Weddings

This section is dedicated to wedding information.

The Hottest Trends in 21st Century Weddings

The most noticed trend in planning a 21st century wedding is relying and shopping on the Internet for wedding gifts, accessories and even attire. Brides and grooms check the internet for wedding articles, for information, for ideas and unique wedding gifts for their family and attendants and wedding accessories for themselves. The Internet often offers them items they always wanted but did not know exist. Brides and grooms also appreciate the ease and convenience of shopping from and having everything delivered to their homes or work places without running all over town.

The second very noticeable trend is the deep involvement of a growing number of grooms in the wedding planning process.

The third is personalization.

Personalization

Ask any engaged couple what they want their wedding to reflect and you can expect an almost unanimous answer. Today brides and grooms want their wedding to be very personalized and reflect who they are and what makes them special. So, what makes a wedding personalized – what is a personalized wedding?

What was once the norm, is no longer. Gone are the days when all you chose were your wedding attendants, invitations and attire. When you hired a hall you expected them to provid the caterer, the decorations, the musicians, the cake and the flowers. This is how weddings were planned when I got married. Today, brides and grooms want and get involved in every aspect and plan both ceremony and reception.

A 21st century wedding includes many elements that when put together create the feel and the atmosphere and make it special and personalized. Whether they plan a most formal evening event or a whimsical afternoon wedding party, brides and grooms planning a wedding today give it their personal touch.

They pay special attention to assure that rather than helter skelter, everything in their wedding, from its color scheme to the wedding theme and everything in between, will coordinate well giving the wedding an aura of wholeness. The possibilities for personalization are endless.

Many 21st century brides and grooms choose their wedding date to correspond with someting personal to them. Whether it is connected with a first date, engagement, a birthday, a specific season, a holiday, a numerical sequence like 777 (July 7, 2007) or 888 (August 8, 2009) or even The day their parents or grandparent got married, the date chosen often has a special meanning.

They choose their wedding color scheme and follow with coordinating as many aspects of the wedding with it including but not limited to the table cloths and napkins, flowers, cake, decorations and even favors. When you attend a current wedding, look around. Is there a color that runs throughout? most probably.

Theme Weddings

Theme weddings are also very popular. Most brides and grooms find it fun to use their creativity planning a theme wedding that expresses their interests and uniqueness. Many couples combine their heritage, religion and – or traditions into their wedding theme, or use them as the central point of both ceremony and reception.

Others choose their theme to coincide with their wedding location.

Yet others who plan a family wedding concentrate on having their children represented.

The most popular in the order of popularity are initials and monograms, the date especially if it is of consequtive numbers as mentioned above, personal heritage, seasons, flowers and butterflies, life style and holidays.

Just like the color scheme, the wedding theme is evident everywhere. The decoration, the wedding accessories, the wedding cake or alternatives with their theme cake toppers, the table centerpieces and even the wedding favors speak of the wedding theme chosen by the bride and groom.

Whether dictated by the couple’s interests, background or location, the bride and groom like to have their photo album, guest book, unity candles, pen set, flower basket, ring pillow, bridal purse – money bag, garter, cake top, centerpieces and decorations present their theme.

In fact, the trend is to have as many accessories actually match as a set or a collection, rather than just complement each other.

Attire

Wedding attire choices have become less traditional and more of personal preference. According to bridal salon owners, the trend for brides married in 2005, and those planning a wedding in 2006, calls for sleek and relatively simple gown or dress style. Favored are both plain yet elegant gowns or dresses and gowns or dresses adorned with crystal, pearls and lace.

The major contributors to pulling away from the fairy tale gown or dress styles, in favor of elegant simplicity as being the preferred choice for brides, can be contributed to:

• Today’s working, price conscious brides who want to adhere to a budget, do not want to sacrifice style or beauty, but want a lot of value for their money.
• The growing popularity of destination weddings. Brides appreciate that these elegant yet simple styles can safely be transported and look fresh and clean upon arrival at the wedding destinations.

The trend for men has also become more casual, offering a choice of a dark suit, or dark pants with a white dinner jacket instead of a tuxedo.

Theme wedding allow even more freedom of choice. For example:

• Western attire is quite common in western theme weddings.
• Victorian attire in Victorian theme weddings,
• Reneasance garb in Reneasance theme wedding
• Casual wear and sandal in Beach weddings, and so on.

Jewelry

Today’s brides preferred to keep their and their bridesmaids jewelry simple, choosing Swarovski crystal, classic pearls clusters and pearl strands necklaces, with matching earrings. Bracelets are very popular as gifts for the ladies. Some brides choose to give their bridesmaids jewelry that coordinates with their attire. Yet a growing trend, in step with personalization, is to give them jewelry in the color of their birthstones.

Replicas of celebrity tiaras, as well as tiaras studded with crystal and – or pearls are most popular.

Gifts from Bride and Groom

In keeping up with personalization the current trend is that brides and grooms give their family and wedding party personalized items.

Some personalize the gifts with their own first names and wedding date, making the gifts a memento of the event. Others personalize them with the first name of the recipient.

A change that is currently taking place is that instead of at the wedding, the majority of brides and grooms we interviewed, either already did or plan to present the gifts at the rehearsal dinner.

Where to buy wedding accessories and choices

There are many options to purchasing wedding needs, from attire to accessories. The most obvious and traditional being bridal salons.

However, with the enormous growth of the Internet and the high security of shopping carts, the trend is to check and comparison-shop online first.

Shopping for weddings on the Internet, can be done from the comfort of one’s home or office, saving gasoline, precious time and money.

The Internet also introduces items available only on-line.

Some items are so unique they can be purchased only on a specific web site.

It is interesting to mention that A-wedding Day has experienced a surge in gift givers buying wedding items, including complete accessory collections, to be shipped with a gift card to a bride.

The Wedding Cake

The wedding cake is the centerpiece of the wedding reception. It is often accompanied by a single layer Groom Cake represening his unique personality, hobbies and interestsand and in family weddings by a Children Family wedding cake topped with a Family Cake Topper. All placed on a special table.

The traditional cake is erected from tiers of various sizes all decorated as instructed by the bride and groom and is crowned with a cake top. This cake, baked and decorated by a professional has become so expensive, especially when adding the customary cutting and serving fees, that brides and grooms planning a wedding on a budget started looking for alternatives. Now, what used to be a creative alternative by some became a trend.

Brides and grooms realized that in addition to saving the cutting and serving fees they can also shave off the centerpiece expense and have a dessert at every table. So though they still order at least a single tier cake for feeding each other and photographs they often opt for the two options that are most favored. 1. An individual mini wedding cake for each table to makes a spectacular and edible centerpiece. For additional fun, guests are invited to cut and serve the occupants at their own table. 2. A cupcake wedding cake tower is a well-liked trend. Most couples top their cupcake tower with a cake tier for the bride and groom. Mini tower is placed as the centerpiece at each table and the cupcakes placed on it serve as the dessert. Both single layer cakes and cupcakes are easily available in supermarkets and shopping clubs such as Costco and Sams Club where they are very reasonably priced.

How to Plan a Green Wedding

Sure, green weddings are all the rage, but you’ll need to go the extra mile to make yours stand apart from the rest.

Green Weddings – Things to Consider:

Simplify

The overarching theme here should be simplification. There are eco-friendly versions of most wedding products, but the best option is usually to forego the items altogether. Reuse wherever possible – and save not only resources, but cash too.

Weigh the expenses

That said, some items you just can’t live without, and usually the green version is more expensive than the original. You’ll need to factor this into your wedding budget. To keep your budget in check, determine which areas you’re willing to spend more on for a good cause (i.e. organic cuisine), and where you can save to make up for that added expense (i.e. forego the wedding dress or favors). This wedding budget guide offers even more budgeting advice

Patronize

Many new companies have entered the growing green weddings market. Before booking your vendors, check out businesses that claim to provide green services and confirm that they really do.

Inform

One green turn deserves another. Let your guests know the steps you’ve taken to plan your green wedding, and show them that an elegant event doesn’t have to be harmful to the environment. Who knows, many of your guests may be inspired to do the same.

All in the Details – Green Wedding Ideas

Invitations & Stationery

1. Recycle – use recycled paper or paper made from alternative fiber – such as hemp or bamboo. Check out these resources for an array of custom, recycled papers: Custompaper.com or JamPaper.com
2. Splurge on calligraphy – calligraphy may cost more, but it saves inks, toners, solvents and chemicals involved in printing.
3. Condense – save trees by minimizing inserts and other paper products. Always print on front and back, and try to fit it all on one sheet.
4. Go completely green – send all correspondence via email. The etiquette gods may swoon – but if you’re dead set on being green, electronic mailings are the most earth friendly way to go.

Location

1. Rent for a cause – find a venue that will benefit from your site rental fee – such as a museum, gallery or other cultural organization. Confirm how that venue will use your fee.
2. Go outside – a beach, the woods, gardens – they all make an ideal setting for a green wedding (just be sure to leave it as you found it).
3. Find a green venue - some venues are demonstrating a commitment to saving water and energy, reducing waste, or serving locally grown/organic menus. Check out these resources for green minded venues:
   • Green Hotels Association (www.greenhotels.com)
   • Green Seal (www.greenseal.com)

Décor Elements

1. Use candlelight – not only are candles energy efficient, they also create a soft romantic glow for an elegant reception. Better yet, look for soy candles – they’re cleaner and longer burning since they’re made from a renewable resource.
2. Use bamboo – one of the most sustainable materials on earth, bamboo is an eco-friendly décor option with an organic, modern feel. Use bamboo stalks for centerpieces or other décor elements.

Flowers

1. Think double duty – invite your ceremony arrangements to the reception! You can use them to decorate your cake or gift table – you’ll waste less and save money doing it.
2. Buy organic, locally grown blooms – organic flowers are grown in an environmentally friendly way, without pesticides.
   Getting locally grown ones will save the fuel burned from transporting the flowers. If you can’t find a local florist who can provide organic blooms, order yours from OrganicBouquet.com
3. Conserve cut florals – using cut flowers just once is a waste. See if you can share yours with another wedding taking place on the same day.
4. Skip cut flowers altogether – top your tables with potted arrangements for guests to take and plant in their yards after the wedding.

Menu

1. Think organic – ensure that you, your guests and the staff won’t be exposed to pesticides. Many caterers specialize in organic foods, and almost any caterer can provide an organic menu if you ask them.
2. Think local – if you’re concerned about the cost involved in a completely organic menu, go local instead. Serving locally grown food eliminates fuel reliance and supports local farmers. Check out Localharvest.org or Localfoodworks.org to find farmers markets, farms and other sources of local food.
3. Reuse utensils – find a caterer who recycles materials and/or uses linen and china instead of disposables.
4. Donate the leftovers – work with your caterer to send leftovers to a food shelter or other organization.

Cake

1. Sub ingredients – have your baker use organic and/or local sugar, flour, butter and eggs. Some bakers even specialize in organic cakes.

Attire

1. Go secondhand – a used gown reduces fuels used in creating a new one.
2. Get green fibers – natural fibers like silk and organic cotton are better for the environment than synthetic ones.
3. Go couture – if your wallet can afford it, couture gowns are usually made from natural fabrics.
4. Donate – provide a green gown decision for another bride when you give or sell yours after the wedding.

Favors

Avoid wasteful trinkets – donate to a charity in the name of your guests

Transportation

1. Limit long distance travel – have the wedding in a location where few guests will have to fly to get there.
2. Walk – host your room block, ceremony and reception at the same site – or within walking distance
3. Carpool – organize car pools for your guests in hybrid vehicles
4. Getaway in low emission style – get creative and use a non-motorized vehicle for your final sendoff – bikes, horseback, sleds, skates, wagons, or any old school conveyance will do.

Other Green Ideas

The truth is – no matter how great your green intentions are, most weddings have a huge environmental impact from the fuel used transporting your guests – via car or plane – to your wedding. Since this is extremely difficult to avoid, the “greenest” brides are purchasing carbon offsets to reduce their wedding’s footprint.

How it works: calculate the mileage guests will travel, and offset their carbon dioxide emissions by donating to programs that plant trees or preserve rain forests. TerraPass.com is a website that does this for you – you enter your wedding details, and the site calculates your footprint, charges you accordingly, and then invests the money for you in energy saving technologies.

Article Author:
Cori Russell of Elegala.com and Gala Weddings Magazine

Your Wedding Cake!

Article provided by: Pam & Tara, Cakes by My Mom and Me
http://www.cakesbymymomandme.com/

Next to a beautiful bride, the wedding cake is the centerpiece of the reception! Here is a list of considerations when choosing your cake:

• Design – Your cake should wow your guests! Bring pictures of cakes that you like to your consult so that your designer can create a one-of-a-kind design just for you!
• Taste – Your cake should taste as yummy as it looks… that’s what your guests will remember! If you are close to your guest servings with the number of cake servings, don’t go crazy with a lot of different flavors… guests at the front of the line may choose more than one flavor, leaving those at the end of the line with no cake.
• Price – Wedding cakes come in all shapes and sizes. Find out what the average per-slice price is in your area. Most bakeries will have a price list on-line.
• Bakery Reputation – Are they friendly, flexible, on-time?

Ask questions

• How far in advance of my date will you bake/decorate?
• Is there a contract? How/when is payment to be made?
• Is your kitchen state approved?

Things to think about at your reception venue

• Be sure that the cake table is it placed well with a nice background for pictures. If you have a groom’s cake, where will it be placed?
• Have you arranged to elevate the cake either with a sturdy box under some beautiful material or with a rented stand?
• Do you have your serving pieces and cake topper. Be sure to tell your baker if your topper is heavy so an additional plate can be put on top to hold it.
• If using real flowers on the cake, who will place them, your florist or cake decorator?
• Who will cut the cake? If your caterer will be cutting, you’re all set, they know how to get the correct number of servings out of each layer. A trusted family member or friend can do it if given the correct instructions.
• Lastly, order early to secure your date! Most bakers book from a year to 6 months in advance of wedding dates. And, ordering early eases the planning pressures of those last few months before your date!

Enjoy your special day!

Article provided by: Pam & Tara, Cakes by My Mom and Me
http://www.cakesbymymomandme.com/

Wedding Favors For Children

Deciding to include children in your wedding or reception is a very personal decision. Some people feel very strongly that children are too disruptive at weddings while others love the idea of sharing their wedding day with children and welcome children to attend the wedding ceremony and reception. While deciding whether or not to invite children is a matter of personal opinion; if you do decide to invite children they should absolutely receive some sort of wedding favor. Some couples opt to give the children the same favor as the adults while other couples prefer to give the children a different favor which is more appropriate for their age. This article will provide some idea for giving wedding favors to children.

The first thing to consider when giving wedding favors for children is the age of the children involved and the type of favor which will be given to the adults. This is important because sometimes the favor you are planning to give to the adults would be greatly appreciated by children of all ages while other times the children would likely prefer to receive a more age appropriate wedding favor. For example if you are planning to give the adults an edible wedding favor such as candy or cookies most children would likely be happy to receive this type of favor. However, if you are planning to give the adults a favor such as wine charms you might want to select another favor for the children in attendance.

One great wedding favor idea for children is an activity packaged designed specifically for use as a wedding favor. These packages have items such as games, markers and other activities so children can use the favor at the wedding. This is an especially good idea for children who are too young to enjoy the music and dancing at the reception and who may become bored easily. This type of wedding favor will not only help to keep the children entertained during the wedding but will also be a nice gift for them to take home after the wedding.

Stuffed animals are another option for a wedding favor for children. You can purchase stuffed animals with a wedding related theme such as a bride and groom teddy bear which would be appropriate for a wedding favor. Another option is to seek out stuffed animals which match the theme of the wedding. For example you may give the children a teddy bear dressed for the beach at a beach themed wedding or a stuffed penguin dressed like Santa Claus for a Christmas wedding. Another option is to give each of the children a gift certificate to one of the popular stores where children can make their own stuffed animals. These stores allow children to select their own teddy bear and watch it be stuffed before their eyes. They can even select outfit for the bears or have sound chips inserted. 

Still another option for giving wedding favors to children is to just give the children a small toy which is appropriate for their ages. These toys can be purchased at any store selling children’s toys rather than at distributors of wedding favors. If you know the children personally you can select toys which suit their interests. However, if you only know the age of the children who will be in attendance you can simply seek out toys which are appropriate for boys and girls of that age. 

Finally, couples who are unsure of what type of wedding favor to give to children can always resort to an edible wedding favor. Even if the adults will not be given an edible favor, the couple may decide to give the children edible favors. Edible favors can range to photo cookies with a picture of the bride and the groom to candy bars with the couples name and the date of the wedding. The children in attendance are much more likely to be impressed with a wedding favor of cookies or candy than they will with the more sophisticated wedding favors the couple selects for the adults in attendance. 

Fall – Autumn Theme Wedding Ideas

Autumn, what a romantic, wonderful time to get married!

Whether you want your autumn wedding to be very formal, most casual or somewhere in between, you have an enormous variety of possibilities.

It is harvest time. The summer heat is gone. Yet the days are still warm and sunny.

The leaves are turning into an incredible array of colors and as they fall off the trees, create a soft, lush colorful carpet.

Halloween and Thanksgiving are here and can serve as wedding themes or be incorporated for a most unique personalized fall theme wedding.

Can you see the possibilities?

So, put on your thinking cap and get creative.

Following are ideas to help you plan a fall wedding.

WEDDING LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Following are traditional and not so traditional locations that will enhance your autumn wedding and make it unique and special. Picture your wedding at a:

• Park
• Bed and Breakfast
• Country Inn
• Winery
• Ranch or on a farm,
• Barn
• Gazebo
• Open Field
• Orchard
• Nature Preserve
• Botanical Garden or in a private Garden
• Wooded area
• Riverbank or Lakeside
• Or anywhere where nature presents its glorious backdrop.

ATTIRE

Bride and her attendants

Fall weather is unpredictable. It may get chilly so, consider heavier fabrics and at least some sleeve for the gown and dresses or top them with matching boleros, stoles or shawls that can, but do not have to be worn.

The wedding gown can be white, ivory, champagne or gold. The gown and or veil may show embroidered leaf motif or dainty gold embroidery. Bridesmaids may wear either the same color or to really represent the autumn theme, have each bridesmaid represent a different fall color. See Fall Colors List.

The bride may wish to wear a fall theme garter and carry a matching hankie.

Bridesmaids and flower girl will look great adorning garlands of fall flowers and leaves.

The groom and his attendants

To reflect the season, the men and boys could wear tan, beige and brown attire instead of the white, black or dark blue. Their ties should be of fall colors matching the bridesmaids dresses and their boutonnière should be a fall flower.

FALL COLORS

White, ivory, champagne, muted gold, tan, beige, various browns, hunter green, burnt orange, rust red, deep red, burgundy, cranberry, wine, navy blue, sky blue, eggplant purple, pewter, silver, pale yellow, pumpkin and orange.

INVITATIONS AND STATIONERY

Accent your invitations and wedding stationery with your chosen fall color.

If you print your own, you may add fall graphics such as leaves, acorns, fall flowers, seasonal fruit, or a horn of plenty. If you purchase fall theme print your own invitations, fall theme is available.

Cut the place cards to look like a fall theme item leaves, pumpkin, turkey siluettes etc…

FLOWERS

Chrysanthemums, roses, daisies, dahlias, lilies, yarrow, orchids, hydrangeas, sunflowers, baby breath, fall leaves, tallow berries, natural or dried wheat.

CEREMONY

Decorate the ceremony site with fall flowers.

Instead of rose petals, fill the flower basket with colorful fall leaves.

Make pew bows from ribbons in your wedding colors and embellish them with fall silk flowers, leaves, fruit, wheat, Indian corn etc…

RECEPTION

Tables

Instead of numbering your tables, name them. For example:

Fall, Autumn, Acorn, Horn of plenty, Cornucopia, Maple, Oak, Apple, Pear, Pumpkin, Cranberry etc…

To add more interest and make it easier to remember give your table addresses. Just add Circle or Square depending on the shape of your tables and you send your guests to Fall Circle or Autumn Square etc… 

Use fall color linens.

Ideas for Centerpieces

Before placing a centerpiece, you may strew fall leaves on the reception tables and on the cake tale.

• Place A Horn of plenty, a basket or a hollowed pumpkin lined with fall leaves or popcorn and filled with fall fruit, berries, nuts, gourds, mini-pumpkins and-or acorns as your centerpiece.
• Pumpkin Ice Sculpture
• Carve out the inside of pumpkins and place candles in them. If you plan a buffet, you may line hollowed pumpkins with foil and using them as serving dishes.
• Fall floral arrangements in a straw basket or hollowed pumpkin.
• Place 3 or 4 fall color candles of various sizes in hurricane lamps. The candles may be cinnamon, cranberry, spice or apple scented.
• Place leaf or pumpkin shaped floating candles in a bowl, set it on a layer of fall leaves or straw.
• Paint or spray mini pumpkins and gourds and group them together.
• A real plant with real blooming flowers makes a great gift for guests. Chrysanthemums of many colors are pretty, very reasonably prices and you can get them everywhere; Wal Mart, Home Depot, Lowes, etc…
• Display b bales of hay
• If you have children, let them participate. Ask them to string cranberries, candies and popcorn and add them to your table decorations.
• Display balloons in fall colors
• Large chocolate or ice sculpture Turkeys

Favors

• Fruit shaped candles
• Favor boxes or bags filled with candy corn
• Caramel Apples
• The Perfect Pear items
• Garden in a bag or box
• Fall theme cookies
• Fall theme chocolates
• Fall theme lollypops
• Maple candies 

Reception Decorations

Fall theme ribbons and bows, garlands, paper lanterns or luminaries with amber light bulbs, balloons, chains of stringed popcorn, cranberries, candies, paper chains, bales of hay, ivy, garlands etc…

Accent the doorways and tables with tulle and ribbons in your wedding colors. Adhere leaves and silk flowers for inexpensive, elegant displays.

Cake

Decorate your cake with leaves, fall flowers, mini pumpkins, mini apples, marzipan fruit etc…

Flavors: Spice cake, pumpkin cake, dark chocolate cake, nut cake

Food items you may wish to consider

• Nuts
• DRINKS: Apple cider, Sparkling cider
• MAIN DISHES especially if close to Thanksgiving: Turkey, stuffing, corn, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc…
• DESSERTS: Pumpkin pie, Apple pie, Pecan pie

HALLOWEEN WEDDINGS

• Wedding colors white black and orange
• Treat or trick bag for bridal purse and or as guest favors
• Costumes or masks
• Jack O’lantern ice sculpture or actual pumpkin as centerpiece
• Jack O’lantern favors

DO NOT display ghosts at your wedding.

You do not want to start your life together with “ghosts in your closet”.

From Style me Pretty:

We have spent countless hours finding the most fabulous wedding inspiration, the most beautiful details, and the most gorgeous photographs for you to devour with the sincere hope that you will find one shot, one little piece of perfection that might inspire your wedding design. The only hard part out is sorting through all the amazing images to find fabulous ideas for your own big day. So we’re breaking it down for you in one pretty page. From fashion to photo shoots and color palettes to inspiration boards, you can browse through all the décor ideas and stylish finds starting right here.

Traditional Wedding

Although I love a good outdoor wedding, where I’m from an outdoor wedding isn’t necessarily a good idea.  And I figured that since a lot of people are in the same boat, I’d do an inspiration board for a traditional church/ballroom wedding.  And I figured that going for a traditional wedding, why not go for an all-white color scheme?  So here it is: an uber traditional wedding for everybody who needs a little return to tradition every now and then.

One of the other SUPER cute DIY flower projects that we did was the bracelet that Libby’s mother wore. A single stem wrapped sweetly around her wrist. It turned out so completely adorable and is a pretty simple, straightforward project to take on. Particularly when it comes to DIY flowers! We have both the pictorial instructions that Justin and Mary captured, as well as the video that Elysium filmed…so there is something for everyone’s learning styles. Thanks so much to Sarah True and Chase Rivers for dreaming up this little beauty.

OK. Now for the step-by-steps. We’ve included more pictures than are necessary just so that you can get a clear sense of how to craft these bracelets. You can really choose any hearty stem to use on these…you can even make it more elaborate by adding 2-3 flowers. They make for a perfect flower girl accessory or a mother-of-the-bride detail.

1. Begin by taking copper wire and using pliers snip the wire to the desired length. Use the pliers to bend in the ends so that they are not sharp and wrap the wire with floral tape.

2. Next, wire your flower/s. To wire the flower select a thinner gauge wire so that you can get it through the throat of the flower. You want to form a hook on the end of the wire as you thread it through the center.

3. Cut the stem and the wire to approximately 1 inch in length. Wrap florist tape around the stem and the wire together. Start at the top and pull the tape while you twirl the stem. It should cover the stem and wire evenly and smoothly. Cut the tape and press against the stem so that it sticks.

4. Once you have the flower/s wired you can begin to attach them to your copper wire by twisting the wire around the bracelet.

5. After the flower/s are attached to the copper wire, begin to wrap ribbon around the bracelet to cover all of the tape and to secure your blooms. You can use a hot glue gun to secure the ribbon.

Easy as pie, right? Well, if you still need a little extra help, Julie over at Elysium sent us a video of the DIY project so that your project is super seamless. Here you go!

Last Minute Wedding Favors

Couples who are in the process of planning their wedding and neglect to shop for wedding favors early on in the process may find themselves scrambling at the last minute for wedding favors. This often happens as the wedding planning progresses and the couple gets caught up in other details. Time can often seem to fly by during the process of planning a wedding and the couple may keep putting off the process of shopping for wedding favors until the last minute. When this happens it can seem stressful but it is important to remember that all hope is not lost and the couple can still provide great wedding for their guests even when shopping at the last minute. This article will provide some great information on how couples can still give their guests great wedding favors even when they are shopping at the last minute.

The first thing to remember when shopping for last minute wedding favors is that you will likely have to face the fact that personalized wedding favors will not likely be possible. This includes favors which include the names of the bride and groom as well as the wedding date such as candy bars with customized wrappers or candle holders with a personal message. Purchasing these types of wedding favors often involve a lead time of at least a couple of weeks. This means you will have to order the items a few weeks before you need them. If you are last minute shopping for your wedding favors you will not likely have this much time available. While there are many wedding favor distributors who will be willing to rush the order for you, they will also likely charge you very high fees for this service. The cost of rushing the wedding favor may more than double the price of the favor.

If you are seeking last minute wedding favors, one great idea is candy. Giving candy as wedding favors can be incredibly quick and easy. You can purchase gift bags from stores which sell wedding supplies and fill these bags with some of your favorite candies. You can purchase the candy in bulk and divide it up into the smaller bags. Candies such as miniature chocolate bars, hard candies or other individually wrapped candies are all appropriate for this use. 

Flowers are another great last minute wedding favor idea. If you are already planning to have floral centerpieces, your florist may be able to supply one additional flower for each guest in attendance. This is a very simple gift but it is also extremely appropriate as a wedding favor. Flowers are often used as symbols of love so giving a favor of a flower is an excellent idea for a wedding. It will also likely closely match the centerpieces so the wedding favors will actually help to contribute to the décor at the wedding reception as well as serving as a favor for the guests.

Finally, if you are in need of a last minute wedding favor you can have keys made for each of your guest. You can use a ribbon to attach a note to each key informing your guests that you wish they will keep in touch through the years and that your home will always be open to them. The key you give them does not have to be an actual copy of the key to your house but can rather serve as a symbolic gesture that you will always be available if they need you. 

Digital Post-Processing

a Photo.net guide

Digital photography requires a solid workflow, allowing for professional preparing of digital photo files for the web and print. For the Digital Photography Workflow series, we consulted with a number of experienced professional photographers who are also stellar photo.net members and frequent contributors to the Photo.net Digital Darkroom forum. Also listed here are a few articles on topics ranging from Advanced Photoshop Tutorials to Digital Technology to Image Retouching to Printing Labs to Digital Photo Projects.

Whether you are just entering the world of digital photography and need some tips and advice on how best to post-process your images, or are a seasoned pro, the insights shared here should be helpful with your own digital photography workflow.

Digital Photography Workflow: Wedding Photography using Aperture

by Bakari Chavanu

Digital photography requires a solid workflow, allowing for professional preparing of digital photo files for the web and print. For the Digital Photography Workflow series, we consulted with a number of experienced professional photographers who are also stellar photo.net members and frequent contributors to the Photo.net Digital Darkroom forum, to walk us through their specific digital photography workflow.

In this article, Bakari Chavanu discusses his unique digital workflow process tailored to meet the needs of his professional wedding photography career, the set of software and tools he prefers to use, and goals he accomplishes with his digital workflow. The article is enhanced with illustrative figures and screen shots, and includes example images from Bakari’s portfolio. Whether you are just entering the world of digital photography and need some tips and advice on how best to post-process your images, or are a seasoned pro, the insights shared here should be helpful with your own digital photography workflow.

Pre-capture and Capturing

A smart and constantly refined workflow for nearly every aspect of wedding photography is essential for getting a job done in a timely and efficient manner. Having a strong workflow also insures that you will profit from the work you do, and that your clients will not be waiting months to see their photos.

Even the pre-capture stage is an important part of a photographer’s workflow. The simplest part of this workflow for me is keeping and maintaining nearly all my equipment in one place: my LowePro roller bag. If equipment is not properly maintained and kept in one place, it is easy to leave behind something you need while on a shoot. Some equipment, like a diffuser, a small ladder, a tripod or two, and a change of clothing can remain in the trunk of your automobile at all times until needed. I also got the idea from another photographer to have a toolbox of items, such as duck tape, scissors, digital cables, camera cleaning equipment, cleaning cloth, that might be needed for any given shoot.

Figure 1: Equipment Bag

I bring along 8 media cards to each wedding photography gig. About half of them are 2 GB high speed CF cards and the other half are 1 GB. I don’t like putting all my eggs in one basket, so I don’t capture on 4 GB or higher cards. Some photographers will differ on this, but it really depends on what you feel comfortable with. Each media card is numbered and labeled with my name and phone number. My cards stay with me in a pouch attached to my belt at all times during the shoot. I keep empty cards face up, and filled cards face down. During a lull in my shooting, I set up and copy my digital files onto my Epson P-2000 media storage viewer. This media viewer, though expensive, provides me the confidence that my photos are all backed up even before I arrive home (the Epson P-3000 and Epson P-5000 are currently available). I don’t reformat my media cards until photos are backed up in at least two places, and even then I try not to delete images until I go on my next job.

I do take along a laptop computer and sometimes prepare a slide show of the ceremony photos I take at a wedding, but I rarely use the laptop as a storage device. My backup system includes the RAW files on the Epson P-2000, the internal drive of my Mac Pro, as well as a vault backup (saved on a separate drive) created through Apple’s image management and editing software, Aperture. I export and archive JPEG copies of photo shoots on DVD, but I have yet to develop an offsite backup (Figure 1: Equipment Bag).