Archive for 2010

The Wedding Party: Each Member And Their Roles

December 7th, 2010 | Rss Feed

You just started planning your fairy tale wedding and you would like nothing more than to include all your close family and friends on your special day, but you‘re not sure how. Here’s a quick overview of each member of the wedding party, their roles and some of their duties.

Maid of Honor (or Matron of Honor)

The maid of honor’s role is to assist the bride on her wedding day — to lend her support, be reassuring, alleviate some stress and to even be a shoulder to cry on. She’s usually the bride’s sister or her best friend. The maid of honor will usually host the bridal shower and organize the bachelorette party. She can also assist the bride during the wedding planning process by accompanying her to various appointments (dress, cake, venue, etc). She’s also in charge of coordinating all the bridesmaids on the day of the wedding — making sure everyone is on time.

Another one of her duty can be to help the bride get dressed for the wedding as well as helping the bride manage her train, veil and bouquet during the entire day. She will hold the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony. The maid of honor can act as a legal witness for the bride by signing the marriage license after the wedding ceremony. She can also make a toast to the happy couple at the reception — usually following the best man‘s toast.

Best Man

The best man is usually the groom’s brother or his best friend. His duties are similar to the maid of honor’s duties. He will lend his moral support to the groom during what is sure to be a nerve-wracking day, but he can also help out with some of the wedding planning tasks, such as organizing the bachelor party or decorating the newlyweds‘ car. He’s also in charge of coordinating all the groomsmen for the day.

During the ceremony, the best man can be in charge of carrying the rings for safekeeping in his pocket. The best man can also act as a legal witness for the groom by signing the marriage license after the wedding ceremony. At the reception, the best man usually is the first one to make a speech and toast the happy couple.

Bridesmaids

The bridesmaids’ role is to assist the bride on her wedding day and in the months prior to the big day. The bridesmaids can help the bride, or the maid of honor, keep track of wedding gifts or RSVP responses. They can also help the maid of honor organize the bridal shower and the bachelorette party. They can help keep an eye out for the ring bearer and flower girl before the ceremony.

Groomsmen

Groomsmen are usually close friends or family members that hold a special place in the groom‘s life. On the wedding day, they will escort the bridesmaids down the aisle, and they can also act as ushers before the ceremony starts. They will also help the best man plan the bachelor party or decorate the newlyweds‘ car.

Flower Girl

The role of the flower girl is to walk down the aisle carrying a small basket full of petals and look cute as a button in the process. If your ceremony venue doesn’t let you drop fresh flower petals down the aisle, the flower girl could also carry a small bouquet or pomander down the aisle. Another idea would be for the flower girl to carry a flowered wand with ribbons.

Ring Bearer

The role of the ring bearer is to carry the rings down the aisle. Usually the rings are securely attached to a nicely decorated pillow. The ring bearer and the flower girl can also walk down the aisle together. If you’re not comfortable with having the real rings on the pillow, you can use fake rings for the ring bearer to carry, and give the real thing to the best man for safekeeping.

Ushers

The role of the ushers is to help seat your guests, answer general questions, hand out ceremony programs or wedding booklets, and help with the aisle runner. Ushers can be family members (brothers, cousins or brother-in-laws) or friends of the couple. They usually wear the same attire — tuxedos or suits — as the groomsmen

Pages

The role of the pages is to help the bride walk down the aisle by carrying her cathedral or royal length train for her. Pages are usually a little older than the ring bearers.

About the Author: Nadine Elliott, freelance writer for WeddingMuseum.com.

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Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Bridesmaid, Flower Girl, Groomsmen, Planning | No Comments »
 

Top 10 Wedding Anniversary Songs

December 6th, 2010 | Rss Feed

Wedding anniversary songs are are great way to celebrate love at wedding receptions.  We recommend starting by inviting all married wedding couples to the dance floor.  Ask who the newest couple on the dance floor is by narrowing down by newest date.  Then, remove couples 5 years at a time until you find the longest married couple in the room.  Then, invite the bride and groom, newest married couple and the longest married couple to a special anniversary song dance.

WeddingMuseum.com created a list of our Top 64 Wedding Anniversary Songs.  From that list we selected out Top 10 Wedding Anniversary Songs.

10. This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole Originally released in 1975.  A great  r&b love song celebrating an eternal love for one another.

9. Still The One – Orleans  Originally released in 1976.  A classic rock love song proving how much you still mean to one another after all these years together.

8. Just The Two Of Us – Grover Washington Jr. with Bill Withers  Originally released in 1980.  A great jazz tune with Bill Withers singing “We can make it if we try.”

7. You Decorated My Life – Kenny Rogers  A classic country song released in 1979.  This song is a great love song story.

6. Anniversary – Tony Toni Tone   Our first true “anniversary” song on the list released in 1993.  This r&b song will be a mainstay on many couple’s lists celebrating an anniversary.

5. When I’m Sixty-Four – The Beatles  A classic love song by the Beatles released in 1967.  A love story about a man growing old with his lover.

4. 100 Years – Five For Fighting  This rock song was originally released in 2003.  A song about growing up until you are 100 years old and in the end “And I’m just dreaming counting the ways to where you are.”

3. You’re Still The One – Shania Twain  Our highest raking country song was released in 1997.  Another song stating how much you still mean to each other after all these years together.

2. Anniversary Waltz – Eddy Howard  For generations that have been around for many years, they will appreciate this classic song from 1950.  Be sure you know how to waltz before playing this one though.

1. Happy Anniversary – Kelly Morrison How can a song so new end up at the top of the list?  This is a song sung by Kelly who has one of those raspy, memorable voices.  This song is one of the feel good songs that just makes everyone want to dance!

About the Author

Matt Campbell is the owner and webmaster of WeddingMuseum.com, an online wedding planning resource.  WeddingMuseum.com features free wedding websites, wedding planning ideas and tools, local vendor listings, wedding song lists and wedding store.

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Posted in Music | 3 Comments »
 

Wedding Cakes: Indulge Your Sweet Tooth

December 2nd, 2010 | Rss Feed

Here comes the tastiest part of planning your wedding, selecting the cake. Not only will you be able to select a fabulous and delicious cake, you’ll also be able to taste it. Yummy!

Cake Tasting

A great way to be prepared for your cake tasting appointment would be to familiarize yourself with some of the terms frequently used by bakers, such as buttercream, fondant, gum paste, ganache, royal icing, piping, etc. Having a basic knowledge of the lingo could be very useful and a big time-saver. We found a wedding cake glossary you can peruse at your leisure. http://bit.ly/hxXVpk

Cake tasting appointments usually last one hour. You will be able to sample different flavor cakes and icings. When you call to make an appointment, let the bakery know which flavors you have in mind, but also ask them to provide their best-selling flavor combinations. You could be pleasantly surprised by an unexpected flavor sample.

When selecting your wedding cake, try to choose a cake that reflects the theme you selected for your special day, or that carries your wedding’s color scheme — in both the decorative aspect and the flavor aspect.

Groom’s Cake

Groom’s cakes are typically a southern wedding tradition where the bride gifts her new husband with a chocolate-flavored cake. A popular trend lately has been for the cake to depict the groom’s favorite sports, interests or hobbies.

Additionally, the cake should be presented to the groom at the reception, and displayed next to the bride’s cake; or it can be given to the groom at the wedding rehearsal. The groom’s cake can also be cut, boxed, and offered as wedding favors to your guests.

Budget-Friendly Options

Remember that the more layers, flowers, and intricate details your cake has the more expensive it will be. To save some money, you could order a smaller size cake for the cake-cutting ceremony, and serve sheet cake slices to the rest of your guests in the same flavor as your wedding cake.

Keep in mind that some venues will charge a fee to cut and serve the cake to your guests. It’s called a cake-cutting fee, and it usually costs $1.50 or more per person. Some venues include the fee in their wedding package when you use their in-house baker, but they will charge you extra if you hire an outside bakery to create your wedding cake.

If cakes are not your thing, you could skip the traditional wedding cake altogether and explore other dessert ideas. For example, you could display cupcakes, petits fours, cannolis or even donuts on a beautiful tiered dessert stand. Other ideas would be to offer a pie buffet or a cookie and milk buffet.

Whatever your choice is; just indulge your sweet tooth and have fun with it!

About the Author: Nadine Elliott, freelance writer for WeddingMuseum.com.

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Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Cake | 3 Comments »
 

Wedding Budget: The Basics

November 30th, 2010 | Rss Feed

Let’s talk about your wedding budget. We’re pretty sure some of you already cringed at the mere mention of budgeting for your special day. We know it’s not the most delightful part of planning your wedding, but setting a clear-cut budget truly is the first step in your wedding planning adventure.

First, you will need to sit down with your fiance, and your respective parents, to figure out some wedding budget basics. For example, who will contribute to the wedding monetarily? It’s important to know if both sets of parents are contributing or not. You also have to know the magic number they each have in mind, and how much they can really afford. We know it can be a hard subject to bring up, but you want everyone to be comfortable with the amount they contribute to your special day. If you’re not sure about who pays for what — according to wedding etiquette — we found a great post about it. http://bit.ly/exUedj

Once a final number for the budget has been agreed upon, you will have to start thinking about what you envision for your wedding and decide which elements are the most important to you on your big day. If you’re looking forward to a big party with lots of champagne flowing, you would have to allocate more of your budget to the reception and try to save money elsewhere — forget about the fireworks, or the letterpress invitations. If you prioritize the things you really want, it makes it easier to cut costs in other areas. It can seem like a tiring balancing act, but it’s well worth all the trouble of not going over budget.

Now that you have an idea of how to spend your money, you will need to found a way to oversee all your wedding expenses. A great way to keep track of all your expenses is to use a free online wedding budget calculator. WeddingMuseum.com offers one in their wedding planning section. http://bit.ly/et99Ft

Another great trick is to hire a wedding planner to help you stay within your budget. They will track all your expenses for you, and they can also become the voice of reason when all your ideas and choices start to quickly add up. Also keep in mind that with their experience and invaluable insider information, they probably have found many ways over the years to save money that we, as the general public, would never have thought of, or be privy to.

In the end, budgeting for your wedding doesn’t have to be a painful experience. You just need to be prepared and realistic both in your expectations and in your budget. And remember that compromise is the key to marital bliss!

About the Author: Nadine Elliott, freelance writer for WeddingMuseum.com.

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Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Finance | 4 Comments »
 

Bridal Lingerie: What are the options?

November 29th, 2010 | Rss Feed

You spend week’s possibly months choosing the perfect wedding dress, you have the most beautiful flowers, venue and everything is falling perfectly into place for the big day. You have spent a fortune on getting yourself in shape with facials, manicures, pedicures, hair colors and cuts, make up and tanning. You may have however made the mistake like many brides and over looked your bridal lingerie. This is a vital part of your planning for the big day as all the other elements could be ruined if the undergarments are not correct.

Bridal lingerie can see like a bit of midfield but there a few essential elements you need to decide on they are bra, pants and hosiery. The most important thing about getting the bra right is that it fits. Many women have never been properly fitted for a bra and this is the perfect opportunity to get professionally fitted. Most stores offer a free service for bra fitting this really can prove invaluable. Once you have correctly identified your size you should consider the shape and material of your dress. If you have for example a backless dress than you will need to look for an adhesive bra or specially fitted low cut bra. You also need to be careful when choosing the color anything highly patterned will show through and should be avoided.

If you have lumps and bumps and you would like to be streamlined then some magic pants can be great option. Think Bridget Jones style pants that don’t look particularly attractive when worn alone but when worn under a fitted dress can work wonders. Some dresses allow for all types of pants such as a ball gown or a-line cut. If you have a dress like this then you can choose pretty much anything. There are some really beautiful pants available complete with bows and ribbons or you could even get personalized ones! Just make sure that you are comfortable and they suit your body shape. French cuts knickers and boy shorts are more flattering to the bottom than a g-string. Whatever you chose make sure you are comfortable as you will be wearing them all day.

Once the bra and pants have been chosen you might want to wear some form of hosiery. Hosiery can be good if you are having winter wedding as it will keep you pins a bit warmer and can add some color to your legs. If you are wearing open toed shoes then make sure that you have seamless tights or stockings.

Basically you want your bridal lingerie to flatter your assets and remain invisible. You don’t want any knickerlines or bra straps on show. You want to feel as comfortable and as confident as you can on your big day so plan your bridal lingerie in advance. Even if it doesn’t look great on its own what’s important is that is working hard. You can change into something more attractive for your wedding night later on!

About the Author:  Jennifer is a part of the digital blogging team at shoutingindigital.com who work with brands like Debenhams. For more information about me, or to keep up to date with the latest in retail news, check out my posts at shoutingindigital.com or visit my Twitter account, @shoutingID.

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Posted in Articles for Planning a Wedding, Attire | No Comments »