What Do Kids Wear To Weddings – Unique Ideas For Kids In The Wedding Party And In Attendance

Experts advise that if you want to include children in the wedding ceremony, it’s usually best to have kids aged four and above. The most important thing to bear in mind is to communicate clearly with your flower girl or ring bearer and their parents about the job you’ve given to each. Explain what they’ll wear and what they’ll need to do. These children need to be comfortable and there are plenty of choices at children’s stores that are both reasonably priced and wearable well after the wedding.

Having a kid friendly menu at a separate table, along with colouring in books and crayons as the centrepiece is a good idea (balloons at the reception is also a big hit with kids). You might also want to consider providing childcare in a separate room so that the adults can really enjoy themselves. Kids are capricious; so do have a sense of humor about things. All the practice and preparation in the world does not mean they will perform their roles to perfection, so make sure you’re okay with a little deviation from the program.

The ring bearer is usually aged four to eight and he walks down the aisle just before the flower girl, carrying a pillow with two rings tied to it. You may want to have someone hand him the pillow just before he starts walking, as he could lose the rings if given the pillow too far in advance. A tuxedo is definitely not a must for the ring bearer, even if it makes him look adorable. Short pants and knee socks or a suit are both excellent options.

Choosing a flower girl dress can be a fun time for both you and your flower girl. Begin by checking out boutiques that specialise in children’s wedding wear. Remember the parents will be paying for the dress, so include them in the decision. Also let them know what kind of shoes she will be wearing.

Little girls like to feel like princesses, so consider a smaller make of your wedding gown. Traditionally, flower girl dresses are white with full ruffle skirts. Don’t forget to find matching accents for her hair.

If you’re having children in attendance, make sure their parents understand that they should be dressed comfortably. For boys a dress shirt and slacks, with or without a tie is appropriate and for girls, a pretty dress is perfect.

Article By Michelle O’Connor, Bridal Accessory Checklist

Adam O’Connor
http://www.articlesbase.com/relationships-articles/what-do-kids-wear-to-weddings-unique-ideas-for-kids-in-the-wedding-party-and-in-attendance-80504.html

How To Have Your Dream Wedding Dress Without Breaking The Bank

If you are one of the many couples who became engaged recently, congratulations! While the uncertain economy will probably not stop you from tying the knot, it may affect your wedding budget and how much is spent on your wedding dress.  Here are some ideas on how to get that dream wedding dress for your big day without breaking the bank.

Set a budget.  Look at all the expenses for your wedding and decide if there are some adjustments you are willing to make in certain expenses (such as food or reception hall) so that more money can be allocated for your wedding dress.

Style of wedding ceremony.  Depending on the type of wedding ceremony you choose to have (traditional, informal, indoors, outdoors) you may want a wedding dress that reflects the style of the ceremony.  If that ceremony is short, simple and informal, you won’t need to spend a lot of money on a couture, high-fashion wedding dress.  Of course, the wedding should reflect your personal style, so choose your wedding dress and ceremony to match your style and whatever makes you feel comfortable.

Be a smart shopper.  Do your research online and off-line to find the best deals in wedding attire and accessories.  Researching online to find discount and affordable wedding dresses will give you an idea of what types of wedding dresses are available and their price range.  You can then take that information and look for a local bridal store that can offer comparable prices for wedding dresses as well as various deals and discounts on additional wedding products and services.  Purchasing your wedding dress locally from a reputable bridal store at a good price would be the best option.  You are able to try on the dress and be fitted at the store and if there were problems, you could handle them in person at the shop.  If you are not able to find a bridal store to purchase your wedding dress locally, then you may want to consider ordering it from one of the many  online discount and wholesale bridal stores but remember to give yourself enough lead time when ordering your wedding dress online in the event you need to have  it altered.

Remember that details add to the cost of your wedding dress.  Exquisite craftsmanship in a wedding dress adds to it’s value and price.  Things such as hand embellishments, the bustier, luxurious lining, rich fabric, detailed finishing and machine stitch work all add to the beauty and cost of a wedding dress.

Consider going vintage.  If vintage is your style, you may find your dream wedding dress in a second-hand store at an affordable price.  Or better yet, you may find it in a relative’s attic who would be more than willing to let you have the wedding dress for you to wear on your big day.

Rent it.  Many “green” brides are starting to consider the idea of “reusing” their wedding dress by renting it instead of purchasing a gown.  When you consider what you are really spending your money on (a once-in-a-lifetime dream dress) that will only be used once and then be placed somewhere in a box never to be taken out again, renting your dream wedding dress becomes more affordable.

The most important thing to remember when looking for your wedding dress is don’t compromise your style for your budget.   The key is to find a gown that fits both your budget and style preference.  With a little work and planning, you can have the wedding dress of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Sandra Hishinuma
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/how-to-have-your-dream-wedding-dress-without-breaking-the-bank-747023.html

Unique Wedding Gifts For Guests Of Your Wedding

You will be getting married soon and as such you are trying to make sure all of the plans are finalised. However, one of the things that you can not decide on is which unique wedding gifts to choose for your guests. Consequently, what you need are some ideas to help you find unique wedding gifts for your guests.

When choosing wedding gifts, cost will probably be the first consideration and this is driven by both the cost of the items and the number of guests.

To be unique with the wedding gifts that you give your guests, it is important to first pick a theme for the gifts. It does not have to be along the traditional lines of wedding gifts. In fact, the more creative your thinking, the more unique your gifts will be.

For example, what about a beach theme? You can give your wedding guests specialised seashell favors, starfish favors, flip-flop coasters, beach chair place-card holders and many more beach and sea related wedding gifts.

A popular wedding favor gift is a disposable camera, with the name of the bride and groom, followed by the date of the wedding on them. These are an especially fun wedding favor gift for children, since many children like to take pictures of the bride and groom.

You can also be very creative and unique with candle wedding favors.

When it comes to giving food as a wedding favor gift, a popular choice is chocolate. People generally love chocolate! You can make very beautiful and unique wedding favors from different shaped chocolates. Just a word of advice, do not give only chocolates. It will not be appreciated if your wedding guests include people who have diabetes.

Some couples prefer to offer more practical things as gifts for guests that are still unique. Perhaps the most popular example of a practical wedding gift is a ballpoint pen. Some couples might want to add a personal touch by choosing to include their favorite romantic quote.

You can also make your own wedding favors by purchasing the basic components, such as takeout boxes or organza bags and then adding to them the candles or whatever other unique wedding gifts that you prefer.

When it comes to finding unique wedding gifts for the guests of your wedding, the sky is literally the limit.

Chrystal Holman
http://www.articlesbase.com/women’s-issues-articles/unique-wedding-gifts-for-guests-of-the-wedding-122860.html

Wedding Videography: Using Personalised Videos As The Wedding Invitation Of The Century

So many things have changed in our century. Everything has gone digital. Most things that we do are made easy with the help of computers. We pay our bills through the internet. We do banking and shopping online. When we travel, we can pay without cash in our wallet. If you are lost on the way, with the aid of a mobile phone or global positioning system you can be back on track in no time. This is the 21st century and everything is very convenient for us because of the aid of computers. Man has really made good use of these machines to help us with our daily needs.

It is not only during ordinary days that computers have taken part in our lives. It has added spice to our special occasions. Weddings have been given a different approach with the aid of computers. Moreover, this can be clearly seen on the invitations.

Uniformity, elegance and style have never been better with the aid of printers and computers. You can make bundles of these with the aid of computers. You can also choose fonts and add pictures to your invitations to make them very personalised.

However, if you want something unique, you can use wedding videography as your invitation. You do not have to hire a professional to do it for you. Just as long as you have a camcorder and a computer with software that allows you to edit videos, it is very much possible. You may want to check to see if this is part of your wedding package. Then, all you have to do is to replicate them and hand them out to your guests. If it’s not part of your video package, don’t worry because  it’s easy to make. All you have to do is:

1. Make a script for your invitation. This way there will be spontaneity with what you and your partner will be saying.

2. Find a nice venue for your video shoot; it can be outdoors or inside your home. Make sure it has very good lighting.

3. When you start filming, make sure everything is in place. As much as possible, do use a tripod to stabilise your camcorders.

4. After filming, you can transfer your video to your computer and edit it using your preferred video editing software. You can add music to it to make it livelier. Use your imagination, you can add just about anything to your video and  spice it up.

5. After wrapping up your wedding videography as your invitation, store them on CDs or DVDs. Make sure that you store it in a file that can be readable in most operating systems. You can actually add software on the CD or DVD that can be installed for them to watch it on their computers. Nevertheless, you can have them in DVD formats so that they can play it on their DVD players at home.

This is a new way to break the tradition of wedding invitations. Not only will you have the most personalised invitations made but also you will have a lot of fun doing this.

Summary
Computers have taken part in the making of wedding invitations that are made in papers. However, recently it has introduced a new way to make those invitations unique and fun. All you have to do is to edit those videos and save them on CDs and / or DVDs then this could make your wedding invitations.

Juhlin Youlein
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/wedding-videography-using-personalized-videos-as-the-wedding-invitation-of-the-century-756225.html

Top 5 Wedding Invitation Ideas For The Modern Bride

With hundreds or even thousands of options, choosing your wedding invitations can be frustrating. Although classically styled invitations are still most popular, if you are having a modern wedding, you should look for invitations to match. Not to worry, modern wedding invitations do not have to be completely serious. They can still be romantic and beautiful. Here are the top five wedding invitation ideas for the modern bride:

Idea #1: Use non-traditional, bold colours.

White has always been a traditional wedding colour and many brides also use gold and silver, pastel colours and off-white shades in conjunction with stark white. Instead of these classic bridal colours, consider using bold colours with the same bridal motifs. You do not have to go with hot pink but think about how the traditional invitations you are viewing would look in plum, hunter green or red. Modern invitations do not have to be soft colours. Let your personality shine through! Right now, steel blue, brown and yellow are all popular, choose trendy wedding colours and you can send cards in colours that match the season. You do not even have to match your wedding invitation colours with your wedding colours, just do what feels right to you. If you are worried about using bright colours, consider at least an accent colour. Stick to a white invitation that includes just a burst of colour.

Idea #2: Go “green” with your wedding invitations.

Today, you can make eco-friendly choices with everything from your clothing to your food – why not your wedding invitations too? “Green” wedding invitations are made from recycled paper and for the best option for the environment, look for paper made with as much post-manufactured recycled product as possible. Try to avoid pre-manufactured product, which comes from mill scraps. You can also find companies that plant trees for every product ordered and you can choose to include a note on the back asking your guests to RSVP via email or phone and recycle the invitation after the wedding. “Green” wedding invitations are not just modern; they are a simple way for you to make this world a better place.

Idea #3: Send a message in a bottle.

We usually think of invitations as a flat piece of paper but that does not have to be the case. One especially innovative idea, especially if you are going to have a destination wedding, is to send a message in a bottle. Instead of  sending a flat invitation, choose a scroll style and put it inside of a bottle. You can actually find companies that have kits to help you prepare these bottle invitations. You may end up spending more on postage but the effect is very unique. If messages in a bottle do not match up with your wedding theme, you can instead consider other kinds of 3-dimensional cards. You can also choose destination-wedding invitations that feature designs like seashells and sandcastles if you do not want to spend the extra money on postage.

Idea #4: Use your picture on your invitation.

Your wedding invitation serves as an announcement for some people. To make it really special, consider printing a picture of you and your groom on the front. You can use your announcement photo or take a special one specifically for your invitations. Instead of throwing away your invitations, your guests can frame them, keep them as keepsakes or otherwise display them. A picture also helps make the invitation more personal. You can choose black and white or colour for printing, depending on your budget.

Idea #5: Design your own invitation.

Modern invitations are not always just about a modern look, they are also about a modern concept. Today’s invitations can be personalised more than you may realise. Many websites offer custom design services and you pick everything from the design and overall style to the font colour to even the ink colour to the envelopes. You can then add ribbons, monograms and more to really make them personal. As a bonus, creating your wedding invitations with your future husband can be fun.

Modern wedding invitations can include other accessories and add-ons in beautiful accent colours and designs. Consider some pocket-style jackets for your invitations, colourful organza bows that can be tied around them, designed seals that stick on the envelope or sheer stickers. All of these small touches can help your invitations look great.

Choosing the perfect wedding invitations can be a difficult task. When searching for that right style, do not be afraid to consider modern options. With the right colours and accessories, your modern invitations should be just as beautiful as you have always imagined. If you are planning a destination wedding there are other creative options to consider such a message in a bottle or an image of yourself at the destination.

Rachel Jackson
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/top-5-wedding-invitation-ideas-for-the-modern-bride-724269.html

Wedding Favors – Cheap Tropical Ideas

Tropical weddings can be beautiful. Tropical honeymoons can be magical. Even a tropical theme at a wedding or reception can be exciting. Whatever your reason for using tropical ideas, you have a budget. That’s why you want cheap tropical wedding favors.

Cheap tropical wedding favors should not be difficult to find, as long as you use your imagination. You can not expect to walk into your nearest mall and find them quickly, though.

Finding Cheap Tropical Wedding Favors

Finding cheap tropical wedding favors is easier if you begin with a few minutes of thought about things that are tropical. What do you think of when you hear the word “tropical” or think of a tropical place?

* Palm trees swaying in warm, humid breezes.
* Sandy beaches licked by gentle ocean waves.
* Sailboats on a turquoise lagoon.
* Flip-flops, loose shirts, sun hats and sunglasses.
* Seashells and sandcastles.
* Colorful flowers and fish.

Draw up your list of the pictures brought to your mind by a tropical theme. These will be the focus for your cheap tropical wedding favors.

Before you begin shopping for your cheap tropical wedding favors, set a budget for yourself. How much can you afford to spend on your wedding favors? How many guests will you have? Divide your total wedding favor budget by the number of guests and you will see how much you can spend on each wedding favor.

We will try here to present tropical wedding favor ideas that are around $1 per guest.

Cheap Tropical Candle Wedding Favors

Many couples plan to use candles at their wedding reception. You might give each guest 2 mini plumeria candles. The colourful, pastel flower shapes will brighten your tables and the candles can be used later by guests. Unscented mini floating plumeria candle can be ordered in lots of 25 for $9.49, making your cost about $0.76 per guest.

Cheap Tropical Lei Wedding Favors

Seashell leis are readily available and inexpensive. We did an online search on the phrase “shell leis” and found 38″ long leis at $5.95 per dozen. These really are cheap tropical wedding favors – a mere $0.50! You could tie a small bow around each lei, using your wedding colour scheme. These are natural tropical wedding favors.

Fern leis made of simulated silk fern leaves are also an option. At $6.95 per dozen, these 36″ leis will cost only $0.58 per guest before you add a bow.

For really cheap tropical wedding favors and a tropical rainbow of colours on your tables, you can give two-tone leis at $0.33 per guest.

Cheap Tropical Flower Wedding Favors

Tropical flower leis are not the only possibility when it comes to cheap tropical wedding favors. Hibiscus napkin rings of simulated silk would be a colourful use of tropical flowers. A set of 4 napkin rings at $2.95 can be divided among 4 guests makes your tropical wedding favors $0.74 per guest. The napkin rings we found had bright pink and orange hibiscus flowers with leaves, each 3.5″ wide. The wire ring was covered in green paper.

Another idea for cheap tropical wedding favors is to purchase hibiscus print goody bags at $0.10 each and fill them with candy. You could also put bulk seashells in your bags. Or stuff each colourful bag with one of the leis above.

Cheap Tropical Island Wedding Favors

Cheap tropical wedding favors can often be found at websites that feature island or luau products. Look, too, at wedding favor sites for island items. We found palm tree placecard holders at $0.99 per guest if you buy 96 or more. Real sand dollar favor decorations can become cheap tropical wedding favors by adding ribbon from which to hang them. We found them priced at $0.50, $0.75 and $1 each, dependent on size. Starfish soap, each 2×2″ and presented in a ribbon-tied box, can be ordered at $0.90 per guest if you need more than 144 and still qualify as cheap tropical wedding favors.

Cheap Tropical Novelty Wedding Favors

Finally, you may want to check online websites that feature novelty items for proms and parties that have a tropical theme.

Flip-flop key chains that cost over $1 each on wedding favor sites can be ordered for as low as $0.20 on novelty sites. Luau leis with flip-flops hanging from them will cost you about $0.70 at novelty sites. Solid colour paper hand fans shaped like palm leaves will cost you only $0.20 per guest but offer 10×10″ of bright colour.

Tip: Cheap tropical wedding favors can be as simple as seashell-shaped or flower-shaped guest soaps available at your local discount store. Drop two into an organza bag (ordered bulk) and you have solved your wedding favor problem.

Anna Hart
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/wedding-favors-cheap-tropical-ideas-139153.html

Eliminate Stress – Choose A Wedding Planner

While planning a wedding can be exciting, there is also much stress that comes with being the bride. If you are already working a full-time job or you are going to school full-time, you may not have the time that you need to plan your wedding.

That is, without getting too stressed and worn out. One way that you can get rid of the stress of planning your wedding while still keeping control and having fun is to choose a great wedding planner to help you out with all the details.

Picking a great wedding planner can help ease your load and reduce the stress that comes with most weddings.

Check Them Out

If you decide that you do want to use a wedding planner, you will want to make sure that you find the perfect one to work with you and your groom. One of the most important things to consider when you are trying to pick out a wedding planner is whether they have the credentials. You need to make sure that they have a registered business before you start working with them. To check them out you can look at their website to see if they have an Australian Business Number (ABN) you can even go to the Department of Consumer Affairs or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and check with them. This is your wedding and you want to make sure that you are dealing with a professional who will help you make your wedding great. You want to avoid hiring someone who will run off with your money.

When you are choosing a wedding planner you will also want to be sure that you find someone who has a great personality and who can work in a team. If you meet with the wedding planner and he or she makes a bad impression, does not hit it off with you or is too pushy, you should consider someone else.

Good Working Relationship

Even though you are using a wedding planner, this is still your wedding and you are using the planner to help you, not to make all the choices for you. It is important to build a good working relationship with the planner. While you can insist they follow your instructions, it is much better to listen to hear if they could do something quicker or for less money. After all, they do have experience in the market.

Consider The Cost

The cost is another thing to consider when you are trying to pick the right wedding planner. You may want to take the time to compare various wedding planners and their rates. Check the rates closely and make sure they cover everything you will need. While you do want to get a good deal when hiring a planner, you also want to make sure that you get quality as well.

Sometimes paying a little bit more can help you get a wedding planner that is more your style and that will prove to be more helpful with your wedding and what you need. No matter what, you need to remember that this is going to be one of the biggest days of your life and you want to make sure that it goes smoothly and with as little stress as possible for you.

Michelle Davis
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/eliminate-stress-choose-a-wedding-planner-124453.html

Outdoor Wedding Planning – 7 Important Points To Remember

You can have the outdoor wedding you’ve been dreaming of, as long as you are determined to turn the vision into reality. In order for you to help decide what kind of outdoor wedding you want, here are the important points that you have to remember:

1. Be it in the park, in your own backyard on the beach, the location must accommodate both the ceremony and the reception.

2. An outdoor wedding results in casualness and charm. You can also lessen the costs on flowers since it is already set in the garden anyway. Choose an atmosphere that has an ornamental surrounding. In order for you to come up with the right atmosphere, you must also put into consideration chair decorations, columns, aisle bows, topiaries and the traditional ceremony arch.

3. An advantage of an outdoor wedding is that your guests will find this quite convenient because they do not have to travel from the place where the ceremony was held to where the reception would be conducted. As mentioned before, an outdoor wedding generally equates to a single venue for both the ceremony and wedding.

4. You will be able to save money because of this move. You do not have to book a church and a restaurant. You can just reserve a gazebo, a garden or any outdoor scenery. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.

5. An outdoor wedding defies the conventional. Besides, outdoor locations offer so many choices and this gives the event more luster than the kind that we’re all used to seeing.

6. Be mindful of the lighting. Make sure that it wouldn’t cause any form of inconvenience to your guests or interruption on the event in general. If you want, you can drop by the location of your choice a year before the wedding, during a similar month on when you want to get married to check how the lighting is at that time.

7. It would be inconvenient for your guests to look directly into the sun. This will also affect the photographer’s task of documenting the memorable event by taking photographs. Most couples opt for a late afternoon wedding so the sun would have set at that time. If that’s the case, then take note of when the sun sets. The next consideration is additional lighting after the sunset.

Albert Lee
http://www.articlesbase.com/weddings-articles/outdoor-wedding-planning-7-important-points-to-remember-139859.html

Choosing A Theme For Your Wedding Day

Attention all brides, planning a wedding can be time consuming, not to mention the fact that it can cost a lot of money as well. Are you looking for ways to make your wedding planning a little easier? Choosing a theme for your wedding and pre-wedding events can help ease some of the stress of planning your big day. Knowing what theme that you are going to use can cut down on all of the guesswork. After you have decided on a wedding theme, it is best to use this theme as a common thread throughout the pre-wedding events as well. Your theme should extend from your bridal shower, Bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, bridesmaids gifts and lead up to your wedding day.

For example, if you choose a beach-themed wedding, then it would be a great idea to have a beach-themed bridal shower. What makes this easier? First, using the theme of your wedding for your bridal shower makes it easier for the bridesmaids to co-ordinate the event. Often times, it is difficult for the bridesmaids to decide on what type of bridal shower to host not to mention the bridesmaid’s gift to the bride. When you use a common theme, it cuts out all of the guesswork. Secondly, you can use some of the decorations from your bridal shower for the wedding reception as well. Now, that is what the experts call multipurpose!

Traditionally, the bridesmaids contribute funds to buy the bride a gift for her bridal shower. It is sometimes difficult for the bridesmaids to determine what to buy the bride. Using the theme of the wedding can be helpful. If they are hosting a beach-themed bridal shower, the bridesmaids gift to the bride should be something related to the beach. Some suggestions are a swimsuit and cover-up, a straw hat, a tote bag filled with things necessary for the beach, sunglasses, beach bridal jewelry etc.

Another aspect of hosting an event is deciding on what menu to serve the guests. Again, if you have an overall theme, the task will be a lot simpler. An ideal menu for a beach-themed bridal shower would be Crab Salad (can use imitation crabmeat), Tuna Salad with Sea Shell Pasta, Shrimp Cocktail, Croissants (they resemble seashells), Strawberry Lemonade or other Tropical Beverages. Be sure to offer an alternative, in the event that a guest has seafood allergies. The bridesmaids are sure to earn brownie points (i.e. bridesmaids gifts) with this great menu!

It is time for the fun stuff! Every bride looks forward to her Bachelorette party. This too can follow the theme of the wedding. The bridesmaids may consider throwing a party at the beach (depending on the time of year and location of course). This would be a wonderful opportunity for the bride to give her bridesmaids gifts. If going to the beach is not an option, an alternative is to rent a hotel suite or a clubhouse and convert it to a beachside getaway. Whether it is during the day or in the evening, the bride is sure to enjoy herself at this event. Planning a wedding with a theme can make the task a lot easier than going about it blindly.

Nicole Lindsey
http://www.articlesbase.com/marriage-articles/choosing-a-theme-for-your-wedding-day-128502.html