WEDDING PLANNING

Wedding planning can be stressful as hell, and it's inevitable that—at some point or another—you'll end up fighting with your friends and family. Why? It has nothing to do with picking and choosing wedding vendors. In the end, one DJ is the same as another. And it has even less to do with time. With most couples planning their weddings at least one year in advance, it's easy to space out all the items on your wedding planning to-do list so that you don't break down into a weeping pile of taffeta and confetti. Nay. The number one cause of arguments during wedding planning? The ones you love (and who presumably love you). Thanks a lot, friends and family.

When self-pleasure surpassed the regular stuff. Bozo gets dumped for letting his girlfriend take a foul ball beaning for him. Statistical signs he may be cheating. More on manscaping. The extra benefits of a vasectomy. Escaping a boring relationship. Worst wedding trends. Where wedding planning and fantasy football meet. Can men and women be friends? Signs she's faking an orgasm. And some tough love for women who dig married men.

The traditional matrimony industry isn't always as mutable as you'd like. That's where two broads from East Point, GA (it's in SW Atlanta*) decided to make a difference. Kristen and Maria Palladino had one devil of a time getting everything lined up for their nuptials and decided that others may also need a point in the right direction. To that end, they created Equally Wed, a web-zine dedicated to the gay marriage niche.

Infamous, recluse Conan O'Brien has turned some gal life flipped / turned upside. The former host of The Tonight Show decided to single out one Twitter user to follow and see what would happen. Yes, it is the exact same plot as Trading Places but without the frozen orange juice concentrate scheme. Sarah Killen (twitter.com/lovelybutton) if she was ready for her life to change and she was ready. Evidently, since she was about to get married, the 19-year old was ready for any and all changes to come her way.

Most women have it pretty easy on their wedding day. The months of planning, dieting, haggling, bargaining with God and breath-holding (sorta) move into the rearview mirror if everyone does their damned job and manages to stow their petty bullsh. Occasionally, a woman will pitch an extra level of difficulty into the miasma of wedding day mayhem. One woman starts her honeymoon by having a baby, and another kicks things off from a jailhouse.

Last year, when Jay got on one knee in Battery Park in Manhattan and proposed, I accepted and realized I was filled with joy—at the prospect of spending the rest of my life with him—then panic, associated with the idea of becoming a bride. So after saying yes, I said, "Let's elope!" trying to make it sound bright, shiny and enticing. To my frustration, his response was, "No way!" I threw my hands in the air and issued my challenge: "Fine. You're planning this thing."

Before I got engaged, I used to think a couple's truest test of compatibility and readiness for marriage was living together. What could be more of a test, I reasoned, than successfully sharing the same space, splitting the bills, and delegating household chores while still enjoying each other's company and remaining sexually attracted to one another? That's why, when my boyfriend proposed after nearly a year and a half of co-habitation, I didn't hesitate in saying 'yes.' I'd lived with a boyfriend before—for over three years—and when that relationship eventually became more like brother-sister than boyfriend-girlfriend, I ended things and wondered if it was even possible for me to live with someone and continue loving him in the romantic sense. But then I met Drew and realized it was.

Forget rain on your wedding day. A Milwaukee couple is heading into the sea of marital bliss surrounded by some unexpected artifacts—namely those from the Titanic.

Give your friends a gift that doesn't have an obvious monetary value. In other words, resist the urge to write them a check in the amount of $54.25 even if it shows you're down to your last dollar. Instead, seek out registry items that pack a good punch. A miniature crystal vase doesn't carry as much weight as say, an oversized overnight bag. Luggage is a great gift for guests on a budget and if you can find it on sale, even better.

Does your groom have delusions of grandeur when he talks about the size of his... reception hall? Then he might be a Groomzilla!Newly engaged or weeks away from your wedding, the symptoms of a Groomzilla can strike your fiancé at any time. Craig Bridger, author of Surviving Groomzilla: A Bride's Guide offers warning signs and tips on how to tame the beast that has taken over the wedding planning.

Groomzilla doesn't get the same press as his twin sister, Bridezilla. In fact, some people still don't know he exists. But believe me, he's out there. According to Bridal Guide magazine, an astounding 80 percent of grooms are now full planning partners in their weddings. And the results are unsettling. An excerpt from Surviving Groomzilla: A Bride's Guide, by Craig Bridger.

The first year of marriage is notoriously tough, but for couples whose wedding days have gone awry, perhaps this makes the rest easier.In any case, having a disaster wedding day certainly bars the post-wedding blues. Sophie Clarke had been planning her wedding day for three years. Every detail was in place, including the fairy tale touch of a horse-drawn carriage transporting her to the site of the ceremony. Turns out, the reality was not anywhere near the fantasy the British bride had in mind. The horse pulling Clarke's dream carriage bolted on the way to the church, ousting the driver. With the bride and her father still in the open-sided carriage, the horse continued galloping, eventually crashing into a car and losing Clarke and father from the back before settling down to graze in an open pasture. Clarke was taken to a hospital and treated for a concussion—an ending very different from the one she'd orchestrated for her wedding day.

As we know, traditional weddings are out and unique weddings—be them green, red or otherwise—are in. Weddings today are about adding a personal touch, and one of the clearest ways couples are choosing to convey their distinctive personality is through music and, specifically, the ceremonial first dance at the reception.

Today's Washington Post has a slideshow of the best dresses for second weddings. Eleven percent of engaged women and 17% of men said their upcoming nuptials would not be their first, according to a Conde Nast poll. Second time around, brides tend to choose gowns that are very different from what they wore at their first wedding. And red carpet events and celebrity weeklies that showcase fanciful frocks are fueling both brides' and designers' desires for creative wedding dresses.