Traditional Jewish Wedding Dance

Last week, I got an opportunity to witness a Jewish wedding. It was simply amazing! The most fascinating thing about the Jewish wedding is that it follows a series of meaningful rituals and traditions that have been passed on from generation to generation. These rituals and customs reveal the purpose of marriage and are symbolic of the relationship between husband and wife. The Jewish wedding ceremony is truly worth watching. It starts with a procession, in which the family members of the bride and the groom participate. The wedding ceremony takes place under a special canopy, known as a huppah. Signing the marriage contract, called the Ketubah, is an important ritual of a Jewish wedding ceremony. The agreement states the duties and expectations of the chatan (groom) and the kallah (bride). The wedding ceremony is followed by a joyous celebration, called a wedding reception. The true charm of Jewish wedding lies in various interesting cultural activities that are performed during the wedding reception. The wedding celebration is never complete without music and traditional Jewish dance.

Traditional Jewish Wedding Dances

Music and dance are an integral part of a Jewish culture. Singing and dancing are a perfect way to express pleasure and happiness. Some examples of traditional Jewish dances are horah, mizinke (krenzl), Israeli folk dance, bulgar, broiges dance and yemenite. Jewish dances are performed at various Jewish festivals and celebrations. The Jews have included their traditional dances as a vital part of wedding celebrations. Even in the modern times, Jews perform wedding dances during the marriage ceremony to pay homage to their traditions. The couple usually prefer to hire a Jewish band that is familiar with traditional as well as contemporary Jewish wedding music. By ritual, the wedding couple (bride and groom) are the first to dance and the guests are invited to participate. Following are some of the popular traditional Jewish wedding dances:

    * Horah: It is a popular traditional Jewish dance, performed at special occasions like weddings and festivals in Israel and many other East European countries. Horah is a circle dance, performed to traditional Jewish songs like Hava Nagila and Klezmer. The Horah dance is performed in many variations. During the Horah, the guests lift the bride and the groom (considered as 'the king and the queen of the night') above their shoulders. While sitting on the chairs, the couple holds on to the ends of a handkerchief. The guests form a huge circle around the couple and dance in clockwise and anticlockwise directions. They perform various foot movements like kicks and other grapevine-like steps. This is accompanied by bopping up and down as well as weaving. The circle of dancers come in close to the couple and go out again.
    * Mezinke Tanz (Krenzl): It is another famous Jewish wedding dance, performed particularly at the wedding reception. It is derived from the Krenzl dance. Krenzl is a Jewish custom: the bride's mother is honored by a crown at her last daughter's marriage. The bride's mother sits at the center of a circle. She is crowned with flowers and her daughters and guests dance around her on the rhythm of a lively music band. Mezinke Tanz is performed in honor of both parents, whose last son or daughter is getting married. Both parents sit at the center of a circle and the guests gift them wedding flowers.
    * Gladdening of the Bride: This traditional Jewish wedding dance form is performed at the end of the wedding reception. The bride sits at the center of dance floor and the guests and close family members dance around her. They also sing praises about her.
    * Yemenite: A popular Jewish dance that the Jews perform at weddings and other occasions, the Yemenite involves just three steps with a small pause on the last one. It has non-moving hopping and posturing and hence, can be performed in confined space.

Lively, traditional Jewish wedding dance is a symbol of a rich cultural heritage of the Jews. It gives a ceremonial touch to the atmosphere and makes the wedding and reception ceremony enjoyable and a memorable one.

Planning Your Wedding, Your Way

When it comes to planning a wedding, everyone seems to know what would be best for your special day. From the type of flowers you should carry, to your table centerpieces, you will likely get several different opinions the moment you begin to tell people you are engaged. The real question, though, is what do you want? What is your vision and how do you separate your vision from the hundreds of opinions that will likely come your way?

In the end, your wedding should be a reflection of who you and your fiancé are as people, and as a couple. It’s not about what kind of wedding your parents want you to have (they already had their wedding), and it’s not about impressing friends and relatives. It’s about celebrating the love you share, and the special things that have brought you together. There are all kinds of ways you can accent aspects of your wedding to reflect your personality, so let them shine! With a little creativity and a lot of dedication, you can have your wedding your way, and make it a day you’ll never forget.

If you and your fiancé talked about the possibility of getting married prior to the proposal, you likely already have an idea of what style wedding you want in your mind. If you haven’t, this would be a good conversation to have shortly after you get engaged. Painting a picture of your wedding – just the two of you – can help define the taste, style and atmosphere of your wedding before you begin planning. Better yet, write down your ideas, including elements you want to be part of your wedding, and those that you would rather do without. This can give you something to refer to when you begin planning, and can also help alleviate confusion when opinions are offered. It can also help you stay organized in the months of planning ahead.

Having an idea of what you want for your wedding shortly after you get engaged also serves another purpose. If you tell people that you are undecided about an aspect of your wedding, they will likely see this as an opportunity to make suggestions. However, if you can say with confidence that you want an outdoor ceremony, for example, they are more likely to accept your decision and bite their tongue. Don’t get me wrong, some advice is good when it comes to planning such an important event as a wedding, but too much advice, especially unsolicited, can be very overwhelming.

It’s important to seek advice from people that you respect, and avoid the topic with others who have a history of being judgmental. There is a lot to think about when planning a wedding, so the last thing you need is someone placing doubt in your mind. You want to feel good about your wedding, not doubt every decision because one person doesn’t like an idea. Nothing kills confidence worse than someone frowning at an idea you were excited to share. So be careful about whose advice you seek, and whenever possible, seek advice from people who will appreciate your vision.

It’s important not to lose sight of your vision when planning your wedding, which can be difficult to do when you have multiple opinions coming from all directions. One of the best ways to keep your vision in the forefront of your wedding planning is to get yourself organized. Start by coming up with ways to execute your plan without causing stress, then stick to them. A good way to help keep you organized is to make a checklist of tasks that need to be completed before the wedding. Sample checklists are available in bridal magazines and on websites such as TheKnot.com. These samples are helpful because they also recommend a timeframe for completing each task. When you get into the nitty-gritty of planning your wedding, these recommendations can help keep you on track and make sure you don’t forget anything important.

Also, you will inevitably gather a lot of informational materials throughout your planning process. Invitation ideas, magazine clippings of wedding cake styles, dress styles, and centerpieces will flood your living room floor, so having a place to keep this material will help you stay organized. A three-ring binder is a good place to start because you can categorize your binder using section dividers, and set up the binder the way you want. Pre-designed wedding planners are also available, but I have found very few styles that actually include pocket folders to store items such as those mentioned above, so I recommend creating your own binder where you can easily store pages in sheet protectors. Creating your own binder can be a lot less expensive too, and considering the cost of your average wedding, cutting costs anywhere you can will probably be welcomed.

Now that you have gotten yourself organized, you’ve decided what you want for your wedding, and you’ve come up with strategies to combat unsolicited advice, you can start to have fun. Planning a wedding should be fun – not stressful – and it’s up to you to keep it this way. It’s also up to you to keep your wedding true to the vision that you and your fiancé have created for your special day. So set a manageable time line for yourself and start enjoying all of the fun parts to planning your wedding. In the end you will have a wedding that you will remember fondly for the rest of your life.

Planning a Wedding - Tackle Big Items First

A wedding can be an intimidating event to plan. Not only is there the anticipation of the big day and what it represents, there is also the stress of having everything go smoothly, be beautiful, and an event that both you and your guests will enjoy. Take some of the pressure off of your planning by tackling the big items on your list first. The next thing you know, your wedding day will be right around the corner, and you will be prepared to enjoy it to its fullest.

Choosing a Place For Your Wedding
Before you start looking for a place to hold your wedding, try to envision your perfect day. Do you want an outdoor ceremony among lush gardens, or a more traditional setting at a hotel or function hall? How many people do you want to invite, and what type of place can accommodate them? Having a vision of your perfect wedding in mind will help you significantly narrow down your choices. Once you have a list of places that my accommodate your vision, choose four or five to visit, then make appointments that fit within your schedule. Once you’ve made your final decision, nail down the date and give them a deposit. This will be one important item that you can cross off your list.

Picking a DJ
You will likely have people tell you that the DJ you choose will make or break your wedding. This can add a lot of pressure to your wedding planning, so it is a good idea to start looking for a DJ early. Contact a few different agencies that provide DJ services, and request a DVD of past performances. This will help you choose a musical style for your wedding. Also, before you sign a contract, make arrangements to meet the DJ in person. They may look great on DVD, but if your personalities clash you may have difficulty working with them in the coming months. In my opinion, if a DJ is not willing to meet and discuss your wedding prior to being hired, look elsewhere. You don’t want any surprises the day of your wedding, so having the opportunity to meet them face to face and understand their musical style can greatly reduce the stress of planning the music for your big day.

Officiant
The person who performs your ceremony, whether it is a minister, or justice of the peace, should be someone that you can work well with. Decide first on the type of officiant that you would like for your wedding, and then start looking for officiants that perform ceremonies in your area. When you have narrowed down your search to three or four officiants that are of interest to you, make an appointment to meet with them to get a feel for their style, experience, and overall personality. Your ceremony should be a reflection of you and your fiancé, so you want to hire an officiant that will work closely with you to help make your ceremony exactly the way you want it to be. Also, if you are planning to prepare a custom ceremony for your wedding, it can be extremely helpful if the officiant can provide you with sample ceremonies that you can review and choose from. This can save you the time and frustration of researching ceremonies and/or trying to come up with the words on your own.

Photographer
This is an area where you can spend a lot of money, so you definitely want to shop around. In addition to their level of experience, it is a good idea to get an overall feel for their photographic style. How do they plan to capture your special moments during the ceremony and reception, and where do they normally place their focus? Remember that this is the person that is going to capture a day that you want to remember fondly for the rest of your life, so sometimes choosing the right photographer is more important than choosing the photographer who offers the lowest price.

Also, before you sign a contract with a photographer, make sure you understand exactly what their services include. Will they be present before the ceremony to take pictures of you getting ready? Is a professional photo album included in the price they have quoted? Photography can be expensive, so make sure you have a clear understanding of the services they will provide before you sign the contract.

Florist
Flowers have a personality all their own, so you want to make sure that the flowers you choose reflect the mood you want for your wedding. Therefore it is important to choose a florist who is attentive to your needs and is supportive of the vision you have for your wedding day. You definitely want to choose someone that you can trust. Do you feel confident that they will accomplish your goal, or will they ignore your requests and prepare arrangements according to their own style? Their willingness to work with you will be important as the wedding gets closer, so choose a florist that you communicate well with, and that provides you with the greatest sense of security.

Planning a wedding can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be a lot of fun if you get yourself organized ahead of time and give yourself plenty of time to plan. Take the stress off of planning this big event by tackling the big items first. Once these items are complete, you can move on to the more enjoyable tasks, like picking out your perfect gown, and arranging centerpieces and favors. Your wedding day will be as special as you make it. Bask in the joy that this day will bring by taking your time and enjoying the choices you make along the way.

Wedding Planning Budget

To have and to hold from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.

Weddings are about celebration of love and togetherness. A wedding is a special occasion where the couple gets married and shares the joy with their near and dear ones. What precedes this beautiful fiesta is a whole lot of planning and preparations to make sure everything is just right. Planning a wedding is a huge process and involves a lot of patience and understanding. Many of the times the bride and the groom have a limited budget for the wedding and hence planning the wedding can become a daunting task. However with some simple tips and suggestions, planning a wedding on a budget can be a cakewalk.

Weddings are getting fancier and the wedding budgets getting higher and higher, people are lured by images of the extravagant celebrity weddings as well. It is but obvious for many people to wish for an extravagant wedding, however not everyone can afford the costliest wedding venue or the ultimate designer wedding dress that costs as much as the other wedding expenses combined! Every couple has a specific image of their wedding in their minds and hence no two weddings can be planned in a same fashion.

While planning your one of the first things that you need to do is figure out how much money you are willing to shell out for your weddings. A wedding planning budget is a must. No matter how wedding, big or small it is - you have to quote a certain estimate for your wedding. Once you quote the budget, plan the other things accordingly. Fix the budget and let the theme and other details follow accordingly, if you just start splurging as and when you like things, you might end up crossing your budget. In case your parents are chipping in as well, it is always better to sit down and chalk out a proper plan as to who will pay for what. In case you are not sure how to go about it, there exists traditional wedding etiquette that decides who pays for what.

While planning the wedding budget, it is always easier if you divide the expenses in categories. For example divide expenses in categories like catering, trousseau, flowers, other decorations, wedding hall and so on. Figure out what matters the most to you and distribute your budget accordingly. Another factor that will play a major role in the wedding planning budget will be the length of the guest list. If you have a considerably large wedding list, then the catering expenses will be soaring for sure. On the other hand if you have a small guest list, you save on the catering money and use to get a better hall, a better band or may be a better wedding dress!

Everyone wants his or her wedding to be a special and memorable occasion and hence making most of the budget is the key to successful wedding planning. Remember that it is not the money spent that decides the beauty of the wedding. In case the budget is too tight then remember that the only thing that matters is the fact that you are marrying each other.

It doesn’t matter if you buy your wedding dress off the rack, or choose the lilies from your own garden to make the bouquets or get married in the local church. The amount of beauty and warmth that true love can bring to a wedding ceremony is always priceless!

Steps for Planning a Wedding

Planning a wedding for a couple can be a fun filled affair if taken with a pinch of salt. Professional wedding planners are always an easy option but planning for your own wedding can be fun at times! After all, a wedding is most looked forward to in the lives of almost every individual. Therefore, everybody wishes for nothing short from the best while planning a wedding. Here are some systematic ways and steps for planning a wedding, which will makes the tasks seem more fun and less cumbersome for you!

Steps for Planning a Wedding:
Once you have decided the date for the wedding, you need to think about the venue for the same. Would it be the bride’s hometown or would it be at an exotic location? How many weeks do you have for the wedding date? A large and formal event can be planned only if you have a reasonable amount of days in hand. So, you have to be realistic about the whole issue.

The season you choose for the wedding date should also be taken into consideration while planning a wedding. This also will help you to decide the venue as well. You can then decide if it will be an outdoor or an indoor wedding and the kind of decorations that are to be used.

While planning for a wedding, always remember to keep things organized at all times. This would save you a lot of hassles later on. Having all the phone numbers, invitations and other such issues related to organizing the entire event in one place sure helps to streamline things.

Always think about the budget before you start arranging for the decorations and booking of the venue. A set budget would help you to take quick decisions on many issues. The kind of venue you require and the décor to be planned, the caterer and things such as arranging for a photographer can be decided on a faster note once you have the budget in mind.

Once you have decided upon the budget and the venue, you need to think about the kind of theme you are planning for the wedding. It can be elegant and simple or exotic! Think about the wedding dress accordingly. The colors can also be decided upon in synchronization with the same. After you decide the wedding dress, you can think about the bridesmaid’s dresses and the accessories to be worn. Then follows planning the invitations, wedding rings as well as other issues related to the wedding.

Once you have sorted out all the nitty gritties associated with planning a wedding, you can decide upon the wedding ring with complete peace of mind. Never rush through this step because you need time to choose the right design. You can even opt for a family heirloom!

Always remember to keep some amount of backup time for all the arrangements you have planned. This includes for all the steps for planning a wedding. Once you have extra time set for certain tasks, it would not matter to you if few tasks get delayed. This is best way possible to keep things streamlined. And remember to relax at the end of the day! It’s your wedding, so need to also have fun! Best of luck!

Getting Married Abroad

By Pamela Mortimer

You’ve been waiting for this for a long time – maybe your entire life. Now that you’re engaged, you’re faced with the enormous task of planning a wedding. It’s common knowledge that planning a wedding is an extremely stressful event that lasts about a year and will cost an average of $15,000-$20,000. It’s not surprising that couples all over the world have begun to get married abroad.

It’s true that couples have been going abroad to exchange vows for many years. Lately, however, it’s more prevalent than ever. Maybe it’s the attempt to avoid all the planning hassles or the lure of the unknown. Regardless of the reason, it’s the current thing to do.

Obviously, no one can make decisions about your wedding better than you and your future spouse. There are many things to consider, from location to expense, to the reaction of your friends and families. In the end, it’s up to you to choose whether to have the tropical island wedding of your dreams or stay home to ensure your place in great aunt Mavis’ will.

Just for a moment, let’s pretend that you’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and get married abroad. First, you should know that getting married abroad can be an amazing experience or an exasperating one. There are many up sides to exchanging vows overseas, including the amount of money you’ll save as well as a sense of relief you’ll have when you don’t have to live and breathe table arrangements and flowers for the next 12-18 months. You also gain a rare opportunity to create an event to remember, shared at a major resort by family and friends or perhaps an intimate ceremony for two on a small island in the South Pacific.

As with every big decision, there are advantages and disadvantages to getting married abroad, although the majority of the people who’ve done it say it is an incredible experience that they wouldn’t trade for even the most elaborate ceremony on earth.

Since no one can make this decision for you, here are some common points to consider:

Probably the most obvious advantage to getting married abroad is the ability to create a distinctive experience and create memories to last a lifetime. Another advantage is the countless number of places you can choose from as well as the style of your dream wedding. Being immersed in a different culture can give you the opportunity to avoid a cookie cutter ceremony and ensure that there will never be another wedding quite like yours. Lastly, you can save your energy by having a local wedding planner handle all of the details. Many hotels and resorts have wedding planners on staff for just this purpose.

The disadvantages of planning a wedding abroad are relatively equal in number. The most obvious and probably the biggest disadvantage is that there will be people who will not be able to attend your wedding. If this bothers you too much, you may consider a reception of some sort when you return home.

If you’re a control freak, getting married overseas may cause you to have a mental collapse since handling details from thousands of miles away is extremely difficult. However, entrusting the details to a wedding planner may be the best thing that could happen. The people involved in the preparation and décor may have better ideas than you regarding the conditions of the location, weather, and local traditions because they work there all the time and have intimate knowledge of these things. Lastly, if you have specific religions or cultural requirements, you may have trouble finding an appropriate venue in your ideal location. A little research should be able to solve that issue.

While there are legal requirements to registering a marriage, it is almost a non-issue in most places where foreign weddings are common. Exotic locales like Jamaica, St. Thomas and Cyprus are hot spots for couples looking to say "I do" and have simple steps to follow in order to obtain a license. While all countries are different, the general requirements include the presentation of a valid passport (at least six months before expiration), birth certificate, and driver’s license. Be sure to have original documents as photocopies are not acceptable. Most do not require blood tests or an extensive waiting period (if any at all). You should also note that in many countries only civil ceremonies are recognized as being legal.

Finally, and this could be good or bad, you don’t have to rush off for the honeymoon since you’re already there!

Planning a Cheap Wedding

A wedding day is the most exciting and happiest day in a person's life. Since your wedding has to be a day that you will cherish for rest of your life, it takes time and efforts to plan the wedding. But as the average cost of a wedding has risen to more than $20,000, couples are opting for unique and creative ways to spend their money wisely, and make their wedding enjoyable but not expensive. Whether it is the wedding dress, engagement ring, wedding decorations, or food, everything has to planned as per your budget, else they can cost you a fortune. Hence, to cut down these unnecessary wedding expenses, here are some cheap wedding plans or cheap wedding tips.

How to Plan a Cheap Wedding?
Following are some cheap wedding tips that will help you in planning a cheap wedding which is simple but beautiful, and will keep your spending in affordable range.

    * Wedding Dress: Though every bride looks for a dress of her dreams which may cost a fortune, it is better to purchase a continued dress as it is less expensive and can be found at any dress shop and even at some consignment shops. Another way is to buy a used wedding gown or take a gown on rent. This will not only give you the contentment of wearing the dress of your dreams but will also save a lot of money.
    * Wedding Catering: Food is the most expensive part of the wedding, and you can save money by keeping heavy appetizers or a sandwich style buffet. Opting for a cash bar or supplying your own wine can also be a good option. Asking a local grocer or a family friend to cater your wedding will help bear the cost of expensive food. Another way to cut down the cost of wedding catering is to serve a simple meal to your guests that may include cake, nuts, beverages, etc.
    * Wedding Invitations: One of the best ways to reduce wedding expenses is to invite a small gathering of close family and friends. Instead of purchasing lavish invitation cards, it is better and cheaper to prepare them on your own. Though it might take more time and effort, it will also add a personal touch and will be valued by your loved ones.
    * Wedding Flowers: Another very expensive wedding item is flower decorations. Try using flowers that are seasonal, easily available and inexpensive like carnations or snowball mums. Planning your wedding somewhere near Christmas or Easter will help reduce decoration expenses as the church will already be decorated. If you are planning the wedding outdoors or not at a church, see if any other brides have booked for the same day. If so, the two of you can coordinate the wedding flowers, divide the cost and save a lot of money.
    * Wedding Music: To cut down the cost of paying for a vocalist or musician you can arrange for a DJ as it is less expensive, or you can play a wedding compilation CD. Don't worry, this wont detract the beauty of your wedding but will make your day even more special and romantic.
    * Wedding Photography: Wedding photography is another big expense associated with weddings, so a cheap alternative is to ask your family or friends to bring a digital camera and make a copy of the photos for you. You can make one of your relative act as an official photographer and click some wonderful shots throughout your wedding.

Before planning a cheap wedding and implementing the above mentioned ideas, you should always have a wedding budget that you need stick to. Evaluate how much money you intend to spend on each item and try not to exceed your budget. By following these simple but effective ideas you will manage to not only plan a cheap wedding, but a memorial one as well.

How to Plan a Wedding

A wedding ceremony is the most memorable moment of your life. You will always want the wedding to be a grand success, with everyone from family to friends and office colleagues attending it. Once the wedding planning starts, you start feeling the confusion about where to hold the ceremony indoors or outdoors, what to wear, the decorations, etc. But, a little bit of careful and cautious planning will ensure that it turns out to be fun rather than disorderly. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind to make this day a grand success.

Decide the Date and Location

One of the very first steps, after you have decided to get married, is to fix the date of the wedding. It is advisable to keep an rain date, in case of any contingency. As soon as the dates are decided, inform your near and dear ones, so that they can make advance plans to attend the wedding. After the wedding date, comes the question of the location, where the ceremony will be held. Now, it is here that you need to first decide on the amount you can spend on the wedding. If you have a reasonably good budget, then an outdoor wedding is a good idea. An outdoor wedding will obviously cost you a bit more plus, if the weather isn't co-operative, it will be a problem. The best solution to this is, plan a location which has an outdoor as well as an indoor facility or in a desert locations around Las Vegas, where the chances of rain interruption in nil.

Decide on the Type of Wedding

Once, the date and location have been decided, it's time to ponder over the kind of ceremony that the couple would prefer. There are a lot of issues that would tackled best, if the couple brainstorm over them. Some of the issues which need to be discussed are 'What would be the theme of the wedding?', 'Who will look after the decorations?', 'Who will prepare the menu?', 'Who will find a good caterer?', 'Who will look after the invitations?', etc. It is convenient to hold the dinner, where the ceremony will be held. This saves a lot of time. Choose a place which can accommodate a few extra people. Your wedding reception hall should not look overcrowded. The reservations should be made well in advance, as it could get difficult to book a banquet hall at short notice. Keep a list of contact numbers of all people, whom you want to send invitations to. The content of the invitation should be short and sweet. You can make the invitations creative by adding a romantic poem. Providing a map of the venue can be a helpful plus for your guests.

After you have confirmed the number of guests who are attending the reception, it's time to search for a caterer. Catering is expensive; therefore, if you want to minimize the budget, you can plan a simple but elegant menu, keeping in mind the likes and dislikes of your guests.

It is also important to catch these lovely moments in video or in photographs. Therefore, you will need to hire a professional wedding photographer. Don't get a photographer because his services are cheap. Even if, a good photographer charges a little more, hire his services because at the end of the day, he is the one who will be taking the pictures that you will cherish for the rest of your life.

Decide on What to Wear

The bride is always preoccupied with the thought of 'what to wear on the day of the wedding'. The bride should be the most beautiful person at the wedding ceremony. Choosing a wedding dress may be a very confusing affair, but it is always best to go out shopping with your mother or one of your friends. Don't involve too many people as it will create a lot of confusion. The contemporary fashion is the open-shoulder look, where the straps of the wedding gown or dress do not cover the shoulders. This gives the bride a sensual, yet classy look. You can opt for a designer wedding dress too, but if you have a tight budget, renting the dress is another good option.

Hire a Wedding Planner

If you are a working person and think you will have difficulty in arranging the details, you can hire a wedding planner. A wedding planner is a consultant who plans the wedding for the bride and groom, and ensures that the wedding goes exactly the way the couple want. He/she will go over all the details with the couple, right from the wedding vows, to cutting the wedding cake at the reception.

Plan the wedding, in such a way that you have an extra day to relax before the wedding. After all, it's your wedding and you want it to be perfect.

Steps to Planning a Wedding

Having gotten over your commitment issues and having made the decision to get married (read gotten engaged), you think that all the major decisions of life have been finally made and all that remains is to plan the wedding. Having gotten over and overcome your 'Fear of Commitment' which is probably one of the toughest things ever, guys like me think that planning for a wedding will be easy (a cake walk to be precise). How difficult can that be? Right? Wait till you start planning for the wedding cake! This view point gets a drastic jolt when you sit with your fiancee and calculate the estimate of the 'dream wedding' planned by her and get to know the complexity of the task! This article will elucidate the steps to planning a wedding for guys, who intend to play a proactive role in this largely female dominated job! Read more on how to plan a wedding.

I can see that question crystallizing in your mind. Why subject yourself to the tedious job of planning a wedding, when your fiancee and her troupe of bridesmaids have taken over the job so willingly? The reason is because it's your wedding too, you know! Though you will have to eventually given in to the stubbornness and guile of the female mind, at least you can try to wrest things a little bit and do some things your way that day! This is the first of several things that you will plan together in the future as a couple. Your initiative in taking an active part (may) lessen the stress on your fiancee who will spend half her time in worrying about her wedding dress! So, let us see what are the steps to planning a wedding especially for guys!

Steps to Planning a Wedding for Guys
The first and foremost among the steps to plan a wedding for guys is preparing yourself for the wedding. You have decided to go for it and you are going for it but as the day approaches, you may start feeling the jitters. Don't worry, this happens with everybody. It is a final resounding end to your single life forever. Things will be different now. Be ready to think as 'We', rather than 'I', as your fiancee and your wife-to-be must have abundantly made clear already. Also be ready for a huge financial drubbing which will probably drain a big part of your savings till date! However, thankfully, it's definitely worth it! Here I mention the steps to wedding planning, in which the guy can actually be involved and play a major role and exclude the steps which generally fall into the domain of your fiancee's expertise.

Deciding on the Venue
This is one of the major decisions when it comes to planning a wedding, which you must participate in. You could plan a beach wedding if that is what you have always dreamed of. Explore all the possibilities and options and narrow down a list of venues. Then your wedding budget plans and other logistical necessities will narrow your choice down further. Advanced wedding planning can make most scenarios possible and venues available!

Food Menu
This is the aspect of a wedding where your opinion definitely will be taken in to consideration. If you don't get to decide your wedding menu, who decides? See to it that your favorite dishes are included!

The Band
This is something which will be a simple decision if you two share the same kind of taste in music. If you don't, be ready for the battle! It's best however if you go for a band that appeals to both of you, as the wedding dance and music set the tone of the whole event. Make sure that you book your band as early as possible, as they usually have busy schedules.

The Guests
The seating arrangement of the guests is something which will be best decided by your better half. Only women can understand the subtleties of who should be put next to whom and for what reason. Don't forget the 'ex-factor'. See to it that her ex-boyfriend or boyfriends get invited so that they know whom she chose and why!

Wedding Vows
The most important thing! If you get nothing else right, you may be forgiven but not if you are not up to the mark when it comes to wedding vows! Your vows need not be spectacular. Sincerity and simplicity of the vows are the two things that will appeal to her!

Best Man
This choice is entirely yours. The best man has to be the most trusted of your friends, that is your best friend, who knows you like the back of his hand. He is the one who will be the guy you talk to when you get the jitters or feel like running away on the wedding day!

So, this was some advice on steps to planning a wedding, which you will be talking about for the rest of your life time. One last piece of advice. Look at the big picture and the smaller pieces will fall into place. Be ready for one of the most enriching experiences of your life!

How to Plan a Cheap Wedding

The bride's wedding gown, the groom's tux, flowers, decorations, menu, favors and the list just goes on when you're planning a wedding. It's commonly assumed that a wedding is the most expensive affair in our lives. But many a times, it is ignored that you can have a cheap wedding if you have a low budget. It's not wrong to share your joy with a hundred people but if most of them don't even know you, it's better to have a simple wedding with the people who really care for you. Take a look at some ideas on how to plan a cheap wedding which won't cost you a lot, but let you have a good time with friends and family. More on wedding budget.

Cheap Wedding Ideas

A wedding is a very special occasion in one's life for the simple reason that you are officially making a commitment before God to spend the rest of your life with the one you love. But today it is more of a party than a ritual. Given below are some tips on how to plan a cheap wedding so that you can save on a lot of unnecessary expenses. More on planning a cheap wedding.

Venue
To plan an inexpensive wedding, first of all you need to decide where you want to take your wedding vows. The best suggestion I would make is that there cannot be a better place to get married than your home. If you have a garden or a big backyard, this can be the best gift a bride can get. If you don't have so much space at home, you can always have a beach wedding. Other venue ideas can be an inexpensive hall or an outdoor wedding in any of your favorite spots. If you've been a regular to church, well, you can always get married right in front of the altar and then have the reception at home. This can be a great idea for how to plan a cheap wedding.

Clothes and Invitations
The wedding gown is the biggest attraction in the whole wedding and it has to look good. So if you want a graceful, yet cheap gown, look for the gown sales held at the end of every season. Don't buy flashy ones but simple satin and lace, as they are cheap and attractive. You can even get your own design stitched from your tailor. Match your accessories with it. You can buy silver jewelry as it is cheap, but don't compromise with the rings as they are an investment. The grooms tuxedo can also be bought from an inexpensive store or get it made in by your family tailor. More on wedding dresses.

The wedding invitations need not be very fancy. You can have simple yet elegant looking text and write some wedding quotes with your names and all the ceremonial information addressed to the desired guests. You will need a guest list for the invitations.

Reception
If you are wondering how to plan a cheap wedding reception, the best you can do is plan for an enjoyable menu. If any of your family member can bake yummy cakes, ask them to bake your wedding cake. White wedding cakes are very common, try out some colored frosting ones which match your color scheme. If you're fond of appetizers, try some chicken recipes instead of meat and don't forget to add salads in the menu. For the main course, you can have trout instead of salmon and other sea food recipes like shrimps or lobsters. Cupcakes for deserts or a homemade ice cream with fillers can be a great choice for your wedding menu. More on wedding catering.

For the toast and drinks you can have wine for those who like it and champagne for the others. If you feel you can accommodate an open bar in your budget, do it, as a lot of people like to have cocktails and margaritas as their drinks. You can hire a cheap band for the wedding music and ask them to play songs on request.

Flowers and Decorations
If you want to cut down the cost of the flowers, you can opt for seasonal flowers during the time of your wedding. Try not to have a February wedding as there aren't many flowers at that time and you will simply end up spending more on imported flowers. Daisies and daffodils are cheap and beautiful choices. Asters and gerberas also are a good option for wedding flowers as they look good and have bright colors. You can decide on a color scheme and then place the order for wedding flowers like garden roses, sunflowers, hydrangea, gladiolus and calla lilies.

Your aisle can be decorated with a red carpet and the alter with a wooden arch if you're having an outdoor wedding. Table and chair decorations can also cost less if you decide to keep them simple. As wedding centerpieces, you can simply have white candle stands on each table as they go with every color scheme and napkin holders to keep it simple and elegant. Keep simple cane chairs instead of covered chairs. Keep plain white table covers with laced edges to add to the decor of the seating arrangement. More on wedding decorations.

Photography and Wedding Favors
You don't need to hire a photographer to take wedding pictures. You can ask any of your close friends or family to be the cameraman and take videos and pictures instead of including a photographer in the budget. These are memories of a lifetime so you have to capture them in pictures but you don't need to pay extra for the same. More on wedding photography.

Wedding favors are a token of gratitude for the guests who attend the wedding. If you want to have cheap wedding favors, chocolates wrapped in a couple picture of yours kept on the table will serve the purpose. Book marks with some quotes or poems can also be a great wedding favor idea. You can also put up a blog which can be your wedding favor to all your guests right after the wedding.

With those suggestions for how to plan a cheap wedding, you can have a good time in less money. So, now that your wedding is planned go get ready and have a blast on the best day of your lives.

Cheap Wedding Ideas

Wedding is one of the most important occasions in the life of a person. However, many people have a fixed wedding budget for it and are not in a position to spend more than the pre-decided amount. In this case, the very cheap wedding ideas or the ideas for cheap wedding can be very helpful to arrange the wedding in the best possible way despite having a limited budget. Given in the next few paragraphs are some simple but effective wedding planning ideas which can make this big day, a very special one for you.

Exciting Yet Cheap Wedding Ideas

When we think about the inexpensive wedding ideas, it is important that we have a control over our expenses and do not end up spending too much money on some things unnecessarily. You can save money on the wedding invitation cards by making them yourself at your home. You can ask the members of your family who are good at arts and crafts like drawing, sketching and painting to prepare the wedding invitation cards and then distribute them to your invitees. Since the amount charged by people providing this service in the market is high, you will be able to utilize the saved money for some other purposes. On of the best cheap wedding ideas is to have the wedding dresses for the bride and the groom on a rental basis instead of purchasing them. By doing so, you can save a lot of money without compromising on the style and luxury of the wedding. The place where we organize the wedding influences the total costs of the wedding to a great extent. The cheap wedding reception ideas would include organizing the function at a comparatively cheaper hotel and to invite only those people who are very close to you. When you put a restriction on the number of invitees for the wedding, you also save a lot of money which is usually spent on food, favors and entertainment of the people.

You can consult experienced wedding planners who can give you some cheap wedding decoration ideas as a lot of money is generally spent on the decoration work for a wedding ceremony. You can choose simple, yet attractive materials such as attractive flowers, balloons etc. to decorate the venue. You can further save the money by decorating the wedding venue yourself instead of hiring professional workers. The cheap wedding ideas also include keeping a tab on the expenditure involved in giving wedding favors to the people who attend the wedding ceremony. You can think of the wedding favors which are cheap yet beautiful such as paintings, chocolates and pens etc. The cheap wedding centerpiece ideas include the The Martini Glass Centerpiece, The Curly Willow Centerpiece , The Cute & Personal Centerpiece and the The Good Ol' Glass Bowl. For more articles on wedding centerpieces, you can refer to:

    * Homemade Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
    * Inexpensive Wedding Centerpieces

The cheap outdoor wedding ideas would include having the wedding ceremony at the guest house of some of your relative located at a beautiful location.

The cheap wedding ideas can prove to be successful, only if, you can implement them well. You should chalk out a good plan by consulting all the members of the family as it has been observed that lack of proper planning causes financial losses to many people getting married. For some more inexpensive wedding ideas, you can refer to:

    * Inexpensive Wedding Ideas
    * Tight Budget Wedding

Hopefully, this article on cheap wedding ideas will prove to be useful for you. All the best!

Frugal Wedding Ideas

A budget wedding or a frugal wedding may sound like an oxymoron to many of you. But it's a reality. The word frugal many mean, economical or sparing and can turn your wedding plans upside down. With a little restructuring of your wedding planning, a frugal wedding can seem right out of your dream. Getting on with the wedding preparations well in advance is the first step at making a successful frugal wedding ceremony. Before you begin you need to chalk out the wedding budget and resolve not to shell out a penny more than the decided funds. Here are some frugal wedding ideas that you modify to make them yours. No royalty charged!

Frugal Wedding Planning

At Home
As the saying goes, charity begins at home, I say a frugal wedding happens at home. It saves the cost of putting up the guests at hotels, it saves the cost of booking a wedding hall and pretty much eliminates the wily cost of logistics involved. Hosting your daughter's wedding at home a great way of making the affair homely. Rent a gazebo and decorate it with the seasonal flowers (cost lesser than the exotic counterparts). Set up chairs as per the head count, hire caterers to look after the rest. Easy?! As for wedding music, burn a CD of best wedding songs ever and let the party begin!!

Time of the Day
Having a wedding in the day time is less expensive than a wedding done at dusk. The timing plays a crucial role in deciding the formality of the event, which clearly reflects on the cost of your food, attire and the invitations. Daytime weddings, such as beach weddings are casual in nature and demand less formal etiquette. After the day wedding, a cocktail party at around 5 - 6 pm is way cheaper than a reception at night. This way you also save the cost of booking a reception hall and the elaborate dinner. Couldn't have come up with more frugal wedding tips?!

Wedding Decorations
Pretentiously expensive wedding decorations are useless after the wedding day and are a massive sunk cost. Wedding centerpieces are sure way of saving a few bucks. Look out for inexpensive wedding centerpieces or better still try making some simple wedding centerpieces at home. Throwing away frugal wedding centerpieces won't hurt too much either. Decorate the chairs with tulle, which looks elegant and is a cheaper alternative to satin. Instead of spending a bombshell on the flowers, just order the seasonal blossoms.

Genuine Invitations
If you really want an economical wedding, then send out invitations to only those people, who you'd want to make a part of your wedding ceremony. Often times, the familial pressures and social pressures makes us invite those who we don't care for and vice versa. It would be wise to not invite such people and save the trouble of paying for their food cost and frugal wedding gifts. This way, if you do end up saving you don't have to go in for frugal wedding invitations. You can actually splurge on classy wedding invitations on your choice!

A frugal wedding, is not cheap. I say, it's the best way out. After all, what is the point of spending your life's savings on a party that will not even be remembered by those who came, ate and left! Save the penny saved and use it for a better cause. You just need to reassess your plans and make the right choices for the fairy tale wedding and the frugal wedding to cohere.

How to Plan a Wedding on a Budget

Planning a wedding on a budget can save you big bucks for better purchases. It is a wise decision to make a strict budget for your wedding, as the saved funds can be used for a meaningful purpose. Although, the expenses may be shared, the task is equally painful and stressful for both the parties. Thus, drawing a cost sheet of your wedding can save you from a truckload of troubles. It is a tad tricky affair to plan a wedding on a budget, but with a little extra effort and imagination it can be executed with the perfect grace. So, put your worries aside and read carefully, to understand the simple things that can make your wedding an unforgettably frugal event.

Planning a Wedding on a Budget

Off Season Wedding
Winter weddings are a rage everywhere. With a score of couples trying to ring the wedding bells, the wedding venue prices are pretentiously hiked. Avoid yourself the misery of fighting for this sought after slot and save the your pocket from an irreparable burnout. Pick a weekday for you wedding, the vendors tend to charge more for weekend weddings, knowing the attendance will be full. Weekday weddings aren't meant to discourage your guests, but to save the money that will be unnecessarily spent on renting the venue, car, lights, tables and other such stuff on a weekend.

Flowers and Decorations
Exotic flowers are sure to add the 'wow' factor to your wedding. However, they will also make a massive hole in your wallet. Also, where is the need to have off seasonal flowers for wedding decor, when they are conveniently thrown into the dustbin the very next day. Instead go in for paper, silk or dried flowers which can be found all year round. Such flowers are easily available in departmental stores or can be made at home too. Flowers are the biggest expense in most of the weddings, which can be easily avoided if you shop for them wisely. Decorations such as centerpieces, landscaping or stage can cost you a bomb. Drop these costs and use your imagination a little to decorate your own wedding party. Decorations for the weddings can be rented out or made at home the wedding is a small one.

Number of Guests
A wedding is an intimate affair to mark the beginning of a marriage. Maintain its sanctity by inviting only those who would shower their honest blessings on you. Making your wedding a grand party or a PR exercise, would shoot up your budget. Sit down with your parents and your fiance's parents, to make a list of guests for your wedding. Doing it together, will help all of you to reach logical conclusion to make an invitation list. Remember that, every additional person on the list is going to make a substantial difference to your budget.

Wedding Favors
Wedding favors are memorabilia where you can easily cut corners. Instead of shopping online for fancy gift articles, head to the nearest dollar store to pick your gifts. These are less expensive and you may also bag a discount when you buy in bulk. In case you are looking to have a meaningful wedding favor, make a donation to a cause that is close your heart. Most of the wedding favors we receive are flung away somewhere, never to used or seen again. So, what is the point of this additional expense. Cut it entirely by helping someone with that money.

Important Tips

    * Early bird gets the worm. So if you want to get the best of everything begin sooner than later. The fundamental answer for how to plan a wedding on a budget, is to start planning early. This will prevent occurrence of a colossal chaos and following conundrum.
    * The wedding is about you and your fiance, as opposed to respective set of parents. Fulfilling your parents wishes is one thing, but let them take over your plans for the wedding, will surely kill the budget, as every decision holds a high probability of seeming like one in vain, in retrospect.
    * Hire a photographer who knows his skill and not just the money he wishes to make. Better still, ask your friend to do the job. It might turn out to be an opportunity for him!
    * Hiring a hairstylist is fine. However, buy the material required by yourself to reduce the unnecessary expenses.

Hope this article has answered the question of how to plan a wedding on a budget. Most important factor while planning a wedding on a budget, is not hiring a wedding planner. What's the point of paying some exorbitant commission, when you can use it for your home decor later. A wedding is supposed to be a union of two souls in love and not a party for people who don't mean much.

Dresses with Sleeves to Wear to a Wedding

Which is the best dress to wear is probably the first thing that many women wonder after receiving a wedding invitation. While there are a number of styles available in wedding wear, you might want to don a modest outfit. If funky and ultra modish is not the thing you would like to opt for, then why not checkout the variety in dresses with sleeves to wear to a wedding which are classy and elegant?

Styles in Dresses With Sleeves For Wedding Guests

The huge variety in wedding wear offers you dresses in almost any type. If you are attending a wedding and have decided to don a sober look instead of a modish look, then you have a lot of options to explore in decent dresses. To start with, let me tell you that dresses with sleeves instantly add a touch of elegance to the outfit. Apart from wedding wear outfits with sleeves, make sure that you browse through the various options in sleeve patterns. This can help you design a nice dress by choosing the best sleeve pattern and adding it to a sleeveless dress.

Go for a nice body fitting, full length gown with a side slit which is graced with a lovely short cap sleeves. If you have picked a lace gown then simply add lace cap sleeves without any lining, hence keeping them semi-transparent. Next pattern that you can consider opting for is a lovely strapless cocktail length dress in baby pink or sky blue. A knee skimming dress or a loose pleated dress, both can look great with a fitted bodice. Further, add a sheer jacket with ¾th sleeves. Adding a lace shrug with short sleeves to wear a sophisticated look is a good alternative to a simple jacket. Bolero jackets are also amongst the popular add-ons to such wedding dresses. Jackets with sleeves can also be added to thin strapped dresses.

Another good pattern in dresses with sleeves to wear to a wedding is a knee length dress with full sleeves. Make sure you add semi-transparent sleeves and not the opaque ones. Two piece dresses with short balloon sleeves also look beautiful. If you want to give a fashionable touch to simple dresses with sleeves to wear to a wedding, go for ¾th sleeves with an off-shoulder pattern. Tea length dresses with sleeves in organza look beautiful and give you a charming and 'out of the crowd' appearance! Flashy color like magenta, dark colors like brown, or a soft color like lemon yellow can be suitable for such an outfit.

Colors and fabrics must be chosen rightly so as to make the dress pattern look even more beautiful. Single colored, one piece dresses look extremely sophisticated. A single colored piece can be spiced up by accessorizing it with colored trims and borders. A navy blue dress can be played up with white or silver piping for neckline, a bottom hem and sleeve hem line as well. You can add tiny ruffles to the hemline of the sleeves and the bottom hem.

When you add sleeved jackets to strapless or thin strapped dresses, there's a lot of scope in experimenting with colors and combinations. A plain dress can be adorned with a sequined fancy jacket having long sleeves. Shrugs or jackets can be chosen in a shade darker than that of your outfit or a muted shade which is further made attractive with embellishments. Another idea is to have a self printed outfit with plain jacket. Many also opt for outfits with minimal prints which can be graced with plain jackets.

If you choose to wear a dress with a jacket, be careful while choosing the jewelry. In case you pick a single colored dress with sleeves, the same can be accessorized with diamond or pearl jewelry in the best way. A clutch bag and suitable pair of footwear is all that you require to finish this classy look!

How to Dress for a Daytime Wedding

Colors of white, yellow and pink harmonized in attires, the natural beauty unadulterated with dollops of makeup and you exuding elegance with minimalist jewelry! This gives you the perfect picture of your deck up for attending a daytime wedding. Flashy and bright dresses are never in conjunction with morning weddings, rather you would look much more charming when you keep your outfit and makeup simple. The choice of your dress would also depend on the nature of the occasion and the destination of the wedding. So how to dress for a daytime wedding? We explain you the details over here...

Choosing the Dress
If you have been invited with sheer formality, then your costume has to be formal. Pastel shades of white, pink, olive, yellow, lavender and mauve blend well in women's costumes in a bright sunny day. If you are attending a formal ceremony, then it would be preferable to wear a long flowing gown with a halter neck. No matter if it's an A cut gown or a fish cut gown, you can keep the back cut deep or attach fine straps at the back. Men can wear formal trousers with full sleeved shirts. Tuxedos complement daytime winter weddings. A formal black suit is probably the classiest of all. The options exist in galore when it's an informal wedding. Skirts, pinched dresses, sheath dress, cocktail dress and laced frocks should be your choice for attending beach weddings or tropical weddings. Pick up dresses stitched from cotton, satin or chiffon. You can design your dress with ribbons, laces and frills. A fine embroidery work on your dress would also uplift its elegance. Men can carry themselves with a pair of casual jeans with a semi-formal or a casual Tee or a shirt while attending informal wedding ceremonies.

The Right Footwear
A badly paired footwear mar your sense of fashion irrespective of your gender. If you are wearing a gown, then a pair of stilettos would match perfectly well. Avoid wearing glittering and dazzling pairs since it's a morning wedding. Classy stilettos wrapped in white satin or muted shades let you step ahead daintily. Men should match up the color of their shoes with their belt. A mismatched belt and shoes shows one's lack of taste. Thus, if you are wearing a brown belt, make sure that tone of your footwear is nearest to the shade of brown. Wear formal leather shoes while attending official weddings during daytime. An unofficial wedding ceremony calls for donning a pair of loafers, leather slip-on, sneakers or canvas for men. Women can experiment with fashionable ballerinas, gladiators and strapped sandals. Kitten heeled closed shoes match up well with skirts and frocks. You can either match up the pair with your outfit or wear a contrast pair of moderately bright shades.

Makeup & Accessories
It would be a blunder on your part if you fail to apply a proper makeup during a daytime wedding. You can apply a mild coat of water based foundation or concealer and then dust some loose powder on it. Say a big 'NO' to glitters, shimmers and bronzer! Glossy lipsticks of peach, pink and light brown shades would suit you the best. Outline your eyes finely with a black or dark brown colored kohl. You can also coat your eyelashes with a waterproof black mascara. Men can go for a normal bleach before attending the ceremony and moisturize their skin with a light water based moisturizer before stepping out. In short, let the natural glow on your face enhance your glamor! Wearing shiny stones and heavy metallic jeweleries at daytime weddings would be a big blotch. An exquisite and finesse platinum or silver chain with a diamond pendent would match up well with every kind of dress. You can also wear a swish bracelet of similar type along with a solitaire as your ear piece. Wearing jewelry during daytime weddings is strictly restricted for men. Instead they can wear an expensive and aristocratic watch!

Styling Your Hair
There are versatile hairdos for weddings for both men and women. However, the styles are much limited when it's a day time wedding. Straighten your hair if it's long and frizzy. You can also incorporate loose curls or waves in it. Adorn your hair with tiny beads or flowers while attending a beach wedding. You can either roll up a vintage bun or leave your hair open for complementing it with your gown. Short and chic hairstyles like razor cuts, fringes and bob, go well with informal dresses. You can clutch your hair with small pins, clips and ribbons. Since it's a day time wedding, men should try to poise a more natural look with their hairdo. Do not overdo with gels and sprays, rather give a neat cut to it. Avoid wet looks while attending weddings in the morning. The more you keep your hairstyle casual, the more beautiful and handsome you look in a day time wedding.

I hope this short guide on how to dress for a daytime wedding has proven useful to you. After reading this article, you must have well understood the fact that daytime weddings want you to remain simple, casual yet elegant. And you can acquire the much coveted look by following the tips explained to you! Enjoy the wedding and let people appreciate your carefree look.

Destination Wedding Dresses 2011

Opting to have your wedding away from where you actually stay can be a huge decision because a lot of planning can go into such a wedding, but if you have made the decision then you should get caught up in the romance and adventure of a destination wedding. Buying a wedding dress for a destination wedding is no different from buying a normal one. The destination wedding dresses 2011 trends will tell you that. But, there are certain tips to keep in mind while picking out a wedding dress for a wedding away from home.

Choosing Destination Wedding Dresses

If you are getting married away from your hometown, then there are already several things that you will have to pay attention to. Add to this the stress that can come from choosing the perfect wedding dress that reflects the beauty of the place that you are getting married at. There are many things to keep in mind while choosing the perfect destination wedding dress. We give you some tips that will make your job easy.

    * While picking out the wedding dress, you need to be sure about where you are getting married and be acquainted with the seasonal conditions of the place. You do not want to wear a wedding dress that you freeze in if you are getting married in a town in Alaska.
    * It is also important to pick out the wedding dress according to the time of the day when you are getting married. If it is a morning wedding, then pick out a dress with lace and ruffles. For an evening wedding, choose a gown that has embellishments and a slight, subtle shimmer.
    * Another thing that will help you pick out a wedding dress for yourself is the kind of landscape of the place that you are getting married at. Depending on whether you are getting married on a beach, a manicured garden, a castle, or a sand dune, you will need to pick a dress accordingly which fulfills all the basic functionality needed from it. Wearing a dress with a long trail may be completely out of place on a beach where it will trail on the ground and end up getting dirty.
    * You also need to pick out a fabric that is comfortable in the climate of the place that you are getting married in. If the wedding destination is a tropical zone, then opt for a natural fabric that will allow you to breathe in. Of course, if you are getting married in a destination that has extreme temperatures, then you need to get married in a fabric that keeps you warm.

Once you have chosen your wedding gown, remember that you need to travel with the same to your destination, unless of course the boutique you have bought the gown from can ship it for you. If that is not possible, then you may have to buy a seat for the dress on the flight that you are taking so that it does not get crumpled in the overhead compartment. You will need to ensure that you can find a professional cleaner where you are getting married. If you need to steam your dress on your own, then all you need to do is to close the bathroom door and allow the hot water to run to steam up the bathroom. You can hang the dress in the bathroom to steam it. This will ensure that the dress does not retain the rumpled look that it may have from the traveling.

Trends for Destination Wedding Dresses in 2011

If you check the latest trends for wedding dress patterns, you will notice that there are many designs that you can actually opt for. Once you have kept the factors mentioned above in mind, there aren't many restrictions on you to buy a specific type of dress. Some of the most popular trends for destination wedding dresses 2011 are mentioned below.

Layered Gowns
This is a huge trend amongst brides nowadays. The fairy tale wedding has taken center stage again and more and more brides are opting for a princess style wedding dress. Opt for graceful layers that fall gently to create a cascading vision. Allow the skirt to be made of a material that falls well and has a soft, ethereal look about it.

Strapless Gowns
It was Victoria Beckham who can be credited with making this type of gown such a hit for weddings. It remains a popular choice this year as well and if you are opting for a tropical wedding, this may be the dress to try. For a beach wedding, especially in the day, this could be the perfect way to show off your sun kissed shoulders and let the warm breeze caress your shoulders.

Gowns with Embellished Backs
Taking a cue from Pippa Middleton's bridesmaid dress, focus on the cut of the back of your dress. Allow simplicity and subtlety talk for the dress otherwise but go in for a deep cut in the back. Alternatively, you can also opt for a halter neck dress or a dress which has a lace cover on the top of the dress.

These are just some of the more popular designs for wedding dresses in 2011. As long as you keep the theme of the wedding in mind and understand what is needed from the dress for a particular location, you can experiment as you want for your wedding dress.

German Wedding Traditions

German wedding traditions are older than Christianity. They have evolved over time, but their roots are still prominent. Those of you who wish to include all these German wedding traditions and customs, can take a look at the list that has been presented here. These traditions are fun, and usually last for a whole of three days. Take a look at these traditions, and decide which ones you would like to include in your wedding.

Stages of Traditional German Weddings

The traditions have been divided here, based on the events occurring on the day before the ceremony, during the ceremony and after the ceremony.

Before the Wedding Ceremony
On a day before the wedding ceremony, the following German wedding traditions are followed.

    * At the engagement, the couples exchange gold bands, worn on the left hand.
    * For the couple, a wedding newsletter, Die Hochzeitszeitung is created, that speaks only about the couple, described with pictures and stories. It contains anecdotes, mock interviews, and pictures from childhood into teen years, up to the marriage. This is created by friends and family of the groom and the bride. It is then distributed as a wedding souvenir once the ceremony is completed.
    * On an evening before the wedding, a party is hosted at the house of the bride's parents. No formal invitation is sent to guests, as it is taken for granted that everyone knows about this tradition, and will attend the event if they wish to. The food served here is a home-cooked buffet, to which some guests may contribute. This event is known as Der Polterabend, a kind of a rehearsal dinner, where guests bring statuettes, dishes, crockery, and flowerpots and smash them on the pavement outside the house. The couple is then expected to clear up the mess and discard it together. This is a German wedding tradition that is known to bring luck to the couple, and drive away evil spirits.
    * Another interesting one of the German wedding traditions, is that the bride is to buy new shoes for her wedding, and pay for them with coins that she has collected since childhood. This is a symbol of the bride's capacity to be able to control expenses. This tradition is known as the Hochzeitsschuhe.

The Ceremony
The day of the wedding ceremony is full of fun and excitement, and includes old rituals that you may follow if you wish to have some real fun!

    * The wedding is first conducted in the form of a civil ceremony at the registry office, attended only by close family and friends. This is followed by a religious ceremony at the church, during the day, ideally before noon as this time is considered lucky.
    * For this ceremony, called Die Hochzeit, the groom picks up the bride from her home, traditionally in a horse-drawn carriage.
    * They enter the church walk down the aisle to the altar together. the aisle is strewn with flower petals as the couple walks down the aisle together. This is in order to attract the goddess of fertility with the scent that emanates as the couple steps on the petals.
    * The bride wears a traditional floral wreath, decorated with jewels and beads, which is worn until midnight. If the bride is a first-time bride, she carries a bouquet made of myrtle. She wears a white gown, that has been worn for generations and passed down.
    * While the ceremony is conducted, the bride and groom hold candles in their hands, that are decorated with flowers and ribbons.
    * Immediately after the ceremony, as the bride and the groom leave the church, they are faced with a heavy log, placed on two sawhorses. They must saw their way through, to be able to get out of the church. They are given a whipsaw that is old and rusty, and that is pulled on either side which means they have to work together. This is a symbol of the couple's necessity to solve all problems that they may face ahead, together. This tradition is known as the Sägen.
    * The German wedding tradition that follows is Der Autokorso. A white ribbon is given to every car driver after the wedding, which are meant to be attached to the antenna of their cars. They then all start driving towards the reception venue, while honking incessantly.

After the Ceremony
Wedding receptions also contain a few fun rituals, and are indeed as interesting as the ones before and during the ceremony.

    * After the wedding ceremony, a luncheon is hosted by the bride's parents either at their residence or at a hotel. This continues right into the evening with an informal buffet followed by a party.
    * The purpose of this event is to include as many people as possible, so more guests usually join the party during the course of the day. Those with children are particularly invited, as it is considered good luck. This event is called Der Hochzeitsschmaus.
    * During the reception, the guests try and distract the groom while some others kidnap the bride and take her to a pub in the vicinity. It is the groom's job to track her down, with the help of clues in the form of written notes, and pay the bill to win her back. He may also have to do other things such as sing her a song, or promise her a lot of things before he can have her. To keep this event fun, the bride must be kept entertained throughout, and the couple must return to the event quickly. Else, the fun dies down and the party comes to an end. This tradition is called Die Entführung der Braut.

Other German Wedding Traditions
There are some other old German wedding traditions that you may like to include.

    * The entire wedding ceremony and reception is to be paid for by the bride's parents. However, nowadays the cost is equally split among both sides.
    * According to old German wedding traditions and customs, the bride would wear a black dress while getting married, but with a white veil that was a symbol of her purity. At midnight, she would dance alone, but in the presence of other unmarried women who would try to tear pieces of her veil. The one who got the biggest piece would be considered the next to get married. This custom marked the change of the bride from a girl to a woman.
    * This tradition has been modernized, with blindfolding the bride with her veil, and made to catch unmarried girls. The one she catches first is the one who'll marry next.
    * Finally, after the reception, the festivities continue with the guests who have stayed over on the next day. All the decorations are removed during this party. This custom is called Hahn Holen.

For some other interesting wedding traditions, you may take a look at:

    * Greek Wedding Traditions
    * Jewish Wedding Traditions

If you wish to get away from the monotony of a regular wedding, and include some of these German wedding traditions to make your wedding fun filled, choose from any of or all of these traditions and make the most special day in your life more memorable!

Catholic Wedding Traditions

A Catholic marriage calls for the celebration of the sacrament of the holy matrimony, that unites a man and woman in a lifelong mutual commitment. It is one of the seven sacraments that the Catholics abide by, and thus comprise of several roman catholic wedding traditions, that are essential for its proper fulfillment.

Pre-Marriage Tradition
There are a few pre-marriage traditions that are specific only to Roman Catholicism. One of them is, that if a couple seeks to get married in a catholic church, they need to attend a marriage preparation course or a pre-marriage counseling program. These programs have multiple goals, from helping a couple judge whether they are well suited and truly ready, to preparing them for the changes their relationship will undergo, and equipping them with the tools to maintain a healthy long lasting marriage. Another pre-marriage tradition is the 'reading of the banns'. This 800 year old catholic wedding tradition involves an announcement made in the parish church, several weeks before the wedding takes place, that the couple plan to marry. The to be bride and groom are named, along with the churches they belong to and their wedding date, to enable anyone who knows of any cause why they should not marry, to bring it to the church's notice.

Catholic Wedding Ceremony
Having gone through all the preliminaries, the couple now need to go through the most prominent of catholic wedding traditions, the wedding mass. A traditional catholic wedding will take place in a church, for which certain formalities have to completed and prior permission needs to be attained. The entrance procession usually has the groom and the best man entering first from the side of the church. They are followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen in pairs and finally the maid of honor. Once everyone has taken up their places, the bride and her father enter to the decided music. A traditional wedding mass usually comprises the opening prayer, the liturgy of the word (the Old and New Testaments, a responsorial psalm, the alleluia before the Gospel, and the Gospel reading). The priest then delivers the homily, for the benefit of the couple and the wedding guests. For the wedding vows, the couple may memorize and recite, or read out the traditional vows, or the ones that they write themselves. After the rings are exchanged, the mass continues with the prayer of the faithful, the liturgy of the eucharist and the nuptial blessing. The ceremony is then closed with the final blessings and dismissal. The procession then exists the church in the reverse of the order they entered in, with the newly married couple walking out first.

Mexican Catholic Wedding Traditions
One Mexican Catholic wedding tradition followed by Roman Catholic Mexicans before the ceremony, involves the bride's mother (or parents) saying a prayer for their daughter before her wedding ceremony. A well known tradition is that of the thirteen gold coins (Trece monedas de oro), in which the groom presents his bride with thirteen gold coins to represent his unquestionable trust and confidence. It is a symbolic pledge of all his material possessions. By accepting, she is saying that she will honor that trust and confidence.

Filipino Catholic Wedding Traditions
A Filipino Catholic wedding tradition laden with meaning, is the veil and cord ceremony. The 'veil sponsors' place the veil on the grooms shoulder and over the brides head, which symbolizes two people 'clothed' as one. The 'cord sponsors', loosely place loops of a rope in the form of a figure eight over the bride and grooms neck-shoulder area, to represent the infinite bond of marriage.

Irish Catholic Wedding Traditions
During Irish Catholic wedding ceremonies, it is commonplace for the bride to carry a horseshoe for good luck and a handkerchief, which, with a few stitches turns into a christening bonnet for the first baby. Later, with the removal of the stitches, it takes on its original form to be carried by the child on his/her wedding day.

Weddings are such a momentous occasions in all countries, that they always have a myriad of traditions associated with them. For a bridal couple, it is best to delve into their lineage and dig out an old, family tradition to incorporate into their ceremony.

Catholic Wedding Ceremony Program

A catholic wedding ceremony or mass has a set pattern of prayers, readings and hymns that are followed even during a wedding mass, with the nuptials interjected in between. Very few changes are usually allowed in the ceremony, and the format is a grand tradition. Most couples distribute printed copies [usually booklets] of the catholic wedding ceremony program, which enables guests to follow the proceedings and join in when required. It is especially useful to help non-catholic guests not familiar with the proceedings to participate, and in situations where either the bride or groom is not catholic.

The following is a traditional catholic wedding ceremony program example

Cover Page

The Wedding Liturgy Uniting
[Name]
and
[Name]
in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony

[Wedding Date]

Text Inside

Prelude – 'Name of the piece' [list the prelude music of your choice, for example - Immaculate Mary or Rondeau. Many include the name of musicians providing the music]
Procession - 'Name of the piece'
Bridal Entrance - 'Name of the piece'

Priest: The Lord be with you
Response: And also with you

I confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do. I ask blessed Mary ever Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. Amen.

Gloria [include Gloria of your choice]

Priest: Father, you have made the bond of marriage a holy mystery, a symbol of Christ’s love for his Church. Hear our prayers for [Bride] and [Groom]. With faith in you and in each other they pledge their love today. May their lives always bear witness to the reality of that love. We ask you this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. [Get the opening prayer from the priest who will say your mass]
R: Amen.

First Reading
Genesis 2:18-24
The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field.
But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said,
"This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called 'woman,'
for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

This is the word of the Lord.
R: Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm [include the psalm you have picked, for example- Psalm 145]

Second Reading
1 John 4:7-12
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

This is the word of the Lord.
R: Thanks be to God

Gospel Acclamation [include the Alleluia you have chosen]

Mark 10:6-9
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark
R: Glory to you, Lord
"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female'.'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
This is the gospel of the Lord.
R: Praise to you Lord, Jesus Christ.

Statement of Intentions
Priest: [Bride] and [Groom], have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage? Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives? Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?

Exchange of Consent

Blessing and Exchange of Rings

Prayer of the Faithful [Include the intersessions and response]

Priest: Pray brethren that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God, our almighty father.
R: May the Lord accept this sacrifice from your hand, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his church.
Priest: Lord, hear our prayer and accept the gifts we offer for [Bride] and [Groom]. Today you have made them one in the sacrament of marriage. May the mystery of Christ's unselfish love, which we celebrate in this Eucharist, increase their love for you and for each other. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R:Amen

Eucharistic Prayer

Priest: The Lord be with you
R: And also with your
Priest: Lift up your hearts
R: We lift them up to the Lord
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
R: It is right to give him thanks and praise

Sanctus
R: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.

Priest: Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.
R: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Priest: Through him, with him and in him, in the unity of holy spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty father, forever and ever, amen.

The Lords Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.

Nuptial Blessing [list the prayer your priest will make]

Priest: The peace of the Lord be with you always
R: And also with you
Priest: Let us offer each other the sign of peace

R: Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, you who take away the sins of the world, grant us peace.

Priest: May almighty God bless you, the father, the son and the holy spirit. Go out to love and serve the Lord.
R: Amen

Recessional Hymn

Back Cover [The back cover usually includes the names of the celebrants, maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls, ring bearers, readers and musicians]

This catholic wedding ceremony program template can be used as a basic outline. Your final draft will include all the readings, prayers and hymns that will be part of your ceremony. Get the prayers from the priest who will say the mass, and allow him to approve the final draft, before printing. Check several catholic wedding ceremony program samples before you decide on your program, to get ideas about paper, fonts and colors. Well prepared program booklets enable your guests to join in the ceremony, and also make great souvenirs.

Mexican Wedding Traditions

A Mexican wedding is a gala affair. Not only is it marked with fun and festivity, but what stands out in these functions is the large number people that turn up for the wedding. Mexicans are people who have strong family values. They have large families, and when it is time for one of their kin to get married, every one wants to be a part of the ceremony and bless the couple for a happy married life. Though most of the traditions of a Mexican wedding have roots in Aztec culture, effects of Spanish and Catholic customs are clearly visible in traditions followed in recent times. Be it the rituals or the dress, the effect of foreign cultures is clearly reflected in Mexican wedding traditions. Traditionally, the wedding takes place at the bride's courtyard. However, since most Mexicans are Catholics, weddings now take place in the church.

Mexican Wedding Traditions

Before the Wedding

Mexicans hold their customs and family honor in high regard. In case of marriages, according to Mexican tradition, it is the boy's family that directly approaches the girl's family, to ask for her hand in marriage. In the process, they may visit the girl's house several times. Traditionally, as long as the families were in talk, the girl was not allowed to meet any other young men. This was to prevent any incidents of elopement till the marital alliance was finalized, as such an act was considered a disgrace for the family. However, not all traditions of a Mexican wedding are strictly followed today. Although nowadays the boy's family might not be seen formally approaching a girl's family, as was done in the olden days, in most cases the boy still meets the girl's parents to ask for her hand in marriage, as a sign of respect to them. In case of long engagements, still common in Northern Mexico, the boy gives his fiancée as 'ring of promise', before the ring of commitment is given as sign of formal engagement.

The Padrinos and the Madrinas

Traditionally, a Mexican couple can choose their god parents, who sponsor the wedding. Being chosen as godparents or the padrinos and madrinas is a matter of great respect for Mexicans. The godparents are considered to be wise people who help and advise the couple all throughout the engagement, and also later when they face problems in their married life. The padrinos and madrinas gift the couple a bible and a rosary as symbol of their blessing. As a mark of respect, the godparents are given a special place by the couple in the wedding ceremony.

The Wedding Ceremony

Before the girl leaves for the wedding, her mother says a prayer to protect and guide her daughter as she walks to take her wedding vows. During the wedding, it is customary for the groom to give the bride Trece monedas de oro or '13 gold coins' blessed by the priest. These gold coins symbolize all the wealth and material possessions that the groom gives to his bride, as a mark of his unquestionable trust and confidence in her. The acceptance of the coins by the bride, in turn symbolizes her consent to maintain his trust and take care of him and his belongings with utmost devotion. After the couple have exchanged their vows, the El Lazo, or the Lasso, a white ribbon or rosary, is put around the couple's neck in the shape of an eight. The Lasso signifies the union of the two in an unbreakable bond of love and trust. Sometimes the Lasso is tied to the couple's wrist and they wear it throughout the wedding ceremony. As the couple leaves for the wedding reception, the guests throw red beads at the couple. This act is believed to bring good luck to the newly wed.

The Wedding Reception

A Mexican wedding reception is full of music, dance and celebration. Mexican food traditionally served include tortillas, chicken, beans and rice, and sangria, a traditional drink served as a beverage. A container made of paper called the pinata is filled with candies and hung for the children, who swat at it. Once the pinata breaks, the sweets are distributed among all the guests.

Dancing usually starts with the newly wed taking the stage for their dance as man and wife. During this ceremony, the guests hold hands and gather around them in the shape of a heart. The Dollar Dance is also an integral and delightful part of a Mexican wedding. In this custom, the guests take turns to dance with the couple and pin up a dollar bill (or a larger denomination) as blessing for their happy married life. Salsa, meringue and flamenco styles of dance add vigor and life to the festivities.

Right from the engagement till the wedding reception, a Mexican wedding is a grand affair. If one wants to witness the strong familial bonds and the willingness of every one to be a part of each other's happiness, then attending a Mexican wedding is an opportunity that one should never miss.