Bridal HipHop

You have to admit, planning a wedding is not for the faint-hearted. There are too many things to plan for and think about that if you’re not up for the stress and challenge, you can easily break apart. Take the wedding stationery for example. It’s not as simple as sending the invitation design to the printer and expect that everything will be all right. What if you send it too late to the printer and the invitations don’t arrive on time? What if there’s a trouble with the invitation mailing that guests were not able to receive them? See, there are lots of mishaps that can happen if you’re not careful. Needless to say, you need to have perfect timing for everything, hence this wedding planning checklist for the stationery order. We promise you, it would help you a lot!

6 to 12 months before the wedding – Save the date

Since it won’t be practical to send the invitation early at this point, save the date cards can save the day! These are designed for the purpose of allowing your family and friends to save this date for you without requiring you to send the actual invitation just yet. Save the date cards are fun and creative. Not to mention, they come in all shapes and sizes. It’s best to order these cards six to 12 months before the wedding. You can also order as soon as you’ve finalized the wedding date. Send these to your wedding guests, wedding party and wedding suppliers and vendors as early as possible so they will have plenty of time to make travel arrangements, request time off from work, and buy you a precious gift!

2 to 6 months before the wedding – Invitations

Six months before the big day, you should already start planning the invitation ensemble. Invest time in researching invitation trends, browsing through options on patterns, textures, colors and designs, and reading up invitation blogs and websites for inspiration. Once you have decided on what type and design you’d like to have for the invite, you may order four to six months in advance. Mailing, on the other hand, should be completed six to eight weeks before your exchange of vows. Triple check the spelling of name and address before you send out the invites.

1 to 3 months before the wedding – Reception stationery

Reception stationery include place cards, table number cards, wedding favours, guest book and many others. Be sure that these are personalized to match the invitations and the overall theme of the event. It’s appropriate to order the reception items at least three months before the wedding. Order one place card per guest or couple, adding an extra 25 just in case there are any mistakes, late RSVPs or last-minute changes. Fill in the names two months before the wedding. As for the table numbers, the quantity of these would depend on the size of guest list and seating capacity of each table. The formula is number of tables = total number of guests / number of guests per table. So if you’re inviting 100 people to the event and each table can sit 10 people, there would be 10 tables and 10 table numbers.

1 to 3 months after the wedding – Thank you notes

It’s recommended to send the thank you notes a few days after the wedding. Don’t wait until the wedding is more than three months over before you start sending the thank you notes. Thank the guests not only for their attendance but also for their gifts. It would be nice if the notes are handwritten so the guests will feel the sincerity of your gratitude.

Music is an important part of the wedding ceremony. It not only provides a respite from the spoken parts of the wedding, it also helps to set the ceremony’s mood and tone. This is why it’s a must to choose the right wedding ceremony music. Here are a few tips:

Determine your musical style

When picking your wedding ceremony music, the first step is to determine your musical style, as well as the musical style of your soon-to-be spouse. Are you a fan of traditional wedding music? You might favor classical or jazz music. Your fiancé might like sacred music such as hymns, or popular music. You might also want to play traditional music from your culture. Finally, you might want to combine these genres and play them all at your wedding ceremony. Once you’ve determined which musical genres you like best, you can limit your search for wedding music to these genres.

Don’t just rely on the internet when picking music for your wedding ceremony. In fact, the perfect wedding song can be just about any song. Ask yourself what music you are already familiar with. Then think about which music you like. Zero in on the music that personally means the most to you. Rifle through your collection of CDs and take a look at your playlists. If you still need inspiration, you can also browse on the internet. Look at wedding ceremony playlists in order to gain more ideas. If you’re still stuck, think about the wedding that you have gone to. Think about the music that you heard there. What did you love? What inspired you? This is a good chance to put your personal stamp on your wedding, so don’t be afraid to go for exactly what you want.

Listen to potential songs

After doing all of these things, you should have been able to come up with a list of potential wedding songs. Listen to each one carefully. Strike out the ones that don’t seem to belong with all of your other musical choices. Eliminate the ones that you can’t see being played in your wedding ceremony. Once you’ve narrowed your list down, listen to each song again and think about where it will go in your wedding ceremony.

Hire musicians

If you have the budget for it, it would be good to hire professional musicians. They will be sure to add a touch of class to your wedding ceremony. Ensure that your musicians have a lot of experience in playing for weddings. You’ll also want to do a free consultation so that you can hear them play. Use the consultation to bounce ideas off of them. You can tell them about your vision for the wedding, as well as show them a list of the songs that you are considering for your wedding ceremony. You can also share some of your favorite songs with them. This should enable experienced musicians to draw up a sample program that you approve of.

Every girl dreams of having a beautiful wedding. To some, a princess-like ceremony is the fulfillment of this fantasy. To others, having it in a garden filled with all kinds of flowers marks its realization. And to those who prefer a casual and fun-filled celebration, walking down the aisle of a sandy shoreline is the reality of that vision.

If you are having a beach wedding (or any other type of wedding), one of the most important aspects that you and your partner should pay attention is the wedding invitation. An invitation is a letter, which, aside from serving as your request to the addressee to come and join you and your partner in the most important day of your lives, informs your guests as to your wedding itinerary. It tells the receiver that his or her presence is of importance to both of you since you took time to send the invitation to his or her home address. Moreover, it reflects the kind of couple that you are. For instance, those who prefer beach weddings are seen as the fun loving, adventurous types of couple for this type of celebration in regarded as non-conventional. Lastly, it allows you to express yourself freely, for it generally follows no format. You can be as creative as you want in telling everyone that you are going to tie the knot on this day, at this place and time, and this guest’s presence is much desired so that you day would be complete.

Another wonderful thing about beach weddings is that you have plenty of options when it comes to your wedding decorations and invites. There’s the typical paper invitation, which you can place in a bottle instead of inserting it in an envelope. You may send your guests beach slippers, telling them to wear these on your special day. Or you may opt for some rocks printed with details of your wedding. Postcard-style invites are also common these days, so you may also consider this as an option. The thing is, you can easily transform simple wedding invitations by incorporating them with the elements of the sea.

What are the things to consider when deciding for your unique beach wedding invitations?

• Know what you want. There are a lot of options to choose from, which oftentimes make it difficult to decide which ones to use. Do you want it printed on parchment paper? Do you want it engraved? Knowing what is it that you want makes it easier for both of you to narrow down your choices.
• Match the elements with your wedding. If you are going to use seashells in your invitation, make sure that there will also be seashells in your wedding. There has to be a connection between the invite and the celebration. It is not enough that you chose the item that you would be using for your invitations. It is also about matching these with the actual celebration.
• Look for suppliers. If you are sending your invites with flip-flops, you may have difficulty finding 100 pairs of slippers of the same design if you are going to buy them in the mall. So after you have decided what you want, look for suppliers for your chosen nautical element to add to your wedding invite.
• Set the budget. Invites for a beach wedding are more costly compared to the traditional type of wedding because they require more than just mere printing of words in the letter. Beach weddings require that you incorporate elements of the sea on your invitation. Make sure that your invitations will be included in your budget. If you think you will be short of money, you may lessen the elements of your invitation (meaning less seashells, for instance) or opt for items that cost less than what you originally preferred.

Having a beach wedding is the ultimate choice for those who want to veer away from the traditional formalities of church weddings. In choosing what kind of wedding decorations to have at your reception and ceremony, keep in mind that they should mirror the kind of wedding that you want to have. Lastly, it is not all about being creative and incorporating the elements of the sea into your invitations. On the more important note, it is about letting your guests know that their presence would be highly appreciated.

What do we know about celebrity weddings? Besides from the occasional scandal that leaks out, we usually only know that they are very lavish affairs with favors, settings, food, celebrity friends and accommodations most of us can only dream about. Luckily, however with a little creativity, you can capture the essence of celebrity weddings without breaking the bank.

Usually what we do find out is only through controlled media releases. These highlight the special touches the bride and groom gave to their special day and usually, what we discover is that the affair was exorbitantly expensive. While it is unlikely that you will have to worry about helicopters overhead or paparazzi snooping in your garbage and it is not realistic to expect Elton John to serenade you during the ceremony, you can adopt celebrity ideas and even better, they do not have to cost thousands of dollars.

For instance, some celebrities have opted for miniature wedding cakes to grace each place setting. This is elegant and unique and also really pricey. What you can do is incorporate one big cake topped with a “My Love” Stylized Heart Cake Topper and then a miniature version of the cake for each table. The cake can also be used as a table setting and can be topped with a “Promise” Stylized Heart Cake Topper. This takes the essence of the miniature cake idea and makes is affordable, but still very interesting.

You also can pattern your elegant wedding favors after ideas from celebrities. Adam Sandler handed out Krispy Kreme doughnuts, his favorite snack, to guests as he toured the reception. Another celebrity groom had waiters hand out fast food hamburgers and cheeseburgers, served on silver chafing dishes. One bride handed out personalized heart candies to all the guests.

You can take those ideas and incorporate them to fit your own style or preferences. Personalized place card holders or favor cards can be shaped like a heart and include a message from the bride and groom to the guest. Mini slot machines favors can also set the mood if your wedding has a style. One fisherman in New England used miniature fish candies as a party favor that reflected his interests and professions but was not so dominating that it obscured other more traditional favors.

Other ideas celebrities have used that you can “pirate,” but less expensively, include only serving a “signature” drink at the reception. One celebrity served white rice wine at all the tables and champagne for a toast, but only a specific type of margarita at the bar. The drink was the couple’s personal favorite.

Another celebrity handed out miniature picture frames to all the guests with a promise of a wedding print later. The frames this celebrity handed out was silver, but you can find cheaper alternatives either online or at any store that sells wedding items in bulk. Silver plated frames usually cost under $3 for instance.

Ideas for ambiance also can be borrowed from celebrity weddings. Candlelight always sets a mood, but rather than expensive candlesticks, how about using inexpensive colored dishes and floating candles? Another idea is to have jars of candy at each table that mirror your theme or have your initials personalized on them. Mason Jars, if your theme is country, the beach or vintage also make inexpensive holders for candles or candy.

You also can incorporate something special to the bride in her dress or other items as one celebrity did with her flower holder handle. Snip a piece of lace from the bride’s mother’s wedding dress and include it as part of the bride’s outfit. No one will know but the bride most likely, but it will carry sentiment for both her and the groom.

Celebrity weddings are fascinating in part because of the people involved, but most of us pay attention because of the lavishness that the incredibly rich can afford. We like to hear about the extravagance as for most of us, the concept of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a wedding is pure fantasy. Using the creativity that celebrity wealth affords, however, can make your wedding memorable, fun and entertaining.

Even if there are no paparazzi to harass you as you leave for the honeymoon.