For the Fellas

Looking for name change advice or some tips for newlywed life? The MissNowMrs experts have created state-specific name change articles and checklists for you. We’ve chronicled our recommendations for how to travel while changing your name AND how to handle voting during the transition.

We’ve also compiled our best guidance for how to handle difficult sister in laws, holidays as newlyweds, the ever-annoying baby questions, and much more. Why? Because, while we are name change experts, we’re also newlywed wives, moms, and sisters.

We hope our name change advice articles help smooth your transition to your new name, and a whole new phase of life. Congratulations and best wishes from the entire MissNowMrs team!

9 Ways to Have a Happy Wife Starting Right Now

Want to ensure you have a happy wife? If you’re settling into you’re happily ever after role of Prince Charming (aka husband). While most princes have Disney to script all the right things to do. It might be a little daunting to realize that you now have a wife and that you play a huge role in her happiness. Here are nine simple ways to make your wife happy today.

Buy her a just-because card. A romantic or steamy card costs less than $3 and will brighten your wife’s whole day. She will also probably keep it forever!
Do a chore you know your wife hates doing without telling her. When she pulls into the driveway and sees the recycling bins already at the curb you’ll be a hero.
Pour her a bubble bath and light a few candles. There is simply nothing better than coming home to such a thoughtful and pampering gesture.
Surprise her with breakfast in bed. Worried about your cooking skills? Zip out for pastries and coffee before she wakes up .
Brag about what a great wife she is, in front of her. She may be a bit embarrassed at the time, but you’ll show her how happy you are to be her husband.
Keep a secret stash of your wife’s favorite candy. The next time she wishes for M&Ms, you can instantly grant her wish!
If you’re going out to eat with a buddy, bring something back for your wife. It could be her favorite appetizer or a mini dessert. You’ll get the green light to go out more often after this one!
Do something nice for her family. Send her mom flowers, rake their yard or help her brother with his car. Your acts of kindness will warm her heart and score you son-in-law points to boot.
Tell your wife something you love about her every day. They all don’t have to be romantic. You may love how well she balances the checkbook or loads the dishwasher…just tell her. These little compliments go a very long way to making your wife feel loved and appreciated.

As you start to follow a few of our suggestions, you’ll see how easy it is to make a woman smile. The thought behind the act is always appreciated and usually reciprocated. Remember, a happy wife equals a happy life! Ladies, if your husband has done something great for your lately we’d love to hear about it. Please leave us a comment!

3 Things You Can Do to Keep Your Guy Friends and A Happy Wife

Now that you’re married, how do you keep your guy friends? Guys always tend to have a posse of guy friends. After all, they are who you watch your favorite sports games with, sometimes they are who you work with, and overall, they are who you have a good time with. There are some times though, when your wife may not be particularly thrilled with some of your buddies. You may be lucky and everyone gets along beautifully. But then there may be a few moments when you realize things are becoming a bit tense between times when you hang out with the guys and when you are with your wife.

Seeking out the right balance between your friends and your true love can occasionally seem a bit tricky, but try following these three simple concepts:

1. Don’t let the guys talk you into anything you are uncomfortable with (or that you know your wife would seriously object to!).
Many women object to a man’s friends because of the things he does with them. From getting drunk to doing something ridiculous, your wife might worry that they are a bad influence on you. Their potential bad influence as well as your wife’s disapproval can lead to a knot of problems. Any time you go out with your friends, remember that you are an adult and will make adult decisions. Your friends should not be able to talk you into anything that you do not want to do. Likewise, if you know your wife has a serious problem with something in particular, you can make her a much happier woman by agreeing to stop that specific activity and stick to your promise.

2. Make sure to balance out time with the guys and time with her.
It isn’t hard to understand that men will need some time with other men. Just as your wife goes out with her girlfriends for a fun day of shopping or a spa treatment, she understands your need to hang out with the guys and relax. As long as you balance out time with your friends and time with your wife, everyone will be happy. If you spend each and every night with the guys and never spend any alone time with your wife, it won’t be any surprise that you come home to a very unhappy woman! She married you – she loves you, and she wants to be with you. When you show her that you can manage time with her and time with the guys, she will feel comfortable in your commitment to her.

3. Remind her that she is #1 in your heart.
When it comes down to the wire – the guys or your wife – let her know that she is your #1 choice. Sometimes it may be as simple as telling her you love her and you intend to be home by a specific time and then honor that promise. Or it may mean staying home on your anniversary when the guys have prime hockey tickets. Just remember, honoring your new wife will only result in good things for you. Trust us….it’s worth it!

Why Man Space Has Nothing to Do with Your Marriage

Have you heard of man space? We all have personal space (and need it) and when someone violates the unspoken rule of ‘not invading someone’s personal space’ we tend to feel strong emotions about it. We expect people to adhere to these unwritten rules because they go along with our perception of protection and safety in our environment, right?

While you and your spouse may not need to follow unspoken rules to feel protected or safe you still expect one another to respect your personal space. Women tend to be the interior decorators in the home and like to have everything just so (matching and coordinating EVERYTHING and worrying about how it all looks), causing some men to long for Man Space.

What is Man Space and why is it necessary, you ask? It’s a place where your man doesn’t need to worry about anyone else’s needs, but his own. He can mix and match old college furniture, his favorite childhood bean bag and have a huge TV with ugly speakers and not have to worry about what you think about it. He can play video games, watch the movies HE wants to watch, not clean-up after himself immediately upon finishing a snack or scratch his butt (if he wants to) without worrying about offending anyone!

Some of the most common places to create Man Space are a garage, a basement, or even a shed in the backyard. Believe it or not some couples are actually basing their home-buying decision on whether or not there’s enough room to create Man Space. They are even making some eye-popping changes to create the ideal man cave such as; sports themed rooms, putting in a bar and pool table as well as in-home theatre and surround-sound systems! So, you’re thinking “how does having Man Space for my husband help me,” right?!

Here are a couple reasons why allocating space specifically for your man is a great idea—for BOTH of you.

Keeps him at home not at the bar: You don’t really want him lounging around at the local bar all the time, do you? He can enjoy himself just as much with a beer in-hand in his new man cave!

Guys night at your house, rather than at that single friend’s house you’re not so sure you trust: Think about it…if your man has his own room where his buddies can come over and enjoy watching sports while downing a few brews they won’t be bugging your husband to go out on the town so often.

No arguments over what to watch on TV or him making a mess of the room you JUST cleaned: Lets face it, you like to watch Oprah, or Lifetime (what my husband refers to as “the man hater channel”) or What Not to Wear and he wants to watch Sports Center, Law & Order and the big game. You see how creating a space just for him will allow for each of you to enjoy some ME time indulging in your favorite guilty pleasures?!

He needs to catch up on work emails and you just want to exercise and listen to music: Cyndi Lauper was onto something with “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” If your husband has a room where he can handle his business and you can blare music and dance around the house without bothering him, isn’t it worth it?!

When you started reading this post you might have been thinking, “Why do men need a room solely for them?” What are you thinking now? We’d love for you to share your thoughts and stories on Man Space, and why it’s necessary for the both of you, so leave a comment below!

A Men’s Website For Wedding Planning and Beyond..

Isn’t it about time for a men’s website for wedding planning? Weddings are and forever will be identified as “the bride’s big day.” And why shouldn’t they be? Most women have been dreaming of putting on the white dress, walking down the aisle and having that first kiss since they were little girls. However, while we can’t say that men fantasize about the big day nearly as much, they do care. A lot.

Two years ago, two brothers and their soon-to-be brother in law asked themselves an important question: why isn’t there a comprehensive online wedding planning resource for guys? Surely there was a need for this type of resource as most men don’t know the first thing about wedding planning.

That idea ultimately became TheManRegistry.com
What can grooms (and brides) do at TheManRegistry.com?
1. Supplement their standard wedding registries with gifts from a groom registry complete with over 3,000 unique man-gifts.
2. Shop the web’s top groomsmen gifts shop for ideas on how to say “thanks” to the Best Man and groomsmen.
3. Research local wedding guides, how-to articles and read a groom blog with daily tips and ideas on how to get the most out of the wedding planning experience.

Even if you’re a newlywed, The Man Registry has something for you. You can create a gift registry for your birthday, Christmas or even Father’s Day. Or, if you’ve got a guy to shop for, The Man Registry has ideas on gifts for every type of guy.

What are your thoughts on a men’s website for wedding planning? Is it smart, necessary, or not so much? We’d love to hear from you in a comment.