Guest Blogger Profile: Jennifer Napier of OneWed.com

Hands up if you’ve ever heard a girl complain that “You never listen”?

Personally, I’m with you. I have a really hard time just listening to someone complain! But, I’m a gal, so over the years, I’ve learned the number one phrase to make a girl feel like you’ve listened to her.  I will share it with you now:

“Really, she said that? That sucks.”

Need proof? Check out these two possible conversations:

The WRONG way

Her: We can’t afford to have our invitations addressed by a calligrapher! I’m so pissed!

You: So, why don’t we just address the invitations ourselves?

Her: Didn’t you hear what I just said? I’m really upset about this. You never listen to me. Our invitations set the tone for the wedding and you want to scribble the addresses on them with crayons?

The RIGHT Way

Her: We can’t afford to have our invitations addressed by a calligrapher! I’m so pissed!

You: Really, calligraphy costs that much? That totally sucks. (pause) Hey, here’s an idea, what if we look into some other options? Maybe I could do that.

Her: I guess there might be a different way to do it. Hey, want a beer?

See with that one phrase you’ve repeated back what she said, now she feels listened to and validated, and you can go ahead and fix the problem. You both win.

Need help finding someone to address your invitations? Or advice on how to deal with your changing relationship? Come visit us at OneWed.

When planning a honeymoon, there are always many tempting options for your destination: The Caribbean, Italy, Mexico, a cruise, etc…

However, one St. Louis couple decided to do things a little differently. A Crestwood, MO couple wanted to spend their first few days as a married couple on a hiking trip (complete with LSD). As it turns out, the bride ended up having a seizure and the groom had to call for help. His story: she fell and hit her head.

Read the original story from the St. Louis Riverfront Times here: Newlyweds’  Honeymoon Trip (on LSD) Ends Badly

By Guest Blogger MyWedding.com

Feeling a little stressed from all the wedding planning?  Here are 10 simple solutions to help with that stress-level.

- Have glass of red wine: Just one…maybe two.  But, let’s try to keep it at that.

Gretchen suggests wine, but beer has been known to work as well.

- Jog it off: A brisk walk or jog will assist with blood circulation and breathing, which will literally help you with rising stress-levels.

- Read a book: Ok, well…check out a magazine then – a “man-mag.”  I know, I know…it’ll be hard to stay away from your favorite bridal publication, but, please – resist the temptation.  Or else this stress-reliever will fail.

- Go for a drive:  You don’t need to make it to an actual destination.  There’s just something so relaxing and exciting about heading somewhere but going nowhere.  (Just be sure to call the Fiancée, and assure her you’re not “leaving”…you’ll be back for dinner!)

- Call up an old friend:  From “Twittering” to “Status Updates” on Facebook to text messaging – cell phones aren’t even used for talking anymore.  I say, use up some of those daytime minutes to call up a friend.  Who knows, this may lead to actually hanging out again! This leads me too…

- Hang out with the buddies: Get together with some friends for some male bonding.  “Non-bachelor party” type events are preferable.  How about bowling, or fishing or golf – friendly competition is always healthy and fun.

- Send your Mother some flowers:  Surprising mom with flowers can easily brighten not only her day, but yours!

- Volunteer: Doing something nice for someone always helps take the focus off of ‘your worlds’ stresses.

- Take a nap:   If you can’t afford a 1 hour nap – sometimes, all it takes is a little shut-eye to get your enthusiasm level back up, and your jitters down.

- Ask the Fiancée out on a date:  Who says romance has to end when the wedding planning begins?  It most certainly does not.  Watch a movie, have a nice dinner – reconnect and revive the love.

We’ve seen some great wedding party entrances at the reception, but this video takes the cake for best intro at the church!

(thanks to @pschaefer for the link)

Dr. Taffy Wagner is back with a guest post on playing the game of Financial Football

Try thinking about your marital finances in football terms

Let’s have some fun today grooms. It’s time to take your upcoming marriage and think of it in football terms. I’m sure most of you have either played or watched at least one football game. I’ll give you the known factors and ask you to participate:

The field is your marriage. Whether you are days away or even months away, this is the field. You are moments away from finding out the specifics so that you know the lay of the land before you begin the game.

Teams are Brides and Grooms: the soon-to-be-husbands and wives. Initially it may look like you are on separate teams in the beginning until you say “I Do.” The idea is that you are on the path to uniting.

Object: To begin talking about money and continue throughout your marriage. Money talk is not just a one time discussion.

Rules:  A coin must be flipped to see who begins – bride or groom.

The coin toss winner gets to ask the first financial question. If the question is strictly a surface question – no points can be given.

How to begin the game:

If the question makes the person uncomfortable to ask because it is asking hard questions, the person who responds truthfully gets 3 points.

Next, the responder gets to ask his or her first financial question. If the question is avoided completely, then the person asking the question gets 7 points for asking and not changing the question. If the question is avoided, the person asking the question gets to ask a second question.

Ask the important questions about money and marriage

What are the questions:

Let me ask you this, what do you want to know about your future spouse’s finances that you have been afraid to ask. That can be a beginning place.

I recommend you and your bride-to-be get some refreshments and sit down, begin the Financial Football game, and let us know how it turns out.

How do you begin the game?  The bride and the groom are the captains of the team. Flip a coin and see who gets to start. What will be the first question you ask?

** Remember, any financial mistakes and decisions made before you say “I Do” you cannot hold against the person. You were not there and cannot place blame.