Beach Weddings

I love beaches, there is no hiding it. Yet unlike other people, I love a quiet stretch of beach without other vacationers milling around. You may have a different reason for loving the beach but I bet you wouldn’t say no to a June wedding at the beach as well. The beach is in fact one of the most inspiring and romantic places to hold a wedding at. What do you need to consider when planning for a beach wedding?

Of course the first thing should be which beach to hold your wedding at. There are thousands of beaches all over the world but you can only make use of one. As such, you have to choose the perfect location for your wedding. If you live in Florida or California, or any other place with good beaches, then you are in luck. If you live inland then you would have to consider traveling to the beach you favor. That would make your wedding a destination wedding. Whatever you decide on, the important thing is that you pick the location which suits you perfectly.

Another thing that you have to consider is the cost. This actually stems from the fact that you might have to hold your wedding at a place quite far from your home. This would apply especially to those who are going to hold a destination wedding. Travel expenses, lodging, licenses and permits, and of course the food, flowers, and other normal wedding expenses are all part of this consideration.

You also have to put a little more time into planning the whole thing. The time is one important consideration. Do you want to say your vows under a perfect beach sunset? Or maybe you want to hold it early in the morning under the soft rays of the sun. Whichever you may prefer, check the local weather patterns and other related reports so as to avoid any inadvertent events.

Your outfit – and the rest of the wedding party’s as well – would have to be tailor made to suit a beach wedding. Getting married on the beach may be one of the most romantic things on earth but there are other practical considerations too. Try walking on the sand in high heels and you will know what I mean. That is only one thing, actually. In the next post, I’ll share some more tips for a beach wedding in detail.

June Wedding - Go Organic

I have heard about all sorts of themes for weddings but this one seems to beat them all. You all know about how going organic has been the trend for many things these past few years. I never thought the trend would extend to weddings though! It is true, though. Some couples are now opting for an organic wedding for their June wedding. It seems to be a good idea, I have to admit. So what exactly is an organic wedding?

The main theme revolves around three concepts: recycle, re-use, and reduce. It is pretty much a wedding exalting the environment. We have to admit, with the environmental crisis that we are all facing, this is a very way to go about planning a June wedding.

As this concept is fairly new, it would be a good idea to get hold of a wedding consultant who has had some degree of experience in planning green weddings – which is actually an alternative term for organic weddings. They are basically wedding consultants who know all about the traditional ways of planning weddings with the plus of being environment conscious.

One other important consideration in planning an organic wedding is the venue. More than looking for a romantic venue, a couple wanting a green wedding should also consider other factors such as the presence of recycling containers, the use (or actually the “un-use”) of chemical pesticides for the lawn and other greenery, and the like. You can also further contribute to the conservation of the environment by arranging transport for your guests so as to cut back on fuel consumption and emissions as well. Other ideas for a venue would include places that promote the environment. Museums, botanical gardens, and eco-friendly resorts are a few options.

You should also take into consideration the materials to be used for your wedding rings, jewelry, and wedding gown. Fair trade diamonds, traditional crafts, antique jewelry are a few ideas. As for the wedding gown and the groom’s attire, you can consider local designers or dressmakers who make use of natural materials. Keeping in mind the concept of re-using, why not consider wearing your mother’s old wedding gown? If you want to take it one step further, go to eBay and find a used one (this might not be a very attractive idea for some, I know).

The fact is that there are so many ways in which you can apply the three concepts mentioned above. It is up to you and your creativity.

June Weddings - Their Origin

For as long as I can remember, getting married in June seemed to be the right thing to do. That is why when an aunt of mine got married in December, I couldn’t quite understand why. Come to think of it, I never understood why people wanted to get married in June either. So where did tradition stem from? Remember that cliché all roads lead to Rome? Well, June weddings can also be traced back to the Ancient Roman times.

For one, the Romans placed special attention to June weddings because that month was the time when they paid special obeisance to Juno, the goddess of marriage. As such, getting married in June was deemed lucky. We all know how the gods of the ancient times were very much involved in day to day living. On the other hand, it was not all luck and superstition that had it going for June weddings. It also had a practical aspect to it. If a couple got married in June, it meant that if the wife conceived, she would give birth before harvest time. This translated to the fact that she would be well enough to work the fields come harvest time.

There you are – the nitty gritty stuff about June weddings. With time, however, these reasons faded into the background. People of the modern times merely held on to the tradition that June is a good time to get married and that there is no other more romantic month than this. I have been trying to come up with modern reasons for June being the wedding month. I have done research and racked my brains but to no avail. Unfortunately, I think it is all based on the age old tradition which many do not know about now.

No matter what the reason may be though, June weddings are still quite popular today (though probably not as much as before). With the month of June just peeking around the corner, countless couples are probably getting ready for their own wedding. Their reasons may vary but the fact remains that June is still the prime month for weddings. In the next few posts, let us look into different topics relating to weddings held in June. Though it may be a bit late to plan your own wedding for this June, it will only be a matter of time till the next June comes around.

The Control Freak’s Story

Have you ever wondered how a control freak plans a wedding? Here are some excerpts from an article written by a control freak who planned her own wedding:

…watching a control freak plan a wedding is like seeing how many jellybeans you can fit in your mouth: amusing for a little while, but in the end painful and likely to make you ill. I’ve been making myself sick for about two months now. It started with the date. Seems everyone thought they had a right to an opinion, including the Beloved. After much screaming, gnashing of teeth and a few threats to call the whole thing off, we agreed on a day. Okay, so the date’s set and I move on to the next phase. Picking a reception site.

Sounds easy doesn’t it. After two trips to the wedding city and looking at eleven places to satisfy my curiosity and belief that the very one I wouldn’t look at would be perfect and cheap. After eleven, Beloved called it quits. I started to cry. That’s when my control freak became painful. We chose the first site we looked at. Beloved remarked that he had known when we walked in it the first time that it was the one. Yeah, rub it in….

…Luckily, I was able to get help. Namely, my college roommate telling me that I was driving her crazy and to stop whining. I took a long look at myself. And I hit bottom. I had to admit to myself that I was a control freak.

Some little known fact about control freaks. It’s not that we’re so self-confident that we believe we’re always right. Instead, we’re paranoid. We’re convinced that no one has our best interests at heart and should we ever let down on our vigilance, we’d find ourselves homeless, friendless and sniffing glue…

This, of course, will not happen. I have taken the first step to letting go. I assigned Beloved to deal with music — all the music. My bridesmaids are picking their own dresses. And my mom is helping with the catering…

Rather than getting angry that no one is helping, I’m feeling relaxed for the first time since I got engaged. Every time I start to worry, I state my mantra of the wedding ‘At the end of the evening, all the guests will be too drunk to care.’ Sure, it’s not the serenity prayer, but it works.

Make The Most Out of Your PC

Tech lovers – or techies for that matter – will definitely appreciate this post. As you probably have already observed, technology has pervaded almost every aspect of our daily living. It has gone beyond entertainment purposes to educational purposes and more. When it comes to planning your dream wedding, why not make the most out of the technology available to you as well?

You need not be a rocket scientist to figure out that your personal computer and the Internet will be quite useful when it comes to planning your wedding. Planning your wedding using your PC can be as simple as getting ideas from various sites (such as this one). Your research can be general or very specific, depending on what you want and need. One thing that you can do online when planning your wedding is to get passages for readings, vows, invitations, and the like. You can get these passages for free or even modify them to suit your tastes better.

One very useful thing that the Internet has to offer when it comes to planning your wedding has to do with wedding gowns, tuxedos, and even the whole wardrobe of the wedding party! You can get ideas for designs and themes from various web sites online. You can then either order clothes online or print out the designs and have someone else make them for you. Other vital elements of a wedding can be found online as well. These include wedding singers, bands, DJs, ministers, venues, florists, caterers, and more.

More than these resources mentioned above, you can also find online wedding planner software that will make your planning much easier and more organized. Some of the programs are free while others may cost a minimal fee. What can these programs do for you? Different software have different features of course, however, the general idea behind wedding planning software is to give you a calendar and a check list by which you can monitor the tasks that you need to complete before the wedding as well as the time frame that you have.

It is true that countless people have planned weddings over the centuries without the help of the computer and the Internet. Yet it would be playing ostrich not to recognize what technology has to offer the bride and the groom. Just imagine how much easier and more organized it will be for you. So why not do some research and see if there is software that can help you?

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