Beautiful Bridal has recently written a great piece about writing your own vows.
Make your ceremony unique and special … Click here to read the entire article.
Wholly Matrimony just published a three-part piece about planning your wedding to achieve the maximum photogenic moments. The pictures featured here are from Darbi’s wedding. The most important things to be aware of if you are trying to get the best photos is location, time of day (daylight) and who your hire as a photographer. You should budget to spend more than usual on photography and spend time in the beginning interviewing photographers telling them what you hope to capture and looking at their portfolio to see that they are able to take the kind of pictures you are hoping for. Also, it might be useful to plan in extra time on the day of the wedding to travel around for different picture-taking locations.
Photo taken from Wholly Matrimony, a Stacy Reeves Photography picture.
This photo was taken by Stacy Reeves Photography, based in Dallas, Texas. Lara Adkins also photographed this wedding. She can be found HERE. Her specialty is exclusive weddings, worldwide! You don’t have to be having a Texas wedding to have this excellent photographer.
Most photographers will tell you that time of day impacts photo quality a great deal. The best, most forgiving and gentle light is that of morning and late day. But, talk to your photographer to get their take on when it is best to take your pictures.
Chances are you are going to want many pictures of different combinations of family members, PLAN AHEAD! Make a list and talk with your photographer to find out how much time they think they will need. Also, ask all of those friends and family members to be dressed and ready for photos at a certain time. Ask one relative to be in charge to getting them all there and assisting the photographers in getting people ready for photos. With the excitement of the day, people will be busy talking and mingling and this little photo op session can go one way longer than necessary if someone isn’t helping to keep on track.
Simply Stated recently featured some adorable little wedding cupcakes in an article discussing the rising popularity of cupcakes as a wedding cake. Old fashioned wedding cakes are still the norm and are in their glory, gorgeous artistic works of sugar and flour. However, if you are looking for a way to simplify, scale down, price down or just be different or more resourceful, consider a wedding cake of cupcakes.
If you choose to do it on your own a cupcake tree can be purchased at any craft store and you can essentially build your own cupcake CAKE.
When you serve cupcakes instead of actual cake you can have many flavors, not just one. Usually a bride and groom will have one layer of actual cake to cut through for the tradition of “cutting the cake”. If you are interested in this option, discuss it with your baker. Less material is used so cupcakes are also less expensive than a traditional cake.
These Ron Ben-Israel individual wedding cake cupcakes are most likely NOT cheaper than a traditional cake because of the detail involved in designing each cake. Ron Ben-Israel cakes are truly pieces of art. Gorgeous and delicious they are truly sugar masterpieces.
Cupcake Royale located in Seattle, Washington is better suited for the average wedding couple looking to serve cupcakes. The lemon drop is one of MANY flavors and color options offered.
If you choose to DIY, Estillo Weddings offers decorative cupcake papers in many designs, including palm trees, a picket fence and lace.
What kind of cake did you serve at your wedding? Would you recommend your baker? Please leave a comment and let us know!
Choosing a wedding officiant can be a daunting task. Some people have it easy and they call up their childhood Minister or they just use their parent’s Rabbi. When two people get married they are not always of the same background faith and they search for an officiant who meets both of their needs and is willing to perform a ceremony with as much or as little religion as possible. It is also nice when the person marrying you can toss in a few words about your personalities or a quick story about when you met. It makes your wedding extra personal and extra memorable.
I was just reading through some of the recent wedding-related posts on Alltop and I came across a wedding planning firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. Liene (Lynn) at Blue Orchid Designs is ordained. (You know, just in case someone needs to sign a marriage certificate. ALSO: I’d pay extra for THAT feature!) Talk about being prepared! She is also the owner of this destination planning firm that specializes in being honest, helpful, and very in touch with their clients needs.
Liene offers these five tips for choosing the best person to officiate at your wedding ceremony:
1) Hire someone who is available for you. It was easy for me to write a heartfelt ceremony for my friends because they have been a significant part of my life over the years. Chances are, though, that you won’t know your officiant that well. They should be willing to meet with you in order to get an idea of who you are so that your ceremony can be personalized and not just a canned wedding message. 2) Weddings are a sacred event, and as such, a person’s beliefs play a large role. If the officiant you want has a theological or ideological difference with something that is important to you and your fiance, there is no need to be offended. It just means it is time to interview the next person. 3) Not all ordinations are created equal. Make sure that the ordination your officiant has is legal in the state you are getting married in. Each state has their own marriage laws and just because someone can perform a ceremony in Washington doesn’t necessarily mean they can perform one in Arizona. 4) Some officiants will come to the rehearsal, some won’t and some include the option for an extra fee. If your officiant doesn’t include the rehearsal in their services, make sure that they can get a copy of the ceremony outline to your wedding planner a few days prior to the rehearsal. This will allow your coordinator to better run the rehearsal and walk you through specific elements in the wedding, such as when you’ll do your sand ceremony and where to stand for it, when you’ll present flowers to your mothers, etc. 5) If the officiant works with a videographer often, they may have access to past weddings documented on film. If possible, ask to see video clips of the officiant speaking. Not all will be able to offer this, and it shouldn’t necessarily be a deal breaker. It is helpful, however, to see if they are good at speaking and whether or not they do, in fact, skip the cheesiness that so many officiants are known for.
I’ve been writing for Wedding Tactics for a full year now. When I started maintaining this site I didn’t know what it would become and how long I’d be writing. In fact, at the time, 451 Press was still just getting off the ground. In fact, its been pretty amazing watching the network grow along with my site.
My first posting discussed the differences between a marriage and a wedding. The first few months following this entry I used the planning of my own wedding as a guide for what to write about.
A few times I mentioned the issues in gaining a new set of parents and specifically, the mother-in-law.
I wrote a lot about dresses and veils and accessories.
And for a few months I had featured columns on certain days of the week, Trends on Tuesday and Traditions Thursday. I used these headlines as a means to explain traditions like the tossing of the garter.
April was a very popular month on this site. My stats went thru the roof, but that was a very popular wedding time of year. I get asked frequently about the Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue thing. The meaning and its history are detailed here.
One of my all-time favorite posting was about what guests should wear to a wedding. I noticed during the Spring months that several clothing stores were featuring lines of dresses for wedding guests. This is a good guide to style options depending on the wedding venue.
I got married in May. Then, I started a new job in June and my postings got a bit less frequent for awhile. Meanwhile, I did profile some great summer wedding themes.
As the year went on I tried to focus on all the different issues surrounding weddings, including mens clothing, or, tuxedos and a few funny stories too, like this one about a guy who lost his wedding ring.
And, finally, the most recent repeating column, Wedding Tactics: On Location, features vendors and venues in random cities. By featuring actual wedding business providers across the nation, I hope that readers from all states will be attracted to read and follow along and also to ask questions and participate in the Wedding Tactics dialogue. The On-Location feature can be seen here, here and here. And also here.
Thanks to all the readers who made this a successful year for me and 451 Press. I look forward to another even better year here.
Happy New Year!
Cakediva.com has a great website with extensive cake galleries. The extensive press and client list includes Geraldo Rivera, Bride Magazine and MTV.
Posh Nosh Catering located in Raleigh, North Carolina serves the entire Triangle area. They have a diverse catering menu featuring a variety of real foods dressed up just elegantly enough for your wedding. The will create custom menus for your event!
Surrounded by English Gardens, The Historic Mankin Mansion is an excellent venue for a central-Virginia historic wedding venue.
Virginia Car Insurance Quotes free quotes
Ruthie’s Wedding Cake’s and Desserts in Columbus, Ohio will deliver cakes anywhere in Ohio and free delivery is available in Franklin County.
If you are planning a wedding in the Washington, DC metro-area, you might really love DaVinci Florist. They are affordable, friendly and very professional. They work hard to make the brides happy and they have excellent floral talent too!
I also really like that their website has extensive wedding photo galleries and lists of flower information.
Charlotte’s Flowers features silk flower arrangements. They have a very comprehensive package for less than $200!!
If you are marrying in the Phoenix area consider using a Sarah Lansdale ring pillow.
Her hand-sewn pillows can add an extra special touch if you are looking for delicate detail.
Contact Sarah Lansdale for information about creating a special pillow just for your wedding day.
Outdoor weddings are some of my favorite weddings. I, had an outdoor wedding — but before you commit to one, you should recognize a few issues that an outdoor ceremony presents.
You definitely lose a little control over some aspects of the day if you plan an outdoor ceremony. The obivious one is the weather. You are at the mercy of heat, cold, and rain. The other is that you can’t control each little decoration detail. For example, rose petal lining the aisle might blow around a little. It’s important to remember that outdoor ceremonies can be spectacular, but also you have to be a little flexible and it helps to embrace the concept that some things are just not controllable.
To see some other outdoor wedding sites in the San Francisco area, visit this website.
Utah is a state of great natural beauty.
Outdoor reception sites are common and amazing! I really like the ones listed below. I found them on the website, Utah Weddings.
1. Somewhere Inn Time features indoor and outdoor ceremony options. Located in Lindon, Utah.
and,
2. Arbor Manor Reception Center is located in Salt Lake City. Elegantly built in 2003, this site features ultra high ceilings and other details designed to make your wedding easy to plan and beautifully celebrated. They are an all-inclusive wedding facility where catering and decorations are supplied by the reception hall.
I usually like to feature vendors in the areas I am writing about but I found a website that allows you to sign up for some information and register for a planning kit too.
If you are planning a wedding, or are just recently engaged and are curious about a wedding in the western mountains of Colorado, this includes the popular ski areas of Summit County and the Vail Resorts, look at Western Colorado Wedding Guide. The publications have lists of vendors, ideas and tons of area-related information. It will allow you to compare different towns in the same area.
Wedding Tactics is an ongoing chronicle of a blogger's wedding planning fiascos, family upheavals and the once-in-a-lifetime-joy of marrying your best friend. In between posts about the exasperating shock of having another set of parents, Wedding Tactics explores wedding traditions from across the globe, examines current trends and provides tips on how to incorporate any style into any budget. You will discover ideas for many wedding issues, get your questions answered and find real-life, honest, no-frills answers to ALL of those pesky etiquette issues.
Wedding Tactics Author(s)
