As any bride can tell you, finding the perfect wedding dress can be like finding a needle in a haystack. To answer some common questions, The Washingtonian turned to New Couture owner Alvin Thompson, a Washington native who is currently showcasing his latest collection of bridal wear at DC Fashion Week.

When did you first become interested in designing bridal wear?
I had promised a client I would do the wedding dress for her daughter, but at the time I wasn’t specializing in bridal. The mom of the bride told me I’d have to tell her daughter I couldn’t do it, but then she convinced me to do it. At one of the sittings, her maid of honor came in and said, “Oh, this has been such a wonderful process. When I get married, will you do my dress, too?” And then she got married a year later. I wasn’t feeling artistically satisfied doing general custom design, and doing bridal allowed my artistic sensibility to come alive again because the only restriction in bridal is that it’s in a range of beiges or pastel tones. I fell in love with it and have been doing it since then.

I have a love-hate relationship with Theknot.com. On one hand, it’s a constant source of pictures and information on absolutely anything that has to do with weddings and wedding planning. On the other hand, it can be one gigantic advertisement after another, and the photos of “real weddings” sometimes make me cringe.

I hate to say it, but I’m starting to get tired of wedding magazines. When I first got engaged, my girlfriends threw me a wonderful purple-themed engagement party, which consisted of a Ron-and-Eleni slide show, food, martinis, and a ton of wedding magazines. It was so great. I immediately devoured the magazines and have been slowly accumulating more and more ever since. They’re piled in a corner in my apartment, and I flip through them once a week. One thing I’ve learned is that the best part of these magazines is the pictures. I’m always excited when I buy a new magazine, but when I read an article instructing me to not use toothpaste with baking soda in it because it might bloat me for the big day, I start to do a big eye roll. Of course, I’m a sucker for anything wedding-related, so I will keep buying those wedding mags for $6 a pop even if the only worthwhile items are pictures of dresses and the occasional celebrity-wedding profile.

I digress. Let’s get back to The Knot. Since I signed up for an account and entered all my wedding information into my online profile, I get monthly updates telling me what I should be doing to prepare for April 25, 2009. Last week, I received an e-mail saying I had 145 “overdue items.” OMG. Turns out these overdue items were ridiculous things like “Think about bridesmaid gifts” or “Rip out photos of wedding hairstyles that you would like to try.” Cue the eye roll. Then I saw one item that seemed pretty important: “Start looking for a florist.”

We love the idea of a winter white wedding in this Fendi coat. Now, if only we could afford it. [via bon mariage!]

Sure, you have a wedding to-do list. How about an after-wedding to-do list? [via Weddingbee]

What to wear when it's your second trip down the aisle.

Are you saving the date? [via Bridalwave]

Have bridal news to share? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

If you imagine meeting the man or woman of your dreams, you probably see yourself looking your absolute best, dressed impeccably, and poised to make a killer first impression. But real life doesn’t always play out as smoothly as it does in our dreams, and Stacy West, 30, and Jeremy Warman, 28, will be the first ones to admit that.

Stacy and Jeremy work in the same office and had passed each other in the hallway a number of times. But it wasn’t until they both worked weekend duty that they had their first formal introduction. Thinking no one else would be at the office, Stacy showed up in a Clemson University sweatshirt, pajama pants, and flip-flops. “Talk about wanting to kill yourself when you talk to the man that you didn’t know would be your future husband,” Stacy says. “And not wearing makeup!”

But that didn’t bother Jeremy. Through the sweatshirt and pajama pants, Jeremy saw a future with Stacy. They began dating, and love quickly blossomed. “Our love just grew and grew for each other every time we were together,” Jeremy says. “Things just seemed too good to be wrong. Every time I hung out with Stacy, I had butterflies in my stomach. And to this day, I still get them.”

Fast-forward through a year and a half of dating, and Jeremy was ready to propose. Many of his friends and family knew about his plans, so Jeremy couldn’t waste much time or someone might let the cat out of the bag. One Wednesday night, Jeremy took Stacy out to dinner at the Melting Pot in Dupont Circle. “Stacy and I dined on a feast, all the while having normal conversation, while I had the engagement ring in my pocket,” Jeremy says. When they paid the bill, Jeremy told Stacy they had one more stop to make.

He took her to her favorite spot in DC, the Jefferson Memorial. As they took in the view from the memorial, Stacy told Jeremy it was such a special place to her. “Stacy, let’s make it more special,” Jeremy told her. “Will you marry me?” He didn’t even have time to make it down on one knee before Stacy jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, saying yes, yes, yes!

An Annapolis wedding hits the small screen.

Ellen and Portia's wedding day video.

How to plan a party without breaking the bank.

A piece of video advice. [via Always a Blogsmaid]

Have bridal news to share? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

For most little kids, picking out two shoes that match and getting to school on time are the only things that matter in the morning. But when Amanda Moran was growing up in Virginia, she had another task on her list: making sure her hair was perfect before she headed out the door. She was the hairstylist-in-training for her friends at school, and she loved makeup, too. “I was always the one who was sold on every makeup product out there,” Amanda says.

Years later, she’s turned her passion into a career. With 12 years of experience in the industry, Amanda is a hairstylist and makeup artist who’s done work for the Fox News Channel and C-SPAN. She offers on-site makeup and hair consulting for weddings and special events. “It’s always such a joy to make a bride look her best on one of the biggest, most important days of her life,” Amanda says. “I enjoy the artistic vision that goes into all of it.”

Making sure her brides look and feel their best on their big day isn’t enough for Amanda. She wants them to feel like they’re stepping onto the red carpet. Get all of Amanda’s red-carpet tips and advice in Thursday's live chat. Submit your hair and makeup questions now, and Amanda will answer them from 11 AM to noon on Thursday.

More>> Bridal Party Blog | Wedding Guide | Wedding Vendor Search 

May I have this (first) dance?

No need for a hair stylist or makeup artist when you're getting married underwater.

No children allowed?

They sure look pretty, but what happens when you hit the dance floor? [via It's a Jaime Thing...]

Have bridal news to share? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.