World Kitchen Presents Wedding Day Radio

Sam Jaeger is living proof that just because an actor has played opposite such ladykillers as Bradley Cooper—in American Sniper—and Benicio Del Toro—in Traffic—he can still wind up being the kind of guy you take home to mother. “We’ve been together for 16 years,” the star of NBC’s Parenthood tells Milling About host Robin Milling of college sweetheart Amber Jaeger. “We spent the first eight years trying to figure out what it means to be in love with your best friend. And one of the things my...

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something… green? Rhyme or no rhyme, that’s the sentiment more and more brides a marrying by these days. And no one knows it better than Adele Wechsler of Eco-Culture wedding gowns. “One of the ways of going green when picking a wedding dress is to look for a sustainable fabric. You want to find natural fabrics, not manmade. So look for silk,” the designer tells Green & Gorgeous host Renee Ross. “But not just any silk. It should be eco-silk,...

“White weddings weren’t always the norm in Western culture,” I Do Radio host Angela Chester explains in her series on connubial couture. “One of the first women to walk down the aisle in white was Mary Queen of Scots, when she married Francois II of France in 1558. Considered inauspicious, white was at that time the official color of mourning in France. It didn’t become popular until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe. Victoria wore a white gown as a way to...

Patricia Davis of Organically Yours Bridal delves into the essence of a successful wedding dress. “When we custom sew a wedding gown, we’re sewing that gown not based on fashion or trends. We’re sewing it based upon satisfying that bride, the designer tells Your True Colors host Carolyn Bendall. “Every bride should be able to select a gown based on what she wants. But because there are so many things every bride wants in a gown, the chances of matching every single detail with a...

What’s a bridesmaid to do to look fabulous without upstaging the bride or breaking her own bank? That conundrum prompted Saukok Chu Tiampo to found 57 Grand Bridalwear. “In 2007, I had a destination wedding in Anguila, where I invited my eight bridesmaids to join us for the weekend,” she tells Wedding Planning Radio host Jeannie Uyanik. “I wanted to defray the cost of the dresses, so I gifted them to my maids. But while shopping for eight dresses, I didn’t see anything I liked. That’s when I...

Now or forever? That’s the choice brides must make when it comes to cosmetics, says stylist Chris Lanston, whose clients that include Tyra Banks and Alan Thicke. “Most brides want their makeup simple but glowy. So I use products with a lot of mica in them. But I also tell my brides to figure out if they want to look beautiful and stunning during the ceremony, or in their photos. Because the latter requires a little heavier makeup. If you paint your face normally, you look fantastic in...

Naomi “The Cake Aussie” Levine has made name for herself as a master baker whose creations have been the toast of many a Midwest wedding since 2004. So we were curious to learn what confectionary delight she served at her own nuptials. “It had to be over the top. And it wasn’t just one, it was two cakes: One for me and one for John,” the TipsyCake founder tells The Wedding 101 Show host David Rothstein of her hubby. “We love to create cakes that are a true reflection of the groom’s...

When curvy bride-to-be Ann Campeau found a gap in the wedding-wear market, she didn’t cry in her rehearsal-dinner soup. She said “I do!” to one of the biggest opportunities of her life. “In my own search for a gown—when I wore a size 14—I was the average size of the typical American woman. Yet I couldn’t fit into any dress anywhere. Then I was talking to my brother and asked him, ‘What do women who are larger than me do?’ And he said, ‘Someone should open a plus-size bridal salon.’ So I...

There’s no doubt the world’s getting smaller. And in that process, interfaith marriages are becoming more common. But how to navigate the tricky territory that comes with this trend? “The single most popular piece of content on our site is the Guide to Wedding Ceremonies for Interfaith Couples,” Ed Case, CEO of Interfaith Family, tells Wedding Planning Radio host Jeannie Uyanik. “That explains a lot about Jewish wedding traditions and how to incorporate other traditions into a Jewish...

There’s a reason uber-producer Mark Burnett picked Diann Valentine to host his Wedding Day reality series: She’s got a passion for making brides and grooms happy. “We travel around the country and find deserving couples who, for one reason or another face circumstances that prevent them from having the wedding of their dreams,” the celebrity events planner tells Buzzworthy Radio host NaVell Lee. “So we show up and in four days, we supersize it and make it bigger and better than anything they...

Call it Ken-do attitude. “I started dressing my Barbie dolls when I was 10 years old,” bridal designer Therez Fleetwood, who’d go on to create the only Afrocentric costumes ever worn by Mickey and Minnie Mouse at Walt Disney World, tells Wealthy Sistas host Deborah Hardnett. “So my mother sent me to sewing school. But I wasn’t a big fan of that, and quit after three months. Then my mother bought me a sewing machine, but I didn’t do anything with it for about three years. Then something hit...

I Do Radio host Angela Chester digs into the issue of wedding-gown preservation with Kyle Matthews of Janet Davis Cleaners: Should a bride try to use a steamer herself, the kind you can buy at a local retail store, or should she have it professionally done? “First of all, look on the label inside the dress. Because some dresses can’t be steamed or they fall apart,” Kyle advises. “But if you want to try steaming, do it in an area where no one is going to see it. If you don’t like what you’re...

Get decked out for your big day for under a hundred bucks? Impossible, you say? Not according to Unik Apparel founder Rose Reyes. “The wedding dress you saw on my blog was just $44.99. I got it from Target,” she tells Make Me Over, Eb! host Ebony Looney. “I went online and found this really simple gown. And for someone having a small wedding or a second wedding, it’s surpisingly classy. And I paired the dress with some shoes from Target as well, which cost just $11.99. They’re extremely...

“Don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer number of wedding gowns out there,” designer Amsale Aberra, whose clients range from Anna Paquin to Viola Davis, advises brides-to-be. “Remember: it’s still a dress, it still has to flatter you. So before you say, I have to find the perfect wedding dress, find out what kind of dress will flatter you. Figure out what’s the right shape for you, and what type of wedding you’re going to have,” she tells Conversations with Linda host Linda Lawson. “When you’ve...

How far out should couples order their wedding cake? “That all depends on the difficulty of the design, Mary Winslow of Sinful Wedding Confections tells The Wedding 101 Show host David Rothstein. “The season you want to get married in is also a key factor. So a general range for the height of a wedding season—between Memorial Day and Labor Day—would be five to six months. But if you’re getting married in February, you could easily book your baker in January, because that’s such a slow...

Traditionalists may shudder at the notion of doing away with elaborate wedding invites, but Katie Martin of Eco-Beautiful Weddings says that’s one of the keys to green nuptials. “Some of the inserts may not be necessary, like a reception card or an inner envelope,” she tells Green & Gorgeous host Renee Ross. “Another thing is you can say is ‘Reception to follow at such and such a location,’ and have a small insert that gives not only the hotels and travel information, but the location of the...

Wanna throw a sophisticated reception? Then be sure to tune into The Wedding 101 Show as host, and veteran Chicago-based band leader, David Rothstein delves into the dancing-between-courses craze. “We do it probably 80 to 90 percent of the time at the weddings we play these days,” he says. “As the term implies, this is dancing between dinner courses, throughout the dinner portion of your evening. It originated in upsate New York, it was a very high-society way of throwing a wedding...

Serving your reception meal buffet-style has its pros and cons, notes Confetti Radio host Debbie Quain: “The upside is that guests get to mingle at the buffet tables, and sample a variety of dishes to boot. The downside is that long lines often form at the tables, which is something I absolutely hate to see. There’s no elegance to that. Another minus is that it’s harder for the caterer to control the portions, because you don’t know which dishes will be more popular. The best way to...

If a Good Humor-like ice-cream truck is the last thing you’d expect to see at a wedding reception—particularly one toting wine-flavored treats—you’re in for a big surprise. “We drive up with the old-school music playing right out of the truck, and it just lights up the crowd. They’re turning around trying to figure out where it’s coming from,” Felecia Hatcher of Feverish Ice Cream tells I Do Radio host Angela Chester. “What’s unique about our ice-cream truck is all the different selections...

Unlike the bride, who typically picks out her wedding wardrobe solo, the groom has no such luck. At least not according to Tuxego.com founder Anthony Commisso. “I never do a consultation without the bride because, irrespective of what we might choose together, I just know that the groom will go home to tight lips and a frown because he hasn’t lived up to his bride’s expectations,” he tells I Do Radio host Angela Chester. “So to spare the poor man I insist upon the bride coming along with the...