Hilton Hotel Room Giveaway!

If you are planning a Destination Wedding, this is the contest that you need to be jumping all over....and quickly! Thanks to Wedding Chicks Blog, they are have partnered with Hilton Hotels to give away $3,000.00 worth of hotel rooms anywhere in the US (including Hawaii!) This contest does not include anything else but the rooms (sorry, you have to pay for your own wet bar!) You can take as many people with you to your destination wedding and put them up in a very nice Hilton hotel. Check out Wedding Chicks Blog to get all the details. Good luck!

Make leis for your guests!

If you are having a DW in Hawaii, what better way to celebrate than to make your own leis! You can make them for your bridal party for the day of the wedding and for anyone else that might like one. Here is how to do it:

1. Gather the following items: Lei Needle or sewing needle (stainless steel), thread or fishing line, flowers

2. Choose your flowers (stringing method depends on flower type). The flowers used throughout the island include: Walahe'e Haole (Mock Orange), 'Awapuhi ke'oke'o (White Ginger), 'Ilima (Hibiscus), Kepalo (Bouganvilla), Kiele (Gardenia), Kupalo (Tuberose), Loke (Roses),Male (Stephanotis),'Ohai Ali'i (Poinciana), 'Okika (Orchid), Pikake (Arabian Jasmine) but the most famous is Melia (Plumeria).

3. Decide how you will string them. Depending on the flower, the methods are either straight in a single pattern through the center of each flower, or Circular/Double pattern through the stem of each flower. For this step by step, we will discuss the Plumeria flower lei with a single pattern.

4. Take your needle and thread the eye with thread or fishing line.

5. String each flower directly through the center of the flower. (You will need approximately 50 Plumeria blossoms for a single 40 inch lei.) These are somewhat idiot-proof flowers in that they have holes (tubes) right down the center...perfect for making leis!

6. When you have finished stringing all the flowers, tie off the thread/line and cut off any excess.

7. Add a ribbon if you wish! Now you are ready to present it to whomever you wish to honor.

Unique Guestbook for a Destination Wedding

Want a unique way to remember your guests at your wedding? Try this...purchase a map (like these from Vintage Maps) and place it on an easel for your guests to sign. Once you get home you can have the map framed so that you can always remember your guests and your destination wedding location!

Another idea is to gather smooth rocks from a sentimental location (such as your vacation spot at your favorite lake) and ask guests to sign them with paint-style oil markers or enamel-based metallic pens. Once home, place them in a glass cylinder to display.

What to do when in a tricky travel situation

Once again, Real Simple has great advice for travelers. Check out this article to learn how to handle and avoid bad travel situations.