Posts Tagged ‘wedding reception’

Congratulations – You’re Getting Married

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Now that you have shared your happy news with family and friends the fun really starts. It’s time to actually start planning your wedding; wedding reception ideas, bridal bouquets, wedding favor ideas and dress ideas will be swimming around in that little loved-up head of yours!

Take a deep breath and relax because the BIG question you’re already asking yourself is… “Where do I start?”

Well, the only way to successfully plan your perfect wedding is to start with your wedding reception ideas. Treat yourself to a few bridal magazines [you've always wanted to buy one and now you can with that rock on your finger!]. Start looking around in haberdashery departments and put together a collection of the materials, styles and colors that appeal to you. These will provide the essential ingredients for your wedding reception ideas board or scrapbook or however you choose to present them.

Your ideas can then spiral off in a multitude of different directions as you start to consider wedding themes, wedding favor ideas, color themes and style themes, etc. It is truly essential to set the tone of your wedding first and then everything else falls in to place. For example, if your bridal gown shop knows you are going for a traditional “ivory and gold” theme, she can then advise you on gowns to suit this theme. In addition, you can then advise your wedding favor supplier that any ideas for wedding favors must fit within this theme.

Wedding favors come in all different styles and design. They range from candle favors, chocolate favors, cd wedding favors, beach themed favors and many more. You can even personalize your favors to make them unique to your guests.

In these early days, there is no need to ask for the groom’s comments – wait until you have narrowed down some ideas before you present them to him. He won’t really respond to “do you like this?” and “what about this?” being thrown at him 50 times a day. It is far better to approach your groom once you have narrowed down groomsmen ideas, color ideas, wedding reception ideas, wedding favor ideas, etc to a minimum. You will also get a more honest answer from him. Don’t forget, even though ideas for wedding favors have completely taken over your life for the moment, he might not share your enthusiasm at this early stage of the preparations.

Throughout your ideas stage, you must not forget your wedding guests. Fundamentally, it is your day, however every girl wants their wedding remembered for its class and elegance. The one way that guests will treasure your wedding memories is by the giving of unique wedding favors. Second to your wedding themes and wedding reception ideas, you must consider wedding favor ideas carefully. Once your beautiful day is over and you’re embarking on married life, you want your guests to look back at their favor boxes and bomboniere and reminisce!

However you plan your wonderful day, and whichever of your original wedding reception ideas and ideas for wedding favors you choose, have a special day and a magical married life thereafter!

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What To Wear At Your Reception

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

You’ve dreamed of the perfect wedding reception for years. You know exactly what you want and you’ve envisioned all the details from what the cake looks like to what the guests are wearing. But how do you make sure the guests wear the attire you’d like them to wear? Well, you could ask them.

Invitations often have a line added that mentions attire, such as “formal attire” or “casual attire”, and wedding invitations are no exception. What follows is a list of different attire labels and their descriptions.

Casual
This means pretty much anything is acceptable without being trashy or inappropriate for public viewing. This might be your choice if you are having an informal backyard barbeque reception.

Dressy Casual
When you want them to dress nicer than they would dress for “everyday”, dressy casual means slacks, button-down shirt and perhaps a blazer for the men, and dressy pants and a nice blouse for the women.

Semi-formal
This attire is definitely more dressy than casual or dressy casual. The men should wear suits and ties whereas the women should wear short dresses.

Informal
Same as semi-formal.

Casual Evening
Really the same as dressy casual except they might wear darker “night time” colors. A nice shirt and slacks on the guys and dressy pants and a pretty blouse for the gals.

Black Tie
Using this label means you want your guests to come formally attired in tuxes and long gowns or very dressy cocktail dresses with elegant bling.

Formal
Same as black tie attire.

Black Tie Optional
This means tuxes or dark suits with ties for the men, and long dress, cocktail dress, or dressy pantsuit for the women. If they don’t wear tuxes and long dresses, they should still be very dressed up.

Cocktail
Cocktail attire calls for short dresses and heels for the ladies and dark suits for the gentlemen.

Festive
This attire comes in to play at times such as Christmas. Females get to wear extra theme-appropriate bling or sparkly blouses or sweaters, and males might add a Santa tie to their suit.

Redneck
Time for people to pull out their cutoffs, tank tops, and flip flops and slap on a couple temporary tattoos! :)

In case you were wondering, putting the preferred attire on the invitation is not pushy; many people are relieved to know how you would like them to dress. If you decide not to put it on the invitation, people will generally look at the time of day and the wedding reception location for clues.

If it’s an afternoon wedding guys will probably wear sports coats and casual slacks while women wear dresses ranging from informal sun dresses to cocktail dresses.

If it’s an evening wedding expect to see more dark suits on the men and cocktail dresses on the ladies.

Keep in mind that even if you put your desired attire on the invitation it does not guarantee everyone will follow it. Remember that you are merely giving a suggestion and even though there are those who will wear what they want, your wedding and reception will still be the magical event you dreamed of.

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