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Romantic Anniversary Dinner for Two

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Whether you celebrate with an intimate meal at home or dine out at your favorite restaurant, we have great suggestions for planning the perfect anniversary.

For a Romantic Evening at Home...

The first matter at hand is to create a romantic setting. And when it comes to romance, it's all about the lighting:

Soft Light: A soft glow is all you need to illuminate the room. Use a dimmer, if possible, but dont go in complete darkness: you want to be able to see the beautiful meal youve created!

Candlelight: Bathe the room in candlelight to create a sultry restaurant feel. Make the experience feel special with lots of scattered tealight candles. Appeal to all the sense by using softly scented candles: cedar, lavender or vanilla are good choices.

Table Decor: Finish your decorations by placing a lovely vase with flowers in the center. Instead of using any old arrangement, choose flowers with meaning: Either use your spouses favorite bloom, or pick one that reminds you of your wedding.

Next, comes the food. As with your decor, the key to creating a great meal is to plan a menu with special meaning. Surprise your spouse with some favorite childhood recipe care of your in-laws.

Make sure to do enough research for a full meal: appetizer, main course, side dish and dessert. Its such a thoughtful way to show your appreciation, your hunny will be blown away!

Or, Take Your Love the Streets and Dine Out!

Who needs more reasons to dine out? Well, I suppose you do. Here are our great reasons to dine out:

You two absolutely love dining out.
Your cooking skills are a bit rusty, or nonexistent!
You cook dinner at home almost every day and want to do something different for your anniversary.

Here's how to make your dining out experience flawless and memorable.

Look at online reviews at your local Citysearch or at Zagat.

Look at the menu and make sure there are multiple options that sound good -- and affordable!

Call ahead and make a reservation. If reservations are particularly hard to get, try using a service like OpenTable, which will keep trying to make the reservation on your behalf at different times of the day, week and month to catch a cancelled spot.

Speak to the manager and let them know that this is a special occasion. Request an intimate yet prime table in the restaurant so you and your spouse dont get shuffled away in an awkward spot with waiters whizzing by you to the kitchen.

Either check the wine menu for a special bottle or wine or champagne, or ask if you can bring your own. Anniversaries are the perfect occasion to pop open that vintage bottle youve been saving!

Finding the ideal restaurant for your anniversary dinner doesn't have to be hard -- it just takes some thought and planning.We have some suggestions for poignant spots: