Celebration!  Celebration of freedoms, patriotism, family, picnics, BBQ’s, history, traditions and making memories… I’m quickly becoming convinced that a July 4th wedding would be one of the easiest wedding celebrations to plan.  Of course, it certainly helps if the holiday falls on a weekend.

Flag photo collage…so interesting.

Etsy… Remind your guests what the holiday is all about with these fantastic vintage cupcake picks.  I love ‘em!

Another great Etsy find…

I love the vintage feel of the tea-stained flags and old spice jars, filled with mother of pearl buttons.  What great centerpieces these would make.

I am mostly an introvert~  I love, love my alone time.  My extrovert friends mostly dislike spending time alone; they are usually found in the company of others~ ugh, just thinking about that exhausts me.  We are all different and that is a very good thing; we should be celebrating our God-given temperaments.  (Btw, author Sara, of the blog On Simplicity (great ideas on simple,abundant living) delineates introversion, shyness and extroversion.  It’s a good read, I hope you’ll check it out.)

Shyness.  I refuse to believe it is God-given yet, this insidious beast sometimes creeps into my life, and probably yours too.  Shyness has its roots in fear~ fear of social situations and the like.  Maybe you find yourself (like me) in both the introverted and extroverted camps while sometimes dipping your toes into the “shy” camp… At the end of the day, fear limits our potential in every area of our lives and no good comes from that.

Don’t let shyness overshadow your big day.   Even if you’ve just stumbled upon this blog today and your wedding is tomorrow, you can immediately start using these:

Easy, Practical Tips to Managing Shyness on and before Your Wedding Day

1. Smile! It’s amazing how infectious a smile is and how quickly it helps to bridge the gap between people.  This is one of the most wonderful days of your life, let it show.
2. Give Hugs! The people at your wedding love and care about you.  Love on them back!
3. Stop thinking so much about yourself and your feelings.
4. Seek to make others feel comfortable.
   1. Ask them questions. How was your flight in?  How is great Uncle John?  What are you growing in your garden this year?  Anticipate questions to ask of your guests.
   2. Give genuine complements. I love your hair…(of course, only if you really do love their hair).
5. Envision your wedding day. Imagine yourself relaxed, comfortable and absolutely joyful.
6. Use only positive self-talk. This is a big one!  Start right now and do away with negative (good for nothing) self-talk.  YOU CAN DO IT!
7. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Do something today that you would have been afraid to do yesterday.  Do it again tomorrow. YOU CAN DO IT!
8. Use relaxtion techniques: take deep breaths, exercise, etc.
9. Talk about your fears with a good friend.
10. Practice 1-9.

Enjoy this video of Martina McBride.  This song is one of my all-time favorite songs because I couldn’t agree more that… “the sweetest thing that you’ll ever see, in the whole-wide world, is a happy girl!”

Happy Friday (go ahead~ crank it up!)

photo courtesy:  buntalshoot

This week’s winner is Brandi from NC.  Who doesn’t love a fabulous proposal story? Well, here is Brandi and Kirby’s fabulous proposal story… Enjoy!

Kirby and I went to disney world right before Christmas for vacation. While we were waiting to watch the show with Cinderella they made an announcement that Cinderella would not be able to make it for the show and someone out of the audiance would have to fill in. Then they called my name to come up on the stage. Being the big kid at heart that I am I was extremely excited. They dressed me up and sent me out on stage for a smaller production where I really had a small part, but still it was so much fun. At the end of the show prince charming was supposed to come and find me to fit me with my glass slipper. When he came out it was my fiancé dressed like prince charming. As he got down on one knee in front of everyone I noticed the ring box inside the glass slipper. I (He) said a really sweet speech about how much he loves me and how I am his princess and then asked me to marry him right there in front of everyone. I was so shocked that for once in my life I was speechless. It was the perfect proposal and I had my fairytail ending to one chapter in our life and wonderful beginning to the next. I just love him soooo much!

Purportedly, someone thought they may have overheard the model say… OMG, is that a rain cloud?  Hurry up, take take the photo, c’mon!  (jk)  Seriously, don’t hate her because she looks beautiful wearing toilet paper!

Photo courtesy: cheapchicweddings.com

It is so easy to send, share and print photos nowadays.  Anybody can do it but is everybody doing it well or without hassle?  If you’re uploading digital photographs over the internet, you want to be aware of a few, time-saving tips for a hassle-free, successful endeavor.

First off, before you send/upload your photo to a website, read the company’s FAQ section on sending/uploading photographs.  No one likes to read directions but in the end, it will save you the precious commodities of time and energy.

Generic Digital Camera Tips and Sending Digital Files over the Internet:

1. Make sure your digital camera is set to the highest resolution setting possible (probably found in “Menu” of your camera and then under picture quality).  Your camera should be at least 3 megapixels.
2. Photos should be high resolution~ at least 300 dpi dots per inch at the size needed to be printed. For instance, a 600 x 800 pixel image at 300 dpi will end up printing a 2.5″ photo.  Do not manually re-size your photo (this will only make your photo blurry).
3. Photo should be large: MB not KB
4. Send your photo file as a .tiff or a .jpg
5. Photos taken from the web are typically not acceptable as the resolution is too low for printing.

Note: Because the files are large, be patient when sending them online.  If possible, use a high speed internet connection.

Scanning Tips:

1. Make sure your scanner is clean and dust free.
2. Set scanner to the highest resolution setting possible, 300 dpi or larger.
3. Do not re-size the image to make it larger.
4. Glossy or smooth images scan the best.

Mailing in photos:

1. Send a nice, clean photo without rips, tears, smudges
2. If you want your photo back, put your name and self-addressed stamp on the back of the photo.  Use a felt-tip marker as pens will leave marks/indentations on the front.

Source: MagnetStreet