wedding is a magical merging of the past and the future – a bridge between what’s gone before and what’s yet to come. The most memorable part of any wedding is sharing your most special moments with dear friends and family – people you love and people you’ll grow to love. Old friends and new beginnings – that’s what weddings are all about.

Tradition tells us brides should seek out Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue. There’s lots of Something New in this special Semi-Homemade® Wedding Issue – new ideas, new looks, new secrets to share and new things to try. Gorgeous Gowns will be your guide to getting more style for less, with off-the-rack dresses you embellish yourself. Breathtaking Bouquets shows off flowers too fetching to toss. Deck out your little darlings with storybook style in Fairytale Flower Girls, then get a head start on happily ever after with Heavenly Hair. Every Little Detail is full of designer details you can do yourself, and Wedding 911 offers fast fixes for wedding day dilemmas. Wonderful Wedding Cakes will have your whole guest list eating it up at the reception, then loving life with the 10 Best Wedding Theme Songs. (There’s even Something Blue for jazz lovers.)

Of course, the most special something of all is your mate. Finding the perfect person to share your life with is the key ingredient of any successful marriage. Here’s Something Borrowed from one of our Semi-Homemakers that I want to pass along. It’s a recipe to remember, whether your love is new... or old.

Preserving the Perfect Mate

Lovingly select the best variety. Garnish with patience, well sweetened by smiles and flavored with kisses. Wrap in a mantle of love, keep warm with a steady fire of devotion and serve with peaches and cream.

Semi-Copied by Joyce Berry, Sun City, CA

Cheers to a happy, healthy marriage!