What to have people throw at your wedding

Blurb by Jessica Rugg

There has been much debate on what you can throw when the bride and groom run from the church (or wherever you have your wedding) to their car.
You can throw anything small, that can be eaten, or is biodegradable.
Some common options:
- Rice
- Birdseed
- Popcorn
- Bread crumbs
- Rose petals or other flower petals
- Have people blow bubbles
- Confetti
- Ribbons
- Flower seeds
- Glitter
- Release birds or butterflies
- Have people ring bells
- Have people hold or wave sparklers (especially beautiful at night)



Photo Credit

Taking a chance on love

Feature Story
By:Missy Talkington

She was what they call an army brat. She had traveled most of her childhood living in different states, countries, somtimes on an army base and sometimes not. At the age of 16 she was sure the moving and what she considered at the time as heartache was over. She was attending highschool in a small town in Idaho and was dating who she thought was her high school sweet heart that she was going to marry. The news came at the dinner table one night, though, that it was time for the family to be uprooted again. All she could think about was leaving her friends and who she thought was the love of her life. Little did she know, though, that in her next destination in Aurora, IL she would start a whole new life she never dreamed of having.

She started at a large public school and transferred to a smaller private catholic high school. It was there, in her Junior year of high school, when she started dating the man she would spend the rest of her life with. "I was not quick to take the relationship seriously because I knew it would only be time until I would have to move again if my dad got restationed" said Lauren Ashley. She tells me that there was something different about him and that he kept her on her toes unlike any guy she had been with before. It wasnt long until he took her out on a date and the words, "I love you" came spilling out of her mouth. She made a phone call to her best friend and was almost in tears because she was so embarrased that she had told him she loved him after such a short time. "I even dropped my keys as I tried to get into my car and go home afterwards I was so flustered" says Lauren. They dated throughout the rest of high school. Come senior year her dad made the announcement that at the end of the year he was being reassigned to a station in Germany. This time, though, she decided to stay behind and give this relationship and life with her friends she had made here a chance in college.

Sure enough, her boyfriend must have felt the same way about her because he proposed to her shortly after high school graduation. The couple today has yet to pick a date, but are happily engaged and have a beautiful baby girl. I am happy to say that I have watched my two best friend's relationship grow into an amazing life together even after I got that phone call the night she had told him she loved him on accident. Taking a chance on love has its chances and for this couple it did exactly that. "I had the choice to go with my family or stay and go with my gut feeling, and I chose to stay and I wouldnt take it back for the life of me" says Lauren.

Message in a bottle wedding invitations

Column by Jessica Rugg

Photo Credit

Here is a website where you can buy kits to make messages in bottles for your wedding invitations:
http://www.invitationinabottle.com/Weddings_s/20.htm
They are a very cool idea for any themed wedding but they are particularly adorable if you are planning on a ocean or beach themed wedding or are going to have your wedding on a beach.
If you don't want to buy the kits from the link above, you could try making them yourself.

1) Soak paper in tea to make it look warn and tear the edges off (you can find paper that looks worn and beat up but it is cheaper to do it yourself).
2) Write your invitation information on the paper (you can try your hand at calligraphy, or print it out before you soak and tear the paper. Or writing it sloppily may help with the theeming).
3) Roll the paper up and put it in a bottle. You can tie the paper with twine and also include sand, seashells, cocktail umbrellas, and anything else ocean themed. You might want your bottle to be plastic instead of glass to ensure that it won't break when you ship it.
4) Corks can be hard to work with. There are ways you can soak the corks in hot water to get them to expand and fit in the bottles, but it would be easier to use wax to seal them. It would be easier still to get bottles with lids that screw onto the bottle instead of corks.
5) Your shipping options very. The easiest way is to send them in boxes through your postal service or UPS. Some specialty services allow you to send them without the boxes, however the pricing range increases exponentially.

This is a fun way to let your guests know that they are in for a beautiful wedding! Get creative and have fun!

Top Honeymoon Destinations

US News compiled a list of the top 17 honeymoon destinations. They included a place where you can vote if you agree or not. This is a great resource for your search for the best place you and your fiancee might want to travel to.

 http://travel.usnews.com/Rankings/Best_Honeymoon_Destinations/


Beka Johnson

Facebook Dangers

News Column

Beka Johnson

Couples cite Facebook in one out of five US divorces, say Loyola University researchers —and 81% of divorce lawyers report a rise in cases using social networks as evidence, ZDNet reports. For cases that do make use of online evidence, Facebook is by far the biggest source, according to 66% of attorneys in a recent survey. As for the network's relationship-busting role, “we’re coming across it more and more,” says Marjorie Terry, a psychologist from Wheaton.

On Facebook, she notes, spouses may easily transition from chatting with old friends to more intense relationships. One spouse reconnects with a high-school acquaintance, and “within a short amount of time, the sharing of personal stories can lead to a deepened sense of intimacy,” she notes. “I don’t think these people typically set out to have affairs. A lot of it is curiosity.”

According to Terry a relationship  needs to have some protective hedges set up. "The curiosity of contacting a former acquaintance of relationship should be stopped. What that person is doing in their new lives shouldn't be an influence on yours. Those ties are broken and you have a new relationship to focus on. Leave the past in the past." Terry believes keeping away from those contacts will stop the straying from happening.

For brides and grooms getting ready to commit for a lifetime, they can also shut down any contact they have now. Their odds for success will go up if they protect their new marriage from the beginning.

Brides-to-be Left In A Lurch

News Story
Beka Johnson

The rolling hills, waterfalls and manicured flower beds of Montefiori persuaded Kristy DeMichele not to elope and instead book a June ceremony.

A certified letter arrived last week and announced the exlusive Lombard wedding venue was out of business so she's changing her mind again.

"I totally fell in love with Montefiori. The place is beautiful," said DeMichele who said she cried after reading the first lines of the letter: "It is with deep regret that we must inform you that after five years, Life@MontefioriLLC will close its doors."

DeMichele discovered the company she had paid a $3,000 deposit now removed its website and phone number. She hasn't received a response to her email. She started a blog and found others were having the same experience.

One of Montefiori's owners said the business left about 30 couples in the lurch, non with wedding scheduled sooner than Man.

Montefiori has already returned checks from five couples, and the rest will be reimbursed within a few weeks, said Joseph Lepore, a minority owner who, after seeing several of the would-be brides complaining on television, has taken it upon himself to call each of the couples who had weddings planned.

Each couple has a different story. They all hope they have enough time to find other places to have their celebrations. "If we've made it through this crisis, we can weather whatever our marriage brings," said DeMichele. "For now we're planning to go to an island and get married on the beach."

Check this site out! It is the top 100 proposal ideas since 1910. There are some adorably romantic and even simple ideas any girl would love!
http://www.since1910.com/engagement-ring-blog/top-100-proposal-ideas/