Different Cultures Different Weddings

There are many many different weddings that have different themes, colors, places, traditions and ceremonies. Each wedding is special in its own way.

Weddings are a way for people to be creative and bring out their own flavor and style. There are minor differences that dramatically make each wedding different including the season and outfit choices. For example the bride in an indian wedding will wear a red dress rather than white.

Some ceremonies may have a priest and others a pastor. Some weddings will take place in a church others in a temple and some on a beach.

Don't be afraid to do something different for your own wedding. People go to a lot of weddings and always look forward to seeing something much different than the last wedding they went to.

Dream Wedding

Since I am completely obsessed with weddings, I have been imagining my dream wedding since I was a little girl. Along the way I have helped in planning each of my sisters weddings. With each wedding I discover new ideas that I would like to use for my own wedding. I have imagined my wedding in every type of venue possible.

But my true dream wedding would take place on my grandparents 90 acre vineyard. Being the last of my siblings to get married puts a lot of pressure on my wedding because every type of wedding has been done by my older siblings. Many of my family members always thought that I would want a large extravagant wedding at a country club. However, I believe it would be more meaningful to have my wedding at a place that is close to my heart.

I would like a large tent that sat right outside my grandparents house and next to their famous garden that has even been recognized on various gardening shows. I would like all white flowers to fill the tables. I would also like christmas type lightening to surround the top of the tent with the white globe balls for a backyard feeling.

Although my ideas may change closer to the time I actually get married but for now it is my dream wedding.

What is the right age to get married?

Recently one of my best friends came to me and said that she has been stressing out because she is feeling pressure to find a boyfriend that will be her future husband. It took me by surprise because we are still young but many people are starting to think about marrying that current boyfriend or girlfriends.

But what is the right age to get married? I believe that no relationship will work out if they rush to get married. This will only end in a divorce. Some girls feel that there clocks are ticking and that once they hit the 35 years old mark that they need to have a baby immediately before it is too late.

In today's society many couples are getting married at an older age than couples in the past. This is because more women are taking jobs. People want to assure their positions in their jobs before starting a family together.

While there is no right or wrong age to get married. But in todays society the 30s are the new 20s!

The Royal Wedding

Recently millions tuned in to watch the royal wedding take place between soon to be Princess Kate and Prince William. The wedding took place very early on Friday morning and many Americans woke up early enough to catch the wedding but most waited until later to see it via the internet.

The beautiful Kate wore a conservative dress because it was required that she cover her arms and not show off to much skin in order to remain classy and royal. She chose to do her own make up because she did not want to look dramatically different to William the day of their wedding.

As kate walked down the isle William chose to only turn around and look at her once she got to the alter. His face lit up as soon as her set eyes on her. His brother peaked and turned around to see Kate walking and he turned to his brother and told him how beautiful she looked.

This was certainly the wedding of the year and will have people talking about it for months to come!

Destination Wedding

Just as one wedding ends in my family another one begins! The next wedding is my sister Kelly. She has been engaged for over a year now and really wants to have a destination wedding. 

Destination weddings are always a really fun idea in theory but may be very stressful. Planning a wedding in a different venue than where you are currently located is never easy. It requires very tedious detailing and planing in advanced. 

A major downfall to a destination wedding is that not as many people will be able to attend. It is inconvenient for friends and family to pay and travel for weddings far away. Many times people decline destination weddings because they require too much time away from home that many people can not give up on their weekends, especially if they have kids. 

Another major downfall is the expense of the weddings are usually greater and therefore you can not invite as many people.

In my sisters case she would like a smaller wedding which is why she chose to do a destination wedding. She wants to charter out a plane for the family and friends that she chooses to invite. This will make it much easier and more fun for everyone to travel together and enjoy a small vacation to celebrate her wedding! 

Wedding Speeches

Wedding speeches are commonly made by the best man, maid of honor and sometimes the brides father. These speeches are to reflect on the bride and grooms relationship as well as wish them luck.

I was asked to give a speech for my sisters wedding since I was the maid of honor. I had planned out a few different speech ideas which included the possibility of telling the bride and groom why it was ironic that they were getting married by a fish tank or advice to the groom about my sister etc.

The day of the wedding I was extremely nervous to give my speech. I had written it down on note cards to read off of but when the DJ announced my name I made the last minute decision to talk from the heart.

In my speech I discussed three stories about the first time I met the groom, why they are perfect for each other and finally the story about the proposal. I ended with three different advice for the groom. I also shared stories about me and my sister growing up.

Surprisingly, the speech went extremely well!

Wedding Pictures

This is a picture of the reception room that was surround by a shark tank:

 A shark ice luge at the bar with a sharkbite cocktail that came out of the mouth: 

My sister and my nephew Lucas: 

 The gifts were champagne flutes with sharks on it :

 The bride and grooms first dance (notice the red shoes):

 The wedding cake with the shark tank behind it :

Maid of Honor Checklist

The day of a wedding is very stressful and there are a lot of things to remember to do. I provided a checklist for other maid of honors to be as helpful as possible in aiding the bride the day of. This is to ensure that everything goes smoothly and the bride is not stressed on her special day. 

1) Make sure the bride has a well balanced breakfast.

2) Pack her overnight bag for after the wedding.

3) Make sure she does not see the groom the day of the wedding. 

4) Take her to get her hair and make-up done ( Bring Camera, Snacks, and THE VEIL).

5) Have the dress, shoes and jewelry prepared for the photographers. 

6) Help get the bride dressed. 

7) Make sure she is well hydrated.

8) Make a "Bridal Survival Kit" This will include: bobby pins, oil pads, lip gloss, deodorant, lip gloss, safety pins etc.

9) Stock the limo with champagne.

10) Lastly, make sure she does not cry and ruin her make up before walking down the isle. 

Below are all pictures from before the wedding: 

Rehearsal Dinner

The night before weddings, the bridal party will usually have a practice ceremony. This is done to go through the steps of what will take place the day of. It includes when the bridesmaids and groomsmen walk down the aisle, when the bride walks in, where everyone is supposed to stand etc. 

After the practice ceremony the grooms family will host a nice dinner out for everyone closely related to the bride and groom.  This is hosted by the grooms family because the brides family is responsible for paying for the reception. This is how weddings are traditionally paid for but have changed in recent times and depends on the individuals getting married. 

Below are pictures from the rehearsal ceremony and dinner the night before my sister Laura's wedding: 

Aquarium Wedding

This weekend my sister,  Laura will be getting married. She has chosen the location of her reception to be at the Adventure Aquarium. She decided she did not want the typical country club wedding and chose to do something a little different. 

The reception ballroom will be surrounded by a shark tank with large sharks swimming around. There will also be a large shark ice luge. 

I am looking forward to the wedding but I am also very nervous to give my maid of honor speech. I will update after this weekend with more pictures and details.

This is what the reception ballroom looks like..

Bachelorette Party

On President's Day weekend my sisters, her friends and I all ventured to the Poconos for my sister Laura's Bachelorette Weekend. A Bachelorette Party is a Girl's Night just to simply have fun with your girlfriends before you get married. The parties can vary from all different kinds and can take place almost anywhere. We chose to go to the Poconos because she is having a winter wedding and the Poconos was the easiest location for everyone to attend. 

We rented out a beautiful town home with an indoor hot tub included. It was the perfect place for a weekend away to relax and have fun. We made an agenda of all the activities we would be doing for the weekend. It included, dinner, wine glass decorating, tubing, Bachelorette scavenger hunt and much more. 

Below is a picture of me and my sister enjoying a day at Big Boulder..

And here is a picture of Laura at the bar, enjoying a good time with her friends ...

My 4 Sister's and My Wedding?

Promise Rings Can Mean Any of The Following: 

• I will be faithful

• I will return

• I will keep a specific promise

• I love you

• I have intentions to marry you

• I promise to be best friends

• I will always be there for you

• I will save myself for you

• I promise to stay away from a vice

• I promise to replace this ring with a larger stone when I can afford it

• I promise to follow a certain religion

• or it can even mean I promise to obtain a goal for myself.  

My boyfriend recently gave me a promise ring with the promise to remain committed to me and hopes of one day purchasing me an engagement ring.

The First Dance

The first dance as man and wife is one the most remembered dances of someones life. Some couples may be prepare many months in advanced and even take dance classes. Couples may even have a choreographed dance to their song.

My favorite part about the first dance at a wedding is the song that the couple chose to be theirs. It may be a song that they claimed as "their song" from the beginning of the two dating or just a song the two are always singing together. Either way the song can say a lot about their relationship.

A few of my top modern day first dance songs are listed below:

1)  All I Want is You- U2

2) Crash- Dave Matthews Band

3) Til Kingdom Come-Coldplay

4) True Companion-Marc Cohen

5) More than Anyone- Gavin Degraw

And my favorite is Mellow Mood by Slightly Stoopid :)

Some couples choose to do a funny dance after their slow song. As seen below in this YouTube clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o9lOCh_XvI&feature=related

Seating Arrangements

A common way to add creativity to the reception is to have a cute way to assign the tables. Each guest will look for their name and what table they are sitting at when they arrive to the reception. These name cards can be kept as memorabilia from a wedding. 

My first sister, Amy had the names with the table numbers written on chocolate candy bar wrappers. While this was a fun idea, it was also expensive and when planning a wedding you want to cut back expenses wherever possible. 

A cheap idea is to make your own name tags. This does not have to be very hard or time consuming but requires good handwriting.  You can purchase the cards at a craft store then with a nice sharpie write the names and add a flower for a finishing touch. Then add to an old shutters for display!

 

Bridal Shower

A great idea for a bridal shower is to have a Cookie Theme Party! There are many different theme options for bridal shower parties. For my other sisters bridal showers,  we had a gardening theme and a future cook theme. Most recently we had the Cookie Theme and so far, it was my favorite because what girl  doesn't enjoy baking and eating cookies. 

We matched the invitation with the cake, as seen below:

 We also had wedding dress cookies and red heart-shaped cookie cutters for favors:

 

Reception

Deciding where to have your reception is always the number one question when it comes to wedding planning. Many couples visit numerous locations looking for the right spot. Don't be afraid to be creative with your reception.

My sister Tara, found a beautiful yellow house that sat atop a hillside. She instantly fell in love with it and decided to have her reception there. She rented a tent that was located next to the porch. It was the perfect location for a summer wedding!

Bridesmaid Dresses

My sister Laura will be getting married this March. She chose red to be the color theme for her wedding and the color of the bridesmaid dresses. While all the bridesmaid worried about their complexion in red, we were later thrilled to discover that RED is the hot color of the season... 

http://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing/color-season-red-00000000039700/index.html

So if you're still deciding on a bridesmaid dress color think about Cherry colored bridesmaid dresses. Or add some fun to a simple white wedding dress with stunning red shoes.

Planning a Wedding

Hey, my blog is for newly engaged couples, stressed out wedding planners and anyone interested in weddings. I am the youngest of six with four older sisters and a brother. Growing up me and my sisters always fantasized about our weddings and now all of their dreams are coming true. After helping with their weddings I became very interested in becoming a wedding planning. This blog will help give ideas for the wedding ceremony, reception, wedding dress, bridesmaid dresses, flowers etc. Please Enjoy!