8 Questions Brides Ask About Setting up a Wedding Registry

In theory, setting up a registry is simple. You decide on one or several stores, create a registry online or in person, select various items, and get the word out to your guests. In practice, things are a little more complicated -- but only a little!

With that said, here's the real deal on setting up your wedding registry and getting the word out without offending your guests. Remember that retailers can be an enormous help to both you and your guests. At the same time, you can't take everything they say at face value.

Q: Where should I register?

A: Chances are, if you're getting married in your own town, you already know where "everyone goes" to set up and shop from a registry. If not, and guests are flying in from far away, pick from some bride-tested standbys likely to be present almost anywhere. Macy's has a great reputation for registries, as does Williams-Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond and other retailers.

Before you choose your stores, be sure to stop by a wedding forum and get feedback from brides who have been there, done that. Store policies vary quite dramatically, ranging from the easy-does-it (who'll give you cash back for returns off the registry, no questions asked) to the extremely restrictive (who'll only let you exchange for another item *in that department*, requires a receipt for each item, and so on). You'll want to know about these policies and the store's overall reputation for bridal friendliness before you go in, or returns and exchanges could become a big hassle.

Q: I have a wide range of interests. How many stores should I register at?

A: Two to three stores is fairly typical. They don't have to be typical stores, though. If you're a wine drinker, and live in a state where it's legal to ship wine, set up a registry at one of the great online wine merchants.

Q: When should I register?

A: Although close family members may pressure you to start earlier, it's helpful to wait three to six months before the wedding. Not only are the vast majority of gifts bought within a day or so of the shower or ceremony itself, stores turn over merchandise so rapidly that any gifts you select earlier may be discontinued.

Q: What if I already have all the kitchen appliances and throw pillows I need?

A: Consider putting together a honeymoon registry instead, so guests can contribute toward a special meal or snorkeling trip or a night's lodging during your honeymoon.

Q: When I signed up at Store X, they gave me a bunch of attractive registry cards to enclose with my wedding invitations. Should I do it, or is that tacky?

A: Sorry, but the consensus is almost universal -- it's uncouth to include any mention of gifts in your invitations. You can, however, tuck those cards into shower invitations. Perhaps the best solution is to include a note in your invitations that reads, "Please see our wedding web site at www.xyz.com" and place your registry information there.

Q: How many gifts should I register for? I don't want to look demanding. A: Typically, you'll want to select two or three items per guest. That gives people room to choose instead of locking them into something they don't enjoy buying, or worse, forcing them to guess what else you might like, giving birth to the "second yogurt maker" type of gift.

If you have many guests, you can avoid creating a 16-page monstrosity for them to print out by breaking up your registry over several stores.

At the end of the day, "more is more." Many retailers offer discounts on those items you registered for but didn't receive. Many stores also retain your registry for at least 12 months after the wedding. You may find it's best to register for everything that you plan to buy, even if you don't expect to get it as a gift; you can then purchase your selections for 10% or 20% off after the ceremony. Many brides also find friends and family tapping registries for gift buying ideas for birthdays and other holidays!

Q: What price range should I stick with when selecting items?

A: Generally, you should register for things you really feel you want or need, without worrying too much about the price. Some guests enjoy picking up a number of items in the low price range, and sometimes guests will group together to purchase bigger-ticket items.

Q: I've set up my registry just fine, but now I'm addicted to checking it online. How can I stop?

A: Sorry, there's no known antidote for registry-checking addiction, though it's a widespread phenomenon. Counting to ten, taking deep breaths or distracting yourself with double-fudge ice cream might be worth a shot.

By Blake Kritzberg

Choosing a Wedding Date -- When You're Feeling Indecisive

He - or she - asked, and you answered in the affirmative! Now's the time to bask in the romance, and enjoy the first phase of your new life together. But soon, you'll need a response for that timeless question: "when's the wedding?"

For some couples, it's easy - they know just when they want to tie the knot. For others, it's less clear. After all, you have a lot of options. Even more than you might think, since it's really not necessary to get married on a Saturday. Friday and Sunday afternoons are good choices too, and less expensive.

So if you're looking at the calendar ahead and seeing a hundred alternatives, all about equally attractive, here's how to narrow them down.

Must-have venues

No matter how flexible you are, there's bound to be things you won't compromise on. Maybe it's a particular church, temple and officiant for your ceremony. Maybe it's a special venue for your reception. And there are certain indispensable guests, like your parents.

Luckily for you, putting just these three things together is bound to reduce your choices. Once you call on the church/temple, ceremony venue or reception hall, you'll probably find many dates already filled, especially if you call less than nine months in advance. Good. That makes things easier!

Must-have ambiance

But maybe you don't have a must-have venue. Maybe you just have an image in your mind of the perfect wedding. Maybe it involves falling snow, ermine mantles, a horse-drawn carriage, and a crackling fireplace. Maybe it involves stacks of shiny apples, heaped pumpkins, a scattering of leaves and the scent of cranberry-apple cider. Or delicate pastels, gossamer pashminas for the bridesmaids, and a dove release. In this case your time of year is set: all that's needed it to work out the logistics of venue, local climate and the availability of your most important guests.

Must-have flowers

Some people know exactly what floral arrangements they want at their wedding. Flowers are such an enormous part of the wedding budget, if particular ones are important to you, you might want to arrange your date around them. Unless you're an heiress, for example, you'll want to avoid buying roses for your Valentine's Day wedding. On the other hand, December and January are great months to buy calla lilies. To study flower availability charts, Google for "flower availability by month."

Must-have honeymoons

If you have your heart set on a certain destination, you'll probably find the honeymoon helps set the date for you. Chances are, some dates are good for travel but others involve the risk of hurricanes or lengthy rains.

Limited budget

For now, winter is the slow wedding season. So it's often (though not always) true that you can get a break on expenses by having your ceremony during the holidays. Brides often find that by marrying near Christmas, they benefit from already-decorated churches and don't need to add much themselves. Plus, if they shop the year before, they can stock up on decorations at incredibly discounted post-holiday sales. The trick is to avoid competing with office parties for reception venues and limousines (New Year's Eve is particularly competitive).

Another factor to consider, besides the possibility of dismal weather, is how many guests are due from out-of-town. Flying in for a holiday wedding can strain any family's Christmas budget, plus airlines often charge extra during the season.

If you need to keep expenses in check but want to avoid winter, make sure you steer clear of proms, graduation, "parents' day" at colleges, major sporting events and other local events.

"Life" dates

You might find your own life gives more guidance than you think. Are you a teacher, with set vacation times? Are you graduating from college or ending an internship? Are many of your relations students, available only during the holidays or the summer? If you're working, is your vacation time limited to a certain time of year? If many guests are flying in, will Labor Day weekend or Memorial Day weekend give them time to get acclimated and enjoy your big day? If none of these apply, is there a date that has special significance to you as a couple, such as the date you first met or first dated?

"Auspicious" dates

Many people find little extra jolt of comfort in picking auspicious days for their wedding. In India and China, this is standard practice. But even in the West, people often find it reassuring to pick numbers or dates with personal meaning. A Chinese custom is to select a date with as many even numbers as possible (such as 2-18-2006). The Irish believed that New Year's Eve is luckiest for weddings. The Romans (and consequently, modern westerners) favored the month of June. For Victorians, it was lucky to marry on the groom's birthday.

By Blake Kritzberg

Wedding Planning: Involve your Fiancé in 10 Easy Steps

He's popped the question. You've chosen a date. And now, you're swimming in a sea of euphoria with no horizons. Good thing, too, because there are literally a thousand things to arrange before the big day.

You do the research, buckle under and dive in. But you find your fiancé's ardor for the event itself seems to have cooled. It's not that he isn't mad about marrying you; after all, he is a great guy, even if he can't tell a Vera Wang from a Gunny Sack. It's that his preparation style is hands-off, to say the least. And planning a wedding isn't a job built for one.

So what to do? Here are ten ways to involve him without increasing both of your stress loads:

1) Delegate areas that have a prayer of interesting him.

The worst thing you can do is expect him to match your ten to twenty years of feminine wisdom on the relative merits of buttercream vs. fondant.

Here are some probable no areas when roping in a reluctant wedding planner:

- Selecting the cake frosting
- Choosing the favors or favor packaging
- Selecting the wedding colors or floral arrangements

Then there are the potential maybes, fraught with fewer hazards:

- Choosing the photographer
- Choosing the videographer
- Arranging the rehearsal dinner
- Arranging the all-inclusive honeymoon
- Renting big, tricky items like outdoor tents

These are probable yeses, well worth running by your guy:

- Selecting the DJ or the band
- Setting up and maintaining your wedding website
- Researching and selecting charities, if you choose to donate instead of giving out favors
- Setting up the carriage, limo or other transportation arrangements

2) If you ask him to help you choose vendors and styles, narrow down the choices first.

It's a jungle of options out there, enough to give the most natural-born party planner pause. So if you want his opinion on photographers, invites, flowers or cakes, narrow down the options to three or four. He's less likely to feel overwhelmed, and more likely to feel like an important part of the process.

At times, it'll feel so good to share the load that you'll be tempted to drag him into the buttercream debate despite your better instincts. At these times, take a deep breath, count to ten, and call your mother or your maid of honor.

3) Ask him directly for help.

Let him know how important his input is to you, and that you can't do it without him.

Guys like to be needed. Your frank request for help may be enough to pull him out of his comfort zone and onto your team.

4) Try the Art Director/Production Staff approach.

If you think your guy wants to help, but feels uncomfortable playing "art director," give him "production staff" tasks. Have him make the payments, pick up the food or decor, handle the rentals, do online comparison shopping, or reserve the hotels and reception halls. These are all jobs that will take a load off your shoulders, while freeing up time for the aesthetic stuff you probably enjoy and he doesn't.

5) Get a calendar and put all the planning in black and white.

Your fiancé probably doesn't have the first clue in what goes into a wedding.

Get your wedding planner, write it all down, and show him. Once he gets over the shock, you'll both probably be able to identify areas that interest him. Make lists of the things you've each agreed to do, and cross them off as they get done. At the very least, he'll be far more supportive when he sees what you're going through.

6) Weave his family heritage/ethnicity/traditions into the ceremony.

What did his parents do? He might be surprised at the question, but it could lead somewhere valuable. He might ask his parents about their wedding, and find your wedding consequently enriched. Look through their wedding album together. Are his ancestors German, Polish, Italian, Croatian, Asian? Incorporate some old-world traditions into your ceremony.

7) Don't bring him in too early.

Treat your fiance as a bit of a pinch hitter. Sure, you may be fully aware that you can shave 5K off your costs by starting your favor crafts and reservations 18 months ahead of time. But if he's like most guys, the wedding won't become real to him until it draws closer. Expect him to jump in about six months before the actual ceremony, and break into a (relative) frenzy of activity about one month in advance.

8) Talk about something besides the wedding.

Guys aren't the only ones who complain about brides-to-be talking of nothing but upcoming nuptials. Sometimes, even girlfriends get overwhelmed by all the wedding chatter.

Spend some time alone chatting about anything but the wedding. See a silly movie, split a hot fudge sundae, or watch a basketball game. Do something spontaneous that reminds you both of why you decided to marry in the first place.

9) Check your subtext for hidden meanings.

Tempting as it might be, make sure you're not using your fiance as a coin-toss tool (ever noticed how people flip coins to find out what they really want?). When you ask for his opinion, take it seriously. And when you give him ownership of a task, don't second-guess every step.

Imagine that your fiancé has told you he's going to draft a dream team in his fantasy football league, and it's going to cost him $20K to participate. Now imagine that he's told you your help is supremely important to him.

You'd be a little hesitant to give opinions, right? Some of your ideas might sound feeble, even to your own ears. Hopefully he'd welcome your thoughts, however odd it felt for you to venture them. Now imagine your fiancé feels kind of like that when it comes to the wedding.

10) Remember that men become wedding experts by having one.

Chances are, your sweetheart will open his eyes to the wonder of a wedding by the time the rose petals are tossed. Forever after, he'll be examining friend's receptions with a practiced eye, and anticipating the next excuse for a Really Big Shindig.

So keep him around, and count on throwing a first-rate anniversary celebration ten years down the road. In a way, that'll be the party that really matters, won't it?

By Blake Kritzberg

Current Trends in Wedding Photography

Wedding photography is an evolving field that requires artistic talent, vision, and highly technical expertise.

In the past wedding photography was almost always limited to stiff posses without much regard for the underlying story, emotion, romance, and behind the scene events of the wedding day.

Although there is still a big segment of the wedding industry that practices traditional photography with its preplanned poses, and recreation of the wedding peak events such as the kiss, the ring exchange, etc., the modern wedding couple demands a more contemporary approach to their wedding day.

Wedding photojournalism has been in vogue for the past decade. The central idea behind it has been the capture of the wedding events without any interference or direction from the wedding photographer. The photographer is there to capture the true essence of the wedding day. As a result of this realistic approach the photographs are a true representation of the wedding day. Hard core wedding journalistic will be totally opposed to posing any wedding related event. If it doesn't not happen during the wedding it won't be recorded. This includes family group photos.

Several photographers offer a hybrid approach to wedding photography, usually a combination of traditional and journalistic wedding photography. In this approach the photographer focuses on documenting the wedding day but the coverage also includes a session with the couple for formal posed or semi-posed photographs and also family group photos.

The latest trend in wedding photography is toward a more fashionable approach. Inspired on high-end fashion magazines such as Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, GQ, American Photo, etc., and wedding magazines the photographer seeks to make the couple's fantasies real. In the fashion wedding photography approach the goal is to make the wedding couple look their best. Their romantic interplay is glamorized to its maximum expression. The everyday couple becomes like wedding celebrities. Attention to detail is required to achieve the perfect look. This approach requires a great deal of artistic talent behind the camera and also great computer image editing skill to produce a unique photo. Half the photo is made on the camera with the second half achieved though digital image editing and manipulation.

Which style is best, is for you to decide. In our experience a big segment of the wedding couples want to capture the reality, details and romance of the wedding day but at the same time they have fantasies about their wedding and the way they should look.

When making a decision for a wedding photographer look closely to the photographer's portfolio and see how it agrees with your philosophy on how your wedding day should be photographed. Regardless of your philosophy please make sure that you select a master of the craft, you and the next generation deserve masterpiece memories of your wedding day.

By Juan Carlos Torres

How to Find The Perfect Wedding Dress

You want the perfect wedding dress, so you have made it a major focus of your pre wedding planning. There are some things you need to find from the bridal shop, before you even look at your first gown. Do you need to make an appointment to visit the shop? Does the store carry dresses you can afford Can you browse the whole collection, or do you only get to see the dresses the sales person chooses for you? If this shop doesn't carry the dress you love, can it be ordered?
Once these questions have been answered and you find a dress or two that you like, there are still more questions you need to ask. Can a particular dress be ordered with different sleeves, or neckline? What alterations can be done and what will that cost? Can you get a written estimate on the alterations? If we order the bridesmaids dresses here, can we get a discount or free alterations? Do you have headpieces and or veils that will go with my dress? How much is the deposit and when is the balance due? What are the cancellation and refund policies? Can we get a Rush on this dress if necessary? These are the most important questions to ask, but you will probably have some of your own. Beware of any shop that won't give you straight answers or written estimates. When you think you have found just the right dress, ask if they can hold it for a day or two, then go home wait at least 34 hours and go back for another look. If you still love it, then go right ahead and buy it.
On the other hand, if your mother, maid of honor, sales clerk or friend thinks a dress is perfect and you are not sure, use the same strategy. Wait a day; go back for a second look before you reject it. If a dress just doesn't feel right or you just don't like it do not yield to pressure from the store staff, friends or even Mom. It is your dress, your day, you decide.
After you have chosen your wedding dress, the clerk or the shop's seamstress will take measurements of your bust, waist and hips, and determine if the dress needs to be taken up. Just about every wedding dress needs some alterations. You will also need to go in for fittings, usually at least three times. Make sure, if your alterations are not free, that you get a written estimate. Find out if you will be able to "borrow" your dress for a portrait sitting, and return it for pressing afterwards. Pay with a credit card so that if anything goes wrong, you can dispute the payment.
You have another big decision to make. What about your headpiece and veil? The sales staff should be able to assist you in choosing a headpiece that goes with your dress. Veils come in several lengths and styles, and again the staff can help you decide which is best for you.
The veil you choose for your wedding depends on the dress you have chosen. If you are wearing a street length casual style dress you wouldn't choose a cathedral or chapel veil, both of which trail the floor. By the same token you wouldn't wear a flyaway veil, which barely brushes the shoulders, with a formal dress with a train.
Don't forget you need to get the right lingerie, shoes and jewelry, to go with your beautiful wedding dress.
Before we leave the bridal salon, there is one more detail to attend to, your bridesmaids dresses. When choosing these dresses, you need to take into consideration the ages, complexions, and body types of your attendants. Fortunately today's bridesmaid's gowns are no longer the cookie cutter dresses all in the same color, that nobody would ever wear again.
Some options for bridesmaid's dresses are to choose a color and fabric suitable for all of the women and let each of them pick a style that she is comfortable with. Or you can choose a simple a-line or empire waist dress that flatters all figures, and let the girls choose the from a color family, say purple, the options could be lilac, lavender, plum, mauve and orchid. If you do choose to have all attendants wear the same dress, they can personalize the look with small beaded purses, scarves, jewelry or shawls.
Also, be aware that the colors and your bridesmaid's wear have to complement The color scheme of your reception, you don't want a red plan for your reception in red if your maids are wearing green, unless you are going for a Christmas look.
The wedding is over, now you have to decide what to do with that beautiful, expensive dress. You can put it on a hangar in the back of your closet, where any stains will set and be very difficult to remove at a later time. You need to ask your bridal shop or wedding consultant in advance for the name of a gown preservationist. Many dry cleaners claim to clean wedding gowns, but most are not experts in preservation.
There are two cleaning methods used by preservationists. Some use the wet cleaning method, this entails washing the dress by hand with a mild cleanser, that removes visible and invisible stains (champagne and sugar) Other companies use the dry cleaning method, where stains are pre-treated and then put in a dry cleaning machine. Once the dress is cleaned, it is wrapped in white acid free tissue paper or unbleached muslin. Ordinary tissue paper has acids that can stain and eventually eat holes in your dress. Then the wrapped dress is in is placed in an acid free or paperboard box. Sometimes the box has a viewing window of acetate. Store the box in out of direct light to keep the dress from becoming yellow.
Having your gown cleaned and packaged by a reputable preservationist can cost between $200- $400 depending on where you live. Before sending your dress off to be done, ask if the work is done on site. Also find out if you have to sign a disclaimer and sometimes say that the company is not responsible for damage done during the preservation processes, You should seek out a preservationist who will guarantee her or his work.
To help preserve your dress never wrap it in plastic, don't hang it on an ordinary wood or wire hangar, because the dress could stretch and distort from its own weight. Don't try to clean stains, this could cause them to set.
If you are all tapped out after the wedding you can do things to prolong the life of the dress. Wrap the dress in unbleached muslin, or a white sheet, and store in a sturdy box under your bed. Then as soon as you possibly can take the gown to a professional preservationist. Some day your daughter may want to wear it on her wedding day.

Wedding Dresses - Why They Are White and Other Wedding Lore

Brides have always worn white, right? Not so. In ancient times brides wore bright colored wedding dresses to signify their joy. White for western brides didn't become fashionable until Queen Victoria wore it at her wedding to signify her status. White dresses never did signify purity until the Christian churches put that label on them. So feel free to add a little color to your wedding outfit.

Wedding bands made of hemp or braided grass were the earliest rings. They eventually fell out of favor, replaced by durable metals until about the 15th century when diamonds came upon the scene, to signify a valuable strong commitment, a tradition which most modern couples choose to keep.

When grooms would "capture" their brides and or were afraid of evil spirits they would comer the woman's head to keep her from being recognized.

Bridesmaids' dresses are all identical. Where did this practice originate? Long ago the brides friends wore the same exact outfit as the bride to confuse the evil spirits who wanted to destroy her happiness;. It also helped to prevent the bride from being kidnapped by a rival suitor.

The receiving line developed from the ancient belief, that on their wedding day, the bride and groom brought good luck to everyone they touched. Modern couples often pass on this and prefer to "make the rounds" greeting their guests during the wedding dinner.

In ancient Rome a marriage was not legal until the couple kissed. The kiss was considered a legal bond necessary to seal all contracts. This is thought to be the origin of the present day custom of banging a spoon against a glass until the newlyweds kiss.

Will you have your dad walk you down the aisle? Do you know where this custom originated? Long ago, a woman was considered her father's property until she married, and their she was her husband's property. At the wedding the Dad would literally "give her away," transferring ownership to the husband. Now brides often have their fathers or both parents accompany them, and have the officiant ask "Who supports this couple in marriage?" The parents answer "We do."

There is no need to explain what the honeymoon is. But do you know where the term originated? In ancient Ireland, when a couple married, the parents would make sure they had a supply of a drink made from fermented honey called mead, that would last for a full cycle of the moon. It was believed they would be blessed with a son within a year.

Back when a bride could be forced by a captor to marry, the groom would have to carry her against her will into her new home. The Romans thought that it was bad luck, for a bride to trip over the threshold so to prevent that, the groom carried her.

During the Middle Ages the length of a bride's train indicated her rank in court. The longer her train the closer she was to the King and Queen and the greater her influence with them.

During the 18th and 19th centuries gloves were the traditional wedding favor for guests.

Here are a few more unusual traditions from around the world. The Greek bride tucks a sugar cube in her glove to "sweeten the union." According to Hindu beliefs rain on your wedding day is good luck.; Some western cultures believe rain is unlucky.

In Holland it is traditional to plant a tree outside the newlyweds home as a symbol of fertility. Finnish brides traditionally carried a pillowcase door to door, collecting gifts. An older married man went with her, symbolizing a long marriage.

Korean brides wear red and yellow outfits for their weddings. Danish brides and grooms used to confound the evil spirits by cross-dressing. Egyptian parents traditionally do all the cooking for a week, so that the couple can relax.

In many cultures including Hindu, Egyptian and Celtic, the hand of a bride and groom are tied together as a symbol of their new bond and commitment to the marriage. This is the origin of the expression "Tying then knot".

In Roman mythology the god Juno rules over childbirth, marriage and the hearth. This is believed to be the reason for the popularity of June weddings.

African-American weddings often hold to the tradition of "jumping the broom". Slaves in the United States were not allowed to marry, so they would exhibit their love by jumping over a broom to the beat of drums. It now is symbol of the couple's intention to set up a home together.

Japanese couples become man and wife when they take the first of nine sips of sake. In Irish tradition once the bride and groom were in the church, the guests would lock the doors to make sure the groom couldn't back out. It was also important that a male not a female be the first to wish joy to the newly married bride.

There is an old English rhyme that brides have been obeying for years. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." The actual rhyme also included this line "and a sixpence in your shoe". Relatives usually offer the something old, like great grandmother's antique cameo, or your mom's gown. These items provide continuity from generation to generation.

The "new" symbolizes home for the future and can include your gown or veil , a strand of pearls, bouquet of silk flowers, or a new coin to tuck in your shoe. The choices here are endless.

Borrowed happiness is symbolized by the something borrowed. It should be something that brought happiness to the owner. Some possibilities are your mother in law's ruby brooch, your dad's silk handkerchief, or your parents' wedding song.

The blue something symbolizes fidelity, love and good fortune. Often, there is a blue ribbon on the garter. Other ideas are blue flowers, delphiniums, or irises in your bouquet, sapphire earrings and necklace, or even your lingerie.

You may want to consider incorporating some of these ideas into your wedding plans. There are books and magazines that you can search for traditions from your own ethnic or religious traditions. Perhaps you like something you've heard about from another culture that you can adapt for your wedding. If you will have children at your reception you might want to borrow the Puerto Rican idea of pinatas, even the adults might enjoy that one.



Martin Smith

Signature Frames - Your Guestbook and Wedding Frame Together At Last!

So you have been invited to a wedding. Whether you are a friend, family member or the proud parents, one of the most important, if not stressful decisions is what to buy the new couple. This new union will require a unique gift, a gift the newlyweds can actually use and enjoy. Is there such a gift that can provide these qualities while still being original?

Well there is, and just when you thought all of the best wedding gifts and ideas have been taken. Here is a gift that will create a memorable presentation at the reception by including everyone at the wedding while simultaneously providing the newlyweds with a lifetime wedding display to remember their special day.

It is called a signature frame, and if you're not familiar with this gift, it is a picture frame that can display photos of the newlyweds surrounded by signatures of their guests. It is a modern combination of a wedding frame and guestbook, it is the best of both and much more.

Most brides will buy a traditional wedding photo package and use the traditional guestbook, but how often do couples really revisit their photo albums and what happens to that guestbook after the wedding? That's the great benefit of a signature frame because it will actually display those precious memories so they can be celebrated every day. In other words, the newlyweds can have their cake and eat it too.

The other great benefit of a signature frame is that it can be part of a rehearsal dinner and/or wedding reception. Not only can it be signed by everyone in attendance but a fun idea is to fill the frame with pictures of the newlyweds when they were kids, dating, or during their engagement. That way, when guests autograph the signature mat, they can also view these fun pictures and be included in the couple's past history and memories.. The signed frame, complimented with the fun pictures, can then be presented to the new couple at the end of the reception as a gift from everyone. The newlyweds can later add their wedding and/or honeymoon photographs when they are ordered in the future.

This special gift can give newlyweds a permanent framed display allowing them to re-live and celebrate their wedding day, everyday. This gift will truly become their first family heirloom.

By Shar Calder