Wedding Ideas

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When it is time to plan your wedding, you might be overwhelmed by having to decide every small detail for your big day. Some girls look forward to this, and others are afraid of it. Some of my friends had books while growing up what were devoted to nothing but wedding ideas. If they came across something they liked, they put it into their book. I thought this was amusing, and it was even more amusing to see them in every day life. These were generally the more independent girls who didnt care when they got married. I guess they were just organized. If you are stuck for wedding ideas, there is no better place to look than online. If you cant find wedding ideas online, then you simply dont know how to search. If the Internet is not your first choice, you can buy magazines to get wedding ideas. Though this may not help you with every aspect of planning your big day, but this might give you a good jumping off point. Sometimes all you need is one idea or one small thing that you like. After you have one thing, the rest can fall into place rather easily. You can also get wedding ideas by looking through a store that has wedding supplies. Though you may not find everything you need there, you may be able to find great ideas about colors or what type of feel you want for your day. You may decide that you want something that is really formal or you may decide that your wedding ideas are leaning towards the more informal type of day. You choices should be what fit you and your life, and you should have what feels best for you and your husband-to-be. If you find that you are stressing about wedding ideas, you may just be putting to much thought into it. You should give yourself a few days to think about something else. Perhaps think about your menu or other details that dont have anything to do with your theme. If you find that this does not help you, you may want to go out for professional help. You can hire a wedding planner to help you with the few wedding ideas that you may have. They can take a few ideas a create your dream wedding. You can put the stress on someone elses shoulders so you can enjoy your engagement.

Wine Wedding Favors

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One of the more popular new traditions for wedding receptions has been to give out wine wedding favors. These are quite often a full sized bottle of wine with a label that is personalized to the bride and groom. Not everyone can do this, as this can be quite expensive, but if you can afford to do it, it might be a great touch to your wedding. Not everyone drinks wine, but they will still love the favor nonetheless. If you look hard enough, you may find mini bottles of wine, or even bottles of champagne for the same purpose. The choice will be up to you. If you want to give out wine wedding favors for your wedding, you can find many places online that offer you this service. Some may have the wine, but some just have the personalized labels that they can print for you. You may save money by going to a local winery and buying the wine yourself. Not only will you love choosing your own wine, you will be helping your local winery get the word out about their product. You may get a discount for buying bulk as well. If you want to have everyone drink your wine wedding favors at the reception, you can hand them out early, or have them sitting on the tables when the guests arrive. Some people have wine already chosen for their meal, and the wine for the favors may not match the meal. If this is the case, save your wine wedding favors until when people begin to leave. You might even leave a note at each table to let guests know they should pick up their favor on their way to out to be enjoyed at a later date. To personalize your wine wedding favors, you might want to have a picture of you and your new spouse on the label, as well as your wedding date and anything else you might think is relevant. You might also want to include some information about the wine. You should always include the name of the winery and contact information for them. You should also include basic information about the wine such as what meals it might go well with, or how to store it. Some people know nothing about wine, and including this information on your wine wedding favors will be of much help to them.

Choosing A Wedding Photographer Wisely

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One of the most important decisions to be made while planning a wedding is which wedding photographer to use. Of course we all want the dress to be perfect, the flowers to be arranged perfectly, the food to be delicious and the reception hall to be gorgeous, but the wedding photographer should not be pushed down on the list of important things. If a sub par wedding photographer is chosen, the memories of the decision will be apparent each time you look at the photos. When choosing a wedding photographer, be sure that the photographer has handled events of a larger scale like a wedding before. Smaller photography studios can suit your needs, but be sure that they are capable of taking pictures of your event accordingly. They should have enough staff and equipment so that they do not miss one moment of your day. In addition, look through photos that the wedding photographer has taken of other weddings or similar events. Each person has a different style, so you will want to be sure that your idea of what a wedding photo should look like is what the photographer has in mind as well. Be that black and white photos, the poses that are used or how many candid photos are taken, you will want to make certain the photographer knows of your desires and is capable of producing them. Once you find a wedding photographer you like, make sure the pricing is something that is discussed before the event. A higher price doesnt necessarily mean better pictures, or even a style that you like. Take into consideration if there is a limit to how many photos will be taken, how many photos you will be able to order with your package, how much each additional photo will cost, and if you will be able to keep the proofs. Also be aware that some wedding photographers require dinner at the reception for themselves and their assistants, which is certainly something to think about before you hand in your final head count to your reception hall! In the end, you absolutely can focus on the appearance aspects of your wedding, from the dress to the flowers. However, be sure to not lose sight of what will be important in remembering the day 30 years from now. A good wedding photographer will make the memories that much better while you flip through your wedding album full of beautiful pictures.

Celebrity Wedding Dresses

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If you want to look like a star on the day of your marriage ceremony, why not choose a celebrity wedding dress? These bridal gowns are the cream of the crop in formal design. You can opt for a contemporary look or for a classic winner. The best way to find a celebrity wedding dress would be to find a reputable gown designer.
The hottest name in celebrity wedding dresses is Vera Wang. Her creations seem to pop up out of a young girls dream and into a womans reality. You can find her designs on well-known stars like Jennifer Lopez who is known for her particular nature. Vera Wang has also made celebrity wedding gowns for Sharon Stone as well as Jessica Simpson.
You probably have seen a Vera Wang celebrity wedding gown on people like Uma Thurman and Mariah Carey as well. Whether a singer or an actress, celebrities love Veras work. How does one bridal gown designer get such lofty clients? She simply creates amazing gowns.
The secret to this famous designer to the stars appeal may be in her simplicity. She sticks to traditional foundations while adding a touch of modern style in the mix. Vera Wang also encourages sensuality in each celebrity wedding dress. The sensuality appeals to people who don't want to appear uncomfortable, confined or just plain over laced on their special day.
You can find Vera Wang on the Internet in a click or two but you want to check out another fantastic gown designer, Monique Lhuillier. This designer has received a lot of attention after creating one celebrity wedding dress for Britney Spears. However, Britney wasnt her first famous client. Kevin Costners wife was the first famous person to purchase a Lhuillier celebrity wedding dress.
Monique Lhuillier is a relative newcomer to the scene and she is making great headway. Her gowns tend to be sleeveless so those who are looking for a celebrity wedding dress that has long sleeves may want to look elsewhere. The designs are flawless and include intricate detailing with crystals and beads.
No matter how intricate the design, no Monique Lhuillier wedding dress is overdone. You wont find ridiculous embellishments on these gowns. Most are well decorated with romantic design elements but none are over-the-top in their style. The usual celebrity wedding dress produced by this designer is sleeveless with a classic A-line skirt. You cant go wrong with that.
If you are considering either of these designers for your celebrity wedding dress get ready to pay a hefty price. But when it comes to your special day, you may find that this bridal gown is worth every red cent.

50th Wedding Anniversay Gifts

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How does one even comprehend the meaning of 50 years in love with one person, sharing lives together, through thick and think, through ups and downs? What token, what 50th wedding anniversary gifts can possibly convey the full meaning of love, and not sound cheesy and incomplete? It was this question which occupied my mind as I thumbed listlessly through catalogs of gifts for 50th wedding anniversary, looking for the perfect symbol of my affection for my wife.
Many of the 50th wedding anniversary gifts were the standard fare hand blown glass, some of it really quite beautiful. Oil lamps, necklaces, wine flutes. God, in light of the momentous weight of the occasion, it all seemed like such meaningless junk. All the pretty sparkly things just made me feel dizzy and irritated. I needed something better for my 50th wedding anniversary gift. These wedding anniversary gift catalogs were doing nothing but giving me a headache.
Like all presents, I decided that 50th wedding anniversary gifts are best when made by hand from the heart. This is tough if you happen to have no craft or artistic skills, but fortunately, mine has been a life of working with my hands. I can paint, carve, sculpt, and do carpentry. I've become a jack of all trades and, now in my seventieth year, a master of a few. So I decided that all the 50th wedding anniversary gifts in those catalogs and internet sites, no matter how meticulously crafted, would be worthless compared to a token of my true affection to my wife.
Instead of getting her just one thing, I decided to make my wife several 50th wedding anniversary gifts which would all share the same theme of the love I felt for her. The first gift was a handmade card, drawn in calligraphy, and containing in the middle a picture of the two of us standing together, very young and very much in love when we first began dating all of those years ago. The other 50th wedding anniversary gifts were each made of different materials. One was a wooden carving which duplicated, as precisely as it could, a figurine which she used to own until one of the kids accidentally knocked it off of the counter years ago. Another was made of sea glass which I had saved from our honeymoon trip to the Bahamas. Finally, the last and finest of the 50th wedding anniversary gifts was made of stone in the shape of two tablets inscribed with our wedding vows, a touching reminder of the eternal bond which we share.

Jewish Weddings

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Jewish weddings have some significant rituals that add meaning to the ceremony. In today's times, Jewish couples often choose to have one, some or all of the rituals present in their wedding. Here are some of the rituals one would find in a Jewish wedding. Couples stand under a canopy, called a chuppah. A chuppah can be a simple cloth held on four poles over the couple's head, or may be made of a tallit, or prayer shawl that has significant meaning to the family of the bride or groom. The tallit may have belonged to an ancestor or family member, or it may be one that the groom when he was a baby was wrapped in for his brit (circumcision ceremony) or Bar Mitzvah. The chuppah represents the home that the couple will live in together as a married couple. There is a tradition of the bride wearing a veil that goes back to the bible. In the biblical story, Jacob thinks he is marrying Rachel, but ends up marrying her sister, Leah, because she is wearing such a thick veil that he cannot see her face until the ceremony is over. Jewish brides wear a veil, but before the ceremony, the groom lifts it up and verifies that she is his love, the one he intends to marry. That ceremony is called bidekin. Another Jewish wedding tradition is the marriage contract, called Ketubah. It is often a beautiful piece of art in which the couple's vows are written, along with the date and place of the marriage. Traditionally, the wording was an agreement almost like a contract, but today, the wording may be modernized to be more of a vow of mutual love, respect and devotion. During the ceremony, traditionally the bride will circle the groom seven times. This represented the husband being the center of the bride's life, with seven representing the seven blessings that are a part of the marriage ceremony. Modern couples may choose to have the bride and groom circle each other separately or circling together to represent their being the center of each other's lives. A prayer over wine, called kiddush, is said during the ceremony. Wine, in Jewish tradition, is used to represent joy, and is present at many Jewish happy occasions and holidays. Seven blessings are said or sung during the Jewish wedding. Each blessing thanks God for creating a part of life: the universe; people; man and woman; Israel; love; the joy of song and celebration of marriage; and wine. Rings are exchanged during a Jewish wedding. Jewish wedding bands are traditionally an unbroken circle, representing a circle with no beginning or end. The marriage vow itself is a sentence which means that the couple is pronouncing that they are now marrying each other, according to the laws of Moses and the Jewish people. The groom may say it to the bride, or both to each other in turn. Finally, the groom steps on and shatters a glass (which is inside a small bag). This represents several things: that the love should last as long as it would take to put shattered pieces back together (forever, in other words). The glass also represents that in every joy there is a small measure of sadness when violent things occur, such as the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, or the Night of the Breaking Glass at the start of the Holocaust. The couple is obligated to care for each other through joy and sadness. After the Jewish wedding ceremony, the couple may retreat for a couple of minutes of "alone time" before the celebration begins. This alone time allows the couple to share a bite to eat and a glass of wine and represents the beginning of their life as one married couple. It is called Yichud. Today, a couple that is considering incorporating Jewish rituals into their wedding has many meaningful rituals to choose from.

Wedding Ceremony Songs

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Most people choose to include music in their wedding ceremony. It has been a long standing tradition to have music for the arrival of the bridal party, and also to have a special song for the brides last walk as a single women. There is always music that is played after the couple has been declared as married, and this music follows them from the church for their first moments as man and wife. Wedding ceremony songs can be whatever you want, and you dont have to go with the traditionally used songs if you dont wish to do so. When it came time for my husband and I to choose our wedding ceremony songs, I was sure I didnt want to use the usual Here Comes The Bride tune when I walked down the aisle. I had childhood memories of that song, which often included the addition of words that were not so flattering. I wanted something different. When it came time to choose our wedding ceremony songs, we decided to meet with the organist to choose some traditional songs there were fit for a wedding, but may not be as popular. What I didnt count on when choosing wedding ceremony songs was the emotional state of my husband. Hes not usually openly emotional about anything, and he often bottles things inside. This never bothered me because he is pretty much the same as most of the men I have known in my life, both family and friends included. When we were listening to some of the wedding ceremony songs we were considering, the organist also played the song I didnt want. Much to my surprise, tears sprung from the eyes of my husband-to-be and he blurted out that he always imagined me walking down the aisle towards him with that song playing. With a few tears, I was overruled, and we ended up using it because I knew how much it meant to him. When it comes time for you to choose your wedding ceremony songs, you dont have to go with the traditional if you dont want to. You can find suitable songs all over the Internet, and your organist, pianist, or whoever may have suggestions for you in regards to wedding ceremony songs. Take your time in making your decision and find something you both like. Just watch out for your groom, he may really surprise you. Make sure you make him part of the process as well.

More Vintage Wedding Dresses

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For most women, one of the most important aspects of her wedding day is the wedding dress. Many women spend months searching for the perfect gown. The main reason is that most women have a very specific design in mind when they picture themselves on their wedding day. Although there are many breathtaking wedding gown styles produced each year, some women are looking for something more traditional. They may consider purchasing one of the many vintage wedding dresses now being made available. With the introduction of the online auction sites can an influx of people selling vintage items. Everything from cars to toys are being sold along with a very wide array of vintage wedding dresses. In fact, there are so many different styles available that it can be difficult deciding on one. Just as you have to consider certain things when purchasing any item of clothing, the same holds true for vintage wedding dresses. If you are purchasing one at a local consignment shop, be certain to try it on first. If you ever have the opportunity to try the dress on, this will guarantee the best fit. However, if thats not possible, as is the case with purchasing vintage wedding dresses online, you can always have them altered. Another consideration to keep in mind is whether the dress is soiled. Although this generally wont be the case in a consignment store, if you are purchasing vintage wedding dresses online, you cant be certain. Most sellers will showcase an image of the dress and its wise to also inquire as the condition of the dress. The difficult with soiling is that on vintage wedding dresses if something has been left to sit, the stain will most likely be permanent. Also give some thought to shipping costs. Having anything shipped is expensive, considering both the postal costs and the insurance. In the case of vintage wedding dresses you will need to have enough insurance on the package to cover the contents in the even that something does happen before it reaches your home. Once the big day has passed youll need to think about how to preserve the gown. The drycleaners is usually the best choice for having vintage wedding dresses cleaned and preserved. If possible, try and have this done as soon as possible after the wedding day. You want to keep the dress looking beautiful forever so its important to leave that to a professional. You want to look your best on your wedding day, so choose a gown that reflects your body shape as well as your personality. Vintage wedding dresses add an extra touch to your already very special day.