Planning a Wedding

Planning a Wedding Stage 1 - Wedding Rings
This section covers the wide range of choices in engagement rings and wedding rings - and also, the importance of making an early decision on the wedding date.

Planning a Wedding Stage 2 - Wedding Venues
Definitely best to book your wedding venue (or venues) earlier rather than later. Popular venues for marriage ceremonies and wedding receptions, can be "snapped up" years in advance.

Planning a Wedding Stage 3 - Wedding Vehicles
This section helps in the decision of type of wedding vehicles you may wish to consider hiring for your wedding day. Whether it is simply just one wedding taxi that would be required (or a small fleet of taxis for immediate family and bridesmaids) or a very grand vehicle with ribbons, or a stretch limo or horse and carriage, - book early to avoid disappointment.

Planning a Wedding Stage 4 - Wedding Music & Entertainment
Wedding music or wedding poetry will almost certainly play an important role during the wedding ceremony. During an evening wedding reception, bridal couples often book a DJ or live band. Try to cater for every guest's taste as far as possible.

Planning a Wedding Stage 5 - Wedding Photography
Wedding photographs play a vital role in “looking back” scenario - especially with regards to the wedding album. Many photographers specialise in wedding photography. These wedding photographic specialists will be only too pleased to show you their creative work. Choose the one you feel is right for you with utmost care - because there are no second chances.

Planning a Wedding Stage 6 - Stag & Hen Parties
For great bonding sessions, usually with mates and family of same gender, Hen Parties and Stag Nights can help provide light relief from all the stress of the wedding preparations. Stag and Hen Nights give a chance for several guests to get to meet other guests before the day of the wedding.

Planning a Wedding Stage 7 - Honeymoon Destinations
If you are intending to take a long or short break away following the wedding, it is also essential to plan early for the honeymoon. Take every caution to ensure that the holiday following the wedding day is a very memorable experience for all the right reasons.

Planning a Wedding Stage 8 - Wedding Guest Accommodation
If any wedding guests are needing transportation at any time during the day time or evening, for example: transport following the wedding reception to a hotel or other residence, it is often expected that the bride and groom, or the Best Man, will not only sort out their overnight accommodation, - but will also arrange for taxis or other forms of transport.

Planning a Wedding Stage 9 - Bridalwear
Although many brides like to be fairly traditional in their choice of bridalwear, exclusivity of bridal design is also favoured by many brides for their bridal gown. And amongst the millions of "off-the-peg" creative one-piece and two-piece bridal creations, there is almost always one out there which is just waiting for you.

Planning a Wedding Stage 10 - Bridal Jewellery & Accessories
If ostentation is your preference in bridal headwear, jewellery and/or other bridal accessories and finery, it is generally considered to keep to "clean lines" with your bridal gown. But less ostentious bridal adornments look great with a more "frivolous" wedding gown - as well as the more plain, but never-the-less very glamorous, wedding gowns.

Planning a Wedding Stage 11 - Bridegroom & Best Man Apparel
Although obviously not wishing to outshine the bridegroom, the Best Man must nevertheless make every endeavour to shine in his own right. Like the groom, concentrations on all-round general appearance are of utmost importance. As well as the suit to be worn, which may or may not be a hired suit (often together with tie or cravat and shirt), Best Men often like to add extra little touches like cuff links or a tie pin. To give an extra boost of confidence in one's appearance, there are fewer things better to consider than the designer ranges of men's very stylish footwear.

Planning a Wedding Stage 12 - Speech making
Public speaking, and speech making, for those who are unaccustomed to speaking in public, can be a very unnerving experience. Making a wedding speech is sometimes the only occasion when a person will ever be required, and expected, to take "centre stage" in front of an audience. Bridegrooms, Best Men and Father of the Bride, are bound to feel particularly nervous on a Wedding Day - as their speeches will be will be delivered in front of friends and family.

Planning a Wedding Stage 13 - Wedding Breakfasts & Buffets
Inspirational wedding catering companies (with permission of wedding venue manager), are well worth a consideration for the wedding breakfast and/or buffet. Creative wedding catering companies, and bespoke wedding caterers, can often offer superb wedding cuisine which is second-to-none.

Planning a Wedding Stage 14 - Wedding Bouquets & Buttonholes
Bridesmaids posies and wedding bouquets need to complement the bridesmaids dresses and bridal gown. Roses and lillies, and thistles, daisies and hydrangeas, make great wedding bouquets in their own right. Carefully selected different blooms can also look fantastic in a wedding gardland or bouquet. Flowers also make wonderful adornments around venue and ceremony rooms.

Planning a Wedding Stage 15 - Wedding Cakes
Whether you wish your wedding cake to have one-tier, two-tiers or even three-tiers or more, wedding cakes are great attention grabbers at a wedding reception - and as slices are often taken home by guests, it's crucial to put much thought into this delicious wedding day item. Whether it's your intention to purchase a great "off the shelf" wedding cake or a special designed wedding cake - try not to settle for mediocre with regards to the cake decoration. Although economies are possible with the actual type of cake: fruit cake or sponge cake.

Planning a Wedding Stage 16 - Wedding Stationery
Wedding stationery is a general term which includes the wedding invitations, wedding place settings, wedding orders of service and wedding table plans.

Planning a Wedding Stage 17 - Wedding Gifts
Duplicated wedding gifts are a thing of the past for the most part nowadays. The bridal couple will likely be very polite if you duplicate (or even worse, purchase something not to their particular taste). But if you wish to be on the safe side, ask the bride and groom for guidance, or discover if there is something specific they are requiring. Many bridal couples will be only too pleased to supply a wedding gift list - or advise about a particular store who are dealing with their wedding gift requirements.

Planning a Wedding Stage 18 - Wedding Umbrellas & Parasols
Ignore the old song title "Any Umbrella" - because not any old umbrella will do for your wedding day. A suitable umbrella may need sorting in advance - to ensure that something which has seen better days is not needing to be used on the day of the wedding. And although umbrellas are only likely to be used in emergencies - parasols often help enhance bridal attire.

Planning a Wedding Stage 19 - Bridal Hairdressers
Wedding Day hair styling is not just for consideration by important females involved on the Wedding Day. It is also important for guys involved in wedding day celebrations to consider booking in their hairdressing appointments with favourite hair stylists. And ensure to book early.

Planning a Wedding Stage 20 - Bridal Makeup Artists & Manicurists
The same applies to the bridal makeup artist and bridal manicurist as applies for your special hairdressing stylist. Book them early to ensure that these specialists are available on the day of your wedding - and have a trial run before the wedding day. (This especially applies to the makeup artist).

Planning a Wedding Stage 21 - Outdoor & Indoor Fireworks
If you wish to add a great splash of colour to the finish of the evening, firework displays can provide a brilliant grand finale following a wedding reception. They can make a superb wedding reception even more of a memorable event for all the guests. And indoor sparklers are considered a "must have" by many bridal couples. Firstly, you need to check you have permission of the venue.

Planning a Wedding Stage 22 - Wedding Room Decorations & Adornments
If the wedding ceremony room is not the same room as the wedding reception room, both rooms will require individually sorting in respect of wedding room decorations and wedding room adornments. With regards to rooms used for weddings, sometimes it is the seemingly insignificant things that guests remember the most following a wedding reception. And although wedding room decorating may actually be a bit subliminal for most of the guests (in other words, although many guests may only remember afterwards the odd garland of flowers, party balloon or a significantly special party piece like an ice sculpture within the wedding venue room), if a room or building has a certain "feel" about it, a good feel due to the room decorations, it will be the special feeling of a "good room" for the most part, as opposed to why it was a "good room", which the wedding guests will be taking home with them. Consequently, it is vital to give long and careful thought to your wedding decorations. They need to be "spot on".

Planning a Wedding Stage 23 - Bagpipers & Wedding Chimney Sweeps
If a bagpiper is your "bag", wedding couples employing an Irish piper, or Scottish bagpiper, to help make their wedding day daytime, and wedding day evening, that extra bit special, rarely, if ever, regret it. Or for a great bit of more unusual fun which will provide amazingly sensational wedding photos for the album, why not consider having a wedding mock chimney sweep following your wedding ceremony? The contrast of scruffiness of the chimney sweep, and smartness of wedding guests, will have everyone clambouring to view your wedding photo album.

Planning a Wedding Stage 24 - Thank you Gifts
Apart from brides and grooms verbally saying "thank you" to guests, and anyone else who requires appreciation, generally in thankfulness for their wedding gift or for special services for their wedding occasion, saying "thank you" in the form of a thank you gift, or special thank you card, only requires a few minutes of time and does not require any great expense. They are not an obligation. So gifts and cards are an extra act of gratitude on behalf of the bride and groom. Small thank you gifts, and cards, from a bride an groom, show that the bridal couple have taken an extra trouble, and a little expense, just to say "thank you" to them personally. So the fact that the bridal couple have made this special effort, even if the cost has been kept to absolute minimum, shows they troubled themselves to sort another way of expressing how much a wedding gift, or their helpfulness has been very much appreciated. The fact that a bridal couple has considered they wished to show extra appreciation - usually pleases the recipient as much as the actual gift or card itself.

Planning a Wedding Stage 25 - Wedding Breakfast Table Decorations
For the wedding breakfast table, there are many elaborate table decorations, and fun table items, on offer for consideration. Well worth a thought are the following examples of table decorations and adornments, fun table items and wedding breakfast table gifts: ice sculptures, disposable cameras, wedding candles, paper shapes, wedding napkin rings, party poppers and streamers as well as bubbles and sparklers. All these items help to create fun, and surely enhance the appearance, on a white linen tablecloth at a wedding reception. Upon consideration, you may opt to decide on wedding favours. Wedding favours are a great way to "break the ice" with conversations between guests. They certainly don't need to cost the Earth - because whatever the present in the favour bag, guests just adore spotting something personal for them. This can provide a golden opportunity to have a laugh and a chat with nearby neighbours on the table. To sum up, you just need to ensure that you have some well-thought-out ideas for adding something(s) "extra" to your wedding dining table.