Danielle Tate

Best Bachelorette Party Idea We’ve Heard in Years!

Are you ready to read about the best bachelorette party idea?! As brides-to-be or newlyweds, most of us are at that time in our lives when virtually all of our friends (and their friends) are getting engaged. While it is amazing to watch friends meet and marry the loves of their lives, these events happening en mass can be a little overwhelming. Especially if you you begin to factor in each bride having an engagement party, bachelorette party, bridal shower(s) and of course a rehearsal dinner and wedding!

I love to throw a party, probably more than your average newlywed, but as you plan and/or host a multitude of wedding events for friends, you can run out of ideas. No one was to give their friend a boring run of the mill soiree, so what’s a girl to do? Get down on your knees and thank God for the invention of Pinterest!

While skimming through their site today, I ran across the most unique and fun bachelorette party theme I’ve seen in years. This concept appeals to the less girly of your friends who wants “something different” to celebrate her upcoming marriage. Have all the attendees purchase the ugliest bridesmaid dress GoodWill has to offer and then have a paintball fight while wearing them. The photos will be HILARIOUS and AMAZING (see above)!

Regardless of what theme(s) you choose for your friends’ parties, remember to enjoy this phase of your life. There is so much love to celebrate and there will only be a brief respite before….baby showers start happening!

Thanks to BrideTideBlog for pinning the photo that gave me the idea for the best bachelorette party idea.

Married Name Change: Big National News

Married name change: Big National News… this phrase doesn’t happen that often. Name change has always been big news to MissNowMrs (for obvious reasons), but suddenly the whole worlds seems to be interested in this topic. From the Facebook survey indicating 65% of women change their names to Hollywood starlets contemplating taking their husbands’ last names, there is more and more buzz around name change.

Talking to feminists about name change after marriage can causing some serious soap box sessions about equality and spousal ownership. Personally, I am all for woman power and independence, but I don’t think changing your name indicates that you are subordinate to your spouse. I believe that the up-swing in married name change indicates that more and more women feel completely equal in their marriage and don’t need to keep their names to keep their identity.

Married name change isn’t for everyone, so if you don’t want to change your name…don’t! If you are curious about the idea of changing your name, there are many options available to brides these days. You can take your spouse’s last name, take your last name and his/her last name without a hyphen, take your last name and his/her last name with a hyphen, or take your maiden name as a new or second middle name.*

My most important suggestion is to talk to your spouse about your name change decision. They may feel very strongly about you taking their name in some form, or they could be open to taking your last name! Whatever married name change decision you come to, make it together. A happy marriage is built on communication and compromise!

*Please note that brides living in PA, WA, NJ, and OH do not have the option to take their maiden names as middle names based on state legislature. NY brides must file their forms in a specific order to take a maiden name as a middle name and CA brides must list their maiden name as a middle name on their marriage license to be able to change their names in that manner.

Have you seen married name change big national news in your paper or on television? What do you think about the hype?

Newlyweds, Time to Brunch it Up!

Are you ready to brunch is up as a newlywed? Easter and Passover are coming soon, making it the perfect time to host a brunch for your families or friends. As newlyweds, you probably now have enough plates to serve a medium to large group and plenty of kitchen gadgets to try out! I thought I’d share a few of my favorite brunch recipes to make the planning process easier.

If you’re hosting a combined family meal, consider dietary restrictions. Is anyone allergic to nuts or keeping kosher for the holiday? If you’re hosting friends, you’ll need to juggle everyone else’s family obligations and meal times.

Once those details are understood you can start planning your menu. I am a huge fan of frittatas to feed a group. They’re fun, fancy and not very hard to make. Here are a few links to my top 3 frittata recipes: Baked Potato Frittata, Leek Potato & Gruyere Frittata, and a Spring Pea Frittata.

Not feeling the frittata? My other suggestion would be an Egg and Wild Mushroom Tart or a Strata. The advantage of these is that you can prep most of their components the night before.

Once you select a main recipe, you will need fruit (I suggest raspberries and black berries in a bowl) and a bread of some sort to round out your menu. Muffins, a coffee cake or croissants are great choices. Add a pitcher of juice and or mimosas and you’re brunch is ready for rave reviews from family and friends!

Are you hosting a holiday brunch for the first time as a newlywed? What’s on your mind and menu?

Fresh Start To Spring Fitness

Stuck in a bit of a winter exercise rut? We’ve got a great new product to give you a fun, fresh start to spring fitness: KlutchClub. It’s like Birchbox but filled with fitness and health goodies instead of beauty samples.

My KlutchClub box (which is the size of a shoebox) arrived jam packed with samples. Earbuds shaped to fit women’s smaller ears, Omega 3 squeezes, coupons for free fitness video downloads, dream water, a mud mask, superfood water mixes and several varieties of power bars. I was like a little kid at fitness Christmas! My favorite item was the good greens power bites. These chocolate chunks contain 3 servings of fruits/veggies as well as 30 vitamins and minerals. Best of all, they’re 50 calories and don’t taste like dog food!

At $10 a box plus shipping, KlutchClub boxes make great gifts. If you’re married to a fitness freak you could order a box (they have ones for women or men) and use it to create a healthy Easter basket for them!

p.s. MissNowMrs readers get a discount on Best Of Boxes (containing the best goodies). Use coupon code NOWMRS to save $5!

Jennifer Aniston Considers Name Change After Marriage

Jennifer Aniston considers name change is a big deal in our offices! Think you’re having trouble deciding whether you should change your name after marriage? Imagine being famous, like Jennifer Aniston famous, and deciding whether you should take his name, keep your name or hyphenate. Based on an article I just read, it seems that America’s sweetheart is considering becoming Mrs. Theroux.

Jennifer’s reasoning is that taking a new married last name will give her a fresh start. She has the challenge of figuring out if a married name will dim her stardom and recognition. Personally, I don’t think anyone will have any trouble recognizing Jennifer.

Brides-to-be who aren’t famous still have to decide if a new name will affect their careers in a positive or negative way. Many are taking two last names or keeping their maiden names as middle names to maintain recognition. Still other newlyweds are happy to have a new name on their business cards and new initials on their monogrammed bags!

What aspects of career and personal life weighed into your decision to change your name after marriage or not?

p.s. Jen if you read this, MissNowMrs would love to help you change your name! And dear readers, we’d love to help you too!

Help Me Change My Name