If you want to follow tradition, you would probably go for the three tiered cake covered in icing. However, today, there are tons of choices to pick from. You can even let your creativity come into play and design your own cake! Here are some things to consider when thinking about your wedding cake.

Size. How big do you want your cake to be? How many guests are you going to invite? Aside from that, you should also consider if you are going to have friends who won’t be able to make it to the wedding – you may want to send them some cake afterwards.

Design. Once you have decided on the size, the design is vital to the “success” of your cake. As I mentioned earlier, you can follow the traditional design or you may opt for something else. Wedding magazines are a good venue to get some ideas. Visit different cake shops and look at their collection as well. If you have a specific idea of what you want your cake to look like, then it is easier for you. Just take your idea to the baker and see if he can make it.

Flavor. Of course, the wedding cake is meant for more than decoration. It is going to be eaten. As such, it has to taste good. There are really no restrictions anymore as to the flavor of wedding cakes. If you prefer a certain flavor then go for it. Though wedding cakes used to be white and thus vanilla flavored, there is no stopping you from having a chocolate cake. You can even have cheesecake, mousse, or any other flavor under the sun!

Just remember, decide on your wedding cake at least a month before the wedding. Many bakers require that orders be placed months in advance. Otherwise, you might have to settle for something ready made and not really to your taste.

Technorati Tags: weddings, wedding reception, wedding cakes

A wedding journal is one way to make your memories even more tangible. Later on down the road, you would certainly appreciate going down memory lane and revisiting one of the most momentous occasions in your life. How do you go about making your own wedding journal?

Why not start at the moment you get engaged? Go to your local bookstore or crafts shop and pick out a blank journal. Of course, you may not be able to carry this with you at all times so it would be a good idea to have a scratch pad handy to take around with you. This way, you can write your thoughts and feelings any time you want to. Later on, you can transfer these into your journal. You can even turn it into a scrap book and add photos and other memorabilia. You will be sure to have tons of these as you plan your wedding.

What can you write in your wedding journal? Starting from your engagement, you can write about the proposal and your feelings about that. Later on, you can write about events and happenings related to your wedding planning. From the choosing of the venue, the theme, the people involved, and more, you can jot all these down and document your activities.

So what is the point in keeping a wedding journal? After all, you may be thinking, the wedding ceremony itself will be well documented with videos and pictures. Still, a wedding is not a stand alone event. As you probably already know, a wedding is the result of months of planning. You would probably go through a lot – both good and bad – in the months prior to your wedding. Documenting these times may even be more precious as time passes by. More so, writing things down can help alleviate some of the stress that you will surely be undergoing. Much like other journals, let your wedding journal be your outlet in times of pressure.

Technorati Tags: weddings, wedding preparation, wedding planning, wedding stress, wedding journal

Another trend with weddings has something to do with giving back to the environment or humanity in general. We talked about organic weddings a few posts back – these fall under this trend. Awareness of social and environmental issues has grown over the years. Weddings have not escaped this trend. As such, we are seeing more of environmental weddings, weddings wherein favors and gifts are given to charitable causes and the like. If you are the type to lean towards good causes, then this trend is definitely the one for you.

Going back to clothes and decorations, one of the most popular themes includes the use of embellishments such as embroidery and lace. The more intricate and delicate the décor, the better it is. However, these decorations are not only limited to the bride’s and bridesmaids’ gowns but can also be applied to table cloths, runners, and even to invitations and other decorations used in the wedding. Along these lines, dresses used for weddings tend towards having sleeves. This is because sleeves can be made from lace and other similar materials.

What about entertainment? This is the trend for this year as well. Usually, the cocktail hour is spent for photography sessions and guests milling around. Now, it is made more enjoyable by having live music and other forms of entertainment. Some of the more interesting forms of entertainment that have been used for this purpose are flamenco dancers and other traditional or exotic performances, impersonators, fortune tellers, and even fire eaters.

A note before we end, these are only trends. It does not mean that you have to follow what other people are doing. If you have your own ideas in mind, then put them into reality by all means!

Technorati Tags: weddings, wedding trends, 2007 weddings, destination weddings

First trend: glam. Yes indeed, glamorous weddings are in this year. Say goodbye to the simple and quiet wedding. The trend this year is to shout it out to the rest of the world and let everyone know about your wedding. Elegance and sophistication are the themes for this year’s weddings. Then again, this is just a trend and it does not mean that you should follow it. Good for those who have a taste for the glamorous, though!

Second trend: pay particular attention to the back of the wedding dress. Common sense will tell us that most of the time, the wedding guests will be seeing the back of the bride as she will be facing the minister. As such, the trend is for embellished backs. No matter which style you choose for your dress, try to add a little more detail and flair to the back of your gown.

Third trend: go for something that will make a statement. This is in regard to the color theme for the wedding ceremony. From the bride’s gown and the groom’s suit to the flowers and decorations, the trend is to use rich and bold colors such as purple, gold, orange, and the like. Gone are the days of cute and sweet pastels. Of course, you have to choose something that you actually like. More than that, make sure the color of your gown will suit your skin tone as well. Making a statement does not mean that you should not take your aesthetics into consideration as well.

Fourth trend: be square! Being square is a good thing, when it comes to tables that is. Round and rectangular tables for the reception are not the in thing this year, mainly because square tables facilitate interaction among the guests better. More than that, it is easier to plan the layout of the reception area when using square tables. Adding decorations are also better with square tables.

Let us take a look at some more trends in the next post.

Technorati Tags: weddings, wedding trends, 2007 wedding, June 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.
[tags]weddings, destination weddings, June weddings, beach weddings[tags]

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?

1. Do a little research or canvassing to get a reality check BEFORE setting your budget. Around this time you will realize just how fancy or simply your wedding can be because it is also when you will realize just how much you can afford. You don’t have to do an exhaustive itemized research but simply go to wedding sites and find quotations there.

2. Set you maximum overall budget.

3. According to what you have researched and which aspects of the wedding is important to you create a pie chart dividing it into categories. The usual categories you need to budget for are the reception, attire, flowers, photo/video, music, invites, souvenirs, venue, cake, hair and make-up, and gifts. The reception is almost always the most expensive part and can take up to more than 50% of the entire budget. The next most expensive categories are usually the attire and flowers. However, this all depends on your choices. If you want to get married in a really popular place you might need to set aside more for the venue. On the other hand if you will be getting married in your mom’s dress then the attire will need a very little percentage since you’ll only need to spend money on re-fitting and dry cleaning.

4. Make a timeline. Yes when budgeting you shouldn’t just think about the figures but think about the dates as well. Try to figure out when you will be having an influx of money to pay for required reservation deposits so that you will be able to plan when you’ll be dishing out money. It makes sense to spread out your spending instead of paying for everything all at once. Besides paying early might get you discounts so plan these as well.

5. Get to the nitty gritty. Once you’ve made a general budget then it’s choosing time. Choose the dress, venue, caterer, invites, and everything else according to what you can accommodate with your budget. If your budget is a bit tight you’ll usually have to choose between sacrificing some details and making your guest list a bit smaller. Once you get to this portion you can adjust and ease up on a category’s budget if you realize you will actually need to spend less on something else.

A gift list is still in order. Actually it is even more important in cases like these because you have to really let people know what you can and cannot bring with you. However, since the list might be shorter than usual you might simply want to include a short note and list in the invitation instead of going out of your way to enlist the services of an online bridal registry.

You have several options if you are moving somewhere far away.

1. Cash and Gift Certificates – This are the easiest to bring. When requesting gift certificates though make sure they’re online certificates or GCs that have stores in the location you are going to. If you are moving somewhere like Papua New Guinea chances are that you won’t be able to use your gift certificates there so you’ll be left with the cash only option. It would be a good idea to take a picture of the “gift” you buy with your “wedding money” when you get settled down and send it along with your thank you notes.

2. Charity – Charity is always good. Instead of asking for gifts for yourselves you can request people to give cash or pledges to your favorites charities. This way you don’t get burdened with gifts you can’t bring along, you don’t feel shy about accepting the money, and you get to make the world a better place.

3. Fun stuff – You can ask people to give you pictures of you and your other half that they have, a silly or erotic love poem, a couple’s book or video, or some other small things you can bring and enjoy.

4. Use Online stores – If you really want to get gifts you can also use an online store that delivers you wherever you are headed. This way you will have all your gifts waiting for you at your new home.

Mention of the word California never fails to evoke images of bright sunshine and sandy beaches. It is perhaps one of the greatest places to hold your destination wedding at. Here are some specific locations for you to look at for your destination wedding.

Huntington Beach – Recently received the title of “Surf City” USA Huntington each is a wonderful location to have a sunset beach wedding at. You can either have a beach wedding or a chapel wedding either way the scenery and weather in and around Huntington beach is fabulous and your guests will have a wonderful time. It is very close to the Los Angeles Airport and there are some very classy hotels right on the beach. Your guests will have a great time with the downtown surfing night life scene with some great restaurants and fun bars as well as enjoy the beauty of the ocean.

Santa Barbara
One of the wealthiest places in California Santa Barbara is a thriving city. There are unlimited stretches of open beach and a wonderful downtown for fun. There is also the Santa Barbara mission and beautiful mountains right behind the city. These all make for an ideal wedding spot and in fact an ideal place to live. There is lots of hotels right down on the water front and many of them will help you in planning your wedding.

Malibu
Malibu is the beach of the Hollywood crown and a great place to see some of the movie stars! Malibu again has wonderful weather, a beautiful beach, and mountains all rolled into one. Along with a fun little city and some great night life your guests will love the destination and you will love the beauty of a beach wedding. The relaxed California atmosphere of the area is a wonderful beginning to a great wedding. All of your guests will be relaxed and enjoy themselves in this beautiful climate and hopefully you will even catch a glimpse of your favorite movie star.

Of course, a trip to Cali wouldn’t be complete without its other attractions apart from the beaches, let us take a look at those in the next post.

Technorati Tags: destination weddings, weddings, beaches, California