New Year's Eve Weddings

Will you be married when the ball drops? Many couples want to begin the new year as man and wife. We celebrate you! Here is some history of the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball, for un-Wedding and New Year related reading! Revelers began celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but it was in 1907 that the New Year's Eve Ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square. The first New Year's Eve Ball, made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. It was built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the ball. As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled "lobster palaces" and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers "1908" fashioned of tiny light bulbs. At the stroke of midnight, they all "flipped their lids" and the year on their foreheads lit up in conjunction with the numbers "1908" on the parapet of the Times Tower lighting up to signal the arrival of the new year. The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime "dimout" of lights in New York City. Nevertheless, the crowds still gathered in Times Square in those years and greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked at the base of the tower - a harkening-back to the earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would gather to "ring out the old, ring in the new." In 1920, a 400 pound ball made entirely of wrought iron replaced the original. In 1955, the iron ball was replaced with an aluminum ball weighing a mere 200 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball into an apple for the "I Love New York" marketing campaign from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional glowing white Ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum ball was lowered for the last time in 1998. For Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year's Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal. The new crystal Ball combined the latest in technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millennium.

Christmas Weddings

Happy Holidays to all, with many loving and peaceful thoughts from our Wedding Guide family, to your family! Remember this Holiday season, always try to, "Count Your Blessings!

Avoiding Stress

This is an article for Brides that are stressing over their Wedding plans. It is also a good time of the year to get rid of Christmas stress. Enjoy the Holidays with your family. Unfortunately, they won't always be here with you. Avoiding Stress As anyone who has ever planned a wedding can tell you, the months leading up to your big day can be a time of stress as well as happiness. There’s so much to think about and do, and all this while you are having the inevitable bridal jitters. Fortunately, there are ways to control our anxiety. Below are a few common sense suggestions: Communicate Your Feelings Be open and honest if you’re feeling upset. Tell your fiancé or family what is bothering you. Don’t try to keep stressful feelings to yourself as they may transfer to something or someone else. Take positive action whenever possible - worrying never solved a problem. Share Responsibilities Do not assume you have to do everything yourself. This idea is outdated and exhausting. Ask your fiancé to go over the checklists in this book and handle as many of the planning functions as possible. Pace Yourself In the beginning stages of planning your wedding, you have several major decisions to make. Do not try to tackle them all at once. Plan to accomplish one major job a day. Have A System It will give you the secure feeling that you are not forgetting something crucial. Try to break down each task into organized steps. Then decide how long each step should take and who will do it. Set a completion date for each step and stay on schedule. Take Care Of Your Health Eat right and be sure to get enough rest and exercise. Take advantage of time-tested soothers at night, such as a hot bath, warm milk or a back rub.