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Valentine’s Day is just over a week away and shops are filled to the brim with romantic gifts and trinkets. Instead of buying a gift for the special person in your life, why not make something for them? It’s far more personal and memorable than the usual bouquet of red roses or box of chocolates. Brides.com has nine lovely ideas for handmade Valentine’s gifts, from personalised cards to cute fondant cupcakes. Each tutorial can conveniently be downloaded in PDF format, making it so easy for you to get crafty and show off your creative flair! Images courtesy of Brides.com

When couples draw up their guest lists, the question often arises as to whether children should be included. For some couples it’s not even an issue; they can’t imagine them not being part of the experience. But although children are adorable, they can be unpredictable! That’s why other couples prefer to keep the guest list limited to adults, either because they don’t want to risk the sounds of a tantrum during the ceremony or because their wedding is going to continue into the early hours of the morning. If you don’t want to have children at your wedding, simply state it on your...

These days, with divorced parents, invitations have gotten complicated! Below are some suitable wedding invitation wording. Keep in mind that this is the formal traditional language. Modern couples may choose to add opening statements such as “With Joy in Their Hearts,” or may choose to change the traditional “request the honor of your presence at the marriage” to something like “invite you to be a special part of the wedding of” or even “Come laugh, dance, dine, and celebrate our wedding”. Brides parents are divorced:eitherIssued by the parent who raised herMs....

Today most couples send out a save-the-date about six to eight months before their wedding, officially announcing their big day and making sure that the date is in everyone’s calendar. It’s also a great way to allow guests to start planning their travel arrangements early, if necessary. Save-the-dates don’t usually have much information, just the date, venue and perhaps an RSVP request. More and more couples are sending electronic save-the-dates, which is not only convenient but also cuts costs. Whichever way you decide to send a save-the-date, make sure it looks good – it is, after...

Most South Africans have been talking about President Zuma’s marriage to his third wife on Monday, and what a celebration it was! A host of celebrities and politicians attended the traditional wedding which was held at his rural home in Nkandla. Due to tight security there aren’t many details about the event itself, but a grand marquee was erected and guests enjoyed a large feast. To top it off, Awuleth’ umshini wami was played several times. For more about the big day, visit News24.

I’m loving these amazing flower pins from Linda & Harriett, first spotted over on Amy Atlas’s blog. Each pin is made to order and is constructed by hand from letterpress misprints. What a great way to recycle, and what a pretty result! The pins could be used in so many ways — as pins on clothing, pinned onto front of the tablecloth at the wedding party table at a wedding, as gift wrap embellishments or closures for gift bags, shower favors, garlands, and the list goes on and on.

Everyone knows that weddings can be stressful, which is why bridal couples turn to planners like us to make sure that everything is perfectly in place for their big day. But from family politics to pre-wedding nerves, some brides experience emotional anxiety leading up to the wedding. That’s why an innovative service called Belle offers emotional support for brides-to-be, during the engagement, for the wedding day and the first year of marriage. Visit the Belle website to find out more about this unique service.