The Dresser, a favorite bridal salon in historic downtown Fullerton, isn’t content with just matching you and your gal pals up with great dresses—they also want to take a little financial stress out of planning your honeymoon.

There’s no doubt that the biggest 2009 wedding trends all seem to be centered on the same idea: less is more. Budget weddings are big: Couples everywhere are looking for the best deals around before they plunk down the plastic. Check out this episode of Road To The Altar for one hilarious example of a wedding budget gone awry:

It seems like peacock feathers have been showing up everywhere in the world of wedding fashion lately, and I have to say, I’m thrilled. Sure, hot pink or bright orange make a bold statement (and those colors definitely had their bridal heyday in recent years!), but I think the juxtaposition of hard metallic blue, green, and black colors and soft, fluttery feathers is such a fitting metaphor for today’s woman. Besides, a feather in your hair or bouquet is a perfect “something blue!”

Somebody you consider dear has passed; how do you honor them on your wedding day without bringing everyone’s mood down a few notches?

For a love note ceremony, the bride and groom both write a good old fashioned love letter to each other on their wedding day, expressing in detail how they feel about their relationship. They’re not allowed to see the other’s letters or show them to anyone else. The letters are then sealed and given to the officiant at the ceremony, who locks them in a box with a bottle of good wine, creating a time capsule and emergency wedding kit in one. If the bride and groom ever feel that the marriage is in jeopardy, they’ll open the box, drink the wine, and read the letters together.

Want to be a DIY bride but don’t know how to get started? WeddingDNA.com gives you access to chic graphic templates which can be used for wedding invitations, save-the-dates, programs, thank-you notes, place cards…even powerpoint presentations for reception slideshows! Membership’s just $39.95/year, and you can download and print as much as you need to create a cohesive wedding style. I’m partial to the Moonlit Owl design—a new twist on the usual lovebirds!

I confess to major butterflies for my interview with celebrity wedding planner and TV show host, David Tutera at the elegant Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena last month. I needn’t have worried. He was warm and charming, and very open to sharing his wedding planning pointers. Later when I dished the dirt with two of his “My Fair Wedding” Season 2 brides, Dee and Quiana, they both agreed that he was way more personable and down-to-earth than they had expected. I was particularly excited to confirm that David and I were in complete agreement about several key “Wedding Dos & Don’ts.”

It’s not exactly your traditional wedding cake topper. Some might even say it’s tacky to have a bride figurine “fondling” her groom.