Here is some great-to-know information from an insurance expert. Read up!

Cake- Check, Reception Hall- Check, Invitations Sent- Check…. you planned the big day perfectly and thought everything through hundreds of times, but did you overlook something that you and your spouse will need the rest of your life ?

Thinking about insurance is never something terribly exciting, at this point you would rather plan for your life with your new partner, your honeymoon, your new home, not something as dull as insurance but it should be one of the first things you should plan for to ensure that you and your spouse are covered from the moment you say ” I Do.” At some point in your life you have likely had to use your insurance it may have been just to get some medicine or for something more serious but you know how helpful having that coverage has been. If there is any incentive outside of that you can take joy in knowing that you will be saving money by having insurance plans together compared to being single.

Health Insurance

One of the biggest areas you can start to save money by pooling your plans is through affordable health insurance. It is very likely that there is a decent discount by either moving to your spouse’s policy or having them come to yours. If you are on an individual medical insurance plan, there is typically a discount to add additional family members. There is a good chance that one of you has a group plan from your workplace, if that is the case, check out what needs to occur in order to get your spouse on the policy and what kind of increase it will cause to the premium. This can be done either by looking at the policy yourself or contacting the insurance company itself or perhaps the HR department at your office. If both of you have a group plan then it becomes necessary to see which will provide the best coverage at the best rate and then drop the other policy. The process of adding another member to a policy is generally pretty straight forward and relatively painless.

If neither of you are insured at this point, it would be a good idea to look into individual health plans.

It should also be noted that if you are a younger couple getting married, and you are still on your parent’s health coverage, you will be dropped by that plan when you are married.

Home Insurance

If you are moving into your spouse’s house (meaning not buying or renting a different house than either of you lived in before), it is important to look at the policy in place for the home. As you will be bringing all of your possessions as well, the value of the goods within the home will be much higher and thus you will need the appropriate level of coverage. Whichever partner is moving needs to make sure that they cancel their current policy at their home or apartment. If they plan to rent out the place they should contact their current company and switch the status to married and see about getting a landlord’s insurance.

Auto Insurance

Insurance companies consider those who are married to be more responsible, meaning more economically stable and mature, and will typically have lower premiums for couples. For a young couple this particularly good news as young men typically have higher premiums as they are considered higher risks. The odds are you both drive and thus both have insurance , a policy together will generally allow for discount auto insurance.

Life Insurance

If at this point you and your partner are without life insurance this is the perfect time to look into it. Policies can be very affordable for a young couple. It may not seem like a good time to get life insurance but in this new phase of your life you will be relying on both of your incomes. Having a life insurance policy in place allows for financial protection if something ever happens to you or your partner and helps to ensure that they are taken care of. There are two types of insurance, term- which means for a period of time, and whole – which means for the whole life, and depending on your age one may be a better choice than another and thus you should look into both as an option and make the appropriate decision.

And Now For the Honeymoon !

Your wedding went off without a hitch and now you can go off to your honeymoon knowing that you have everything sorted out with your coverage. As you are now married, you will be paying less for coverage than if you were still single , per person, as you can get joint policies or family policies that meet your needs and allow for a good discount.

* * * *

This article was written by Barbara Waltz one of the founders of 247QuoteUs.com , an online resource blog and insurance quote comparison guide.

I am often surprised at the creativity of my clients! Today, while walking the grounds of a museum where she’ll marry in March, my client introduced me to yet another idea which will act as her alternative to a guest book . Many of my clients and acquaintances feel similar – guest books are now becoming antiquated . Creative "guest projects" are now preferred.

In the spirit of alternatives and trends, below you will find a list of the most interesting guest book alternatives that I have "found", heard of, and recommended.

Just a hint: If you have invited two groups to your wedding…one group for the ceremony + reception, and one group for ceremony-only, you may wish to consider using a traditional guest book to register attendance for your ceremony, then use the alternatives below for the reception (where guests will have more creative time to spend).

1. [This idea is from today's client meeting... ] The Guest Tree

(Note: After researching this idea is also sometimes called a "Wishing Tree")

This idea combines the idea of a guest book and a "best wishes" guest area. (A best wishes guest area may be defined as an area set aside for guests to write personal thoughts for the couple. Today, many brides still use photo mats for guests thoughts and signatures.)

• A Guest Tree is a potted, "indoor" tree that will feature paper "ornaments" which contain guest’s best wishes to the couple. As it was explained to me, there is a table with strips of paper (not to be folded) and pens and ornament hooks. Once the guest has completed their thought to the couple it is hung by an ornament hook onto the tree. (Keep in mind that you will want to punch holes into the ends of the strips of paper so that your guests will not have to fumble and rip their paper.) The tree that my client is using is a manzanita tree, pre-decorated with blue Christmas lights. However, there are many other tree varieties that would be appropriate.

  Hint: You may wish to place a card containing directions for the less-creative-minded guests. (Being told how to complete the project is often times helpful.)

2. The Wedding Canvas – A work of wedding art

• Recently, at my sister’s wedding, we used a large blank canvas for guests to "make their mark". Permanent markers, paints, scissors, and interesting pictures were placed on a table next to the canvas which was held on an easel (my sister’s request). An 8" x 10" rectangle section in the center of the canvas was marked and designated as a spot for a future photo to be placed, and the guests were helpful about not writing or marking in that area. A variation of this idea would may be to use watercolors (paints and paintbrushes), or just colorful permanent pens. (It all depends on what you want the guests to "do".)

3. The Wedding Vase

If you are the type to place flowers in your home, consider purchasing a vase for your guests to sign. (Again, you may wish to leave a card printed with helpful directions to the guests.) If you are going to choose a dark vase, use a light paint pen , and vice versa.

4. The Wedding Quilt (Important: This requires sewing)

Have you ever seen patchwork quilts? Well, the premise of a patchwork quilt is to take squares of fabric and sew the edges together to make a quilt. Imagine then squares of fabric cut for guests to write well wishes or thoughts for the couple on with a permanent fabric pen ! You would want to have a table set-up with fabric squares, directions to the guests, permanent guest pens, and a "finished" box or bin where guests could put their finished squares. You could go shopping for your favorite fashionable quilting squares, or you could just purchase a generic set online.

A bit of Caution

Giving gifts to the couple that are used in daily life, such as aprons or plates, makes for a sad day when the markings wear-off when being laundered or washed. Although aprons and plates are cute ideas you may be happier with an item that isn’t used as often or as regularly.

Happy guest project-ing!

Best,

Alisha Forrester Scott, Owner

La Ruche. event design studio.

You can reach AFS by e-mailing: studio@enterlaruche.com.

LABELS! I love them. They should be on EVERYTHING!

Okay, maybe not everything.

But, they definitely work on wine bottles! Wine bottles are cool enough on their own, but slap a personalized label on them and they suddenly become very “you”. Let me share with you PersonalWine.com, a great site that where you can customize your own labels, get them put on bottles of beverages of your choice, then order a case (or two, or three, or four … or more). Look at the little pretty we created:

You can chose from reds, whites, blushes, champagne and sparkling, in a number of prices from a number of places (Napa Valley, Italy and France to name a few). You can even order mini bottles! And to make it better, the site is really easy to navigate and use. Just hop on, select the label design you like, edit, pick a bottle, order and pay! Voila. You can use your custom labeled wines as favors, welcome gifts (for out of town guests), or just to serve during the big day.

And if you’re just into wine because, well, you love wine, check out their sister site, Wines.com. You can purchase wine or accessories, join a wine club and read and post on forum!

While I’ll definitely be mentioning boho during Green Week (Curious? Come back in the following weeks!), I could NOT wait to share it with you.

This FABULOUS new magazine is ALL about being green. And while it isn’t a wedding magazine (it’s good to mix it up now and then) there is a ton of delicious stuff that can definitely help you as you’re wedding planning and in the days after the wedding.

I love how Gina La Morte, the editor in chief and publisher, describes why they chose the name “boho” for the magazine:

A real boho (or bohemian) is all about freedom: the freedom to express your own personal style and not simply be a copy of the latest celebrity trend. boho is about taking risks and living your dreams, about changing the world and being eco-friendly, about having a love of fashion and being a beauty brat. Being a boho is all about enjoying the eclectic mix of things you love in life while still wanting to make a difference in the world around you.

After that, how could you possibly not read the magazine cover to cover? What’s even better? They stress having personal style that’s all yours. Doesn’t matter what category it fits in, if any, as long as it’s your own. Sounds like some of the best fashion advice I’ve heard – whether it’s your everyday style or your wedding day style!

Just Like Heaven

Former fashion model Taylor Foster-Allen followed her dreams to opening an organic specialty treat shop. Yummy!

Top Ten Tips : Eco To Go

Simple and quick ways to play your part in saving our earth.

Want more boho? Check out their website, bohomag.com. You can also subscribe to the magazine on the site, which I definitely recommend!

Happy Tuesday! One of our readers sent me an email yesterday about this fabulous post on Beau-Coup’s blog: “Top 20 Unique Bridal Shower Games“. My personal favorite is “Wedding Ring Dec-a-cake”.

That post then lead me to yet another good one: “Bridesmaid Dos and Don’ts“. You know the article is good when you read this: “Do help the bride lift up her gown as she goes to the bathroom. Don’t go back and tell everyone what you did.” So true!

And just a side note. I love their personalized mint tins. If you want to go that rout for favors or if you are just looking for little goodies to give to your ‘maids, they make the perfect gifts that can be refilled or used for something else, post-mints!

My favorite designs:

So I am IN LOVE with something Ms Polka from the Polka Dot Bride discovered. Not only is it a fun little addition that can help us bloggers share music with all the wonderful brides out there, but it is something all the wonderful brides out there can put on their personal websites to share potential wedding picks with their wedding party and guests!

How so? Put it on your wedding blog or personal wedding page and play the selection of ceremony music. Or, play a few First Dance candidates and have guests vote on their favorite. Or, just add them to your site for a bit of ear candy.

• Tweet This!
• Share this on Facebook
• Digg this!
• Share this on del.icio.us
• Share this on Reddit
• Post this on Diigo
• Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon
• Share this on Technorati
• Add this to Google Reader

]]> http://www.weddingfanatic.com/mix-tape-feel-good-music/feed/ 0