This is a great idea: instead of wearing your wedding dress just once, why not get together with some fo your girlfriends and have a party so you can all wear your gowns again? Some Canadian brides have decided to do just that. A story on McCleans.ca shares the variety of parties and events that Canadian ladies have hosted just for an excuse to pull out their fabulous dress again. From Oscar parties to flash mobs, these newlyweds are getting lots of enjoyment out of their wedding gowns. I love it!

Peyton Wright, the blond beauty from “The Bachelor” and Chris Lambton from “The Bachelorette” tied the knot on May 5th at a relaxed celebration at South Carolina’s Wild Dune Resort. Their wedding featured down home cuisine and a modern color palette of pale yellow and gray attire. Married life should be plenty busy for the newlyweds; according to a story on Brides.com, they will be starring in the new HGTV series “Going Yard”.

I love a Lilly Pulitzer inspired wedding, and apparently so does Southern Weddings. They are hosting s really fun Pinterest contest: ladies can “pin” their ideas for a Lilly style wedding and the winner gets a new dress from the Lilly Pulitzer Summer 2012 collection. Entries have to be in before May 25th, 2012, so start pinning!

Purple and orange are both wildly popular wedding colors for 2012, but rarely have I seen them used so beautifully in combination. This Denver wedding featured on Every Last Detail truly misses no detail. Everything from the ceremony programs to the flowers to the lighting makes brilliant use of the color scheme. Perhaps best of all is the insane and delicious looking purple and orange cupcake tower.

Garden weddings are always lovely, and this recent Secret Garden theme wedding on 100 Layer Cake is nothing short of achingly beautiful. Using shades of yellow, seafoam green, and white, they styled a lush reception with the feeling of an enchanted garden. My favorite details? The divine crystal chandelier and wedding cake seen here.

Who says print media is a dying art form? Not Once Wed, the popular wedding website that is full of dreamy images of slightly quirky weddings. They have just released their first ever print magazine, which is full of the same inspirational pictures and stories that visitors to the Once Wed website have come to love. Whether you are planning a wedding or not, you might just want to pick up a copy of this beautiful new magazine.

Recently we saw the vow renewals of Mariah Carey and hubby Nick Cannon, which has become a yearly tradition. Now LeAnn Rimes Cibrian and her husband Eddie Cibrian have renewed their vows on their first wedding anniversary. The couple celebrated with a simple ceremony in Cabo San Lucas, according to Brides. What do all the non-celebrity newlyweds out there think – will you be renewing your vows on your first anniversary too?

Who doesn’t love something sweet and cold on a hot summer day? Martha Stewart has ideas and recipes for gorgeous summer wedding frozen treats. Ideas include fancy heart shaped ice cream sandwiches made with meringue, granita (a fancy kind of Italian ice), sorbet shaped to look like tiny wedding cakes, and fresh ice cream. Any of these mouthwatering desserts are sure to be a big hit with your wedding guests!

Brides magazine recently did a feature about really cool wedding favors, and this custom MP3 player takes top honors. It is a wearable button in a personalized box – have you ever heard of a more fun favor? Other top favor choices featured include whoopie pies, splits of champagne with straws (for the after party!), and super fancy cookies.

A recent interview in the Mineola Monitor

reveals the current top trends in wedding cakes. Whimsical designs with polka dots and ribbons are in. So are fresh flowers, which are a much more affordable cake decoration than handmade sugar blossoms. Want to know what is out of style for wedding confections? Formal cakes with towers and fountains. And if you really want your wedding cake to impress, choose a selection of unique flavors – maybe even a different one for each tier. Yum!

The traditional formal tiered wedding cake is wonderful, but nothing can beat a wacky groom’s cake for character. The best groom’s cakes represent something the groom really likes, whether it is his favorite sport, pet, hobby (judging from the cakes shown on the Knot, drinking beer counts as a hobby!), movie, etc. Groom’s cakes tend to be very offbeat and can be a great way to add levity to a fairly traditional wedding. Incredible Hulk cake, anyone?

The Huffington Post reports that brides can plan a wedding for this summer that is on-trend but still affordable. Using pops of bright color is one idea that is recommended for brides who want their wedding to feel fresh and current without blowing their budget. Tangerine and neon bright colors are especially hot for 2012 weddings for everything from wedding accessories to flowers, so a little splash of these bold hues will go a long way!

Thinking about registering for some special dinnerware for your bridal registry? Then you have to check out this story on the Knot about the latest tabletop trends for dishes, barware, glasses, cookware, and soft goods. Some of the top trends are romantic, metallic, retro, and even butterflies. New tabletop collections from Vera Wang and Isaac Mizrahi mean that you can even register for dishes designed by the same person who created your bridal gown!

Can a couple from NYC transform a rustic barn in Maine into a charming colorful wedding space while also honoring the bride’s Chinese heritage? Actually, yes. Somehow Ruth and Ed managed to pull together a lot of different elements (colorful ribbons, vintage tea cups, lobster, and felt heart boutonierres) into one lovely wedding. See the pictures on Brides.com and find out how Ruth and Ed pulled all of these disparate things together to create their dream wedding.

Proving that you can never have too much of a good thing, lovebirds Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon renewed their marriage vows – again. The couple has repeated their pledge around their anniversary every year since their 2008 marriage. This year’s version took place in Paris, according to CNN. Last year’s vow renewal took place in the hospital after the birth of their twins…who knows that they will do for next year’s anniversary?

If you have always dreamed of wearing a top name bridal designer like Vera Wang or Oscar de la Renta for your wedding, but have a limited budget for your wedding dress, you may just be able to make your dream come true. Nearly Newlywed is a new service that buys almost-new designer bridal gowns and resells them for a fraction of the original price. After the wedding, brides may even have the option of selling the gown back to recoup some of their investment. Recent bridal gowns featured included a $10,000 Vera Wang feather and tulle gown for $4100 and a $10,500 Marchesa dress for $3200. Happy shopping, fashionista brides!

According to the Huffington Post, a recent survey shows that over half – 53% – of brides and grooms say they prefer cash gifts for their wedding. Honestly the only thing that surprised me about that survey was that the numbers were not higher! Just remember, engaged couples, that it is never okay to put a request for cash gifts on your wedding invitations!

Not the splashy attention-seeking couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge skipped the lavish first anniversary celebration. Instead they marked the occasion by attending the wedding of dear friends Hannah Gillingham and Robert Carter. The former Kate Middleton looked both lovely and sensible in a black lace dress that she also wore on her first royal tour of Canada. The New York Post has more on the Suffolk wedding.

If you can’t get enough of the guilty pleasure known as “My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding”, you are in luck – the American version debuted last night on TLC. Much like the British version, there are teen brides in extravagant wedding gowns, as well as the same strict view of morality (at least for the girls). Learn more about the spin-off and get an inside peek into American gypsy culture at TLC.

Here’s a new twist on an old wedding tradition: instead of putting out a book and a pen for guests to sign, one couple set up a special Twitter account. The Ohio couple set out a sign inviting their family and friends to log in and send live tweets throughout the reception. Let’s just hope that the people that didn’t make the cut for the wedding invitation list didn’t see the tweets and feel left out of the fun! Check out the story on the Knot.

Brides magazine has made its list of the top bridal trends upcoming for Spring 2013 weddings. The bridal mag says to watch for: gowns with bold color, sexy portrait backs, chic peplums, timeless lace, and convertible dresses. The convertible dresses are particularly intriguing, because they give the bride two looks in one. Wedding gowns with detachable skirts have been around for a few years, but the trend has migrated North for 2013 in the form of removable capes and dramatic shoulder poufs. It will be fun to see which of these trends will have staying power…

Oscar de la Renta wedding gown with detachable cape. Credit: Brides magazine

As greater numbers of young women have flocked to big cities for jobs, it has left the men in small Spanish towns without wives, and the ancient towns in danger of fading from existence. An enterprising dating group has tried to reverse the trend by importing eligible young women to the town of Candeleda, Spain. It is a modern day version of the pioneer women who made the trek to the Western U.S. to marry and settle the West, according to the report in the Huffington Post

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A young Israeli couple were happily surprised when they learned that their friends had taken to social networking site Facebook to raise funds to throw them a dream wedding. The engaged couple had mentioned to pals that they did not have the money to have a big wedding, so a couple of their friends decided to come up with the money themselves. Their quest was so successful that over 280 kind strangers banded together to provide the young couple with everything they needed for their wedding, and even some furnishings for their new home. The full story can be found on ynetnews.com.

A pair of pampered pooches tied the knot in Palm Desert, CA on April 22nd surrounded by 100 of their nearest and dearest. The platinum dog wedding featured all the trimmings: flowers, a wedding cake, and a reception with an open bar. The event cost $5000, but it was money well spent: the nuptials of Scruffy and Snickers was in fact a fundraiser to raise money for the Orphan Pet Oasis Humane Society of the Desert in North Palm Springs. Read the full story on wxlt.com.

Never let it be said that the older generation cannot be current with the latest social media. When singer Neil Diamond, 71, married his manager Katie McNeil, 42, the news was announced with a tweet: “Katie and I got married last night, we wish you all could’ve been there. It was magical!” It makes sense, considering that the couple announced their engagement on Twitter last fall. Hopefully the third time is the charm for Diamond, and this marriage will have him singing “Sweet Katie” for years to come. Read more about the newlyweds on CNN.