While bachelor parties are a tradition dating back to the 1800s, bachelorette parties have become popular only recently. Bachelorette parties seem to be more about the bride-to-be bonding with women friends than the male tradition of enjoying a final night of freedom before marriage.

A New Tradition

Some brides choose a night of frivolity, such as male exotic dancers and lots of alcohol, much like the groom’s bachelor party. But the majority of women opt for other activities. The theme of most bachelorette parties is to tease the bride in a fun way, while sharing a memorable evening with her best friends.

The Nightclub Scene

This is 1 of the most popular bachelorette activities. Parties often start with dinner at an elegant restaurant, followed by drinks and dancing at popular nightclubs. Hiring a limousine to drive everyone together from destination to destination is a great idea. First, it allows all the women to travel together and party in transit. Second, it adds a touch of class to the evening. And perhaps the best reason is to ensure that everyone arrives safely at their destinations.

The women in the bachelorette party will often create a veil for the bride to wear on that night. The style of the veil isn’t important, so long as it is conspicuous and calls a great deal of attention to the bride. It’s also typical for this type of party to send the bride on a scavenger hunt. The other women get together ahead of time to create a list of activities for the bride to accomplish or objects to find. This type of bachelorette party is a great way for the bride to enjoy a night of dinner, dancing, drinks and fun with her best friends.

Retreat To A Spa

Spa retreats have become quite popular as bachelorette party ideas. The bride-to-be and her friends get together at a spa to enjoy relaxing massages, facials, manicures, pedicures and other treatments. A steam room, sauna and/or hot tub adds an extra element of relaxation.

Some spas provide great meals from a selection of healthy dishes. This type of bachelorette party lets the bride relax and connect with her friends while leaving behind the stress of planning a wedding. Many brides get so caught up in the details of wedding planning that they forget to enjoy the wedding. A spa retreat bachelorette party is a great solution.

Exotic Dance Lessons

A little more risque, but lots of fun, is exotic dancing lessons. These parties are becoming more common now that pole dancing classes are beginning to spring up in health clubs. For these parties the women gather at a private home or a dance studio, and a professional dancer comes in to teach them the art of exotic dance. This can be a great way for friends to let loose and have fun.

Night Of Feature Films

Another unique bachelorette party idea is for the maid of honor to host a movie night. The hostess rents plenty of movies to select from, and stocks up on movie theater style goodies or creates a menu of hors d’oeuvres. This could be the bride’s last chance to sit around with her friends watching “chick flicks” for a good long while. This is a fun, safe, and relaxing way for the women to get together to talk and have a good time.

Female Bonding

Although a new phenomenon, the bachelorette party is quickly catching on. It does not have the same feel as a bachelor party — instead of a last night of freedom, it a night to bond with women friends.

Visit gr8wedding.com” target=”_blank Wedding Ideas to learn more. Ron King is a full-time researcher, writer, and web developer. Copyright 2005 Ron King. This article may be reprinted if the resource box is left intact.

So you have been invited to a wedding. Whether you are a friend, family member or the proud parents, one of the most important, if not stressful decisions is what to buy the new couple. This new union will require a unique gift, a gift the newlyweds can actually use and enjoy. Is there such a gift that can provide these qualities while still being original?

Well there is, and just when you thought all of the best wedding gifts and ideas have been taken. Here is a gift that will create a memorable presentation at the reception by including everyone at the wedding while simultaneously providing the newlyweds with a lifetime wedding display to remember their special day.

It is called a signature frame, and if you’re not familiar with this gift, it is a picture frame that can display photos of the newlyweds surrounded by signatures of their guests. It is a modern combination of a wedding frame and guestbook, it is the best of both and much more.

Most brides will buy a traditional wedding photo package and use the traditional guestbook, but how often do couples really revisit their photo albums and what happens to that guestbook after the wedding? That’s the great benefit of a signature frame because it will actually display those precious memories so they can be celebrated every day. In other words, the newlyweds can have their cake and eat it too.

The other great benefit of a signature frame is that it can be part of a rehearsal dinner and/or wedding reception. Not only can it be signed by everyone in attendance but a fun idea is to fill the frame with pictures of the newlyweds when they were kids, dating, or during their engagement. That way, when guests autograph the signature mat, they can also view these fun pictures and be included in the couple’s past history and memories.. The signed frame, complimented with the fun pictures, can then be presented to the new couple at the end of the reception as a gift from everyone. The newlyweds can later add their wedding and/or honeymoon photographs when they are ordered in the future.

This special gift can give newlyweds a permanent framed display allowing them to re-live and celebrate their wedding day, everyday. This gift will truly become their first family heirloom.

Shar Calder is the owner of First Class Framing, a picture framing company specializing in designing custom quality collage frames that allow you to display all of your special memories.
firstclassframing.com firstclassframing.com

I would not be married today if it were not for the choice that I made after I found out my husband had been cheating on me. You see, I’m one of those people who take their “marriage” and “wedding vows” very seriously. In the days following my discovery I was an emotional wreck and I couldn’t figure out how in the world I was ever going to be able to move past that depression and I contemplated a divorce.

However; what I chose to do was work on some things within myself (fix what was wrong with me) and at the same time I chose to act in a loving manner towards my husband. Well, wouldn’t you guess it, after making that choice and following that choice up with actions those loving feelings started to return.

Love ebbs and flows just like any other emotion that we have. Each emotion plays an important roll in our lives and the heady “in love” feeling has its place in our dating years as well as in our married years. However; it isn’t going to be there all the time! One day you’re high up on the mountain and the next your way low in the valley.

So, do I degrade love when I say that love is a choice? No I don’t, I actually take it up a notch because I’m saying that love is so important to me and to our marriages that when we don’t “feel” it we must make a choice to continue acting in a loving manner until the loving “feelings” return.

Although my marriage is far from perfect and I certainly have many days where I forget to act in a loving manner I can only be thankful that I didn’t make the decision three years ago to leave my husband. You see if I had of made that decision I wouldn’t have our third beautiful daughter that has been a perfect addition to our family.

I’m not going to say that everything happens for a reason (although it just might); instead I’ll say that you can turn ANY bad thing into a good thing. For me that was becoming a better person and helping other people who are going through marital crises.

Brandi Simon is the owner of Marital Matters where she offers articles and information for those suffering the effects of an extramarital affair and other relationship issues. Brandi is an affair survivor who has successfully rebuilt her marriage from the ashes and offers advice to those who are recovering. To learn more about the website or Brandi, please visit marital-matters.com Marital Matters.

Next time you run out for milk in your PJ’s, remember this:

* Got Chores?In a recent study, it stated over 50% of all couples met each other during an errand. They were not dressed to impress, nor did they plan on finding “the one” that day, it just happened.

* Line Up Surprisingly, a majority of men say standing in line is a great place to meet someone. It’s an instant ice breaker, and quite frankly it makes sense. People feel more comfortable sharing a little misery, and are perhaps more willing to start a conversation with a stranger, in order to pass the time.

* Need A Ride? A crowded subway car, bus or train lends itself out to be quite a vehicle for love. Many successful couples reported meeting on some form of transportation, Amtrak is a fav, plus there is even a place to have drinks! The close quarters make for a great excuse for men and woman to talk, flirt and tease each other, without feeling the anxiety of approaching without a reason.

* Suit Up More active people find that singles and co-ed team sports make for a winning combination. When men and woman are working together in a competitive way, the sexual tension builds naturally, and before you know they are players in their own game of love.

Where To Meet Men If You Are:

Age 25 – 30:

* Through friends

* Gym (no ripped sweats/stained T-shirts!)

* Running club

* Beach

* Ski resorts

* Parties (so get out there girl!)

* Walking your dog (if you don’t have one, borrow a friend’s)

* Graduate school (plus, you’ll be smarter)

* Sporting events (men go in groups, you should too)

* Speed dating

Age 30 – 40:

o Eating out with friends (look around)

o Singles adventure trips/vacations

o Classes (cooking/wine tasting/computer)

o Co-ed softball/volleyball league

o Whole Foods/Trader Joes (high end supermarkets)

o Church groups/synagogues

o Through co-workers and friends

o Saturdays/Sundays at Home Depot

o Matchmaking services

o Running club

Age over 40:

Home Depot or Lowe’s on weekends

Tech conferences (get wired ladies!)

Airplanes/trains (the Acela rocks!)

Matchmaking services

Singles dinner clubs/wine tastings

The park, if you have children

Walking the dog

Church groups/synagogues

Single parent groups

Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s (high end supermarket)

Matt Titus, textinthecity.com textinthecity.com