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BY LEANNE ITALIEAssociAted Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Helen Bradley isn’t one of those women who fantasized about her wedding as a girl, so when the time came to tie the knot on the 10th tee of a golf course, she wanted to be relaxed, com-fortable and economical.

A short gown was just right for her Septem-ber nuptials, said the 27-year-old bank worker in Madison, Wis-consin.

“I had tried on a few long dresses and none of them felt like me. I’m a very practi-cal person. My mom picked out the short dress from a sale rack and it’s rare that I would like any-thing that my mom picks out,” she said with a laugh.

Once the domain of older or remarrying brides, short gowns are enjoying a little more of the love, from luxury brands like Monique Lhuillier, Oscar de la Renta and Marchesa to more affordable offerings.

The short looks aren’t just stand-in dresses origi-nally intended for bridesmaids or cocktail parties. Designers are offering a greater range of shorter

see drEssEs, pAgE 3

Wedding day style

Brides show short wedding gowns more of the love

ALAN d. ChArLEs | AP PhotoHelen Bradley, 27, of DePere, Wisconsin, poses on her wedding day at a country club.

Ludington Daily News/Bridal 3

From pAgE 2

styles as more brides break from tradition and personalize their wed-dings.

“A lot of people are doing more intimate settings, so a shorter dress just feels more appropriate. If they do the big wedding, some change into a shorter dress so they can dance and have a good time,” Lhuil-lier said.

Exactly how short is up to the bride. There are minis, high-low hemlines (high in the front and lower in the back), knee lengths, tea

lengths below the knee and so-called “transformers,” where a long train or sheer skirt detaches to show off a short dress underneath.

Designer Zac Posen put his own sister in one of the convertibles — in red — for her 2004 wedding.

“Her huge train came off to be-come a mini and she took it off to Judy Garland’s ‘Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart,’” he said. “It cov-ered the grandeur of the ceremony and the fun of the party.”

Long gowns remain the clear ma-jority of the $2.6 billion-a-year bridal gown market, noted Darcy Miller, ed-itorial director for Martha Stewart’s bridal site, Marthastewartweddings.com. But “more and more brides seem to be seeking no-fuss, light-weight and easier silhouettes,” she said. Some “want a dress they can run on the beach in or travel with to their destination wedding.”

Posen creates luxury short looks but also includes a few in his Truly Zac Posen collection. He said red-carpet trends influence some brides, and these days they’re seeing more short, fancy dresses.

Among high-profile brides to go short recently were fashion “it” girl Olivia Palermo and actress Cheryl Hines, who married Robert F. Ken-nedy Jr. last August in a strapless, white, tea-length creation by Romo-na Keveza.

Vera Wang makes short gowns too, in a range of pricepoints.

“I think you should wear what you feel most beautiful and most com-fortable in, and also what is most you, most individual,” Wang said.

Shorter dresses can be less ex-pensive — a huge factor for Bradley at her country club wedding before 125 guests. The reception was in a cozy room with a big fireplace, wood floors and sconces all around.

Her dress cost $400. She spent another $100 on a chunky glass statement necklace with matching earrings, and $99 for a pair of 4-inch Calvin Klein heels in dusty gold with a T-strap and side buckle.

“I’m an accessory person, so I knew when I saw the dress it was a blank canvas,” Bradley said. “I could go out and pick the perfect necklace and the perfect shoes and you could see them.”

But embellished, hand-sewn, cus-tom short gowns aren’t necessarily cheaper, depending on the materials and designer.

Emmy Mitchell, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, wore custom when she went short for her 2011 wedding. She had originally planned to modify the 75-year-old, long, ivory satin gown worn by her mother and grandmoth-er, but a mishap with a seamstress left much of the fabric unusable.

She regrouped, found another seamstress and was able to salvage some of the original fabric.

Unlike Bradley out on the golf course, Mitchell wore her short gown for a church ceremony.

“Everyone asked me, ‘Aren’t you worried about the church? Is it long enough?’” the freelance graphic de-signer said. “I was, like, no, I’m not worried. We wanted it to be fun, but we didn’t want it to be too casual.”

Dresses: Exactly how short is up to the bride

‘i think you should wear what you feel most beautiful and most comfortable in, and also what is most you, most individual.’

Vera Wangdesigner

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(MS) — Fairy tale wedding or modern twist? Many brides- and grooms-to-be have been thinking about their ideal wedding for years.

Themed weddings have grown in popularity -- as couples want to do what they can to set their event apart from the scores of other wed-dings guests have attended.

The key to themed weddings is to create a balance between tradi-tion and elements that tie into the theme.

• Decide on your theme: Devel-op a clear idea of what you’d like the theme to be. Themes can range from tie-ins to seasons to specific interests. Once you have a firm con-cept of your theme, you can plan and shop around it.

For the purpose of illustration, let’s use a winter theme as an exam-ple.

• Introduce your theme with sta-tionery: Your save-the-date cards or

wedding invitations will present the theme to your guests.

• Keep it simple: A winter theme may be achieved simply with color. Draperies, flowers, seat covers, ta-ble linens, etc. in a frosty blue, sil-ver or white will touch upon the feel of winter.

• Choose an accent: There may be one concept of your theme that you’d like to build upon, such as snowflakes. However, instead of paper snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, which would be more reminiscent of a classroom in-stead of a reception room, think about other subtle ways to incor-porate the accent. Delicate doi-lies under the china could hint at snowflakes. Italian pizzelle cook-ies dusted with powdered sugar look like snowflakes and are very tasty.

• Rely on flowers and lighting: Flowers, foliage and other natu-

ral accents can add a special touch to your wedding. Hydrangea or snowball plants (also called Guel-der rose) form large puffs of flow-ers that resemble snowballs.

Lighting is something couples often overlook. Famed party plan-ner David Tutera often uses light-ing to set the mood at the events he plans. Changing the color or the scope of the lighting for dif-ferent parts of your reception can create different moods.

• Choose festive foods: Foods don’t necessarily need to look like themed elements (mashed potato ski slopes). However, you can touch on the theme by using season-al foods such as winter squashes, hearty foods or seasonal fruits.

Creating a theme doesn’t have to be ostentatious or evoke feelings of a kids’ birthday party.

Subtle touches that are cohesive will provide the desired mood.

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Wedding weight-loss tips(MS) — Getting married can be a

huge motivating force for losing weight and shaping up.

According to Janice Rassin, Na-tional Bridal Director at Meyer Cor-poration, U.S., “Today’s Brides be-gin a transformation process 8 months before their wedding day. Their first step is starting a healthy eating plan followed by a new ex-ercise regiment. Making your own meals at home is the easiest way to balance nutrition, manage portions and cut calories.”

Weddings tend to have a simi-lar effect on members of the bridal party, parents of the engaged cou-ple, and guests. It’s a joyous occa-sion when everyone dresses up and wants to make a great impression.

So whether you’re the happy

bride, the maid of honor, the bride’s mother or a dear friend, consider an upcoming wedding occasion a fab-ulous opportunity to look and feel

your very best.“Losing a few pounds has benefits

beyond reducing a size,” says Ras-sin. “Nutrients from fruits and veg-etables improve the look of your skin and hair.”

Here are some useful tips and strategies for wedding weight loss:

• Set a realistic timeframe to reach your weight goal, understanding that slow and steady is preferable to fast and drastic drops in pounds. For most people, that means a weight loss of 1-2 pounds per week to avoid the counter-productive re-sult of losing lean muscle tissue.

• Choose an eating plan that is nutritionally sound and will pro-vide all the energy you need during this extraordinarily busy, and often stressful, period of planning a wed-ding. Avoid the temptation of fad

see WEddINg WEIghT Loss, pAgE 7

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From pAgE 6

diets, which tend to be unbalanced, restrictive and effective only in tem-porarily losing water weight, rather than excess fat.

• Focus your attention on all the wonderful foods you can eat on a healthy weight loss program, rath-er than obsessing about the foods that should be avoided.

• Sign up for a cooking class, ide-ally with your fiance, to hone your skills and knowledge about how to sear, saute, poach, steam, grill, roast, and bake a myriad of differ-ent sweet and savory foods with healthy and delicious results.

• Register for high quality pots and pans. You’ll have more con-fidence in the kitchen using well made cookware — the number one bridal registry gift. Home cook-

ing is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, since you have complete control over a meal’s in-gredients and portion sizes. Cook-ing with nonstick cookware is one of the easiest ways to reduce fat calories from your meals.

• Enlist the help of a personal trainer to teach you how to exer-cise properly. Most personal train-ers recommend a minimum of 2 one-hour long sessions a week, and sessions frequently combine core muscle strength-training, cardio and endurance exercises.

It’s a great way to learn the right

moves, overcome any hesitancy about lifting weights, and make sure you’re safely pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone for best results.

• If a personal trainer or gym membership isn’t right for you, consider options on the Internet. There’s a growing number of pro-fessionally designed Web diet and fitness programs geared to helping brides reach their fitness goals by their wedding day.

• Get a good night’s sleep. Be-ing tired makes it a lot harder to manage stress and focus on eating right. Health experts generally ad-vise on getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night. When you’re well rest-ed, it’s much easier to exercise with gusto, and smartly choose an apple over a candy bar to power through the afternoon.

WeDDing Weight Loss: Do it togetherhome cooking is essential

to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.


BY TrACEE m. hErBAughAssociAted Press

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Marathon bombings took Re-bekah DiMartino’s leg, but they couldn’t rob her of her joy as a new bride.

Her sometimes faltering search for the perfect wed-ding dress — trying on de-signer gowns while balancing on crutches — was featured in the December season finale of TLC’s popular reality show, “Say Yes to the Dress.”

Last month, after 30 surger-ies for injuries she suffered in the April 2013 bombings at the marathon finish line, doctors amputated her left leg below the knee.

DiMartino, 27, since has been outfitted with a prosthetic limb and is training to run the 2015 Boston Marathon.

The finale of “Say Yes to the Dress” captures her using crutches for balance as she tries on wedding dresses at Kleinfeld, an upscale New York City bridal salon.

DiMartino, whose maiden name was Gregory, was watch-ing last year’s marathon when the first of two bombs explod-ed a few feet away. Her son, Noah, now 7, and her then-boyfriend, Pete DiMartino, also were hurt.

see spECIAL WEddINg, pAgE 9

Ap phoToIn this March 5, 2014 photo released by TLC, Boston Marathon bombing victim Rebekah Gregory DiMartino tries on dresses during the taping of the series “Say Yes to the Dress.”

Joy despite tragedyMarathon bombing survivor featured on ‘Say Yes to the Dress’


From pAgE 8

The couple wed last spring in Asheville, North Carolina in front of 125 people, and now live in the Houston area.

Her appearance follows the show’s typical format, following a bride-to-be as she hunts for the dress of her dreams. But for DiMar-tino, standing long enough just to try one on was a feat in itself.

“Actually trying on the dresses was one of the most physically ex-hausting things I have ever done,” she said. “I almost passed out from the sheer pain quite a few times, but I was determined not to let it stop me.”

The couple was chosen for a “dream wedding contest” orga-nized by TheKnot.com, a wedding planning website. Visitors to the

site helped choose DiMartino’s dress, a fit-and-flare Sophia Mon-celli dress, as well as the couple’s rings and the venue for the nup-tials, the Biltmore Estate in Ashe-ville.

“It’s weird to say that it felt nor-

mal because of the cameras, but it was nice to concentrate on some-thing other than my leg at that point,” DiMartino said of filming the show’s finale. “Everyone was thinking about how my leg was do-ing, how many more surgeries and all that, so it was nice to focus on getting married and picking out a dress.”

The suspect, Dzhokhar Tsar-naev, was on trial Jan. 5. His older brother, Tamerlan, was killed in a shootout with police after the at-tacks, which killed three people and injured more than 260.

“This has made me so much more appreciative of every single day,” DiMartino said. “It’s a reminder that our days are not promised to us. I’ve been given a second chance at life and I’m not going to waste it.”

sPeciaL WeDDing: ‘It was nice to focus on getting married’‘this has made me so much more appreciative of every single day. it’s a reminder that our days are not promised to us. i’ve been given a second chance at life and i’m not going to waste it.’

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(MS) — Weddings are supposed to be joyous events, which can make it difficult to honor a deceased parent or family member.

Doing so in a way that does not compromise the upbeat mood of the event can prove quite a chal-lenge to prospective brides and grooms.

The death of someone close is rarely easy to accept, especially when it happens close to a couple’s wedding day. But there are many ways couples can honor a deceased parent at their ceremony.

• Display pictures of the deceased with the wedding couple so that the memory of these people can be part of the festivities.

• Set up a table with a special flo-ral arrangement and photo with a

placard that states, “In memory of ...”

• Wear a piece of clothing or jew-elry that belonged to the deceased. Cufflinks from a father or a veil from a mother.

• Ask the pastor or officiant to specifically mention the deceased in the wedding ceremony and of-fer a special prayer in that person’s name.

• Add a memoriam line to the end of the wedding program. “Today we honor Mary Smith, mother of the bride who could not be with us today.”

• Dedicate a special song during the reception in the person’s name.

• A bride who will not be able to walk down the aisle with her father can choose to do so with her mother

or another relative and carry some-thing that belonged to their father.

•Set up a photo slide show that includes photos of the deceased. Choose poignant but upbeat music so that the moment is not overly somber.

• Light a candle at the ceremony for the deceased relative.

• Leave an empty chair and place setting at the reception for the per-son who could not be there.

•Display something that symbol-izes the person at the wedding, such as a flag for a deceased veteran or an item that represents the person’s favorite hobby.

There are many ways to remem-ber a special loved one at a wedding without bringing down the mood of the event.

honoring a deceased loved one 14 Ludington Daily News/Bridal

(MS) — There’s no getting around the fact that weddings can be ex-pensive.

For many couples, they’re the first of the largest expenses they will make together. It’s quite easy for in-dividuals to go over budget on their wedding day if they do not carefully keep track of what has been spent on all the elements of the big day.

Use this budget planner to keep all of the costs associated with the wedding in one easy-to-manage place.

Budgeted Amount ___________ Amount Spent ______________

Venue and rentals ____________ Food and service _____________ Beverages _________________ Cake ____________________ Miscellaneous fees ____________

Gown and alterations __________ Headpiece and veil ____________ Accessories _______________ Makeup and Hair _____________ Groom’s tux or suit ___________ Groom’s accessories ___________

Floral arrangements ___________ Bouquets _________________Ring pillow ________________ Boutonnieres _______________ Corsages _________________ Reception decorations _________ Lighting _________________ Ceremony musicians __________ Reception musicians __________ Photography _______________ Videography _______________ Transportation ______________ Favors ___________________ Ceremony fee______________ Invitations _________________ Stationery_________________ Wedding rings ______________ Honeymoon _______________ Other expenses ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Make a budget, stick to itLudington Daily News/Bridal 15

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