A good wedding host makes her guests feel welcome, gives them a great meal and provides excellent entertainment. A great host goes the extra mile to really make her guests feel pampered. Do a few of the following things for your guests and they’ll really be wowed. After all, many will be traveling miles and miles to celebrate with you. Doesn’t that deserve a little extra something?

Host of TV cooking show, Cooking with Marie, Marie Hejl kicks it up a notch with a salmon recipe perfect for a romantic dinner!

Marie Hejl, host of TV cooking show, Cooking with Marie,  shares a heart-healthy salad recipe from her book, Cooking with Marie: On Any Occasion!. 

A bridal luncheon, also often called a “bridesmaids’ luncheon” or “bridal tea” is a party thrown in honor of the bridesmaids. The bride hosts the meal as a way of saying “thank you” to all her ’maids. She often uses the event as an opportunity to present them each with a thank-you gift as well. Though the luncheon is all about giving thanks, they also give all the bridesmaids – particularly those who may live out of town or not know each other very well – the opportunity to get to know each other better before the big day.

Some examples of wording the rehearsal dinner invitation.

The evening before your big day, you’ll need to gather all your wedding party members and the officiant to go over the specifics of the ceremony. After your rehearsal, you’ll treat everyone to a celebratory dinner. The reason the rehearsal dinner is thrown to thank your bridesmaids and groomsmen for everything they’ve done for you during the wedding planning period. And they deserve the thanks!

Everything you need to know about engagement parties: what it is, how they've changed, who hosts, who's invited, when and where it takes place, what to serve, what to expect, and how to personalize.

Forget the drunken night out with male strippers and pieces of candy glued to your tank top (who thought that one up?!). Today’s bachelorette party is far less about debauchery and more about decadence. It’s a classy, often indulgent, stylish and sometimes spa-centric gathering of your favorite ladies. Mom can attend, as can the flowergirls, and your FMIL will be far more impressed with you when your bachelorette soiree isn’t something out of ‘Girls Gone Wild.’ We’ve collected the top new bachelorette party ideas for you to consider, and to show to your bridal party as guidance for what you really want.

It’s become a favorite of brides and grooms to have their ‘last hurrah’ together as a unified group, with the men and the women together, sharing a fun night out or weekend away doing something far more enjoyable than the outdated separate drinking bashes. With a mixed group, the camaraderie is all enjoyment, perhaps your bridesmaids and groomsmen can socialize outside of the busy wedding weekend time, and your extended family can join you with no embarrassment factor. When else will you be able to get this exact group of your inner circle together for an all-fun extravaganza? We’ve collected the top new trends in co-ed parties for your consideration.