Quaker Wedding Customs

A Quaker marriage ceremony is very, very different than most American weddings. There is no fanfare, and in fact, the ceremony is similar to a regular Meeting of the Friends. One of the things that will seem very unfamiliar to a non-Quaker guest is the amount of silence that is part of the Meeting.

The bride and groom will sit at the front of the Meeting house until they feel moved to stand and exchange their promises to one another. The length of the silent period can be as long as one hour, which is intended to be a time for quiet reflection and prayer. This is quite typical for a Quaker service, but might be very awkward for anyone used to the music, readings, and rituals that are part of most other religious ceremonies.

Following the exchange of “promises” or “declarations” (the Quakers do not call them “vows”), the bride and groom will sign the Quaker Wedding Certificate, which is one of the most important parts of the ceremony. The Wedding Certificate is usually very beautifully made, with calligraphy and elaborate illustrations. At the end of the Meeting, all of the assembled guests will sign the Certificate, and the newlyweds will hang it in their home as a reminder of the declarations that they made.

It is interesting to note that although still known for their beautiful simplicity, some Quaker couples are including some elements of the standard American wedding in their marriage ceremony. Though it is not part of the Quaker tradition, some brides today are choosing to wear a white dress and wedding jewelry, and to walk down the aisle to meet her groom. In addition, some Quaker brides and grooms now exchange wedding bands, although a piece of jewelry was not part of the Quaker service in the past.

Even with the addition of some of the mainstream American wedding customs, Quaker weddings are still singular for their simplicity and their silence. It is a beautiful tradition that is intended to highlight what is truly significant about a marriage, rather than allowing the emphasis to shift to the external trappings of a wedding.

Throwing a Tex-Mex Wedding

There are a variety of elements that you will want to include in a Tex-Mex wedding. The first thing to think about is color. When most people think of Mexico, they think of exuberant colors, such as magenta, orange, and yellow. These colors would be a very festive palette for a wedding, and can be used for everything from the linens to the flowers to the bridesmaid dresses and jewelry.

If you would like a more formal color palette, then you can go with a red and black combination. A bouquet of rich red flowers makes a beautiful accent against a white wedding gown. Your bridesmaids will look lovely in deep red dresses with black sashes. For your bridesmaid gifts, consider giving them handcrafted jewelry in your wedding colors.

Look for a wedding venue with a great flair, such as a Spanish mission style church or reception site. During the ceremony, it would be nice to include the Mexican custom of the groom presenting thirteen coins to his bride. It is meant to signify that he will be able to support her during their marriage. Another tradition in Mexican weddings is one where the bride and groom have a rosary or white rope wrapped around them in a figure eight to symbolize their union.

Food and music are at the center of any Tex-Mex party. A mariachi band will get everyone into the right spirit. There are many crowd-pleasing dishes that you can serve for your reception. One great idea is to have a taco or fajita bar where guests can build their own meal with all of the fixings.  Have a variety of fillings, such as spiced beef, pulled pork, and shredded chicken, along with the traditional Tex-Mex side dishes like Spanish rice, black beans, and refried beans.

If you are having a lot of young guests (or just many who are young-at-heart), a pinata would be a fun way to top off the reception. You could even have the wedding favors fall out of the pinata, which would be a memorable touch. Your Tex-Mex wedding is sure to be a fun and exciting wedding that you and your guests will never forget.

The Modern Vintage Wedding

You may be asking yourself, how can I design a wedding that pulls together the best from the past, while still feeling fresh and current? The answer: a modern vintage style wedding. Read on for ideas on how to combine these two contrasting styles into one fabulous event.

The way to bring vintage and modern together successfully is to mix them shamelessly. For example, a Victorian style wedding gown would be made of lace and have a high collar and long sleeves (a revival that was popular in the 1980s). The updated version would feature a beautiful soft lace, but the cut of the gown would be much more streamlined and pared down, such as a spaghetti strap lace sheath wedding dress.

Your accessories can also give a nod to the past while still feeling fresh and updated. One of the hottest accessories on the red carpet this year was the clutch handbag. This style of bag has been in style in many different time periods, and you can find some fantastic original vintage beaded clutches in antique shops or even on ebay.

Handmade wedding jewelry is another detail that is perfect for the modern vintage wedding. Choosing pieces of jewelry for your wedding that are handmade one by one from beautiful gems like pearls and crystals goes back to a time when craftsmanship was revered.

Another great element for a modern vintage wedding is letterpress stationery. This is a very old style that has become very much in vogue over the last five or ten years. You will often find letterpress invitations with cool retro motifs such as birds. The color palettes are also that cool retro modern look; you see lots of brown, mixed with pink, sky blue, or mint green. It is the perfect way to set the tone for a modern vintage wedding.

Allocating Your Wedding Budget

The first thing to know is the basic formula, in terms of what percentage of your wedding budget should be allotted to each category of expenditure. The second thing to know is that these guidelines are really only that – guidelines – and that the actual divisions of your resources will be based as much on your priorities as on a chart. The trick is to find a way to divide up your available funds so that you are not left without the money to pay for something in one of the categories that interests you less.

In general, the reception is going to take up the biggest chunk of your wedding budget, normally about half. Within that 50%, though, it is entirely up to you how you want to break it down. For instance, if your top priority is having a venue with breathtaking views or a well-known name, you may spend more of that 50% allocation on the venue, and compromise by having a less expensive menu. Or if having top notch food is your main concern, you might spend more on the caterer, and less on the decorations and flowers.

All of the wedding budgets advise allotting around 10% of your funds to go for attire and beauty. The wedding attire includes everything from the wedding gown to the bridal jewelry, the hair, the makeup, and so forth. Feel free to save in one area so that you can splurge in another. For instance, you can find beautiful crystal bridal jewelry online and put the savings towards a more elaborate gown or a great pair of designer wedding shoes.

The reality is that most couples end up going over their budget, so allow yourself a little extra cushion. If you make a list of your priorities in the beginning, it will be easier to shift your money around to stay within your wedding budget when all is said and done.

What Is Out For 2009 Weddings

Weddings are a funny thing; one year a trend can be red hot, and the next year, it suddenly seems overdone, out of style, or simply “so last year”. Naturally, brides want to avoid any of these things that will make their weddings feel out of place or cliché! With that in mind, these are some of the wedding trends that are out of fashion for 2009.

Colors go in and out of fashion for weddings just as they do for clothing each year. This has happened to pink and espresso or Tiffany blue for wedding colors. As pretty as these colors are, everyone is tired of looking at them! The hottest colors for weddings this year include combinations like lime and tangerine or cherry and lime. When in doubt, you can also choose to go with the one wedding color that is never out of style: white.

What about bridesmaids?  What is definitely out is making your bridesmaids all match. Much more modern is to choose dresses for each girl that have a certain flow between them, but that are not the same cut or even the exact same color. This is true both for the bridesmaid dresses and their accessories like shoes and jewelry. When brides are picking out bridesmaid jewelry to give as a gift to each attendant, they are trying to find the pieces that are perfect for each woman as an individual.

Another thing that seemed so innovative a few years back was to have serving stations at your wedding reception. Guests could circulate between different small tables offering a wide array of tasty foods. It was a stylish alterative to the old-fashioned buffet. For this year, however, the serving station has been pushed aside in favor of seated dinners at long rectangular tables. The long tables lend themselves perfectly to the alternating high/low centerpieces that are in vogue right now.

Ballet Inspired Wedding Attire

One of the most iconic ballerina fashions is the tulle skirt. While it might be hard to carry off a stiff tutu walking down the aisle, a soft and floating tulle skirt is a beautiful style for a wedding gown. The ethereal layers of netting will make any bride look as though she is practically floating on air. This is a gorgeous choice for a bride at any time of the year.

When it comes to the bodice of your wedding gown, there are several styles that you can borrow from the ballet. Ballerinas often wear the most delicate spaghetti straps to show off their delicate shoulders, and the effect is equally lovely on a bride. Another idea is to wear a wedding gown with a sheer illusion neckline. It is a very demure and refined style.

The delicate nature of ballerina inspired wedding attire calls for equally dainty embellishments. Tiny Swarovski crystals would look absolutely stunning twinkling on the bodice of a bridal gown or even on a short veil. You can even add a few crystals or pearls as accents on your ballet slippers. Choose the embellishment that will look the best with your wedding jewelry.

No matter what your choice for wedding gown, you may want to consider wearing a pair of ballet slippers with your dress. Simple white or pink leather ballet slippers are both comfortable and very affordable. Get them well before the wedding and wear them around the house so that they can mold to your feet. By the day of your ceremony, your ballet slippers will feel like a second skin – perfect for dancing the night away!

Bridal Jewelry Inspired by Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is clearly a woman who knows that accessories make the outfit. From her bold green gloves and shoes at the Inauguration, to her collection of striking belts, to her gorgeous jewelry, the First Lady has a knack for choosing just the right accent to really make an outfit stand out. When you are getting married and putting together your bridal ensemble, you can use this same concept to pull together a look that is truly extraordinary.

One of Mrs. Obama’s favorite types of jewelry is pearls. She has been seen wearing pearls of almost every description, and this is a great place for a bride to begin shopping, as well. You will want to match your pearl bridal jewelry to the style and neckline of your wedding gown. The great thing about pearl bridal jewelry is that it can be traditional, bold, or even cutting edge, as the First Lady has shown.

Necklaces are not the only type of jewelry that you can choose to wear for your wedding. If you want to try a more unique sort of adornment, look into a big pearl brooch like the one that Michelle Obama paired with a turtleneck dress to wear to an event at the Kennedy Center. A bride can adapt this idea by pinning a big and spectacular pearl or crystal brooch to the waist of her dress or to the spot where her train bustles to the back of the gown. The effect is pure elegance.

Of course, pearls are not the only type of jewelry worn by the First Lady; she also loves a bit of sparkle! Emulate her old Hollywood glamour by choosing a dramatic pair of crystal chandelier earrings similar to the diamond ones Mrs. Obama wore to the Inaugural Ball. She completed the look with a stack of thin diamond bangles, but beautiful crystal wedding bracelets would work equally well.

Black Tie Bridesmaid Dresses

Black tie weddings are always so elegant and sophisticated. If you are planning a black tie affair, not only does the bride need to find an appropriate gown, but so do her bridesmaids. These are some of the hottest trends for formal and fabulous bridesmaid dresses.

First of all, a formal bridesmaid dress can be just as chic and stylish as one for a more relaxed wedding. They are not the big poufy dresses that bridesmaids had to wear to evening weddings in the past. For a black tie wedding, your attendants should wear floor length dresses, but they can still be very current and sophisticated.

Other than length, color is going to be one of your biggest decisions to make about your bridesmaid dresses. The trend for formal gowns is to go with deep neutral colors. You hear a lot of colors names like pewter, charcoal, slate, chocolate, and even black.

The styles of formal bridesmaid dresses these days are slim and chic – there is not a petticoat in sight! Two of the most popular fabrics are silk chiffon and tissue taffeta. The chiffon is a beautiful flowing fabric that will fall softly in a slim skirt. It is often being shown with a pleated or shirred bodice falling into a skirt that is slender, but lightly gathered at the waist. All of these fabric effects help to make the chiffon a more forgiving fabric than it is when used in a single layer or draped on the bias.

The finishing touch for your bridesmaids will be the perfect bridesmaid jewelry. For a black tie wedding, you will definitely want to amp up the glamour factor. Look for fabulous bridesmaid jewelry such as sparkling chandelier earrings, elegant drop necklaces, and stacks of pearl and crystal bracelets. Special jewelry makes a great bridesmaid gift from the bride, and it will help your attendants to look and feel complete in their formal gowns.

Handsome Boutonierres

There are almost as many choices for boutonierres as there options for the bride’s bouquet. In general, the boutonierres worn by the men in the wedding party should coordinate with the rest of the flowers (sorry guys, I guess it is still all about the bride!). A nice way to tie in the lapel flowers with the bouquets and other floral displays is to choose one of the same blooms featured in the bride’s flowers to use as the boutonierre.

Usually, the boutonierre consists of a single flower, but you can also combine a few small elements to make a unique ornament. For instance, for an autumn wedding, you can wire an acorn into a spray of orange berries for a charming seasonal accent. A winter groom would look dashing sporting a small spray of pine with a few red berries and a single white flower. Just be sure to keep the boutonierres from getting too large, or the men will refuse to wear them!

Sparkle is one of the hottest trends at weddings these days, and you see that carried into the boutonierres. A simple rose can be dressed up with a string of tiny Swarovksi crystals wrapped around the stem. Or a few crystals can be wired into the center of an open flower. This is often a popular idea for the groom, and then the groomsmen will wear the same type of boutonierre without the crystal accents.

It the traditional etiquette of wedding flowers, the bride’s family pays for all of the flowers, except for the bride’s bouquet, which is sometimes a gift from the groom. These days, things are a bit looser, especially as more couples finance their own weddings. It would be nice for the bride to give the groom his boutonierre, and then the groom can give the groomsmen their boutonierres as a gift. (This is not to be confused with the main groomsmen gift, which should be something of lasting value, like silver cufflinks.)

The bouttonierre is a small detail in the grand scheme of a wedding, to be sure. However, the boutonierre is one of the few bits of flair that the groom will get to wear, so it is important. Choose a lapel accent for him that is stylish and classic, and your groom will look even more handsome on your wedding day.

Oscar Style For Your Wedding

For the most glamorous wedding style, take your cue straight from the red carpet! Celebrities are always the first to showcase the latest fashions, and on Oscar night, you can see the most fabulous styles of all. Add some high fashion and glamour to your wedding by wearing an Oscar inspired bridal ensemble.

One of the hottest trends at the Academy Awards was gowns with one shoulder. This style will give your bridal ensemble instant glamour and elegance. This dramatic asymmetrical look was featured by stars such as Kate Winslet and Alicia Keys. Many of the one shouldered gowns also had beautifully draped fabrics, enhancing their Greek goddess effect. A necklace does not sit well with this type of neckline, so again, take your cue from the stars, and accessorize your gown with a pair of big fabulous crystal chandelier earrings.

Speaking of high style meeting bridal style, some of the actresses at the Oscars wore gowns that could easily have been wedding dresses. Cream was a popular color this year, and there were many gorgeous gowns to be seen in this soft color. Stars like Sarah Jessica Parker wore gowns that would have looked just as perfect walking down the aisle as the red carpet. With these looks as your inspiration, choosing an Oscar inspired bridal gown will be a snap.

When you are getting all glammed up for your wedding day, don’t forget about the finishing touches that will make your look outrageously fabulous. You will, of course, need plenty of sparkling wedding jewelry, but also look for the most stylish shoes, and the perfect little clutch. Complete your glamorous look with star-worthy hair and makeup. Don’t be surprised if when “Here Comes the Bride” starts to play you feel almost as though you were strutting down the red carpet instead of gliding down the aisle!