Hi All,
Sorry, we have not been posting much the past couple weeks. Unfortunately, this will continue for several more weeks. We are working on a huge project in regards to our wedding song lyrics. An official announcement will be made once the project is complete. Sorry for the delay in posts. We look forward to being back as soon as possible.
Best regards,
Matt & Sharon
Going overboard when planning your wedding and reception is very easy to do nowadays. With all the hype about how lavish weddings are becoming and the wedding industry encouraging you to spend every last penny so your day is “perfect”, it is no wonder that the average cost of a wedding and reception is more than $20,000. Here are a few mistakes that may cost you money in the long run.
Not using the Internet to plan your big day. This includes using a “wedding website” to announce your wedding. In today’s times, the Internet is used for anything and everything. One in five couples use the Internet to send invitations, send save the date announcements, RSVP to the wedding and/or reception, and even for their registry. Even if you prefer old-fashioned paper invitations and save the date reminders, using the Internet to compare prices on other items is sure to save on your wedding budget
Assuming you have to stick with tradition, you are the bride and groom and you get to decide just how you want your wedding day to be. Just because mom and dad had a traditional wedding with a formal dinner and 5-tiered wedding cake doesn’t mean that is what is right for you. Many couples are opting for a less formal dinner. Maybe a buffet, or just a cocktail hour is what you had in mind. Another option besides a huge wedding cake is cupcakes. Traditional wedding cakes can start at about $5.00 per slice whereas cupcakes are about $2.50 – $3.00 each. In addition, ever consider a doughnut wedding cake?
Another area to think about in saving money is an open bar. Wedding guests love it, pocketbooks cringe with it. How about splitting the difference and opt for an open bar to a certain time of the night, or with a limit on how many free drinks each guest is allotted? If you are adamant about having an open bar so everyone is happy (except maybe you), then limit the amount of different varieties of liqours to choose from. For example, you do not have to have 4 different premium Vodka’s. Instead, have one premium and one shelf variety. Survey your guests to get an idea what you need to have available. If no one drinks Crown Royal, then do not have it as an option. Another cost saver is to have a signature cocktail for the evening. This can be one or two different drinks that are inexpensive (but wonderful tasting) to make. Another thing to ask about is if your venue (or whomever you purchase your bar items from) will credit you back for any bottle that is not opened at the end of the evening.
Last but not least, do not be afraid to negotiate for better pricing. When asking for a discount, don’t say “how much is this, this and this”. Rather, say “this is my budget, what can you do for me”, and go from there. Pretty much everything in the wedding industry can be negotiated. It never hurts to ask for a discount. The worse thing they can say is NO.
Think about these tips when planning your wedding.
February 2012 included another popular Valentine’s Day season. Please see our best social wedding related posts. You can check us out on Facebook with our link in the right sidebar to follow us!
February 1 - Wedding Saving Tip – Skip expensive centerpieces. Instead, use items around the house like books, glassware with tea lights & family photos.
February 1 - A+ for originality – Custom made wedding bands with waveform of the couple’s own voices. ”I do”. http://bit.ly/zxCQ3r
February 2 - Great article – Top 10 Cooking Blogs - http://bit.ly/zNczUb
February 2 - Drew Barrymore Engaged and Planning Wedding and Dishes on Her ‘Fancy’ Engagement Ring – Style News - http://bit.ly/yPCdMj
February 2 - See 12 stars’ wedding engagement rings with pictures – See the big bling belonging to Hollywood’s leading ladies - http://bit.ly/vZduV8
February 3 - Fashion runway – G-String Wedding Dress – What wil they think of next? http://bit.ly/wYNNH8
February 3 - A bold article by GLAMOUR – 6 Wedding Traditions No One Will Miss - http://bit.ly/wVzXpW
February 4 - Wedding Saving Tip – Not fond of wedding cake? Consider having a dessert buffet. Assorted cookies, candies, pastries and homemade pies.
February 6 - Just in case you missed them, here are the best commercials of the Super Bowl according to Hulu - http://bit.ly/yrsTBO
February 6 - Skip the vase. Think goblets, mason jars, milk jugs, trophy cups, beer growlers, tin cans and ice buckets. http://amzn.to/vVsHbv
February 7 - Sharing a cool product we like – Indigo Album Design’s photo album. Very modern, includes matching box. http://bit.ly/s9URL3
February 8 - New Press Release – WeddingMuseum.com Launches 40+ Song Lists for Wedding and Party Planners - http://bit.ly/x5oL15
February 8 - Wedding Saving Tip – Save money on a guest book. Instead, get pictures of guests as they enter the reception – as couples or groups.
February 9 - Article on MSN – Top 10 Chic Valentine’s Day Wedding Ideas -http://bit.ly/yTYtzR Valentine’s Day is next Tuesday!
February 10 - ?8 months before the wedding – Create a wedding website. Check out our custom free wedding websites: http://bit.ly/sb51Ee
February 11 - Adele’s “Someone Like You” Wins Tenth Annual Musicnotes.com “Song Of The Year” Award - http://bit.ly/yP3kMj
February 11 - Just in time for Valentine’s Day – Check out this cake topper offered from the Paris Las Vegas http://bit.ly/wLliEX
February 13 - Picture posted of wedding cake – includes zombies and spy agents cake topper - http://bit.ly/AuvVNO
February 13 - The Grammys took place last night. In celebration, here’s an article of the 90s where are they now - http://bit.ly/wkYAp1
February 14 - Diets for Women: 7 Plans That Target Ladies - http://bit.ly/yTQLPA - These plans, from Weight Watchers to the Petite Advantage Diet, are geared toward women.
February 14 - Looking for a location for an outdoor wedding? Consider rooftops, local fields and parks, pool decks, golf courses, and ship decks.
February 15 - http://bit.ly/AlQBHu Jenna McCarthy: What you don’t know about marriage. In this funny, casual talk from TEDx, writer Jenna McCarthy shares surprising research on how marriages (especially happy marriages) really work. One tip: Do not try to win an Oscar for best actress.
February 15 - Feel good story – Leukemia Victim Gets Second Shot at Life, Wedding Photos - http://bit.ly/zNrGfP
February 16 - Photo Strip and descriptions – Wedding Dress Options for a Variety of Budgets - http://bit.ly/AwfyeN
February 16 - ?101 Celebrity Wedding Engagement Rings with pictures -http://bit.ly/AFlzzj
February 17 - Friday Question: Would NOT having a facebook login prevent you from registering on a website?
February 17 - Money Saving Tip – Purchase a Cricut and create your own save the date cards and programs and much more! http://bit.ly/x1TinJ
February 17 - Wedding planning article – 5 Costly Wedding Mistakes -http://yhoo.it/yNX1QF
February 18 - Wedding planning article – How to Make a Courthouse Wedding Special With DOs and DON’Ts from David Tutera - http://bit.ly/wgLl8N
February 19 - Purple and teal wedding colors are all the rage. 3 fun wedding colors include tangerine, ice blue and eggplant. http://bit.ly/rXMthQ
February 20 - Wedding article – Honeymoon getaways for less -http://cnnmon.ie/zEVCCH These romantic getaways offer many of the same attractions as some of the world’s most desirable destinations, but they cost a fraction of the price.
February 21 - Beautiful and creative wedding cake – picture http://bit.ly/yPM5Va
February 21 - Great personal wedding day picture – My dog saying Goodluck to me on my wedding day. http://bit.ly/yNEQQw
February 21 - Not Your Average Wedding Frills – 20 Amazing ideas with photos for unusual wedding must-haves. http://bit.ly/yKS89F
February 22 - Having a fall wedding? Think about buying pumpkins and carving out the b&g’s initials, wedding date or other wedding scenes. Don’t forget to spray them with Pam, freeze them and lastly add candles.
February 27 - Pink and Green Wedding Cake with Fresh Flowers - http://bit.ly/AhNc5i
February 28 - The Perfect Gift for the Bride Who Has Everything - http://bit.ly/A0Gxid
February 29 - Natalie Portman’s Wedding Ring to Benjamin Millepied – Style News -http://bit.ly/Aah24F
February 29 - Facebook is changing the layout of all pages to their new design by March 30. We are resizing one of our banners. Once it is complete, we will transform to the new layout – the timeline.
In February 2012, VH1 released their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. We decided to create our list of the 10 Greatest Women Wedding Artists. Our list of 17 is formulated from VH1′s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. Women music artists have produced some of the most memorable wedding songs of all time.
#17 Taylor Swift – With her broad popularity, we are surprised she is not higher on the lists. However, many of her songs are a medium tempo which creates havoc for many grooms. Although the song Love Story is on the top of many wedding song lists.
#16 Carrie Underwood – Many of this Country superstar’s songs are wedding appropriate. Our favorite is Mama’s Song for mother dedications.
#15 Colbie Caillat – With her very unique pop voice, she is on wedding song charts as a soloist Bubbly,I Do and as a duo with Jason Mraz – Lucky.
#14 Faith Hill – One of the Queens of modern country. She has a list of her own of wedding appropriate songs like There You’ll Be, The Way You Love Me and Like We Never Loved At All.
#13 Madonna – Number one on VH1, we have to include dance hits like Holiday and Vogue and the love theme song from Vision Quest - Crazy For You.
#12 Shania Twain – Not only does Shania have a great wedding anniversary song, You’re Still The One, but she has a great first dance song, From This Moment On.
#11 Mariah Carey – Arguably the best artist of the 90s, she produced mere hit love songs galore such as Hero, I’ll Be There, One Sweet Day, Thank God I Found You and so on!
#10 Mary J. Blige – Mary sings with so much emotion. However, our favorite wedding song of hers is Family Affair. Beautiful is also a great wedding love song.
#9 Beyoncé – One of the leading women in the music industry. She tops wedding song lists with Crazy In Love and Single Ladies (Put A Ring on It).
#8 Rihanna – Rihanna has produced a collection of songs to fill dance floors at wedding receptions like Don’t Stop The Music and We Found Love.
#7 Whitney Houston – Not only did Whitney produce a wedding mega- hit I Will Always Love You but she also produced Greatest Love Of All, I Have Nothing and Count On Me.
#6 Norah Jones – Known for two great Jazz songs that make great first dance songs and slow songs to fill wedding reception dance floors – Come Away With Me and Don’t Know Why.
#5 Alicia Keys – A Soulful R&B powerhouse, Alicia will be played at weddings for years to come with hits like No One, Fallin’ and If I Ain’t Got You.
#4 Sarah McLachlan – If your are looking for an offbeat first dance, think about the song Ice Cream. If you are looking for a great in memory of song at a wedding, consider I Will Remember You.
#3 Adele - It is amazing how fast Adele has risen to the top. She already has wedding songs like Lovesong, and One And Only.
#2 Sade – One of our favorite first dance songs is By Your Side. However, Sade can fill dance floors with her unique voice as a Smooth Operator.
#1 Celine Dion – The queen of love songs, Celine will be played at weddings for years to come with pop mega hits such as Because You Loved Me, The Power Of Love and A Mother’s Prayer.
For a complete list of VH1′s 100 Greatest Women in Music, please see below.
100. Pussycat Dolls
99. Demi Lovato
98. Ashanti
97. Grace Potter
96. Mandy Moore
95. Wilson Phillips
94. Colbie Caillat
93. Feist
92. Jordin Sparks
91. Monica
90. Regina Spektor
89. Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum)
88. SWV
87. Robyn
86. Ingrid Michaelson
85. Faith Evans
84. Avril Lavigne
83. Meg White (The White Stripes)
82. Miley Cyrus
81. Spice Girls
80. Sara Bareilles
79. PJ Harvey
78. Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth)
77. Hayley Williams (Paramore)
76. Leona Lewis
75. Kim Deal (The Breeders, The Pixies)
74. Paula Abdul
73. Dido
72. Brandy
71. Natalie Merchant
70. Macy Gray
69. Courtney Love
68. Indigo Girls
67. M.I.A.
66. Natasha Bedingfield
65. Liz Phair
64. Eve
63. Jill Scott
62. Leann Rimes
61. Shirley Manson (Garbage)
60. Florence + The Machine
59. Destiny’s Child
58. Miranda Lambert
57. Ke$ha
56. Gloria Estefan
55. Fiona Apple
54. Tori Amos
53. Sarah McLachlan
52. En Vogue
51. Nelly Furtado
50. Lauryn Hill
49. Amy Lee (Evanescence)
48. Aaliyah
47. Kylie Minogue
46. Toni Braxton
45. Lil’ Kim
44. Erykah Badu
43. Taylor Swift
42. Melissa Etheridge
41. Jewel
40. Nicki Minaj
39. Dixie Chicks
38. Salt N Pepa
37. Faith Hill
36. Shakira
35. Shania Twain
34. Queen Latifah
33. Norah Jones
32. Fantasia
31. Cher
30. Sade
29. Bjork
28. k.d. Lang
27. Fergie
26. Amy Winehouse
25. Sheryl Crow
24. Jennifer Hudson
23. Carrie Underwood
22. Annie Lennox
21. Celine Dion
20. Rihanna
19. Kelly Clarkson
18. Missy Elliott
17. Katy Perry
16. Jennifer Lopez
15. Alanis Morissette
14. Alicia Keys
13. Gwen Stefani
12. TLC
11. Britney Spears
10. P!nk
09. Mary J. Blige
08. Christina Aguilera
07. Janet Jackson
06. Whitney Houston
05. Adele
04. Lady Gaga
03. Beyoncé
02. Mariah Carey
01. Madonna
Wedding ceremony readings are verbiage read by a family member or friend during a wedding ceremony. We wanted to provide a showing of our favorite examples of our favorite readings. However, while researching such readings, we realized that we would need to have permission by the authors to post their words on our site. You see, authors own the copyrights to their published words. Therefore, we were forced to change our thinking a bit to be legal.
As a result, we decided to give you, our readers, the best sources for finding the perfect wedding ceremony reading.
I hope this gives you some ideas on the verbiage for your wedding ceremony. There is plenty of examples on the web for each category.
