Saturday, April 30, 2011

Fun and Romantic Wedding Gift Ideas

The newly weds will appreciate any gift you give them as this is one way of showing that you are sharing their happiness during this grand day. If only you can give them a gift of memory the better, since this will be shared by the hopefully for as long as they live.

Grab a gift that will leave a mark on the couple's memory for several years to come!! Assess your gift prior to finally purchasing it as you walk around a shop, you will be amazed at what else you can buy. You will want your groomsmen gifts to say much about the couple before finally paying for the item.

The memory of a gift of experience will always bring smiles on their faces in the coming years. Sharing a lasting memory with their friends and loved ones will always be the number one priority of the couple.

For those who have a knack for scrap booking, you may want to create one where the couple can place their photos together ! Why not spoil the newly weds by giving them a spa treatment for free after their wedding to ease all the pressure they have been through during their preparation. How about making a customized calendar for the two with their pictures for each of the month of the year. Although there are so many wedding party gifts to choose from, gift certificates will be one of the well loved gifts as they can be very useful for the couple after they have settled down!

Just think out of the box whenever you look for items for the couple so you won't end up getting them just any ordinary gift usually seen on weddings. Compare prices before you buy any gift for there are better deals somewhere out there. All you have to do is add your own unique twist to the wedding gift!

Preferred Wedding Gifts of Modern Newly Weds

Engaged couples today are pretty blunt about what kind of wedding gifts they wish to receive in their big day. Gone are the days of being gracious of whatever the guests might bring in to their celebrations. Newlyweds are now becoming more vocal in their preferences and let their guest list know usually in upon the release of their wedding invitations. The older generation might be offended but the humor and approach of the younger generation make up for the offense.

Slowly turning away from the traditional house warming choices, most newlyweds prefer the more modern selection and wider array of possible marital presents. Bridal registry is not a new concept but it has not died either. For couples who already have a home, this choice of a gift can be practical. Enlisting in a bridal registry in your local malls can give your guests a better idea of the items and appliances that you might need for your house.

Couples most often do not have an idea what they would want as a married couple - especially for first time married couples. And this could mean outright asking for cash or checks instead of in kind presents for their wedding. Any amount is welcomed by most newlyweds and they tend to save what they receive for a down payment to a house, a car, or a honeymoon package. To facilitate this kind of cash preference, events coordinator places a wishing well or money tree in the reception halls after the marriage ceremony. Guests are asked beforehand in the wedding invitations which have a portion that houses a money envelope that guests can place any amount as their wedding presents.

Another fast becoming favorite for most modern newlyweds are the honeymoon packages. Travel reservations and or bookings can be a break from the usual gifts married couples tend to receive. A one-week paid tropical vacation in Bali or exotic safari vacation in Africa can create a bonding opportunity for the couple to know each other more in a different setting. This can give them ample time to have the right starting foundation to a lasting marriage - companionship and having fun together.

Couple gadgets can be thoughtful as wedding presents. A couple mobile phone, GPS tracker, portable storage disks, and many other gadgets can be an amusing present to the couple who needs to be always in touch. Communication using these gadgets can help the newlyweds be more appreciative of each other’s opinions and presence. This is the best bet for couples who tend to be techies or into computer and Internet business or professions.

Many other thoughtful and modern wedding presents are truly creative and meaningful. You can become bolder in even giving out naughty bedroom attires to the couple if you know them well enough. Or you can give them passes to their favorite ball game or access to an extreme sport arena. The ideas can be you can conjure in your mind are endless. The most important thing is, you know the couple well so you can give them something they prefer and appreciate.

Jesse Vickers is a writer who likes to share valuable information and ideas on wedding favors as well as related products.

Top 5 Gifts You Can Select For Groomsmen

Selecting the right kind of gift for groomsmen is often considered to be a difficult task as there are plenty of options to choose from. Generally the best gifts are thought to be those items which have a personalized touch to them, i.e. those which help to make the occasion memorable. Here are top 5 gifts for groomsmen which you can consider while selecting gifts for groomsmen.

• Personalized cufflinks: Highly polished brass cuff links have a touch of elegance while offering a subtle statement that respects tradition. The square shaped cufflinks add symmetry and style even to casual wear. These are cleverly engraved with sophistication adding a specialized touch to the collection of any person.

• Leather wallets – These handy leather wallets are ideal for traveling plans. Most leather wallets have slots for 2 cards, an ID window along with a useful expandable pocket which can hold at least 10 folded bills. These wallets are perfect for business travel purpose or for times when there is a need to carry just the bare essentials and do not wish to carry anything which is bulky.

• Pocket watches – You have plenty of options when selecting pocket watches as gifts. You can choose silver tone pocket watch makes a great gift for groomsmen which has an interesting front cover to perfectly hold a picture. Gold tone engraving shield adds to the sophistication of the watch while the silver roman numerals ensures clarity and brightness for the user.

• Business card holders – You can decide between crystal, steel, sterling silver, leather and even artist inspired business card holders. These are stylish, professional with an extraordinary timeless design, which never goes out of style. Add a personalized touch to these holders by getting them engraved, making them a completely specialized gift.

• Personalized mugs – Specialized personalized mugs for grooms are quite popular. These include a range of mugs such as wedding party beer mugs, wedding party coffee mugs, and also baseball themed ounce mugs for the sports lovers.

Now, that you have an idea about a variety of gifts available for groomsmen, will it be difficult for you to make a choice? Remember, not only should you remember your wedding day with fond memories; so should your groomsmen who helped you to make it perfect!

Simon Johnnson is the marketing and customer relations director at Executive Gift Shoppe. They carry a unique line of business accessories and men's gifts. If you're looking for Personalized Flasks, they have exactly what you need.

Wedding Gift Ideas for Sister

Sister is one angel with whom you can fight, laugh, share and also depend on! Elder or younger, having a sister is always fun. She is the person who will fight with you for hours but also be on your side when the whole world is against you! Her wedding is an emotional moment, but at the same time it is the time to have a blast! So here are some wedding gift ideas for sister.

Sister Wedding Gift Ideas

Honeymoon Tickets: What can be more romantic gift idea for a newly wedded couple than honeymoon tickets? If honeymoon tickets seem too costly, you can book a room in a grand hotel where they will go for their honeymoon. But remember to inform your sister or at least the bridegroom's mother about the reservations, at least a week before marriage. Along with booking a room, you can also provide them with 'breakfast in bed' service. That will make your sister's wedding just perfect.

Cooking Class Gift Certificate: While doing the wedding preparations, small things like cooking are overlooked by the to-be brides! But once the wedding is over and the couple is a bit settled, the brides start searching for cooking books! If you don't want your sister to face this, gift her with a short term cooking class certificate where she will be able to learn at least the basics of cooking! But, if your sister is already an expert in cooking, you can gift her some special cuisine cooking gift certificate, like that of Thai food or Italian food. This will be one of the best wedding gift ideas for sister as she will definitely need different recipes to impress her hubby!

Set of Throw Blanket and Pillow: To make the couple's married life cozy, you can gift them a set of throw blanket and throw pillows. Silk throw blankets look very pretty. To give a personalized look to the set, you can have the blankets and pillows embroidered with their names. Or you could also add a quote or a saying like 'soul mates' or 'these souls were united on' and add their wedding date ahead. More on personalized wedding gifts.

Cleaning Service: The sweet dreams of wedding come to an end when the new bride sees the mess created by herself and her dear husband! So give your dear sister some more time to be in her dream world by gifting her cleaning service gift certificate of a year or half a year. She will surely love the gift and will thank you every day and night for giving her a clean house and also some more special moments with her husband!

Bath Caddy: This is also one of the romantic wedding gift ideas for sister. A wooden bath caddy for the couple with bubble bath, champagne, scented candles etc. will help the newly wedded couple relax and de-stress together. To personalize the gift, you could give them champagne glass with their names etched on it.

Family Tree Sculpture: This will be one of the best wedding gifts for sister! Family tree sculptures are small metal or silver trees, where the photos of all the family members can be hung on the delicate branches. This is one of those gifts which she can display in her living room as a centerpiece. What more can a new bride ask for?

These were some of the unique wedding gift ideas for sister. Cash gifting is also a good option for newly wedded couples as the money can be utilized for something they really need. Small or big, whichever gift you take for your bride sister, I am sure she will surely like it, because she will know the sentiments behind it!

Wedding Card Messages

"The highest happiness on earth is marriage". ~ William Lyon Phelps.

It is said that marriages are made in heaven and celebrated on Earth. Wedding cards are a simple and warm way to greet the new couple on their new beginning. Adding a personalized card to the wedding gifts makes it look more thoughtful. Here are a few wedding card messages that you can use to greet the couple.

Sample Wedding Card Messages
You can try these sample wedding card messages to greet the newly married pair

"Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts." ~ William Shakespeare. Congratulations and have a happy married life full of understanding and love

"There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage." ~ Martin Luther. May this be a happy beginning of a wonderful life together.

"There are three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love." ~ I Corinthians 13:13. Wishing you a life filled with everlasting bliss.

Best Wedding Card Messages
Here are some best wedding card messages to congratulate the newly wedded couple

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." ~ Nora Ephron, of the film 'When Harry Met Sally'

"I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach." ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"True love stories never have endings." ~ Richard Bach

"Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end." ~ Author Unknown

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,
A church filled with family and friends.
I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,
He said one that would make me his wife."
~ Author Unknown

"A hundred hearts would be too few. To carry all my love for you." ~ Author Unknown

Funny Wedding Card Messages
Add a hint of humor to your wedding card messages. Here are a few funny wedding card messages that you can use.

"Marriage - a book of which the first chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters written in prose." ~ Beverly Nichols

"By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher." ~Socrates

"Trip over love, you can get up. Fall in love and you fall forever." ~ Unknown

"The difficulty with marriage is that we fall in love with a personality, but must live with a character." ~ Peter Devries

"All marriages are happy. It's living together afterwards that is difficult." ~ Anonymous

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love." ~ Unknown

"A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he's finished." ~ Zsa Zsa Gabor

Simple Wedding Card Messages
Use these simple but sweet wedding card messages

"Two souls with but a single thought, Two hearts that beat as one." ~ Unknown

"We come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."~ Sam Keen

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." ~ Germaine Greer

"You're a very special couple
You make the perfect pair
This brings a wish for happiness
In the future you will share."

Money Tree Etiquette

It is a tradition in some cultures to display a money tree during weddings. Although, it is not uncommon to put up a money tree for occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays and retirements too, especially when they involve the elderly. To some people, the whole concept of putting up a money tree, may seem very absurd. They feel that putting up a money tree on special occasions is like begging the guests for money! This actually is not true and can be avoided, if proper money tree etiquette is followed. In this buzzle article, we will talk about the appropriate money tree etiquette for weddings and other occasions.

Wedding Money Tree Etiquette

    * If you are planning to put up a money tree during your wedding, see to it that you belong to a culture in which money trees are a tradition. In case you have planned a wedding around a cultural theme and in that culture money trees are a tradition, then this is another scenario in which money trees do not look out of the way.
    * In no case should money trees be mentioned on the invitations. Money is a gift and just like no one asks for gifts on the invitations, no one should ask for money or mention money tree on invitations too.
    * When it comes to receiving cash as gift from guests, word of mouth is the best way to put the point across to them. So, tell all your friends, family and bridal party members that in case the wedding invitees inquire about the gifts for the bride and the groom, they should tell the guests about the money tree at the reception and also mention that cash gifts are acceptable by the couple.
    * At the reception venue, the bride and the groom should never ever mention the money tree to the guests themselves. If they do that, it would come across as being extremely rude or blatant to some of the guests.
    * Ideally, a close family member, like an aunt, should announce about the money tree to the guests during the reception. This way it would seem as if the guests are participating in the money tree custom voluntarily. If you are having a DJ play music at your wedding reception, he too can, in between playing music, announce to the guests the location of the money tree.
    * Make the announcement about the money tree towards the end of the wedding reception. You can even make the announcement when the wedding reception is halfway through, but never before that!
    * Not all guests would want to contribute to the money tree. Some may even find it embarrassing to give money. Some of the guests may be unaware of this custom and its meaning. So, in order to let the guests know that money gift is welcome, one of the wedding money tree ideas that you can use is to put some folded bills or cash yourself on the tree. When the guests notice this, they will automatically know that you are expecting them to contribute to the money tree.
    * Some of the guests would not feel comfortable with the idea of putting on display how much cash they are giving as gift. This might refrain them from putting money on the money tree. To avoid this situation, it is suggested that you place a number of envelopes near the money tree. This way, the guests can place money in these envelopes before putting them on the tree.

Money Tree Etiquette for Other Occasions

For occasions such as anniversaries or birthdays or bridal showers, the money tree etiquette more or less remains the same as it is for the weddings. You should not mention about money trees in the invitations. Instead, spread the word around amongst the friends and family that you are going to put up a money tree through word of mouth. Place the money tree in the corner of the room and never at the entrance, other wise it looks like a charity box. Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, place envelopes near the tree so that your guests can put money in it, rather than straightway hanging it on the tree.

If you follow the above mentioned money tree etiquette, you would save yourself as well as the invitees from embarrassment and discomfort, which can otherwise arise due to cash gifts. One last tip before I sign off - if you are not convinced with the idea of putting up a money tree, you can instead put up a gift certificate tree! This way you get to choose your own gifts and your guests do not have to hand you over cash as gift!