Photo: Thinkstock

Oh, the wedding dress. When else in her life does a sane, non-millionaire woman spend hundreds, if not thousands, on a totally impractical white dress, for what (it's easy to forget when you're in the thick of wedding planning) is really just one day? I was interested to learn recently that the lacy, fancy-shmancy white bridal gown is actually a relatively new phenomenon, inspired by Queen Victoria's own lacy, fancy-shmancy white bridal gown in 1840. For decades, civilian brides stayed too sensible to really latch on to the trend (white gowns are hard to clean, for one), but eventually latch on we did. Nowadays a bride is making a noticeable statement if she gets married in anything other than a fancy-shmancy white dress.

But what about those who really, really don't have money to plunk down on a gorgeous gown they'll only wear once? One woman, faced with this ridiculousness, decided to give away her wedding dress after her wedding to a bride in need. The bride, who wishes to remain anonymous, is offering her lovely ruffly confection of a Cambodian silk gown through Huffington Post Weddings. Head on over to see photos of the dress and find out more. I can't think of a better way to start off a marriage than by sending some kindness out into the world, can you? After all (as it's easy to forget when you're suffering satin-blindness in the middle of David's Bridal panic attack), this getting married thing, it's not about a day, or even a dress -- it's about starting a new life together. A life, one hopes, of giving, and sharing, and good vibes all around.

Read More:
Don't Tell the Bride...
The Beginner's Guide to Wedding Planning

Photo: Thinkstock

It's a funny thing about families, how the people living in them can at once know each other as intimately as they ever know anyone (the particular creak of a mother's footstep, the way a father always sneezes after his shower, the way the smell of ketchup used to make a sister scream with disgust)—and hardly know each other at all. The stories our families tell about us are often strangely disconnected to the stories we would like to tell about ourselves. And we remember the oddest little moments, don't we, of our time together?

Like Julie Mangano, a blogger who recently lost her elderly father, and has written eloquently about the grieving process on her blog. In a post called "Driving With Dad," Mangano writes about the special bond she always had with her father, and in particular about a game they used to play: "Very early on in life my dad tried to teach me to read his mind. He created some flashcards with names of colors on them. He would hold up the blank side of the card to me and tell me to close my eyes, focus on what he was thinking (what?) and guess which color was named on the back of the card...After a few hours, I could name the right color every time he held up a different card. In retrospect it probably was more because I learned the patterns he used to switch around the cards and try to trick me... Whatever the reason, our bond was established and we remained deeply in sync for the rest of his life."

BuzzFeed, how did you manage to crystallize this beautiful, kleenex-box-obliterating love story in just the right way? For anyone doubting the power of love, or the strength of the human spirit, or just looking to add some heart-swelling into the day...here is the love story of Taylor Morris and his girlfriend Danielle Kelly in 22 pictures.

This story has been all over the Internet, but in case you've missed it: Taylor Morris is a 23-year-old Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Tech from Iowa, who was injured in Afghanistan last May. He is now one of the few surviving quadruple amputees in the world. In the 5 months since his horrific accident, Morris has already learned to walk on prosthetic legs and use prosthetic arms and hands. Now, I don't think anyone would call this guy lucky, but he does have a really, super-amazingly-devoted girlfriend who has been at his side throughout his astounding, doctor-shocking recovery and readjustment to life. You know the lady who is carrying him on her back in some of those pictures? Yeah, that's her. (Just think about how young these people are. 23!) So anyway, you can learn more about this amazing duo (and donate money to help them out) here and here.

Then you can watch this video of them dancing together. Don't forget to scrape your heart up off the floor when you're done.

Read More:
The Invisible Wounds of America's Veterans
A Service Dog (Named Oprah!) Who Helped a Vet to Heal

Photo: Thinkstock

And now for a moment of pure, happy-making fun: The Hairpin has a guessing game matching love letters to their love-struck scribes. Who wrote, "I suppose most of us are lonely in this big world, but we must fall tremendously in love to find it out..." -- Elvis Presley, John Keats, or Orson Wells? And what about  "I want to just be where you are and be just what you want me to be..." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, or Oscar Wilde?

The list is fascinating, in the way that it's always irresistible to peek inside a romantic relationship, to hope for a glimpse of that mysterious something that is invisible to outsiders. Peeking at the letters of lovers offers a hit of vicarious romance, and sometimes even a moment of shock (Mozart, please!). So read on. You just might get inspired to write to your own darling dear little lambie.

Read More:
Love Letters to the World
The President You Least Expected To Be Romantic
Write a Letter to Your Latte-Maker

Every Christmas, Marianne Russo bakes muffins for her elderly neighbors. Last week—it's August, mind you—she tweeted that she'd found this in her mailbox:
Russo does a lot of good things for the world—she happens to be the host of a radio show for families with children who have special needs. But how lovely, to see how small gestures ripple out and return, so that if someone comes across a muffin cookbook in the dog days of summer, they think of you. (As an aside, I love pointless presents. I always think I'm going to do this, give someone a present just because I found it and thought of them, holidays be darned, but somehow I forget. Note to self: Do this more.) These moments of neighborliness create a culture of community, a current of generosity, a Christmas-less season of giving.

Either that, or Muffin Lady's neighbors are really tired of her standby muffin recipe. (Kidding! I'm sure it's not that!)

Read More:
35 Little Moments of Kindness
Performing Random Acts of Chocolate

Photo: Thinkstock

It's hard for anyone to lose a pet. But what about when the pet is a loyal dog, intuitive as an imaginary friend  from a children's book, a hard-working world traveler who has been his owner's companion on countless journalistic missions? In that case, you've got a bonafide tear-jerker. You don't need to have met the shaggy Finn, or even to be a dog-lover, to be moved by British journalist Toby Harnden's tribute to his lost friend.

Finn was rescued by Harnden 14 years ago, and since had become the journalist's go-to friend and companion; accompanying him on road trips and jobs, watching him write his articles and books from the cozy dog bed in the corner of Harnden's office. Finn provided cover when Harnden was traveling and didn't want to be recognized as a journalist, helping him to blend in at bomb scenes and marches, waiting outside while Harnden interviewed, for example, an IRA godfather. Harnden writes, "We had travelled a long way together, from Belfast to Washington to Israel to London and ultimately to the suburbs of northern Virginia but it was clear his journey was over."

Lately the dog had been sick, transformed from his energetic, adventurous self; Harnden writes heartbreakingly of carrying Finn up and down stairs and listening to him yelp with pain.  When the time came, Harnden had his vet put Finn to sleep, as he held him in his arms: "I had anticipated the day Finn died being one of the worst of my life. What I hadn't anticipated was the utter grimness of the next day, the first one without him."

Men! What are they thinking? We can't always answer that, but we'll be posting our favorite glimpses into their world in this space every Thursday. This week is a bit of a love-fest, so if you're not in the mood for tales of true romance, skip to the bottom.

Illustration: Thinkstock

1. "How can I begin to tell you about Chaz? She fills my horizon, she is the great fact of my life, she has my love, she saved me from the fate of living out my life alone." On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of his marriage, Roger Ebert writes a moving love letter to his wife, Chaz. (Roger Ebert's Journal)

2. Good luck not getting choked up as you read this self-written obituary in which Val Patterson, who passed away last week, describes how much he loves his wife—and how much he regrets smoking and the time it will deprive him of spending with her. (Salt Lake Tribune)

3. Seventeen years ago, a farmer planted 6,000 oak tree saplings as a tribute to his late wife. What can’t be seen from the road—that they were planted in the shape of a heart—was recently discovered by hot air balloon. (The Telegraph)

* Had enough of that lovey dovey stuff? Here, watch David Beckham score a superb goal from 35 yards away. (Grantland)

Each week, we'll be letting you know about new releases the editors of O and Oprah.com couldn't stop reading. This Monday, we're gearing up for Oprah and Cheryl Strayed's discussion of Wild this weekend on "Super Soul Sunday" by checking out Strayed's newest book, just published on July 10:

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar
By Cheryl Strayed

While writing her best-selling memoir—and the first Oprah's Book Club 2.0 selection—Wild, author Cheryl Strayed penned an advice column for the literary website The Rumpus. There, she worked anonymously, using the pen name Sugar, replying to letters from readers suffering everything from loveless marriages to abusive, drug-addicted brothers to disfiguring illnesses. The result: intimate, in-depth essays that not only took the letter writer's life into account but also Strayed's. Collected in a book, they make for riveting, emotionally charged reading (translation: be prepared to bawl) that leaves you significantly wiser for the experience. To a livid woman whose husband cheated on her with her employee, she says, "Acceptance asks only that you embrace what's true." To a woman who suffers a late miscarriage, she says, "Don't listen to those people who suggest you should be over your daughter's death by now. ... They live on Planet Earth. You live on Planet My Baby Died." She then shares, "I know because I've lived on a few planets that aren't Planet Earth myself." Later, she reveals stories about her own struggles with sexual abuse, divorce and marital infidelity (all of which create a much larger backstory for a reading of Wild). One of the most moving anecdotes in the book is a letter that a 22-year-old reader asks Strayed to write to her younger self: "One hot afternoon during the era in which you've gotten yourself ridiculously tangled up with heroin, you will be riding the bus and thinking what a worthless piece of crap you are, when a little girl will get on the bus holding the strings of two purple balloons. She'll offer you one of the balloons, but you won't take it because you believe you no longer have the right to such tiny beautiful things. You're wrong. You do." And like most of the pronouncements in this collection, the subject of those last few sentences can—and should—be changed to "we." As in, we all have the right to such tiny beautiful things—both the purple balloon and the compassionate book it inspired.

Read More
See Cheryl Strayed and Oprah this Sunday on "Super Soul Sunday"
Read the best quotes from Wild

Photo: Thinkstock

I used to work in an office that employed almost exclusively women. During lunch a gaggle of associates would go to sample sales together and then come back and try on our new clothes there in our cubicles, because why not? It was basically a lady's locker room. The office closet housed communal stashes of feminine hygiene products and Hershey's kisses. There was a lot of hugging and a lot of crying. My boss was a smart, ambitious, well-coiffed woman who would preface her requests with, "You've been doing such a great job, and I loved this, but..."

Just what was going on here? Wasn't my boss supposed to be a Queen Bee? Competitive and gloriously mean, like the pant-suited bosses in movies always are? Didn't we all want to claw each other to the top? Um, no? The worst you could say about this work environment was that an endemic dread of conflict led to indirect email threads of too-niceness. And yet, strangely enough, almost all of my former coworkers have moved up and up, including that wonderful, supportive boss.

Well, according to the Huffington Post, researchers have found that female bosses who mentor other women in the workplace help not only their protégés but themselves, too. Christine Silva, the lead researcher on the study, told The Huffington Post that mentoring talent was "really a win-win. It creates a culture of talent development where everyone recognizes their role in developing a good pipeline of leaders." She also revealed that "women who developed protégés received an average of $25,075 more between 2008 and 2010 than those individuals who did not."  The article suggests that the idea of the "Queen Bee" boss, who doesn't want anyone but herself to succeed, is largely proliferated by the media. (And let's admit it, the Queen Bee makes for some good entertainment.) In other words, in the workplace, paying-it-forward and creating a supportive environment are good for everyone. Huh. Just like in the rest of world. Imagine that.

Read More:
When Good Woman Make Bad Bosses
Why We Need More Female Leaders

Photo: Thinkstock

This Father's Day, let's all take a moment to remember the Bert Dinces of the world. Okay, you might not have known Bert Dince but chances are you know someone like him. As his son (a digital marketing strategist named Adam) writes on his blog, Bert Dince "was a single father who raised his son all by himself.  An old yet gentle soul that was always there for those that needed him.  A humble man that rarely talked about himself.  And a spirit that left behind a legacy that I would learn much about after he passed away."

A musician and teacher, Bert Dince was an ordinary man, like most of our fathers, and like most of our fathers, also the most important person in the world. After his death, his son found himself calling all of his father's students to tell them the news, and "throughout each call, I heard stories about how my dad had influenced so many lives.  About how he helped his students uncover their natural musical abilities.  I learned that my dad was not only a teacher to his students, but also a mentor, a father figure, and an extraordinary example of unconditional love. I know there’s an old adage that says, 'You can’t be all things to all people,' but Bert Dince was." (Read the rest of the blog post for the moving story of what happened at the memorial service.)

"Each man's life touches so many other lives." So said everyone's favorite angel, Clarence Oddbody. (You know, from the Frank Capra movie "It's a Wonderful Life." ) He was talking about George Bailey, but he was also talking about Bert Dince, and he was talking about my dad, and yours, and everyone's.

Read More:
Remembering a Crazy-in-a-Good-Way Father
A Digital Fatherhood