Outdoor Wedding Ceremonies

The great outdoors - what is there not to love about it? If you adore the sand, sea and all that goes on around the beach, the peace and tranquility of a forest or simply your own beautiful back garden, why not think about getting married at your favourite outdoor location - what an idyllic backdrop for your big day! From exchanging your vows to having the moments captured on camera there will be many happy memories to share.

You might not be aware that although at present you are not able to get married legally outdoors in the open hour, there are no rules that require you to sign your legal documentation at the same time as your wedding. This leaves you with virtually endless possibilities and flexibility as to where to marry the one you love. The legalities of the paperwork can be conducted with two of your witnesses a day or two afterwards at which time you will make a declaration of standard set statements and sign the register.

With many couples wishing to marry outdoors in one complete ceremony there are many licensed civil venues where you can marry in the glorious fresh air. There is a legal requirement for it to be within a permanent structure so the legal paperwork can be conducted at the same time and must be large enough to accommodate both the Bride and Groom, two witnesses and the registrars whilst your guests watch on with happiness and joy.

If you do choose to have a wedding outside then read on for some helpful advice to ensure your day goes smoothly as possible.

Do take into consideration all weather possibilities. If it's expected to be a scorchingly hot day then have iced bottles of water available for your guests and have fans as a wedding favour. Erect gazebos and canopies for those wishing to escape into the shade. Alternatively if it is forecast to be wet and damp ensure that your guests are advised to bring waterproofs and if you can have a plan B back up if the weather foresees the location as a no go venue. Often a bride and groom will hold the reception indoors somewhere so check there is the space and availability for the ceremony to be conducted indoors if need be.

The weather is the one thing on your big day that cannot unfortunately be booked so be sure to cover all possibilities. Think about your wedding dress and how it would withstand windy conditions. Inform your guests so they can be prepared and choose suitable attire.

If you are having a large wedding party or there is background noise at your outdoor location you may need to think about hiring a sound system. With the natural beauty of outdoors it is unlikely that you will require many if any decorations. Do visit the location around a week before just to check it is how you wish it to be for your big day. You may choose to use an arch of the flowers featured in your bouquet to marry under.

If you are eating outdoors ensure that your caterers are fully aware of this and choose food that will survive the heat. Talking of food do keep your guests topped up with plenty of fluids to avoid them becoming dehydrated. Alcohol is very dehydrating so have refreshing alternatives on offer to quench everyone's thirsts. The joy of the outdoors also brings bugs. To avoid any annoying flying things upsetting your day simply put out some citronella candles or invest in a bug zapper to keep them away.

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Wedding Colors: Some Practical Advice for Picking the Perfect Palette

Picking your wedding colors is one of the first things you decide on when planning your wedding. Every detail of your décor revolves around the palette you choose. Colors not only set the tone of your big day, but say a lot about your personal style as well. Picking the right colors is so important. Because they are incorporated into every detail, it's critical you make the right decisions at the beginning of the process. Getting this step wrong can lead to major frustrations every step of the way, and no one wants a nightmare on their dream day!

Start by asking yourself some simple questions:

What time of year will your wedding be held? People expect your colors to match the season. While you don't necessarily need to stick to this exactly, it is better if you stay within the general hues of each season. If you are getting married in the dead of summer, avoid dark heavy colors that are better suited to fall or winter. Pastels are best for spring, but pairing a lighter color with a dark can go a long way for any season.

Do all your details need to match? Here is the biggest issue that most brides get hung up on. They pick truly unique colors that are amazing in a wedding magazine, but are impossible to find in real life. Let's say you find your bridesmaid dresses first and want the rest of your colors to match them. The color that you select is called "victorian lilac," "harvest gold," or "tealness." Then, you go to your party rental company and ask for linens to match this color, and you are disappointed when they don't have the correct shade. Your best bet is to pick at least one color that is standard anywhere you go, whether it is for your dresses, linens, flowers or cake. Then you can bring in the unique accent color with other details that you can make or find yourself.

What is your budget? If you have an expensive budget, trying to find those unique colors will be a lot easier. High end companies have a much wider variety of colors and textures to choose from, but you will end up paying much more them. Ordering items online is also an option if you can't find something locally, but you will end up paying shipping fees, and with national linen rental companies, remember that your linens will arrive in a box and won't be pressed.

Do you need a color scheme at all? Some people find it difficult to stick to one palette choice for the whole wedding. If the different parts your wedding will be held in different areas, consider changing up the colors for each event. Instead, pick a theme, such as pictures, places, foods, or anything else that might be personal for you. Incorporate that element into each event and change the colors as the wedding progresses from the ceremony to the reception. Remember, there are no rules when it comes to personalizing your wedding!

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The Most Beautiful Indian Weddings Ever

An Indian wedding is a very pure and sacred bond, bound by the mantras and in the presence of Lord Agni, the God of Fire. Summer is the peak wedding season. One of the most exciting and fun filled parts is the baarat - where the groom is seated on a horse and surrounded by ecstatic relatives and friends dancing on famous songs from Bollywood and Hollywood.

There are many ceremonies that are part of an Indian wedding. Each of them is charming in their own way, which lends a unique unmatched charm to the whole wedding. It is not just about uniting two people, it is about the unison of two families, two social cultures while bringing the bride and groom together.

The ceremonies are accompanied by a variety of religious, family and local traditions. The main parts are the sagai or engagement, shaadi or marriage ceremony and vidaai or leave-taking of the bride. Some of the rituals that are part of beautiful Indian weddings are:

    Tilak: This is a formal approval to the marriage from the groom's family. The bride's family visits the house of the groom to announce the relationship formally. There is a huge lavish feast at the groom's place to mark the occasion. There are only select members from the bride's family.

    Varmaala: The groom and bride drape garland or varmaalas around each other in the presence of family, friends and other well wishers.

    Kanyadaan: This is the sacred handing over of the bride by her father to the groom. The groom vows in the presence of Lord Agni to protect and love his wife.

    Saat Phere: This forms the essence of Indian weddings. The bride and groom, tied physically by a cloth, circle Lord Agni's fire and take vows of supporting and staying by each other through thick and thin.

    Vidaai: Vidaai is a ceremony that marks the end of the wedding ceremony. It completes the wedding ceremonies. The bride and her family get quite sentimental and emotional. The bride is led out of her house by her family and relatives. She is then handed over to the groom's family amidst a couple of rituals.

The most beautiful Indian weddings ever are very grand and pure in every way. This is the very reason why people all over the world choose to have their wedding in the Indian style with all the many ceremonies and grandeur.

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Choosing Between Harpist and String Quartet for Your Wedding

Your wedding day is coming and panic starts to sink in as you realize there are still so many things to do to make it perfect. If you are one of those who have yet to figure out which types of musicians to hire for your big day, read along. I guarantee that after reading this article you should have decided which one to choose. At the very least, you will have figured out their differences.

Two of the most common types of musicians used in weddings are harpists and string quartets. For beginners, harpists are those beautiful ladies who sing like angels but could summon all the strength necessary to wrestle with that super-sized stringed instrument for hours. On the other end, string quartets are those extremely devoted musicians who kept on playing while Titanic was sinking. Whoever thought of the line, "Gentlemen, it has been an honor playing with you" must have known firsthand how dedicated these musicians are with their craft.

Price

A wedding harpist typically plays by herself, while variations include the harp duo, the harp and flute, and the harp and guitar. String quartets on the other hand are usually composed of two violinists, a cellist, and a violist, while variations may add a pianist or a clarinetist to form a quintet. With the difference in number of musicians, it is almost always true that having a string quartet would cost you more than a harpist.

Number of Guests

The expected number of guests is another factor that could affect your choice of musicians. If you are expecting around 200 people to attend your wedding, you definitely have to use a string quartet. They produce a more vibrant music loud enough to could accommodate huge crowds. However, if you are planning an intimate wedding with around 50 guests, the might of the beautiful wedding harpist should be enough. If you really want to have a harpist play in your wedding but expects many guests, you could still have it in the more solemn parts of the event such as during the ceremony.

Wedding Theme

String quartets are popular for classic weddings while harpists are typical in romantic and intimate ones. Having a string quartet will surely leave an impression to your guests but a harpist could make it more memorable to you and your closest friends.

If you are still torn between the two, why not have both? Even on a limited budget, you may still afford both if you would just take the time to shop around the Web and compare prices.

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Wedding Dress Skirt Styles

When you become engaged one of the first things on your mind is the type of bridal gown you imagine yourself wearing down the aisle to exchange your vows with your partner. However with so many different types of wedding dresses to choose from it is hardly surprising that it can all feel a bit overwhelming. Walking into a bridal store and seeing rows and rows of dresses can you make you wonder where to begin in your search for your perfect dress.

Before you set off shopping it is advisable to do a little research beforehand so you have an idea of the type of dresses you like. The internet and the bridal wear magazines are an excellent tool for looking at varying styles. Print or cut them out to take along to your appointments to provide your sales assistants with some starting ground. They will know what they have in stock and with their wealth of experience they will know what styles suit your body shape. If they select a dress that you are not sure of don't disregard it. Many wedding dresses look very different on to how they look on the hanger and often a bride will end up purchasing a wedding dress that she never anticipated wearing. Below are the most popular skirt shapes and their definitions to provide you with some helpful knowledge of the world of the wedding dresses and what would be most flattering on your individual shape.

Ball Gown - the fairytale bridal gown. This look is very flattering on many brides when worn with the right bodice. Hiding the body from the waist down, the skirt can be made fuller by wearing a hooped skirt underneath - the more hoops the bigger it will be.

A Line - A look chosen by many brides, the classic A line has a slight kick to the skirt. You can choose to make it wider with an under-skirt or hoop. It's a good choice of gown to hide larger hips yet creates an illusion of curves for those with none.

Princess - This gown features a snug fitted bodice and waist and an A Line skirt. As this gives an illusion of height it is ideal for petite brides and fuller figured brides.

Drop-waisted - Another good choice for smaller statured ladies this skirt style has an horizontal waist which sits just a few inches below your natural waistline. As the skirt kicks out from the hips it elongates the upper half of the body creating an even balance.

Asymmetrical - One sided asymmetrical wedding dresses can be in the neckline, waistline and the hem-line too. A very modern and contemporary gown that is suited to many body shapes.

Fishtail and Mermaid - If you want to flaunt your curves then this is the gown for you. They are both very fitted wedding dresses at the waist and hips with skirt kicking out from around the knee downwards. The fishtail also features a small train.

Empire - This wedding dress has a very high waist that falls from underneath the bust. A great look for pear shapes, expectant and petite brides this shape elongates the body putting emphasis on the bust-line.

Now all you need to do is decide what shape you like or if you prefer have an unstructured gown that falls naturally. Have fun choosing, the decision is yours.

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How to Give a Best Man Wedding Speech With Confidence

"Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence." Vince Lombardi

Imagine this; you've been asked to be best man at your best friend's wedding. You feel ecstasy, pride, and all the other emotions that go with it. You've never felt better.

A few weeks after being asked, the huge responsibility of the best man position dawns on you and nerves take over. You soon realise that not only will you have to be the groom's rock, making sure he's fully supported throughout the wedding preparations, but you've also now got to think about the best man speech. Suddenly you break out in a cold sweat and your legs turn to jelly. You realise that you've never spoken in front of a large group of people before and you don't even know where to start.

In this article I'll go through some sure fire tips and techniques to make sure that you give a wedding speech which the bride, groom and the wedding guests will remember for years to come.

1. Pre-plan your speech

I know it's tempting to start writing your speech straight away. In my experience this is where most speeches fall over. What you need to do is find some peace and quiet and jot down some ideas (also known as brainstorming). This is where you write down everything about the bride and groom (good and bad) that you can think of. Don't worry if it doesn't make any sense, it won't do just yet. It also doesn't matter if the points that you've written down aren't in the right order. We'll be taking care of that in the next section.

2. Write your speech

Now you've got everything written down you need to put a structure together. It'll go something like this;

a) Introduction - welcome the guests and introduce the bride and groom, maybe with a compliment. You could even include a joke to break the ice if you feel confident enough.

b) Main part of the speech - talk about how the happy couple got together, what they love about each other, what they hate about each other (light heartedly of course), what makes them such a great couple, and finally what you want for them in the future.

c) Close - thank the bride, groom and guests for listening and end the speech. You could also finish off with a joke.

3. Practice your speech

I can't emphasise this enough. It doesn't matter how good your speech is, if you don't practice and feel comfortable giving the speech it'll show. The guests will immediately see your lack of confidence.

If you're not confident speaking in front of people the best thing to do is practice your speech in a room by yourself. I know it's difficult but this will be the first stage of your practice. Repeat your speech over and over until you're happy with it.

The next part is to get some close friends together in a room and to practice your speech again. Do it exactly how you would at the actual wedding. This'll make sure you iron out any problems and it'll increase your confidence no end.

4. Giving your speech

Now, all the planning and practice is over and the wedding day has arrived. The speeches are about to start. You feel confident but you feel nerves starting to build. This is where the final technique comes in to play. It might sound simple but it's a really important one to settle your nerves.

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