Thursday, 28 June 2012

Poetry as Important Part of the Wedding


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Poems, for such a long time, have been used to express one's feelings and emotions and to record events and thoughts in an artistic form. Reading poems during a wedding can enhance the beauty of the event.


The wedding poem may be composed and be read by a member of the family as a gift to the groom and bride. However, not many have good skills in writing that poem writing for weddings may also be entrusted to professional wedding writers.


Even if the task of writing the wedding poem has been delegated to an experienced wedding poem writer, the groom and the bride or a member of the family should choose the wedding poem writer carefully and coordinate with the writer as often as possible.


Choosing the wedding poetry writer should take place after the sites for the wedding and reception have been confirmed. This is necessary because some of the sites details may be included in the poem that this should be supplied to the wedding poetry writer as soon as possible.


Also, consider the site for the wedding rites. Some religious institutions do not allow alterations with the wedding rites such as including reading poetry during the ceremony. Therefore, in this case, wedding poetry reading should be done during the reception.


The wedding poetry should represent the groom and the bride and should go well with the theme of the wedding. The wedding poem may also be printed in the program and may also be given as a keepsake. Thus, a good wedding poem is very important. For that reason, brainstorming can help a lot when choosing the wedding poetry writer or vendor.


Before deciding on who will be the wedding poetry vendor and writer, consider what type of poem will you need. For a traditional and formal wedding, an elegantly written poem is suggested. If the wedding will be having an informal ceremony, a poem with a touch of humor will work well.


Do not choose a lengthy poem if the ceremony will be longer than two hours. Decide if music will be played while reading the poem.


If you have decided what you will need, you have to stat looking for a wedding poem vendor. The easiest way to look for reliable information is by asking for suggestions from family and friends, the manager of the reception site, the person who will officiate the marriage, or from your wedding coordinator. You can also search online for poetry vendors.


If possible, ask for a rough draft of what the wedding poem will be so you can decide if this is the one that will be appropriate for the wedding. It is preferable to allow one year for composing the poem. This is to make sure that there is enough time to edit the poem to suit your requirements.


Also, check if the wedding poet can work within your given budget. Wedding poems can cost at least $100. Ask for sample works and suggestions to enhance your wedding poem.


When providing information about the wedding to the wedding poetry vendor, make sure that you have included the following details: the interests of the couple, the type of ceremony, the location of the wedding and the reception, the number of guests and their backgrounds, the theme of the wedding ceremony, who will be the poem reader and whatever unique detail that you can include to make the poem unique.


If you have chosen a good wedding poetry writer and reader, you can make sure that your wedding's tone and ambience is enhanced to make it more memorable to everyone who will be present.

Wednesday, 6 June 2012

Say Your Own Vows – Personalized Wedding Vows


Your wedding is your own. And in today’s society, people have been constantly scouring every book for any way to make their wedding as personal and as unique as possible. One way to do this is to whip up your own wedding vows.


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Traditionally, couples to be wed do not have much of a say in what goes into many of the words spoken during the wedding ceremony. Today, it is increasingly getting easier to personalize and influence what is said during the ceremony – within reasonable bounds, though.


If you desire to make your wedding vows unique and personal, you are not alone. Many other couples incorporate feelings, and intimate messages into their wedding vows. It has an added effect of making your wedding more touching, dramatic, and memorable.


Talk with the Officiant Ahead of Time

If you would like to personalize your wedding vows, first notify your Officiant to find out the legalities, guidelines and rules in drafting your own wedding vows. He or she will typically give pointers and examples to help you draw up your own vows. Furthermore, the Officiant will inform you of the parts of the vow that are expected to be said.

The Topic

It may include promises, such as “I will swear upon my life to do …” or it may be heartfelt messages for each other, or even hopes for each other plans for the future and such. You may also opt to create a mixture of each to spice up your wedding vows. Although norms vary from culture to culture, as a general rule, the wedding vow should not take too long to recite. Keep it concise yet meaningful. Remember, you will have to recite this, and long recitations tend to make the memory suffer.

Make it Official

After creating a draft of the vows you wish to exchange, it would do well to meet up with the Officiant again and show him a draft of your vows. Although in the end, it is ultimately your decision that is followed, do take heed of the Officiant’s advice, as it is usually sound and has been honed by experience.

Practice


It is a good idea to practice your vows before the wedding. Although there is no rule against reading vows, a thoroughly practiced, heartfelt rendition of the vow will definitely make a lasting impact on your partner and the people witnessing the ceremony. As mentioned earlier, avoid overly long vows as they tend to be less remembered and are harder to memorize, not to mention quite inconvenient to others. You may do so, however, if you feel the need is justified.


The Performance

When reciting your vows during the wedding, always keep calm. People who are tense tend to speak to fast, and since the wedding vow is a very important part of the wedding, you will want to take your time in the spotlight. Loosen up, so that in case you forget a line or two during the exchange of vows, you will at least be able to bounce back with something from your heart. If you desire so, you may also keep a written version of you vows with you. You might want to read it surreptitiously though.


Good luck on your wedding, and may the sweet words you utter during the exchange of vows never lose their meaning for rest of your days!

Monday, 7 May 2012

Tips When Doing Wedding Toasts


Wedding toasts perform an essential role during the wedding celebration. The wedding toast serves as a link between the formal wedding ceremonies and the less formal atmosphere of the wedding reception.


The wedding toast also allows some members of the family, relatives and closest friends to express their feelings and to wish the couple well.


Having toasts started from the belief that creating some noise, such as ringing a bell, in this case, the clinking of a glass, can cast away evil spirits.


The wedding toast may follow a traditional or a non-traditional order.


In the traditional order, the first toast is the toast to the bride or the toast to the bride and groom. This is done by the best man, a relative or a friend. The groom then responds with a message to his bride, the person who made the toast, the couple's parents and a toast to the bridesmaids.


The best will then respond to thank the groom on behalf of the bridesmaids. At times, if the bride has spoken after the groom, the best man will thank the bridesmaids.


A close friend or relative may then follow with another toast. After this, the father of the bride thanks the guests on behalf of his wife and himself, and announces that they can begin with the celebration.


The non-traditional toast is done to do something different from the tradition. The order may be changed to suit the guests and the occasion.
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The emcee proposes the first toast for the couple. The groom then thanks the emcee and the guests and toasts to his bride. The bride thanks her groom and the guests and proposes a toast to her parents and her in-laws. At times, a special toast may be done for her in-laws.


The father of the bride thanks the bride for the toast, thanks the guests for attending and announces that the celebration may begin. At times, the emcee may propose a toast to the bridesmaids, after which the maid of honor may respond with thanks or propose another toast. The emcee may introduce guests who will propose their toasts, and announce the beginning of the celebration.


Here are some tips when proposing a toast.

  • The bride should be served the beverage first, followed by the groom, the maid of honor, the parents and then the best man.
  • The toast can be done with a sip of wine, champagne or a non-alcoholic drink except coffee, tea and water.
  • If you will propose the first toast, make sure that not only your glass, but also all the other glasses are filled before you start speaking.
  • When proposing a toast, raise your glass with your right hand. The glass should be held in a straight line from the shoulder.
  • It is better to compose your own wedding toast. However, if you cannot write a good one, you can try traditional wedding toast but make sure to personalize it to include your feelings and thoughts about the bride and groom.
  • Always remember to end a toast with an invitation to the guests to join you and something that tells them what to say in response.


These are some things that one should remember when proposing a wedding toast. On the other hand, if you received a toast, you do not raise your glass, stand, nor sip your drink. You just thank the toasters and although you are not required, you may propose another toast.

Monday, 23 April 2012

Add more romance with wedding poetry


Wedding poetry has been used to spice up any ceremony. It is amazing how poetry’s play of words effectively translate the heart’s language. This is basically the reason why poetry reading is a standard activity in wedding activities. Poetries are usually used a part of wedding vows, activity programs, ceremonial weddings, speeches and toasts.

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There are limitless selections of wedding poetries you can choose from for that big day. You can just grab some snippets from a longer poem or get a shorter one and entirely use it with modifications. Popular poetries are those written by George Sand, Thomas Moore, Kahlil Gibran or Shakespeare. There are other contemporary writers having the same passion that are eminent in traditional poetries. Just by surfing on the internet, you can find poetries that can be used for wedding ceremonies that are submitted by ordinary people. These contributors are simply inspired by love and their poems are very well written too.


If you feel you do not relate with any of published works or submitted poems, you can go ahead and create one or hire a personalized wedding poetry vendor. The interne is a portal to find one. A phone interview or an online conference will be conducted by the vendor. This will be used as a reference for his writing. It is recommended that both the bride and groom will attend the interview.


Looking for poetry provider is not a hard job. You can ask your wedding coordinators, the head of your clergy for recommendations. You might even have a friend or a family member who can write real well. Professional wedding poem providers may charge as high as a hundred dollars. Compare prices and sample works of at least three vendors. This way you can weight your options and select the best vendor with a reasonable price. Pick the one you are comfortable in dealing with. Give the provider ample time to complete the poem, a good one would take time. Be sure to order around six months or so before the wedding.


In personalizing poetry consider the type of ceremony you will be having. A formal event might need elegant and romantic poems while you can add on some humor if it is an informal one. Poems used in wedding toasts must definitely have a lighter note to it. Take note of the mood that you wanted to project. It is important to know your guests and the person who would read the poem.


Poetries along with a good musical background can truly set that romantic atmosphere in any weddings. Through poetry reading you can express your deepest emotions of love and hopes. You can either read your chosen prime poetry during the ceremony itself or during the reception.


Tell every one of your joy and contentment of finding your true love by scribbling wedding poetries on invitations. Another option will be to print out a line or two of you favorite poem on your wedding souvenir. Poetry verses can come along with your photograph, the celebrant’s name, date of your wedding and your message.


Poetry compliments that romantic atmosphere in any weddings. It can surely add magic on your wedding day. A well rehearsed and a well written poetry can make your partner’s feet weak and make your heart jump a mile. Nothing can truly beat something that comes from the heart.

Friday, 13 April 2012

Wedding Shoes, buying and preparation


A bride should be blooming and perfect, just like the wedding and the wedding day, and for a perfect bride, there should be perfect wedding shoes. To help you in buying the perfect pair here is a guide that you can follow to buy that perfect pair for that very special day.
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Choosing a color


There are different shades of white, diamond white, pearl white, satin white, etc. If you’re all for a traditional wedding you can have white, but if you’re one of the radials who like colorful gowns instead of plain white ones, you can still match the color of your shoes to your gown.


Style


Aside from color, style should be your next priority, your shoes should fit the occasion and the place, and if you have a garden wedding or a beach wedding it’s not advisable to wear stilettos. For an evening event, you can use strappy evening sandals. Remember both shoe and dress need not be fancy, quite the opposite, wear fancy shoes for a simple dress and simple shoes for an extravagant dress, so that they sort of balance each other.


Comfort


Now after choosing the style and color, you must try your shoes on, remember you’d be wearing your shoes for the whole day, and maybe on the reception as well, you’d be expected to be in those shoes for more than four hours, and during the reception, might be asked to dance in them, you don’t want to get blisters on your special day so make sure that your shoes a re comfortable.


Also, buy shoes towards the end of the day. The foot expands during the course of the day and you want to buy shoes when your feet are at its largest size.


* Tip: Wear your shoes inside the house before the wedding, do this until you can wear your shoes for 4-5 hours without hurting, this’ll make sure that the shoes are soft and comfortable on your wedding day, just don’t wear them outside.


Your dress and your shoes


Fabric


Wedding shoes should also match your dress, the type of fabric for your shoes is usually determined by the type of fabric of the hem of your gown. Wear satin shoes for shiny fabrics and lacy shoes for a lacy gown. You can also use crepe shoes for fabrics that have a matte finish.


Details


If you want details on your shoes like crystals or rhinestones, make sure that the color , sheen and style match those of your dress, don’t wear bejeweled shoes on a gown that doesn’t have a single bit of crystal on it or you’ll look like an upside down lampshade when the lights hit you.


Extra shoes


If you think that your dancing shoes should be different than your actual wedding shoes, and you’d want an extra one, make sure that the heels of your extra shoes match those of your actual shoes so that your gown doesn’t look too short or too long when you wear them.


Alterations


Remember to bring your shoes with you when you’re getting your dress made or altered, this’ll make sure that the length of your gown matches the heels of your shoes, you won’t want your dress to drag or to look like its too short don’t you?

Thursday, 5 April 2012

Wednesday, 4 April 2012

Choosing the perfect wedding venue


You’ve found the perfect groom. You’ve bought the perfect dress. You’re expecting a perfect wedding. Now all you need is the perfect wedding venue. Having a perfect wedding relies largely on having a perfect venue. That’s why you should treat finding a wedding venue as if you are buying a new house. It is, after all, where you will receive and treat your friends and relatives in probably the most memorable night of your life.


Here are some tips to help you search for that perfect wedding venue.


Trust your instincts. As soon as you arrive in a particular venue you will automatically have a certain feeling towards it. You have to trust your instinct. If you feel a certain positive vibration to the venue then that’s a good start. In the same way, you will know automatically if a certain venue is not right for you and your wedding. This doesn’t mean though that you should not be logical in choosing a wedding venue. It’s the place where you will exchange vows with the man you love so it has to feel right.
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Take your time. Don’t ever rush in choosing the perfect wedding venue. A wedding is a very important event so take time to get the venue right. Ideally, you should start looking for a venue at least a year before the wedding date. This would give you enough time to make the right decisions and change the venue in case anything happens.

Consider the size. The size of the venue is a very important consideration. If the venue is too small, the wedding will loose its intimacy. If it’s too big, it will be cramped and uncomfortable. The size of your wedding will depend of course on the number of your guests. So before looking for a wedding you must at least have a rough idea of how many guests you will be planning to invite. Be as precise as possible. You cannot say that you’re planning to invite from 200 to 500 guests. The 300 person difference would matter a lot in terms of the venue size. You must also leave ample space for the dance area. The more guests you have, the larger space you need to allot for the dance area.

Check the parking space. One of the complaints of people who have attended weddings is the lack of parking space. Be sure that the wedding venue you will choose has ample space for all of your guests. Parking may be a minor consideration but it can spell the difference between a happy guest and a dissatisfied one.


Know the restrictions of the venue. Be sure to ask about the restrictions of a wedding venue if there are any. There may be restrictions about noise so you might not be able to employ a band or even a sound system. Some venues have time restrictions while some would allow you to party all night long. There are even venues with decorations restrictions. Check if the wedding venue would allow you to bring your own caterer, florist, decorator, etc because there are venues that have preferred contractors and suppliers.


Draw a layout of your wedding. Have a layout of your wedding. Before choosing a wedding venue, you must already have a layout (either on your mind or drawn into paper) of your wedding. You must know where you want gusts to sit, the reception area, the dining area, etc. Then check if the venue fits your layout.