Buying Wedding Cakes: Tips And Helpful Advice

Generally, wedding cakes are is the conventional cake being dished up to the guests at the breakfast after the wedding. It is characterized as a huge cake, different from the usual cakes we have on ordinary occasions. In most cases, wedding cakes are layered or multi-layered and are heftily decorated with icing, beads, and other embellishments that would reflect the grandiose of the event. On the top is a small image of a bride and groom.

Wedding cakes can go from the simplest to the most complex decorations; each has its own artistic distinctions depending on the creative juices of the baker. They should conform to the main purpose of the cake, that whatever embellishments it possess, it can still be edible and can be eaten.

Because the wedding cake is such an important part in the wedding celebration, here are some tips you need to know in case you will be buying a wedding cake in the future.

1. Check on the length of time required for you in ordering your wedding cake.
   

   Time is such an important factor when making wedding plans. Of course, you would not want your wedding be hurriedly done or rushed. Because the wedding cake is a part of the wedding plan, it is important to devote an appropriate time in ordering wedding cakes.

   It is best to ask your favorite bakeshop on the time frame that they usually give with regards to wedding cake so that you can make early orders if it will take such a long time to create your wedding cake. In this way, you will not be in a hurry coming up with a wedding cake to be served on your wedding day.

2. Verify the details of the cake and its cost.
   

   A lot of couples are so fascinated with the luscious treats that go with their wedding cake. What they do not know is that each embellishment and every twists and turns embedded in the cake has a price.

   Therefore, it would be better to clear it out with your baker how much will be the cost of every decoration are added features you wish to add on your wedding cake.

3. Tell your baker about the details of your wedding.
   

   In today’s modern world, weddings are not just done in the church. A lot of ideas had come up in terms of wedding venues. Therefore, if ever you have any plans of having your wedding by the beach or anywhere else where it is open, it would be better to inform your baker about this.

   In most cases, icings are vulnerable to environmental hazards. So, if the baker knows that your wedding will be a garden wedding or a wedding by the beach, he could make such arrangements with your cake in order to endure the environmental conditions where it will be placed.

4. In a budget? Why not decorate your own wedding cake.
   

   It is not so uncommon nowadays to find somebody decorating his or her own wedding cake. In fact, it is a feasible idea especially to those who have a very tight budget.

   All you have to do is to order a plain wedding cake and buy the decorations from the retail stores.

So, set aside some special decisive moment when it comes to your wedding cake because there would be no better way to glamorize your wedding than to have a perfectly made wedding cake.

Tips For A Great Wedding Portrait

Each and every important event that happens in a person’s life should ideally be commemorated through portraits; because pictures, as the saying goes, can convey more than a thousand words. Through portraits, you’ll be able to remember just how it was that day, the people you were with and the relationships you had with them.

Of all occasions, it’s weddings though that has an absolute need to be memorialized in portraits. After all, for most people, you only get married once so the event is incomparably special. If you are about to be married, do have a wedding portrait made of yourself, the more the merrier. And if you’re worried about what you should do and consider when it comes to wedding portraits, here are a few tips.

A wedding portrait done in real-time could take a few hours or even days to be made, depending on the want and skill of an artist. If you prefer to have your wedding portrait done in this fashion, you may be forced to do so after the wedding already. On the other hand, you could also try considering having your wedding portrait based on photos taken of the occasion. This could be more practical, albeit less romantic, as you would have a lot of poses to choose from.

Ideally, a wedding portrait contains only the figures of the bride and the groom. But remember, this is your wedding so it’s what you two want that counts. If you feel that you prefer a wedding portrait done of the whole family then by all means, do so.

If you opt to have your wedding portrait done with your family and/or friends, keep in mind that it would probably be best if you just have a photo of the whole group taken then give this to the artist.

Last but certainly not the least, it’s time to think about poses and settings. After all, these factors have great influence on how a portrait turns out. Naturally, if you’re willing to have your wedding portrait based on photos, you would have a wider selection of photos to choose from and more freedom when it comes to the settings.

A bride could have her picture taken just before she leaves her home, as she steps out of the car and so on. The two lovebirds may also opt to have the moment they released the doves crystallized for eternity. On the other hand, if you decide to have your wedding portrait done at the studio, you’ll be able to determine which pose for the two of you is better.

Tips for Planning Wedding Flowers

When planning your wedding flowers you must consider them to be the bride’s arrangements, reflecting the spirit of her life’s happiest day. From bouquets to decorations and wedding reception flowers, many brides are clueless about which one of them to select.

Flowers should be chosen according to the bride and groom preferences, color of the bride and bridesmaids’ dresses, church and reception places, and sticking to the decoration theme, if any.

Another point to consider is the season because most floral varieties are easily found year-round, but seasonal flowers are cheaper and easier to find. Fresh flowers are the most viable option when it comes to planning the wedding day, but a few brides prefer dried flowers or artificial ones made of silk.

Having an overall perspective of the flowers available throughout the different seasons of the year may help to save money on flowers and yet allow you to select the most appropriate flowers for the big day. Wedding Flowers can be classified into Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Anytime categories.

Spring Wedding Flowers to choose from are tulips, violets, greenery, fern, pansies, peonies, ivy, daffodils, lilacs, lilies and lily of the valley, dogwoods, irises, forsythia branches, hyacinth, larkspur, sweet peas, apple or cherry blossoms.

For summer, the seasonal Wedding Flowers are daisies, roses, dahlias, zinnias, asters, iris, larkspur, Shasta, stock, calla lilies, delphinium, geraniums, hydrangeas, sunflower, sweet William, greenery, beech leaves, ferns, meadowsweet, stock, goldenrod, Jacobs ladder and Queen Anne’s Lace.

During the fall, most wedding arrangements include both flowers and foliage but not necessary. The mix of these elements is always a decision of the bride who can choose from a single flower theme to combined floral arrangements with or without specific foliage any time of the year.

In Autumn, Wedding flowers include asters, dried hydrangeas, roses, zinnias, statice, marigolds, chrysanthemums and gerbera daisies while the most commonly used foliage are autumn leaves, yarrow, rosemary and rosehip.

Wedding Flowers for winter include the classic poinsettias, as well as orchids, amaryllis, camellias, jasmine and forget-me-nots in addition to accents of pine, ivy, fem, spruce and rhododendron leaves, so there is no need for dried or artificial flowers as many brides still believe.

Apart from the flowers already mentioned, there are some others available anytime when brides seek fresh flowers, including a variety of carnations and roses, besides of gardenias, baby’s breath, snapdragons, stephanotis and ivy mainly used in wedding bouquets.

Wedding flowers are part of your special day, but can take a large portion of the wedding budget if not planned in advance. However, their importance should not be underestimated because they are symbol of joyful celebration, prosperity and fertility contributing to the atmosphere of love joining the bride and groom’s lives together.

Tips On Choosing Your Wedding Invitations

This is your big day and you want everything to be absolutely perfect, so the invitation is the best way to send the right impression to your guests. You want to show the theme of your wedding as well as give important details, so there’s a lot to consider.

Setting the tone

If you’re a fun loving person, then there’s no need to pick a stodgy old wedding invitation. And why would you? You want to show your guests the real you (and that includes both soon-to-be spouses) as well as what they can expect for the events of the afternoon or evening.

Decide with your fiancé or fiancée what the overall theme of the wedding will be. If you’re stumped on that, perhaps you can choose more than one idea and figure out invitations for each. A lot of couples will actually choose a theme from the invitation, rather than the other way around.

Not only are the pictures or illustrations on the invitation a way to show guests the colors and the atmosphere, but the wording can be a sign as well. By choosing casual phrases like ‘May 28’ instead of the ‘28th of May in the Year of Our Lord,’ you can signal to the recipient that your reception and ceremony may be a little less formal.

Buying or making?

Of course, you may have looked in various bridal magazines or at print shops for wedding ideas, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to purchase them. A lot of couples decide that they want to make their own and add another personal touch to their wedding affair.

But for the busy couple, having your invitations made to order is the best course of action. By looking at samples and choosing the wording that you would like, the invitations will be personalized (even the envelopes can be printed for your convenience), so all you have to do is buy stamps and find the nearest mailbox.

If you have a little more time and patience, then you may want to consider creating your own wedding invitation. You will find that this process takes a bit longer than you think, but the results are tremendous.

Sit down with that book of samples for the printed invitations and see if there are any that you like, and can duplicate. Many times you can even use a home computer to do the printing for you.

5 Tips To Select The Best Wedding Reception Location

Being disc jockeys, we get the opportunity to evaluate many reception facilities while having little or no bias to “sell” one location over another. Most Brides and Grooms know where they will be holding the ceremony before they decide where to have the reception, so we have compiled five observations that can help you when selecting your venue.

Distance - If people have to drive a long way to get from the ceremony to the reception, some will get distracted or decide to do something else. Try to keep the reception within a 15 to 30 minute drive of your ceremony. If it is not possible to get a reception hall close to your ceremony, make a caravan. Have the Bride and Groom lead the parade, and people will follow you to your reception.

Time - Time is just like the distance issue. If your reception is several hours after the ceremony, people will get busy doing other things and not show up for the reception. Try to start the reception within an hour or two of the ceremony. If you don’t want to start your wedding dance at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, have a Meet and Greet mixer before your reception. Serve some punch and get people to mingle. This will be one of the few times that both families will be together. Encourage family members to share stories about your childhoods.

Size - People like their personal space, and they have most likely spent an hour packed into a church for your ceremony. If you let them spread out, they will enjoy themselves more. Make sure your reception hall has plenty of room for your guests. The people renting the location might tell you it holds 200 people, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will hold 200 people comfortably! Make sure to visit the venue before booking.

Climate Control - Having a summer wedding? Is your reception hall air conditioned? If people sweat while just sitting, they won’t dance. On the flip side, if they are cold they won’t dance either (who wants to dance in a parka?). Also make sure you know who has control of the thermostat so the temperature can be adjusted if needed. Chances are your reception will be warm and stuffy while all the guest are there, but as they trickle out during the night the room will begin to cool down.

Smoking - This is a hot button issue, but if your reception hall is non-smoking, you can fully expect smoker’s to leave your reception for 15-30 minutes every hour. If enough of them leave the reception area, you may find a large percentage of your guest just hanging out in the smoking area. This can be a big problem if you have many smokers in your wedding party. You don’t have to allow smoking, but it is something you should consider, especially if anyone has any health problems like asthma or allergies that could be triggered by smoke. If you decide not to allow smoking in the reception area, how close is the nearest place for a smoker to go? Is it close enough that you will be able to get needed wedding party members during events like the bouquet toss or garter auction?

Facility coordinators will no doubt bring up several other factors for you to consider when you interview them for your booking, but these are often missed items, especially if they don’t favor the potential venue. If you keep the overall picture in mind and work with your wedding planner or event coordinator on the decorating ideas, you will no doubt have an enjoyable and memorable wedding reception.

Choosing The Perfect Wedding Hair Style: Tips And Advice

The same frustrations with hair that plague women in daily life often show up during wedding preparations. While you will begrudgingly accept a “bad hair day” every once in a while, you don’t want to have such a day with your wedding hair style. You want everything to be perfect, right? Well, very few things about weddings or life for that matter are perfect. It is better to focus on how you can do your best. When it comes to your wedding hair style, there are some ways that you can attempt to make sure your wedding hair style doesn’t turn into a “bad hair day.”

If you purchase your wedding dress from a bridal shop, the consultants will undoubtedly show you accessories for your hair, such as a tiara, flowers, or headband that complement your dress. Wearing a headdress will influence your wedding hair style. You will need to inform your hairstylist if you intend to wear a headdress. The stylist will want to create a wedding hair style for you that not only accommodates a headdress, but that also stays in place when you remove the headdress.

In addition to what you are wearing, the wedding hair style you choose to wear on your wedding day should first reflect the style of wedding you are planning to create. Are you planning a formal or informal ceremony? A wedding hair style that is dramatic is appropriate for a formal wedding, while a hair style that is more playful and loose is appropriate for an informal ceremony held at a beach, for example.

Last minute decisions are common during wedding preparations. One thing you don’t want to put at the end of your checklist is what wedding hair style you are going to wear. If you don’t have a hair stylist, find one in advance of your wedding. You don’t want a wedding hair style that is tacky and you definitely don’t want a hair stylist who won’t deliver a special wedding hair style. It is customary for brides and bridesmaids to block off four hours or more before the wedding ceremony to obtain their wedding hair style. Be sure your hairstylist can accommodate this or make other arrangements. It’s a good idea to avoid having the bridesmaids take care of their own wedding hair style. Otherwise, the result could be everyone with a different wedding hair style.

Although your hairstylist can offer suggestions for your wedding hair style, it is a good idea to give them some idea of what you like. Browse popular bridal magazines and other magazines featuring various hairstyles until you find a wedding hair style that appeals to you.

Make Your Wedding Special With These Bridesmaids Tips

It is customary to honor your bridesmaids for their participation in your wedding with a gift of appreciation. Traditional gifts include a piece of jewelry such as earrings or a necklace that complements their bridesmaids dress and can be worn on the wedding day but many bridesmaids will truly appreciate a more unique gift idea. With careful consideration you may be able to give your bridesmaids gifts that show your appreciation for their assistance and also demonstrate that you understand their personality as well.

Camping is one alternative to the traditional bachelor party. You may choose to either rough it by backpacking to a location with only the gear on your back to help you survive the elements for a few days or you could choose to drive to a spa facility that offers well appointed cabins and five star gourmet meals. Whichever option you choose, you are bound to have a great deal of time relaxing and enjoying the company of the rest of the participants in your bachelor party. A camping trip offers the groom a quiet atmosphere to reflect with his friends on the journey he is about to take.

Sporting events are another great alternative to the usual bachelor party ideas. You may find that married life does not offer you as much free time to spend with your friends as you used to have so take this chance to enjoy a little bit of fun with your friends. Whether you choose to partake in a sport of your choice or purchase tickets to see your favorite professional athletes it is sure to be a great opportunity to bond with your male friends in the last few days before your wedding.

It is wise to try choosing a sport that all of your guests will be able to participate in especially if you plan to include very young or very old guests. In this situation playing a game of football may not be the best idea but taking everyone to play a round of golf might be an activity that all of the guest can enjoy.

Personalized cosmetics bags can also be used as unique bridesmaids gifts. You could purchase attractive cosmetic bags and have them embroidered with your bridesmaids’ initials and the date of your wedding. Another nice touch with this gift is to include a few items such as lipstick or nail polish that complement each of your bridesmaids’ style and complexion.

Co-ed bachelor parties that coincide with the bachelorette party are becoming increasingly popular as well. One common practice involving these adjunct parties is to have the bachelors and bachelorettes meet at separate restaurants for dinner and then join each other at a nightclub to cap off the night with some dancing and a few drinks. These types of parties can be a great deal of fun because they allow both the bride and the groom some time apart to spend time with their friends and then they reunite the couple at the end of the night in a chance for them to spend time with all of their friends without the pomp and circumstance that is likely to accompany their wedding reception.

Unique gift ideas for the bridesmaids can also stem from the wedding theme. For example if you are having a beach themed wedding you might want to give your bridesmaids a gift of a tote bag, a beach towel and a novel to enjoy on the beach. This unique gift idea ensures that your bridesmaids will remember your wedding fondly the next time they are at the beach. Traditional bridesmaid’s gifts such as jewelry and jewelry boxes are always welcomed but if you have a large group of friends and most of them will be bridesmaids several more times as more of your friends get married it might be nice to give your bridesmaids a gift that is unique. Unique gift ideas convey your message of appreciation but also let the bridesmaids know that you put a great deal of effort into choosing their gift.

Wedding Hair Style Tips: Choose Your Wedding Day Hairstyle Carefully

Women like to look glamorous, elegant and sexy on their wedding day so they usually take the time to choose an extravagant dress, stunning shoes and make up, and then there is the hair style. Whoa boy! Women usually have a stylist visit them when they are getting ready for the wedding, which costs a fortune, or they visit the parlour early in the morning before their wedding to get their chosen hair style done.

A woman’s hair may be her crowning glory, but getting a new ‘do’ just before a big event in your life can be a major mistake. Plan ahead with any chemical treatments – bleaching, colouring, streaking, perming or straightening – and if you’re considering any radical changes in length or style do it at least six to eight weeks before the big event, this way it gives you and your hair time to adjust together and get a “working relationship” on the go.

On your wedding day, hundreds of eyes will be on you, and your chosen wedding hair style can either complete the picture or detract from it. That is why it is so important to choose the perfect formal hairstyle well in advance of the big day so that you and your stylist can get it right and make custom additions to your wedding hair style. Nothing is worse than a hastily crafted coif decided upon only minutes before the ceremony, take the time with your stylist to go over what looks suit you and what looks don’t, obviously avoid the looks that don’t suit you. Larger figures should wear their hair up as this draws attention and slims the face down, slimmer brides should look at curls which accentuate the face and shoulders.

Men may seem as though they don’t care about their wedding hair style and women are none the wiser to it, but in fact the bride groom spends at least 15 minutes making sure all the gel is in the correct plane and he has no sticky up bits!!

A great wedding hair style is crucial, especially for those wedding pictures, make sure it’s not some kind of style which is going to fall all over the place or is going to be blown around in high winds! That way you can be sure of looking great in those pictures!

4 Tips to Help Write Personal Wedding Vows

A person’s wedding is one of the most memorable, important, and high points in an individual’s life. At a time when a man and a woman want to make the ultimate commitment to spend the rest of their lives together, the desire to have personalized vows is certainly understandable. This is one of the most unique and special days in a person’s life, so if you want to speak your own personal wedding vows, than by all means, you should go for it!

Writing your own vows can be intimidating. Wedding days always add pressure to even the most mundane of tasks, and certainly writing the vows you want to say to your significant other in front of all your friends and family is no small matter! Still, don’t let fear cause you to go along with some basic commonly used wedding vows if you really want that personalized touch. Just follow a few basic tips, and this will help you be on your way to writing the tips your future spouse deserves!

1. Write from the heart . Your wedding day represents the epitome of love between you and your future spouse. The two of you are together for a reason. Anything you write should be honest and from your heart, because that is what will really make your words special.
2. You don’t have to be Robert Frost or Emily Dickinson. If you are a poet, great. Keep in mind, though, that in the end words are just words. Your wedding vows do not have to be an amazing classic piece of literature—they need to be an honest display of your feelings for the other person. Don’t use long poetical words if all it does is put distance between your words and your feelings.
3. It’s okay to brainstorm. Before you set down to write everything, make a list of the things about your spouse that you absolutely love about your spouse, then make a list of the commitments you want to make. Figure out what parts of those lists you really want to include (keep in mind the vows are read in front of families and friends) and keep those.
4. Short and Sweet. It doesn’t take many words or a lot of time to make your heart known to everyone present. A lot can be said in a really short time, so don’t feel like you have to make the vows any longer than they naturally come out.

Follow these four tips, and you’ll find yourself getting over your worries to write some great wedding vows that your spouse will love!

Beautiful Wedding on a Budget

Few people realize that having a beautiful wedding does not require spending their entire savings.

If you’re planning a wedding, learning where to cut costs and how to budget will leave you with money to spare.

“There are many ways to have the wedding of your dreams without the nightmare of huge bills,” said Anna Griffin, wedding industry expert and designer of the Wedding Studio line of wedding products. “You just have to be resourceful.”

Here are some tips from Griffin on how to create a designer wedding on a budget.

• For something old, wear a vintage wedding dress. You can save hundreds on a wedding gown by shopping in consignment or vintage shops, in newspaper classifieds and on the Internet. You also can update your mother’s, grandmother’s or aunt’s wedding dress with a new neckline or hemline, beading or lace.
• Print your own invitations. There are many wedding accessories that can be made instead of bought – the veil, the centerpieces and even the invitations. Do-it-yourself kits are available to help you create designer looks without the designer price tags.

The Wedding Studio, for example, is an entire line of paper-related wedding accessories – from invitations to menu cards to guest books and photo albums – designed for brides who want original and elegant paper goods. The invitation kit comes in four styles in three color options and includes envelopes, reply cards and printing instructions.

• Use an antique or classic car instead of a limousine. Contact a local antique or classic car club to rent a luxury vehicle, such as a 1939 Rolls-Royce or a 1952 Cadillac DeVille. Most of the owners will be thrilled to loan out their cars and you’ll have more than enough room for the married couple at a much lower price. And, whereas a limousine is rented for a couple of hours, you have the benefit of keeping the antique vehicle for 24 hours or longer.
• Keep the flowers simple. Instead of hiring a florist, contact a floral-design school and hire students to provide you with flower arrangements. You also can create your own flower arrangements. Buy one color of flower in bulk. It creates a visual impact while saving money. Contact a wholesale florist; many will sell flowers directly to the consumer.

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