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Forget the Honeymoon, Familymoons Bond Blended Families

LilSugar — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:12:42 -0700

Honeymoons might be made for two, but these days weddings aren't just made up of a couple exchanging vows. Blended families are becoming more and more common with divorce rates on the rise. So what's the best way to celebrate the new clan? A familymoon!

Nuptial ceremonies and proposals often include the bride and groom's kiddos so why leave wee ones out of the honeymoon - especially when childcare factors in? While newlyweds normally seek out exotic locales for their time away, parents look at different factors for these jaunts. Check out a few of our favorite family destinations.

Hawaii: Long considered to be the ultimate romantic honeymoon destination, Hawaii also offers parents and kiddos enough activities to keep everyone happy. Families may consider renting a vacation home or condo rather than staying in a hotel to provide everyone with privacy and communal space. It offers beach and pool play, water sports, volcano hiking and picturesque sunsets.
Amelia Island: The Ritz Carlton may conjure up images of posh surroundings and luxury living, but the hotel chain’s Ritz Kids program offers supervised “day camps” for tots that include swimming, sand play, sports and more. At the Amelia Island, Florida, resort, newlyweds can relax on the beach or play a round of golf knowing that their kids are having an equally indulgent time.
Alaskan Cruise: Families with older children may consider an Alaskan cruise. In addition to the kids programs on the ships - including the pools, rock-climbing walls, arcades and playrooms – the excursion offers families the opportunity to bond while exploring a new destination as a unit. Whale-watching, gold panning and glacier-hiking, provide options for getting active.

To see a video from the original familymooners, The Brady Bunch, read more.

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Gail Simmons's Advice For the Ultimate Wedding

partysugar — Thu, 28 May 2009 03:30:59 -0700

When judging Top Chef, Gail Simmons isn't afraid to express her opinion. So it's only natural that Simmons, who also works as special projects director at Food & Wine magazine, has strong opinions about weddings. She watched all of her friends walk down the aisle before she finally got married last August, and has plenty to say about planning the perfect big day. Recently I spoke with Gail about all things wedding. Here, you'll find details from Gail's Summer soirée (she didn't have a cake!) and learn her tips for a fabulous wedding reception. Source

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Must Read: Colin Cowie Wedding Chic

partysugar — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:00:58 -0700

Colin Cowie is one of the world's most extravagant party planners. He's known for his outrageous chicness and attention to detail. While he's planned stylish soirees for Oprah and other famous celebrities, he's also helped many brides create the perfect wedding. His latest book, Colin Cowie Wedding Chic ($26.40), is an extensive guide that provides ideas for celebrating every moment of the big day. It's a great resource if you're getting married. To find out more about it, read more.

Pros:

Cowie leaves no detail undiscussed. The book is broken up into ten informative sections including bouquets and other ceremony flowers, centerpieces, reception decor, ritual and ceremony, etc.
The tone is conversational, yet informative. It's a very easy read.
It's filled with inspirational ideas (many with corresponding color photographs) taken from real weddings that Cowie planned.

Cons:

The book's focus is on the wedding day. There is no mention of other wedding related events such as the engagement party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner, etc.
Many of the weddings illustrated are lush and over the top making it obvious that they were planned with an unlimited budget.

It's a hard covered heavy book: you won't be able to toss it in a purse and bring it to a meeting with caterers.

Imagery: The spectacular photographs make this book. Each page has at least one picture, and the entire tome is filled with hundreds of beautiful color photos.

Overall: If the sky is the limit for your big day or if you're in need of wedding inspiration, get yourself a copy of this book. However, if you're looking for a knowledgeable manual that discusses every aspect of planning a wedding - choosing an event planner, bridal party etiquette, planning the rehearsal dinner, etc. - you might want to consider another book.

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10 Video Games to Play at Your Wedding Shower

GeekSugar — Wed, 06 May 2009 06:00:37 -0700

If you're like me, you like a little virtual gaming action when you have a party, and your wedding shower is no exception. Get a bunch of geeky peeps together, and you're bound to break out the controllers sooner or later. Check out my ten favorite video games to play with a group, and get your game on at your wedding shower!

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Awkward! Wedding Planning With Fiancé Causing Tension

TresSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 07:00:00 -0700

I know a very modern bride who is beginning to wonder if she really knows the guy she's marrying. It's not that she's having second thoughts - it's just that planning their wedding is highlighting differences of opinion about tradition and convention she didn't know were there.

For example, this bride is hip to the fact that weddings are not unique events. Lots of people get married. At the same time, she wants her wedding to have a personal, nonconformist touch. This is where the conflict with her more traditional fiancé has come in. He values conformity and sees it as a social good. Unlike his fiancée, he actually cares what other people think.

So what are the differences of opinion they have about how they should plan their wedding? To find out read more.

First off, she doesn't want name cards at the table. He thinks they're classy; she thinks they're an unnecessary cost and a waste of paper.

Secondly, both have agreed to cupcakes instead of wedding cake (OK, so traditional guy is a little nonconformist), but he wants vanilla (because "it's supposed to be that way") and she likes chocolate because . . . it's more delicious.

Last but not least - the guest list. The bride wants to give their moms a guest limit so that they don't invite too many people and overrun the wedding with people they don't know. He doesn't want to tell his mom that there's a limit and, in addition, he thinks having a lot of diverse people will make them look good to other people.

Should weddings conform to traditional wedding etiquette at the expense of personal touches, practicality - or the bride's wishes? How should this bride and groom get over their differences and celebrate their union? And finally, have you ever experienced something similar?

Source

How-To: Create Slideshows and Movies For Your Reception

GeekSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:05:10 -0700

If you haven't noticed, it's wedding season here on the Sugar Network and I've been busy telling you how to keep up with your own wedding website, pick out the perfect photographer, and manage all those photos - yours and your guests - after the big day. This week, we're moving into the wedding planning stages, and today I'm talking about slideshows. But this isn't the after-the-event, it-was-such-a-beautiful-day slideshow, this is the slideshow you play during your reception, usually packed with photos of you and your betrothed throughout your relationship together.

Although I've already given you some tips on what you should consider when putting together your slideshows, you may not know where to begin once you have all your photos chosen. If you don't have a Mac (I know I've talked your ear off about the simple joy of iPhoto), you can still make professional-looking slideshows and videos with your PC. Who woulda thought, right?

Find out what software you should consider, and what to do with those stacks of (nondigital) photos when you read more.

If not all of your photos are digital, it's OK - you can scan your photos, get them onto a CD and ready for uploading just by toting them down to your local Walgreens (or similar drug store that offers photo developing). And you're on your way to getting all your treasured pics into a slideshow.

Once you have all your photos uploaded to your computer, all you have to do is choose your software to start putting it all together. With any of these programs, you can arrange your pics, choose your (optional) background music that will play during your slideshow, and will even let you add in video clips if you want to switch things up. My first love is iPhoto, mostly for its ease of use and ability to export to not only a DVD but to your website, mobile phone, and iTunes to enjoy later.

But for you PC users out there, software like DVD Picture Show, My Memories Suite, and MediaShow 4 will get you the same great results, accommodates photos and video clips, and will export online or to a CD/DVD.

Do you have a photo program you'd like to recommend? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Source

10 Wedding Themed Toys to Gift the Flower Girl

LilSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:00:16 -0700

Lil girls spend hours practicing for their role in a wedding, but when the big day arrives, nerves often get the best of them. Whether you are the bride or the flower girl's anxious mother, prepare the wee member of the bridal party with some toys that will help her replicate the wedding day. Here are 10 of my favorite wedding-related toys that will also occupy the lil darling during the reception as well. Source

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Eight Wedding Planning Tips From the Movies

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:45:17 -0700

Friends and family members who have gone through the pre-nuptial process themselves can offer plenty of practical tips for planning a wedding. But then there's the not-so-common advice to be gleaned from the movies. Such as: Set aside some bail money, only take one muscle relaxer on the Big Day, and don't get talked into having an armadillo cake at your wedding. See? Helpful!
Check out additional wedding tips and ideas across the Sugar network. The Wedding Singer image source

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Get in Shape While Planning Your Wedding

FitSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:00:00 -0700

Being a bride-to-be is joyful and exciting, but there's no denying that planning for the big day can be really stressful. You have so much to think about: flowers, the ceremony, invitations, your dress, the cake, and the honeymoon. Planning the wedding can be as much work as a full-time job! In order to prevent feeling overwhelmed with your enormous to-do list, you're going to have to make multitasking a part of your planning process.

So kill two birds with one stone by researching wedding info while working out. You can download wedding podcasts from iTunes and burn calories and tone up while you listen. Here are a few for you to try:

For free, download The Wedding Planning Audiocast, which is the Internet's number one wedding show heard around the world.
Also at no cost, download 70 of the most recent podcasts from Wedding Podcast Network.

To see what else you can listen to while hitting the gym, read more.

Download free episodes of Wedding Workout from the Wedding Podcast Network to help you get bridal-gown ready.
If you need more wedding exercise ideas, check out five free episodes of The Healthy Bride Podcast Workouts.
If a green wedding is important to you, check out two free episodes of Your Guide to Green and Eco-Chic Wedding.
Brides Magazine has four free podcasts that discuss the latest trends, style tips, and cost-saving strategies in planning your wedding.
If you don't mind paying a little, the audiobook called Wedding Planning ($12.95) gives insights from wedding planner Susannah Richardson, so you can have as little stress as possible when planning for your big day.
Or download season six of Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? for $17.99. It shows how wedding planners help real couples get through the hectic planning process, and have the wedding they always imagined.

If these don't float your boat, there are tons of other wedding-related podcasts from iTunes, so you're bound to find something that will help make planning your wedding a little easier.

For more wedding tips, check out all of the Sugar Network’s wedding coverage here.

Do Your Wedding-Planning Friends Make You Envious?

TresSugar — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:00:00 -0700

Traditional wedding planning can seem like a full-time job. You have to choose a dress, venue, photographer, band, registry, guest list . . . the to-do list goes on.

For those who wait their whole lives for the big day, planning a wedding is not only a full-time job - it's a dream job! Other people see the time (and money) consuming planning as a necessary evil.

And if you're not getting married soon, you might be watching from the sidelines as your engaged friends figure out all the details.

I'm curious, would you rather be in their shoes planning your wedding, or are you thankful that you don't have to deal with the headaches? Of course, you might be totally neutral.

Source