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Weddings are filled with a million details, some of them small and some of them large. While the ceremony itself can go by in a flash of emotion, the reception is the time that most people start to form a lot of memories, and when they start to notice all the details that you selected and put together. One of the biggest and most memorable details that you can select is the centerpiece. After all, it’s right there in the middle of the tables, where everyone can see. The reception lasts for quite a few hours, and people can’t help but stare at them at least once or twice over the course of the night. The centerpiece is a great place to show your individuality and creativity, and to help give your guests an experience that they will always remember.

Now, flowers are far and away the most common items used in centerpieces. This makes sense, as flowers are beautiful and fragrant when you pay attention to them, but don’t usually distract anyone when they have a conversation or meal to focus on. Flowers add to the ambiance of an event in a positive way, without overpowering it. This is the kind of approach you want to work with when you select your centerpiece. After all, a unique and memorable piece does not have to mean a large and garish piece.

The first way you can personalize your centerpiece is to start with the traditional flower arrangements, and then add details that make them stand out as uniquely your own. If you wedding is a special theme, then make sure the flowers reflect that. For instance, if you are doing a winter or holiday themed wedding, then poinsettias might make a nice and memorable change of pace from the usual roses. If the two of you met somewhere exotic, then consider orchids over roses.

Similarly, you can add some flair by doing something special with the vases that the flowers sit in. For example, you could choose vases that are special to you, or that speak to how you met. If the two of you love to go antiquing, then spend the months leading up to your wedding looking for beautiful old vases to put the reception flowers in. If you met in Hawaii, then consider having short flower arrangements laid out inside halved coconuts. You can also use traditional glass vases, but put little personal trinkets in the bottom that symbolize your union.

You can stick to the natural route while still going off the beaten path. For instance, once great idea is to have spring wedding favors that double as centerpieces. If you’re an avid gardener, you can place small colorful pots with plants you grew on each table. Let everybody know that they are special garden wedding favors that they can take if they want.

Of course, you can also go with my favorite- dessert centerpieces. Having little cakes, or bouquets of cookie flowers is a great way to lighten the mood and keep things nice and sunny during your reception. And who wouldn’t like to finish their meal, then reach out and start to eat the decorations?

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for spring wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Guest Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

There are a million and a half things to take in to consideration when planning and putting together your wedding. Do you want a priest or a non-denominational public official? Do you want to get married inside or outside? What wedding gifts are you going to ask for and what wedding accessories are you going to wear? One of the most important aspects you should start planning as early as possible is your wedding’s music.

Music is one of those things that we don’t necessarily think of first when planning our marriages. After all, while we all know that the music is important, it just seems like there are so many other higher-priority things to take in to consideration- like the dress or the venue. Still, the music you choose will set the tone for the whole affair, and affect people emotionally far more than you might think.

Consider how music works in movies. It keeps things moving, it transports the characters around and connects them even when they are nowhere near each other, and most importantly it carries the emotions of what you’re seeing. It cues you in on how to feel and what to feel, and it does all this while being mostly imperceptible. Most of the time when watching a movie we don’t think about how great the soundtrack is until after it’s over. All of these things are true for music at weddings too. The music paces the ceremony, it creates subtle and not so subtle shifts in feeling as the different phases of the ceremony move along, it keeps everything moving forward and feeling propulsive, and it cues you in and deepens what you are feeling. While it might just go on in the background, the music you choose will have a significant effect on how you and everyone else feel about the whole day.

One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make regarding the music is whether you want to go the traditional route, or whether you want to do something new and different. If you’re going for a traditional wedding, then some sort of small group of stringed instruments will work best. You can go for a full quartet, or you can do a smaller combination such as a cello and a guitar. Whatever you choose, just make sure they are versed in and comfortable playing the standards such as Canon in D. Most string players will be just fine with those songs, though sometimes it’s best to simply hire a band that is accustomed to playing weddings.

If you decide to go the non-traditional route, just make sure that the whole ceremony reflects this. There’s not much sense in having everyone walking calmly down the aisle in their finest formal wear, if the music is going to be hard rock or punk.

Choosing you’re the band for your reception is a little bit easier. You really only need to make sure about one thing with them- that they can play both low key music and fast dance music. You want some low key contemporary background music playing while everyone is eating and mingling and talking, but you want to make sure there’s something to dance to as the party picks up. Most jazz or swing bands are great for this, as they can easily tackle both sides of the musical spectrum.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for wedding gifts, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Guest Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Whether you’re talking about a quiet evening for two or a elegant dinner date, candles are synonymous with romance. There’s nothing quite like flickering candlelight to set the right mood for love, and there’s just something magical about the shadows they cast. The romantic aspect of candles makes them ideal for weddings. Here are a few ideas for incorporating these wonderful props into your ceremony.

One of the main ways candles are used in wedding ceremonies is for Unity. Place two tapered candles on either side of a large central candle. The two smaller ones represent the bride and groom, while the larger one represents their union. They can be lit by anyone, including the parents of the bride and groom, or the bridesmaids and groomsmen. It is most traditional, however, for the bride and groom to light their own. Once theirs are lit, and it reaches a specified point in the ceremony, the priest will explain what the two flames symbolize, and talk about their joining. It’s at this point that the bride and groom take their candles and, at the same time, light the larger central candle. Their two flames will merge into one large flame, symbolizing the strength and importance of their union.

On the same alter where the Unity candle is lit, you can set out memorial candles. Each of these will symbolize someone close to bride and groom who has passed on and was unable to see them wed. Parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins, aunts and uncles, mentors and friends- anyone who is significant and important to the couple should be represented on the table with their own candle. These should be lit before the bride and groom walk down the aisle, and there should be a point during the ceremony where each is explained. They do not all need to match of be from the same place, and in many ways it’s better if each is representative of the individual it stands in place of.

There are plenty of other ways to incorporate candles into the ceremony. You can have paper lanterns with candles in them to light the aisle on with side, and to ring around the altar. You can give out candle wedding favors- nice ones that are personalized make special and elegant wedding favors. You can place them around wherever there are flower arrangements, though you need to be careful that they aren’t so close as to start a fire. One lovely idea is to place the lights by mirrors, which helps increase their glow. It’s certainly possible to light your entire ceremony and reception this way, giving the entire affair a truly magical look and feel.

There’s only one last thing to take in to consideration, and that’s what color candles to choose. While you can obviously select whatever color you’d like, white is the traditional (and most elegant) option. They will give the whole event an increased air of elegance, purity and class. Depending on weather and how safe you want to be, placing each candle in its own glass or votive might be a good idea. While they certainly add a wonderful touch to any special day, you don’t want them to either go out prematurely, or to cause an emergency that forces everyone to leave early!

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for candle wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Party Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

categories: wedding favors,favors,wedding,weddings,gift,gifts,marriage,marriages,shopping,relationship,relationships,society,retail

When you sit down to set a date for your wedding, chances are you’re going to shoot for a day during the spring or the summer. These are fairly traditional times of the year to get married in, and they give you a good amount of flexibility in terms of location. People are also more accustomed to going to weddings during these times, and travel tends to be a little easier. Still, just because they are the standard months for marriage doesn’t mean you can’t tie the knot whenever you want to. Doing something different, like getting married in the winter, offers plenty of fun opportunities to make your special day unique and memorable.

The first thing you want to do is decide whether you want to make your special day seasonally themed or not. There’s nothing wrong with getting married in a traditional way during the winter, but it’s more fun to dress up in sync with the season. While spring and summer weddings tend to have more light colors and pastels, you’ll be able to get married in richer and deeper colors. You’ll be able to pull of more metallic colors, like gold and silver- colors which would look a little tack at any other time of the year.

You can also incorporate other seasonal touches into your decorations and ambiance. You can hang holly and mistletoe, or any other type of deep green wreath or garland. These make a nice change of pace considering more traditionally delicate wedding flowers, and will make your day more memorable. You can even go so far as to add pinecones and pine needles to your bouquets, and stock them with winter flowers like poinsettias and snowball mums. Just make sure that the bouquets aren’t going to prick anyone carrying or catching them!

There’s not reason to stop with the clothes and decorations, you can carry the winter theme over into every aspect of your event. You can give out winter wedding favors, or even Christmas party favors if you’re married near the end of December. You can use songs and reading passages that reflect the time of year. While most wedding music is a little lighter, you’ll have a great excuse to play heavier and warmer songs. While some might consider it a little tacky or inappropriate, there really is nothing wrong with incorporating Christmas songs into your musical selections. Though, for the sake of maintaining a certain air of importance, I would gravitate more towards traditional hymns and carols, and move away from light and more modern fair like ‘Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.’

The food you serve can also reflect the season. Figgy puddings, pot pies, French onion soup will be nice and warm. Duck or ham will be much richer than traditional spring dishes. Hot chocolate with liquor and other warm alcoholic drinks will be far more welcome than fizzy drinks and light wines.

As you can see, there’s no reason to feel like a winter wedding is anything less than a great opportunity to create a unique and memorable event. The winter has it’s own special magic and charm to it, and already comes stocked with plenty of loving familial feelings. The season brings plenty of opportunities to surround yourself with tradition, even as you do things differently than those who tie the knot during the warmer months.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for winter wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

We all have an image in our heads of a bride who becomes a control freak while planning her wedding, making it a miserable experience for everyone. Some of us have personal experience with this type of person, while others have had the good fortune to only hear of her from television or the internet. If you are worried that you’re going to become a Bridezilla yourself, then follow these tips to reign in your worst tendencies.

The first thing you need to do, and something that you need to repeat throughout the whole process is to keep the proper perspective on the event. A lot of girls grow up planning their special day down to the last little detail, and this creates a lot of pressure over the year. This pressure just multiplies when you start to actually plan and direct your wedding, and you realize that nothing is going to be as precise and as perfect as you dreamed it would be. You need to continuously remind yourself that your special day, while very special, is only one day in your life. And like any day of your life, nothing is going to go exactly as you planned.

If you’re a really high strung person and know you’re going to need some help to keep from taking over, then it might be a good idea to practice some relaxation techniques. Practice taking long slow breathes whenever you feel yourself slipping, and repeat to yourself the above paragraph. It’s a good idea to start incorporating some more relaxing activities into your life during this time as well, like taking long walks or practicing yoga every day. Whatever you need to do to stay relaxed- do it.

Next, you’re going to want to delegate as much as possible. If you know you want to have your hands on everything, and that doing so will stress you out and make you a control freak, then don’t get your hands on too many aspects of the big day. Find highly talented and committed people to work on your event instead. Hire a great planner to figure out the big picture and to suggest the right people to take on the smaller roles. Talk at length with the people you hire, but only a couple of times, then let them go to do their work. Touch base a couple times before the wedding, but overall let people go to do their part.

Most of all you need to remember that you only have one real part to play in the wedding, and that’s the part of the bride. It’s not up to you to put the whole thing together, it’s just up to you to show up, put on the dress and say “I do.” Do those few things, and you’ve fulfilled all of your personal obligations.

Of course, you might want to have some fun with your type A-approach to the wedding as well. Let everyone know that you’re going to be a little OCD about the affair without giving yourself free reign to act out. Wear a tiara when planning, and whenever you start to get out of control look in the mirror and remind yourself how ridiculous you’re acting. Have some silly fairy tale wedding favors the day of. Having a fun theme to the favors, like a Cinderella wedding favor, is a great way to let all of your guests know that you are in on the joke.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for fairy tale wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

categories: wedding favors,favors,wedding,weddings,gift,gifts,marriage,marriages,shopping,relationship,relationships,society,retail

Weddings are a lot like theater shows- big events filled with lots of sets, props and staging. While they rarely have a cast of thousands, it’s not uncommon to have at least a few hundred people involved in the event, with dozens playing more involved parts. Between the parents of the bride and groom, the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the best man and maid of honor, as well as ushers and hosts, there are a lot of individual roles to direct. That isn’t even counting the two roles that can be either the hardest or easiest to manage- the ring bearer and the flower girl.

The first thing you need to understand is exactly what the different duties for the two roles are, and what to expect. While they seem like pretty cut and dry parts, it’s important to approach them from the right perspective.

To start, the ring bearer tends to be a young boy, though it’s not entirely uncommon to have a girl be the ring bearer. While traditionally there is only one ring bearer, you can have as many as you want (though it’s best not to go overboard and choke the aisle. Their main responsibility will be to walk down the aisle after the bridesmaids have proceeded. Sometimes they will walk with the flower girl, sometimes they will walk before her. They will carry the ring pillow, on which sit the rings. The ring bearer pillow doesn’t have to be anything fancy, though it’s a good idea to get one specifically for the event as they will tend to be sized and shaped appropriately for the task.

The ring bearer should be young as they are traditionally a child, but they should be old enough that they can interact with adults they don’t know, and old enough that they understand what their job is. If the ceremony isn’t particularly long, then it’s traditional to have the ring bearer stand up with the groomsmen.

The flower girl, as the name suggests, tends to be a girl but there’s nothing wrong with having a boy fulfill the role. Once again, it’s fine to have as many flower girls as you want, within reason. Flower Girls tend to wear sun dresses or other age appropriate clothing- there’s no reason to doll her up in a miniature gown.

During the ceremony, the Flower Girl will walk down the aisle either with the ring bearer or immediately following him. The bride traditionally follows the Flower Girl, as the flowers pave the path for her. Like the ring bearer, it’s a good idea to choose a girl who is old enough to understand what she is doing, and to interact with the other members of the party without feeling too shy or uncomfortable. As the ceremony proceeds, she can sit at the front with the bridesmaids, or she can sit with her parents if they are near the fron of the seating.

The most important things to keep in mind for both the Ring Bearer and Flower Girl is making sure they are young enough to play the part, while still being old enough to handle the situation. While it’s not the most stressful position to have at a wedding, it’s still understandable that a child who is too young or too shy may feel overwhelmed by everything that is going on- especially as they are likely to be the center of attention of photos at least a few times over the course of the day.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for ring bearer pillow, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Unique Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Photography is one of the most important parts of your wedding day. After all, when the day is long gone and faded somewhere far into your memories, it will be your photos that help remind you of all the small special moments throughout the day. Of course it’s important that you find a talented photographer who has experience and knows how to shoot special events, but there are still things you can personally do to ensure you have a great set of photos. Here are 4 tips to keep in mind when you say “cheese.”

First, you’re going to want to spend a good amount of time with the photographer and get to know her well before the actual day. Obviously you’ll speak with her a few times, or get a referral to her, before you select her, but there’s a lot more you can do. Talk with them and get a good idea of what they’re expectations and suggestions for the day are. Go over a lot of their photos with them so they can tell you what worked and helped, and what didn’t, from previous weddings they shot. Finally, have at least one shoot with the photographer before the shoot. Posing for a shoot right before the wedding with the whole party is a good idea, as it will loosen you all up and work through any problems that might come up later. Wedding photographers are very practiced at what they do, but unless your party is filled with models, most people can benefit from some structured practice.

While you’re at it, talk with your photographer about the best way to pose for your photos. While a lot of women have plenty of practice taking photos of themselves and their friends, few have any real experience with a professional whose job is to make them look elegant and gorgeous. At the very least you should have your photographer show you some pictures and explain the poses that they have the brides to be in. Best case is having a formal rehearsal a few days before the event itself. Go to your photographer’s studio either with your dress or similar formal wear, and have them give you a crash course in elegant posing.

As you can no doubt tell by this point, being as prepared as possible will save you from most wedding photograph pitfalls. One important thing you should do is have a dress rehearsal, where you and the rest of the important members of your bridal party wear your outfits and have your hair and makeup done as you will on your actual day. Make sure everything works, and even take a few photos yourself to share with your photographer to give her an idea of what to expect. Of course, you could always invite your photographer to the test day too, if cost isn’t an issue.

Finally, you can always have your guests take the photos themselves. Wedding cameras don’t have to be anything fancier than just a bunch of single-use cameras scattered around. Of course, you can also give each person their own labeled camera, and develop their rolls of film into special photo album favors. If your friends and family are comfortable with this, what would be more special to them and you than having each persons’ individual memories of the event?

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for Wedding cameras, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Bridal showers can be one of the most fun parts of your wedding, or they can be a tired traditional affair that no one can feel excited about. While there are certainly some people out there who get excited thinking about quiet and polite showers with pristine china and lace doilies, many couples these days are getting creative with their pre-wedding events. Here are 4 suggestions for a fun bridal shower that everyone can relax and enjoy.

Just about the best type of shower to relax at is a bridal shower at a spa. After all- what’s more relaxing and fun then spending a day with your closest friends and families in a location devoted to relaxing and becoming beautiful? This is actually a far more common type of shower than you might think, and just about any spa worth their weight offers special shower packages that provide a full day experiencing the best of their facilities. This type of shower is great, though it can be pretty expensive, especially if you’re accommodating a lot of people. If you can’t afford a proper spa day for everyone but want to pamper your selves regardless, consider throwing a spa day at your house instead.

Another fun idea that incorporates everyone is having a fortune telling bridal shower. Most people, whether they admit it or not, really enjoy having their palms read, or having someone read their tarot cards. After all, most people love to hear about themselves, and most of us are constantly thinking about our futures and answers for all the questions we have. A lot of people find themselves with a lot more questions about their lives when it comes to theirs or a friends wedding, and hiring a few fortune tellers can be a great experience for everyone. Of course, you do need to think about whether there is anyone who would be really put out by this. Some people just don’t enjoy these things, and other people take them too seriously and might get really upset by a less than stellar reading. Figure out for yourself whether this would be an appropriate type of shower for you and your guests.

Of course, you could also throw a party revolving around making favors for your wedding. You can go all out and have a ton of bridal shower favors for the day itself to get everyone in the mood, and then make a bunch together for the wedding day itself. Wedding shower favors don’t need to be as fancy or meaningful as favors for the day itself, but you should still make sure that they are fun gifts for everyone to receive. The more you give to your guests and loved ones, the more they will feel that they day is about them too, and not just about celebrating you.

One of the sweetest ideas is to throw a shower where everyone brings, or puts together, scrap books with their memories of either the bride herself, or the couple. This can be a bittersweet occasion, and going through everyone’s memories crystallizes this. While weddings are happy events, they also mark the end of one part of your life, and remembering how you got there and getting ready to create a whole new host of memories is a beautiful way to prepare to move forward. Just as your loved ones were there for the ride leading to this day, let them be there to send you forward one more time.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for bridal shower favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Shower Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

categories: wedding favors,favors,wedding,weddings,gift,gifts,marriage,marriages,shopping,relationship,relationships,society,retail

Everyone wants their wedding day to be absolutely perfect, to be the best day of their lives where nothing goes wrong. While weddings are absolutely special events, it’s pretty unreasonable to expect everything to flow completely smoothly. After all, marriages are really complicated events with a million little things that can slip up, and chances are at least a couple of them are going to. Here are 5 of the more common mistakes that plague weddings days that you can plan for.

The first thing you need to do, way before you start any of the more complicated planning, is decide where your priorities are. What are the aspects of the day that are most important to you? Is a really great cake most important? Have you had a specific dress in mind since you were a child? Do you know this one photographer that absolutely has to be the one to take your photos? Whatever it is, decide what the top most important aspects of your special day are.

Knowing your priorities helps in a number of ways. In terms of budgeting and spending, knowing where you’re going to get the most satisfaction for your dollar helps you decide where to splurge and where to spend. In terms of insuring that the most important things go smoothest, knowing what really matters gives you a focus, it lets you know where to make sure everything will go well. If you don’t care as much about the flowers, you don’t need to spend too much time and attention on making sure they are perfect. If you absolutely need to perfect personalized wedding favors, then you know to be obsessive making sure all the personalized favor boxes are just right for each guest.

Of course, while I think it’s important to spend more time on those things that matter the most to you, I don’t recommend micro-managing anything. No one likes to be micromanaged, both because it’s annoying to have someone over your shoulder the whole time making sure you don’t slip up, and also because it doesn’t give you the confidence to do your best job. Most people work best when they are given clear instructions that indicate where they can flexible and where they need to stick to the plan. Give each person working on your event clear yet flexible instructions, and then let them do their job. Provided you hired people whom you trust and whose work you like, you will be happy with the end result- and both of you will be happier and more relaxed with the process.

Speaking of trust, it’s pretty vital you hire a talented and experienced wedding planner for your big day. The way I always think about it- weddings are like big theatrical events, they are like plays, and you would never throw a play without a director. It’s your job to be one of the stars, so pass off the majority of the responsibility for putting the day together to a professional. There’s enough to stress and worry about surrounding your big day without having to handle every single detail. Find someone who has been there before, talk with hem at length, then relax and follow their guidance! After all, the number one rule for having a perfect wedding is relaxing… and remembering that the best you can honestly hope for is perfectly imperfect.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for personalized wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Weddings are special events, and just as your union will be unique from all others, your special day should be just as personalized and unique. While it’s not necessary, you can make your day that much more special for everyone involved by including a ton of personalized touches throughout the event. Not only will this make the day that much more special for them, but it will remind you of what you appreciate and love about each and every one of them. Here are some ideas for making each guest feel specially welcome and cared for.

First you should insure that the most important members of your party are recognized. While it’s nice to think about singling out everyone, if you might only have time to reach out to a few people, it’s a good idea to get them done first. One way to do this is to make a slightly more extensive program for your wedding. While all weddings have programs, most don’t include too much information about everyone involved. Make yours like a theater program, and include little bios about all of the bridesmaids and groomsmen, as well as the parents of the bride and groom. This will give everyone more of a context for the most important people in your life, and will make them feel specially recognized. Not everyone will know everyone else, but with this tip they will feel like they do.

You can also write special letters for the members of your party as well. You can place these on their seats for the ceremony or the reception, or you can send them to their hotel rooms the day before or the night of. These letters could be about anything really, but one idea is to talk about your relationship with each other and how much you appreciate them in your life and how happy you are that they can be there for your special day.

You can also individualize the wedding favors to each guests’ tastes. While it’s nice to receive a basket of favors regardless of what is actually in it, it’s that much more memorable if each person receives a favor that reflects something about your relationship with them. If your golf buddy is there, then give him some individualized golf wedding favors. If one of your friends is a surfer who has been giving you lessons, then give her some beach wedding favors. Whatever your special connection to each guest, highlight it with a personalized favor.

If you’re short on time and funds, but want everyone to feel included and special, then you can have them write or make something memorable for you. This sounds counter-intuitive, but think about it. If you have everyone write down a list of advice or specific well wishes that they want for you, then they will feel like you truly care about them and what they have to say to you. Weddings can be whirlwind affairs, and you might not be able to individually sit down or talk to everyone who attends, and this gives them a great opportunity to feel welcome and appreciated. When it comes down to it, that’s all anyone wants at a special event like this- that you care about them and truly want to celebrate your life with them.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for golf wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Shower Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.