Wedding Planning Ideas

When you are planning your wedding, you want to take your time
and not rush things. You would want to get everything right.
After all, it is hardly everyday that you get to have a wedding.

There are several wedding ideas that you could check out and
see if it fits you're idea of the perfect wedding for you.
Themed weddings is one of the most common wedding ideas. This
wedding idea used to be a financial challenge way back when, but
nowadays it is not. Cheap air travel and the easy availability
of exotic products have made theme weddings a good wedding idea.
It's something to think about when thinking of planning a
wedding.

A lot of people have done theme weddings. Rockstars, movie
idols, and maybe even someone you know have done a theme
wedding. Now don't go thinking that this is one of these
overdone wedding ideas. There are many options for wedding
themes. Some ideas include a 1920s revival wedding theme, a
Victorian wedding theme, or even a Cinderella wedding theme!
Wouldn't that be a delight for the child within! Every girl
wants to be a princess!

Another good wedding idea to look into is a destination
wedding. For this wedding idea you're going to need to be a bit
more financially flexible. Destination weddings are a great
wedding idea. To celebrate it in an exotic place is one of the
best ways to make a wedding memorable. Think about it, there is
no way you are going to soon forget a Mediterranean wedding.

This kind of wedding idea is more difficult to set up, however.
You will have to coordinate with the wedding participants as
well. After all, the wedding location isn't just a couple of
blocks away. Depending upon the location there could also be a
problem with the local custom of your wedding location. Some
places will require a lot of work before a wedding can be held.
Other locations may not allow a wedding there unless one or both
of the parties (the bride and/or the groom) are residents of the
area. Location weddings can be a bit harder to plan and execute.

Whatever wedding ideas you are considering, try to remember
that your wedding day is not all about the pomp, but it is about
the meaning of a wedding. Form your wedding ideas around the
idea that a wedding is about you and your beloved joining your
lives together as one. Don't go too traditional, either. Let
your wedding be as naturally as the bond between you and your
companion.

About The Author: Denise Duncan has been involved in the
wedding planning business for a number of years, and is an
author and editor for http://www.mywedding-information.com/ .

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=183977

Filipino Wedding Traditions

The Engagement

After the couple has decided to marry, the first order of
business is the pamanhikan, where the groom and his parents
visit the bride's family to ask for her hand in marriage.
Wedding plans are often made at this time, including a
discussion of the budget and guest list. Don't be surprised if
the groom-to-be is expected to run some errands or help out
around the bride's house. This tradition is called paninilbihan,
where the suitor renders service to his future wife's family to
gain their approval.

The Wedding Outfits

The white wedding dress has become popular in the last hundred
years or so with America's influence in the Philippines. Before
that, brides wore their best dress, in a festive color or even
stylish black, to celebrate a wedding. Orange blossom bouquets
and adornments were a must during the turn of the last century.
For men, the barong tagalog is the traditional Filipino formal
wear.

It is a cool, almost transparent, embroidered shirt, made from
silky pina or jusi, two native ecru fabrics. It is worn
untucked, over black pants, with a white t-shirt underneath.
These days, a Filipino groom might wear the conventional black
tux, but Filipino male wedding guests will usually show up in
their finest barongs.

The Ceremony

In pre-colonial days, a wedding ceremony lasted three days. On
the first day, the bride and groom were brought to the house of
a priest or babaylan, who joined their hands over a plate of raw
rice and blessed the couple. On the third day, the priest
pricked the chests of both bride and groom and drew a little
blood. Joining their hands, they declared their love for each
other three times. The priest then fed them cooked rice from the
same plate and gave them a drink of some of their blood mixed
with water. Binding their hands and necks with a cord, he
declared them married. The majority of Filipino weddings are now
Catholic weddings, but some native traditions remain. Most have
special "sponsors" who act as witnesses to the marriage. The
principal sponsors could be godparents, counselors, a favorite
uncle and aunt, even a parent. Secondary sponsors handle special
parts of the ceremony, such as the candle, cord and veil
ceremonies. Candle sponsors light two candles, which the bride
and groom use to light a single candle to symbolize the joining
of the two families and to invoke the light of Christ in their
married life. Veil sponsors place a white veil over the bride's
head and the groom's shoulders, a symbol of two people clothed
as one. Cord sponsors drape the yugal (a decorative silk cord)
in a figure-eight shape--to symbolize everlasting fidelity--over
the shoulders of the bride and groom. The groom gives the bride
13 coins, or arrhae, blessed by the priest, as a sign of his
dedication to his wife's well-being and the welfare of their
future children.

The Food

The Filipino wedding feast is elaborate. One feast celebrated
at the turn of the last century involved these foods: First was
served cold vermicelli soup. The soup was followed by meats of
unlimited quantity--stewed goat, chicken minced with garlic,
boiled ham, stuffed capon, roast pork and several kinds of fish.
There were no salads, but plenty of relishes, including red
peppers, olives, green mango pickles and crystallized fruits.
For dessert, there were meringues, baked custard flan, coconut
macaroons and sweetened seeds of the nipa plant.

About The Author: Rafi Michael Babylon Productions Wedding
Center Wedding Photography & Video Productions Toronto we
specialize in individually tailored Wedding Photography, Videos
and DVD's, offering an experienced, highly professional and
affordable service. Vist: (
http://www.videobabylon.ca/services.html )

Please use the HTML version of this article at:
http://www.isnare.com/html.php?aid=168859

Saving Money on Your Wedding

Perhaps you've been dreaming of your wedding day since you
were a little girl, the princess gown, your handsome groom,
a beautiful spread and the entire town there. Or perhaps
it's something you never even contemplated…who me?
Getting married? Oh my gosh, this is really happening!
Where do we begin?

Although it's very easy to wish for the perfect dream
wedding, sometimes, if your salary is somewhere in the
thousands of dollars, not the millions of dollars, you have
to prepare a budget. But I'm here to tell you, having that
dream like wedding isn't as unrealistic as you think, as
long as you're informed and smart about it.

The first step in planning a wedding is to determine your
wedding budget. It is important for you to know what you
can realistically spend. Wedding costs can easily add up.
If not monitored properly, you may find that you are
spending much more than you had anticipated. By tracking
your expenditures, you can cut back on things less
important to you and allocate money to the more important
areas. I recommend a good wedding planner/organizer such
as Beverly Clark's, "Planning a Wedding to Remember". This
is an amazing tool for planning your wedding budget and
even provides an interactive budget planning tool available
online.

One way of trimming off the expenses is to consider
printing your own invitations. Often people don't
anticipate how expensive wedding invitations can be. A
homemade option is cheaper and can still look wonderful.
Purchasing fine paper and envelopes can save you, and
they're just waiting to be customized with some
professional techniques available with quality software
programs. If computers give you jitters, you're sure to
find someone artsy willing to help out for such a special
occasion.

Oftentimes, designer gowns, wedding favors, gifts and
accessories can be found on line at a fraction of the
prices in boutiques. Just be wary when shopping. Ask
questions, make sure the gown is in new shape and that the
size is correct. Correspond with the seller and make sure
the dress hasn't been damaged. As a form of etiquette,
reputation on these sites means everything, so if you are
not completely satisfied with your purchase or the seller
was misleading, you can reiterate this by providing
feedback. Check your newspapers, local re-sale stores, ask
at bridal boutiques for dresses that are no longer being
made, discontinued, or clearance dresses. You may find a
gem!

Although you may have envisioned thousands of guests
attending your special day, you may have to consider
trimming down your guest list. As a result, you will be
spending much less on food, drinks and the venue. Start by
making a list of family members from both sides of the
family, including children, then friends and acquaintances.
If the bride and groom are paying the full expense of the
wedding, they should have control over the invites, however
if they are accepting money from the parents they may have
to give them some say in the matter.

A suggestion could be to invite certain people to the
ceremony and dinner only (especially older relatives as
they may not want to attend the reception for various
reasons) and then invite more casual friends to the
reception portion of the day. Provide a cash bar, snacks
in the mid-evening, and all the festivities one can handle.
Keep in mind too that this can be catered by family
members consisting of cheese, veggies, cold meats, salads,
pickles, buns and dessert trays.

Remember too, that this day is for you and you want to
share it with all of the special people in your life. Time
passes quickly and you want to be able to enjoy all of your
guest's company, so keeping the numbers realistic and
within your budget will make your special day more
memorable for everyone.


About the Author:

Essential Wedding Favors is a company founded by Paul Darch
and Tracey Spencer in 2006. Wanting to provide a bride and
groom a source to find as much information about planning
their wedding, inspired them to create a website dedicated
to just that.
http://www.essentialweddingfavors.com