Beautiful Wedding

Unless the reception facility you reserved provides an in-house catering service, choosing a caterer will be an important part of your wedding preparations. Friends, family, the reception facility manager, and other recently married couples will be able to recommend possible wedding caterers. However, these recommendations should not be a substitute for your own research.

It’s best to meet with several caterers to compare prices, services, and menu options. The following are some questions to ask possible wedding caterers.

• How long have you been in business?
• Where did you receive your culinary training?
• Are you licensed to serve liquor?
• What kind of health permit and liability insurance do you carry?
• Have you ever catered a wedding at the reception site we’ve chosen?
• Do you work from a set menu or can we request a menu tailored to our preferences?
• Will you provide special dietary meals upon request?
• Do you provide the wedding cake?
• Do you handle cleanup and rental returns?
• Is the cost of service staff included in the price?

Once you select a caterer, make sure that all charges are clearly stated in the contract. A contract should include types and amounts of foods, number of guests, complete menu listing, per-person charge, liquor charges, set up charges, and any applicable equipment charges.

Unless you have your heart set on a particular menu, it’s usually simplest to give the caterer a price per head and let them be creative. Most wedding caterers figure their prices per person, except for hors d’oeuvres. Prices for hors d’oeuvres vary widely, so remember to take this into account when figuring your catering costs. Depending on the type of hors d’oeuvres you choose, you could be adding several dollars per person to your budget!

While sticking to your wedding budget is certainly important, never choose a caterer based on cost alone. A good caterer will work within your budget, even if it means paring down the event or choosing less expensive ingredients. If you’re especially concerned about cost, avoid foods that require carving at the table or time consuming kitchen prep. Choosing a menu that only uses in-season and locally available items is another good way to help keep costs down. Also, remember that nationwide, chicken is typically the cheapest entrée choice.

If you’re considering serving liquor at your wedding reception, remember that this will substantially increase your catering budget. Alcohol can get expensive very quickly! Serving liquor will require that you serve a more substantial meal to ensure that guests aren’t drinking on empty stomachs. Also, a necessary safety precaution is to make sure you have an abundant supply of coffee, tea, soda, and other non-alcoholic beverages at your reception.

Don’t stress endlessly about the menu. Traditional wedding etiquette only requires that you serve reception guests something to eat and something to drink. Wedding cake and punch fulfill those requirements. Anything else is merely icing on the proverbial wedding cake!

How many of our memories are sparked by hearing a song on the radio? It’s been said that music is the key to our hearts, and sometimes it is true that the perfect song can transform a great occasion into an unforgettable one. Choosing wedding songs can be a fun process. With more contemporary hits that croon about unforgettable love to the most popular wedding songs of timeless old, there really is something for everyone.

Some people choose among many popular wedding songs that have stolen people’s hearts for the present time. It is not unheard of to hear an Usher song at a 2005 wedding, when a few years back the term “usher” merely referred to the man who guided guests to their seats. It’s also unlikely to hear Firehouse blast out a power ballad about true love while not so long ago, it was the current trend.

For those looking to incorporate the timeless classics into their special day, there are many popular wedding songs guaranteed to satisfy. Elvis Presley’s “Love Me Tender” has earned a spot in the hearts of many while Peter Paul and Mary’s “Wedding Song” has become just that. At almost every wedding or reception, guests hear some version of “Unchained Melody”, a song that never ceases to warm the heart. And what bride would not feel radiant dancing at her reception to the sound of Eric Clapton insisting that she looks “Wonderful Tonight”.

Other hits seem to have taken the genre of popular wedding songs by storm as daddies twirl their daughters, teary-eyed around the dance floor are “Butterfly Kisses” and “What a Wonderful World”. It’s also become extremely popular to choose among wedding songs for a dance with the groom and his mom.

Popular movie soundtracks are proving to become popular wedding songs that bring emotion to receptions and weddings. Songs like Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” prompt guests to grab a handful of Kleenex, thinking of Jack and Rose on board the Titanic while Dion’s other hit “Because You Love Me” sparks images of Redford and Pfeiffer’s unshakable love. Bryan Adam’s raspy voice pledging “Everything I Do, I Do it for You” sparks sighs and memories of Robin Hood’s love story.

Country tunes have also become popular wedding songs. Songs like Lonestar’s “Amazed” are steadily climbing in popularity while songs like George Strait’s “Cross My Heart” never cease to make female guests sniffle. Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On” has become some sort of musical vow, echoing the words of the wedding ceremony.

As long as there is music, there will be a list that comes to mind when people hear the term “popular wedding songs”. In some ways,
the true test of those songs popularity will be to see how many years from now that song is still being played. It’s not hard to believe that probably even decades from now, brides will be glowing to the tunes of “Wonderful Tonight”. Some of the songs will be wonderful for many weddings.

If you want the flowers you use in your wedding ceremony to last, it’s best to go with synthetic or silk flowers. You can still use fresh flowers in your wedding for certain parts of the ceremony, or if you’re holding the wedding outside or in a garden, fresh flowers can be used as the majority of the décor, and you can take your silk wedding flowers with you after the ceremony—and you won’t have to worry about keeping them in water.

Silk wedding flowers can be found at most major craft stores, or you can order silk flowers from a floral store or bridal shop. One of the benefits of using silk flowers in your wedding is that you can request flowers that may not be in season at the time of your wedding. This gives you much more options for your flower arrangements. Also, you can order or purchase your flowers in a wide variety of colors, and if you want flowers in a color or colors that may not be realistic (such as flowers in black to go with white, or flowers in brighter or neon shades) you can have the flowers dyed to match the rest of the decorations for the wedding.

You can use silk wedding flowers for any aspect of the ceremony, from the bridal bouquet to wedding reception decorations. Even though whole arrangements of silk flowers may be a little more expensive depending on where you purchase them from, they last much longer, and you don’t have to worry about the flowers wilting over time. For instance, if you’re using flowers as part of your reception decorations, fresh flowers will begin to wilt after being uprooted or out of water for a while. In case the ceremony runs a little longer than expected (which is very likely), your flowers could be spread across the tables and around the cake, and still look ‘fresh’ when you arrive at the reception.

Using silk flowers for the bridesmaid’s bouquet or for the flower girls is a good idea as well. Many people have allergies, and holding fresh flowers right in front of their faces for an hour or two could cause occasional sneezing and nose-scratching—these are not images you want in your wedding photos or wedding video. And, if the flower girl uses silk flowers to line the aisle, the color and shape of the flowers will be preserved throughout the ceremony, and this will look great in your wedding video.

If you especially like flowers, you could even use silk flowers to decorate your wedding cake. Depending on the shape and style of your cake, flowers can add a wonderful accent to your cake and the lining of the cake table.

You should talk to your wedding coordinator and check your wedding budget to make sure you can afford silk flower arrangements for more than one part of the ceremony, since the flowers can get costly, depending on how much you’ll buy and the quality of flowers. Overall, silk flowers add beauty and color to your wedding decorations, and could give you more creative freedom.

Traditionally, one of America’s favorite locales to be married has been on the shores of beautiful Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Located not far from another favorite wedding hot spot, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe gives you the opportunity to be married quietly and still enjoy the conveniences of major cities nearby. While Las Vegas will probably always be known as the national capital for wedding chapels, Lake Tahoe has plenty of wedding chapels for you to choose from. In the last few years alone, numerous wedding chapels have begun to dot the Lake Tahoe horizon. If you have been searching for an affordable and romantic option for your nuptials, Lake Tahoe weddings have numerous advantages to offer.

A number of the beautiful resorts in Lake Tahoe now offer great group rates and other wedding packages, especially during midweek days and other off-peak or off-season times. These types of Lake Tahoe weddings can be a great option, if you are thinking of escaping during the middle of the week or combining a destination wedding with a family reunion. Most resorts in Lake Tahoe have web sites and you can easily pull up the latest package rates in a matter of just a few minutes.

When you are trying to decide between Lake Tahoe weddings and wedding packages, you’ll need to make sure that the package includes everything you need. Packages can be easily customized, but of course, the more you add; the more the price will ultimately become. Among the things you’ll need to look for in Lake Tahoe weddings and packages are airfare and accommodations as well as wedding services. If you prefer not to handle the small details yourself or you simply don’t have the time, a package of wedding services can be just right. With this kind of package you don’t have to worry about music, the cake, the bouquet or the wedding officiant. Some packages even include a complimentary dinner and bottle of champagne. Pretty much all you have to do is show up and be ready to say “I do.”

Don’t let the price of a package for Lake Tahoe weddings scare you. Sometimes the most cost effective pricing on a wedding package is not really the best value if it does not include everything you want it to. No one wants to drop a large sum of money on a wedding package, only to find there are lists of “extras” that must be paid for separately. Ultimately the decision will have to be made by you and based upon factors like your budget and what you want the special day to be like.

Planning a wedding in any venue can be a daunting task at times, but with a little searching and ingenuity you can often find a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of a Lake Tahoe weddings and packages that will allow you to be married and honeymoon in one of the country’s favorite wedding locales.

Weddings are becoming bigger, more expensive and more exotic with each year. Many brides and grooms are waiting later in life to marry, after they have established a career and set aside a comfortable savings account and refuse to settle for plain vanilla weddings or wedding cakes. Everything from the colors to the dresses and of course, even the wedding cake has become very exotic. Remember the days when fancy wedding cakes came with a fountain? Today, the excitement in wedding cakes is much more likely to come from the flavors used in the cake than the actual decorations. Let’s take a stroll through a gallery of exotic wedding cakes
Mocha, cappuccino, espresso and latte cakes have become the rage in the last few years ever since a certain sitcom set the world on fire a decade ago and coffee houses became the place to hang out. Since then everyone has become hooked on flavored coffee, large coffee mugs and coffee flavored everything. If you are a true coffee connoisseur you might think of giving a coffee flavored wedding cake a try. It’s different, unique and your wedding guests are sure to love it!

If you like variety and think it’s the spice of life, think about having a different flavor for every tier of your wedding cake. Sound like too much? A lot of people are using this option and the wedding guests are raving over it. So, what flavors should you use? Well, really anything goes. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, lemon-you name it! If you’re still wary, keep in mind that the only way you’ll be able to tell the difference is in the taste of each individual layer. The cake as a whole will appear uniform as each layer will be decorated the same-unless you want to be really bold and do a different design on each layer!

Do you and your friends love the taste of liqueur? A number of bakers and caterers are specializing in this type of wedding cake and it has proven to be a popular choice. Fruit and citrus flavored cakes have also taken center stage recently and if you feel like being really fruity you can always embellish and decorate your wedding cake with fruit-orange slices, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries and even lemon slices may a wonderful and unique wedding cake decoration.

Another idea in exotic wedding cakes that has taken the world of baking by storm are flowers. Any number of fresh flowers can be used to accent your cake and while some flowers are actually edible, in most cases you would want to make sure you remove the flower decorations before serving your exotic wedding cake to your guests.

If you’re still not sure an exotic wedding cake is right for you, consider scheduling an appointment with a local baker or caterer and asking them about their gallery of exotic wedding cakes. They will be all too happy to provide a taste test to help you choice among the many delicious flavors.

The world’s entry into the digital age has changed a number of ways in which we live our lives and one of those is how we plan our weddings. Years ago the only options we had in wedding invitations were purchasing them from shops. Now that wedding clipart is available by purchase on CD’s as well as the Internet that is no longer as necessary as it once was. If you’re on a tight budget you can even find free wedding clipart on the net. .

A quick keyword search will pull up millions up free wedding clipart sites and you’ll have more options at your disposal than you have time to sift through. If you’re looking for free wedding clipart, however; there are a few things you should keep in mind to make sure you don’t accidentally take advantage of someone else’s hard work. First, check to make sure the free wedding clipart is, in fact, free. Just because you can copy and paste something from your computer doesn’t mean that it is free for the taking. Generally, if graphics are being offered for free there will be explicit wording stating so on the site and you’ll need to read the terms of use policy.

If there is any doubt about whether the graphics you want to use are actually free wedding clipart, it’s much better to steer on the side of caution. Remember how much trouble all those people got into for downloading what they thought was free music. You don’t want to end up in the same kind of trouble right before your wedding for what you thought was free wedding clipart.

After you have verified that the graphics you use are actually free wedding clipart make sure you use them only for your use. This is generally the stipulation in the terms of use policy for most free wedding clipart sites. In almost all cases, you will be requested not to use them for any type of profit making business. If you’re in any kind of business in which you need wedding clipart, you can usually purchase it for a reasonable fee. Even if the price doesn’t seem reasonable to you, keep in mind that it’s much better to pay the fee for legitimately using the graphics than to get slammed with fines and fees and possible jail time.

Once you have your free wedding clipart, it’s time to put it to use. Many couples use free wedding clipart in their wedding invitations and thank you cards, but there are multiple other uses as well. Consider using it on a web site dedicated to your wedding. This is a wonderful way to keep everyone involved in what’s going on with the wedding. If you would rather not take the time to design your own personal wedding website, think about a newsletter. This is a fun way of keeping everyone apprised of important dates and events related to the big day. Regardless of how you choose to utilize free wedding clipart, have fun!

So you want to buy a diamond, but you do not know much about diamonds. You do know, you want a quality diamond that is in your price range. You have heard something about the 4 Cs. But you’re not sure if you remember what the 4 Cs are. Well, never fear. You are about to get a quick and easy overview on diamonds. So when you began to shop for a diamond, you can feel confident, you will get the diamond that’s right for you.

What is a diamond? A diamond is a form of carbon that crystallizes over hundreds of years, hundreds of miles underneath the earth’s surface. Through volcanic eruption, diamond bearing ore is brought to the surface. After the magma cools, it solidifies into blue ground. There is a long, tedious refining process that pulls it from the ground. Eventually, diamonds are cut and make their way to a jeweler.

What are the 4 Cs? There is a criteria used by laboratories to grade a diamond’s qualities. The four grades that are important to know are Cut, Clarity, Color and Carat Weight. The Cut refers to a diamond’s reflective qualities (not shape) and is probably the most important quality factor. A good cut gives a diamond its brilliance. A well cut diamond will allow light to enter through the table (top) of the diamond, travel to the pavilion (base) where it reflects from one side to the other before reflecting back out of the table. The Clarity of a diamond refers to the ability to see some inner flaws or inclusions in a diamond that occur during its formation. Diamonds are graded for clarity with ranges from flawless (completely free of blemishes) to Include 3 (a lot of blemishes and inclusions that are visible to the naked eye). The Color of a diamond refers to the presence or absence of color in white diamonds.

Color is the result of composition of the diamond and does not change over time. Colorless diamonds allow more light to pass through them. To grade ‘whiteness’ or ‘colorless’, most jewelers refer to GIAs professional color scale. The highest rating is a D for colorless and goes down the alphabet to Z. A Carat is the unit of weight by which a diamond is measured. One carat is equal to 200 milligrams or 0.2 grams. Large diamonds are found less commonly than smaller ones. So, they are priced higher. Deciding on carat size may be about finding a balance between size and quality. If you prefer larger jewelry and are working in a budget, you may want a diamond that is graded slightly lower in terms of color and clarity.

Once you have a budget, spend time exploring your diamond ring options. Set you standards based on what you feel comfortable spending and what type of grade you want to buy. Then, you will have the best chance of buying the diamond that is right for you. Your love can not be measured by how much you spend on a diamond, but maybe, by the thought behind it.

Many brides today are looking for gorgeous designer wedding gowns similar to the ones worn by the favorite stars and celebrities and modeled on the glossy pages of bridal magazines. Such designer wedding gowns can easily cost in the neighborhood of $3000 to $5,000 or more. The fancier the dress, the higher the cost. Celebrities are often touted for purchasing designer wedding gowns that cost $100,000 or more. Melania Knauss, former model and recent bride of Donald Trump, modeled her fantastic designer wedding gown on the cover of Vogue and while many might have thought the dress was a trifle overdone, the bride obviously loved it and her groom was more than willing to lay down the hundred thousand dollars plus it took to snag the gown.

If you like the look and style of designer wedding gowns but don’t have a bank account to rival that of the Trump, you’ll need to find some creative ways to afford designer wedding gowns. A number of sites on the Internet advertise cut rate designer wedding gowns, and while this can be a great source for obtaining the dress of your dreams at a fraction of the original cost, you should make sure you read all the details and watch out for the following hazards.

Always be sure to check on the return policy. This can be a problem if the dress doesn’t fit or you receive it and discover it isn’t what you had hoped it would be at all.

Be sure to check on the shipping and handling charges. The face value of a gown may be quite attractive but by the time you add in all the shipping charges, you might discover that you’re paying more than you intended.

It’s a good idea to have professional measurements taken before you begin shopping for dresses on the web. Generally, you can’t go by the sizes listed because they vary so much from one designer to the next. The best policy is to have professional measurements taken and go by those. You can have professional measurements taken at any upscale gown boutique or salon as well as a seamstress shop. Don’t rely on your own measurements.

Always be sure to read the fine print to make sure the dress isn’t an irregular or flawed in some way. Sometimes you can obtain designer wedding dresses at a fraction of the cost because of some small flaw that the naked eye can barely even see, but it’s always best to be sure before you put your money on the line.

To be sure you are dealing with a reputable business look for some kind of certification such as association with the Better Business Bureau or Square Trade. Membership with both of these associations will insure that you aren’t dealing with a fly by night merchant who will take your money and leave you hanging with no dress-designer or otherwise.

Finally, before you click Submit be sure you have reviewed how your dress will be shipped. Make sure it will be packaged and shipped carefully to avoid damage during transit.

Our modern technological age has changed the ways in which we do numerous things in our lives. One thing that has changed drastically in the new millennium is how we present and preserve our weddings and the photographs, videos, and other memories from those events. Even just five years ago it was almost completely unheard of for people to create interactive and graphical web sites announcing their weddings, stating where they’re registered, and then uploading the photographs and videos to the site after the event so Great Aunt Agnes can see the wedding pictures without having to leave her trailer in Duluth. Today it is so common that everyone’s doing it and the practice is being popularized even further by celebrities like Star Jones. Additionally people are now using their computers to cut wedding costs by designing their own invitations and thank-you notes and printing them at home. It’s fun, cost effective, and allows a person to really let their creativity shine. It’s easy to jump on the do-it-yourself wedding bandwagon if you have a PC and a connection to the Internet. To do so one of the things you’ll definitely need to get a hold of are some impressive wedding graphics.

The Internet can be your best friend when searching for wedding graphics. There are many sites that specialize in low or no cost graphics. Most of these feature wedding graphics and include directions on downloading the images to your own PC, allowing you to get to work immediately being a computer wizard.

In order to start producing your web site or invitations you’ll need a decent graphics editing software. Adobe Photoshop is the application of choice for most digital artists and graphic designers, but if you’re not expecting to launch a graphic design company of your own you may find Photoshop’s cost a bit on the high end at approximately $800.00. There are many other graphics editing programs available, however, with price points ranging from about $50.00 to $100.00. Any of these will help you get started in editing and designing your wedding graphics without breaking your bank account.

Once you learn the ins & outs of your chosen application and have gathered some wedding graphics that you’re pleased with, you’re ready to get started. If you’re designing a web site about your wedding, it can be done without any knowledge of HTML (the computer language that web pages are written in) by choosing a web host that includes page design features. There are many of these on the Internet and once you’ve found one, designing your web site is as easy as uploading your graphics to your new host and designing the page using their tools. For invitations, flyers, thank you notes and other printable items, all you need to do is visit your nearest office supply or computer electronics store and pick up a set of the appropriate printable material for your printer. You’ll be making your own items with the beautiful wedding graphics you’ve chosen in no time.

If you’ve been pondering what to give your spouse for your upcoming wedding anniversary, you’ll have some serious decisions to make. Traditional wedding anniversary gifts have been in vogue for almost a hundred years now, ever since Emily Post published her all important etiquette guide. Since that time millions of wedding anniversary gifts have been purchased using Emily Post’s recommendations as a guide. Unfortunately, for husbands and wives, the traditional list for wedding anniversary gifts isn’t really that exciting. Who really wants to receive copper on their seventh wedding anniversary?

After a while, the modern list for wedding anniversary gifts was published and the recommendations on the list are definitely more exciting. So, now a couple must decide whether they want to go with the traditional or the modern list for anniversary gifts. To help you decide we have listed both lists here for your side by side comparison.

Traditional

First Paper

Third Leather

Second Cotton Fourth Flowers

Fifth Wood

Sixth Candy/Iron

Ninth Pottery/Willow

Eight Bronze/Pottery

Seventh Wool/Copper Tenth Tin/Aluminum

Eleventh Steel

Twelfth Silk/Line

Thirteenth Lace

Twentieth China

Fifteenth Crystal

Fourteenth Ivory Twenty-fifth Silver

Thirtieth Pearl

Thirty-fifth Coral

Fortieth Ruby

Sixtieth Diamond

Fiftieth Gold

Fifty-fifth Emerald

Forty-fifth Sapphire

Modern

Clocks

China

Crystal

Appliances

Silverware

Linen/Lace

Desk sets

Bronze/Pottery

Candy/Iron

Leather

Jewelry

Pearls

Textiles/Furs

Gold Jewelry

Diamond

Platinum

Silver

Diamond

Jade

Ruby

Sapphire

Gold

Emerald

Watches

The first few years of recommended wedding anniversary gifts, for both the modern and traditional lists, are downright boring and unexciting. Take a look at the modern list for the fourth wedding anniversary-appliances? Most guys would be in the dog house sleeping with Spot if they dared to give appliances as wedding anniversary gifts to their wives. If you feel you must stick with a recommended list, it’s obviously better to switch back and forth between the modern and traditional lists, according to which one recommends the better wedding anniversary gifts.

That won’t always work, however because on some years, the same wedding anniversary gifts are recommended on both years. You’ll either have to get really creative or else ditch both lists and come up with an idea on your own.

Looking at both the modern and traditional wedding anniversary gift lists, it really makes you wonder what the people who wrote these lists were thinking. Pottery for the eight wedding anniversary? Maybe pottery is the recommended gift for the eighth wedding anniversary because by that time most couples are in the midst of child rearing and paying mortgages and don’t have extra money to spend on jewelry. Or maybe it’s because the divorce rate is so high and this way neither spouse is out a lot of cash if the marriage doesn’t make it. Either way, the important thing to keep in mind in selecting wedding anniversary gifts is that ultimately the choice should be up to the couple and not left to the whims of an antiquated list written by someone who doesn’t even know you. So, what if diamonds aren’t recommended until the sixtieth wedding anniversary according to the traditional wedding anniversary gifts list? A diamond is forever.