Bridal is arguably Vera Wang's world, we're just living in it (and adoring from afar). The VW group unveiled some big news today that's bound to make some brides envious of almost-engaged gals, for a change: Vera has collaborated with Zales, The Diamond Store to introduce "Vera Wang LOVE," a new collection of engagement rings, matching wedding bands, and solitaire bridal jewelry.

"Creating a line of beautiful diamond engagement rings and bridal jewelry is a natural extension of my passion for designing bridal fashion," Wang said.

The line is extensive, to say the least—it will include more than 50 different styles of engagement rings, which start at only $1,999 and all include a blue sapphire (such a chic "something blue", non?) Sentimental types will appreciate that the "LOVE" logo is engraved on the inside. Budget-savvy readers of this blog can scoop them up at 500 Zales locations throughout the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, as well as on Zales.com, beginning this fall. I for one think October (when LOVE officially launches) can't arrive quickly enough! For now, we tracked down this campaign ad (pictured above) to satisfy your case of jewelry lust. I think I spy a halo setting, one of the biggest jewelry trends for 2011.

Despite being engaged for six months, it felt surreal to call bridal salons and schedule appointments to try on wedding gowns. I spent the previous months researching various bridal designers, trying to determine which collections best fit my style. I found myself drawn to the designs of Amsale Aberra, founder of the eponymous Amsale label and the creative director for Christos and Kenneth Pool.

After careful consideration, I thought it would benefit me to visit more than one bridal salon, so I ultimately scheduled appointments with Priscilla of Boston, the Amsale Flagship Store, and Kleinfeld.

First up: Priscilla of Boston. I arrived at the salon with my parents and two sisters, Lisa and Laura, only to be kept waiting for 30 minutes. The wait didn’t faze me – I was the bride-to-be looking for my wedding dress and it’s very difficult to come down from that high. I tried on several dresses and by my fifth gown, my whole family was convinced that I had found The One.

For the bride who wants to create an impact, ruffles are perfect!  They add drama and lovely movement to any dress. When the ruffles are multi-layered a gorgeous texture is created. Designers from high to low have been presenting dresses with this oh-so-fun trend.
 

Note: when shopping for this trend, make sure there is always a defined waist. Also, best to accompany these high impact dresses with minimal jewelry. Above three of my favorite ruffled dresses from the runways: Martina Liana (martinaliana.com), Reem Acra (reemacra.com) and Christos (christosbridal.com).

—Naima DiFranco

If you’re looking for creative ways to entertain, you’ll love the new collection of paper art from Ceci Johnson, luxury invitation designer, style expert and founder of Ceci New York.

Recently, I attended a Paper Art party in Ceci’s colorful store to introduce her new Ceci Vivre Collection. This gorgeous array of laser cut placemats, table and escort cards can easily transform any basic table into a work of art. Think bridal showers, engagement parties, after-parties and entertaining at home long after you’re married.

The four tables featured were all designed by Bridal Guide’s former Creative Director (and now contributing freelancer), Robin Zachary (nice job, Robin!):

For this nature-themed table, Robin used Ceci’s laser cut placemat and bird place cards to create a warm, natural look.

One of the worst things about the wedding being over? Having to write 100+ thank you notes. It's not that we weren't grateful for the gifts—of course we were! But I'm pretty sure the last time I had to handwrite anything major was on my college exams. As a result, writing thank you notes was painful—literally. My hand cramped up after just 3 notes.

A lot of photographers offer pre-printed cards in their packages, but that's considered an etiquette no-no because it's not personalized. But we committed an etiquette faux pas anyway by taking more than 3 months to painstakingly write all of our notes.

Enter ThankThank Notes. For $3 per note, ThankThank Notes will handwrite, hand-address, stuff, stamp and mail your notes. All you need to do is type up the message to be included with each. You can even choose which type of handwriting you'd like so that it closely matches your own.

I never get sick of telling the story of How I Found My Dress and How It Made Me Feel. Follow my journey to learn what to expect before you step into your bridal salon.

1. Bring at least one person who knows you EXTREMELY well and can read your facial expressions.

The first store I went to had about 10 dresses and they all looked horrendous on me. I panicked and my mind went into meltdown mode: What am I going to do? I hate everything in this shop! Oh my god, am I really that kind of a bride? The kind that hates everything? My maid of honor saved the day by Googling the nearest bridal shop and hightailing me out of there. She is Zen, in the form of a tall blonde girl. BG brides, when you're standing there in a big dress and random people in the store are “ohh-ing” and “ahh-ing” and all you want to do is take it off, you’ll need an honest, reliable companion to say, “I love it. But it’s just not you.”

2. You probably won’t buy the first dress you swear is The One.

When I walked into the Hobnob bridal boutique, I felt what it must be like to step into heaven. It was beautiful. White, ivory, and champagne-colored dresses floated around me everywhere. I told my lovely assistant Jac that we're having a vintage-styled wedding with a touch of modern (because Groomie can only handle THAT much vintage). I originally envisioned wearing this lace dress with a keyhole back, fishtail silhouette, no train, and a lace-trimmed veil: