We’ve heard this story time and time again:

You invite a friend to your wedding. You’ve perfectly budgeted, so when he asks if he can bring his girlfriend, you give him your regrets and let him know that you simply can’t accommodate another guest. He knows at least a dozen other people at the wedding, so you assure him it will be fun without his girlfriend by his side.

Your big day arrives, and lo and behold you see your friend saunter up with his girlfriend. Iin front of all of your guests while you are standing there in your wedding attire with your new spouse, he asks, “It’s okay if Jenny stays for the reception, right?”

This is a classic wedding crasher sabotage move. Bringing a guest who is not invited is a faux pas all on its own, but asking your permission on the day of your wedding is downright rude.

What would you do? Smile and say, “Of course,” or toss him and his girlfriend out to make more room for your more polite friends?

What’s the proper way to handle a wedding crasher? Is it the more the merrier? Rant or rave about it!

Dear Divas:

My fiancee and I are having two separate receptions due to the fact that she lives in one country and I in another.  Given geographies and differing religions we decided to have the main ceremony and reception in her country since she comes from a much larger family.  Here in the US we will have a small symbolic religious ceremony and a cocktail reception afterward as more of a “get to know the bride” type reception.

Since we will already be married when we have the US reception, I’m not sure what to have written on the invitation.  Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Wondering Wanderer

Dear Wondering Wanderer,

Lucky you!  Two weddings to plan in two different countries!  Thankfully, the wording is not very complicated in this situation.  Instead of listing your name and your fiancee’s maiden name, you’d simply list yourselves as Mr. and Mrs (insert married name here).  You’d also change the wording of what exactly you’re inviting your guests to attend.  Instead of saying “the wedding of” or “the marriage of”, you can say something like “to recognize their marriage of” or “to celebrate their marriage”.  For example:

Mr. and Mrs. Wondering Wanderer

Request the pleasure of your company

to celebrate their marriage.

Good luck and happy planning!

Most of us head in to our wedding planning wanting to be a peaceful, pulled-together, friendly bride.  We hope our bridesmaids are thrilled to be a part of our big day, we want to bond with our mothers over dress and flower decisions, and we pray that everything simply falls into place.  But fantasy doesn’t always match reality.  Wedding planning is expensive, hectic and on top of it all, most brides have some image of perfection that they’d like to project.  As a result, most brides have at least one bridezilla moment in the many months leading up to their wedding.  However, some simply take it too far.  So how do you know if you’re a bridezilla?  Check out our list below to see if you fit any of these traits:

• When you husband-to-be proposes with a sparkling engagement ring, you cry tears of  joy.  The next day, you return it to the jeweler to get a bigger diamond.  After all, the size dictates how much he really loves you, right?

• Huge chunks of your day at work are spent dealing with multiple wedding “crisis”, resulting in frustrated co-workers, managers and employers.

• Your fiance is letting you do all the planning; The only thing he cares about is the cake flavor.  Cake is his absolute favorite, especially lemon cake.  You hate lemon, so you go with chocolate instead.

• You schedule an appointment to get hair and makeup done for your bridal shower.  Your mom decides she wants to do the same.  You throw a screaming fit because “I’m supposed to be the center of attention, NOT you!”.

• Your wedding dress has finally arrived after months of waiting.  After one glance, you decide it looks too similar to your cousin’s wedding dress.  Although this dress isn’t returnable, you demand a new one.  Your parents are paying for it.

• Your friend, one of your bridesmaids, gets engaged during your planning process.   Instead of being happy for her, you are furious because it takes the spotlight away from you.

• The night before your bachelorette party, one of your bridesmaids tells you she’s sick.  You demand she attend the party anyway, fever or no fever.

• You make your bridesmaids sign a contract prior to agreeing to have them in your wedding.  The contract requires them to maintain the same weight and hair-do, refrain from any tattoos or piercing and be there to help you at a moment’s notice until the wedding is over.