Danielle Tate

Cheers to Engagement Season!

Cheers to engagement season…which will be followed swiftly by wedding season! Did you just get engaged or know some lucky girl who’s about to have the question popped? If so, it’s time to celebrate. Break out the champagne and wedding magazines ladies!

As a newlywed, you are an invaluable source to your engaged friends during engagement season. You’ve planned your Big Day, dealt with budgets and wedding vendors and said “I do” to happily ever after. Be sure to pass on your knowledge and save your friends from preventable hassles. Tell her about the best and worst parts of your planning process. Help guide her down the aisle and of course give her the scoop on name change.

If she’s considering changing her name after marriage, send her the Married Name Game as a fun way to find out her options. Then as her wedding draws near you can gift her a MissNowMrs gift card to save her 13 hours of hassle on her transition from Miss to Mrs. If you’re not her matron of honor…you should be!

5 Ideas For Creating A Holiday Moment Together This Year

Creating a holiday moment together is SO important! Whether you’re planning your wedding or celebrating your first Christmas as newlyweds the holidays hold a host of parties, activities, family gatherings and maybe a few stressful questions. What are you buying your spouse? Are you now in charge of his/her family Christmas gifts? Where are you spending the holiday this year? Who’s traditions will be honored? What is your holiday budget?

In the midst of the shopping, baking, wrapping and traveling, I have one piece of advice for you. Plan time for just the two of you to make a memory. If you don’t plan to do this now, the holidays will have already whirled past before you have a chance to connect.

Short on ideas? You could go ice skating, make out under the mistletoe, take a walk through holiday lights, make an ornament to remember your first Christmas or have breakfast in bed together as you exchange gifts. You can also surprise your spouse with a name change. We’ve had clients slip their new driver’s license showing their married name into a card. So cute!

Whatever you choose, you’ll be able to look back over the years and remember “your holiday moment” as a nearlywed or newlywed!

We’d love to hear about how you’re creating a holiday moment together! Please leave a comment below.

A New Free Way to Handle Wedding RSVPs

Wedding RSVPs…. ugh! Certain aspects of wedding planning are fun, like dress shopping and cake tastings. Other aspects of wedding planning can be a total headache, especially getting your guests to RSVP.

It doesn’t make sense…you’re inviting friends and family to an amazing event (your wedding) but they can’t complete and mail back the RSVP card?! Personally, I had one guest invite a date (he was not a plus 1) and then not attend our wedding…leaving 2 empty chairs at our 80 person event. That fact still irritates me!

Instead of stressing, hounding, calling & emailing to figure out how many guests will be at your wedding you can use RSVPify. This nifty new service allows you to solicit guest RSVPs online via your current wedding website or a custom one you make with RSVPify. Aside from simplifying and streamlining the RSVP process, you can also use their drag and drop seating chart to organize your wedding tables (2 birds, one stone)! I also like their real-time guest number widget that lets you know your exact number of accepts and declines at any given moment. One more important fact about RSVPify…it’s FREE!

Have you used RSVPify or had any guest RSVP incident(s) that made you wish you had? Share your experience in a comment below!

3 Tips to Make Your Name Change Decision A Snap!

Your name change decision is a big one. While some of us newlyweds don’t want to change our names (and shouldn’t.) 88.6% of brides/newlyweds are still making the switch to Mrs. What if you can’t decide if you want to change your name? Read on for 3 tips to make your name change decision a snap!

Tip 1 –Talk to your spouse. Find out if they want you to change your name and why. There may be some fact or factor that you are unaware of that will make the decision easier. Perhaps they’re the last to carry the family name or have spent a lifetime imagining introducing their wife as Mrs. XYZ. Conversely, you may have assumed they want you to change your last name, but they might be happy to take yours.

Tip 2 – Figure out your options. There are SO many ways to change your name these days! You can take two last names, hyphenate, take your maiden as a middle, replace your middle with your maiden or even blend last names (in some states). Check into your state laws or play the Married Name Game to find out all of your married name change options…you may feel much better when you find your ideal compromise

Tip 3 – Try it out. Test your new name out by introducing yourself as such and signing it on a few things (nothing official)…you may feel less awkward than you thought. You can also talk to your friends about the whole new name idea and see what they think about your situation.

At the end of the day, married name change is entirely up to you. Do what feels best for you and your relationship. There is no official time limit on name change, so you can take your time to make the right decision. If you do decided to go from Miss to Mrs. be sure to use MissNowMrs to streamline the name change process and save 13 hours of hassle!

Help Me Change My Name

Would You Could You In A…(5 Unique Newlywed Dates)!

Are you looking for unique newlywed dates? It’s busy being a newlywed! There’s the whirlwind of post-wedding thank you, possible moving/merging of your stuff and lives as well as your jobs, families and friends. You may find yourself going on fewer dates and recycling the same restaurants or activities over and over again. The solution? Try something new!

I was inspired by Dr. Seuss’s book Green Eggs & Ham….what better way to keep your dates interesting than adopting the mantra “Would you, could you in a…”? Whether you’re planning a weekend getaway or a weeknight meal start asking that question. Below are a few ideas:

1. Would You, Could You In A Tent? I think it would be incredibly romantic to drink wine and watch the sun set in a hanging tent. You could enjoy a trip to the circus or even plan a camping trip/date.

2. Would You, Could You In A Train? Imagine hopping a train for a weekend getaway in New York, Cape Code, the Grand Canyon…the adventure would be something you’d share and tell friends about for years! Check out a list of romantic train rides at vacationsbyrail.com. If that’s a bit much for you, consider looking for a train museum or a restaurant built in a station or train car.

3. Would You, Could You On A Roof? While it might be dangerous to picnic on your own roof, consider having cocktails at a bar with a roof top deck or find a restaurant on the top floor of a building. The views will be lovely and will help you feel far away from everyday life (unless you’re a roofer).

4. Would You, Could You In A Library? Channel your inner sexy librarian for a date night at a library. The older, bigger and more interesting the library, the better. I recommend a college library if you live near one. Snuggle up and share a saucy book of poetry or pass each other notes as you read. You can whisper about your all time favorite books…and connect on a new literary level.

5. Would You Could You In The Mud? There are two drastically different ways this idea can go. First way: train for a tough mudder together. You’ll burn calories, build a closer relationship and end up with some amazing muddy finish line photos! Feeling less than thrilled about dirty athletics? Book a couples mud massage at a local spa. You can relax and let the mud remove toxins from your body…together.

I challenge you to sit down with your spouse and make a list of “would you could you” unique newlywed date scenarios. It will be entertaining at a minimum and could result in your most memorable date as newlyweds. Please post comments with the dates you end up trying!