When planning your wedding, you may wonder, what is the best mix of music for your reception. The truth of the matter is, the best music for your reception depends on a number of factors: the location of the reception, the formality of the wedding, the guests who will attend, and the theme of the wedding. An outdoor garden party will have much different music than a country themed wedding, and a county themed bash will be much different than an upscale five hundred guest black tie event.

In general though, you will want traditional, big band, swing and light pop music for the first half of the reception. You will want something light, classic and enjoyable during dinner. After dinner, you will want to pick the party up a notch by playing something your guests can dance to – whether it be popular pop music, top 40 music, R&B, or group dance music. In other words, your reception will have a good mix of styles and ranges, something to please everyone who is attending.

As soon as you have confirmed your wedding date, your location and booked your band or DJ, you may want to make a list of events you will need songs for during your wedding and select songs for those events. You may also want to make a list of songs to play, songs not to play, and special songs for certain people.

Here are some things you may want to jot down and present to your music entertainment for your wedding. Confirm the following songs for special moments or blocks of time during your reception.

First Dance Song Bridal Party Dance Father Daughter Dance Mother Son Dance Songs for any other special dances (grandparents, ethnic dances, group dances) Song for the Cake Cutting Song for the bridal bouquet / garter toss Anniversary song for married couples A closing song for the end of the reception Confirm a list of songs you definately want played Confirm a list of songs you definately do not want played Discuss what type of music you want played before dinner, during dinner and after dinner

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A wedding is a very personal affair and should have its own inimitable features. Now a day’s ‘Eco-Chic’ weddings are considered very different and more popular. Now the question will arise, what are Eco-Chic weddings? Simply put, one can say an environment friendly, affordable, socially responsible, and trendy wedding ceremony and reception is termed as an “Eco-Chic wedding”. These have become quite famous among the younger generation.

Some couples simply hire a wedding planner to detach themselves from the burden and stress of wedding planning to make it an elaborate affair. For a wedding to be Eco-Chic, one has to be really careful when selecting the ecological services and products.

The foremost thing in planning an Eco-Chic wedding is the location chosen for the day. It plays an essential place in the preparation. In Eco-Chic weddings the ballroom is easily swapped for a botanical garden and terrace. Many brides and grooms are having the wedding reception and ceremony arranged on a beach, a nature reserve, their own backyards, or a park. These wedding venues give the couple a very environmental feel throughout the wedding ceremony and give the guests room to breath comfortably during the wedding reception. However, precautions have to be taken because in such places, a wedding can be given a beautiful look but due to natural forces, the special day can be easily ruined from rain, thunder, hot summers, etc.

The next point to keep in mind about deciding on the location is that the bride and groom should keep the venue local. If the wedding location is far from ones home, transporting people and things would be pretty difficult. Whenever possible, the couple should look at local suppliers to fill their needs. This will save on transportation costs and mental stress.

The next most important thing to decide in planning an Eco-Chic wedding is the dress worn by both groom and the bride. It has almost become a trend now that the couple prefers to wear natural fabrics which are light and smooth to carry like silk or cotton. These fabrics are very comfortable to use and enough detailing can be done on them to provide each attendant an imposing facade.

Eco-friendly invitations made of recycled papers adds charm to the nuptials. Gone are the days of limited varieties of recycled paper. The market now offers enormous variety of it. Even the catering and the reception decorations should be chosen carefully keeping the environment in mind. Ethical and environmental concerns have spread to the food. Vegetarian and lacto-vegetarian diets have gained great popularity. Regarding reception hall decorations, planted plants in pots or small vegetation should be chosen over small flower arrangements and garlands. Even romantic and dim candle light will seem right and proper in an Eco-Chic wedding ceremony.

Finally, gifts and chocolate wedding favors with a personalized note will add a feeling of love and affection among all. A great blend for a perfect Eco-Chic wedding plan!

A beach Wedding is a wonderful and romantic way to begin a new life together. The water, the sand and sunshine makes it a superb and peaceful location for a wedding. With beach wedding planning, there are many considerations. It presents some unique challenges which are not usually faced in other locations. Planning a beach wedding needs concern because of the water and the sand.

Some beaches are owned privately be hotels, resorts, restaurants and private individuals. The services of the beach can be used with the permission from the owner. Either the whole wedding ceremony along with the reception can be planned at the beach or can choose to plan the wedding alone at the beech and then adjourn to the resort or hotel for the reception or to a patio or deck overlooking the beach.

Beaches are always windy, so weather is the most important concern in Beach Wedding Planning. Visit the location a day or two prior to the wedding at the same time of the wedding day so that to see where the sunsets, the direction of the wind and other considerations. The sun may also be strong which could make the guests uncomfortable. Guests should be informed to bring their sunglasses and sunscreen and wear appropriate dresses. Shade should also be provided for the guests who feel uncomfortable. Rain is also possible so a tent should be made ready.

Beaches are sandy, so appropriate chairs should be arranged as it may sink into the sand. Flooring should be rented for arranging chairs for the ceremony. Tide is another consideration as the couple should know when the tide will come in, as it may flood the area. Beaches are noisy, so appropriate sound system should be arranged so that the guests can hear them clearly.

Parking facility is also an important factor in planning beach wedding. So find a place for the guests to park their vehicles and see that they do not walk so far to reach the location as walking on sand is very difficult for elderly people.

Music at the beach can be challenging. Access to electricity at the beach is difficult, so plan a live music with a guitar or two for the wedding ceremony and also for the reception.

The important thing to consider in Beach Wedding Planning is, if it is a public beach, do not stage the wedding as it may attract the public around. And always keep in mind to follow the rules of the beach and check out the rules well ahead of time.

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You are planning your second wedding and are not sure about etiquette and what is or is not acceptable, right? The truth is that the second time around can be just as memorable and special as the first. Here are some different tips to help you make your second wedding a day to remember.

When planning for your second wedding use heartfelt, common sense before announcing your new engagement. Some couples who have previously been married may have children and previous family members who need to be informed personally of your new future. Inform them first before announcing it in a newspaper.

Also think before registering for gifts at department stores. When registering for your second wedding, think about the things you need, as a couple. You may already have items that would commonly be bought for first time marriages, such as towels and dishes. Instead think about registering for those things that will help you bring your new home together, such as new curtains, bedding or items you can use to remodel the home that you’re moving into.

Many years ago, attire for a previously married bride meant absolutely no white. That is not the case anymore. When planning your second wedding, if you decide you want to wear a flowing white gown, it’s considered perfectly acceptable. One thing to avoid is a veil, which represents virginity. Instead of a veil, think about adorning your head with a crown or tiara or a beautiful new hairstyle. Whichever you choose, keep in mind that although it is a second marriage, you can feel and look just as beautiful as you did the first time.

When choosing a destination for your second wedding, some couples choose to make it different from the first by having a small ceremony with a huge reception, inviting friends and family on a trip with marriage in mind or having a surprise wedding, by sending invitations out for a birthday party or holiday event and instead being prepared to get married. You can also just go with a traditional church wedding. Whichever you choose, make the decision together. After all, you are committing yourselves to each other and both of you should be happy with the decision.

If children are involved from previous marriages, let them know that they also are an important part of your second wedding. Rather than the ceremony joining a man and woman together, you will be joining families. Why not include the children in the ceremony? Let your son walk you down the aisle to give you away, have your daughter be an honorary attendant or let the younger children be a miniature bride and groom. The important thing is to make the children feel welcome in this new union, letting them feel that it is not just a marriage of man and wife, but of the family as a whole.

Although second weddings can be done the same as a first time wedding, let this be your opportunity to make it different while keeping it sacred. Make it known to everyone that this is the man you have chosen to spend the rest of your life with and your two families are now to be joined as one.

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Seems you are interested in becoming a wedding planner? The choose is completely yours, keeping searching for clients telling them you can do the job or then enrolling into a wedding school shall be a better option? Frankly, school is the best way.

Plainly planning a wedding is a professional job that requires in-depth knowledge and organizational skills. And have no clams that these skills are not easy to acquire. What schooling gives you might not be found elsewhere even at higher price. There are many wedding school options and here we will have a closer look at them.

The Association of Professional Wedding Consultants (ACPWC)

The Association of Professional Wedding Consultants is only one such body that certifies those enrolled into their courses as certified wedding consultants. This is the sixteenth year of their running operations, where in the school offers a range of courses. The school has a 5-day course to some weekend ones and home study materials.

The certification levels also are different and students who professional certification are enlisted as members in the directory. Now wouldn’t it help your new business if had one such certification. It takes nearly four months to finish home study course. School tutions are reasonable, ranging from $800 & $900 based on course of study applied for.

Needless to say certification will make adding vastly to you skills credibility and your name on their membership directory will enhance your reputation. ACPWC has a countrywide presence with associates who help guide you. Most other schools do not have such a large presence and therefore not well established to bring in the experience and updated material to give you the edge in a competitive scenario. This way wedding planning trainings can be attained quickly.

Other available options -

You can also search the Internet. Learn wedding planning courses for which the US Career Institute offers a 4-month course. While opting for tutions the institute has special payment timetable. If you cannot visit the school regularly then DETC or Distance Education and Training Council has sanctioned this particular course where in you can learn wedding planning courses.

This is just one such online school. Before you take any step in deciding on an online school make sure that the school is accredited. This will only ensure that you education has some recognition.

There are schools that have on campus trainings, which are equally beneficial. Few community collages and select vocational schools offer these courses. Such schools have to be found locally or online. Online or study from home courses might cost you less, job placements assistance from regular school is the main benefit. Plus you can make head way right on the onset by having local interactions; this shall not be possible when using online courses.

For those people who are already having a busy career life or moms with kids to take care of can opt for study courses or online tution but the benefits of attending regular school are immense. If you wish to make a career out of wedding planning then there are no short cuts and going to school is a must.

Nobody will ever tell you that wedding planning is easy! In fact, planning a wedding can be made a lot easier with plenty of organization and a realistic timetable. Of course, the amount of time that you will require to complete the full wedding planning procedure will depend on the type and size of wedding that you are considering.

Wedding Planning Getting Started

Set a realistic timetable. A great deal of the stress involved in wedding planning is due to the amount that needs to be accomplished, in a short space of time. To reduce this stress, give yourself more time!

Of course, you may be restricted, in terms of venue availability, but if you are given a choice, it is always worth extending your timetable rather than reducing it. There is often a great temptation to get caught up in the moment and to try and push the wedding date forward; resist this, as you could be heading towards a wedding planning headache!

Wedding Planning Suggested Timetable

Depending on the venue that you are planning on using, you may need to book your wedding up to three years in advance! With this in mind, you should select a venue for both your ceremony and reception, at the earliest possible opportunity.

Wedding planning experts suggest that all other aspects such as dresses, flowers and invitations should be planned over an 18-month period. One of your first considerations needs to be the size and type of wedding; in fact, you will need to have a rough idea of numbers, before you even approach venues. However, if you have fallen in love with a specific venue, it is may be that you have to alter your guest list to fit in!

The wedding dress is something that will be considered, at a relatively early stage. Bear in mind however, that a bride may change her shape in the run up to a wedding so always schedule in a few staged fittings to make sure that there are no nasty surprises, on the big day.

Wedding Planning – Key Tips

When wedding planning, it is important not to lose sight of the ultimate aim. Remaining flexible on the smaller items that you are not really bothered about will save you many sleepless nights and will also do wonders for your budget. Get others that you trust to help with the planning. This way you do not have to shoulder the whole burden and you can also brainstorm to produce new and novel ideas.

The real key to success when it comes to wedding planning is to allow yourself plenty of time. Write lists and stay ahead of the game!

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Without a doubt, one of the most stressful components of planning a wedding is choosing all of your vendors, from florists and car services to your reception venue. The best solution is to get as much of this done as early as possible. Leaving any of these decisions to the last minute will not only add a significant amount of stress to the process, but you may end up not being able to get what you really want.

Another benefit of choosing and locking up all of your vendors early on is that you may be able to secure nice discounts along the way.

If your budget is tight, locking everything up as early as possible will allow you to make budget adjustments as necessary early on and you won’t be stressed by having to juggle your budget at the last minute.

If you are getting married in a popular wedding month such as June or September, lining up and locking in vendors early on isn’t only a good idea, it’s more than likely going to be a necessity if you plan on working with the vendors you’ve chosen. The longer you wait, the better the chance that your preferred vendors are going to be booked up, leaving you to have to use your second, third or even fourth choice. This creates bigger issues not only because these people aren’t your top choice, but it’s likely the reason you didn’t choose them was because they were more expensive.

While it’s really important to secure all of your vendors early on in the process, there are four that are absolutely critical.

1. Your Venue

Wedding sites can be booked up as far as a year in advance. Make this first on your list.

2. Caterer – if not handled by the venue operator

3. Your DJ or Band

Same as with #1. Book very early in the process to guarantee they will be available.

4. Photographer or Videographer

If you need to, you can wait until later on in the process to select a baker and floist as long as you aren’t getting married on a busy weekend for them. Times such as graduations, Valentines Day or Mother’s Day can be mad houses at these places.

Lining up and locking in vendors goes along with the overall theme in planning your wedding. The more well thought out your plan is, the more prepared you are going to be, which will lead to a far less stressful planning experience.

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Every bride dreams of her wedding day. For the ultimate dream wedding, every facet from the wedding ceremony right through the reception and honeymoon, should be perfect.

A couple’s wedding and honeymoon are two of the happiest times of their lives. Planning these special times can be fun and exciting, but hours of research are required in order to make the right decisions. In recent years many couples have realized the time, effort and expense of planning a wedding and a honeymoon can be too much and decide to combine them to create the perfect destination wedding.

Destination Weddings have become an increasingly popular wedding trend, with the number of Destination Weddings tripling over the past 10-years.

Brides and Grooms are increasingly considering variations of the traditional wedding ceremonies. In many cases arrangements may be more relaxed and less stressful for the couple, and because the weddings may of necessity be smaller, the wedding may also be less expensive. Usually the destination wedding location also becomes the honeymoon site.

An average wedding in the US costs $20,000 – $25,000 and consists of 150-200 guests. By reducing the number of guests and combining the wedding and honeymoon, a Destination Wedding can provide a more memorable, intimate experience at a fraction of the cost.

The most common destination in the United States is Las Vegas, followed by the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. For Beach Weddings, Florida, Mexico, the Caribbean and Hawaii are popular choices. Many Cruise lines also offer wedding and honeymoon packages with options of shipboard chapels or weddings at various ports. And yet another option, is a Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings at Walt Disney World? Resort, which has become one of the most popular vacation destinations on the planet.

Regardless of the location selected, a Destination Wedding can be a romantic, memorable alternative to a traditional wedding. Destination Weddings provide the ultimate setting to celebrate your endless love for each other at a location where all your wedding and honeymoon dreams can come true.

For more information on Wedding Planning and Destination Wedding Guides, please visit http://ourultimatewedding.com

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There is a stereotype that every woman has been waiting her whole life to get engaged and become a bride. Sure, this is the fantasy of many young girls, but it is also true that not every woman is into the whole “bride” thing. But just because you are an “anti-bride” does not mean that you will not want to have a great wedding.

So what is an anti-bride? She is the one who does not flip through bridal magazines at the newsstand, could not care less about the subtle distinctions between ecru and eggshell, and is not about to promise to “obey” anyone. Above all, the anti-bride cannot imagine wearing a big poufy dress, cathedral length veil, and sparkly crown. In other words, she is not into the “princess for a day” fantasy.

If you become engaged and come to realize as Carrie Bradshaw once said in Sex and the City that you are “missing the bride gene”, you may indeed be an anti-bride. Although you may feel that you are surrounded by people pushing you into a nightmare of tulle, ice sculptures shaped like swans, and other things that make you hyperventilate, do not panic: you are not alone. There are, in fact, plenty of other women out there just like you, anti-brides who want to have a great wedding, but on their own terms.

The key to being a happy anti-bride is to be true to yourself. So if your mother tries to push you into the wedding of her dreams, or your co-workers just don’t understand why you would wear a red wedding gown, be prepared to stand your gown. Chances are that you have been doing this most of your adult life, anyway.

I once knew a bride who lived a completely “off the grid” lifestyle. She and her fiance lived in a cabin in the woods without electricity (by choice) and grew much of their own food. For her wedding, a big satin ball gown would have felt absolutely ridiculous, and so she selected a charming cotton lace vintage gown from the turn of the century. Her mother was the sort of person who was constantly giving her things like irons and electric carving knives (for a vegetarian with no electricity, remember!) and just could not understand why the bride wasn’t planning a bridal registry that would have filled her tiny cabin with bone china and imported crystal.

There came a point when the bride looked her mother in the eye and said, “Remember me, I’m your daughter Susan!”. In other words, I am not you and I am not my sister who lives in Long Island and drives a Hummer. Her mother never understood, but they did at least come to a truce for the rest of the wedding planning.

If you are an anti-bride, your good friends can also lend you a lot of support as you plan your ideal wedding. They will be the ones who back your decision to wear the wedding gown of your choosing, no matter what anyone else thinks of it. They will also be the ones who will keep your spirits high even on those days when the whole wedding thing is driving you nuts.

Be sure to acknowledge them with special bridesmaid gifts. Something unique that suits their individual personalities is ideal. If you are an anti-bride, the chances are that you will only be having a couple of your closest friends as attendants (instead of a platoon of girls dressed identically in aqua chiffon), so it gives you the freedom to customize your bridesmaid gifts for each of your friends.

The good news for anti-brides is that weddings are all about personal expression these days. There are tons of organic caterers, creative seamstresses, and others out there to help you plan a wedding that truly reflects who you are. Bride or anti-bride, that is really all that most women want from their wedding in the end (other than the groom, of course!).
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If you have been dreaming about a beautiful beach wedding you are certainly not alone. Each year there are hundreds of couples who decide the beach is the perfect place to have their wedding. With some careful planning, you can create the perfect romantic memories of your big day without many of the hassles that unprepared couples experience. By following these tips for planning a beach wedding, you are sure to really enjoy the whole process, and be relaxed and calm on your special day.

You are going to need to decide what time of day you want to hold the ceremony. You need to gather some information about the beach, which can potentially help this decision. Go visit the beach you are choosing for your wedding and look at the sun, now compare the time of day you want to get married with the location of the sun. You do not want your guests to squint at you in pain trying to see you against the bright sun. Try to have the sun behind the guests if possible, rather than behind you. This will reduce the strain on everyone’s eyes, and allow everyone a clear view of the ceremony.

Look at the location and ensure there is plenty of parking. Most beaches have adequate parking, but they do not usually have ways to ensure that parking is reserved for the wedding guests. Look into this ahead of time and make appropriate arrangements as necessary for the best results. You may need to hire a few people to park cars at a nearby location, but knowing these details ahead of time will ensure you have time to arrange these small details.

Select an appropriate dress to ensure that you do not damage it on the sand. Many brides really do not take this into account and select the frilliest dress with the tallest heels that they can find, then stumble and struggle while walking down the isle. If you know you are getting married on the beach, ensure that you make dress and shoe selections that can handle that decision while still looking beautiful. You should never feel as if you are walking through quicksand in the apparel you select, you should still be able to “float” down the isle and look beautiful while doing it.

Try to avoid having your ceremony during the hottest part of the day. This will help everyone, including yourself keep from overheating, or sweating dramatically. Plus with cooler temperatures, the entire event will be much more enjoyable and allow everyone to relax, rather than occupy their minds with using your wedding program as a fan. This may mean you need to adjust your wedding schedule a bit to adapt to the weather, but adapting to the weather is a small price to pay for the gorgeous natural views that the beach provides.

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