Are you using your bridal luck?

Consider yourself lucky! All throughout time, brides have been thought to possess an extra dash of good luck -- and it is that good luck that has to be protected in all of those superstitions we put in our wedding days. Guests wanted to tear off a piece of the bride's lucky dress, so they would dive at her to rip a piece of fabric from her gown...and we made that one safer by having her throw her bouquet. The lucky sixpence in your shoe became a lucky penny, or a saint medallion sewn into the handle of your bouquet. Something Borrowed, Something Blue.

We could go on and on, but what I'm suggesting is that you made great use of your bridal luck by...oh....say... winning the HGTV Dream House! Or a new elliptical machine! Or a laundry room makeover! Or a free honeymoon! $2,000 off of your photography! A trip to the Golden Door spa for you and your bridesmaids as the world's best bachelorette party!

Entering giveaways is supremely easy, and I start my own day by logging on to HGTV to put in my daily entry for that Dream Home. They're so awesome over there, it's an auto-enter...you just fill out the form once, and then each day you fill in your e-mail address and it fills in the rest. Simple. Done. Consider me one step closer to that house in New Mexico with the awesome views, the 12 cool housewarming gifts, the eco-friendly everything, the fab furniture and chef's kitchen. I'm dreaming of winning that baby. And entering every morning starts my day with a dash of optimism and hope, the time to sip on my Dunkin Donuts coffee and imagine living in my new house in New Mexico. Not a bad way to start the day.

So add a few sites to your Favorites list so that you can enter to win some pretty amazing stuff for your home, for you, and for your wedding [right now, BHG.com has a contest going for $1,500 gift cards to Staples -- that would pay for your invitations, ink, programs, place cards, thank you notes, and so much more!]

Check out the Sweepstakes pages at:
HGTV.com
Better Homes and Gardens [Scroll to the bottom to get to the Sweepstakes link]
Fitness magazine
DIY Network
And at your favorite bridal websites, where they're always running amazing sweepstakes for free honeymoons and girls' getaways, destination weddings, and more

And go to bridal shows. Not just for the free champagne and hot appetizers. You could win some pretty fabulous stuff IF the prize comes from a reputable vendor and free doesn't mean a cheapo prize. You've got to compare and shop smartly. Awful, free tuxes are still awful tuxes!

08/08/08 Weddings

Congratulations to the many brides and grooms who booked today, 08/08/08, as the lucky date for their weddings! Weddings have been focused on superstition for many ages, with brides and grooms over many centuries wanting good luck, abundance, fertility, and health for their partnerships and their partners. Most of the rituals we celebrate today have their roots in ancient good-luck superstitions -- the veil was supposed to shield the bride from evil spirits (and later, rival tribes, clans and families) who might steal her away from her happily ever after. The cake -- before its iced incarnation -- was once a pile of breads meant to symbolize abundance for the bride and groom. Somewhere along the line, someone said, "I think I'll frost it" and thus was born the wedding cake as we know it today. It may look different, but it holds the same magic for modern couples that the pile of wheat rolls held for their ancestors long ago. We all want luck, so it's no wonder that 08/08/08 was quickly snapped up as THE big wedding date -- and several national wedding contests take place today as well -- just like we saw in 07/07/07. I'm a fan of Perfect 10, as are many people, so what will 10/10/10 in two years be like for the wedding industry? Believe it or not, couples getting engaged this summer might just be looking at their 2010 calendars to book their big day -- with the new trend of Weekday Weddings at 1/3 the price of weekend weddings, it doesn't even *matter* if 10/10/10 doesn't fall on a weekend.