Planning

Wedding Gifts for the Bridal Party

The bridal party is usually made up of your best friends, or perhaps your brothers, sisters and cousins. Whoever they are, they are the people who have been there for you through good and bad times, and they should continue to be there for you in your married life. You want to show your appreciation for the role they are playing on your big day.

Survival checklist

Hotel and destination travelling tips

As you are planning your wedding day, an item often overlooked is the time allocated for travelling to and from the wedding destination. When planning travel time, add an additional 50 per cent to your schedule. If you invited many friends and relatives from out of state, ask local hotels for a group discount. A group discount will save you considerable time and money. If everyone stays at one location, transportation problems will be minimized.

Renting a bus can sidestep an enormous amount of potential issues that always seem to arise when transporting people. A bus can pick up guests from the hotel, transport everyone to the wedding and even afterwards to the reception. This prevents guests from getting lost, misunderstanding directions, having car trouble and so on. With a bus, all of the designated drivers can finally enjoy a drink at the reception!

By Keeping in mind several important factors, you can be sure to have just what you want on your special day

First of all, you want to think about what kind of food you want at your wedding. The formality of the wedding should match the formality of the food served at the reception. Less formal weddings normally serve snack foods or simple hors d’oeuvres rather than large sit-down meals. Once you consider the formality of your wedding venue and service, you can match your caterer accordingly. For more formal occasions with a full meal during the reception, catering companies will provide wait staff to help guests throughout the course of the meal. For less formal affairs, meals are set up buffet style so guests can serve themselves, or there may be a table or two set up with small items that guests can choose from.

New trends in cake design lets you personalize your wedding day dessert

Personal, elegant and in tune with the ambience of the special day. This is the current trend in wedding cakes, say wedding cake designers. “It’s definitely about personalization these days,” says Tracii Reardon, the Village Cake Lady of Oxford Mills. “More and more people are adding things in terms of decoration that have a little more meaning for them. Sometimes, it’s their pets. Sometimes, it’s a private joke, inside story or about family — something of special importance to them.”

The white wedding gown

The colour symbolizes purity and celebration.

The veil

Early veils were made of heavy cloth so that the bride could not be easily seen. The theory was that other suitors would not come to steal her away if they did not see how beautiful she was. Traditionally, the veil covers the bride’s face before the ceremony and is thrown back after the marriage vows.

A Few Polite suggestions about Invitation Etiquette

Although they are not your first concern when planning a wedding, your invitations are the first thing your guests will see. Sometimes an invitation is your guest’s only indication of what to expect of your wedding. Today, it is appropriate to send wedding invitations that are strictly traditional or very modern and extremely ornate or clean and simple. The choice is yours; however, it is best to send an invitation that reflects the theme and style of your event.

Whether you choose to go all out and have custom invitations designed specifically for your special day or simply have your invitations custom printed, you will inevitably run into a few issues of propriety and logistics. The invitation may seem like one of the easiest parts of your wedding planning but all brides inevitably run into invitation problems. What follows are a few helpful tips and guidelines to help you avoid some invitation headaches.

Some Alternative Reception Venues

You’ve looked at historic churches for the ceremony, then moved on to the daunting task of finding the right reception venue. Hotels and conference centres obviously have all the decoration, trim, servers and food prep ready for your approval. There are clearly advantages to going this route, including the fact that guests can easily retire to hotel rooms after an evening of indulgences. But what if your personality lends itself to a location less conventional? Something not so tried and true? Why not a wedding at a farm, museum, zoo or art gallery? These venues range from quirky fun to elegantly erudite. Here are seven regional options that will keep your guests talking long after you’re off on a honeymoon adventure.

“We will provide the same quality to your event,” Roxanne Crain assures the bride and groom to be, “as we did when we hosted Will and Kate this past summer.” Yes, that Will and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Special occasions such as weddings, trips, birthdays, anniversaries and many others, are filled with memories worth keeping. Chances are you'll find yourself returning to these moments and reliving them time and time again on your own or by sharing them with others. So rather than just printing and sharing your pictures, do something different that will help turn your special memories into keepsakes.

Wedding favors are a wonderful addition to your wedding, but they can be very expensive, particularly if you have to buy for a lot of guests.

The fall season offers plenty of picture-perfect moments you'll want to capture. Following are three photo-worthy occasions and tips to help inspire unique shots you'll want to capture.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to having your perfect wedding. The right colours, the right flowers, the right food and the right entertainment are just a few examples of what makes it yours. What makes it last in your mind however, is making sure that you get the right person to capture your day. Whether that person is a photographer, a videographer or both, you want to make sure you are on the same wavelength to get the experience you want.

It’s a wonderful time to be engaged and plan a wedding. Thanks to all of today’s available choices for everything you see and hear, you are guaranteed to be able to find your perfect fit for your perfect day.

The question was popped, you’ve told your family, the date was set with your officiate, and you have hand picked those who will stand there beside you. Now it is time to set about picking all of the little details that will make your wedding day come together. The hunt for the perfect dress is on. What colours will your bridesmaids wear? What flowers will match? What about the venue? The meal? The décor? And of course, ‘The Cake!’

Marriage & Mimosas - The Perks to a Brunch Wedding

Imagine an intimate ceremony in front of a sparking fountain, a selection of your favourite songs playing in the background. Then you and your prince charming sip mimosas as you’re whisked away on a horse-drawn carriage ride through our picturesque grounds. Afterwards your guests enjoy the sunshine, while you mingle over delicious pastries, fresh fruit & coffee, before someone pops the cork on a bottle of bubbly to toast your new life together.

A-mist all the planning and all the final touches we tend to sit back and reflect on what we love about weddings, about what the important things are. There are special moments that are different for each attendee, each guest yet however there is one moment during all the weddings where everyone, opinions aside, can celebrate and create one of the fondest memory of all, on the dance floor.

Your wedding is a special day and each bride wants to capture and remember every second of it. This is why one hires professional photographers but sometimes extra photographers appear out of nowhere. Their names are Uncle Bob and Aunt Betty. I am all for guests capturing some moments of the day don't get me wrong, however not at the expense of your images being ruined.Regardless of your photography budget or style you are looking for, I urge you to consider having a "camera free" ceremony and let the professionals do their job. It is not that we think your Uncle Bob is competition, we just know from experience what can happen during ceremonies and some overzealous guests.

This article is dedicated to leaving a smaller environmental footprint while planning your wedding.  Although in our opinion, this is something we should always be mindful of. We wanted to suggest some eco-friendly wedding tips. Now, don't get nervous, we are not suggesting wearing a hemp-wedding dress and have your wedding guests help clean up a local park during cocktail hour!  We are simply suggesting some ideas that could make your wedding even more unique and memorable all while leaving a reduced eco (yet very chic) footprint on our environment.

Many of the wedding traditions we still include in the modern nuptial festivities have their roots deep in history. Though many of these wedding traditions are based on superstitions or historical necessity, to this day couples still - to some degree - acknowledge them. Though the dynamics of weddings change continuously, with new wedding customs being added to the 'canon' all the time, wearing white, tying cans to the bumper, and carrying a bouquet all remain firmly entrenched in the collective psyche.

How much do I budget for wedding flowers?

Most brides and grooms find it challenging to know how much to allocate in their budget for wedding flowers. Many brides spend hours combing through wedding magazines looking at pictures of beautiful bouquets and wedding decor as inspiration for their own wedding only to be shocked when they are given a quote for what something similar would cost.  Wedding flowers for many couples are a statement of who they are as a couple, and set the mood, tone and ambiance of the wedding, it is an important detail that requires careful consideration.

Choosing the season’s best wedding invitations

By Lisa Parker

Wedding invitations are often the first indication of the style or theme of the event. Your friends and family should be able to get an idea about how formal the wedding will be or, in the case of a destination wedding, where the event will be held. Often overlooked, wedding invitations are a crucial part of the wedding planning process, so finding the best ones available should be a top priority.

This means more than just picking top-of-the-line cards and papers. It means choosing wedding invitations that reflect your style and the style of your wedding, and that give your guests all the information they need in order to attend your wedding.

Extravagant centrepieces can be nice, but aren't necessary. You may have attended a wedding where the centrepiece impaired guests from talking with each other or from seeing what is happening on stage. Or perhaps the centrepiece had so many elements that you wondered how the couple could afford them. If you're preparing for your wedding, consider creating centrepieces that reflect who you and your spouse–to–be really are, without breaking the bank.
 

The decision to marry your fiancé was the easy part. But it seems picking colours, fabrics, and décor for the wedding is near impossible. Take this quiz to ease some of the stress of picking that perfect wedding centerpiece:

Edible bonbonnières are always a popular wedding favour at receptions. In fact, sometimes that beautifully wrapped bag of candy coated almonds or chocolates are eaten on the spot, depending on what time dinner is served.

Meanwhile, bonbonnières of the non–edible variety sometimes consist of little trinkets and heart–shaped keychains that you never use. Instead, you add it to the collection you've accumulated on a dusty shelf, along with other items you never touch.

You've dreamed about your wedding day, but not about the price tag that comes along with it. Luckily, you can have the wedding of your dreams on a realistic budget with a little creativity. Here are two inexpensive projects for a day that you – and your guests – will never forget.

The Centre of It All

When it comes to your reception décor, you want your guest tables to shine. However, lush floral centrepieces can quickly consume your budget.