Creative wrapping tips for shower gifts

You're pressed for time, yet you still want to show you care creatively and fashionably. It's easy. Use these pointers from American Greetings to ensure your gift is received with a smile.

• Be different and wrap one half of a present in one design and the other half in a complementing solid paper. Attach a solid bow that brings everything all together.
  
  
  
• Inexpensive items and things you can find around the house can become creative package decorations. For example, ball up a piece of ice cream-colored tissue paper and nestle your scoop into an ice cream cone -- the perfect topping for a package wrapped in ice cream-patterned paper or a gift for an ice cream lover.
  
  
• Attach something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. A lovely piece of old lace, tied with a blue ribbon and topped with a shiny new penny, is certain to catch the eye of the bride-to-be.
  
  
• Mix two different complementing colors of tissue to top off gift bags. Attach a bow or a package decoration to make this very easy wrap extra special.
  
  
• Wrapping gifts in unexpected ways adds to the fun of the occasion. Roll golf balls in a cylinder of golf-themed wrapping paper, tied at each end and between each ball with curling ribbon. Curl the ribbon with a pair of scissors.
  
  
• When giving a gift for the kitchen, such as a blender or mixer, attach color-coordinating measuring cups or spoons to tie in with your gift.
  
  
• Fresh flowers make great present-toppers on any occasion. Stick with solid color wraps that complement, rather than compete with, your ensemble.
  
  
• Add a fan fold for special occasions. Cut a section of wrap and fold in half diagonally. Fold into a fan and tie or tape the fan to your gift.
  
  
• Draw out the anticipation of a gift-giving occasion by delivering the gift scavenger-hunt-style, having the recipient follow clues on a series of notes to lead him or her to the present.
  

Butterfly kisses for the new mister and missus

Miranda and Jim Merril wanted something spectacular for their wedding -- a special touch their guests would never forget. The couple, who hail from Evergreen, Colorado, decided to release butterflies as they walked down the isle of their outdoor wedding.

"It was the most uplifting moment of the ceremony," Miranda recalls. "I'd recommend it in an instant."

Why butterflies? Throwing rice is out because it's bad for birds. Balloons are not good for the environment. And everybody's doing those little bottles of soap bubbles or disposable cameras at the reception.

Miranda, like many brides today, opted to purchase the butterflies at her wedding from a butterfly farm she found on the Internet. The company sent the butterflies individually in small triangular boxes with air holes. The insects arrived in chrysalid form and were timed to hatch inside the boxes two to three days before the wedding. At the ceremony, ushers handed each guest a box with instructions to open it at a specific time.

"It was expensive," she says, "but the pictures were amazing."

Wedding programs for interfaith couples

Wedding programs are fast becoming a tradition as common as Jordan almonds and blowing bubbles at the end of a ceremony. Plain or fancy, short or long, they are as welcomed by wedding guests as the playbill at the theater.

The programs, which can be made by a printer or a home publishing program, announce the order of the service and explain the meaning of the ceremony's religious rituals has become a popular courtesy. Artistically designed, the program also becomes a lovely keepsake of this special event.

Wedding consultant Hope Fromson says the use of programs has been common at church weddings for a long time. As more Jews encountered them at their non-Jewish friends' weddings, they started requesting Fromson's help in designing programs for their own nuptials.

"The program is a nice touch - to welcome guests and help them understand the service they will be witnessing," says Fromson. "It is especially helpful at an interfaith ceremony when the couple has incorporated rituals drawn from different religious traditions."

Two years ago, Shaker Heights native Audrey Lewis, a Jew, married Dan Ernst, who was raised Catholic. Although their ceremony was not religious, it took place under a chuppah and concluded with the Jewish custom of breaking a glass. The couple wanted their guests to have a program that would explain these traditions to those who were unfamiliar with them.

"All the weddings Audrey and Dan had been attending had programs, so they wanted one, too," says Audrey's mother, Cheryl. "Also, they had a very large bridal party - seven bridesmaids, seven ushers, four flower girls and a ring bearer - and they wanted to identify these people."

The program the couple wrote named each member of their wedding party and noted his or her relationship to the couple. It described the Jewish wedding traditions and identified the musical selections played during the ceremony. Audrey designed the one-page program on a computer, adding a decorative border that matched the wedding invitation.

Another interfaith couple, Laurie Heiser and Neal Robinson, who were married in July, had a Reform Jewish ceremony. For the benefit of Neal's Christian family and their non-Jewish guests, the couple's program included an explanation of the significance of the chuppah, the ketubah, the kiddush, and the breaking of the glass. They dedicated the program to Neal's father who had passed away two years earlier.

On the last page of the program, Laurie and Neal wrote a note welcoming their guests and thanking their parents. The four-page program, printed on white stationery, was embellished with a tiny silk daisy on the cover, echoing the colors of the wedding.

Photography tips and traps

Following are some tips to heed and traps to avoid when working with a wedding photographer:

• Hire a full-time working professional photographer.
  
• Meet the photographer and see his work. Never agree to a contract over the telephone.
  
• Don't assume anything. Somp people say, 'I assumed all professional photographers were the same.' But they are not, and you can't do it again if the photographer doesn't get it right.
  
• Not many brides ask the photographer's advice. "I've been in this business 20 years and could offer some suggestions, but few people say, 'What do you think? What is your opinion?" one seasoned veteran says.
  
• Stay away from photographers who want total control and who will only shoot pictures a certain way. I knew a photographer who would only shoot horizontally. Some will only take the shots on their list and no others, or only shoot a certain number of rolls of film. Rules like that are ridiculous in the creative process.
  

Create a lasting sentiment with rosemary favors

For centuries, rosemary has been a fragrant and lasting symbol of remembrance. Now, The Rosemary Company, is bringing the tradition back to the United States. The company sells Rosemary favors, candles, and botanicals on their website.

Judy Cheney, owner of The Rosemary Company, says that when she was researching the herb she found that the tradition dated back to the Greeks and Romans who used rosemary in their weddings. "In traditions dating back centuries, she says, sprigs of rosemary were dipped in gold, tied with a ribbon, and presented to wedding guests. It symbolized that, although the bride and groom were leaving their friends and family to start a new life, they would never forget their loved ones."

Legend has it, Cheney continues, that "a bride who gave her husband a sprig to hold on their wedding night would ensure that he remained faithful."

"It just has a really nice sentiment behind it," she continues. "That is one of the reasons that it is so popular. People who are getting married are in an especially sentimental, emotional, and meaningful time in their life. And this is one way to convey that feeling to their guests."

Rosemary sachets are a practical wedding favor, too. "It's easy for guests to take with them. It's not going to melt if it’s 90 degrees. Guys like to put under the seat of car to make it smell good, and women can use them in their lingerie drawer."

Cheney also says that the favors are affordable, costing about 95 cents apiece.

The company is also selling a unique favor for bridal showers: Bridal shower soap, scented in Rosemary, of course. "We thought this was a perfect idea," says Cheney. "It's an inexpensive item that brings meaning to these special occasions."

Couples tie the knot and jump the broom

African-American brides and grooms might want to incorporate an ancient "broom jumping" tradition into their wedding. The ceremony affirms the new couple's union and their future together.

"Everything on the broom is symbolic," says Nancy Winslow, curator of an African heritage museum. The broom handle represents God or the creator; the straws, countless numbers of ancestors; and the binding, newlyweds' ties to family, church and community.

Jumping the broom, she continued, is "not an African tradition. It is an African-American tradition rooted in the South. In some parts of Senegal, what they'd do is take small pieces of cloth and tie it around the broom handle."

Once guests have shared their affirmations, the couple holds onto the broom together and starts to sweep into a circle. "To do this, you have to be in one accord," she notes.

"They're making the jump. But we have to have our hearts in the right place," Winslow explains. "We want them to jump over the broom together. Jumping over the broom is a leap of faith."

The concept behind the broom is also to build an heirloom that can be passed down from one generation to another.

Brides are looking for distinctive touches

Everyone in your circle of friends likely goes to the same weddings, so it makes sense you want to strive to make yours different. And within certain religious or ethnic groups, there may be many similarities with the same traditions followed from wedding to wedding.

But there are many small ways to add that special something that makes a big impression, and it doesn't necessarily mean money. Experts say its more a matter of creativity and the relationship between the elements of a wedding.

The event as a whole makes more of an impact, as opposed to all the small components examined one by one. The co-relation between the striking bridal bouquet and the table centre, or a recurring image from an invitation being repeated on the guest book is what makes the lasting impressions.

Here are ideas for adding unique touches to your wedding:

• Create a wedding time capsule to preserve memories, filling it with memorabilia from the day and year of the marriage, to be open on a special anniversary in the future
  
• As an alternative to a guest book, have guests sign a large heavy duty square of paper, which can later be framed and hung on a wall to admire.
  
• Rather than use a guest book that will sit in the closet and collect dust, get them to sign heavy picture matting that will later be used around a wedding photos. Or, guests could sign a designated tablecloth, which the couple can use for years when entertaining.
  
• Wedding favours given to guests to take home are an excellent way to create a lasting impression. Candles are a romantic and inexpensive gift that can be tied with ribbon or decorated with tulle; potpourri to scent drawers and wardrobes can be given away in decorative cones, pretty boxes or sachets; fans are a dainty gift and can be decorated with fresh or silk flowers or ribbons; and chocolate coffee spoons have also emerged as a recent favourite.
  
• Bells are a great giveaway for guests to ring at the reception as a cue for the couple to share a kiss. They can be adorned with some ribbon and a card attached, with a poem explaining their purpose and commemorating the day.
  
• For a touching thank you, write a poem expressing your feelings about your wedding day and thanking your guests for making it so special.
  
• Another new trend is to have a photo tree, which doubles as a decoration for your reception and later serves as party favours. Appoint someone to take an instant photo of guests as they arrive at the reception. Hang them with ribbon on decorative tree branches in a large urn or pot. Have your host later announce that each guest can find their photo on the "photo tree" and take it home at the end of the celebration to remember the day by.
  
• A small picture frame can make a perfect place card holder, as well as a charming favour that guests can use after the event to display a small photo in.
  
• Candy wedding favours, like lollipops with personalized wrappers or favourite Valentine conversations hearts, are also becoming increasingly popular.
  
• Designer heart-shaped rice that is environmentally friendly and safe for birds and animals can be thrown. Or, instead of throwing birdseed, have guests blow colourful bubbles. Individual sized plastic bottles can be decorated with beads, flowers and lace, or can come capped with plastic novelty shapes like flowers and churches.
  
• To include children of new blended families in the ceremony, give each member a new family medallion.
  
• Gifts for attendants can be non-traditional, too. Sought-after tickets to concerts or sporting events are thoughtful and useful presents. Monogrammed robes are also unique and handy for wedding preparation. Gift certificates for massage can make all of the wedding party members a bit more relaxed.
  
• Frame a poem for your parents as a thank-you gift, or make a movie of your and your fiance's lives.
  
• Use the line of a poem or song that means something to you as a couple to personalize your invitations.