Wedding Vows

Traditionally, wedding vows formed an integral part of wedding
ceremonies cross culturally. Although the use of wedding wows
differs greatly from culture to culture, the practice of a
ceremonial exchange of vows has been around since the earliest
days. When two people exchange wows during a wedding ceremony
their words act as a symbolic bond and a promise to each other
in front of their family and friends who act as witnesses..

Wedding vows has undergone many changes throughout the years and
one of the biggest changes was in breaking away from the
traditional 'religious' prescription which differed slightly
from religion to religion. Today most couples prefer to write
and deliver their own personalized vows instead of just reciting
the prescribed vows.

Personalized wedding vows just add that something special to any
wedding ceremony. With more traditional weddings, where the
format sticks to the traditional wedding vows, the ceremony
tends to be very 'stiff'. Wedding vows are supposed to be a
'promise' that two people make to each other in the presence of
family and friends and by just blindly reciting wedding vows it
kind of strips away the meaning.

Writing your own wedding vows need not be a big deal. If you
feel that you still want to stick to the traditional wedding
vows, then you can always add your own vows afterwards. Some
ministers might have a problem with this, but be sure to discuss
this with your minister before hand to see how flexible he/she
would be.

If you are too nervous to deliver your own wedding vows, you can
always consider the option of only writing your wedding vows.
Some couples who prefer a traditional wedding would write their
own wedding vows and include the written vows in the wedding
program or in a separate card.

What it all comes down to is that wedding vows are not what they
used to be. Almost anything goes, but the most important thing
is to do what you are comfortable with. You don't want to spoil
your special day with the wrong choice of wedding vows and if
you are a very emotional person then delivering your own wedding
vows might not be the best option.

Always remember that it is your day and that you get to make the
rules. Don't just conform for the sake of it. Make it fun and
above all make it memorable.



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A Special Tip

Tips On How To

Make Your Own

Wedding Cake.

So you love to bake. Your friends and family tell you your specialty is cakes. Before you commit to making your own wedding cake, here are a few tips to consider that will make your creation a big success.

The Victorian love of neo-Gothic colonnaded buildings helped create the style of today's tiered wedding cakes, and the trend toward elaborate, decorated cakes continues even though there are changes in flavors and colors.

The earliest known wedding cakes were unsweetened loaves of barley or wheat, but later the tradition changed to small, coarse, biscuit cakes and then, in Anglo-Saxon England, to sweetened buns. Later the buns were joined together with icing to form a large cake topped by miniatures and figurines.

Then, much later, the lower part of the cake, a dark, substantial, fruitcake, was called the groom's cake, while above it a lighter cake with spun sugar and ornaments was known as the bride's cake.

Multi-tiered cakes are one of the most exciting products in the cake decorating pantheon. The tradition of sharing a cake at weddings has been around for hundreds of years, and today's weddings still emphasize the importance of a multi-tiered cake.

Many decorators are nervous about putting together their first wedding cake. Some decorators look at all the tiers and decide they couldn't put one together. After all, no one wants to ruin a cake as important as a wedding cake. But with adequate training, all decorators can decorate wedding cakes.

A multi-tiered cake is a work of both art and architecture, whether it's two tiers or 20. Whatever the design, support for the upper tiers is crucial.

To begin building the cake, we must have a strong support base. The heavier the cake, the stronger the bottom board must be. Some bakeries stock plywood boards cut into the correct size of the bottom board. If you're using cardboard circles, staple or glue two or three together.

The bottom board, which will display and transport the cake, should be 4 inches larger than the bottom tier. This will allow room for a 2 inch lace ribbon to encircle the bottom tier. The extra room also will allow easier handling during delivery.

Normally, each tier is two layers high with some type of filling; butter-cream is a popular choice. Fill and ice each tier on a cardboard circle matching its cake size. For example, place an 8 inch cake on an 8 inch circle.

Proper icing is of utmost importance. All the tiers must be the same height, with the top edges straight and even. The sides and top must be smooth and evenly covered, with no cake showing through. Don't be stingy with the butter-cream, as the cake absorbs some of it as it sits. Too little icing will let the cake show through. These dark shadows are very unattractive, especially in wedding pictures.

For a quick finish on the icing that provides an attractive background with little extra fuss, use a comb. It's easier to smooth the sides with a comb if you use a turntable to keep a nice, steady motion going. That way, you won't show many marks of stopping and starting again.

Because many wedding cakes are delivered during the hot months of spring and summer, the type of butter-cream you use is important. If your butter-cream icing is too soft, it may melt or slide off your cake. You may need to adjust the type of butter-cream you use, depending on the weather in which the cake is to be delivered.

Finally, if you do decide to make you own wedding cake, heed one word of advice: practice! You may have to make several practice cakes before you are confident enough to try this for your big day.

L Hayes is a wedding professional and owner of Wedding Favors Emporium. They carry an extensive line of unique wedding favors as well as bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts, and bridal shower gifts. For more information about wedding planning and wedding reception ideas, visit their website at: WeddingFavorsEmporium.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=L_Hayes

Access to Your Wedding

Planning Organizer Without

Lugging It Around!

It's true: Any wedding planning organization system will work if you use it and no system will work if you don't. You can buy fancy organizers with all kinds of pockets to keep track of everything you've done as you prepare for your big day. Likewise, you can make a shoebox and a few small dividers work. Or a filing cabinet, or computer software. Any of those can work as your wedding planning organizational system - but they are all limited: All of these have to be with you for them to do any good.

But... what would you say if I told you that there was a way that you could access your organizer anywhere in the world with the push of a few buttons? Interested? I know I would be if I was planning a wedding.

The trick here... and it's a pretty slick trick. Is to get yourself a wedding website (any website that you own will work - though I don't recommend it) and keep a hidden page. It's easy. Just create a page with an address that you don't create any links to but whose address you can easily remember and keep all of your wedding planning records on that page. That way anytime you need to look at your wedding plans they are only as far away as your nearest computer or web enabled phone!

For best results though, choose a wedding website option that gives you password protection. That's why I recommend a specific wedding website as opposed to any old website. You can find wedding websites that offer password protection and in today's world, that's a necessity. You don't want the wrong people having access to your private information.

Secure

With password protection you can give all of your guests access the most current information about when, and where your wedding will be, where you are registered, let them RSVP, and so much more. And at the same time you can keep a second password for the information in your wedding planner that you are not ready to make public.

Convenient

That way, when you need access to your wedding planner, all you have to do is just go online, type in your address and password, and you're in your wedding planner with everything at your finger tips. Imagine being able to check how many people have RSVP'd from your caterers office simply by pulling out your cell phone.

Makes Wedding Planning Easier

A organizational system that I could have accessed from nearly anywhere sure would have made my wedding planning easier when I got married!

Jeanette Shinn is a wedding professional with over a dozen years experience making dreams come alive. Find tips ranging from how to ruin your wedding to building an elegant fairytale beach wedding options at http://www.ExcitingWeddingFavors.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanette_Shinn

A Cinderella

Fairytale Wedding

A pure white dress, flowing down to the floor, a train of endless length following gracefully behind, the veil placed strategically under a crown fit for a queen. This is our Princess, and this is her fairytale wedding.

Just imagine walking into a ballroom draped in exquisite gold fabrics and a red carpet leading down to two thrones in the middle. Gold and silver chairs on both sides of the long red carpet. The carpet comes to an end at three steps leading up to a platform of gold and white, two tall thrones, decorated in jewels and dark colored cushions, sitting side-by-side, the prince standing before the left throne. A grand organ in the back right corner of the ballroom plays the wedding theme as the princess makes her way down the carpet, her long train following behind.

She is wearing a flowing gown, a long veil, a gold crown on top of the veil. She is simple, yet elegant, with a gold necklace around her neck, decorated with a charm, or maybe she prefers a stunning Victorian inspired pearl necklace set. The dress is white, maybe with a gold trim, white strapped heels decorate her feet. A gorgeous bouquet of white roses (bridal white signifies happy love), a small gold ribbon keeps these roses bundled together.

The bridesmaids to the right are dressed in light colored Victorian ball gowns, long gloves matching their gowns, and each one is holding a single yellow rose in their hand (a yellow rose means “I care”, and signifies friendship), the groomsmen to the left in white gloves and tuxes, all standing in front of the platform, but not blocking the stairs up. Victorian style jewelry would be perfect for these gorgeous bridesmaids. The prince is dressed in a tux as well, with white gloves on, but unlike his groomsmen, he has one white rose pinned to the front of his tux.

The couple give their final kiss, and turn to their audience. As the ceremony comes to a close, the couple walk side by side down the long red carpet, white rice being tossed into the air, not at our couple, and they go outside to be greeted by two white horses, and a round white carriage. The couple ride off in this Cinderella style carriage.

For the after party of the happy couple, the fairytale can be carried over to the wedding reception. The room can be costumed in a Victorian ball style; gold, deep red, and white would be the ideal colors. The tables can be draped in deep red cloth with gold trim, white plates on top, a bouquet of white and red roses (these two colors combined symbolize unity) in gold vases in the center of each table.

The tables all surround a dance floor in the middle of the room, white and red rose petals scattered across, this will be where the couple shall share their first dance as a married couple and it should be special. A small stage beside the dance floor would be perfect for a small band.

Most importantly, the couple, as well as their guests, should enjoy themselves, so dance the night away! Don’t forget to thank your guests with Fairytale Wedding Favors so they’ll always remember your happily every after fairytale wedding.

By: Buyweddingfavorsonline.com -

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Cinderella Fairytale Wedding Favors and Wedding Decorations for planning your fairytale wedding day from BuyWeddingFavorsOnline.com

10 Ways to Save

Money on Your

Wedding

Let's face it. Having a Wedding is not cheap. We want to cut corners but we also don't want to serve hot dogs on paper plates (unless of course that's part of your wedding theme). We offer some ideas below on ways you can save up to a few thousand dollars on your wedding that can possibly be used as a down payment towards a new home together. There are so many ways to save money on your wedding. You just have to start thinking about them! We start you off with ten money saving ideas below.

Keep Your Guest List Small
You know who your closest friends and family are and we suggest creating your guest list based these people. Having a small guest list does affect a few factors, however, such as the type of wedding reception you have and the total cost of the reception. If you want a big wedding bash, you may not get that with a small guest list, but you do save on the amount you spend for food and costs for renting out a location with a large reception area.

Serve Your Own Liquor/Alcohol
If you have tables set up, you may want to put a bottle or two of champagne or wine for guests to serve themselves. You may also be able to find an acquaintance who happens to be a bartender to help provide drinks to your guests. What you pay this person will be significantly less than hiring an actual bartender at your reception's location.

Turn Your Dinner Reception into Something Different
Have a wedding reception brunch or cocktail/dessert party will cut your food costs in half (or more). Or if you prefer to have your wedding around dinner time, heavy h'orderves buffet style is an excellent substitution to a dinner plate. Sometimes this option is more filling and guests have a variety of food from which to choose.

Get Married During Non-Traditional Wedding Months, Days and Hours
April through August and December are generally the busiest wedding months. If you decide that you want to get married during the wedding season, try booking ahead of time, up to a year if possible. Saturday is the most common day of the week to have a wedding; you will save money booking your wedding on any other day of the week. Dinner is also the most expensive time during the day to have your wedding reception. Again, depending on the type of wedding you want- all night partying or mid-day tea party and brunch, your choices are limited for times that your reception will take place.

Make Your Own Veil
Creating your own veil will cut your costs by at least $75. Depending on the type of veil you want to wear, with or without a dazzling headpiece, you can save even more. Making your own veil also adds some sentimental value to your wedding. The love of your life will be the one to left the veil(that you personally created) away from your face to give you your first kiss after being married.

Don't Purchase a Customized Wedding Gown
Bridal salons can customize their gowns to your exact shape and size, as well as your choice of wedding dress design and details. This comes with a price tag of course and usually a several thousand dollar price tag. You can save money by going to a warehouse or outlet to look for discontinued dresses or out of season wedding dresses from designers. Even if these gowns do not fit you just right, you can still take your dress to get it custom fitted and you still end up saving thousands of dollars. Another thing to remember is that many salons also have display dresses for sale (sizes are usually smaller) and if you fit in smaller size range, you may find the perfect gown ready to wear.

Limit the Photographer's Time
Save on photographers by hiring them only for certain times of the wedding and maybe only the first hour of the reception. Also, ask if they can provide you with the negatives or a copy of the memory card of the images for a fee. You will save on enlargements instead of going through the photographer to enlarge your wedding photos.

Make Your Own Invitations
This is your chance to show some creativity! Make a night or two or three of it with your husband-to-be or wife-to-be. This is definitely one way to spend some time together and make your invites a little more personal.

Use Artificial Flowers
Use fake flowers for all-over decor and flower girl baskets. Use fresh flowers for your own bouquet. Artificial flowers (especially high quality artificial flowers) can look even more brilliant and colorful than real flowers. You might also be able to find exotic flowers that would cost hundreds to import. Many craft stores like JoAnn or Michaels often have sales and a good variety to choose from. Not only will you save a lot of money, but you can use them afterwards to decorate your home.

Hold Your Reception in Your Parents' Beautiful Backyard (or Yours)
Not only will you save on reception location costs, you'll save on per head charges, cake cutting, food and this list goes on. Not only is this an excellent way to save money but it's an excellent way to make your wedding close and personal. You can invite more friends and family and make it a memorable affair for everyone. Just because it's held in your backyard, you can still have it anytime during the day especially at night. Just make sure you have proper lighting and create the right atmosphere for night-time backyard receptions. We can be very creative with this one idea so look for future articles on backyard weddings.

Author: Nora Hudson

Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used with author's permission.

What Does The Perfect Wedding Dress Look Like?

When everyone’s attention is on the bride, it is important for her to look her best. Choosing the perfect wedding dress is vital in capturing the bride’s elegance and beauty. With all the selections available it can sometimes be hard to decide where to start in selecting that perfect wedding gown. Before one can know exactly what it is they are looking for in a wedding dress, it can be important to understand where some of the modern traditions in popular styles originated from, in order to help make an educated selection.

Prior to modern times, elegant weddings were held for the prestigious and were mostly arranged marriages. Therefore, the bride and grooms were often looked upon as symbols of the wealth of the family. Because of this, it was thought important for the bride to be adorned with as much glamour and trinkets as possible. Wedding gowns came in many colors and styles and the more large and grand the size of the dress; the more beautiful it was considered. Many of the styles that the wealthy wore were imitated throughout the various ranks of the social classes, but it was hard for lower class citizens to even have a formal ceremony as income was sparse. Instead woman would wear church attire as cheap wedding dresses.

As time moved on the styles began to change with the culture. But the trend of the rich setting the styles seemed to stay the same. It wasn’t until the year 1840 that the white wedding dress was made popular by Queen Victoria. Up until that point dresses were commonly various colors, but the Queen looked so beautiful in her dress that it set a new trend that in a lot of cases carries over to this day and age.

Today tastes are much broader, but it is still important to consider things such as cost and popularity when selecting a dress for that special day. If the budget is willing a designer dress may be the way to go, but it is also important to consider location. A designer dress wouldn’t make much sense to wear outdoors at say a beach wedding. Instead a beautiful beach wedding dress would be more appropriate. These tend to be higher cut dresses with less fabric and are perfect for that Caribbean wedding.

Not going to the beach, but still plan on having an outdoor or casual service? Informal wedding dresses are a perfect solution for not having to worry about dragging your expensive designer dress through the dirt or mud. Modest wedding gowns are available in all designs, colors, and sizes and are perfect for any budget. Wedding dresses are as diverse as the brides themselves. Plus size wedding gowns, custom jewelry, and select accessories are readily available.
Not spending as much on a dress can leave money for an exciting honey moon and many may not think spending a lot on a designer dress is practical for a dress that will only be worn once. Others still might want a dress that can be passed down from one generation to the next so going that extra mile on a dress just might seem worth it. What ever it is you're looking for chances are that you can find the right dress for you.

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Gillian Cooper is a wedding planner with many years experience of helping couples plan their big day. Get further wedding ideas at Weddings Bliss.com this is your first stop for information about planning your wedding.