Rain, rain, go away. Don’t come back on my wedding day. Over the weekend, Hurricane Irene ruined so many things: from Freshman move-in day at NYU to The Dave Matthews Band Caravan festival on Governors Island. And now you can add true love to that list. Irene’s tyrannical rampage soaked-out weddings, stranded guests and forced bridal parties to head for higher ground… However, there were a few happy hopefuls that chose to weather the elements and continue their nuptials. I mean, hey, the show must go on, right? Take a look at some of the most adorably devastating wedding accounts of six almost-newlyweds from across the East Coast.
Bride-to-be Rona Geller reluctantly called off her Long Island, NY nuptials which were supposed to happen on Sunday. “It was the hardest decision I ever made,” said Geller. Geller initially tried to ignore the depressing weather updates, because she didn’t want to be “one of those panicked brides.” But eventually, she and fiancé Michael Field realized they had no choice in the matter—they now plan to wed on Oct. 16. Ironically, Field is the nephew of meteorologist Frank Field, and cousin to TV weather-watchers Storm Field and Allison Field. Also, Field’s brother, Joe, married wife Robyn during Hurricane Bertha, a Category 3 churner that hit Long Island in 1996.
Wedding Guests in Vermont weren’t so lucky. At least a dozen wedding guests were airlifted by helicopter from a Vermont town of Pittsfield on Tuesday where they had been stranded since Tropical Storm Irene hit two days earlier, turning rivers into roiling flood waters that washed away the only road in town.
A Rockland, MA bride has learned that she doesn’t need electricity for her big day — her new husband is the light of her life. Tropical Storm Irene forced their wedding venue to shut down, but that didn’t stop them from tying the knot by candlelight at a local tavern. That’s right — the bar saved the wedding!
Erica Sternin Weiss should be honeymooning in Tahiti right now. But because of Hurricane Irene, her wedding and honeymoon were cancelled. “I was supposed to get married on Saturday in a waterfront park in New Rochelle, N.Y. at 6:30 p.m.,” Weiss said. “On Friday night, our venue called and explained that the county was forcing them to close and our wedding was canceled.” So what did the couple do? Erica and Brett Weiss were married at their rehearsal dinner Friday night, right after they found out that their wedding venue would be closed due to Hurricane Irene.
A New Hampshire couple refused to let tropical storm Irene ruin their wedding and found a new location when authorities forced them to move the reception. Bill Luquette and Kyla Brown said they decided not to postpone their wedding when they heard Irene was expected to reach New Hampshire Sunday but they were left scrambling for a venue when the Windham Fire Department told them the reception they were planning at Searles Castle in Windham would not be safe during the storm, the New Hampshire Union-Leader reported Tuesday. The couple said they found a new location, the basement of St. Peter Church in Auburn, and the disc jockey, Mr. Jonathan DJ, was able to organize a reception with catering services in only 3 hours.
Hurricanes and Melissa Cook just don’t get along. Last August, she and her boyfriend, Jason Archbell, got engaged on a trip to the Outer Banks of North Carolina; the celebratory week at the beach was cut short when Hurricane Earl prompted mandatory evacuations. This August, the happy couple from Philadelphia made a return trip to welcome 150 guests to their wedding, planned for Saturday at Jennette’s Pier, a brand-new reception area perched atop the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday night, they learned from The Weather Channel that their plans had been scuttled yet again, this time by a blustery bully named Irene. “I saw the words ‘mandatory evacuation,’ and I just burst into tears,” says Cook, 29 and a civil engineer. “My thinking was because it happened this time last year, there’s no way it could happen again.” But it did. “I haven’t found someone to marry us quite yet,” says Cook. “But come hell or high water, I have said I will go on my honeymoon as a married woman.” (The honeymoon, to Aruba, was selected “very intentionally” because it’s outside the typical hurricane track.)

The dress, the flowers, the venue, the cake… These days planning a wedding can be seriously stressful. All those choices can lead to crazy Bridezilla and an unethused Groom. During the wedding planning, defuse heated debates and keep sparks alive  by writing your own wedding vows. From funny to silly to serious and everywhere in between, here are six different wedding vows to fit (almost) every relationship:

1. Pirate Vows

Groom: I, Mad Dog [name] take ye, Saucy [Bride] as me Heart, me Soul, me Good Wench with a stout right hook, the bright dawn of each new day and the soft bed of each day’s night. I promise to love ye and honor ye; to make ye laugh when yer feelin’ out of sorts and pretend to listen to ye when ye babble on and on about nothin’ in particular. I will protect you from the elements and the elephants should we ever encounter them as it is my understanding that they can be very large and unpredictable. I will love thee through scurvy and through fire, in wealth or poverty whether ye be near or far. And when I speak of treasure, as I am wont to do, everyone within the sound of me voice will know that what I am really speaking about is you. All of this will I undertake until there are no horizons left to chase and the rum is gone.

Bride: I, Saucy [name] take ye, Mad Dog [Groom] as me Heart, me Soul, me Salty Jack with a crooked smile, the foggy haze of each new day and the lumpy (but familiar) mattress of each day’s night. I promise to love ye and honor ye; to make ye laugh so hard the rum comes out yer nose and pretend to listen to ye when ye babble on about nothin’ in particular. I will protect you from my wrath and from giraffes which I understand are very tall and will sometimes step on people because they are not looking where they are stepping. I will love thee through scurvy and through fire, in wealth or poverty whether ye be near or far. And when I speak of treasure, as I am wont to do, everyone within the sound of me voice will know that I am day dreaming again. All of this will I undertake until there are no horizons left to chase and the rum is gone.

2. Zombie Vows

Bride: My love, as I gaze into your mesmerizingly vacant crimson eyes, stroke the pale, flaking skin of your cheek, and drool over the human arm that you dragged behind you down the aisle, I cannot help but smile knowing that you have chosen me with which to spend the rest of undead eternity. “’Till death do us part” is but a mundane mortal musing; you and I will shuffle through the streets, trudge over the grasslands, and limp along the seashore for every sunrise and sunset to come. I cannot wait to feast on the living with you by my side and to admire your strength and your focus as you tastefully terrorize the mortal population. There is no other woman, living or dead, with whom I would rather spend a mindless and unending undead existence. I love you more than death itself.

3. The Princess Bride Vows

The Impressive Clergyman: Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday. Mawage, that bwessed awangment, that dweam wifin a dweam…
The Impressive Clergyman: And wuv, tru wuv, will fowow you foweva…
The Impressive Clergyman: So tweasure your wuv.
Prince Humperdinck: Skip to the end.
The Impressive Clergyman: Have you the wing?
The Impressive Clergyman: …and do you,Pwincess Buwwercup…
Prince Humperdinck: Man and wife. Say man and wife.
The Impressive Clergyman: Man an’ wife.

4. Dr. Seuss Vows

Minister: Will you take her as your wife? Will you love her all your life?
Groom: Yes, I take her as my wife, Yes, I’ll love her all my life.
Minister: Will you have, and also hold Just as you have at this time told?
Groom: Yes, I will have, and I will hold, Just as I have at this time told, Yes, I will love her all my life As I now take her as my wife.

5. Wedding Crashers Vows

Groom: “I, [name], take you, [Bride], to be my wife, my best friend, and my first mate. Through sickness and health, clear skies and squalls.”
Bride: “I, [name], take you, [Groom], to be my best friend and my captain, to be your anchor and your sail, your starboard and your port.”

6. Star Wars Vows

Groom: My Queen, may the Force be with us as we travel through the galaxy of life. I pledge to never turn to the Dark Side but stand forever in the illumination of our love. I vow to fight the Evil Emperor and I invite you take your place at my side as we rule the galaxy. Take my hand and stand with me for light and justice throughout our lives.

Bride: My Jedi, my love, I take your hand and accept your pledge. May the force be strong with us all the days of our lives. There is good in you, I sense it. Remain a Jedi and I will stand by you. I pledge to you my love and my companionship as long as I live.

Even though fresh-cut flowers are the most popular choice when it comes to bouquets and wedding decorations, silk flowers have been gaining popularity with tree-huggers and penny-pinchers. Silk flowers are eco-friendly because they don’t come from pesticide-riddled mass-production farms which create pollution during harvest and transport. These flowers look real, smell real and they cost half the price of real buds. Plus, they last well past the nuptials and make a great keepsake for the bride and bridal party.

Silk flowers can be used to create wedding bouquets, boutonnieres (for the Father of the Bride), corsages, centerpieces, cake-toppers and more. Here are some examples of these realistic flower arrangements:

Boutonnieres

Bouquets

Cascading Bouquets

Centerpieces

Cake-toppers

Bouquet Suggestions from the Bridal Team at WedIdea.com

When selecting your bouquets, you should search first for the overall look that you are after. Do you want something elegant and simple? Bold? Tropical? Something romantic or classic?

If you’re going for…

Elegant and Simple: Try not to mix too many types of flowers. Less is more here.

Bold: Look for interesting colors that will make a splash against Bridesmaids dresses, like Coral & Turquoise, Yellow & Black, and Periwinkle & Green.

Tropical: Callas, Orchids, Stargazers, Roses and so much more. You can add seashells as fillers and always keep Citric Colors in mind.

Classic: Roses are a wedding classic, but you can also consider Gardenias, Stephanotis, Baby’s Breath, Lilies and Callas have become a classic too! Keep the colors within the traditional choices.

For your own wedding, would you (or did you) go silk? What do you think of this trend?

Bridal image via. Silk flower images via

Last Wednesday night, I (Stephanie) had the pleasure of being invited to New York’s Wedding Salon Bridal Show by the fabulous ladies at Kiss USA.  The event was held on three different levels in Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center Studios. I have never been engaged nor have I ever actually been in a wedding, so I was excited to see what types of vendors, gowns, and overall bridal splendor would be at the expo.

After entering the venue through a flower-lined red carpet, I made my way around the main floor where over one hundred vendors had set up elegant booths with gorgeous, fairytale displays. Everyone was there, from luxury honeymoon travel agencies, to wedding photographers with albums of happy couples, to reception décor companies with grandiose centerpieces and sparkling crystal. I had died and gone to matrimonial heaven. After sampling some delicious macaroons and a tiny slice of moist red velvet cake, I made my way up to the second balcony level to The Beauty Suite. There, I found the hard-workin’ Kiss girls making woman gorgeous!

The Kiss station definitely stole the show in the beauty section. You may know kiss for their divalicious fake nails and their adorable stick-on nail art creations. But, what you may not know is that Kiss is a beauty innovator with products ranging from nail care to cosmetics and beyond. The Kiss ladies let me know that they had a very long waiting list of impatient brides-to-be ready to be fitted with the newest Kiss product and the latest craze in the falsies industry: EverEZLashes. I got a demo of the fake eyelash application process and was extremely impressed. What sets these lashes apart from all others? The detachable applicator strings on the outer edges of the lash strip. They’re like handle bars. You can actually see out of the eye you are applying the lashes on (and therefore use both eyes). Your view is never obstructed and you can use both hands during the application. Apply the glue, uses the strings to guide the strip and when they’re dry, give a little tug to the strings and you’re done! Pure genius.

The lashes come in a variety of lengths, widths and styles to accommodate every mood and occasion. Literally the entire time I was in The Beauty Suite, passers-by would stop and gawk in awe about the revolutionary lashes, exclaiming, “Ooh, I want those!” EverEZLashes are the perfect bridal accessory to add some added glamour to every bride’s big day. I’m not getting married anytime soon, but I too said “I want a pair!” I’ve already worn mine twice (they’re reusable!).  You don’t need to walk down the aisle to wear these lashes. Wedding or work, you can try EverEZLashes, too! Click here for a $1.00 Off Coupon at Walgreens, Wal-Mart or CVS.

If you’re a future bride and want to attend a Wedding Salon expo, click here for events near you.

Now that all of this  Royal Wedding hubbub has started to subside, we ‘re pretty sure the Royal Family will need to recuperate. What better way to relax and wind down from such an extravaganza than to enjoy a spa day? Wills and Kate will get to relax on their honeymoon (in Corfu? Australia?). And, we hope Harry and Pippa will relax in each others’ arms (Harry+ Pippa 4ever!), but what of The Queen?  What is the best way for Queen Elizabeth to unwind?  We asked some experts to weigh in:

What spa treatment would you recommend for The Queen of England? And why?

We got some really interesting and educational answers, definitely worthy of  The Queen… She should try all of these the next time she hops the pond!

Retin-A Facial with Collagen Mask

Why: Liz, the owner of Euro Laser Medical Spa in Rye, NY recommends that The Queen try this vitamin rich facial because it targets wrinkles and fights fine lines. Liz says that all fabulous women over fifty should try this facial, even if they aren’t going to a big event.

Thai Bomb Massage

Why?: Lucy, owner of Enliven Body Works in New York City explained to us that the massage contains a body wrap with, ” different kinds of herbs, like ginger and cinnamon that will detoxify body toxins.” This will help The Queen de-stress and feel her best after her grandson’s big day.

The Back Room’s Rose Petal Ritual

“When I think of the Queen I think of her gardens and my strolls through London and the beautiful gardens in Hyde Park,” says New York’s The Back Room Hand & Foot Spa at Carol’s Daughter founder, Lisa Price. “So, I immediately go to roses. What is more deserving of a Queen than to have her feet bathed in warm coconut milk with fresh rose petals?” A spa treatment fit for the English Rose in all of us!

Colon Hydrotherapy Treatment

Cleansing Concepts owner, Vanessa suggests this treatment for The Queen because, after all the post-nuptial luncheons and royal receptions, “it will leave her feeling less bloated.” Colon Hydrotherapy hydrates the colon. The treatment is a gentle internal bath that will aid Queen Elizabeth’s body in the detoxification process after all this celebrating!

Queen for a Day Package

Spa at Eaglewood in Itasca, IL has a royalty package that is without a doubt fit for a queen! The package includes: a Mud Wrap, a 60Min Swedish Massage, 60Min Facial, Paradise Mani-Pedi, Makeup Application with Consultation and Lesson, a Spa Lunch, the choice between a blow-out or an eye, neck, and décolleté treatment, AND a Spa Gift (retail value $50). Rachel the Spa Manager says, “The Queen would fit right in over here.” We couldn’t agree more!