Tea is one of the most highly traded products in the world. At your wedding, import some tea and export a lot of joy with tea wedding favors.

Tiny spoons of silver and brass make for a decorative and highly valued favor among guests. Express your appreciation for sharing this special day by giving a gift they’ll proudly use long after the wedding is over.

Stirring spoons and measuring spoons can be dressed up in special ways. They may come with the bowl or scoop filled with chocolate or hardened vanilla creme. That makes them not only beautiful gifts but givers of delightful tastes, as well.

Give your guests a wedding favor that gives them something to dip a spoon into: porcelain sugar bowls decorated with your personalized design. Emboss the bottom with the names of the bride and groom and every time they flip the bowl over they’ll remember where they got it.

Don’t neglect those lovely miniature pots that provide the perfect brew. Practical and beautiful, these wedding favors make the perfect gift for your honored guests. Whether silver or ceramic, they’ll make for an object of delight among the entire crowd.

Both pot and cups need something to sit on, don’t they? Pots get hot, so a hot pad with your special logo makes for an excellent favor. Saucers that carry the date of your wedding on the bottom and your unique design continue the theme of your special day.

Tealights are both useful and delightful. They provide a small flame to warm the pot and can give off aromas that fill the air with the scent of romance. The candle’s colors can work perfectly with your design scheme while the delicate scents will prompt unforgettable memories.

Of course, you can complete the package by giving tea wedding favors that contain the highly coveted leaves themselves. Sachets of tea come in all shapes and sizes, and flavors.

A white wedding calls for white tea to match a winter theme. This delicate tea gives health and good cheer, just as a tea favor will. A spring wedding suggests a favor with green tea to celebrate the good fortune of the bride and groom. A robust black pekoe will warm guests at a brisk Fall wedding.

Fill a decorative wedding favor tin with a perfect imported Russian tea, full of zest. Celebrate the day by giving a Japanese tea that evokes the gentle mood of a garden. Or, fill it with the ground leaves of exotic Thailand and suggest the steamy passion of a honeymoon to come. Go British and provide your guests with some of the best of Earl Grey’s favorite brew.

The tea will disappear in a day, but the decorative tin will grace a table in your guest’s home for generations.

No matter which tea wedding favors perk up your nose, you can’t go wrong. These delightful gifts will have everyone saying ‘Cheers’!

Tags: Tea Wedding Favors

One of the most delightful things about wedding favors is how easily they can combine the useful and the beautiful. Soap wedding favors are a perfect illustration.

Suppose you plan on a Spring wedding theme. Naturally, you’ll have flowers strewn all around, and incorporated into the designs for table cloths, and other elements. How easy it would be to extend that idea to include the wedding favors….

Perhaps you’re thinking of a Fall wedding. Extend your designs to include leaf-shaped soap wedding favors. Oranges, browns and brilliant golds can easily be found. Put one of each in a clear wedding favor box and you’ve got a gift that is decorative for your table and your guests’ bath countertop at home.

Winter weddings are full of snowflake designs. Nothing is easier than to use that idea for soap wedding favors. Carving them into the fascinating shapes of these delightful crystals is simplicity itself for the manufacturer. Clever designers also incorporate personalized ribbons and multiple colors to add a dash of excitement to the lovely white backgrounds.

A long-stemmed rose suggests love and devotion. A long-stemmed rose soap wedding favor can, too. Select a range of natural colors, such as passion red, delicate pink and pure white. Decorate them with personalized ribbons. These can be printed with the names of the bride and groom and the wedding date, or could display a line from a favorite poem.

Beach-themed weddings can also just as easily take advantage of the forms soap wedding favors come in. Starfish-shaped favors of a delicate almond scent make for the perfect gift for guests. They decorate the tables and will decorate the bath of the recipients for years to come. They, too, can be easily personalized by adhering a small sticker to the back.

Since soap is so flexible, a heart-shaped mold is a natural. These small hand soaps are practical as well. Give two and one can be used as a decorative item while the other provides a lovely aroma for the guests in their baths. Enclose them in a wedding favor box that follows your design theme and you’ve got a winning gift.

But soap is more than just flexible, making it easy to mold. It can be formed from many different materials. Opaque soaps are the most common, but translucent bars are still a favorite among many. That opens up new vistas for wedding favors. You can have a range of colors that take advantage of available light to cast delightful shadows. This way it’s easy to add to the stained-glass effect of the windows where you get married.

If you select soap wedding favors you’ll find these lovely and useful items completely gone from the tables after the reception. But, then, that’s the whole idea, isn’t it? You’ll know you chose well.

Tags: Soap Wedding Favors

Fall! Harvest time. Leaves falling. Crisp weather and golden sunsets. What a perfect season for a wedding. And how fortunate that the choices for fall wedding favors are as endless as the bounty of the Earth during this time of year.

Perhaps leaves of red, yellow and gold adorned the pathways where you walked the day you got engaged. Share that happy memory with your guests in the form of a wedding favor.

Maple leaf-shaped placecard holders are a delightful decoration. A bookmark in the shape of that sycamore leaf that fell at your feet makes for a perfect gift. A cookie cutter that resembles fallen birch leaves is both practical and lovely.

Since you two are the perfect pair, how about a pair of perfect pears? Salt and pepper shakers are another practical and inventive gift. Maybe you’re two peas in a pod? Pick a wedding favor to match. Your relationship might be full of spice. Reflect that in the form of spice containers with the names of the bride and groom.

Fall photo albums make for an excellent wedding favor. White may be the traditional wedding color, but add a bit of fall color and go for the gold trim, the red embroidery or the green rim. Decorate the cover with your own logo or design and put your names and the wedding date on the back. The first memory stored on the first page will be the photo of your guest at your wedding.

A glass coaster set etched with the leaves of Fall is one possibility. But how about a fine pair of pumpkins instead? Symmetrical and a reminder of a fun holiday, they can be the perfect design for these fall wedding favors.

Want to give your guests a fine taste treat that reminds them of Fall and your wedding? How about a pine cone container filled with delicious chocolates? Or, select a box of chocolates with a tamarack tree design and watch the candy disappear like the needles of that unique evergreen tree.

Make them remember that fall wedding for a long time afterward by giving a pair of maple-leaf syrup bottles filled with the real deal. Genuine Vermont maple syrup will disappear in a week. But the decorative bottles will be kept for years.

Your guests will remember another fine taste treat from your wedding: the delicious cake you had special-made from the finest caterer around. Give them a gift that brings it to mind in the form of a cake serving set. Ribbons with the bright orange and subtle brown of Fall can decorate the handles. A leaf-shaped serving spatula can be just the thing.

No matter which fall wedding favors you favor, you can’t go wrong. This special day will be remembered by you and your guests long after the tables are ‘harvested’.

Tags: Fall Wedding Favors

Remember how much fun you had at that beach party where you first met? Anticipating how much fun you’re going to have on that tropical honeymoon? Select beach wedding favors that express your joy!

Tealight favors are a favorite at every wedding. You can get them in the form of a deck chair just like the one you’ll soon be relaxing in. And don’t you deserve it after all that wedding planning? Get some placecard holders that will light up the night.

Every guest will appreciate a photo of the bride and groom. How about a beach-themed wedding favor that contains a picture of the day you got engaged? A frame lined with sea shells is also a ticket to paradise.

Sailboat candles will remind your guests of just where you plan to be soon. You can sail into the sunset, but your guests will appreciate the memento you left behind just the same. Personalize them with your name on the boat.

Sea shell placecard holders are a perfect choice. They decorate the table, provide that important practical purpose of guiding your guests to it, and give them a great gift to take away. Personalize the inside of the shell with the date of the wedding or your favorite saying.

While you’re thinking of shells, consider some clamshell salt and pepper shakers. These tiny silver spice holders are a great reminder of the spicy times to come. Enclose them in a pearlized box and you have a treasure chest any pirate would be happy to steal.

Wine bottle stoppers are another popular wedding favor. Improve an already great idea by getting some that carry your beach theme to the ultimate. They can be topped with a jewel or fashioned in the shape of a pineapple. They can be made of South Seas cork or Captain Kidd silver.

You and your guests will get awfully thirsty under that hot sun, though. Maybe you should think about some wine. Fill a tasting glass with your favorite vintage. Etch the glass with a sailboat or an anchor. Personalize the bottom with your special design that includes names and the wedding date.

Once you’ve quenched their thirst, they might get hungry waiting for that fine wedding reception meal. Stave off those hunger pangs with a set of chocolate favors. Pieces of eight never tasted so good. Keep the sand out by wrapping them in a personalized wrapper with your logo or the colors of your summer wedding.

No guest will ever forget the car keys again if you give them flip flop keychains embossed with your names. They won’t forget your wedding either, since the other side will carry the date you set sail.

Your beach wedding favors are bound to be the hit of every table. Let them dance the calypso at your beach wedding.

Tags: Beach Wedding Favors

Platinum is not merely a precious metal. It is the soul of a fine wedding band. Yes, it’s true that platinum wedding bands tend to be more expensive than a white gold wedding ring, similar in appearance. Sometimes, they’re almost twice as much. But there are good reasons for that.

Platinum has superb shaping properties. It’s dense and therefore will hold its shape well under the everyday pressures that a wedding ring often sees. It’s highly nick resistant, another common concern. But, it is relatively rare and thus tends to cost more.

But, there may be one reason that outweighs all the others: platinum is stunning to look at.

White gold rings are very attractive. But the color is the result of mixing gold with whitish metals, such as palladium or, in cheaper rings, nickel. Alternatively, the color can be achieved by coating it with rhodium. But that wears off over time and has to be re-done.

Platinum rings, by contrast, are nearly pure. Most alloys are 90-95%, which makes a platinum ring heavier, more lustrous, and with a special sheen that can’t be duplicated by any other material. It is a premium material, even in a class of jewelry that includes many precious metals, such as gold and silver.

These two aspects of platinum - the practical attributes and its extraordinary beauty - open up a million design options.

Platinum has been in use in wedding bands for thousands of years. It was used by the ancient Egyptians who were attracted to its beauty and divine heaviness. Craftsmen of South America used ‘platina’ (’little silver’) in a wide array of ornaments. When Louis XVI latched on to this precious metal in the 18th century, its success in the modern world was assured.

We are the lucky recipients of these historical trends, since platinum wedding bands can now cover a world of styles.

Even a plain wedding band made from platinum is an elegant piece of jewelry. It needs nothing beyond this metal to present a luxurious piece that anyone can proudly wear. But it can also be enhanced in numerous ways.

A simple row of small sapphires will turn platinum wedding bands into treasures that will be passed down for generations. A square-cut diamond can form the centerpiece of a design that lifts an already magnificent item to new heights. Even a band with no stones, that relies solely on delightful silver grooves or palladium facets, can easily present enormous elegance.

A fine platinum wedding ring will be in the range of 900-950Pt, a mark that signals it is 90-95% pure. The remaining 5-10% however, is far from base metal. It is commonly made up of a combination of iridium, osmium and other very similar metals that only add to the extraordinary beauty of these fine pieces of jewelry.

Select a platinum wedding band and you’ll be happy with your choice for your lifetime. Many generations that come after will also be grateful for your good taste.

Tags: Platinum Wedding Bands

In generations past a plain gold wedding band was the most common choice for men. The ring was usually yellow gold and wider than a woman’s ring. Today, the options for men’s wedding bands are as diverse as men’s clothing styles. Platinum, titanium and tungsten have entered the scene. Classic is still there, but now supplemented by a wide range of contemporary styles. It’s all about choice.

Picture the traditional 6-8mm men’s band. It may be yellow gold, or even white gold. For ornamentation it will probably have at most a milgrain scroll along the rims. Stylish, classic and fine looking. A perfect choice for many.

But there are newer designs that will appeal to others.

Take the opposite extreme, for example: a contemporary tungsten band with inlaid gems. These ultra-hard, lightweight bands are perfect for those looking for an attractive lower-cost ring that stands up well to abuse. They’re highly scratch resistant and can polish to a high sheen that resembles silver.

Their desirable qualities go well beyond their purely practical character, though. Contemporary designs may include asymmetrical grooves, some with inlaid sapphires. Small round-cut diamonds dot the rim of another. Small rubies are a favorite among many men, their color highlighting a great design.

Titanium is another new favorite among men. It comes in two basic types: light and black.

The lighter style is a grayish metal that polishes to a subtle shade, perfect for a low key style. It can be inlaid with a stripe of yellow gold or crowned with a fine diamond that matches the woman’s ring.

Genuine black titanium is produced by a special manufacturing process that creates a wedding band that is a uniform color throughout. Scratches won’t show and there is never a need to replate the exterior, as with some lesser quality rings.

Both colors are ultra-lightweight, extremely durable and make for a stylish choice in a wedding ring.

But different choices of metal represents only the beginning of the options available in modern men’s wedding bands.

Many men today prefer a smaller width band than those of generations past. The lighter weight and thinner style appeals to those who seek a minimalist ring that is highly attractive. This choice also opens up greater possibilities for matching ring sets.

One option, for example, is a 2mm platinum band that sports a small oval diamond of exceptional color and clarity. Many more men will wear a ring of this type, when in the past they might have foregone wearing a ring regularly at all. The comfort fit and silvery sheen fits in well with an overall style of class and dynamism.

All the same criteria of quality in a stone - great cut, flawless clarity, fine color - still apply. All the long-standing attributes of an outstanding band continue to inform modern designs. Scratch resistance, durability to avoid going out of round and other qualities remain important. But added to these is a whole new world of style options for men’s wedding bands.

It’s all about choice.

Tags: Men's Wedding Bands

Settling Newlyweds into Happily Ever After

From flowers to guest lists, engaged couples spend months planning the perfect wedding. After the vows are said and the reception is complete, most newlyweds are ready to relax. But there are several steps newlyweds should take before their happily ever after can begin.

“Settling into life as a married couple takes some work,” says Lindsey Leesmann, a recent newlywed and contributor to YesYouCanOnline.info. “If you’re taking your husband’s last name, you must complete the name change in several places. You also have to discuss managing money as a couple and learn how to live together.”

Leesmann offers the following to-do list for newlyweds changing their last names:

Obtain a copy of your marriage license
If you stated you’d be changing your last name when purchasing your marriage license, you’ll receive a copy of the license in the mail. This license should be taken to each location on your path toward a new last name.

Go online
Next, acquire a new Social Security card and update your passport. Complete Form SS-5 and take it to the local Social Security office to obtain a new card. The form can be found on the Social Security Administration’s Web site (www.ssa.gov). Your passport can be changed by completing Form DS-5504, found at www.travel.state.gov.

Drive to the DMV
The next stop for newlyweds is the local Department of Motor Vehicles. Each state is different, so make sure to bring all the items required to get your name changed and renew your driver’s license.

Check in at your bank
Most banks simply need a copy of the marriage license and the account holder’s signature to approve a name change. Some may also require your spouse to be present.

Drop by the post office
To change your name at the post office, just pick up a change of address envelope, fill it out and mail it back.

Once the name change is complete, newlyweds can focus on managing money as a couple.

“Money is often a tricky topic for new couples,” says Sam Goller, award-winning author of “Yes, You Can… Achieve Financial Harmony.” “But it’s important to start communicating about money at the beginning of your marriage.”

Goller offers the following suggestions for newlyweds working to manage their finances as a couple:

Determine priorities
Prior to creating a financial plan, talk about your histories with money and what’s most important to each of you when it comes to money.

Find missing dollars
You have to understand your spending habits before you can spend money in a way that helps meet your goals. Consider keeping a spending journal to find out where your money really goes.

Choose a system that works for you
You may prefer to sit down each month as a couple to pay bills and develop a monthly budget. Or maybe one of you is better at handling expenses and prefers to do it alone. Find a system that works with your needs.

“The key to managing money as a couple is to never stop talking,” says Goller. “With shared determination, a plan and open communication, newlyweds have the power to improve their financial position both now and well into retirement.”

For more information on managing money as a couple, visit www.YesYouCanOnline.info.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Tags: finance planning, finances, marriage license, name change, Newlyweds

Gold! The very name brings up images of wealth, beauty and long lasting value. Gold wedding bands are among the most popular not only because of tradition, but because those practices grew out of simple recognition of gold’s great worth.

There are good and simple reasons this magnificent material is so highly valued as a base for wedding bands. Gold never tarnishes. It is scratch resistant and doesn’t produce any allergic reaction. And, not least, it is supremely beautiful.

But pure gold (24 karat) is also somewhat soft. So, in order to make it useful for a wedding ring, which is expected to last for generations, it is alloyed with other metals. Thus the total gold content of a ring is less than 100%. When it’s about 58%, the result is 14kt. (14/24 x 100% = 58.3%.)

It may be alloyed with palladium, for example. Palladium, with superb hardness and capable of long duration, is often used in the manufacture of gold wedding bands. It provides the stiffness and increased scratch resistance that pure gold does not. At the same time, it allows for beautiful variations in tone and a larger array of designs.

White gold, for example, is an alloy that may be formed from a blending of gold with silver or palladium. A particularly hard form is created by coating the ring with rhodium, a metal similar to platinum. The coating does wear off gradually, however, and will need to be replaced periodically. An 18kt white gold ring will be composed of about 75% pure gold with 25% other metal.

Note that platinum is a completely different element, and doesn’t go into making white gold, even though the appearance of the two rings is sometimes similar.

Yellow gold may form by allowing more of gold’s natural color to dominate the mixture, especially near the surface. But typically, the color is the result of blending pure gold with copper or zinc. In different mixtures, the result may be rose gold.

Because of this alloy process, gold wedding bands can incorporate a million unique designs.

A plain gold wedding band is anything but ordinary. It shows itself in simple elegance, with nothing more needed to bring on envious looks. But it can be enhanced in a thousand different ways.

A simple milgrain scrollwork can form a classic looking wedding band. A row of simple diamonds can easily be embedded along the sides of a main stone or as the chief feature. There is an endless array of purely geometric alternatives, such as stripes, hash marks, rectangles and more. These design elements open up the possibilities so that every wedding band can be unique.

And, after all, shouldn’t your gold wedding ring be as one-of-a-kind as you?

Tags: Gold Wedding Bands

A wedding ring is normally worn all day, every day. Wouldn’t it be great if that wedding band was as comfortable as your finest slippers? While most rings are just that, it helps to look for that extra feature if you want that extra degree of comfort. Comfort fit wedding bands to the rescue!

That comfort is achieved in many ways, each a little differently thanks to the ingenuity of designers. One way is to round or bevel the edge along the interior of the ring. Another is to provide a smooth arc that blends the outer and inner portions of the engagement ring or wedding band. This is in contrast, for example, to pipe cut rings that have sharper edges.

The net result is an increased level of comfort, thanks to the absence of those sharp angles. Since ring material is hard metal, that edge can produce discomfort when worn over time. Shaping the ring, which can be done more exactly today than ever before, produces the ultimate in relaxed fit.

Comfort fit designs interplay with another aspect of engagement ring or wedding band selection. Sizing plays a role.

A wedding band may be as slim as 2mm or as large as 8mm. A millimeter is about the minimum distance the average person can hold the thumb and forefinger apart. It’s roughly the width of a fine pencil lead. For smaller sizes, a comfortable fit is easier to achieve. But as the ring width increases, it can help to adjust the sizing.

An extra-wide band, such as 7mm, may call for a comfort fit ring that is 1/4 size larger in diameter. Take into account that finger size can and will change, from such obvious but long term changes as weight loss or gain to hourly fluctuations in temperature or fluid intake. Wedding ring alloys are designed to change only very minutely over the normal range of temperatures a band is worn.

That sizing is especially important in titanium rings, for example, since they’re very difficult to adjust after ordering. A small amount can be shaved from the interior to enlarge them slightly. Reducing their size is nearly impossible owing to the hardness of the metal.

Fortunately, a comfort fit can be achieved in a wide array of stylish choices. Comfort fit wedding bands are not limited to a plain, rounded or domed edge by any means. The outer portion can sport any number of alternatives and still achieve the designer’s comfort goal.

Imagine, for example, a two-toned band in yellow gold and platinum. The interior is shaped to perfection with comfort in mind. The outer portion is peaked and can be grooved, or even display gems. Since a portion of the ring doesn’t contact any surface, the designer has nearly a third on which to exercise additional creativity.

The carefully contoured interior integrates seamlessly with the stylish design of the more visible portion of the ring. That’s the very definition of win-win in jewelry.

Tags: Comfort Wedding Bands

There are more styles of wedding bands available today than there are engaged couples. Yet, what is symbolized by these precious metal and gem rings remains what it has always been. A wedding band says: you are the one, and deserve nothing less than the finest possible.

Plain wedding bands can say that as well as the most elaborate design. Classic styles remain the choice of millions because they need nothing beyond themselves. With the sheen of gold and little or no ornamentation, they can convey the same message as any other ring. They adorn with simplicity and bond a couple together as strongly as the most flawless diamond.

Contemporary styles show the restless imagination of the world’s finest jewelry designers. Experiments with tungsten, titanium and other alternative metals have all proven extremely successful. These bands incorporate the latest ideas in ring making, but are destined to become new classics themselves.

Gold wedding bands remain a popular choice, beyond the impetus of tradition. White, yellow or rose, they are strong, beautiful, and last forever. That makes them the perfect representative of a relationship that is aiming for the utmost.

Platinum is preferred by many. No finer choice could be made. Some metals are called ‘precious’ for more reasons than their rarity in the Earth. This silvery metal is ultra-durable, heavy and stunning to the eye. Its heft betrays the gravity that the engaged couple feel when approaching their commitment. Its beauty symbolizes that of their devotion.

Add to that platinum band a single or set of diamonds. You’ve now reached the pinnacle of wedding rings. A single stone may form a centerpiece of stellar clarity and dazzling color. Whether pure white or deep yellow, or any of the hundreds of other colors available, a diamond set in a platinum band says it all.

All of these possibilities can be carried to the limit by the master craftsman who creates a hand crafted wedding band or engagement ring. With designs as individual as the artist and the ultimate recipient, these pieces of jewelry become fine works of art to wear.

But there are practical aspects to the choice of an engagement ring or wedding band, as well. Beyond the need to scratch resistance, durability of shape and surface, and other attributes they still need to wear well.

Sizing is a basic element to meet this need, of course. But the design itself can greatly aid in achieving that goal. A comfort fit ring assists the wearer to want to wear it always. With beveled interior and exterior edges, rounded arcs and other features incorporated in the ring one can truly want never to take it off.

All these features are equally true of men’s rings as they are of women’s. Men want a choice of styles, excellent wear characteristics and a ring that is truly fine to look at. They want something distinctive. Modern rings surpass these goals easily.

But the engagement and wedding ceremony don’t end the possibilities in ring selection.

Anniversary bands celebrate the well-deserved success of keeping that long-term commitment. Whether celebrating the 1st, the 10th or the 100th anniversary of a marriage, there’s a ring to suit.

Many couples will want to increase still further the celebration of their devotion to one another. Renewing their vows - whether after five years or fifty - is a superb way to do just that. And for each of those possibilities there is an anniversary wedding band to help them do so.

Selecting wedding bands is one of the happiest of occasions. The purpose that drives the choice is one of joy. The options available to fulfill that choice are as boundless as the feelings they symbolize.

Tags: and Love, Bands of Gold