Wedding Supplies

Back in the day, this formal book was a way to signify which family and friends actually attended your wedding.  In the past, such books resembled that of an address book, with not much frill or flair.  Occasionally you’d come across “the diamond in the rough” decorated to suit the occasion.  While an important detail that should not be overlooked, I’m happy to tell you that the days of boring old guest books are gone.

There are many creative ways to re-invent the wedding guest book tradition.  You and your new spouse can use the book as the official address book of your friends and family.  Create it in a way that captures all their current data, including a spot for cell phone and email addresses.  You can go so far as to have the photographer snap a photo of each guest as they sign, and include the picture beside their information in the book.  Another fun idea is to frame your wedding invitation, and let the guests sign the matte around the frame.  They can write well wishes and notes that become a treasured keepsake in your home forever.  The list goes on and on.  Just remember, the guest book is a reflection of you and should represent your sense of style.

People often times get so stressed out planning a wedding that they forget to enjoy the event. They get so wrapped up in this all-consuming time in their lives. If a bride and groom-to-be are too deep in serious mode, find a way to lighten their moods. How do you accomplish this? (After all, it is no small task).

Start by giving them fun wedding gifts. There are many small items that you can give to the bride and groom aside from the actual wedding gift. Try a fun novelty item like matching bride and groom baseball hats or a door hanger for the honeymoon suite. Anything that will lighten the moment and make them smile or even laugh during this normally high stress time is a gift sure to be treasured forever!

Today is your day to shine. You’ll be in the spotlight for everyone to gawk over. You’ll want to make sure you’re stunning because whether you like it or not, all eyes are on you! What can you do to help ensure a successful “15 minutes of fame”?

 One sure fire idea is to have a wedding veil that compliments both your style and your personality. Whether you have simple elegant tastes or a fairy tale style wedding, the right veil can make you look and feel like Queen for a day! Wedding veils come in a variety of styles from short, plain veils to long elegant floor length veils. Look around to find the veil that’s just right for you!

You have so much on your mind while planning the perfect wedding. And understandably, your top priority is you. But have you stopped running around long enough to consider the special people in you life; those who’ve helped you get to this point? We all have them!

To this end, consider giving hand made jewelry to the special women in your life that will be at or involved with your wedding. Jewelry will make a great gift for the mother of the bride, the mother of the groom, a special aunt or perhaps your godmother. This is a gift that shows you care because you handpicked it to compliment her style and personality. It will be a treasured gift long after your wedding day!

You’ve handpicked your bridesmaids and now you need to find that perfect gift to show your appreciation. What will they like? What can you give them that they can utilize after your wedding? What can you give them that will remind them of the special bond they share with you?

There are so many choices out there from engraved items to event tickets. Consider hand made jewelry. Simple or elegant hand made jewelry is a great choice for many reasons. You’ll compliment the gowns on the big day, giving your bridesmaids that beautiful, polished look. When you look at your wedding pictures, you’ll be reminded of the thoughtful gift you gave your bridal party. Additionally, this is a useful gift because it can be worn over and over again after the wedding, reminding your bridesmaids of the special day they shared with you.

I’ve been to enough weddings to understand the importance of the best man’s speech. It always arrives with great fanfare early in the reception, and it sets the tone for the rest of the night. I’ve heard speeches that balance humor and nostalgia to perfect effect, and I’ve witnessed a few that have fallen flat – only to be met with an awkward silence and then some scattered applause.

When my best friend finally tied the knot last spring, I was ready to take the honor very seriously. I practiced the speech diligently, keeping all of the details a secret. The night of the rehearsal dinner, I declined to raise the toasting flutes; everyone would have to wait until the big day to hear my speech. In the end, I executed the speech with an oratorical flair that I never knew I possessed. It was a huge hit, and I’m fairly sure it put me in good stead with a couple of the bridesmaids.

If there was ever a time to succumb to pomp and circumstance, it’s at a wedding. Guests have come to expect extravagant decadence from a wedding ceremony, and much of that is because of time-honored traditions. We’re all familiar with the bride tossing her bouquet to a hopeful bridesmaid, symbolizing that it will be her turn to marry next. And of course the bride and groom are usually showered with rice on their way out of the chapel.

But one of the most important traditions – the lighting of the unity candle – takes place during the ceremony proper. Unity candle sets feature three candles, two of which are smaller than the third. The bride and groom each hold the smaller candles and light the larger one to symbolize the new life they are creating as a married couple.

The wedding procession is the time when all the bride and groom’s best friends and close family members walk down the aisle. The ring bearer and flower girl are perhaps the cutest members of this procession, as they are usually younger boys and girls who look adorable in formal wear. All eyes will be on the cute flower girl as she throws flower petals down the aisle, so it’s important that her dress and accessories coordinate with the rest of the wedding decor.

You can find any cute white dress for the flower girl to wear, along with a colored sash that matches the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses. You should also pay attention to the details of the flower girl basket. You may want to find one that is trimmed with details that are similar to the rest of your decor, mimicking decorative fabrics like chiffon and lace. Make sure to find one that is big enough to fit enough flower petals to last the flower girl the whole way down the aisle. You can either use fresh flower petals or, if you’re worried about them wilting, realistic silk flower petals.

Often a highlight of a wedding reception is cutting and serving the wedding cake. Wedding cakes can be simple, but they’re often very elaborate. There are even entire TV shows devoted to pastry chefs competing to design the best wedding cake for a couple. No matter what the design of your wedding cake ends up being, the cake topper is to centerpiece and attention grabber of the whole display.

Figurines of the bride and groom are traditional to top the wedding cake, but nowadays they can seem cheesy and outdated. Go for a more modern look with a unique adornment, like a stylized heart sculpture or monogram cake topper. For the latter, you can either choose the first letters of both of your first names – J and D for Jane and Dan, for example – or simple use the first letter of the husband’s last name. You can even choose the script that these monogram toppers come in – simple for a modern wedding, or scrolling cursive for a more romantic look.

One of the most fun moments at a wedding is when the groom removes and throws the bride’s garter to the single, male guests. According to tradition, the man who catches the garter will be the next to marry. Since many men love being bachelors, some will do all they can to avoid catching it! You can avoid this at your wedding by attaching a fun incentive to the garter. This could be a small token that guarantees a prize for the person who catches it, or a small prize itself – a keepsake, or even money if you really want to encourage enthusiasm!

As for the garter itself, there are many styles of wedding garters to choose from. The bride can select a traditional, romantic garter, or a fun, brightly colored one. A garter can be a great way to incorporate “something blue” into her wedding attire to stick to tradition. Make sure to choose one garter for the groom to toss to the single men and one for the bride to keep as a wedding keepsake.