She was strong. She was vibrant. In fact, when she left, actually, the second show, and then left my office three days before the tragedy — whatever happened, it’s a tragedy — I said, 'She’ll be around forever. She is unbelievable. Look at her.' She is so good on the show ... It’s actually the first show on Monday night.
"And we had a decision to make, do we leave her or do we not leave her? And we’re doing a show in memoriam, essentially. We’re doing two shows, but this is the first of the two, and it’s an unbelievable show, and leaving Joan in, I think it’s very inspirational because it shows — she was 83 years old, almost 84 years old — how smart, how sharp, how incredible she was, and I think a lot of people are going to see something that’s really inspirational.

“One of the things with Joan that’s so great, she won when she was 76 years old. She won ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ A lot of people forget, but actually she did a documentary. Her career was not doing well, and ... her career went through the roof after ‘Celebrity Apprentice.’ She had more strength, more brain power. I’ll never forget. We had athletes. We had a baseball player that hit 400 foot home runs. We had a wrestler. We had an MMA guy. They were exhausted after a couple weeks, and Joan was like killing. And she won and she was amazing.”

Bawdy 'Wedding Ringer' takes its tolls

For those who long for a bromantic comedy along the lines of Wedding Crashers, I Love You, Man orThe Hangover, this surprisingly sweet and intermittently funny but raunchy buddy flick might suffice (* * ½ out of four; rated R; opens Friday nationwide).
While not as hilarious as those movies, Ringer is more entertaining than expected, given the familiar territory it covers and the bawdiness of some of the gags. The high-concept premise works mostly because of the engaging chemistry between Kevin Hartand Josh Gad. Their inspired pairing makes for a raucous comedy where the occasional gentle moments don't feel manipulative or forced.
Some of the rowdier scenes drag on too long, particularly a mean-spirited football game between young and old guys, and an unfunny bit where a dog takes a bite out of a man's private parts. However, an endearing dance number featuring Gad and Hart almost makes up for the uglier, contrived scenes.
Hart is at his affable best here, not as manic or mouthy as he has been in other films. He slightly tones down his high-energy persona and it works much better for his role as Jimmy, a best man for hire who has a thriving business rescuing grooms who lack a BFF to step into the shiny shoes.
Gad is endearing and goofy as Doug, a dorky attorney who can't quite believe he landed a hottie like Gretchen (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting). As their wedding day approaches, however, Doug begins to panic. The high-maintenance Gretchen has a wedding party of seven bridesmaids. Doug will have to match them all with groomsmen. But he's a shy workaholic, without the requisite posse of pals. In fact, he doesn't even have one close friend. After exhausting a list of candidates, he learns of Jimmy's services.
Edmundo (Ignacio Serricchio) is a hoot as an ultra-flamboyant wedding planner who is in fact a tattooed former gangster. The film smartly keeps his gay status intact even when he's revealed as a tough guy posing as a mincing fop.
But that clever move gives way to several dumb ones.
Women are generally given short shrift, falling into mildly offensive stereotypes. And the movie's weakest link is the motley crew of groomsmen, who are more politically incorrect than funny. A montage of fake photos implying these guys and Doug had years' worth of wild and wacky adventures together is amusing though, even if the guys themselves are duds.
Hart's Jimmy, however, is pretty terrific. He does his homework and gives great speeches. He knows how to be the life of the wedding party. He's also a convincing actor, often working himself up into a few tears.
As expected, the toast he delivers at Doug's wedding is the most touching of all. The predictability, however, doesn't undermine the appeal.
Cloris Leachman, who plays Gretchen's grandmother, sadly is given little to do. She has just a couple lines of dialogue and is on hand mostly for a crazy, though not unfunny, sight gag.

The saving grace is the camaraderie between Hart and Gad, two talented comic actors who raise the level of a formulaic comedy to something that is both sassy and endearing.

See Maroon 5 Crash Weddings in 'Sugar' Clip

Maroon 5 channel Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn circa 2005 in the goofy clip for their latest single, "Sugar," as they surprise random brides and grooms with impromptu performances of their slinky funk-pop song. Wedding Crashers director David Dobkin helmed the clip.
"We're gonna drive across L.A. and hit every wedding we possibly can," Levine says at the beginning of the video, which was filmed on December 16th, 2014. "It's gonna be awesome."
At each venue, the film crew rushes in and sets up a massive white backdrop, as guests stare with puzzled curiosity. Once the band – in mid-performance – is revealed, the couples' reactions range from deer-in-headlights shock to hyperventilating glee.
"It was an out of body experience," Levine says of the shoot in a press release. "I had no idea I would be affected by the overwhelming reactions we received from the couples and guests. Being able to create an unforgettable experience for several people was the highlight of it all."
Dobkin, an "old friend" of the singer's, says the duo had been planning to collaborate for over a decade. "It was one of the great experiences of my career making the 'Sugar' video with Adam and the boys," he says. "Literally lightning in a bottle." The video will make its TV debut Saturday, January 17th at 9 a.m. on VH1's Top 20 Countdown.

"Sugar" is the third single from Maroon 5's fifth LP, 2014's V, following "Maps" and "Animals" – the latter of which ranked at Number 32 on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Songs of 2014 list. Meanwhile, V came in at Number 4 on our list of the year's 20 Best Pop Albums.

In a first, Tiffany uses a gay couple in a wedding ad

Brides and grooms have long seen Tiffany (TIF) and its little blue boxes as symbols of everlasting love. Now, the high-end jeweler has a new message: Love comes in many forms.
The 178-year-old company is featuring a same-sex couple in an ad campaign for the first time. In the photograph, a male couple sits on the steps of a brownstone, with the pair sharing an affectionate touch on the knee and a smile.
The image is just one of seven scenes shot by fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh for a spring ad campaign with the tag line "Will You?" The message, said spokeswoman Linda Buckley, is to reflect "a modern approach to love and romance."
"Nowadays, the road to marriage is no longer linear and true love can happen more than once with love stories coming in a variety of forms," she wrote in an email to CBS MoneyWatch.
The black-and-white ad campaign's other images feature heterosexual couples. Still, the fact that mainstream marketers such as Tiffany are including same-sex couples illustrates how Americans are increasingly embracing diversity.
Last year, Honey Maid won legions of fans with its campaign celebrating diverse families, which included biracial and gay families. While that ad drew some negative comments, the overall response was positive, with many consumers pledging to switch to the Mondelez (MDLZ) brand.
Tiffany is rolling out the campaign at a time when public support for gay marriage has reached a new high. About 55 percent of Americans support the law recognizing same-sex marriages, up from 42 percent in 2004, according to Gallup. Advocates of same-sex marriage have been winning victories in states from Alaska to New Jersey.
Younger Americans are also more likely to support same-sex marriage: 78 percent of people between 18 to 29 years old say they believe it should be legal. Given that younger people are the most likely to be in the market for engagement and wedding rings -- and would therefore notice the ads -- Tiffany may be making a smart marketing decision with its equity-supporting campaign. After all, more than half of Millennials say they support gay rights, more than any other generation, Pew found in a 2014 survey.
Gay weddings are also forecast to blossom into big business. Same-sex marriages could deliver $1.9 billion in spending in the states where they're now legal, according to a study from the UCLA School of Law and Credit Suisse.

On Monday, however, Tiffany investors were focusing far more on the company's announcement that it's lowering its profit forecast for the year ending Jan. 31 after recording disappointing holiday sales. In afternoon trading the shares were getting hammered, down more than 14 percent to $88.73.

The Dress Is Temporary, the Memories Forever

Stephanie Grimes Cornman coveted the designer wedding dress she had ogled in fashion spreads. But the price kept it out of reach — that is, until she embraced the idea that a dress, unlike a spouse, is not to have and to hold forever.
Ms. Cornman rented her gown, making it the “something borrowed” she wore down the aisle for her December wedding.
She rented a Jenny Packham silk sheath with elaborate beadwork from a website calledBorrowing Magnolia for $1,800, or 30 percent of the $6,000 for which it typically sells. The site is one of several businesses that rent wedding gowns, facilitating the practical one-time wearing of an ornate dress and making high-cost fashions accessible to women unable or unwilling to pay full price.
Ms. Cornman, a funeral director from Oklahoma City, searched the approximately 400 dresses listed on Borrowing Magnolia’s site, brands that include Monique Lhuillier, Nicole Miller and Vera Wang. For 14-day rentals, the dresses cost from $375 to $2,000, up to 85 percent off their retail prices.
Photo(Don’t be late returning them, though. For each day a dress is late, the renter pays 110 percent of the daily rental rate; in Ms. Cornman’s case, that would have been $141.)
For $99, she had three dresses mailed to her home; once she decided on the Jenny Packham, that $99 went toward the cost of the rental. The site hemmed the dress for her, per measurements she sent in.
Ms. Cornman said that renting the designer gown helped make it possible for her to afford it.“My husband had called a magazine to find out who made this dress I’d fallen in love with, but then we found out how expensive it was,” she said. “I was so glad to get it for a reasonable price, and I don’t know what I would’ve done with it again, anyway.”
To ensure that gowns like the one Ms. Cornman wore are in good condition, Borrowing Magnolia limits each dress to three rentals annually and five total, according to Ashley Steele, a founder. Sizes range from 0 to 24; alterations are permitted but must be reversible.
Some brick-and-mortar bridal boutiques have similar policies. Among them,Get the Gown, with locations in Houston and Miami, and One Night Affairin Los Angeles cater to women seeking to borrow.
“Men have been able to rent a tux, from Armani to Versace, for years,” said Jessica Berriman, a founder of Get the Gown, which opened last September and rents out, for an average $1,000 a week, dresses that typically cost $5,000 to $13,000. Among the labels on offer are Carolina Herrera, Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang. Late returns cost $50 a day.
Her customers “don’t want to buy gowns they’re going to wear once,” Ms. Berriman said. “But they’re still very particular about what they want.”With such discerning tastes driving them, some rentals may not sound like stand-alone bargains. But several shops emphasized that they catered just as much to trend-consciousness as practicality.
One Night Affair carries a mix of bridal fashions, from unlabeled samples to Badgley Mischka and Galia Lahav gowns. The dresses cost from $100 to $1,000 for five days, plus in-house tailoring costs. The shop also rents out custom-made dresses, starting at $299.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storySharon Gilchrist opened the store 29 years ago and ran it with her husband, Geoff Gates, until they sold it last fall. It continues to operate under the same name in the Culver City neighborhood of Los Angeles.

“Renting wedding gowns was put down back in 1986,” Ms. Gilchrist said. “People didn’t want to rent, but that’s changed now.”She attributed increased interest to the downturn in the economy and, even more, to the Internet, for widely showcasing the latest fashions and easily connecting owners and renters.

Is Monday the New Saturday? Weeknight Weddings Are a New Hollywood Trend

Did newlyweds Cameron Diaz andBenji Madden jump on a newweekday wedding trend?
Party rental trucks, flowers and a tent arrived Monday at the couple's Los Angeles home, where the Annie star, 42, married the Good Charlotte front man, 35, in an intimate ceremony.
Instead of holding their star-studded nuptials – guests included Drew Barrymore, Joel Madden and Gwyneth Paltrow – on a more traditional weekend night, the actress and her rocker husband opted for a late Monday evening affair, and stocked the weekend full of pre-wedding celebrations.
The newlyweds are not the only Hollywood couple to opt for a Monday wedding.
Scandal star Kerry Washington wed San Francisco 49ers cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on Monday, June 24, 2013, in an under-wraps Idaho wedding.
And dashing British groom Eddie Redmayne – a Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards nominee for The Theory of Everything – tied the knot on Monday Dec. 15, with fiancée Hannah Bagshawe in England.
So, what's the appeal of Monday matrimony?
Buzzy's star Ashley Tisdale said her marriage to Christopher French was scheduled for Monday, Sept. 8, in order to surprise fans and signify a special anniversary.
"The 8th was our anniversary, so I wanted to land on an 8th, and [thankfully] it landed on a Monday in September," she explained on On Air With Ryan Seacrest.
Abby Larson, the founder and editor of Style Me Pretty, a popular wedding resource, sees these star decisions as part of a larger bridal trend: the "off-day" wedding.
According to Larson, cost is the primary reason brides (celeb or civilian!) might go for an off-day wedding – think Thursday, Friday, Sunday morning, or yes, Monday.
"Venues never have trouble booking up the weekend at peak times, but they often need to book those days surrounding the weekend as well, so they offer great price reductions," she said. "But it doesn't stop with the venue – many other vendors from cake designers to florists and bands often offer much lower rates than peak days and times."
And just how low can prices go on a Monday? Larson has seen a venue book for half the price.
Even so, celebrations guru Darcy Miller, the editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings, admits that most weddings are still happening on weekends.
"But, weddings today can be unconventional and out-of-the-box," she says. "People want their weddings to be highly personal and unique, so many are looking to get married in unusual places and on uncommon dates," including holidays like New Year's Day.
Setting cost aside, "some couples get married during the week because it is more low-key and takes the pressure off," says Miller. "This is especially true of celebrities who are often looking to keep their wedding out of the public eye."
Another reason for an off-day wedding could just be to keep the party going. "You can force your guests' vacation hand a bit, extending the celebration for one extra day," explains Larson. "For those willing to travel, they can also find less expensive options from hotels to flights and rental cars."

No matter the reason, don't rule out taking your wedding into the weekday. "Now that celebs are tying the knot on off days," Larson says. "They are giving permission of sorts to brides everywhere to buck that Saturday tradition!"

Paraplegic bride loses 192 lbs, walks on wedding day

When Rob Dietrich carried Tami Martin out of the church as his new bride, she'd just finished the most important walk of her life.
"I walked down the aisle publicly after being told I would never walk again," Martin said.
She says doctors told her she would never make it the 63 feet with her walker tucked beneath her white dress, but Martin is not the type to accept no for an answer.
After spending the last fifteen years as a paraplegic, setting and achieving goals has become a way of life for Martin.
Martin broke her back in what seemed like a minor car accident with major injuries on October 25, 1999.
"There wasn't a physical mark on my body," Martin said. "Everything was internal. My spine was crushed between L1 and L2."
Physical therapy was difficult for Martin and she experienced a major set back in her recovery.
"I'd taken a break because I gained a lot of weight, and I broke my leg doing physical therapy," she explained.
A surgical procedure helped her lose the extra weight. She credits her success to perseverance, sheer will and the support of her groom.
"The last time I weighed I had lost 192 pounds," Martin said. "I had always been fit before. I said I might not walk, but there is no way I'm going to be out of shape."
She believes her will power was found in a higher power. Her faith carries her onward.

"And now my goal is to walk again on my own without the aid of anything," she said.