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Archive for the ‘Wedding’ Category

Paul Sweeney said, “A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance, and tenacity.  The order varies for any given year.”  There is no doubt that couples celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversaries have been through every trial and triumph that marriage has to offer.  Hopefully at this point, love is always the first item of celebration.  In any case, though, a special gift is in order.  If you are celebrating your 50^th anniversary or are looking for a 50th anniversary gift basket for your parents or another special couple, you will find these suggestions useful. Maybe you're just looking for 50th anniversary party supplies and ideas, well even then, keep reading and hopefully you'll be inspired!

The 50^th wedding anniversary is known as the gold anniversary.  Traditionally, each year of a marriage is represented by a different type of anniversary gift.  The first anniversary, for instance, is the paper anniversary.  By the time you’ve worked yourself up to the gold anniversary, you deserve a great gift!  Gold is the traditional gift, as well as the contemporary gift and color of the 50^th anniversary.  The gemstone associated with the anniversary is golden topaz, and the flower is violet.  People do, though, often prefer the rose, especially varieties like the Golden Kiss.

Your gift does not have to conform to tradition.  If your spouse would love a cruise around the Caribbean, for example, that is perfectly acceptable.  You could say you’re giving your spouse the gift of the golden sun, if you wish.  Celebrating your golden anniversary calls for the perfect gift – whether or not that gift is actually gold!  If you would like to keep up the tradition, here are some gift ideas:

• Jewelry
• Watches or engraved cufflinks
• Photo frame
• Anniversary plate
• Candlesticks
• Personalized glassware or vases

These are all classic ideas, but if your spouse, parents, or grandparents already have their share of photo frames and glassware, you can stray outside the gold motif, while still adhering to the tradition in some ways.  For instance, you could assemble a gift basket of the spouse’s or couple’s favorite items that relate in some way to gold: a gold pen, gold-wrapped candies and Kisses, golden honey (great for tea and very healthy if local), and other goodies.

You could also purchase tickets for a sporting event, concert, play, ballet, vacation, or other event that your spouse or parents would enjoy.  Tuck these into a golden envelope or address the envelope with a gold metallic pen.  For a couple celebrating their 50^th anniversary, the gift needn’t be extravagant, though it certainly can be.  Why not get a gift card to a favorite restaurant or treat the happy couple to a night out at a hotel, bed and breakfast, or inn?

A bold idea is to simply ask what gift would be most liked and appreciated.  Everyone wants a surprise to sweep them off their feet once in a while, but if you are giving a gift to parents or grandparents, it may be just as nice to ask what they’d like.  Is it something practical like a once-a-week maid service for a year?  Something fun like golf or tennis lessons?  Something simple like a special dinner with the family?  Maybe these would be a great deal more appreciated than another set of gold candlesticks!

The 50^th wedding anniversary is more than an anniversary; it is a momentous accomplishment.  Celebrate it with a gift as precious as gold: it doesn’t have to be gold, but something the recipient will treasure.

Related Articles

• Ideas For A 50th Golden Anniversary Party
• Wedding Anniversary Party Games
• Wedding Anniversary Traditional Gift Chart

So much goes into the planning of your wedding and then the day goes by in a flash. To preserve your memories forever, why not create a wedding time capsule? It will be fun to take a walk down Memory Lane after several years have passed.

First off, don’t plan on hiding your wedding capsule in the ground. Chances are if you do, you’ll not only forget where you put it, but the contents will fade or corrode due to the conditions underground. Instead, plan to place your time capsule in a closet or dresser drawer to be opened in years to come.

How do you make a wedding time capsule? You can now purchase kits online with complete instructions and everything you will need. But it’s also just as much fun to make one yourself. First, find a tube or box that is watertight and sturdy. Metal is a good choice. A tube, such as expensive gourmet cookies often come in, is a nice idea. Decorate the outside with wrapping paper or contact paper. Write a date on the lid when you and your spouse decide you will open it together.

Next, fill the tube or box with several mementos of your wedding day. You’ll of course want photos of your dress and you and your husband at the altar. Include photos of the cake, the guests, the wedding gifts, the band, and the flowers. Toss in printed cocktail napkins or a table favor. Anything you include should be mildew resistant to avoid decomposure.

Write a note to your new husband and he can write a note to you. Add wishes from others like mom and dad if you like. Ask people to predict how many children you will have, what kind of home or car you will have, what new inventions will be around, what kind of jobs you’ll have, etc. The more you include, the better. You might include a newspaper from the day you were married or other snippets of the day. Print a page from Facebook or Twitter with the well-wishes you receive.

Add in any other items you think will be significant. A DVD of your entire wedding, a copy of your marriage vows or license, and pictures or souvenirs from your honeymoon are also nice additions.

Seal your tube or box with stickers so that no one can take a peek before the intended date. Store your capsule where it won’t be disturbed but where you can easily find it. The last thing you want is to leave it behind if you move. That’s why dresser drawers or closets make good storage places. Agree that no one is allowed to move or open the capsule before the date on the lid.

Now, forget about your capsule. After a while, it will be a surprise when you come upon it. Every so often you will see it. Check the date to see how far off you are from opening time. When the big day arrives, whether it be ten years, twenty years or more, have a little ceremony before you open it. You could create an anniversary basket and include the time capsule in it. Invite the kids (or grandkids) to be involved. You will marvel at how much you have changed and how different things were when you placed all your items inside.

When it comes time to give a gift for your friend or relative’s wedding, what should you do? Should you give cash? How much? Should you give a wedding gift from a certain place? How’s a person to know what’s appropriate these days?

Here are some tips to get you started so you can feel comfortable giving a wedding gift that will be just perfect.

The Registry

Time was when every happy couple registered for everything they needed for their home at one store. These days couples register at a number of different stores or not at all. The way to find out if your couple has a bridal registry is to ask one of the parents or someone in the bridal party. They’ll know where and if the couple is registered. Once you find out that they are registered, you can visit the store online and type in either the bride’s or groom’s last name where it indicates on the “Bridal Registry” portion of the site. Whatever the couple has chosen as their wish list will appear and be available for you to buy. You can either buy it there online or print the registry out and head to the store to get it in person. Pick out as many items as your budget allows. You don’t have to buy just one item. Often a few smaller items will allow the couple to get more of what they need and want.

The Cash Option

If you would just rather give cash, there are some guidelines. How much you give should depend on if you are a single or a married couple. If you’re going stag, you can give $100 and that’s a really nice gift. If you’re a couple, you should give double that. But don’t just stuff a couple of crumpled bills in an envelope. Make a special trip to the bank and ask for some new bills that are fresh and crisp. Put those inside a nice wedding card. You could also write a check. That’s a good idea if you’re worried about your gift getting lost or stolen. Many people think you’re supposed to give a gift that covers the cost of your dinner. While that has become urban legend, it’s not really a good basis for your gift giving. How would you know what your dinner cost? Weddings can range from the casual barbecue to the formal sit-down dinner. No matter what kind of wedding you are invited to, you still want to give a generous gift.

Go Non-Traditional

Of course, there are non-traditional gifts you could give like gift certificates to the bride and groom’s favorite stores. Those are much appreciated. Just be sure to package your gift card up nicely in a small box or gift basket with a bow so it’s presented well. Another option is gifting them with a weekend trip away or tickets to a show or other live event. Be as creative as you like.

As for when to present your gift…

If you’re giving a bulky or bigger gift, send it on ahead to the bride’s parents’ house so they don’t have to lug it from the reception. If you’re giving cash or checks, bring them to the wedding and hand them to the bride or groom in person.

Are you a wedding guest? Find more pointers here:

• How to Make a Wedding and Honeymoon Gift Basket
• Congratulations Card Message Ideas
• 5 Unique Wedding Gift Ideas
• What is the Appropriate Amount of Cash to Give as a Wedding Gift?
• Don't be a Bad Guest - What Not to Wear to the Wedding
• Dressing for Wedding Season

With families and friends spread out across the globe these days, chances are some of your wedding guests will be traveling to come to your wedding. When they arrive, they will be tired and in need of some pampering. Why not leave gift baskets at their hotels so they can freshen up or treat themselves to something tasty? Filling a gift basket for guests shows you really thought about the effort it took them to travel to see you get married. Even if you’ve never met your fiancé’s Uncle Bob and Aunt Helen from Michigan, you can still make them a gift basket that feels personal and well thought out.

Your gift basket container doesn’t actually have to be a basket. If your guests have to get back on a plane after the wedding, they won’t want to carry a hefty basket with them. And they won’t want to discard it either. So, what to do? Instead, pack your goodies in a sturdy disposable bag or cloth tote. That way, they can easily carry it or tuck it in their suitcase to take home.

Include local delicacies. If you live in Vermont, you’ll want to include maple syrup candies and perhaps Vermont cheddar cheese with some crackers. A California gift basket could include oranges and other citrus. Is your town known for its barbecue? Put a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce in.

Don’t feel you have to stick to only one thing. If you want to include fruit and snacks for the room, you can also include sunblock for the beach, extra sunglasses, or a foldable beach hat. You can also put in bath beads, a candle with matches for a relaxing bath, or travel size toiletries in case they forgot some of their own. Include bottles of water for your guests’ convenience.

The best thing you can do is put yourself in your guests’ shoes. Have they ever been to your area? Include maps to the area with coupons or gift certificates to restaurants or theatres. Make sure you include phone numbers of people they can contact if they get lost or have last minute questions. Include lists of things to do in the area and recommendations for the best sushi, barbecue, or whatever your area is known for.

If your guest are going to bring their children, you’ll want to include age-appropriate things to occupy them at the hotel. Inflatable float wings for swimming or a soft teddy bear are always welcome for little ones. Bigger kids will like travel games that they can play in the car or on the plane as well as puzzle books and markers. Include drinks and snacks they can enjoy in the room.

Think like a foreigner. What would you need if you just arrived in town? Is the weather vastly different than the climate your guests are coming from? Offer t-shirts or flip flops in case your guests didn’t know it would be so warm. Or offer a cozy flannel blanket with your hometown team’s logo on it for winter travelers.

You can get as creative as you like with your wedding guest gift baskets. Think about their needs while they are staying and you’ll be able to come up with some great ideas.

Wedding Party Gift Ideas

It's a tradition that the Groom gives you a gift at some time during the rehearsal dinner. The thank you gift is for standing up with him at the wedding. Common gifts include money clips, wrist or pocket watches, fountain pens, tickets to a sporting event, lighters, key chains, cigar cutters, cigars, beer steins, or gift certificates to a sporting goods store or restaurant. It's nice when these gifts are engraved with the date of the wedding and your initials. The gift then becomes a nice memory of the event in later years. (The engraving also ensures that you'll keep it because it'll be harder to "re-gift" the next time you're in a jam. We'll get into that later.)

Gift Recommendations

The Best Man or Groomsmen don't customarily give the Groom a gift at the rehearsal dinner. Your wedding gift is your gift to the happy couple. If the surveys are any indication, you probably spent more than you thought you would at the bachelor party, so there's no real need to add another gift to your list.

Wedding etiquette also offers a lay-away plan. Etiquette dictates that you have up to one year from the date of the wedding to give your wedding gift without looking like a heel. Personally, the one-year rule never worked for me. I always ended up waiting nine months, and then I had no idea if I sent the couple anything. It's also embarrassing to have to ask the couple if you sent a gift because they probably don't know or care by that point. On one occasion, I mailed two or three wedding gifts at the same time after many months of torture, and within two weeks I learned that two out of three were delivered to old addresses and/ or lost by the post office. My advice is to bring it with you and drop it off at the wedding.

Cash

If you give cash as a wedding gift, I am truly proud of you. As a former Groom, there's nothing like it because you can do whatever you want with it-no strings attached and no waiting in line at the returns aisle.

Unfortunately, most people don't feel comfortable giving cash because, let's face it, if you want to spend less than $100 bucks, you can't really give cash.You have to get a gift that looks like it might be worth a hundred. You can also get them a few gifts so it'll definitely look like you went all out and hit the $100 mark.

If you're over seventy years old you may want to pull the U.S. Savings Bond scam. (Do senior citizens actually think anyone keeps the bond for the hundred years it takes to reach the face value?) If you ever get one of these, run down to your local bank, cash it, and go get yourself a new CD, or maybe two if you're lucky.

My husband has always been a bit of a prankster, especially when he was younger. I hear many stories from his family about the time he was dared by his older brother to set light to a full 44-gallon drum of Diesel. Or the time he sat up all night and waited for someone to go to the toilet in the dark, his mother half asleep was given the shock of her life when he jumped out of the shadows at 2am and yelled ‘rah’. My husband was always very mischievous and well known for doing naughty little things. One year at Christmas time he played a prank on his five siblings, by bringing out a bag of 20c lollies each and wishing them all a merry Christmas. Later on when they were all upset that he hadn’t got them a holiday gift he brought them all real presents out.

It is this spontaneity and fun approach to life that has helped make a marriage of 11 years enjoyable, every minute of it. I particularly like to tell the story of how he proposed to me on our engagement.

At that time in my life I was having a lot of difficulty, as my father was dying from an incurable form of cancer. I had taken my father and mother to visit his brother, who he had not seen for many years. It was a very long trip and I had to leave my boyfriend (husband) behind for 4 weeks to do the trip, which was over 1,000 miles long. I missed him terribly while I was gone and looked forward to talking to him every night on the phone.

Just before I was due home my boyfriend told me that he had bought me a gift, and he would give it to me when I got home from my trip. I couldn’t wait to get home to see what it was….

When I got home I was overjoyed to see him, and later on that night he told me that he had some bad news. The gift that he was going to buy, which was a beautiful golden locket with a sapphire stone in it, had been mistakenly sold. The sales girl was supposed to be keeping it for him, he apologized and told me that he didn’t have any gift after all. I told him not to worry, I was just glad to be back home and able to spend time with him again.

Weeks passed and we drove up to my parents farm to see them, while we were there, my boyfriend pulled me aside and told me that he had an early birthday present for me. It was about 2 weeks early, he produced a white paper bag from his pocket, I laughed at him and said "what a 20c bag of lollies?" He just smiled and handed me that bag of lollies, inside was a beautiful diamond ring, I looked at it and was breathless, it was so beautiful. "You know what that is don’t you?" he asked putting the ring on my finger, "of course I do" I gushed. I enjoy telling the story of how my husband proposed to me, it was very romantic and spontaneous, the funny thing was he had that ring ever since I had got back from my trip. But couldn’t get up the courage to give it to me, until he come up with the idea of giving me a 20c bag of lollies.