PLANNINING YOUR HONEYMOON ADVENTURE

The wedding is just the beginning. There’s plenty of excitement
planning the honeymoon as well, from choosing a travel adventure to
deciding on what to bring along on the journey. And for many, planning
this great “escape” is just as important as planning the actual wedding.
Regardless of where you decide to go, there are some things you should
know to make it the kind of experience you want it to be.
First, you must decide on a budget. If money is not an issue, bonvoyage!
However, if you’re like most engaged couples, you’re already
paying more than you anticipated. Establish a budget and use it as a
guide.

You’ll also need to decide whether you want an all-inclusive, oneprice-
does-it-all, leave-the-wallet-at-home type of trip, or a more do-ityourself
package with car rental, lodging, food, and activities on an a la
carte basis. Cruises technically fall under the all-inclusive category, as do
resorts.

Of course, honeymoon budgeting takes on a new meaning if you
decide to do a “destination wedding”. These are becoming very popular
as more and more couples decide to forego the traditional wedding
costs in addition to the honeymoon expense. There are especially
popular with second marriages. It’s easier to get married in some
countries than others, so be sure to check with a reliable source, like a
country’s consulate or the U.S. Department of State, before making any
arrangements.

Now you need to book and pay for this trip. Many honeymoon
suppliers offer special rates for early booking, which may or may not
include airfare. Packages that include airfare can offer significant savings
because retailers buy airline seats in at a discount, then package hotel,
and sometimes car rentals as well.
You may also want to consider using a honeymoon gift registry to
help with expenses. Check with your local travel agent to see if they offer
this kind of service or you can investigate more on the internet. A good
place to start is at www.TheHoneymoon.com. Honeymoon registries allow
guests, friends and family to contribute toward specific elements of your
honeymoon, like shore excursions, parasailing, spa services, and tours.

Wedding Night & Honeymoon Worksheet
Wedding Night
Hotel: _______________________________
Address: _____________________________
Phone: _______________________________
Cost/Includes: _________________________
Features of room/suite:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
Reservations made: _____________________
Confirmation #: ________________________
Honeymoon
Destination: ___________________________
Departure date: ________________________
Return date: ___________________________
Travel Agency
Name: _______________________________
Contact person: ________________________
Telephone #: __________________________
Airline: ______________________________
Depart. fight: __________________________
Return flight: __________________________
Car Rental
Agency: ______________________________
Location: _____________________________
Phone #: _____________________________
Date of pickup: ________________________
Return date: ___________________________
Insurance: ____________________________
Hotel/Resort
Location: _____________________________
Phone #: _____________________________
Confirmation #: ________________________
Check-in time: _________________________
Check-out time: ________________________
NOTES:
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________

Your Honeymoon Budget
Before You Go…
Wardrobe necessities: ___________________
Luggage: _____________________________
Passport/passport photos: ________________
Inoculations/medicines: _________________
Sundries (suntan lotion): _________________
Extra pair of sun/glasses: ________________
Child care/pet care: _____________________
Camera & film: ________________________
Transportation To Your Honeymoon
IF FLYING…
Airfare for two: ________________________
Transportation to/from airport: ____________
_____________________________________
Long-term parking: _____________________
IF DRIVING…
Rental car: ____________________________
Gasoline: _____________________________
Tolls: ________________________________
Snacks/meals on the road:
_____________________________________
Other:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

Travel Package Yes No
Total Cost: ____________________________
Expenses while at destination
Lodging (rate x nights): _________________
Transfers form airport: __________________
Breakfast for ____ days: _________________
Lunch for ____ days: ___________________
Dinner for ____ nights: __________________
Snack for ____ days: ____________________
Tips for ____ days: _____________________
Entertainment (such as shows, tours, local
sights, museums, etc..): __________________
Mementos from trip: ____________________
Other: _______________________________
_____________________________________
Transportation while at destination
Rental car: ____________________________
Gas: _________________________________
Public transportation: ___________________
Taxi: ________________________________
Rail express (Europe): __________________
Inter-island transfers: ___________________
Other:
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

After The Honeymoon Checklist
Write thank-you notes for your gifts. Every gift-giver should receive a
handwritten note within a month of the wedding.

Preserve your wedding dress. Have your gown, veil and headpiece
professionally dry-cleaned. Inquire about various storage methods.
Deposit wedding gift checks, bonds, stock certificates. Pay
outstanding wedding bills.

Develop film, choose photographs & review the videos. Develop any
film taken at the wedding and on the honeymoon. Review
photographer’s proofs; review wedding video to determine edited length
and special editing techniques. Choose photos for wedding album and
order wedding prints for yourselves, relatives and friends. Put other photos
in albums.

Get together with family and friends. Invite attendants, friends and
family members to your home to view the honeymoon photos and video.
Discuss a home budget and financial goals.
Evaluate your insurance needs. Consult your agent on health, car and
life insurance, which may have to be adjusted to reflect married status.

Have wedding gifts appraised and insured.

Tips For Thank-You Notes

Keep careful records of each gift. As they arrive, write down the
sender, address, and a brief description.

Name the gift in your note: “Thank you for the beautiful candle
holders.”

Describe how you’ll use the gift. “Richard, and I love how elegant the
make our table look!”

Add a personal thought or two about your wedding and/or your
relationship with the giver: “It meant a lot to us to have such dear
friends share in our wedding day.”

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PERSONALIZED WEDDING FAVORS

Many couples opt to give personalized wedding favors to their guests. Personalized wedding favors are a good idea because they often include the names of the couple as well as the wedding date. This helps to ensure that the guests will remember where they received the favor. Many people attend a large number of weddings throughout their lifetimes and over time the favors they receive at these weddings may become indistinguishable. However, couples who opt to distribute personalized wedding favors often do not have this problem because their guests simply have to look at the gift to remember who gave it to them. They will also be more likely to remember details of the wedding when they receive a personalized wedding favor. This article will provide some information on the types of personalized wedding favors available and will provide some useful information for giving personalized wedding favors.

When giving personalized wedding favor it is very important to plan ahead. This is so important because unlike other wedding favors which can be bought right off the shelves, personalized wedding favors require special processing. Even if the favors are already manufactured, they may still need to go through an additional process to personalize the item. This requires additional time. It will likely take at least a few days for your order to be processed and the manufacturer may have a number of other orders ahead of yours awaiting personalization. This means the wait for personalized orders can be as little as a couple of days but may take a week or even longer depending on the size of your order and how busy the manufacturer is at the time. Rush orders are usually an option but they also usually involve high fees. In fact you will likely find that a rush order may double or even triple the cost of each favor.

Just about any wedding favor can be personalized. The most popular way to personalize a wedding favor is to include the names of the bride and the groom and the date of the wedding. This can be done on items ranging from candy wrappers to pictures frames and fortune cookies to candle holders. However, including the names of the bride and the groom and the date of the wedding is not the only way to personalize a wedding favor. The couple may opt to have an item personalized with a quotation from their favorite song or poem or with a line or two from their wedding vows.

Another popular option for purchasing personalized wedding favors is to give edible favors. Many different kinds of edible favors can be personalized. Photo cookies are just one example. Many bakeries can produce these cookies based on a photo you submit to them. They may require you to submit the photo electronically or they may be able to scan a photo into their system. The couple can choose to have their photos placed on the cookies and may also include a few words such as the date or a quote from a love song.

When giving wedding favors, the gift wrapping can also be personalized. Many couples opt to wrap wedding favors in simple white paper but they can also include ribbons with their names and the wedding date to make the favor wrapping more personal. These types of ribbons can be purchased either precut or in one continuous ribbon which must be cut by the person wrapping the favor. The precut ribbons are likely to be more expensive but they can save the person doing the wrapping a great deal of time.

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OUTDOOR WEDDING RECEPTION ACTIVITIES

If you are having your wedding reception out of doors, that opens the door for many activities that would be hard to pull off indoors. You can plan games and activities based on the outdoor theme and carry that theme indoors if part of the reception is inside as well.
Depending on where the reception will be held, you can plan many activities based on the setting. Whether it is the park or on a farm, there are a myriad of activities you can plan.
Let's start with some basics based on popular wedding locations. One fun game for a winery wedding is a blindfolded wine tasting game. If the bride and groom are wine drinkers, this might not a game the bride and groom should be a part of, but instead guests and wedding party members. Blindfold perhaps a half dozen volunteers and have them do a blind taste test (provide something to clean the palate between sips). The volunteers should guess which wine is the pinot noir, which is the Cabernet, and so on. A bottle of wine is the obvious prize for the winner of this game.
Say you are having a reception at a country club on a golf course. It's possible your theme will include golf elements, so why not include golf in some reception activities or games? You certainly could head to the golf course for a "hole in one" contest, or have a driving contest to see which guest has the best stroke. As a simple, "who gets the centerpiece game", you could have people guess how many golf balls there are in the floral centerpiece (which could decorate a plain large glass vase filled with flowers). Similarly, there could be a large vase or other clear container filled with golf balls at the reception somewhere and guests could guess how many golf balls are in the vase.
A silly game could be made on the dance floor by asking everyone to include their best golf swing into their dancing for one particular song.
Now, if your reception and ceremony are both to be held outdoors and guests will be milling outdoors, think about games or activities that can take place outdoors and still keep to your level of formality or informality. For example, if the reception is being held at a park, perhaps guests might enjoy a "walk down memory lane". Prior to the reception, someone can use potted plants or arbors to create a little private lane, which guests can walk through. Along the path, guests will find pictures of the bride and groom at various stages in their lives. There should be a place for guests to record their thoughts and memories along the way as well.
If your wedding and reception are fairly casual, you can always tell guests ahead of time to prepare for a ball game or some other fun outdoor activity. Women can bring a pair of sneakers. Just imagine the fun photos you'll get out of a rousing game of football or baseball played by women in dresses and sneakers and men in suits and sneakers!
You can provide a challenge activity involving barefoot dancing in the grass or a Frisbee toss in the backyard. Is there a pool in the yard where the reception will be held? Why not have a swimming activity for after the whole of the reception is done?

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Engagement Party Games

The engagement party is a time when the families of the couple will get to know one another. In some cases, this might be the first meeting between the two families or groups of friends and any icebreaker activity will be a welcome event. In that light, whoever plans the engagement party (likely the bride's family, but it can be the engaged couple or anyone else who wants to plan the party) should plan a few games and activities designed to help everyone get to know everyone else. First up is a trivia game. Create a "trivial pursuit" type game with questions about the bride and groom's lives. You might contain the questions to just facts and events relating to both the bride and groom (such as how long did it take her to say "yes" when he asked, where did he propose, where did they meet, etc), or you can include questions pertaining to their lives outside of each other and before they met each other. Not only can this be fun, but also it's an entertaining way for people to get to know each other and the engaged couple better. One popular icebreaker that's used at corporate functions and company parties can also work really well at engagement parties. Tape a card to each person's back and encourage him or her to work the room, mingle with everyone and particularly try to get to know someone they have never met before. Before moving on to someone else, be sure to make a comment about the person on the card on his or her back. Partiers write an impression of that person, such as "she seems sweet" or "he knows a lot about the weather". This icebreaker ends when the mingling session is over. The cards are then read one by one and people not only get to know each other better, but enjoy hearing all the comments people made about them. Try to ensure that comments are complimentary or somehow presented in a positive light. Hurtful comments, obviously, are not appropriate. If this is truly the first time many of the guests have met, then another fun game involving the wearing of cards might be in order. In this game, each guest wears a card on their front that has their name on the front and a number on the back. They don't share with anyone what their number is. Guests mingle and chat and get to know each other over the course of the evening. Toward the end of the evening, the cards are flipped over and the number side is shown. Everyone gets a piece of paper and writes the numbers on the paper, then tries to correspond the name of someone with their number. This fun game can be hard for people who are bad with names, but it's fun nonetheless. For an activity that doesn't put people on the spot quite so much, consider letting the already marrieds help out the to-be marrieds. Place two pieces of posterboard on the wall and mark them "advice from women" and "advice from men". Now is the time to offer advice about wedding planning, not about being married. That advice can come later. Encourage guests to offer their own wedding planning advice. The advice from older people at the party could be decidedly different from the younger couples in the group, making for an enlightening group of comments.

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Bridal Shower Games

whether or not you're hosting a bridal shower, there are in a literal sense hundreds of games to select from. a fair amount are absurd, a fair amount are severe, but all are regarding having galore fun with the bride before she's married. Here's a sampling. One fun game genuinely puts the bride on the spot with regard to her noesis of her husband-to-be's life. Prior to the party, have an individual ask the groom a series of questions, such like where he was born, what his best-loved feed is, things like that. Then at the bridal shower, put the bride on the spot by asking her the answers to the questions. See how a lot of she may get right (hopefully leastways half! ). whether or not she does well, give the girl a prize; she is worthy and deserving one. One all-time best-loved game is toilet paper wedding dresses. This game involves separating the guests into teams consisting of leastways 2 individuals and no more than 5. Give every team a roll or toilet paper (or 2) and have them fashion a wedding dress out of the toilet paper. One of the team members will volunteer as the model. Provide them with a "dress up trunk" filled with jewelry and shoes. They have to make the dress out of the toilet paper, but they may accessorize with the provided jewelry, shoes, gloves and hats. Place a time limit on this (5 minutes is adequate) and have the bride vote on the most skillful dress. Be certain to provide prizes for the winning team! Another fun game that's at all times a hit is making the bride get dressed while blindfolded. Tell the bride she is to pretend she's on her honeymoon and the power has gone off. She have to prepare for her wedding night in finish darkness. Provide her with a suitcase filled with items and then blindfold her. She have to get dressed in a sure amount of time of time (2 minutes is adequate) while wholly blindfolded and with no aid from the guests. Include galore absurd items like oversized sunglasses, garden gloves or a flannel nightgown merely to make it fun. This is a photo chance, so be certain an individual is waiting to track the end result! Another fun game puts the shower guests more on the sport than the bride. In this game, every one puts their purses in the core of the room. produce a list of items ordinarily found in a purse and assign a point value and produce a list of fewer mutual items and give them a higher point value. So you may give lipstick 2 points, a tampon 3 points, and sunglasses 5 points. But a granola bar could be 10 points and a staple remover, 15 points. Then go through the purses awarding points and give the individual with the most eminent number of points (and hence, the most items and in all likelihood most eminent number of strange items) a prize. Before the shower, produce bingo cards for this shower bingo game. In the squares, put pictures of items you think the bride will accept at the shower. So, boxes may include things like lingerie, towels and the like. As the bride opens gifts, have individuals mark off that item on their bingo card. whether or not not a single soul gets a "bingo" give a prize to the individual who marked off the most number of items. This next game is a derivation of a usual game that's many times played at bachelorette parties and involves a stripper. This is the clean version. regarding 30 minutes into the party, have the bride leave the room and pass out pieces of paper. Have every one write on the paper everything they may do not forget regarding the bride's outfit, hair, etc. How a lot of rings is she wearing? What color is her blouse? Is she wearing open or closed toed shoes? Once every one is done recording their observations, the bride comes back into the room and a prize is awarded to the individual with the most skillful observation accomplishments.

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Pre Wedding Activities

Planning pre-wedding activities is a small something extra that's not required, but surely fun and entertaining for the guests. whether or not the bride and groom keep in mind the distance many guests have traveled and keep activenesses applicable to that level of fatigue, they're certain to hit on many winning activenesses. As you go regarding planning activenesses for the wedding, keep in mind other components also. Do a heap of individuals have children with them? Will you supply childcare or will the children be players in the activenesses? whether or not you have assorted guests who are older, perchance activenesses may be tailored in a ay they may participate also. Some of the further common pre-wedding activenesses include things like a group manicure. All the women in the wedding party or ho are close to the bride (and surely this could include men whether or not they like manicures and want to hang out with the ladies) head to a nail salon and get their nails done. This may be relaxing for a heap of women and supply a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the wedding weekend. The men may choose to golf or play a game of tennis while this is going on. Many brides and grooms choose to supply structured activenesses for their guests prior to the wedding. whether or not the wedding is on a saturday night, as an example, they may choose to supply a friday action, in particular whether or not most guests are local to the wedding. You may have a wedding luau. often pre-wedding activenesses center around bachelor and bachelorette parties, but what regarding a stag party that includes all the members of the brides and grooms families? You could plan many fun (and suitable) games and head out to a restaurant for a night of fun and games. Be certain to limit the drinking and carousing as this may not sit well with many family members. Here is a playful action that may be exercised right before the wedding. Have somebody start a gift basket. The theme of the basket is "advice for the couple" and could be started by the most skillful man or maid of honor. They take the basket to somebody else's house, perchance an aunt or cousin and leave it on the doorstep. That individual adds an item (a book on in which way to end spousal arguments? Or a cd of romantic music? ) and brings the basket to somebody else's house. This action may start a week or two before the wedding and every one have to recognise it’s coming around. The basket may likewise be distributed the weekend of the wedding, but this ill only work whether or not every one is local and whether or not they recognise the basket is coming. in this instance, it likewise might just be helpful to have somebody fetch the basket to a house, gather the item and the take the basket to the following emplacement, reducing the demand to have every individual take the basket to its next emplacement. Once it's full, somebody may be in charge of putting the basket items together, wrapping it all up to make it look nice and bringing it to the bride and groom. It may be delivered right to the wedding as a gift in and of itself. Whatever activenesses you choose, be certain to keep in mind the necessities of your guests and the restrictions of those guests. whether or not you want to plan an action that includes every one, and you choose golf, but grandpa is in a wheelchair or uses a walker, that may not be the most skillful action to plan.
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Fitness for Brides: A Plan of Preparation for the Wedding

Use this plan as a guide to planning exercises. The entire plan for convenience divided into two cycles, so if you have less than six months, you can combine any two pieces of our plan. Another advantage of this program - not necessarily go to the gym! Preparations for the wedding: 1 month
This month, you should just focus on how to stay active and motivated. A good way of motivation - have a diary. Write down on the cover of the date of commencement of training and all the reasons why you want to achieve results. Ibid write down its current parameters: weight, the waist, hips and all, what do you want to spend on training. You can also photograph their problem areas on a digital camera to print photos on the printer and put them in a diary. Every day, briefly write down how many minutes you are doing. But check weighing and measuring its volume better than more frequently than once a week. Frequent weighing will only hinder you in achieving lasting results. During weeks 1 and 2 you have to do 20 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week and during week 3 and 4 you have to do 30 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. Preparations for the wedding: Month 2 Now is the time to hold control measurements. Most likely, you are not dropped too much, but had to feel more energetic. Continue to write in your journal. Pay special attention to how you feel like shooting the stress and what benefit you bring the drill. Week 5 and 6 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 2 approach to 10 exercises to lift press • 1 approach to 10 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) Weeks 7 and 8 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 10 exercises to lift press • 2 approach to 10 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) Preparation for the wedding: Month 3 Usually it is here that people are beginning to give up. Open your diary on the first page, where you burn the reasons for which have started your own bodies. Read them again. This is a good reason? Also, take a look at the calendar date for their wedding. It is inexorably approaching, is not it? Are not you glad that the train began a few months ago? In addition, it is time to repeat the control measurements. Even if you did not weigh less, surely you can see that your body has become tauter. Weeks 9 and 10 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 10 exercises to lift press • 2 approach to 10 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 1 approach to 10 bob Weeks 11 and 12 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 10 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 10 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 2 approach to 10 bob • 2 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps Preparations for the wedding: Month 4 Look for a moment to write a congratulation itself (yes, do it). You've already done a great job! Weigh and measured. If you followed our program, you should definitely notice the changes for the better. If nothing has changed, you may need a more advanced program. Talk to the sports coach. Weeks 13 and 14 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 15 exercises to train biceps • 2 approach to 10 exercises for the chest Weeks 15 and 16 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps • 3 approach to 15 exercises for the chest Preparation for the wedding: Month 5 Ok. Now it is time to serious training. Remember, left only 8 weeks before the wedding! Weigh and spend control inspection. What part of your body still needs to be improved? Is it tummy or legs? Select one or two areas and it is Focus on them. Continue to perform the same program, but add to 3 approaches (each of 15 repetitions) for the training of selected areas. After each exercise represent themselves in the wedding dress and stunning figure - this should motivate. Weeks 17 and 18 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps • 3 approach to 15 exercises for the chest • 3 approach to 15 exercises for problem areas Weeks 19 and 20 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps • 3 approach to 15 exercises for the chest • 3 approach to 15 exercises for problem areas Preparation for the wedding: 6 months Now only 4 weeks before the wedding. You have a huge number of cases that need to catch. All of this threatens to derail your training. But do not let do it! Weigh and check their performance. Keep the same program as in the previous month. Emphasis is also on the problem areas. Weeks 21 and 22 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps • 3 approach to 15 exercises for the chest • 3 approach to 15 exercises for problem areas Weeks 23 and 24 • 40 minutes of aerobics at least 3 times a week. • 3 approach to 15 exercises to lift press • 3 approach to 15 push-ups (not necessarily from the floor, you can do push-ups against a wall or chair) • 3 approach to 15 bob • 3 approach to 10 exercises to train biceps • 3 approach to 15 exercises for the chest • 3 approach to 15 exercises for problem areas.
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