Want a chance to win? Tell us the story behind your most sentimental object in the comments below, and be sure to leave an e-mail address for contact purposes. The reader with the best tale will be rewarded with a $50 gift certificate to the store. Contest ends Monday, July 26, at noon.
Good luck! We look forward to hearing from you.
Recently engaged? Almost at the altar? Whatever your marital status, Washingtonian Bride & Groom is filled with gorgeous inspiration and helpful advice designed to make your Washington wedding a memorable one. Our summer/fall issue—which hit stands yesterday—features the best in bridal fashion, interviews with local wedding experts, and a special section on ecofriendly wedding flowers. On top of all that, there's an extensive guide to the best wedding vendors in the area. Pick up a copy at your nearby bookstore, or sign up here to receive a free issue in the mail.
Happy planning!
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Ted Gibson, owner and stylist
Ted Gibson salon & hela spa, Chevy Chase
Have brides begun to think of their wedding day as a red-carpet moment? Oh, absolutely. That’s why shows like Bridezilla and Say Yes to the Dress are so popular. It is an important day, so try to feel comfortable having everyone’s eyes on you. Confidence is a star’s greatest asset.
Should a bride consult her hairdresser about makeup and jewelry, too? It certainly can’t hurt. Anytime I’m doing wedding hair, I want to see the total package. Great special-occasion hair starts with the neckline of the dress. Makeup and jewelry have to work with the hair.
You read that right! Simpy take our quick and easy bridal survey right here, and you could win a free honeymoon from the fine folks at Sandals!
After taking the survey, make sure to pick up a copy of Washingtonian Bride & Groom, on stands now. It has all the information you'll need to make your wedding a beautiful and memorable one.
Getting engaged is a heart-fluttering, knees-buckling, smile-till-it-hurts kind of experience. But there’s more than fancy dresses, pretty cakes, and sparkly rings to getting married—there’s the relationship you’re hoping will last forever.
“Often, the issues couples face during the intense period of their engagement later become the perpetual issues of the marriage,” says couples counselor Lori Gunnar Kolle, a social worker and clinical director at Jewish Social Service Agency in Rockville. “It’s an important time to note, for instance, how your partner handles stress and whether tensions arise within a bride or groom’s own family and among future in-laws.”
For more than two decades, Kolle’s been working with couples before, during, and even near the end of marriage. What’s one sure-fire way to give your marriage the chance it deserves? Talk before you tie the knot. Here’s Kolle’s premarital checklist of topics worth discussing sooner rather than later.
As much as we’ve loved following Eleni’s adventures in wedding planning over the past seven months, her wedding is fast approaching—and that means we’re on the hunt for her successor!
Are you engaged and planning a wedding? We want to hear from you. Do you want to share your lessons learned (and get advice from readers), your most—and least—favorite parts of wedding planning, and lots more with Washingtonians?
If you’re a bride-to-be (or groom-to-be!) who’s willing to share your story, send us an e-mail with why you think you’d make a great wedding blogger.
We can’t wait to hear from you!
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UPDATE: We've got some sad news to report! DC Nearlyweds announced that they had to cancel this Saturday's show. Click here for an explanation. All those who purchased tickets through the show Web site will be automatically refunded. We'll keep you posted if we hear it's being rescheduled.
Got plans for Saturday? Now you do!
Our friends over at DC Nearlyweds are hosting the Wedding Innovator’s Design Challenge and Bridal Show on Saturday from 10 to 5. The show starts in Washington and will head to five other cities from here.
Head to the Liaison Capitol Hill (415 New Jersey Ave., NW) this weekend and catch this three-in-one event: a design challenge for event planners, a bridal show, and a silent auction benefitting Brides Against Breast Cancer.
Leading the panel of judges for the design challenge will be planner Diann Valentine, host of the new television show Wedding Day. The local vendor lineup for the bridal show includes Carine’s Bridal Atelier, Elegance and Simplicity, Blue Sky Films, and Fluffy Thoughts Cakes.
Need another reason to go? Washingtonian.com readers get a special discount! Take $5 off the $20 ticket price when you use the code TONIAN here.
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“Washingtonian Bride & Groom: Unveiled,” our inaugural bridal showcase, took place this past Sunday at the Park Hyatt Washington, and this editor is still recovering. Is there such a thing as a fabulousness hangover? No doubt our event’s keynote speaker, Hollywood wedding planner Mindy Weiss, keeps a special potion in her (very large) Goyard totebag for such occasions. The wedding showcase was held in the hotel’s ballrooms, which were transformed into a meeting space where the sold-out crowd networked among many of Washington’s best wedding vendors. For such a cold, blustery afternoon, the mood inside the beautifully decorated ballrooms was festive and warm. Free Champagne and an enormous gourmet buffet (courtesy of Blue Duck Tavern executive chef Brian McBride) will do that, of course.
Free. Wedding. Do we have your attention now?
We thought so! Ok, so here are the details: Head to the DC Couture Bridal Show on Saturday for the chance to win a $50,000 ecofriendly wedding. The fine folks at the Washington DC Couture Wedding Consortium are offering up a dream green wedding with the Decatur House as the venue, the planning services of Elegance & Simplicity, catering from Avalon Caterers, music from Mydeejay.com, and more.
In addition to the ecofriendly vendors who’ll plan one lucky couple’s free wedding, even the wedding date is green—April 22, Earth Day!
Registration for the bridal show is free—just sign up here. The event runs from noon to 5 on Saturday (1610 H St., NW), where brides-to-be can meet with an array of vendors and catch glimpses of an exclusive collection of dresses from Promise for the Savvy Bride.
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A ticket to “Washingtonian Bride & Groom: Unveiled” on Sunday, January 25 at the Park Hyatt Washington will let you play the glamorous bride for a day and give you front-row access to the following:
• Celebrity party planner and headline speaker Mindy Weiss, who will give you A-list wedding tips and sign copies of her latest book, The Wedding Book: The Big Book for Your Big Day
• A ready-to-wear runway fashion show featuring wedding gowns by Monique Lhuillier and mother-of-the-bride fashions
