How to Ruin Your Own Wedding

You put so much work into your wedding celebration. You want everything to be perfect. It's only natural. It is, after all, your wedding day. It's the one day of your life that you have looked forward to for most of your life. And your wedding celebration is the one day that you anticipate looking back on with fondness for the rest of your life.

So why would you want to do anything to ruin it?

You don't... but many brides do the one thing that could ruin their wedding festivities - and sometimes it does.

What is this one thing that they do to ruin their wedding celebration? Do they rip their thousand dollar wedding gown just before walking down the aisle? Do they stumble and fall into their wedding cake? Do they absentmindedly turn the heat up too much in the church or auditorium where the vows will be exchanged and cause all the flowers to wilt before the ceremony? No, the phenomenon we are talking about is much more insidious... more

How to Choose your Wedding Cake Topper

There was a time, not too many years ago, when having a wedding cake without a wedding cake topper was unthinkable. Back then toppers ranged from quaint to cute and beyond to wild. Most wedding cake toppers in that era were made of plastic, though they certainly weren’t limited to plastic. In fact, artisans from a wide variety of backgrounds often made cake toppers to order, often coming up with stunning works of art to crown the artistic masterpiece that is your wedding cake.

Nevertheless, most wedding cake toppers were plastic so over time it was not uncommon to find a wedding cake without a special topper. Why? There are probably quite a few correct answers but ultimately, I would like to suggest, it came down to a matter of tastefulness.

The lack of quality was, no doubt, one reason. The ebb and flow of trends within society is clearly another.

Because of this, brides often chose a simpler topper. Often it was fresh flowers. Sometimes the bride chose to skip the cake topper all together and thereby let the cake stand alone.

Great New Options in Wedding Cake Toppers

Today, wedding cake toppers are coming back, and with a vengeance. But today's toppers are far superior to... more

Finding Wedding Cake Design Ideas

Every bride wants the perfect wedding cake design. But how without a background in design and at least a general familiarity with the baking business how do you know what is possible and what is not? Indeed, there are probably more wedding cake designs than wedding themes. So if you've been wondering how to find ideas for my wedding cake design, here are some tips for you.

"How do I get ideas for my wedding cake design" is one of the most asked questions, the answer is that there really are several outlets for wedding cake design ideas.

• There are an abundance of wedding cake galleries on the Internet. Do a search for "wedding cake pictures" or "wedding cake designs" then take some time to browse and picture each design as a part of your celebration. Then if you find one that really strikes your fancy, you can print out a picture and file it to show your pastry chef when it comes time to find a bakery to create you masterpiece. Note: Doing the same search with your city and state included might find you a skilled wedding cake provider that you are unfamiliar with.


• Another option is a wedding planner; they will often have pictures of wedding cakes that you can adapt to meet your needs.


• Go to weddings, when you can get an invitation an look at the wedding cake - this will give you the opportunity to to taste it as well which could lead you to - and / or away from certain bakeries as well as giving you design ideas.


• Ask to look at your friends and family's wedding photographs. It's a rare individual that won't jump at the chance to show them off and the picture of the cake they commissioned might inspire you.


• If you are talented at design, you could even sit down and draft your own design for a wedding cake that reflects your wedding only.

Most bakeries have a book that contains a picture gallery of wedding cakes but save your visit to any pastry chef (regardless of whether they are in a formal bakery or are employed by the hotel that is hosting your reception). Why? Because A good pastry chef will be able to help you adapt an idea to fit your budget, but he or she can only do that if you have a design idea in the first place.

Wedding cakes come in all colors and shapes and can be adapted to what you want. From a cake that looks like a stack of wedding presents, to a stack of crowns, to a tower of pastry, pillars, and flowers complete with butterflies - your options are endless. Don’t wear yourself out worrying about how to get an idea for you wedding cake design there are plenty of sources out there.

How to Save Money on Your Wedding Dress

If you're on a tight budget the cost of a special order wedding dress can be a little bit hard to swallow. But what can you do? Yes, you will only wear the dress once, but it is your wedding - quite possibly the most important day of the year. You want a wedding dress that looks fabulous.

So what do you do? Is there any way you can find an incredible wedding dress without breaking the bank? Actually, yes. There are several options. Yes, each option is filled with it's own challenges but if you approach the opportunity with your eyes wide open you should be able to find a gown that you will be proud to wear on your big day.

1. Charity sales and / or auctions: Just as charities have turned to accepting donated cars and selling them to raise funds, some also do the same with wedding dresses. As a result you have the opportunity to buy dresses that are usually either new or worn once for a fraction of their original price. Think about it. Some bride goes out and buys a gown that costs two thousand dollars or more and then the wedding gets called off. What is she going to do with it? She donates it to a charity that accepts bridal gowns who sells it to you for a few hundred dollars. You get a gorgeous wedding gown, she gets a tax write off, and the charity makes money it needs to keep it's doors open another day.
2. EBay and similar sites: Just before I started writing this I checked EBay's listings and there were more than sixteen thousand listings for wedding dresses posted. Sure, EBay's listings are not perfect, so there's probably a couple hundred or so other items scattered about amidst the bridal gowns, but that still leaves a lot of gowns - gowns that could be perfect for someones wedding.
3. Sample sales: Bridal shops need a way to clear out their stock of each year's wedding dresses and sample sales are the industry standard (though not a hard and fast rule). To find a sample sale in your area simply look in the yellow pages of your local telephone directory under bridal shops and call each one on the list to find out both IF and WHEN they are having a sample sale. This option can require some patience and a lot of planning ahead, but it's possible to walk away with a great gown at a price you'll be proud of.

Remember, the most expensive wedding dresses are usually the least ornate. The reason for this is the fact that it takes more craftsmanship and better quality material that is totally smooth than it does to do more ornate designs. As a matter of fact, dress makers use the bead work, lace work, and embroidery to cover the flaws in less than perfect materials.

Finally, don't forget that while a wedding dress can always be taken in it is very difficult to let a wedding dress out - and the higher the quality, generally the more impossible it is to let the dress out. So the moral to the story is to use care when you buy your dress. You won't be saving any money if you buy a dress that's too small for you to fit into.

Destination Weddings

Betsy and David were excited to be getting married. What they weren't excited about was the hastle of pulling together all of the details involved in pulling off a wedding. This left them with three options.

• Grin and bear it.
• Hire a wedding planner to take care of everything.
• A Destination Wedding.

The chose the destination wedding and it turned out to be the perfect choice - for them. They got married on a perfectly manicured lawn ringed with volcanic rocks, palm trees, and orchids against a back drop of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. It was almost like a fantasy.

But that's not the real reason it worked out for them: The real reason it worked out for them is that with a destination wedding couples tend to be more focused on the big picture as opposed to the details. In a wedding in an exotic or far away locale you have to let someone else take care of the details. Indeed many exotic locations may have only two florists, one caterer, and three photographers. With a destination wedding you have to let go of these details and accept things as they are. This allows couples to view the event as a fun-filled get-away - where they're getting with only a few guests to help them celebrate this most beautiful time of their lives.

As a matter of fact, destination weddings often turn into a combination wedding, honeymoon and a family reunion vacation all wrapped up in one.

There are several downsides to destination weddings to consider before you make your decision:

• Your guest list is severely limited.
• You have to be able to relinquish control over the details of your wedding and be happy with whatever the planner / hosting company provides you with.
• Cost. While a destination wedding sounds great, the reality is that the expense makes it impractical for most people. At the very least you will have to give your guests ample warning so they can budget and schedule a the trip. But in many cases the bride and groom end up footing much or all of the cost for all of their guest's travel expenses. Ouch!

For these reasons, weddings in exotic locations tend to be more popular with older couples who can handle the financial burden and are less interested in the guest list and wedding details than they are with making memories with their loved ones. In Betsy and David's case, this option worked because they are not detail oriented people and a destination wedding by the sea with their family and closest friends was the best memory for their wedding day that they could imagine.

How Do We Create A "Green" Wedding?

With all of the talk today of global warming and environmental impact the question looms: "How do we create a 'green' wedding? How do we put together a ceremony and celebration that will linger in our memories but leave little to no impact on the environment?

The answer, whether we like it or not, is simplicity. Create a simple wedding with your own personal touch to make your wedding memorable rather than trying to out stage last year's big wedding productions. - and besides for potential protection to the environment, a simple 'green' wedding can save you lots of money! The reason for this, as you will see, is that a green wedding is concerned with what's good for the community and environment rather than with keeping up with the Jones' - whoever they are.

There is no way to cover every possible situation but consider these three possible scenario's set in the urban, suburban, and rural settings as inspiration for your green wedding:

Urban Setting for Your Green Wedding:

Plan a period themed wedding from your own city's history. For example, 19th century wedding theme. Design your dress based around the theme - not a problem, wedding dresses are special order anyway - and remember, you don't have to choose to emulate the rich of that period, just something representative or suggestive of the period. Choose a local hall with lots of windows within walking distance of your borough or neighborhood to ... more

Wedding Bubbles?

Every year the debate about whether to use wedding bubbles starts all over again. There are many opinions and a few concerns. The problem, however, is not that the issue regarding wedding bubbles is so complex that it can't be entirely solved, but that every year a new batch of participants enter the fray - people who have never needed to consider the issue.

Really, once you pass the age of eight or so most of us don't blow bubbles unless we are trying to occupy young children and then in an informal setting. But with the realization that throwing rice was hurting local birds and confetti was posing a clean up and potential safety hazard, suddenly those childhood bubbles turned into "wedding bubbles".

Indeed, wedding bubbles are growing in popularity as they replace rice, birdseed, confetti, and who knows what else from times gone by for use when the bride and groom are departing on their honeymoon and ultimately their new life together. The reason is simple, wedding bubble favors don’t require sweeping the sidewalk afterwards to prevent the slips and falls that rice and birdseed require.

Likewise, the use of wedding bubble favors is fun for everyone. Who doesn’t enjoy the momentary reminder of their carefree youth? Watching the bubbles dance on the breeze is fun.
As an added benefit, wedding bubbles are an easy and inexpensive way to add special flair to your pictures of your honeymoon departure! Why? Because, while they are translucent they still have enough substance to catch and bend the light waves around them which can add a real flair to your departure pictures.

Answering Objections to Wedding Bubbles

The most common complaint about using bubbles in a wedding celebration is the concern that the bubbles might stain the formal wear of people celebrating the wedding. This is a legitimate concern, but when that happens it’s usually because someone tried to ... more