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Wedding registry gifts for Christmas, other Christmas ideas

Posted by Amber | Posted in , , , , , ,

Sorry I haven't been posting-- December can be quite a busy month, with getting ready for the holidays and also at work (I have co-workers trying to fit in the rest of their vacation hours, so I've been taking on some more hours). Yes, I copied and pasted this paragraph to my other blog.

This may be a bit late for this idea, but one way to cut down on the amount of mindless Christmas gifts you receive (and up the amount of wedding registry items that you do receive), is to encourage people to buy you and your spouse to be wedding registry items for Christmas.  Obviously, if you do not have many items on your registry (perhaps due to already owning a lot of the traditional wedding gifts?), this idea will not be helpful.  On the other hand, getting an extra set of towels isn't a bad thing, as towels wear out (and can wear out rather quickly) and you are going to have to buy new towels several times throughout your marriage.

If you have added donations to your favorite charity (or charities) to your registry, or even if you haven't, you can also encourage friends and family to make a donation to charity in your honor during this holiday season.  Christmas is a great time to investigate charities for putting on your wedding registry as well-- be sure to look up your favorites on GiveWell, Charity Navigator, and CharityWatch to get a good idea if your money is being spent well and really going towards the cause.  Each charity review organization takes different factors into account, so checking the charity on each-- if it has been reviewed by all of them-- will give you a better picture.  GiveWell also provides a guide to DIY charity evaluation, and Charity Navigator and CharityWatch both have a page of tips for choosing a charity.

I encourage you to check out the Advent Conspiracy if you are a Christian (or even if you are not, but you celebrate Christmas).

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Eco-friendly and Vintage Registry Idea

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When registering for wedding gifts, why not register for something that is both eco-friendly and vintage?  Cloth napkins are reusable, and in many time periods were the only napkins available.

Register for plain cloth napkins, and you can add your own designs to them with fabric paint and stencils, or with embroidery.  Use a different design for each napkin so that each of you will know which napkin is yours, and guests will be able to tell their napkins apart.

If you are not particularly crafty, use the Alternative Gift Registry to link to the napkins you want, and ask that one of your guests with craft skills design them for you.

There are also many napkins that already have adorable designs on them that you can also include on your registry.

Click any of the links for examples.

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Alternative Gift Registry

Posted by Amber | Posted in , , , ,

Have a lot of guests that do not have a lot of money?  Have a lot of things you need that are not gifts that your guests can wrap up for you?  Consider using the Alternative Gift Registry.  Ask for a pet sitter while you are on your honeymoon.  Ask for help setting up your reception hall.  Find guests who have extra room in their homes that would be willing to house your out of town guests.  These are only a few ideas... there are many more things you can add to the Alternate Gift Registry!

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Wedding Party Part 3

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Do you have to include all your spouse-to-be's siblings in the wedding party? That is something you as a couple need to decide. Many couples like to include each other's siblings, and others choose not to. The important thing is to make sure you as a couple are happy with the decision. I wanted a small wedding party, and still haven't met my fiance's sister. I asked him whether he wanted me to have her as a bridesmaid or not. He was fine either way, but we both agree that we want her involved somehow. As she has to travel to come to our wedding, and probably will not be in the area much before the wedding, we are discussing things we could ask her to do at the reception (we're still in the process). The important thing is that both of you are happy (as it is not just the bride's day, but the bride and groom's day), and no one winds up with very hurt feelings. That being said, also do not let your family rule on who exactly is in your wedding party and who isn't. Just because they think all your cousins should be in the wedding party doesn't mean that you can't ask who you actually want to stand up with you without your wedding party becoming huge. It is your (as a couple) decision, and your wedding. Basically, you need to walk the fine line between not hurting anyone's feelings, and still keeping the wedding as your own.

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Wedding Party Part 2

Posted by Amber | Posted in , ,

Don't want a large wedding party, but find that there are quite a few people you want to include? There are other things you can ask people to do other than be an attendant. Do you want a couple of readings in your ceremony? You are going to need someone to do that, and who better to ask than a close friend or family member. Want special music, and have someone with musical talent? Ask them if they would be willing to sing, or play in the wedding. Have a seating chart for the reception? Ask one or two of those people you want to include if they would be willing to direct people to their seats or table (depending on how strict your seating chart is). Friends and family will be honored to be asked to do anything for your special day. I have a friend who has been a bridesmaid several times--it seemed kinder to ask her to be a reader than to ask her to buy yet another dress and go through the other expenses of being a bridesmaid. That being said, she is more local than another of my bridesmaids, and is “filling in” with ideas and other kinds of help for my sister. I was a reader for her wedding as well (after I talked her into not worrying so much about trying to get everyone she cares about into the wedding party-- I had to repeat several times that I would not be offended if I was not a bridesmaid, and I would be honored to do anything for her wedding). Another friend I was a bridesmaid for plays both the flute and the clarinet (I am leaning towards her playing the clarinet, as I am partial to it, playing it myself).

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Wedding Party Part 1

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There is nothing that says you can't have a person of the opposite sex stand up with you. My fiance's “best man” is a woman he refers to as his cousin. Just make sure that the person you are asking is okay with it (and not just saying yes because he or she feels like saying no isn't an option) and make sure that the person he or she will be paired up with for the walk down the aisle after the wedding is okay with it too, and if not, do some rearranging so he or she is paired up with someone who doesn't mind (much the way you would make sure to not pair up two people who can't stand each other). In my case, my sixteen (who will be seventeen for the wedding) year old sister is going to be my maid of honor, and I asked her if she would be comfortable with it, as opposed to being escorted out by a man in his twenties that she probably will not have met (aside from a quick introduction) before the wedding. She was much more comfortable with the idea of being escorted out by a woman she will probably meet before we get married.

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Free Vintage Envelope Labels

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The above labels are free Suzee Que Vintage mailing labels. If you click the link, it will take you to more labels and instructions for downloading and using them. These would look great on invitation envelopes.

If the above are too ornate for your taste, there is the Lil' Prettie mailing label from Le Blagh (the blog may have moved, but all the previous posts are still there, including some lovely free downloads). It has a simple vintage flavor.

If a wrap label (a label that wraps around one side of the envelope) is more your style, there is the French Postcard wrap label from Le Blagh (subtitled Pretty Procrastination) as well. The blog post also includes a free bookplate download at the bottom.

The Antique Ledger wrap label, also from Le Blagh, is simpler than the French Postcard wrap label, and could showcase a love of math and vintage.

The Ming wrap labels and mini Ming mailing label are more contemporary looking, but could still pass for vintage.

Wrap labels will need to be printed out on a piece of paper and then pasted onto envelopes. Depending on how talented you are with the computer and printer, the mailing labels may be printed and pasted, or printed directly onto the envelopes. Most of the labels will need the addresses handwritten on unless, of course, you can figure out how to get the addresses typed inside. Be careful with the first set of labels-- they are set to prepopulate the rest of the labels on a sheet once you have typed in the first label on the sheet.

If you want to play around with just decorating your envelopes (or your own DIY invitations), check out the Graphics Fairy.

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