It sounds a little odd, but it’s actually a neat idea. A company, such as WeddingShowerGifts.com can send you a ceramic guest book plattter. You choose the size and design. The heart shaped platter is for up to 50 guests and they have several other sizes and shapes up to the 18.5″ oval platter for 200 guests.

You will receive the handpainted personalized platter along with a ceramic marker. At the wedding, your guests sign the platter with the special marker like they normally would a guest book. After the event, you fire the platter in the oven for 30 minutes and it’s done!

At Weddingshowergifts.com, they also offer a signature photo quilt that can be a great alternative to a guest book as well. You can order a large 53″ x 60″ quilt that features a 16″ square with the wedding photo. Around the photo, there is enough room to fit up to 150 signatures.

These keepsakes are something unique that you will cherish for a lifetime!

The price for a quilt with one center photo is $159.99. The price of the platters starts at just $78.

Giftapolis offers a terrific collection of celebrity and carton memorabilia in functional gifts. These gift ideas are perfect for your bridesmaids who are movie or TV buffs. Here are some examples of what Giftapolis has to offer.

Marilyn Monroe Compact Mirror
This metal mirror has a wondeful photo of Marilyn on the front with the phrase, “I just want to be wonderful.” Inside you wil find a double mirror - one which magnifies five times, making it perfect for applying mascara, inserting contact lens and any of your other makeup needs.

I Love Lucy Throw
For the girl who loves “I Love Lucy,” Giftapolis offers a variety of blankets, pillows and throws to complement any decor. These items feature a scene from some of the favorite episodes of “I Love Lucy.”

Giftapolis even has fun gifts for your groomsmen or other people in your wedding party. Check out these Simpsons shot glasses - perfect for the Simpsons fan on your gift list. Each set of four glasses features favorite male Simpsons characters such as Homer, Moe, Krusty the Clown, and Barney. You can get a set of four glasses from under $20.

Visit Giftapolis.com to find a variety of fun gifts, including housewares, snowglobes, picture frames, key chains and much more.

Nonprofitshoppingmall.com is a fabulous website that allows consumers to shop online for all the things that they would normally buy (even from the brands they would normally choose). However, when making their purchases through Nonprofitshoppingmall.com (NPSM), a percentage of each purchase goes to charity.

It doesn’t cost you anything extra to use NPSM. You just log on to Nonprofitshoppingmall.com, choose a charity and start shopping. The retailers on the site determine their contribution level and it varies from retailer to retailer. So you have to read the site to find out the details for a specific retailer.

For example, if you use NPSM to buy wedding favors from Truly Wedding Favors, the contribution level is 7.5%. If you are shopping for wedding stationery, Wedding Paper Divas offers a 5% contribution level. And that’s just the beginning. You can shop for just about anything through Nonprofitshoppingmall.com - not just wedding stuff.

So, next time you are feeling guilty about wanting to go on a shopping spree - you don’t have to feel bad! Just visit NPSM and you can do good for others while shopping for yourself!

Canditto allows you to gather all the pictures taken by your guests on THEIR digital cameras during your wedding day. And you don’t even have to do any work!

Canditto is a kiosk that is set up at your wedding reception. During your event, your guest simply walk up, insert their memory card into the kiosk and all the photos which have been taken on that camera in the last eight hours are instantly download into the kiosk.

At the end of the night, you are given a CD that contains all the photos. It’s a great way to get tons of candid pictures from your wedding and reception from your guests’ perspective.

And what’s great about Canditto is that you don’t have to do any of the work. An employee of Canditto will deliver, set up and monitor the kiosk. Then before the end of the night, they’ll have the CD ready.

All you have to do is let your guests know to bring their digital cameras, and then remind them to use the kiosk at the event.

Canditto can also combine the best of your guests’ photographs onto custom USB cards. They’ll be ready by 8:00am the morning after your wedding. So you can give these portable thumb drives as a cool little gift to your guests at brunch the next day.

Currently Canditto is available throughout New England. To learn more about Canditto, visit their website at Canditto.com, where you can watch a video and get further information about this fabulous idea.

Using her photography skills, Stacy took many photographs of things that resemble letters. For example, a dripping icicle shapes an “E.”

Letter Your Legacy then puts together a series of the photos to create an abstract depiction of the couples last name (or really any word that you’d like). This gift is perfect for bridal showers and weddings, or even anniversaries and new births.

To match the decor or personal style of the recipient, you can choose from a selection of different frames and matte colors on the company website. When the piece arrives is ready to hang on your wall.

To learn more about Letter Your Legacy and view examples, visit letteryourlegacy.com, where you can also get an order form. You can email in the form or just call Letter Your Legacy at (405) 762-2125. The 4, 5, and 6 letter words are just $69 and 7,8, and 9 letter words are $79.

The wedding ceremony, which will held on Saturday, May 10, 2008 on the family ranch in Crawford, Texas was relatively private. About 200 friends and family members watched the couple say their vows in front of a simple limestone cross near a lake.

“Our little girl Jenna married a really good guy, Henry Hager. The wedding was spectacular, all we could have hoped for,” President Bush told reporters.

Jenna’s twin sister, Barbara, was the maid of honor and Henry’s brother Jack, was best man. Though Jenna’s dress was lovely, I didn’t like Barbara’s dress at all. What do you think?

If you liked Jenna’s gown, check out these other Oscar de la Renta dresses from Brides.com.

Photo credit: Shealah Craighead / White House

Additionally by signing up, you also get on their list for exclusive events, special offers and the Alfred Angelo email newsletter. Check out AlfredAngelo.com for more details.

I love Alfred Angelo bridesmaid gowns because your bridesmaids will be able to wear them long after your wedding day. These dresses can be worn to a work party, graduation dinner or a special date.

One of my favorites is the gown pictured here. This satin cocktail length dress is available in 55 fabulous colors in sizes 2 to 28. And this dress is priced nicely at under $150.

Check out the Alfred Angelo full collection of bridal gowns, bridesmaid dress, flower girl dresses and more.

Photo credit: Alfred Angelo

Instead of use paper invitations, you can create and send stylish wedding (or other event) invitations online. The system can be integrated with your email address book, SMS, social networks (Facebook), your personalized event web page and more.

You can track RSVPs, communicate with guests, organize your registry and simplify most tasks associated with your guest list and invitations.

Pingg’s basic email invitations and event management services are free. Or you can pay a little extra for customized invitation designs and other services.

In this day and age, when everyone is constantly on their computer, PDA, cell phone and other electronic devices, why not consider using online invitations?

When I first read about this, I thought it might be a little tacky … after all some old fashioned wedding traditions should be preserved even in the modern technology era.

However, after reading through the Pingg website at Pingg.com, I realized the benefits of using this type of service are abundant. Plus, Pingg offers a variety of beautiful invitation designs that are very elegant.

Check out Pingg and consider it before placing an order for tradtional paper invitations! Even if you decide against it for your wedding, Pingg may come in handy for birthday parties, anniversary celebrations and other events.

Depending on how many rooms you book for your wedding group, you can earn more and more perks. With the resort’s Friends & Family Wedding Package, wedding groups that book a minimum of 10 rooms for five nights or longer will receive a 10% savings off nightly room rates.

Wedding groups that book a minimum of 15 rooms for five nights or longer will receive the 10% discount plus a complimentary one hour “Welcome Rum Punch Reception” with hors d’oeuvres and a FREE five-night EP honeymoon stay for the couple featuring accommodations in an oceanview room, one “discover scuba diving” in-pool lesson per person, and complimentary use of non-motorized watersports (snorkel gear, paddle boats, sunfish sailboats, windsurfing equipment, kayaks and much more).

Couples who bring 20 rooms of friends and family members to Bolongo (five nights or longer) will receive the 10% discount, welcome reception, free EP honeymoon plus a FREE Barefoot on the Beach Wedding package (valued at $800) featuring the services of a wedding coordinator and clergyman; the ceremony on the beach; a bottle of champagne with two flute glasses; and Bolongo bride and groom T-shirts.

The Friends & Family Wedding Package is available for travel booked directly with the resort for travel from Aug. 1 – Oct. 31, 2008. You can’t book this deal with your travel agent or other source. Call the resort directly at 1-800-449-1577 or 340-775-1800 ext. 2530, or send an e-mail to weddings@bolongobay.com to learn more about this awesome package deal.

Remember U.S. citizens don’t need a passport to travel to St. Thomas or the other U.S. Virigin Islands (St.John and St.Croix). Bolongo Bay Beach Resort features 65 beachfront guest rooms curved around crescent-shaped, palm-lined Bolongo Bay. It’s certainly a beautiful location to spend your wedding and your honeymoon. Each of their rooms has a private balcony as well as many of the comforts of home including a mini-refrigerator, coffeemaker, ceiling fan, air-conditioning, cable television, hair dryer and much more.

If you are planning an exotic destination wedding at a beach resort, check out the collection of beach themed wedding favors available at Truly Wedding Favors. These wedding favors incorporate elements from the beach, such as seashells, starfish, palm trees, flip flops, sand and more.

Lesley Mattos, founder of Adesso Albums, offers these fabulous tips for budget savvy couples who are looking for ways to stretch the dollars.

1. Skip the five-course meal and just do appetizers and/or a dessert bar. Way more fun for your guests to mingle and get to know each other than getting stuck at a table for two hours with Uncle Henry! 

2. Forget the high-priced professional band! Contact your local college music department and give the musicians a chance to show off their talents. You can pay them with dinner and lots of applause!

3. Photography can easily take up a big chunk of the budget.  Have your guests help create your wedding album instantly with Polaroid instant photos accompanied by their handwritten sentiments in stylish instant photo guest books like those from Adesso Albums.

4. Grow your own flowers - It’s not as hard as it sounds! Plant simple flowers like tulips in terracotta pots, add moss and pretty silk ribbon and your creation can rival any professional florists.

To learn more about Adesso Albums, please visit their website at adessoalbums.com.