Before scheduling appointments at local bridal salons it's important to know the date, time and location of your wedding. All three will play a role in the style of the wedding dress you buy.

There are fabrics, embellishments and silhouettes that are better suited during certain times of year, day and at specific locations.

Bride and mom-to-be Natalie Portman showed off her engagement ring from fiancé Benjamin Millepied at the Palm Springs Film Festival Gala over the weekend.


The diamond engagement ring appears to be a brilliant-cut diamond set with pavé diamonds.


The couple announced their engagement and that they are expecting their first child at the end of December. They met on the set of Black Swan.

While it's important that your wedding dress fits you like a glove, you also want to make sure that your wedding shoes fit perfectly too.

You'll be wearing the same pair of wedding shoes for hours -- posing for formal portraits, during your ceremony, in a receiving line and throughout your wedding reception, which probably includes dancing.

Make sure that the wedding shoes you buy for your wedding do more than just look fabulous. You want to be comfortable standing and walking in them.

Walk around the house in them to break them in. Scuff the soles so that you don't slip and fall on your wedding day and if you and your groom are taking dance lessons, bring them with you to practice. It's okay for him to see them. There's no superstition about the groom seeing the bride's shoes before the wedding!

Courtesy of The Aisle New York

Looking for a designer wedding dress at a bargain-basement price? Well, here's your chance to find and buy your dream wedding gown at a huge discount!

The Aisle New York is launching today, January 3, at 11 a.m. with designer wedding dress and bridal accessory sales from some of the top names in the business: Monique Lhuillier, Angel Sanchez, Elizabeth Fillmore, Oscar de la Renta and Suzanne Couture Millinery Headpieces.

The members-only site (it's free to join so sign up at the theaislenewyork.com!) will feature sales for seven days at a time. Think of it as a 365-day wedding dress sample sale open to everyone, wherever they live.

Buying a wedding dress, whether in a bridal salon or online, is not an inexpensive purchase and it is one that you should think about very seriously before giving your credit card to the sales consultant or clicking "buy."

We asked Shara Levy, cofounder of The Aisle New York, for her expert tips on how to purchase a wedding dress and bridal accessories online. Be sure to read her advice before you make your purchase.

Jim Toth proposed to Reese Witherspoon with a 4-carat Ashoka diamond engagement ring set on a pavé diamond and platinum band -- similar to the style of the one shown here.


Eve Goldberg, co-owner of William Goldberg Diamond Corporation, which designed the custom engagement ring, told People, "In the past year, the retro look in diamonds has been very popular. It's a very elegant cut and it has an old feel to it."


An Ashoka diamond is very rare. Less than 10 percent of rough diamonds each year have the potential to be cut in this way, with 62 displayed facets and rounded corners.