NEW YORK, May 9, 2008 -- With Mother’s Day around the corner, Conde Nast’s premier destination bridal website Brides.com (www.brides.com) is wrapping up its week-long celebration of the ‘Mother-of-the-Bride’ by awarding Columbia, Missouri child daycare professional Janet Palmer and her soon-to-be-wed daughter Chrissy with the grand prize in its inaugural Mother-to-Daughter Bridal Sweepstakes. Janet and Chrissy will receive a day of pampering at the Riversong Spa & Salon in Columbia, as well as a Clinique Happy Fragrance customized with their photo.

After reviewing over 500 submissions describing how engaged women across the country are bonding with their mothers over wedding plans, the Brides.com editors selected Chrissy’s heartfelt entry, in which she shared that Janet started a hope chest for her “when she was first diagnosed with cancer two years ago.”  According to Chrissy, her mother “has been adding to it ever since, putting in cards and accessories for the big day.”

"With Mother’s Day on our minds, it seemed the ideal time for Brides.com to pay tribute to the mother-daughter relationship,” said Brides.com Editor-in-Chief Michelle Preli.  “The Palmers are truly a remarkable mother-daughter team and we are privileged to honor their exceptional bond with this grand prize award.”

As an additional part of its Brides.com’s Mother’s Day special, the site conducted a survey of its users to reveal how much Moms influence a bride’s wedding plans.* 

In a twist from the traditional father-daughter walk down the aisle, over a third of those polled (37%) said they plan on having their mother at their side as well.  However, Brides.com visitors do not always want to follow in their mothers’ footsteps when it comes to the dress. A clear majority of brides (72%) said that they prefer to buy their own wedding outfit instead of wearing Mom’s bridal gown.

To also make sure that Moms feel special all-year-round, Brides.com spotlights an ongoing section devoted to the latest in wedding fashions for the Mother-of-the-Bride: http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/motherofthebride_dresses/landing

About Brides.com:
Brides.com is a premier bridal destination site, with more than 1.2 million unique users every month and 60 percent year-over-year growth in traffic. Brides.com's dedicated editorial team creates original content, develops interactive tools, cultivates an engaged community and provides an array of beautiful imagery and video to empower the bride throughout her wedding-planning process. Brides.com commands a superior market position by aggregating content from three national magazines -- Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride -- and 16 local bridal magazines.

*Methodology: Brides.com polled contest entrants, with a total of 350 responses.