One of the many tasks involved with organising your wedding is setting up the gift registry.

In the Olden Days, you’d just troop off to your local department store where you’d set off to create a new world record in knowledge about dinner sets, thread counts and silverware patterns as you selected your bounty for your future home.

Now of course you can set it up online and save yourself many, many hours traipsing about with a price-checker (sorry, your husband-to-be).

What are some of the things to look for?

1. Prices
Do they charge the bride and groom for setting up a registry? Or the guests? Or both? Is it a percentage per gift, or a flat fee no matter how much people spend?

2. Showroom
Do they have a showroom displaying their goodies in case you need expert advice? Their consultants can let you know if a favourite (old) pattern is about to be discontinued and many cases can get you special deals if you order a sufficient quantity, and in some cases, a lifetime discount for purchasing homewares and appliances through them. If you live outside the capital cities, your next best chance to see products is at a regional bridal fair.

3. Gift-wrapping
Do they offer it? They won’t as there’s no need to if it’s a cash registry. If they’re actual gifts, your guest may get charged a wrapping fee. But you might be surprised at the loss of ceremony and “occasion” in being unable to “unwrap” your gifts.

4. Real or “fake” gifts
Are you selecting, for example 12 x Royal Doulton white china dinner plates that guests can buy per plate for your enjoyment? Or are you providing a picture as an example, but really intending to pocket the cash? Keep in mind that those guests will ask you seemingly ad nauseum about the gifts they thought they bought you – and may even want to see them.

5. Registry expiration
Does your registry close the day of your wedding? A month later? When you’ve reached a cash target? 90 days later? The later it closes, the longer you may have to wait to receive your gifts.

6. Referral program
Do they reward you for referring them to your friends? Wedding registries are worth big bucks.

7.  Delivery
Is there a charge for getting actual gifts delivered? Do they deliver all in one go or can you start receiving them slowly as the items get purchased. Can they hold them while you’re on honeymoon or moving into your new house?

8. Testimonials
Have your friends and family used them? Do they provide names and suburbs of those who have used them? You might want to Google them first to see what comes up if you haven’t heard of them before – don’t forget, they will potentially receive thousands of dollars of your guests’ money and you need to be sure they’re above-board.

Movies and TV shows nearly always depict marital breakdown as the result of conflict. Steamy extra-marital affairs and the resulting tearful confrontations, hurled crockery and melodramatically smashed wedding portraits are typical scenes.

But a new US study suggests that marriage breakdown is more likely due to simple, long-term boredom. (Just one factor is giving @#$* flowers every Valentine’s Day, or socks and jocks for Father’s Day or “forgetting” their birthday - I mean, come on!)

The findings are the result of a nine-year study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Stony Brook University, who conducted interviews with 123 couples in the seventh year of their marriages, then nine years later in year 16.

The researchers found that relationship quality over the long-term depended on how bored the couple was at year seven.

However, not being bored at the seven-year mark didn’t necessarily guarantee that boredom wouldn’t occur some time over the following nine years. This suggests what any successfully married long-term couple could tell you: keeping boredom out of a marriage is something that requires constant vigilance.

The couples, all in their first marriages, were asked whether they considered their marriages to be in a rut and how often they did exciting things together as a couple. Those who expressed greater dissatisfaction in year 16 also reported corresponding higher levels of boredom.

The researchers concluded that couples who were experiencing less and less satisfaction with their marriages over time could possibly reverse the situation by participating in exciting activities together to increase the general level of excitement and spontaneity and eliminate boredom, which undermines closeness.

In a couple’s astrological compatibility chart, the level of excitement your relationship enjoys can be indicated by a few astrological factors.

Too many aspects involving Saturn indicate you can easily get stuck in a rut from complacency, fear (“what would the neighbours think?!”) and lack of imagination. Since Saturn is all about accountability (amongst other things) you could view doing exciting new things as KPIs to be met. An overabundance of Moon aspects suggests you want to curl up at home, which is cosy, but rarely exciting. Well, everyone goes a little crazy at the Full Moon – so once a month, make use of it!

Jupiter aspects add joy. The house your Jupiter is in your partner’s chart, and vice versa, shows where you can have fun and laugh with each other. Mars aspects create energy and sexual tension. It’s well-known that going on a rollercoaster (or any other activity which raises your adrenalin levels) ripens the mood for romance – “ahh, hold me!”

For pure excitement you need to look to the planet of rebellion,  Uranus (yeah, alright, stop the jokes already) which rules shocks, surprises and revolutions.

Having a number of Uranian aspects in your compatibility chart provides the electricity every couple needs. Uranus doesn’t care what the neighbours think and prefers to be an individual. Being innovative is key. A number of Uranian aspects suggest you will have temporary separations, probably due to work, family or social commitments. But hey, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? With Uranus you never get bored. Freaked-out, maybe.

How can you surprise your partner?

Love to shop? If you and your partner become the Face of LoveStars at www.itsinthestarsonline.com, you could win a $AUD500 gift card to the retailer of your choice (or hey, 5 x $100 gift cards to 5 retailers – your call!) simply by entering the Be the Face of LoveStars photo competition.

Have a friend or family member take a high resolution (300dpi) colour shot  or two of you and your partner happily reading your hardcover LoveStars astrology report together.

If you win, you’ll receive the $AUD500 gift card. If you’re one of 5 x runners-up, you’ll win back the cost of your hardcover LoveStars report (from $89), credited to your Visa or Mastercard credit card.

LoveStars reports make ideal personalised gifts for couples for anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas, engagements, Valentines Day and weddings. These 30-35 page reports help any couple – newly dating or married for ages – (re)discover the magic in their relationship.

The Be the Face of LoveStars photo competition finishes 31 August 2010.

If you’re keen to ramp up the sensuality factor in an existing relatinship, maybe you’re dating someone newish and want to um, seal the deal, or you’ve been together for ages and it’s time to make a commitment, circle Tuesday 13 July.

That date has a very erotic aspect: Venus (love, beauty) in Virgo trine Pluto (depth, sexuality) in Capricorn. When these two planets meet, glances are exchanged, sensuality dominates and no-one wants to stay platonic anymore!

If you’ve been thinking of proposing, this is the best date in July to get engaged. It follows the New Moon in Cancer (New Moons always mean fresh starts, growth and beginnings) and Cancer rules family.

A Venusian Virgo proposal suggests you’ve thought things out romantically with a cool head - it’s not a Las Vegas quickie-style elopement you’re after – and Pluto in Capricorn points to long-term, unconditional commitment.

These two earthy signs want to build something over a long period of time; Venus wants to be adored and Pluto just wants to have sex!

If you have any interest in having children, you could be extra-fertile today…

Many people unwittingly damage their relationships through poor gift choices because they’re thinking narrowly only in terms of what would interest them, not the recipient. How many times have you heard the old yarn about men giving their wives a bowling ball for their birthday?! It happens (not necessarily a bowling ball, but you get my drift).

Gift-giving is a surprisingly effective way to cement relationships, to create emotional intimacy, joy and admiration.

However, many people, and this is usually - but not restricted to – men, think having to select your birthday gift is a chore but for many women, it’s tangible proof that you care enough about them to get it right.

What stops many people from giving a great birthday gift – and this does not mean an expensive gift, by the way – is their own self-centredness, egotism and thoughtlessness.

Too many people thinking racing into the departmentre store and plucking a perfume gift set or a paperback off the shelves will ‘do fine’.

Unfortunately all it shows is that they cannot even dedicate 30 minutes shopping online for a thoughtful gift – and while the recipient may be too polite to say so – it is obvious when you get a generic gift. While the gift-giver doesn’t realise it, the recipient is often thinking, “Oh, they don’t really know what I like at all,” which can llead to disappointment, resentment and damaged relationships.

Asking people what they want for their birthday is almost as thoughtless.

If you know your mother, father, partner, siblings, children or friends in any depth at all, you will know what hobbies they have, and what life events (pregnancy, buying a new house, getting married, backpacking for a year) are affecting them – so asking them shows a certain laziness about thinking carefully about their gift and suggests you think of gift-giving as a chore.

So don’t ask them! Think.

Do they play golf? They might love a one-on-one round with a pro to improve their swing. Do they quilt? What about a couple of tickets to the next quilting show? Is your brother still into Star Wars? There’s heaps of fun stuff on eBay! What labels do your teenage boys wear – they typically “follow” only a few brands. If your friends are moving house, what about giving them a gift certificate for a professional clean (at their new or old house)? If your sister is having a baby, you could give her something baby-related, or perhaps shout her a new hairdo to cheer her up.

If you spend just 20-30 minutes thinking hard about what would suit and please them, I guarantee there would be far less regifting, wasted money and relationship misunderstandings.

Got invited to a wedding? Check. Got the wedding gift list? Check. Or Cash. And MasterCard or Visa or American Express will do nicely too, thanks.

A new survey by UK wedding magazine Wedding found that 45% of engaged couples want cold, hard cash from their guests as wedding gifts while 26% want gift vouchers and certificates to pay towards their honeymoon.

That leaves only 29% who actually want old-fashioned gifts they can keep.

Apart from a general decline in good manners which is one reason for asking so brazenly for money, the other is 55% of the couples say they will pay for the wedding themselves, while 26% of parents are footing the bill, of which the average is GBP20,000.

Unless they have rich grandparents or mysterious Great Expectations-like benefactors, the other 19% of funds to pay for the wedding seems to be from the guests themselves…

Friday 7 May features a gorgeous Venus in Gemini sextile Mars in Leo which is just wonderful for romance, compliments and flirty playfulness!

It’s the perfect night to rekindle the romantic spark for existing couples and of course it’s fantastic for men to get all chivalrous, get down on one knee and propose marriage!

Venus rules love and beauty while Gemini rules communication, and Mars rules action, energy and virility while Leo is the star of the show. Telling each other you love them and really getting to know them will be so enjoyable tonight!

Go on, whisk her off her feet! Single? You might finally have some luck with internet or speed dating…

As we all know, most couples getting married these days have already been living together, they may have already been married; they certainly have all the kitchen accoutrements you can poke a meat thermometer at, but you can never have enough date nights once you’re married!

One very clever Chicago couple who lurrrves to eat out realised that they too, didn’t want any more traditional department store registry “stuff”, but were busting (hopefully not out of their pants) to try some of the latest and greatest restaurants to hit Oprah’s hometown city.

They’ve created Foodie Registry which allows couples to select restaurants they’d love to try, for their guests to give them a gift certificate towards dining there, and it’s a wonderful idea actually for anyone else who’d love a special night out for say, their anniversary or birthday.

It also makes it soooooo much easier for couples to have something to write about in their wedding gift thank you cards. They’re going to be much more genuinely excited about dining at say, French restaurant Marche, than say, a pair of white hand towels.

Foodie Registry plans to expand into other American cities, too. Expect a queue of Taureans, Leos, Librans and Capricorns…

Ever wanted to know what sort of wedding gift might appeal to an Aries? Whether you’re on the right track if you give experiences towards their honeymoon for a Sagittarius? Which Sun sign is the least likely to register for wedding gifts? And who’s not going to send a thank-you card for their gifts (because they think they’ve actually done it)?

Check out our fun Wedding Gift Ideas By The Stars article (it’s waaaay too long to post here)!

Now that Valentine’s Day has passed, the roadside rose vendors have disappeared, the black velvet jewellery boxes have been stashed away in the vaults and those ENORMOUS white teddy bears have been put away somewhere (where on earth do they fit – and more importantly why on earth would anyone buy one?), some couples may be reassessing their relationships.

One cheery little infidelity expert from New York, Ruth Houston, has come out to suggest a number of ways to tell if your partner cheated on Valentine’s Day. I think in fact this could also include Christmas Day based on what she says.

1. “Discovered” gifts disappear
Remember the awful scene in Love, Actually when Emma Thompson opens the little white box containing the gold heart necklace, thinking that’s what her husband Alan Rickman has bought for her for Christmas? And then she gets a pathetic Joni Mitchell CD while the flirty skank at work gets the expensive necklace? If you find something “gift-y” before Valentine’s Day and then don’t get it, ask some questions…

2. Receipts for identical,different or non-received gifts
Paper trails undo presidents, criminals and cheating partners alike. If you find a receipt for say TWO identical lingerie sets but receive only one, someone has the other set (and at best, your husband likes dressing up).

Got chocolate? But the receipt was for a bracelet? Uh-oh.

Does the hotel or restaurant receipt say 13 February but you KNOW you were in bed alone with a cold and your partner had a business meeting interstate? Right. On a Saturday night. Did you know that Ruth nicknames 13 February as Mistress Day???

3. Thank note, email or text
If your spouse or partner has received or sent a thank-you message for a gift you know nothing about, them’s warning bells…And hey, especially if they’re normally an ungrateful sod.

4.  Oh honey, I’ve had this for years
Many women (and some men) avoid discussions about their spending habits but protesting, “”Oh, this old thing? I’ve had it for years!” and rely on their partner being oblivious so they can get away with maxing out their credit card. But if it’s a particularly nice piece of jewellery, beautiful underwear or even flowers that are waaaay more elaborate than what he/she normally buys turn up just after Valentine’s Day, look out.

It might be innocent (like, you’re such a bad gift-giver that they decided to indulge themselves – and if they did, that’s a clue they’re at least disappointed with your effort this Valentine’s Day/Christmas) or not. Check.

5. Who you gonna call?
If you’re really suspicious check your phone bill or your partner’s outgoing calls/texts on Valentine’s Day. Those made very early in the morning or last thing at night are possible signs.

If you have two or more of these infidelity clues, well, as Ruth’s clients might say, “Houston, we have a problem.”