If so, consider writing a guest blog post for Things Engraved!

Find a topic, write a guest blog post, email it to Alyshia, and if she chooses to publish your blog post, you will be awarded a $50 store gift-card that can be used in any of our store locations across Canada.  A great way to kick-start your gifting needs for your wedding.  You can use the gift-card on any of our gifts and/or engraving services.  Our favourite guest blogger will win a $100 store gift-card.

Get paid via a gift-card to share your ideas and advice with other brides!

What should I blog about?  Blog about anything wedding related. On what topic do you have advice to share?  You can see the topics I’ve already written about on our blog (http://blog.thingsengraved.ca/category/weddings/).  You can see a list of possible topics I’ve devised below. Share your wedding experience, give some advice from your wedding experiences or your wedding planning experiences.  Try to be creative and informative at the same time.

How long should my blog post be?  Blog posts shouldn’t be too long; 3-4 paragraphs should suffice. Feel free to read through other great blogs to check for great style and appropriate length.

Please note:  Only submit ORIGINAL content; material YOU have written.  We are not interested in you copying someone else’s blog or article. We’d like your blog submission to be your original ideas and words.

What about images for my blog post? Don’t worry about images (unless you want to). We can add stock images to boost the appeal when we publish your guest blog post.

What about “ownership” of my blog post?  You WILL be given full credit for your blog post. While we will post your blog post on our wedding blog, your name and email (or website) will be attached to your blog post.  We will ONLY publish blog posts from the winning entries. That means that if you submit a blog post and we don’t choose it, then we will not post it. Therefore, anyone whose blog post gets posted will receive a store gift-card of $50.

What can I win by writing a blog post?  Our one most favourite guest blog post will receive a $100 store gift-card. Our favourite submission will be chosen on May 15^th. The number of $50 gift-card entries will be determined based on how many awesome guest blog submissions we receive. The sky is the limit!   Please note that the gift-cards can only be used in our stores across Canada. You may submit a blog post if you’re from outside of Canada but gift-cards won’t work outside of Canada.

 
Questions? Ask Alyshia via facebook or email: social@thingsengraved.ca.

Ready?  Start writing your guest blog post today. Share your advice and ideas with other brides.  Submit your guest blog post between NOW and May 15th to Alyshia at social@thingsengraved.ca.

 ________________________________________________________________________

Guest Blogger Ideas
Here are some thoughts to get you started thinking about the type of topics you could write about for your guest blog submission.

Wedding Planning

How did you choose your wedding date?

Wedding shows – Do you attend? How many? 

How formal will your wedding be?

How many guests are attending your wedding?

How many people in your wedding party? How did you choose?

What tips do you have for wedding budgeting?

How soon in advance are you mailing your wedding invites to guests?

What about child-free weddings?  This can cause problems.  What do you think?

How do you use Pinterest for wedding planning? What advice can you share?

What to consider when planning a destination wedding.

Dos and Donts of wedding planning.

The Engagement

How did he propose?  Advice for men.

Did you have an engagement party? What format? Types of and advice on engagement parties.

Did you take engagement photos?  How did you choose your photographer? What did you learn in the process?

How far in advance did you reserve your ceremony and reception locations?  What things should one consider when choosing?

Weddings rings: simple or extravagant? Engraved with your names?  What options are there?

What’s the trend with bachelor and bachelorette parties these days?

Planning a rehearsal dinner?  Dos and dont.

Attire

How to find the perfect wedding dress.

Up-do? Curls? Straight?  What’s trendy in wedding hairdos?

What are your wedding attendants (bridesmaids/groomsmen) going to wear?  Advice on how to choose.

Vendors

Home-made wedding invitations.  How-to? Where to go for inspiration?  Money saved?

How to choose a photographer.

Ceremony extras – musicians and/or soloists at the ceremony?  Or poems read perhaps? 

What do (did) you love about your wedding photographer?  Which “wedding shot” are (were) you anticipating most? 

Ceremony

Who is walking you down the aisle?  How to make this sometimes-hard decision.

Writing your own wedding vows versus using the old stand-bys.  Share your inspiration.

Wedding transportation options.  How to travel.  Limo all the way or old vintage wheels?  What options are there?

Reception

Food at the wedding reception.  Options, decisions, advice.

All about wedding cakes.

Reception seating and table design (seating charts, place cards, etc.).

Who is going to be your wedding reception MC?  Is it the funniest person you know?

Have you begun to draft your speech yet?  What to include and exclude in a wedding speech.

Gifts

Using online gift registry for gifts. Which stores are your favourite for gift registries? How many different registries?

All about wedding favours.

Are you purchasing gifts for your parents and your partner’s parents?  Advice on how to make it personal.

Attendant gifts. Options and advice.

After the Wedding

“Trash the dress” …you gonna do it?

Honeymooning.

Arranging for cleaning and preservation of the wedding gown.

Saving/freezing the top tier of your wedding cake. It is the tradition….

Inspired?  Start writing your guest blog post today. Share your advice and ideas with other brides.  Submit your guest blog post between NOW and May 15th to Alyshia at social@thingsengraved.ca.

"pygg bank": sourced from all over the web

The Piggy Name

Did you know that the piggy bank got it’s name (so the internet tells us so) during the Middle Ages? It is believed that back in the day, dishes and pots were made of an economical clay called pygg. Whenever folks had extra coin, they dropped it into one of their jars made of pygg. Folks called this their “pygg bank” which evolved into the term “piggy bank.” Interesting right?

Giving a Piggy

If you’re superstitious, and you’re going to give a piggy bank as a gift, (or a wallet or purse for that matter), you should always put money in it when you give it (even just one penny) as it will bring good luck to the recipient.

Image sourced from Matt at "feis dad" blog which you can google

World’s Largest Piggy Bank?

This is the biggest piggy bank I could find in my web travels.  Looks like this cutey makes his way from state fair to state fair.  He is certainly parade-worthy!  I wonder how much coinage this piggy could hold?

Image sourced from momlogic.com

 Start Kids Early

The Globe and Mail suggests to “start your kids off with a piggy bank” to teach them the value of money.  Use the piggy bank as a “teachable moment” to teach your kids on an on-going basis about saving and spending money.

It doesn’t always have to be a PIGGY bank….

Now that we’ve got you thinking about piggy banks, we have some awesome money bank designs.  AND an exciting contest where you could WIN a piggy bank for a child in your life.  Prices start at $25 and all of our banks are engravable.  Have us write that special child’s name right onto his or her new ‘piggy’ bank.  Here are our some of our exciting designs:

Enter our “Win a Bank” contest on our Facebook page:  www.facebook.com/ThingsEngraved

Facebook Contest - Click to Enter Contest

Good luck & happy saving!

RockBoom Demo by Ryan

Also available in girly versions too!

ChicBoom Review by iJustine

Cool huh? We think so!
BUY online via this link.  Or find a location near you to find in-store!

Spending Valentine’s Day alone? Here are some ways to avoid the pitfalls from the pressures of this day.

* If you recently experienced a loss of a mate, take the time to grieve and remember this person. You don’t have to pretend it isn’t a hard day. Enjoy the support of others.

* Don’t define yourself by relationship status. Single or part of a couple, who you are with doesn’t illustrate who you are.

* Get together with people who love you, like friends and family members. Make plans to spend the day together.

* If you don’t like being single, use Valentine’s Day as a day to figure out your path to a relationship. Don’t be afraid to go out on dates. There are plenty of other single individuals out there looking for a match.

* If you are used to dining out, order in on Valentine’s Day to avoid the hordes of couples canoodling over dinner and champagne at area restaurants.

* Relish in the fact that you’ll be saving a lot of money. Prices on flowers, chocolates, gifts, dinners, etc. are generally marked up to capitalize on Valentine’s Day.

* If you have several single friends, consider hosting a Valentine’s Day party. Do themed drinks and snacks and enjoy the night together. If the idea sounds like too much work, get together and go to a fun restaurant that probably would be too loud and boisterous for intimate dining.  Cheers to the single life!

* Spend the day giving and sharing your talents with other people, perhaps by volunteering or spending time with seniors at a care facility.

* Make a list of all the people who continually make you smile. Call them up and resolve to get together at the earliest convenience.

* Treat yourself to something nice. If you’ve been eyeing that new tech toy or a pair of shoes, go out and splurge on yourself for Valentine’s Day.  Self love, baby!

Do you have other ideas for singletons? Share them with us below or on our Facebook page.

Image from wpic.ca

Are you:
Overwhelmed?  Stressed?
Confused?
Working full time?
Short engagement?
Way behind on your checklist and schedule?
Can’t even envision your wedding?

Then you may need to consider a wedding planner!

Oh but the expense!

A good point was made here; while you have to pay wedding planners to do the planning of your big event, which costs money, it could actually save you money because they’re experts with years (hopefully) of experience who probably work more quickly than the average bride/groom combo. They have contacts in the wedding industry that could actually save you money and it will certainly save you time.  So maybe hiring a wedding planner isn’t such a bad idea.

Certified Weddings Planners of Canada

Canada even has an association of wedding co-ordinators.  Did you know?  It seems people can take courses and become “certified” to plan your big day.  They even have a code of ethics and everything. Check them out at http://www.wpic.ca/ There is even a video from CTV here that goes into some detail about the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada.

Are you hiring a wedding planner? Why or why not? Tell us below or on our facebook page.

We asked you how you would engrave our pink optic heart:

And we got some awesome engraving ideas. Here are our favourite entries:

Which one should we pick as the winner? Leave your comment below!

Also, the pink optic heart is ON SALE (only $7.99!) until Valentine’s so swing on by a store and/or buy from our website and engrave it anyway YOU would like for YOUR Valentine!

Stay tuned to our facebook page for our next exciting contest.

Update! Congratulations to Kelly Gordon and Steve Lammers for winning! Your engraving ideas were both great and all the extra votes below didn’t hurt either. Way to go and we hope your Valentine loves their personalized gift!

Valentine’s Day is a popular day for marriage proposals; or so we think. After all, a day set aside to celebrate friendship and love seems the ideal moment for a couple to begin their new life together. However, individuals may be surprised that other holidays rival Valentine’s Day for a greater share of people popping the question, including Christmas and Thanksgiving.

There are over 140,000 marriages in Canada according to Stats Can.  But the Diamond Information Center says that only 10 percent of all marriage proposals will take place on Valentine’s Day. There may be a few reasons why couples choose a day other than February 14 to get engaged.

* Jewelry costs: Many retailers inflate the prices of merchandise in February because they know Valentine’s Day is a popular time to give gifts. Individuals looking to save money or get a good deal on an engagement ring could find February is a costly time to shop.

* Valentine’s Day stigma: There could be the conception that getting engaged on Valentine’s Day is cliche and some couples avoid the day for this very reason.

* Lack of surprise: Those looking to make a proposal a surprise could find that doing so on Valentine’s Day is expected and won’t pack the same surprise factor as another day of the year.

* Poor level of intimacy: Chances are a couple sharing a romantic dinner on Valentine’s Day will also be sharing it with hundreds of other couples in various restaurants around the neighborhood. If privacy and one-on-one time are desired for the proposal, Valentine’s Day may not be the best time to propose.

* Pressure: Valentine’s Day carries with it the pressure to be a perfect day for romance and love. Someone proposing could feel pushed into popping the question on this day simply because it’s Valentine’s Day, rather than ultimately being ready for marriage.

These are some ideas why so few proposals may occur on Valentine’s day.  Meanwhile, some may feel that Valentine’s day is the most romantic day and therefore, perfect for a wedding proposal!

Do you think marriage proposals are any less ‘special’ or ‘romanitc’ on Valentine’s day?  When is the best time of the year for a wedding proposal? Share with us on Facebook

We asked you how you would engrave this frame:

And we got some awesome engraving ideas.  Here are our favourite entries:

Which one should we pick as the winner?  Leave your comment below!

UPDATE!  Congratulations to Andrea Amy for winning this week’s contest. Here is her engraved frame:

The more DO IT actions you complete below the more chances you have to win! Random draw to be held on February 29, 2012. We will verify that you did the DO IT actions you said you did and then we will email you at your main Facebook email account. You will have 48 hours to reply or another winner will be chosen.

Good luck to everyone and happy wedding planning!

* This app requires you to log-in to Facebook, so please be prepared.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Here are some items ready to be engraved with your New Year’s resolution:

See your new year’s resolution every morning with your cuppa-joe!

Every time you look at the time you’ll be reminded of your resolution.

Trying to save money in 2012?

Be reminded about your spending every time you reach for cash.

Want to spend more time with family this year? This frame can act as a great reminder!

Engrave your new year’s resolution on a keychain – you’ll see it every day and be reminded of your goal. We have many many key chain designs to choose from.

Ever thought to engrave a whistle? If you resolve to do something sports-related in 2012 then this whistle could act as the reminder you need to keep to your sporty goal.

Engrave this glass cube to help you remember your new year’s goal. Makes a great paper weight or coffee-table conversation piece.

Want to play more golf in 2012? Engrave it as a fun way to remind OTHERS that you want to play more golf!

Embroider this teddy bear with your new year’s resolution. He’ll remind you of your goal every day.

We recently ran a contest on our Facebook page where we asked folks what new year’s resolution they would engrave on a clock and a keepsake box. We chose two winners to receive the gift, engraved.

Here were the winning gifts before we shipped them out to the winners:

We are currently running an “Engrave it & Win it” contest for Valentine’s gifts.
Click to enter the contest on Facebook.