Newlywed Needs

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

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

Last Chance to Win Our Custom Thank You Note Giveaway!

As we mentioned in our earlier thank you note post, there are many ways to show your appreciation to your guests and thank them for their generosity on your special day. By now you’re probably sick of hearing about proper etiquette and rules on how to: (go ahead fill-in the blank) be the best bride, to act, to address your envelopes, etc. That being said, we’ve decided to compile a short list on what we’ve found to be the best practices in composing Thank You Notes (not to tell you what to do, but rather to provide you with some guidance)!

Best Practices:
Address envelopes and write out Thank You notes to people as soon as they send you a gift. Some guests send gifts prior to the wedding; which allows you to get a head start on this seemingly endless task.
Have a realistic plan of attack (i.e. complete 25 notes per day until they are finished) rather than attempting to write them all in one sitting. This way you will be sure to write from the heart, in your neatest handwriting; which your guests will surely appreciate. After all, what good is a Thank You note if they can’t read what you wrote?
Try your best to adhere to the “rule” of getting Thank You notes out in a timely manner:

within 2 weeks of receiving a gift (if received prior to the wedding)
within a month after you return from your honeymoon (for gifts received at the wedding)

Be as specific as possible when thanking your guest for gifts (with the exception of monetary gifts—there’s no need to say thank you for the $250).
Are you clueless as to what to write? Try using our samples as a guide to get you started or at least point you in the right direction!

Thank You Samples:
For a Monetary Gift: Thank you so much for your generous monetary gift! We are planning to use it when we buy our new house. Again, we thank you for your thoughtful gift and for sharing our special day with us. Love, Jane and Bill
For a Gift (whether from your registry or not): Thank you so much for the martini glasses, we now have everything we need for our next cocktail party! We hope to enjoy them with you when you visit us. Again, we thank you for thinking of us and for being a part of our most special time. Love, Jane and Bill

Anxious to win 100 of the custom photo thank you notes shown in this post’s picture? Click here for the contest details and leave a comment on this, or any of our thank you note posts on Mondays this month and you’ll be automatically entered to win. The randomly selected contest winner will be announced on August 31^st!! 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!

Creating Newlywed Traditions

Are you creating newlywed traditions? Years from now, when you’re hopefully sitting on a porch swing hand-in-hand with your grey haired partner you’ll look back on your newlywed days and smile. One of the best parts of being a newlywed couple is creating your own inside jokes, stories and traditions. All of these will accrue over time, but it is important to prioritize making your own traditions as you make your way through married life together.

Compare Traditions
Did your hubby wake up the morning of each birthday with his favorite breakfast and then a small present before school or the party? Did you always go shopping with your father to find a perfect Christmas gift for your mom? Sharing these stories brings you closer to your mate and can help both of you understand how to best “spoil” the other on a special day. If you re-create a special childhood tradition for your mate, they will be completely touched by the gesture and thrilled that you listened to them.

Plan an Adventure
What was the craziest trip or adventure you went on as a child or young adult? I bet you can remember every detail, still. Your newlywed years are the perfect time to create your own adventure stories. Climb a mountain, go white water rafting or take a series of tango classes. Try something new to both of you that will test your limits mentally, physically or both! The result of this stretch as a couple is a fantastic adventure to cherish for a lifetime.

Combine Family Traditions
If you always had pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but your significant other was raised on chocolate meringue pie make both for your own holiday or try a combination chocolate pumpkin pie (delicious)! Understanding the importance of family rituals and incorporating each others, will only add to the richness of your own family.

Create a Tradition All Your Own
This can be as simple as always kissing each other before going to sleep or you could apply your tradition to another part of daily life. You could have coffee on the deck together every Sunday and read the paper, walk through a neighborhood park as each season changes, or make a fancy dinner together one night a month. The key is doing something you both like, together, over and over again. Before you know it, you’ll look back and realize you’ve had a tradition for years!

How are you creating newlywed traditions with your spouse? We’d love for you to share a comment with us!