Wedding Blog

There are many wonderful choices available for engagement rings, but if you love vintage engagement rings, your choices are a bit more limited.  Luckily, the choices you do have are very beautiful and are both in demand at this time so you should have no trouble finding what you want.  Two types of rings you might want to look at first are Asscher cut engagement rings and cushion cut engagement rings. Very good examples of both of these types of engagement rings can be seen on Pearls Jewelry Junction if you would like to know more about them.

Asscher cut engagement rings have a very distinctive, angular look to them.  When looked at from the top, rectangular shaped Asscher cuts look like they have steps descending into them on all four sides.  Also, the four corners on an Asscher cut stone are cut off, so in reality the stone actually has eight sides to it – four long sides, and four very short sides on the corners of the stone.  Usually stones with this type of cut are deeper than other diamond cuts, due to the many steps required to achieve its final shape.  Most Asscher cut engagement rings are set with four prongs, one on each corner, in order to show off the beautiful step-down shape of the diamond.

Almost the opposite of Asscher cuts, cushion cut engagement rings have a soft, round look to them.  They are almost always oval two round in shape and they resemble a plump pillow, hence the name “cushion cut”.  The infamous Hope diamond is a good example of a cushion cut stone.  Many people feel that a cushion cuts have a very romantic “Old World” feel to them, since they have been around since the mid 1800s.  Cushion cut stones require a very high quality diamond, because the facets in this cut are very large and any inclusions in the diamond will be easily seen, sometimes even with the naked eye. It is for this reason that many cushion cut diamond rings are very expensive; an exceptionally high quality diamond must always be used when designing a cushion cut ring.

If you have a penchant for vintage engagement rings and would like to have one that will stand out in a crowd, then you should definitely take a look at Asscher cut engagement rings as well as cushion cut engagement rings. You will soon see how beautiful they are, and how either type will easily fulfill your wish for a beautiful vintage engagement ring.

Weddings are special events and everyone wants to look their best, especially the star of the show – the bride. What about if you are a plus size looking for that perfect wedding dress? What kind of dress is good for you and is there anything you can do to enhance your look?  Being a plus size doesn’t have to be a problem at weddings and their are many options available to you.

So what kind of wedding gowns are good for plus size women who want to walk down the aisle in style? The important thing is to choose a dress that will enhance your looks and make you look slimmer as well. Forget about ball gowns and puffy dresses - they will just make you look shorter and bulkier. If you are worried about a wider midsection then you may want to choose an A-line gown with a flare at the hips.

Choose dresses with long sleeves, this will create vertical lines and an illusion of having longer or slender hands, also giving that overall look of being slimmer. Don’t worry about long-sleeved wedding gowns being old-fashioned, remember Kate Middleton wore a long sleeved wedding gown and started the trend again.

Instead of a princess cut or round neckline dress, I recommend going for something like a  V-neck gown – the vertical lines can also make you look slimmer. Wedding dresses with a vertical or diagonal line design will give the illusion  of height and that can also make you look a little smaller as you walk down the aisle. If you are on the large size but tall as well, a tea-length dress with a long train would be a good choice to go for.

What about accessories? You may be thinking about belts, brooches, beads and flowers to embellish your outfit – they may be beautiful but if you are a plus-sized women, it might be a good idea to stay away from belts and other accessories around your midsection, they will add inches to your waist and make you look larger than you really are.

If you want more advice about choosing plus size wedding outfits for ladies then click on over to weddingwhoop.com where they have lots of good fashion ideas and tips for weddings.

These days, being larger than average is not unusual for women and for brides-to-be thinking about their wedding dress there are many choices to make if you want to look slimmer. With a little careful thought and imagination you can come up with the perfect dress to make you look stunning for your special day.

A wedding is an important, memorable event that should be recorded for all who marry. It’s a time when there should be many photographs for all at the wedding, those interested in the wedding, and ideally for future generations should there be children of the photographed newlyweds.

Two approaches to wedding photography
In recent years, there are two basic approaches to photographing weddings: traditional and photojournalistic. In the traditional photography, the wedding has classic poses and attire for the photos, with the photographer managing all the photo shoots. Often, the photographer will be there much of the day, rehearsing and choreographing for the grand ceremony and festivities afterwards.
The photojournalistic photography approach is similar to the editorial style reporting. The photos are more impromptu, with hardly any orchestrating by the photographer.

The photographers of today often have an approach between these two contrasting styles of wedding photography. All over the world, photography today varies from nation to nation. In the Western world, from wedding photographers Canadian to wedding photographers Northern Ireland the styles are somewhat similar. However, in parts of Asia, such as in China, wedding photography involves a studio or a shoot on location. It will be like a fashion show set. There will be a make-up person, a hair stylist, with many changes of attire. Background drops and props will be used like on a Hollywood set.

Contemporary Style of wedding photography
Any photography of weddings that is not the classical style is termed contemporary style. It focuses on current photo methods to portray a story with the ambiance of the wedding ceremony. The person looking at the wedding photographs will catch the emotions and scenes of the day, and theoretically will have more appreciation of the wedding than if there were just a number of orchestrated poses. With the sophistication of the latest digital cameras and the internet, there is much competition now among wedding photographers, however, if you are hiring a photographer for this special ceremony, be certain to have one who is established and reputable. Wedding photos should have proper lighting, special techniques in making the scenes aesthetic, and with perfect timing for the optimal effects.
With the contemporary approach, there is much on-the -spot photography, which can be a fun approach to record the wedding. What some photographers are doing today is taking a laptop pc to the wedding reception. They upload photos from earlier and show them as a sideshow for the reception to make it even more of an entertaining, memorable evening. It’s a great way to have all participate in the festivities, also.

Conclusion to wedding photography
Today’s approach to wedding photography is not as clear cut as it has been until this 21st century, with the advent of the internet and digital camera, along with high-tech photographic equipment. Today, it’s ever changing, which does give couples many more alternatives to how they want to record such a special time in their lives.

Wedding day gifts are always difficult things to buy especially gifts for the wedding guests.Father of the bride gifts are an obvious purchase that can be quite difficult to choose. It is usual at weddings to give all of the guest’s small gifts in the form of wedding favours. However the important guests at the wedding should be given more substantial commemorative presents. Father of the bride cufflinks are one very good gift that can be kept as a remembrance item. Wedding cufflinks come in lots of design styles the most popular type has a white background with black cursive script in either gold or silver metal ware.

It is quite usual for the father of the bride to foot the bill for the wedding and under these circumstances he shouldn’t pay for his own present. This is one gift that should be paid for by the groom. A gift for the father of the groom should be tasteful and something that can be kept as a keepsake. Some ideas for gifts in addition to wedding cufflinks are a tie pin, a monogrammed hip flask or something for his hobby such as personalised golf ball markers.

After the wedding would also be a good time to give the father of the bride a present especially incorporating some of the wedding photos. A framed picture of the bride and groom or the bride and groom with their parents would be well received by the father of the bride. Personalised gifts using the wedding photos would be good presents for any of the wedding party. Photo cufflinks have become very popular during the last five years and are especially suited to wedding gifts. A close up photo of the bride and groom fitted into a pair of square photo cufflinks and domed with resin would make a fine gift for the happy couple or for the father of the bride.

There are companies to be found on the internet who will place a photo, supplied by the client, onto textiles such a tee shirt. This is a fun way of remembering the happy day even if the tee shirt does eventually wear out. Gifts celebrating the wedding don’t have to be permanent as long as they are perceived as fun. Another product that can incorporate a photo in the design is a ceramic mug. There are lots of companies on the internet who will burn a picture onto a ceramic mug for a reasonable price.

Personalised key rings are also available which are perfectly suited as presents for the father of the bride.

Godfather Cufflinks make a great christening present. The christening of a new baby is a time for celebration and marking the occasion with a party on the christening day is good fun and a chance to get together with all of the people who will be important in the child’s life.

It is normally expected that close friends and relatives will give something made of silver to the baby such as a silver spoon or a silver tankard. These items then go into a display cabinet ready to give to the child on reaching maturity at twenty-one.

Obviously the godparents are the main players with the parents at the christening. To give the godparents a small gift of commemoration for the christening is usually very well received. Some item of apparel which is especially appropriate to christenings would be the best received. Christening cufflinks for both the parents and the godparents are now available from a number of suppliers and can be personalised by adding the date and child’s name. The beauty of this gift is that there are also cufflinks available for other members of the christening party. The father can be given some New Dad cufflinks and the grandfathers can be given some New Grandad cufflinks.

The godfather’s duties at the christening are usually just to make a statement in the church to help bring up the child in the faith of the church. It’s usual to have two godfathers and one godmother if the child is a boy and to have two godmothers and one godfather if the child is a girl. However this is not cast in stone and I have known christenings where the whole front row in the church is taken up with godparents. This may be a bit over the top and the godparents might feel they are not special enough if there are more than half a dozen of them.

I have seen a tie with the word godfather in large type running down the length of the tie, this would be a good fun present but I don’t know the suppliers name, I’m sure a web search on the term godfather would find it with some perseverance. Cufflinks with the recipient’s name or initials on them would be an ideal godfather gift for the christening and could be made suitable for a christening day with the addition of an engraved cufflink presentation box.

I haven’t included any ideas for godmother gifts in this article because I’m in the process of writing an article specifically about godmother gifts.

Wedding day gifts for the main wedding guests has become derigeur for any modern wedding day celebration in the UK. Commonly known as wedding favours small gifts are usually supplied to the guests at the wedding breakfast but in addition to these wedding favours the main guests can be given more substantial gifts such as wedding cufflinks. This post explores Father of the Groom Gifts.

The main guests are the groom, best man, usher, father of the bride, father of the groom, brother of the bride, brother of the groom, granddad, son of the bride and groom, and other relatives who are particularly close like uncles and nephews.

Probably the most difficult guest to buy a present for is the father of the groom. The father of the groom doesn’t have a definite role on the wedding day unlike the father of the bride who is giving away the bride and has the task of giving a speech. A nice gift for the father of the groom is a pair of special cufflinks either saying father of the groom or personalised with his name or initials. It is sometimes known for the father of the groom to deliver a speech at the wedding reception and obviously if this is the case he will want to look his best. A gift of a monogrammed handkerchief to be worn in the top pocket of the father of the groom’s wedding suit would be a welcome gift. A keepsake to mark the happy event would be the perfect gift on the wedding day such as a scroll showing the family tree with the new addition of the bride.

A lot of weddings these days are colour co-ordinated and all of the major guests are expected to ensure that their dress is acceptable and in keeping with the themed colour. Being one of the key guests at the wedding, the father of the groom is expected to adhere to these rules. One way of helping him to meet his obligations would be to give him a present of a monogrammed tie in the correct colour or colours.

The groom will obviously look to his father for support and advice on the big day. To help the father of the groom in his duties of looking after his son he could be given a book of wedding etiquette with all of the relevant pages highlighted for his attention. This could be done in very jokey way with funny comments added to each of the highlighted pages. I’m sure the best man and ushers would be keen to help with the comments etc.

Finally if all else fails you could try asking the father of the groom if there is anything in particular he would like on the wedding day.

The role of best man is an important honour for you, it shows that the Groom trusts you and regards you as one of his best friends. However the honour of being a best man has its down side i.e.; responsibility for ensuring that the wedding day runs smoothly. The majority of the planning and organising of the happy event is usually undertaken by the bride and the bride’s mother, which can take over a year to sort out. Your role is to look after the Groom and help to make the day run smoothly.

Before the wedding your biggest responsibility is to sort out the stag night ensuring that the groom has a great time on his last day of freedom. The stag night is usually the night before the wedding day but because of the possibility of horrible hangovers and people getting lost it is sometimes held the week before the wedding to give everybody time to recover. This would be my preference but it’s not always possible because some guests may have to travel a long way and will need the stag night to be close to the wedding day. It is your responsibility as the best man to organise this to give the best result. There is always one friend at least who will think it’s great fun to tie up the groom naked in the high street during the stag night, it’s your duty to look after the groom and protect him from this, not take part in it.

After the stag night the most important duty for the best man is to get the groom to the church or wedding venue on time, dressed correctly with the wedding ring and in an unstressed condition. This last requirement is probably impossible but you should do your best to reduce his worry by being in control and managing the situation with the help of the ushers. Wedding cars may have been organised for the bride and some of the guests but the groom normally makes his own way to the church with the best man. You should ensure you have a back up plan to get you both to the wedding venue half an hour before the wedding is due to start. Keep a few phone numbers of taxi companies in your mobile phone just in case there is an emergency.

After you have looked after the groom successfully and he is married your major responsibilities are over except for the speech. There are lots of articles giving advice on wedding speeches and I won’t give any major advice here except to advise you don’t say anything too controversial that may upset any of the guests. Good luck.

Best Man Gift Ideas

One of the best man gifts is a pair of best man cufflinks.

Probably the most important attributes for an Usher are a sense of humour and a lot of patience. During the wedding the Ushers have to deal with all of the guests and some of them can be quite awkward customers. Guests will range from close family members and friends to people who have had to be invited because it’s expected. The ushers are there to help with the organisation of the wedding, keeping the guests happy and smoothing any difficulties.

The first thing the Usher should do is ensure he arrives early at the wedding venue; typically an hour should be enough time. Check out the facilities like parking and toilets, you’re sure to be asked about some or all of them. Find the minister and get the service sheets ready to hand them to the guests as they arrive. The Usher is usually given the buttonholes to present to the key guests as they arrive, be sure to know who gets them, it’s usually just the close family members and friends.

Direct the guests to their seats ensuring that the family of the Groom is on the right and the family of the Bride is on the left. The first two or three rows are usually reserved for close family and friends. If the number of people on one side is becoming overlarge, direct new guests to the small side, to keep the venue balanced.

The Brides mother and any elderly guests should be escorted to their seats. The elderly guests and women with children will appreciate being seated at the ends of the seating to allow easy access if there are any toileting problems likely to occur.

During the greeting of guests the ushers should inform them of any local rules concerning photography or confetti and ladies with big hats should be directed to the rear of the seating unless they are family members in which case ensure they are not standing in front of children or small people.

After the wedding ceremony, if it is raining, the ushers should stand ready at the entrance to escort any ladies to the cars with an umbrella to protect their hair and clothing.

The last duty of the Usher at the wedding venue is to do a thorough check to ensure that no belongings have been left behind by any of the guests.

Wedding Gifts for Ushers

One of the best gifts for ushers is a pair of usher cufflinks. Cufflinks are a great way to complete your wedding suit and are a good way to provide cohesion in the attire of groups of men such as ushers, groomsmen and page boys.

Page boys have a traditional presence at weddings. Whereas, ushers are usually older, page boys are usually young – under 10 years old. As with other members of a wedding party, the choice of page boy is very much the volition of the bride and groom; normally they will be closely related to the bride and groom but families find their own ways to celebrate the union and there are no hard and fast rules that a pageboy must be a particular relation. Typically a page boy will either be a god child or nephew of the bride or groom, or in some cases a child. In some cases, a wedding party will not contain any page boys and indeed their official role is fairly limited and seen by some as fairly antiquated. I guess the main role which page boys play may be considered to be the light distraction and object of attention that they provide. Weddings are, after all, a very inclusive celebration for all family and friends of the bride and groom – regardless of age.

Page Boy Duties

The traditional roles are limited so it is usually down to the discretion and imagination of the bride and groom as to what roles (if any) their page boys will play. At some weddings it is customary for page boys to present the wedding rings (perhaps the best man cannot be trusted!) and sometimes they are used to assist the bride as she enters the church.

Page Boy Attire

Young family members dressed in highly formal and elegant wedding attire will always draw attention and fondness: think about co-ordinating their attire with other key members in the wedding party. Also consider unifying attire with a common theme, such as page boy cufflinks.

Making sure you get good behaviour from your page boys

• The best man and ushers can play a role in helping look after the page boys.
• Ensure that at both the ceremony and reception that their parents are always close at hand to help ensure good behaviour. They will obviously know their children and how best to control their behaviour.
• It may be good to choose more than one page boy so that there is not too much attention on one boy.
• If the page boys are to play a role such as holding the bride’s dress then the page boys should practise this with the bride before the event.