Recoup Wedding Costs

Just in case a future daughter or daughter-in-law wants to use it.

They press a flower from the bouquet (or even dry the whole darn thing and pop it into a bubble frame).

And they find other uses for any items that had to be purchased for the event.

But if you’re not exactly the sentimental and you’re happy just having the photos and video from your special day…

Then there’s no reason you shouldn’t pay down your wedding debt (or garner some cash towards a down payment on your first home) by selling off some of the many items that are left over from your day of nuptials.

Here are a few things that other couples preparing for an upcoming wedding might be looking for.

1. Wedding dress. You might be surprised to learn that there is a big market for used wedding dresses, especially those that bear desirable designer labels. A clever bride can actually make money on her gown by purchasing it used online and then reselling it for more than she paid. As you may know, designer duds come and go pretty fast (with the changing seasons), so if a bride has her heart set on a discontinued dress that you happen to have in your closet, the value could definitely appreciate.
2. Engagement ring. Combination engagement and wedding bands have become fairly trendy these days, but your husband may not have known your preference when he proposed. So if you have a spare ring that you don’t really wear, take it to a jeweler, a consignment store, or post an ad on eBay as a way to get back at least a portion of the money your hubby spent on it. If it’s just gathering dust in your jewelry box and you’d rather have the fun money, there’s no reason some other bride-to-be shouldn’t enjoy it.
3. Accessories. You could offer your veil, shoes, handbag, hair clips, or other bridal accessories with your dress, but this strategy virtually turns these items into giveaways. Instead, sell them off piecemeal for greater profits or simply bundle them together like a grab-bag for the girl who wants one-stop shopping for these extras.
4. Centerpieces. Vases, lamps, and other centerpieces are something that nearly every wedding requires, so if these items are packed in boxes in your garage, it’s time to sell them off. At the most you’d only want to save one or two anyway and there’s no reason not to unload the rest on a couple that could really use some discount fare for their own special day.
5. Table settings. You may not have to purchase plates, glasses, and flatware for your wedding (since most venues or caterers will provide these items), but plenty of couples opt to buy their own linens (tablecloths, napkins, etc.) to save money or get the colors they prefer. As long as these pieces aren’t monogrammed you should have no trouble reselling them. And while garage sales are probably loaded with similar items for less, you can get a bit more money by selling yours online (or via a garage-sale app like Rumgr), as long as linens are in pristine condition.

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Insurance for Newlyweds

There’s a world of new responsibilities, including newly shared financial obligations.

Amidst all the celebrating and well wishes, developing a sound financial plan that includes adequate protection against life’s unforeseen risks is extremely important.

Though not a topic most newlyweds want to spend a lot of time thinking about, the chance of dying prematurely and leaving behind a loved one is a risk that no married person should ignore.

So how do young couples know how much and what kind of life insurance they need?

The best way to determine your individual insurance needs is to carefully review your financial situation and objectives with an insurance advisor.

But here are some important questions to get you started:

If you died tomorrow

• How much would it cost your surviving spouse to meet monthly living expenses such as the utilities, transportation and food?
• How much would it cost your surviving spouse to continue to maintain his/her standard of living (buying new clothes, eating out, going to the movies, taking an occasional vacation, etc.)?
• Would your surviving spouse be able to manage the mortgage or rent payments on one salary?
• How much debt do you currently have including credit card bills, student loans and car loans?
• If you don’t already own a home, are you planning to purchase one soon?
• Are you planning to have children any time soon?

It’s particularly important to ask yourself these questions now because there are advantages to purchasing life insurance early in life. If you buy when you’re young and healthy, you can “lock-in” coverage and insurability options for additional coverage at favorable rates.

In calculating how much life insurance you need, consider your other sources of income such as savings, investments, Social Security benefits, group life insurance and lump-sum pension benefits payable to a survivor. Then figure how much additional money your spouse would need in order to pay your final expenses and outstanding debt.

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Celebrate in Style.

First the honeymoon then moving in to your new home or preparing your old place for life together.

Before you know it, it`s your first anniversary.

If you’re wondering how to celebrate your first anniversary, you should first let your spouse know how much you still love them and that you would marry him/her all over again.

Here are five ways to make your first anniversary one to last a lifetime.

Relive the past

Celebrate Year 1 with a night of nostalgia. Get out the wedding and honeymoon photos, crack open a bottle of champagne and put on the wedding video then put on your wedding lingerie and relive your wedding night.

Take a second honeymoon

Why not revisit your honeymoon destination or take the chance to go to a place you have always wanted to see. If for some reason you can’t take a holiday a weekend away would be the next best thing allowing you time out from daily hassles.

Re-light the flame

After the honeymoon is over our bedroom antics become a little too routine like. Use your anniversary as a means of spicing up your love life. Decorate your bedroom with candles, satin/silk, and turn your bedroom into a love den. Add some accessories such as body paint, blindfolds, massage oils etc.. and tell each other your deepest fantasies.

A little imagination goes a long way

You don’t need lots of money to let your other half know how much you love them. All it takes is a little imagination.

1. Get up early and prepare breakfast in bed
2. Leave little love notes where you know your sweetie will find them
3. Put together a photo album of all the great times you have spent together
4. Send a single rose every hour on the hour and deliver the last one personally.
5. Little touches are often more effective then one big one.

Make your sweeties dream come true

This one needs prepared in advance so start early. Ask your other want they have always wanted to do more than anything, whether it be scuba diving, parachuting, or learning to fly then make his/her dream come true.

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When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, most people will choose ones that are centered on self-improvement and obtaining personal goals. But what about resolutions that can help improve your relationships?

Along with your regular New Year’s resolutions, you should also make some that revolve around your new marriage, either improving it or keeping it a happy one.  If you need a little help figuring out the best resolutions that can help in your first year of marriage, below are five that can get you started.

1. Leave work at work
Depending on your line of work, this may be easier said than done. But when the time comes to leave the office or workplace, leave everything work related where it is. This goes for both physical and mental work stuff. If there are reports or paper work that you need to get done, don’t bring it home. Either leave it until the next work day or ask for some help at work.

When it comes to the mental aspect of the job, this can be even harder to leave behind than the physical work. Try talking things out when you get home, but then pushing it to the background. If you spend all of your time home working or complaining about work, there isn’t much time left for anything else.

2. Clean the house together
Quite often in a marriage, even when the workload is even, it’s done separately. So throughout the week each person is working on their own separate to-do list. Sure, this gets the housework done, but it doesn’t really do anything for the marriage.

Two people can live together but not really spend any time together which can affect the relationship. So when it comes to housework, why not do it together? Designate a half-hour or an hour every day or every other day and work on chores together. Not only does it make the time go by faster, it gives you and your spouse the opportunity to talk and connect.

3. Exercise
There are so many benefits to exercise that it’s amazing that more people don’t make it part of their daily routine. When you exercise, not only are you getting or staying in shape, but you’ll have an easier time sleeping and your mood will improve. Exercise can also help relieve stress and anxiety. It only makes sense that if you are less stressed, less anxious, healthy and sleeping well you’ll be happier. The affects of exercise can make a huge difference in your marriage.

4. Date night
Whether it’s once a week, once every two weeks or even once a month, it’s important to your marriage to have a date night. It’s so easy to get into a rut where you do the same things, have the same routine day after day. With a regular date night you have the opportunity to get dressed up and hit the town together, whether it’s for a romantic dinner or a movie. It helps you connect as a couple and remember why you fell in love in the first place.

5. Me time
While date night is important, so is me time. Take an hour or two a week and do something just for you. Maybe take up a new hobby or learn a new skill. It really doesn’t matter what it is. The important thing is that for a little bit each week it’s all about you. When you’re married, especially if you have children, you can lose your sense of self in work, taking care of your kids and being a spouse. Doing something you like can help keep things fresh in your marriage.

This article was written exclusively for STL Weddings by Joshua Fletcher. Joshua is a freelance writer for MarriageMax.com. Marriage Fitness is an innovative step-by-step relationship-changing system that teaches you how to save a marriage. It is a more effective alternative to marriage counseling.

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You and your new spouse have finished your honeymoon. It was wonderful, of course, but now you’re facing an awkward period: the aftermath of the honeymoon. Let’s take a look at some common problems that couples face during this time and how to survive them together.

What’s Left from the Wedding

Immediately after the honeymoon you’ll need to deal with the leftover tasks from your wedding. These include mailing thank you notes, returning items that you had borrowed, getting your wedding dress cleaned, etc. Here’s a checklist to help you do this. Do these tasks together to prolong your wedding experience.

Nothing to Look Forward To

One of the biggest problems that couples face immediately following their honeymoon is that they are now living in the present. For so long you’ve been talking about your wedding plans and what your honeymoon is going to be like. Now it’s over and this can leave an empty feeling in your lives together. Useful tips for surviving this problem include:

• Live in the moment. Take the time each day to notice the little things that you love about being together right now as a married couple.
• Plan for the next big thing. Start a business together, plan a big vacation, start a family. These are all things that will help give you that same feeling that you had when you were planning your wedding together.
• Make smaller plans. A happy medium is to celebrate your new married lives together by making small short-term plans like weekend trips. These things require some planning but aren’t overwhelming or time-consuming.

Moving in and Paying the Bills

Many couples today live together before they get married. However, there are still a lot of couples that don’t move in together or start sharing finances until they’ve tied the knot. If the honeymoon is over then you’re facing the time when you have to make the big adjustment of living together. Some basic tips for moving in together and sharing bills without fighting include:

• Practice good communication. The better you are at speaking calmly, respectfully and articulately about what you want and what you expect, the better your experience will be.
• Give each other room to breathe. Even after the honeymoon many couples want to spend every waking minute together. Give each other space and important alone time in the home.
• Set some ground rules. This is important for moving in together as well as for properly sharing your finances. Agree on them together and put them in writing.

Growing Old Together

Of course you aren’t growing old just yet but it can start to feel like it once the honeymoon is over and you’re spending more nights on the couch in front of the TV than out on hot dates. Some tips for making sure that romance doesn’t go out the window include:

• Plan date nights. It is important that you get out of the house together and spend time doing adventurous and exciting things.
• Keep some mystery in the relationship. Just because you live together doesn’t mean that you need to leave the bathroom door open when you’re in there or wear your sweats every single night. Let there remain some romance and mystery at least some of the time.
• Focus on what you can do for your new spouse to be romantic. Couples all too often get in the habit of focusing on what the other person isn’t doing rather than what they themselves could be doing.

This article was written exclusively for STL Weddings by Joshua Fletcher. Joshua is a freelance writer for MarriageMax.com. Marriage Fitness is an innovative step-by-step relationship-changing system that teaches you how to save your marriage. It is a more effective alternative to marriage counseling. They offer free marriage therapy to couples going through marriage problems.