The state of weddings: D is for Delaware. [via The Wedding Chicks]

Move over stretch limos, there's a new way to arrive at your wedding in style.

A wedding is on the way for Howard Stern.

Check vendor references now so you can avoid awkward break-ups later. [via DC Nearlyweds]

More couples today are getting married later, and many find that their cabinets already are stocked with the traditional registry items. Blender? Check. Silverware? Check. Even a waterproof shower radio? Check. But how about a romantic sunset dinner in Hawaii or a snorkeling trip in Bermuda?

Traveler’s Joy is a honeymoon registry company designed to let guests give experiences instead of sheets. Couples create a registry page with activities they’d like to do on their trip. Their guests can visit the registry page and pay for part or all of an activity. Setting up an account is free, and couples can customize it with gift descriptions, pictures, and travel plans. A pair of newlyweds headed to St. Lucia for their honeymoon this month registered for a couples massage on the beach, a windsurfing trip, and a four-hour deep-sea fishing excursion.

The idea for the company was hatched when Brandon Warner met Tony Alexander on a hiking trip in New Zealand in 2003. The two travel enthusiasts started the Wilmington, Delaware-based company in 2004 and expect to have more than 10,000 couples register this year. We asked Brandon a little more about the idea behind a honeymoon registry and what some of the most unusual adventure-gifts are.

Destination weddings with kids can not only be done, they can be fun. (Think Mickey Mouse.)

Your guests have enough knick-knacks at home. Skip the shot glass with your and your hubby's names on it, think about donating to a charity instead. [via WeddingWire]

We're not sure what the bride will wear, but it will be a linen suit for ABC bachelorette DeAnna's groom-to-be, Jesse.

What do paper towels, sunscreen, and linen have in common? They're all little-known helpers for hot-weather weddings.

Love never grows old.

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

Maria Cooke, creator of Ritzy Bee Events and writer of the Ritzy Bee blog, says her passion for planning started early. She’s always been interested in the little details behind events and celebrations. As a girl growing up in Front Royal, she paid close attention to everything from the color of the icing on her birthday cakes to the font on the invitations her parents got in the mail.

Maria has been planning events since 1999, after graduating from James Madison University. She launched Ritzy Bee, a boutique event-planning company specializing in weddings, in 2007. In the past year, she’s done weddings all over the area, from the Ritz-Carlton to Meadowlark Botanical Gardens to a quaint art gallery. At a recent wedding, she helped the couple plan a surprise midnight snack: A concession trailer outside served up mini-hamburgers, fries, milkshakes, and funnel cakes for departing guests.

This DC-native blogging planner will answer all your questions Thursday from 11 to noon. Start submitting them now!

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

After work, I’m jumping on the $25 bus bound for my NYC bachelorette party. My girlfriends have the weekend pretty much under wraps, but I’ll give you all the juicy details in a post next week!

This past weekend, Drew and I drove down to Virginia Beach for a sunny July Fourth to visit a friend, Charlotte, who is also our wedding’s singer and scripture reader. We had a great time catching up with her and her family, playing in the pool, zooming on the Jet Ski, and swimming in the ocean, though we did get sunburned, stung by jellyfish, and bitten by horseflies. Note to self: No crazy adventuring right before the wedding unless we’re okay with lobster-colored (maybe peeling) skin and red welts in the wedding pics.

Last week I mentioned scheduling a meeting with our wedding photographer. As anyone who has planned a wedding knows, photographers are très cher. In our online search of Nashville photographers, we found many who charged $4,000-plus for just a few hours, which would not include rights, prints, or an album.

Saturday, July 12: Cake Tasting
Cotton’s Gourmet Gifts & Creations (7744 Emerson Rd., Hyattsville; 301-306-5420) is hosting its monthly cake tasting. Head to the shop in Hyattsville on Saturday and test out some of its cake flavors, fillings, and buttercreams. From traditional cakes to cupcake towers to mini-cakes, each of Cotton’s wedding cake options is made from scratch and never frozen. Appointments are required; RSVP here. Free; 2 to 4.

Sunday, July 13: More Cake Tasting!
If you’re in Annapolis for the weekend, swing by the Loews Annapolis Hotel (126 West St., Annapolis) for a wedding-cake tasting from Enticing Icing by Katie. Sample one or all of its 16 cake flavors and fillings, from chocolate-peanut-butter cake and confetti cake to blueberry, fresh strawberry, and mocha fillings—yum! Bonus: Book your wedding with Enticing Icing at Sunday’s tasting and get 10 percent off. To RSVP, e-mail katie@enticingicingbykatie.com or click on “RSVP” here. Free; 12 to 5.

Tuesday, July 15: Leave Your Stamp
Personalize your invitations, thank-you notes, or just about anything else with your custom-made rubber stamp. Tuesday evening, Paper Source (118 King St., Alexandria; 703-299-9950) takes you through the steps, from picking an image to carving it on rubber to inking and printing your new design. Bring a friend and get 10 percent off. RSVP here. $55; 7 to 9.

Know of an upcoming bridal event? E-mail lshallcross@washingtonian.com.

Photo by Jennifer Smoose

On May 17, 2006, Benjamin Okeke was on a flight from Baltimore to Boston, dripping with sweat and clutching his chest. The other passengers stared. Was this man having a heart attack?

He wasn’t—he was terrified. In about two hours, Benjamin would be asking his girlfriend, Angelique Manning, to marry him. For the past month, he had kept the cushion-cut diamond in a bulletproof, 007-style briefcase. But when airport security wouldn’t let the briefcase through, he had to move the ring to his left shirt pocket. He clutched the pocket tight and waited to land.

Benjamin, a Colorado native, and Angelique, who grew up in DC, met in 2003 at a law conference in Puerto Rico. There they discovered they were both students at Howard University’s School of Law—and that they both attended DC’s St. Augustine Catholic Church and lived two blocks from each other.

After one night on the Puerto Rican beach, talking and looking at the moon, Angelique knew Benjamin was the one. After three years of dating, Benjamin knew, too. He also knew he couldn’t propose on a holiday or anniversary—that was too predictable—so in early 2006, he shut his eyes, pointed at the calendar, and landed on the May date. He bought a ticket to Boston, where Angelique was working, and hatched his plan.