Gift ideas from A to Z

Bridal gift registries benefit both the bridal couple and their guests. Couples have a chance to select items that fit their personal tastes and needs. For guests, registries eliminate the guesswork in selections and make it easier to find gifts that fit their budget.

Computerized kiosks are an added convenience. Couples generally find it fun to inventory stores and make their selections. Wedding planners recommend registering for gifts at least four months in advance of the wedding date. That way, guests have an opportunity to purchase shower gifts from the list, too.

Registries aren't limited to fine china and department stores, either. Registries at discount and home-furnishings stores are growing in popularity.

Gift Ideas From A to Z

Aroma therapy, airline tickets, address book.

Blender, bread machine.

Coffee grinder, cookie jar, chip-and-dip set.

Day at the spa, dance lessons.

Electric knife, exercise equipment.

Fajita skillet, fondue pot.

Glassware, gift certificate.

Hammock, hand towels.

Ice bucket, ice cream dishes.

Juicer, jewelry box.

Knife set, kitchen towels.

Luggage, luxury hotel suite.

Magazine rack, money.

Night on town, napkin rings, newspaper subscription.

Omelette pan, outdoor thermometer.

Picnic basket, pizza pan, piano.

Quilt, quartz clock.

Roasting pan, road atlas.

Serving bowls, silverware.

TV trays, toaster, tool set.

Umbrella, utensil set.

Vacuum, vase.

Wastebasket, wine, wok.

X-rated gag gifts.

Yard supplies, yachting adventure.

Zoo membership

Elegant outfits abound for mothers of the bride

Ever since you were a little girl, your mother has probably dreamed of how you might look in a wedding dress. However, most mothers of the bride don't relish the idea of shopping for a dress for themselves.

So, the moment after you've found your bridal gown, you might want to spend some extra time with mom shopping for an outfit that will help her find the elegant look she's hoping to achieve.

The design duo of Badgley Mischka is one of the best purveyors of sophisticated wedding day fashion bliss. ''Every woman should have times when she feels wonderful, and creating that feeling is our goal,'' say the two designers who filled their spring collection with dresses fit for fairy tales. ''Every life deserves a shot of fantasy, a dose of beauty, an abundance of happiness.''

This season's best fantasy dresses from Badgley Mischka include romantic gowns detailed with delicate crystal, beaded lace and even gilded glass.

Designer Carolina Herrera, who not only designs her own ready-to-wear collection, but a bridal collection as well, also gives moms plenty of choices when it comes to evening wear.

Herrera includes stretch chiffon dresses in soft shades of lavender or aquamarine, but topped off with a man-tailored jacket. This is a great alternative for moms who may not have quite the slinky slim and trim figures they had when they walked down the aisle as a young bride. The tailored look is an elegant approach when it comes to finding a dress that won't compete with the bride's ensemble. The suit is another modern-day choice for MOBs and MOGs. Ralph Lauren offers matching coats with his bias-cut sheaths in silk charmeuse. Bill Blass is another designer who has impeccable evening wear suits perfect for special occasions.

The jacket dress is still one of the most popular ensembles for wedding days and evenings. Designer Deborah Johnson sees gentle pastels for warm-weather weddings.

Her lightweight cashmere coat is paired with an unexpected iridescent ombre silk chiffon and cashmere empire waist dress with a tuxedo collar. Her soft suit features a crepe jacket with sculptured collar and pockets with iridescent buttons dyed to match. There are many places to shop for evening wear appropriate for a wedding. From department stores to specialty boutiques, it pays to look around and find a dress that uniquely suits you. This should not be just another thing on the ''to do'' list. Finding that special dress should be a priority. And this year, there should be plenty of ways to express yourself.

The subtle yet soft designs of spring and summer lend themselves to special occasions that include watching your son or daughter say, ''I do.'' Just remember that the dress you choose should flatter your figure and personality. With all the body-conscious silhouettes out there, it may take a little longer to find the perfect look. But it's well worth the extra hours of shopping. And it's a way to spend time with your daughter before she ties the knot.

But there are a few rules to remember, according to Bride's magazine. Avoid wearing all black or all white. And keep things in proportion. ''If the bride is wearing a slip dress, you'll want to keep things fairly simple,'' say the editors.

And what better day to make your fairy-tale dreams come true than on your son or daughter's wedding day. You might just rekindle a few of those dreams of your own and have the best ''mother's day'' ever.

Honeymoon in paradise: Mauritius, St. Lucia, India

Honeymoons are arguably the best part about getting married. Here are three locations that should inspire a sense of adventure as you begin your life together: The wild and fascinating Mauritius, the Caribbean's St. Lucia, and mysterious India.

Mauritius

Mauritius is surrounded by beautiful white sandy beaches, blue lagoons, palm trees and coral reefs. The beauty of the island is overwhelming. Those who loves nature will be absolutely astonished by the magnificence of the mountains, nature reserves and wildlife parks.

Located in the Indian Ocean, to the east of Madagascar, in Mauritius you will discover Hindu temples, churches and mosques. The natural beauty of Mauritius is carefully preserved by never building its luxurious hotels higher than a palm tree.

Anyone and everyone would feel at home in Mauritius. The people (Mauritians) are of different nationalities: Indians, Africans, Europeans and Chinese. The Indo-Mauritians are divided into three groups: Hindus, Tamils and Moslems. They are all united and live in peace with each other. The people are full of charm, very courteous and helpful.

St. Lucia

If you're looking for a rare kind of honeymoon - the holiday of a lifetime in one the world's most beautiful tropical settings - St Lucia is the place for you. It is an enchanting island with warm sunshine, natural trade winds and non-stop action. This almond-shaped island has a great many isolated beaches and coves waiting to be discovered.

The island has a timeless grace to it as you drive through its colonial towns and quiet fishing villages. Of interest also are the giant ferns, the wild orchids and the rain forest. St Lucia is wonderfully unspoilt.You won't find strips of high-rise hotels here; most places to stay are tucked away in lush surroundings. During the day, visit colourful markets in the little French-named towns, explore the National Rainforest and discover exotic birds and flowers, or take into the water for windsurfing, water-skiing, sailing or scuba diving. At night dine under the stars at restaurants overlooking the sea or nestling in the hills.


India

India's amazing diversity offers you everything you could ever want in a honeymoon. Even the word "India" conjures images of an exotic world: A land of incense, of beautiful monuments, of elephants, palanquins, of temples and mosques, of ash smeared sadhus, of the Taj... a land of romance, mysticism and wisdom.

The real beauty of India however is located in that forgotten village that lies tucked in between those famous cities, or in that inconspicuous sleepy town that the tourists never remember to visit.

Go back in to the days of yore and spend an exciting evening on a pirate ship. Dance at a carnival night in Goa or savour a beautiful day and laze on the golden sands. Created by Emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, 20,000 men struggled for 22 years to build this wonder of the world in white marble and precious stones.

India, always warm and inviting, is a place of infinite variety - one that favors couples with a different facet of its fascination.

Post wedding advice from credit councelors

The wedding is past, the honeymoon has come and gone, now it's time to take a thorough accounting of the your finances. Credit counselors advise that if you want to help ensure a healthy relationship, you're going to have to attack your own debt problem.

To do that, you have to have a plan, and, unfortunately, make some sacrifices. Most experts advise that one member of each couple must be designated a "financial housekeeper." It's not terribly important whether husband or wife balances the checkbook, pays the bills, keeps the financial records and handles other routine chores. But it is important that one person is responsible for getting it all done.

If you do find yourself in debt, the first step in any debt-elimination plan is to stop borrowing. While this may seem obvious, it's a difficult concept for some to master. It may be necessary to cut up your credit cards or freeze them in a block of ice.

Next, some experts advise, make a big one-time payment. If you have money set aside for a house down payment, you might consider using it to pay down your other debts instead. It doesn't make a lot of sense to have investments earning eight per cent, when you're paying 18 per cent on your debts.

Alternatively, you might opt to sell investments and apply the proceeds to your debt, or consolidate your debts into the lowest-cost loan, usually a mortgage. But this only works if you're disciplined, and don't run up your debt again.

The next step includes cutting down your expenses. If your in debt, often it is because you are living beyond your means. You can save as much as $3-4 a day by eliminating trips to coffee shops for specialty coffees and bagels.

The final step to a debt elimination plan is to prioritize your debts. Arrange them in descending order, with the highest interest debt at the top of the list. Typically, this would show something like credit card/car loan/line of credit/ mortgage. Every month, you make the minimum payments for everything but the first one, and then slam every cent you can find on the highest-interest debt. When it's paid off, you give yourself a very slight reward, than apply the same process to the next highest debt on the list.

Glamour Mag wedding night sex survey

GLAMOUR magazine's June issue includes a special wedding section to help ease the last-minute pre-nuptial jitters of the many women taking the marital plunge this month. The most intimate information comes from real couples polled in the "Wedding Night Sex Survey" detailing what Mr. and Mrs. Newlywed do in bed after the knot is tied. 100 recent brides were surveyed. Here are some of the results:

• 30% of respondents fell fast asleep and did not even have sex on the big night
  
• 25% had good wedding night sex
  
• 16% had great sex that night
  
• 97% of couples had already had sex before their wedding night (3% were still virgins)
  
• 43% of brides wore sexy lingerie on their wedding night, bought specially for the occasion
  
• 14% felt performance anxiety pressure about wedding night intimacy
  
• 45% of brides were carried over the threshold
  
• 26% of couples reported wedding night bloopers like forgetting birth control or passing out
  
• 40% of respondents would want to try their wedding night over again, differently--using hindsight
  
• 19% were exhausted the morning after, and needed a week straight of blissfully wedded sleep
  
  

GLAMOUR also helps rescue soon-to-be brides with foolproof tips from celebrities including "E! Entertainment" correspondent Melissa Rivers, comedienne Julie Brown and etiquette expert Peggy Post on how to circumnavigate familiar wedding conflicts like inviting ex-boyfriends to the wedding; preventing tasteless toasts; including stepparents in the ceremony; and wearing your mother's wedding dress. Melissa Rivers suggests letting one groom's blue-blood family foot the bill because the bride's parents could not afford as much. "If you have the opportunity to go first class--the best florist, limitless champagne--by all means, go for it. You only get married once, right?" says Rivers.

The June issue also features a Build A Perfect Wedding Guide with complete wedding planning assistance; steamy Wedding Night Confessions; and horrifying All-Time Worst Wedding Catastrophes. The June issue of GLAMOUR hits newsstands on May 11. The magazine has a readership of more than 12 million.

What if something goes wrong at the wedding?

It's the fear of every bride: What if something goes wrong at the wedding? It did for Jan Schaefer, but she learned that the wedding, like life, goes on.

Jan's tale of trouble started on the day of her marriage to Dick Schaefer, shortly before the ceremony. Her brother, Kevin, noticed a hole along the seam of his tuxedo. Grandmother came to the rescue - with white thread that was touched up with black marker. Still, Kevin, the usher, was not able to seat guests.

"The guests were coming into the bathroom, and I was standing there in my underwear," he recalls.

Meanwhile, Jan's parents, and the groom's parents, went to the front of the church to light the parents' candles in the unity set.

Everything was fine until the mothers lit the unity candle - intended to be lit by Jan and Dick during the ceremony - at exactly the same time. Dick says, "They laughed so hard, they couldn't blow it out."

While most of the guests probably missed the first two incidents, the third was a little hard to miss. Kevin, pants securely sewed together, couldn't get the white runner to unroll before Jan's walk down the aisle.

"I gave it a little tug, and it didn't go anywhere," Kevin chuckles. "I tugged a little harder, but it still didn't go anywhere. I pulled a little harder, and it pulled up all the tacks."

Kevin, tired of the follies, picked up the runner, tucked it under his arm, and took it out of the sanctuary. Jan, oblivious to most of what was happening, just wanted the wedding to begin. And, once it did, everything came off without a hitch.

Common mistakes when selecting wedding rings

Here are some common mistakes brides and grooms make when ordering wedding bands:

Not allowing enough time to order your ring

Since many wedding rings are custom made, many manufacturers require anywhere from four to six weeks to deliver your ring.

Inaccurate finger size

If you don't have an experienced jeweler size your finger, you risk ordering a wedding ring that is too small or too large. If you're ordering a wider ring, it's important that your finger be sized using a wide sizer. In a narrower ring, your finger should be sized using a narrow size.

Not understanding finishes and metals

Jewlers offer many different grades of metals for custom wedding rings: 14K Gold, 18K Gold, Titanium, Platinum and Palladium. Many of these metals offer greater durability and will last longer. Be sure that your jeweler explains to you the various methods of manufacturing wedding bands.

Matching engagement rings

Many engagement rings are designed to standalone. When you try to put a wedding band next to it...they just don't compliment each other. Many people will choose an elaborate wedding band to wear on their left hand after they are married and transfer their engagement ring to their right hand. .

Playboy asks: Is there oral sex after marriage?

The folks at Playboy wanted to know: Is there oral sex after marriage.

To get the answer, they sent a research team into the field-to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles-to do a confidential survey of married men and women between the ages of 25 and 45. They also conducted an online survey

Here's a sampling of the results:

• Half the husbands and wives have sex more than three times a week.
  
• 40 percent have oral sex three or more times a week.
  
• 25 percent report having oral sex maybe once a month.
  
• 14 percent of the men and 20 percent of the women reported never having oral sex.
  
  

Flowers should be simple but elegant

Just as wedding gown fashions have become increasingly elegant and simple, the bridal bouquets seem to be matching the trend.

A small, tighly knit bouquet compliments a simple a-line dresses, while a large cascade of roses is more fitting to a bride wearing tule.

For Karin Kissler, who's been designing bridal bouquets for more than 20 years, it helps to understand the tone of the wedding when selecting flowers. However, if the bride doesn't have a clear idea of what she wants, she tries to draw her out. "I can show her flowers that might go best with what she's wearing. The best flowers are available in March and April. Those are spring flowers, and not as expensive,'' she says.

This year, Kissler has been designing more round nosegays, with simple looks such as all roses instead of cascading flowers. She will tie them together with a satin ribbon, sometimes with exposed stems. "Often brides bring me sashes off the bridesmaids' dresses,'' she said.

In addition to the bridal bouquet, flowers need to be designed for the wedding party. "You need bride and attendants' (bouquets), boutineers for all the men who are doing anything, from ringbearers to grandfathers to ministers. You need corsages for the women, altar arrangements, pew bows and aisle runners,'' says Kissler.

Whatever flowers you plan for your wedding, plan ahead. This means at least one month in advance, and often brides will begin looking at books and gathering ideas three to four months ahead.

Flowers have to be ordered, special ribbons have to coordinate with dresses, and, according to Kissler, some weddings take her a full week to prepare for. "I'll order my flowers more than one week in advance. I'll start making my bows ahead,'' she said.

When choosing flowers for the altar arrangement, which can also be used at the reception, kissler suggests picking flowers that will show up in a photograph. "Any memory you have is in the photograph,'' she said. Another memory that can be preserved is the bride's bouquet. Kissler often makes a smaller bouquet for the bride to toss at the end of the reception, so that she can keep the main one.

Wedding day needs best foot forward

Some tips on shopping for bridal shoes:

Shop later in the day when your feet are at their largest. That way, you're more likely to pick the size you need.

Shoe design should complement gown design, perhaps decorated with the same details as the dress. One example is the Miranda, a shimmery crepe high-heel pump with beading and mesh inserts, part of the Apostrophe collection at Sears.

To break in your shoes, wear them around the house on carpeting several times before the wedding. And to prevent slipping on wedding day, lightly sandpaper the
shoe sole to abrade the smooth finish.