Today in America fortune cookies are served at almost all Chinese and Japanese restaurants but rarely anywhere else. Because of this it is widely thought that they originated long ago in Asia. This is not the case however.

Fortune cookies were actually invented in the state California some time early in the last century. After that the facts as to their origin are not entirely clear.

Japanese Americans claim that a man named Mokota Hagiwara created them in 1914. After recovering from a difficult time in his life he baked cookies with Thank You notes inside and gave them to those who had supported him. They were wildly popular and soon he was giving them to patrons of the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco.

Chinese Americans disagree. They believe that a Chinese man, David Jung, invented the fortune cookie. He was the founder of the Hong Kong Noodle company in Los Angeles. Every day on his way to work he passed countless numbers of poor people. Looking for a way to inspire them he had a local minister write up short inspirational passages. He took these passages and baked them into carefully folded cookies. He then took these cookies and distributed them to the poor, hoping that they would give them some hope for their future.

While you would expect to have a fortune cookie after a delicious Chinese meal dont be surprised if they show up as a wedding favor at the next wedding you attend. More and more brides are using the tasty treats as a way of telling their guests about their future plans and to thank them for their friendship.

Instead of reading a standard fortune about your future, brides are placing their own fortune in the fortune cookies. Lucky numbers are often replaced with their wedding date, which might read 12.05.09, kind of a nice twist on the traditional after meal treat.

Known as Personalized Fortune Cookies, or Custom Fortune Cookies, many fortune cookie companies allow the brides to be their own Confucius. While you can buy the fortune cookies in bulk, take the message out and slip in a message of your own, many brides are using these specialized fortune cookie manufactures to make their fortune cookies.

Each message can usually fit around 20 words and many companies offer double sided messages. Twice the amount of space is allowed, by using text on both the front and the back of the message.

If it’s that special moment in a friend’s life or for yourself and you’re the one that has to put the pieces altogether, all you need is some effective planning combined with proper organization and everything should work out just great. Nowadays, wedding shower parties have changed, from “girls night out” style to more like a family & friends reunion - a get together for the future of the family that’s being created. Whether you’re going for a classical approach or for a more revolutionary one, there are certain things you need to take care of.

Well, what do you want to do next? Do you want to go for a themed party or for a simple one? This is the first decision that you’re facing, and you should make it pretty quick, since invitations must be sent at least six weeks before the party. If you’ll go for a themed party(and you can choose a spa theme, pool party and so on), you’ll have to adapt everything to that: invitations, menu, costumes, and so on.