{DIY} Engagement Ring

Have you ever wondered what it would take to create your very own engagement ring?

Click here to see the full tutorial

DOC Sexually traumatizing female prisoners with new search policy.

------------------From the ACLU Blog of Rights---------------

In Colorado, A New Breed of Degrading Search in Prisons

The ACLU and ACLU of Colorado this week called upon the Colorado Department of Corrections to abandon a new policy that subjects prisoners to degrading body cavity searches. According to press reports and letters sent to the ACLU by prisoners at Denver Women's Correctional Facility (DWCF), prisoners now must hold open their labia as correctional officers, sometimes using a flashlight, sometimes positioning their faces only inches away from a prisoner's genitals, conduct an inspection. Reports even indicate that some prisoners have been forced to pull back the skin of their clitorises. These searches occur even when the guards have no particular reason to suspect concealment of contraband — correctional officers search prisoners' body cavities on a frequent basis, after work assignments and visits from friends and family. Guards apparently have threatened prisoners who resist with pepper spray.

One prisoner describes the new procedure as follows in a letter to the ACLU:

The lift is treated differently by officers, but generally involves spreading your legs and parting your outer labia so an officer can do a visual inspection of your genitals. I have had to perform this procedure simply standing; from a sitting position with my legs spread eagle and having a flashlight shined at my genitals; from a standing position with a foot perched on a toilet and an officer's face inches from my genitals; in front of multiple officers and once in front of an officer and two Life Safety trainees….

High rates of prior sexual abuse among women prisoners no doubt compound the suffering inflicted by the new procedure. According to one prisoner at DWCF:

Being a survivor of sexual trauma the new labia-lift procedure encouraged my post-traumatic stress disorder. I had periodic flashbacks …. I have also witnessed women literally crying when they were subject to the labia lift…

Aside from the suffering and humiliation they inflict upon prisoners, the searches are unnecessary. They occur without any particular reason to suspect that a prisoner is attempting to conceal contraband. On top of that, the new requirement that prisoners hold open their labia adds little to existing procedures that already required invasive searches designed to uncover any contraband. One prisoner describes the difference between the old and new policies as follows:

T]he "proper" search (before the labia lift came about) is as follows: Remove all clothes, as an officer searches the seams/pockets/waistband and stand completely naked. Open the mouth; sweep fingers around tongue and along gum line. Fold forward ears while turning the head to expose behind them. Run fingers through hair, removing any ties or combs and if needed, bend over to shake long hair. Lift arms and if breasts are large, lift breasts. Turn around; lift each foot, wiggling toes. Turn your back to the officer, bend over, squat, and grab buttocks while coughing. The addition of the "labia lift" is to stand or sit, facing the officer, while spreading the labia open wide.

In short, the new requirement that prisoners hold open their labia adds little to the search procedure — other than additional humiliation and suffering for DWCF prisoners. It's time for the Department of Corrections to abandon the new policy.

Random Wedding Cake #3534

Introducing... the Pointy Wedding Cake. Looks a little dangerous to us!


(source)

[VIDEO] May I Have This Dance... NO

This is too cute.
A young boy attempts to cut in on 2 girls dancing at a wedding, and ultimately ends up with failed attempt. His face tells the entire story.

10 Wedding Costs You Need To Know

Average Cost of a Wedding in 2010 - $23,867
Average Cost of a Wedding DJ - $741
Average Cost of a Wedding Limo - $504
Average Cost of a Wedding Guestbook - $59
Average Cost of a Wedding Tuxedo (rented) - $132
Average Cost of a Wedding Tuxedo (purchased) - $515
Average Cost of a Wedding Dress Preservation - $265
Average Cost of a Wedding Teeth Whitening - $183
Average Cost of a Wedding Videographer - $1,122
Average Cost of a Wedding Planner (full service) - $2,264

Source of all wedding cost statistics were gathered from the latest Q1-Q2 bridal survey found at The Wedding Report.

Which Wedding Blog Is Your Favorite?

For the past couple of years, we have put together an annual list of Top 100 Wedding Blogs that are widely considered to be genuine influencers of where the bridal industry is heading. Some of these wedding blogs dedicate themselves to a specific niche (DIY, Budget, Offbeat, Groom, Eco), while others are boundless in their creative sharing. Some are new, some are old, and some are so cutting-edge, we simply can't ignore them. Although each blog is different, each one of our Top 100 functions with the purpose of motivating, inspiring, relating and educating their audience on everything wedding. When combined, these 100 wedding blogs truly create the pulse of an entire industry.

Creating such a authoritative list falls on the wedding community itself. Each year, we received thousands of emails, blog comments and tweets from people within the bridal scene suggesting who should be included in the upcoming list of the Top 100 Wedding Blogs. There are dozens & dozens of new wedding blogs popping up everyday, so putting each one on our radar is definitely a task we welcome and take seriously.

But we can't do it alone. That's why we need your help.

For the next week or so, we would like to ask the all you planning brides, product vendors, wedding pros, and bridal obsessed to share their favorite wedding blogs that are not currently on our Top 100 list. We want to know which wedding blogs are under-rated, under-featured and unknown to most of the wedding world, but are definitely Top 100 material.

So what are you waiting for! Simply leave a comment below with a link to the website and we'll do our best to check it out. Remember, we're only looking for wedding blogs that are not currently on our Top 100 list.

Thank you in advance to everyone who shares their favorites and we'll give another update soon as we continue progress in creating our 2011 wedding blogs list.

So... which wedding blog is your favorite?

Together, we can advance the wedding industry.

{Suspended} Wedding Centerpieces

Oh my, this just might be the next level of wedding floral design! Lekiah over at Events-ualities Blog shares some "suspended" flower inspiration that is impressive beyond everything!

Do you ever take off your wedding/ engagement ring?

Just for fun, we asked a few of our Twitter followers if they ever take off their wedding/engagement ring? The answers just might surprise you:

@TabMcCausland - 16 years and I have never taken it off :)

@vancouverbride - I take it off when I do dishes or take a shower

@WeddObsessed - I always take it off at home

@CachicDesign - Just to spin it on the table ;)

@heidisevents - Every night. I can't sleep with jewelry on

@ohsoglam - Nope, absolutely not. Never

@tos_events Every day when we get in from work. He knows I love him so I don't need it with just the two of us :)

@GlamandGraceWed - Only when doing something messy

@TeenaIngram - I take mine off every night.... can't sleep with jewelry

@hindsightbride - Not usually. Only to clean.

@woodsandco - When showering, doing the dishes, swimming in the ocean

@kathleenkinser - Yes, when I am yard work

@sav_ankerich Never!

@bgproductions - I have to at night because my fingers swell up

@JL_Davis - Only to have it cleaned, or putting on lotion

@MartinGammon - Hasn't taken his off in 12 years!


So, do YOU ever take off you wedding/engagement ring?

Wedding Speech FAIL

Whoa. Watch the girl on the left.

(source)

50 Great Wedding Centerpieces From Martha Stewart

We love Martha. That's why we had to share this gallery of 50 great centerpieces featured on Martha Stewart Weddings throughout the years. If you're still stuck trying to decide what your wedding decor will be, get ready to be inspired!

Click on the image above to see all 50

Random Wedding Funny #35890

PROTIP: Always be aware of your wedding photo background.

(Thanks to @slogans7 for sharing this image)

Hauntingly Beautiful Wedding Video

Artist Simon de Boer Breathes Life Into Old Wedding Dresses

Commissioned by artist Simon de Boer, Jonas and Anika created this video for a project entitled ‘Bride.’ The video contains 270 wedding gowns collected all around Europe and showcases the unique story of them using a black backdrop and invisible models.



We showed a few people around the office and asked them to describe this video in one word. These were their thoughts:

1. Creepy
2. Beautiful
3. Creepy
4. Creepy
5. Creepy
6. Wonderful
7. WTF

What is your opinion?