In The Emily Post Institute's latest book, Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette: 6th Edition, Emily's great-great-granddaughters Anna and Lizzie Post tackle modern-day wedding questions that the original etiquette expert never could've dreamed about, from how to use (wisely) use technology, the rules for same-sex weddings, and much more. Here, the fourth generation of Posts discuss the most common bridal shower games and traditions.

Photo Credit: Day 7 Photography on DIY Bride via Lover.ly

Party games for bridal showers are greeted with groans or giggles. It’s all in good fun, and even if party games aren’t your thing, as the guest of honor, be a good sport and go along with what your hosts have planned. Here are some of the more popular, time-tested traditions and entertainments.

The Ribbon Bouquet
The bridesmaids collect all the ribbons from the bride’s shower presents and gather them into a bouquet for the bride to carry at the wedding rehearsal. (My grandmother remembers doing this at her bridal showers!).

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Winter weddings are growing in popularity — December is now the #3 wedding month for BG brides, behind May and June — and with good reason. Harriette Rose Katz, a top wedding planner in New York City, breaks down the top 10 reasons why winter weddings rock.

Photo courtesy of Harriette Rose Katz

1. Seasonal Décor Gives Your Wedding a Unique Touch 
A winter wedding allows you to experiment with a themed décor. An easy way to incorporate this is with natural components, such as frosted pinecones, pine leaves, snowflakes, or holiday lights to enhance your winter wedding wonderland.

Photo courtesy of Harriette Rose Katz

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Photo via Los Angeles Times

The 56th Grammy Awards will air live tonight, and we won't just be tuning in for the red carpet fashion — The New York Times just revealed that a mass wedding will take place tonight during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis's performance! As the hip hop duo perform their Grammy-nominated marriage equality anthem, "Same Love," 34 couples of various ages, races, and sexual orientations will join the pair and exchange vows. And as you'd expect at a star-studded event, a few other celebrities will join in on the fun: Queen Latifah will be officiating, and Madonna will join the performance. The weddings “will be, in our minds, the ultimate statement of equality, that all the couples are entitled to the same exact thing," said Lewis.

The idea arose after Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich learned from his daughter that couples often propose onstage during Macklemore & Ryan Lewis concerts. So when the producer met with the musicians to discuss their upcoming performance, they decided to celebrate all kinds of love with a mass wedding. A casting agency then began searching for the real-life couples who would join in on this one-in-a-lifetime experience. At the time, the couples just knew that the wedding would occur on live television; they learned a few weeks ago that it'd be on music's biggest night of the year. 

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With a single stationary camera, A-Crew Media was able to create one of the most impressive wedding videos we've seen in a while! Since the couple, Mary Dvorsky and Steve Silver, hosted their ceremony and reception in one place, the camera was able to capture every moment of the big day, from the pre-ceremony mingling to the post-reception wrap-up. Then, the videography team sped up the footage at a rapid pace, resulting in a three and a half minute video that truly captures the essence of the wedding day. 

Mary Dvorsky and Steve Silver Wedding from Aaron Kroger on Vimeo.

This idea is such a great addition to a traditional wedding video — even though I love the video from my own wedding, it's quite a commitment to actually sit down and watch the hour-long production. How great would it be to re-watch the entire day (not just the highlights reel) in less than four minutes?

Tell us: What do you think?

—Kristen Klein

There used to be a stigma attached to living together prior to marriage, but not anymore — according to a recent survey, 79% of BG couples live together before marriage. This can make creating your wedding registry much more complicated — you've likely already accumulated plenty of new household items during your months (or years) of living together. So, how does the couple who has everything fill out a wedding registry?

Photo Credit: David Lazarus

Fill in the Blanks

Start by taking inventory and seeing what you still need. Shore up your dish collection with formal china, for example, or how about wine glasses and a matching decanter? You have likely spent the last few years stocking up on the basics, but consider the items that weren’t in the budget. Take advantage of the wedding registry to fill in the gaps and to double up on staple items, like bath towels or linens. Reviewing a registry checklist may also help to spark ideas.

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Loverly is the heart of weddings: a visual inspiration search engine designed to help brides discover ideas, people to hire, and things to buy. Loverly makes finding beautiful wedding inspiration easier than ever! Their images are powered by the best wedding publishers and wedding shopping partners on the web. Find Bridal Guide on Loverly >>

Sure, you could go the simple route and print your guests’ names on folded paper escort cards, but why not have a little more fun? Escort cards present a great opportunity to show off your wedding style and share something special with your guests. Whether you personalize each card with a memory or turn it into a DIY keepsake, there are plenty of ways to up your escort card game. Take a look at some of the most creative cards we’ve ever seen!

1. Include a sweet treat with your escort cards — we guarantee your guests will thank you.

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Our March/April '14 issue is now available on newsstands! Get a sneak peek at our cover shoot here:

Love the Val Stefani gown (style D8053) on our latest cover? We chatted with the sister design team behind the dress, Valerie and Stephanie Chin, to get the inside scoop on their inspiration, what it's like working together, their best style tips for brides, and more.

Valerie and Stephanie Chin

Q. What was your inspiration for this collection?

Valerie: We were inspired by the 2000 sculpture featured in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art this season. It's this 200-foot white geometric installation, and even though it's all precisely-placed blocks, as you're walking by, everything looks so different. It changes while you move, and that's what we were inspired by for this season.

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They're both (potentially) once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. They're also both incredibly expensive and, in this case, equally important to both the bride and the groom. 

Marni Vincent and Josh Armijo are die-hard Denver Broncos fans — they got engaged at a Broncos game in December, and they're even planning on getting Broncos tattoos together to commemorate this year's Super Bowl appearance. They were beyond thrilled when their favorite team won the AFC Championship, but now they're faced with a dilemma: "We always said if the Broncos go to the Super Bowl, we'd go," Armijo told HLN. But going to the Super Bowl will cost the couple at least $10,000 — the same as their wedding budget.

The bride-to-be added, "Sometimes I wish we weren’t so crazy about the Broncos, because then it wouldn’t be such a big deal to us. If we weren’t about to get married, it would be totally different. They’re two things that we both want."

The couple considered having a quick wedding the Saturday before the game, then flying out to New Jersey for the Super Bowl and making it their honeymoon, but too many of their friends and family members can't make it on that date. 

"It would be awesome for the journey that we’ve gone through," Vincent said. "[Going to the game] would be a little extra story to put on there. But, we don’t want to go into debt, and we don’t want to start a future with stress."

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In The Emily Post Institute's latest book, Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette: 6th Edition, Emily's great-great-granddaughters Anna and Lizzie Post tackle modern-day wedding questions that the original etiquette expert never could've dreamed about, from how to use (wisely) use technology, the rules for same-sex weddings, and much more. Here, the fourth generation of Posts tackle the biggest wedding invitation mistakes.

Photo Credit: Paperfinger via Lover.ly

Before you okay your proofs or send your invitations to the printer, review them for the following:

Check, double-check, and then have others check the wording. Be particularly attentive to spelling, the correct names and addresses of ceremony and reception sites, and the correct date and time.

Avoid any mention of gifts or listing of gift registries. Also, don’t include a notation such as “No gifts, please,” tempting as it may be. This keeps the entire focus of the invitation on the person you are inviting, not on any implied obligation to bring a gift. You can put registry or charitable-giving information on your website, or have family members and attendants help spread the word.

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Exercising and eating a healthy diet not only helps you look wonderful, but it makes you feel wonderful as well. And when it comes to your big day, of course you want to look and feel wonderful! To help you stay on track, we asked for some healthy-snacking tips, recipes, and advice from trainers, chefs, and dieticians. Enjoy and happy snacking! 

1. Cinnamon Nut Butter

Photo courtesy of Vitamix 

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