Your First Anniversary

Last week my husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. It’s hard to believe that this time last year I was recovering from the wedding planning! We celebrated in style with a lovely dinner at our favorite restaurant and went all out on gifts. I gave hubby tickets to see his very favorite musician, some clothes he’d been wanting, and a special St. Michael’s medal (his name is Mike, in fact he is our political blogger here at Blog Planet, go check him out!), and he gave me roses, a gorgeous double picture frame inscribed with our wedding date, a lovely water globe with a romantic inscription, and surprised me with a beautiful diamond and tanzanite ring. We had a great celebration! Obviously it may not be possible or practical to make all your anniversary celebrations lavish, but your first one should be special. Here are some ideas:

Go all out if you can, but don’t worry about tradition. Hubby and I did save the top of our wedding cake and we did try it, but honestly it didn’t look or taste very good! A better idea would be to go to the bakery that did your original cake and have them make a small replica for you.

Did you use a unity candle in your ceremony? If so, here’s a fun idea. Light it again and use it for a candlelight dinner.

Pull out your wedding album and go through it together.

Guys, here’s a really romantic idea-get the florist to put together a bouquet of the same flowers she carried on your wedding day-trust me, she’ll love it!

If you and your husband are the creative types, write letters to each other sharing your feelings about your first year of marriage.

Plant a tree together in your yard as a celebration.

If your anniversary is near the holidays, start a tradition of choosing a special ornament together to mark it each year. You’ll create a special collection of family heirlooms!

However you choose to spend your anniversary, make it special and take the time to thank each other for being a wonderful spouse! Have any ideas to share? Leave a comment!

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The only thing that gets more attention at a wedding reception than the bride is the cake! Wedding cakes are beautiful but they can also be pricey. If you are crafty and ambitious enough to try making your own, here’s a video with everything you’ll need to know!

Here’s a collection of some of the best wedding bloopers!

Yesterday we started talking about perfect days that aren’t. I used my own wedding day as an example, telling you about the pre-wedding prep and ceremony. Now on to the reception!

When we got to our reception we were ushered into the bridal room where drinks and appetizers waited. We and our wedding party sat back and tried to relax while our guests enjoyed the cocktail hour. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. The DJ rushed in an announced that the CD we had given him with our first dance, parents dance, and other special songs had been broken. Fortunately he had other copies of most of the songs, except the song we’d picked for our parents to dance to and a few Celtic songs we’d wanted played. We spent the cocktail hour picking a new song.

Finally the big moment is here-we’re introduced as husband and wife! Everything was great as we began our first dance, until I felt a suddenly pain in my head and then it was jerked back violently. The photographer had slammed her camera into my head and in trying to back up gotten it caught in my veil and nearly ripped it off my head. Lovely way to remember my first dance with my husband, huh? Then the DJ suddenly invited everyone to dance with us for a minute before cutting off the song, even though we’d told him we wanted the entire song played and wanted to dance alone. When we did out father/daughter mother/son dances he cut those off too-and he completely ignored the “please play/please do not play” list we gave him.

Meanwhile the photographer had managed to anger a great deal of people. This started at the church when she literally pushed my 5 year old nephew out of the way. At the reception she constantly interrupted people to take pics, and couldn’t seem to let us enjoy a moment of our own reception. At one point she actually grabbed my by the arm and pulled me to where she wanted me. I could not believe how rude she was!

The cake cutting arrives. The cake looks nothing like what we asked for but it looked nice anyway. The photographer has us doing several poses. No one bothers to tell us when it’s okay to move and actually cut the cake, so our DJ gets annoyed, walks over, hacks a chunk out of our cake, and shoves it at us. Another moment ruined.

We planned our wedding day for almost 2 years. No, it wasn’t quite the day we’d hoped for,and we were upset for awhile, but then we realized it really didn’t matter. The wedding, for all we put into planning it and all the money we spend on it, isn’t very important at all. What’s important is the marriage.

Today is our first anniversary and I have never been happier. Our marriage is amazing. We are best friends, lovers, and partners. I may not have gotten the wedding of my dreams, but I did get the husband I’ve always dreamed of. So if things go wrong on your wedding day, look at each other and smile. The best is yet to come!

Your wedding day is supposed to be absolutely perfect, but that’s not always the case. We’ve all seen those “wedding bloopers” on TV and YouTube, and although we may hope nothing like that ever happens to us, what if it does? How to cope? Let me use my own wedding day as an example.

It started with my hairdresser taking forever to do my hair. The trial took 90 minutes and looked fantastic. On my wedding day I got there at 9am and didn’t get done until 1! My florist was scheduled to arrive at 1:30, as were my maids, flowergirl and ring bearers. The traffic was ridiculous-it was as if every slow driver was out on the road. I got home at 1:45 to find my maids, flowergirl, ringbearer, florist, and photographer waiting for me. The photographer was early. She urged me to get dressed right away, so I completely missed out on the whole mom/daughter moment of her helping me get dressed because she was still at her hotel getting ready. I got into my dress and found it didn’t fit quite right and bunched a bit in the middle. It was fine at my final fitting but something went wrong between then and when I picked it up after it was steamed and pressed. Everything went smoothly after that until the limo arrived and it was not the one we’d reserved! This one was incredibly small and barely fit the 8 people we had. As I got in my head slammed against the roof, that’s how cramped it was. On top of all that the photographer’s car wouldn’t start so she and her equipment got crammed in with us as well. I was not happy, but it was only 5 minutes or so to the church.

We got to the church, and my emotions take over as my dad and I are walking down the aisle. As a result those pics look horrible because I am crying-good tears mind you but horrible none the less. The priest that was supposed to marry us (and who we loved!) got called to active duty (he’s in the Army) so they assigned the new deacon to us. He proceeded to completely screw up our ceremony. He had us exchange rings before we exchanged our vows, chastised my husband for saying yes instead of “I do” (after telling him to “answer in the affirmative”), and basically making us feel like fools. But we were married!

The picture taking went pretty well, and then it was on to the reception (the limo company explained to us that the limo we wanted had broken down and to make it up to us gave us a party bus for free for the rest of the day).

How did the reception go? Stay tuned!

Ahh…a wedding invitation arrives. You are excited for the happy couple and looking forward to sharing their big day. Your anticipation rises as you R.S.V.P., make travel arrangements, select your outfit, etc. Then you think about the gift - oh, God, THE GIFT!

You can view their registries either in person or online. There you will see what gifts have already been purchased. Then, you can buy the newlyweds-to-be a set of knives, some towels, a blender…how boring!

Let’s be daring - let’s think out of the box (yes, pun intended). There are a myriad of wonderful, yet unique ideas for wedding gift giving. You really want to give the couple something different; something that won’t be duplicated.

Most couples these days have not lived under their parents’ roofs in years. They have lived on their own - set up their own households. Therefore, now when two people come together to be married, they already have the things that comprised the typical gifts of yesteryear. Let’s face it, it is harder to find the perfect gift for the bride and groom of today - but don’t despair, it can be done.

When purchasing a gift for the bridal couple, think about their likes, hobbies and lifestyles. The perfect gift should thoughtful, useful and one that will be remembered.

There are a myriad of great and unique gift ideas. Here are just a few:

Honeymoon Gifts:

· Contact the resort where the couple will be honeymooning and arrange for an excursion such as parasailing, scuba diving, etc., that each would enjoy doing together. At the wedding you can give them a card telling them what awaits.

· Arrange for a spa day (or just a massage) for the couple at their honeymoon resort.

· Make plans to have an extravagant arrangement of fresh flowers or a gourmet goodie basket to be delivered to their honeymoon suite.

Hobby-Oriented Gifts:

· If the bride and groom are both movie buffs, a subscription to a movie service, such as Netflix, would be great for those upcoming romantic evenings in their new home.

· Does the couple share a passion for a certain sports team? Buy 2 tickets to a game of their favorite team.
· Give a subscription to a magazine that would be of interest to the bride and one to the groom.

Goodies:

· If wine is their thing, give them a membership to a wine of the month club.

· A dessert of the month club could help celebrate each month of wedded bliss during their first year of marriage.

· Give them a gift certificate to their favorite extra-special restaurant to be used on their six-month anniversary.

These are just a few ideas for unique and thoughtful gifts, but the list is endless. Just keep in mind what the couple enjoys and you can’t go wrong!

Please send along either/or a favorite wedding gift you have given or received!

Submitted by: Deborah Armstrong

Who looks good in a puffy-sleeved taffeta concoction that features a big bow on the backside? NOBODY!

Bridal folklore holds that a bride picked unflattering dresses for her bridesmaids to assure that she would be the best looking woman in the bridal party. Let’s hope that, if ever true, those days are gone.

Today’s bride not only wants to be beautiful, but also desires the same for the women in her bridal party. Choosing apparel that is flattering to all can be a daunting task - but it can be done!

Don’t put off choosing the bridesmaids dresses. Coordinating a group of women can be more challenging than a general assembling his troops for battle. Keep in mind that it can take four to six months for the dresses to arrive after ordering. After that, there are also fittings to be done.

Here are some tips in choosing bridesmaids dresses:

· Keep in mind the formality of your wedding. For an afternoon wedding, tea-length or long dresses are appropriate. For an evening wedding, long gowns should be chosen. It is traditional, and considered only proper by some, that if the bride wears a long gown, the bridesmaids’ dresses should also be long.

· The bridesmaids’ dresses should coordinate with your wedding colors. Few women, however, want to find themselves sheathed in Pepto-Bismol pink. A complimentary or neutral color should be chosen, instead. When choosing the color, keep the various skin tones of your bridesmaids in mind.

· Be considerate of your bridesmaids’ budgets when choosing their dresses. A price point of $200 is considered reasonable. Of course, if you can find something less expensive, the bridesmaids might actually be able to afford the gasoline to get to the wedding!

· Pick a style of dress that will be flattering to all your bridesmaids. You may have, in your wedding party, a woman who is six feet tall and one who is five feet tall.
As in the general population, body types can vary tremendously in your bridal party. You can’t go wrong if you choose dresses that are simple and elegant.

· In an ideal world, all bridesmaids dresses could be worn again. The trend is to pick styles that do not scream “wedding.” These days, many brides are allowing their bridesmaids to choose their own dresses. If you decide on this option, you may want to have uniformity in length and color, however.
If you follow the above guidelines in choosing your bridesmaids’ dresses, everyone will be happy and comfortable - and you will be free to enjoy your very special day.

Feel free to send pictures of your big day!

Submitted By: Deborah Armstrong

Here are some do’s and don’ts to keep in mind when choosing and sending your wedding invites!

DO order them as early as you can. This will give you plenty of time to fix things if there are any errors.

DO make sure your guest list is complete before you order. Ordering extras after the fact can be quite expensive

DON’T think they have to be fancy or elaborate. Some of the most beautiful invites are the simplest ones. Not only that, but the simpler the invite, the less postage you’ll need to buy!

DO proofread carefully before you submit your order. Use another pair of eyes in addition to your own if you can.

DON’T put your registry info in your invites. The little cards most stores give out when you register should be used in your shower invites only. Putting them in your wedding invites is very tacky.

DO put as much information as possible in your invites. This is especially important if you have out of town guests. Make sure you include directions and a small map to both your ceremony and reception location.

DON’T make demands in your invites. This includes things like “Cash Gifts Only”. Your shower is the only time you get to chose your gifts.

DO make the effort to find pretty stamps for your invites. After all these are not everyday mail pieces!

DON’T expect all your guests to RSVP on time. They won’t. It’s a given. If you have guests that haven’t responded by your RSVP date, ask your wedding party to give them a call.

DO order a few more invites than you’ll actually need, in case you make any address blunders, and also to save as a keepsake. Mine is framed alongside our wedding portrait.

DON’T forget to pick a pretty seal for the back of your envelopes. They are available in a wide range of colors and designs and can even be personalized.

DO expect uninvited guests. It’s inevitable that a guest will write in “6 will attend” when you only invited two. Stay calm and enlist the help of your family and friends to call the offenders and explain. Writing in guests is incredibly rude.

DO enjoy the task of picking out your wedding invitations. With all the choices available today you are sure to find one that’s simply perfect!

Here is a video showcasing some truly gorgeous and unique invitations. Watch and drool! Be warned though, such beauty comes with a price!

Here’s a collection of some beautiful wedding poetry-great for ceremonies, invites, and more!

Joy is in the simple things: touching,
Embracing, chattering on for hours about nothing,
Sure of your place within another’s heart.
Simple things: like coming home knowing
Exactly where the treasure lies; like being
At ease with what you do and who you are;
Needing what you already have; accepting,
Desiring what you have been given; feeling
The gratitude of someone who is loved;
Investing goodness instead of money; giving
For the pleasure of giving pleasure; seeing
Fortune come to take you in its arms.
All this joy is yours for the price of loving,
Not only well but long, days of willing,
Years and years of wise and patient love.

*********

Thank you for coming and sharing our day.
Hope comes from loving, and loving from friends.
After you left, we were left with the stars,
Near stunned by the grace with which such a day ends.
Know that your presence helped fashion our way.

You are the fields on which marriage depends,
Opening vistas no heart can convey,
Unloosing sweet music that now will be ours’

*********

The vows I take will be forever:
I’ll love you all my life.
There’s no part way, no holding back
Once we are man and wife.

The choice is made, and now I swim
In a far different sea,
The shores of which are bright green hills
Raised up for you and me
Our love is like a mountainside
Awash in lovely flowers:
It is our home, our solid rock,
Where all bright things are ours.

And though of need we often must
Spend our days apart,
Our love will always be with us,
Held within the heart.
I feel it now, so strong and free,
So part of every breath
That it must live–I swear it will!–
Even after death.

********

Today’s a day of love not just for us,
But for all of those who brought us here.
So please excuse us if we make a fuss
Over you, the ones we hold most dear.
In you we see the love we replicate
By joining on this day our separate lives.
Our choice was neither accident nor fate,
But homage to good husbands and sweet wives.
We hope to make a family just like yours,
And be to our children parents much like you.
You have been to us wide-open doors
Onto a serene and peaceful view.
We look to you with gratitude and pride.
What joy this day to have you at our side!