Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Planning a Successful Wedding

If you decided to have a traditional church wedding then your order of wedding service will normally run something like this. Firstly you will usually meet with your local church minister and discuss the different options for your order of wedding service. An order of wedding service might include just the words of the hymns, or just the major parts of the service. This helps your guests to follow the order of wedding service proceedings so they know what is happening and save them from having to refer to hymn books (particularly if they are not religious people) during the service. On your Wedding Day the ushers should generally be the first to arrive so that they can give out orders of service to arriving guests and then show people to their seats.

The groom and his best man should also arrive early to ensure they arrive in plenty of time to allow for their photos to be taken before the service. The bridesmaids will then arrive and should wait outside for the bride. If in a church, the bells start to ring and the bride and her father generally arrive a few minutes before the service to allow for photographs taken and for the chief bridesmaid to have a chance to arrange the dress and train and organise the other bridesmaids for entry into the wedding service.When the bride reaches the front the groom and best man should take their places on the bride's right. The bride then hands her bouquet to her chief bridesmaid to her left. After the entrance of the bride, there is usually a hymn, followed by readings and an address from the minister.

The vows are taken and then the best man passes the rings to the groom or he can give them to the minister on the face of the prayer book and he will offer them to the bride and groom. The minister may then say a prayer and the congregation may sing a hymn, followed by a final blessing. The bride and groom follow the minister to go and sign the register, usually followed by their parents and the bridesmaids and best man. While the register is being signed and witnessed by two adults, a choir may sing or the organist may play some music.

When the formalities are finished, the bridal procession leaves the church as follows: bride and groom, small attendants, chief bridesmaid and best man, bride's mother with groom's father and then groom's mother with bride's father. The order of service will run quickly and usually runs far smoother than anyone expects when they are first putting the order of service together.

About the author:nozze dunone is the owner of M Marriage which is a premier resource for marriage information. for more information, go to http://www.mmarriage.com

5 Tips To Select The Best Wedding Reception Location

Being disc jockeys, we get the opportunity to evaluate many reception facilities while having little or no bias to sell one location over another. Most Brides and Grooms know where they will be holding the ceremony before they decide where to have the reception, so we have compiled five observations that can help you when selecting your venue.

Distance -
If people have to drive a long way to get from the ceremony to the reception, some will get distracted or decide to do something else. Try to keep the reception within a 15 to 30 minute drive of your ceremony. If it is not possible to get a reception hall close to your ceremony, make a caravan. Have the Bride and Groom lead the parade, and people will follow you to your reception.

Time -
Time is just like the distance issue. If your reception is several hours after the ceremony, people will get busy doing other things and not show up for the reception. Try to start the reception within an hour or two of the ceremony. If you don't want to start your wedding dance at 4 o�clock in the afternoon, have a Meet and Greet mixer before your reception. Serve some punch and get people to mingle. This will be one of the few times that both families will be together. Encourage family members to share stories about your childhoods.

Size -
People like their personal space, and they have most likely spent an hour packed into a church for your ceremony. If you let them spread out, they will enjoy themselves more. Make sure your reception hall has plenty of room for your guests. The people renting the location might tell you it holds 200 people, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will hold 200 people comfortably! Make sure to visit the venue before booking.

Climate Control -
Having a summer wedding? Is your reception hall air conditioned? If people sweat while just sitting, they won't dance. On the flip side, if they are cold they won't dance either (who wants to dance in a parka?). Also make sure you know who has control of the thermostat so the temperature can be adjusted if needed. Chances are your reception will be warm and stuffy while all the guest are there, but as they trickle out during the night the room will begin to cool down.

Smoking -
This is a hot button issue, but if your reception hall is non-smoking, you can fully expect smoker's to leave your reception for 15-30 minutes every hour. If enough of them leave the reception area, you may find a large percentage of your guest just hanging out in the smoking area. This can be a big problem if you have many smokers in your wedding party. You don't have to allow smoking, but it is something you should consider, especially if anyone has any health problems like asthma or allergies that could be triggered by smoke. If you decide not to allow smoking in the reception area, how close is the nearest place for a smoker to go? Is it close enough that you will be able to get needed wedding party members during events like the bouquet toss or garter auction?

Facility coordinators will no doubt bring up several other factors for you to consider when you interview them for your booking, but these are often missed items, especially if they don�t favor the potential venue. If you keep the overall picture in mind and work with your wedding planner or event coordinator on the decorating ideas, you will no doubt have an enjoyable and memorable wedding reception.

About the Author
About the Authors: Tim & Tammy Smith operate By Request DJ & Karaoke Company (http://www.byrequest.dj), located in Fargo, North Dakota. They have been providing entertainment for wedding receptions since 1994 and belong to several professional disc jockey organizations.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

11 Things to Remember in Planning Your Wedding

Every woman dreams of her own wedding. May it be a small gathering in a picturesque orchard, a grand ball in a gigantic castle or a funky wedding along the coastline, she wants it planned and tailored to her wishes. Planning your wedding would take time, effort and energy but it's worth it. For brides out there, here are some things you can't forget to look into.

1. Payments
Of course, planning your wedding will need sufficient amount of cash. Establish who pays for what. This is usually worked out between the couple and their families.

2. Marriage License Requirements
There are different requirements for each state, so be sure to look into yours. Remember that you can't even start planning your wedding without a license so make it high priority.

3. Booking the ceremony and the reception.
Choose a place to hold your wedding. It'd be great if both parties talk about it. Also, planning your wedding means planning the reception well so that there won't be wrinkles in your wonderful day.

4. Reception Ideas
Planning your wedding by yourself might become tiring, so set up a brainstorming session with your friends and relatives to work out the details. List the ideas in a piece of paper and deliberate on them carefully. Properly laid out plans are wonderful to work with.

5. Invitations
The invitation should be simple yet elegant. An overly decorated invitation just turns people off. Remember to include all the people involved in the wedding itself and address them properly. Be sure to indicate if you're inviting the children of the family too because most parents don't take them to weddings if their presence is not specifically requested.

6. Catering
Oohh... the success of every party more often than not relies on its food. Make sure that what you serve is of good quality and that they taste good. Go over the menu with the head chef and ask him for suggestions. Not only that this will give you great ideas, it will form a bond between you and the chef. Keep in mind that when planning your wedding, it pays to be in good terms with most of the staff.

7. Photos and Videos
Talk to the personnel and clarify what you want done. Sometimes, they just do things their own way and the couple ends up with really crappy results. Professionals are your best bet and they understand the need of planning your wedding to perfection.

8. Attendants
List all the people you want to have as your attendants and notify them as soon as possible. Just because you're marrying doesn't mean that the world will stop spinning and watch you in all your splendor. Take into consideration that people may have to rearrange their schedules to make it to your big day. Yes, planning your wedding take tremendous effort not only on you but on your attendants too.

9. Showers
No wedding is complete without showers. Since the bride is busy planning her wedding, this duty might fall into the hands of the mothers or the maid of honor.

10. Wedding speeches
In the midst of planning your wedding, take time to stop and list all you want to say on the day of your wedding. An impromptu speech is sincere, yes, but you might feel put out that you neglected to put emphasis on some people that really helped you a lot.

11. Maps
If your venue is in an area that is not so widely known, a map will be very useful. It will lessen the guests' aggravation on not finding the place and asking for directions.

12. Nitty Gritty Details
These are often overlooked in the chaos that is called "Planning your wedding". These are the little things that you might forget like having your gown cleaned and pressed ( if it's an heirloom), wobbling in your high heeled wedding shoes, delivery of gifts, your honeymoon itinerary, gifts and thank you cards. Try listing all of them and have someone look into them for you.

I hope you enjoyed these tips!

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About the Author
Are you looking for some help planning your wedding? My Wedding Planning ebook is packed full of tiups and ideas - visit www.wedding-budget-planner.com for details.If you would like a FREE wedding budget planning spreadsheet, please visit www.wedding-budget-planner.com

Bridal Jewelry: Fulfilling a Wedding Tradition

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue? This is a saying that many brides take to heart when considering their wedding trousseau. From wedding gowns, accessories and motifs, brides from all walks of life throughout the years have tried their best to stick to this formula. It's interesting to note that bridal jewelry can follow this adage too.

Something old?
Could most often be a piece of bridal jewelry that is a family heirloom. Sometimes the groom would give to his bride a ring or another piece of jewelry that had once been owned by his mother, grandmother, or past brides in his family. Maybe the bride would wear her own mother?s antique jewelry or some other gem that has been handed down to brides in the family from generation to generation. One thing is certain, wearing such bridal jewelry would reinforce a sense of family, tradition and continuity in a wedding ceremony.

Something new?
Hardly needs any explanation. Thousands upon thousands of bridal jewelry stores, both the Internet e-commerce sites and bricks-and-mortar stores, offer a dazzling array of accessories to make the bride shine on her wedding day. The would-be bride can choose from among various jewelry pieces one or several items that she would wear at the ceremony and which she could treasure and keep as a memento of that most special day.

At first thought, something borrowed doesn't seem applicable to bridal jewelry. After all, a bride would most probably want to wear her own jewels and not have to borrow and then return them. But for women who want to add to the accessories that they will be wearing on their wedding day without having to spend thousands of dollars more to buy new ones, renting jewelry offers a practical solution. Many establishments rent out antique or estate bridal jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, and only the rental fee plus a refundable deposit need to be paid. Finally, for that "something blue" in a bridal jewelry ensemble, there are several gemstones that fit the bill. Depending on the shade of blue that she wants, a bride can opt for a necklace, bracelet, or earrings that are accented with sapphires, aquamarines or blue pearls.

Hair ornaments or tiaras with other blue-tinted stones such as agate and topaz are also beautiful accessories for the bride.The bride is the belle of the ball on her wedding day and it is important for her to look her best on that special occasion. Bridal jewelry, chosen tastefully and worn properly, will complement her wedding dress and make her look as radiant and as beautiful as any bride should be.

About the Author
For more information on jewelry and gemstones, we cordially invite you to visit www.morninglightjewelry.com to pick up your FREE copy of "How To Buy Jewelry And Gemstones Without Being Ripped Off". This concise, informative special report reveals almost everything you ever wanted to know about jewelry and gemstones, but were afraid to ask. Get your FREE report at www.morninglightjewelry.com.