A party after the party? It's becoming perfectly acceptable to have a "happily ever after" party after your wedding reception.

Some couples opt to continue the time spent with family and friends with a party after the wedding at a parent's home. Others opt to go for a smaller wedding then later host a party at their home for all of those who couldn't be invited to the wedding.

Either way, these affairs are usually casual -- a barbecue or appetizers -- a place for people to have a snack, a drink and to keep the party going. They don't need to be expensive or extravagant, and they're a great opportunity to reflect the couple's personality. Do a beach theme, a barbecue or a pool party.

Either way, if your after-party costs as much as the reception, you're on the wrong track. This can be a great way to save some money on your reception and still have many relatives and friends celebrating with you. It's also a good choice for someone who prefers a smaller, more intimate wedding but doesn't want to leave anyone out of the celebration.

Since Ed and I are planning to have our reception in an Irish pub, which is having a live band that night, we're relying on word of mouth to let people know that when the reception ends at 9 p.m., everyone is welcome to stay and keep going. We figure we'll have the DJ make an announcement at the end of the wedding.

If you're planning on having a happily-ever-after party when you return from your honeymoon, plan to send invitations out a month or two before the party, much like you will with the wedding invitations. Explain that it's a casual affair and no gifts are required.

If you're having an after-party right after your reception, but in a different location, you might want to think about including a card announcing the party in with your wedding invitation.

Since I know you've been waiting anxiously all weekend, here's the follow-up to the story of our friend who swallowed his wedding ring.

I'll give you a hint as to how things turned out: "I returned home from the hospital a few hours ago. It was a minor procedure."

For a little light weekend reading, check out the blog post of the man who swallowed his own wedding ring. Right now, he's waiting for it to come out the other side. Will it? Won't it? Only time will tell.

Even better is his wife's reaction: “You are so absent minded! You forget to turn off the heat, to feed the cat and now you swallow your wedding ring!! When are you going to get it together- you need to wake up!!!”

Sadly, I can see myself in this situation.

When you're planning your wedding, the Web can be your best friend. Certainly a better friend than all the people -- me included -- that keep trying to give you advice.

Not only can the Web link you to chat rooms filled with fellow sufferers, which provide a forum for you to kvetch about how much your fiance/mother/sister/bridesmaid/dog sucks, it can provide you with a money-saving bonanza.

So says a writer from Beverly, Mass., who authored "I Do," which gives you a bunch of ways to save a little cash and uses the Internet a whole bunch.

One of the most valuable things the Internet can do is provide you with the ability to search far and wide for the best price. For example, I ordered my Save the Date cards from Wisconsin. A woman designing out of her home could offer me a much better deal, even with shipping costs, than more established stationary stores. The best part? I didn't have to make a bunch of phone calls to get prices.

I also found the Internet was a great place to find reception venues that were a little offbeat. Ed and I are getting married in an Irish pub in Portland, Maine. A year ago, I didn't even know such a place existed.

A year ago, I was a quivering mass of jelly hiding in my closet, trying to avoid the idea that all reception venues were boring, traditional and $100 a plate. Don't get me wrong, it took a lot of time and research to come up with the perfect place -- about five months -- but it was definitely made easier by the fact that I could get pictures of venues online and download menu and pricing options. I could also go further afield, finding venues not listed in the local telephone book.

The same goes for my dressmaker. It took about a month, but I was eventually -- again through Google -- able to find a great seamstress at a reasonable price. If left to the phone book, I probably would have spent $2,000 more for my wedding dress.

So don't be afraid to use the Internet. While nothing beats meeting your caterer in person, and I definitely recommend you do so before signing on the dotted line, you can often hook up with someone you otherwise wouldn't have found.

Mashable social networking site offers 30 great sites to help you plan your wedding. Some of their top choices:

OffbeatBride.com - Find unique ideas.

WikiWeddings.org - A Wikipedia of all things wedding.

MapYourWedding.com - The Telegraph's very own, very local wedding site. Okay, so it's not listed, but check it out!

The flakes fell hard and heavy Saturday morning, but my bridal party still hauled themselves from Worcester, the South Shore of Massachusetts and Sunapee, N.H., to Londonderry to get their dresses for the wedding.

Surprisingly, we had a blast. The bridesmaids opted to have their dresses made rather than buy them, so they're going to my dressmaker at Sew Special Designs. Rather than trying to make everyone squeeze into the same gown, we picked a color and a fabric. Then, each bridesmaid designed her own dress. Two of my bridemaids who have been friends for 20 years designed the same dresses -- independently of each other.

The same fabric, color and length will unify the bridal party, while each of my friends gets the chance to express her individuality by designing her own dress. Even better, each bridemaid can cover up anything she thinks of as a trouble spot, without trying to find the one dress that makes arms and legs look thin, busts look perky and tummies disappear. Even worse, Ed's daughters are in ridiculously good shape (they're 13 and 16). We just can't compete.

The bridemaids opted for a dark blue, while Molly and Emily as the maids of honor and because they are only 13 and 16, will wear a very light blue. And since everyone felt comfortable with the dressmaker -- who is fabulously down-to-earth and wonderful to work with -- everyone had a good time and was able to relax and enjoy the experience.

Also in dress news, if you're expecting and about to get married, several maternity stores are offering up bridal gowns now. Check out A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity, Motherhood Maternity and Destination Maternity. Just search for wedding and you'll find stylish wedding gowns that fit your baby bump. And many of them are just a few hundred dollars.

Ed and I spent last weeking stuffing ourselves with wedding cake. Swiss buttercream, rolled buttercream, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry -- you get the point.

Anyway, we've finally decided on a cake place -- Edible Delights Cakes. The cake is good and they'll give us a whimsical cakes. And (always important) we kept the price down. A couple of interesting tips if you're ever in the market for a wedding cake:

- Order a small wedding cake. The rest of your guests can be fed with a "kitchen cake," a large sheet cake that can be made for much less than a wedding cake.

- If you're getting married in a city, check outlying areas. Sometimes, city bakers are more expensive.

- Don't get fooled by "free" delivery. For example, our cake will come from Old Orchard Beach, Maine. The delivery charge will be $25 and the cake will be $425. The Portland bakeries offered free delivery but charged $650 for a cake.

- You get as much free cake as you can stand -- Eat up!

 For an image of our wedding cake, click here.

I admit it: I'm not a detail person when it comes to my own wedding. I'll notice two things on the big day whether (1) My behind looks big in my dress and (2) Ed shows up.

Beyond that, I'm not one for the little things. But there are a lot of nifty, little touches you can add if you've got the time, patience and extra cash. For example, take the matter of postage.

The U.S. Post Office offers the opportunity to create your own stamps. Pictures of you and the groom, hearts, flowers; you name it, you can do it. The USPS Web site gives the names of companies willing to design the stamps for your. Or check out Perfect Postage, which will custom design your stamps according to your specifications.

But be warned: These stamps will cost you more. Designs at Perfect Postage cost can cost as much at $18.95 for one sheet (20 stamps) of large stamps. For 41 cents each, you can buy heart stamps at the post office. So before you spend the money to dress up your invitations, make sure all the necessities are taken care of.

If you're looking for an all-in-one make-up kit for your wedding day, check out Bobbi Brown's bridal kit.

Even if you're not interested in purchasing the make-up, check out her tips for looking good on your wedding day and in your wedding photos. For example, red shows up heavily in photos, so brides want to even out their skin tone. She also recommends a little bronzer on your chest if you've got a low-cut dress.

There's also some more practical tips that you can put into practice long before the wedding, such as eating plenty of veggies and drinking lots of water to ensure your skin glows.

While you're cruising the Internet today, watch our video of the Running of the Brides at Filene's annual event in Boston.

Also, check out MSN's proposal stories for a little fun.

First off, let me tell you that if you're looking for a destination wedding of sorts -- far enough away to feel the adventure of travel and close enough to allow guests to head home -- check out Maine. I'm planning a Portland, Maine wedding, but Maine's Mid-Coast region offers up some picturesque spots as well. Check out the Mid-Coast Wedding Expo this Sunday at Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine.

So you're looking at your guest list and, perhaps you wonder, whether you should invite the littlest members of your family. You know it's a big issue for brides when the New York Times is covering it, as they did Sunday.

The article does a great job of covering both sides of the issue: casual vs. formal weddings; crying children vs. a fun, family feel; adorable photos vs. the potential of losing your  moment in the spotlight; the possibility of offending friends, no matter which way you go.

Even better are the reader comments, arguing for or against children at weddings. There's definitely food for thought there, including one, very succinct response: "No."

Since Ed has three children, the subject really wasn't up for debate. His son is his best man, and his two daughters are my maids of honor.

But we did make some effort to reign it in along the way. We're only inviting children that are related to us -- and not even all of them. We stopped at nieces and nephews, in part because most of them are older and know how to behave, in part because including all of the children in our family would have required renting Gillette stadium for the reception.

As a compromise, the Irish pub where we're planning the reception requires all kids younger than 21 be off the premises at 9 p.m. While our reception ends at that time, a live band is playing at the pub that Saturday night, and many guests (and the bride and groom) are planning on hanging out and continuing the party. So adults-only time has been scheduled into the wedding day along with time for children.

Either way, one thing to be aware of, if you don't see your child's name -- or "and family" -- on the invitation, leave the kids at home. It's proper etiquette.

There's a really interesting article in Newsweek about "The Incredible Shrinking Bride."

Pressure on the wedding is such that most women, even those who are at a normal weight, feel they need to lose weight for their weddings, spend a fortune to have their nails and hair professionally done and get the star treatment for their walk down the aisle. One woman even told how she planned to have facials each month until her wedding and consulted a dermatologist about antibiotic treatments for her acne.

While there's nothing wrong with self-improvement, I feel like any changes you make should be a long-term goal, something you've always wanted to achieve. Let the wedding add the motivation, not the desire.

I, for example, have been dieting for my wedding. But it's not a sudden thing. I've been thinking about losing weight and eating healthier for months (okay, years), certainly long before Ed proposed. The wedding just helped me structure myself. Now, not only do I have a definite goal (the weight loss), I have a time frame (September) and a motivation (looking hot in a wedding dress).

One British publication featured a bride who lost about a third of herself for the wedding, but her diet still isn't fabulous. Sure, she's eating less, but I still don't see many veggies on the menu.

I'm eating healthier and exercising more. And if I don't reach my goal before my wedding, I will see it through to the end. Besides, Ed asked me to marry him as I am, so I'll have to go with the belief that he's pretty okay with me, cellulite and all. In fact, he thinks I'm beautiful, and I have no intention of disabusing him of the notion.

Don't sweat it. You want to take a crack at creating a better you for your wedding, have at it. But if you're only halfway there on your wedding day, don't let it ruin the experience. Hopefully, you'll only be doing this once.