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Theme weddings are growing in popularity because they are fun and offer the bridal couple the opportunity to express themselves in a different way. If the couple loves the beach, the sea, and anything to do with water, for example, perhaps a beach or nautical themed wedding would be appropriate. Or if they love a sensual, romantic atmosphere, a passion themed wedding might be more to their liking.

Elements of a themed wedding include decorations, food type, location, favors, invitations, attire, and much more. Essentially, you are creating a wedding around a theme, and your options are limitless.

Numerous resources are available for those planning a themed wedding. From craft stores to online merchants like americanbridal.com, you can find all the items you need to ensure your perfect wedding goes off without a hitch. Here are several popular themes to consider:

Beach themed wedding
A beach themed wedding usually uses white, blue, and yellow or sandy colors to represent the clean, airy, fresh feel of the beach and the ocean. With this theme, you can use a variety of bridal favors, invitations, and decorations. These might include:

- Candle sets in blue, sand, and white;

- Beach themed coasters;

- Shell trinkets and polished, engraved rocks;

- Personalized beach towels;

- Mixed drinks or white wine wedding favors;

- Flip flop shaped invitations;

- Edible wedding favors like beach mints or candies; personalized chocolates with a nautical decoration, and much more.

Asian themed wedding
An Asian themed wedding offers many possibilities, and it all depends on what kind of Asian theme you want. From minimalist, clean themes, with light, elegant colors, calligraphy, and bamboo center pieces to bright, vivid colors reminiscent of gorgeous kimonos and arranged floral centerpieces, Asian themed weddings are varied and diverse. Despite the variance, there are certain favors and decorations that you can use, no matter which theme you choose. These include:
- Incense;

- Asian brocade wallets and coin purses;

- Special gourmet fortune cookies;

- His and hers chopsticks;

- Place card holders;

- Edible favors like mints, candy and personalized chocolates.

Seasonally themed wedding
A seasonally themed wedding covers one of the four seasons and their corresponding colors, favors, and decorations. This could mean brighter or lighter colors for spring and summer; darker, warm, autumnal colors for fall; and cooler colors for winter. With seasonal weddings, you want to ensure that your colors and decorations show the season you have in mind. No matter what your theme is, however, there are some universal decorations and favors that will work across the board. These include:

- Candles of all shapes, colors and sizes;

- Wine wedding favors like wine stoppers, charms, or mini corkscrews;

- Edible wedding favors like chocolate covered almonds or customized chocolate bars;

- Unique wedding favors like miniature bath salts, spoon sets and flower seeds;

- Practical wedding favors like bottle stoppers, bookmarks and miniature coffee scoops.

Themed weddings are easy and fun to organize if you know where to shop. AmericanBridal.com has everything you need to put together a themed wedding..

Las Vegas wedding invitations were hard to find less than a year ago, but since then not only have hundreds of Las Vegas wedding invitations sprung online, but different Las Vegas wedding invitation themes have as well. We will show 3 different Las Vegas wedding invitation themes.

The first Las Vegas wedding invitation theme is the most obvious and most popular. It is none other than the Las Vegas welcome sign. The bright lights of the sign are the theme of more than half of the Las Vegas wedding invitations in existence. Graphic designers who design the Las Vegas wedding invitations with the Las Vegas welcome sign have even taken the theme even further by creating the welcome sign in different colors ranging from baby pinks to bright yellows, oranges and reds. The welcome sign is no longer considered tacky on the Las Vegas wedding invitations created because some of the most elegant Las Vegas themed wedding invitations feature the welcome sign in black and white on beautiful translucent overlays.

The second Las Vegas wedding invitation theme that is also quite popular, but not quite as popular as the Las Vegas welcome sign, is the theme of the Las Vegas city lights. The bright lights of the strip are on at least a fourth of the Las Vegas style invitations. While this may seem like a pretty simple theme for a Las Vegas style invitation, it is as diverse as the Las Vegas welcome sign. The colors of the strip have been altered so that Las Vegas invitations can feature the strip lights in an elegant black and white as well as pinks and purples for the girly, cutesy invitations. The lights of Las Vegas can be found in nearly every collection of Las Vegas wedding invitations including the recently announced Sephora Collection and Paprika Collection, both which can be found at vegaswedlockinvitations.com.

The third Las Vegas wedding invitation theme consists of palm trees. Palm trees are quite common for any destination wedding invitation and Las Vegas wedding invitations are no different. While not as popular as the welcome sign and the city lights, it is definitely a hot theme for Las Vegas wedding invitations. However, there is a catch to this theme. For a Las Vegas wedding invitation to truly be a Las Vegas style invitation, it must feature Las Vegas and a palm tree doesn’t do that because palm trees grow in many areas of the world. Thus, the third most popular Las Vegas wedding invitation theme includes a Las Vegas phrase somewhere on the invitation with the palm tree. The most popular Las Vegas wedding invitation wording phrase was coined by VegasWedlockInvitations.com when they started their business in January of 2006 which is “What Happens in Vegas Stays in our Hearts.”

The fourth Las Vegas wedding invitation theme varies according to a Las Vegas couple’s wedding venue. A new Las Vegas wedding invitation collection titled “location” features photos of many Las Vegas wedding chapels and venues like the famous Little White Wedding Chapel. The Bellagio, Paris, Venetian, Mirage, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, MGM, Luxor and the Excalibur are just a few of the Las Vegas wedding chapels and Las Vegas wedding venues that the new collection features.

Many Las Vegas wedding invitation companies carry the themes that we have mentioned. Simply search google for “invitations ‘name’ collection” to find a retailer of the collections. For example, for those searching for the Las Vegas wedding invitation collection “Sephora” one would search: invitations Sephora collection.

Las Vegas wedding couples can also find these collections at vegaswedlockinvitations.com.

Find Las Vegas wedding invitations at

Most couples don’t seek out counseling when they hit a few “bumps” in the road. They often get help once their spouse tells them, “I love you, but I’m not in love with you”. Maybe this is the case in your marriage and now you’re afraid your marriage is heading for divorce. Your first instinct might be to reach for the yellow pages, or search on the internet for marriage counselors in your area.

I’ve got to tell you… I get questions everyday from individuals who managed to convince their spouse to see a counselor. They think they’re doing the right thing for their marriage, but instead of their spouse coming back to them with open arms, they end up swearing to never go back there after just one or two sessions, claiming that it “didn’t work”.

Of all the complaints I’ve heard about marriage counseling, these are the top three objections I hear most often:

1) The first few sessions are a waste of time and money.

Couples tell me it took weeks for their counselor to get an idea of what was at the core of their struggles as a couple. They went into marriage counseling hoping for a sense of IMMEDIATE relief, not a series of long, drawn out sessions that seemed to be focused on placing blame and establishing who was at fault in the relationship.

2) The counselor’s requests are unreasonable and too difficult.

Recently, I spoke with a woman who did not want to see a counselor, but reluctantly agreed to participate in the first few sessions with her husband. She quit after a few sessions because she believed the marriage counselor was asking her to do things she considered as “unreasonable”.

For instance, one task she was instructed to do every day was smile at her husband at least once a day. It seemed very strange to her that a professional would ignore her massive resentment towards her husband, and ask her to artificially smile anyway. She confirmed to me that she did not WANT to smile at her husband! And even if she COULD bring herself to do something like this, she was convinced that it was in no way a step forward in helping them save their marriage. She simply felt it was too little too late.

3) The sessions are dragged out and opened-ended.

So many couples lamented to me that marriage counseling was frustrating at best and intensified their anger at worst. Because of its open-ended lack of a destination or plan, couples go to see a professional and want to see immediate results, but marriage counselors are not structured for immediate results or even immediate relief. Their focus is on the process and the value of multiple visits which may or may not result in any improvement.

So what does this mean for you?

If you have not experienced marriage counseling, it means you should begin to explore more options than the conventional office visit route. Do your research and get all the facts on marriage counseling before you devote your time and energy into something with such a history of poor results.

The following web page will provide you with a list of criteria to consider before you decide on marriage counseling. http://www.marriage-success-secrets.com/marriage-counselors.html Whether you choose traditional counseling or an alternative to marriage counseling, my advice is this: don’t give up on your marriage just yet.

If you’d like a big picture perspective on what went wrong in your marriage and an explanation on how you got to this awful place, visit the site that offers a positive alternative to marriage counseling and get your FREE, 10 page report, The Secret Path To Divorce: How To Know If You’re Already On It. Heading For Divorce Court, But Need Financial Assistance?—> http://www.sponsoredmarriage.com

Want FREE advice on marriage? Get your free, 45 min consultation and find out if there is hope for your marriage at the alternative to marriage counseling website.

Couples engaged in a power struggle are often very critical of one another. The natural tendency for a partner when criticized is to become defensive which only serves to heighten and prolong the power struggle. However, when analyzed criticisms can be extremely valuable sources of information and can help couples to gain new understanding and insight into themselves, their partners and their relationship.

First of all, a marriage counsellor has to work with the couple to open them up to the notion that one’s own perceptions offer a limited view of reality. When one becomes aware of and receptive to the views of their partner, a whole world of information is now available to them. So instead of defending themselves when criticized, partners can analyze the criticism and see if there is any truth there and look for insights and try to gain knowledge.

Criticisms can contain much hidden information, not only about the person being criticized but also about the criticizer as well. An important realization about criticisms in a relationship is that they have some basis in reality. Partners generally are very aware of their partners’ negative traits and weak spots but often point these out in an accusatory manner, which elicits a defensive reaction. When a partner can overcome the need to be defensive and see the truth in a criticism, awareness can develop regarding a possible disowned trait and furthermore, the tendency to project this trait onto the criticizer can also be eliminated.

An individual can also analyze their criticisms of their partner to gain insight regarding their own wounds suffered in childhood. Let’s look at an example of a common criticism like “you are so disorganized”. When a person can be shown to analyze this statement to reveal their underlying thoughts and feelings and ask themselves if they ever had these thoughts and feelings as a child some important discoveries can be made. In this case it may be that this individuals parents were very disorganized which left them unable to be attentive to their needs as a child. Therefore, when their partner acts in a similar manner it creates a feeling of being not taken care of.

It can be seen then that criticisms, especially the repetitious, ongoing and emotional ones, are often disguised statements of ones’ own unmet needs. Further, one can analyze a criticism to see if actually they are guilty of the same thing. A person can ask themselves, “In what way is my criticism of my partner also true of me?” In this way it can be revealed if the criticism is an attempt to deal with a disowned part of oneself by externalizing it and projecting it onto the partner. This can greatly assist a person to psychologically own the projection and withdraw it.

Therefore, through analyzing criticisms, an individual may be able to make an important discovery concerning disowned parts of themselves. Further, a person may make the distinction that the criticism actually is a description not of their disowned self, but of their lost self. In the above example, a person may scrutinize their behaviour and find that they are indeed very organized. Thus the criticism of the partner may reflect the unconscious need to be less organized and more spontaneous and carefree. The criticism actually is a resentment of the partners’ perceived freedom and represents a repressed or undeveloped issue that they can now address.

An analysis of criticisms can provide extremely valuable information about both partners in a marriage. The knowledge gained from this insight can be converted into a growth-inducing process. When the underlying basis for criticisms are discovered, partners can work towards alleviating or resolving the unmet or repressed needs and begin to help each other on the path to wholeness.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Marriage Councelor

Las Vegas weddings have been known for their tackiness as long as Las Vegas drive thru weddings have existed, but Las Vegas weddings are quickly becoming more elegant with brides spending more on their Las Vegas nuptials. With this includes their choice of Las Vegas wedding music and Las Vegas wedding musicians.

We spoke with Chandler Judkins, president of Las Vegas Wedding Music, the number one live musician contracting company in Las Vegas and he had a lot to say about a new trend among Las Vegas couples.

“Las Vegas couples arent choosing string quartets as much as they used to,” Judkins said. “Jazz is more of the choice for their Las Vegas wedding music.”

The reason for choosing jazz more than strings for Las Vegas weddings is simple according to Judkins. “They want something different. Thats usually why theyre getting married in Las Vegas in the first place.”

Strings are still a popular Las Vegas wedding music choice and oftentimes Las Vegas couple will pair up the two, having strings for the ceremony and jazz for the cocktail hour and reception afterward.

A Las Vegas jazz quartet can be the perfect solution to create elegance, class, dancing and swinging, and all at a reasonable price. Las Vegas Wedding Musics jazz groups start as low as $500 for a few hours, and no minimum time is required. Las Vegas Wedding Musics musicians often show up to play for a 15 minute wedding ceremony and then go home.

Las Vegas Wedding Music is so flexible with price, timing, groups, song requests list and more because according to Judkins, music is his passion and he wants to share that passion through his company Las Vegas Wedding Music.

“Couples getting married in Las Vegas often dont realize that live musicians can be contracted for as little as a Las Vegas dj can be hired,” Judkins said. “Our goal here at Las Vegas Wedding Music is to promote live music. We want our brides to walk down the aisle to the real thing, not a distorted version of ‘Canon in D.”"

Judkins is a professional musician himself and oftentimes plays with the Las Vegas jazz groups. Live sound demos of the Las Vegas string quartet and the Las Vegas jazz groups can be found at Las Vegas Wedding Musics site: LVWeddingMusic (dot) com.

Las Vegas Wedding Music also offers other Las Vegas wedding music packages for couples getting married in Las Vegas who want something different for their Las Vegas wedding. Singers, harpists, top 40 bands, mariachi groups, impersonators and more are available.

Las Vegas Wedding Music can work with nearly any budget and their packages start as low as $250.

Renae earned her journalism degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Find Las Vegas wedding music at www.vegaswedlockinvitations.com.

The initial instinct when hosting a bridal shower is to choose wedding related or bridal ideas for the dè(c)cor, shower favors and “theme” of the event. Its easy to forget, but just the simple fact that it IS a Bridal Shower that you are inviting people to sets the theme – theres no need to drive it home with umbrellas, white bells and all the other imagery that being a bride includes – unless of course thats what you think the Bride-to-Be would want! So if thats not the case, why not venture away from “the expected” and go in a direction that will create a lovely event that everyone will enjoy – especially the Bride-to-Be! Choose one of these creative ideas or use them for your inspiration:

Destination Honeymoon! – Get the Bride ready for her honeymoon by creating the shower theme around their post-nuptial destination. Are they heading for Paris? Why not serve yummy French favorites like croissants and fancy pastries and ask guests to include something in their gifts that will signify France or will be useful when theyre there. One Bride recently told me about the Bridal Shower her best friend and Maid of Honor hosted that was themed all around the tropical Mexican honeymoon that her Groom had planned for them in Cancun. She cleverly asked a local Mexican restaurant to help her out by saving their Cinco de Mayo decorations for her (which they were going to just throw out), served Margaritas and all kinds of yummy Mexican appetizers and a traditional tres leche cake for dessert. She requested that guests brought a little something with their gift to add into a beach bag for her. She received some wonderful sunglasses, beach towels and sunscreen along with a couple of fun girlie novels to take for her time at the beach. In turn, all the guests went home with a shower favor of mints in a colorful tin with palm trees and the ocean, the Brides name and “Viva Cancun!” personalizing the front. Im sure it reminds them not only of the fun time they had at the shower, but makes them think of the couple off in their tropical spot.

Floral Delight! – Another friend recently told me about a shower she had just attended for a family member. Apparently the budget for the actual wedding was quite small and so as is very often the case these days, corners had to be cut wherever they could. The Bride-to-Be had been shocked when she was quoted thousands of dollars for the professionally done flowers she had always dreamed of having fill the church and reception. Because of cost, she had to cut back dramatically. Knowing this, her close friend and the hostess decided to include flowers she could do herself wherever possible for the bridal shower. From the invitations to the dè(c)cor, the cake and the shower favors, live flowers or floral decor was everywhere. She even had shower favors for the guests that were fun plantable daisies that would grow into their own wildflowers reminding them of this day and the Bride for seasons to come. She filled vases with all colors, shapes and sizes of the Brides favorite flowers and used them to brighten the tables and decorated the whole shower with them. The Bride was even given her own mini-bouquet, a simple but pretty posey, at her seat to take home and the bridesmaids all had corsages that matched. To all the guests, it was simply a floral themed delight, but unbeknownst to all but a few, it was deeply meaningful and special to the Bride who had her dreams come true in a different way.

As you can see, with just a little planning and attention to the Bride an event like a bridal shower can be unique and really fun to plan – right down to the shower favors! The possibilities really are endless and it doesnt take much to think of something special. Once youve established if the guest of honor has any expectations for you to follow, just get creative and start imagining. The Bride-to-Be will have a day shell always remember and your guests will enjoy something different than what they thought would greet them!

Copyright 2006 AllInOneFunFavors.com

Cheryl Salto loves helping to make celebrations personal and meaningful as the owner of AllInOneFunFavors.com specializing in providing an extensive online selection of Bridal Shower and other event favors at http://www.allinonefunfavors.com/bridal-shower-gifts.html for life’s special celebrations.

One of the most exciting parts of a bridal shower is the fun games you get to play. These games can have a variety of purposes. They can be ice breaker games to help guests get to know one another. They can be games where your guests can win prizes to take home. They could also just be games to help guests enjoy their time at the bridal shower.

One of the most popular games at every bridal shower is bridal bingo. For this game, you will need as many bingo cards as you have guests. Fifteen is a good number of base bingo cards to start with. You will also need a list of the words on the bingo cards. Be sure to cut them up so you can pull them out of a hat or some similar container. You will need to give each guest a card. You could, though, have them share cards if you prefer. That might also be a good way to break the ice among guests who have no connection to each other except the bride. All of the bingo cards should have words on them that are associated with weddings, wedding gifts, or romance. In the center of the card should be a free space that can work with any type of line. The hostess should act as the bingo caller. She should pull the small pieces of paper out of the hat and call out each word. When the guest has a word on her card, she should mark through it with her pencil. If a guest can mark through a complete line of words in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal method, she should shout “Bingo.” The host should check her card, and if, indeed, she has gotten all of the words, she will be deemed the winner of that game. The winner should receive some sort of wedding favor prize. There are a number of free printable cards on the internet along with word lists to help you in planning for this great game.

Another fun game to play at a bridal shower is a bridal word scramble. Each guest will be given a sheet with a number of different words related to weddings scrambled on them. Guests will also need a writing utensil for this game. The words should be fairly easy to solve, and obviously wedding related. For example, you could use “edwdngi” as wedding for one of the words. Set a time limit, something like ten minutes usually works well, and the guest who can unscramble the most words in ten minutes wins the game.

An additional great game to play at bridal showers involves the names of famous couples. Give guests a sheet of paper with some famous couple halves on them. For example, you could have Michael Douglas as one entry. The other half, Catherine Zeta Jones, is what your guests would have to guess. Some other good entries for this game would be Popeye and Olive Oyl, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Baucall, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Al and Tipper Gore, and Homer and Marge Simpson. Come up with as many as you can. Again, you will need to set a time limit here, and ten minutes seems to work well. The guest who gets the most couples correct wins.

A third great game to play is the “don’t say or do game”. This also makes a wonderful ice breaker for your guests. Each guest wears a clothes pin attached to their clothing. The guests are informed that there are three words that they cannot say. Words like “bride,” “groom,” and “wedding” work well. If any guest hears another guest say these words, that guest can demand their clothes pin. At the end of the game, which is typically the end of the wedding shower, the guest who has managed to obtain the most clothes pins wins.

Another good game is the purse scavenger hunt. Guests are given a list of the items that might be found in a purse. Each guest marks off the item as she hunts through her purse. The guest with the most items in her purse wins the game.

An additional game to play at a bridal shower is a version of memory. Guests are shown a tray of items. The tray should have twenty or so wedding related items. Show it to each of the guests for a few seconds. After the tray has been removed from the vicinity, guests are to list as many items as they can remember on a sheet of paper. The guest who lists the most items on the paper wins the game.

One last good idea for a game to play at your upcoming bridal shower is herbs and spices. Place ten paper cups on a tray or a table. Number them one to ten, and have each guest smell the spices and herbs in the cups. Then have the guests write down what they think each spice or herb is. The guest who guesses the most wins the game.

There are a number of different games you can play at your next bridal shower, but remember that the goal of any of them is fun.

Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on Hawaiian wedding dresses.

Each and every year around 2.5 million weddings take place nationwide. This means that the number of weddings that will take place in your immediate area is astounding. Your wedding plans are going to be affected by number of factors, because many more weddings will happen at or around the same time as your wedding.

If you want even the tiniest little detail to be taken care of at your wedding, it would be recommended that you hire a wedding planner. Hiring a wedding planner can save you a lot of time and money. The wedding planner will help you coordinate your wedding and the most important of all the wedding planner will save you from frustration.

So, what is a wedding planner anyway, and what does the wedding planner do?

A wedding planner (sometimes called a wedding consultant, wedding coordinator or a wedding producer) is hired to help the bride and groom coordinate a wide variety of tasks associated with their wedding. Planning your wedding can get vary frustrating at times that will make you forget about the fun that you need to have at your wedding. So, it is a good idea to spend a little bit more on a wedding planner to make sure your wedding day goes smooth.

A wedding planner can help plan many aspects of your wedding, including DJs, floral arrangements, cake, seating arrangements, invitations, photography, and so on. In some cases, a wedding planner might be able to use his or her industry connections with vendors to get you a good deal on many things.

The wedding planner will conduct an interview with the bride-to-be and the groom, and then coordinate the details of the wedding that have been agreed upon. A good wedding planner should be able to assist in organizing, budgeting and purchasing services for your wedding. A good wedding planner after the interview will put a contract together that you and him or her need to sign. Without a contract there’s a lot of room for misunderstanding and confusion of what was agreed between you and your wedding planner.

In the contract, or often referred to as a letter of agreement, the wedding planner will include the services that the wedding planner is expected to perform, the cost of these services and the payment terms.

When you receive the contract, if there’s anything you do not agree with or anything not to your desire, discuss it with your wedding planner before signing it. When you sign the contract, you and your soon to-be wedding planner have to agree on all of the items listed to avoid any possible misunderstanding. But remember: even though you have been through the interview process, you are not obligated to continue with that particular wedding planner until you sign the contract.

So, how can you find a wedding planner, and not just any wedding planner, but a good wedding planner?

Nowadays, it’s probably the easiest to find a wedding planner on the Internet. But, it’s best if you know anyone who had had a wedding planner for their wedding. Referrals are always the best.

Even if you have to seek help from the Internet or the yellow pages, when looking for a wedding planner, be sure to ask for his or her credentials. Ask for references from each of your potential wedding planners and research their past work. Also, ask to see a few other weddings your potential wedding planner has prepared. This will help you make a decision very easily of whether you like the style of that particular wedding planner or you need to seek another one.

Some of the advantages of hiring a wedding planner are saving you from frustration; money savings, since most wedding planners have connections in the industry; solving your wedding problems; low stress, since your wedding planner is there to pick up the slack should a problem arises.

But, there could also be some disadvantages, such as: overconfident (ego) wedding planner may try to convince you into having a wedding of his or her dreams and not the wedding of your dreams. If you’re a person who likes to be known or to show off, hiring a wedding planner may not be a good idea as they will be in charge of your wedding. Another disadvantage would be that you may hire a scam artist who may not have done any weddings while broadcasting his or her enormous experience. That’s why it is vital to do a thorough research on the wedding planners of your interest.

So, how much does a wedding planner cost?

If you hire a wedding planner, expect their fee to be anywhere between 5% and up to 20% of your total wedding budget.

Have fun interviewing those wedding planners.

This article was produced by http://lawyer.bestinfo4you.com – an Attorney Resources and Lawyer Information website. A great source to find a lawyer or to get more information for help with your attorney.

Planning a bridal shower can be frustrating, especially if you are planning on catering the event yourself. When you are getting ready to host a shower, it is important to take some time for planning and relax. Bridal showers should be a fun time to socialize with friends and families and should not cause stress. Here are ten easy tips to keep you sane when you host and cater a bridal shower.

Number of guests: When you get ready to host a bridal shower, the guest list will determine just about everything about the bridal shower. Work with the bride, or if you are planning on a co-ed shower, talk with the couple. Find out ahead of time, before you begin planning, how many guests they want to invite. The number of guests will tell you if where you can have the shower and how many you need to plan for. You might find it necessary to rent tables, chairs and serving platters or plates depending on the number of guests.

Time of day: Another tip for catering a bridal shower by your self is to determine what time of the day the shower will be held. This can be a huge help when you are planning for food. For example, a brunch will be easier to plan than a shower that is held late in the evening when a meal is expected. In addition, if you hold a shower in the late afternoon, you will not be expected to cater a large meal. You can plan for simple fare, such as fruit and finger sandwiches. Decide in advance what time of the day the shower will be and it will help keep you sane during the planning process.

Budget: Before sending out any invitations, know your budget. If you are on a limited budget, know what you can spend and stick to it. It will not be fun if you overspend and are left with a huge credit card bill after the shower. Let your bride know your budget and work together to plan a shower. It is possible to plan an elegant shower without spending a lot of money.

Plan ahead and ask the bride: Planning well in advance is the key in hosting a bridal shower. After you have talked with the bride and set a date, you can begin making preparations. If you plan on catering the event, never wait until the last minute. Delaying can cause a lot of stress. Instead, use an event planner or a notebook to record all the of the bridal shower details. Remember that a shower usually takes at least eight weeks to plan, so give your self plenty of time to make necessary preparations. When you cater the event, know beforehand how many guests you will serve and if there are food allergies or other preferences, such as the bride being a vegetarian. Make detailed shopping lists and know what you will need to buy before going to the grocery store.

Make ahead and get help: Catering a bridal shower can be easier if you know what you are serving in advance and prepare dishes ahead of time. If you are serving casserole dishes, look into making them a couple of weeks before the party and then freezing the items. You can also do this for certain desserts and appetizers. The night before the party is a great time to cut fruits and vegetables, decorate a cake and make finger foods. Making food ahead of time will help cut down on the amount of stress on the day of the bridal shower. Also, consider getting help from others when you plan to cater a shower. It is perfectly acceptable to host a potluck style buffet where everyone brings their favorite dish. You can also enlist help from close friends or family members to help you cook and prepare dishes.

Theme: If you have a theme for the shower, such as brunch, co-ed barbeque or girl’s day at the spa, you can prepare dishes to fit the theme. This will make planning easier and everyone will know what to expect. Having a theme can also help you choose decorations and tableware with ease.

Keep it simple and relax: These are two tips you should remember when planning a bridal shower. Most guests will not remember the lavish dishes it took you all day to prepare. Instead, they will remember the time they spent visiting with the bride. Keep the menu simple and everyone will enjoy the shower and you will not become stressed. Last of all, remember to relax. Take a deep breath and have fun. Do not ruin the shower by obsessing over every last detail. Have a good time and your guests will, too.

Masni Rizal Mansor provide tips and review on casual wedding dresses.

Every bride has lots of things to think about when she’s planning her wedding, but so many tend to forget about taking care of themselves on the day of their wedding. And it’s important that those small, but mighty, details not escape even the most well prepared bride!

What should be at the TOP of every bride’s list on the day of her wedding is to relax and enjoy it! Whether you’ve been working with a wedding consultant or have done all the planning and preparation on your own, it’s now the big day and you deserve to have at least as much fun as any of your guests.

Here are 5 simple, but practical tips to help pave the way to truly enjoying your wedding day:

1. Making Up is (not) Hard to Do – Create a Wedding Day Make-Up Bag

Two weeks before the wedding, do a complete test of your wedding-day look (make-up, hairdo and shoes) – for as long as you expect to have it together that day so you’ll know if it will “go the distance.” Put together a little make-up bag for touch ups that you can take along with you the day of the wedding to keep you looking your best. And on the big day, have a friend, bridesmaid or family member hang on to it or stash it somewhere handy so you can get to it when you need it. Be sure to use waterproof mascara, and don’t forget to pack the hairspray!

Hint: When purchasing your make-up, see if you can persuade the sales gal at the cosmetic counter into giving you samples of everything you’re buying (they’ve got ‘em, you know they do) They won’t take up much room and it will be more than enough for the day!

2. Wedding Day “Emergency” Kit – Create an Emergency Kit For Those Unexpected Emergencies

Just like the back-up, make-up bag for touch ups (say that three times fast!), consider an “emergency kit” filled with items you may need on your wedding day. Fill a small bag with items such as a travel size sewing kit (you’d be amazed at the magic tricks just one safety pin can perform), clear nail polish (for panty hose/stocking runs), an extra set of panty hose or stockings, throat lozenges and aspirin. Other ideas for the “emergency kit” include tissues, breath mints, tampons, hand cream and band-aids.

Hint: Most of these items can be found in the travel size bins in your local drug store.

3. Food for Thought – Start Your Wedding Day With Healthy and Filling Nourishment

Since most brides don’t get to enjoy the meal served at the reception, you really should consider having something to eat before the wedding, no matter how worried you are about how the dress fits!

While food may be the last thing on your mind on your wedding day, it’s nonetheless important that you start the day with some healthy and filling nourishment. It’s going to be a long (and wonderful) day and you’ll want to have plenty of energy so you can keep dancing and socializing for hours!

Hint #1: Stash a power bar snack in your purse or “emergency kit”

Hint #2: Pre-arrange for there to be something to eat at your honeymoon hotel (believe it or not, most couples are starving after the wedding day festivities and will want to re-fuel before the wedding night festivities!)

4. If the Shoe Fits – Kick Off The Heels and Settle Into a More Comfortable Shoe

You know those stunning, sexy, strappy, ultra-high heels that work perfectly with your wedding gown? They’ll be great for the ceremony and for the formal pictures, but if you’re planning to kick up your heels at the reception, you’ll be better off kicking off the heels and settling into something more comfortable. So get a pretty, more practical pair of shoes that you can change into to keep your dogs from “barking” the entire week after the wedding!

Hint #1: It’s not a bad idea to practice walking in the shoes you’ll be wearing during the ceremony. Take a test run in the shoes AND the wedding gown and get used to both.

Hint #2: Kenneth Cole Reaction makes a snappy little flat, beaded thong that is heavenly comfy, inexpensive and just fancy enough to go with your gown. I’ve got a pair in bronze and black (and they come in white as well) that I carry with me everywhere. Not a bad gift for your bridesmaids either!

5. Point It Out To A “Point Person” – Keep Track of Time With An Itinerary and a Point Person

Whether you’ve worked with a wedding consultant or carefully planned everything yourself, you should have an itinerary for the big day. Make copies, give them to a few good friends and/or close family members, then choose someone to be the “point person” who will make sure things are running smoothly and reasonably on time. You will be able to rest easily knowing at least one of your deputies will keep track of the time while you’re busy greeting those out-of-town guests and brand new in-laws whose names you can’t quite remember!

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