It took one shopping trip, and I bought my wedding dress.  I can't tell you much about the dress in case the fiancé stumbles across this, but I will tell you about the shopping process.  My mother, sister and I went to a boutique this weekend in Geneva called Crystal Bride. I had downloaded The Knot’s Look Book app on my iPhone, which allows you to look through thousands of different dresses and save your favorites. One dress that I loved was made by Ella Bridal. According to Ella Bridal’s website, there are five stores in Illinois that carry Ella dresses. The closest to Woodridge is Crystal …

The reception. It's the biggest party you'll ever hold, as I've been told on multiple occasions.  And while having a good DJ and an open bar is a traditional standby as a recipe for success, a new staple has welcomed itself to the reception scene: the photo booth.  If you haven't had the opportunity to partake in this venture, I'll explain how it works. Mobile photo booth companies will bring the photo booth to your reception site and provide props and printing.  Your guests are encouraged to enter the photo booth during the reception, don feather boas, oversized sunglasses and funny hats and…

This past Sunday, I went to the Luxury Bridal Expo with my mom at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Brook.  We thought it'd be fun to check out the expo and the fashion show they have afterward.   Let me say that getting a large group of women together is one thing. Getting a large group of women, about half of whom have the self-important air because they're the V.I.B. (yes, they gave us stickers that said that), to make their way through dozens of vendors in tight spaces is a madhouse.  Vendors had set up shop in two rooms in the hotel. The rooms were divided into three main aisles with vendors …

We're in the thick of wedding season, so when you're attending weddings this summer, you may want to impress your tablemates with these fun wedding facts and figures. Bet you didn't know  The longest wedding dress train ever worn was in Aug. 2009 by Chinese bride Lin Rong. Measuring 7,173 feet, 4 inches long, it was handmade by her groom’s family. Each year in the United States, 17 tons of gold are transformed into wedding rings. In almost half of U.S. weddings each year, either the groom or bride has been previously married. Traditions  Brides wear something blue on their wedding day to …

Editor's note: My Woodridge Wedding, our series of wedding-related articles, has been moved to Wednesday (for fans of alliteration). Check back each week for another post.  We're in the thick of wedding season. So for a little fun, Patch writer Suzy Chudzik put together a list of wedding traditions from around the world.  Forget about the chicken dance, throwing rice and the bachelor party. We may have our traditions, but check out these wedding customs from around the world. Another reason not to like broccoli  At Scottish weddings, green is typically not worn. It is thought to be the color …

There are certain rites of passage to being engaged. First off, you can buy tons of wedding magazines as "research" (something I have yet to do, though I did buy some books at Barnes and Noble with my mom).  You can rewatch the five season of Say Yes to the Dress on Netflix (also research!).  And suddenly, all of those wedding movies you've watched with your mom and sister since you were little seem a bit more relevant.  Sure, there are thousands of movies with weddings in them. It's a big life event that has been cinema-tized over and over again. But these are my favorites. Feel free to add …

Ever wonder how much couples spend on a wedding locally?  According to costofwedding.com, in the 60517 zip code, the majority of couples spend between $19,764 and $32,940, slightly higher than the national average. The site said those numbers were based on an average number of guests between 156 and 170. A single guest could add between $146 and $178 to the overall cost of the wedding.  The national average for wedding costs is $24,066, though the majority of couples spend $18,050 and $30,083.  The site warns that you'll spend 50 to 100+ percent more by using "well-experienced professionals, …

I'm having fun calling Zach my fiancé.  Even though we have a date and a ceremony and a reception site, being engaged still feels very surreal.  This is to be expected, I'm sure. We've only been engaged for three weeks, after all.  If I take a lesson from, "Say Yes to the Dress," I would know that for many brides-to-be, the "Oh my gosh I'm getting married moment," is closely tied to finding the right dress.  I've watched five seasons of this show (hey, each episode is shorter than 30 minutes!), so I've seen this powerful, emotional reaction dozens of times.  Finding the dress might make this …

Each week, I'll update you with my experiences planning a wedding in the Woodridge area. In case you missed last week's inaugural edition of "My Woodridge Wedding," you can read all about my engagement here. Yep, we already know when and where this wedding will happen. For Zach and I, we didn't have one day picked out. We just knew we wanted to get married in May or June of 2012. Shortly after he proposed on April 16, my mom and I started checking in with the church and possible reception sites to see what was open. I wanted to get the date nailed down fairly quickly -- I didn't want to wait …

Mondays can be a pain. That's why I've decided to post an edition to a new column, "My Woodridge Wedding," every Monday to give you a quick break. WARNING: This column will contain cute stories, the occasional wedding planning freak-out and the musings of a 23-year-old in love. I hope these are all things you will enjoy reading as my fiancé and I plan our 2012 wedding. Zach and I have been together since Feb. 3, 2007. That's when he asked me to be his girlfriend. We were both freshmen at Northwestern University at that time. I graduated in 2010 and took a job as the local editor of Woodridge …