Countdown to Wedding Day: Tips for Staying on Track

The months and weeks leading up to your big day will become increasingly hectic. Amidst all the excitement, it’s common to forget a task you need to do or item that needs to be picked up before your wedding day. Should the worst case scenario happen and you forget to confirm the limo or check with the caterers, you can probably pull things together at the last minute. But the day before and the day of your wedding day shouldn’t have to be spent in stress as you frantically try to get everything in order. Use this countdown checklist to help you make sure everything’s taken care of so you can enjoy your wedding day.

Six Months and Counting – A Checklist for Wedding Day Preparedness

• Six Months. Six months prior to your wedding you should approve your wedding invitation proofs so you can get to work on sending them out. Additionally, your honeymoon plans should be firmed up at this time to make sure travel, lodging and any special activities are booked.
• Five Months. Five months before the big day you’ll want to schedule wedding cake tastings so you can choose a baker and order your cake. In keeping with the food theme, this is also a good time to schedule your rehearsal dinner and make reservations.
• Four Months. It’s time for the groom and his groomsmen to visit the tuxedo rental shop, get fitted and reserve the appropriate attire.
• Three Months. If you and your partner are planning to have bachelor and bachelorette parties, now is the time to schedule them. This is also the right time to schedule hair and makeup appointments for your wedding day.
• Two Months. Two months before your special day is a good time to finalize the vows you’re going to use. If you’re writing your own, don’t delay further since the next several weeks will become increasingly busy. Brides should also go for their final fitting at this time.
• One Month. At one month before the big day it’s time to confirm everything, including flowers, cake, catering, seating arrangements, limo and beauty appointments.
• Three Weeks. With 21 days left, it’s time to contact anyone who hasn’t RSVP’d so you can give caterers and reception venue managers a final headcount.
• One Week. Breathe in and breathe out! Your wedding day is almost here. Make sure to pick up the wedding dress, confirm honeymoon travel arrangements and start packing.

Don’t Try to Do it Alone

No matter how much you think you’ve got it all under control, don’t try to handle all the wedding preparations yourself. Family and friends will be happy to pitch in and help take care of some of the tasks, and your partner should pull some weight, too. When your wedding day checklist is divided between several people, it will seem more manageable. Additionally, having less to worry about means you’ll have less cluttering your mind. As you handle each item on your list with a clear head, you’ll be less likely to forget anything.

About Author: Lucy James from the online diamond jewelry specialists Bigger Diamonds for Less. To find out more about selecting the perfect engagement or wedding ring, please visit the website.

 Quirky Wedding Traditions from around the world.

I am sure you have heard of all types of wedding traditions from one person or another.  But did you know that there are many different traditions in many different countries that have the same meaning.  India, for example, believes that you should have an artist draw designs on your hands and feet with henna.  The darker the henna the more luck it is suppose to bring you.  In other middle eastern countries this symbolizes protection from evil. In China, if you want to keep the evil spirits at bay, you should light firecrackers after the ceremony. In the United States, if you want to protect your bride from evil spirits, you need to carry her over the threshold.

In Ireland, it is believed that if you put some lavender in your bouquet, you will have happiness in your marriage.  For a Checz bride and groom to have happiness in their marriage, a plate is broken at the feet of the couple before the reception begins.  The bride and groom must sweep up the chips together.

In Scotland, to have good luck in your union, put a branch of white heather in your bouquet.  Whereas in Egypt pinching the bride is considered good luck and the English believe that a spider in the brides wedding dress will bring good luck (think I will stick with the white heather).  Although, in the Hindu belief, having rain on your wedding day will also bring you good luck.

Now, if you want to keep your marriage sweet and renewed, try putting a wrapped piece of sugar in your glove.  That is the way it is done in Greece.  In Holland, if you plant lilies of the valley around your home, the love of you and your spouse will renew every spring.

If you are a person who believes in superstition, then there are certain beliefs about the day you should get married.  The English believe the “best day” to get married is Wednesday.  Although, Mondays will bring you wealth and Tuesdays are for good health.  On the other hand, according to English legend, Saturday is the unluckiest day to get married.

Lets talk dresses!  “Something old” is used to symbolize continuity with the past, whereas, “something blue” symbolizes purity, fidelity and love.  There are different meanings in different cultures regarding the dress.  Traditionally in the U.S. a white dress is worn symbolizing purity.  This is also the same in Japan.  In Asia, wearing robes with cranes embroidered on them symbolizes fidelity.  In Korea, brides wear bright hues of red and yellow for fidelity.

So, while you are planning your wedding and thinking of wedding traditions, remember there are many different meanings behind why people choose to have certain things incorporated into their weddings.

There is a timeline tradition for any wedding.  This is a suggestion of when you should have particular details of your wedding completed (or at least started) by month.  Here is a guideline for your consideration:

12 Months – Announce your engagement, choose a wedding theme, work out a budget, research wedding professionals (caterer, florist, DJ or band, photographer and videographer) and venues.  You can also set appointments with the wedding pros at this time.

11 Months – Select a wedding consultant (if you are using one), meet with caterers and arrange tastings, select and book the caterer, select and book the music entertainment (band/DJ), decide on music selections, select and reserve your venue, (ceremony and reception), start thinking about your wedding dress.  If you are choosing a destination wedding, now would be the best time to send save the date cards.

10 Months – Choose and purchase your wedding dress and veil.  Choose attendants and discuss with them their duties and what you expect of them.  If choosing a park or recreational area for the venue, secure the proper permits.

9 Months – Register for your wedding gifts, decide on food for the reception, choose whether you will have an open bar, limited bar or no alcohol at your reception, make a playlist for your music, research places for guests to stay, reserve blocks of rooms at a local hotel for guests.

8 Months – Go to your first gown fitting, order bridesmaid dresses and accessories, look at wedding rings, confirm florist and discuss wedding theme and flower arrangements, start making a decision regarding invitations (style, color, font, etc),

7 Months – Review and finalize your wedding details with your consultant, set fittings for bridesmaids’ dresses, choose tux styles for groomsmen,  select a flower girl and ring bearer, choose and purchase wedding rings, finalize invitations.

6 Months – Review invitation proofs and make changes if needed, finalize invitations, discuss honeymoon ideas, meet with travel agent, work on wedding decorations (table decorations, favors, etc).

5 Months – Order place cards and programs, finalize honeymoon arrangements, make reservations for rehearsal dinner and menu.

4 Months – Get groom to try on tuxedos and purchase accessories, work on vow’s, make appoint with stylist regarding hair and makeup, address wedding invitations.

3 Months – Approve anything that is being printed for the wedding (programs, place cards, etc), decide about rehearsal dinner, next day brunch and reserve restaurants, discuss bachelorette party, review registry and make any adjustments.

2 Months – Mail invitations, purchase wedding gifts for wedding party members, go to second (possibly final) gown fitting, have groom make final decision regarding tux and reserve, arrange transportation for bride and groom to reception from ceremony site, purchase ceremony accessories (unity candle, wine glasses, etc).

6 Weeks – Send rehearsal dinner invitations, write thank you notes as you receive gifts, confirm music playlist with music entertainment, purchase any remaining wedding favors or table decorations, purchase a gift for your spouse-to-be, meet with stylist again for a practice run (take veil with you).

4 Weeks – Confirm with florist and arrange delivery times, meet with officiant to discuss details, determine any seating arrangements and reception layout, placement of cake table, placement of DJ or band, schedule an appointment for a mani/pedi  just before the wedding, schedule pick up of grooms tux, finalize photographer and videographer.

3 Weeks – Go over RSVP’s and finalize head count with caterer, call anyone who has not responded to get accurate count.

1 Week – Confirm honeymoon arrangements and start packing, pick up wedding dress and tux.

WEDDING DAY – Eat a good breakfast, attend hairstyle appointment and make up appointment.  RELAX and ENJOY  yourself!!

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue!  What does this mean?  Where did this saying come from?  Actually, it is an old English saying from the Victorian era that ended with “And a silver sixpence in her shoe”.  It was said that if a bride followed this saying on her wedding day it would bring her good luck.  Each saying has its own meaning.  “Something old” is meant to signify continuity with the brides’ family.  “Something new” means optimism and hope.  “Something borrowed” is typically from a happily married family member and is meant to carry that happiness into your marriage.  “Something blue” has been used as far back as ancient Rome to symbolize love, modesty and fidelity.

The “something new” is an easy one.  Usually the wedding dress itself will cover that.  If you are wearing your mothers wedding dress, then there are plenty of other things in your wedding that will cover the “something new”.

“Something old” can be a little harder to incorporate.  In this case if you are wearing your mother’s wedding dress ,you have it covered.  Including antique jewelry is another way to incorporate something old into your wedding.  If you are keeping with tradition, in order for the bride to have good luck she has to carry these components with her on the wedding day.

“Something borrowed” can fit in just about anywhere within the wedding attire.  Moms’ wedding dress, grandmas pearl necklace or earrings, Aunt Sophies’ diamond bracelet.  Just use your imagination.

“Something blue” is were you can have a little fun.  Why is it that the first thing people think of for something blue in their wedding is the garter?  There are plenty of other things that can be blue that do not affect your wedding theme.  Have you thought about fancy blue shoes or converse tennis shoes?  What a great way to add a touch of color, fun and whimsy into your wedding.  If you cannot find that perfect shoe to suit your fancy, then what about a hairpiece that has blue in it.  This doesn’t mean that your hair has to be done up in all blue, but you could consider adding a fancy blue comb at the top of a beautiful bun.  Brides could also use a bejeweled bobby pin in blue crystals.  Wearing your hair down?  What about blue sapphire earrings, necklace or ring?  Want to kill two birds with one stone?  Consider borrowing sapphire earrings from a friend or relative.  That will take care of something borrowed, something blue .  Find a friend or relative with an antique blue sapphire necklace that you can borrow and you have now covered something old, something borrowed and something blue.  You can also add a touch of blue to your bouquet.  The main theme doesn’t have to be blue but you can always sneak in a blue flower or blue ribbon if you want.  You may also consider painting your fingernails blue.  You can do a French manicure with just the tips blue, or you may decide to paint the whole nail a shade of blue.  You can also wear some fancy blue lingerie if you choose.

The best advise we can offer is have fun with it!  For the superstitious bride, what items will you have in your wedding to have “extra” luck?  Comment below.

Wedding days are well thought out.  The whole day is planned down to the last minute; what time to be at the beauty salon, at the ceremony site, what time the ceremony is to start, what time to be at the reception, etc.  But like in life, you need to plan for the unexpected things that happen.  This includes the wedding and the reception.  Things not only go wrong with the bride, but also don’t forget about things that may happen with the groom or other members of the wedding party.  This is why it is important to have a wedding day survival kit.  Wedding day survival kits can be purchased online or you can make your own.  If making your own, here are some of the things you should include:

Clothing repair:

Sewing kit w/scissors

Safety pins

Lint brush

Two-sided tape – good for a quick fix for a falling hem

Pocket size stain removers

Beauty:

Hairspray

Comb or brush

Bobby pins

Mirror

Mascara

Clear nail polish – (also good for stopping runs in the pantyhose)

Earring backs

Health:

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Antacid – for those butterflies

Tissues

Band-Aids – for those blisters from dancing all night

Breath mints

Deodorant

These are just a few things to get you started.  As the bride you may also want to bring along makeup for touchups later in the evening.  This kit doesn’t have to be small enough to carry down the isle.  Most of the items on this list can be found in travel sizes. You just need to make sure someone has control over it and gets it to the wedding and the reception, like the maid of honor or best man.  Hopefully you will not need anything in the kit, or at least very little of it.  But remember it is always better to be prepared for any emergency.

Wedding gift registries are the latest trend among couples these days. A fairly new option, the wedding gift registry helps couples convey their wishes in terms of what they want as gifts. Wedding gift registries are gaining popularity among couples as without them, most often than not, the couple will end up receiving many same types of items, or something that they don’t like or don’t require. With gift registries, the couple can inform the guests about their exact requirements.

If you too wish to benefit from a wedding registry then you need to consider certain things. First, you need to know what you both have in the combining household before registering with the website. This is important; as the couple may be have certain items of their own, say a new toaster, oven, refrigerator etc., so it is advised to list your combined belongings so that you don’t put up anything on the gift registry that you both already own. Next comes picking the right wedding registry, which can either be a store or an online wedding registry.

If you have time, then you can go into a store to set up your registry, but if you both are working professionals, then a registry website will be the best option. A registry online will not only save you time and energy, but it will also be extremely convenient for your guests to browse through. Another major benefit of an online registry is automatic notifications, i.e. you can announce your wedding registry through emails and whenever anyone purchases anything on the wish list of your registry, you will get email notifications for the same.

The online wedding registry sites are very user friendly and you may even get a checklist of items that you would like to have on your wish list, right after you sign up your account on them. Not only that, certain websites even allow you to create links for Wedding or Honeymoon funds, wherein the guests can contribute in your events and this money is transferred to your PayPal account without any trouble. You can then transfer the money to your regular bank account.

A wedding gift registry can prove to be a great option to help you make your dream of a perfect wedding or honeymoon come true. If you have always been dreaming of honeymooning in Costa Rica with turquoise water and white sandy beaches, or cuddling in each other’s arms in the romantic gondola in Venice, or lazing under the sun in Hawaii, all this can be a reality with wedding gift registry. For this, you simply have to consult various travel agencies providing wedding gift registries or check out online honeymoon bridal registries. Once you sign up with them, your guests will be allowed to check different options like airfare, accommodations, car rentals, romantic dinners, tours etc., and they can pick the package according to their wishes for you.

Many websites also provide coupons and promotional codes that will help you to buy products from their online store at discounted rates. So, what are you waiting for, go ahead, create your wedding gift registry and spread the word among family and friends.

If you wish to make your wedding unique and add some personality to it, then a wedding theme is the key. You need to consider certain things before choosing a wedding theme for yourself, as it requires meticulous planning to make it work. Although planning the wedding can be enthusiastic, it can become very stressful for you if you are not able to handle all things on time. If you want a wedding theme, then you should plan ahead with the ideas.

First, you need to see what time of year your wedding is slated for, before finalizing a wedding theme idea. For instance, if you have always dreamed of a winter wonderland theme, it won’t work out if your wedding is going to be in the middle of summer. If you are sure about what kind of theme you want, then it is advised that you book your wedding for that time of year, when your wedding theme best fits with the season.

Choose a place, as per the theme, for your wedding well in advance. For instance, if you are opting for a 20’s look, then you might rather select a place that has a 20’s look, like an underground club or restaurant, instead of a Tudor-esque castle. Once you are done with the venue selection, you need to consider the lights, decorations and colors. Unlike what many people think, wedding theme does not necessarily mean time, place, or era, it may also mean a particular decoration and/or color to create a theme. The tablecloths, flowers and other decorative items can add splash of colors to your venue and create a unique wedding theme.

You can also use your culture as the theme for your wedding, if you are passionate. If you and your partner are of different origins and culture, then blending both the cultures will not only create a personalized wedding theme, but also makes yours and your partner’s family members happy and delighted. Not only that, culture themes are affordable, easy to plan and suit all budgets comfortably. In culture theme, you need to focus on the food served, and you can include local dishes, like add sushi and noodles for Japanese weddings; add haggis, neeps and tatties for Scottish weddings; and curries, chappatis (Indian bread), sweets for Indian weddings and so on.

Besides food, you should also consider other factors as well so that they perfectly match with your wedding theme; music is the most important among them, especially if you are choosing a theme based on culture or a particular decade. You will have to select the sound tracks of that particular origin or era to reflect it. However, if your theme is based on colors and decorations, say white, red, orange, purple or yellow wedding, then you need not worry about the music and you can go for your favorite and latest tracks. Moreover, your wedding favors should also be in line with the wedding theme, as it will help your guests get a personalized touch and make your wedding memorable for not only you, but also everyone who attends it.

Wedding is undeniably amongst the most important occasion in a person’s life and every couple wants to ensure that everything is perfect when they say their vows to live with each other forever. There are certain mistakes that should be avoided in a wedding to make it a dream wedding, and we feel that these are among the top ones:

1.       Having high demands from wedding party members – Even if bridesmaids and groomsmen offer you extra help, don’t take excess advantage of them. The have offered to help you not do everything.  You need to understand that their only obligations are providing you emotional supports, participating in rehearsal, expense of wedding attire and travel and off course the role on the day of the wedding and maybe the reception toasts.

2.       Stretching yourself too thin -  Being a bride can sometimes become pretty hard having to plan and prioritize all the things and finalizing the details and it is better to seek help before you end up putting everything off and expect our friends and family to pick up the pieces.

3.       Working without guidance – Without any guidance there will be too many details given to too many people  Either make sure that you are well organized or think about hiring a wedding coordinator. He/she will single handily coordinate your wedding party, music, minister, seating arrangements etc., which in turn will ease your stress level.

4.       Bachelor or Bachelorette party the night before your wedding – Never organize the party to enjoy your end of single-hood the night before the wedding  Many brides and grooms have a tendency to over due the party and this may leave you looking tired with a hangover the next day.

5.       Honeymoon right after the wedding – Don’t venture on your honeymoon right after the wedding, as you will be exhausted and little disorderly the following day after all the wedding planning and preparation. Take a couple of days to rest.

6.       Getting the wedding dress at the last minute – Don’t wait till last minute for having your wedding dress shipped.  Schedule your first fitting way before your wedding and final fitting at least a week before the wedding so that alterations can be made.

7.       Prioritize and prioritize – Getting your priorities straight to know what you want the most, the music, photographer, food and wine, decorations or accommodating large guest list is a good thing. If you are not footing the bill yourself, you will have to forfeit certain decisions when it comes to finance and you will need to adjust on certain priorities or else pay for it.

8.       Don’t set up an all Cash Bar – You should select the alcohol to be served at the reception as per your personal preference and budget.  The guests should be courteous enough to accept whatever is offered and if they need something else, they will definitely get it themselves.

9.       Wearing too high heels – As a bride, you will have to stand for long hours on your wedding day, so it is better to go flat or a lower heel for comfort. Moreover, wear your wedding shoes before the wedding, as you may get blisters in new shoes.

10.   Don’t give too many instructions – You should not micromanage the wedding DJ, caterer or the photographer. They are professionals, so simply tell them your preferences and leave the rest to them.

Wedding planning requires lots of work out and thorough consideration of the budget to ensure that you get everything done perfectly without burning a hole in your pocket.

If your wedding is around the corner, then getting the best caterer must be the top most concern on your wedding planning list. Questions like what to do, where to go and who to contact, can bother you the most while making wedding arrangements. Marriage is a once in lifetime affair and everyone tries to keep their best foot forward. Catering is the most expensive and important aspect while planning for a wedding since as much as one third of the entire wedding budget can be spent on catering alone. Arranging the best caterer who meets all your food and budgetary requirements can take a lot of research and scrutiny. With smart work and following the given tips, you can easily get the caterer who can satisfy all your needs on that special day. Let’s have a look at how to go about selecting a caterer for wedding.

First, if you are in position, how to select a caterer, then keep three answers ready to put forward before inquiring about a caterer. As you will call caterer, every caterer will ask about date and time of your wedding, number of guests and wedding formality and style. In addition, if you have any specific preferences, let the caterers know so that they can be prepared for the first interview with you. In initial meetings, talk to the caterers about your food preferences and most importantly the budget.

If at all possible, talk to friends, family or co-workers and see if anyone can recommend a caterer they have used in the past.  One of the best advertisements you can review is word of mouth.  When you start calling caterers, they will ask certain questions. They will want to know the date and time of your wedding, number of guests, wedding formality and type of food wanted. In addition, if you have any specific preferences (vegetarian dishes), let the caterers know so that they can be prepared at the first interview with you. In initial meetings, talk to the caterers about your food preferences and most importantly the budget.

Discussion about style of reception for example food stations, buffet, sit down dinner, or cocktail reception, and type of food should take place in your initial meeting, as it gives a clear vision to the caterer about the budget. If you are not familiar with the caterer, you can ask them to present a food sample to taste so that you can examine their culinary skills. Moreover, do not forget to check how attractively the food was presented. If this caterer did not come recommended by someone you know, ask for references and call a few of the references so that you can confirm about the past performance of the caterer.

In house and off- premise catering has varied charges due to set up fees. Most caterers charge per person, so it is completely up to you how you want to keep the arrangements of your wedding. Some caterers offer discounts and special menus for kids; so do not forget to enquire about these options. If you are very particular about style and have specific taste, then, when hiring a caterer do not forget to make special notation about crockery and dinnerware. You might be charged little more for that, but your style will be intact and show more of your personality.

Apart from that, service is another thing that should be considered while choosing a caterer. Be sure to confirm about the ratio of waiters to guests, which should ideally be around one waiter to 8-10 guests. It is important that servers are highly professional in their mannerisms and dress. Lastly, make a final guest count a week before the wedding, as it is important to estimate the wedding expenses. Most reception halls include things like tables, linen and table dressings, but if you are looking for something special make sure you mention it to your caterer. With these tips, you will defiantly make your reception one to remember.

The concept of destination wedding is gaining popularity among most couples these days, mainly due to the prospects of making the D-day extraordinary and out of this world experience. The stressful and hectic lifestyles have also did its part in enhancing the appeal of destination wedding, as it serves as a perfect getaway for the families and friends of the couple, making it a time worth cherishing for most people.

A beach wedding is the most popular theme wedding concept and a destination wedding option as well.  The idea of going to a remote island with your loved ones and confessing your love for your partner under the blue sky with sparkling and crystal clear water beneath you, is enough to invigorate your senses. The beach offers the most serene and beautiful setting for a wedding, and makes the day captivating without much effort on the decoration. Moreover, nature lovers or those who feel they have a special connection to the environment, find this option extremely appealing. To make the wedding event more fun and exhilarating, you can opt for a powerboat ride to your venue or for more lavishness try arriving in a personal seaplane while experiencing the serenity of the surrounding islands and water.

Weddings on a beach make for a very casual atmosphere, allowing the couple as well as the guest to chill out and relax. The bride can also opt for lighter dress material for the wedding dress, including the soft flowing material, wavy tresses with pretty flowers, light jewelry maybe pearl or sparkling solitaire neck pieces, all make for a perfect wedding. The groom can wear cool casuals too. The entire atmosphere seems to be more laid back, and it works well to relieve the pre-wedding stress among the couples.

However, if you don’t want to make things too casual you can still follow a formal attire, but make sure to choose the dress material as per the weather, as you don’t want to feel uncomfortable or sweaty while saying ‘I do’. Therefore, you should decide the dress code for the beach wedding beforehand and make sure to print it on the wedding invitations, so that the guests are prepared for the new climate.

While selecting the venue, take care of the space and facilities available at the location. There are various wedding resorts built right on the beach, choosing these will help make your location easy to access. You can also check out certain churches close to beach and then arrange everything else at a nearby resort or an open space. If the wedding ceremony is scheduled for day time and its going to be a lengthy one, then do offer your guests parasols or try putting up a tent close to water. However, do consider the tides when picking a spot, as you don’t want to be drenched in water or move the guests up the beach later on.

The best part of selecting locations like Bahamas, Hawaii, U.S Virgin Islands and other islands is that after the completion of the wedding ceremony, the couple has the option of enjoying their honeymoon.  If this is what you have in mind, then consider booking a luxury honeymoon cottage and begin your new life by exploring the island, relaxing on the beach and long walks on the sand.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding planning tips for today’s brides and grooms.

Everyone wants his or her wedding to be a fun-filled, exciting and out-of-this-world experience. Couples who go for distinctive wedding theme want their wedding to be creative and authentic. They spend huge amount of money to make their D-day original and memorable. Many people believe that wedding is once in a lifetime experience and it should be exclusive and different. To keep their wedding ceremony safe from becoming carbon copy of other weddings, people go for crazy and wackiest wedding themes, which include underwater wedding and wedding while jumping from the airplane.

However, you need not to try that one, for the sake of a creative and unique wedding. You just need to have an original idea and money to spend. Wedding themes generally represent couples interest and personalities, some people are adventurous, some are romantic and some are art lovers. Couples display their interests and ideas, which they share as couple, through their wedding. There are many types of wedding themes, which are a rage nowadays. You can select your wedding theme based on specific flowers, music, decorations, linens, entertainment, and music. You can create a special mood by making some dramatic changes in wedding decoration.

Incite Your Romance With Romantic Wedding Theme:

Although every wedding is an epitome of romance in itself, choosing a romantic theme can add one more chapter in your romantic life. This type of wedding theme will make you feel nostalgic in every second, during your wedding ceremony. A romantic wedding can vary in style such as Cinderella style, fairy tale, Romeo Juliet wedding style and others. Whatever it may be, romantic wedding theme is always relaxed, soft, charming and comfortable. You can select from an array of venues such as beach, ranch, lawn, church, etc. for your wedding reception. Add natural elements for instance fresh flowers, water fountains, seashells, doves, grassy lawns, and romantic music that enhance the essence of romance. Candles, shimmering lights and twinkling stars works well in setting romantic mood, so do not forget to include them, if you have planned to hold your reception in the evening. Stuffs like beautiful laces, ruffles, satin fabric, flowers, are the main elements that makes the wedding feel calm and romantic. Add these elements to decorate bride, cake, venue, and chairs and tables.

Embrace Your Passion with Adventurous Wedding Theme

If you are an adventure freak, and have dreamed of a wedding that is thrilling and outrageously adventurous, then there are ample of options to choose from. You can go for skydiving wedding, scuba diving wedding, sailing wedding, Amazon jungle wedding, air balloon wedding, etc. In these types of weddings themes, you will be accompanied with a videographer, who will record your wedding as well as witness in front of whom, you while exchanging your vows.

Apart from these popular wedding themes, there are various types of wedding themes like beach wedding theme, summer wedding theme, fall wedding theme, movie style wedding, spring wedding theme, butterfly wedding theme, etc. Whichever wedding theme you are selecting, remember that is should be unique and should match with the personality and lifestyle of you and your partner.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding planning for today’s brides and grooms.

Nowadays, one of the very first arrangements made by the couples planning to get married is, start their own wedding website. In the past, having your own wedding website was not an easy job. However, times have changed and nowadays couples can have their own wedding websites very easily, that too for free. For this very reason, if you make a search, you will find numerous personal wedding websites existing online nowadays. If you too are about to get married, you too can start your own wedding website. Before starting your own website, you can browse through the wedding websites of others to learn from their experience and get exciting ideas.

There are numerous benefits of having your own wedding website. To begin with, these websites allow you to express about yourself and your partner, to your family, friends and guests, and help them to know about both of you in a better manner. To let your friends and family know about your newly created wedding website, all that you will have to do is either send them an email regarding it or place the URL of your website on your wedding invitation.

While planning to create your own wedding website, the very first thing that you obviously might be wondering is what to publish on it. Well, right from the stories about how you and your partner met and finally decided to get married, to photographs with family, friends and holidays, there are a lot of things that you can publish on your wedding website. It can be anything which tells about you and your partner to the website visitors.

A very useful feature of these wedding websites is that, if you want to limit the access to your stories and photos to your family, friends and guests only, you can do so by protecting the website with a password. Therefore, only those with the correct password can have an access to the information published on the website.

Besides publishing stories about you and your partner, you can also put in the details about your wedding events on the website, so that the guests remained informed and updated about the wedding. You can also include useful things like the map to the wedding venue, accommodation details, and several other things in your wedding website. In fact, if you wish you can also put up a gift registry on the wedding website, so that your guests can easily decide on what to gift you on your wedding, which will prove useful for you.

This is not all. Through your wedding website you can also prepare and estimate your guest list through online RSVP forms, which your guests can fill up. You can also reply to your guests through your wedding website. Hence, through your wedding website you can organize and manage your guest list with accuracy and without any inconvenience.

If you do not have enough time to build your own wedding website, you can also approach a wedding planning website to create one for you. In fact many wedding planning websites offer these services for free.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing free wedding websites for today’s brides and grooms.

Nowadays, numerous wedding planning tools are available online. The demand for these wedding planning tools is increasing considerably because these help couples, who are about to get married, to plan and make arrangements for their wedding in a systematic and planned manner. Right from budget calculators to guest invitation and seating planners, there are numerous wedding planning tools available in the present day market. If you too are about to get married soon and are looking for information about some of the best, latest and most useful wedding planning tools available in the market, this article will tell you about few of them.

One of the most useful wedding planning tools available in the market is the one which helps to create and maintain the ‘To Do List’. With the help of this tool, you can create a things-to-do checklist, so that you can plan and make arrangements for your wedding in a systematic manner, and do not leave out anything, no matter how big or how small. This tool usually includes a calendar, which allows you to assign tasks according to the time remaining for the wedding day, so that all the arrangements are completed well in time. In the to-do-list, you can add various tasks, and updated and remove them when completed. If required you can also get these printed.

The next very important and useful wedding planning tool available in the market is the budget calculator. With the help of this tool, you can estimate your total wedding budget accurately and also assign budgets under different categories. This tool allows you to update the budget, track withdrawals, deposits and balances and also show the expenses incurred so far.

The guest list is another useful wedding planning tool, which is quickly becoming popular in the market. With the help of this tool, couples can not only create a guest list for their wedding, but also maintain and manage it. This tool has several features, which allows you to add and edit the names of guests, track the RSVP responses, track the number of guests planning to attend the marriage, etc. You can also print the guest list and sort it according to different criteria.

You can also look for the Guest Seating Planner tool in the market. This tool helps to create the guest seating plan easily, according to the guest list. With the help of this tool, you can create tables with number of seats required and also assign seats to your guests. This tool too facilitates to get a printed copy of the guest seating plan.

Last but not the least, another wedding planning tool which couples find to be very useful is the wedding music checklist tool. With the help of this tool, you can make arrangements for the music and songs for you wedding ceremony and reception. You can prepare a list of songs you want to be played on different occasions and also get a print out of it, so that you can hand it over to the DJ or the person in charge of the music department.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing wedding planning tools for today’s brides and grooms.

In case you missed it, May 1 Sunday’s newspaper included fun facts from around the USA in the Parade supplemental.  Please note the following fun fact when planning your wedding.

• Boston is the best city for online dating (1)
• Most Sun USA city – Yuma, AZ – 90% of time (2)
• Most Tattooed cities – 1) Miami Beach, 2) Las Vegas (3)
• 308.7 million people in the USA (4)
• USA favorite Candy – M&M’s (5)
• USA favorite cookie – Orea (5)
• 54.1% of adults reported being married in 2010 (6)
• 2.1 million marriages took place in 2009 (6)
• 6% of married women have been so for at least 50 years (6)
• $5,392 is average cost of an engagement ring (7)
• $1,099 is average amount spent on a wedding dress (7)
• $26,984 is average cost of a wedding (7)
• 66% of people decide in the first half hour if there will be another date. (8)
• $927 million is the annual revenue of dating services (on and offline) (9)
• 17% of people who married in the past three years met online (10)

1. Source – OhCupid
2. Source – NOAA (annual average for cities with 30k+ people)
3. Source – Totalbeauty.com
4. Source – US Census Bureau
5. Source – Harris, Bloomberg, Businessweek, Symphony/IRI Group
6. Source – US Census, CDC
7. Source – The Knot, Inc
8. Source – Its Just Lunch survey
9. Source – US Census
10. Source – Match.com

The stats listed above and more can be found on Parade’s website.  For other fun wedding planning ideas, please visit WeddingMuseum.com.

If you are about to get married soon and are busy with all the planning and preparations, then by now you must have already noticed that there are numerous resources available online, that can help you in planning your wedding in a better manner and make it memorable in every ways. Wedding is definitely one of the most important phases of a person’s life and for this very reason, every individual puts in his/her best to ensure that every detail is taken care of and nothing is left behind, which can spoil their special day.

Out of the various resources that can help in wedding planning, having one’s own wedding website proves to be of great help. These websites not only help in organizing everything in a systematic and organized manner, but also helps in planning everything in details, to make the day memorable. If you do not have enough time to create your own wedding website, you need not worry, as there are several wedding websites available over the internet for free. Therefore, all you need to do is choose the perfect wedding website for yourself and start planning and making arrangements for your wedding day in an exciting manner.

Having your own wedding website can help you to plan and organize your wedding in several ways. For instance, if very few days are left for your wedding and you think that traditional wedding invitations in print will not reach your relatives and friends on time, you can send electronic invitations and can also get responses from your guests online with the help of these websites. In fact, nowadays most of the couples prefer to send wedding invitations and get responses online, rather than over phone and post, as it is much easier and convenient.

At the same time, through your wedding website you can provide all important information such as date, time, and location where the wedding will take place, along with directions and maps to the place to your guests, and make it easier and convenient for them to reach the wedding on time.

With the help of the wedding website you can also maintain a gift registry, which will not only help you to stay organized, but also inform your family and friends what are the things that you will be requiring for starting your new life. The gift registry will enable your family and friends to see easily, which are the things that you require, and hence can buy a gift for you within their budget, without wasting time on thinking and browsing through the stores, looking for a suitable gift for you.

Another reason why wedding websites are becoming highly popular among the couples to be wedded soon is the feature of these websites, which allows the couples to upload photos of their wedding and share it with their families and friends online.

With so many benefits offered by the wedding websites, you should no longer waste time on thinking over it and get your own wedding website soon and start planning and organizing your wedding in a systematic and fun manner.

This article has been written by an expert associated with WeddingMuseum.com, a company providing ideas for planning a wedding.