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.

In a time where Americans will drive the extra mile to save a couple cents per-gallon on gas, there is a booming new energy drink category that sells for twenty times more than Coca-Cola – the energy shot.

An increasing amount of people are dropping their $3 cups of coffee, and picking up these $3 2-ounce energy shots – and most of them taste horrible.

The market for energy shots is expected to increase by 100% this year, to 700 million in sales – and a majority of those sales will be of Living Essentials’ 5 Hour Energy shot, the first energy shot on the market.

Several companies are already following in 5 Hour’s footsteps – products like 6 Hour Power, Fuel 7 Hour Energy, and Mr. Energy 8 Hour Energy are all competing to tap into the energy shot world.

8 Hour Energy, though the name is similar, has taken the industry a few steps further. In addition to caffeine, it includes Acai, Gogi, and Tahitian Noni – three popular berries known for their dietary and energizing properties. Usually, these berries can only be attained by purchasing a $40 bottle of juice.

On top of everything, The 8 Hour shot has zero carbs or calories, and it tastes good!

“I’ve seen the 5 Hour ads plastered all over the media. But if people read the labels before they buy, I think they’ll go for 8 Hour Energy. It’s just a better quality product,” says Darin Steen, one of the top ranked health and fitness instructors in the world.

In a blind test conducted at the University of Florida, 9 out of 10 students preferred the 8 Hour shot over 5 Hour Energy. Another study gave out samples of the Mr Energy 8 Hour shot during finals week, and students returned with rave reviews.

“Wow… after taking the 8 Hour Energy, not only was I able to stay up to study for finals, I picked up a basketball game after! Without it, I probably wouldn’t have managed to do either,” said Troy Smith – a Finance major.

“Mr Energy 8 Hour Energy shots are amazing. I stayed energized and focused, and totally aced my final. It’s like time in a bottle,” said Stephanie Wilcox – a grad student at the Dentistry school.

Despite 5 Hour Energy’s 60 million dollar advertising budget, Bhelliom Enterprises, the creator of 8 Hour Energy, is confident that their product is superior. “The ingredients speak for themselves,” says CEO of Bhelliom Enterprises, Casey McCarthy.

Have you ever thought about making your own wedding invitations? You can save a lot of money especially when you have a huge guest list. If you decide to order wedding invitation cards, they can easily be over two hundred dollars for less than thirty cards. When you do it yourself, you can always save money and make your cards as unique as you like…

If there is something about traditional wedding vows that do not sit well with you, then writing your own vows might be a great alternative. It could be a way for both of you to put a personal stamp on your wedding ceremony. You do not have to be a perfect writer or even hire a professional writer to write your wedding vows. You just have to find a way to express your love and commitment in your own words.