Disposable Wedding Cameras

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Surrey Weddings Continues To Support Breast Cancer Research

We at Surrey Weddings have decided to continue our efforts to raise money for breast cancer research. We started this in October 2009 in aid of Wear It Pink (October is Breast CancerAwareness Month), and it worked really well.

So, from now on, for every new advertiser who signs up to our site,  we will donate £5 of the initial fee to Cancer Research UK.

The site is mainly geared up for women to browse, as they tend to be the ones who do most of the wedding arrangements. Sorry,  guys, but it’s true!

Plus, we wanted to give something back to the community. We only charge £25 per year for our advertising slots anyway, so to give 20% to this worthwhile charity is a great feeling.

So, pass the word. If you’re thinking of signing up, do so now and help cancer research.

Thank you

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Choosing Your Honeymoon Destination

There are many factors that come into play when deciding where to go for your honeymoon.  You want to go somewhere fun and possibly exotic, but especially romantic.  You also want a destination that has activities you two like to do, whether it be scuba diving, bargain hunting, beach walking, or museum visiting. The decision has to be made whether to go somewhere near or far and usually the amount of time you can take away from work plays into this.

One other big factor is the cost of the honeymoon. If you have your heart set on going somewhere that’s farther away than the other side of town, then consider the “high season”, “low season”, and “shoulder season” of your possible destinations.

High season is the time of year when your destination is the most popular. Consequently, it’s also the time of year when the airlines and resorts can charge the most money because everyone wants to go there then.  It’s an example of supply and demand.  Think spring break time in Florida, Palm Springs or Hawaii in the winter, or many parts of Europe in the summer.  You have to carefully consider whether you want to pay bigger bucks to go to the popular destinations during high season, and if you can handle the crowds that will be there at that time.

Low season is when a location is at its cheapest price.  This is Europe in the winter or Arizona in the summer.  There is a reason why it’s less expensive at these times – people are not inclined to go there, usually because of the weather.  Also note if it’s hurricane season during low season, or if it’s the time for monsoon, high winds, etc.  Otherwise, this can really be a perfect time to go if you’re into winter sports or like really steamy heat.

Another time to consider is the shoulder season.  This is the time between high and low season with either fall or spring-like conditions.  As you might have figured out, the cost will be somewhere less than high season but more than low season, and the crowds should be in direct ratio with the season.  Europe in the spring or fall is still perfectly nice, although not necessarily tanning-in-a-bikini weather.  In fact, you may need to wear a light jacket and carry an umbrella, but at least it shouldn’t snow on you.

The bottom line is that you will be able to afford more honeymoon if you pick a destination during the less popular months.  It may be that your first choice of perfect locations is too costly.  What you can do is go with your second or third choice, or if it’s still early in the wedding planning stage, you can change the date of your wedding to a month that coincides with the best prices of your first choice for your honeymoon.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

History Of Wedding Favours

Wedding favours are popular at wedding receptions or parties almost everywhere. Their historical origin is unknown but there’s evidence that they have been popular around the world for a very long time.

There are many theories about what generated the tradition of giving wedding guests a favour for attending the service. Some say the tradition originated with the Romans in the 8th century. Another states that the Romans, during 400 B.C. started the practice of throwing rice and giving wedding favours to guests.

Almonds have been a traditional symbol of good luck and assurances for successful marriages for centuries. Originally, only the titled families followed this practice and their favours were often made of silver or gold. When the custom filtered down to the other social classes, by the end of the 19th century, almonds were distributed in golden paper boxes.

Supposedly, when the groom gave his friends walnuts, he was saying goodbye to his bachelor ways. Walnuts were thrown at the couple during the ceremony and eventually evolved into today’s practice of throwing rice at them.

There are reports from English royalty during the 15th century that they usually handed out symbolic almonds in small boxes of precious metal to guests. Across the Channel, during the Napoleonic era, friends exchanged boxes of almonds as a wish for good luck.

In Russia, the Czars celebrated the christening of their children by giving their relatives and friends specially designed boxes of gold filled with sweets.

Middle Eastern weddings today use Jordan almonds at most weddings to continue this ancient symbolic rite. Guests are given 5 Jordan almonds to represent traditional wedding wishes of fertility, health, wealth and a long life together full of happiness. The candy coating on the almond is said to represent both the bitter and the sweet side of marriage.

In Malaysia, the groom is likely to send wedding presents to his future bride. Children are the traditional bearers of the gifts, which usually include elaborately decorated trays of food, including origami made with currency that represent flowers and cranes. A Korean marriage custom of each guest receiving a beautifully decorated hard-boiled egg to represent fertility is a welcomed wedding favour.

Party Crackers were popular as wedding favours during the Victorian Era and are still used today as favours or for other festive occasions, particularly for the British Christmas season, but not exclusively. They are a popular treat for parties of any theme, especially at children’s parties.

Apparently they were invented by Tom Smith, a London pastry cook, in the 1840′s. On a trip to Paris he was fascinated by a French holiday practice of placing sweets and sugared almonds in a bit of twisted colored paper. He called his creation “Kiss Mottos” and did not have much success with them until he made the paper container pop or crack when it was pulled apart.

Today’s wedding receptions continue the practice of giving wedding favours to guests. Some are traditional, but it has often evolved into themed practices, like wine, hearts, flowers, etc. Seasonal themes are very popular at certain times of the year and are a perfect theme to use around Valentine’s day.

 

Personalised favours have a strong following and guests might receive a set of pens and pencils engraved with the date of the wedding or a shot glass engraved with the details. One thoughtful gift might be a small silver, engraved frame with a picture of the bride and groom.

The wedding favour tradition has definitely evolved into a successful industry that has provided a solution to the wedding favour quandary and the time-consuming task of choosing the right favour for your wedding.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

How to Make Your Wedding Reception Enjoyable For Everyone

Have you ever been to a wedding reception where guests sit around in little groups of people they know and no one mingles or looks like they’re having a very good time? And it’s all slightly awkward? Yep, I have too.  This is not how you want your wedding reception to go.  You want people to mingle and get to know each other, especially both sides of the two families involved.  Plus, you want everyone to have a good time.

Let’s explore ways to help your guests feel comfortable so they’ll relax, open up, and enjoy themselves.

1.  Start the bonding between families and friends at the hen night and stag party. That way the people at these events will have some common ground with each other when it comes time for the wedding reception.  Even if they didn’t previously know each other, they will now have some shared history.

2.  Music is important, even if you don’t plan to have dancing.  Keep it loud enough so that people can hear it, but not so loud they have to shout to be heard over it.  The type of music is important too. Make sure it’s light and uplifting.

3.  Have a slide show running on one wall featuring the bride and groom from babies to adulthood, lots of shots of friends and families, and as many funny (and potentially embarrassing) pictures as you can find.  This opens everyone up for a good laugh and brings out the conversation as the bride’s Mum tells the groom’s sister the story that led up to a certain picture, etc.

4.  Make the room on the smallish size.  If the room is huge and the number of guests small, they have plenty of room to go hide in the corners.  You want the room size to force them to be closer together so they will mingle. 

5.  Group dancing such as line dancing, the Stroll, the Hokey Pokey, and even the Bunny Hop get people together. The more ridiculous dances are usually good during the latter half of the reception after the ice has been broken.

6.  The dance with the bride (money dance) is a tradition for some families and one you should consider doing as it’s lots of fun and gets everyone involved.  Basically everyone lines up to dance with the bride and puts some money in the hat for the privilege to do so.

7.  A tango contest or limbo contest is another activity to try half way through the reception.  This can be hilarious and entertaining for everyone, not just those who are involved.  Be sure to have someone video tape it as you might end up with some footage suitable for the You’ve Been Framed show.

8.  Give the loners at your reception a job to do. You can assign these guests disposable cameras and ask them to be in charge of getting some candid shots during the reception.

These are some ideas to help you have a reception where your guests feel comfortable and have a good time. Keep these in mind and your reception may be talked about fondly for years to come.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

How to Choose a Wedding Dress For You – Best Wedding Day Dress Option

How to Choose a Wedding Dress For You – Best Wedding Day Dress Option

By Bryan Burbank

One of the the most important things you will purchase for your special day is a wedding dress. There are many types you can choose from and finding one that fits your budget and looks good are key. Make sure that you spend the time looking around before making a final decision.

You want to start by looking for a dress style that fits your body type. There are many dress types that become popular each year but make sure that you do not select a type that does not work for you. A good example is that if you are not comfortable with your arms you do not want to buy a sleeveless dress.

Visit your local wedding dress store and try on a variety of dresses so that you can get a good idea of what looks good on you. You may be surprised that a particular style looks good that you would have not picked off the rack.

Get magazines so that you can narrow down styles that you like. It will help you to save time if you know what you like before going to look for a wedding dress. Make a list of a half dozen or so styles that you like so that you can make your search easier.

Once you have found a dress that you like then search for the best price possible. You will find that there are discounters who specialize in wedding dresses. You may also find that you can get the exact dress you like online. There are many companies that try to reduce the price so that they can sell more inventory.

Get: Wedding Fashion Advice

Free: Great Wedding Advice

Bryan Burbank is an expert in the field of Weddings and Receptions

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bryan_Burbank

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Choose-a-Wedding-Dress-For-You—Best-Wedding-Day-Dress-Option&id=3546322

Regards
Roger Mayne
Surrey Weddings

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wedding Dresses in Surrey

Your wedding dress is one of the most important aspects of your wedding day. Everyone is waiting to see what your dress will look like. As well as being the centrepiece to your wedding, it needs to be comfortable as you’ll be wearing it for many hours.

To get the wedding dress you really want, take a look at our wedding dress page for wedding dress designers and retailers.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings

Wedding Expenses – Who Pays For What?

Once you decide to get married and have a date set, the next big task is creating a reasonable budget for the big day. One of the early decisions will have to be the type of wedding you want: formal, informal, etc. Traditionally the bride’s father paid for everything, but that task is now being shared by both sets of families or the bride and groom alone, if they have money of their own. The rigid, traditional lines have disappeared.

Family members and friends with specific skills might contribute to the wedding ceremony by making the bride’s wedding dress or baking and decorating the wedding cake. Another with a very green thumb might create the flower arrangements or the bride’s bouquet. Weddings are happy occasions in most families and relatives and friends would be happy to be a real participant in the event.

Here are some traditional guidelines for the usual division of payment in traditional weddings. Again, these are only suggestions.

Normally, anything to do with the bride’s dress or appearance is the responsibility of the bride’s family. That includes the bride’s wedding dress, headdress or jewellery. Also the bride’s responsibilities, or that of her family, are the bridesmaid’s gifts and bouquets, corsages for their grandmother and the flowers for the ceremony and the reception.

The decorations for the ceremony, like altar baskets filled with flowers in the bride’s colours or portable arches, are the obligation of the bride’s family. These decorations can include candelabras and kneeling benches for the ceremony. If the wedding is taking place outside, a canopy and carpet for the walk to the altar would be part of the bride’s expenses. Simply put, any rentals for either the ceremony or the reception would be paid for by the bride or her family.

During the initial planning for the wedding the bride will select, order and pay for the announcements, invitations and wedding programs, including any special napkins, matches or printed materials for the reception.

Both the bride and the groom buy the rings for each other, along with the traditional wedding gift they each exchange.

Traditionally, the groom pays for the bride’s bouquet, his own boutonniere and those for his groomsmen and ushers. He is also responsible for the corsages worn by both mothers. The groom pays for the marriage license and carries it with him to the ceremony.

He is also responsible for paying the clergyman’s fee or that of the public official that performs the ceremony, though often the Best Man actually delivers the money to the clergyman.

The bride pays the church or chapel fee for the ceremony and for the reception, including the church janitor for the cleanup after. The bride pays for any music or photography for either location, including the church soloist or musician and band or DJ for the reception.

The wedding cake and any wedding favours for the guests are the bride’s expenses.

Some weddings are loaded with breakfasts, luncheons and dinners to help celebrate some aspect of the approaching nuptials. Who hosts and pays for each one could get confusing. The traditional arrangement is the groom’s family pays for the rehearsal dinner while the bride and her family are responsible for bridesmaid’s luncheons, the wedding breakfast, and the bridal brunch.

Finally, the groom pays for limousine service and the honeymoon details, while the bride handles accommodations for out-of-town guests.

While those divisions of responsibility are traditional and based on old habits carried down through the decades, today’s weddings are not so strictly traditional. Whatever works for the couple is just fine.

For more wedding tips and advice, as well as a full directory of wedding suppliers in Surrey, visit Surrey Weddings