Readings
Readings are a wonderful way to express yourself or to
include important people in your ceremony. You can read passages from the Bible
or Shakespeare or a poem with a special meaning. Or ask your officiant for
advice, be sure to review your readings with your officiant first, some churches
may have restrictions. Print your readers' names and selections in your wedding
program.
Massachusetts Wedding Guide
•
Wedding Guide
•
Wedding Romance
Wedding Bubbles
...are a new tradition for many weddings. Wedding
bubbles are becoming more popular to use in lieu of rice or birdseed. It makes
for a very elegant picture to have all your guests blowing bubbles all around
you. They are ecologically safe and they will not stain your dress!! They come
in many different types of bottles and you can decorate them however you want.
You can recruit your bridesmaids and have lots of fun decorating the bottles.
Several reception places will not allow you to throw birdseed or even flower
petals because it has to be cleaned up afterwards. The average wedding uses
about 6 to 8 boxes. Here are some links to the cheapest bubbles I have found on
the internet.
Bridal
Link • Wedding Expressions
Wedding Vendors
Here are some good links to find local vendors for your
wedding. This is how I found my DJ and photographer. You can look by your city
and state and find vendors for everything you need to plan your wedding.
The Knot • Wedding Pages • Wedding Magazine • Wedding Guide
Check out Your Vendors
Before booking any of your vendors you should check them out at the Better Business Bureau to make sure others have not filed complaints against them. This will save you headaches later, trust me. I wish I had done this.
Better Business Bureau
Make a Scrapbook
Be sure to keep everything during your engagement and your wedding so you can make a scrapbook. Creative Memories is a good source
for scrapbooking. Keep all of your to-do lists, business cards, appointment
schedules, contact lists, samples, etc. Save a complete wedding invitation, have someone take pictures of you when you go for gown fittings or meet with the seamstress. I am having my flower girl dresses designed, be sure and keep copies of the sketches. Save the invitations to your engagement party, bridal showers and rehearsal dinner, any mementos from your bridal showers, bridesmaids luncheon or honeymoon brochure. Also, save one or more of your favors, imprinted napkins, ceremony programs, honeymoon tickets and reservations, garter, preserved bouquet and boutonniere, cake topper and any table decorations, etc. Take lots of pictures of everything!! I also put my signed guest pages in my scrapbook.
Learn to Scrap • 25 Best Scrapbooking Sites • dmarie Layout Central
Lots of Layouts • Sidelines • Scrap Happy
• Scrap Link
• Two Peas in a Bucket
Wedding Songs
Table Cameras
Although you hired a professional photographer, buy some
throw away cameras to place on a few of your tables. Have someone sitting near
the front take a picture of your groom when he first sees you, and a picture of
each of the parents in their seats. If your reception is in a dark setting you
should use 400 speed film, otherwise 200 speed will do fine. I would recommend
attaching a note to the camera that says take 2 pictures and pass on. That way
you get several different pictures. You may also want to mention to take close-ups and to refrain from attempting to take distance shots, chances are they will not come out on those cameras. And normally over half of those will turn
out great! Your photographer cannot be everywhere and he may not take candid
table shots anyway. You paid your photographer good money to use medium format
film for your good wedding pictures. Use your guests imagination to capture
candid moments. Be sure and take pictures of the people and avoid getting
uneaten food in the picture. It will be fun to look back and see what you may
have missed.
Money Dance
There is alot of controversy over the tackiness of this event. Now if you do it in a nice way it can be good. Have the Best Man and MOH stand on the dancefloor and take money. I am so glad I decided to do this, I had my doubts at first. I had the best time. Everyone was so nice, I had tons of people dance with me, including people I did not know. I had a chance to talk with some people that I had not talked with all night and it was nice to be relaxed and dance with them. I felt no pressure, I had good conversations and I was able to talk to people who I would not have been able to otherwise because the night went so quickly and you cannot possibly talk to everyone. I am a convert, tacky as I previously thought it was, we had a blast. I was surprised at how people were so open to it and really wanted to dance with us. How often do you go to a wedidng and you really do not get to talk to the bride or groom but maybe you just wanted to tell them something. This is an awesome chance. And we made $500 to boot!!!! The money was just an extra, I really enjoyed the time I had with all those people. But the money sure was nice for our honeymoon. So, there you go, you decide what is best for you. But from a convert here, I say go for it, you will not regret it. What is the worst that can happen? It's your wedding and you will never have one again, hopefully.
Wedding Etiquette
If you are anything like me and did not know anything
about how to plan a wedding you can understand why I had to do some research.
There are several websites out there where you can read about several situations
that may arise or ask a question of your own. Here are a few that we found.
Weddings
Magazine • The Knot
Weddings Forums • Ask
Liz
Your Shoes
Why buy expensive bridal shoes that you'll never wear
again? I bought some cute white sandals to wear, nobody will see your feet. Just
be sure that you will feel comfortable while dancing. And if you are going to a
tropical island or something similar you will have a pretty new pair of sandals
to wear with your new outfits! I also painted my toenails blue!
Writing Thank You Notes
Start your thank-you notes as soon as you receive gifts. Just keep them in one
spot and you can mail them all at once. You will be completely overwhelmed if
you wait. It was bad enough writing all of the thank-you notes for the gifts we received at the wedding. At least you will have a head start. Also, keep a list of all your gifts and who sent them, this will really help to determine who you have written your notes too and it will also help you to remember who gave you what gift.
Choosing a Photographer
When it is all said and done the only thing you will
have to remember your special day is your memories and your photos so be sure
and choose the right photographer. Meet the person who will photograph your
wedding. Are they warm and do they ask questions about your wedding? You need to have a good rapport and make sure he is patient, professional, and friendly
because the photographers job is to get everyone together. There is nothing
worse than your photographer yelling at your guests! The better ones book early,
so get started right away. Your best resource is people you know. Look at their
wedding albums, do you like the way the pictures look, are they clear and
detailed? Also ask if he minds if Uncle Joe, who flew 2000 miles to see you can
snap a few shots of his own, after the photographer is done of course. Most
studios make most of their profit when you order reprints. So I would not
suggest requesting negatives. Beside, in a few years they might sell them to you
pretty cheap. Do not use a photographer that uses a 35mm camera. A medium format
negative (2 1/4" x 2 1/4") only needs to be enlarged 1/4 that of a 35mm
negative, resulting in finer grain and sharper pictures 4X that of 35mm. On 8x10
photos the difference in quality is noticeable! And ask if they print on Kodak
Professional Paper. Ask if they will be using secondary flash units or umbrella
lighting at the church. The pictures will come out much better because the extra light evenly lights up the larger area taken up by a big bridal party. Make sure they use a professional film and not Kodak or Fuji. Choose a photographer that has an assistant. The assistant performs many tasks like changing film backs,
batteries, and shooting candid photos, freeing the photographer to focus on your wedding. Also ask if they have a website, you can learn a lot from looking
there. Be sure you give your photographer a list of photographs you want, this
will make it easier for him to take the pictures you want. Be specific, (i.e.
Grandma & Grandpa Smith signing the guestbook). If you want candid table
shots let him know that too and let him know what people you want shots with and
if you want candid shots of your trane being bustled, etc.
Pictures Before or After
Take as many pictures as you can before the wedding. If you want to save that special moment take all the family pictures prior to the wedding. You would be surprised at how many pictures you are not in together! This way you are not in such a hurry and your hair and makeup are still fresh and pretty. Besides, it keeps your guests from having to wait so long for you at the reception.
Take a Breath
Everything happens so fast that it's just a blur later. Before you walk down the aisle, take a deep breath and "take in" your surroundings. The music, the smiles on your guests' faces, the proud expressions on your parent's faces, the look of love on your groom's face...the memories of all of these things are priceless.
Be sure to eat
Just in case you do not get to eat at the reception make sure you have some food
ready for you wherever you are spending the night. The night will be a whirlwind and you may forget to eat or just get taken away from the table and you will be starving.
Honor Your Parents
Remember that this is your parents' day, too. They have been waiting for this
day for your whole life. Most likely they are paying for all or part of it,
too. Remember them and honor them. You may put a picture of them at the
reception or make a toast to them and thank them for all their efforts and help
to make your special day a dream. Whatever you choose to do it will mean the
world to your parents.
Have a Brunch
Don't plan on leaving for your honeymoon right away. We had a brunch the next morning with all of our out-of-town guests and family. We had a chance to visit with friends and family and to finally enjoy some of that great food, and to open our gifts. We left for the airport after the brunch.
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