http://vimeo.com/38374180

With the busy wedding season here… I just wanted to stop and LAUGH at things that can happen at a wedding.

After watching these videos, you will realize that anything can happen, especially if you have children involved. You may have hired the best wedding vendors and organized everything to the date… But we will need a little sense of humor on the wedding day! (even as a wedding coordinator)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbN3sbusq54

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QquOc3dY-zg

According to the bride, the wedding will have many traditions in the Indian culture, but the 2 day event will have a Western touch to it. The groom is German and the bride is Indian.

To prepare for it, I watched Monsoon Wedding  

last night. It helped me visualize the events to come. The June Wedding will have about 120 guests (vs. hundreds) for the intimate affair. Stay tuned for more details and pictures!

Interview with Shannon and Quan

It can be a very touchy and even controversial topic… This article is a summary of a few resources that I found online (http://weddings.about.com/od/weddingregistry/a/moneyinstead.htm is the main one)

How To Ask For Money As A Wedding Gift

Many guests will ask the members of the bridal party and your immediate family for your registry information. The easiest thing for these people to reply is “They’re registered at …, but I also know they are saving for a down payment on a house.” Hopefully if you know someone well enough to have them in your wedding party, you can be honest with them about your hopes for wedding gifts.

Another option … you can register online with a free cash wedding registry.  The sign up usually only takes a few minutes and just involves entering basic information. Although some couples have come up with creative ways to ask for gifts, money, or charitable donations on their wedding invitations, the truth of the matter is that doing so is rude. Wedding gifts of any kind should never be mentioned on an invitation or even sent with the invitation; to do so implies that a guest is required to give you a present. A wedding invitation should simply convey that you would like someone to be there at a very special occasion.

Honeymoon Registries, Create-a-Gift, Mortgage Registry

Companies have now created registries that are essentially veiled ways of asking for money. For example, at a honeymoon registry, a guest can give you the gift of “a nice dinner out,” or “tickets to a play.” You receive the cash, minus the site’s fee, and can then use it for your honeymoon expenses.

Monetary Wedding Gifts Etiquette – Do’s and Don’ts

Do use an online cash wedding registry system (like Wishing Well.)  This will make it easier on you and your guests.  And your cash will be secure.

Do write a thank you card.  Just because you’re registering for cash doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t thank your guests for each gift you get.  It’s also a nice touch to let guests know what you plan to purchase with the monetary gift.

Do give guests a choice.  Register for money for your wedding, but also register for a few items at a traditional registry.  Most guests would probably rather gift cash because it’s much easier, but it is nice to give people the choice. There are so many different kinds of places to register for wedding gifts, from camping stores to fine art and lots in between.

Don’t feel bad about opening a cash wedding registry.  Monetary gifts have been considered proper and acceptable for hundreds of years and are the preferred gift in many cultures.  For example, in Korean tradition wedding guests present the couple with envelopes containing cash at the wedding reception, and in Poland it is customary for guests to pin money to the bride’s veil as a gift.

Do remember that it’s the thought that counts.  Many people ask “what’s the average money gift for a wedding?”  The answer is that there is no average because it varies greatly based on the relationship to the bride and groom.  For instance, close family and friends like your siblings or best friends may give you anywhere from fifty to hundreds of dollars.  While general acquaintances like your lunch buddy at work will typically give up to a hundred dollars at most.  No matter how much people give, your appreciation for the gift should still be the same.

1. Determine Your Budget When a guy’s shopping for an engagement ring, salespeople often do a sneaky thing – they make him think that the amount of his love is tied to how much he spends on a ring. Better to figure out how much you can afford to spend before you step foot in a store. The standard rule is two months salary – but – this is also a rule that the diamond industry created! However it’s still a decent place to start, but then figure out your personal budget.
2. Pay Attention You’re going to have to make a lot of choices – platinum or gold? Modern or traditional? Flashy or understated? It’s easier if you’ve done your homework beforehand. Look at the jewelry your sweetheart wears on a daily basis – if it’s all silver with intricate designs – look for a platinum engagement ring with intricate designs (often called filigree). If it’s just a few heavy gold pieces, well, then go in that direction.
3. Choose a Stone While jewelers will sell you a preset ring, you can often get a better deal if you choose the diamond separately. It helps if you know what shape your sweetheart wants – round, pear, marquis, etc. The most classic shape is a round solitaire. More homework – read The Four Cs of Diamond Buying. Another money saving tip – look for a diamond with high color and cut, but with slightly lower clarity. Make sure you look at the stone with a jeweler’s loupe (like a magnifying glass) – but most flaws (or “inclusions”) can barely be seen even with a loupe.
4. Choose the Setting After you’ve got your stone, then comes the setting. You could go for simple with a solitaire setting, or you could add filigree, extra side stones, and other details. You can choose gold, white or rose gold, platinum, or even titanium.
5. Maximize Your Budget If your intended is always talking about huge diamond engagement rings, but two months of your salary wouldn’t buy a Big Mac, you’re going to have to stretch the budget. Ask for a stone with more surface area – it won’t sparkle as much but it will look bigger. Ask for stones that are slightly less than the next carat (0.8 instead of 1 or 1.9 instead of 2) – the almost indiscernible difference can add up to big savings. Instead of a diamond solitaire engagement ring, consider a less expensive center gemstone (such as tourmaline, blue topaz, sapphire) flanked by two small diamonds. Choose white gold instead of platinum. And consider an antique engagement ring.
6. Get a Buddy Don’t go into a jewelry store alone. They’re scary places full of way too many choices. If you can, bring your sweetheart’s best friend or mom along to help you choose. But if you’re worried they’ll spill the beans, bring a trusted buddy of yours. Make sure they have taste, or you’ll be trying to propose with a ringpop. Also, assuming they like the person you’re buying it for, this is a great moment to bond with your parents and get their advice.
7. Think About Bringing Your Sweetheart With You You’ll lose the element of surprise, but you’ll be sure that she likes her engagement ring. More and more couples are doing it this way.
8. Get a Quality Jeweler Ask for recommendations from friends and family. My advice is to stick to the mom and pop jewelers and try to avoid the national chains – they often sacrifice quality for mass marketing. But make sure the store is accredited by the Jewelers of America or is a member of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Before you buy, find out what the return policy is so that you can exchange it if you didn’t do your homework properly.
9. Plan Ahead You may not be able to just walk out of a jewelry store with a ring. Not only will you need to save up for it, but depending on what you order it could take a couple weeks for them to set the stone, do any engraving, or even custom design your ring (like Brad Pitt did for Jennifer Aniston). So if you want to propose on a certain date, make sure you start working on the ring early.
10. Get it In Writing Would you buy a house without an inspection? No? Well then don’t buy a diamond without an independent diamond-grading report from the GIA or the American Gem Society. It should include the 4 c’s of color, cut, clarity and carat, as well as the shape and size. And, like your house, don’t forget to get the ring insured.

I also enjoy going onto their website also because it is so convenient.

If you just started planning your wedding and you have no idea where to start … check out Here Comes the Guide!

You can also find services, a wedding dress, a bridal fair and plan a honeymoon.

It will save you lots of time.

Spring 2012 Collection

Summer 2012 Collection

Fall 2012 Collection

Spring 2013 Collection

The reasons we tell ourselves it’s OK not to take our health seriously

- by Josh Weger

Life gets busy, right? There’s no time to work out, there’s no time to be active. You have to pick up Jimmy from soccer practice, then drop Susie off at ballet, make it home in time for dinner, and the list goes on. You might be asking yourself, “Is staying active and healthy that important?” The answer is YES!

However, I do understand that finding the time, energy and motivation to work out can be half of the work out itself. But I also understand that we are putting ourselves in danger when we go days and months without keeping a check on our health.

Let’s take a look at some of the facts:

• Someone has a stroke in the United States every 40 seconds
• 1 out of every 4 high school students drinks soda every day
• Nearly 33% of adults in the US are obese
• In the US, 76.4 million people over the age of 20 have high blood pressure

How many excuses will we make to put off physical activity before we become one of these statistics? I don’t know about you, but I seem to come up with a new excuse every week to not work out, and I actually enjoy it exercising! Have you told yourself any of these top 5 excuses for not exercising lately?

1. I don’t have time.
2. I’m tired.
3. It’s going to hurt.
4. Exercise is boring.
5. I hate my gym.

Let’s be real. All of us can relate to these at one time in our lives or another. Nevertheless, we can’t let our excuses influence our actions. Bill Rechin once said, “excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” I’m certain I can say for most of us that no one wants to build a house of failure.

No more excuses. It’s time to start building our bodies right, it’s never too late. This week, take 7 days and try to exercise for a total of 150 minutes. Set a goal, get a team of friends, and start getting fit!

http://community.bacc.cc/2012/02/06/top-5-excuses-to-not-be-fit/

EVG provides services for Weddings, Proms, Anniversaries, Graduations, Birthday Parties, Reunions, Corporate Events and more! While EVG is a group of independent contractors/businesses, EVG will work together to ensure you receive the highest level of service.

The Elite Vendor Group is growing. You will not disappointed!

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