Archive for June, 2010

Planning a Vintage Wedding

June 28th, 2010 | Rss Feed

A Celebration of Times Past: Planning a Vintage Wedding

In 1840, the pageantry of the American wedding took off, thanks to England’s Queen Victoria, who quickly captivated onlookers around the world. She had thrown one of the most elaborate weddings the world had ever seen up to that time, and it was only natural for her contemporaries to emulate her. Weddings soon became events for everyone to enjoy and were no longer limited to just the couple and their families. They were extravagant celebrations of love, life, and happiness.

Before Victoria, weddings were simpler affairs. The sweet strains of Lohengrin were soon overpowered by DJs and bands, and beautiful, handmade nose-gays were eclipsed by bursting, colorful bouquets, among other things. For today’s bride, toning down what’s already an over-the-top affair is made appealing with the resurgence of the vintage wedding, a nod to nuptials of the past. Yet, there are multiple avenues to take when considering a vintage wedding theme; fortunately, there are also countless websites and books devoted to the subject.

As with anything, you can take inspiration from the past and carefully intertwine it with modern ambience to create a blend of old and new, or you can host a blowout vintage wedding bash that replicates the past to a T. The choices are endless!

Refining the Vintage Wedding Theme

Dress/Accessories: Finding the perfect dress is the goal of every bride. For those hoping to wear a vintage wedding gown to their ceremony, the search can be somewhat more complicated. If you live in large metropolitan city, there are likely quite a few vintage clothing or consignment stores that you can check out. Online browsing/shopping is always a good alternative, and if you do purchase anything, your local tailor can easily handle most alteration needs.

You can also opt for modern wedding dresses that have vintage vibes, such as mermaid or trumpet styles. Though, of course, when the elegant Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in 1956, she chose a beautiful, full-skirted gown in ivory. The point here is to stick with flowing, high quality fabrics and classic embellishments that keep with the vintage wedding theme.

As far as shoes, jewelry, and veils, many of these items are also available online, either in their original vintage form or as modern reproductions. Your mother or grandmother may even have some pieces lying around that you can use to round out the vintage wedding theme.

Music: Undoubtedly, there are bands in your area that specialize in old-time hits or, at the very least, jazz standards. Some larger cities might even have mock big bands that can perform at your reception. There are a couple ways you can go about this: consider having the band greet guests on the lawn, in the style of an old garden party, or create a faux bandstand at the front of the reception venue to feature the band in all its glory.

To get guests excited about the wedding theme, before the band comes on, have a victrola or phonograph that you’ve rented or purchased piping music throughout the reception venue. It will set the stage for the coming attractions!

Food: Weddings in the past have traditionally been sit-down dinners, though you don’t have to follow this when planning a vintage wedding. Offerings weren’t nearly as diversified as today, and the usual fare consisted of various meats, salads, and fruits. Occasionally, brides also held pot-lucks, a way to get everyone involved in the festivities.

Selecting your menu can certainly play off these more traditional choices, but you can also mix and match. Pair old favorites with some new choices, and be creative! In terms of the cake, the flavor of choice was always buttercream. Obviously, white cake is still the reigning champ of wedding cakes, but if you decide to go with chocolate, red velvet, or the like, you can have your cake decorated with vintage flair – pearls, beads, feathers, lace, and other trimmings that meld with your wedding theme.

Pictures: As with your music, finding a photographer who specializes in snapping pictures with an ‘old-timey’ feel is not necessarily vital, but a consideration in your search. Certainly, the photographer can take pictures as usual, and revise certain elements when he’s back at his studio. Perhaps you’d like black and white or sepia-toned pictures – that’s doable. Maybe you want a crackled finish – sure. Get to know your photographer and his capabilities! Look at portfolios before hiring anyone, and you’re sure to find a photographer who can carry out your wishes for great ‘vintage’ wedding pictures.

Lighting: The right light is important for any wedding! Regardless of the time of day your reception takes place, the lighting you choose should foster both warmth and invitation. Elaborate chandeliers, candles housed in extravagant candelabras, and other sources of ambient light are ideal for a vintage wedding theme.

Warm up reception tables with centerpieces surrounded by candles, or purchase multiple mini-chandeliers and hang them around the appetizer tables, gift tables, or in the bathrooms. Milk-glass lanterns/lamps were also a popular choice of lighting; they provide a soft glow that’s unequaled.

A New Take on the Classics

A vintage wedding theme allows you and your guests to re-discover the beauty and elegance of the past. However you choose to incorporate these elements into your vintage wedding, just remember — have fun! From birdcage veils and quaint petit-fours to jazz standards and a 1940s getaway vehicle, there are multiple ways to make the ceremony and reception unique to you. Plus, a vintage wedding theme can be a lot of fun for everyone involved! They’re a great way to re-invent the past, learn a little history, and infuse your ceremony and reception with some wonderful, old-fashioned glamour.

About the Author

In 2006, Cherie Johnson blended her love of weddings with a business model to start Creative Wedding Favors, the premier site for customizable anniversary, baby and bridal shower, graduation, quinceañera, and wedding favors. Her wedding ideas have also benefited readers of many websites, including Women Of, Wedding Lenox, and The Wedding Guide. Before establishing Creative Wedding Favors, Cherie worked as a professional wedding photographer, capturing all the special moments of the nuptials and ceremony. Visit www.CreativeWeddingFavors.com to find fun, festive favors for any event.

What Are Seal and Send Wedding Invitations

June 25th, 2010 | Rss Feed

If you are looking for unique and affordable, seal and send wedding invitations may be your choice. Their all-in-one design has some very appealing features and benefits that make it economical, eco-friendly, convenient and time-saving. What more can you ask for in a wedding invitation design.

Here are some attributes of seal and send wedding invitations:

All ensemble items can be included in one simple invitation piece.
The seal n send invitations easily fold up into their own self-mailing pieces using pre-marked folding lines and are then fastened by clear or decorative seals eliminating the need for mailing envelopes. This saves time by not having to stuff and address inner and outer envelopes.
The response card is attached at the bottom with a perforation for easy removal and return by guests. Since it is postcard size, no return envelope is needed and the return postage you affix is at the postcard rate which is cheaper than regular first class.
Pricing typically includes both the return address printed on the outside when mailing the invitations and also the return mailing address for the response postcards.

There are many beautiful designs of seal and send wedding invitations from classic to contemporary. There is even a style now that is larger in width so it not only has the response postcard attached at the bottom but also a smaller sized reception card that can also be removed by guests if they so choose.

The seal and send style can also be your choice for other events for which you will need to collect RSVPs for accurate seating and food preparations. This design could be used for rehearsal dinners, post-wedding receptions, or anniversary celebrations as well as wedding invitations.

Being true to their name, seal and send invitations are all-in-one invites that are easy to fold, seal and send to your wedding guests.

Now that you know all about them, see how seal and send wedding invitations (also known as seal n send) actually look in various designs and colors. You can also sign up to receive a FREE Guide with tips to prepare you for the entire wedding invitation process at www.PrintedCreationsWeddingStore.com.

About The Author: Sara Haese is the owner of www.PrintedCreationsWeddingStore.com where you’ll find a great online selection of both traditional and contemporary wedding invitations. Visitors can also sign up to receive her FREE Wedding Invitation Guide.

Tags: wedding invitations, wedding planning
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Invitations | 4 Comments »

Popping the Question – A Guide to Wedding Proposals

June 24th, 2010 | Rss Feed

The time has come — you’re ready to ask your best girl to marry you and make it official. Unfortunately, Hollywood has brainwashed us all into thinking that popping the question has to be over-the-top and perhaps even expensive. Yes, it would seem that most of us girls want elaborate wedding proposals, just so we can race home and tell our girlfriends all about it.

In reality, popping the question should be an intimate moment that is special to both of you. Whether you decide to ask her during a quiet dinner for two or propose in front of thousands of baseball fans, choosing the right spot and ambiance is important when you ask for her hand.

Unless you know your girlfriend will appreciate a flashy proposal, keeping it romantic between just the two of you is the best approach, one she will remember long after a public proposition. Before asking her to marry you, use this list of tips and hints to dream up fabulous wedding proposals that leave her speechless.

The Dos and Don’ts of Wedding Proposal Ideas

Personalized wedding proposals: No girl wants a canned version of a tired, old proposal. Above all, don’t do anything you’ve seen in the movies no matter how much she swooned. This is your opportunity to make it special for her and show her that you know and love her! When the time comes for popping the question, choose her favorite spot, as long as it’s quiet, uncrowded, and romantic. She wants a magical day/night that she can share again and again, so it should be memorable. And never just say, “Will you marry me?” Tell her why you want her to marry you; personalize your proposal and let her know why she is so special to you!

Make the ambiance romantic: Most guidelines on wedding proposals agree that no matter how big a sports fan your girlfriend is, asking her to marry you at a game is probably not the ideal way to go about things. After popping the question, there is no time to reflect or even whisper sweet nothings to her. Keep the chaos to a minimum, so that the two of you can properly discuss this momentous occasion. Of course, this doesn’t mean you can’t ask her at a sports game – maybe she’s the type of girl who would enjoy a thousand sets of eyes on her when you ask.

Furthermore, this doesn’t mean you have to focus on popping the question over candlelight, but the locale should be – at least – semi-secluded, away from loud restaurant music, gawking crowds, and family. (Always remember that asking her in front of her family or yours adds unneeded stress when popping the question.)

Show a little respect: When discussing potential wedding proposals, you’ll probably meet countless people who think asking her parents for her hand is lame and outmoded. Maybe, but it shows you’re responsible and respectful of her parents and family. Sure, it’s not easy to discuss such a big step, but her parents will remember that you approached them long after. Plus, you don’t have to ask for her hand per se – use it as a way to encourage communication between the two newly merging families. It’s a great way to start working on your in-law relationships!

Make it a surprise: You’ve undoubtedly discussed marriage prior to popping the question. The only thing that should come as a surprise is when you actually ask her to marry you. Previous discussions of merging your lives, including evaluating what’s important to both of you in life and love, is vital to the success of your marriage. If you haven’t talked about marriage prior to the proposal, you may want to brace yourself for a quizzical look followed by a hesitant maybe.

Choosing the ring: Please don’t come unprepared to the proposal. Many women expect to have a ring on this night. It’s not that we need something flashy and expensive to make it real; it’s just that it helps cement your commitment and lets us know you’re ready to take the plunge.

However, if your girl is the type who wants to pick and/or design her own ring, you should have discussed marriage well in advance. She knows it’s coming, and is happy to say yes without hardware in hand. But just take her ring shopping as soon as possible after popping the question!

Wedding Proposals from the Heart

Asking your girlfriend to marry you is an exciting time! Sure, you may get nervous, but practicing those all important words in advance will help to alleviate some of those jitters. Don’t worry if things go awry — remember what you’re there to do – ask the love of your life to commemorate your commitment to each other!

Wedding proposals are a great way to incorporate what your love means to the both of you and should be as unique as the two of you. Cherish the time and make it special!

About the Author

Tags: groom, wedding planning, wedding proposals
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Groom | 2 Comments »

Guide to the Ultimate Wedding Vows

June 23rd, 2010 | Rss Feed

Todd and I experienced the ultimate beach wedding on March 11, 2007. We found the perfect destination, the perfect music, the perfect flowers, the perfect dress, wrote the perfect vows and exchanged the perfect rings for us to create our dream wedding. We want to share our experience so you can create your own ultimate wedding.

Creating the ultimate dream wedding does not have to be difficult, but it does take knowing what you want and what is important to both the bride and the groom.

Todd and I spent a lot of time writing our complete wedding ceremony. We did not just write the vows. We wrote the complete ceremony from opening to introduction of the bride and groom and selected music to compliment each facet of the wedding from the prelude to the closing music.

The major elements of a wedding are universal with a greeting, exchange of wedding vows, exchanging of the rings, a reading or blessing, and the pronouncement of the couple. However each element can be customized from ceremony to ceremony.

You do not have to write the entire wedding ceremony to create your ultimate dream wedding, but we do suggest you review the major elements of the ceremony and customize as appropriate. For example, we used a reading from the book of Corinthians in our opening, and we edited a reading from Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward from 1958 as our first reading.

Your wedding vows are an expression of your love and devotion witnessed by family and friends and God. And in order to create your ultimate dream wedding, you need to ensure the vows are memorable and meaningful to you. We have a collection of sample wedding vows on OurUltimateWedding.com from traditional wedding vows, to various religious vows, to our very own custom vows to help you get started.

As an example, here are the vows my husband wrote for me.

Wedding Vows – Groom
I, (Groom), take you (Bride ) to be my
Best friend and My True Love
The One I Laugh With
The One I Live Life With
The One I Want To Grow Old With

You Give Me Hope, Strength, and Courage

You are My World
The Sun, the Stars, and the Sky

I promise to Love, Honor, and Cherish You
Through all of our years
And Through All that Life May Bring

We want to share our experience so you can create your own ultimate wedding. We created OurUltimateWedding.com to help brides and grooms create their own ultimate wedding for a lifetime.

About The Author: Todd and Amy Huston planned their ultimate beach wedding and created OurUltimateWedding.Com to share their experience with others. The website offers tips and services to plan the ultimate dream wedding.

Tags: wedding planning, wedding vows
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Vows | 12 Comments »

Do I Really Need a Wedding Video

June 23rd, 2010 | Rss Feed

Your wedding day will be a blur to you and your parents. You plan the many details for months, if not years, but your wedding day goes by so fast that you will miss a large part of it.

A wedding video is like a “time machine”. It lets you relive your wedding day as often as you like, anytime you like. As a fellow videographer put it, “It let’s you attend your own wedding at your leisure without the stresses and distractions of the day.” It is also a significant and important “living” document for your families, your children, and grandchildren. Some couples don’t realize just how important their wedding video will become until they experience the loss of a loved one that attended their wedding.

I Want a Wedding Video but I Have a Friend With a Camcorder
Some couples use a friend or family member to videotape their wedding day. Would you have a friend or family member take all of your wedding photographs? Probably not.

There are numerous stories of people running out of tape or batteries, not shooting important activities, and taking shaky or bad footage. Using a friend or relative can cause hard feelings and ruin relationships if your video is poorly done or not done at all. Also, that person can’t enjoy themselves at your wedding while they are videotaping it.

A wedding video is a movie of your wedding day, a lasting memory that contains 30 pictures every second and includes the timeless sites and sounds of every important event that took place on your special day. A professional wedding video should tell the story of your wedding day. Using creative camera work, a keen attention to detail, and artistic editing using music and the right blend of effects and transitions, the professional wedding videographer should produce a video you will watch often and be proud to show others.

I’m Having a Photographer So I Don’t Need a Video
Both your photographs and your wedding video are of equal importance. You can’t frame your wedding video or carry it with you in your purse or wallet to show a friend.

But, you can’t look at a photograph and hear your marriage vows, see a tear as it rolls down your cheek, or relive the sights, sounds, and emotions you felt as your dad walked you down the aisle or your first dance as husband and wife.

Photography and videography are both artistic expressions and vary from artist to artist. It is important to view the work of each and meet one-on-one with the person(s) that will be producing your photographs and your wedding video. Make sure that their style and personalities match your expectations.

How Much Will It Cost?
There is a misconception that your wedding video should be less expensive than your photographs. The training and experience are equally extensive, the equipment used by both is costly, the time spent producing a professional wedding video takes longer than producing your photographs. Your video is a movie of your wedding day with sound.

A professional videographer should attend your rehearsal to meet the Officiant, become familiar with the order of activities, and offer ideas and assistance to improve the video
A professional videographer will invest around $20,000 or more in equipment plus training and experience
Typical wedding day coverage includes two cameras with operators that shoot almost continuously for five hours or more
Your wedding video will take 30 to 50 hours or more to edit to transform the raw footage into a smoothly flowing story of your wedding day
And, unlike Steven Spielberg or even your photographer, your videographer has only one take to capture your wedding day activities. The ceremony or special events can’t be stopped and done over if something isn’t perfect.

Your wedding videographer must be the:

producer
director
lighting technician
sound person
cinematographer
editor

They must perform all of these jobs well to produce the wedding video that you hope for and deserve. Pricing varies depending on experience, services offered, time spent, etc. Choose a videographer based on how their work makes your feel when you see it then discuss pricing based on what it will take to produce your personal video memory.

Couples tell us that the best money they spent was on their wedding video and are so happy they made the decision to have one.

When Should I Book a Videographer?
As with your first choice for your ceremony, reception, and other vendors the best wedding videographers will be booked first. You should meet with videographers as you would photographers, if not earlier in your planning process. There are fewer videographers than there are photographers. Eight months to one year prior to your day is not too early.

Do I Really Need a Wedding Video?
It’s up to you. Your wedding day will only happen once in your life. Don’t regret not having your precious memories preserved in a video that you can see and relive over and over.

Tags: wedding planning, wedding video
Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Videography | 1 Comment »