Baby Shower Favor Ideas

Many people start out looking for cheap baby shower favors because they have the misconception that all baby shower favors not handmade are expensive. I just hate the word "cheap" because it sounds like the person hosting the baby shower is not enjoying it one bit and they do not want to spend one penny more than necessary on the baby shower. I know from experience in working with the party planners that is not the case but that sticking to a budget is a concern so how about we rephrase our term to affordable baby shower favor ideas or inexpensive baby shower favor ideas.

I think after weddings, baby showers are my most favorite event to attend. As in weddings, everyone is so happy about the new arrival or arrivals that it's such a joy to get together with family and friends and celebrate the baby with the mom to be.

If you're the one hosting the baby shower and are a bit stumped about what baby shower favors to give your guests, let's do some brainstorming together. It sounds like such a cliché but if you already know the sex of the baby, then you can narrow down your favor choices to blue or pink. If you are lucky enough to have time to put the baby shower favors together, then the easiest way to begin is to purchase pink or blue favor boxes or favor bags with matching ribbon. Candies such as jelly beans are always nice fillers for the boxes along with nuts or mints.

If you've chosen a favor bag, then you have a bit more options. One of my favorite baby shower favors was a pink organza bag filled with potpourri. I tossed it in my lingerie drawer when I went home and the scent lingered for several months after the shower - lovely reminder of a fun day. A few more ideas for filling the favor bag are bath crystals, hot cocoa mix (for showers in the winter), or wildflower seeds for spring showers.

If you're like me and you do not have a lot of time to sit down and hand make your baby shower favors, then you're looking for a fun, yet affordable gift for the guests to take home with them. Many adorable baby shower favors are really not expensive. Let's take a look.

Candle favors are great party favors for so many events because it's a practical party favors that guests will definitely use some time in the future. Candle favors imprinted with a baby and baby power scented or baby bottle candle favors are just too cute for words and quite inexpensive.

Another affordable way to go is to choose a baby shower favor that does double duty - first as a place card holder then as a picture frame your guests take home with them to use later (possibly to hold baby's first picture?). From baby clothes to teddy bears, photo frames are available in many ways and low prices that you are sure to find one to match your baby shower decorations.

Personalized baby shower favors aren't as expensive as people think. You do have to purchase a minimum number since the favor is personalized with the Mom To Be's name, but overall quite the buy. A few of my favorites are lip balms, hand creams and even bath gels. These baby shower favors are small yet just the right size to toss in your suitcase when traveling and since they're personalized, will always remind the guest of the fun time they had at the baby shower.

We hope this article has given you a few ideas for choosing your baby shower favors. Most importantly, just have fun - both when planning the baby shower and when you receive all the compliments on a shower well planned!

How to Avoid Wedding Invitations Disasters

What could possibly go wrong with wedding invitations, you might wonder. Funny, a piece of paper sealed inside a harmless little envelope does not seem to be potentially disastrous. Well, check again. There are already quite a few instances wherein the wedding invitations have caused grief for the bride. How? Let us enumerate the following mistakes that could be made with the wedding invitations:

1. Printing out the wrong venue. This wedding invitations disaster tops the cake. What could be possibly more horrible than leading your guests into the wrong venue?

2. Getting the bride's name or groom's name all wrong. How could it be all wrong? Well, for one, the printers messed up the names by mistake. However, as the bride, it is your responsibility to review each wedding invitation carefully.

3. Sending out the wrong wedding invitation to the wrong person. This happens quite a lot, actually. Many people choose to stay safe and refuse to put in the addressee's name on the envelope. This, however, takes away the personal and intimate appeal of wedding invitations. It would be a whole lot better if you do jot down the name of the recipient. All it takes is a little extra care and a whole lot of attention to details.

These are just a few of the possible mistakes that one could make with their wedding invitations. Do note that wedding invitations blunders are not as easy as a wedding dress blunder. You can not cover it up and pretend that nobody else will notice. Mistakes made with the shade of the bridesmaids dresses is not as disastrous - unless of course, your bridesmaids have to end up wearing a sickening shade of green.

Here are a few guidelines to remember so as to avoid wedding invitation slip ups:

1. Before sending out your wedding invitations to the printing press, make sure you have already checked it and reviewed it. It is a lot better to be sure than to have a hundred copies printed out wrongly. The printers merely follow your instructions. If you misspelled your name, they have no way of verifying if it is actually spelled wrongly.

2. Upon receipt of the printed wedding invites, review each line thoroughly. Make sure everything is written properly and that everything is in its place - the names, the venue, the time, all these are of extreme importance. There is no harm in checking, right?

3. When writing the recipient's name on your lovely envelope, make sure you spell out their names right. Call up your guests, if necessary, so as to get their proper designations and to have their names spelled correctly. You may think it is an unnecessary thing to do, but it actually does matter. Whether their names are spelled right matters a lot to your guests.

4. Upon delivering the wedding invitations, make sure you are aware of who's who. Politely hand over the wedding invitations to your guests, but before you do, check out if you got the right one. How embarrassing it would be if you gave Mrs. Colby's invitation to Dr. Jones. That reflects thoughtlessness on your end.

Wedding Cakes - How Traditional Tastes and Customs Have Changed

For centuries, cakes have been one of the main ingredients of a wedding celebration. However, the traditional wedding cake has not always been the rich variety, heavy with fruit, like the ones now generally favoured. In years gone by it was a simple confection, made from just flour, salt and water. Early British cakes were round and flat, and later began to contain fruit and nuts to symbolise fertility.

In Roman times, the cake was even shared during the actual ceremony, although in those days it was more akin to a thin loaf of bread. At the close of the ceremony it was broken or crumbled over the bride's head to symbolise fertility and guests scrambled to gather crumbs as good luck charms. In Fiji the cake is still incorporated within the ceremony today.

Symbolism is an important element of British wedding celebrations and the actual cutting of the cake is one of the traditional rituals. By joining hands to make that first cut together, the couple are symbolising the sharing of their future. An old Yorkshire custom was to take a plate of wedding cake and throw it out of the window as the bride was making her way to her parents' home after the ceremony. The couple's future happiness depended on whether the plate broke or remained intact.

The size of the cake has grown over the centuries. During the Middle Ages the tradition was for the happy couple to kiss over the top of a pile of small cakes. Eventually, a baker came up with the idea of clustering all these together and covering them with icing, setting the trend for the tiered wedding cakes we know today. The shape of today's three-tiered cake is said to have been based on the spire of Saint Bride's Church in London. The top tier is often kept by the couple for their first child's christening.

As well as throwing a plate out of the window, there was once the custom of placing a ring inside the wedding cake. Whichever guest found the ring in their slice of cake was guaranteed to be happy for the following year. Although these customs have become outdated and just become traditions of the past, some old wives' tales still remain. For instance, if an unmarried guest places a piece of the wedding cake beneath their pillow they are said to help their chances of finding a partner. Similarly, if a bridesmaid does this, she is said to dream of her future husband.

Inspiration to Print Your Own Wedding Invitations

These days you can create and print your own wedding invitations at home easily. If you've got a bit of imagination and a printer, then you're well on your way to creating your own wedding invitations. There are plenty of simple ideas that can look stunning and here I outline some simple techniques to get you started.

If you're not feeling inspired, you could use a free printable wedding invitation, then all you need to do is sit back, relax and print them out! Now, back to inspiration...

Finding inspiration

Inspiration can come from anywhere. Look around you at how other things are designed. I find inspiration on anything from wrapping paper, magazines layouts, business logos to emblems or patterns on clothes.
I find that even just walking around the high street, I look at how things are designed, the way elements of the design come together and the way that colours are used. One of best places for inspiration for wedding invitations is card shops! I always come out inspired and raring to go!

Try an illustrative route

If you're a dab hand at drawing, then why not try creating an illustration. For my own wedding invitations I experimented with different illustrations and it worked really well. Just keep it simple so that it's easy to repeat over and over again. Some common drawings for wedding invites are cakes, hearts, rings, bride and grooms and doves.

You could draw it out and then scan it into your computer. (If you don't have a scanner, a copy shop will be able to help). Once you've got the illustration on your computer, treat it like any other image. You can then repeat it, manipulate it or re-colour it. Lay it out on your chosen size paper and then print your own wedding invitations! Simple!

Use photos as the basis of your wedding invite

In recent years, we've embraced digital photography wholeheartedly. We 'point and click' our digital cameras wherever we go, storing our pictures on our home computers and tinkering with them to create the perfect crop, smooth skin and ideal framing.

Why not take these skills and put them to good work by using some of these techniques on your wedding invitations? Here are some simple ideas with photos so you can print your own wedding invitations:

- Take of photo of you and your fiancé and simply print it out onto photo paper in colour or black and white and secure it to the front of your card. You could then place some ribbon or other embellishment on the card to finish it off.

- A slight twist on this is to use some of the special effects in a photo package. The oil paint effect, sketch effect and outline effect are simple techniques that can be found on free software like Paint.net. Just add a quote or saying underneath and then print it directly on some card blanks.

- You could use passport photos of the two of you. You can either stick them to the front of your card, or scan them in and then print out your invites on your computer - it'll be cheaper than getting lots of sets of passport photos.

- Use a photo sharing system such as photobox.com where you can upload your photo and get a card made. The finish is really good and it's a great way to print your own wedding invitations. All you need to do is then create the insert and pop it inside.

Experiment with free downloadable images

There are also plenty of downloadable images on the internet that you could use too. Clipart is much better these days and you may be surprised at what you can find. Again, you can either print these directly on to your wedding invitation or print them on to special paper, cut them out and fix them to the front of your invite.

Creating your 'print at home wedding invitations'

You should also think about the invitation format you'll need. Will your intended design look good on a A6, DL or square card? Do practice runs and tinker with the layout or design until it looks just right. So when you print your own wedding invitations they'll be perfect.

Experiment with different card stocks and types of papers. There are literally hundreds of different papers around these days that will go through your printer, so try something different for a unique, individual look.

Ready to Live Together? - Signs Your Relationship is Ready For the Next Step

How soon is too soon to move in together? Family, friends and society in general wants to know whether or not you are preparing for marriage at some point or playing house. Couples moving in together face complex legal, economic, and psychological obstacles that married couples will never face. Unmarried couples living together should always establish a cohabitation agreement or domestic partnership agreement so that each person clearly understands and agrees to the relationship parameters and agreed upon long-term outcome.

For couples moving in together seeking advice on relationships on how to recognize the signs that their relationship is ready for the next level this article will cover the most important issues that must be resolved before couples move in together.

Couples moving in together should establish how long they plan to live together in terms of when or if marriage is an option. No couple should move in together without an absolutely clear idea of where the relationship is headed legally.

Moving in together is a bigger decision than deciding to get married in my opinion because if both parties don't share the same relationship goals and values, one person is being taken off of the dating market risking their opportunity to find the right person who wants the same things out of life. When a couple decide to move in together they must ask themselves whether or not they are temporarily putting off finding their ideal dream partner.

If you and your mate are moving in together for economical purposes as a way of saving money on living expenses this is a very rational and logical decision that does not include the emotional aspect of being introduced as a boyfriend or girlfriend at a relative's funeral 5 years down the line.

You don't need to set a wedding date in order to move in together, but you definitely should set a 2 to 3 year time-line to re-evaluate your living arrangements and to determine if both parties in the relationship are having their needs met.

If one person wants to eventually get married and the other person doesn't do not move in together. A sign that you are ready to move in together is when both partners agree upon the time frame of living together and whether marriage is in the future.

Unlike men, women only have a biological window of opportunity to have children. Older women are at a higher risk of having a child with a disability than younger women. If you or your partner do not have children this issue must be resolved before moving in together.

If you both have children from a previous relationship it is important that the children are able to get along. Whatever issues that exist prior to moving in together will escalate exponentially once families move in together. If you and your partner agree on whether or not to have children and or if you both have children and everyone get along fairly well, this is sign that moving in together is a good idea.

If you and your partner see eye to eye on how to manage and budget money for the household this is a sign that not only should you move in together, but you should have done it, yesterday. Money management is the number one reason that couples separate. So if you found someone who matches your financial style and spending habits you are in very compatible relationship.

Couples moving in together should agree on the frequency of sex. Many therapists refer to sex as bonding glue in a relationship. Each time you and your partner climax during sex you release the hormone oxytocin which makes you feel emotionally closer to a person. Couples who can't agree on how often to share intimate relations break up more frequently than couples who share the same sex drive.

Religious beliefs and how chores will be divided are some other issues that should be discussed before moving in together. If you and your boyfriend or girlfriend have negotiated and agree upon whether or not you will get married in the future; how the money will spent in the home; whether or not you should have children or if you have children they get along with your partner; how often to have sex; whether or not to go to church and most importantly whose turn it is to do dishes-these are signs that it is time to move in together.

DIY Wedding Invitations Can Be Really Funny!

DIY Wedding Invitations can mean you will write your own story. Imagine setting up a wedding that would be fun. You can use almost any theme. I will use a shotgun wedding theme as an example.

Say you have a photo of your (bride's) father with his hunting gun. You put that on the front of your DIY Wedding Invitations. When they open it up pops a photo of your fiance that you put on a pop up. Then inside is your photo smiling pretty.

I can already see you laughing. You have the photos and now the inside verse says: "Missy has found her guy and her dad is going to make sure he doesn't go anywhere" Come to the Freedom Fair Grounds for the shotgun wedding. It will take place at the demolition building. Don't be late cause we need all the witnesses we can get. The ceremony will begin at 5:30 pm on Saturday, September 18th.

Get your name in for the chin dig. Granny will be cookin' and you know she likes a crowd. She's got everyone's jobs schedules so send the RSVP so she won't get mad. She needs to know by Friday, September 3rd.

You can see that any rules can apply if the bride wants to make it her own way.

If you have an idea for a funny wedding then DIY wedding invitations can be a great advantage.

Although you would have to add your own style to these. A fun messy font would be perfect and using a burnt border might even add a more detailed feel.

This may be a little far-fetched but you get the idea. When you know what you want but can't find it, create it.

We all have some creative flair and there are so many ideas that you may have thought of. Consider everyone else too Your mom may not be open to something this hillbilly. or maybe she will add to it. But if you think it through and you have an idea that isn't the norm. Don't give up. Bounce the idea around. Talk it over with your fiance' and then when everything has been set up, get busy with it.

DIY wedding invitations are the perfect solution when you have planned a totally different type of wedding. Keep in mind you will have to make the RSVP and reception cards match. You still want it to be easy for your quests to read. You want them to feel welcome so try to make that come across.

Have fun with DIY Wedding Invitations.

Planning a Small Wedding Reception

Want to have a rather cozy and small wedding reception? If you want your wedding day to be more intimate, a small wedding reception really works well. This is also a perfect option for those who have a quite tight budget. When planning, it will be a big help to get yourself creative and innovative in making possible arrangements within your budget limit.

Planning a small wedding reception involves several tasks such as creating a guest list, choosing a venue, decorating the venue, finding a DJ, selecting songs, hiring a caterer, choosing a wedding cake, and finding the right favors. For a quite limited budget of yours, splurging money is not an option but being wise in making decisions would really make a good sense in making a wedding reception on a budget looks lavish.

Wondering how to organize a small wedding reception? Here are some ideas that can tick you along as you move ahead.

Finding the reception venue...

One of the most important aspects would be to decide the perfect venue. A practical option to help you save money is to plan your wedding during an off season. Find and book the venue in an off season, but make sure that it can accommodate your guests well. A clubhouse, garden, or a residential home can make an ideal place to hold a small wedding reception.

Decorating the venue...

Once you've chosen a venue, the next thing you need to do is to choose a theme which will be your guide in decorating the venue. You will also decide on the colors that best fit the theme of your wedding. From table and chair arrangements to wall and ceiling details need to be looked into. Flower arrangements are also important as they can easily embellish the whole place. Fresh flowers can be a bit expensive, so what you will do is to purchase lots of silk flowers instead of fresh ones. Insert the silks into the fresh flowers to make arrangements without spending too much. Depending on your budget, you may also add other decorative accessories such as streamers, banners, balloons, candles, table sprinkles, etc.

Planning for delightful menu...

The menu will depend on the time of the day that the wedding reception will be held. No worries because there are some suggestions that can help you save a sum on the food and drinks for example, you can make your own menu at home, instead of hiring a caterer. This may involve some of your family member and friends to help you cook and prepare the dishes. Your homemade menu will be served in a buffet-type so you won't be needing waiters to serve your guests.

Music and DJ...

It is important to entertain the guests and keep the party alive, that is why you need to have music and DJ for that. For a small wedding reception, you don't have to hire a professional DJ or band. Instead, you can have a friend who knows a bit on entertaining people or you can hire a school band that will likely cost cheaper or even for free!

Other important details you have to keep in mind for your small wedding reception are your wedding favors, table linens and chair covers, wedding centerpieces, wedding flutes and serve, cake toppers, and wedding napkins.

How To Create Beautiful Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles. You can even have your invitations produced in any color under the sun too. No matter what you are looking for, there is likely a wedding invitation style that will suit your unique preferences. Even if you cannot find a product that precisely matches what you are looking for, you can always have cards custom made for your special occasion. These steps will help you create the perfect card.

Step 1 - Find a high quality manufacturer to purchase your products from. There are many manufacturers you can choose from today. You might have to do some research to find the best ones available though. Most companies will let you see what your card will look like before you make a large purchase too. Even if you are ordering online, you can acquire samples to review. Simply go to the website you are ordering from and utilize their sample ordering forms. You can also go directly to stores that carry a large selection of items to personally review the quality of each company's products.

Step 2 - Design your cards. At this point, you should also select the style and theme you would like to have placed on your invitations. You can select any number of themes ranging from seasonally themed designs to subject based themes. If you are having a hard time selecting a theme, you should look through the themes that match your favorite season of the year. You can also review themes that relate to the season your wedding is being held in too. Also, if you want to select a subject based theme, you can review you and your loved one's favorite hobbies and activities to find a great theme. Once you do this, you will certainly know which theme will best suit your wedding.

Step 3 - If you want to truly customize the cards you create, you should also select unique designs or monograms to place on your cards. Many companies have hundreds of designs for you to choose from. Once you have selected your favorite one, not only will your invitations look beautiful, but they will be very unique as well.

Step 4 - Remember to select custom and beautiful fonts too. The fonts placed on your cards are truly the final touch that brings the whole design of the stationery to life. By selecting fonts that you find to be beautiful, and by selecting fonts that match the theme you have chosen, your wedding invitations will certainly look magnificent.

Convenience of Cheap Pocket Wedding Invitations

Pocket wedding invitations are a great option for couples who plan on having unique and stylish wedding at a limited budget. Wedding preparations require a lot of consideration and sometimes you need to cut down on some costs to accommodate the other preparations. This is where cheap pocket invitations come into the picture.

The pocket fold wedding invitations can be of many types ranging from bi fold, tri fold or single pocket. In case of tri fold wedding invitations, the main invitation containing the essential information is placed at the center and the rest of the cards such as the direction cards, RSVP and many more are placed on the side panels or pockets.

eBay is a wonderful option for couples if they are looking for great discounts or bargains. Here you may come across many users or companies selling of their older stock. Some of these invitations may also come with unique designs, patterns or background that might be matching with your wedding theme. If in doubt, you can even take the assistance of online resources or websites to create wonderful and unique invitations.

Once the pocket wedding invites are ready, you might want to add the text. The wordings or text for the wedding can be in the form of graphics, simple texts inviting the guests to the wedding, monograms and many more. In case of traditional weddings you can make use of traditional inks that will look good with the invitations.

Cheap pocket wedding invitations can also be purchased in the form of DIY kits that are easily available in many of the stationery stores. Many of these kits come with themed invitations that will match the style of your wedding. In addition to this, you might even come across envelopes, supplies and an instruction guide that assists you in making marvelous wedding.

Talking about the accessories, ribbons and laces are the most appropriate choice for couple since you can choose from different types of materials such as satin, silk and velvet. The ribbons can be purchased in different colors and you can even add tiny beads or embroidery on the borders of the ribbons. In addition to this you can even personalize your pocket fold wedding invitations with a photo of yourself and your spouse making them even more special in the eyes of the guests.

Coming to the envelopes, you can either go in for themed envelopes or colorful ones. If the background of your pocket wedding is light, then you can purchase envelopes with darker shades and vice versa. In order to bring out the happiness of the event, you can even add some dry flowers, hay or confetti into the envelopes.

These cheap pocket wedding invitations are a wonderful idea to come up with beautiful and innovative ideas. You can even take the help of your friends or relatives who know where to get the best bargains or discounts for the invitations and can help in planning your invitations and making it appealing to the guests.

Wedding Invitations

A way to cut costs for my wedding was on the invitations. I didn't really think of this until my husband reminded me that people will either:

1. Lose them

2. Will eventually throw them out after the wedding.

When you think about it, no one really cares about what the invitations look like. Out of all the weddings you have been to can you remember one or still have it? I am guessing the answer is no.

I have been invited to weddings were the invitations were quite plain but they really only serve one purpose. They are for telling people your getting married and to be here at this time and date and rsvp by this date.

If you endless amounts of money then of course spend $10 an invitation if you want but for most of us we want to have our dream wedding without breaking the bank.

I picked up my invitations for AU $0.95 each.

This included the invitation basics on it and envelopes. All I had to do was write on their names & rsvp date for the invitations and that was it. Very simple and easy.

To make them look fancier I added a magnet onto the back of the invitation so my guests could put it on the fridge and not throw it in a draw and get lost. These cost about $10 from eBay for 100 of them.

The envelope was plain on the outside but I bought small heart stickers from eBay for $2.50 for 100 and placed one on the top left hand corner on the front.

I also bought bigger square cherub stickers (to match the invitations) to act as a seal on the back. These cost about $5.00 for 100 again from Ebay.

I wrote on the envelope and invitation in gold pen which cost me $2.00.

To save extra money I did not send a rsvp card with it. I did not have any complaints from guests as there were just as happy to send through an email or phone instead of taking the effort to post something back.

I have helped my cousin plan her wedding and she had rsvp cards with her invitations. They cost her about $2.00 each and out of 100 guests she only received 5 back. What a waste!

In this day and age the normal traditional wedding guidelines don't always get followed as we decide how we want our wedding to run.

Another tip I learnt from other weddings is that when people arrive at the wedding place at a certain time which is great and was outlined on the invitations. If they need to drive somewhere else or change locations people get confused and have no idea.

The same thing happened to my husband and I. We actually got lost going from the chapel to the reception and we were an hour late and there were also other people that were later as we had no clue as to where we were supposed to be.

I am a very organised people and the 2 weddings I went to were unorganised and we all stood around going where do we go, when is dinner etc

A great idea is to add a note on how the day will plan out. use it as a running sheet so people can relax. I sent this plain piece of cream paper with my invitations to tell people exactly where, when and what they need to do on the day so everyone knew what was going on. I also put the afternoon outline, I put directions to the wedding venue, accommodation details, wishing well poem and the contact details for rsvp.

It made me feel stress free knowing that no-one had an excuse of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I have been invited to one wedding this year exactly a month after mine and I received the invitation 2 weeks before. We had know the date & that it was local but other than that we had no idea what gift they wanted, what time it started so we could arrange a babysitter.

As much as invitations are a pain and take time you need to give people at least 2 months notice and even more for interstate or overseas guests so they can arrange flights and accommodation.

In saying that, I made a huge mistake with sending my invitations out too early. I sent my overseas & interstate guests their invitation 10 months before our wedding.

The local ones in about July/September. What a big ordeal.... Due to me having to have everything organised, I had people pulling out 3 weeks before the wedding.

This was a major pain as the venue needed final numbers & full payment 3 weeks before the wedding date. So we had already paid for 90 guests and gave the venue the numbers. Then after this for the next 3 weeks we had 20 people pull out & said they couldn't come.

I was sooo mad and frustrated. Eventually we needed to call on people who were reserves just to fill seats so we didn't have gaps everywhere and waste money.

If I had my time over again I would not send them out so early 2 months before is fine.

There is a wedding on the 22nd of September and we only found out we were invited by a friend of the bride on the 27th of August.

It is now 2 weeks before the wedding and we have no idea where it is or what time it starts. We had to rsvp to the friend that told us...once again this to me is slack and makes everyone involved stressed and frustrated.

Tip: If you think people will rsvp on the date you write on the invitations then think again. I had the rsvp date for 2 months before the wedding and I was still chasing people up about 1 month after that to see whether they were coming.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. Keep invitation costs to a bare minimum

2. Use eBay to purchase extras to make them look better

3. Try & add a fact sheet to avoid people being late or mucking up your plans

4. Give guests enough time but not too much time to receive and reply to the invitation dates

I can give you an exact amount on what I spend for 100 invitations:

Invites + Envelopes = AU $95.00
Gold Pen = AU $2.00
Magnets = AU $10.00
Cherub Stickers = AU $5.00
Heart Stickers = AU $2.50

Total Spent = AU $114.50

If you have already began looking you can see that some invitations start as high as $2.00 a piece.

Pocket-Fold Wedding Invitations - What Information Should Be Contained in Your Invites

Pocket-fold wedding invitations are very popular at the moment. They are a little different from the standard folded wedding invitations and that is the reason for their popularity. They allow you to add extra information which you wouldn't normally be able to include inside a standard invitation. But what information should be contained inside them? Here is a list of things that you might want to send your guests.

1. R.S.V.P or Reply Card - A card allowing your guests to reply to your invitation. Sending a reply card encourages your guests to respond. A little tip, number your reply cards on the back in one of the top corners. Keep a list of which numbers correspond to which guests. This way if any of your guests forget to write their name in the card, or their handwriting is illegible, you'll know who the R.S.V.P. is from.


2. Gift List - A gift list card can list the presents that you would like from your guests. Or it could refer them to a website which contains your list. Alternatively if requesting money you can write a poem to kindly ask for cash gifts.


3. Direction Card - This is great for your out of town guests which might not know the area. You could draw a map or list directions to the church or venue. Remember to add the venue's postcode to the card. This will make it easier for your guests who are using a Sat Nav system to find their way.


4. Accommodation Card - Include information on nearby hotels and bed and breakfasts. Many of your guests might want to spend the night in the area rather than driving home. Include telephone numbers of hotels and their room pricing.

Above are the advantages to pocket-fold invites. They have the flexibility to contain as much information as is necessary. You can add whatever you like, not just what I have listed here.

If you forget to include anything it is easy to insert an extra card inside the pocket. Your not required to reprint the entire wedding invitation just because a mistake was made.

The Importance of Your Wedding Invitations

You are getting married. Congratulations. The exciting day is coming closer faster than you think. If you are in the midst of your wedding planning's and have yet to send out your wedding invitations you should not wait too long. When it comes to ensuring your wedding plans don't turn into a nightmare it is critical to send out the invitations as early as possible. Why? You want to make sure all relatives and friends of both sides have enough time in advance to plan for it and to make travel arrangements, too.

To be able to send out wedding invitations you need to have many other things already organized. You need to know the date of course as well as the location. You need to make sure that your preferred wedding chapel or church is available and reserved. You need to make sure that the wedding fits yourself as well as it works for your parents, too. It would be a big No No to leave them out of that discussion.

Once you have the details of the wedding date, place, etc, worked out, you really need to get the wedding invitations send out. If you plan for some very personalized wedding invitation cards, you need to consider that the more personalized they are, the more time is needed to get the wedding cards designed and printed. You would not believe how difficult this actually is and how much effort has to go into this. Keep in mind this should be a once in a life time event (even though statistics show that only one out of three weddings will last a life time) and you want it to be extremely special.

Work with your wedding planner on your wedding invitation cards. Your wedding planner often has great connections to designers who will create your card designs. Special card designs (I mean those very personalized and unique invitation cards) will carry the extra cost for the design + the price per card is higher than the "cheap ones" you get from a store. You can easily expect the design price to linger somewhere between $150 and $500 dollars and a final price per card to be at around $5 - $25. Do not go overboard if you are on a budget. Your wedding should not put you under (financial) water for the rest of your life. Too many couples load up with debt for their weddings, it is irresponsible. A wedding should not match the Beverly Hills lifestyle if you live in Detroit.

So, by now you can tell that it is pretty important to much a lot of thought into your wedding invitation cards. At first it seems to be a small and less important item to look at for your wedding, but in the end it can make or break a successful wedding. Don't be one of those couples that at the end will have a horrible wedding because of doing a lousy job with their wedding invitations.

The Best Creative Ways to Propose

Marriage proposals made over a romantic dinner at an elegant restaurant can be very romantic but they are not necessarily creative. Many women dream about the day that the man of their dreams proposes to them and hope that the day will be absolutely perfect in every way imaginable. In a recent study the majority of married women reported that they believe that their spouse spent a significant amount of money on their wedding proposal but that the lack of originality in the proposal had left the women feeling disappointed.

One creative way to propose for a couple involved in a long distance relationship is to plan a surprise visit and set up a scavenger hunt. You could have a friend pick you up from the airport so that your girlfriend doesn't know that you are coming to visit and have the friend give your girlfriend instructions for the scavenger hunt. You could hide a number of small surprises such as candy, flowers and a CD as the first few stops on the scavenger hunt and then hide at the final location poised to propose when your girlfriend completes the game.

An outdoor enthusiast might appreciate a creative proposal during a camping trip. It's a good idea to plan a quiet trip for just you and your girlfriend at a picturesque location. You could hide the ring in your sleeping bag to use in a surprise proposal. When it's time to go to sleep after a long day of hiking and fishing, you could complain that there must be a rock or something underneath you and then pull out the ring and make your proposal. This creative proposal also contains the element of surprise as a camping trip is not a usual proposal location.

Another creative proposal idea is to place an ad in a local newspaper. You could place an outrageous ad in a newspaper asking anyone who was willing to get married to give you a call and include a fictitious phone number. Then when you and your girlfriend are reading the paper together, you could point out the ad as a joke and while she is reading the ad, seize the opportunity to pull out the engagement ring and let her know that you would love to marry her.

Proposing at a sporting event is a creative way to propose to a sports fan. For this proposal idea you could either arrange to have your proposal broadcast over the public address system or displayed on the large screen. If you are really adventurous, you could also contact the team's public relations department and try to make arrangements to make your proposal on the field at halftime. They might be willing to help you stage a scenario where you are either chosen to win a prize or participate in a contest and while you are on the field, they would hand over the microphone to allow you to make your proposal.

Another creative marriage proposal idea is to purchase a book of poems and leave the first few pages intact and carve a heart into the remaining pages and sew the engagement ring to the back of the book. You could suggest taking turns reading the poems on each page and plan to have your girlfriend turn the final complete page to reveal the heart and ring that were hidden inside. This proposal idea is not only creative but also incredibly romantic.

Having the DJ of your girlfriend's favorite radio program ask her if she will marry you is another creative proposal idea. You will want to make sure that you are aware of the exact time that the DJ will be sending your message so that you are able to ensure that you and your girlfriend are listening together when he makes the announcement. You could also arrange to have the DJ play a song that has a special meaning for you as a couple so that you can enjoy a dance together after she accepts your creative proposal.

Another creative way to propose is to include all of your family and friends in the event by inviting them all to a surprise party for your girlfriend. To make this proposal work, you would either convince your girlfriend that you want to have a quiet dinner at home or at a restaurant with just the two of you. Once you arrive at the destination all of the guests will reveal themselves and while all eyes are on the two of you, you could take the opportunity to profess your love and propose.

Still another creative way to propose is to hide the ring in an unexpected location. For example you could pretend to have a clogged sink and while you are working to fix the clog, you could reach into the sink and pull out the engagement ring. When your girlfriend is nearby, you could seize the opportunity to pull out the ring you had hidden earlier and say something to the effect of, "No wonder the sink is clogged, I'll have to find another place to store this ring, how about your finger?" This whimsical proposal is both light-hearted and creative.

A variation on the traditional proposal at an elegant restaurant could be to have the waiter bring out the ring with the bill. You could have a little good natured fun with your girlfriend by going out of your way to drop hints that you would be proposing over dinner. If you keep up the act, she will be expecting your proposal with each course. After dessert you could tell her that you have something very important to ask and as she eagerly awaits your proposal, you could ask an inconsequential question about something completely irrelevant to your relationship. She will probably be furious at this point but her anger won't last as the waiter arrives with the bill and the engagement ring and you let her know how much she means to you.

Finally a creative proposal idea is for the woman to ask the man to marry her, instead of waiting for him to propose. Many women anxiously await the day that the man in their life will propose but why not add your own creative twist by proposing to him instead. The woman is free to propose in any way that she finds truly romantic and can ensure that the proposal is both creative and romantic and that it's a moment that they both will remember for the rest of their lives.

A great marriage proposal doesn't have to be expensive or extravagant. Many women are more likely to cherish the memories of a proposal that was inexpensive but truly creative. The creativity is what makes the proposal so memorable and what makes it a great story to tell their friends.

Tips and Ideas For Hand-Made and Home-Made Wedding Cards

There is nothing more special than making home-made wedding cards that can double as souvenirs for your wedding. Creating your own wedding cards may be more tedious than simply having them made to order, but you cannot take the distinction out of something that is said to be 'hand-made.' It is also a good way to save money without having to sacrifice quality and style. Here are some tips and ideas on how to make hand-made wedding cards:

On selecting your materials:

1. First is to think up of a motif, a color and a design. It would be best if the color of you card is same or complementary to the wedding motif.


2. Second, you need to select the paper and the materials needed to put together your unique card. Paper products can be bought from your local book/stationery stores where buying bulk is cheaper. You can use can also use your computer and print out photographs or clip art. Purchased and/or home-made scrapbook and arts and crafts supplies may also be used.


3. When selecting the paper, choose one that is not too bold as to overpower the colored font of your invitation. The general size of an invitation is 81/2in by 11in, folded in half. But you can choose other shapes like squares, heart shapes, wedding bell shapes or even scroll form.


4. Always keep into mind your budget and go for home-made alternatives if you feel you are spending too much in store products.

Generally, wedding card invitations should contain the following:

1. The names of the groom and the bride.


2. The names of officiating priests or pastors or spiritual authority.


3. The names of the principal sponsors; these are the wedding god-parents and may be more than one pair, although only one pair will be signing the marriage contract.


4. The names of the secondary sponsors, which includes the groomsmen and junior groomsmen and the bridesmaids and junior bridesmaids.


5. The date, time and address and illustrated map of where the wedding is to be held.


6. The address, time and number of reserved seating for the wedding reception, which usually includes an earlier date when the guests are to confirm their attendance.

The wonderful thing about making wedding cards is that you can do it at home, you can choose your own design and it is easy to do:

1. You can choose a simple printed card using your computer and printing it on floral and wedding themed paper available in many bookstores. To add personality, you can add a photograph of the couple in one of the inserts of the invitation.


2. You can use different materials and motifs, such as ribbons, stencils, small charms or dried leaves. And even if you are not much of a creative, you can find instructions and creative examples online. All you need is a glue gun and some paper, simple materials, and you are set to go.

Do I Need Diamond Ring Insurance?

If you have to ask whether or not you need diamond ring insurance you probably do. There's something nagging you in the back of your mind saying "this thing's just too darn valuable to have it stolen or misplaced!" And you're right. While you should never look upon your diamond jewelry as an investment, there's no harm in being smart about covering things you're spending a fair amount of cash on, and diamond ring insurance can go a long way toward easing your concerns. There are a few things to consider, however.

Diamond ring insurance is usually found as a rider to most homeowners or renters insurance policies, at least in the US. Many insurance companies won't bother, but most of the larger ones will. There are basically three types of diamond ring insurance: Actual Cash Value, Replacement Value, and Agreed Value. Actual cash value replaces the ring at current market rates, either higher or lower than you paid for it. This coverage is rather rare. Another rare form of coverage but the most desirable, is Agreed Value. This is where you and the insurance company agree on the value, and that is the amount you are compensated in the event of a loss. The most common type, and the policy that most people are sold is Replacement Value. This is where the insurance company replaces your ring at the lowest cost they can negotiate. This is sometimes much less than the amount the ring is insured for. This is an area to be careful. Always insist on an independent appraisal, as you don't want to be paying premiums for a ring appraised at $15,000, and then have it replaced for $3000.

Make sure your diamond ring insurance covers you when you travel, and for most normal occasions. I've seen policies that only covered the ring in the house, causing problems when it was lost or stolen outside the home. All is all, diamond ring insurance isn't difficult to obtain, just keep these guidelines handy and you'll be able to buy some piece of mind!

Dresses For Plus Size Women That We Just Can't Get Enough Of

Once upon a time, the many dresses for plus size women were huge and over size. In short, they were not really fashionable. And large women just had to put up with the fact that they need something to wear comfortably. Well times have changed for the better and here's why.

More Fashionable Plus Size Dresses For Women

There is now a huge variety of fashionable plus size dresses for women that one can find online any time. And since many women are busy working these days, purchasing them online will definitely help them save time and gas. No one wants to get stuck in traffic jams or spend the whole day driving from one store to another looking for dresses when you can search online in the comfort of your own home. Since some of the online stores offer free shipping, it's more convenient to have you items delivered straight to your home. Unless you have all the energy and time in the world to do window shopping. Besides, you get to see more variety online and to also zero in on the style and designs that interest you.

What is Currently Popular?

So at the moment, large women get to look really good since many of the plus size dresses for women have been designed following the latest fashion trends. Need a dress for an evening dinner? There's plenty of choices to bowl you over. Want to go chill out at the club with friends? You could find some hot sexy plus size dresses that will make heads turn. And all these dresses will complement your figure. Whether you need some trendy tops or party dress to little black dresses and day shirts, you find the latest offering very appealing. And many of the online stores selling these clothing will have sizing information which makes it easier for women to select the sizes of their choice.

More Color, Cutting And Style

No longer will these dresses for plus size women be boring or mundane. There is now quite a good market for them as more and more designers come up with more designs offering beautiful cutting and a variety of colors and style to suite the taste of women all over. So if you're game to get some shopping done, now would be a good time.

Summary

These are some of the main reasons why we just can't seem to get enough of these dresses for plus size women. Especially with the fact that they are so readily and easily available online which women could purchase and have them shipped directly to them. Have a wonderful time shopping for them!

How to Get Married in Paris - A Guide For the Persistent Romantic!

From the classic Technicolor dance scenes of An American in Paris to more recent films like Moulin Rouge and Amelie Poulain- for many Americans, Paris is the epitome of romance. And what could be a more romantic place to get married? For most couples, after deciding to get married in Paris, the first thing they do is make a giddy, "so crazy this just might work" phone call to their local French consulate, where they are instantly yanked backed down to earth by their first official French "Non": "Mais, mademoiselle! C'est impossible! You must live in France for 40 days before you can marry in France. Impossible! Why are you calling me? Au revoir!!" Click.... And for some couples, that will be that. In a flash they're swept directly to Plan B, their local country club with a Paris themed reception, do not pass Go, do not collect 200EUR...

Some couples, though, will want to see the dream through- they may choose to have a legal ceremony in their own country, and then come to Paris for a symbolic ceremony. Symbolic ceremonies aren't legally binding, but are as romantic and as meaningful as you'd imagine them to be.

This article, though, is for the hard-liners- those couples that are ready to dance with the big boys, to run the gauntlet, fight the fight... Getting legally married in France as a foreigner will be one of the strongest tests to your "coupledom" as you've probably gone through so far. Forget about Couples Fear Factor- If you can survive this, you can survive anything

The Nitty Gritty on Getting Married in France

What the curt civil servant at the embassy told you is true. In order to be legally wed in France, one of the couple needs to have lived in France, in the district around the city hall in which they plan to marry, for a minimum of 40 consecutive days before the wedding. Some sources say 30 days, but you have to add on an additional 10 days for the city hall to publish the Banns - a public announcement that is put up in City Hall for 10 days preceding your marriage that lists your names and your impending marriage date so that any estranged husbands or wives have one last chance to find you before you're married off.

Before asking for that sabbatical from work, though, you should know that this one little detail is actually a big one. You must show 2 separate documents that show your French address ("justificatifs de domicile"). For instance- a gas or electricity bill (a cell phone bill doesn't count), a rent receipt, a lease, a French social security card, etc. If you are planning on renting an apartment here on a short-term lease in order to meet this marriage requirement, know that it could take several months before you receive any of the above documents. Another option is to live with a friend or relative, and have that person sign an attestation d'hebergement sur l'honneur. This is a statement swearing that you have been living at that person's residence, and that they take responsibility for you if you happen to be a drug trafficker or illegally downloading "Desperate Housewives" or something. There is a ton of small print on this one, including a huge fine and a short trip to the guillotine if it's ever found out that you were not, in fact, living with them.

If you are able to meet the 40-day requirement, the first thing you want to do is to get the most recent list of required documents from the city hall (mairie) in which you plan to marry. Most of these documents have specific time frames in which they must be dated before being submitted, so it's important to get the list as soon as you can. Here is a general list of the documents that you will need to be legally wed in France. It's important, though (and I can't stress this enough) that you get the official, most up-to-date list from the mairie in the district (arrondisement) that you are planning to marry.

1. A valid passport or a French residence permit ("carte de sejour")

2. A birth certificate ("extrait d'acte de naissance"): Most city halls require that you present an original copy of a complete birth certificate (with full details of your parents) issued within 3 months of your wedding date along with a sworn translation. You have to get the translation from a sworn translator ("traducteur asserment"). Sworn translators are listed at every "mairie".

3. A certificate of celibacy ("attestation tenant lieu de declaration en vue de marriage ou de non-remariage") less than 3 months old.

4. An Affidavit of law ("certificat de coutume") Many mairies request an Affidavit of Law ("Certificat de Coutume") in addition to the Affidavit of Marital Status from foreigners. The Affidavit of Law certifies that the American citizen is free to get married in France and that the marriage will be recognized in the United States. Only an attorney licensed to practice in both France and the United States may execute this document.

5. A medical certificate ("certificat medical prenuptial"): You both must get a pre-nuptial medical certificate, which says that you were examined by a doctor "en vue de mariage." (Don't get nervous, girls- it's just a standard check-up plus a couple of blood tests: blood type, syphilis, rubella and toxoplasmosis...) The marriage banns cannot be published until medical certificates have been submitted to the mairie. The certificates must be dated no earlier than two months before the publication of banns. Any qualified doctor can perform the medical examination (the U.S. Embassy publishes a list of English-speaking doctors).

6. Proof of domicile ("justificatifs de domicile") (see above)

7. A "certificat du notaire": If you are planning on having a pre-nuptial agreement, you must go through a lawyer (a notaire) who will provide a "certificat du notaire" which must be submitted to the mairie as well. It must have been drawn up no more than 2 months prior to the marriage. If there are no pre-nuptial contracts, then you will be married under the communaut rduite aux acquets. This means that what each of you owned personally before the marriage, or whatever comes to you afterwards through inheritance, remains your own, individual property. Only that which is acquired during the marriage is owned equally by both parties. (If you've ever seen or read Diane Johnson's Le Divorce, this scenario may look very familiar to you...)

If either of you were previously married, you must provide a certified copy of the death certificate of the deceased spouse or a certified copy of the final divorce decree.

8. In addition to all of the above, you will also have to choose and provide information on your witnesses ("temoins")- 2 to 4 people who will act as sort of your Best Men and/or Maid of Honor, and sign the registry after the marriage ceremony. You will need to provide their names, addresses, their professions and photocopies of their passports with your dossier.

All of this needs to be presented to the Mairie in time for them to check and approve your documents before posting the Banns- they typically ask for your completed marriage file 10 days before their publication, but I usually suggest that my clients submit their dossier sooner than that- the curt civil servants will almost always insist that there is a document missing, sending you into yet another frenzy of frantic phone calls and emails.

When all has been accepted and approved, you will receive word from the Mairie of your wedding date and time (you can request a specific date and time ahead of time, but they will assure you that nothing is confirmed until the dossier has been approved). Keep in mind that you must be legally married in a civil ceremony before you will be allowed to have a Catholic Church ceremony in France. After your civil ceremony, you will receive a "Livret de Famille" (Family Book) a sort of wedding certificate that also has pages for all of your future children. This little blue book is the Holy Grail. If you live in France, this book will make your administrative life here a lot easier pretty much until the day you die (in which your death will be noted in said little blue book). If you don't plan on staying in France, think of it as the ultimate wedding present.

Getting married in a foreign country is rarely easy. A Parisian wedding is just a bit more difficult than that. But if you are willing and able, the lasting memory of exchanging your vows beneath the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, or in the cobbled halls of a centuries-old chateau is worth the few months of frustration.

Hug Day - Celebrate It With a Jaadu Ki Jhappi!

Life is represented by a collection of memories, experiences and decisions. The very incidents that have occurred in your life define you as an individual, who you truly are. While some of them might get etched in your memory forever, others might have faded away over a period of time. However, every decision that was being taken was done only after giving it a substantial amount of thought and closely evaluating all the possible alternatives.

This Hug Day, we bring to you a one-stop solution to rid you of your decision making worries in some of the day-to-day life situations. And the solution is quite simple - a warm, loving hug a.k.a. a Jaadu Ki Jhappi!

1. Hit and Do Not Run!
The never ending traffic jams and the persistent honking on the roads can paralyse and deafen anyone. The precarious balance to be maintained between your clutch and accelerator is impossible to sustain and your leg is bound to slip, grazing the car up ahead. While you might be used to the dents and scratches decorating your bummer, others just might not be. As they ferociously open their door and walk towards you in anger, do not be frightened. Lurch forward and embrace them while muttering some hasty apologies. That ought to dissipate the anger.

2. Sheesha Ho Ya Dil Ho...
Being Indians we are born with an affinity to love cricket. We worship the sport, idolise the players and without doubt, we bleed blue. However, our love for the sport is not restricted to watching the game alone. Everyone loves to play a match on Sunday mornings and for adherent fans, a game every day is a must. We have all made the mistake of being held hostage in the moment and hitting the ball a bit too hard, straight through our neighbour's window or their new car's windshield. For a cheap way out, instead of compensating them for their loss, give them a Jaadu Ki Jhappi and flee before they can think twice.

3. Stupid, Crazy Love!
Being in a relationship dictates unwavering love, commitment and dedication. With so much being expected of you, you are bound to miss out on a few tiny details such as your partner's birthday or your anniversary. If only they could practise the principle of 'forgive and forget'. In times of desperation, when you see no other way out, go for the age old tradition of 'hug and mumble'. The important point to note is to mumble and hug in unison. The hug will lose its effectiveness if your partner doesn't hear you fumbling over your apologies.

So, go out there and make a difference to your daily life on this Hug Day with your Jaadu Ki Jhappis. We wish you a very Happy Hug Day!

Uncle Bob - The Ultimate Cheap Photographer

In this day and age of trying to do your wedding on a budget, many brides are going for the ultimate "cheap wedding photographer" which amounts to a friend who "loves photography", an aspiring photographer who wants to create a portfolio and will work for "free" (or close to free) or worse yet, Uncle Bob with his "great camera" who takes all the photos at the family gatherings.

While I do understand the economic times well and the need to cut corners like never before, I strongly advise against any of the above options unless you, the bride, are willing to lower your photographic expectations to equal your financial expectations. You simply cannot expect consistently beautiful representations of your day for free, or next to free. You are not going to be happy, trust me. "Free" may be your friend when budgeting, but when all is said and done, it isn't and may result in a loss of a friend.

Let's look at this - when you begin to look for an affordable photographer on a restricted budget, are you considering talking to the photographer who's work you like about what they may or may not be able to do for you or are you immediately going for the big three freebies named above? Most seasoned, experienced wedding photographers are dropping their prices due to the economy. But, you have free wedding photographers, so.....let's review:

The "friend who loves photography" isn't going to love you, nor are you going to love her when it is all said and done. She likely has absolutely no idea what is entailed in shooting a wedding for one thing. Another big point is she doesn't understand that she is no longer "part of the party" but must be the outsider looking in, and she has to be good. Very good, under these circumstances. She has to know that you need photos of you and great Aunt Susan, even if you don't think of it. If you want to be the director all day, fine. But haven't you had to play director for this day for a whole year? Wouldn't it be nice it the photographer knew what needed to be done without your input? And when she realizes that she has hours upon hours of "fixing" the photos combined with your anxiousness to see them and she fails to deliver what you expected and she "worked so hard" - where is the friendship now?

The Aspiring Photographer is a crap shoot. They obviously know the gear, have had some experience, usually as a second photographer to a pro and are launching on their own. Will trade for Portfolio is the song they sing. The inherent problem with this is that while they may have (and probably do have) some weddings under their belt, they are underestimating the lead photographer who tells them where to be, what to shoot and sets everything up. They think they can do that too. Maybe they can, maybe they can't. I have launched two of my second photographers' careers. I've had 8. Only two have worked hard enough and long enough with me that I would trust them to be lead photographers. Both of them had 100 weddings under their belts as my assistant before I felt they knew what to do. The words "I assisted so and so a couple times" are not your friend. This is a once in a lifetime deal.

Does Uncle Bob drink? Is he expecting to work all day and night without really socializing with anyone else from the family? That is what your professional photographer does. Its not a party for us, our "socializing" is in the form of making other people comfortable, but not distract us from capturing the moments you love and will likely forget. Ah - the meaning of "capture the moment" - one must actually be aware enough to "see" the moment to capture it. Experience. And poor Uncle Bob; he's trying to do something lovely for you to save you money, and he's going to disappoint you at the very least or worse, miss half your wedding.

Free is not your friend. Affordable wedding photography of quality is out there. It can be found. It takes some research. Like I said, many of us are lowering our prices quite significantly because we don't want to see it all go up in smoke.

Affordable Wedding Idea - Memorable Cheap Wedding Invitations

After you determine who should be invited in your wedding, you should need to know how you are going to invite them. A good choice of wedding invitation should fit in with the main theme and formality of your wedding celebration. Your wedding invitations are your little notes that gives impression to your guests about your wedding. These little notes can be expensive, but you don't have to spend a lot of dollars to just to show off the theme and formality of the most memorable day of your life.

Yes, you can find tons of wedding invitations in stationary stores as well as online resources. If you are one of those who have tight wedding budget, you can have inexpensive wedding invitations from such places. Or, you could always opt to craft your own, which is becoming more popular today. Do-it-yourself invitation kits are available in many craft stores. Explore all these options and go with the one that best fits your style and budget. If possible, use the same kind of stationary for everything in your wedding. You can do this by ordering everything at one time and make sure you order some extras.

Invitations are usually sold in increments of twenty-five or fifty. If you would like to make your own, purchase extra paper, velum envelopes and others that you might need in creating them. Making your own invitations is not as expensive as store-buy ones.

However, if you opt to create your own wedding invitations, you should also consider some issues you might be facing when choosing your invitations or browsing for them around. Do some checking, look at the weight of the paper, the shade, font and size of wording, size of the invitations and their envelopes, and their overall feature, postage restrictions and costs.

You may consider the idea of online shopping. Many online stores can offer you wedding invitations for half the price or more of what you will pay at your local stationary stores. Even if you don't have a plan of buying them over the Internet, you can gather ideas from different websites, or you can compare prices. After all, the Internet has been always a life-saver as well as a money-saver not only once. Decide what you will be purchasing and including with your invitation. There is no wrong way, but usually most brides order invitations, inner and outer envelopes, a reception card, response cards and response card envelopes. Other options include place cards, and accommodation information cards, and sometimes bridal registry cards.

Apart from wedding invitations, you can also cut cost of your other wedding supplies such as you wedding decorations, outfits, favor, food and wedding gifts. Just like own-made invitations, you can also make your own wedding favors and decorations. However if your running out of time, there are always affordable wedding favors available also on the Internet. Or, instead of buying expensive wedding gifts for your attendants, choose inexpensive bridesmaids gifts like bridesmaids tote bags, compact mirrors or picture frames. Do the same thing when searching for groomsmen gifts.

Get Him Back - What To Do To Get Your Ex Boyfriend Back If You've Been Dumped

You've been dumped by The One, Mr. Right, the man you thought you'd marry and love till the end of time. So what do you do now? Is it possible to get your ex boyfriend back when he was the one to walk away?

The good news is that there is always a window of opportunity to win your ex back, after a break-up. The bad news is this window doesn't stay open forever, it does take some effort to get your ex boyfriend back, and if something serious came between you (for example, you cheated) it's going to be harder. But not impossible.

Here's what you have to do to get him back, starting now:

1. Immediately stop everything you've been doing to try to win your ex back. The crying, the texting, the phone calls, the sending little notes and gifts, telling him you love him, asking his friends about him, who he's seeing now, parking outside his place or near his office...you've gotta ditch all that. Stop it, because none of it is working for you, is it?


2. Did he say he "just needs more space?" Take it at face value. Men don't speak in some secret code - no, it's not about his conflicted childhood, strange relationship with his mother, or fear of commitment or anything else except, right now, he wants space. Respect that. Don't call, don't lurk, nothing. Leave him be, for now.


3. Get up off the couch, stop talking about him to your girlfriends, and get out there. Do something new and interesting. You've probably cried enough by now; time to switch the channel. Sign up for a course, go on a mini-vacation, treat yourself to some pampering and retail therapy, join a group, do some volunteer work, adopt a rescue shelter pet, do what it takes to earn your next promotion or polish up your resume and look for a job you really want - in other words, get back to living. You'll be happier, your friends and family will be tremendously relieved, and your ex boyfriend will hear about how great you're doing.


4. If he cares at all, he'll call. He'll be intrigued. Want to know more. He'll want to get together.


5. Play it a little bit cool. Do get together, but only for coffee. Or lunch. Keep it light. No big professions of love, no how desperately you miss him and absolutely nothing about anybody's wedding, shower, marital bliss or new baby. Instead, tell him about all the things you've been enjoying lately.Be just a bit indifferent to when - or if - you are ever going to meet up again. And, absolutely, don't let him kiss you, and no good-bye hug either when you leave first.


6. Again, if he wants you, this will drive him crazy. He'll call, because that's what guys do when they're interested.


7. And what if he doesn't? Well, then you know, don't you, that as far as your ex boyfriend is concerned, the thrill is gone? There is no point calling him. He didn't suddenly lose your number/have a work crisis/need to leave the country/just forget. He may still love you, just not enough.

Painful as it is, you will need to move on. Fortunately, though, you'll already have some plans in place to help keep you occupied and moving toward the future - that course you signed up for (who else did, too?), bonding with your new pet (who will you meet at the dog park?), winning the new job, maybe moving to another city or part of the country or even abroad (while you're still single and can), buying your own place, going back to school...the possibilities are just about infinite.

Wedding 'What Ifs' - Your Top 5 'What If' Questions Answered

While planning your wedding, you may find yourself wondering, "what if the what if happens at my wedding?" We know how stressful planning and producing a gathering of this magnitude can be when you're not used to planning large parties, when you have a job, and you have a life that you're busy with. It is completely normal to worry about everything that could happen at your wedding. Today, we've decided to write about the top 5 "What If Worries" and answer them for you.

So let's get going on our top 5 What Ifs...

1. What If A Vendor Doesn't Show?

First and foremost, stay calm! A frazzled brain will do you no good. Take a breath, find your phone and call the vendor. We always prepare a a list of all your vendors w/their telephone numbers and cell phone numbers so it is handy the day of your wedding. For your own peace of mind, you may also want to have a list of back-ups (wedding planners do) just in case. If after the telephone calls, you are still unable to locate said vendor, a DJ for example, think outside the box, and get your venue, wedding party, family and friends to help you - iPod hooked into the venue's speaker system will work in a pinch. It is unlikely that a major vendor such as your DJ would not show at all, but 'what if' they get caught in some crazy 5 hour stand-still traffic and are unable to send someone else in their place to get to your wedding faster? See how unlikely it is? Nothing to lose sleep over, but always good to be overly prepared. While you would no doubt be angry, try to focus on what the day is all about - you are getting married and your friends and family are there to support you, so keep your eye on the prize and don't worry about the rest. You'll have a good story to tell later and when you get that weird interview question, "Can you give an example of how you reacted well under pressure?" You'll have a great answer:) Okay, not so funny.

2. What if I don't want to wear white?

Did you know that wearing white to your wedding day isn't as old a tradition as some might think? Well, okay 1840 and Queen Victoria are pretty old. However, when WWI hit, dresses started to change. Coco Chanel introduced short hemmed wedding dresses in 1920 and by the time the Great Depression hit, brides made do with their best dress (sometimes white, but sometimes not). As we all know, LifEvents loves to shun the 'rules' if it fits with who you are. We love the concept of tradition, but not if it isn't you. So, the answer to this 'what if' is really quite simple, wear what makes you feel the most comfortable, what speaks to you and is a reflection of who you are and what makes you feel beautiful. Every bride should feel beautiful on her wedding day and if you hate how you look in white then you shouldn't force yourself to try to like it.

3. What if my guests don't RSVP?

If you're wondering whether you should call those guests who haven't responded, or just assume they are not going to come, I will direct you to the old adage about assuming...Oh, c'mon you know it, "when you assume, you make an ass out of you and me". You never know the situation. Perhaps the guest had been waiting to hear back from their babysitter and then mis-placed the response card. If you feel uncomfortable calling, ask your wedding planner or a friend who can say that they're in charge of the headcount and they are just calling to confirm that the guest will be attending.

4. What if we already live together and we don't need items that are on a traditional registry?

When we get this question, we offer a few suggestions. First, just because you've been living together for awhile and have everything you think you need, it doesn't mean that you can't have a shower or a registry. In life, there are always things we want and nowadays registries aren't limited to the traditional registries of days past. Honeymoon registries are getting ever more popular. We used TheBigDay for our wedding and it was fun for everyone. We found some great pictures, fun descriptions and came back from our honeymoon with pictures to give to the giver of some of the great places we were able to go because of the gift. For one person, it was very personal. She had an amazing experience when she went to Pompeii and was so excited that she was able to share that with us by buying our 'entrance fee'. Additionally, the person who throws your shower for you could do a themed shower. If you're having a Tuscan wedding, or you love wine, or enjoy a certain sport together, the shower could revolve around your interests as a couple rather than having to outfit your home.

5. What if our ceremony site is too small for the number of guests we want to invite?

So, there's this very popular location to get married in San Diego on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The only problem? The City only allows up to 50 people and the site can really only squeeze in 75. If you have a guest list of 120 and your site can only accommodate 75, you have three options. One, change the ceremony location. You say, "But, that is THE spot, we must get married at that site". Okay, second option, you can pare down your guest. But, what if you absolutely cannot pare it down and can't bear to have your ceremony anywhere else? Option three, it is perfectly acceptable to invite only immediate family and friends to the ceremony and the remaining guests to the reception. The only caveat is that you will have to prepare separate invitations. The invitation to the guests invited to the reception can be worded something like this:

[Wife's first name] and [Husband's first name] [Married last name]
request the honor of your presence
at the celebration of their marriage
Saturday, the 15th of August
at seven o'clock in the evening
ABC Hotel, Diamond Ballroom
San Diego, California

We hope that we've been able to answer some of your 'what ifs', but if you find that you're struggling with a lot of these types of questions, remember that a wedding planner can be a big help to you.

Wedding Invitation Colour Schemes - Ideas For the Perfect Invitations For Your Wedding

Choosing a colour scheme for your wedding invitations is very important. Your wedding invitations are the first glimpse your guests receive of your wedding day theme. Your colour scheme should also reflect you and your partner's personality.

Cream and Gold

Gold foil compliments cream hammered card perfectly. The cream and gold together creates a warmth to your wedding invitations. Maybe use gold ribbon to add something extra to the design. Combine with a deep rich red for autumn weddings.

White and Silver

White and silver creates a chic feel to your wedding invitations. For a simple design choose a postcard style invitation and have your wedding details printed in raised silver ink. White and silver also make a good combination for winter weddings. Choose a design such as snowflake design printed in silver. White and silver can also be combined with black to great effect.

Purple and Lime Green

Purple and lime green create a powerful colour contrast. The purple adds an element of luxury, think royal purple, whilst the lime green adds a touch of zest. This colour combination is for couples who like a bit of drama and who aren't afraid to be different.

Red and Mint Green

Red and mint green are strong contrasting colours. But because of the softness of the mint and the associations of the colour red (love, romanticism) these colours create a romantic feel to your wedding stationery. This is a also a good colour combination for 1950's or vintage inspired weddings.

Pink and White

Pink and white creates a soft romantic feel. Perhaps have a photo of pink roses printed on a bright white wedding invitation with your names on the front of the design in silver foil.

Black and White

Monochrome wedding invitations have a timeless feel. Maybe have a photo of yourselves printed on the front of your invites in black and white. For a chic feeling design, choose a simple white invitation with an embossed border. Combine this with your wedding details printed in raised black ink.

Chocolate and Cream

A neutral combination which can compliment many other colours especially pastel shades. A good combination for wedding stationery at your wedding reception, where you may not be able to control the colour of the decor such as curtains and wallpaper.

A Wedding Invitation Business is Inexpensive and Easy to Do

If you've been thinking of opening a wedding invitation business, let me just say, "Do It!" It's very easy to do and, depending on which way you decide to go with your business, the start up cost can be as little as a few hundred dollars.

There are three types of wedding invitation businesses. The first type, where you work as a manufacturer's representative, is probably the least expensive in terms of start up costs, and also probably the easiest way to get into the business, especially if you've never had your own business before.

In this business model, you simply sell the manufacturer's ready made cards, you act as their representative in your area. They provide you with samples and order forms, and there's usually some type of training or support system in place to help you when you have questions. Although there may be some small investment required to get sample books from the manufacturers, you don't have to invest in any stock or supplies with this method.

If you've never sold wedding invitations before, this is a good way to start. All the work is done for you. The invitations are already printed and packaged, the order forms are already created and the pricing is already set by the manufacturer. All you have to do is sell the invitations and you earn a commission for each sale from the manufacturer. This way, you can concentrate on learning how to run a business, and the ins and outs of selling wedding invitations, without investing any of your own money.

Another option you have is to sell Bespoke. These are invitations that you create yourself from card stock, pretty papers and embellishments like ribbons and pearls and flowers. This type of invitation business requires the largest investment of time and money, usually $1000 to $3000, but also has the largest profits because you can set your own prices. And if you're the artistic type, you're creations can command a very pretty penny. This business model, though, requires that you have more than a basic understanding of business because, since you'll be making the invitations yourself, you'll have to know how to control your costs and how much mark up to include in order to make your business run profitably.

The third type of wedding invitation business, which is the best method in my opinion, is the combined business. In this case, you sell sell pre-made blank wedding invitations and stationery, that you get from a supplier, and you finish it off on your home computer. With this method, you're not working for a manufacturer, you're purchasing the blank invitations from a supplier. The cards are already decorated on the outside, all you have to do is print inserts for the invitations and other assorted cards, and then put the inserts inside the invitations.

Opening a wedding invitation business that concentrates on selling the combined invitations is really the best way to go because you have very little initial investment, only the few blank cards that you want to start off carrying, and you get to set your own prices. While not quite as profitable as selling Bespoke, this method is more profitable than if you were a manufacturer's agent.

4 Roles For Children in Weddings

Getting children involved in your wedding can be a great idea. Having them actively taking part in the ceremony will keep them occupied and they also have the habit of looking adorably cute. Here are four roles that they can assume to be included in your wedding.

Junior bridesmaids and junior groomsmen are perhaps the most obvious roles for youngsters in your wedding. The role of a junior groomsman is very similar to those of the other groomsmen, the usher guests to their seats and stand by the groom at the altar. Junior bridesmaids walk up the aisle with the other gals and generally tend to be dressed in more modest dresses than the older maids. It is generally best if the junior bridesmaids and groomsmen are aged between ten and sixteen. Do not worry; there are still roles available for the younger attendants at your wedding.

The flower girl is a great role for a young girl. Her job is to walk up the aisle before the bride carrying a basket of petals, which she then scatters along the walkway. If you are worried that she may get scared walking through the aisle on her own, a somewhat daunting experience for anyone, then it is perfectly fine for her mother or father to walk along side her. Another great idea is to pair two flower girls together.

The role of ring bearer traditionally falls to a young boy. He will walk along the aisle before the flower girl holding two rings tied together on a pillow. For safety reasons, the ring bearer will often carry replica rings with the real wedding rings kept safely tucked away with the best man and maid of honor.

Another role for a child is a page. A pair of pages can be employed to hold the bridal dress train up, ensuring it does not drag along the ground, get caught or get dirty. Obviously, if your wedding dress does not have a long train then the requirement for pages goes out of the window. Traditionally this is a role taken by young boys however if you are short on boys yet have some spare girls who want to take part but you do not yet have a role for them they can always be pages as well.

Wedding Date Dilemma - Marrying a Military Man on Leave For the Holidays

If you're one of the thousands of women engaged to a military man, you may be faced with an unusual dilemma - the inability to preplan your wedding date too far in advance.
What's worse is that many of our soldiers serving in Iraq and other places around the globe only come home for the holidays - a time when wedding guests might want to be celebrating with their own clan on your exact wedding date.

As the bride and hostess, you want to take your guests into consideration. But ultimately, if you don't want to wait until your soon-to-be groom is retired from the armed forces, you may have some tough decisions to make regarding your wedding date.

If your fiancé is home over the Christmas holidays, you might be trying to decide how a wedding date close to Christmas or close to New Years will affect your guest list. Look at it from the other person's point of view.

The days leading up to Christmas are usually quite hectic for many people. There are last-minute gifts to buy, meals to plan and purchase, and trees to pick out and trim. So a wedding date right before Christmas may be more of a burden than a blessing for many guests to consider, especially if they're coming in from out of town.

A wedding date close to New Years, however is more flexible. The most people usually do to get ready for New Years is buy a new outfit and determine which party they plan to attend. Even if they attended your wedding on the 28th or 29th, there's still plenty of time to fly home and get ready for New Years without interruption.

Another thing to consider in regards to your wedding date is that on New Years, many wedding guests will be spending time with friends and acquaintances. But the Christmas holiday is geared more towards close family, so your guests won't mind missing a New Year's celebration as much as a Christmas get-together, if they plan to fly in and stay over the New Year's holiday.

Your job as the bride and groom is to first take your own marriage plans into consideration. If you can only get married December 22nd, and your fiancé is set to re-deploy right after Christmas, then you may have to choose a wedding date where you celebrate with fewer guests. Although heart-wrenching, your guests will understand and support your decision.

Or, if you've always dreamed of having the perfect wedding with everyone involved, you may have to postpone your wedding date - but do so with the knowledge that you can't predict your fiancé's military future with the ability to pinpoint a wedding date in advance.

Another vital consideration for women engaged to a military man - look into wedding insurance. You never know what world events may turn your fiancé's leave upside down and cause your wedding date to be postponed without your knowledge far enough in advance to work out a deal with vendors - and you don't want to lose your deposits.

Look to your future wedding date with excitement and joy knowing you'll soon have the honor of marrying an honorable military man! Try not to get stressed about who will or won't be able to attend. The life the two of you have chosen is certain to be filled with unexpected twists and turns in scheduling and this is the first of many planning decisions you'll face.

Ideas for Accessorizing Your Car

It can be boring to ride in the same car day after day, especially if it looks the same way it did when you brought it home from the dealership. Luckily there are many decorative options that you can use to spice up your car interior. Below are some ideas you can use to turn your boring car into a snazzy ride.

Mirror Hangings
In the 70's, many people liked to hang fuzzy dice from their rearview mirror. This fad has not quite died down yet. If you don't like fuzzy dice, do not let that deter you. There are many things you can hang from your rearview mirror that suit your personality. Many souvenir shops have mirror hangings you can choose from such as animals, symbols, and air fresheners. Hanging something from your mirror is one of the cheapest ways to dress up your car.

Steering Wheel Covers
Steering wheel covers come with all kinds of designs and colors. Some have streaks of fire wrapped around; others have dragons and even frogs. These decorative steering wheel covers can easily be purchased at your local Wal-Mart or car part store.

Seat Covers
Now a days many seat covers have the same design as the steering wheel cover. Choose your theme and then pick a seat cover and steering wheel cover that match. Seat covers come in a variety of fabrics such as leather, a soft cloth, and suede.

Bumper Stickers
Another popular and cheap way to decorate your car is to get some bumper stickers. Bumper stickers have become an art form. Many of them have humorous messages, but some have serious messages such as not texting while driving or quit smoking, and an assortment of other health related issues like breast cancer awareness. Some people get little stick figure people to represent their families on the back of their window. These can get really funny and they come in some many different shapes and sizes that it can be a lot of fun to find a figure that represents you and your family.

License Plate Covers
License plate covers are another way you can decorate your car. Many schools have specialized license plate covers that you can put over your plate and show your affiliation with that school. However, book stores and other places also sell specialized license plate covers that you can to decorate your car and express yourself.
These are just a few examples of ways you can decorate your car. Many of these suggestions are fairly cheap car decorations.

Starting A Home Sewing Business - Take It One Stitch At A Time

If you want to work from home, you will soon find out that paid home employment is very hard to find. How about starting your own business from home? If you are good at sewing, you could use your skills to start your own home based sewing business. There are all kinds of sewing from tailoring to delicate embroidery and most of them can be used as the basis for an enjoyable and profitable home based business.

In the past, home sewing work consisted mainly of women at home working on industrial sewing machines assembling ready cut garments as outworkers for local factories. This was "piece work" ie the woman was paid per finished piece of work. The big sewing machines were noisy monsters, so it was impossible for a woman to sew and listen to music or carry on a conversation at the same time. It was hard work but quite well paid if you could work fast. This type of working at home job is less common nowadays because it is cheaper for factory owners to send the work abroad where wages are lower.

Doing sewing as a home business, does not involve a return to monotonous, noisy piece work; there are far more pleasant and creative ways to earn a living with needle and thread where you can be your own boss and not a wage slave for a factory owner.

The first thing that springs to my mind when anyone mentions sewing as a home based business, is dressmaking and wedding dresses obviously take top place. The vast majority of brides planning a white wedding want a dress (and bridesmaid dresses) specially made for their big day. If you have a talent for dressmaking, bridal outfits will certainly offer a good way of earning a substantial income.

A less glamorous but equally necessary service is in garment alterations. Shops used to offer this service, but nowadays it is usually only possible to find someone to alter or repair a garment by making enquiries of local dry-cleaners. It is a sad truth that we live in a wasteful society where perfectly serviceable garments will be thrown away because of a broken zip. However, there are still people around who will want to have a zip replaced in a favourite garment, so a business in repairs and alterations can be profitable, if your local dry cleaners do not offer this service they might be prepared to send customers to you.

Making soft furnishings to order is a good money earner. The people who can't even sew on a button far outnumber the people who are good at sewing and enjoy it. The people in the former group will be eager customers for someone who can make cushions and covers and curtains in exactly the right colours and styles. The ability to design, make and hang fashionable window dressing is practically a licence to print money - at least it will seem that way if you ever receive a bill for this service!

One of the nicest ways to earn money from sewing is by making soft toys. Somehow cuddly creatures have always managed to stay in fashion and there is a market for everything from stuffed rats to dinosaurs to floppy rag dolls. It must be very satisfying to earn money at home from making items that will be cherished by a child, from infancy into the teenage years.

Starting a home based sewing business requires little in the way of financial investment. If you intend to do dressmaking, you will need a robust sewing machine and an overlocking machine. Don't let anyone try to convince you a pressing machine is essential, it won't do anything you can't do with an iron and a damp cloth. These tools of your trade should last for many years and will earn what they cost you many times over. If you have a room that can be dedicated to sewing, that is great but in reality, you can run a sewing business from your kitchen table. If you want to build up a stock, for example of toys for a Christmas fete, you will need some storage space but the stock is not perishable so any dry clean garage or shed space would be fine.

Apart from the obvious tools and accessories, your expenses will be for materials and advertising. Always take a deposit to cover the cost of materials before beginning work on anything made to order so you won't risk being left out of pocket. Advertising is essential to any business that is just starting up. You can circulate fliers, buy advertising space in local newspapers, put up a website and all sorts of other things which are fairly low cost. A good way of becoming known is by advertising in targeted magazines, eg if you are making toys, place your ads in mother and baby magazines and advertise a local play groups. If you are making wedding dresses, advertise in bride oriented publications and try to do some sort of joint venture or reciprocal recommending with the local florist or wedding planner. Once you have a few satisfied customers you will benefit from repeat orders and your reputation will become known via the all important word of mouth. When this starts to happen you are well on the way to having your home business all sewn up.