After a year and a half of wedding planning, my big day is fast approaching. On the very last day of this month, I’ll be getting hitched in York Beach, Maine. I have everything bridal on the brain, so here’s my mini-reflection on events leading up to this day. (more…)

Yesterday, I cheated — on my wedding gown.

Here’s what happened: The editors at Boston Weddings asked me play model for an article in the Fall 2008 issue, which will showcase and compare the work of four local wedding photographers. Each shooter had the same bride (me), and the same venue (The Algonquin Club).

I am getting married on May 31, so I already have my own dress, an ivory, strapless Carolina Herrera. For these purposes, however, the editors suggested I pick out another from designer Liv Harris’s line at Vows.

I selected a gorgeous A-line, head-to-toe lace number that comes in strapless and v-neck versions. The strapless was simply stunning, and the champagne color made my skin glow, despite the fact that I’m still a pasty winter white. When I picked out my own dress, I thought I had found “the one,” but now I think I’ve found “the two!” (more…)

Bostonista braved the snow and cold early this morning to witness the madness at Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides at the Hynes Convention Center. As expected, hundreds of brides and their posses of ‘maids showed up, with t-shirts and team phrases ranging from the encouraging (”We won’t rest till we find Drouin’s dress”) to the downright vicious (”Knock ‘em over, Plow ‘em down, We’re here to find Jules a wedding gown”).

While some early birds made empty promises under a thinly-veiled guise of camaraderie, “We made a pact with the team behind us to keep each others sizes,” says Crystal, 26, of Cambridge, while one honest mother of the groom acknowledged, “Things have been friendly so far because the doors haven’t opened yet.”

Bostonista found that competition was most intense among the middle-of-the-line bridezillas and their crews, who engaged in shameless bad-mouthing, staredowns, and open threats.  “Someone in the bathroom said, ‘I don’t care what happens, I’m pushing all of these b*s out of the way.’ I’m definitely watching out for her,” says Erin, 24, of Boston. (more…)

Bostonista just returned from this morning’s Filene’s Basement Running of the Brides event at Hynes Convention Center, which continues until 8 p.m. tonight. It’s a new location, but the concept hasn’t changed, and with a bit more room to roam, the ladies weren’t as feisty as expected. We rounded up some tips from the bound and determined brides who managed to score the dream dress.

And even if you missed it today, you can still use our tips on February 29, when the sale hits New York City’s Filene’s Basement in Union Square (4 Union Square South ) at 8 a.m., or on March 21 at the Filene’s Basement in Paramus, NJ (Bergen Town Center 2701, Route 4 East), which also starts at 8 a.m. (more…)

If you tend to blank on the lesson learned from witch-hunts, Dutch tulip mania, and McCarthyism, don’t worry: The Filene’s Basement Bridal Event—that annual reminder of individually reasonable people’s tendency to go batshit in crowds—is tomorrow at the Hynes Convention Center.

(more…)

Choosing a bridal gown is stressful enough, but just wait until you have to find one dress to flatter six women. Six women with six varied skin tones, hair colors, and body shapes, no less. I began the bridesmaid dress search for my late spring beach side wedding months ago. While I wanted the entire bridal party to like the dress I chose, I knew the chances that everyone would be happy were slim to none.

But Aria Bridesmaids at 39 Newbury St. confronts this potential crisis head on. (more…)