With all the expenses typically associated with preparing for a wedding, there is the temptation to put less emphasis on certain aspects of the ceremony. Stationary often falls into this category. Invitations, thank you and note cards, and orders of service are examples of stationary that people choose to use for their ceremony. Of these, you don't want to diminish the quality of wedding invitation that you use. Your wedding invitation is what people see first regarding your wedding. It sets the tone of what your guests can expect when they attend the wedding ceremony. A wedding invitation generally includes key features and there are some considerations to help you with your choice of wedding invitation style. You don't have to spend a significant amount of money on a particular wedding invitation style, but there are some guidelines you can follow to make them a success.

Word Choice
What you say and how you say it is an important part of a wedding invitation. At the very least you want to include information that will inform you guests of the what, where, why, and when of the ceremony. The obvious information that should be included in a wedding invitation is the names of the bride and groom, as well as the date, time, and venue of the ceremony. The names of the individuals who are hosting the wedding ceremony (paying for it) should appear on the wedding invitation. There really isn't one standard for how this information should appear on the wedding invitation, so you can use your best judgment or seek advice from a printer.

Getting Down to the Particulars
Numbers are important when preparing a wedding invitation. Knowing how many invitations to mail and when to mail them are important numbers for your wedding invitation. The general guidelines for sending out invitations to your wedding is six weeks to 12 months before the ceremony. If you are inviting guests from out-of-town you should allow an extended amount of time for the individual to receive the wedding invitation and to make arrangements to attend. Unless everyone who receives a wedding invitation will be invited to the reception, it is standard practice to include a separate card announcing the particulars of the reception with the wedding invitation of those you intend to invite to the reception. No matter how you plan, you will always need an extra wedding invitation. As a rule, it is a good idea to order at least 25 extra invitations.

Considering Style
When your guests receive their wedding invitation, they should receive more than a simple card with information on it. Add as much creative flair to your wedding invitation that you possibly can. Ideas for making a wedding invitation unique include adding color, accessories, and aromas. You can experiment with each of these elements when deciding on the style of wedding invitation to use or view samples from a printer, online catalog, or those within a stationary shop.

Choosing a good caterer is crucial to having a wedding that your guests are sure to enjoy. Some may argue that the food served at the wedding is the most important part of the wedding. After all guests who enjoy their meal are likely to be in better spirits than guest who have eaten very little or who have not enjoyed their meal.

Many wedding venues offer onsite catering and more importantly do not allow offsite caterers to work at your wedding. Since most couples choose the location for their wedding before considering their catering options, it is important to ask about the venues policies regarding outside caterers. This is important because many venues will only allow you to use their caterer or a caterer that they recommend. In this situation it is crucial that you choose the venue for your wedding, not only on the appearance of the ball rooms but also on the quality of the food they offer. Although a venue may have picturesque views and gorgeously decorated rooms if the food is not up to par you may want to consider a different venue in which to host your wedding.

A great place to start your search for a qualified caterer is to ask friends and relatives for their recommendations. Or if you have recently attended a wedding that served fabulous food, you might want to contact the host of that wedding to inquire about their caterer. Recommendations are important because the best indication of how good the food will be is how well the food was received in the past.

If you are unable to obtain a few recommendations for caterers trying using the Internet and phone books to research local caterers. You could use the Internet and direct calls made to the caterer to learn about their availability, menu options and prices. Once you obtain this information you will be able to eliminate caterers who are already booked for your wedding date and who are out of your price range. Next you will want to consider the menu options of the remaining caterers. If you have a specific menu in mind and none of the caterers have the items you are looking for available, you might want to check with them to see if they will be able to prepare your favorite dishes. Many skilled caterers are fully capable of preparing many dishes besides what they list on their menu.

Finally, once you have narrowed your choices down to three or four candidates, call them all back and ask them if they are available for tasting sessions in the near future. If a caterer does not offer tasting sessions, strike them off your list immediately unless you have tasted their food at previous weddings. Without tasting their food, there is really no way to decide if the caterer is right for your wedding. It is important to decide on a few possible menu choices prior to the tasting session so that you can ask the caterer to prepare these specific dishes. While there is some merit to tasting general items from the caterer’s menu, it is always best to taste the exact items that will be prepared at your wedding to ensure that the food will meet your expectations. It is acceptable to ask that the caterer prepare a few options for each course to be served on the day of your wedding. This will aid in the decision making process. Plan on sampling about two to three bites from each dish to really get a feel for the flavor of the dish. Also, try not to schedule more than one tasting session on any particular day. Trying too many dishes on one day can dull your taste buds plus you may have difficulty remembering which caterer prepared which dish.

After each tasting session take notes on the dishes you prepared and your opinions of these dishes. You might also want to assign a numerical rating from one to ten for each dish. It is important that you do this immediately after each session so that you are sure to remember the details as well as your opinions of the food. After your final tasting session, you will want to compare notes from all of the previous tasting sessions. If you took careful notes, you should be able to determine which caterer had the best available dishes. In choosing a caterer you may find that one caterer had delicious entrees but bland appetizers or salads. You may find that another caterer had a variety of delicious appetizers but that the entrees all fell short of your expectations. Still another caterer may not have had any courses really stand out but had each course receive an above average rating. In this case you might want to consider the caterer that had a menu that was well balanced so that none of your courses wind up being sub par.

Your caterer can make or break your wedding so it is important to choose them wisely. Recommendations and personal experiences are some of the best ways to choose a caterer. You should also consider scheduling tasting sessions to try out the exact dishes that will be on your menu before you make your final decision.

Large venues such as catering halls make an elegant wedding location but for a more intimate gathering you might want to consider hosting your wedding either at your own home or the home of a close friend or relative. A wedding hosted at a private home can be a lovely and memorable affair that is sure to be enjoyed by all of the guests. There are plenty of advantages to hosting your wedding in a private home including having increased freedom in making choices and providing your guests with a warm casual atmosphere. The downside of hosting a wedding in a private home include the inconvenience and strain placed on the owner of the home and limitations on the number of guest that you can accommodate as well as whether or not it is feasible to hire a caterer.

One of the distinct advantages to hosting a wedding in your home is that there is more freedom in decorating and food choices. Many catering halls have a few options for linens, china and decorations and a limited menu but you are limited by their pre-existing constraints. While sometimes it is easy to simply go along with the template offered by the catering hall, it just doesn’t give the couple much creativity in planning their wedding. In a private home you are free to buy or rent any decorations, linens and china that you choose and use these to set the atmosphere for your wedding. You are also free to hire your own caterer or even take care of food preparations yourself. This freedom gives the couple the opportunity to allow the wedding to truly reflect their personalities. They can opt to have the wedding be as formal or casual as they wish and they may choose to incorporate any imaginable theme in their wedding.

The other advantage to hosting a wedding in your home is the warm casual atmosphere that it provides for your guests. The formality of catering halls makes some people very uncomfortable. Furthermore they often feel obligated to dress formally for an event that is held at a catering hall. While the couple may still opt for a certain degree of formality, many of the guests will feel more relaxed at a wedding hosted in a private home. While they may still dress formally, the absence of a doting wait staff and other stuffy personnel allows the guests to relax more and enjoy the wedding. Informal seating such as couches and loveseats in a living room lend even further to the idea that guests are meant to relax.

One distinct disadvantage to hosting a wedding in a private home is that although the homeowner originally agreed to host the wedding, they may feel increased pressure as the wedding approaches. The homeowner may begin to feel a great deal of stress related to preparing the home for the wedding. The homeowner may feel obligated to partake in rigorous cleaning efforts or purchase additional decoration items in preparation for the wedding. One way to reduce this stress is to enlist the assistance of a cleaning service so that the homeowner does not continue to worry about the cleanliness of the home. You also may want to speak to the homeowner to let them know that you appreciate their efforts but that you are perfectly happy with the home just the way it is and you don’t wish them to go to anymore trouble to prepare for the wedding.

Another disadvantage to hosting a wedding in a private home is that the size of the home may restrict the number of guest. While it is true that most catering halls have maximum occupancy restrictions as well, most of these commercial venues are capable of seating far more guests than even the most extravagant home. If you have a large family or many friends and plan to have many guests then hosting your wedding in a private home may not be a feasible option. However, if you plan on having only a small number of guests then a wedding in a private home may be a wonderful option. The size of the home also factors into your decision to hire a caterer. A home with a small kitchen could be problematic if the caterers intend to prepare all of the food onsite.

Hosting a wedding in a private home can be a wonderful idea. This type of wedding works best if you have a relatively small number of guests and are looking for a casual atmosphere that provides endless decoration possibilities. On the other hand hosting your wedding in a private home may not be feasible if the homeowner is neurotic about cleaning or if you are planning to have a large number of guests in attendance.

Recently the number of out of town guests attending weddings has been on the rise. Years ago, young people grew up and got married in the town they had lived in all their lives but nowadays couples are attending out of state colleges and accepting jobs far away from their hometown. This travel leads to more and more out of town guests attending weddings as the couple may have friends from their hometown, friends from college and friends from the new area where they live and work. Wherever the couple opts to get married there are bound to be a number of guests who are traveling from out of state for the occasion. As the attendance of out of town guests is a relatively new phenomenon, there are not many established traditions regarding out of town guests and the couple has some leeway to deal with the situation as they see fit.

It has become commonplace for the couple to reserve a block of rooms at a hotel that is near the wedding location for their out of town guests. Many hotels will offer a discounted rate if you block out a certain number of rooms. Knowing that you can assure the hotel of a number of guests, gives the hotel the ability to offer a lower rate because they are assured a certain number of booked rooms. Out of town guests will appreciate this gesture because they are receiving a lower rate than they would have found on their own plus they are spared the hassle and inconvenience of trying to find a hotel in an unfamiliar city.

One increasingly popular trend for accommodating out of town guests is to prepare a package featuring brochures and information regarding some of the points of interest in your city and mailing this package out to all of your out of town guests a few weeks before the wedding. Since many out of town guests may try to schedule a vacation around the wedding, this packages offers them a good starting point in their research by highlighting some of the tourist attractions in the area. You could also include a listing of local restaurants and personal recommendations for your guests.

Guests who travel from out of town to attend your wedding are making a sacrifice to do so and it is important to let them know that you appreciate the effort they are making to attend your wedding. There are a couple of ways to do this. One way to do this is to find out where your out of town guests will be staying and when they will be arriving. Once you have this information you can prepare a welcome bag for the out of town guests and drop them off at the hotel and instruct the staff to give them to your guests upon their arrival. As your guest are likely to be tired from their trip, some suggestions for items to include in these welcome bags may include a light snack featuring local specialties and relaxation items such as bath salts and candles. This small gesture really lets your guests know that their presence is appreciated.

Another option to consider for accommodating out of town guests is to include them in the rehearsal dinner. This is a lovely gesture because it sends the message that you are glad that they have traveled to attend your wedding and that you are interested in spending additional time with them. If it is not economically feasible to include all of your out of town guests at the rehearsal dinner you should consider making another effort to spend some additional time with them such as inviting them over for drinks and hors devours or even making a concerted effort to spend quality time with them at the reception. Although the reception can be hectic and virtually fly by, it is important to spend a little extra time with your out of town guests who have made a sacrifice to attend your wedding.

The secret to accommodating your out of town guests is to make every effort to ensure that they know their attendance is greatly appreciated. Small gestures such as reserving a block of hotel rooms or putting together a list of tourist attractions as well as more significant gestures such as preparing welcome baskets and making an extra effort to spend time with your out of town guests all contribute to making your out of town guests feel appreciated and welcomed. It is important to let your out of town guests know that you realize that they have made sacrifices to travel to your wedding and that you appreciate them just for being there.

Early in a relationship the romance factor is very high. The romance is seemingly effortless and it seems as though the romance will never fade. You may find, however, that over time the romance does fade and the relationship doesn’t seem as exciting as it did in the beginning. This is natural as a couple becomes more familiar with each other they begin to make less of an effort in the romance department. When this happens it is time for the couple to start making a conscious effort to recharge their romance.

Recreating your first date can be one way to recharge your romance. Both partners probably put a tremendous amount of effort into their first date and it was probably an incredibly romantic night for both of you. Reenacting this first date by not only returning to the sight of the first date but also putting the same effort into preparing for the date can help to recharge your romance by reminding you of how exciting your relationship was in the beginning.

Leaving your work at the office is another way to recharge your romance. If you are constantly allowing your work life to interfere with your romantic life it is time to put your romance ahead of your career. While it is okay to talk to your partner about work and how your day went, obsessing over work is not acceptable and can put out the fire in your romance rather quickly.

Giving your partners flowers or small gifts for no reason can also recharge your romance. This lets them know that you still think about them when the two of you are apart and that your love for them is always on your mind. The gifts don’t have to be expensive or extravagant but if they truly come from the heart they will help to recharge your romance.

Another way to recharge your romance is to be spontaneous. Romance often fades when a relationship becomes routine and the partners begin to take each other for granted. Spicing things up by suggesting new activities on a whim can reintroduce the romance in your relationship. Too much planning and debate about what to do or where to go can put a damper on the activity or trip before it even takes place. Excessive planning can make something seem dull while spontaneity has the opposite affect of making the activity seem more exciting.

Spending time apart can also recharge a romance. It may sound counterproductive but having your own activities and interests keeps you from becoming bored with your partner. Spending time together is very important but spending time apart is equally important because this time apart gives you the chance to grow as an individual which can enhance your relationship.

Quality time together, just like time apart, can also help to recharge your romance. You need alone time as a couple to reconnect and nurture your romance. A night out on the town for just the two of your or a quiet night alone at home can be equally effective for recharging your romance. Without this time together a couple will not have the opportunity to express themselves to their partner in a romantic way.

Incessant arguing can destroy the romance in a relationship. If you find that you and your partner are arguing constantly or over every little thing, it’s time to really evaluate the relationship and figure out why you are arguing so much. Believe it or not, you may find that this arguing is a subconscious attempt to try to recharge your romance. Arguing invokes passion and you may be trying to bring that passion into your relationship. If you find yourself doing this, it’s time to realize that the arguing is having the opposite effect and that you have to stop this unhealthy pattern. Once you realize that there are other ways to recharge a romance your arguing will subside.

Making a concerted effort to impress your partner can also recharge the romance in a relationship. As a relationship progresses there is often a sense of familiarity and comfort that emerges and results in the couple feeling as if they no longer need to try to impress their partner. They may begin to let their appearance go or stop going out of their way to please their partner. Reversing this by returning to your old ways of trying to impress your partner can go a long way in recharging romance in a relationship.

Taking a trip together can also have the effect of recharging your romance. While planning a trip may be stressful most people relax and enjoy themselves once they reach their destination. Planning a trip with your partner will give each other the opportunity to enjoy each other’s company without the worries and hassles of everyday life.

Turning off the computer for a few days can be a really simple way to recharge your romance. Many couples use their computers often to check email, search the Internet or chat with others and this time spent on the computer can really add up and begin to take time away from your partner. Time can fly when you are computing and you may find that you have wasted an entire night on your computer. You may find that if you turn the computer off for a few days, you have a lot more time to spend with your partner and the romance may naturally return to your relationship.

It is natural for romance to begin to fade if the partners begin to take each other for granted and stop trying to impress each other. Romance doesn’t exist on its own; it needs to be nurtured in a loving way in order to survive. Recharging your romance may seem like a daunting task but it really isn’t. Making an effort to spend time together, showing your partner that you care and scheduling time together and apart are all simple ways to recharge your romance.