I think floral print is my new favorite thing. And if you're anything like me and love chocolate, then a candy buffet is definitely a wedding day must! These floral print wedding favor bags made by Creative Party Design can be used for candy or anything else you decide to give as a thank you to your guests. Aren't they just beautiful?
Head on over to the shop to see this design and plenty more you're sure to love!
Written with love, by Pastor Dave Page
Simply put, money matters in marriage. Money can ruin your marriage. In fact, it's one of the leading causes of marital conflict and the number one cause of divorce.
Making matters worse is that couples don't talk much about money before committing to each other. A good starting point is figure out is what your partner thinks about money. Your views about money have been shaped by a number of factors such as, your parents, the media, and financial decisions you’ve made in the past. These money views translate into money habits, so it’s important that you identify upfront any differences in how you think about money. Dig deep and ask your partner why they think about money the way they do.
Below are three topics to discuss before you say “I do”:
Who will balance the checkbook and pay the bills? What happens when you want your own spending money? What my wife calls, “Mad money.” I recommend letting the spouse do it who is best at handling money. No matter who takes on this duty, be sure that you and your spouse both know what is going on with your money and make financial decisions together. The most important factor in money and marriage is being aligned in your values and practices regarding your finances.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that getting married means you have to merge all your finances. I recommend that both spouses establish a joint account where you transfer a percentage of your income used to pay for shared expenses like your mortgage and groceries, and keep separate accounts to pay for personal purchases like clothes, entertainment and gifts.
We buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t even like.
We all seem to want more than we can afford. It’s the American way. Spending too much money leads to debt. King Solomon said, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). The first months of a marriage are when couples establish the spending and saving patterns that will determine whether they will prosper or become lifelong slaves to creditors.
Like it or not, lots of people have debt. It could be from a student loan, a credit card, or bills accumulated over time. When you get married, you may become responsible for your spouse’s debts, so you should know what you’re getting yourself into. Ask your partner how much debt they have and if they have a plan for paying it off? It’s also important to know your partner’s credit score as it may determine the interest rates you receive on large purchases such as a home or car.
People say money talks, but actually it just walks away quietly. And we wonder where it went. How do you spell relief? B-U-D-G-E-T. We opted for a budget when we first got married. We used the envelop system because it works. Each time we got paid we put our income into separate envelopes for certain household expenses. Nowadays, you can do this digitally on your computer.
Asking someone how much they earn annually can be taboo, but if you’re considering spending the rest of your life with your partner, you need to know. Your annual household income will determine where you live, how much you are able to save and your quality of life.
According to Daily Mail, “64 percent of women said they aspire to find a husband who brings home a larger pay packet than they do.” None wanted to marry a man who earned less. And, “69 percent said they would prefer to stay at home to look after their children when they are young if money were not an issue.”
I recommend couples sit down together, look over income and bills, and do the math. You don’t have to be wealthy, but you do need to make sure you’re able to support each other. Is your joint income enough to support your new family? Or, does it make sense to defer your marriage until you are both financially stable? Love doesn’t pay the bills.
Is your future spouse a serious wage earner? Does he have a track record of employment? A strong work ethic? I know one wife who left her husband not because she didn’t love him, she did, but because he couldn’t hold down a job and she felt overwhelmed.
Money exposes the differences in our personalities. I believe there are two personalities when it comes to money - spenders and savers. The typical marriage has one of each. Given the choice of spending or saving, savers are more likely to opt for the latter. Savers live with the possibility of a rainy day on their minds. Savers sleep best when there is money in the bank. The thought of overdrawing a bank account makes a saver uneasy. Savers are reluctant to use credit; when they do, they're driven to pay the balance in full every month.
Spenders, on the other hand, are carefree with money. They are optimistic and daring. Because they assume there will be more where this came from and everything will work out in the end, spenders believe it's okay to spend all they have now plus whatever they can get their hands on in terms of credit. To a spender, available credit is the same as income. And spenders don't usually worry about how they will repay their debt. In a healthy marriage, the saver-spender combination creates balance. Spouses keep one another from going to extremes.
Getting your marriage financially healthy doesn't require more money. It's about the hard work of open and honest communication. It comes as you are able to share your deep seated beliefs about money. As you do, be careful not to be judgmental. Remember that money can be a sensitive subject so keep an open mind and create an environment of trust where your partner feels safe to share.
Written with love, by Felicia Zammit-McMann
With St. Patrick’s Day earlier this month, it got me thinking about family cultures and how your wedding day is so much more than reciting vows; it’s really a blending of two cultures, perhaps, even sometimes two religions.
Looking back at our wedding, it was really a blending of Irish and Maltese cultures: My husband is Irish, and I’m Maltese. Malta is a teeny tiny island off the coast of Sicily that most people have never heard of before. So don’t worry if you’re ready this going, “Malta?”
I started to think about all the ways you can incorporate your traditions, cultures, and religions into your ceremony. If you remember, last year at this time, I wrote about how you can personalize different aspects of your wedding in somewhat more crafty ways. This time, I want to take a look deeper into the symbolic and traditional ways you can represent your culture into your wedding day.
First, if you are not sure what kinds of wedding traditions are usually had in your culture, do a quick Google or Pinterest search. You might be surprised what you will find. You might even know of these traditions and know what to incorporate into your day just by knowing what you have seen done at family weddings. Whatever the case, there are great opportunities to highlight your heritage on your special day.
Every country has a national flower. If you can find what it is, or even if you can find a flower with the name of your country, it’s a great little way to represent your background. In my husband’s boutonniere, I had Bells of Ireland and on my bouquet, I had a pin of the Maltese cross. You might recognize this cross as it’s the inspiration for the symbol most commonly represented by firemen.
Mark Greenstone, Majestic Studios
Mark Greenstone, Majestic Studios
This is probably the most popular way to incorporate cultural traditions into your wedding day, as there are beautiful blessings or ceremonies found in almost every culture. While there are beautiful Irish blessings that are usually read during the ceremony, we really couldn’t find many Maltese ones, and the ones we did find were not translated into English. Being that realistically only the Irish blessing could be read, both of our cultures would not be equally represented, so we opted out of doing a cultural blessing.
Since we didn’t really have any cultural representation during the ceremony, we did made up for it at the reception. We had table signs put on every cocktail table with both Maltese and Gaelic love proverbs. Some were funny, some serious, but all representing us perfectly. Our guests really enjoyed them, especially those who had never heard of Malta or seen it written.
Mark Greenstone, Majestic Studios
As a trend in 2016, you will see cultures being represented more and more through the food and drinks offered at weddings. Whether it’s a signature drink, or food options based on cultural themes, it’s a great way to give a nod to your roots – and who doesn’t love good food and drinks? In fact, one of my favorite things is to try foods from different cultures. What great memories you’d be making for someone. They’ll always remember that particular food as having it for the first time at your wedding.
So, we want to know, what kind of cultural traditions did you have at your wedding?
