Bridal's perennial favorite accessory: the flower. We're swooning over these floral-embellished gowns, perfect for the garden wedding. Floral accents have a super feminine feel, which works wonderful for bridal. We love the soft texture flowers imbue to any gown. This style is ideal for a spring or summer wedding. Here, a few faves from White by Vera Wang, Reem Acra, and Mia Solano.

—Naima DiFranco

Forget sparkling diamonds — the most grand proposal gesture of all might also be the most practical!

ERA Real Estate surveyed 1,000 people in committed relationships and found that 50% of female respondents in their 20s would rather forgo a diamond engagement ring and put that cash towards a down payment on a house. (In fact, 18 percent of participants said they had already skipped getting a ring for this very reason.) Interestingly, there appears to be a generational gap with this perception: only eight percent of women in their 50s and two percent of women in their 60s agreed.

Photo Credit: iStock

Furthermore, from those surveyed in the ERA study, 89 percent said their love bond was strengthened by buying a home together. With rising housing costs, socking away every little bit counts — according to U.S. Census data, the median sales price of new homes sold in the U.S. was $260,100 in January 2014. Factor in an unstable job market, student debt, and another potentially huge purchase to save up for — the wedding! — and our dollars are stretched now more than ever before. 

Oprah Winfrey's generosity is legendary — we're still kicking ourselves that we never got a chance to visit her talk show in Chicago (who could forget when her entire audience received new cars?). Now she's outdone herself once again by gifting the dress off her back to one lucky Twitter fan from Atlanta!

Brandi (who goes by the name @snobabi23) sent a funny tweet to the media mogul gushing over the stunning Brian Bennier dress that she wore on Essence Magazine's cover. Ask and ye shall receive:

To her surprise, a package arrived in the mail just one week later:

We can't wait to see a photo of Brandi on her big day! Props to her for scoring a wedding gown with such fascinating history.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Plus, read about another unbelievable wedding dream that came true recently.

Unleash your inner princess dreams with a frothy layered ballgown. Layers are incredibly graceful because of the way they flow and sway gently as you glide down the aisle. With the light airiness of a layered ballgown, you will appear to be floating on air. We love this style paired with an elegant dreamy veil. Soft waves in the hair add a modern edge to this look.

The key to looking good in a layered ballgown is ensuring the waist is tight and fitted. This gives you a gorgeous hourglass look. Here a few of our favorite frothy ballgowns by Watters, Oleg Cassini for David's Bridal, and Ella Rosa.

—Naima DiFranco

The sub-freezing weather makes me want to stay inside with comfort food and candlelight. Here are some ways to put a cozy spin on evenings at home. 

Le Creuset Heritage French Skillet
Growing up with this storied heavy-duty enameled cast iron cookware, the classic ombré-orange “Flame” was always my favorite color, but I’m now quite partial to “Quince,” pictured here (also available in “Flame” and “Cherry”). The skillet is based on a pan from Le Creuset’s design archives ($99.99, williamssonoma.com).

Dansk Kobenstyle Casserole
Vintage Kobenstyle pieces have been selling furiously on eBay, so thank goodness Dansk saw fit to bring back this groovy line of Danish cookware. Bonus points: The lid can also be used as a trivet for serving (from $80, dansk.com).

Birdkage Shibori Mini Bib Apron
These aprons are so gorgeous, I’d not only wear this for cooking, I’d keep it on for the finished meal — the perfect hostess-with-the-mostess wear ($90, birdkagestyle.com).