All posts from "January 2011"

Jan

31

Easy Name-Change with MissNowMrs.com

At Marrily we are always looking for great services and products to help couples.  Name changing is one of the steps some may take after their wedding, and MissNowMrs.com has just the perfect product to help streamline the process.

MissNowMrs.com is the premier online name-change service for couples and newlyweds, happily assisting customers nationwide! Their Complete Package for $29.95 provides you with an online name-change account with all your state and government forms (and notification letters for creditors, banks, utilities, etc.) along with instructions on how to file your name change with each agency. Upon answering the questionnaire within your account your forms will auto-populate, leaving you to print, sign and file the forms according to the detailed step-by-step instructions provided by our service. It’s as easy as 1-2-3!

MissNowMrs.com takes away hours of research, waiting in line at government offices and having to make a million phone calls; alleviating you from all the stress and frustration that typically goes hand-in-hand with a married name change. Mothers, bridesmaids and friends love to give the gift of simplicity to the bride by ordering MissNowMrs gift cards giving her peace of mind and the stress-free name change solution (not to mention an average time savings of 13 hours)!

Their Newlywed Blog also provides couples with advice on everything from Post-Wedding Blues and How to Deal with Your Mother-in-Law to Date Night Ideas and How to Plan a Memorable Super Bowl Party. Their giveaways are a huge hit each month and are so easy to enter, so be sure to check them out for your chance to win this month’s fabulous prize!

Leave a comment below for your chance to win a FREE MissNowMrs.com gift card. Giveaway ends in one week, so don’t miss out!

Categories: Announcements, Recommended Partners, Weddings

Tags: ,

Comments

6

Jan

28

Wedding Reception Cocktails: Recipes

As promise, here is the list of a few cocktails you can try out.  However, as they say, enjoy responsibly!

Rum and Pomegranate drink (red)

1 ½ oz. white rum
¼ oz. orange liqueur
Splash of lime juice
2 ½ oz. sparkling pomegranate juice
Colored sugar (for rim of glass)

Dip rim of glass in water, then in colored sugar. Combine rum, liqueur and juices with ice in the glass; stir.

Strawberry Watermelon Mojito

1½ oz. strawberry vodka

½ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. mint-infused simple syrup
1 cup fresh seedless watermelon, cubed and chilled
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
Club soda

To make mint syrup, bring 2 cups of sugar and 1 cup of water to a boil. Once sugar dissolves, remove from heat; add 10 mint leaves. Let cool for 30 minutes. Strain. Combine vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, ½ cup of watermelon and 10 mint leaves in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake for 10 seconds. Strain into a glass with ice and remaining watermelon. Top with club soda. Garnish with additional mint leaf.

Lemonade Margaritas
1 (12 oz.) can frozen lemonade
1 (12 oz.) can frozen limeade

4 cans water
2 cans of premium tequila
1 can Triple Sec

Stir all ingredients together. Fill blender carafe with ice cubes and pour one-fourth of mixture over ice. Blend until frozen slush is formed. Continue with remaining mixture. Serve in a chilled sugar-rimmed margarita glass with a sprig of mint and a small pinch of cayenne pepper. (Serve on the rocks by skipping the blender step.)

Candy Cane Cocktail

1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz. Vanilla Liqueur

1 shot vanilla rum

1 shot white chocolate liqueur

1 shot peppermint schnapps

Candy cane (miniature candy canes work well, or break candy canes into large pieces)

Mix all together and serve with candy cane garnish.

Champagne Slush

1 pint rum
2 bottles (750 ml size) champagne
3 cans (6 oz. size) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
6 cans (12 oz. size) ginger ale

Combine rum, champagne, lemonade concentrate and ginger ale in a large container and mix well. Freeze until firm. Thaw slightly before serving.

Categories: Announcements

Comments

0

Jan

27

Trendy Reception Idea: Serve Custom Cocktails

Custom cocktails have become a lot more popular at weddings. It’s easy to dream up your own fruity concoction – or borrow a recipe that already exists and rename it in honor of the bride and groom.

Even if you don’t plan on having a bartender at your reception, you can still serve custom cocktails. Choose someone to man the bar and teach him or her how to make your signature drink. Some of your guests won’t care to partake, but others will get a kick out of your creativity and trying something new.

How do you find your own custom cocktail?  Start with what you already know. Do you have a favorite drink? If so, modify it or rename it for your wedding.  If it’s a martini, it could be as simple as adding the suffix “-tini” to your last name and you’ve instantly renamed it.

  • Do you have a friend who makes a living tending bar? Ask for his or her recommendation for your special day.
  • Check with your caterer to see what type of drink would best complement the meal being served at your reception.
  • Visit the library or buy a book about bartending and you’ll find hundreds of drink recipes to spark your imagination.
  • Keep in mind the color scheme of your wedding and the color of the drink.

In the next post we’ll have some recipes to get you start!

Categories: ideas & inspirations, Weddings

Comments

0

Jan

26

Flowers For Your Wedding Day: Fresh or Silk?

For some brides, there is no question. It’s fresh flowers or no flowers at all.  But for those who might still be considering which way to go, there are definitely pros and cons for real flowers vs. silk.

SCENT
For some brides, nothing comes close to enjoying all of her senses being heightened on her wedding day, and that can include the dreamy scents wafting from her bouquet. Real flowers, of course, carry their own unique scents which isn’t the case with silk flowers. However, there are special scents available to add to silk flowers, so if you really want to go the silk route, that might be something to think about.

PRICE & QUALITY
Just because they’re imitation it doesn’t mean silk flowers will be less expensive than their real counterparts. In fact, some companies now manufacture faux flowers so realistic that it’s difficult to notice that they aren’t fresh.
Silk flowers can run the gamut from cheap and poorly made, to inexpensive with good quality, to high-price with high quality. You’re in luck if you’re able to find top-notch, lifelike silk flowers at a sale price, and some hobby stores frequently run coupons in their weekly advertisements.
If you have your heart set on out-of-season or more expensive fresh flowers, a little investigating will tell you whether you could actually save money by choosing silk. Out-of-season fresh flowers typically have the power to dramatically increase your floral bill, since it costs more for your florist have them shipped.

DIY
Taking care of some of your wedding chores on your own could possibly save you some money and if you are a do-it-yourself type of bride and plan on creating your own bouquets, you might consider using silk flowers. That way, you’ve got the luxury of time on your side. Buy your silk flowers and put the bouquets together in the weeks leading up to your wedding. Set up an area in your home so you can enjoy the challenge of creating the bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces.
Or, if you prefer to use real flowers in your do-it-yourself bouquets, take a hint from the French. Brides in France often visit a flower market the day of the wedding, grabbing stems that they like, and then tie a bow around the stems to create bouquets with a fresh, just-picked look.
This isn’t difficult to do if there is a wholesale flower company in your area or you know of a great source to find stems. Depending on the size of your wedding party and the number of bouquets, boutonnieres and centerpieces you need, it might be wise to enlist the help of your bridesmaids and borrow coolers from friends and relatives to keep the flowers as fresh as possible before the ceremony and reception.
Another option is to order flowers online from one of the reputable companies who will ship the flowers to you.
If you’re a fan of the hand-tied, casual bouquets that are so popular right now, you should be able to play with the stems until you’re satisfied with the look.

MAINTENANCE
Silk flowers won’t wilt, which is something to consider if you would like to use flowers known for being fragile, if you live in a hot climate, or if you will get married outside.
Silk flowers are a bit more convenient because they’re lighter to transport to the ceremony and to the reception site. A lighter bouquet can be a blessing if you prefer larger bouquets as the weight of a real bouquet might become uncomfortable during the ceremony, especially to your maid of honor who is holding her own bouquet and the bride’s.
Also, you won’t need to worry about keeping silk flowers in water prior to show time, which is a common concern when using real florals.
Whether you choose live or lifelike, your wedding and reception will be beautiful with the right floral touches.

Categories: Announcements

Comments

0

Jan

24

9 Most Popular Diamond Shapes for Engagement Rings

ROUND
Round diamonds are the most popular, making up 75 percent of all diamonds sold today. Its 58 facets display more fire and brilliance compared to other available shapes.
They are the most versatile diamond shape because they can be used in many styles of jewelry, from pairing a solitaire with a simple gold band to surrounding it with many additional stones in a ring wrap.
PRINCESS
Next in popularity is the princess cut, which is a square diamond with sharp corners and a lot of brilliance.
A princess cut stone looks a bit smaller than a round diamond with the same  carat weight due to the princess cut stone being cut deeper to achieve its stylish shape. However, the princess cut, with 76 facets, often has more fire and brilliance than the round cut.
MARQUISE
The marquise diamond, with a point on each of its two ends, often looks larger than other cuts of the same carat weight. With about 56 facets, the marquise is quite a sparkler. Legend has it that this stone was named in honor of Louis XV’s mistress, Marquise de Pompadour.
EMERALD
Once a popular choice for royalty and the rich, the emerald cut is a rectangle-shaped diamond that shows off its clarity better than other shapes. When looking within the stone, an emerald will resemble a prism, while a round or princess cut looks like a kaleidoscope. Emeralds have few (but larger) flashes of light; compare this to round and princess cuts which have more (but smaller) flashes of light.
HEART
While often chosen for its sentimentality, the heart-shaped diamond isn’t as popular because it simply doesn’t shine as brightly as other cuts. The very cuts that turned the stone into the shape of a heart take away some of its ability to sparkle and shine.
OVAL
An elongated version of the round cut, the oval-shaped diamond is a great choice for long fingers.  Popular since it appeared on the scene in the 1960s, the oval has 56 facets and makes a great choice for a center stone in multi-stone engagement rings.
ASSCHER
This vintage shape made its comeback in the 1990s, appearing on the fingers of many Hollywood starlets. The Asscher is a modified-square cut with stepped facets, created in Holland more than a century ago. At that time, only the uber-rich could afford its brilliance. Today, the Asscher cut diamond is in short supply and high demand.
With a cut that resembles the emerald at first glance, its cut seems to go on forever when you look deep into the Asscher diamond.
CUSHION
The cushion cut diamond, square or rectangular with rounded corners, looks great in today’s vintage style engagement rings. The stones’ 58 facets are generally cut large, creating large flashes of light.
PEAR
The pear-shaped diamond is unique in that it resembles a round diamond at one end and a marquise at the other. When worn on the finger, the point should face one’s fingertips. Often less sparkly than the round diamond, the 58-facet pear tends to make the wearer’s fingers appear slimmer. This cut looks fabulous with trillions or smaller pears next to the main stone.
BAGUETTE & TRILLIAN
The baguette and the trillian cut are two additional diamond shapes which are quite popular these days, but rarely stand on their own. Instead, both are used to accent larger stones.
Developed in 1978, the trillian was derived from the Princess cut. Trillians look like a triangle and resemble the Princess cut when you look deep within the stone.
Like the stick of French bread that shares its name, the baguette diamond is long and slim. A
large baguette is rare. They are most common alongside a larger stone, or several may be set together in a channel setting.

Categories: Weddings

Tags: ,

Comments

1

Jan

23

How to Add Memorable Touches to Make Your Wedding Beautiful

The last thing any bride wants is for her wedding to be a cookie-cutter replica of someone else’s wedding, or – even worse – to go through the traditional motions, totally lacking any touches that would reflect the heart and soul of her personality and that of her groom.
What are some easy ways to infuse your ceremony and reception with touches that will make it “so you”?
Sit down and brainstorm, jotting down the qualities you admire in your relationship with your fiance. What are your values? What is it about the two of you that makes you who you are?
If a certain theme seems to stand out in your life as a couple, think it over and see where that takes you. It could be something as simple as a favorite color, something that has to do with where you met, a sport or an activity the two of you share, a sports team, an alma mater that you share, the best vacation you ever took together, or how your paths crossed at Disney World when you were 10 and you didn’t know about it until years later.
Maybe your signature drink for the reception will be the drink you were enjoying when his friends dared him to introduce himself to you for the very first time. Or the floral theme throughout the wedding and reception will pay homage to the bouquet he sent you after you both realized you were perfect for each other.
Another direction to go would be your heritage. Are there traditions within your culture or your family that would make a statement during your wedding?
Intertwine your personalities as you plan your day. Take advantage of the things that make you – individually and as a couple – unique, including your talents and hobbies.
Don’t be afraid of sharing something that may seem silly. Those silly little touches are exactly the type of thing that will help your guests feel like they really know you, even if they happen to be just an acquaintance. Your ceremony will stand out as a special one in their minds rather than the same old, boring wedding that we’ve all had to suffer through so may times.
Looking for inspiration? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
TABLES
Get rid of those boring table cards and numbers and use your imagination. Instead, how about using shapes to distinguish the tables from each other. Whether you go with shapes or names, there are plenty of options. Ocean lovers or fans of fishing might choose things that live in the water, or names of beaches. If you met in college, choose your school’s mascot in different colors, names of your alma mater’s dorms, or names of streets or your favorite hangouts from those days. Do you share passion for the same sport? Name your tables in honor of your favorite teams or players.
EXIT
Make your departure unique by choosing a special song to be played as you make your exit. Or perhaps you’d like to drive away in a classic car that you’ve borrowed or rented, a horse-drawn carriage, or even a helicopter.
MONOGRAM
Custom monograms or logos are gaining popularity with brides and grooms. Hire a graphic designer to create your look, whether informal or elaborate, and then repeat the theme wherever possible. Have a vinyl wall stencil created to attach to the wall near the dance floor, behind the head table at the reception, or to behind the cake table. Plan ahead so that your monogram will be visible when photos are taken, rather than having it hidden by your heads. Some DJ services offer packages where they shine your initials or your logo onto a wall or the dance floor, which makes a fabulous impression.

Categories: Weddings

Tags: ,

Comments

0