Issue date: 1/24/07 Section: Weddings

Bridal Showers:

1. Meet your girlfriends at a local spa or hot tub - bathing rituals are part of the pre-wedding events in many cultures.
2. Have a coed shower-bachelor party - see a show, go dancing, or even hit an adult entertainment club together.
3. Throw a henna party - In some Mediterranean cultures, the bride's hands and feet are elaborately decorated with natural dyes.
4. Have a coed themed cocktail party - Think martinis, sock hop, or fondue flashback.
5. Do something outdoors - get the girls together and go on a hike, or arrange a whitewater rafting or ski trip.

Change Your Name?

1. Hyphenate - Common way to combine last names.
2. Keep you name - Use you maiden name after marriage, as before.
3. Use your last name as your middle - Works well if you want to keep your maiden name professionally.
4. Blend the two names into one - In an innovative way.
5. Use your name professionally, your husband's socially - Makes some things simpler but others more confusing.
6. Husband takes your name - More common as women's professional lives mirror those of their partners.
7. Create a new name - One that has significance for you both or one that you just like.

Good Luck Charms:
Seven superstitions of good fortune on your wedding day:

1. Enter and leave the ceremony on your right foot for luck and happiness.
2. Keep your thumb on top of your groom's when you hold hands at the altar if you want to rule the roost.
3. Wear gold earrings for eternal bliss.
4. Feed a cat out of your wedding shoe.
5. Wear anything but pearls on your wedding; for each pearl, your husband will give you that man reasons for crying.
6. Sew a penny into the seam of your wedding dress for luck.
7. Don't whistle near the wedding dress - it will lure evil spirits.

Take a Picture:
Six tips to identify whether your photographer is a straight-shooter or a hack:

1. Personality - Sit down, have a cup of coffee and chat. See if you like him/her.
2. Style - Do the photographs in their portfolio fit with what you had in mind - casual, traditional, photojournalistic?
3. References - call other folks who have used them before for insight.
4. Familiarity - Have they ever been to your wedding site? Are they willing to scout it out?
5. Comprehension - Tell the photographer your idea, then see if they add their own.
6. Professionalism - Do they have a contract and clear fees? Compare prices and the quality of materials with those of other photographers. Study opt-out clauses in the contract, AKA the fine print.

The Wows of Vows:
Here are five tips on how to write your own vows to help you declare your love:

1. Talk it out - Discuss what marriage means and how you envision yourselves growing older together.
2. Something old - Research the time-honored traditions of your backgrounds.
3. Something borrowed - Select freely from your favorite poems, pop songs and romantic movies. Find them on the Web by typing in "vows" on search engines, or pick up a copy of "The Complete Book of Wedding Vows" by Diane Warner for ideas.
4. Pen to Paper - Sit down and write. Practice saying your vows aloud before the big day.
5. Short and Sweet - Select your words wisely. Keeping things simple often has the most impact.

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