Wedding Planner NJ - A Very Decent Proposal

Isn't that sweet? While no one really know how many people get proposed to on Valentine's Day, but according to one French study, the number of people popping the question in Paris on February 14th jumps 20-fold compared to any other day. Apparently it has to do with tourists whisking their loved ones away to the City of Love around that day and using the overwhelming power of the moment to propose.

Vegas, baby!
I think it might also have to do with stacking the odds in favor of getting a "yes." Yet according the the quite a few people runaway to Las Vegas to get married every year, though there's no hard and fast number on how many do so on Valentine's Day.

The number crunchers over at the U.S. Census Bureau say that more than 6,000 people a day, or 2.1 million people annually, got married in 2009 (how many of you hired a wedding planner?) with Las Vegas being the second most popular city in the world to do it in. Those 114,000 people tying the knot there placed second only to Instanbul, Turkey, which came in at No. 1 with 166,000. That might help explain why jewelry stores nationwide sold some $2.4 billion worth merchandise last February alone.

Love is in the air
So as we fast approach another Valentine's Day this year -- it officially became a Christian holiday in 496 A.D. -- we're likely to see yet another spate of marriage proposals being served up. But even if you're not jetting off to gay Paree or rolling the dice in Vegas, try to act surprised if your beau suddenly lands on one knee in front of you and asks you to be his Valentine forever.

After all, statistics also show that January is one of the top months for breakups, no doubt because Valentine's Day is right around the corner and who wants to break hearts then? So if you've made it through that cruel month with your relationship still intact, that can only mean your heart-shaped box may be filled with love yet.

Wedding Planner NJ - Save Yourself the Embarrassment

We noted the other day the hubbub that was created when Prince William and Kate Middleton sent out "save the date" announcements by fax. It heralded the convergence of a modern convention with another modern invention. And, yes, the prince and princess of Serbia may have wrinkled just as many brows by showing how tech savvy they were to by sending back an RSVP via their own website. Yet what all this demonstrated was there really aren't any rules of etiquette couples can follow when sending out announcements.

But just because no one's chiseled anything into granite, doesn't mean common sense doesn't still dictate we follow certain guidelines.

What they are

A "save the date" announcement is a simple way to inform your guests you're getting married. With family and friends in far-flung corners of the globe, a simple newspaper announcement might not be enough to let everyone know the good news.

Particularly when guests are going to be jetting in from those four corners, a "save the date" card gives your guests plenty of time to make appropriate arrangements to attend.  Add in if you happen to live in a popular tourist hotspot or you're planning a destination wedding, a "save the date" note is a way to show you respect your guests' time.

Consider them also if your wedding will occur around a holiday, which are also popular times for vacations. And June might be one of the top months for weddings, but kids are also getting out of school and families are getting ready to pack up and hit the road for the summer. Your wedding plans could put your guests in a quandary if they've already made reservations and your invitation slides across the kitchen counter.

Moreover, with weddings costing so much these days and invited guests expected to pay for their own way, make sure that if you're inviting someone to the ceremony they're also getting invited to the reception as well. Not everyone needs to get a "save the date" card, but everyone that does needs to get an invitation too.

What they're not

At the same time, a "save the date" notice is not an invitation, so the recipient doesn't really have to save that date if they don't want to. The bride and groom shouldn't expect to receive any responses, though undoubtedly they will.

So what should a "save the date" announcement have? A good idea would be the following items as a minimum:

• The name of the couple getting married
• The date of the wedding
• The city and state where the wedding will be held
• And, as mention above, "formal invitation to follow" is good form

Beyond that, be as creative as you like. Check out these cute samples Style Me Pretty featured. Many bridal websites like The Knot allow couples to create their own wedding site so include that too on the card if you've made one.

With the formal invitation typically sent out a month or so before the wedding, wedding planners encourage couples getting married to send "save the date" announcements out four to six months ahead of time, even longer if the wedding is going to be on or around a holiday or at a destination locale.

A NJ Wedding Planner's Bottom Line

Save-the date cards have but one purpose and that's to let those who plan to attend the wedding make note that a date has been set. By providing extended notice to you guests, you're giving them the greatest opportunity to make travel plans, book the lowest rates, and secure accommodations for themselves.

Don't forget, though, these are a relatively recent development and "save the date" cards oftentimes are not only not required, they're not even expected. For couples looking to save money, they can be safely ignored without feeling they've committed a major social faux pas. Unless, that is, they wanted to fax them directly to the royal family.

Wedding Planner NJ - A Royal 3D Event

As if the wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton won't be enough of a spectacle, word comes the royal wedding extravaganza may be broadcast in 3D!

The wedding, which will take place at Westminster Abbey, will be the first royal event to be so televised. It looks like the BBC, ITV, and BskyB are pushing to have the eye-popping honors, according to the British news source The Telegraph, and the stations are promising to be discreet. As if. 3D cameras are much larger than a traditional camera.

Of course, you're going to need to wear those funky 3D glasses to view the broadcast, oh, and a 3D television set. Maybe you want to jog on down to your local Best Buy and upgrade the flat screen in your living room before the April 29 nuptials. Then again, maybe IMAX will show it in one of their theaters for all the subjects not ready to shell out $1,500 for a new set just a few years after having upgraded to LCD or plasma.

Although royals watching is fast becoming a legitimate sport and the World Cup and French Open were both televised in 3D, I'm not quite sure what the benefit will be. Crowns flying at the camera? Scepters threatening to poke out our eyes? Kate's baubles spilling out onto our hearth?

I'm sure the wedding will be just as majestic in 2D for his, well, majesty, without the need for bulging out of our TV screens into our living rooms.

Wedding Planner NJ - What To Do With Tattoos?

It's a long standing joke that the last thing you want to do if you want your relationship to last is to tattoo your significant other's name or face on your body. As soon as you put that eternal reminder on your skin, the clock begins counting down to when the relationship ends.

Eva Longoria is only the latest to discover that truism.  After having her wedding date -- 07-07-07 (actually VII VII MMVII)-- to pro basketball player Tony Parker tattooed on her wrist, the marriage was doomed. She also has the word "Nine" -- Parker's jersey number -- tattooed on the back of her neck. Angelina Jolie was another star suffering a similar fate (the vials of Billy Bob Thornton's blood were much easier to dispose of) Just recently she appears to have had that bad wrist reminder surgically removed by laser.

But plenty of brides getting married have tattoos that they don't want removed, yet they also don't want them showing. Whether a tattoo was a result of youthful indiscretion, a reminder of a wilder youth, or just a part of your personality, there are sometimes we'd rather not have it on display. A wedding is often one of those times.

What are a bride's options? For small tattoos, you can use coverup make as Eva Longoria did for awhile, using a concealer that matches your skin tone before misting on a spray foundation. If you go over all that with a translucent powder, the look should be seamless. You'll definitely want to practice with any coverup kits before the Big Day, even Dermablend, one of the more highly recommended kits out there.

Large tattoos, however, might present more of a challenge. Airbrushing is popular or choosing a wedding gown that hides as much as possible. There's also there's the possibility of wearing a bolero or a shawl. If it's a matter of not having them show up in pictures, your photographer might be able to help you with that, even by suggesting certain angles to shoot photos from. I'm not a fan of having photos Photoshopped, but that is also a possibility too.

However, if you do have very large tattoos on exposed parts of your body, then they are very much a part of who you are and rather than hide from their exposure, embrace it. They represent you, your personality, feelings and emotions you had at the time you had it done. There's no reason really you need to run from that.

What are your views? Should brides go to extraordinary lengths to cover tattoos, even large ones, or allow them to be exposed in all their brilliant colors?

Coming Together Events Coming to Technorati

Coming Together Events will soon be registered with the major blog site Technorati soon, bringing this site into touch with millions of readers worldwide. Look for us there soon!

KV3NY8HYSA87

Wedding Planner NJ - Just the FAX Your Highness

I knew I should've plugged in my fax machine. 

Prince William and Kate Middleton caused a stir by sending out "save the date" announcements for their wedding by fax (BTW, the date is April 29). The official rationale behind the move was that protocol dictates that major sovereigns receive notice earlier than foreign heads of state and non-VIP guests, and besides, it's a really efficient way of getting the word out.

And the responses have already started rolling in. The prince and princess of Serbia RSVP'd right away they were attending...via their website! 

While royal couple intend to send out the traditional gold-embossed save-the-date notices, they wanted to get these in the hands of the guests ASAP. Will this become a new trend? Faxing invitations and RSVPing by website. Maybe they can schedule the wedding through a Facebook Meetup!

While the royals can get away with this, could you? Would you even consider faxing your guests a save the date announcement?

If you want to be a little more formal with your own Save the Date announcement (should we even call them STDs?), here are some good tips to follow:

Keep it simple. Write something along the lines of "Save the Date: (Your name and your fiance's name) are getting married on (your wedding date) in (city where you'll be married). It's also a good idea to include "Formal invitation to follow" to let your guests know to expect further details and communication.

Here are some ideas for Save the Date announcements:

Yes, it's a mint tin!

Familiarity Breeds Complacency

It's not change for change's sake, but we've redesigned and updated our website ComingTogetherEvents.com to give visitors more information and value. Now couples who are getting married in New Jersey and New York will be able to find just the services they need.

Continue to visit our site often as we add more pages of useful information. Thanks for checking in.