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This is an interesting article written for informal or modern wedding invitation wording.

There are a few rules you should keep in mind when wording your wedding invitation and stationery:

Who is inviting your guests?

The style of wedding invitation and dress code should match the wording of your wedding invitation

Check your spelling and grammar

Wedding invitation wording can be a contentious issue!!! The wedding invitation wording isn’t always based on who is paying or who is paying the most! Weddings are emotional times for families and friends, so it’s always best practice to be upfront and flexible.

If your preference is for a more modern, casual or relaxed wedding, you should consider the following when constructing your wedding invitation wording:

? Modern wedding invitation wording does not typically use titles before names

? Use relaxed language, eg. ‘&’ instead of ‘and’

? The inclusion of phone numbers and email address in RSVP details

Once again it is important to be clear about who is inviting your guests, with more modern wedding invitation wording your options increase. For example: the bride’s family may be hosting the guests, the bride and groom may be hosting the guests or the bride, groom and all parents may be hosting the guests!

Sample wedding invitation wording, where the bride, groom and all parents are hosting the guests.

Kay & Clint

together with their families

would love

…………………..

to celebrate their marriage

………………….

You may also like to incorporate the use of a short poem or romantic saying on your wedding invitation, for example:

You have shared in our children’s lives and now we

Alan & Robyn Stoles

are delighted to invite you,

Todd, Regan & Samantha

to celebrate the love and marriage of

Ava and Harrison

at

………………

on

……………

Once again, the wedding invitation wording and dress code could coordinate, for example if you would like a beach, cocktail or garden wedding, where the dress code is casual, lounge suit or after five, then your wedding invitation language should reflect this.

Another issue is which printer is the most suitable for printing your invitation.

The first question you should ask yourself when choosing to print your wedding invitations is, laser or inkjet?

Printer options can greatly affect your wedding stationery choices, below are some useful tips on what printer you can choose to print your wedding invitations.

If you are creating your own wedding invitations, the printer you are using can determine your paper choices. Many manufactures will state on their packaging what printer the paper is compatible with - test printing is always advised if you are unsure. Some papers with inclusions and most handmade papers are not print compatible at all, so choose wisely.

A useful tip to keep in mind when selecting your wedding invitation paper and stationery is, if the paper is metallic or pearlescent, it isn’t suitable for an inkjet printer. The wet ink does not adhere to the metallic/pearlescent surface of the paper and therefore will not dry and simply smudge off. You can purchase a special pouch to rub over these papers which places a coating on the paper and then you can use it in your inkjet printer. Once again, test printing is always advised.

If it does not state on the manufacturers labeling what printer the paper is compatible with, consult the customer service representative. Always ask which printer the paper is compatible with, this includes your envelopes.

What’s the difference between printers?

The difference between laser and inkjet printers is heat, toner and ink.

A laser printer works with heat and dry toner, like a photocopier and takes large barrel-type toner cartridges. Laser printers are usually more expensive to purchase, especially colour laser printers, however are generally more economical to run in terms of consumables (toner).

An inkjet printer works with wet ink and takes smaller flat box-type ink cartridges. Inkjet printers are usually less expensive to purchase compared to a laser printer, but are generally more expensive to run in terms of consumables (ink cartridges).

Laser printers will give your print work a sharper more professional finish and you don’t have to wait for the ink to dry.

Wedding Online

A sponsored wedding is not a new concept but a practical one. As the cost of weddings increase so does the realization of sponsorship. What does sponsorship actually mean? It can be as simple as getting a 70% discount on the purchase of invitations or as involved as a large cash injection of $10,000. So why would someone discount or for that matter give cash when they don’t even know the wedding couple. It is commonly referred to as “cross promotion” where you bring on common interest partners that tastefully share in the success of your wedding day or event.

Most sponsors are looking to somehow tie their products or services in with the event itself. Like any advertiser the end product must be to heighten the awareness of the Sponsor and their level of participation in the event. Such as, if a Sponsor gave you 70% off of a service that would have cost you $1900 , the level of participation for that Sponsor is $1330 ( which is your net savings). Now the question is, how do you give that value back to the Sponsor ? This can be done in many different ways but the main objective to remember is the level of awareness the Sponsor has traded in services. Such as offering the Sponsor advertising opportunities on a web site specifically set up for the event, a combination of print and web, tie in to a press junket ( a theme pre-event gathering where press are invited ), or many other combinations. For more information on wedding sponsorship visit www.sponsoryourwedding.com

Wedding Online

Your wedding day goes by so quickly, it’s just obvious that you’ll do everything in your power to preserve your memories! I can’t think of a better way of doing this that with a Wedding Scrapbook.

Its important to decide what your goal is before you enthusiastically approach your first page. Would this book only tell your wedding day tale or do you want it to include everything from the engagement to the honeymoon? Decide on a look and feel (romantic, vintage, clean) as well as on the colour scheme before you start this exciting project.

The most popular way is to go with your wedding colours, but it might be interesting to add a bit of extra colour, for example if your wedding colours were white and lilac, you can add silver and a deep purple to this, even a slight touch of pink. As long as the colours don’t overpower your photos - the extras should be subtle in order to make your photos the primary focus (the majority of the memorabilia can be stored in a nice memento box). You wouln’t want to look at this in 15 years and shreak, therefore its better to keep it simplistic, which will definitely guarantee a timeless and elegant look.

It would be wise to do your planning before you hit the shops. This would include how many pages your album would be, what photos and memorabilia you’d like to use etc. To create a personal, intimate feel, use the more spontaneous photos for scrap booking, the more posed photos can be framed or sent to family members, the remainder of the photos can be stored in a separate album. It’s a good idea to print a duplicate set to work with – this would give you peace as you’re working, knowing that your originals are safe.

Memorabilia you might want to include:

- Wedding and bridal shower invites

- Fabric from your dress (as well as any other fabric samples)

- Receipts

- Bridal registry

- Napkins

- Any form of printed material (menu, song-list etc, congrats and thank-you cards)

- Honeymoon tickets and extras

- Congrats and thank you cards

The foundation of a scrapbook is the journaling, sit down somewhere where you won’t be disturbed and go back to that special day – What did you feel when preparing for this big day, when the minister declared you husband and wife, sitting at the reception looking at your guests? When writing, be real and be yourself. We so often forget these very special moments, this way your memories will be preserved as long as you both shall live.

Bring in some of your friends or family’s thoughts - ask a few people you are close to, to write down a sentence or two on what it was that stood out for them on this day (supply them with nice paper or a colourful pen). Start the book with a dedication page – why you are creating this book, why your wedding day was such a special day etc. Some other pages you can add is “what I remember” or “what I was grateful for” or even “what didn’t matter at this stage” – as women we often plan this day and want it to be absolutely perfect, but when we are in the moment, we realize that that’s so not the point of this day.

As you create your book, be real and true - don’t only choose the perfect pictures – being real when choosing your photos and writing your love story will show throughout your book. And most of all, enjoy making this book and enjoy this season!

For info on wedding photographers in South Africa go to SA Wedding Photographers

Wedding

There is a wide misconception on exactly what a wedding sponsorship is. The type of people who seek out sponsors for their wedding are, for the most part people who understand budgeting. The concept of wedding sponsorship has been around for quite a while but still in some circles controversial. People have read articles and heard stories about couples who have gone this route and saved thousands of dollars in the process but the interesting thing about some of these couples, is that they could easily afford the wedding in the first place. So why go through the process of locating sponsors? Could it be that it just made “good sense”. Now I would have said “business sense” but that’s where it gets controversial. I have listened to heated arguments about this exact topic, almost as if the discussion was about politics. Some argue that this is a special day and it should not be tainted by the domination of corporate involvement. Just to be fair, most of these arguments take place due to lack of information on this subject. I think that most people when they here the words “Corporate Sponsor” they think of banners, flyers, display booths, print media and even publicity gimmicks. At the very least have a preconceived image of the words “Sponsored By…” etched in their minds.

Sponsored weddings are not corporate events and should not be treated as such. The form of sponsorship, which appeals to most wedding couples and corporate sponsors alike, are cross promotion and barter opportunities. As an example, if you were already prepared to pay $7000.00 for the wedding venue and the vendor said to you “ look, if you give me the names of three more potential wedding couples that I might call to promote to my venue, I will give you a 70% discount ($4900.00). Now if you knew three couples that were getting married in the next year, you might be inclined to pass the name on to the venue owner, and take advantage of this discount. There is no different between this scenario and what a wedding sponsor can be. Two things to remember; everything is negotiable on some level and everything has some value to someone. If you would like more information on wedding sponsorship go to http://www.sponsoryourwedding.com

Wedding Favor

It’s always nice to know what you’re in for when you have your wedding photos done as this will prepare you mentally. Important questions to consider prior to your big day would be what style of photos you prefer as this can be either traditional, spontaneous, arty etc. Another question would be whether you’d prefer colour, sepia or black and white photos; with or without frames or a mix of everything. This all needs to be discussed with your wedding photographer before the wedding day - besides the fact that he/she needs to know what your preferences and requirements are, the photographer can give you some guidance and advice on must-have shots so that the photos you imagine can take on real life form.

Although there are so many hair styles to choose from, keep in mind that you’ll have to look at these photos for ever, so I would advise against anything very different or extreme (the kids will probably just tease you about this later!). If you want your wedding photos to be timeless, go for a classic, simplistic hair style that would be easy to manage throughout your photo shoot and day.

Its important to have a trial run with your make-up to avoid last minute disappointment. You know what you feel comfortable with, again, this needs to suit your personality. You want to mingle with your guests feeling comfortable and self assured. Your wedding make-up should compliment you, not change you - rather keep it natural and fresh.

Keep the main thing the main thing - firstly you need to feel comfortable and most importantly be yourself so that your unique personality would reflect on the photos. But a girl needs all the help she can get and if a few props will help you to relax and have fun – why not! Take some props with or ask the photographer to supply some interesting objects that you can use during your photo shoot, for example a hat, colourful sarong (that will double up to keep your dress clean in case you have to get down and dirty), a wedding invitation, your garter, a cigar for the groom etc . Give your photographer some healthy attitude and the right tools to be creative.

We so often invest our precious time in things that won’t last – yes, its important that you look absolutely breathtaking but besides looking beautiful, the photo shoot takes priority as this is what you would take with you long after the champagne has lost its bubble. You can either shy away and lose out on stunning memories or you can forget yourself, go beyond yourself and have fun!

Wedding

A photo shoot is often something we want to get over with so that we can get back to our guests and get the party started! With that being said, the photo shoot is not something you want to go through half heartedly. By investing time and effort in this you will create lasting memories of your Big Day (and the guests will wait for you - they are not going anywhere!). To survive your photo shoot I would suggest you pack yourself a goodie-bag that would carry you through your photo shoot and the rest of your day - you can ask your maid of honour or a bride’s maid to keep this bag of miracles close-by.

Tissues and wet wipes

A session like this can be quite time-consuming and as a Very Important Person (if not the most), you want to be prepared to get through this and still look like a million dollars! Tissues and wet wipes will come in very handy when it feels like you are melting away - a great tool for damage control!

Touch-up make-up

Standing around with a permanent smile while the sun is beating down on you is no joke, but at least you can ensure that you look absolutely beautiful while doing it. Pack some touch-up make-up, especially lipstick and powder to take away any shine left by the weather (or your nerves).

Brush and clips

The weather (wind) or just going through the motions might have an unpleasant effect on the hair style you spent so much time on - more additions to your goodie bag would be a brush and extra clips or hairspray (if needed).

Props

A colourful sarong that can double up as a prop or a dark blanket to keep your dress clean while striking a pose would be a wise add-on. Ask your photographer whether he/she will be providing these items, if not pack them yourself. This will be used whenever you need to sit down (or get creative) in an open field, on a beach etc.

Bottled water and snacks

The bride is usually way to nervous to eat something before the ceremony and way to busy mingling to have something after the photo shoot. Pack some light snacks to have in between shots, like nuts, a banana and a bottle of still water (cheese curls and Fanta Grape would be a bad choice!)

With this life-saver goodie bag by your side, you are now geared for any unforeseen events. Take a deep breath, bum in, bosom out and smile!

Now that you have planned a wedding/honeymoon adventure, I am going to tell you that a Maui destination wedding is “no ka oi,” which means “none better,” in Hawaiian. In comparison with other destinations, Maui is affordable, exotic yet practical and safe.

Choosing a Maui destination wedding and planning ahead with a good wedding based travel consultant, like you will find at Merry Maui Weddings and Vacations, will reward you will reward you with surprisingly affordable prices. Flight specials direct to Maui abound. Pleasant beachfront condos can commonly be found for as little as $100 per night. Of course, you can spend more to stay in a luxurious world-class resort. An abundance of healthy, exotic or familiar, food can be found for any budget. A good agent can get you great prices on rental cars and activities for your Maui honeymoon.

Maui offers an incredible diversity of cultures on one island. Food, entertainment, clothing and language of Hawaiian, Tahitian, Japan, Marshallese, Portuguese, Mexican, Chinese and Puerto Rican, and more can be readily found and enjoyed by visitors.

But, on the other hand, if you are the cautious type who wants to play it safe, Maui is an American wedding destination… you can easily find familiar grocery stores, fill a prescription or see your favorite television shows. People drive on the right hand side of the road and everyone speaks English, although “pidgin” and other dialects sometimes flavor it and will, hopefully, charm you.

Decent roads, streets signs and an abundance of maps will make traveling much more comfortable than you might imagine a destination wedding and honeymoon could offer.

So, Maui offers the best of all worlds in a destination wedding choice: First-World amenities and security, diversity, economy and ease. You will most probably return again and again. You might even move here. It happens!

To learn more about how easy it is to book your Maui destination wedding, or to see how inexpensive a Maui Wedding package can be, please contact the Maui wedding vacation experts, “Merry Maui Weddings & Vacations,” toll-free at (888)588-0400.

Wedding

lanning to get married? Looking for exclusive ideas for wedding day? Search no more: I will share with you innovative fantastic ideas to make your wedding stand out and be remembered for years to come!

If you want to have a wedding that is truly out of this world, it is actually very simple to achieve! “How?” I hear you ask. Well, all you need to do is to have an alternative style of dress, or to replace the usual Meldenson march with something a little more passionate, such as hard rock music for example! All invited to your wedding will be surprised and it will make your wedding truly unforgettable. If, however, you think that hard rock music is a little too much to bear, then how about putting on one of your favourite songs that is also original and lively?

We conducted a painstaking amount of research into the subject of weddings and uncovered several marriage ceremonies that you could call ‘out of the ordinary’. These ceremonies are famous throughout the world for their extravagance and significance. We found ‘wild’ weddings, ‘fairytale’ weddings, ‘ethnic-style’ weddings, ‘exotic’ weddings, ‘retro’ weddings or even ‘time-machine’ wedding and, last but not least, ‘art-style’ weddings. In the next few paragraphs, we will take you on a guided tour of these weddings and give you a report on the types of weddings that are out there for you to enjoy.

Wild weddings

We shall begin with the ‘wild’ wedding. This type of wedding requires you to be extremely brave, to cast away your inhibitions and to simply revel in the rush of adrenaline. The ‘wild’ wedding really does lives up to its name - it is so flamboyant and extreme! If you want your wedding to be in this style, you need bags of energy to be able to really let off steam and to party!

To be specific, a ‘wild’ wedding is not a standard marriage ceremony; it is an exuberant fantasy which brings with it a tide of pleasure. So, how does one achieve a wedding such as this? Well, you need to think about how you can make alterations to the typical wedding scenario. In place of a bouquet you could carry a wreath, for example, you could wear Gothic attire instead of a wedding dress or hire unusual transport like a fast, sports car. How about organising a banquet on a quiet country lane or in a surgery? You could add to the fantasy of the occasion by incorporating alternative pranks into the ceremony. For two whole days you and your guests will be kept amused! At the end of the day, a ‘wild’ wedding needs to do what it says on the tin - be wild! The idea of fantasy is to know no boundaries or inhibitions! Use this as a basis for your own ‘wild’ wedding!

Fairytale weddings

The next type of alternative wedding is the ‘fairytale’ wedding. As you can probably guess, dear readers, fairytale weddings are weddings that, yes you guessed it, are based on fairytales! Fairytale weddings are typically based on fairytales such as “Cinderella” or “Sleeping Beauty.” The dresses will be reminiscent of fairytale dresses and the heroes of the fairytales will always be present at your ceremony. These heroes of the stories make for wonderful entourage. If you choose to be a Cinderella on your big day, then you will need a fairy godmother, a king and even some ugly sisters! Of course, you must have a wicked stepmother too. The crux of the occasion is the Ball, to which you will invite your ‘handsome prince’ - the groom. The celebrations end at midnight at which time a pumpkin-style carriage will draw up and whisk you away!

Ethnic weddings

The next type of wedding is the ‘ethnic-style’ wedding. ‘Ethnic style’ essentially means national style. Ok, so what does this mean you ask yourselves? Put simply, if you choose to have a wedding in ethnic style, then the guests, the groom, the bride and the caterers must all be dressed in national costume. The entertainment at this type of wedding is in the form of rituals, customs and observations of traditional, national ways. Revive old traditions from food to old elegant clothing. This ancient atmosphere will create time-machine wonders - it will take you and your guests centuries back; as though you were one of your ancestors! The ideas for a ethnic wedding can be derived from customs of your motherland as well as from traditions of another country that you are fond of. Whichever you choose, you will feel like a true national!

Exotic weddings

The next type of alternative wedding is the ‘exotic’ wedding. An ‘exotic’ wedding is similar to a wild wedding. But where at the wild wedding you can be elaborate with your dreams, at an exotic wedding you can incorporate your hobbies. If you love parachute jumping, then go ahead! If you like motorcycles, then no problem! Tie some tins-cans to a Vampire and off you go! Just make sure you have a courtege for the motorcycles. The bride can be dressed in white leathers with a bandana on her head in place of a veil. The groom can wear tight-fitting, black trousers instead of a morning suit and a necktie. A bride and groom on a motorcycle with tin-cans attached to the back, What a sight to behold!

Underwater weddings

Have you ever heard of an underwater wedding? Well, this style of wedding is a type of exotic wedding! The couple’s first kiss is underwater as well as the exchanging of the rings and even the signing of the register! To make the occasion even more exotic, you could have the ceremony on a desert island. Although whether you can call it a desert island after you have planned your wedding on it remains to be seen!

Retro weddings

The next alternative wedding is the ‘retro-style’ wedding. This style is in keeping with the period of the ’60s to the ’90s. What can we say about this type of wedding? Well, the traditions, the music and the attire all are reminiscent of this period. The bride and the groom wear clothing that is typical of the time and the music and customs also conform to the period. Classic, ethnic and beautiful styles are all characteristic of ‘retro style.’

Body-paintings: art-style wedding

The final, alternative-style wedding is the ‘art-style’ wedding. If you know anything about art-style, then you will realise that if you have this type of wedding, you don’t just need to be brave, you need to be VERY brave! Art-style involves decorating the body with special paints. Art style is contemporary in its design. The wedding attire consists of very unusual body paintings that can be almost anything depends on your taste and fantasy. Just imagine!

Eastern Touch

Influenced by an eastern tradition called mehendi to decorate bride’s palms, feet. In Western variations it expands to back and shoulders. Imagine, a bride, with beautifully decorated hands, feet, shoulders and back, wearing open wedding clothes to demonstrate this artistic design.

Of course, to have this type of wedding it is also extreme. It is a very amusing way to enjoy the wedding. To put it simply, if you are a creative person who is not afraid of anything and anyone, then why not go for it?

Wedding Blog

Wedding Dress Ideas

Searching for ideas for the ideal wedding dress gives you numerous options. Whether it’s a modest wedding dress, a celtic wedding dress, a gothic wedding dress, a colored wedding dress, the selection is just about endless. You could likewise design your own wedding dress.

But even as there are myriad ideas for wedding dresses there are a lot of possible pitfalls.

Whilst looking at wedding dresses there are a couple of things you ought consider.

1. Examine out a few dress styles on your own first of all. yes you heard right, do not take anyone with you. No, not your mother or your lifelong best friend. Everybody to some degree has a preconception of what their preferred wedding gown would be. This approximation is made as a result of previous experiences, emotions etc. Their idea of their wedding dress may have no resemblance to yours.

Get going exploring for wedding dresses on your own just to get an idea and narrow down your alternatives a little. And then when you’ve shaped your own opinion on the types of wedding dress that appeals to you, by all means take your friends and mother with you. But working with a large party of friends at the very outset of your search is calling for for trouble. Get the groundwork done first.

2. Pay attention to advice offered by the retailers. Their experience has taught them many things. They’ll recognise which wedding dresses are infamous for wrinkling, which wedding dresses suit which types of figures.

3. The critical advice that these pros can offer will not be confined to wedding dresses alone. They can counsel you on the types of underwear that is the most appropriate for each style of figure and dress. Try out several styles of bra, take your time, you don’t want to have any regrets. These folks will also be able to assist you with picking out complimentary shoe styles.

4.. If you are thinking of a wedding dress in a shade that is not white or cream deliberate on the following.

Blonde and fair haired brides generally have blueish/grey eyes and find that blue colored wedding dresses and lilac colored wedding dresses work particularly well.

Very pale skinned brides should avoid the following colored wedding dresses, very pale whites or light greens.

Peach colored wedding dresses, cappuccino colored wedding dresses, champagne colored wedding dresses work very well for brides with olive to dark skin, these colors also work well for brunettes and redheads.

6. Whilst searching ideas for your wedding veil weigh up the following ideas.

A wedding veil should always complement the wedding dress not compete with it. Wedding veils can be vary from those below the shoulder, to waist level to full length veils to train to the awesome ( and sometimes problematic ) cathedral wedding veils.

The elongated, dreamy floaty veils are broadly speaking made from a silk tulle and favor a bias cut or a columnar style wedding dress. Shorter veils become the full skirted ballerina style wedding dress, which also happens to become the taller bride.

You want also to consider of how well your veil will suit your wedding hairstyle or updo. In that respect are practicalities to be thought of such as how it will be attached and how the underpinning will be hidden.

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