Sometimes, we wish a day would last forever, and that we never forget those days. If only the bridal or baby showers that family and friends gave you , or your wedding day could go on forever. That’s why my wedding memory books are some of the most treasured items in our home. I have one wedding book devoted to the bridal shower my sister put on for me with some of my friends. I’ve got so many great pics of that very special night I shared with my friends. The pretty things they had arranged at the party and the exciting places we went to, that evening, were all caught on film. We really had a wild time and I’ve got super photos to prove it. I’ve even got a couple pictures of the male dancers we went to see. They were really awesome up there on the stage. That is definitely a night I’ll never forget, that was the first and only time I’ve ever been to a place that had male dancers. They weren’t the Chippendales, but they were really great to watch.
One of the things I picked out when I was buying things for our wedding was a memory book. We had no shortage of pictures to put in it. As a matter of fact, we had so many that I bought a pair of them, and it turns out that we needed both of them. Once the books were full, I still had pictures left over. On certain pages in one of the picture album books were places for the guests we invited to write their names down. Our last initial was on the front of our beautiful personalized memory books, with my first initial to the left of it and my husband’s to the right of it. The fabric on the book is very pretty, and with that and the satin ribbon on them, they really are quite charming. There are also refill pages available if needed, and we certainly need them.
A lot of life-changing events are recorded in my photo albums. I don’t throw out my keepsake memory books, so I’m sure I’ll accumulate more and more. Right now, I have my bachelorette book, my wedding book and my baby shower books. My boy is one year old and my daughter’s about to turn three. My son has a blue book and my daughter has a pink one; we got the right colors because we found out what they’d be before they were born. Their first step and christening and so forth are in the books. We have fingerprints, birth certificates, and regular pictures of them in the baby memory books. I also put an invitation in the shower books and wedding photo book too. I have so many memories stored in our closet that I could probably start my own picture gallery.
In spite of my husband’s frequent grumbling, I will keep those albums in my closet, because they are mementos of days that were special to me. Of course, now I’m going to be shooting home videos on a camcorder that I recently purchased, so I’m focusing on making space on some shelving in the living room. With all the videos I plan to record and all the picture albums and memory books I’ve acquired, not to mention all that I intend to aquire, I’ll probably have to make more room in other closets around the house. Hey, a girls got to have her memories to look back on. These years ahead are really important to a mom and I don’t want to miss out on one minute of it.

Planning a wedding and reception can be a very hectic and exciting time, filled with so many options on what to choose for themes, decorations, etc. I know that when I tried to assist my daughter in planning her wedding, the biggest challenge was trying to get her to settle on one choice. First she didn’t know if she wanted a themed wedding or if she would rather go with a traditional ceremony and reception. She studied every possible variety that we could think of, and she just ended up getting more and more confused. At first she thought about a garden wedding, and then she considered a beach themed wedding and reception. After all the debating, she ended up with the traditional. Once she made up her mind at last, we got to work putting together the wedding.
The church was reserved, and so was the reception hall, and all of the invitations had been sent out. The wardrobe for both the bride and the wedding party had been picked out already, so we were able to zero in on things that we’d need in order to put on the reception. In addition to finding a wedding guest book and a picture album, there were some other things that we had to pick out yet. There was no shortage of personalized wedding guest books to pick from, and the decorations on a big percentage of them were absolutely beautiful. We had our pick of adorable wedding pens that went with the guestbooks, too. Our new bride discovered a six piece wedding set with rhinestones that had bows and satin boxes, both white, as we were nearing the end of our shopping. There was a lovely unity candle, ring pillow, flower basket and wedding garter. These satin items were together with a wedding photo guest book. We were so surprised to find so many beautiful wedding items all in one set for one low price. The picture album we picked out for the special day was really cute; it had all kinds of neat pages for small souvenirs and art. The wedding album was ideal.
Finally we were down to the cake topper, place card holders and wedding favors. That was all we had left to pick out. A couple of doves formed out of glazed porcelain were what my daughter selected to put at the top of her wedding cake. Those doves will make an outstanding piece for her to treasure forever. My girl picked out small, shiny silver picture frames to use as place card holders at the reception dinner. The people at the reception would be able to use the frames once the dinner was over, and my daughter thought that was a something they’d like. The products she bought for her special day ended up being very good choices. She’s excited about having some extra money for the honeymoon since she found such good bargains on most of the things she bought for the wedding.
The wedding ceremony was absolutely fantastic and the reception was gorgeously decorated and got a lot of positive comments. Their first dance together made us all realize what a handsome couple this really was. We all did a lot of dancing that night, and I swear my feet still hurt, but it was all worth it, it was a wonderful event that I will remember forever. My own baby, now married, may have a baby of her own some day. When we have her baby shower, I will go right back to the same place to find baby shower favors and supplies. Whatever you’re planning a party for, that website has anything you could possibly need. That’s the first place I look to buy things for any party.

I’m giving my best friend a bridal shower and before I even got started I sat down and made a list of all the things I needed to buy for the party. The first priority was finding a bachelorette party invitation. Now I’m one of those women that really doesn’t like shopping where I have to fight the crowds, or wait in line for price checks, so I decided to go online and see what I could come up with for the bridal shower. I hit the jackpot there. I was really surprised to find so much and at such great prices. The price I paid on some things were almost criminal. The shower invitations were very high quality with pearl edges and silver writing. They had all kinds of invitation cards, from general party invitations to specific ones, like wedding party invitations.
There were some great little accessories for my shower too, like place card holders for all the little tables I had set up. The wedding guest book was another present I purchased; it would help the couple keep good records of who gave them which gifts. A particular design for a place card holder struck me as being really neat. They had these little plastic handbags that I filled with colorful little candies and found place cards with pink lilies printed on them. When placed on the tables at the shower alongside the gifts and things, they looked cool No matter what the reason for the gathering, they have an appropriate favor box to go with it. I chose little floral patterned boxes which I stacked on a cake plate in layers and sat on the gift table. It was a good-looking way to set it up, and everyone there just came by and grabbed a gift. I picked out a few kinckknacks as awards for winning the bridal shower activities we were going to play, and the thank you presents were sets that had everything you’d need to give a manicure. I found some random things to hand out as awards, such as unique key rings, little vanity mirrors, and special soaps.
Party game suggestions abound on the Internet. In the the game ‘Take It Off,’ each person put a bag over their head and they have to take off one piece of clothing when the leader of the game tells them to, and it doesn’t occur to all of the women to take of the bag; it’s very amusing to watch. This is really a hysterical game to play. We also played bridal bingo and a couple other funny games. I’m so glad I thought to browse the internet, else wise I wouldn’t have gotten such great deals and accessories. I know I got a super deal on the favors and invitations I picked out. The things I purchased were well made, and I spent a lot whole less than I thought I would have to, and had a whole lot more choices. Since the website also sold wedding invitations and favors, I let my friend who was about to get married know about it, since I was sure she could use a wide selection to pick from. Getting her things for the wedding here will save her money and give her some great ideas to work with. The bridal shower wouldn’t have been as good without it. We all had a super time and all my favors and other accessories really impressed my guests. Now that the party is over, I’m filling out the guest thank you cards thanking them for attending. Which, by the way, I also ordered online. With all the web has to offer, I’m helping my friend plan her sons’ birthday party.

In my day, jewelry boxes were just a box that all the jewelry went in, but now, you can buy watch jewelry boxes, earring jewelry boxes and boxes that are specifically made for necklaces only. The boxes can be designed in a wide variety of ways. My daughter bought a few for her and her bridesmaids and the party guests. In fact, she found even more than that when she went shopping online for all of her wedding accessories and reception supplies. They have some pretty nice suggestions for wedding decors, from traditional to themed. The décor my daughter and her groom went with had a fairy tale look and feel to it. She really did look like Cinderella at the ball in her lovely wedding gown and long veil, and I must admit my son in law looked just as good as Prince Charming in his stunning tux. It was a picturesque wedding. A horse drawn carriage with a driver in classical attire swept the two of them away from the church after the ceremony was over.
At the reception, tulle with tiny white lights was draped in a circle and there were elegant flower vases placed everywhere around the room. Behind the bride and groom table was a floral arch of red and white roses and green foilage and there were beautiful flower bouquets on the reception tables with silver sparkles scattered about. For place card holders she found these silver dove tea light holders that really added glimmer to her settings. Flower and crystals adorned the small jewelry boxes that each lady at the wedding got as a gift. For the men in attendance, a key chain with a frog prince on it was given to them as a wedding favor. The affordable jewelry boxes for the bridesmaids had black velvet-lined interiors and were made of wood and sliver-plated. The date of the wedding and name of the happy couple were inscribed in the boxes. The thank you gift my daughter gave the girls was very warmly received. The jewelry box she got them looked very nice, but it was in fact a cheap jewelry box and I had one like it myself for a long time. The men each got a commemorative inscription in a small plaque and a set of wine related gifts. I thought that was pretty unique for a thank you gift.
A tiny castle sitting at the top of the three-tiered wedding cake lent the cake a mystical appearance. The cake knife set and champagne glasses meshed perfectly together with the cake. Many of her decorations and supplies were top of the line, but she came in well below where I had expected on their wedding budget. They were firm about the fact that they did not want us to cover the bills from the wedding even though, as parents of the bride, we made it clear to them that we expected to pay for everything.
The first dance for the bride and groom was like something in a movie, and it was very emotional for me. It reminded me so much of the ball the prince had in the Cinderella story. You would have thought that it was a real princess tossing her garter the way the guys jostled for position to get it; it was a very amusing sight to behold. My daughter’s wedding day was as magical as she imagined it would be, and the whole thing was so special. Her ideal honeymoon is where they are at the moment, and I’m sure it will be wonderful, too. I can hardly wait for them to get back and tell me all about the fantastic sights they saw.

The bachelor party, the girls night out party, and engagement parties, all have one thing in common, the favors and gifts. There are a lot of neat little gifts that you can give your bride and groom to be at these parties. A number of the gifts my husband and I got were rather remarkable. Some of the things we got were quite innovative, while most of the people at our engagement party just gave us cash, which was alright with us, every little bit helps when you are just started out. Many of the presents we received from our friends and family were small items, like champagne for our wedding, gift cards, sports tickets, and theater tickets. A lot of our loved ones gave us presents, even though it was not required for engagement parties.
My man’s bachelor party must have been fun because he got some funny tee shirts that they made him wear with funny little phrases printed on the front. He got more than one groom wedding gift, including some wine bottles and a sun visor that said ‘Groom’ on it. He came home from the party with an inflatable doll and a ball and chain that he said they made him wear the whole time the party was going on. There were a few other gag gifts for groom too that the guys had a lot of fun presenting to him. My girls night out party was fantastic too and I got a lot of gag gifts, but also quite a few nice bride gifts too. They gave me a shimmering white satin purse with a clasp made of crystal on it and a ribbon on top to boot. They put a pin and a shirt inside the bag that I had to wear for our night on the town, and there were some make-up and manicure accessories inside as well. They got me a ‘tonight’ pillow that, when you flipped it over, said ‘not tonight’ to go with whatever mood I’m in. It was certainly the most unique throw pillow I’ve ever seen.
On the other hand, the bride and groom wedding gifts we got the reception were all more serious. We did get extras, like a couple of extra toasters, two identical set of dishes, and more waffle irons than we’ll ever need, but that’s par for the course with such a large wedding. I was fortunate enough to receive a certain food processor and some fine china that I had requested on my bridal registry. My husband just adored the billards table and bar set that his parents gave us, and I know we will get a lot of use out of that. My parents got us tickets to Greece for our honeymoon. Our family and other loved ones really gave us some outstanding wedding presents.
Having all our friends and family around us on this more than special day meant more to us than anything. We were able to spend our engagement party, wedding, and reception with them, and we are so glad about that. It’s good to know you have so many people that care this much about you and are there for you during the good times and the bad. It also helps to have friends that care enough to throw you a wild night with a bachelor party or a mind trippin girls night out bash. With friends like that around, your life will be anything but boring. We will send out thank you cards to all our friends and family, but that doesn’t really show just how much we adore them.