Tired of looking at the same engagement rings and wedding bands everyone has? Do you want something original? Well, then, estate jewelry might be for you.

For the adventurer, with flexible family and friends, destination weddings provide a wonderful option.

As a Caribbean island where a coastline of rain-forested mountains often gives way to natural harbors and bays, St. Lucia offers a myriad of possibilities for the honeymooning couple.

Wedding planning may still be a bride's ball game, but nowadays grooms play many more innings. "In less than 20 years, the groom's responsibility has shifted from '... get me to the church on time...' (his only obligation) to 'How much is the church going to cost me?,'" says Deborah McCoy, a professional wedding consultant and the author of four bridal books.

Want to enter marital bliss in a big way without going bankrupt? Diane Warner, author of nine wedding-related books, including  How to Have a Big Wedding on a Small Budget: Cut Your Wedding Costs by Half-- or More and Beautiful Wedding Decorations and Gifts on a Small Budget confides spending secrets guaranteed to slice that budget.

Wedding make-up can be tricky -- the perfect look requires a magician's touch with just the right amount of blush, lipstick and eye color. That traditional ivory, off-white or white dress, with its tendency to wash out your makeup, doesn't help either. "The trick is not to look overdone, but to look as natural as possible without being too garish," advises soap opera's "Guiding Light" Head Makeup Artist Paul Gebbia. Oh, is that all? Actually, it's not too hard with these five sure-fire steps to a flawless wedding day face.