Otakus and Wedding Invitation Ideas – Nerd Friendly Designs

Otaku is the Japanese term for people with what are considered to be obsessive interests and it’s predominantly used to describe anime and manga fans.

The term ‘otaku’ is also used to describe anyone with hobbies that they spend more time, money or both on than most people do, and the term extends to football fans, sumo wrestling fans and even train enthusiasts.

However, it’s important to bear in mind that in Japan the word ‘otaku’ is actually considered offensive by many, which is perhaps the reason that it has become associated with those who willing play the role of outcasts.

Many anime and manga fans have long cultivated that role, that of the outcast, and many of them do it really well – perhaps a little too much so.
  

Anime and manga – Prominent characters 

There are more anime and manga characters than any geek could possibly hope to memorise in a lifetime – the Anime Characters Database has over 65,000 anime characters – though it’s probably a safe bet to say that some otakus have quite a high percentage of them memorised and can probably also recite their stats, etc. on request.

When geeks get hitched they more often than not use characters and graphics from popular anime and manga films and television shows, quite often using their favourite characters to represent themselves in a ‘cosplay’ – cosplay is short for ‘costume play’ and it’s spread from Japan to the rest of the world in spectacular style – fashion.
Here are ten of the most popular anime characters that geeks often dress as and represent themselves as on their nerd-friendly wedding stationery.

1.  Vegeta: An unabashedly nasty character, is it surprising he’s so popular?
2.  Haruhi Suzumiya: Schoolgirl Haruhi features prominently in many geeks’ dreams
3.  Lelouch Lamperouge: Another evil genius, one who revels in his nastiness
4.  Motoko Kusanagi: The sci-fi heroine from the classic ‘Ghost in the Shell’
5.  Ichigo Kurosaki: Anime fans can’t get enough of Ichigo’s sword
6.  Rei Ayanami: She is one of the most influential female anime characters of all     time
7.  Astro Boy: A truly classic character, though one who’s been overshadowed in recent    years
8.  Sailor Moon: Geek girls and guys alike still count themselves as fans
9.  Light Yagami: What is it with anime and narcissistic mass murderers?
10.  Bulma: She’s still a cosplay favourite!

Chances are even non-otakus would be familiar with at least a few of these legendary characters, though how inclined they would be to represent themselves as one of them on their wedding stationery is another story altogether.

When geeks get hitched  

Despite the lack of social skills that many geeks and nerds possess, from time to time they pluck up the courage to make contact with the opposite sex and some even make it as far as getting engaged – isn’t that cute?

Geeky graphic design services are therefore a natural choice for wedding invitations, and in a world that is increasingly obsessed with cutting edge graphics, the wedding invitations of geeky couples – even those who tie the knot with video game characters – are making more conventional couples quite envious and may even provide some couples with the impetus to get geeky.

Perhaps the most popular otaku wedding invitations are those featuring the delightfully nerdy couple represented as their favourite anime characters, with some including photos of themselves resplendent in cosplay.

Game geeks – Nerd friendly designs 

Gaming geeks are spoiled for choice regarding wedding invitation graphic design services and among the most popular requests are, as you probably guessed, Mario Bros with their blockish graphics that have wowed generations of geeky gamers.

Pac-man designed wedding stationery has also proven popular and like Mario Bros, not only with Japanese otakus but also with geeks the world over, plus Pac-man designs look cool and there are a lot of possibilities to explore. 

The big day – Decked out in costumes 

On the big day, follow up the wedding invitation in true otaku style with a cosplay wedding – don’t forget those super-cute Dragon Ball Z cake toppers! – and although not many parents would agree, you’ll look fantastic!

About the Author: Sonia Allen has been writing freelance for a business in the UK and with an online presence at www.pureinvitation.co.uk. Pure Invitation Limited is one of the leading providers of card making and design services.

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Are You A Fashion Trend-Setter Or Dinosaur?

Are you a trend setter or a dinosaur?  Take the ten step quiz to find out where you rank on the fashion scale! With men's fashion changing on an almost daily basis, it is very easy to be left behind.  But, the good news is you can now find out how far behind (or otherwise) you are.

We get lots of people asking us for fashion advice, so we do hope you find this little infographic of interest, and share the results with your friends.

Our ten questions are designed to quiz you about your fashion sense, and find out how up to date, or how far behind you are.  Don't worry, it's only a bit of fun. It will take you five minutes, go ahead, impress yourself.

Don't forget to share this with your friends, as you wouldn't want to be hanging around qwith any fashion dinosaurs would you!?

This InfoGraphic was produced by Stand-Out.net, one of the UK's leading mens fashion websites, providing a huge stock of mens designer brands.

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Hosting a party with cheese and wine – Make the guests feel special

Are you the host of the cheese and wine party? If yes, then you must know that your skills and effort will bring success to this celebration. While every gathering requires some hard drinks and also something special to taste, wine and cheese will definitely make the celebration much more enjoyable for the guests who have attended the party.

Some steps to host a party with cheese and wine

Check out some steps how you can host a party with cheese and wine.

• Choose a day and time for the celebration – To host a cheese and wine celebration, you will have to choose a suitable day and also a suitable time. For crisp, champagne and white wine, you may go for hot and sunny summer days. To have red wine, the cold and wintry nights are the best.

• Find if you will host the entire meal or select some items – You need to find yourself if you want to host the entire meal to the guests at the party or you want to select only one item. You may search on the Internet to know more about the foods that will match with wine.
  
  
  
  

• Select cheese matching the wine – While selecting cheese, you must see to it that it matches with the wine mixtures. For example, you may match find wine and Spanish cheese together to make your choice.
  
  
  
  

• Cut cheese into separate parts – If you want the guests to find their cheese size, you may spread out the cheese on the cheese boards and also give knives to the guests.

• Send invitation for the cheese and wine party – You will have to send invitations to the people whom you want to come at the party. Make sure you send the invitation card to the gests at least 3-4 weeks before.

• Start the wine 20 minutes before serving dish – Being a good host, you should start serving the wine 20 minutes before you may serve dish to the guests. Break the corks of some wine bottles. If you want, you may buy decanters to serve the wine.
  
  

• Provide sufficient glasses of wine for the guests – You should provide sufficient number of wine glasses so that it is repeated amongst your guests many times. If you want to serve red as well as white wine, you can offer each guest with at least two glasses so that they can taste both the wines. Keep separate glass to serve champagne and dessert wine.

• Create card for each kind of cheese and wine – A great idea is to create card for each kind of cheese and wine for the guests. This will let your guests to know what they are eating and drinking.
  
  
  
  

• Note down the experience of your guests – If you feel like, you can note down the experience of your guests. Ask them how they have enjoyed the wine and cheese and if they want something more to be added with it.

Thus, consider these steps when you are hosting a cheese and wine party.

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