post wedding

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!

Expert Advice: 7 Tips To Sell Your Wedding Dress

Looking for tips to sell your wedding dress? Now that wedding season is winding down and wedding bills are piling up, we chatted with our friends at Poshmark to get some tips on how to recover some money from your recent wedding.

If you do decide to sell your wedding dress, wedding accessories and wedding décor items online, you can:
• Recover about 50% of the cost of your items
• Clear up space to make room for shared closets
• Love the Earth! Recycling a wedding gown reduces carbon emissions from shipping
• Get karma points by helping another bride save on her wedding

Sounds great, but wondering how to get started?

Here are 7 tips to help you sell your wedding dress:

1. There’s no time like the present!

Post your dress for sale as soon after your wedding as possible. You’re not going to wear it again, so why leave it hanging in your closet? Used dresses continue to hold their resale value for roughly 2 – 3 years after they’re purchased and worn (depending on the style) but generally sell for the most money within the first year when they are most current.

2. Price it Right

Many recently married brides wonder what exactly to sell their dress for. Here’s our recommended pricing guideline:
• 50 – 70% of the original value for a NEW designer gown that’s still in stores
• 50% of original value for a USED designer gown from the last two years
• 30% to 40% of original value for a USED custom-made gown
• Reduce the price further if your dress has not been cleaned, is stained/damaged or is more than two years old

3. Use a Fabulous Photo

Buyers will want to see your dress looking its best, so be sure to use photos that show it off! After all, it could be someone else’s dream wedding dress!
When selling your dress online it’s best to include:
A full length picture of the front & back of your dress (preferably on a person or mannequin)
• A close-up picture of any detailing, beading or embellishments on your dress
• A close-up picture of any damage or stains on the dress (if applicable)
• A picture from the manufacturer
Posting less than stellar photos (i.e. on a hanger, a badly lit photo etc.) or no photo at all, will make it more difficult for the bride-to-be to visualize the dress and could hurt your chances of selling.

4. Be Specific

• Brides will be scanning many listings in their search for a wedding dress, so providing more information will likely sell your dress more quickly
• Be specific about color, brand and model number. Often, brides-to-be will try the dress on in a store before they search online for a budget-friendly version, so the more information you can provide, the better.

5. List any Alterations

It’s important to be up-front about the condition of your dress. Describe any alterations that were made and specify whether or not they’re reversible.
For example, the original dress might have been a size 10, but if it was altered to fit a size 6, buyers need to know. Let brides-to-be know of any damage to the dress such as stains, tears or runs. Be honest and you won’t waste your time or their time.

6. Get Your Dress Cleaned

It’s important to clean your dress right away. A clean dress shows that you have cared for and loved your dress, and helps it present better.

7. Be Prepared to Sell!

Once your dress is posted with great pictures and all the details, ensure both you and your home are ready to show the dress to potential buyers.

3 easy steps to prepare for the sale:
• Make time to meet interested brides-to-be. Try to be available on evenings and weekends if possible.
• Create a place for brides-to-be to try on the dress, preferably a private space with a full length mirror.
• Be ready to negotiate the price and know your limits so you can make decisions on-the-spot.

Have you ever considered selling your dress? What would you do with the money you made back from its sale? Did you pay down wedding debt or purchase something for your new home?

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

Newly Married & All Wedding’ed Out

Have you and your spouse found yourselves to be all wedding’ed out!? I’m not talking about feelings of exhaustion from your own wedding, but suddenly now everyone you know is getting engaged and shower and wedding invitations are flooding your mail box! Everyone seems to say the same thing, that if you’re one of the first of your friends to get married, you will have one “golden” year where you will find yourself loading up your calendar with showers, bachelorette parties and weddings to attend.

Of course you are so excited for your friends, and look forward to sharing this special time with them and helping with preparations for their special day, but you may also find yourself feeling somewhat overwhelmed, and unfortunately not being able to accept all invites due to other schedule conflicts, and not to mention the obvious… budgetary restraints.

My husband and I have now attended 4 weddings so far this year and still have another 5 remaining in 2010! Is it selfish of me to want a vacation of my own? Well I’ve come to grips that it’s not going to happen this year, so my husband and I have promised each other that we’re going somewhere fabulous in 2011!

With so many weddings, and your free weekends becoming well… non-existent, how do you choose when to decline some invites, and… if you have mutual friends, when is it OK to decline some and accept others?! This is becoming an on-going, harder-to-handle issue as you certainly don’t want to create hard feelings!

There are a few obvious questions that come into play when making your decision on whether or not to accept your invite! Are you available that weekend? How far away is the wedding (is it a destination wedding with plane tickets and a car rental), and can you afford it? Is it a family member’s wedding? Did you invite them to your wedding? Did they attend your wedding?

I have recognized one thing when making your decision to attend or regretfully decline… Remember to make your decision based on logical factors, not based on whether or not that couple attended your wedding! Even if you’re not the best of friends, the couple must have thought highly enough of you in the first place to put you on their guest list, so you should take a moment to decide on how to mark your reply card. Sometimes you will be forced to decline if you have a conflicting event or just don’t have the funds, but do be sure to mail a card! It is considered courteous and acceptable to send a card and/or gift up to six months after the wedding date.

Remember, it’s an honor to be invited to someone’s wedding, so always be sure to handle your response with care… but above and beyond anything, be sure to respond! There’s nothing more awkward and annoying for a bride and groom than having to call guests who didn’t respond! So hang in there if you’re trudging through your golden year of weddings, and do yourself a favor and keep a photo book of the weddings you attend… its fun to reminisce about these events down the road!

How have you handled being all wedding’ed out? We’d love to hear your solutions in a comment.

3 Secrets to Preventing Newlywed Weight Gain

After your fiancé pops the question, there are a million thoughts that immediately run through your head, and then the planning begins! Along with the preparation for a wedding, most newlyweds also begin physically preparing themselves to fit into the wedding attire they’ve always dreamed of. This is usually accomplished through strict dieting and long hours at the gym! You probably haven’t thought about newlywed weight gain. Have you?

Well, what happens after the wedding? Your time is no longer consumed with wedding plans and it can be very easy to put on those extra few pounds, so get your spouse on board with you and come up with a diet and fitness plan to suit the both of you!

Healthy lifestyle tips and sites to help avoid newlywed weight gain

1. Healthy eating is an important concept when trying to loose or maintain your weight, but shopping healthy is probably the most important! If you and your spouse decide to establish a healthy lifestyle and learn to eat healthy early on in your marriage, it’s easier to maintain this habit down the road! Find yourself some healthy recipes, and construct your grocery list from there. Check out one of my favs: EatingWell.com. Try to stay away from the junk when you’re shopping; this is a true test of will-power ladies. As you know the more accessible it is, the more frequently you’re going to help yourself and indulge! And remember the golden rule… do not go grocery shopping when hungry!

2. If you’re like me, then you’ve tried every diet regimen out there and have completely exhausted your ‘dieting’ efforts, and now realize that not all diets were made for every BODY, because not all bodies are created equal, so decide what works best for you! Diets are often times short-lived, so just deciding to eat healthy, and watching portion sizes can be the key. Check out WebMD’s breakdown of healthy eating and diet. Sign up for their email newsletter and you’ll receive some cool healthy recipe ideas as well!

3. Some of you may already have your own routine at the gym and enjoy your alone time when exercising, but working out a few days with your spouse will give you the extra push your body needs. If you’re not a gym go-er, home video workouts is the new craze to really whip yourself into shape. If this is something you and your hubby can both commit to, it can be a fun activity and improve on teamwork! My personal favorite is: BeachBody.com.

Regardless of how you choose to exercise, it is important to find something you love. Remember to switch up your workout so that you’re not just going through the motions, so-to-speak, but also giving your fitness level an extra push! The summer months are the perfect time to take advantage of the warm weather when you have the opportunity, and plan your workout, outdoors! For some fitness tips and tricks around newlywed weight gain, check out what Self has to say.

Whatever you decide to do, do it together, you’ll be appreciative of each other’s support and establish a long, happy… healthy life together! You can also work together on your name change using our 20 step name change checklist.

Honeymoon Stage: Is This For Real?

Are you in the honeymoon stage? One of the most exciting new statements in your vocabulary once you are married is, “This is my husband!” After being married, you’ll hang out with couples (both dating and married) and will most-likely hear a lot of, “Oh, you’re still in the honeymoon stage.” This is one of those statements that you don’t necessarily want to hear because you’re not sure how to take it–and what does that mean anyway?

My husband and I have decided after two years of marriage that there is no such thing, and in fact we have grown closer and are even more in love today, than the day we got married! I continue to ponder the concept and meaning of ‘the honeymoon stage’ and guess people may associate it with characteristics such as: a consistent glow or aura of happiness, PDA’s, or classic gentleman moves like opening doors and pulling out your chair. These characteristics are considered to be quite romantic to most women and we ALL want to feel the utmost love and appreciation in our relationship. It is so exciting to see young, married couples that are truly the best of friends and madly in love. It’s even more endearing when you can find this in a couple that have been married for 15, 25, 35+ years, where this love and friendship has continued to grow stronger with time.

So now when people say to my husband and I “You must still be in the honeymoon stage,” I take this as a compliment, as I am happy to hear that others can visibly see the kind of relationship that my husband and I share– and that is something to truly be proud of and smile about no matter what ‘stage’ we may or may not be in!

No matter what stage you’re in, if you need to change your name MissNowMrs can help. Use our easy name change app or online service to save 13 hours of hassle!

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