Happy Anniversary

August is a busy month for weddings and anniversaries. I love to read wedding announcements in the newspaper but I love reading the anniversary announcement even more. My husband and I have been married for 32 years, some times it seems like yesterday, and other times it seems live forever. Having been married that long, I am amazed at couples who have been married for 50, 60 and even 65 years!
Every anniversary is a milestone in the life of a couple and is usually marked with a special gift. There are traditions associated with giving wedding anniversary gifts, different types of gifts being considered appropriate for each year. Here is a listing for the first 10 years and then for the more significant milestones after that. The list was compiled taking into account the more traditional among us as well as the more modern. While putting the list together, I had fun imagining what I would actually buy to fit in each category. It was fun.
Anniversary /Traditional /Modern
First /paper /plastic
Second/ cotton/ cotton
Third/ leather/ glass
Fourth/ flowers/ silk
Fifth/ wood /wood
Sixth /candy /iron
Seventh/ wool/ brass
Eighth /bronze /pottery
Ninth/ pottery /willow
Tenth/ tin /aluminium
Twentieth/ china/ china
Twenty-fifth /silver/ silver
Thirtieth /pearl /pearl
Fortieth /ruby/ ruby
Forty-fifth/ sapphire /sapphire
Fiftieth/ gold/ gold
Fifty-fifth /emerald /emerald
Sixtieth/ diamond/ diamond
Wishing you all happy marriages from paper to diamonds.
Marie and everyone at Laurel Mountain Gift Basket Company

The Many Colors of Green

If you found this blog posting because you are interest in the growing trend towards environmental responsibility, sorry. It's not that I don't believe in conserving energy and working with natural materials. I do.

When we built our house over twenty years ago, we incorporated many of what now is being called "green" concepts into the construction.
At work as well as at home we recycle everything, paper, glass, plastic, and we compost. We use recycled and biodegradable office and cleaning supplies.

At Laurel Mountain Gift Baskets we purchase many of the items we use in our gift baskets from local vendors which means we use less fuel in transport, as well as support our local community. We use paper rather than floral foam or Styrofoam as a base in our gift baskets because paper is biodegradable and we use raffia or paper ribbon in many of our bows for the same reason.

But no, when I refer to the many colors of green in this blog, I really am talking about the color. Color is so important to good gift basket design. A beautifully crafted gift basket just isn't finished until it is topped with a fanciful bow using several contrasting colors or several shades from the same color family. For Spring and Summer the greens come in soft sea foam, apple and hot lime, for Fall and Winter there's new moss, hunter, and emerald and celadon is a perfect year round green. Even the names are beautiful!

When blue and green are used together, they echo nature and the effect is very calming. When I want to be wild and make a bold statement, deep purple and hot lime green still works for me!

Green is the color of life and renewal. It signifies growth and health as well as balance and harmony. In Feng Shui, it is important to use several different shades of green in order to maximize the energy effort.

Gardeners get it when they plant lots of natural greens among the colorful flowers to keep everything in balance. So the next time you hear someone talking about going green, shut your eyes and imagine a burst of energizing color! But don't forget to shut off your computer and the lights when you leave the room. That's important too.

From This Day Forward

Planning a wedding? It may be only a single wedding, but there are basically three separate events to plan for. The ceremony, the reception and the honeymoon.

Today, I want to talk about the reception. This is probably the most overwhelming of the three because there are so many details involved. Where to have it, who to invite, and how much you are willing to spend are at the top of the list.

Where to have it is really contingent on who will attend and how much your are willing to spend. You will want a venue that is large enough to accommodate your guests comfortably, but not so large that it feels empty. The type of wedding (outdoors and casual or up town and chic) and what a particular venue includes in the price will also be considered in your choice. A venue that caters to events may include items like the cake and other amenities in the cost where as another venue choice may mean you will need to provide everything from decorations to linens to hiring a clean up crew. Once you have decided on where you will have your reception, you will want to reserve your date and time. This is especially important if the venue is very popular and/or it is a very busy season.

When considering who to invite, remember that, although it is the bride's day, the comfort and conveniences of the guests should be a major consideration. Some guest may be coming from out of town and they may need overnight accommodations. If the reception is being held in the banquet facility of a hotel, often times rooms can be reserved right on the premises. Otherwise, a block of rooms can be reserved at a nearby hotel. A really nice touch is to have a gift basket of treats placed in each room for your guest to enjoy.

How much will it cost? Know exactly what you are willing to spend before starting to plan the wedding. Make a budget and stick to it! Start by making a list of what you need and affix a price to each item. By having an idea of what you want and how much you are willing to spend, the planning process will go much more smoothly.