Wedding Trends Watching: 2009

Monday, September 21, 2009

Music over the ceremony

Music is a very important wedding issue. Music makes a special atmosphere not only on weddings. Imagine the movie pictures without a music.. it gives a final 'coat' to a product, creates feelings and overall impressions. Therefore choose the music for your wedding carefully.

You have a variety of choice for the music over the ceremony. Firstly I would advice you to think about the type of music; will you have live musicians or a CD music? The two of them are VERY different. In the church, the organist would be a choice but you may thin

k about the flute or violins as well. If your ceremony takes place outdoor, a string quartet, a violin duo, bag pipers, a harpist, a piano (electric), a saxophone etc would create a great background for your ceremony.

Then think about the songs. Not every instrumet can play all wedding melodies you may like. Make sure you check this with the musicians in advance.

On one of my weddings the bride and groom were absolutely non-traditional and they gave me a CD with they favourite songs by The Cure and Seal. The outcome was great, it corresponded to the bride and groom perfectly.

Some of you may be lucky like my friends who got married last weekend. They both are musicians and play in the group with 8 other musicians. Their friends played the music over the ceremony and also opened the dancing party. The live music rocks! :)

Some tips for a wedding music:

Air from The Water Music, Handel
Zadok the priest, Handel
Jesus, Joy of man's desiring, Bach
Wedding march, Mendelssohn
Largo from Xerxes, Handel
voi che sapte, form 'The Marraige of Figaro', Mozart
Let the bright Seraphim, Handel
Trumpet voluntary, Clarke or Purcell
Meditation from Thais, Massenet
Thou knowest, Lord, Purcell
Minuet, Boccherini
Spring from the four Seasons, Vivaldi (first movement)
O for the wings of a dove, Mendelssohn
Sheep may safely Graze, Bach
Ode to Joy, Beethoven,
Panis angelicus, Franck
See the conquering hero come, Handel
Allegretto Them from Symphony no. 7, Beethoven
The arrival of the queen of Sheba, Handel
Air on the G string, Bach
Ave Maria, Gounod, Schubert
Ave verum corpus, Mozart
Jerusalem, Parry
I will magnifyi thee, Handel
Hornpipe, from Water Music, Handel
Hallelujah chorus, from the Messiah, Handel
Grand March, from Aida, Verdi
Gloria, from Gloria, Vivaldi
Brandenburg concerto no. 3 in G, first movement, Bach
Bridal March, Wagner,
Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Mozart
Double violin concerto, 2nd movement, Largo
Cnaon in D, Pachelbel,
Double violin cocnerto, 2nd movement, Bach

but also:

It's a beautiful day by U2
Happy Day
Come what may (from Moulin Rouge movie picture)
Amazing Grace
All you need is love by Beatles

etc.

Don't forget about the music for the cocktail, background music for the dinner and a list of songs for the DJ for the party.

Did you have some special music on your own wedding? Send me an email and share it with us.

Bridal gown - Justin Alexander

Justin Alexander Bridal

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Planning the Wedding

Everyone dreams about wedding as a perfect day of the life. Therefore it is very important to organize it well.

The preparations can be done in 5 or 6 weeks, of course. All depends on the size and the ideas about your wedding; where do you want your ceremony, reception etc.
Sooner you start to organize your Day D less compromises you will have to do. Some interesting places will be booked soon in advance.

Some advices of the wedding p

lanner:

Number of guests is probably the most important question at the beginning. Another important question is where and when do you want to get married. When you have answers for these you may continue - either change the number of invited guests or change the place of reception if they do no match together. Also consider who are you inviting for your wedding and how far your guests have to travel to get to your chosen venues.

Visit your potential venues (unless you leave too far and you trust your wedding planner) and book them as soon as you decide for the date. Ceremony and reception venue should not be too far from each other.

Look for your bridal gown, then shoes and rings (it may take couple of months until you'll agree with your future husband or wife what type of ring you like and the budget your want to spend for it)

Book your photographer, video and print the invitations. Ask for responses from your guests ideally 2 months prior to your wedding

Make your list of gifts and choose your honeymoon destination

Book the cars, music and other entertainers (their agendas are getting full before the wedding season very quickly)

1 month to go

Book your flowers, print the namecards and seating plan
Delegate tasks to your family and ushers for the wedding day
Try your hairstyle
Organize your stag / hen party

1 week to go

Relax :)

Day D

Enjoy your Big Day! :)

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Destination Wedding

Hot Trend in Weddings today

One of the most watched trends in weddings today is the 'destination wedding'. They represent about 10% of all wedding occuring among American or Canadian couples. 10 years ago the term 'destination wedding' was an unknown term. This trend is gaining speed.

What is 'Destination Wedding'

It essentially means 'eloping with a crowd' in a modern way. A couple eloped in the past alone. Today they still run off to get married but with their closest family and friends to share in the celebration.
Destinations weddings are also known as 'Honeymoon Weddings' because they combine a wedding and honeymoon all in one. You may call it 'Familymoon' because it is, in essence, a honeymoon that the whole family goes along on.

Why is it Hot?

It is hot because it appeals to couples who want to get married somewhere exotic ('different') and those who want to spend a special and memorable wedding with the people closest to them. Instead of having just one day to celebrate the wedding with all favourite people, couples getting married aboad have several days of quality time together with their closest persons. In comparation with the traditional wedding when the couple has only fleeting moments to spend with individual guests you start to see the appeal of the destination wedding.

Another reason for this wedding trend is that re-marriages now count for 50% of marriages. Some couples just may not feel comfortable with the second or third traditional trip to the altar. Some prefer something a little more low key or quiet, with just the closest people to them. The destination wedding is perfect for this.
Thanks to the Internet that makes the world a much smaller place, destination weddings explored in a high speed as well. You can perfectly organize your wedding with all vendors by distance, all you need is an email.

How many guests?

The trend is now close to 50 guests on a wedding which is a significant num

ber because only few years ago the typical destination wedding had a list of just 10-15 guests.

However you may invite as many people as you wish. Just keep in your mind: there are likely to be people who will be unable to attend your wedding abroad due to the expense or the logistics of arranging their holidays. Also your idea of the dream destination may not match theirs, so if you are expecting them to pay their travel costs, they may not be willing to invest their vacation budget into the vacation of your choice.
If you plan to do your wedding abroad, inform everyone that you intent to invite about your plans at least 1 year before so they can plan their vacations and start to save the money.

Before you decide

A little research will be required. Either a beach/snow/castle dream wedding will need to do the legal papework. Some countries only allow citizens to marry on their soil, others may require a residency 30 days, 6 months, or just couple of days before you are eligible to marry there.
You will be required to provide various documents in order to marry abroad.

Costs and who pays what

There is no rule that requires the couple to pay for guests their travel expenses, however it would be a real treat for your guests if you can cover some of their costs. Some couples do this, others do not.
Therefore it is more than recommended to announce your plans to get married in another country early enough so everyone (especially your closest friends and family) can organize their trips.

Hotels and resorts will often discount the accommodation for wedding guests. Reserve a block of rooms for your party and when guests call in to make their reservation they simply mention that they are part of your party.
You might also want to work out alternate accommodations that are close by but less expensive. Make sure your guests are aware of all of their accommodation options so they can select that which best fits their budget.

Get professional help

Some brides like to personally oversee every little detail of their wedding plans. If this is you think carefully before proceeding with a destination wedding unless you plan to make one or more trips to the destination. You may also get a help of professionals - a resort event coordinator, wedding planner or a travel agent. Make sure your wedding planner is specialized in destination weddings.
A good wedding planner can help you to sort out everything that has to be done at place, will help you to choose a good venue within your budget and propose services that you may choose from. You will, of course, need to make decisions e.g. about your flowers, menu, drinks... but most of the organization will be on your planner. The biggest plus is that he or she will be with you on your wedding day and will take care of the smooth run of your day D and can help to your guests if anything unexpected will occure.

If you want to learn more about destination weddings please contact us by email at
weddingtrendswatching(@)gmail.com

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Proposals

The very first step toward your wedding.

This post is mostly addressed to the future grooms.
Romantic men did not dis

appear from this world! Believe me I thought they did but I have seen on my own eyeys when someone called our wedding agency and asked for a help to organize the unforgettable and most romantic proposal for his girlfriend. Firstly you have to make a decision, then buy a ring and they do the proposal. The third step is the most difficult one - if you want it unique and romantic. Here are some tips that happened in real;

1. Dinner is probably the most favourite 'how to propose'. Even this way of proposal to your girlfriend can be special. During your ordinary chat there's a violinist who suddenly appears by your table and takes out a little 'box' from his picket and put on the table. No words are needed thought.

2. Weekend trip to another city is a good ocassion to 'get out of the reality' and take care of your couple. You are walking on a bridge in the most romantic city in the world, you stop somewhere in the middle of the bridge and ask the question. When she replies 'yes' suddenly there's a firework over your heads!
Bonus: you return to your hotel room and it has been decorated with candles and petals with a bottle of champagne :)

Was your proposal exceptional? Please share it with us: weddingtredswatching(@)gmail.com