Planning A Honeymoon At Home

So you have budgeted for your wedding day, and have everything planned just the way you want it. Your dress is picked out, the cake has been ordered, the caterer has been hired, the reception locale reserved, and flowers have been paid for. But what if you find that you can not afford an exotic out-of town honeymoon after you have paid your wedding expenses?

You can have a wonderful, romantic and memory-filled honeymoon right at home, as long as you plan ahead of time for it. You and your new husband or wife will be together, and that is the most important part of any honeymoon, and the actual location of the “time alone as a new married couple” is really not that important. So start now, before the wedding day arrives, to make your honeymoon at home the best vacation you and your spouse could want.

Begin with outlining things you and your spouse enjoy. Museums, beach, concerts (many parks offer free concerts during summer), wine tasting, tourist attractions that are within same day driving distance, etc.

Next, check local newspapers and magazines for scheduled events that wll be held locally during your honeymoon vacation.

If you and your spouse find an event or attraction that you would boh like to attend, schedule it on your “Honeymoon Calendar”.

Also plan to have a day or two of staying at home as well. Or perhaps you will both decide to spend the majority of your honeymoon indoors. Make preparations to create your own “at home oasis”.

Purchase breakfast trays for leisurely breakfasts in bed.
Buy plants and flowers for your backyard or patio to help create an outdoor sanctuary.
Put a small inexpensive waterfall type decoration in your outdoor spot to help create the feeling of being away somewhere.
Buy a new outfit or two, if possible, just like you were going on a trip.
Also try and have two new fluffy bathrobes that are reserved just for your honeymoon at home (no wearing until the honeymoon!)
Have rose petals, small chocolates for pillows, even sample sized soaps, lotions and shampoos in a new basket, to create a fun “on vacation” mood.

Plan ahead for meals. You could try and plan a night or two out at a favorite or brand new restaurant. Have menus from local restaurants that deliver in a special binder (like hotels do!). You could even prepare a special casserole and freeze it for one night of your honeymoon.

Have easy ready-made food stocked in the kitchen for simple breakfasts in bed, like bagels, croissants, and fruit. Have a variety of coffee samples on hand and try new blends.

If your budget can take it, you could plan a special “last night” of you at home honeymoon by planning for a limousine to pick you up and take you to your destination of choice, or just a long romantic drive somewhere with champagne and delectable snacks!

With some planning ahead and thought, you and your spouse can have the most wonderful honeymoon right at home!

How many flowers do you need?

Every little girl dreams of having a beautiful wedding (unless you’ve always dreamed of eloping) – and flowers are one of the main things that can bring a sense of romance and style to your special day.

But…how much should you spend? How many flowers do you want at your wedding? Flowers are something that will always look lovely in pictures, but proper placement can give you great wedding pictures without completely breaking your budget for something that won’t last past your special day.

Your photographer will be focusing on the people during the ceremony, and having large arrangements on the ends of the pews or rows can block the view of critical people you want cherished memories of. A far less expensive alternative is to have great bow arrangements that don’t require flowers. This can also be a great alternative if you’re having an outdoor wedding – you don’t want to have big bouquets and then have them rained on, or frozen, or wilting under a hotter sun than you thought your special day would have.

Centerpieces at the reception can block the faces of special friends and relatives as well. You could go with a simple single or double short or long stemmed rose arrangement in the middle of each table. It would be lovely If you used tealight candles and a mirror base making for a modern, yet simple centerpiece.

Your bouquet, of course, is something that should never be scrimped on or done on a budget. If it means you need to have no other flowers in your wedding, make sure your bouquet is a knockout, especially if you are planning on preserving your bouquet.

Flattering Dress For Any Size

I just recently had a baby and will be going to 2 wedding in the next 6 months. I am not back to my normal size nor will I be in time for the weddings to fit in a dress that I already have. I tried on a dress that fit beautifully though. It was comfortable and pretty and very flattering regardless of your body flaws or size. It was an empire waist dress and it was a flowing chiffon dress…so you couldn’t tell that I still had a stomach from gaining all the pregnancy weight!

Invitation Etiquette

Ok - so my cousin is getting married. They decided to get married in Hawaii so a lot of family members are obviously not going to be attending because it is so far away. I never got an invitation to the wedding. Now, even though I would not be able to go…at least spend the $2 on the invitation to send me. However, they did send me an invitation to the bridal shower and the reception that they are going to have here in town before they go to Hawaii to get married. So, I was not invited formally to the wedding but you want me to go to the other events…just for my gift - so it seems. I just find this to be very rude and just in poor taste. What do you think?

second thoughts

ever wonder if you’re making the biggest mistake of your life trying to marry the girl you’re with right now? Thats how i feel right now, my fiance has cheated on me, lied to me, makes me angry all the time cause she thinks its funny ok that i’m “cute” when i’m angry. Oh yea, real cute, i bet she didn’t think i was cute when i threw her futon threw the glass door of the balcony. She always does things deliberately to make me angry, and i’m tired of it. She’s cold in bed too, and if i go down on her, its like a sin to ask the same of her, but she’ll screw the crap out of jodie until he’s raw. i swear anymore of this crap and i’m leaving for good.

Things To Consider Before You Buy Your Wedding Shoes

Shopping for your wedding shoes is one of the fun parts in the preparation for your wedding. What will you wear for your wedding? Have you decided on the style yet?

Will you wear high heels or flats? Will you sacrifice comfort for beauty? This has been the ultimate question for brides and you shouldn’t sacrifice one for the other. Find the wedding shoes that will give you comfort but you still love the style. There are cute ballet flats that will be good for you too. Just remember that you will be standing on your feet all day on your wedding day and you don’t want your feet to be sore just a few minutes after walking down the aisle! There is still the reception wherein you will still dance with your new husband!

There are a lot of different types of fabrics for wedding shoes. But you have to consider the venue you will be in to make sure that your shoes will be able to complete it’s purpose at the end of the wedding. Silk fabrics might stain easily if you have a garden wedding. Leather pumps might be too hot for summertime. So you have to choose carefully and see which fits your venue better.

Lastly, you have to make sure that it matches your wedding dress. Please do not buy the shoes before buying the wedding dress. Your wedding dress is the most important element and everything else should match to it. Just make sure that the wedding shoes you will buy will match your personality and match your dress!

Don’t Stress The Stuff You Can Not Control

There are so many brides that stress over stuff that they really have no control over…like the future. You do not know what the weather will be or if the unexpected happens…so don’t worry about it. Why ruin what is suppose to be your day over the small stuff. In fact do not worry about the big things either. Just enjoy the day. I didn’t worry about anything with my wedding and it went just fine. My sister on the other hand is a stress maniac. She is worried about everything and the littlest thing stresses her out. That is no way to enjoy your big day!!

Making It Everything You Hoped For

A while ago, I was at a wedding that obviously had some planning put into it. It was in the mountains of Colorado, was fairly large, and everything, from the decorations to the food was set up perfectly. After talking to the bridal planner, it was noted that it could not have been any less, mostly because the bride knew what she wanted.

There was one problem. As soon as the wedding processional started, it started raining. Everyone was waiting, the music was playing, and the bride ran back into her dressing room from the aisle. Her comment being that she would not get married until it stopped raining.

It stopped long enough for her to walk down the aisle, then it started again. The guests all went for shelter underneath the side area, still watching.

To this bride, and maybe to you, who is working on marriage, this is part of a bridal nightmare, right?

Luckily, someone had planned ahead and umbrellas were behind, making it all okay.

The moral of the story is this. If you are putting together a wedding, remember why you are getting married. You never know when it is going to rain on your dress. So, come with an umbrella, a back up plan in case things don’t go as you pictured, and don’t walk back down the aisle before you say your “I Dos,” just because of a little glitch.

The more memories you can create at your wedding, the better it is. Sometimes, that means that it is perfect, and sometimes that means that you will just want to create the memory of how much each of you will love each other and what the vows really mean.

Choose a flattering dress

No matter what dress you choose, you can be sure you’ll look good on your wedding day. The glow that a bride experiences on her wedding day makes her look absolutely angelic.
So, why do you have to worry about your dress if you know everyone will think you look amazing?

The pictures.

While the pictures from your wedding might capture a little of that “wow factor” wedding day bliss gives you, it’s not going to make the lumps and bumps you create in your dress go away, and those pictures are what you are going to show your family, children, and grandchildren. You want to make sure you look good.

For example, unless you are super tiny, you have to be wary of the princess dress that’s form fitting down to your hips and then flares out in layers and layers of beautiful tulle. That tulle can make your hips look huge.

How do you avoid this potential photo trauma?

When you go to the bridal shop, make sure to take a friend that will be brutally honest with you. Sure it might make you paranoid when you’re trying on a dress you think is pretty and you have someone that you know is going to tell you if it makes your butt look big. But this is a small sacrifice to know that when you see that flash bulb going off while you’re walking down the aisle you won’t wonder how you look in that dress.

You’ll know you look amazing.

Wedding Photography

Wedding Photography is one of the most important things in a wedding because you want to capture the memories of your special day. But some people do not give this much thought and they turn all their attention to the day itself and just hire a cheap photographer who wasn’t screened thoroughly.

You have to ask the Wedding Photographer some questions about his background in Wedding Photography. You have to ask for his credentials and how long he has been in the business.
Another thing you have to give importance to is whether the style of the photographer matches your style or the theme you are going for in your wedding. Maybe you want a more fun and exciting look of your wedding but if your photographer is a “serious” one, then you might want to reconsider.

You also have to make sure the photographer you are getting specializes in Weddings or at least have done more wedding jobs than other non-wedding jobs. This is necessary because you want a photographer who will know what the client wants and not need more direction from you.

The payment rate of the wedding photographer is also important to discuss so you will know how you will utilize him. If he charges per hour, then you might want to set up a schedule with him so that you won’t waste money on hours that he isn’t needed. If the photographer has a fix charge, then you should negotiate with him as to how you can maximize that package.

Lastly, you should take a look at the photographer’s previous works. He should have an album for you to look at so that you can decide properly if you like his style. Usually, you can have a feel of how your pictures will come out if you see his previous works.

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