Danielle Tate

Last Day To Enter Our August Giveaway!

Today is the very last day to enter to win $350 worth of custom photo thank you notes! Etiquette encourages one to send out thank you’s within a month of the wedding, and we thought we’d help some lucky newlywed reader by providing the notes. We’re happy to announce that our August Giveaway includes 100 of the fabulous notes shown in this post’s photo, customized with the winner’s wedding photo.

We owe our friend and fellow wedding vendor Beth, of Forever Friends Fine Stationery and Favors, a big thank you for providing this month’s Thank You Note giveaway! She’s your best source for fine quality personalized printed products, offering stationery for every budget and occasion (wedding, baby, greeting cards and graduation—to name a few).

Anxious to win our awesome August giveaway? Leave a comment on this, or any of our thank you note posts TODAY, and you’ll be automatically entered to win. Tell us how many notes you need to write or why you’ve been procrastinating on the project. The randomly selected contest winner will be announced TOMORROW (August 31st)!! If we don’t hear back from the winner within 2 weeks, we will randomly select a new winner to make sure someone ends up with this great goodie!

Newlywed Grooming

We’ve all seen them, the completely mismatched couple. He or she is gorgeous, funny and well dressed, while their partner is frumpy, dumpy and sometimes even downright rude. While sometimes those mismatched relationships work out, no one wants to be the ugly duckling of their relationship. So how do you ensure that you’re well matched with your beautiful wife? Simple upkeep will go a long way to preserving your Prince Charming status.

Hair – Keeping up with monthly haircuts is an easy solution to looking nice. You can go somewhere fancy like the Men’s Grooming Lounge, where you can get a hair cut, color, highlights, massages and more, or be economical at the Hair Cuttery.
Nails – A basic rule of thumb is that your nails should never be longer than your partner’s. You could consider getting your nails done with your wife ( they are called manicures), but if that idea freaks you out, using clippers a few times a week should keep your nails neat.
Manscaping – We’ll leave the extent to which you impliment this up to you. Please know that most women truly appreciate some trimming at a minimum and we do shave our underarms, legs, etc as part of our routine upkeep. AskMen.com has a great article that outlines some of the finer details of manscaping.
Clothes – Wearing clean matching clothes is a married man must. You’re a grown man, so we’re betting you know the appropriate way to dress yourself. Be sure to reference our post on married man fashion for some great ideas.
Manners – Try to keep up the same level of etiquette as when you were dating. Being married is not an excuse to stop opening doors or start discussing bodily functions at dinner. If you think your wife would be offended by something, don’t say or do it in front of her.

The fact that you’re reading an article about newlywed grooming speaks volumes about the great guy you are. Whatever your personal style may be, the point is to make sure you keep up with grooming, even after you’re married.

Newlywed in the Kitchen

How are you handling being newlywed in the kitchen? Marriage brings about the merging of two lives and of course two kitchens. Hopefully you both are fantastic cooks and can alternate who cooks evening dinners. If that’s not the case, you may need to get creative in the kitchen!

Scenario #1: You are used to having a bowl of cereal or yogurt for dinner and your partner is more of a meat a potatoes person.

Get a crock pot! Nothing makes a meat and potatoes guy happier than coming home to pot roast, lemon herb chicken or even lasagna in the crock pot. The best part? You do the prep work the night before and come home from work to a fabulous meal.

Having trouble coming up with ideas or recipes? The Spruce Eats has over 30 crockpot recipes for you to try out and crockpot355 is a blog written by a woman who used her crock pot every day for a year!

Scenario #2: He’s an organic guy obsessed with freshness and you’re perfectly happy eating frozen dinners every night.

If you possess some cooking ability, let your spouse buy the groceries (organic of course) and then plan some simple weekday meals that will make you both happy.

Compromise. Let your partner grill some free range chicken while you steam some frozen veggies mix in the microwave. Everybody ends up with a well balanced meal.

Scenario #3: Both of you counted on your former roommates to feed you.
Sounds like it’s time to tune into the Food Network for some cooking tips, or sign up for a few cooking classes together. You can also check out Rachel Ray’s site for great simple recipes.

Cooking together can be romantic and completely delicious. Select a recipe, turn on some music, open a bottle of wine and then start cooking! One of you can make the salad or sides while the other focuses on the main dish. You may end up making dinner and making out…and who could ask for more than that?!

If the last time you cooked the fire department arrived 30 minutes later, you might have to consider a meal delivery company like Hello Fresh or Blue Apron.

Whatever your kitchen scenario might be, there are solutions out there. Be creative and you’ll both end up happy and full! Do you have any stories from being newlywed in the kitchen? We’d love to hear them in a comment!

Insuring Your New Life Together: A Quick Primer

As a single woman, it’s likely the idea of an insurance policy of any kind ever crossed your mind. In fact, if it did, you probably considered it another expense you just didn’t want to deal with. Sure, most single people carry health and auto insurance, but very few purchase life insurance.

Things have suddenly changed for you. Take a moment to think about all the differences marriage brings about: a bigger home, most likely, another vehicle, and eventually children – all of these factors should be considered when planning your future as a couple. Thus, one of the most important things you and your spouse can do is to insure your life together by considering different types of insurance available on the market. Check out NewlywedFinances.com for more information on newlywed insurance options.

Once you get married you become responsible for another human being and want to protect him or her from the unexpected. Every couple should have a health insurance. That’s just a given. Many employers offer group health insurance that covers you and your spouse, but if it is not the case with your individual employers, both you and your partner should look into purchasing coverage.
Additionally, life insurance is essential, as it protects your family, providing necessary financial resources in the most difficult time. If you thought of putting off the life insurance until later in life when you get older – think again. The younger you are when you purchase life insurance – the lower your premium will be. Keep in mind you’ll be asked to choose between term and whole life insurance plans. Decide which one makes sense in your situation by talking with a reliable insurance agent. Intelliquote.com is a site that lets you compare multiple quotes from life insurance companies to ensure that you get the best rate available.

When it comes to homeowners or renters’ insurance, it is important to consider it when you and your spouse are buying a new house. If you or your partner already had insured property in the past, it would be helpful to contact the same insurance company – its agents will probably offer you a discount on a new policy.

Remember that any insurance policy obtained prior to marriage should be modified, reflecting your new status as a family. Do not forget to indicate the name change or address change; add your spouse to the policy and change the name of the beneficiary on your life insurance, if applicable. Once all this is done, take a deep breath and relax…you’ve now got it all covered!

Have you considered getting more/new insurance now that you’re a newlywed? We’d love to hear your experiences and what you thought was the most valuable thing to insure, so please leave us a comment.

Brides Against Breast Cancer: Newlyweds Show Support

Brides Against Breast Cancer currently serves as the primary fundraising branch of the Making Memories Foundation through the amazing Nationwide Tour of Gowns sales! This charity wedding gown tour goes “on the road” to approximately 50 cities per year to give local brides-to-be, the opportunity to find their dream gown, while making wishes come true for stage IV breast cancer patients. How awesome is that?! To date, the Foundation has received thousands of wedding gowns for this Nationwide Tour event!

Here’s how it works—the Foundation resurrects gowns 2006 or newer, donated by manufacturers, designers and individuals, giving them new life as a bride’s “dream gown”. The dresses are offered at 35-75% below retail price, and the proceeds from the sales of these treasured possessions help grant wishes and offer memory-making events for the women and men who are losing their battle with breast cancer. Now, obviously, your wedding dress isn’t something that you would get rid of after you’re finished wearing it, and preserving it in a box may be a hard justification for some, but having the option to donate your dress to another bride while helping to create a memorable event for her is definitely worth considering, and gives you the satisfaction knowing that you have made a decision to not only help someone else, but to help fulfill their dream wedding day!

There are many ways in which you can contribute to this amazing foundation, whether it’s through a donation, or volunteering at local events and promotions, or becoming a sponsor. Check out the Foundations’ tour calendar where you may sign up as a volunteer, and brides may register/buy tickets or see how you can help grant a wish at: MakingMemories.org.

Another fundraising event is called the Pink Envelope Project. Whether you are hosting a party or event, or whether you are the bride-to-be herself check out: pinkenvelopeproject.org to see how you can contribute!

The Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to support, educate and increase awareness of breast cancer. Their Mission Statement reads, “To provide an opportunity for metastatic breast cancer patients’ dream or wish to be fulfilled by providing a special time of ‘Making Memories’ together with their families, a chance that might not have become a reality without the assistance of the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.”

MissNowMrs.com is a proud national sponsor and donates 5% of all proceeds to the Making Memories Foundation. There are so many ways in which you can show support to the foundation and the men and women suffering from breast cancer, find out more today at MakingMemories.org