Name Change Advice

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!

Summer Hair Care (How to Fight the Frizz)!

With the arrival of warm weather comes a handful of beauty woes. The biggest battle…taming summer hair frizz. Don’t spend your mornings in frustration, piling on products to tame that unmanageable mane. Here are a few tips to keep you looking like the fabulous newlywed you are, all summer long!

Don’t Go Short – Though the scorching summer heat will have you ready to shorten those locks, keep your hair long. Short hair is more likely to bulk up in hot humid weather. So save the new do for a humid-free season like Fall. Leave those locks long!

Change Your Shower Routine – To make sure you steer clear of summer frizz, don’t over wash your hair. Try changing your regular routine to include fewer showers and more baths, the natural oils in your scalp will lessen the frizz factor. Also, use a high quality conditioner and leave it on for a while before rinsing. When rinsing, leave a very light layer in your hair to help combat frizz.

Steer Clear of Hair Volumizing Products – Stay away from products that give you more volume and body, resulting in MORE summer frizz. Go light on the products and do your research!

Shift Your Focus – The clock is ticking. It is almost 8:30 a.m. And you are nowhere near ready for work. Sometimes, the solution is to shift your focus. Put your hair in an elegant twist and play up your makeup or those fabulous long earrings you recently purchased. Another option is to quickly section a part of your hair, braid it and create a messy bun.

With these tips you can look forward to smooth sailing in the hair department this summer. All the more time to spend selecting your sundress and accessories for the day! Do you have any summer hair tips to share? We’d love for you to leave a comment!
Tips courtesy of Barbara Abbasi, Hairstylist and Ferrum Inventor.

Beat The Post-Wedding Blues

Looking to overcome the post-wedding blues? Ever since you were a little girl you’ve dreamed about the picture perfect wedding and you’ve been consumed by the wedding planning process for months (or maybe even years)—and then it’s over!

Many brides romanticize everything about their wedding day and honeymoon and feel overwhelmed by the reality of the ‘real world’ upon returning from their trips. Some of us don’t know what to do with ourselves following the wedding because we’ve focused all our energy on the seemingly never- ending wedding planning process and are left with what are known as the post-wedding blues. Women have been known to say that wedding planning was filled with some of the best, most stressful or even worst times of their lives! No matter how you feel about your experience, you may be left thinking that you have nothing to fill that void.

Some depression after your wedding day is normal as you’re transitioning into a new phase in your life; which can often be scary. Before your biggest worries were centerpieces, dresses, rings… and now you’re left thinking about buying a house, paying bills, having kids, and all of the major things that come to fruition after being married.

The good thing now, is that all of these responsibilities are shared! So a couple weeks of feeling down is normal, but after that if you are still feeling frustrated or angry at your spouse, then you may want to seek out something new to occupy your time. Personally, I’ve found that the best way to get over post-wedding blues is to seek help by talking to friends and family about the way you are feeling. Recognize that you are still YOU and now just sharing your fabulous self with your best friend, and the one you have given your heart to!

Here are some tips on how to get yourself out of the post-wedding blues:

Gain Perspective: Your wedding was meant to last only one day, leaving you with a marriage to last forever! It’s great that you spent all of your time making your special day as picture perfect as possible, but now think about how you can make your new life wonderful, day-in and day-out. Share your goals with your spouse (whether it’s a vacation or plans to buy a house) and talk about how you will both work to reach those goals together.

Plan a Cocktail Party: You may be missing the planning aspect of your wedding, so why not plan a party for friends or family to come over and make use of the new dishes, bowls, etc. that you just received as wedding gifts?! Or plan a night out to dinner, or dancing with other couples or friends. You can be married and still enjoy night life!

Be Lazy: Now that you don’t have to worry about breathing, eating and sleeping all things bridal, you may find that you have some extra time on your hands. It’s okay to do nothing! That’s right—I said nothing! You can put on some comfy sweats, watch a movie and enjoy cuddling with your new hubby! Or take a bubble bath and enjoy a good book with a glass of wine!

Get a New Hobby: Maybe you’re just bored because you have too much time on your hands right now. It’s the perfect time to start a home-improvement project or to get a new hobby. You and your spouse could work on the project together (or separate if you’d like) or you could each start a hobby of your own to keep some time to yourselves.

Remember, just because you are married doesn’t mean that you have to do EVERYTHING together. Lets face it, you’re still individuals too!

Announcing our Mini Giveaway Winner!

Announcing our mini giveaway winner is so exciting! Congratulations to KHBride!! She read our newlywed blog, left a comment and now she’s won a boxed set of Avid’s Pinnacle Studio. It’s a simple video editing software that allows brides to create the wedding video of their dreams by combining photos, video clips and music!!! This software isn’t limited to just weddings…how fun would it be to create a digital collage of photos and videos from your honeymoon or of the latest edition to the family (be it a puppy or a baby)?!

Studio’s SmartMovie feature automatically does video creation with a click of a button. With it, you can simply select a series of clips or wedding photos and let Studio do the rest, trimming and arranging them, cutting them to music and even adding effects and titles – all automatically. Studio also includes features to create a picture slideshow with music for a rehearsal dinner and even send out personalized video greeting thank you cards to guests via e-mail or straight to a cell phone – all for a fraction of the cost of using a professional videographer.

KHBride please check your email for the details on how to redeem your fabulous prize from Avid Studios! Bummed you didn’t win our June newlywed blog mini giveaway? Not to worry, the next mini giveaway will be announced on Friday!

Last Day To Win Our Amazing Video/Photo Editing Software Giveaway!

What do you know about video/photo editing? Are you happily married (or planning to walk down that aisle soon)? Odds are that you either have or will have tons of photos and videos from your Big Day. So, we’re happy to announce that TOMORROW we’re giving away a boxed set of Avid’s Pinnacle Studio. It’s simple video editing software that allows brides to create the wedding video of their dreams by combining photos, video clips and music.

This software isn’t limited to just weddings…how fun would it be to create a digital collage of photos and videos from your honeymoon or of the latest edition to the family (be it a puppy or a baby)?!

Are you ready to be your own creative producer with our June giveaway? Leave a comment on this, or our Avid’s Pinnacle Studio post next week and you’ll be automatically entered to win. Tell us all about why you should win this amazing editing software…are you trying to piece together your own wedding videos or maybe a series of baby videos for the grandparents?

The randomly selected contest winner will be announced on June 15th!! 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 video/photo editing giveaway!

**If you tweet this giveaway by clicking the green retweet button below and then post a comment that you tweeted with your twitter handle, you’ll receive an additional contest entry!**

Top 5 Summer Date Ideas

Looking for summer date ideas? As the summer days stretch longer and longer there’s more daylight to spend together as a newlywed couple! What better way to celebrate the arrival of Summertime than with a date night or two? Here are our top 5 summer date night ideas:

Drive-in Movie – There’s something both romantic and nostalgic about a drive-in movie date. Instead of dealing with crowds of teenagers at the mall or sitting in your living room, you’ll be sharing a movie with your spouse in the privacy of your own vehicle (be sure to pack some fun snacks). Here’s a drive-in locator if you need help finding a venue nearby.

County Fair – Not sure what to do this weekend? Go to a local county fair! Let your spouse win you a fuzzy bear or goldfish and then take a ride on the Ferris Wheel. There’s something about heights and your love that causes spontaneous kissing!

Outdoor Patio Dining – Light some candles, pour a cocktail, and enjoy a meal with your spouse al fresco. What better excuse to wear your new sundress and no shoes? Here’s a great recipe to try.

Paddle Boating – Looking for something unique yet fun to do one weekend afternoon? Find a local park or lake that offers paddle boat rentals. You’ll be exploring, exercising and enjoying each others company all at the same time! Don’t forget to pack some sunscreen and beverages for the trip.

Ice Cream Social – Looking for a sweet way to treat your spouse? Find an old fashioned ice cream shop and split a sundae. Sharing a dessert is such a fun married couple perk…all the taste and half of the calories!

What are your favorite things to do with your spouse during the summer? We’d love to add to our list of Summer date night ideas, so please leave a comment!