Showing posts with label Weddings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weddings. Show all posts

Monday, 17 October 2016

Utilize a music search for your wedding

A bride-to-be has a full plate when it comes to making decisions and narrowing away options for her special day. If you are about to be married, then you know all about the potential stresses of wedding planning. Who knew it would be so hard, right? With so many details to organize and so many elements of your wedding day to make special, it is hard to keep track of everything that is important. One element of great weddings that is often overlooked is the music. A ceremony and a reception are never complete without a great selection of wedding music. Doing a music search or two can be the best ways to find great tunes.


I love helping brides plan every detail of their weddings. It is what I do for fun and it is also my job. I love helping make weddings extra special by adding little touches that are often overlooked by a busy bride. The music is one such element that is often thrown together at the last minute. I encourage all my brides-to-be to do a vast music search to come up with music choices for both the ceremony and the reception.


Doing a music search can seem overwhelming to brides, but it doesn't have to be. While there are many places that a bride can do a music search, I always encourage a bride to start with going through her personal CD collection to begin the music search. Why? It's simple: because all of your CD's represent the music you love most, so why not do a music search through your albums and see what kind of great tunes you can find for your big day. You will come upon some of your favorite songs that you haven't heard in years but that will be perfect for wedding ceremony or to dance to at your reception.


Another great source for a music search is through the CD's of your close friends and family. Gathering music this way is a great method to ensure that you are choosing music that is already listened to and enjoyed by people. There is nothing worse than getting to a wedding reception and knowing none of the music. So do a music search through CD cases and I guarentee that you will come up with a lot.


If you are still in need of more good music, do a music search online. There are many great sites to sample music and to purchase songs for a minimal fee. You can round out your wedding music collection by visiting an online music search or two.


Take your time. Find great music. Everyone who attends your wedding will love it.


Tuesday, 11 October 2016

A wedding band the ultimate symbol of love devotion

A wedding band is a ring made of precious metal, worn on the ring finger to symbolize marriage. A wedding band is indicative of the fidelity of the spouse. It is usually worn on the left ring finger. It was a Greek belief that the vein in the left ring finger goes directly to the heart. The vein was called vena amori. However modern medicine has proven the belief incorrect. The custom of wearing a wedding band is European and has now spread widely across the world. However in Eastern Europe and some parts of Western Europe like the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany the wedding band is worn on the right hand ring finger. Some people wear wedding bands over the neck on a chain. Traditionally the wedding band is worn nearer to the base of the ring finger than the engagement band. Most of the times on the engagement band the spouse’s name is engraved after marriage and the engagement band changes status to become the wedding band. In traditional marriages it is the duty of the best man to take care of the wedding bands and produce them at the time of the ring giving and receiving ceremony. Often the ring bearer (usually a young boy related to the bride or groom) carries the wedding bands on special cushions or pillows.


The ring symbolizes the couple’s love for each other. Making overtures to a man or woman wearing a ring is frowned upon in society. The rings of men and women are little bit different in design. The bands of men are usually broader than the wedding bands of women. The usual thickness of the bands range from 2 mm to 10 mm. Generally more women wear wedding bands than men. Some people due to their occupations like police men, soldiers, electricians, actors etc do not generally wear wedding bands.


There are thousands of designs of wedding bands available in the market. Generally they are made of precious metals like gold (white gold & yellow gold), titanium, platinum, tungsten carbide, gun metal, stainless steel, nickel etc. Poisonous or corroding metals like aluminum, silver and brass are never used. However as per customs wedding bands can be made of any material. The designs available are domed bands, milgrain bands, two tone bands, flat bands, fancy bands, diamond bands, designer bands, engraved bands, knife edge bands, brushed center bands, plain flat bands, Celtic bands, Irish bands, antique designs, etc. Usually the wedding bands for couples are sold in pairs with matching designs. Sometimes the names of spouses are engraved on the wedding bands. The most common pattern is a plain gold band. It is easier to clean it and gives an elegant look.


Wedding bands are available in attractive designs, studded with gems, with bright polish etc. The gems are available in many shapes like round, marquise, heart, emerald, trillion, multi cut, pear, princess, oval etc. In France and French speaking countries generally the wedding bands are made of three interwoven rings. They represent love, faith and hope. The price of wedding bands range from below $50 to millions of dollars depending upon the type of band and gem.


Wednesday, 7 September 2016

Finding old friends through myspace

The MySpace community is a wonderful forum which allows members to make new friends. While most users of MySpace are aware of the opportunity to make new friends through their interactions in the community, some of them may not realize MySpace can be used to find old friends with which you have lost contact. Although most people have the best of intentions of staying in contact with friends, this often does not happen. There are a number of reasons including careers, family obligations and social commitments which prevent old friends from staying in touch. Fortunately, MySpace offers a way for these old friends to reconnect. Although there are countless ways for old friends to find each other on MySpace we will describe three methods for finding old friends on MySpace which are popularly used by members of the community.


Let Them Come to You


The easiest way to reconnect with old friends on MySpace is to let them find you. Joining MySpace and creating a website profile may be all it takes for some members to find old friends within the community. If you are looking for an old friend, chances are they often wonder about you as well. If this old friend is already a member of MySpace they may occasionally search for you by name, nickname or interests throughout the community. MySpace has a search feature which gives users a variety of options which can help them to find long lost friends.


While this may seem like a passive approach to finding old friends on MySpace it can be very effective. It is especially effective when the lost friend is already a member of the community and is actively seeking to reconnect with you as well.


Do Your Research


A more time consuming way to reconnect with an old friend on MySpace is to search for them. This process can be incredibly time consuming and possibly fruitless or it can be extremely easy and rewarding. When searching for an old friend, begin your search by entering their complete name into the search feature and using the search by name button. If your old friend is a member of MySpace and has used his full name you will find him easily. There may be multiple results especially if your friend has a common name but you will likely recognize your friend when you come across his MySpace website.


If entering your friend’s complete name does not return any useful results you can also try entering their nickname. Members who do not use their full name when registering on MySpace often use a nickname as their moniker. Even if they don’t a search of the nickname may lead you to your friend’s website if his other friends refer to him by this nickname in their comments left on his website.


Finally, you can try using keywords related to your friend’s favorite hobby in searching for an old friend. This method is likely to be the most time consuming and may return countless result of those who share the same hobby as your friend.


Make a Plea


If all else fails, in searching for an old friend on MySpace you might consider making a plea for anyone who knows him to contact you on your blog or elsewhere on your website. You may find this leads to you being contacted either by your old friend directly or by someone who knows him and can provide you with contact information. This may sound like a farfetched search option but it is actually quite plausible. Many people enjoy the anonymity the Internet offers and are careful to avoid revealing personal details about themselves online. This may make it quite difficult for you to find an old friend on MySpace but it does not mean he is not a member. If he is a member it is likely he will find a blog posting on another website inquiring about where he is. This is because humans, by nature, can be quite narcissistic and it is not unusual for members of MySpace to routinely enter their own name into the search feature on MySpace to see if anyone is talking about them in the community.


Saturday, 20 August 2016

Wedding crasher why crash your bash

A party is not a party without a gate crasher; uninvited guests seem to appear more at weddings than that of other celebrated events. You will know of a Wedding Crashers presence by his/her supping of your beer and the filling of their belly with wedding cake.


Wedding crashers have the audacity to join in with your celebrations uninvited, the mere cheek of it but you have to give it to them for having the guts to attend the party without an invitation.


How you tackle the wedding crasher is up to you but heaven forbid should he/she be the size of the hulk then approach with care. Wedding crashers are cunning when providing you with an explanation as to who they are, expect the answer to be something like, don't you recognize me its Joe, Joe Bloggs cousin of and so and so.


The bride and groom is easily side tracked in believing the wedding crasher due to the fact that mum/dad did have relations that they had never met.


A good way for the wedding crasher to gain entry to the reception is to soften the happy couple up with a gift; you will find this usually does the trick.


Most wedding crashers excuse for attending the party is to say they are a member of staff where they pose as a waiter or florist tending to all flowers needs where the wedding reception is held. If the reception is in the married couples garden then forget it.


What is the best time for you to wedding crash well that is easy late into the evening when the party is in full swing. Why you ask, well all gathered at the venue will have had their fair dosage of champagne which will hamper their vision where they dont get to see you or on the other hand the alcohol affects may differ where they have a double vision sighting. So we now have two wedding crashers (the terrible twins).


Security may be provided for your venue if your chosen establishment offers this service but in case they do not then be sure to handle people especially those without an invitation with caution. If your wedding crasher is causing you concern then call the police and have them removed from the premises by the boys in blue.


Why do wedding crashers crash well the reason being is they are fully aware of the effort you put in behind the preparation of your reception and therefore know this is going to be the best bash to crash on that night.


Saturday, 9 July 2016

Dna left behind in space alien encounter

Some folks, skeptics and scoffers, are not going to believe in the existence of Aliens from other worlds manning UFO's unless they land in their backyards and ask for directions or to call a tow. And, even then, I do not know whether that would convince a scoffing skeptic.


I address this issue in my new book, I Was Abducted by Aliens But They Threw Me Back, in which I make the point that if you know you've been repeatedly abducted, for God's sake, Velcro that digital camera to your wrist when you go to bed at night. Don't leave the camera behind when you are planning on tooling down one of those deserted, "two-lane, come and abduct me because I am asking for it" highways where you will just be begging to get swooped up by a bunch of little Grey men (Why do repeat Abductees always drive down deserted highways at two in the morning?). Evidence is what is needed, even in the form of photographs. We can't just depend on eyewitness accounts for proof.


I do not particularly poo-poo eyewitness accounts. It seems to work well in a court of law to send a convicted person to prison or the gallows. But, this doesn't seem to fly with scientists because, well, you know how scientists can be. It's their way or it's the highway. What can't be crammed into the scientific method is nothing more than figments of us mere mortals' overworked and overcharged imaginations. The truth is that eyewitnesses can get it wrong, and often do. However, I do not see the court system throwing out using people's testimonies anytime soon. When it comes to proving Bigfoot or the possibility that humans are being taken to where no man has agreed to go before by bug-eyed aliens, science wants DNA and nothing short of this will do. Well, move over Carl Sagan (or turn over in your grave), there is DNA evidence from a purported alien encounter.


Peter Khoury, a Lebanese expatriate to Australia, had a humdinger of an encounter of the third kind that neither his wife nor he will soon forget. Born in Lebanon in 1964, he moved to The Land Down Under in 1973 where he eventually met his future wife, Vivian. Married in 1990, he and his wife live in Sydney and have two children. He owns a local business.


They had their first UFO encounter in February 1988, which was nothing more (or was it?) than just a simple sighting of lights in the night sky. I am always amused when I hear about these sighting since most of us have seen them. The things that really ring my bell are the daytime sightings with not-so-shy aliens who wave at you from their spaceships hovering just 100 feet off the ground. Now, that's a sighting. Lights in a dark night sky, while interesting, are usually just that; lights in the night sky.


Khoury's experience of seeing lights in the night sky would not end with that event. In the summer of 1988, Peter had a waking or conscious experience. While resting in bed, and while some relatives were watching television in the living room, Peter suddenly felt something grab his ankle. The grabbing of the ankle, according to Khoury, paralyzed him. He felt his body go numb. Wide-awake, he saw three or four figures in the room with him. They were dressed in some sort of hooded garb. He alleges that one or more spoke to him in a telepathic manner urging him not to be afraid that "it would like last time." Then, one of the figures inserted a long needle into the side of his head, whereupon he lapsed into unconsciousness.


(Let me just say I would have fainted long before the needle came at me.)


Upon his eventual awaking, he ran into the living room where he found his relatives still watching television. They thought that just a few minutes had passed since Peter had gone into his room to lie down, but in reality, hours had passed.


The next morning, he and his wife discovered a small puncture wound on the side of his head where he claimed someone inserted a needle into his head. The creature not only paralyzed him, but also took something from his head.


Peter Khoury had not only never heard of alien abductions, he was not looking to have one. His interests did not lie in that direction. He alleges he had had no previous contact with anyone from this field of study. It was his wife who found some information that led them to an unsatisfying association with UFO groups in his area. It was in 1992 that Khoury would have yet another bizarre experience that would catapult him to contact Bill Chalker, a renowned expert in this field.


On the morning of July 23, 1992, Khoury was suddenly awakened to the sight of two naked, very human-looking females sitting on his bed. One of the women looked Asiatic while the other looked Scandinavian. Khoury claims they looked physically perfect and very exotic. He also alleges the eyes of the women looked unnatural in that they were bigger than a human's eyes.


The women, as you can guess it, forced themselves on Khoury. He did resist and even attempted to bite one of them. His resistance caused what Khoury describes as confusion or shock. The women promptly vanished.


Khoury then alleges that he went to the bathroom and attempted to urinate. It was at that point that he experienced tremendous pain in his penis. When he pulled back the foreskin to examine himself, he discovered a blonde hair (one of the women was blonde while the other had black hair) wrapped tightly around his penis. The area of his penis where the hairs were wound was burning intensely. He did manage to unravel them and had the presence of mind to save the two blonde hairs in a plastic bag.


These pieces of hair were actual physical evidence of an alleged alien encounter. Peter Khoury presented to Ufologist and Alien Abductee investigator, Bill Chalker, the first case of collected evidence of an alien abduction experience. DNA was recovered from the hair samples.


A polymerase chain reaction process was done on the sample yielding a good result. For comparisons, hair was taken from the Khoury household members. The results were astounding.


"The thin blond hair, which appeared to have come from a light-skinned Caucasian-type woman, could not have come from a normal human of that racial type. Instead, though human, the hair showed five distinctive DNA markers that are characteristic of a rare sub-group of the Chinese Mongoloid racial type. A detailed survey of the literature on variations in mitochondrial DNA, comprising tens of thousands of samples, showed only four other people on record with all five of the distinctive markers in the blond hair. All four were Chinese, with black hair." and "The findings suggest that all four of the Chinese subjects share a common female ancestor with the blonde woman. But there is no easy explanation for how this could be." - The Anomaly Physical Evidence Group


To whom did the hair belong and how and why was it around Peter Khoury's penis? No one knows.


But, without this evidence, Khoury's experience would be chalked up to yet another unprovable eyewitness account.


Tuesday, 5 July 2016

Speaking with aliens

Some years ago, new residents in town, we ventured into church one Sunday. There were five of us: a set of parents, sufficiently presentable to fit in well in just about any club, and three cute-as-a-button children: fourth-grade Chrissie, second-grade Chuckie, and Rachel, my three-year-old niece who had just come to live with us. Just your normal All-American family goes to church scenario.


Noticing an area of empty pews, we made our way down the aisle and, the children arrayed between us, took our seats. Only later would we learn we had elected to sit in no-man’s land, signaling, for all the world to see, that we were rank newcomers.


The service went passably along, and after the hymns, they asked the children to come forward for the children’s sermon. Our three kids eagerly joined their compatriots up front.


The smiling minister had no idea. Nothing got past Chrissie, but she typically didn’t share any public expressions of her observations. On the other hand, Chuckie, while noticing far less, often recognized a need for his contribution to the discussion at hand. He had, for good or for ill, also inherited my voice which, unmodulated, carries to the next county. Rachel, tow-headed in extremis, had already learned how to get attention and how to work a crowd. She considered these activities her favorite hobbies, in fact.


In telling his little sermonette, the minister asked a rhetorical question. Chuckie, unacquainted with the concept of rhetoric, answered the question quite fulsomely. His voice carried to the rafters, of course, so the entire congregation received the benefit of his knowledge. Unaccustomed to a participatory children’s sermon, the minister none-the-less soldiered on. At which point Rachel started to make faces at the congregation, much to their amusement. Their laughter fell on her ears as music, urging her to greater effort. Manfully ignoring the distractions, the minister continued by, unfortunately, asking another rhetorical question. Again, Chuckie leapt into the breach with a wonderfully complete answer, helping in the best way he knew how.


The rattled minister wrapped up the children’s sermon in short order and sent all the children back to their parents. Chuckie came down the aisle flushed with the success of having helped. Rachel followed, working the crowd as she came. Chrissie finished up our trio, rolling her eyes at the other two. Judging from the laughter, her silent appraisal didn’t go unnoticed.


After the offering, as the sermon began, the sun suddenly flooded through the large window–at least twenty feet tall–immediately behind the minister, blinding us. And we, just as suddenly, understood why that little island of pews had been left empty. “I see the light” took on a whole new meaning. Only first-timers ever sat in those pews.


A quick check revealed all the non-blinding pews to be comfortably full. I saw no indications of any willingness to squeeze us in anywhere, so we sat, unseeing, in the sun.


You want obvious? Between the kids and our choice of seats, we crafted an entirely new, enhanced definition of obvious. Nobody missed the fact we were in attendance that day.


At the end of the service, our eyes thankfully regaining their ability to see, we joined the others downstairs for the “coffee hour” so we could meet members of the congregation and learn more about the church.


Nobody said a word to us. We smiled as people passed by, but they hurried on their way without a response. We were aliens in a strange land, and they apparently didn’t speak to aliens. Or smile, either.


People cut a wide arc around us as they passed by, lest we accost them with a friendly “hello.” My husband mumbled something about deodorant, but I didn’t catch it all. We stayed for maybe twenty minutes as our children finished their snacks, but nobody gave any sign that they even saw us.


And that’s the way it is in many churches nowadays. So, if church members reward your attendance by ignoring you, don’t worry for a nanosecond that their snub is about you. We brought the circus to town, and the church still managed to ignore us.


Don’t go back to a church with no welcome. Churches with the phony-baloney volunteer greeters who crush your hand into instant arthritis, thinking that substitutes for friendliness, aren’t much either.


Find a church where people realize it isn’t all about them. When people attach as much importance to others as they do to themselves, they’ll not only welcome you, they’ll appreciate you. Then remember, remember, remember to pass it on.


© 2007 by Bette Dowdell. All rights reserved.


Tuesday, 28 June 2016

How-to pick the perfect destination for your wedding

A destination wedding is a wedding that takes place in a location that is not home to either the bride or the groom or their families. Couples may choose a location that they have always wanted to visit for the location of their destination wedding. The couple may also opt to have their wedding in the location of their honeymoon so that there honeymoon will start immediately after the wedding. There are certain advantages and disadvantages to having a destination wedding. One of the most defining advantages is the ability to have a wedding in a beautiful and exotic location. Another advantage to a destination wedding is that if you choose to honeymoon in the same location you will first of all already be at your honeymoon location at the conclusion of the wedding and furthermore you will likely receive a discount on your honeymoon stay because you have already had your wedding at the location. One of the distinct disadvantages of a destination wedding is that the planning process can be difficult and that you are often unable to fully enjoy the planning process.


Another disadvantage to destination weddings is that they are typically not well attended due to the fact that travel is expensive. A destination wedding can be used as the opportunity to enjoy a long weekend with close friends in a convenient location. The following are a few tips for turning your destination wedding into a fun-filed extended weekend for your guests.


The location of your wedding can play a key role in the style of your wedding. Some couples opt for a ceremony at a church followed by a reception at a catering hall while others may wish to hold the ceremony outdoors but have a reception at an indoor location. Still others choose to hold both the ceremony and the reception at a catering hall. Whichever option you choose for your wedding it is important to ensure that the location you choose has all of the elements that you were seeking in a wedding location such as ambiance, seating capacity, a dance floor or anything else that you require.


Las Vegas is another popular destination wedding location. The lure of a Las Vegas wedding is that there is so much to see and do in this city. Guests can choose to spend their free time gambling, taking in shows or visiting the many famous restaurants in the area. Guests can also choose to visit some of the extravagant and world famous hotels in the area.


Maximum occupancy is another important consideration when choosing the perfect wedding location. While you may really like the intimacy that a quaint location that seats only 50 guests affords, this is not a feasible option for a couple who has invited over 300 guests to their wedding. Likewise a large reception space that is capable of seating 500 people is not a good option for a couple who is planning a small wedding with only a handful of close friends and family members. It is important to choose a wedding location that is capable of accommodating the number of guests that you have invited without being large enough to accommodate almost twice as many people that you have invited. Choosing a venue that is either too small or too big is not feasible because a venue that is too small will be cramped and may not fit all of your guests while a venue that is too big will be a waste of money because large spaces often include a minimum number of guest required and you may wind up paying for more guest than you actually have in attendance.


New York City is still another popular destination wedding location. Guests who travel to a destination wedding in New York City have a variety of activities to choose from while they are vacationing. Museums, plays, operas and sporting events are just a few of the available activities that guests may choose to partake in. Besides these activities, New York City also has some of the best people watching available in the world. The city is literally teeming with interesting characters that delight visitors with their idiosyncrasies. Additionally there are many nightclubs and restaurants that are definitely worth trying.


Choosing the perfect location for your wedding may seem like an impossible task especially if you live in an area that has a number of options. Setting strict criteria for evaluating locations can save you a lot of time and effort. Only visiting venues that meet these criteria will greatly reduce the number of locations that you need to visit.


Sunday, 28 February 2016

50th wedding anniversary speech - after 50 years together

Giving a speech after 50 years of marriage would seem to be really easy, but expressing your emotions after 50 years doesn’t always get easier, sometimes it gets more difficult because the emotion becomes stronger, deeper, and more complicated. Whether you are the husband or wife or a dear friend that would like to make a speech, it can be difficult to find the right words to say that encapsulate a love that has been able to withstand 50 years of marriage.


If You Are One of the Couple


If you are either the husband or the wife, you should thank all of the guests for coming to celebrate 50 years of marriage with you. You should then express your gratitude to your spouse for hanging in there with you for all of these years. Share a story or some feelings with your spouse and your friends and family about a particularly inspiring time, loving time, difficult time, or a moment of levity in the 50 years of marriage that you think is appropriate. You can present your spouse with a gift during your speech as well, which is a great way to end your golden anniversary speech!


Where to Start


Starting a speech can be very difficult, so the best way to start off is with a brief introduction of yourself if you are not the husband or the wife. For instance, you don’t need to give your entire background you can simply say, “Hi, I’m Jane. I am a long time friend of Bill and Nancy and am so glad to be here today.” This will give the other guests that are at the party some idea of who you are and why you would want to give a speech at all!


What to Say


50 years of marriage, what do you say? If you are married, thank the couple for being an inspiration to you and your spouse. Thank them for sticking together and being two people that everyone could count on. You can tell the couple that you hope that your marriage can be as strong after 50 years as you know that theirs is now. If you have one, share a cute story that you think demonstrates the strength and beauty of the couple’s love. You can also present the couple with a gift, a framed picture, or a framed piece of scripture or a poem during your speech. The point of the speech is just to convey how happy you are for the couple for sticking together for 50 years, as well as to express what an inspiration they are to married people everywhere.


How to Close


Closing the speech can be the most difficult part after starting! The best thing you can do is say congratulations and that you hope to celebrate many more anniversaries, and thank them for sharing their day with you. The closing needn’t be anything extravagant, and there will likely be someone that will follow you in their congratulating the married couple for their 50th wedding anniversary.


Saturday, 27 February 2016

Wedding favors inexpensive and elegant

Wedding favors have become a "must" for most weddings. Brides cannot imagine having no wedding favors. As they launch preparations for the wedding, they begin looking at possibilities: candy, chocolate, candles, seeds, coasters, cookies, tea – the list seems endless. Unfortunately, for some, the list may seem to offer nothing that is both inexpensive and elegant. They may feel that they are forced to choose between the two.


Inexpensive, elegant wedding favors must exist, they reason, but where can you find them?


A Humane Society donation wedding favor may be the answer. These inexpensive, elegant wedding favors are a tasteful way of showing that you care for animals, and believe your guests care also.


Humane Society Donation Wedding Favors


Humane Society donation wedding favors are easy on the bride, and at such a busy time of her life, that alone makes these wedding favors a great choice. There is no shopping to be done. No boxes arrive, needing to be unpacked. Nothing must be assembled. No tags wait to be added.


To get Humane Society donation wedding favors, all you need to do is contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) through their website. A search engine will find it for you quickly.


Tell the ASPCA what amount of money you would like to donate to help care for animals. Then tell them how many guests you expect at your wedding. After that, just sit back and let the ASPCA do the rest.


The ASPCA will send you enough place cards for your entire guest list. The small white cards are quite elegant, each one bearing the ASPCA symbol on the front in silver. Beneath the silver symbol are the letters, ASPCA.


Humane Society donation wedding favors tell your guests that you have made a donation in their names "in lieu of a wedding favor." There will be no indication of the amount you have given, so whether it is large or small, only you and the ASPCA representative will know.


Inexpensive, Elegant Wedding Favors


These inexpensive, elegant wedding favors offer you a number of advantages.


* Inexpensive: This is, of course, a relative term. A donation of $1,000 might be termed "inexpensive" if you are inviting 1,000 guests. You are getting wedding favors for a mere $1 per guest. If you are on a smaller budget, your wedding favor donation could be much less than $1,000. Perhaps you really have little to spend on any kind of wedding favors. A small flute-shaped bottle filled with bubbles, its white top said to look like champagne foam, might cost only $0.20 per guest, and that may be all you can afford. But suppose you donated the same amount to the Humane Society. You would still get inexpensive wedding favors, but they would not appear to be inexpensive. The ASPCA has no minimal donation amount. Nor do they limit donations at the upper end. Whatever you can give for your wedding favors is appreciated.


* Elegant: Those little champagne bubble bottles would not seem the least bit elegant. Most inexpensive wedding favors do not. The same amount of money, however, donated to the Humane Society, will give you elegant wedding favors that look as though your donation was much, much more. You will have gone from "tacky" to chic with one small action.


* Respect: Your friends are likely to respect your decision to make a donation in place of giving wedding favors. Many will probably compliment you on your gracious deed. You may even find that a few, looking forward to their own weddings, will ask how you made the donation.


* Satisfaction: You begin your married life knowing that you did something meaningful – showed compassion to animals in need. You will gain a sense of satisfaction from the knowledge that your wedding favors had real value.


How Much to Give


Humane Society donation wedding favors can be purchased for any amount, as noted above. The ASPCA will send as many wedding favor cards as you need. But how much do you want to give? Would you be willing to feed a cat for a year? Would you be able to donate enough to feed one medium-sized dog from now until your first wedding anniversary? Perhaps you could feed two, three, or four animals. Which ones would you choose?


Let these figures guide you as you choose a wedding favor donation amount. They show how much it would cost to feed different animals for one year. (Figures taken from the ASPCA website.)


* 1 gold fish - $20


* 1 small rat - $50


* 1 small bird - $75


* 1 guinea pig - $75


* 1 rabbit - $156


* 1 cat - $170


* 1 small dog - $160


* 1 medium dog - $310


* 1 large dog - $350


Perhaps the bridal couple was intending to get their own pet as soon as they returned from the honeymoon. If you put that money into Humane Society donation wedding favors, what difference could you make?


If you waited, and got your pet as a first wedding anniversary gift instead, how much could you donate for your wedding favors? Look at the annual cost (after purchase or adoption) of pet ownership for one year. Again, these figures are from the ASPCA website.


* 1 gold fish - $235


* 1 small rat - $340


* 1 small bird - $195


* 1 guinea pig - $645


* 1 rabbit - $911


* 1 cat - $715


* 1 small dog - $810


* 1 medium dog - $1,190


* 1 large dog - $1,580


Inexpensive, elegant wedding favors, in the form of a Humane Society donation, can cost as little or as much as you decide to give.


Helpful Tip


Years from now, when you look back at your wedding, you will be glad that you gave these wedding favors. When you make your donation, and order your wedding favors, don't forget to order one for your wedding scrapbook.