InCredits

One area of wedding planning that stumps many a bride to be is how to choose the perfect favors for the wedding guests. The favors used at a wedding reception are a lasting memento of a very special day, so it is important to choose them with care.

There are many ways to make wedding favors special and memorable, and one of the best is to create personalized wedding favors for each guest.

== Personalized Wedding Favors Shows The Guest How Much They Are Appreciated ==

There are many types of wedding favors that lend themselves to personalization, and virtually any kind of wedding favor can be personalized.

Personalizing the wedding favors for each guest is a great way to show them how much their presence is appreciated, and how much they are loved.

== Personalized Favors For Each Guest ==

In addition, personalizing and customizing each wedding favor is a great way to incorporate favorite foods or other items into each favor. For instance, if your mother in law loves fine tea, you may want to create a special decorated tin of her favorite teas just for her.

If your father loves dark chocolate, why not create a special tin filled with the finest dark chocolate from around the world?

== Personalized Favors For Small Wedding ==

As you can see, the possibilities for personalizing wedding favors are virtually endless, and how far you take this personalization is up to you.

Obviously small, intimate weddings lend themselves to the personalized wedding favors approach more than do large weddings where hundreds of people may attend, including some you may not have met before.

== Personalized Favors For Large Wedding ==

Even at a large wedding, however, you may want to provide personalized wedding favors for your immediate family members and closest friends. This kind of special touch will certainly be appreciated, and it will help your guests remember your wedding day fondly for years to come.

If you are planning to personalize your wedding favors, whether you plan to personalize one favor or several hundred, it is important to order them early enough and to give yourself plenty of time to do the personalization.

If you are like most people planning a wedding, you will be short on time and long on things to do, so it is important to have the wedding favors available in plenty of time so that the personalized ones can be ready for the big day.

Shaunta Pleasant is a professional writer and editor on wedding planning topics. Visit my site to learn more about planning the perfect wedding at http://www.best-wedding-plan.com/personalized_wedding_favors.html

Traditional weddings – do they exist? As same-sex weddings are debated around the globe, there is a great deal of discussion surrounding what is and what is not a traditional wedding.

The debate on tradition and marriage will undoubtedly last for many years to come, however, one of the more interesting aspects of the entire debate is the fact that it comes at a time when many brides and grooms are looking to break from tradition.

The wedding industry has seen a transformation in recent years as many couples look to personalize their weddings and move away from many of the traditional wedding ceremony and wedding reception elements.

Many couples are personalizing every aspect of their wedding from their wedding vows to the wedding reception and everything in between. An entire industry has been developed to cater to brides and grooms looking for a unique wedding.

Unique weddings offer brides and grooms the opportunity to break away from tradition and ceremony and enjoy their special day the way they wish to enjoy it.

One of the first traditions to go are the traditional wedding vows. With companies like Pocket-Poet offering custom written wedding vows and wedding poetry brides and grooms are no longer interested in reciting the wedding vows that other couples have recited for centuries.

Another tradition that has fallen in recent years is the traditional wedding reception. Many couples are offering more creative receptions including extended cocktail receptions, backyard barbecues, themed receptions, dessert receptions and the like.

The wedding apparel industry has also seen a shift in focus from the traditional to the unique as more brides and grooms look to show more of their personality in every aspect of the wedding including their wedding clothes.

As the last vestiges of traditional marriage are being clung to by the faithful who do not like to see change it may just be that the new traditional marriage is anything and everything completely non-traditional.

David Casey, VP, SetSitesHigh (http://www.setsiteshigh.com) is a website designer and developer with no relationships to Pocket-Poet (http://www.pocket-poet.com) or any other wedding related businesses.

You’re Engaged!

You certainly want to enjoy this wonderful and magical time in your life but you know that planning your own wedding is going to be a big job! The following checklists might make it a little easier for you to keep it simple, keep it organized and keep you sane!

The 12-Month Countdown

6-12 Months Before Your Wedding…

The wedding date has been set and now like any large project, it’s a good idea to step back and take a look at the big picture first, then break it down to the finer details later.

The Big Picture: Who, What, Where and How:

• Decide who will pay for what, where you’ll get married and how expenses will be shared
• Talk to friends, family, bridal consultants or wedding coordinators to get the direction you need for starting an organization system.
• For most couples, the wedding day can be a blur, so decide early on the best way to capture your special day’s cherished memories – like with an Adesso Photo Guest Book.

The Details

Once you have your organization system in place, start going down your to-do detail list. Here are a few of the critical ones:

• Call your church or synagogue for an appointment with the Officiate
• Explore pre-marriage counseling
• Decide on what size wedding you want
• Consider and decide on wedding attendants
• Start a guest list for the wedding
• Begin determining ideas/themes/color schemes for your wedding and reception
• Select a reception location and a caterer if need be
• Consider reception entertainment
• Select a florist
• Together, shop for wedding rings
• Select a wedding dress, headpiece and schedule fittings
• Decide on the bridesmaids’ dresses

4 – 6 Months Prior To Wedding Date…

As the wedding date gets closer, the to-do list will consist of finer and finer details. And because you put an organization system in place months ago, you won’t miss a one!

• Check details and requirements for marriage license
• Coordinate theme and color schemes with florist and decorator
• Decide on a gift registry and register your gift selections
• Order your invitations and other wedding stationery
• Shop for the groom’s attire and select what the men in the wedding will wear
• Select wedding ceremony readings
• Select wedding ceremony music
• Decide and order wedding favors
• Select a bakery for the cake
• Arrange and plan honeymoon
• Review your agreements with all your vendors and service providers to insure you haven’t forgotten any details.

2-Months… and Counting

• Mail out invitations
• Arrange and plan your rehearsal dinner
• Select and purchase your wedding day accessories
• Arrange attendant’s parties
• Coordinate and prepare accommodations for out-of-town guests
• Select a hairdresser and makeup artist and schedule those appointments
• Finalize those honeymoon plans

1-Month To Go!

• Last wedding dress fitting
• Final fitting for bridesmaids’ dresses
• Final fitting for men attendants
• Get marriage license
• Have your wedding attendant’s parties
• Shop and purchase your outfit to wear when you leave the reception
• Organize the final check list of wedding day events
• Confirm all the wedding day “accessories” are in order, i.e. rings, pillows, garter, etc.

2-Weeks Remaining! It’s finalizing time.

• Finalize entertainment arrangements
• Go over and finalize music lists, and special music events, i.e. first dance, dance with parents, etc.

1-Week Before Your Big Day!

• Review your marriage license to make sure it’s in order
• Prepare seating arrangements for ceremony
• Prepare payment envelopes for Officiate, entertainment and vendors and give to the person who will handle that
• Confirm honeymoon reservations
• Make necessary honeymoon preparations, i.e. bank, traveler’s checks, etc.
• Prepare and pack for honeymoon
• Confirm out-of-town guest accommodations and transportation
• Check in with the florist to confirm arrival time set up
• Have your wedding ceremony rehearsal letting everyone know what they will do on the wedding day
• Have and ENJOY your rehearsal dinner!

Your Wedding Day!

• Allow plenty of time for your scheduled hair and makeup appointments
• Allow at least 2 hours for dressing
• Bring the rings and marriage license

And MOST IMPORTANTLY, take a long deep breath and relax and enjoy your day!

For the last three years, Lesley Mattos, Founder of Adesso Albums has been happily pursuing her dream of helping people all over the world capture the Now in life’s most important moments. Of all the ways to capture your wedding memories, the Adesso Album is the only guest book alternative that provieds an instant memory of your wedding event in both pictures and words. The Adesso Instant Wedding Photo Guest Books can be found at www.adessoalbums.com/weddings.html… and if you need the Polaroid gea, you can purchase it along with the photo guest boooks as part of a kit

“We’d like our dog to be the ring bearer,” she said and he nodded. “You want your dog to be the ring bearer?” I echoed in a wobbly voice. “Yes,” she said with a perfectly straight face. “It is because of the dog that we are together and we want him to be in the ceremony.” Inside my head I was hearing a voice screaming, “No. No. Not a dog in a wedding! No, that just won’t work.” But my mouth said calmly, “What kind of dog is it?” The groom responded calmly, “A Rottweiler.” (My life flashed before me along with the image of this big Rottweiler’s mouth around my throat as I tried to pronounce them husband and wife.)

As a wedding officiant it my strong – make that very strong – opinion that the wedding ceremony should be exactly what the couple wants. I put that on everything I send out and it is a major point when having the initial interview with couples. But a dog in the ceremony? Wasn’t that taking it a little too far?

Now I just say, “O.K. How do you intend to handle it?” You see, I have officiated two weddings with dogs as the ring bearer. I certainly don’t recommend it but it can be managed. (I don’t think a cat would ever get down the aisle and I don’t know about other animals’ ability to participate, but some dogs can do it).

In the instance of the Rottweiler, the groom attached a heart shaped red box securely to his collar and put the ring box inside. A tuxedoed friend walked the dog down the aisle just as it was time for the ring exchange. The dog seemed quite delighted about being the center of attention and sniffed everyone on his side of the aisle as he ambled down to his beloved bride and groom. His tale wagged like a giant windshield wiper and he gave the groom’s hand a big lick with his tongue. But he sat like a statue while they took the ring box out and gave it to the best man. The dog, with his attendant, then took their places beside the groomsmen for the remainder of the wedding and, like the gentleman he was, he walked out sedately with the rest of the wedding party in the processional.

So when the next couple wanted their dog, Turbo, in their ceremony I said “yes” without too much concern. If they believed Turbo could do it I was willing to work with them. But I had images of some giant Doberman racing down the aisle, teeth bared, aiming for someone’s leg. I didn’t meet the dog until the wedding (there was no rehearsal). He wasn’t as big as my cat and wiggled all over as he yapped down the aisle. But the couple loved it and the guests seemed quite amused. It went well.

While I certainly never recommend to couples that they make their pooch a part of the wedding party I am willing to work with them to make their wedding memorable and exactly they way they want it – dog and all.

Irene Conlan has a masters degree in nursing, a doctoral degree in metaphysics, is a certified hypnotherapist and an ordained minister. She practices holistic hypnotherapy and officiates at weddings in Scottsdale, Az and the Phoenix metropolitan area. Irene can be found at: http://www.thepowerzone.com (Hypnotherapy Downloads) http://www.yourscottsdalewedding.com (Scottsdale Weddings) http://your-scottsdale-wedding.com (Wedding Blog)

Theme weddings have been all the rage for quite some time now, and the increased popularity of beach weddings has led to increased interest in beach wedding favors.

It is of course important to fit the wedding favors you choose to the theme of the wedding, and a beach wedding certainly demands high quality, fun beach wedding favors.

== There Are Many Different Kinds Of Beach Wedding Favors ==

There are many different kinds of beach wedding favors, and it is important for the couple to shop together so that they can find beach wedding favors they both agree on. Since most beach weddings are somewhat casual affairs, it is important that the beach wedding favors be fun and casual as well.

There are of course many places to find such beach wedding favors. If you are using the services of a wedding planner, he or she may be able to find some great beach wedding favors at great prices.

If you are planning the wedding without the help of a wedding planner, you can still find some truly special and unique beach wedding favors, however.

== Places To Start Your Search For Your Favors ==

One great place to start the search for beach wedding favors is at your local party supply store. Most major cities and many small towns have a store whose sole purpose is to sell party supplies, and these stores often have access to a wide variety of beach wedding favors.

The internet is another great place to find some unique beach wedding favors at excellent prices. There are actually quite a number of web sites devoted to wedding supplies, and they often have a large number of beach wedding favors that can be purchased at prices comparable to local stores.

No matter if you get your beach wedding favors locally or online, however, it is important to order those beach wedding favors as early as possible. Party supply stores and other beach wedding favors suppliers are often busy, and it is important to order your beach wedding favors well in advance of the big day.

Are you wedding planning and looking for a little excitement to add to your wedding favors? If you have a little extra cash and you want to splurge in your wedding planning , why not incorporate a plan game into your wedding day theme and festivities. Well, not a game, but a raffle! That’s right, a wedding favor raffle! Here’s the gist of the wedding favor game:

Create a unique question. Perhaps “where did the bride and groom go on their first date?” Make everyone write their answer and name on a slip of paper as they come into the reception. You can have these small papers pre-typed with the question. You can leave a line for the answer and name from each guest.

Set up a little “wishing well” that will contain each slip of paper with each guest’s guess.

It would be better to keep the members of the bridal party from participating in the raffle, as they would most likely know the specific details of the bride and groom’s relations with one another.

It’s important to choose an obscure question, but not something that’s too obscure. You don’t want to have forty incorrect answers read aloud.

Everyone should receive a small token of appreciation. In other words, provide wedding favors to everyone, but raffle off a larger gift to the guest who answered the question correctly.

The extravagant wedding favor could come in any form, such as : a gift certificate, a bottle of wine, an fine writing instrument, etc. Should you to choose to only include adults in the raffle, you should make a separate raffle for children to keep them in high spirits.

The announcement should be made after the toasts are announced. Give everyone a few spare moments to fill out a wedding favor raffle slip out, just in case they somehow missed the “wishing well” upon their arrival.

After everyone has filled out their slip, ask one of the members of your bridal party to stir their hand into the wishing well and pick a name. Some of the answers will be incorrect. If your guests have a sense of humor and have no idea what the correct answer is, they’ll most likely write something humorous.

Hopefully, someone will have guessed the correct answer within the first five dips into the wedding favor raffle. Then you can present them with your extravagant wedding favor, whatever it may be.

If you have more than five children attending your wedding, you should also perform a similar raffle for them as well. Nevertheless, you should make it much simpler. “what color eyes does the bride have?” is an example of such a question.

Jen Carter is owner of My Wedding Blog, a free wedding planner guide. This article can be found in in our wedding favors section. You may publish our articles on your website only if you do not edit the article in any way, and include all html as direct links to our site.

In this eighth article in our series on wedding planning we’re going to be covering the time from the day before to the wedding day itself.

At this point in time it’s hard to believe that almost 1 year ago you started planning all this. You would think that the day before there wouldn’t be anything to do. Oddly, the last 2 days, the day before your wedding and the day of your wedding are probably the two most hectic days of the whole year.

The first piece of advice anyone will give you on this day is to relax. But that is easier said than done. Waiting for the big day to arrive when it’s only a day away is sometimes harder than getting through the actual day itself. That’s why it’s good that there’s still a few things left to do this day.

For starters, you should have a manicure and pedicure done. You’ve got enough to do the day of the wedding so have this done today. Get plenty of rest for the rehearsal dinner. Try not to eat too much during the day, which many people do from nerves. The last thing you want to do is get all filled up and make yourself sick. When you attend the rehearsal, try to relax. Remember, it’s only a rehearsal. Any glitches that come up will be ironed out then and will most likely not be repeated on the day of the wedding.

Make sure you give the ushers your guest list the day before the wedding. Any special people that will need to be seated and where (bride’s side, groom’s side) should be given to them in advance so as to avoid any awkward scenes. The last thing you want an usher doing is coming up to your Aunt Matilda and asking her “bride or groom?” Your ushers should know who everybody is ahead of time. Hand out photos if you have to.

Also, make any last minute phone calls that you need to make. Go over your whole list of things that you should have been keeping since day one. Go over each item one at a time and cross off everything that has been taken care of. If there is something you’re not sure of, make a phone call, whether it be the clergyman or the reception hall or the caterer. Make sure your stylist knows that you’re coming for your makeover the next day. She should have this written in her appointment book but you don’t want to leave anything to chance.

Finally, on the day before, get a good night’s sleep. You want to be rested the day before your wedding because your wedding day itself is going to be a test of endurance with all that will be going on.

In our last article in this series we’re going to cover the wedding day itself. This is probably going to be the most important and memorable day of your whole life. As hard as this is going to be to do with all that is going on that day, try to take in every moment of it and savor it. With luck it will be the last time you ever have a day like this.

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Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Weddings
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Cheating is different from infidelity?

Yes, I believe so. Signs of a cheating spouse will be different from signs of infidelity.

In talking to thousands of people embroiled with a cheating spouse or infidelity over the past two plus decades, I’ve noticed a difference. In our society the word cheating carries different meaning than infidelity.

This is important for someone discerning the signs of a cheating spouse or the signs of infidelity. A person who “cheats” is different from someone who is involved in “infidelity.”

Cheating is most closely described in my e-book as someone who “Doesn’t Want to Say No.” This is only one of 7 kinds of affairs. The other six kinds of affairs lean more in the direction of infidelity.

The true cheater is a rather rare bird, but is probably most glamorized and comes closest to our stereotype of cheating or infidelity.

Infidelity, in general, is marked by confusion, pain, doubt, ambivalence and a period of craziness in a person’s life.

Cheating is an ongoing lifestyle.

Here are some signs of a cheating spouse: (substitute the word she for he, if you like.)

1. There most likely will be more than one other person. He sees affairs as conquests, usually sexual, and not as a place to find intimacy. Actually he lacks many of the tools and the mind set to have intimate relationships. He most likely will move from one conquest to another. His gratification on a basic level remains primary.

2. He will have little internal conflict about the affair. This differs markedly from the person who can’t say no. Your spouse will view the affair or affairs as entitlement. He deserves them. He deserves to be adored. He deserves to have excitement and personal gratification in his life. He has earned it. There is nothing wrong with this. Actually others, perhaps you included, ought to understand this!

3. He will operate in a world that supports his illusion and behavior. He will surround himself with those who look the other way or actually encourage his philandering behavior. You will probably not find yourself welcomed in this world. He and his colleagues and friends collude to maintain their world.

4. You might run into a problem with the other person or persons. Remember the movie, Fatal Attraction? The other person might attach herself to him with specific expectations to be cared for and perhaps married – perhaps part of his strategy in his conquest efforts. When she is “dumped” or the expectations fail to materialize she may pursue revenge. You might be involved.

5. You may not experience a great deal of conflict with him. There is no talk of divorce. Your life might be quite copasetic – unless you rock the boat. He has his playtime and you fill another specific role of quiet support. Keep the balance and life moves along fairly seamlessly.

6. There is one problem, however. The problem of aging. Depending on his social context, you might become a liability as you increasingly fail to project a young attractive vibrant image. He wants those around him to reflect back beauty and perfection. If you fail in this regard you may be cast aside. Part of this depends on the financial cost of such “trade-in.”

7. His fragile, illusionary world and yours may crumble if he encounters failure. Failure is his “Achilles heel.” Unfortunately, the distortion and illusion he lives under do not always coincide with reality. He pushes and bends the rules to his advantage. He may not pay close attention to the consequences of his behavior. Those consequences – legal, financial or health – may bite him at some point. He most likely will count on you to be there for him, to cry on your shoulder (perhaps literally) and help him regain his confidence.

Dr. Robert Huizenga, The Infidelity Coach, has helped hundreds of couples over the past two decades heal from the agony of extramarital affairs and survive infidelity. Visit his website at: http://www.break-free-from-the-affair.com

Getting married is the greatest day for 50 percent of couples. The other 50 percent get divorced. Perhaps the marriage tax penalty has something to do with it.

Family Values – Hardly

For all the chatter from politicians about family values, it is ironic that the tax code actually penalizes people for getting married. At its heart, the tax code is designed to modify behavior. Deductions and credits are given in areas the politicians wish to promote and taken away in areas considered less positive. Home ownership is viewed as a good thing, so mortgage interest is deductible. Cigarettes are bad, so they are taxed like no tomorrow. If you buy this argument, one must wonder why married couples suffer under the tax code.

A recent study found that by getting married, couples are forced to pay roughly $1,500 in additional taxes. Known as the marriage penalty, one must wonder what the government is up to. Is it trying to promote family values or not? The numbers would seem to indicate not.

The marriage penalty is a nasty little development for newlyweds. The penalty occurs because married couples must pool their earnings when they report taxes. Typically, this means their pooled earnings move them into a higher tax bracket and they pay more taxes. For instance, assume husband makes $45,000 a year as does wife. As a married couple, their pooled income is $90,000 with the accompanying tax consequences. For really doomed couples, the combined income will actually kick in the alternative minimum tax. The AMT more or less voids many major deductions. In the tax industry, there is a nickname for this situation – the divorce tax.

The marriage penalty has existed for years, yet the politicians have failed to find a fix. They pay lip service to the idea, but no major changes have been made to fix the problem. The best they have come up with is doubling the standard deduction for married couples, but this has had little impact since most couples itemize their deductions.

It appears the marriage tax penalty is here to stay for the foreseeable future. One has to wonder why our family values President didn’t include a fix in his tax cuts.