Article: Sounds like a plan: four top wedding planners reveal their secrets about pulling off the biggest parties, the things brides really want and who pays for what.(EXPERT ADVICE)

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MARCY BLUM is a New York-based wedding planner whose clients have included Tom Clancy, two Rockefeller brides and Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon. 212-929-9814; marcyblum.com.

What is the biggest trend in weddings today?

People are looking for formal, elegant dinners, but they no longer want to make their guests sit through a four-hour meal with dancing in between each course. Now it's straight through appetizer, entree and dessert, then they party!

Is it still customary for the bride's parents to pay for the wedding and for the groom's to cover the rehearsal dinner?

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