Archive for the ‘Personalize Your Wedding’ Category

how to make your wedding your ownIt is the biggest and most expensive day of your life, so why not make it all about you and your husband to be? Follow these tips to make a personalized wedding that no one will forget.

Invitations

Everybody has seen the same old invitations time and time again and we all know the format, so why not shake things up a little and create some stationary which is truly unique. Comic book, magazine covers and flip books are a great way to ensure that nobody is likely to forget your wedding in a hurry. This theme can be carried through into your place cards and orders of service too.

Ceremony

Project slow images onto a central place during your ceremony, whilst you are away signing the register to keep your guests amused. Use images of where you got engaged, your favorite places or concoct a funny story about your lives and include images of some of the guests for extra entertainment! Write your own vows instead of using the standard ones provided or select a favorite poem or song to read out instead. You could use all these as brides gifts ideas too, make a scrap book for your bridesmaids with pictures of your friendship, including any you use during the ceremony and write down certain memories that you have of them.

Pre Reception drinks

For the ultimate in luxury have your favorite cocktails or why not have a fun night in and concoct your own recipe (Just don’t forget to write it down). Nothing screams ‘TOAST’ more than a cocktail especially created for you and your groom, serve it in glasses rimmed with salt in your weddings signature color –  Now that’s how to get a party started!

Table Decorations

Have a theme that relates to both of you. Vintage pictures of weddings in both your families and use them as centre pieces on each table. This will also provide great amusement to some of the party who may have never seen the pictures before. Instead of a place card, put a postcard with each person’s name on and ask them to write down a memory that they have of you.

Cake

Of course you can have your cake and eat it! If you are going spend a fortune on an ornate cake then you may as well make it epic! Discover your inner geek and have a cake decorated with something you both love. Whether you are massive Doctor Who fans or prefer Cinderella’s pumpkin coach there is a cake for every occasion and one that really looks too good to cut into.

Fun Bit!

To make sure none of your guests is left out why not ask your guests to jot down their favorite songs and have them played at your reception. This is a great way to ensure everybody gets to hear something they like. If you have a friend in a band ask them to play at your reception or break from tradition and have them play your favorite song as you walk back up the aisle. Maybe do the same for your entrance and have a song special to you and the person who is escorting you down the aisle. Instead of a traditional guest book hire a photo booth complete with dressing up wigs, hats and glasses and let people leave a picture next to their comments – sure to be a hit with guests at the end of the night!

You

Remember it doesn’t actually state anywhere that you have to have a bouquet made of flowers or a brand new flowing white dress. This is where you need to find out what suits your personalities best. Why not create a quirky bouquet out of vintage brooches and buttons? Use pieces that are important to your family – If it is something you would never wear then this is a perfect keepsake rather than letting it collect dust somewhere. For alternative outfit ideas why not take a look at some of the options available on the high street – if you want to get married in a traffic stopping red wedding dress then go for it!

It’s your wedding so you can personalize it as much as you like from start to finish! Create the day your way and you can be sure it is one that everyone will remember!

Creating your wedding album may be quite demanding, but it’s extremely rewarding. You will end up with a beautifully crafted treasure for a lifetime. Immediately after your wedding, you may be tempted to just take your proofs and shove them into an empty album. But if you’ll take a little time to follow this plan, you will be able to create a great story that will give you joy for life.

Step 1 – Choose a Companion

Taking your first look into the pile of wedding photography may be a daunting task. So it is wise not to do it alone. You may choose your spouse, friend, mother, brother or sister. But just make sure the person your pick will not make comments that will get you upset. And don’t get tempted to lend out your wedding photos to anyone.

Step 2 – Group the Photos Carefully

First you should put Post-its stickers on the proofs that immediately excite you when you see them. About 20 to 30 photos will do. Then you should remove bad photos (e.g. those where your guests have their eyes closed).

Next, you should arrange the photographs in groups. For example: getting set, main ceremony, the reception, cutting of the cake, candid shots, dancing etc. As you group the proofs, bear in mind that you can only have 50 to 100 photographs in your completed album

Note that if you need to mark the back of any of the photographs, you should use a blunt pencil or dot stickers so that you don’t damage the photos.

make your own wedding album (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/satyrika/7930971712/">)

make your own wedding album (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/satyrika/7930971712/”>)

Step 3 – Select an Album

There are several options for wedding albums. Some of the popular choices include:

- The classic matted album that can be bound with canvas, leather or suede. These tend to last long.

- The more creative fabric album e.g. the custom bound silk albums. These can be very attractive but very delicate.

- The coffee-table photo books. These have your photographs printed permanently on a press. Initial costs are high but copies are very cheap

- The digital album on a DVD.

Step 4 – Give it the Time Required

You should expect to spend about 6 hours or more to create your album. So you should give it the time required. Even if you want to relax a bit after the wedding, you should at least start by picking out your initial 20 – 30 favorite photos. If you want to convert your photos to digital, you may get professional help from EverPresent.

make your own wedding album (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vstrash/3286902293/)

make your own wedding album (source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vstrash/3286902293/)

Step 5 – Narrate Your Wedding Story

Keep the actual events of your wedding day in mind as you arrange your groups of photos. Try not to be selfish. Include shots that captured your extended family members and close friends. Mix candid shots with formal shots. Combine black and white with color. Mix human shots with photos of details about the venue, flowers, food etc. This will make your album dynamic and unique.

Step 6 – Lay the Photos Out

Now this is the most exciting part. It’s best to lay out your photographs on a large table so you re-arrange them with ease. It gives you a good overview. You may want to arrange the photos sequentially but you could do otherwise.

Finally pay close attention to the transition from one sub-event to another. For example, you can insert a photo showing you and your spouse walking out in between the main ceremony and the reception. You may also want to use different sizes of photos on the same page to add more flair to your album

I remember my wedding day still so clearly, even after all these years. It was a small event with only my family and close friends in attendance. We did this mainly because of the budget but it was still such a special day, which was made all the more memorable as we created parts of the decorations ourselves.

Here are some ideas for couples wanting to try their hand at making things to give the day that personal touch, some of which can also help save money.

Invites

The invites is something you can take a personal hand in. Try experimenting with different designs at first;

  • Use different types of card
  • Use some fancy transparent tissue paper to add an effect
  • Try writing in a calligraphy style
  • Buy various small decorations from a craft shop and try sticking them on

The basic idea is to try different designs until you come up with an invite that you love then go ahead and make all the invites using the same design. You can also look online to get inspiration for designs.

personalized wedding invites

personalized wedding invites (source: Aus Chick)

Photo Guest Book

A traditional guest book is all well and good but you can take this a step further by turning it into a photo guest book. What I mean by this is you buy or borrow one of those instant cameras, you know, the cameras where you take a photo which then prints out the result after a short time.

As each guest arrives, someone will take their photo and place it in your guest book. The guest will write a comment below the photo.

This takes a little more work but you’ll thank yourself later when you look through the book and be reminded not just in words but also with the photos.

Photo Book Guest Book

Photo Book Guest Book (source: http://custom-programs.blogspot.ro/)

Bride and Groom Timeline

Spend time with your fiance and go through your history together. Write down all the dates when significant events happened to you both as single people then later as a couple.

You can use this to make an impressive timeline of both your lives, starting from when you were born, through your early years, then perhaps when the groom met the best man, when you and your fiance both met etc.

You can make the timeline in a number of different ways but I like the idea of two horizontal lines (one for the bride and one for the groom) with the dates of the important events listed on the lines, along with a description.

From the date that shows when you met each other, the two lines will converge into one line, signifying one life together. You can even include photos if you have them, taken of these important life events.

The timeline can be used in various parts of your wedding, such as the decoration or a smaller version could be used on the invites.

Decorations

You can let you artistic side go wild by making the decorations yourself. This allows you to incorporate aspects of your own personality or hobbies into the decor.

For example, a couple might be wine connoisseurs, so they could save the bottles of wine they drink in the months leading up to the wedding and use those is part of the decorations.

Or you could do what the person in the photo did which I think signifies the seeds of their relationship have been planted and will grow.

personalized wedding decorations

personalized wedding decorations (source: Paix120)

Wine Bottle Welcome Labels

It’s quite common to have a personalized note placed on each table seating area which shows the name of the guest and a small thank you note from the bride and groom.

But you can do something more interesting. Try making your own wine labels to be wrapped around the standard labels. They would show the name with your thank you note, plus you could include a photo of the guest.

Of course doing this for full sized bottles of wine would be very expensive, so you may want to buy miniature bottles for this idea. It’s also something that the guests can take home with them to remember the day for years to come.

wedding_wine_bottle_labels

wedding_wine_bottle_labels (source: http://www.marrymonograms.com/ )

The author Jack Hopkins lives in New Zealand with his family and recommends this wedding venue in Otago as they have a wide range of packages and accommodation

Wearing a piece of personalized jewellery can define you and your individuality better any other fashion accessory. If you are fond of wearing unique jewellery pieces on regular basis and is always in search of something new that you can buy before anyone else does, then any kind of customized jewellery will help you achieve this motive.

Customized jewellery is available in various metal base options such as gold, silver, and platinum and copper. You can choose anyone of them and create your own unique designs or simply design your name in esthetic fonts. Imaging your name engraved on a metal plate studded with diamonds, precious gems or Swarovski. How would you feel wearing such a unique and only made for you jewellery piece? I am sure you would feel elegant, classy and different from a crowd of hundred people. This is the charisma of adding customized jewellery in your own personal jewellery collection.

Also, gifting a piece of personalized jewellery to your loved ones is a great way to show your affection and respect for them, in a most dynamic manner. These serve as a best gift option in anniversaries, birthdays, marriage etc. and show the amount of efforts you had put to fetch the most amazing gist of all. People receiving this exclusive gift will always appreciate your gesture and efforts. These customized jewellery pieces by bestpersonalizedjewelry.com promises to give an elegant, graceful and classy look to anyone who wears it.

How to Create Your Own Customized Designs

The best part of creating jewellery designs on your own is that there are no limitations in terms of style and ideas. If you have a creative imagination and exactly know what you want, then this should not seem to be a challenging task for you. However, if you do not have any idea of what you want, then it is advised to consult the jewellery designers and let them know your thoughts and preferences. A well experienced jewellery designer will able to bring out your thoughts in the form of beautiful sketch. Otherwise, if you are planning to do it yourself, then there are few basic things that you should keep in mind while creating your own personalized jewellery designs.

1.) First of all do a little in-house research on the current trends among the people of your age group. Do their ideas of stylish and unique designs match to that of yours? If yes, then take into consideration these factors and start jotting down the things that you would like to include in your designs. Ask a few set of questions from yourself such as; do you want your design to have fluidity or straight? What kind of finish would you prefer? What kind of metal would you use in the final product?

2.) Try to analyze your own preferences. Would you like to have a set of earrings, or finger rings or bracelets or a sleep pendant? When it comes to designing a name necklace, many people prefer to opt for pendants and bracelets. You can make your own choice as per your interest.

3.) For any further guidance on particular designs you can look into the catalog of the jewellery merchants. If you are short of ideas, consider taking some from the catalogue itself and mix- match them. Many of the online jewellery merchants like bestpersonalizedjewelry.com provide design catalog on the website itself to help the customers design their creation.

You thought that as the Groom, all you would have to do is show up, say “I do”, kiss her and leave. But it isn’t as simple as that. You’ve got to get your Best Man a gift.

If you’re thinking about being really boring and predictable, and getting them a shower gel set, then maybe this article is about to save the friendship you have with your Best Man.

There’s an enormous amount of pressure on the Best Man, probably a lot more than you think. After all, it is him who is doing the speech, it is him who has to make sure you don’t bottle it and do a runner and it is him who has to make you look awake and sober despite the abnormal amount of drinking that ensued the night before.

The gift you get him should reflect what he means to you, say thank you for him being there to support you, and not suggest that he needs a shower. It shouldn’t be too soppy either – remember – we’re men.

First, set a Budget

If, like me, you’re already paying the majority of the wedding costs, then set aside a healthy amount from the budget for the Best Man’s gift. You don’t need to go overboard – you can get them a nice and meaningful gift for under £100. Just keep your sensible hat on and you’ll be alright.

Now work out what sort of man your Best Man is

If your Best Man is a football man. A personalized football shirt might go down a treat. Couple it with a complete newspaper history of his club and you’ve got a real manly present that shows thought, gratitude and an understanding of what they’re interested in.

If your Best Man is a golf man. The internet is awash with Golfing gifts, but you need to get something a step above the rest. There are plenty of ideas for golfing related clobber on the internet, but I think that a nice pair of cuff links, a personalized golf glove, or club warmers.

If your Best Man is a gadget man. Gadget men have everything, so avoid the obvious emergency phone chargers, laser pointers, portable speakers and electronic bubble wrap; they’ve probably already got these. Think different – you can get some great office gadgets like the keyboard spammer, a small portable USB drive that adds randomized letters when typing, to annoy workmates, a USB powered Coffee mug warmer or handheld, portable shredder.

If your Best Man is a puzzles man. If your best man is into quizzes, puzzles and games, then look for something that will keep them amused for longer than 5 minutes. Chances are that if you pick something that isn’t very taxing, you’ll insult their intelligence. There are plenty of “impossible” puzzles out there that are a real challenge and should stretch your best man’s brainpower so far, that they’ll be talking about the gift for months, if not years afterwards.

Lastly, buy the gift

Buy the gift you’ve chosen, but be warned, if you’re ordering from the internet, order with plenty of time before the big day, you’ll need your best man to be in their best mood when the speeches begin, you don’t want to be on the receiving end of embarrassing stories or tales that you’d rather not have your other half hear, and buttering them up with the perfect gift is sure to avoid these sorts of situations.

Article written by Barrie from PresentsforMen.co.uk – offering a unique collection gifts, gadgets & accessories for your wedding gifts.