Okay. Now I want to get married again (even though the first one "took,") because I want this couple to design wedding invitations for me! Seattle-based designer Matt and his wife, Tere Mendez, make wedding-poster invitations, and they are beyond cool! A poster-size version of the invitation at the left hangs over the couple's bed.

When Matt isn't creating wedding-invitation posters, he designs poster art for bands--so I suspect he's kept pretty busy in Seattle. You can find more information at their Web site, posterbride.com. The invitation-design process can be done via email, so you don't have to live in the area to get this innovative team to hook you up with wedding invitations that will truly be keepsakes. Don't be surprised if your family and even some friends request poster-size versions.

With wedding invitations as cool as this, I'd want my wedding favors to be equally as cool. That's why I'd head to MyWeddingFavors.com for wedding favors that rock. Okay, maybe I'm getting a bit too literal here, but wouldn't it be a hoot to complement those spectacular invitations with "Love Rocks" Engraved, Polished Stones (left)? Okay. But I think any couple who chooses to have poster artwork for their wedding invitations intends to have a blast on their wedding day, which leads me to this next fun favor--"Have a Blast!" Wedding Poppers (right.) Either way, you'll bring the house down!

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Actually, Hallmark did the favor for everyone (and there's a lot of us) who have been invited to the weddings of gay friends. Instead of spending hours at the card store's "Wedding" section going through every card to find one that didn't have the image of a man and woman, or say "husband and wife" or some other man/woman reference, we can find a card with the perfect sentiment now that Hallmark is putting same-sex wedding cards on their shelves.

According to the Associated Press, Hallmark says the move is "a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure." Their goal is to be as relevant to as many people as they can, which explains their more recent cards for difficulty getting pregnant, going through rehab, and coming out. (Not out of rehab, out of the closet.)

If you read the newspapers or catch a newscast once in a while, you already know there's a growing market for same-sex cards, not just for weddings, but for a number of other life events. Gay couples are having babies or adopting every day, and it should be easy to find congratulatory cards for them. The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law estimates that more than 85,000 same-sex couples in the US have entered into a legal relationship since 1997, and they estimate nearly 120,000 more couples will marry in California during the next three years. Ellen Degeneres and Porti DeRossi kicked it off in grand style just a week or two ago. Don't you think it's about time this country put its money where its mouth is and allowed all its citizens the same "pursuit of happiness" our Declaration of Independence promises?

Gay couples planning a wedding don't expect everything in their wedding to have a gay twist to it, with rainbows or paired male or female symbols on every item, so they'll easily find the right wedding favors. Here are a couple of favors, one elegant and one whimsical, that are designed to delight anyone and everyone--the "Love Dove" Chrome Bottle Opener and the Margarita Glass Gel Candle!

Let's hear it for everyone who finds lasting love!

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Hollywood marriages do seem to turn bad quickly, like fresh produce. One day a tomato is bright red, firm and delicious. A few days on your kitchen counter, and that tomato is shriveling, becoming a horrible dark color and growing fuzz. So what do you do? You throw it out and go get another one. Think Carmen Electra and Dennis Rodman (10 days!) or Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock, not to mention that last guy she married after paying off a gambling debt with sexual favors. And haven't you noticed how many actors and actresses wind up dating (and sometimes marrying) the last person they appeared with in a movie? I have a theory about that. Most of these folks think that the love scenes they shoot with one another are real. They're sizzling hot together on the set, when someone is directing them. When there's no one there telling them what to do every time they have sex, they haven't a clue how to recreate that passion.

Some Long-Running Hollywood Marriages

Now remember--I said "most" don't know the difference between fantasy and reality. Several of them do and have had long-lasting marriages by Hollywood standards, and some even by the standards of everyone outside Hollywood. Leading the way with 50 years of marriage are Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, seen then and now on your left and right respectively. Whatever their secret is, it's apparently the best-kept secret in LaLaLand. Here's a list of 17 other Hollywood couples who have made it well past their paper (1st) anniversary:

Warren Beatty and Annette Bening (16 years)
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett (11 years)
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson (20 years)
Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi (33 years)
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick (19 years)
Bill and Camille Cosby (44 years)
Dan Ackroyd and Donna Dixon (25 years)
Jay and Mavis Leno (28 years)
Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman (26 years)
Ron and Cheryl Howard (33 years)
John Travolta and Kelly Preston (16 years)
Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley (15 years)
Denzel and Pauletta Washington (25 years)
Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw (16 years)
Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates (18 years)
Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan (20 years)

A Little Luck and Lots of Sense

So what do you think keeps these couples together when so many Hollywood pairs fall apart like a $100 automobile? I think it's communication, dedication, real love--and yes, just a bit of luck. I think we all need a bit of luck to stay together until...well, you know. I can't help with the communication, dedication and real love, but I've got my eye on a couple of wedding favors that might help out in the "luck" department. I love these "Perfectly Suited!" Glass Place Card/Photo Holder Coasters (left,) and the "Lucky in Love" Dice Favor Boxes (right.) You can find them--and so much more--at MyWeddingFavors.com, where fabulous wedding favors are just the beginning of a fabulous marriage!

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When you think about it, you realize that almost all your wedding planning revolves around your wedding date. Venues, caterers, officiants need to know your date before they can commit their services. Before you just close your eyes, flip open a calendar and point to a date, consider these few bits of wedding-date wisdom:

PRICE

I thought I'd begin with price, since everyone is so cost-conscious these days. Limos take gas, you know. If you want to marry in June, August and September--prime-time wedding months--expect to pay higher prices. Pick a date in January, March or December when venues, caterers and other wedding services will be duking it out for your business.

SYMBOLISM

You can up the romance factor by marrying on the day you met, the day you shared your first kiss or got engaged. Some couples even check horoscopes to find the ideal date to wed. How about choosing the month you were born and the day he was born, or vice versa? If your wedding date does have special symbolism, be sure to share it with family and friends, perhaps in the invitations, during the ceremony or at the reception.

SEASON
Here's where your style and personality come in! Maybe summer's your season, with its "vacation" attitude, hot weather and invitation to outdoor-fun. Sounds like a beach wedding to me! Cold-weather enthusiasts who love the romance of a gentle snowfall will choose cozy, cost-effective winter for their wedding. If you want to go for symbolism, spring is certainly the season of new beginnings. With cooler weather, colorful flowers in bloom and the world turning green again, a spring wedding is in your future. Then there's my personal favorite--autumn. Trees ablaze with color, nostalgia and a touch of magic in the cool, crisp fall air. No matter which season you choose, there's always the perfect wedding favor waiting for you at MyWeddingFavors.com. Watch this: Summer--"Turnin' Up the Heat" Hot Sauce! Winter--"Snowfall" Glass Coasters! Spring--"Butterfly" Bookmark! Fall--"Autumn Branches" Bronze-Finish Place Card Holder/Photo Frame!

HOLIDAYS

People will warn you that if you marrry on a holiday, and the marriage doesn't last "until death do you part," that holiday is ruined for you forever. Baloney! Even though fall is my favorite season, I married in February on Valentine's Day. Of course, I'm still married, so I really don't know if Valentine's Day would suck if we weren't still together. But we get over things, don't we? Life--and love--can both go on. Sometimes, marrying on a holiday weekend, like July 4 or Labor Day, gives your guests three days to enjoy themselves instead of having to hurry home. Christmas and New Year's Eve weddings can be exquisite, and Halloween weddings can be a hoot! Of course, you have to consider that some people might have long-standing plans for some holiday weekends, so go with what excites you!

VIP REQUIREMENTS

If your parents, his parents or some other "can't say 'I do' without them" individuals can only come at a certain time, you might want to schedule your wedding to accommodate them. If you have several people like that to accommodate, and the dates don't jive, just decide who's most important and choose your date accordingly. There will always be some people who won't be able to attend.

NO WAY ON THIS DAY!

Be mindful of religious holidays, and stay away from April 15 (income tax day). You'll have a reception full of stressed-out tax-payers, including yourself!

Whatever day you choose, just remember why you're there, and everything will be absolutely wonderful. If you've already chosen your wedding date, I'd love to know why you chose that date? I promise to publish a few special stories!

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So it's a couple of months before your Caribbean beach wedding, and you've been spending so much time planning the wedding, you haven't had a chance to get out and enjoy the summer sun. One look in the mirror and--eewwwwwww. You've just dicovered your skin is as pale as the shell of an egg.

So what are your tanning choices?

Get outside immediately and soak up as many rays as you can in twenty minutes before your next fitting. Or you can do it with bronzing make-up on the day of your wedding--but fair warning: if you sweat or cry, that bronzer is going to turn that white gown to brown. There's always a tanning booth, and perhaps the easiest of all--the spray-on tan. Spray-on tans have become extremely popular, especially with celebrities who want that California look without benefit of sun, which, as we all know, eventually turns your skin to leather if you soak up too much of it.

The truth about spray-on tans

The tanning salon is quick to point out that the chemical that turns you brown--dihydroxyacetone, or DHA--has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA,) and using DHA is also recommended by the Skin Cancer Organization, American Academy of Dermatology, The American Cancer Society and the American Medical Association.

What tanning salons don't tell you

As a service to brides-to-be everywhere, I want to alert you to a little-known danger of spray-on tans--the kind you get at a tanning service, where you go into a booth and get spray-painted like a car. DHA is cheap, fun and it makes you look great. But your tanning salon may not warn you to hold your breath. According to the Food and Drug Administration, DHA could be hazardous if inhaled or swallowed. There's no way to know because DHA was never tested for internal use, only external. The FDA has sent out a warning about DHA, recommending people cover their eyes, plug their nose, and protect their lips whenever using spray tans. Just keep that in mind when you step into the tanning booth.

You're going to be a beautiful bride, whether your skin is as bronze as a third-place Olympic medal or as pale as a priceless, porcelain doll's. And your long-awaited destination wedding on the beach will be everything you dreamed it would be--assuming you're planning to thank your guests with delightful beach wedding favors. Here are just a couple of choices to tempt you, but there are dozens more at MyWeddingFavors.com. The Margarita Glass Gel Candle in its clever tiki hut gift box (left) is always a big hit. And have you ever seen a more perfect destination/beach wedding favor than the Flip-Flop Luggage Tag? You're going to have the time of your life, and remember--when the guests have taken their fabulous wedding favors and gone home, you'll be alone on the beach with the man you're meant to be with, getting tan the way Mother Nature intended. Hmmm, on second thought, you're on your honeymoon, so maybe you won't be on the beach...oh, nevermind! Just have fun!

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Have I got a gift registry for you! How many times have you wanted or needed something to prepare for a new baby or your new marriage, but it simply doesn't exist on a registry? I'm talking about things like recipe cards for the newlyweds, a fair-trade product (produced by fairly paid workers) like an imported rug, a homemade wedding cake, homemade dinners from friends when you're home recovering from your special delivery, babysitting services after the baby's born or maybe even a tree planted in your backyard so you can hang a tire swing from it someday. How do you ask for gifts of time, expertise or eco-friendly items? These are gifts registries don't offer--until now!

Gifts to Match Your Values

If you want gifts that focus on the bond you share with loved ones, rather than something that costs a bundle and may not be what you really want, the Alternative Gift Registry (alternativegiftregistry.org) is for you. Here's what they believe: "By encouraging non-material, second-hand, homemade, and environmentally friendly gifts, we seek to continue the proud tradition of gift-giving while helping celebrants focus on what matters most: a joyous commemoration with loved ones that honors the important moments in their lives." So often, non-material gifts are the most precious and helpful to young couples starting out and first-time parents. Who couldn't use a stack of recipe cards for delicious, easy-to-make meals or a cleaning service for a couple of months?

You can list other unusual or eco-friendly gifts, and you can link to the Web pages that offer what you prefer. The registry allows you to add text for the items you desire, so you can be very specific about what you need and even explain why you want it and how you'll use it. The Web site also provides suggestions for "green" celebrations and gift ideas. In fact, one of the wedding favor ideas they recommend is seed packets.

Eco-Friendly Seed Packets and Plantables

Not only are there eco-friendly seed packets and plantable favors available for your events, you can easily match your color scheme and decor. The "Our Love Grows!" Flower Seed Packets (left) let you choose the ribbon color for your vellum seed packets. When you choose the "Love Grows!" Plantable Hearts(right,) you have several colors to match your wedding decorations or baby shower decorations.

I think the Alternative Gift Registry is an idea whose time as definitely come, and I also believe it will change the nature of gift-giving in the future!

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