If you are getting married before Christmas, don’t forget to plan ahead for the holidays.

Your first Christmas is a wonderful way to celebrate the beginning of your life together. Make sure you have some time to celebrate the holidays together, just the two of you.

What Do Newlyweds Want for Christmas?

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A Cabin in the Woods

Retreat into the woods for some ‘alone time’ with your Mr or Mrs. Rent a cabin and prepare to enjoy the good kind of cabin fever!

A Cozy Fire

Plan to snuggle in front of a cozy fireplace  - if you don’t have one at home, check out bed and breakfasts in your area for a romantic getaway close to home! This is also perfect if you haven’t had a chance to decorate your new home yet – sometimes a bed and breakfast can feel more “homey” than your own place! It’s also a great way to spend time in an old-fashioned, romantic setting (particularly if your day-to-day tastes – and surroundings – are more modern).

St Helena Vineyard Country Inn

Gifts to Go

Plan to exchange gifts that tie in to your getaway: comfy robes, romantic lingerie, and other treats.

Some hotels provide robes, but it’s also fun to bring your own (a robe also makes a great Christmas gift that you can bring along and use right away!).

bathrobeshop.com

Here’s another gift idea… let Mary Ann’s style inspire you and stay away from Ginger for a romantic night like this one. The baby doll pictured below is available at sears.com.

Simple, Delicious Fare

Bring your own basket of goodies, filled with the best of everything simple and delicious (wine, cheeses, nuts, chocolate, fruit, bread….). Go to picnicfun.com for a great selection of baskets.

Old Fashioned Decorations

Bring your own decorations to make your stay more personal. Think old-fashioned and disposable (or edible)…

String together popcorn and cranberries ahead of time and bring your garland along (instructions at craftelf.com)

craftelf.com

These Christmas ornaments are made out of chocolate – they add Christmas spirit to any room and then you can eat them afterwards! (Available at artcoco.com).

artcoco.com

This is the second installment in a two part series about monogrammed items for weddings.

Last time we featured wedding cake toppers and provided you with some guidelines and etiquette for creating a monogram (Monograms Part 1: Let Me Spell It Out For You).

Today we feature everything else wedding-related you might want to monogram…

Wedding Invitations

Here is a wonderful example of modern monogramming on a wedding invitation, one of many amazing creations by Kate at weddinginvitationdesigner.com. (This is an example of one of my favorite wedding color schemes, too, by the way.)

weddinginvitationdesigner.com

Here is a another invitation that caught my eye – you can order it online and customize the colors to match your wedding theme. I have a weakness for cherry blossoms when it comes to weddings…

urbanitystudios.com

Cake Decorations

Monograms can be right on the cake rather than placed on the top layer as a wedding cake topper. Look closely at the cake below to see the monogram piped on to the second layer for an understated, yet personal touch.

ritzoflasvegas.com

Cookies, Cupcakes

Everyone knows I can’t resist a cookie, and these custom colored cake cookies are so cute I feel like getting married all over again.

beatricegiftservices.com

These cookies come individually wrapped in their own fancy box and can be ordered in various shapes and color. They look good enough to eat!

cookiesandcrumbs.com

The Cookie That Really Takes The Cake

Check out this lovely wedding cake and cookie combo by Melissa a blogger who also makes custom cakes and cookies (check out her site thegoodapple.blogspot.com – her work is right up there with those reality TV cake shows if you ask me!).

thegoodapple.blogspot.com

Cupcake Toppers

Here is another sweet idea – monogrammed cupcake toppers handmade by Etsy seller lilbooandco –  you get to pick all of the details for the design (monogram, color, circle, square, scallop, flower, etc).

etsy.com

Another option for wedding cupcakes: a monogrammed cupcake wrapper.

paperorchidstationery.com

Destination Weddings are becoming more popular every year. They are a great way to make your special event even more special. And, perhaps surprisingly, they are often less expensive than a traditional wedding in your hometown!

There are websites that will help you plan your destination wedding.

destinationweddings.com

This site boasts that 89,101 weddings have been created with its site. It allows you to create a free website for your wedding event. The site has exclusive offers for destination weddings all over the world (including cruise ships). It generates a ‘save the date’ announcement that you can send to your invited guests. Guests also make their travel arrangements through the same coordinator so that everyone can benefit from the same group rates and hotel/air packages. Guests can also purchase your wedding gift online from the honeymoon registry, which might include a day at the hotel spa or flowers for the honeymoon suite!

islandbrides.com

This site offers many of the same services but specializes in island weddings in the Caribbean (over 30 destinations).

luxedestinationweddings.com

This site advertises itself as specializing in “unique, luxury group destination weddings”. The website is impressive and worth a visit. It offers a wide variety of locations as well and allows you to customize your event with special features. This site also offers several honeymoons in its Luxe Honeymoon Collection.

After the event, photos and video of the wedding ceremony and reception can be viewed at the couple’s wedding website.

Destination Weddings: Trip Tips

1. Marriage Licenses and Laws

Laws governing marriage differ from country to country (and in some countries, the are different in each province or state). One example close to home: many people think they can just run off to Las Vegas and get married but that’s not quite true. It’s wise to get your marriage license beforehand – otherwise you might end up in a long line up. Also, the office isn’t open 24 hours so it’s not like you can suddenly decide to get hitched at 3am and then hurry over to a chapel. Getting married in Mexico? There is a 2-3 day waiting period and mandatory blood tests that cost $125 each.

2. Travel Arrangements

Don’t forget about your guests when making your travel arrangements. It’s much easier to get a group rate or package and then offer it to everyone so that your guests are all staying at the same location and you have some control over their arrival/departures. This will be easier if you find out approximately how many guests will be attending and what dates work for them first. Then you can make some plans and get back to them with an estimate of the cost before you ask them to commit.

3. Don’t Take It Personally

If you decide to have a destination wedding, be prepared that not everyone you invite will be able to attend. The positive side to this is that you extend an invitation to many people (which will make them happy) and that you will end up spending much less on the reception dinner, wedding favors, etc than you would if you had your wedding locally! The negative side is that some people you really care about may not be able to afford the travel expenses. Never, ever put pressure on them – this will only take away from the fun atmosphere at the event. This may be one of the biggest days in your life, but remember that your guests have lives of their own that they need to pay for.

Destination Weddings for Less

Expert Advice

Marcy Blum, famous event planner talks about Destination Weddings on howdini.com.

The Stag Night – A Night to Remember?

Heard the one about the stag night that ended with the groom and half his party in the county jail?  How about where the groom ended up on the other side of the country with no money or credit cards and minus his trousers with the wedding in 12 hours?  How about where the groom simply didn’t get to the wedding at all because he’s handcuffed to a lamp post outside his prospective in-laws home?

Sure it’s funny when it happens to someone else and there are numerous urban legends about what some poor schmuck had done to them by the friends on their last night of being “single” – but the reality is not funny if it messes up a huge financial and emotional investment!

Traditionally the stag night is the celebration of the last night of being single; after that the groom should only have married life in his sites.  The best man is also traditionally tasked with making the arrangements for the stag night and also serves as the grooms bodyguard; in the event that it is necessary, it is the best man’s job to make sure the groom makes it home and to the wedding safely!

It is also not advisable to get married with a hangover!

For this reason, you shouldn’t arrange a stag night on the evening before the wedding – give everyone plenty of time to recover and make good any damage from pranksters – if things do get out of hand, you won’t have the added time pressure of making it to the church on time when you’re trying to make bail!

Organizing a great stag night is not complicated; the groom should not pay for anything so take into account his costs when you are working out what it is going to cost everyone so everyone bears a burden of his share.  You also can exercise some imagination and innovation and make sure you have planned the affair well in advance; it is common for the father of the bride and of the groom to be invited and as these guys will be men of experience, don’t be afraid of asking them for help in arranging the night and the inevitable pranks to be played on the groom.  It is decorum for both fathers to leave the celebrations early though!

The bachelor in question should have a say in drawing up the guest list; once you have your guest list they all should be given plenty of time of the venue and what is going to be happening on the night – the best man really needs to be well organized to get this all put together.

We also should not forget the girls in all of this; many couples have already been working, living and romancing each other for some time before they decide to tie the knot and there is an increasing trend towards having a combined bachelor and bachelorette party.  Usually the best man will be orchestrating this with the maid of honor who is acting as his opposite number.

The best man is also responsible for arranging the transport and accommodations for guests at the end of the affair but his primary duty is to make sure the groom is delivered back home and in shape to get married!

Related articles

• Want to Get Married in Barbados? (relaxbarbados.com)
• Prince William may hit the G-spot on his stag night (telegraph.co.uk)
• Tips On Wedding Planning That Might Be Overlooked (frommyexperience.com)
• Home Sweet Home: An Engagement Party Homecoming (mybigfatengagement.com)

Short on cash or big on the idea of a casual, family friendly outdoor wedding?

The Perfect Picnic Wedding

Perfect if you are getting married in a park, backyard, or a tiny old church set in a big grassy field…

You could have a very small private ceremony in the church and then celebrate with a larger party of guests waiting to receive you outside. For a list of small churches in the US please visit roadsideamerica.com (image above is from this site).

Picnic Wedding Essentials

One of the most important items you will need – picnic blankets! Stick with tradition and pick red and white checkers, or find fabric that matches your wedding colors and make your own (you may find it less expensive to buy a large bolt of fabric and make your own anyways). You can buy the handmade one below at etsy.com for around $20 (and she offers a discount if you purchase more than one). These blankets could double as a wedding favor for each family that attends as well (you might have to come up with a contest to figure out who gets to take the blanket home for mixed picnic groups).

Deluxe Picnic

I wasn’t able to find a caterer in the US that provides this service, but in the UK you can pick up a biodegradable picnic basket filled with treats from the Arch House Deli in Bristol for less than $20 per person (converted from British pounds). Perhaps you could find a local catering company that would provide the picnic blankets and a picnic basket packed with goodies for each group of guests (let me know if you find any companies that do that!).

Picnic Event Tips

Don’t forget to be considerate of older guests and offer cushions as well as normal seating if necessary.

Provide picnic themed activities to keep the kids busy.

This cute picnic basket from bestpricetoys.com will be fun for younger children.

Plan for the weather

Bring large sun umbrellas, gazebos, and a play tent like the one below from Ikea to offer children some shade (or a quiet place to nap). You might want to bring something to weigh down the blankets if there is a chance that it will be windy. Make sure sunscreen and plenty of water is available for the guests.