Archive for October, 2010

How to Choose Your Wedding Songs

Oct

How to Choose Your Wedding Songs

Songs add spirit to an occasion. However, to make that happen, you need to choose the right songs. An appropriately selected song, with meaningful lyrics and melodious tune, would help set the situation. It is always better to devote some time selecting the songs you would like to play in your wedding. With so many options, your choice is going to be difficult but here are some tips that should help you in making the right choice:

Make It Personal

The wedding song should be absolutely personal for the bride and groom. The song should not be chosen just to please the guests but to make it memorable for the wedding couple. The first dance of the newlyweds is special to both the bride and groom. A song that is liked by both, or somehow reflects their feelings, would be appropriate.

Borrow From Yesteryear Songs

Popular yesteryear songs, if selected precisely, can serve the purpose. You could always select popular songs of today but they may be the favorite for many other wedding couples of today also. So if you want to be different from others, you can move a few weeks or months back. There could be several other songs out there that would fit the occasion.

Ask DJ to Suggest

If you have no clue which song to play, ask the reception band or DJ to give you some suggestions. Playing music is their job and they can offer suggestions based on the melody and lyric quality of each song. Of course it is your prerogative to select the song. You should select the song which is you think fits the bill perfectly.

Activity Songs

Separate songs can be chosen for different activities during the wedding. You could choose songs for the entrance of the bride, cocktail time, dinnertime, cake cutting and parents’ dance. An appropriately chosen song for every activity would add to the mood. However, play your theme song on your first dance at the reception.

Play Tribute Songs

You can also choose to play tribute songs for your elders, expressing your affection and gratitude for them. Your parents would be pleasantly surprised to hear it. You could play your parents’ favorite songs from their own weddings. In addition, you could request your parents to dance together. This would recreate feelings from their own weddings. It would be sweet to recognize their past experiences.

Variations would Do

There could be a song that you like but think that the situation would not be appropriate for the old beat. You could ask your band to play the song in different beat. You could tell the band to play an originally slow song fast or you could ask them to play a fast song slower. It is your function and the decision lies with you. It is up to you what kind of music you want.

Check the Lyrics

Go through the song lyrics before you decide upon a song. Some songs have good tunes but lyrics might send out a negative message like frustration and sadness. Some lyrics could have sexual undertone. A song should be judged not only by its melodious merit but also by its lyrics. So check out if the lyrics are appropriate for the occasion.

Check the Band

Check about the past performances of the band you intend to hire. Would you honestly want to hire a band that has no past record? You should also meet the artist who is supposed to perform on the occasion. It is recommended that you should straightly ask him how many functions he has performed in. Of course you would not want a novice for your wedding.

To plan your wedding occasion, you could visit a wedding planner. On the Internet, you would find links to other wedding vendors extending out a helping hand for all brides-to-be.

The author is associated with WeddingMuseum.com, which offers wedding songs, wedding store, wedding ideas as well as services.

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Top 5 Hair Band Ballads

Oct

WeddingMuseum.com is known for wedding song lists and wedding song lyrics. However, we wanted to think outside the box to offer our visitors something offbeat. Therefore, we created a list of the Best 85 Hair Band Ballads. The list of ballads include mainstream bands such as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard and Whitesnake. However, we also include some heavy metal bands such as W.A.S.P. and Blue Murder.

There were many popular mainstream hair bands. However, we we wanted to make a list of our top 5 and 85 songs that meant most to us. We did not create lists of the most popular and highest charted songs. Therefore, don’t comment on what songs should be on the list, rather comment what memories the 85 or so songs jog in your brains.

So here are our favorite 5 hair band ballads of yesteryear.

5. Love Song – Tesla What a great song from the album The Great Radio Controversy released in 1989. Love Song has great lyrics, which include “love is waiting for you” for an anthem to all tenenage high school kids. To this day Tesla is still rockin’ and producing record albums. Love song topped at #7 on the Billboard charts.

4. Don’t Close Your Eyes – Kix Kix produced a rock anthem against suicide. This song will forever be remembered in the youth culture of the 80′s. In 1988, Kix released the album Blow My Fuse that featured Don’t Close Your Eyes. Don’t Close Your Eyes peaked at #11 on the Billboard charts.

3. Honestly – Stryper The yellow and black attack will live forever. We give praise to Stryper for promoting a Christian message to a mainstream audience. The album To Hell With The Devil featured Honestly and was released in 1986. Honestly became a most-requested song on MTV and topped the Billboard charts at #23.

2. When The Children Cry – White Lion White Lion came out of nowhere in 1987 to release the album Pride. Pride featured two top ten hits – Wait (#8) and When The Children Cry (#3). When The Children Cry became another rock anthem for the 80′s genre of trying to make the world a better place to live for our children.

1. I Remember You – Skid Row What can we say about Sebastian Bach. With those high notes he would hit and the long hair that girls frolicked over, Bach rocked Skid Row to the top of the charts. This was definitely one of the most popular rock ballads of the 80′s. Skid Row’s album Skid Row went 5x platinum. I Remember You reached #6 on the Billboard charts and will be remembered as one of America’s favorite prom songs.

To see a complete list of our Best 85 Hair Band Ballads please follow the link. Hope you enjoy and bring back many fond memories.

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Building blocks for wedding reception tables

Oct

A new idea is to use building blocks to decorate wedding reception tables. Building blocks can be made fun to elegant. Brides can be eco-friendly by reusing old building blocks for their used and antique looks. Other brides can purchase new and elegant blocks for their wedding receptions. Finally, brides with modern style wedding receptions can either purchase new blocks to match their style or redecorate old blocks to match their style.

Brides and grooms can spell their first names, spell their new married name or spell fun words. Other phrases include “Live, Laugh, Love”, “Wedding Date”, wedding theme sayings and much more.

Have fun with building blocks as decor on wedding reception tables. For more information about great looking building blocks, check out unclegoose.com or blocks on Amazon.com here http://amzn.to/d7qCSy.

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How Can Difficult Lighting Affect My Wedding Video

Oct

How can difficult lighting affect my wedding video?

Many people still get a relative to film their wedding video. While they do sometimes produce a decent result, there are some issues that occur that the relative cannot overcome. Lighting is one of them.

Lighting is critical to getting great shots, and the proper manipulation of the settings in more challenging lighting conditions ensures a good shot. Often couples come to me that had their relative film their wedding, we’ll call him Uncle Joe.

Uncle Joe has a new camera and he films often, but most times he only has a consumer or prosumer style of camera, that does not have full manual exposure, gain and white balance control, it only has automatic settings. What this means is when the camera sees the picture it automatically adjusts the exposure and color to get what it thinks is the best shot.

In most circumstances this is ok, but when you encounter difficult lighting conditions, such as a window behind the altar in a church, the camera exposes for the window and not the bride. The result is a perfect shot of the window, with an almost black or silhouetted bride and groom.

In many cases the camera does not have the settings to override this and there is nothing Uncle Joe can do. If by chance the camera does have a setting override, and he does know how to get to it, many times he spends 5 minutes trying to get the shot right, going through the different settings, all the while possibly missing out on you saying “I do”.

Professional cameras have full manual exposure control and a good cameraman can produce a good result in almost any lighting condition. Moreover, they will be experienced with all types of lighting conditions and be able to respond with the right setting quickly, ensuring good clean footage of your ceremony.

Some things to ponder…

About the Author: Shane White is the owner of http://www.whitestudios.com.au. He has been shooting Wedding Videos for over 13 years. He has travelled to remote locations, shot from helicopters, airplanes, moving vehicles, on boats and underwater. Shot with jibs, cranes, steadicams, spider dollies and in almost every situation a cameraman can find himself in.

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Day Trip from Las Vegas – Area 51 Rachel, NV

Oct

About 115 miles north of Las Vegas is the infamous Air Force Base known as Area 51. Area 51 and Rachel, NV are known for UFO sightings. There has been hundreds of UFO sightings in the area over the years. Rachel, NV has been designated as the “UFO Capital of the World”. The only business in the area serving food is the Little A’Le’Inn. The Inn has a restaurant selling a great burger called the Alien burger. The Inn also has alien memorabilia, clothing, and area maps.

Rachel does not have any gas stations so be sure to fill-up in cities along the route before getting to the area. Except for a couple of ranches, the town of Rachel is the only settlement in the 98 mile E.T. Highway drive. Please see below sign for a reminder.

The “Extraterrestrial Highway” aka E.T. Highway aka Nevada State Highway 375 stretches 98 miles from US-93 in the southeast to US-6. To get to the E.T. Highway, drive north on US-93 from Las Vegas. In addition, the E.T. Highway is the fastest route between Yosemite National Park in the west and Zion National Park and Grand Canyon in the east.

25 mile south of Rachel is the top secret military base known as Area 51. There are 2 gates of entry into the base where visitors can stop and take pictures of the “Do Not Enter” signs. However, driving from the paved main road to the gates is about 10 miles on a dirt road. See below picture of one of the dirt road drives.

In conclusion, if you want to travel to see Area 51 and Rachel, NV – the UFO Capital of the World, we recommend to see the Little A’Le’Inn and to camp out under the stars to view the unsuspecting UFOs in the sky. For more information about the Rachel, NV area and Area 51, visit the following web site: Official web site of Rachel, NV.

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Lock Your Love – A Wedding Tradition

Oct

An ancient Chinese tradition is to fasten a lock on a never-ending chain and to throw away the key. According to the custom, as long as the lock remains on the chain, so too will your love be preserved. In modern times, couples have their names or initials engraved onto the lock to add a personal touch.

Common never ending chains include chains on many bridges. Please see below as an example picture of locks on a bridge.

Love locks on a bridge

Few places in the USA can compare in popularity to lock a couple’s love than in Lovelock, NV. Lovelock is 93 mile east of Reno in Northern Nevada. For more information on Lovelock, NV, please visit the City of Lovelock website. In Loverlock, Lovers Lock Plaza has a circle of green metal pillars with linking chains. Thousands of couples place their locks along the chains. Just in case you forgot to bring a lock, many local businesses sell locks for your convenience.

Another amazing location to lock your love is on the Great Wall of China. Many locks dorn the Great Wall currently and would be a memory to last a lifetime. Cities close to Beijing are the most popular sections of the Great Wall to find thousands of locks attached to the many rows of steel chains along the wall.

Even though the tradition probably originated in China, a Russian tradition says that in a marriage, the bride and the groom must buy a lock, write their names on it, lock it to the bridge and throw the key into the river, in order to keep their love for each other forever!

No matter where you lock your love, it is an honerable expression of eternal love for one another. Finally, if you want to see pics of lover’s locks around the world, please vist this web page.

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Wedding Songs Can Make a Wedding Ceremony Really Special

Oct

Summary: It is your best friend’s wedding and you want to make it really special for her but do not know what to do or how to go about it. Then you should take charge of selecting the wedding songs to be played on the special day. Read this article to find out what type of songs and music you need to choose for the wedding ceremony.

Without doubt wedding songs are an integral part of a wedding ceremony. Thus, it becomes important to choose the right songs so as to make the wedding more memorable. So what type of wedding songs to choose? This can be a bit tricky with the option to choose from millions of songs and thousands of wedding songs. But then, the whole task can be quite enjoyable too. While choosing the songs, one consideration could be whether the wedding will be a traditional or contemporary affair. Depending on the type of wedding, songs can be chosen to reflect the whole ambiance of the wedding.

If the wedding ceremony is planned to take place in a traditional manner, then slow-moving traditional songs can be played. Though, it is not a hard and fast rule to opt for traditional songs. Some contemporary love songs can be played too. There are lots of songs that can certainly make the ceremony quite lively. Another good option could be to hire a pianist. The pianist can play at a slower tempo and could give the feeling of the start of the ceremony.

Besides a pianist, an orchestra can be a good choice too, with people to play the violin, cello and saxophone. Another great option could be to hire professional singers to sing wedding songs during the whole wedding affair. The professional singers can be asked to sing from the list of selected songs.

You can also purchase a CD of best wedding songs for the special day, if the ceremony is planned to be a simple one. This could be the choice for couples who prefer a small and simple wedding ceremony and do not wish to hire an orchestra. These music CDs will deliver just what is required to be played on the wedding day from traditional wedding songs to groovier and slow dance tracks. One can also choose the songs before hand and get it burned on a CD to be played on the wedding day. The songs can be chosen and downloaded from popular music websites.

However, the most important thing to remember while selecting the wedding songs is to make it absolutely personal for the bride and the bridegroom. The idea should not be just to please the guests but more so to make it memorable for the wedding couple. The first dance of the married couple is special to both the bride and groom and care should be taken to select a song that is liked by both or somehow reflects their love story.

A wedding is a once in a lifetime occasion and it becomes that much more crucial to make it really special and memorable and by choosing the right songs to be played on the wedding day, this goal can be achieved.

To make the wedding ceremony a grand success, songs and music play an important role. By taking care of this need, the wedding can be made quite a special and unforgettable event for both the married couple as well as the guests.

This article has been written by an expert working with WeddingMuseum.com, a website that offers a list of professional wedding planners along with free wedding website service.

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How to Choose a Wedding Brooch

Oct

How to choose a wedding brooch

Necklaces, earrings and bracelets have long been a staple of wedding jewelery; however, a less common wedding accessory is the brooch. Brooches come in many different beautiful styles and designs and can really enhance a wedding outfit. Whether you’re having a traditional wedding or something a bit different, the chances are a brooch will work very well with your chosen wedding dress. Here is a guide to some of the different kinds of wedding brooches and how to choose the right one for you.

Uses for a brooch

Brooches are a very flexible accessory. If your wedding dress is quite simple with little decoration, then a brooch can be worn to add a bit of detail and sparkle to the dress. If you’re getting married in autumn or winter, a brooch can be worn on a shrug or bridal jacket. When the weather gets cooler during your evening reception you can use a broach to fasten a pashmina around your shoulders. Brooches can also be incorporated into bridesmaid and mother of the bride outfits. Brooches also work very effectively when worn in the hair as they can add bejeweled detail to an up-do.

Diamond and crystal brooches

Diamond and crystal brooches can add glamor and dazzle to your wedding dress. These kinds of brooches can be very lavish, with intricate and detailed designs. If you have chosen a neutral palate for your wedding dress, such as ivory, cream, or white, then a diamond or crystal brooch will work very well as the transparent stones will coordinate with the neutral colors. If you ‘re planning for your wedding to be large, lavish affair, then a diamond or crystal brooch can add the dazzling detail needed to compliment a striking wedding outfit.

Floral brooches

Floral brooches can add beautiful floral detail to your wedding dress. A wide variety of designs can be found from roses, to orchids, to daisies. A floral brooch is a great chance for a touch of color and can be coordinated to match your bridesmaid dresses or other colors in your wedding theme.

Vintage brooches

Retro style has been in fashion for years so why not incorporate it into your wedding outfit? There are a huge range of period brooches for sale in a great variety of places. If you like the style of the 1920s and 30s then an angular Art Deco brooch may be a good option for you. For something a bit more opulent you could go for a large Edwardian or Victorian brooch. Vintage brooches incorporate a wide variety of stones and colors so you should be able to find one which exactly matches your wedding tastes.

About the Author: Vanessa Barlow works for www.olivierlaudus.co.uk which specializes in luxury wedding accessories, such as wedding tiaras and wedding ring cushions.

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