Get creative with your centerpieces without skimping
by Alia Haley
Filed under Features, Reception products, Reception Venue
Wedding centerpieces are very important as it is the focal point in setting the right mood for the occasion. Choosing the right centerpiece to co-ordinate with the rest of the wedding decor may seem expensive. This need not be the case, as with a bit of creativity and right materials you can have elegant centerpieces without spending too much money.
1. The types of centerpieces you choose must harmonize well with the other wedding decor arrangements. The best types are still floral, candles or edible flower bouquets although you can have some unique, creative pieces on your tables. Your centerpieces must be based on the size of your tables.
2. One unique and cost effective centerpiece idea is to have your bridal bouquet and bridesmaids’ bouquets double up as centerpieces for some food tables. The mini bouquets of the female family members can also be used to enhance the reception table. Vases should be placed ahead of time in such a situation.
3. You can have your church ceremony flowers transported back to the reception area for re-using the arrangements in the reception.
4. Another idea could be to arrange your favors on the guests’ tables along with candles.
5. Candy buffet designed for guests is another popular trend. The candles are wrapped in small organza bags and stored inside the glass candy buffet jars. You can actually arrange these strategically on your guests’ tables as centerpieces. These edible favors can really do a good job of centerpieces as well as being sweet.
6. You can float candles and flowers in large bowls with some beads and fish gravel at the bottom. You could also arrange lots of colored candles in jars, photo frames of the bride and groom and mini favor boxes as centerpieces.
7. Try using uniform colored orchids placed in vases as centerpieces. These can be used on their own without other flowers and they spell chic and elegance all the way. Besides, orchids bloom for longer duration so this is good investment even after the reception is long over.
8. Arrange different sizes of pillar candles to create a rich and romantic feel. These can be scented or unscented but ensure that the burn time is sufficient through the reception. You can even have fruits, flowers and green plants arranged around these candles for a warmer look.
9. You can rent or buy topiaries which are generally meant for placing on the ground but you can find smaller ones for centerpieces. Have these wrapped around with white tulle and fastened with a bow, and create an ethereal centerpiece with some candles arranged near them.
Once you have assembled and created your centerpieces which are unique, creative and unforgettable, you can rest assured that your guests’ will get into the right mood of the setting. Take care that your centerpieces do not block out the view or inconvenience the guests. Ensure that they will still be able to hold conversations across the tables without being blocked out.
About the author: Alia is a blogger by profession. She just came from the wedding of her close friends. Beside this she loves travelling and exploring new places. She recently shared an article on must visit honeymoon destinations.
Elegant favors: Get a wow from your guest
by Alia Haley
Filed under Features, Pre-Wedding Planning, Wedding Favours
Wedding favors are usually given at the end of any wedding reception to applaud the attendance of the guest present in the party. While selecting any gift, you can showcase your guests with a feeling of being considerate to them with these elegant favors. You are often remembered for the elegant favor you gifted your guest at your wedding. However, despite all the importance it has in any wedding reception, it is considered to be the most neglected one to be seen in any wedding. If you have a wedding at your place and if you are perplexed about what favor should you consider, this article would be of a great help. Try these elegant options.
Stemless personalized 9-oz wine glasses: You will be certainly blown off having a drink in these stemless glasses. These can be personalized with your chosen design, wherein you can put your name and wedding date with eight different rich colors. Therefore, what you get is a different elegant favor wherein you can have your favorite beverage for the guests to enjoy.
Lucky Elephant tea-light holder: You can gift your guest with Indian style wedding favor. The elephant with raised trunks are believed to bring a nice future. Your guests accepting them would certainly enjoy this token of love and appreciation from you. And get them away with a hope for a good fortune to have at their place.
Glass photo frame/place card holder coasters: Known for being rich in aesthetics. Truly an elegant piece in white and black color, the photo frame cum place holder coaster appears an excellent piece for your table. Your guest would be indebted to have such a wonderful favor having rich beauty and a practical choice.
Champagne bucket timer: This can be called an elegant favor where elegance and intelligence culminates. It makes you’re your table rich with its silver toned beauty found over the reception table. Evident with a silver finish, this little glassy miniature steals the show when discovered at any table.
Tea-light holder: Indeed a most gorgeous favor to give away your guests. These cups embarks with attached saucer and the teacup, is the right size to carry a single tea light. Certainly, this piece can be called as mind blowing choice to make.
Final words: Giving away these small and elegant favors are called as token of gratitude and love which you showcase to your guest when they make their presence at your wedding reception. If money is not a problem, you can have whole lot of wedding favors; however, with limited budget too you can embark with inexpensive gifts for your guests. You cannot slash down your budget when you are going having your wedding gown or any other important element of wedding. However, wedding favors are the ones where you adopt the policy of frugality. At this point of time, the above enlisted wedding favors discussed are not only elegant but affordable too. Hope you find them useful, especially when you have your wedding in the coming future.
About the author: Alia is a blogger by profession. She just came from the wedding of her close friends. Beside this she loves travelling and exploring new places. She recently shared an article on must visit honeymoon destinations
Can I invite guests to just my bridal shower and not the wedding?
by Daily Wedding Blog
Filed under Etiquette, featured, Features, guest list, You might be interested in....
Discussing wedding planning today with a newly engaged woman, she asked me if It would be considered rude to invite her co-workers to her bridal shower, but not to the actual wedding. Her justification was that she didn’t consider herself close enough to her co-workers to merit an invitation, however she felt obliged somehow that she needed them to still have a small part in the wedding.
Her intentions may have been good, but her co-workers will read into this that they are not good enough for the wedding and are only good enough for a bridal shower that will require them to bring gifts. Needless to say this will create work tension later on. It is considered bad form to invite guests to a bridal party and NOT the wedding and doing this will undoubtedly cause tension.
If you are adamant on having people at your bridal shower and not your wedding ensure that you are tactful. You can state on the invitation that the wedding is very small and limited to just family, however a bridal shower will give you the opportunity to celebrate with friends.
Some may debate that it is your wedding and you can do what you like, and sure there is truth in this, however some brides use this as an excuse to quite simply practise poor manners. You don’t have to invite all your family, friends and co-workers to your wedding, but you must be tactful and fair.
In the case of this newly engaged woman that inspired this post, she has decided to hold a small pre-wedding brunch with her co-workers and some casual friends and limit the wedding to just family and close childhood friends. She will explain to them that coming from a large family the guest list will be taken up by obligatory invitations of aunts, uncles and cousins (about 45 just on her side) and this brunch will be an opportunity for her to celebrate with her co-workers.
Do You Have a Backup Wedding Photo Location?
by Daily Wedding Blog
Filed under Features, Wedding Photography
It’s always a good idea to be prepared and have a plan B when it comes to the location of your official wedding photos. This is especially true if you have planned to have your wedding photos taken in an outdoor venue.
If possible, have a nearby secondary photo location that you could utilise in case for some reason you cannot use your planned location. For example, your wedding photos might have been scheduled to take place in your favourite. The night before your wedding, it may have rained heavily, making the park grounds muddy and unsuitable for wedding photos. Fortunately for you, you have a second venue in mind and can easily have your photos taken in the new location without a problem.
The Plan B venue should ideally be an undercover location, such as inside old buildings with beautiful interior design, verandas, and hotel foyers. Not so long ago, one bride and groom had their wedding photos taken in an IKEA store as their original location was unsuitable!
Guest Bloggers : Call Out to Wedding Vendors
by Daily Wedding Blog
Filed under featured, Features
Do you work in the wedding industry? Maybe you’re a wedding florist, a wedding photographer or perhaps you hire out classic cards to brides and grooms for their wedding transport? If you consider yourself a know-it-all in your chosen niche, we want to hear from you! Daily Wedding Blog is putting the call out for guest bloggers to join our writing team.
The main benefit of guest blogging is exposure for your wedding. We encourage our guest bloggers to include a few lines about who they are and a link to their business website on their post. Our posts remain online indefinitely, which means that an article you write today, could still be bringing you traffic to your business’s website years from now.
Blog about what you know and your expertise. What might seem like trivial information to you might be highly useful information for a couple planning their wedding.
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Colorful wedding dresses: Why go the conventional way
by Alia Haley
Filed under Features, Wedding Dress
You may spend months shopping for that perfect wedding dress for yourself. After all, your wedding dress deserves a special appeal. Although you may not wear it again, the care and precision you put in making the choice is nonparallel. The traditional wedding dress can be a universal favorite, but you would not regret having made a different choice (which would be much liked by your grandmother as well).
With some careful observation and knowledge about the current trend, you could choose (or even design) the dress of your dreams. If white or ivory is not on your mind, there are plenty of other choices. But be patient! Shopping for a colorful gown can be frustrating (or completely frustrating if you are not quite fond of it). There are also many online stores available, and if you can do some ‘hard’ browsing, you could find one which suits your need. There can be dresses ranging from $299 to $599 (and there could be no stopping as far as the spending is considered).
You can find one which is pretty, like the princess look (from the vintage collection), or a cool one with a natural fabric, the cap sleeves or the full sleeves, and many more from the market. Some of the designers offer modest wedding gowns in their bridal salons.
The red
This is a traditional colored dress for the brides in many countries. Although the color may not apparently be high on popularity in the United States, countries like China regard it as a traditional color of good luck and auspiciousness. The Chinese weddings feature red décor, including red wedding gowns. The color is also closely related to love, which is one of the most significant expressions at the wedding. Red can also have variations like, deep burgundy, brick red, etc.
The blue
Usually, you do not find blue as the wedding dress color. But it is gaining popularity off late. This can be a bold depiction of yourself, particularly if this is your favorite color. Here also, you may have variations, like sky blue or deep blue.
The black
This can be quite repelling from the conventional one, though! But it can be audacious. Your wedding dress can have new dimensions with the black color. You can have a combination with black to dilute its affect. The black is especially popular in Scandinavia.
There is an interesting reference to the black wedding dress. While Sarah Jessica Parker chose to wear a black dress on her wedding, she later admitted of having regrets not choosing a traditional one.
It is encouraging to have a special appeal on your wedding day. But ensure that you are not doing it just to go against the convention. Some sentiments are attached to specific colors. It is good to be careful (and discuss with your close ones) before choosing a black dress.
A blend
If you want to enjoy your traditional wedding dress with some color dashes, you could go for a colored hemline or even a colored bow. Such a dress can give the versatility of the traditional feel with a modern appeal. You can easily find such dresses from bridal retailers.
Wedding traditions are diverse. You have many like the Western culture “wedding white” from the Victorian Era or the Japanese wedding kimono. The idea is to be special and unique. You can shop for the traditional one or the modern one. Recently, colored wedding dresses have picked up interest. Several bridal salons offer styles and designs to suit the demand.
About the author: Alia Haley is a frequent blogger on the wedding portal. She has covered many interesting topics related to pre and post wedding scenario like wedding cakes, themed weddings, bridal shower, honeymoon destinations and romantic gateways.
How to Choose Your Bridesmaids Wedding Shoes
by Daily Wedding Blog
Filed under Bridal Party Attire, Features
It is natural to feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to choosing the shoes that your bridesmaids will be wearing to your wedding. You will likely want your bridesmaids input into the shoes which they will wear, but at the same time, you will want the shoes to fit in with your overall image of the bridal party. So what do you do?
You need to make whichever options you choose clear upfront, so that none of the ladies end up spending a fortune on the wrong shoes. Be clear and concise in what you want and more importantly, what you don’t want.
Plan The Marriage
by Daily Wedding Blog
Filed under Features, Pre-Wedding Planning
From the time a couple announces their wedding engagement, it is quite common for them to become focused on their wedding planning, which is only natural as they can be a great deal to do and the excitement is usually overflowing. However, how much time prior to your wedding day have you planned on your marriage?
Many couples usually avoid the ‘marriage’ talk and prefer to go with then flow and just see how their married life unfolds. However setting the foundation for a good marriage before you actually tie the knot is imperative to a happy union.
Open up the lines of communication early on. You need to discuss things such as whether or not kids are on the agenda, whether you intend to continue working once the baby comes along, family, finances, division of household labour, careers and so much more. These things don’t need to be set in stone, but you need to be able to discuss them openly.
Native Americans wedding traditions: Seems like a part of ancient history
by Alia Haley
Filed under Wedding customs
Apart from giving happiness and looking after every need of the members of their families throughout their lives, no two Native American tribes follow the same rituals or ceremonies for their wedding. There are more than a hundred tribes in which a population of more than two million Native Americans is living in the United States. Among these the most popular is the Cherokee clan. The wedding rituals are intact and are followed till today by the natives and attending such a traditional ceremony feels like going back to the past, to the ancient world. Apart from the Cherokee, some of the other popular wedding traditions are the Algonquin, the Hopi and the Delaware. Given below are some of the interesting wedding traditions of the Native Americans:
1. Hopi Tradition:
On the auspicious day, the female cousins or aunts of the bride take piki bread made by the bride few days back and ground corn to the groom’s maternal place. The relatives then twist the hair of the bride and the groom with each other after washing their hair together. Entwining of hair signifies a lifelong commitment and mutual understanding. The couple then walks to the edge of a mesa and pray to the Sun while their hair still being twisted with each other.
2. Delaware Tradition:
In this style of wedding, gifts such as jewelry, blanket other clothing and wampum belts are given to the bride’s parents. The acceptance of the gifts signifies that the marriage is done with their approval.
3. Cherokee Tradition:
Marrying within one’s own clan is not allowed in this tribe. The Cherokee wedding traditions vary slightly from one clan to another but the basic steps are the same. On the day of the wedding, the bride’s brother pledges to teach the couple’s children in future about the religion, spiritual beliefs and practices as it is the uncle’s duty to do so, according to the customs. Then the groom gives ham to the bride in the middle of the townhouse which is a vow to protect his family while the bride gives him the ear of a corn, promising to be a good wife taking care of their household. After this they go to a holy place and ask blessings from a priest in front of the fire. They are then covered by a blue blanket and then a white one which ultimately completes the wedding uniting them.
4. Algonquin Tradition:
On the wedding day, the bride takes bath in a large water body such as a lake or a pond to get blessings from Mother Earth. The nuptial takes place outside a lodge meant for weddings. The priest makes the couple understand the importance of their union and also the vows. There are no divorces according to this tradition. After they are declared to be married, the couple smokes from the same pipe and offer tobacco to the priest which he accepts delightfully.
5. Pacific Northwest Tribal Tradition:
The couple stands on a blanket and food is placed on it for the guests. The blanket is wrapped around them after the feast finishes which signifies the unity. The blanket is then passed to those who are present in the wedding.
Most of the Native American clans believe in the existence of a Great Spirit, which is formless like the clouds, is the creator of the universe and the planets and imbibed the seed of life. The sun is supposed to be a manifestation of this spirit and in most of the weddings the couples prays and seek the blessings of the sun for their union.
About the author: Alia Haley is a blogger who is a fashionista by heart and loves experimenting with styling. In case of blogging, mostly her articles are inspired by her own experiences. Recently she was researching a lot about honeymoon packages as that she thought that would be a perfect gift for her friend’s wedding. These days she is busy in writing an article on best beaches in the world.
Things to Keep in Mind when Budgeting for a Wedding
by Arnold K
Filed under featured, Pre-Wedding Planning
We all know that marriage is a long term commitment, but what many people fail to realise is that planning the wedding to get to the marriage takes an investment of time too. There are a number of reasons why wedding planning can take some time:
● A wedding dress will usually take around six to eight months to make.
● Wedding reception venues are usually booked up well in advance.
● You’re waiting for the best chance of getting great weather on your wedding day.
● You’re waiting to save up the money you need to pay for your wedding.
It wouldn’t be surprising if that last point sounded new to you, because in an age of instant messaging, constant Facebook updates, multiple credit cards and store credit, it is hard to imagine waiting to save up for anything anymore. However, what you need to remember is that your wedding is just the beginning of your married life together, and you don’t want to start out that life with a mountain of debt in tow just because you wanted to invite 300 of your closest friends to your wedding.
Now is the time to be realistic about the differences between what you want and what you can afford – and how long you’re willing to wait to be able to afford what you want. That is where the following tips can help you when budgeting, planning and paying for a wedding.
Wedding Budget
So you’re ready to start saving for your wedding – but what are you saving for? Even though you’ve resolved not to go into debt to host your wedding and you plan to save the money you need, you still need to pick an end point, and be conscious of the amount you’re spending. Therefore, start shopping around and comparing prices to get an idea of how much the wedding you have in your mind, will cost to make a reality.
As you’re shopping, keep in mind the following tips to save:
● Avoid save the date cards. Instead of printing, stuffing and posting save the date cards and then having to go through the whole process again in a few months with the invitations, send a save the date notice to your friends and family via email. Sending a bulk email will be much faster and easier, not to mention free, and if you still want to give your guests something pretty to stick on the fridge, create a save the date document on your computer and attach the file to your bulk email so recipients can print it themselves if they choose.
● Grow your own bouquet. From the time you get engaged to the time you walk down the aisle you will have ample opportunity to grow just about any type of flower you want for your floral displays. All you need is some pots or a patch of garden and you can tend to your very personalised wedding decorations. Plus, after the wedding you’ll still have the plants in your garden as a reminder of your special day.
● Avoid wedding magazines. Wedding magazines can be upwards of $15 each, and there are dozens available on the shelves of every newsagent, so which do you choose? Often brides will buy all of the different wedding magazines, but why not save that money and take your wedding planning electronic. Most wedding magazines will publish an electronic version of their magazine on their website, so Google the magazines you’ve been eyeing, and save. Wedding planning isn’t just on the internet either, and can be done on your phone or iPad too with free wedding applications.
● Your bridesmaids can look good, again. The old adage that bridesmaids’ dresses are hideous to make the bride look better has gone out the window as more and more couples get creative in dressing their wedding party. Some will choose a common colour and vary the style of the dresses while others will create a rainbow of colour to make sure the dress suits the girl, not just the wedding. You can also turn this idea to your advantage to save some money by choosing a theme, such as ‘spring’ and having each bridesmaid choose and pay for a dress they like and will wear again.
● Shop around for your dream dress. One of the most fun parts of wedding planning is trying on all of the beautiful gowns, and just because you want to save some money on your wedding it doesn’t mean you can’t go to all of the exclusive bridal boutiques and try on their dresses. This gives you an idea of the styles you like, and which work for your shape, but you don’t have to buy the first dress you like. Instead, shop around for alternatives such as factory outlets who sell the sample dresses at a fraction of the cost.
● Value of wedding gifts. Your guests will want to give you something to commemorate your special day and start your life together, but the truth is if you and your fiancée have been living together for some time, you probably already have a toaster, dinner set, cutlery and towels. Outside of these traditional wedding gifts it can be hard for your guests to know what to buy you, which is why you can use services like Free Gift Registry on freegiftregistry.com.au, which allow you to make up a list of the specific things you need – a tagine, a knife set or a tent – and your guests can log in and buy you the item from any store. Plus, you can add items such as ‘donation to honeymoon’ if your guests want to give cash.
Wedding Credit
You’re likely to spend six months to a year after you get engaged, just shopping around for ideas and suppliers for your wedding. However, when you’re not spending for your wedding you should be saving for your wedding, so that you know the money will be there when you need it.
Start by opening a high interest online savings account. A high interest savings account can be opened and managed online, this is how the banks are able to offer you such high interest rates, and do away with all of the account keeping fees. You can even create sub accounts in many cases, so you can start saving for your wedding, as well as create a sub-account for the honeymoon, another for a house deposit and another for an emergency fund. This may well be the first account you and your fiancée open in joint names and is an exciting and momentous time as you both start planning for a future together. Then set up a direct transfer of funds from your incomes each week, into your savings account. The amount you choose will depend on your budget, and how long you are able to save for before the wedding.
Your savings will grow in no time thanks to your regular contributions and the compounding high interest. When you are close to your wedding budget, start comparing term deposit accounts. A term deposit account is a fixed account, where you deposit your funds for a term of one month to five years. The interest you earn is locked in for the entire term, and compounds over that time. You can’t access the funds until the account matures, so there is no temptation to spend your savings early.
Now, you may be wondering – what is the point of locking away my wedding budget just as I need to start paying deposits? This is where you start comparing credit cards. You are looking for a credit card with a low or 0% interest offer for a limited time. You can then use your credit card for all of your wedding spending, leaving your savings in your term deposit account earning healthy, guaranteed interest.
With a wedding credit card you have all of your wedding spending in one place so you can easily track whether you’ve paid a deposit for the flowers and the venue, and how much you’ve paid off of your dress. Then, as your term deposit matures closer to your wedding day, you can use the money in the account to pay out your wedding credit card in full, and reinvest the left over savings, or put them into one of your other savings accounts for the future.
Savings Account Finder (http://www.savingsaccountfinder.com.au/) helps you compare online savings and term deposit products in Australia. We blog about useful personal finance matters and general tips to help you achieve financial independence.
