How often have you received a gift that you didn’t need or want? That’s what I love about gift cards. Instead of getting (or giving) something that will end up in a drawer, closet or at a yard sale, you can choose something that you like.  And now you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your home to purchase gift cards Giftcardmall.com lets you choose from 80 retailers and ships the cards directly to the recipient.

Stumped on what to get your bridesmaids? Why not treat your bridesmaids to a Spafinder gift card (redeemable at 5,000 spas worldwide) or a gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond? Is your groom looking for the perfect gift for his best man?  Try an iTunes gift card or a gift card for Outback Steakhouse. You can even customize your gift cards with text to thank them for taking part.

Gift cards also make ideal wedding gifts – especially for those who are travelling from afar who don’t want the hassle of shipping gifts. To add a personal touch to the gift card, guests can add photos and text to wish the wedding couple all the best on their Big Day.

Want more info? Check out Giftcardmall.com

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

I bought Love Poems by Pablo Neruda.

And, I love it! It makes me happy.

I have named you queen.
There are taller ones than you. taller.
There are purer ones than you. purer.
There are lovelier than you. lovelier.

But you are the queen.

When you go through the streets
no one recognizes you.
No one sees your crystal gown, no one looks
at the carpet of red gold
that you tread as you pass.
the nonexistent carpet.

And when you appear
all the rivers sound
in my body, bells
shake the sky,
and a hymn fills the world.

Only you and I,
only you and I, my love,
listen to it.

What’s the hottest trend in weddings? Smaller guest lists.

Here are ten reasons to have a small wedding:

1. You get to celebrate one of the biggest days of your life surrounded by people who love you. Of the many couples I interviewed for Intimate Weddings
and for my blog, nearly everyone says this is one of the best things about having a small wedding.

2. You can feel more relaxed on your wedding day. Because you’ll be surrounded by friends and family, you’ll feel more at home with your guests. Your wedding will feel more like a celebration with close-knit friends and family, than a production.

3. You can save money. You can save thousands of dollars by having an intimate wedding, which means you won’t have to go over your Wedding Budget.

4. You can splurge. Some couples choose a small guest list not necessarily because their budgets are small, but because they can pull out all the stops and have a truly lavish wedding. You get more ‘wow’ for less wallet with a small wedding. When you’ve got fewer guests, you can splurge on the things that really matter to you. For some that might be an out-of-this world dinner, for others it might be a five-piece jazz band or a designer wedding gown.

5. You have more options when choosing a venue. Since you won’t need a large space to accommodate your guests, many small wedding venues will be open to you. A smaller guest list means more creative venue options like bed and breakfasts, museums, art galleries and restaurants. (Don’t forget to check out the IntimateWeddings.com venue finder which lists more than 1,300 venues throughout the U.S. and Canada that are ideal for small weddings.)

6. You have more freedom to customize your wedding to your own tastes. A small wedding gives you the opportunity to get your creative juices flowing and make your unique wedding a reflection of the two of you.

7. You get to spend time with your guests. How many weddings have made you feel like a stranger fulfilling a social obligation? Small weddings aren’t like that. When the guest list is small, the bride and groom can spend time with each of their guests, making them feel welcome.

8. You can make your guests feel at home. Because you will be able to spend at least some time with your guests, they will feel more at home at your wedding. Also, when the guest list is small, guests will have a better opportunity to mingle with most of the others. Chances are that many of your guests will know one another.

9. You can get your guests involved. A small wedding will give you the opportunity to get your loved ones involved in your special day. Also, it’s a lot easier pulling off a DIY wedding with a guest list under 75, than a big scale production.

10. You can have a wedding that people will remember. Because your wedding won’t be typical – the kind your guests have been to over and over again – your wedding is more likely to be remembered.

Photo: Red Fly Studio

By Carey, IW Bride Blogger

Recently, I worked on a little project for the wedding reception. I don’t know what I should reveal now, or wait to reveal after the wedding. I’m sure it isn’t that big of a deal at all, but I am excited to share a few of the projects we’ve been working on to make the day feel special. This is a sneak peek of the tags that will go on our napkins (which is another easy project I’m attempting) to complete the place settings at our reception tables. What do you think?

I purchased the stamp from Paper Source, and tags from the lovely online boutique Papier Valise. (I have the biggest crush on this boutique from Canada)!

I will post a picture of the finished project once I complete the napkins.

Felicia, 25 & Robert, 30

Singapore (The groom is from California. The couple met while traveling in Tibet.)

Wedding Date: July 4, 2009

Number of Guests: 40

Wedding Cost: $10,000 including rings, excluding honeymoon

Wedding Ceremony Location: Le Bistrot, a French bistro along Singapore’s Stadium Waterfront. We created an intimate space by using foot-high lanterns from Ikea, thereby creating a space for the ceremony. Due to the snug size of the restaurant, this was actually also space for our sweetheart table. Tables were quickly replaced after we were done.

Wedding Reception Location: As above. The 50-seat restaurant was closed for our use, as we met the minimum spending. Menu choices were discussed with the Maitre d’ and Chef prior to creation of invites, and all wines were paired & provided by the restaurant too.

Why did you have an intimate wedding?

We’ve been to, and shot (my husband is a photographer and I assisted him) large weddings where the atmosphere felt ‘diluted’ because of a lack of connection between the couple and their guests.  We had initially considered a 150-person guest list, but once we started making the list, we realized that, actually, only about 40 of our nearest & dearest really mattered. Besides, by having a smaller guest list, we could provide greater quality to our guests, and keep things really personal. e.g: we could spend over $100/head for really good French food, instead of skimping and going with a $20 buffet for a lot more people.

In lieu of typical favors, we wrote individual notes to our guests, since every single person present was there because they are a special part of our lives. It made us truly reflect on our friendships/kinships as we wrote them, and there were some joyful tears in the house after guests read their notes. The notes were rolled like scrolls, sealed with our monogram and topped with a mock ‘baggage tag’ with their name in fancy script. These also served as place cards.

Our invitations, which were travel-themed consisting a ‘passport’, ‘boarding pass’ and ‘inflight menu’, were fully customized. Every guest received a personalized ‘boarding pass’ listing our wedding details. And this being wholly DIY by the bride from scratch, would have been far too tedious for a larger guest list.

I’m glad the small guest list and personalized touches set the mood for an intimate, personal wedding, where it felt like we were sharing a deeply private, almost sacred moment with our closest friends & family.