Wedding Invitations

Wedding Cake Activities

2010-04-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Upon arrival at the wedding reception, many guests head for the cake table so they can admire the cake. Some time later, the bride and groom come along for a picture opportunity and the grand cutting of the cake. Then everyone enjoys cake and it's gone. Believe it or not, there are many more activities that can make the wedding cake more about fun and less about tradition.

Of course, watching the bride and groom push cake into each other's mouths is a long-enjoyed tradition, but there are many more fun - and less messy - activities to consider as well.

One new option that's gaining popularity is to have cupcakes instead of a cake. This is a method that is usually more affordable than having a cake and it can be a lot of fun. Cupcakes are decorated in alignment with the wedding theme, just as a cake is, but the cupcakes are instead arranged on tiered cake plates and displayed on a cake table until it's time to eat them. The cupcakes can be simply handed out on plates to each wedding guest.

Now, what's fun about using cupcakes instead of a whole wedding cake is you can save money, certainly, as many reception halls and caterers charge a per slice fee to cut and serve the wedding cake, but you can also build activities into the cupcake presentation. For example, the cupcakes that are for the bride and groom can have a different decoration than the ones for the guests.

As an extra touch, you can have the baker include a special prize in one or several cupcakes. A small charm or tiny toy can be baked into the cupcake. Whoever gets the charm wins a special prize. These prizes can range from a gift basket or gift certificate to a restaurant to a dance with the bride or groom.

Some brides like to use a Southern tradition and have charms baked into the wedding cake. Similar to the idea above for cupcakes, this involves baking small charms or tiny toys (but usually charms) into the cake. Those who get one of the charms are said to have good luck. You might even consider having charm bracelet charms baked into the cake, which are then made into a charm bracelet for the bride.

Not everyone enjoys cake. How about an activity for those who won't be eating cake? They can be required to do the "Macarena" or the chicken dance during the time when everyone else is eating cake. If they manage to do the dance continuously while the other guests enjoy cake, they win a prize. Or they simply get to sit down, as now they are tired!

In keeping with the dance during cake theme, how about a requirement that in order to get cake, a guest must perform an impromptu dance first? Or there could be trivia questions about the bride and groom or about popular culture. Guests must correctly answer the questions before getting their cake. There could be competitions among tables or individuals for most questions answered correctly.

Many people believe that once the cake is cut, they are free to leave if they wish. Since cake cutting usually comes after the meal and after dancing and other traditional celebration activities, many people take the opportunity to leave the party after the cake is cut and enjoyed.

If the bride and groom want their guests to stay after the cake is eaten, it is worth some extra effort to build some activities into the cake-cutting event so people will stick around longer. This can be as simple as telling people not to leave, or can be more subtle and fun.

For example, each person could receive a slip of paper with his or her cake. These slips of paper could be prepared ahead and provided to the catering company with instructions that one folded strip of paper be placed on each plate with the cake. The paper might give an agenda for the rest of the evening or might ask its recipient to perform a little dance, to head over to give the groom or bride a kiss, or might ask them to take the flower girl out on the dance floor for a spin. The unknown will keep all the guests guessing and provide some entertainment as the instructions are carried out.

Bridal Bouquet Activities

2010-03-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

When a bride orders her wedding bouquet, it might not seem that any "activities" will come from it other than as a thing for the bride to hold. But the bridal bouquet can be the source of many interesting activities and meaningful gestures.

During there ceremony there are all kinds of possibilities. Certainly you can go traditional and have a flower for both the mother of the bride and mother of the groom. The moms, in particular, love this activity and guests usually appreciate it as well. But what if you turned that traditional gesture on its head and supplied flowers for both the mothers and the fathers?

If the bride supplies flowers to both the men and women, there are a couple of ways to do this. What if dad's flower was enclosed in a verse that he will then get up and read at the ceremony? What if it was a flower to recognize the members of the family who have passed, and it gives dad an opportunity to recognize those family members?

If the bride chooses not to have a unity candle, but wants some gesture like it, she can have her bridal bouquet designed by having several small bouquets put together. At an appropriate time during the ceremony, the bridal bouquet is "broken up" and various people might receive a share, such as the mothers and fathers of the bride and groom.

Now, if the bride wants to hang onto her bridal bouquet during the wedding ceremony, but is willing to have some fun with it at the reception, there are a few options there as well. How about a dance involving the bridal bouquet? This is silly, but fun. The bridal bouquet is on display somewhere near the dance floor and guests must guess a flower that's in the bouquet before they can enter the dance floor. The first few guests might not have a problem as some flowers are obvious, like roses and tulips, but others might give people pause. Of course, this won't work if the bridal bouquet is all roses or some other single and obvious flower but for a traditional mixed bouquet, it can work well.

For a naughty touch, the bride can hide her garter in the bridal bouquet and actually put it on her leg before the groom takes it off. Or she can have a couple of breakaway bouquets that are wrapped in garter belts, so hers doesn't get thrown, but instead the tiny bouquets with garter belts attached are thrown.

When it comes time for the bride to throw her bouquet, there are several options. Some brides choose not to keep their bouquet and simply pluck one flower out of it before chucking the whole thing during the bridal bouquet toss. This is an alternative to having a special bouquet set aside for throwing, and there are others as well.

Are there are a lot of single women coming to the wedding? Maybe one thrown bouquet won't be enough. Many brides these days are opting for something a little more fun. There are a few options, really. One popular option is to have the florist create several small bouquets and then bundle them to look like one bouquet. They are tied lightly with a ribbon. When it comes time for the bouquet toss, the bride unties the ribbon, and throws the "bouquet" which is actually several little bouquets. Several women will catch the bouquet, rather than just one.

Wedding Invitations: How to Avoid Misunderstandings

2009-11-26T04:21:00.000-08:00

Finding the right words for your wedding inviations is extremely important in order to avoid misunterstandings. Your wedding inviations are the first hand symbol of the celebration of your love - so get them right!

Generally, wedding invitation wording should be clearly established to avoid confusions and misconception. In some cases words miht have different meanings, depending in which context and where in a sentence you use them.

|Details like date, place and exact time should be clearly statet. Make sure to let your guests know whether they are invited to the ceremony or only to the reception - this is a point wich leads to confusion easily.

Take into consideration who paid for the reception: the party which paid should get the honour to invite. For example, if in case that the bride’s parents are the ones who had paid for the wedding, then, the wordings on the wedding invitation should state that it is the bride’s parent s who are requesting for the presence of the guests.

Let your guests know wether you are planning a formal wedding or if they can expect a rather laid back affair.

In general: let your guests know when to be where and what to expect. Than everybody will be happy!

DIY Wedding Books about Creating Your Own Invitations

2009-09-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

It is fairly easy to make your own invitations and there are plenty of books and other ressources to help you get started. First of all you have to decide on a style for your invitations. Do you want them classic or modern? With a hand-made touch to them? Funny? Elegant? If you are just looking for inspiration, you might start by heading over to etsy.com - do a search for wedding-invitations and look what comes up.

If there is nothing that inspires you, you might think about getting a book to get you started. This is my favorite one: The Artful Bride: Wedding Invitations: A Stylish Bride's Guide to Simple, Handmade Wedding Correspondence

This book is perfect for computer-savy brides and grooms - do it yourself doesn´t always have to be hand made!

For more books on diy-wedding-invitations click here!

Four weeks to go - need to lose weight fast!

2009-09-18T02:25:00.001-07:00

I have been writing about weddings for quite some years - now I´m getting married myself! I´ve got pretty much all covered - with one exception. Some of the friends who are coming to the wedding haven´t seen me for almost fifteen years, and while I can´t (and don´t want to) do much about the wrinkles, I do would like to shed some weight. I put on a whopping 33 pounds (some 15 kilos) after the birth of our twins - I am a stress eater. Well, the last three years haven´t been exactly easy - job, three kids (two of them extremely active toddlers) and a big house - so I have never been able to get them off again - an believe me, I have tried!

So yesterday I bought one of these weight loss books that promise to show you how to lose weight fast - I usually don´t believe in this kind of crash diets, but I´m really desperate! I didn´t really found the time to read the book, i´ll have to do that today. I guess I might have to head over to the health food store as well - we´ll see.

This is the program I am talking about: The Wedding Day Diet

I´ll keep you updated if it works - it´d better!

Wedding on a Budget

2009-08-30T02:12:00.000-07:00

With the economy getting tighter every day, more and more couples have to look for creative solutions when it comes to planning their wedding. The Bridal Association in America found out the the average cost of a wedding 2007 was around 27.000 dollars. More and more often the parents of the bride, who traditionally have to pay for the wedding, are just not able to spend this kind of money on their daughters wedding. If you can believe a recent poll, around 30 out of every 100 couples contribute to their own wedding, and the parents of the groom chip in as well.

But being able to spend less at your wedding doesn't mean that you have to have a barbecue in your backyard as a reception. You might just have to be more creative and to set priorities. If you want to have a great wedding on a shoestring budget, consider these general rules:

Set up your budget: ask both of your parents how much they will be able to contribute. Estimate how much you and your future husband can save up until the day of the wedding. If you plan a longer engagement you still have time to stash away a certain amount of your paycheck every month. Go to your bank and open up a wedding account. You will be surprised how much you will be able to save up this way!

Set priorities: make a list of the three most important factors of your dream wedding. If you want the perfect dress, a life band for the party after the reception and professional wedding pictures, splurge out on these three factors and try to cut back on other factors like food and decoration.
Be willing to compromise. You would just love to have these gorgeous white orchids for your table decoration? Go for the equally beautiful white roses that will cost you only a fraction and create a similar impression.

Go for quality not quantity: sometimes less is more. Rather than going overboard with quantity go for higher quality. That applies to flowers and decoration, but also to the food. Choose a higher quality three course meal over a lower quality five courses. Get a good photographer for a limited time, instead of a bad one all day.

Ask for discounts: most businesses won't offer you a discount, but if you ask they will happily oblige. Always be respectful. Know the average prices for the service you are looking for and don't go too low, you will insult people.

Go with the season: keep in mind the season at all stages of the planning process. Choose flowers that are in season (and therefore cheaper) and try to set the date out of season (that way you will be able to get discounts more easily).

Ask for help: most people will feel honoured if you ask them if they can help you with a special talent and do your hair for example instead of bringing a wedding gift. The help of friends and family can make the difference between just another wedding or the wedding of your dreams. If you don't have to shell out money for a professional photographer, you will be able to get the wedding cake of your dreams - and so on!

Be yourself: don't plan the wedding everybody else think you should have - plan YOUR wedding. Don't compare your reception to the ones you attended as a guest. If you like the local park better then the Hyatt Regency - all the better for you!

Download your free DIY-Wedding-Planning Guide here!