This is divadan80's Blue Wedding!

I want to order my wedding photos for my family members to have small albums. I need some photos edited b.c. of the big red exit sign that is in the bridal party pictures. I feel like I cant order them to give away looking like this.

If any one can help me, please let me know. If anyone knows of a site that can do it that would be helpful also. Thanks so much....

I got the news recently. I am pregnant. My husband is so happy and he is acting so crazy, he is driving me crazy. I was already told that this baby will come out looking just like him because of it. He doesnt have any children and is extremely happy and he is ready for this. Asking what took so long??? I am about 6 weeks preggers. The baby will be due in early january. I am excited to go ahead and get our bundle of joy out of the way.

We will be having a baby before our first anniversary. Honestly, I kinda wanted to wait at least a year and just enjoy being married, but tell him that. My daughter is a little excited but she is jealous too. She has been the only child for so long she doent know how to handle it yet. My kids will be 10 years apart? go figure?

I know I have been incognito from the blog lately but hey, my life is changing rapidly and I will still come back to check on you ladies and I have to see about Miss Rhonda getting married this month!
We should be moving into a house by the end of the month, hey that's next week! it's gonna be hard for me to move stuff and I'm pregnant .

I'm kinda scared because I already know to go through a pregnancy is a big sacrifice and I am an emotional ball of nerves now, anything can set me off. I'm ready to do this though, ready to bring new life into the world. My parents and his parents were expecting a baby and they are getting it a lot sooner than they thought! YEAH!

Here are the pictures fro our Honeymoon in Hawaii. It has taken me a while to get it together to put them on here but this was our "us" time. We went to Honolulu on the island of Oahu. It was great, we had a wonderful time. I would tell anyone to go to Hawaii once in their lifetime. "ALOHA!"

We were there for 7 days and 6 nights and we enjoyed every minute of it. Wished we could have stayed longer and had more money to stay.
We definately want to go back one day and my husband even suggested that we bring our daughter next time. Hawaii is a wonderful family place. I saw a whole lot of kids and families, baby strollers, etc. There is a lot for kids to do.

I am so blessed that we had the opportunity to go to Hawaii to sit back and enjoy each other for a week with no distractions. I really enjoyed going to the Dole Pinapple Plantation. This is where Dole has set up shop to grow the pinapples they sell all over the U.S. I also liked when visited the historic Pearl Harbor. Somethings are once in a lifetime chances and this was one of those things.....

Here are the pictures from my Wedding Day! I also have all of the pictures printed out in 3 wedding albums. I have a dvd slideshow and the rights to all of my pictures. I tooke them to work and my co-workers were acting wild b.c they all wanted to see them. It took a while for most people to look at all of them. Everyone still hasnt seen all of them and they were asking so many questions. I couldnt work for them asking me questions about the wedding pictures. So take some time and view all of my pictures. I like the pictures a lot also. Just click on the link below to view all of the pictures!!!!!!


www.imageevent.com/capturedmemoriesbyscott/march14


Enjoy!

The rehearsal dinner was the night before the wedding. It was friday the 13th and windy, rainy, and cold. After we had the rehearsal at the hotel we went to a Mexican Restaurant called Los Cucos. It was hosted by his parents. We had fun and it was the first time the bridal party was together. I enjoyed the evening out with everyone.

I had my bridal shoot about a month before the wedding. I created a slideshow of the pictures I liked the most but you can see all of my pictures from the bridal shoot by following the link:


www.imageevent.com/capturedmemoriesbyscott/Danielle

I have so many photos to share. I am going to start by spiriling back to our engagement photos and let it lead up to the wedding day pictures. I have gotten so many compliments on the engagement, bridal and wedding day pictures. I cant not post them again.

March 14, 2009 was my wedding day. I have to admit the day did go by fast and I even did some last minute things on my wedding day. I got up early to get my hair done and to get my daughter's hair done. My time in the chair went quick b.c. all she had to do was curl it. I left to go to the post office to pick up the silk flowers I had ordered for the wedding. They didnt arrive until the day of. The company I went through used usps, wtf? I even paid for rush shipping and they came in the last day. When I got the box and opened it to see the flowers. I was sorely disappointed. These flowers were not nice looking at all. I felt like they were just mediocore. I gave the flowers and buttoniers to the men but then I felt like I should have just done all of the flowers myself. I could have with all the time and money I spent at hobby lobby and micheal's. I should have made my own flower arrangements. The flowers I am holding in the pic are from the arrangement I made from micheals for my bridal shots.

I was a ball of nerves the whole day. I went to micheals to buy a basket to hold the programs in and I bought an autograph mat and frame to put together at the hotel. It came out great, someone said they had never seen that before.

The ceremony was supposed to start at 6 but it didnt start until 6:30 b.c we were just running late. I was the last person to get ready and it made me mad so I went bridezilla on my bridesmaids b.c. they were all ready before me and started rushing me and I was like hell no. I couldnt put my dress on by myself and I had to wait on them to help me.

Our ceremony was cut short? My name was pronounced wrong and it was rushed? Didnt finish, just cut it short and got off of the stage????? So the singer I hired didnt sing the lords prayer and we didnt do the cord of 3 strands. It was my day and it was important to me but to everyone else, it didnt matter.

I felt annoyed with a lot of minor things, even though it may not bother any one else. The photographer told me that he asked the wedding coordinator to take the exit sign down that was behind us on the stage. Well they refused to and refused to turn it off so in my pics of the wedding party, you can see the big red exit sign. I didnt notice until I got my pics back but now that bothers me and it may not bother anyone else that is just how I am.

During the reception is where I was able to relax and have fun. I drank plenty of wine and danced and I participated in the soul train line.. The wedding was fun! I am glad there were not any major problems so the day went good. I felt so releived and relaxed after the wedding was over and I was happy! We got so many gifts and gift cards, took too many pictures, I was so tired of smiling my face was hurting. But its all good. The wedding brought my family together again and Mario's Family too.

I have a group of childhood friends that I have know since I was 5 years old and they were all there except one. The one that was missing passed away on march 11, 2009. It was a shock to me and I am still heartborken. I talked to her the monday before and she told me she was sick with Bronchitis and she has been sick for 10 years battling lupus and asked me if I was going to be mad at her if she missed the wedding, I told her no, if you are sick, you're sick. I guess this was her way of telling me good bye. Well she passed on the wednesday before my wedding. Her brother called me and told me while I was at work. I was totally distraught and hysterical. She was only 30 and left behind a 10 year old daughter. I still cant beleive she is gone. So it was a bittersweet sadness with me and my friends.

Rest in Peace Sharon Yvonne Rodgers

The wedding cake was fabulous and everyone gave me compliments on it. The all wanted to know who made it: "Who Made the Cake in Houston".

The blue cherries were also a hit. When we did the toast and the bestman liked them so much he mentioned it in his speech.

The flute and server set I got from things remembered was very elegant I got a lot of compliments on it.

I got compliments on everything: the monogrammed sticker on the dance floor, the blue cherries, the centerpeices, wedding cookies, m&m's, the hotel, the aisle runner, the dresses for the girls, the brown suits for the men. The Elegance of it all.

Oh, the centerpieces. The guest liked them so much, they were asking me where I got them from and I told them I made them, they were in shock, they didnt believe me. When the wedding was over with they took most of them, I didnt care I have a couple of tiers at home.

Without the nerved up feelings that I had and the small things bothering me, my bridal party kinda pissing me off......everything went great.

I had a few people ask me if I could help do receptions for them. Yes! I can!

I am extremely happy to be married to my husband and he is just as happy to be married to me. We are madly in love and it showed at the wedding. I am happy to also have the day over with so I wont have to keep on planning and I wont have to keep on stressing. Now I can just live the married life! and it feels the same.

Ok, so since I cant post anything at home, i will just have to post at work. So here I am at work, and I have plenty of work to do but I have to get on wbc.

I feel like there is a void now, b.c I dont have much to do. All of the wedding planning is over with. No more interenet searching all day everyday. Still plenty of people congratulationg and giving compliments, some even giving gifts. It's like I have this feeling of (blank) because I dont exactly know how to describe it.

I kinda remember another bride feeling this same way (vintagebabe) asking was it all worth it? Right now, that is how I am feeling.

Sure, I am happy to be married to my husband but the wedding and all the activities and drama surrounding it, wasnt all I wanted it to be. Its a lot of small things that have me second guessing and asking myself, was it all worth it?

I don't know, I guess we will just have to wait and see. Is it normal to feel like this after the wedding. What do you call this?

Now, what do I do?

I have been trying to do posts for two days now from home. I thought it was me or my computer but now I am at work, I am able to post! when I tried to post it just went to a blanck post and I couldnt edit it or anything. Is it wbc? Is it the site?

I met with my photographer yesterday and I should be getting my wedding albums this weekend. I will post pictures asap!

I am so extremely exhausted. I think I might be suffereing from jet lag. I went to work yesterday even though eveyone suggested that I should not have. Then when I came home I thought I was going to rest but my daughter had a softball game so that was the rest of my evening. My house is a mess, wedding stuff everywhere, gifts, etc. I decided to stay home from work today so I called in. Then, after I took my daughter to school I slept for another 8 hours today. I was like damn, there goes my day off, then I had to go to the grocery store, pick up my daughter from day care, etc. I came home determined to clean up my house, at least some of it. Then when my HUSBAND! came home home we went ahead and opened all of the wedding gifts. We got a lot of gifts and gift cards. I was really happy after opening all of that stuff.

Even though I slept for 8 hours I am still tired. I have to go to work tomorrow. I also feel like I am dehydrated? Did anyone else feel like this after thier wedding?

Why am I so exhausted?

I am back ladies. I am so relieved it's all over with. And, I am the the newest Mrs. Mitchell, thank you very much. I will have to give more details of the wedding tomorrow. I dont really have pictures that I can up load yet, but I wanted to post a pic of me and my husband together.

We did go to Honolulu, Hawaii for our honeymoon, it was great! I have to go back one day, I will post pictures of our honeymoon soon.

Oh, I read all of the responses of the good-bye I left to you ladies, you all are so wonderful. It showed me how much we really are connected on this site. I didnt realize how you would miss me so much! All of my hard work and planning did pay off. I got lots of complements on everything.

I am excited now! For Real! I am off work for the next couple of days, beacuse I have to finish everything for the wedding. This is my good bye ladies, until after the wedding. Wish me luck and I am praying for calmed nerves. I get anxiety sometimes and I hope it doesnt over take me on the wedding day.

Even my daughter told me she was proud of me, for painting those boxes and coming up with all the ideas. Now, it's time to let all of my ideas shine and come together. I cant wait! I know you ladies say the day comes and goes fast but, I am ready now. I am ready to get married!

Danielle THE DIVA!

There will not be a groom's cake at our wedding. My FH is fine with it, he doesnt like sweets and if he had his choice we probably wouldnt have a wedding cake. I tried to get something in the place of it, like chocolate covered strawberries but they were charging too much. So, as it stands there will be no groom's cake, just my lovely tiered, tiffany box look-a-like cake!

*yes the picture is a groom's cake looking just like a beer can, maybe it's best he didnt have a cake b.c. I dont like the idea of a beer can cake. Some men do go overboard with this.

Is there anyone esle not having a groom's cake or is it just us? What else are you leaving out of your wedding?

I got the personalized bags of color mix m&m's today. They are aqua, brown, white, and silver....mostly aqua as you can see. The bags are pretty big for the price considering they are m&m's. I actually didnt order enough so I had to go to Party City and buy a few of the small @ss bags to make them stretch.

I know this will be a great wedding favor because as soon as I opened the bags. My daughter was all over it. Saying she wanted to help and she started eating the m&m's. I had to tell her to stop because they are for the guests. She said she wanted to help and she did, she helped me by closing the boxes and putting them all into a bigger box.

I wanted to eat some too b.c I love chocolate but, again, they are for the guests.

I just realized that if you go under favorite posts or your own favorite brides, you can also see how many brides have picked you as a favorite. I didn't realize how many of you fellow brides to be, like me so much. I saw so many brides that have picked me as a favorite. I just want to say thank you. Thank you so much for being here for me, answering my questions, listening and giving advice. You ladies have been wonderful. Now I am going to click on everyone that picked me and make sure I have them on my favorite list.

I took my neice to get her dress altered today, it's too late to go to a company. I took her to one of my friends mom who is a seamstress. I havent seen her in a while and we talked. She is a lot older and wiser and she gave me some advice. She also told me be sure not to wear your veil over your face. HUH? I asked her what does wearing the veil over your face mean? She said well it means that the bride is a virgin. (I have a 9 year old daughter). I should be wearing my veil off of my face but I cant still wear it. She also said you dont want to be walking down the aisle and some people will be wondering why are you wearing that veil in your face? So her advice to me was to not wear the veil over my face.


This is what I found on the topic:

'The veil was eastern, in origin and was introduced into Europe by returning crusaders. Eastern women wore it to ward off the 'Evil Eye'. It was not taken off until after the wedding ceremony and a sign to the groom that his bride was pure. Purity has continued to be associated with veils.'

Should I wear my veil over my face or not? How are you wearing your veil?

Yeah, we have a room reserved at the hotel where we are going to have our Wedding. My FFIL reserved it for us. We will be there for two nights so it will include our wedding night. We dont have to worry about transportation the extra expense of it after the wedding. The room was fairly reasonable for the two nights also. And, who wants to go back home on their wedding night?

Hello, sexy! Wednesday’s full moon in your sensual eighth house brings out your racy side. Never mind your wedding gown—it’s time to shop for what you’ll wear underneath it. Shop for foundation garments that make you look and feel like a goddess. It’s also a good time to talk with your fiancé about joint finances and property. Not the most romantic topic but essential to a healthy marriage.


Yes, they are right on point, I need more lingerie and we do need to talk about property and finances. I know he doesnt want to but I am going to make him.

A Guys Perspective

Every bride has heard wild stories of the bachelor parties in Las Vegas (perhaps feting college friends). And while prior to getting engaged, you may have wanted to hear these stories out of shear curiosity, once your fiancé has proposed to you, the bachelor party is likely something you'd rather not think about.

This article offers some tips on how to deal with a bachelor party, and how to help you express to your fiancé (and more importantly, the best man) your feelings (and possibly some concerns) about how the bachelor party is celebrated.

First, the good news is that there is an evolving trend in bachelor parties - many are moving away from the visiting you-know-where, in favor of more interesting and unique bachelor parties. Think a round of golf, an afternoon of go-carting or a steak dinner. Many guys are uncomfortable with visiting you-know-where, given that they don't visit these clubs on a regular basis. Furthermore, as your fiancé has traveled through life, he'll have gained a variety of different friends, and in a multicultural melting pot, you fiancé is more likely than not going to opt for an inclusive choice for all of his guests. (Your fiancé knows this. If he doesn't, tell him!)

Second, the guys at GroomGroove.com have always advised prospective grooms to set the tone of the bachelor party with the organizer (who is typically the best man) long before the event occurs. We see no issues with you expressing boundaries of good behavior in an email or conversation with the best man and your fiancé. As peer pressure can be very strong at these events, a best man who sets the tone for the bachelor party for all participants can be your best friend. If he can’t be trusted, then there will be other guys with enough backbone to keep the tone under control.

One final note - we advise guys that under no circumstances will the bachelor party take place the night before your wedding. If you're having a Saturday wedding, the closest time the bachelor party should take place is the preceding Thursday.

With a bit of Machiavellian action on your part, good communication between you, your fiancé and the organizer, your fiancé will have a great and enjoyable send-off to married life.

Now, about these new trends in bachelorette parties...

These favor bags are perfect. I am glad I ordered these. They are the perfect shade of tiffany blue and they are glossy and come with a tag on each one. NO, these are not tiffany bags they dont have that label on them but they are perfect if you just want bags in the color. The come in 2", 4", 6", and they also come in bottle size. I ordered the 6" bags. They were $25 for 100 so I ordered two packs. The smaller sizes cost less. The pictures on the website dont do them justice. I ordered them from www.jewelboxco.com and they also sell them in white.

Yesterday, one of my cousins gave me this beautiful Tiffany Blue & Brown box. It's beautiful, its fabric and I can use it as a keepsake box, and I certainly will. Everyone wanted to know where she got it from and so did I. She said she got it from Marshall's. She also said thay had different sizes? This was is a good size its kinda big like a picture frame that is 20x24.

This was a great gift!

I had my bridal shower today. It was really, really nice. It was just enough people, the food was great, and we had a good time. I tried to participate in one of the games but i didnt do so good and I lost. One of my friends from high school won. Everyone enjoyed it. It was fun, just joking and laughing being silly about nothing, especially with my friends from high school. I dont get to see them all of the time and I always enjoy myself when I am around them. Several of my cousins came and one of my aunts.

I have to give the most credit to my freind, Cherry, who hosted the party and is one of the greates cooks in the world. Thank You so much Cherry!

I am in the middle of the first picture, wearing the chocolate brown. I figured that would be the best color for me to wear. I also put my daughter in chocolate brown and light blue. She even told me this ok b.c it matches the wedding colors.

I got some great gifts, and it excites me when I get new dishes! Well, I got some more today!

...tick,tock,tick,tock....the clock is ticking, I'm getting married next weekend!

Today, I left work early so I could meet my FH at the court house to get our marriage license. This was the second try. We tried yesterday and I didnt make it in time. There was an accident on the freeway, it took me a over an hour and a half to get to the court house. It was one of those days were I was just sitting on the freeway, with everyone else in houston. Needless to say, my Fh didnt wait on me, he went back to work and was mad b.c. he didnt know what was going on. He called when he got back to work, I explained what happened but I did show up to the court house in case he was waiting on me. he was gone.

Today, was a different story. I left work and got to the courthouse in 30 minutes and we got this done. We are sealing the deal.


It's for real. I am getting married!

A couple of months ago, another bride on WBC offered to make my centerpeices for me for my wedding. In exchange I would adverstise, get her name out there, post it all on my blog, etc.,etc. Well, Since this has transpired, I havent heard from this other bride. I emailed her several times about the progress of the items, I emailed her my address and everything. What I didnt know was that she sent me a picture of the centerpeices saying they were coming along good, and then I realized that is the same picture she had on her blog but now she has removed it b.c. she says she is starting her own business.

Honestly, I am not trying to get something for nothing and I offered to pay her but if you read the emails below, she offered to do them for free.

Then I sent her a couple of emails and no response. She did email me back a couple of days later, saying her FH's email address is connected to the WBC account (huh?, email # 4) Why would my blog be connected to my fiance's email account?, especially when I am obsessed with this blog, and my fiance is totally uninterested?

I thought to myself this seems shady but, so be it, everything will be ok. Then I sent several emails to her and her FH's email about the centerpieces (asking she was done with them) and I havent gotten a response back. I wondered what was going on. Then I saw on another brides blog the fraud bride stated she was very sick with pneumonia(is this true?). So she must have gotten well, and is well enough to be on the blog but, still hasnt returned any of my emails.

I mean, I havent got a single response, I am getting frantice b.c my wedding is fast approaching. So this is the reason why I took matters in to own hands and I made my own centerpieces and I think they came out better.

WBC has been so good to me and so many brides have helped me so much and I may have helped a lot of brides also but ladies we have to be careful of people just trying to make money off of us. Or not trying to do anything for us at all....

And if you read in the 2nd email she sent me, she states she doenst want people to think she is just a ^scammer^. But the truth is that is exactly what she is. She offered to do something for free now it's nothing, I guess b.c I am not paying her.

At least be woman enough to tell me you aren't going to do this for me after you offered to help me. Or better yet, you are just helping yourself. As today is almost over, I still havent gotten a response from her and my wedding is in a week.

Email # 1

Thu 1/15/09 11:09 AM
To: divadan80@hotmail.com

Hey, Danielle!That would probably work.. How many boxes would you like at each of the 10 tables? I was thinking.. I'm sure you heard about my little "business" thing I'm trying to make happen.. I seem to be struggling just a little bit, because people want to see feedback from other customers! And if I just started it, how am I supposed to have customers already.. lol. Anyways, I have an idea. Would you want me to make the Tiffany Boxes for you? I wouldn't charge you anything for the labor at all. I just need to get my name out there to other brides, so they know that I do good work, and that I'm not a "scammer" just looking to make money.. A lot of people are really hesitant these days, you know? Like I said, if you just dropped me a line on your blog, and maybe spread my name around here and there to other brides, I'd do it for free.. I'd even cut you a deal on the materials themselves. I'd be losing money on the whole deal, but I think that it would still be a pretty cheap form of advertisement.. ? Plus I know that your blog is amazing and a lot of people look at it. The only thing I would ask is that you don't tell the other brides that I did it for free. Afterall, I don't want everyone to expect for me to make them the products for free. lol...
Please let me know if this works for you, and if you are interested, approximately how many boxes you would like, and then I can figure out what I would charge you for the materials... Thanks so much and I hope to hear from you!

My Response to Email # 1

El*&^%$, sorry it took me so long to respond but i cant check my personal email at work, yes I am on the blog at work! lol! I would love for you to be able to just make the boxes for me, I just read everything you said and I would totally agree with helping you start your business. I am totally interested. You are right when you say you have to get some clients before you can show them your work, I'll help you with this, I will allow you to help me, to get the word out, and I will post it on my blog, also, when I have my wedding, I am willing to give you or reproduce pictures for you to have to say, I did this for another brother and look how beautiful it is.

So, we have a deal, please get back with me asap to tell me how much the materials will be. I really do need some help, honestly, I need any deal I can get b.c of the budget, it seems like we are running out of time and not enough money. Since, I know there will be 10 tables, I would like a 3-tier box for each one.

Danielle

Email # 2

Thu 1/15/09 12:12 PM
To: divadan80@hotmail.com

Danielle,I'm so happy to be able to make your centerpieces! Thank you for this opportunity. Since I already have all the materials needed to make the boxes, and all of our budgets are getting pretty tight these days, all I am going to ask you for is $25.00 for all of the centerpieces, plus whatever shipping ends up being..I don't think it should be too costly, but I will look into it tomorrow. Does that sound alright? I'm guessing it will probably be about $20-$25? The boxes are pretty heavy, so I'm not sure, exactly. Does that sound pretty reasonable? I look forward to working with you, and again, thank you for this opportunity. I will send you a sample picture of what they will look like as soon as I get one finished, and if you would like anything changed, just let me know. So for tomorrow, when I look into shipping, I will need your mailing address to see how much it will be. If you could get that to me when you have time, that would be great! Thanks!

Email # 3

Fri 1/16/09 5:11 PM
To: (divadan80@hotmail.com)


Hey Danielle! So I was at work thinking about your centerpieces and your budget situation today. I decided that since you are being such a great help with me starting my business, I am going to do your centerpieces for free. (don't tell my fh. ;-) lol) I'll even pay the shipping, don't even worry about it. Consider it a favor for a fellow Tiff bride. I'm painting them right now, and they should be done by tomorrow! I will ship them out as soon as they are finished and perfect. Do you have a picture of what you would ideally have your completed centerpieces look like? I have done two different styles of the 3 tier boxes, so I just need to know exactly what you want! Just email me back whenever you have time, and in the meantime I will be painting! :-) Have a great weekend, girl, and let me know the details! Thanks!

Email #4

Tue 1/27/09 4:27 PM
To: divadan80@hotmail.com


Hi, Danielle.. Sorry I didn't get your email. I had to sign up for wbc under my fh email address so it went to his. I did respond to it yesterday, though, on your blog. Basically I ran out of Tiffany paint so I picked more up yesterday. I finished painting the boxes, and tonight after I get done with my homework I will start putting ribbon on them. I will send you a picture once I get one finished so that you can see how they will look. Just so that I get your emails (my fh always overlooks the wbc ones) please email me at...... from now on. Thanks! I can't wait to show you the finished product!

So I have to let it be known. It's just certain things you dont do. You dont offer to help someone if you really cant or dont have the intentions to. Several brides have helped me on here and I appreciate you so much and thank you. And I have paid a few brides on here to make things for me like my monograms and most recently my cake topper.

I dont understand this why?

FRAUD BRIDE

Has anyone else on WBC experienced this?

Well, everything has been ordered now and we are just waiting for everything to come in. I am not just sitting around doing nothing either, I have been the busiest I have ever been lately. I am collecting my DIY Centerpeices and i just about have enough painted for all of my tables.

Doing last minute wedding stuff is for the birds, I havent slept like I should, but I really felt that these needed to be done months ago.

I have delegated some things for my bridesmaids to do, even though they may not know it yet, I have realized that I cant do everyhting and I do need some help so why not put them to work for me?

I will be so glad when my day finally arrives.

My FH told me that he has been teased at work by a couple of his friends that are groomsmen, they call him mister but, they say my last name after it. Saying he is taking my name, I am not taking his. It's a joke, I was laughing when he told me. Then i saw this article so I haad to post it. I've had my name my whole life and I dont want to let it go. Why cant the groom change his name?

If the statistics tell the truth, chances are you will adopt your groom’s surname. (For better or worse.) Now, not every bride opts to change her last name from "Smith" to "Preisendorfer", but in the twenty first century, when men and women are otherwise equal, it does raise the question: why can’t he just change his name? And while realistically, you groom won’t be changing his name, this article explores nomenclature when it comes to uniting as a couple.

Name Change History Lesson

From the time of the earliest marriages - and still alive and well today in some cultures - the father of the bride would give away his daughter to a man then entrusted to protect and provide for her. The groom would not be chosen by the bride, and often he would be older (although not necessarily the most desirable of the lot!) In these cases, with a dowry of some kind thrown into the mix, it made sense for the bride to assume the groom’s name. The bride was merely shedding her "family name" and - under the shelter and in solidarity with the groom - beginning her own family.

Fast forward

Skipping forward a few centuries, grooms and brides are often out in the workforce earning a living. In fact, in this day and age, you might be the breadwinner. When there are no children in the mix (whose name would they take?) it may be an unnecessary inconvenience and even an annoyance for you to assume your groom’s name. This is especially true when you have a fondness for your own name, an aversion to your future husband’s name or simply an underlying feeling that your identity has been built with the name you’ve got. Furthermore, and perhaps more of an administrative pain than to do with your self-image, you’ll need to change your name on all of your personal documents, including passport, credit cards, bank accounts, life insurance, wills, email addresses and probably with any other business with whom you deal. That holds true whether you decided on a full-out name swap or the hyphenated option.

Groom name changes are not realistic

If the bride and groom were to buck tradition and decide that the groom would have to change his name, there are serious hurdles. First, the groom will be subject to years of derision from his friends and cohorts, if not outright confusion. Second, not all states allow for this simple alternative. In some states, the groom has to petition and appear before a judge - even pay a fee - in order to adopt his bride’s name. Accordingly, groom name changes are just not happening, despite your dad’s wishes.

Maiden Name

For many brides, the most appealing option is simply to keep her maiden name. Although you may face a lifetime of correcting acquaintances that you are not, in fact, "Mrs. So-and-So", it may be preferable to assuming a name that wasn’t your own for 25-odd years, or taking part in a tradition that no longer speaks to your values. But the majority of brides in the United States (upwards of 80%) still opt to adopt their husbands’ names today. Whether it’s because this is what society generally expects, or because an overwhelming number of brides genuinely enjoy the element of tradition likely depends upon the bride in question. Many brides will consult their groom on the name change issue, but with so much emotion and history tied to one’s name, one thing is for sure: the ultimate decision rests with you alone. —By Aubree Wyatt Smith, Creative Director, GroomGroove.com.

I found a site that sells M&M's in your wedding colors. You can order one pound bags in single colors. My FH agreed to this favor b.c. his Initials are M & M, how cute, he really wants these as a wedding favor. You can also order color mix bags where you create the colors, for mine, I would do aqua, brown, white and silver. You can do up to four colors. I think candy is one of the greatest wedding favors b.c. everyone pretty much likes m&m's and if they dont want them, they dont have to take them. They will get eaten. I am sure the guest will wonder how did we get m&m's in our wedding colors? .....www.sweetbe.com Shipping is only $9 when you order them early.

Brides.com has anew contest for the groom's, you can get on the site and vote. I think it's agreat idea to have a contest for the men.

With our Groom of the Year contest launching this week we've got grooms on our minds. After over one thousand applicants, we have finally narrowed it down to sixteen fantastic guys. So, how do you get your fiancé to be as great as our nominees? While you're buying the dress and picking out flowers, there are ways to get your man ready for the big day. We've got some great tips to get your groom (and groomsmen) involved in all the planning.

I am excited, today I booked our wedding singer. She is actually a co-worker of mine and she is a great singer. She does gospel, sings at a church I sometimes visit, works wiht youth choirs and schools. I am so happy, she said she will give me a list of wedding songs tomorrow so we can get everything finalized. She is also a pianoist and she can show me how to play John Legends song. I gave her the sheet music today and she was playing it and singing along.

She also told me that she normally does weddings and she has nother guy that is a pianoist also and he will come along with her. She said he is the greatest pianoist she has ever met. I am excited. I have heard her sing before and I know she will give me just what I am looking for.

I am so glad I already know her, so she is willing to sing at my wedding for a reduced rate!