Have you recently got married? If so then we would like to feature your wedding on www.WeddingGifts2U.co.uk. For newly engaged couples planning a wedding can be really daunting and when they have no idea where to start it is nice for them to have a place of reference where they can see the types of weddings that other people have had.
By seeing other weddings and considering ideas from them couples will be able to make informed judgements about their own weddings and create the perfect day that they want. Wedding and bridal magazines feature weddings on a regular basis for this same reason, to help their readers get ideas about what they want their wedding to be like.
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When the man of your dreams asks you to marry him you hope that it will be with a beautiful diamond ring - that kind of wedding gift with be appreciated by any newly engaged woman! But when you get married the wedding ring has a lot more significance then just looking pretty on your finger. What does the wedding ring symbolise?
Traditional the wedding ring is seen as the last in a line of wedding gifts that are given to the bride. The first of course being the engagement ring. A European tradition encourages the engraving of the name of one’s intended spouse and the date of one’s intended marriage on the inside surface of wedding rings, thus strengthening the symbolism and sentimentality of the rings as they become family heirlooms. The wedding ring is a symbol that someone is married – it is widely believed that wedding rings are an external symbol of love and commitment between a bride and groom that all the world can see.
King Edward VI-in the 16th century-ruled that wedding rings were to be worn on the left hand because it coincided with the “heart side” of the body and was thus to be worn closest to the heart. This was also in keeping with the Greek and Egyptian tradition of wearing rings on the third finger of the left hand because it was believed that the “vein of love”-also called the “vena amoris”-ran through the third finger on the left hand and was directly connected to the heart.
Nowadays it is possible to commission the engagement ring and the two wedding bands to come in a matching set.
Wedding rings have come to be a symbol of enduring and everlasting-or never-ending-love, much like the circle is a never-ending shape that has no beginning and no end. Couples spend a lot of time and effort selecting or designing the perfect rings that represent their love for one another. These rings are also a public and outward sign of their commitment and promised fidelity to each other. But most importantly, they are personal symbols most significant to the man and woman who have promised to share the rest of their lives and love together.
Like any gift exchanged between men and women the wedding rings are no different. They are wedding gifts to one another that symbolise the eternal love that they share for one another.
In this post “Signing the marriage register” there is a lovely discussion about how an engraved pen transforms the legal signing of the wedding register into a sentimental occasion between the father of the bride and the happy couple. This got me thinking about how easy it is to give a small yet thoughtful gift and it means so much to someone. On that note I am going to stick with the theme of engraved pens…
Why would an engraved pen make a good gift? I think if you are going to buy a gift like that for someone then it should be for someone that you know loves to write. Either they are a writer, they keep a journal or they work in an office and are in constant need of a pen! My aunt is a lawyer, she is constantly working on briefs and is in and out of meetings! There have been plenty of times that I have telephoned her with a legal question and she has been left stuck looking for a pen so she can write a memo to herself that I called her. So what better gift for her than an engraved pen. Rather than give it to her on her birthday or at christmas present I think giving it to her as a ‘just because’ gift is better. That means that she wouldn’t be expecting and so it would have more value! Personalising any gift adds extra value to it, perhaps not in terms of cost, but more in terms of sentimentality and thoughtfulness.
If you think about wedding gifts alot of couples ask for ‘no boxed gifts’ on the wedding invitation or they register at certain shops and ask for only gifts from there. Alot of people when couples have registered for wedding gifts buy them vouchers for particular shops, that way the couple can buy the gifts that they really want. I know someone who rather than getting gifts from the registered list or buying vouchers, bought the couple two gifts. The first was a set of cuflinks that were engraved for the groom and the second was a compact mirror that was engraved for the bride. She told me that when a couple gets married people buy them “couple” gifts, however she felt that they were still two individuals who although were getting married they still deserved to be recognised as two people and thus she bought them wedding gifts reflecting that. Those two gifts probably made a nice change from the endless vouches that the couple recieved and also as small gifts they seemed to fit the -’no boxed gift’ rule.
The groom at a wedding is just as important as the bride. I know everyone goes on about the brides big day – but there wouldn’t be a big day if it wasn’t for the groom. He is sometimes a little forgotten at times. Now I don’t think that should be the case. So when thinking about the type of gifts you are going to get for the happy couple you should think about groom gifts too.
In Muslim weddings – the wedding is more to do with the groom. There is a whole ceremony called Nikah where the groom and the father of the bride enter into a contract to ensure that the bride will be well cared for and looked after in the groom’s family. This is usually a public event where all the family and friends witness this agreement. It is at this point that the groom also pay the dowry requested by the bride. This whole ceremony just involves the groom. I like it you know. The groom gets his show and the bride gets her’s with her big entrance and gorgeous dress.
Usually the groom gifts are left to the best man to sort out. Afterall the bridesmaids will get a gift for the bride therefore it is seems fair that the bestman and the groomsmen sort out a nice groom gift – when you think about the kind of gift to get the groom; REMEMBER he will be married, so it needs to meet the approval of his new wife! You don’t want him sleeping on the couch on his wedding night.
1) I mentioned in a previous post about engraved champagne flutes and how they are a perfect bride gift, they are the same for the groom too. The two champagne flutes can be engraved with a personalised message. Each flutes could have different messages on them – one for the groom and one for the bride. Give them as a set and you’ve got not only a great wedding gift but also a great groom gift too.
2) If you do want to get a wedding gift that is groom specific then I think you should think about an engraved wedding gift and with that I mean “engraved cuflinks“. They would make a really special gift for the groom on his wedding day. He could wear them with his tux – also if in all the panic he has forgotten his cufflinks, then by presenting him with the cufflinks on the morning of his wedding will sure help him out!!
3) If you are the best man and you fear that after marriage you are going to lose your best buddy to the domestic life, then what could be better then to get your best friend and engraved photo frame with a picture of you two at some crazy event where you pretty much laughed all night! I know to a guy that may seem like a really soppy gift. But if you think about it in terms of the bride – she is less likely to display a beer keg in her house than a beautifully engraved photo frame that is a touching gift from the best man….
Whatever you get as a groom gift, remember when you buy this that he is just as important as the bride on ‘his’ special day – afterall I’m sure he only plans to get married once!
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So your partner has got down on one knee and proposed to you! It’s the best feeling in the world… but then comes the hard part – ‘Planning the Wedding’.
When you plan your wedding, where do you start? Here are few tips that will hopefully get you started:
After the engagement party everyone knows the main things that you need to think about to get the wedding ball rolling:
- style of the wedding: is it going to be formal, casual, a day or night affair?
- Wedding colours and theme: this will give you the basis of the venue and also help when coordinating outfits for the wedding party.
Decide on whether you are getting married in a church or whether you are having a registry wedding. GET THIS BOOKED WELL IN ADVANCE. AS SOON AS YOU HAVE DECIDED ON THE DATE. There is no point in having a reception if there is no official wedding.
- Set the date: it would help if you set the date first. That way you know what your availability is in terms of venues.
- Guest list: You should really think about how many people that you want to invite to your wedding. When thinking of venues it would be helpful if you have a rough idea of the number of people that you want at your wedding.
- Throw your budget out the window. It’s your wedding, hopefully you’re only going to get married the once so make it as special as you can. If you have to have a budget, then make sure it is realistic and know that on some things you are going to have to compromise.
- Knowing those three things you can find the right venue for your wedding. Make sure you get a letter of confirmation from the venue to make sure that it is your’s for that day. I’ll tell you a little story, I know someone who didn’t. They wrote the date in the diary, apparently so did the hotel that they were planning to have the wedding at. However when it came to paying the deposit two weeks later, the venue had been booked up by someone else. You don’t want that to happen to you – I couldn’t imagine anything worse. Make sure you have a back up venue and date just incase things don’t go to plan.
Example Seating Plan
Once you’ve got the venue, you can then start to think about the seating arrangement. Most places have tables that you can hire with chairs – for me I think you should be hiring the round tables. They look elegant and people all feel included on a round table, no one will be sat on the end of a round table by themselves. With the number of guests already know you can plan your tables into the hall and imagine how you are going to seat everyone. Some people liked seating plans. I don’t – people like to sit with people that they know. I have been to a number of weddings and just be plonked next to random people and been told to enjoy myself. I do not like that at all. There could be nothing worse. But the seating plan does help when you are thinking numbers.
So now let’s just do a check list, so far we’ve got:
- date
- guest list
- venue…
So what comes next? Well for me it would be the invitations – you need people to attend your wedding and the sooner you get those out the better. People can put the date into the diary and then they will forget about it until a couple of weeks before when they remember that they need to buy and outfit. Alongside the invite writing you should also consider what kind of entertainment you want. Some people like a live band while other’s like a DJ. Personally I’d have both. A jazz/blues band and a DJ to play the most popular tunes around. Split the time between the two… maybe have the band play while food is being served and the DJ to play when the everyone is ready to get their dance flex on.
For me, I would have the band play the first dance and the father/daughter dance. But that’s just because I like live music.
Next onto the caterers. What kind of food would like at your wedding? Will there be welcome drinks, appetisers, starters, a main course and then dessert? What kind of menu do you want? Make sure that the food is good though, there is nothing worse then attending a wedding with rubbish food. It makes me angry, people travel a long way to attend the wedding to then be greeting with mediocre food. ugh. Nothing worse. TASTE THE FOOD. Get the caterer to present the whole wedding meal to you. That way you can decide what you like and don’t like. Make sure they show you how everything will be presented too. You should find out if they provide all the crockery as well, some don’t and so you’d need to hire that in. Make sure it goes with the table clothes.
- The cake – there are looooooads of companies out there that do wedding cakes, you just need to find one that you are happy with. It may take a bit of time but when you find the right cake, you’ll know. I want a chocolate cake at my wedding… mmmm….do make sure you taste the cake though.
- Decide on your wedding photographer at this point (and videographer is you are having one).
With the caterers, florists, DJ’s, bands, venues, cake company, photographers i’d make sure that you got signed contracts with all of them. That way you have proof you booked them!
- So now you’ve sorted: the date, venue, guestlist, seating arrangements, invites, music, food and the cake. What next?
Well i’d move onto the outfits at this point. But for this you need to know a few things – who is the best man and the groomsmen and who is the maid of honour and the bridesmaids? That way you can work out how many dresses and suits you will need to have tailored. I personally like it if the bridesmaids and the groomsmen match. It looks pretty. But also when thinking of outfits you also need to consider the clothes of the fathers of the bride and groom and the mothers. I like the idea of them matching respectively. Brothers and sisters can wear what they want (as long as it is appropriate for a wedding) as with the rest of the extended family. But I think you should certainly be able to tell who is part of the wedding party.
The wedding dress is a whole category in itself. But like with the cake, when you find it… you’ll know.
When you’ve sorted the outfits I’d go onto the flowers… you can colour coordinate that way.
I mentioned earlier about round tables. What about table decorations? – the florist could probably do those too. Keep them simple. What is also good is to have a copy of the menu and the outlined agenda of the reception on the table. People like to know what is going to happen. Make sure that the table decorations are in keeping with the plate settings and the linen you have chosen.
Wedding favours are a big hit at weddings. If you are going to get these made then order them well in advance and make sure you get samples of them too so you can see what they are going to look like.
I’d actually get the whole table laid out so I could see how it was going to look. That way if there is something you don’t like then you can work on it. The finish of a table is very important. It makes the guests feel special.
Appoint someone in the family that you trust to take care of everything when it gets closer to the wedding. Make it easy for them and don’t leave things till the last minute. As long as they know what they are doing they can organise people so that they get everything done on time!
Remember that although your wedding day is going to be one of the most important days of your life you can’t plan every detail. So do the best you can and then just enjoy yourself!
If you have the budget then you can hire a wedding consultant. They will worry about all these things for you. But if you don’t this will hopefully help you out.
http://www.weddinggifts2u.co.uk is a great place to find all your wedding gift ideas. We have wedding gifts for not only the bride and groom but also wedding presents that the bride and groom can give as thank you presents to all those people who helped out at the wedding and who were an important part of it!
As the summer arrives everyone knows that it is wedding season… each weekend is taken up by some sort of event or another – be is hen/stag party’s, engagement parties or the weddings themselves. There is always some sort of celebration.
This weekend I went to a traditional Indian wedding. A very colourful affair I must say! But the thing with Indian weddings is that they last more than two weeks with all the different events that take place. For example if you take a standard Muslim wedding you have the following events:
- Engagement Party
- Civil Wedding (The Registry Wedding – i.e. the Official marriage by Law)
- The majalis – this is a religious ceremony where the couple are blessed and the families celebrate the marriage of the couple – there is a strong religious connotation to this.
- The hen/stag parties
- The BIG Indian Wedding
No Indian wedding could be small, no matter how much we tried for it to be. There are too many relations from all over the world to invite. But Indian weddings are great because there is always lots of great food, company, speeches and dancing. And as I mentioned before lots of colour… ! The bride nearly always wears red and the bridal party look stunning in a huge array of colours. That is just the norm of an Indian wedding. The music is bright and exciting and the cake is always a big part of the celebrations!
But as with any wedding it is very difficult to know what to get the bride and groom. Most Indian weddings that I have been too often say ‘no boxed gifts’ at the bottom of the invitation. This could mean therefore that the couple would prefer money or vouchers to a department store – for example House of Fraser. However what if the invite doesn’t say ‘no boxed gifts’ – what then? What wedding gift do you get the happy couple? You want it to be the kind of gift they are going to treasure but you also want it to be something that is appropriate for a wedding. For muslims – alcohol is not really an option. But there are plenty of other gifts that you could choose from… like engraved photo gifts. The happy couple will want to display their favourite wedding photo in their home for all to see, wouldn’t it be great if your photo frame that you had engraved for them especially for the wedding be the one that they chose to display their wedding photo in. Engraved photo frames are a simple and classic gift that never go out of style. Other Indian cultures probably wouldn’t complain if a alcohol themed gift was given. I’ve seen a lot of people start to give engraved champagne flutes as wedding gifts. The have each flute engraved with the names of the couple and the date of the wedding. I like these. I think they are not only a practical gift but also the kind of gift that can be displayed too. Engraved Champagne Flutes look nice.
Indian Wedding
I was speaking to the bride for a little while yesterday and what she did say was that she found it hard to know what to get the father of the bride and the father of the groom. She wanted to get them something that they would use and would also show them how much they were appreciated. She finally settled on engraved cufflinks and an engraved pen for each other the father’s. They both wore the cufflinks at the wedding, a very sweet touch. The engraved pens were engraved with the names of the respective “dad” with each having a special message from each child. I did like her choice of gifts as they were sentimental as well as practical.
Whatever culture you are from, you need to think about the wedding gifts that you are going to give to the bride and groom and they need to think about the wedding gifts that they are going to give the people that helped them during the wedding and their families too… who deserve gifts for putting up with them for all those years!!!
I found this on YouTube… it shows a Punjabi wedding – when I say colourful.. I mean COLOURFUL!
If you’re feeling nervous about being a best man, don’t. Wedding etiquette can be tricky, but with our guide you can navigate your way through the minefield with ease. Read on for our special best man dos and don’ts…
Best Man Dos:
Do offer to buy or hire your own wedding suit, tie, shoes, or any other accessories. But do remember that even if you are paying, you don’t get the final say in the style or colour!
Do offer to help with any errands or tasks during the run-up to the big day. Make a specific offer, not a vague ‘if I can help with anything…’
Do offer to go shopping with the groom for special wedding gifts. Wedding gifts can be difficult for the groom, especially choosing something special for the bride. Be helpful and make suggestions (how about an engraved compact mirror?), but most of all, be patient.
Do plan the stag party, and get the other stags to club together to buy a great personalised groom gift, such as an engraved hip flask, engraved photo frame or personalised glasses.
Do be as supportive as possible, particularly during those last few stressful weeks before the wedding.
Do be prepared to smooth over any family tiffs or problems. Often these can get out of control with everyone suffering from last-minute stress.
Do help the groom get ready on the morning of the wedding if he needs you. Bolster his confidence – but not with too much alcohol.
Do have the rings ready and pass them over at the appropriate moment.
Best Man Don’ts:
Don’t ever be late – especially for the wedding!
Don’t drink too much at the reception, or worse, before the ceremony.
Don’t criticise the bride, bridesmaids or any of the guests. Remember they are all friends and family of the groom.
Don’t moan about your own partner – you must be as positive about weddings and relationships as possible.
Don’t forget to buy the groom a special gift to show your regard for him. Groom gifts are easy to find, but make yours stand out by opting for a personalised groom gift, such as personalised whisky or an engraved lighter.
Don’t expect the bride and groom to arrange for your transportation to and from the wedding ceremony and reception – or to pay for your room.
If you need to find a gift for your best man then take a look at www.weddinggifts2u.co.uk and you’ll be sure to find what you need.
I realise that alot of the posts that I have written over the past few weeks have been about weddings, but alot of the reason for that is that I know alot of people who are getting married this year. So if I know alot of people who are getting married then I am almost certain that so do you as well. I just thought you might like some tips on all things wedding related. Don’t worry Christmas is coming soon and I certainly have alot to write about that particular theme. I’m excited already!!
I’ve spoken alot about the different traditions that people have when they plan a wedding, but I don’t think I’ve looked at it from the perspective of a western wedding.
North America has many cultures and many different wedding traditions influenced by countries all over the world. Mexican wedding traditions, for example, have been influenced by Spain and France, and by their own ancient cultural traditions stretching back to the Aztecs. Wedding traditions in the United States have been influenced by virtually every country at some point or other, making for a rich and varied combination of traditions. Canadian traditions are strongly influenced by both the English and the French.
Mexico
In Mexico, it is usual for a white ribbon or a rosary, called a lasso, to be draped around the necks of the bride and groom during the vows. This is to symbolize the joining together of the couple. Another tradition is for the groom to give his bride thirteen gold coins during the ceremony, symbolizing his commitment to support his new wife financially. As the bride and groom leave the church, red beads are thrown at them for good luck. And at Mexican wedding receptions, the guests form a heart-shaped circle around the bride and groom as they have their first dance as husband and wife.
United States of America
One unusual American tradition is for brides to wear white gloves. This comes from Victorian times, when American brides wore white gloves as symbols of modesty and romance. Even today, many American brides wear white gloves as a romantic gesture. In the United States today, it is very common for the bride and groom to write their own wedding vows, making promises and commitments that are individual and personal to them as a couple. Today’s wedding ceremony in the United States is often very grand and elaborate, especially among the well off, but small ‘backyard’ weddings are also common. If the climate allows, many wedding ceremonies are held outdoors.
Wedding ceremonies in North America traditionally conclude with the bride and groom exchanging wedding rings, and then, of course, with the traditional wedding kiss, which seals their union in front of their friends and family. As the newly married couple leave the wedding ceremony, rice is thrown at the couple as a symbol of fertility.
North American Wedding Gifts
Wedding gifts are traditionally given to help the new couple set up home together. They can range from the practical to the highly decorative. For more affluent weddings, personalised gifts of champagne, crystal and silver are ever popular. Those in poorer areas often make the bride and groom a personalised present symbolising their friendship.
Personalised gifts are a great way to show the happy couple what you want for their lives together. If you gave them a personalised photo gift. For example a personalised photo frame with a photo of the two of them in it and a message that you have had engraved into the frame then that is a very sentimental gift. Not only are you giving them something that they can display in their home. But the engraving shows that you want their marriage to last… that is the sentiment anyway.
Choosing the right wedding music is a difficult task – not least because there are so many pieces to choose from! With our help, however, you will soon navigate your way through the wedding music mine-field…
On Arrival/Signing Of Register
Whether you are having a church or a civil ceremony it is important to have music playing in the background as the guests arrive at the wedding venue, and during the signing of the register. Otherwise these times can be too quiet or a little awkward. At church, the bride and groom often opt for the traditional organ music, but if this doesn’t suit you could engage the services of a vocalist, a harpist or a string quartet to provide background music. Any of these alternatives are great for a civil ceremony too – you may also be able to simply give the organisers at the venue a CD of chosen music to be played to your guests.
Popular music choices for the arrival of the guests and signing of the register include:
Ave Maria by F Schubert
Laudate Dominum by WA Mozart
Jesu, joy of man’s desiring by JS Bach
Ave verum corpus by WA Mozart
Cantique de Jean Racine by G Fauré
Dome épais by L Delibes
Champagne Greeting
As well as musical entertainment, it’s a good idea to have some wedding champagne on tap to greet the guests as they arrive. Personalised wedding champagne is a great way to make your wedding special – this can also be used for the toasts. As an extra-special touch, why not buy some engraved personalised toasting glasses for the bride and groom?
The Arrival Of The Bride
The big moment for the choice of wedding music is, of course, the arrival of the bride. You will want to choose a piece of wedding music that is appropriate to the wedding venue – walking down the aisle of a church has a different ‘vibe’ to walking down the much shorter aisle at a civil venue. Popular choices include:
The Prince of Denmark’s March by J Clarke
Wedding March from ‘Lohengrin’ by R Wagner
If ye love me by T Tallis
Gloria in excelsis Deo by A Vivaldi
Eternal source of light divine by GF Handel
Trumpet Tune in D by H Purcell
The Personal Touch
Remember that this is your wedding, and the music needs to mean something to you. It is a nice idea to choose a favourite song that is meaningful to the bride and groom which can be played after the ceremony – a lighter touch to signal the end of the ‘formal’ part of the day.
If you want to add that personal touch to your wedding then along side the music you could also decorate the reception tables with a bottles of personalised champagne that has been designed specifically for the wedding. It’s a simple idea, but it is the finishing touches that make a wedding wonderful and personalised champagne will probably add that extra special touch to every table! Rather than drinking standard champagne when they toast the happy couple they will be drinking your special personalised champagne.
