Month: April 2014

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What You Should Know About Wedding Invitations

Jill and Chris haven’t set the date yet for their wedding. However, I thought I would start collecting information for Jill about all things pertaining to the wedding. Since I’m doing all of this hard leg work I thought I would share it with all of you too. There is no sense in it not going to good use by others as well. I can just print off my blog posts for her or just e-mail her links as I find new information.

To get things started, I decided to go with wedding invitations. I’m starting with wedding invitations because they are usually one of the very first impressions everyone will have of your wedding. I say usually because save the date cards come before the invitations but I’m not sure if she will be sending those out. The invitations will set the tone of the wedding and can introduce many aspects and themes of the occasion.

It’s important to pay attention to detail with the invitations. Color schemes can match the bridal party’s chosen colors or just be classic. The design flow can be simple and elegant or complex and unique. Whatever the couple chooses to go with will give every one an idea of what they can expect of the wedding to come.

The wording of the invitation is one of the trickier points to master because you need to follow proper etiquette. It all depends on who is paying for the wedding, who is hosting it, who is attending and  more. I suppose once you can answer those questions the rest will be pretty easy to figure out by looking up wedding invitation wording etiquette.

No matter what the happy couple choose, they have to remember to get them out in a timely manner.

 

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Choosing the Right Wedding Centerpieces

Wedding centerpieces set the look of your tables at the reception. The goal of the centerpiece is to have them compliment your wedding theme and style. Adding special details with your centerpieces can really carry your theme out For example, a vase with sand and sea shells would be beautiful for a beach ceremony and would bring aspect that back to the reception for the guests.

I’ve seen big giant wedding centerpieces and also small little something centerpieces. At a few of the weddings I have attended the center piece were given out to some of the guests to take home as additional gifts or giant favors.

I know some people enjoy having candles as a part of their centerpiece. Pillar candles can be added to a floral arrangement and really make the piece stand out. Personalized candles also make great decorative items on the table.

I had very simple wedding centerpieces at my wedding reception. I didn’t have much money so I got little glass candle holders or, small and fat vases I guess you could call them, and filled them with pretty glass stones. I set them on the table with things I call balloon weights or table cloth weights. They were a pretty opalescent color and had hearts and bells confetti streamers coming out of the top. They were simple and looked great for my small wedding reception.

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What Would You Do If Today Was Your Last Day?

What would you do if today was your last day to live on the earth? Would you spend all of your money on frivolous things? Would you eat high calorie food and have have seconds and thirds and not care? Would you want to be all alone to meditate in your last moments alive? Who wold you want to spend your last moments of your life with? What would your last words be and who would you say them to?

If today is your last day how are you spending it? I’m spending today with my family. We’re having a family game night and movie night. We’re making homemade pizza and everyone is decorating their own pizzas and then we’re going to play a few board games. Finally we’ll finish up the night with a movie and some popcorn followed by nice warm mugs of hot cocoa.

I love spending time with my family, and if today really is my last day I’ll be happy to be spending it with those I love and hold most dear. What are your plans for the day today? Who are you spending it with?

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Crafts For All of Your Left Over Shims

Shims usually come in a pack. Ever wonder what to do with all of those left over shims? Well I’ve a few craft ideas for you to use up your shim stock.

1. Make a decorative piece of wall art by gluing the shims inside of a frame.

2. Create a beautiful sunburst looking wall mirror by surrounding a circular mirror with shims. If you turn the shims so they are stacked on each other and then lay them around the mirror it will look like a star burst. Cut the shims to different lengths for each point of the star.

3. Cover a planter box side with multiple colors of shims to add some texture and pops of color.

4. Staple a few to a piece of wood to make your own picture displays with no glass needed.

5. Stack a few shims together to make a Christmas tree and paint it green and leave the bottom shim turned vertical and stain it brown. I had to add this one in because it’s so close to Christmas. We actually made this one ourselves last year. It was quite easy to do and because shims are so inexpensive we got enough for everyone in the family to make one for themselves.

Do you have any fun ideas on ways to use up those shims you have laying around or even fun crafts to do with shims on purpose?

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Celebrating the Unity Ceremony With Sand & Candles

It is becoming more and more popular for couples to elect to have some form of unity ceremony during their wedding service. Unity ceremonies can symbolize the joining of two families into one and or the joining of the bride and groom into one flesh.The unity ceremony can be performed with candles or sand.

The candle unity ceremony consists of two long tapered candles and one larger unity candle. The tapered candles can either represent the bride and groom each or their respective families. It’s common for a representative from each family to light the tapered candles. This is usually done by the mothers of the bride and groom. During the ceremony the bridge and groom light the larger unity candle together with their tapered candles. This large candle represents the new couple and or the joining of the families into one unit that love the happy couple. The unity candle is often decorated with the wedding invitation, monogram, some inscription or a picture of the couple. These candles are more than often white in color. Depending on the representation and symbolism the couples elect to follow the individual tapered candles may be blown out or left lit.

A similar unity ceremony can be performed using sand. Instead of lighting a candle together, the couple uses colored sand from individual vessels and pours them together into a larger container. The sand can match the color scheme of the bridal party or be your classic black and white. Some couples elect to use a different color for each family member and have everyone participate, especially if there are children involved in the new marriage.

Whether you choose to have a sand or candle unity ceremony is up to you. There are many options to choose from style wise to have the perfect additions to your wedding ceremony.