Amy Smart and Her HGTV Hottie Are Now Married!

 What a joyous occasion it is when two (good-looking) people come together as one.

Actress Amy Smart tied the knot today in Michigan with her HGTV Carter Can man Carter Oosterhouse.

Get all the deets here...

MORE: Amy Smart's Wedding Date and Location Revealed!

The actress and host made it official in Traverse City, Michigan with more than 200 friends and family attending.

As for why the Midwest location? Amy told Us: "He's from there and my parents live there, so it's been my second home since I was very young."

Civil Wedding in Mexico

In Mexico, only civil marriage is recognized as legal. Persons wishing to do so may also have a religious ceremony, but it has no legal effect and does not replace in any way the legal binding civil marriage. A civil wedding in Mexico is fully valid for legal purpose in the U.S.

Civil marriages are performed without charge at the premises of the "Registro Civil" ( Civil Registry). They may also be performed elsewhere, but in this case a fee is charged which should be ascertained from the "Registro Civil".

Consent: People under the age of 18 may not get married in Mexico without parental consent. With parental consent, boys have to be at least 16 and girls need to be at least 14 years of age.

If the Bride and Groom are not Mexican:

Groom Wedding Speeches

Let me make a bold assumption. You are a groom who is about to be married in just a few short days and you have waited until the last minute to sit down and write your speech. And like most of us, you have sat down at your computer, brought up Google and typed in those magic words: "groom wedding speeches".

I will sympathize with you because I know how hard these speeches are to write. You won't believe what I did to try to prepare a speech. I actually rented movies that had wedding scenes and watched any TV show where the main focus of the show was a wedding. If the groom happened to make a speech, it wasn't very good. So that leads me to my first tip on writing your own wedding speech: Do not try to write your speech based on something you saw in a movie! Trying to copy groom wedding speeches in movies should be avoided at all costs.

To help assist you, I have a list of tips below that will help you write several groom wedding speeches before you decide on which one to use. Simply follow the directions below (which will involve a lot of thinking and writing) and then put all the entire speech together in the end. That being said, you need to understand that you will have to put some effort into following these guidelines. By doing so, you are guaranteed to present a successful speech.

Lace Wedding Dresses - Vintage And Sophisticated

 Wedding dresses are supposed to be extravagant and eye-catching. There are a variety of materials to choose from, for your wedding gown. Lace these days is a very fashionable material when it comes to making wedding gowns. Earlier lace was used majorly in wedding dresses. With time it faded and wasn't seen anymore. But these days it has come back in fashion. Kate Middleton sets a very good example of using lace in her wedding outfit. Her dress was graceful and silky and it was not at all old fashioned. Even though many designers compared her dress with Grace Kelly's dress, it still stood up to today's fashion.

In today's fashion you will observe that vintage clothes are back. Lace does give your outfit a vintage sense. Lace wedding dresses look very classy and never go out of fashion. You can tell your designer about your preferences for the wedding dress. An absolutely vintage wedding dress will either be second hand or custom made. With some accessories you can totally make the dress classic. In the market you will come across so many types of wedding dresses which have lace detailing on them. It does not matter what color lace you pick, it will still give a very traditional and modern feel at the same time.

6 Essential Wedding Flowers Tips

Wedding flowers carry a wonderful energy with them and the choice of flowers for bouquets and buttonholes can be fun to linger over at length. Before making any final decisions, talk it over with your chosen wedding florist and bear in mind the following essential tips.

Choose flowers in season
Choose your flowers according to what is in season if you want to keep costs down. In spring for example there are lots of gorgeous blooms available other than roses. You get more flowers for your money when they come from local flower farms rather than being flown in from warmer climes or hot-housed out of season.

5 Ideas For Last Minute Wedding Favors

 If you are one of the many brides who has forgotten about or has left their wedding favors till the last minute, then do not panic, you can still achieve fabulous favors in double quick time - just be prepared to compromise a little!

Here are five ideas for last minute wedding favors that won't break the bank but will still please your guests!

Candies, Confectionary and Chocolate: by far the easiest and cheapest of all wedding favors is to go for something edible like candies, chocolates or some other confectionary. Candies can be bought wholesale in large quantities so you can create generous looking favors within a budget. Put them in clear boxes or glass jars for the best effect. Chocolates can be more expensive, but if you pick varieties from a grocery store you will find them cheaper. Present two or three in a box or on a small favor tray for a luxurious favor.

Planning an Outdoor Wedding Reception

 Planning a wedding reception carries with it a great deal of responsibilities; setting the reception outdoors adds even more considerations to the mix. There should always be a backup plan in case inclement weather arises and a location that's meaningful and private enough for a reception must be found. Special care must be given to food choices, because guests must be made aware of the nature of the reception and appropriate food must be chosen. Any couple currently considering an outdoor reception should pay special attention to these areas and handle them accordingly.

Planning for Weather

The biggest concern when planning an outdoor reception should be weather. If the reception will occur in cold weather, the bridal party should consider renting heaters and a generator or providing blankets. If the weather is warm or hot, guests should be given chilled water or the event should make use of fans to cool the area. Regardless of the temperature, renting a tent is a good way to minimize the negative aspects of the weather. A tent can keep in the heat in cold weather, block the sun when it's hot and prevent wind from blowing decorations and tablecloths away. Securing decorations, such as weighing down table centerpieces or tying decorations to surfaces can prevent unwanted accidents.

Wedding Favor Sayings: Ideas for Personalizing Your Favors

Many couples are choosing to make their own wedding favors as a way to cut back on the cost. Homemade wedding favors can be personalized and made to match any theme with a little patience and creativity. To make your guest gifts personalized and meaningful, the addition of a tag with sweet or cute wedding favor sayings attached is a great way to make the gift personal. The following are some ideas for items that are easy to add messages to and some popular sayings that you can use if you are at a loss for words

Attaching the Message

The way you attach the saying to the gift can be either with a label, the kind with a peel away backing (similar to address labels), or you could use tags that are attached with a string, ribbon or twine. Labels that stick on the favor work great when you are giving gifts such as personalized candy bars, plantable seed favors, glass jars, tin boxes, wine bottles, and laminated items. The attachable tags are perfect on items such as jars, tulle or cellophane bags, candles, and soaps.

Romantic Wedding Locations in Italy

Romance languages' refer to languages that have their roots based in Latin, a commonly spoken language in ancient Rome. What could be more romantic than to have a wedding in the birthplace of all the Romance languages? When you book a wedding in a romantic location in Italy, you can expect rich cultural lessons, beautiful landscapes of all sorts, and incredible food. If you are considering booking one of many romantic wedding locations, consider some of the following options.

Sorrento and Positano, both on the Amalfi coast, are considered to be two of the most romantic wedding locations in the world. In Sorrento, you can experience your special day at the Saint Frances covenant courtyard, or enjoy an outdoor wedding without a sea view. Positano has many options for wedding locations. The Positano outdoor terrace has seen many couples get married. Moonlight weddings have become a Positano favorite, and for good reason. Just imagine how romantic the setting will be when you exchange vows with your beloved, with the entire ceremony done by candle light. Both Positano and Sorrento have wedding options for every budget, so you can have a dreamy wedding in Italy without breaking the bank.

Only an hour away from Milan, Lake Como offers romantic wedding locations in Italy with a summery kick. With plenty of sunshine, beautiful lake views, and plenty of wedding villas to choose from, Lake Como has rightfully earned its place as a favorite location for a wedding in Italy. If exchanging your vows at the Italian lakeside, while a warm summery breeze touches your face, and soft cantzones play in the background sounds like a perfect wedding ceremony, book Lake Como.

Wedding Favor Sayings: Ideas for Personalizing Your Favors

Many couples are choosing to make their own wedding favors as a way to cut back on the cost. Homemade wedding favors can be personalized and made to match any theme with a little patience and creativity. To make your guest gifts personalized and meaningful, the addition of a tag with sweet or cute wedding favor sayings attached is a great way to make the gift personal. The following are some ideas for items that are easy to add messages to and some popular sayings that you can use if you are at a loss for words

Attaching the Message

The way you attach the saying to the gift can be either with a label, the kind with a peel away backing (similar to address labels), or you could use tags that are attached with a string, ribbon or twine. Labels that stick on the favor work great when you are giving gifts such as personalized candy bars, plantable seed favors, glass jars, tin boxes, wine bottles, and laminated items. The attachable tags are perfect on items such as jars, tulle or cellophane bags, candles, and soaps.

Standout Wedding Dresses for Picky Brides

If you are a picky bride, there are some tricks to getting exactly what you want in a bridal gown.

Start by reviewing designer gowns. Department store gowns are perfectly wonderful for some brides, but if you know you want something truly exquisite, or something you are not likely to see on other brides that season, look for a designer gown. If you want a better fit or a richer fabric, seek out a designer gown.

Before you make the final decision on that wedding gown of your dreams, consider the following first rate brands and some of their most gorgeous offerings. Whether you're getting ready for the big day in earnest or you're simply in the mood for perusing beautiful wedding gowns for fun, you're sure to discover something that piques your interest here.



Melissa Sweet

Melissa Sweet designs fashion-forward, almost whimsical wedding dresses. The Iris/Bardot design represents Melissa Sweet well. The top is an embroidered net bustier. It is gathered at the bustline. The feathery, voluminous skirt is made of horizontal bands and bands of organza, cut on the bias. The result is a skirt that ripples as you walk up or down the aisle. Imagine the movement on the dance floor. The gown, which has a slight train in the back, is created only in ivory.

Advice on Choosing a Wedding Photographer

Your wedding day is one of the most important of your life, one that you will both remember forever, so capturing those images and memories on camera is crucial to get right but how do you choose the best wedding photographer?

Recommendations from friends and family are a great way to start, and with a world of photographers accessible on the internet you can do plenty of research. Once you have a shortlist of photographers make contact and ask for testimonials that you can actually follow up with previous clients so that you know just how good they are.


Arrange a meeting with the photographer and ask to see the complete set of photographs from several weddings. This is important because it is all too easy for them to show you a selection of their best photographs, so by viewing all of these sets you get a better idea about how good they actually are and an overall feel of their style of photography. Have a think about the style that you want, and how the photographers suit that style. You might prefer more formal traditional photos, reportage, black and white or a mix of styles so discuss your requirements in full.



Consider arranging a session with the photographer to have some engagement pictures taken, not only to mark the occasion but also so that you and the photographer can get more of an idea about what you want from them. Some photographers actually include a studio session in their packages.

The Royal Wedding - late!

I totally spaced on my post about the Royal wedding! It's pretty obvious that I wasn't super into the hype surrounding it, but when I saw that gown I fell in love with Kate Middleton. She's gorgeous, poised, and confident. Love or not, I fast forwarded through 95% of the event, pausing only to watch their vows, marvel at William's enormous bald "spot", and watch them ride stiffly in a carriage. Because I paid so little attention, I thought the reception would be televised as well, so I was really disappointed when I didn't get to see their cake until the next day.

You've seen these, but here they are again.


This dress was so gorgeous. I literally gasped because I was so shocked that it wasn't ugly. The gown is timeless and traditional - we'll still be looking at pictures of her in 50 years and saying how beautiful she was. I think we can say good bye to the strapless wedding gown trend of the last decade or so. Strapless gown brides (myself included) prepare to look dated! If I was planning my wedding, I would now want lace sleeves. While I hate veils, I loved this veil. It wasn't bunched up at the top or fussy - she was just draped in silk. And putting her sister in white? Classy, IMO. And why am I detecting more love from her for her sister than I do in any of her interactions with William?


On top of looking good, she's seemed quietly confident. I'm sure she was OMFGing inside, but she did a good job of hiding it. THAT EMBROIDERY! Love. And did you notice her brief-yet-beautiful bouquet? It's a far cry from Princess Diana (or Posh Spice's) nightmare of a trailing bouquet.

Jesus Peiro Wedding Dresses

Daniel Degli Onofri Wedding Dress

Amazing record player invitations

These amazing record player wedding invitations have been making the rounds lately. They are great - truly beautiful and very creative.

For the whole, lengthy backstory, visit the designer's blog: Kelli Anderson

The invitations are trendy and cute, with a special surprise


This is a close-up of the printed flexi-disk record:

New 2011 Postage Prices for Wedding Invitations

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has recently changed the price of stamps that affect many wedding invitations and save the date cards. If you have yet to mail your invitations you should be aware of these new rates. Here's a list of sizes and prices that have changed on April 17th, 2011:

• 1st class, 2 oz - $0.64 (previously $0.61)
• 1st class, 2 oz - odd size* - $0.84 (previously $0.81)
• 1st class, 3 oz - $0.84 (previously $0.78)
• 1st class, 3.5 oz - $1.04 (previously $0.95)
• 1st class, 4 oz - $1.48 (previously $1.39)
• Postcards, 1 oz - $.29 (previously $0.28)

First class 1 oz stamps will remain at $0.44. (See all 2011 postage rates)
*odd-size or non-machineable letters include envelopes with clasps or square envelopes.

Two New Wedding-Themed Stamps
On April 22nd, the post office will also release a new wedding-themed Forever® stamp featuring two white roses. While this is only a $0.44 stamp for one-ounce mail it does provide an additional wedding-themed stamp at face value (the rings stamp has been available since 2009) to the list of available choices. The old $0.61 wedding cake stamp is now a $0.64 stamp.



Custom Wedding Postage

If you want your wedding invitations to convey a more personal touch, custom postage stamps are a great way to add your personality to the outside of your invites. With over 150,000 design choices, custom stamps continue to grow in popularity among engaged couples. Best of all, custom postage stamps are available for all first-class rates so you can enjoy wedding-themed postage stamps regardless of the size or weight of your invitation.

For more information on custom postage stamps for your wedding visit WeddingStamps.US where you'll find thousands of wedding stamps, rate information, and a weekly giveaway of $25 in custom postage.

Bridezilla Wedding Cake Freak Out!

This bride goes crazytown on a cake shop owner when she finds out that her wedding cake is not exactly as she wanted. What would you do if this happened to you?

Benjamin Roberts - Christina

view original advert on The Dressmarket

Constantina Christina design from the Benjamin Roberts Enzoani range. Sweetheart neckline with ruched and corseted bodice. Corset back.

Other dresses by Benjamin Roberts on The Dressmarket:

Benjamin Roberts - 930
Benjamin Roberts - 2206
Benjamin Roberts - 2228

Court bans groom from talking to bride and best man

I kind of love these crazy, rampaging bride and groom stories, and this one strikes me as particularly funny/awful. A couple's wedding plans lie in tatters after a sheriff banned the groom from talking to his bride and best man. The order came after Billy Stupart, 28, was arrested over a stag-night bust-up with the pair about a stripper. The former Black Watch soldier is due to marry hairdresser Fiona Soutar, 30, in a fortnight [that's two weeks American]. Friend Christopher Strachan, 28, is his best man. The bride and groom had been on separate nights out on Saturday when they returned to the flat they share in Dundee, along with the best man. All three had been drinking and a row broke out between Strachan and Stupart over the latter's reluctance to visit a stripper, which ended with Fiona calling the police. Stupart spent the weekend in the cells. He appeared at the city's sheriff court on Monday and denied three charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner towards Fiona by shouting, swearing, threatening violence and throwing a bottle, assaulting Christopher by repeatedly punching him on the head and assaulting Fiona and throwing a bottle at her.


 
Story and funny picture via Arbroath Sheriff Tom Hughes bailed Stupart but warned him not to contact either of them before his next court date on May 4. Fiona contacted the court to say the wedding was still on and she was happy for Stupart to return to their flat. But the sheriff refused to listen. They admitted they had argued but Stupart said: "It's all been blown out of proportion. Everything has been booked and it has cost thousands. The sheriff could easily have relaxed bail conditions. Many of our guests have made arrangements to get to the ceremony. "I have never been in any trouble before and I think the sheriff is being very heavyhanded with us. We are appealing the bail conditions. If that doesn't doesn't, everything will be cancelled." Fiona said: "We'd hoped the sheriff might have shown us a bit of leniency." Stupart added: "Chris is my best friend and will still definitely be my best man, whatever happens." The couple said they have invited 180 guests to their big day. A honeymoon to Portugal has also been paid for. A trial date has been set for May 20. Basically, this wedding is completely screwed because the judge doesn't care about their wedding plans. The article doesn't say if they have previous domestic issues. This is a bad case of "I wish I hadn't done that when I was drunk". -KB