Wedding Invitations|Cheap Wedding Invitations|Wedding Invitation

It's early in the morning. The voices won't stop and you have been cutting yourself and smearing blood over the walls of the cave you are in. Your mind is going at a thousand miles an hour and terrible voices are telling you to go and jump off the cliff. The blood is flowing now and you suck some of it off your wrist and scratch at it and lick some more off and the voices won't stop and you can't stand still. You're hungry, thirsty, insane with these voices, hurting from the blood flow in your wrist and your head is bursting with all of the confusion and you are wondering how you are going to survive another day in torment.

A wave of peace sort of knocks you over and the chatter of angry voices seems to lull for a second and suddenly you are running out into the sunlight searching for the source of this massive rush of power that had temporarily short circuited the angry voices and made a second or two of peace. You squint at the sunlight and as your eyes adjust it seems the sun is flowing off a man's face dressed like a Rabbi walking up the path toward your humble abode. The voices in your head go wild with fear and they scream at you to go back into the cave and as you raise your hand to block the radiance coming off this man, you realize that your eyes don't even want to look at him.

But oh the peace and it sort of surprises you to feel both a strong attraction to this guy and a strong repulsion to him at the same time and the voices are silent now as he gets within twenty feet of you and your realize that he has no fear of you and is intent on coming to see you and for the first time in many years you are feeling like you want the company of a stranger. From the looks of this man he appears quite peaceful and you squint and catch his face from time to time, but his radiance is just too much to keep your eyes on him, but oh you can't keep your eyes off him.

He beckons you to himself and his eyes are so full of love and then as you grow close he commands the demons to come out of you in a short quick order. The only thing that happens is they start to scream again and you feel sick as though you are going to vomit such is the fear that has engulfed your stomach. But you instinctively know that the fear isn't your fear and it's the demons he is commanding that fear this man and you wait patiently for the Rabbi to make his next move.

He asks your friends that torment you what their names are and you hear your voice say Legion for we are many. And suddenly your voices are screaming in fear out of your mouth for him to have mercy on them and send them into the pigs that graze on the cliff nearby. With one quick command your torment is over and it's like liquid oil flowing over your whole body and it soaks you with this awesome peace and finally you know that your mind is free and your tormentors have finally gone.

The keepers of the pigs are very angry now and approaching the Rabbi who smiles at them in a serene smile and they leave to go and tell the town around the bend and a few miles down the beaten track. A town you are not welcome in, a town that used to be your home, a place you used to live in when you were in your right mind.

The Rabbi asks one of his men to open his bag and they get out some bread and give it to you and open a flask of wine and hand it to you and he says sweetly, "Take and eat and drink your fill."

You want to talk to this man, but you have only eaten scraps the pig keepers throw at the front of your cave once in a while and this is the first fresh and real food you have seen for years and you figure that the conversation can wait. The bread is so fresh and as you pull chunks out, the Rabbi asks his follower with the bag if there are any olives left and the follower says there are only a couple and the Rabbi insists that he gets them out.

Three olives are given to the Rabbi and he smiles at you and begins to juggle them and before your eyes the three turn into four and then five and then he starts to throw them to you and you catch them one by one as he continues to juggle. He always has at least four in his hands and they keep on appearing out of thin air and slowly as he throws them one by one at you your hands fill with olives until he stops when you can't hold any more.

He gives a gentle smile and reaches over and rips some of your bread off and places it in his mouth with a couple of olives and you start to do the same with your bounty. He is chewing and smiling silently at you and your are busy eating and smiling back and nothing is said but the communication is the most love you have felt since your wedding night and yet with this Rabbi and this peace your mind remembers that not even your wedding night filled you with this much joy.

His smile sends waves of joy through you, the flavour of fresh olives explode in your taste buds and the experience was one that you knew you would remember for many years. You shake your head and look at the floating pigs in the water and hope the voices might never come back and you just can't seem to come to grips with how radically your life had been transformed this morning. Your cut has been healed, the blood stain isn't even on your wrist and your whole body is feeling so light that you feel you might lift of the ground and float like a cloud if things got any better.

So much is different and as you chew, you finally have had your fill to a point where you want to talk and you put the rest of the food on the dirt and ask a question.

"Who did you come to see Rabbi?"

"I came to see you my child. My Father in heaven told me that you have been crying for his mercy and the time had come for you to be set free."

Tears well up in your eyes as there is no doubt that you are free but knowing he came just for you and that purpose is too much for your rejected and broken spirit to handle. You are full, you are healed and you have the most wonderful peaceful and powerful man you have ever seen telling you God loves you and has heard your prayers and has made a special trip for you and it is all too much. You take a minute and suddenly you are weeping without restraint. Sorrow flows out of you like a torrent and yet used to being embarrassed and feeling shame you have no problems weeping in public.

The Rabbi starts to talk to his followers gently and as you weep you can still hear his lilting voice telling them that this is their purpose on the earth, to set the captives free and bring liberty to the broken hearted. He speaks a little to them and then with his hand he lays it upon your shoulder and suddenly you get a jolt like lightning going through you and your crying stops in an instant and the peace is back in a bigger and stronger quantity.

You don't get to ask your next question before the whole town is bearing down on the Rabbi with sticks and stones in their hands. He gently speaks to them and brings peace among them and agrees to their request that he should leave. He gets to his feet and pulls you up to your feet and invites you to walk with him down to the boat that you suddenly see now pulled up to the shoreline.

You walk down to the boat and he gives you some wisdom from God and some insight into the teachings that you knew as a child and then finally he is bidding you goodbye and getting into the boat.

You ask him if you can go with him and be one of his followers and he gives you the broadest grin and laughs.

It's not a mocking laugh, it's a laugh of joy and then he gently tells you that you need to go back to the town you once lived in and show them what a miracle this Rabbi had done in your life. He tells you what you need to tell them and tells you one day he will be back to check on what a good job you have done.

Tears roll down your cheek and they are bittersweet. All of your heart and your renewed mind wants to get on the boat, but you know also that the power that is in you and the story you have to tell will bring many people closer to this Rabbi's way of faith. You can't wave and your tears cloud your vision and you look down in sorrow and then you hear his voice.

"I am going to miss you John."

Jesus Christ had a way with people. Jesus is a very personal God manifest on earth for us all to understand and He is gentle, meek and kind. He is the sort of guy that would juggle olives and make them appear out of thin air simply to show you He could do more then just expel demons. He has a smile that simply melts hearts and often all He needs to do is look at you with a gentle smile and your spirit hears the sentences.

Jesus wants the mentally ill set free and he still cares about today's Schizophrenics like me. It's not a strange thing for a person today to have multiple bad voices talking to them. It's not uncommon for people to have to be locked up and put away so they won't kill themselves and others.

This man mentioned in the Gospels like the woman at the well became one of the first evangelists that was personally commissioned by Jesus Christ. Some of the best healers in the world were once sick with a disease that was incurable and when the Lord set them free they began a life of preaching the good news and healing others. I have no doubt that this man would have had the compassion on the sick of his town that He returned to and the anointing to heal in the name of the Jesus he had met. He had a powerful testimony and as he shared it I believe that many would have had their faith strengthened.

It is not mentioned in the Bible, but I think my Jesus, the one I know quite well might have popped into His town a few years later to lay hands on some of the new converts that this man would have raised up. Whether this happened or not, I know at Pentecost this man would have got the full anointing drop on him out of the clouds.

We tend to read the Bible and skip over passages like this. I have a little understanding of what it is like to have hundreds of angry voices in your head screaming and swearing at you. One day it happened to me for half an hour that up to 1000 voices were shouting at each other and swearing very badly at Jesus. I was told later by Jesus that he had taken me to a place in hell. So I can relate a little to this man.

I also know what is like to see Jesus leave on a boat and be crying. One day some two years ago I met a very anointed man of God. He was the first man in the world that convinced me you could have a worry free, fear free, sinless and holy and powerful life lived by faith. You see the likes of Benny Hinn but this man I met in person and conversed with and spent a week under his profound teaching. Meeting Mutu was like meeting an apostle out of the Bible. There seemed no question that you could ask him that he didn't have the answer for and multiple scriptures to show you to support the answer. One time in a lounge room in a house I heard him preach for six hours and I was unhappy that we had to leave before he was finished. No one in my life has ever had me so interested and enthralled for six hours straight.

In the middle of that day my eyes filled with tears and I said to him that I was going to miss him when he flew back to Malaysia. He laughed and grinned like Jesus in the boat in my dramatization and said, "Miss me Matthew? You've got Jesus!"

Four days later at the airport we were at the window watching him walk along a path to the plane. Some people in our group closest to the window waved at him and he left the path and came up to the window and waved. I am no good at goodbyes and so I was not where he could see me. He looked and waved to all the people and then made a sign with his hands to say that he wanted the people in the front to part. When they parted he looked at me and mouthed the words. "I love you."

I turned away from him and walked away from everyone and began to weep. I cried for twenty minutes and I just couldn't stop crying. I knew Mutu wasn't Jesus, but he was the closest man I had ever seen that was like Jesus and I felt that I had a living Jesus leaving me behind.

The next day as I read the Bible the Holy Spirit directed me to this Bible passage the story was taken from above and the Holy Spirit told me I was feeling just like that man. Perhaps it's that, perhaps it's my own mental illness and the fact that I love to write fiction that I was able to put this together for you.

Look to Jesus, he is still juggling olives!

Today's market place is competitive for insurance. Making money in this industry requires a lot more than simply placing an ad in the yellow pages and sitting by the phone. Success takes more effort than being able to hand out a one-size-fits-all insurance package for your clients. But even in this market place, with a little dedication, more than a little wisdom, and a lot of hard work, you can easily rake in six figures as a successful insurance agent.

#1 Learn More

Your clients aren't interested in yesterday's ideas. Business classes and insurance seminars are abundant and useful. Ongoing education will help you learn new aspects about the business, master best practices and avoid the most common mistakes. Not only will more education give you a better grasp of the challenges that insurance companies face, it will provide you with a mountain of professional contacts and resources. Your clients will recognize that you never stop studying and learning-and they'll learn to trust you to guide them toward the best choices for them.

#2 Develop a Market Niche

The jack-of-all-trades is the master of none. Become the "go-to person" for one industry area. Let the beginners hawk everything to everyone-auto, health, life, professional and medical coverage. Great restaurants don't offer Mexican, Chinese, American and Thai food. They specialize in and master one cuisine. Follow the same principle! Specialize and build a reputation as the best in town at what you do. Seek the professional organizations that will be interested in your product line. Offer free seminars. Speak to every group that wants to learn about your selected area of insurance. These people will remember you as their local expert in the insurance business.

#3 Market Smarter

Handing out business cards is important, but it's not a marketing plan. It's only a start. You need to do more. Create a monthly newsletter. Save money and deliver it to your prospects by email. Make your webpage interactive. Better yet, make it entertaining. Ask people to give you feedback on your newsletter and your webpage; many of these "reviewers" will become customers.

#4 Provide Choices

Very few people appreciate being told exactly what to do-and no one wants a "pushy" insurance agent cramming a policy down their throats. People need to feel involved in the process. The ideal pitch offers clients three choices-not enough to overwhelm, but enough to ensure participation. People who choose between a series of options will feel emotional ownership of their policies-and they are more likely to talk up those policies to their friends.

#5 Make Personal Connections

Always remember trust is central to the insurance business. Clients purchase from-and stay with-agents they trust. Be a presence in your clients' lives. Send birthday cards. Send cards on important anniversaries-like the client's wedding date, the date of their home purchase, and the date of a client's major career change. Be a face to your clients. It's difficult to trust a faceless billing machine. And, yes, keep every appointment as sacred! If you can't meet in person, make personal phone calls. Client loyalty begins with clients' sense of the person to whom they owe loyalty.

Stick with these best practices and you will become a successful insurance agent.

Are you concerned about invitation wording for weddings? In this article we are going to help you put together a great wedding invitation.

If you have never put a wedding together before you may not have any idea about invitation wording for weddings. If you do not get this right you may confuse the guests and even hurt people's feelings. Let's move on to talk about how we can avoid this and we will help you put together a great wedding invitation.

Before you start your making your invitations, it is important that you have all of the information together neatly so that you will be able to transfer the desired information onto the invitation and you do not forget anything.

Here are the components that you should never leave out of your invitation, as well as a few suggestions on invitation wording for weddings:

A wedding invitation has several components. They include:

Line Of Invitation - Mr and Mrs Thomas

Line Of Request -...request the honor of your presence.

Line Of Relationship -... at their daughter's marriage ceremony

Name Of The Bride - Tonya Morris

Joining Word - To

Name Of Groom - John Smith

Date Line - on Friday, the fifth day of November

Year Line - Two Thousand Ten

Time Line - at three o'clock

Location - St John's Church

Address - 101 Mills Dr

City And State - New York City, New York

Any Other Information - Include information on the reception

When it comes to invitation wording for weddings, you need to think about a few things when you are writing your information into the invitation fields above.

You need to make sure that you know who is hosting (paying for) the wedding. If the bride and/or groom's parents are married, divorced or deceased. If the bride and/or grooms parents are doctors. If the bride/groom/ parents are in the military.

The reason that you need to know these things is because if you do not you may find that you upset some people when they get their invitation. If anyone is a doctor you would need to put Dr. before their name. If they are in the military you need to find out what their rank is and put that on the invitation. This is going to allow things to turn out much more smoothly and you will not have to redo the invitations.

The reason you need to know who is paying for the wedding is because that will change the wording in the invitation. If both of the parents are paying for the wedding then you would need put the bride's parents names first on the list then you should follow it by "and" then the names of the groom's parents.

The reason that you need to know if the parents are divorced or married is because if they are divorced you would not put the "and" in the invitation when you are listing their names.

In this article you have learned about invitation wording for weddings.

First steps: If you come home to find you've been burgled, contact the police immediately, and remember these dos and don'ts.

Don't:
-Touch anything more than you have to or attempt to clear up any mess. You could destroy important evidence.

Do:
-Check your home for damage and make a note of what's missing.
-Report stolen credit cards or check books to your bank or building society.
-Report stolen passports or driver's licenses to the organizations that issue them.
-Contact your home insurance company. They may want to take your details immediately or wait for the police to make a report.
-Check with your home insurance company whether emergency locksmiths and repairs are covered under a home emergency section of your insurance policy.

What happens next?

Call the police:
When the police arrive they will take your details and help you make sure your home is secure.
The police will give you a crime reference number and an official police report. Your home insurance company will need to see it when you make a claim.

Secure your home:
If you call an emergency locksmith or glazier, keep the receipt. You may be able to claim for it on your home insurance. Check with your provider about what you need to do to make a claim, such as photographing damage and keeping receipts for replacement items.

Putting things right:
You need to work closely with your insurer to make sure your claim goes smoothly. If the police recover any of your lost property you must tell your home insurance company. They will take this into account when calculating your claim.

Preventative measures:
There are several things you can do to prevent a burglary and protect your property if you are burgled:

o Install a burglar alarm - this may also make your home insurance cheaper. It's worth noting that many providers will add endorsements onto your policy, for example, if you go out and don't put the alarm on and are broken into, you may have to pay a higher excess.

o Secure your doors and windows - and never leave keys in locks or on windowsills where they are in plain view.

o Note down serial numbers - most electronic goods have them. They make it easier to prove
ownership if the police find your property.

o Keep valuation certificates and receipts - it helps your insurer settle your claim if you have proof of ownership and value.

o Take photographs - for items without serial numbers, such as furniture and jewellery, a photograph is a good substitute. A photograph of a unique or rare item can help your insurance company repair or replace that item.

THE BOTTLES

The first step is to get the bottles. You can use either plastic bottles or glass bottles for your message in a bottle invitation. We purchased glass bottles for our invitations as we only needed 25. These came with the corks and we bought mailing boxes with them. You can also get 8oz. plastic bottles in bulk, if you want to save some money. The plastic bottles also come with corks, but you don't need boxes to mail them.

THE SAND

If you buy sand in 5 lb bags, each bag will fill about 150 bottles with about 2" of sand. Or, if you are really determined, you can head on down to the beach! If you do want to "dig your own," be aware that it might be too damp and will stick to the sides of the bottle. If this happens, dry the sand in an oven before filling the bottles. The sand will have a nice powdery appearance, rather than being wet and clumpy.

THE PAPER

I do not recommend using a stiff style of paper and you'll see why further down. I searched far and wide for paper that either had burned edges or appeared to have burned edges. I didn't want it to look cheap. Through the research I figured out I wanted to burn the edges myself and that the best paper to use for this is parchment paper. I searched and priced everywhere. The best I found was actually at Office Depot. I got 80 sheets of parchment paper for under $7.00. It has a wonderful texture and was very easy to work with. Keep in mind that you cannot print on this particular paper on both sides because of the consistency of it. It is also available to buy in larger packages than 80 sheets.

BURNING THE EDGES

I have to admit this part takes some practice.....but here is what I learned: I do not recommend using a lighter because it will leave black marks on the paper and a not so nice odor once its been closed up in a bottle for a while. For the first set I did, I used the long fireplace matches and this worked pretty well. I lit an edge, let it burn for a few seconds and then blew it out. I repeated this technique until I had gone all the way around. This will leave you with some pretty rough edges with black soot all over them. I figured out early on that if you don't scrape it off you are going to have a mess and black stuff everywhere when you try and roll the scrolls up. I used the edge of the long match to scrape all the extra stuff off the edges. I did it over the kitchen sink, but you could do it over newspaper or outside. I also chose the kitchen because I was close to water in case I had trouble with the flames. We had a lot of burning to do since we did our scrolls, the invites on the outside of each bottle and the mailing labels. For the second set I decided to move on to an unscented candle and forego the long matches (truth be told I ran out of them). This worked well but I did get a little more soot and black marks on the back of the paper, but at that point I could live with it! To see a picture of the finished result, take a look on the company's website.

ROLLING THE SCROLLS

Above I recommended NOT using a very stiff paper. At this point you'll be sorry if you did! This was my least favorite part of the process and I think it's because I wasn't very good at it. My fiance rolled all the scrolls. He started each one by rolling it around a pencil and working with it until it was tight enough to fit inside the bottle. Once it was thin enough, I would tie it closed. A lot of girls use ribbon or raffia. I chose to use natural jute both because of the look of it (like rope but thin) and the price. I got 243 feet of 3 ply #28 natural jute from Hobby Lobby for $1.47 and I barely put a dent in it. To me - that's a deal!!

ASSEMBLING YOUR INVITATIONS

When the scrolls are done you are ready to start putting your invitations together. I know a lot of girls like to put additional items in their bottles. Some ideas of things you can include are: Tiny flip flops, Tropical Umbrellas, Palm Trees, Small Sunglasses **Hint: Look in the button / embellishment aisle of any craft store and you'll find something - I promise** Or of course all dollar stores and craft stores.....oh, and eBay!!

FRAGRANCE

One thing that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that was a huge hit with our invitations was we included coconut scent. We got it from Hobby Lobby for $2.99 for a tiny bottle. You can find it in the candle or soap making aisle. This stuff is very condensed and it doesn't seem like you're buying much for $3.00 but I didn't come close to even using much of it and we made 25 invitations. I put a few drops in each bottle and one drop onto each cork and it made a huge difference - every one of our guests noticed it! There are other scents you can choose from besides coconut, they have pineapple, plumeria, ocean breeze, gardenia, etc.

QUICK TIP:

The amount of sand you include in your bottles affects several things. First, it greatly affects your postage! We learned this the hard way.....we included almost 2 full inches of sand and paid for it at the post office. Sand is heavy! Second, it affects how wide or how long your scroll can be. While it is somewhat giving, keep in mind that the more sand you have the less room you have for the scroll to fit. Play with it and figure out what you like best. My fiance liked more sand and in the end I agreed, but these are a few things to keep in mind.

QUICK TIP:

Soak all your corks in water before inserting them, this allows them to go in easier and as they dry, they will expand getting a better fit and will be less likely to fall open.

MAILING YOUR BOTTLES To send the plastic bottles through the mail, all you have to do is secure the cork. The postage on the bottle with less than one inch of sand is around $1.64 - without sand it's only $.60. We mailed our actual invitations which were the glass bottles that came with boxes. We ended up putting iridescent blue tissue paper on the bottom of each box and surrounding it with that crinkle stuff (like easter grass but nicer) to help protect the glass in mailing. I taped each box shut before I went to the post office. I recommend doing this only because otherwise they will use the ugly blue and red postal tape and ruin the look of your boxes if you let them do it. I used the wide, clear packing tape. We paid right around $5 per box, we delivered all those near to us. Also, go to the post office and request either that they print out the postage on small labels (ugly but useful) or see if they have tropical varieties of stamps available.

QUICK TIP:

Make a few extra! We did and ended up using them. But I really want us to have one just to ourselves that can sit on a shelf or mantel for years to come.

DISCLOSURE: I am not responsible if any of the following occur: you burn down your house, you burn your finger, you burn your fiance, your fingers ache from rolling the scrolls and you are not able to play, you get black soot all over yourself, your clothes, your house or your fiance, you spend too much in postage, you get condensed coconut fragrance on your fingers and you smell for a year and a half or if you get arrested for stealing sand from the beach.

Oh, and have fun!

It's finally here... he proposed! She accepted! Or maybe the other way around! Regardless of who made the first move, there's a wedding to plan... decisions to be made, vendors to be booked, venues to choose... shopping to do... the mad preparation begins!

For many people, planning a wedding is probably much like embarking on a college education: there's a lot more to it than people think who haven't already been through it before. It's more than planning a party; there are some pretty serious emotions involved -- all around. It can be highly stressful at times. There are ways, however, to mitigate this stress and make this a happy time.

If you want to bypass most of this stress altogether, consider hiring a professional wedding coordinator to do all the legwork for you and even absorb much of the logistical stress on the big day itself. A competent coordinator will orchestrate the entire event for you, for a percentage of your total wedding budget. Before you balk at the idea of adding yet another cost onto everything else that must be paid for, realize that professional wedding planners often actually save the couple money by knowing how to get certain services for a much lower cost than the general public would pay for the same thing. And since the wedding coordinator's fee is a percentage of the budget you've already set, you won't actually be adding another cost. Considering how much work you will be saved, hiring a coordinator may be something that's well worth looking into.

Whether you hire a professional coordinator or organize the wedding all by yourself, there are many additional ways to minimize stress. One consideration is event insurance [http://lasertargeted.com/weddinginsurance/wedding-insurance-wedding-insurance.html], just in case anything should go wrong. Wedding event insurance [http://lasertargeted.com/weddinginsurance/choosing-wedding-insurance-tips-engaged.html] is quite comprehensive and can cover a wide range of possible disasters. According to one source, the top five reported claims include:

* damaged wedding attire

* having to re-take the wedding photographs

* having to cancel the wedding due to an illness or bereavement

* caterers not showing up

* loss of wedding rings

While it's never desirable to have to actually use insurance and file a claim, it's a good thing to have the policy in place nonetheless. This is the first day of the rest of your married life, and you want it to be as perfect as possible. Whatever you do, don't allow little mistakes or omissions to become calamities. It may not be understood by those who have not been through it, but on your wedding day, everything seems so much larger than life -- whether good or bad.

The last thing anyone wants is to have their wedding be remembered as a disaster, and with how much of an expense weddings can be these days, it only makes sense to have some form of insurance. After all, a wedding can cost as much as (or more than!) a down payment on a house, and you wouldn't buy a house without insurance, right? Right!

The custom of celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary with something golden started in the medieval times. A husband would present a wreath made of gold to crown the wife on completing 50 years of marriage. Gold is the color of prosperity, intelligence and success, and many Indian couples like to celebrate this milestone by renewing their vows. Using a gold and black combination for designing wedding cards makes a sophisticated as well as occasion-appropriate choice.

Ideas for Using Gold in 50th Anniversary Wedding Cards

Given below are some suggestions for designing wedding cards for a 50th marriage anniversary celebration:

Invitation styles: Since there will be numerous memories that the couple must have created during the course of 50 years, opting for a scrapbook style invitation is a great idea. You can use thick cardboard and add different layers of pages filled with either watermark imaging or real photos imprinted in the background. Alternatively, use a tri-fold style with a pocket holder for RSVP messages or other information is also a practical option. Simply use a one sided panel card to give it a traditional scroll look and cover it with golden vellum paper to add to the appeal.

Wordings: You can adorn the wedding cards with the 50th anniversary toast, poems and quotes. Couples can also suggest their favorite romantic song lyrics or some verse that they came up on their own. Some of the wording examples are:

* Newlyweds become 'oldweds', and 'oldweds' are the reasons that families work.

* Our wedding was many years ago. The celebration continues to this day. ~ Gene Perret

* A wedding anniversary is the celebration of love, trust, partnership, tolerance and tenacity. The order varies for any given year. ~ Paul Sweeney

You can use thermography, the latest trend in the letterpress industry, to print the wordings with golden ink. However, use the golden ink on a light colored base. For a formal and sophisticated look, engrave the letters on a copper plate painted with shades of gold.

Embellishments: Adorn the invitations with a satin or organza ribbon. Accent it with a metallic bow, circular disks or floral patterns to emboss the initials of the guests of honor. You may also personalize the embellishment on the ribbon with the couple's photo. Old fashioned lace or traditional golden scroll work can be used on the front cover of the invitation for a distinctive vintage style.

Find a reliable retailer that offers services like customization for designing outstanding invitations for the event. Also make sure that services and products are priced reasonable by the retailer in order to stay within the budget.

Choosing your Maid of Honor isn't as simple as it looks. Nowhere else in your wedding planning is it easier for vexing problems to turn up! Why? Because the Maid of Honor's duties are often vaguely defined, and worse, poorly communicated.

In fact, every bride has her own unique idea of what a Maid of Honor should be. Which is fine - the trick is in communicating those ideas!

So what does a Maid of Honor do? On one end of the spectrum, she's a ceremonial figure who steps off the plane and walks down the aisle before the other bridesmaids.

On the other, she's a master of precognition who soothes your nerves before you know you're frazzled, helps you send out your invites, "manages" the bridesmaids, spreads the word on your registry, and offers up her thoughts on everything from the venue to the dress.

Most often, the Maid of Honor is somewhere in the middle. She leads the bachelorette party and/or bridal shower, and tries to "be there" for the bride during the planning process, and the ceremony itself.

All this flexibility leaves a lot of room for misunderstandings. And they happen a lot. The world is full of brides who feel hurt and let down by close friends as the big day draws near. Do you want to be one of them? Of course not!

So here are some tips on choosing - and communicating with - your Maid of Honor for minimum stress, and maximum happiness.

1) Define what you really want.

Are you a do-it-yourself bride, or do you want your Maid of Honor to be your right hand all the way through?

If you're high-maintenance, accept and acknowledge it.

Pick someone who can truly be there for you, and let them know exactly what you want. If you don't know anyone with that much time or energy to give, think about finding help elsewhere. Is your fiancé an active participant? Can your mother do more? Maids of Honor are not supposed to be wedding co-planners ... unless they really, really want to be!

2) Tell her what you really want.

More than one bride has shed tears because a Maid of Honor couldn't read her mind. For example: many brides wish their Maids of Honor could give a little speech at the reception, but never get around to asking them. If it's important to you, talk about it!

3) It doesn't have to be family.

Never feel you "have to" make a sister or other family your Maid of Honor. If your best friend's a loyal trooper who goes with you on all the errands, choose her. She deserves it.

4) Pick someone local if you need a lot of help.

No one can do much from 3000 miles away, no matter how badly she wants to.

5) Be realistic; look at past performance.

Weddings are exciting. People are human. When everything's new and you've just announced your plans, lots of people will offer to help. But not everyone will manage to follow through.

Who came through for you before the wedding? Who actually managed to rearrange their schedules to be with you, even when inconvenient? These are the people to rely on. No matter how exciting your plans, they won't make an overcommitted person more available to you. Avoid the trap of asking such a person because you think your wedding will be "important enough" for them to "change their ways," and you'll avoid all the stress and hardship of a disappointing Maid of Honor.

6) Be realistic; look at her life ahead.

No matter what a treasure your Maid of Honor is, she has limits, too. Is she expecting a new baby? Is she working through a divorce? If these things slow her down, which they probably will, can you pick up the slack without feeling disappointed?

7) Consider more than one Maid of Honor if you just can't decide.

But keep in mind, this can cause problems too. Can your Maids of Honor divide responsibilities, communicate well and avoid feelings of jealousy?

Now that you've chosen, honor your Maid of Honor with a little sign of how special she is to you. Take her out to a day spa, or go together to have your hair done before the ceremony. Pick out a dress for her that's a different color from the other bridesmaids, or order her a bouquet with some special touches. She deserves it!

Follow these tips, and you'll be the bride who spends that all-important day surrounded by loving, warm friends at their ease. What more could you ask for?

Thirteen years ago, in the year of 1996, Brook Harvey-Taylor and Billy Taylor agreed to start Pacifica Perfume. Even in those years, the fragrance market was highly competitive so instead of launching fragrances, they created candles blended with beautiful perfume of their own choice. All were made from natural essential oils. Sales were rocketing.

At Fall 2008, Pacifica launched their range of solid perfumes: Tibetan Mountain Temple, Spanish Amber, Mexican Cocoa, Madagascar Spice and the one I reviewed here Avalon Juniper. All are made from organic coconut and soya wax with natural and essential oils. In short, 100% vegan! Its tiny tin - only the size of bottle cap of Hemaviton Skin Nutrient - eases the wearer to toss it to bags. It also suited the theme of the season: eco & airport friendly cosmetics.

To be frank, I never knew what Juniper is apart from a flash of earthy pine scent. Additionally, my knowledge of where Avalon Island is quite low, beside that mythical story of King Arthur's Avalon Island. Thus, when finding the entry at Google.com, it was quite a surprise finding a real Avalon city at Catalina Island, California, along with its native plan junipers California.

IMHO, this Avalon Juniper is not extraordinary. In fact, I could mistaken it easily with traditional rubbing balm. Actually, when we sniffed the smell directly from its tin, a freshness from grapefruit and flowery heliotrope would come out. A dab on the skin would melt the solid wax, leaving a slightly greasy layer scented with cinnamon and green, earthy juniper. In the end, I felt like I was wearing balm oil. Well..

Apart from that, I admitted there were some times I needed a relaxing me-time, gazing outside the window with a cup of tea, unobtrusive scent made for myself and only to a person sitting next to me. Its spiciness brought warmth to the body and later, to the heart.

Avalon Juniper is sold for $9 per piece at Pacifica Perfume. Unfortunately, they have not send to Indonesia... yet. But, perhaps eBay and Amazon might list the items. Oh, I can not wait to buy Mediterranean Fig or Bali Lime Papaya (though, surely I would rather found papaya in Java. In Bali, orange-lime-coconut juice drink will be more suitable).

Some couples may want to go for the idea of email wedding invitations. On one hand, it is considered more environmental friendly. On the other hand, it will help you to save money since you will not need to order the physical invitations. Yet, there are also some issues you should consider when you are creating these virtual invitations.

#1 Include all the information

You should include all the information about your big day when you are creating your virtual wedding invitations. Of course you can also send more emails to your guests. However, it will be a good idea for you to include all the necessary information in one email so that your guests will not be confused.

#2 Create a good image

You do not just send the email as plain texts. You will probably need to create some elegant images so that you can impress your guests when you send your email wedding invitations. There are a lot of resources on the web for you to create these images. You may even want to work with a designer if you have the budget to do so.

#3 Include your website or blog address

If you have a website or blog about your big day, be sure to include the address of it when you are sending the wedding invitations. Your guests can just click on the links and visit your website or blog when they receive the emails. The advantage is that you can keep your email simple. You will be able to put a lot of information on the website or blog.

#4 Give each guest a phone call

You may still need to give your guests a phone call after you have send the wedding invitations. One problem of emails nowadays is that there are just too many spams and most people will have the spam filter on. To this end, your email may be wrongly flagged as spam. You will need to give each of your guests a phone call to make sure that they can receive your invitation.

#5 Prepare some physical invitation cards

There are some guests who may not check their email boxes from time to time. To this end, you will still need to prepare some physical wedding invitations to send to them. Yet, you may only need to prepare a small number of cards. You can consider getting some free wedding invitation templates and print the cards yourself.