The ezPalm Blog

The wearing of a man wedding ring is a relatively modern phenomenon. So is the use of Titanium in Titanium mens rings.

One of the newest and classiest of the modern jewelry materials, Titanium is setting a standard in the looks of contemporary mens wedding bands.

Despite this, mens titanium rings are reasonably hard to find in your local jewelry store. Unfortunately titanium hasn’t quite made it into the consciousness of your local jewelry merchant. So if you want to find the ultimate in contemporary male jewelry, including men’s titanium rings, you have to look further affield.

Enter the internet. There is a world of choice on the net for the
modern couple searching for the ideal contemporary design mens titanium wedding band.

But first, what is titanium?

Titanium is a naturally occurring element, not an alloy. In other words it isn’t just a mixture of two or more different metals to produce a third one, as alloys are. That is not to say that Titanium cannot be alloyed with other metals, just that Titanium itself is not an alloy.

It is in fact often alloyed with other metals for jewelry making to make it harder, although all Titanium including pure Titanium makes a fine jewelry material.

For the more chemically minded amongst us, Titanium is listed in the periodic table as a natural element, atomic number 22.

It was named in 1795 after the god Titan.

Titanium can even be found in space rocks. The Apollo 17 mission
brought back rocks with up to 12% Titanium in them.

Because of it’s natural properties Titanium has been primarily used in the aerospace industry, and only more recently applied to jewelry making.

But why is Titanium such a great material for making mens wedding
bands? A number of reasons.

Firstly it is very hard, much harder than traditional ring materials such as gold and silver. It is extremely lightweight, corrosion resistant and very strong. It is so strong in fact that rings are fashioned out of a solid block of metal, so make sure that you get your size right as resizing is usually not an option.

It is hypoallergenic, meaning that it cannot produce skin reactions or allergies as can be found with some other ring materials, though rare.

But the real reason is that it looks great! Titanium can be shaped into a wide variety of styles. It can also be colored into a stunning range of colors which can be mixed and matched.

For this reason the range of choices in mens Titanium wedding bands is much greater than for a more traditional material such as gold for example. Although gold can be altered to offer a small range of different colours, it is basically gold colored. Titanium offers a much wider range of choices in color.

Titanium also offers a choice of finish, most commonly satin, matt or polished.

Black Titanium mens wedding rings are amongst the most eye catching of all the Titanium rings. Black Titanium rings are usually a mix of black Titanium coupled with another color as an all black ring can be overpowering. But a contemporary style mens black Titanium ring is almost the ultimate in chic for the man who wants to make a statement.

Mens Titanium rings can be coupled with a wide range of precious
gemstones, including diamonds, to add effect. And as Titanium is so strong it is also possible to buy tension set titanium rings.

What are these? Well the strength of the material is used to suspend a gemstone, say a diamond, between the two ends of the ring so that the gemstone is almost hanging in space in the ring. A totally modern look.

The strength of the Titanium keeps it there.

And for the more creatively minded amongst us it is possible to design your own mens Titanium ring. There are online jewellers who offer the option of making up a design for your Titanium ring that is unique only to you. You decide exactly what style, color or mix of colors you want.

Want to add a gemstone? Or more than one? Where do you want to put it in the ring? It’s all up to you.

There is no doubt that the older traditional materials used for making rings make beautiful rings. Gold or silver rings are still high on the list of choices for many men, and modern ring designs in these materials are also impressive.

But the modern man who has decided to wear his marital status on
his finger shouldn’t buy a ring before he looks at the range of
Titanium mens wedding rings.

The only difficulty is making up your mind which one!

Find out more about Titanium Mens Rings as well as many other types of Men’s Wedding Rings
including Platinum, Gold, Silver, Diamond, unique and custom made and inexpensive Mens Wedding Rings.
© 2005 Peter Crump.

Of all the things you need to do, buy and organize in preparation for your wedding, wedding stationery is something that must be planned ahead. After all, you need to let your guests know well in advance of your forthcoming big day. Your wedding invitation and accessories set the tone for your special day firmly establishing your style and taste. It is the first official message about your wedding that a guest will receive from you, so make it special. If wedding etiquette is important to you, then make a start with your wedding stationery.

The Use of the Internet

The Internet has opened up new avenues for anyone planning a wedding. All your research can literally be done online and this also applies to finding your stationery items. There are hundreds of online stationery and wedding related websites that display all types of wedding invitations and accessories for you to choose from. Today many brides do their wedding research online as you can become quickly informed of the latest trends and new products available. You can either buy your wedding stationery directly over the Internet, or collect ideas and samples and take these to your local stationery store to implement. Most online stores actually send you a sample in the post to let you look and feel the stationery items before you purchase them.

Custom Stationery

Every bride wants her wedding to be as unique as can be. A good place to start is with custom wedding stationery. The great advantage with custom stationery is that you can enter your own wording, select the typeface, text size and color. No matter what theme you have set for your wedding, you will surely be able to customize your stationery to compliment the tone. Wedding invitations and accessories can be bought in various styles such as classic, contemporary, floral, embossed, layered and religious.

On a Budget?

If you’re on a budget and looking for cheaper wedding stationery items, then you might like to consider print-at-home wedding invitations. Save money and impress your guests when you personalize and print your wedding invitations at home using free online services that are available from some major online stationery stores. You pay for the paper and envelopes and then use their software to print directly from your own PC. With sophisticated customization tools, you’ll be able to enter your text, tweak it, preview it, and print it. No mistakes, no hassles, no wasted cards - and its cheap!

Choose a Theme

The theme of your stationery should coincide with the overall theme of your wedding. For example, if you are having a garden wedding then you may choose to have a floral print on your stationery items. There are many accessory items available to help you tie your stationery in with the theme of your wedding. For example, ribbons, hearts, rings, white doves etc.. The same applies to the color of your invitations. This is normally decided upon by the color of your bridesmaids dresses.

Stationery Items

You would be surprised at how many wedding stationery items there are. While your wedding invitation is the most prominent item of stationery, you can find complimentary stationery accessories to match your wedding invitations:-

• Wedding Invitations

• Wedding Programs

• Announcements

• Engagement Announcements & Invitations

• Save-the-Date Cards

• Rehearsal Dinner Invitations

• Bridal Shower Invitations

• Wedding Accessories (menu cards, thank you notes etc..)

Plan Head

Your wedding invitation is the first official message about your wedding and your guests need to know about their invite in plenty of time. Here is a checklist to help you plan ahead and be organised:-

• Double-check that the wording in your invitation is correct. Ask a friend or family member to also look through the invitation for you;

• Order your invitations as soon as your date, time and place have been confirmed. Three to six months before the ceremony is what most expert planners suggest;

• To calculate the number of invitations to order remember to count one invitation per single guest, couple and family;

• After calculating the number of invitations add approximately 25 invitations to your order: 10-12 more for keepsakes, plus extras for the last-minute guests. Also, depending on how large your order is, add 25 to 50 additional envelopes in case of mistakes in addressing;

• Most established wedding planners agree that you should plan to mail your invitations six weeks before the wedding. This gives the quest plenty of time to respond;

• Make sure you have one completely assembled invitation weighed at the post office to determine the correct postage.

Wedding invitations set the tone for your wedding and tell your guests what type of style and theme you have chosen for your wedding.

Summary

Don’t underestimate the important of your wedding stationery. It sets the tone and style of your wedding and portrays the image you want to set. Wedding stationery should tie in with the overall theme of your wedding. Invitations and announcements can be bought on a budget by using specialty software to print from your PC.

About The Author

Claire Bowes is a freelance write and owner of http://www.1st-for-greeting-cards.com where you will find further tips and advice on invitation cards ( http://www.1st-for-greeting-cards.com/invitation-cards.html) and personalized stationery ( http://www.1st-for-greeting-cards.com/personalized-stationery.html).

Feeling like you are not heard or misunderstood is one of the fastest paths to loneliness. When we don’t believe that another person really knows or understands our heart we can get lost in a crowd, feeling all alone. Many men who struggle to connect with their wives will know exactly what I am talking about; this may be his daily experience. Tragically, it is also likely that he may feel alone and misunderstood in his marriage. As a man in recovery learns how to communicate his heart to his wife, it is extremely important that you first listen to hers. This will begin to strengthen the connection between you and hopefully soften each others’ hearts. To go bounding in, expecting her to just listen to you, while you have not listened to her, may become a set-up to recreate the wound that makes you feel so alone and insignificant.

This is not an article about communication tools or how to communicate (read those too). My primary focus is to encourage you to understand and connect with your wife’s heart and not just what she intends to communicate; her heart is deeper than that. That is not to say that communication in and of itself cannot be intimate, but you can at times connect at the heart without needing the rules of healthy communication, or even a word.

Likely there are times that your wife will repeat herself. This is both an opportunity and a signal. If your wife is repeating herself, most likely she is signaling that she is not feeling “heard” or connected to you. This can be an opportunity once you recognize the signal because now you know you have probably missed it. You can clarify her intended message but her heart needs to be “held.” You may do this simply by holding her. An empathetic word or touch can go a long way. Of course there may be times when a hug is not appropriate. If she doesn’t want you to touch her, maybe she is angry with you, make extra efforts to empathize with her by listening respectfully. The expression on your face may say to her if you care or not.

Another way to “hear” your wife’s heart is to watch for it. When you first started dating, you may have made an effort to notice things she likes and dislikes. Do this again but in deeper ways. Get to know more fully what makes her happy, sad, what her dreams are, etc. When you know these things, never stop looking for them and use them to exhort and encourage her.

When she is upset after a phone call from her parents - “I know how devastating it is for you when your dad disregards you feelings. Do you want to talk about it?”

When she is screaming at you - “If I hadn’t had my mind so focused on work, I would have remembered how important it is for you that I remember the anniversary of your father’s death; I know it makes you feel important to me.”

When she won’t say a word to you - “I know when you won’t talk to me you are usually hurt. I would love to talk about it when you are ready.”

Don’t always wait for the difficult moments to engage her, engage her in the easy ones. It may seem too simple to start dating her again, but it isn’t. First, it will be difficult to date her again consistently. Second, it may not be complex, but it got you a wife the first time. Just like you hopefully do with your kids, look for connecting moments to share. Just as Mary Magdalene poured her precious perfumes over Jesus’ feet, treat her extravagantly. Extravagance is not about money, although some of you who may be scrooges will have to loosen up a bit; it is about time, affection, and serving. As you get moving, she will be on your mind more and it will be easier and more rewarding to continue. You will remember what you once knew about her and learn what you never knew.

When you rebuild the connection between your hearts, it takes time for her to be able to trust it. Many men will come to realize they never “heard” their wives before. Take heart, things may be rough in your marriage right now, but to know and connect with your wife in deeper ways than you have ever known - the best years may be yet ahead of you.

Copyright 2004 Bob Parkins, LMFT - All rights reserved

Bob Parkins is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Fair Oaks, CA. He specializes in helping couples rebuild their marriage after an affair and leads weekly men’s groups for sexual addiction. Please visit Bob’s website at http://www.bobparkinslmft.com/

Remember when you were young, free and looked for ways to have
fun with your friends and spouse? Over the years, we often find
it difficult to stay young at heart when life overwhelms us with
responsibility, stress and even consuming worries about
financial or employment concerns. We no longer look for the fun
in anything. In fact, sometimes others attempting to have fun
can irritate us even further! Well, it needs to stop right now.
You’re being far too grown up and sucking the fun right out of
your life and your spouse’s life as well. It’s time to
re-connect with your inner child and extend the offer to find
fun again to your spouse.

Think back to when you and your spouse were dating and try to
remember the most fun you two had together. Start remembering
together by doing it all over again right now! Take this idea a
step further by trying to remember the most fun you’ve ever had
while your clothes were on and, of course, then try to remember
the most fun you’ve ever had while your clothes were off! Do
them both again! And do them again if you want to!

When you live with someone and you want to have fun with them,
it is essential that you pay attention to what they like and
what they don’t like. If you are the only one having fun because
you’ve stepped on his or her toes or feelings, there really
isn’t any fun being had. For example, we all have certain things
that make us angry or what some call “hot topics”. Learn what
your spouse’s hot topics are and try not to bring them up. You
as well as your spouse also have certain actions that irritate
you or “pet peeves”. Again, learn them and try avoiding them!

Your spouse also has a number of things from which they derive
pleasure. Your spouse, no matter how composed he or she may be,
has areas of emotional vulnerability. Learn what they are and
indulge those areas. Also, pay attention to what turns your
partner on and rehearse, practice, rehearse, practice and so on!
It is also important to know what your spouse considers to be a
‘turn off’ so that you can avoid doing so. If you do something
that turns your partner off, it could undo all of the ‘turning
on’ you’ve been working so hard at.

Keep in mind that there are endless ways that you can express
love to your spouse and when you add fun into the mix, it can
become a lasting memory. Always accept your partner’s reactions
and responses as honest expressions of their love even though it
might not be what you had hoped for or anticipated.

This is part of accepting your partner for who he or she is and
learning to see past your own disappointment or insecurities. If
you have difficulty with the way you are viewing his or her
attempt at romance, you might simply begin a conversation about
his or her needs while contributing your own thoughts and
feelings. If you work with your partner instead of conflicting
with him or her, you will both be much happier and your romance
with grow much quicker.