Archive for category Wedding Planning

And for the rest of their lives, the man and woman shall be together….

Doesn’t it sound romantic? For the man and the woman to leave their families to be as one, to form a new family? It has been like this from time immemorial. And throughout the millennia, the concept of family and marriage have been so closely knotted together that it is sometimes impossible to separate one from the other.

Marriage is present in every culture in some form. Although the laws, norms, and cultures may differ, they all still recognize the union of man and woman under one roof.

Marriage has evolved in so many ways from the different cultures all throughout the world throughout the ages. For each culture, there are diverse ways of celebrating something like marriage. But in each culture, there has always been one thing that has remained the same – that in every culture, and every tribe, marriage has always been one to be celebrated with the utmost of festivities, with singing, eating, and celebrating.

Along with these festivities, man has also adopted a growing, and evolving number of traditions each filled with meaning and – believe it or not – shocking origins.

The Wedding Cake

Today’s tall, elaborated, and delicately crafted wedding cakes evolved from the simple grooms-cakes made by family members for the bride. Before the wedding day, one of theses cakes was put under the pillow of the bride. The bride would then sleep and “dream” of the groom, and yes, squish that cake into oblivion.

The real wedding cake would be a pound cake that would be “pound up” and crumbled and tossed at the couple as a sign of fertility. That is where we get today’s custom of sprinkling the couple with rice after the wedding.

Cakes during weddings are usually stacked up in large layers. The higher the stack, the more ‘glamorous’ the cake. People usually regard these arrangements are mere style. However, they were done so in the past as a symbol of fertility. Couples would stack these cakes to symbolize how many children the wished to have. So in the past, the higher the stack, the more the children.

Tying the Knot

Now the truth can be told. Tying the knot did not necessarily mean getting knotted together.

During ancient tribal times, the bride would usually be wrapped in a sheet with a knot out in front. This was to symbolize virginity. ‘Untying the knot’ was the groom’s privilege after the wedding the night.

Best Man – Secret Agent

And startling enough, the best man used to play a different role in the early days. During tribal times, it was the best man’s duty to abduct potential brides from other tribes. He would usually do so by clubbing the poor damsel over the head and drag her back home – just like those comic skits about cavemen seem to suggest. It was also the best man’s job to ward off the angry relatives of the bride. So in the early days, it was the best man swinging his axe while the groom got hitched.

Today
Although we are a little less barbaric than earlier times, we still see an evolution of the wedding ceremony and its tradition. These traditions are filled with meaning and can only serve to make your wedding day more memorable.

Almost every girl has a picture of her ideal wedding in her mind.  She may dream up something that she can visualize when reading fairy tales that end with “…and they live happily ever after.”  She sees flowers, ribbons and laces.

However, when her wedding day comes, she may have other considerations on her mind.

She still dreams of her ideal wedding but she starts incorporating other subjects that represent her and her groom.  The bride will probably consider the current trends in wedding fashion and decoration.  And the most important subject to talk about when choosing decorations – the cost.

Nobody wants to spend the first few months of being married paying of debts made during the wedding preparations so we’ve prepared a list of budget saving wedding ideas.

Personalize The Decorations -Not only does this add a personal touch to the celebration but this also cuts down on the cost.  For example, if the bride or the groom is a photographer, they may choose having photos from their collection made the main subjects for the reception design.  The photos may also be used for invitations and keepsakes,

Consider Renting -Most of the items that will be used for decorations will not be used again.  These include the centerpieces, the vases, the arc ways and the artificial flower arrangements.  So ask your wedding decorator for options to rent these pieces.

Kids can get bored during the wedding reception.  So instead of having kids seated at the same table with the adults, you can have an area where kids can be more casual and can have a small party of their own.

Marriage is a union of families – During the wedding ceremony, if possible, you may alter some of the practices to include the children of the bride or groom from previous marriage or the parents and families of the couple.  Having them perform a special union rite will signify that the wedding is not just a union of two people but also of two families.

For the food during the reception, you may inquire with cooking or culinary arts schools.  They may agree to cater for the reception for just the price of the food, or perhaps, a little more.  You may also have a pot luck by asking family members and close friends to cook a dish.

If you wanted to cut down on the cost for the wedding party, you can just invite more people to the engagement party.  Usually, only cocktails and hors d’oeuvres are served, which cost less than the full set of meals for the wedding reception guests.

For the music, you can look for a local college band or DJ.  You can also have your favorite songs just downloaded from the Internet and saved to an mp3 player or CD to be played over the speakers during the reception.

When considering the cost of church decorations, check if there will be another couple that will get married on the same day.  They may want to coordinate what decorations can be used for both wedding ceremonies to lessen the need to change decorations before or after the wedding and to split the cost.

So, there you have it.  Seven ideas that will help save your wedding budget.

There are a lot of different ways to describe a ring. Material, diamond shape, carat, diamond color, diamond clarity, etc. I found a site called 77 Diamonds that actually helps simplify this a little. First – you pick the diamond shape and ring style. Then you can change the color, clarity and carat to see what the different price ranges are for that style.

For example, lets take a look at this trilogy engagement ring design:

Now, for this ring, you have the options of carats ranging from .4 to 2 carats or more. Their carat weight chart gives you an idea of what the actual diamond size is for each carat. The larger the carat weight, the bigger the diamond.

You also have a choice of colors from K (light yellow) to D (perfectly white). Most brides will probably choose a diamond somewhere between H (white) and D (perfectly white).  Ratings of D, E and F are the purest, rarest and of course, most expensive diamonds. Diamonds rated G or H may have a slight coloration, but so slight that it would only be noticeable if compared with a higher graded diamond. This makes them a great option for a bride who needs an affordable engagement ring without sacrificing size.    How much difference does color make? Well, a 1 carat ring like the one above, with a VS2 clarity (to be discussed shortly) and a color rating of D would cost you $5000. The same ring, with a color rating of H would cost you $3400.

The other option will see is the clarity. Clarity is ranked from SI3 (slightly included) to IF (internally flawless). This refers to the natural inclusions which can be seen under a 10x magnification. So – an IF is much rarer and much more costly then a SI3.  Most brides will go with a VS1 or VS2, which has natural inclusions barely visible under magnification. If you are on a budget, you might consider an SI1, which has noticable inclusions under magnification but is barely noticable to the human eye. How much difference does this make? Lets use the same example, 1 carat, with an H color rating. With a IF rating, your cost will be $7259. With a SI1, you would be looking at $2700! Now that is a HUGE difference, but the actual look and size of the ring to the human eye is the same.

One more quick case study, using the same ring above:

.5 Carat, D color, IF clarity: $2900

.5 Carat, H color,  VS2 clarity: $1150

Yes- the first ring has diamonds that have a higher value and will always be worth more. But – both rings are the same size and look, and for a bride with a limited budget, color and clarity considerations are a great way to make sure you are getting an engagement ring you love, and can afford!