Stumped by what to get the leading man in your life for Christmas this year?! Worry not! We’ve got you covered with our Gift Guide For Him.
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite picks for that special guy in your life! This guide is full of thoughtful yet practical and useful gifts that we think any guy would love! Shop away!
How is it already Thanksgiving?! This year is just flying by and the holidays are now in full swing! So you know what that means – holiday gift guides! With Black Friday and Cyber Monday coming up, there is no better time to start your Christmas shopping.
We are starting off with our gift guide for the hostess. These are the perfect gifts to give your loved ones who enjoy entertaining or for the host of an upcoming Christmas or NYE party! Be sure to check back over the next few days as we share our gift guides for her, him, the jetsetter, the fitness fiend, and the homeowner (or in our case – the future homeowner!).
Happy Wedding Wednesday! If y’all checked out our wedding registry etiquette post for the bride and groom last week, you know how exciting, yet overwhelming registering for your own wedding can be!
But what about for the guest?! Buying the perfect gift and navigating the registry can be just as tricky! There are so many unwritten rules, so we are here to help break down some of those concerns. We are answering some of your biggest questions to help with the gift giving process for all your upcoming weddings. Enjoy!
A link to the wedding registry should be included on the wedding website or their save-the-dates. Still can’t find it? Try Googling the full names of the couple and if they used a larger company for their site, it should pop up. Still can’t find it? Ask their parents or a close friend of theirs!
Send the gift in advance. At the end of the wedding, the couple is usually whisked off and vendors are moving a million miles a second. To save any confusion or hassle moving gifts, just send your gift in the mail either before or after the wedding.
The traditional rule is to spend as much as the per-plate cost is. Nowadays, with wedding costs rising, this could be up to $300 a person, which is not always reasonable for every guest. Think about how good of friends you are with the couple. If you’re a distant friend or colleague, consider starting at about $50-$75 a person. If you’re family or really close, usually about $150 a person is nice.
Yes, please do! The bride and groom put an unbelievable amount of time into crafting the perfect registry with what they would like included in their future home and life together. I know as a guest, it may not feel as personal buying off the registry, but I promise they will appreciate it.
If you’re really close to the bride and groom and know there is something they would absolutely love but didn’t include it in their registry, that’s fine. My best friend actually gave me the most incredible monogrammed napkins I have ever seen – not on our registry – but she knows me well and had them designed to match our china, so needless to say, I was obsessed. But don’t go off the registry simply for the sake of being more creative.
Yes. It is still appreciated when the guests bring a gift to the shower and also send a wedding gift. The shower gift is usually a bit smaller than the wedding gift though!
Creating your wedding registry can be one of the highlights of the wedding planning process. Especially for the groom, who often times has a little more of an opinion on this process than the rest of the planning!
I mean, what’s more fun than picking out all of the beautiful new things with your fiancé that your loved ones will gift you to start your new home and life together as a married couple? So dreamy and exciting to think about! But, in this day and age, with all of the different products and types of registries, the process can be a little overwhelming. And if not done correctly, you might find yourself after your wedding wondering why you once wanted that salad spinner or why you didn’t register for the Vitamix. The last thing you want to deal with after the honeymoon is figuring out how to exchange gifts or return them for what you really want. So, do your homework with your fiancé on the front end and make sure you really think through all those fun items that for which you are registering.
So where do we begin?! There are so many different types of registries: the big box stores, the unique china store in your home town, the universal registry, the online-only registries…the options seem endless. There is no one-size-fits-all, but there are definitely better options than others, so for this Wedding Wednesday, we are answering all your wedding registry questions!
Enjoy and happy shopping (and scanning)!
Set up your registry as soon as you can after you get engaged. If you’re having an engagement party or showers, definitely make sure your registry is set up in advance of the parties so your guests know where to buy your gifts.
I would recommend having a maximum of three. Much more than three can start to look a little tacky (sorry, guys). If you use an online universal registry like Zola, you really only need one! However, if you want your guests to be able to have the option of picking your gift out in stores, consider adding just one traditional retail registry with your Zola registry like a Williams-Sonoma or a Pottery Barn.
Throughout the wedding planning adventure, we tried tons of different registries. We started with three basic ones (or so we thought): Amazon, Williams-Sonoma and Pottery Barn. We thought between those three we could register for pretty much anything that we wanted. False – after a lot of broken china and crystal from Amazon, we removed this registry and added Neimans. We found the online portal and buying system tricky, so we removed this one and tried Bed Bath and Beyond. Still not totally satisfied, we finally tried Zola which I had heard a ton about but was not sure how I felt about the universal registry concept. GAME CHANGER. This was by far my favorite registry we used! We ended up removing all of our registries except for Zola and Williams-Sonoma (just so our guests had a box store option in case they wanted to see the product and buy in person).
If you read our post about how to prepare your home for guests, you know how important it is to make sure your guests feel right at home by welcoming them with some of their favorite treats and creating a warm and comfortable space for them.
Of course, one of the most important aspects of hosting overnight guests is the guest bedroom and preparing their own little oasis, but not to be overlooked, is the guest bathroom!
When I stay at a hotel, one of the main aspects that I judge the entire hotel on is the style and feel of the bathroom. If it’s not clean and crisp, I assume the entire hotel is not. But if it has a luxurious and custom feel, my reviews of the hotel are glowing. Same goes for the home. Obviously, no one thinks your home is a hotel, but why not class it up and give it a luxurious and custom feel?!
I’ve gathered some of my favorite stylish bathroom decor and products to give your guest bathroom that extra oomph that will have your guests seeing hearts (without the large price tag of a remodel)! Enjoy and happy hosting!
1. Chandelier | 2. Textured Towels | 3. Monogrammed Soap | 4. Hand Soap and Lotion | 5. Lafco Candle | 6. Monogrammed Towels |7. Acrylic Soap Dispenser | 8. Acrylic Soap Dish | 9. Monogrammed Floor Mat |
Shop the Post!
And we’re finally back! Thank you all so much for your love and support while we were out of the office for our wedding and honeymoon!
We had a beautiful ceremony and reception in Vail, CO and we can’t wait to share more photos and details with you soon!
Our honeymoon in St. Lucia was absolutely wonderful. We enjoyed a relaxing stay up in the Pitons at Ladera followed by some quality beach time at Sugar Beach! Full reviews will be coming soon, but here are a few pics from the past few weeks!
Now back to party planning and hosting!
Let’s do this thing!
Rehearsal dinner ready!
We’re married!
Mr. and Mrs.
Can we stay forever?!
Thank you all for your love and support! We are currently out of the office while we get married and enjoy our honeymoon! See you all soon!
xoxoxo
Kate
To all our future brides out there – this one is for you! We are thrilled to be partnering with Katherine from Bells and Barbells again for this edition of Wedding Wednesday! (PS- If you missed your last couple posts about the power house over at B&B, be sure to check out our posts here and here!)
Today we are talking all about the Top 5 Overall Full Body Exercises to help you crush your wedding day fitness goals! So if you have a wedding coming up or are looking for a little variety to your current workout, jump right in with us! So without further ado, take it away Katherine!
Bells and Barbells Top 5 Overall Full Body Exercises:
Easter is just around the corner, so you know what that means! Time to start decorating, picking out your favorite Easter recipes, and putting together your Easter baskets for your loved ones!
So often, we think only our littles would enjoy an Easter basket! I mean what else can you put in a basket besides our kids favorite, candy, toys, movies, and stuffed animals?!
Well if you ask me, everyone deserves an Easter basket this year, no matter what age! You just need to be a little creative about what you put in it! To help spur a little creativity, Swoozies and I have partnered up and I have put together the perfect Easter basket for the 20 or 30 something year old gal! This basket is centered all around you and what the ladies want this year! So check it out!
Couples showers are one of my favorite wedding trends these days! Traditionally, wedding showers are just for the bride; however, modern day weddings are now incorporating couples showers into the festivity mix!
Couples showers are more like a cocktail party and include both the bride and groom, and of course, their male and female friends! While the party may still incorporate the traditional games and presents, the themes are usually more co-ed friendly. There are numerous ways to celebrate the couple, but the theme should represent their personalities including stock the bar, the hunt is over, Mexican fiestas, outdoor BBQs, and of course, my personal favorite Colorado mountain theme!
