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Etiquette Q&A: “Do We Send Thank-You Notes to Guests Who Didn't Bring Gifts?"

Join us every Friday for our Q&A column, where editor-in-chief Diane Forden answers one reader's biggest etiquette question.

wedding thank you noteQ: Do we need to send a thank-you note to my friend who traveled quite a distance to attend our wedding but didn't give us a gift? 

A: Regardless of whether or not a gift was given, anyone who attended your wedding should receive a thank-you note. No doubt, your friend spent considerable time and money to get there, and her presence should be considered your gift. Be gracious, and let her know that you are delighted that she was able to share in your big day and that you appreciate the effort she made to attend.

—Diane Forden

Photo Credit: You're That Girl Designs/Etsy.com

 

Avoid Holiday Weight Gain: 30-Minute At-Home Workout

Baby, it’s Christmas time, and it’s my mission to get you looking more like Santa’s hot little helper than jolly Mrs. Claus. And, come January, you won’t feel like you have a mountain to climb to shed off the holiday gain — no, it's not a prerequisite to the holidays.

  • You can have your Christmas cake and eat it, too.
  • You don't need to spend hours a day slugging it out at the gym.
  • You don't have to forgo holiday parties or dinners in fear of tempting treats that ruin your waistline.

You just need to get ARfit!

So rather than the 12 Days of Christmas, we’re doing the four ARFit weeks to Christmas, and here is your next Hot Body Workout! Check out last week's video here, and subscribe to my channel for new, free workouts every week!

The Workout: 

Complete each of the following for 1 minute each (watch the video for demos):

Round One:

► Jump Rope
► High Knees
► Bumwackers
► Frog Jumps
► Burpees

Walk or Jog 10 minutes

Round Two:

Beautiful Blooms: Dazzling Ideas for Your Flowers

I recently discovered two fantastic florists, Vanessa and Michael Gonzalez, owners of Verde Flowers in New York City, who create gorgeous, unforgettable arrangements. (They also happen to be the sole florist for the New York Yankees!) Check out their dramatic cascading bouquet:

pink cascading bouquet

...organic elements they often combine with flowers:

flowers

...and this majestic centerpiece created for an escort card table:

wedding place card table

I also love their amazing display of green-hued florals:

green wedding flowers

…and this centerpiece of pretty blooms paired with striking branches in a tall glass cylinder:

tall wedding centerpieces

For brides marrying over the holiday season, Vanessa and Michael offer these tips, which they used for a recent wedding:

10 Craziest Places Couples Got Married in 2012

Apparently, getting married in a traditional wedding hall is so 2011. Check out 10 of the strangest places couples decided to tie the knot this year.

1. In 23 Different Places 
Think about all of the joy, energy and resources that went into planning your wedding. Now, imagine going through that experience not once, but 23 times. It sounds like a fantasy (or a nightmare, depending on who you ask), but this is actually one couple's reality. underwater wedding
2. On Jet Packs
Talk about making a grand entrance! After planning dozens of weddings as a planner, Amanda Volf knew she wanted to do something truly unique for her own nuptials. That's why she and her groom, Grant Engler, rented $90,000 water-powered jet packs to fly into their Newport Beach wedding.jetpack wedding

Rustic Elegance: Nikki & Corey in Indianapolis, IN

Our wedding on September 2nd was an amazing party; we were thrilled to celebrate the most important day of our lives with 140 people we love, but mostly, with each other. Throughout the planning process, we strived to not only create an event that would reflect both of our personalities, but also prepare ourselves for marriage. Check out some of our favorite moments and photos below!

Pre-Ceremony

I woke up in my bridal suite at a downtown hotel around 8:02 a.m. (I feel that even numerals bring me good luck). My mom and sister treated everyone to bagels, mimosa essentials and coffee before we headed to the hair salon. Getting ready was fun, yet terrifying: This was it!

getting ready for wedding

I had to accept that it was going to rain for most of the day, which made matters more stressful. I originally decided to wear a half-up, half-down hairstyle, but was forced to switch to an updo, thanks to the downpour. Do prepare an inspiration board with back-up hairstyles just in case you're faced with the same dilemma, like I did. I would have felt prettier with part of my hair down, but I embraced the more classic, formal look.

getting ready for wedding

Wedding Style Guide: Modern

You don't always need jewels to make a big statement. Consider a gown with bold clean lines, crisp white fabric and expert tailoring for a chic, modern look. This look pairs well with slicked-back hair and a bold lip. While this style may be lacking in embellishments, the expert tailoring is sure to make this look sharp and bold. This is perfect for a city wedding, a chic downtown fête, or an art gallery. Here a few of our favorite modern wonders, from Amsale, Carolina Herrera, and Dennis Basso.

—Naima DiFranco

10 Festive Holiday Ideas for Your Nails

Hoping for a ring under the Christmas tree this year? Then you’re going to want your nails to look fabulous — all eyes will go directly to your left hand when you tell them the happy news!

Here, nail expert and Custom Nail Solutions president Katie Saxton shares the hottest nail trends for the holiday season and how to get the look at home:

1. Seasonal Sideways French Mani
Saxton predicts that sideways French manis will be the hottest nail trend of 2013; be ahead of the curve with a holiday-inspired look. Paint your nails green and let dry. Then paint a vertical stripe of red polish along one side of each nail. Let dry, then add a clear topcoat to each nail. 

red and green sideways french  manicure

2. Holiday Crackle
This fun and festive holiday effect is a cinch: Paint each nail red and let dry. Then, add one coat of a green "crackle" polish over each nail, which allows the red to peek through the cracks when it dries. 

holiday crackle nail polish

12/12/12: This Century's Luckiest Wedding Date?

12/12/12 marks the last repetitive-number date in our lifetimes; it’s no wonder that an estimated 7,500 couples plan to tie the knot on this iconic date, according to David’s Bridal — a 1446% increase over the previous year, even though the date falls on a Wednesday. 

This follows the trend set by other triple-number dates: David's Bridal reports that on 10/10/10 (a Saturday), 65,000 couples got married, and on 11/11/11 (a Friday), 57,000 couples said “I do.” 

Here, find out why these three couples have chosen this once-in-a-lifetime wedding date:

Nena and Marc

mark and nenaThis couple first met 19 years ago on a job interview; Nena's final interview was with Marc. “When I first saw him, my palms started to sweat; not because of the interview itself but because I knew that he was the one for me.”

Marc proposed 12 (yes, 12!) years ago at Nena’s favorite Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, Mr. K’s. “When he asked me if I’d like an appetizer, he presented me with the ring. After that, I don’t really remember what we had for dinner!”

An Easy New Way to Compile Your Guests' Addresses

One of the most annoying parts of the wedding-planning process is gathering the addresses of your invitees. WhitePages just introduced a new tool that promises to make that task a little bit easier: WhitePages Mailer.

whitepages mailerPhoto courtesy of WhitePages

How it works: By connecting through your Facebook account, the tool will match up your contacts with relevant public records (based on their name and location), pulling in any possible address matches. I tested it out using my contact and found that nine times out of 10, the correct address was pulled in.

Pros:
► If a contact's name pulls in multiple records and you can't figure out which is correct, you can have the tool send a message to that person asking them to verify their address.
You can organize your contacts into groups, so you don’t have to weed through all 500 of your Facebook friends.
► For your friends who aren't on Facebook, you can manually add their existing WhitePages listing to your personal database, allowing you to still store all of your contacts in one place.
You can export the list as an Excel file, making it easy to send to your parents and future in-laws to double-check their invitees. 

To Wait or Not to Wait: The Great Baby Debate

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge delighted many royal watchers by announcing that they're expecting a child together. When the news broke, media outlets and civilians alike reacted with phrases like "Finally" and "It's about time!" One would assume that William and Kate have been married for ages; yet they tied the knot just over a year and a half ago. If you're reading this and you're a newlywed, you may also relate to being bombarded with questions from well-intentioned loved ones, eager to know when you're having your first baby.

Like many other couples, Wills and Kate reportedly mapped out their baby timeline prior to saying "I do." Just two months after getting engaged, Ms. Middleton told the press that, "I hope we'll be able to have a happy family ourselves. [The royal family has] been great over the years, helping me with difficult times, and we see a lot of each other, and they're very, very dear to me."

There are many factors that can go into the decision of starting a family. Couples may hope to conceive before reaching a certain age, while others leave it up to chance on their honeymoon or hold off until certain career goals are met. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average age of a first-time mom is 25.4. But when is the right time to have kids, exactly? In an effort to gain more insight, I turned to the all-knowing Facebook and posted a status asking, "After your wedding, how long did you wait (or will you wait) to have kids?"

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