Forget bridal gifts, say ‘I do’ to a down payment fund

 

A wedding-day cash infusion can make it easier to put a down payment on a home. With home prices appreciating rapidly in much of the country, lots of couples need all the help they can get.

There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one’s wedding guests for money?

“It’s not rude to request money as a wedding gift,” says Peggy Post, author of “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette.” “However, it’s extremely important to ask politely.”

If you seek down payment money, get the word out through family and friends, recommends Post, who is Emily Post’s great-granddaughter-in-law. Just don’t ask for money in the same envelope as a wedding invitation.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08112/870915-355.stm

See also do it yourself wedding invitations

 

Save The Date Cards

Tami Kowit arrived at Doll Bloom’s tiny shop lugging a jumbo-sized book of sample invitations and a medium slab of indecision.

“Sari really wants purple,” Kowit said, as she opened the book to a purple invitation embossed with butterflies. “You can take off the butterflies and put horses, right?” she said cautiously, dithering about invitations to send for her daughter’s June bat mitzvah.

Bloom sells custom-printed invitations, cards and so forth at Notoriety, her store in Beachwood, Ohio. An integral part of her work is to reassure the hosts and hostesses who come her way. “You don’t have to decide until January,” she instructed Kowit, the proverbial soccer mom on the run.

Besides, the two women already had decided on the first order of business: the save-the-date card.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004083033_savethedate20.html

See also do it yourself wedding invitations and very cheap wedding invitations

Wedding Invitations The Old Fashioned Way

Shelley Barandes feeds sheets of cotton paper into the huffing, puffing press.

“I call this one the warthog. She’s a beast,” Barandes, 28, said of the printing press as she wiped her hands on her apron.

“The neighbors to each side of me, and above and below me know which press I’m using based on the sound.”

The “warthog” - a motorized Chandler & Price platen press from the 1950s - is one of eight antique letterpresses in Barandes’s cheery Somerville studio. She runs her growing, two-year-old company, Albertine Press, out of this space in an old factory building. Samples of her greeting card designs, custom wedding invitations, and coasters hang on the walls and clutter the counters. The air smells of Taza stone-ground chocolate - a neighboring business just down the hall.

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/01/10/she_makes_a_lasting_impression/

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Inviting Kids to a Destination Wedding?

As the bride and groom turned toward each other to say their vows, the ocean sparkled in the background and white sand warmed the guests’ feet. The moment was interrupted only by a toddler - mine - yelling, “I want to sit in Mommy’s lap!”

I scooped him up, only to knock the pacifier out of my two-month-old’s mouth. Her lips quivered, preparing for a full-blown wail. I popped it back in just in time.

Double meltdown averted. Still, the ceremony was a harrowing half-hour for me.

Bringing the kids along to “destination weddings” - those that require travel to exotic locales - has become a priority and a challenge for many bridal couples and their guests.

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jej7hXloZqrMePAsMw-nuDNEin7w

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Wedding Planning Statistics

Very informative article.

The internet is a wonderful planning tool and a great time-saver, so it’s no surprise that respondents ranked wedding websites as a top resource (53%) for useful wedding planning advice,  tips and ideas. Today’s brides shop for a variety of wedding products
online; invitations were cited as the most popular item (49%), followed by favors (44%), bridal accessories/jewelry (41%) and bridal gowns (40%). However, when it comes to placing the actual order, the online purchase categories shift to wedding favors (33%), honeymoon travel arrangements (31%) and invitations (29%).

http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS107007+07-Jan-2008+PRN20080107

Also see wedding planning ideas  and do it yourself wedding invitation for more wedding planning help

Ideas for Wedding Planning

Lauren Schechtman knows every perfect wedding includes cakes, dresses, candles, flowers, music and more. With all these items, the budget for a dream wedding may seem like it’s getting out of control. But Schechtman has a plan.

The 23 year old from Jackson and her fiancé have a set budget for their May 2008 wedding. The couple knows their parents are planning on helping them foot the bill. They’ve prepared sample budgets from Web sites and magazines. But is the goal realistic?

So far, Schechtman says her budget is looking good.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080106/LIFE/801060608/1079/life

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More Destination Wedding Hotspots

Destination weddings are filling a need among the world’s affianced. One out of every six couples getting married for the first time choose a destination wedding,

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/BusinessTravel/story?id=4086539&page=1

See also cheapest destination wedding

Going To The Las Vegas Wedding Chapel a Little Less

The number of marriage licenses issued in Clark County dropped in 2007 for the third straight year to just under 107,000, the lowest number since 1996.

A variety of factors get the blame: the economy, gas prices, national trends in marriage and family, international competition, and a fracas over a rogue wedding chapel that was forcibly closed in October.

But just because weddings are down doesn’t necessarily mean the wedding business is down. Some in the industry point to increased traffic and new opportunities, and there’s evidence that Las Vegas’ share of the national wedding market is holding steady.

http://www.lvrj.com/news/13672437.html

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Platinum Engagement Rings Are Hot!

Platinum engagement rings proved to be a hit with celebrities during 2007, a new list has revealed. BridalStars’ Top Ten Celebrity Engagement Rings of the past 12 months included five platinum pieces, with Brittany Murphy’s two Neil Lane engagement rings topping the poll. Ivana Trump’s platinum ring, which was designed by her daughter Ivanka, came fourth in the list. Just one place behind Ivana Trump was Charlie Sheen’s choice of platinum engagement ring for his beau, Brooke Mueller. And in tenth place in the list was The Hills star Heidi Montag’s unusual platinum engagement ring. Fiance and co-star Spencer Pratt presented Montag with a platinum engagement ring topped with a
lemon amethyst, rather than the traditional diamond.

http://www.platinum.matthey.com/media_room/1199365206.html

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Shopping for a Moissanite Ring

More people contemplating getting married are swapping the big rock on the finger for the financial security of a deposit on a house.

With the average Sydney home costing more than $550,000 and economists predicting another interest rate rise by February, retailers report more and more young couples are buying fake-diamond engagement rings.

Diamond simulants and gemstones like moissanite are popular low-cost options being offered, and jewellery stores like Secrets Shhh and Moi Moi say that sales are booming.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22930510-5006009,00.html

Also see moissanite engagement rings