Category Archives: Wedding

The Best Man

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Many years ago, pre medieval times, the groom’s best man stood beside the bride at the altar. He assumed his position at the side of the bride as protection throughout the wedding ceremony. What was the meaning behind the protection? Is it not the best man’s’ job just to throw a huge bachelors party, and say a few kind words at the reception?

The best man was traditionally a friend of the groom, and asked by the groom to be the chief guardian of the bride during the time preceding the wedding. He in turn would appoint mutual friends to help with the duty of protecting the bride and seeing to it that she got to the wedding on time and unscathed. This is the origin of the best man and groomsmen, or traditionally called “The brides knights”.

Of course, scandal wasn’t uncommon in the Anglo-Saxon days of Great Britain. And on occasion it has been told that the Best Man with the assistance of his groomsmen would kidnap the bride. Some could interpret this as being an act of selfishness or unkind, others might detail a different story. Most marriages in the dark ages were still arranged and courtship was granted by the father of the bride to better the family status. Thus, potential suitors would be pitted against each other; similar to applying for a job. Your letter to the father would outline your traits, qualities and suitability to wed his daughter.

Of course, the daughters were still given a lot of freedom and allowed to marry in most instances where they too consented. But in the cases where the parents did not approve, they would see their daughter kidnapped by the groomsmen and guarded until married.

Of course the family would take action and try to dispel the marriage, even whilst the two delinquents were at the altar! Hence you will find that the Groom would stand to the right of the bride at the altar so his sword could be drawn quickly to defend his position in marriage. And the best man would guard the bride by standing on the brides other side until the vows had been completed.

 

Childhood wedding dreams

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Are you the sort of bride who’s been dreaming of her big day since she was a little girl? Or are you somebody who never thought you’d be get married and are surprised to find yourself picking stationery and choosing between vintage birdcages?

Either way, you’re in good company. Here are some wedding ideas from real brides and how they changed or didn’t change their plans;

Sometimes, little girls don’t always have the most realistic expectations, “The unlimited budget I had in my mind has obviously changed so, due to that, pretty much everything is different!”

The same can’t said for one Bride to Be. “Everything is exactly how I always dreamed it would be – a grand princess fairytale wedding”. Her dad promised her that it would be perfect years ago and he didn’t disappoint.

One real bride’s childhood dream transformed into something more modest. “I always thought I’d be the new Cinderella. With the big castle, big dress and thousands of guests,”now it’s changed to wanting a small laid-back wedding that’s just lots of fun.”

Changing wedding plans

Other brides have changed their minds about lots of things… from colour schemes to who they were going to marry!

One Bride to be always wanted a baby pink and blue wedding, but now she’s having a Cadbury purple wedding with butterflies. And marrying a woman!!

However, one bride has kept to her plan. “I’ve always wanted burgundy, green and cream for my wedding and I’ve always wanted to get married near Christmas.” She got married on 30th November and had the day shes always wanted.

Some of you were surprised that you were even getting married!

“Throughout my childhood, teens and early adulthood, I never planned on getting married,” says one Bride. “It wasn’t until my partner proposed that I actually wanted to get married.”

“I was dead set on not getting married because I saw it as a waste of money,” says another Bride to be. “That wasn’t until I met my husband and I realised what it all really means and that it’s not about the money.”

It goes to show that you never know what’s going to happen in your future. Keep dreams as flexible as possible and don’t be too rigid in your expectations, because you never know what could happen.

Talk to your other half about the type of wedding you want because he may not be comfortable with the big extravagant event you’ve always imagined and it may suit the pair of you far more to have a simpler, smaller do.

At the end of the day you both want to enjoy yourselves and a lot of marriage is about compromise. So find some common ground about what you both want and take it from there.

 

DIY weddings

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Menu Cards

Handwritten Menu cards are a perfect place setting piece of design and for weddings on a budget whether created by yourself or someone else, can be a cost effective way to stylise your order of day in a way that ticks the boxes of your theme and decor too!

Welcome/Introduction Boards

Whether on chalkboards, mirrors or wooden boards, welcome words at the entrance to your reception are great ways to give your guests directions, enforce style or simply share the love of the happy couple. Finish off with soft and silvery foliage with stems of flowers in your bouquet to carry through your colour and look.

Reception/Table Decor

Source vintage and unique decor pieces to frame romantic messages to personalise your reception venue and decor. Your Wedding is a beautiful day, adorn it with beautiful things!

Planning your own handmade wedding is deciding where and how you can add personalised touches. It’s so enjoyable to create your own pieces and its great for everyone to try it themselves.

Modern Signwriting creates a beautiful, simple effect, and once you have mastered the basics you can apply it in many ways and across many other occasions!

TOP TIPS Mastering faux calligraphy is essential to achieve beautiful Modern Signwriting.

Practice individual letters over and over before tackling words to get a feel for how the letters flow.

Lightly sketch your design onto your item first with a soft art pencil – This will be easy to remove afterwards and less likely to scratch your item.

 

Wedding themes

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By giving your wedding a theme, you will make your wedding day personal and unique to you. To help you plan your own big-day theme, we’ve created a handy tips that should help you along the way.

Don’t just follow a fashion. If you both love music then why not choose that as your wedding theme inspiration? You can have invitations that reflect the type of music you love, you can have a live band playing at your reception and you could even take a turn at the microphone yourselves.

Or if you’re both city people and are planning a metropolitan big day then use that as part of your theme. Maybe have a city landscape on your invitations and hold your reception in a funky loft-style venue. You just need to really think about what expresses the two of you as a couple and take it from there.

If you’re having a music-themed wedding then you could burn a CD of your favourite music and put a copy at every place setting. Try not to give favours that are completely random and have nothing to do with your wedding theme, think about what will fit in. They don’t need to cost much money, but they should be relevant.

If you’re having a country garden wedding theme, then maybe have your wedding in a marquee or a barn. A function room in a hotel won’t have quite the effect you’re looking for, so shop around for something that fits.

Try not to do these things: Brides often fall into the trap of thinking they need a theme AND a colour scheme. One or the other will be fine, but both can make the reception a bit of a shambles, with lots of extra work for you.

If you’re having a vintage theme, then don’t insist that everybody dresses in vintage-style clothes. The fact that they have made the effort and have almost certainly spent money to attend your wedding should be enough to ask of your guests. If they want to dress up and follow the theme then that’s fine – but don’t insist upon it.

Finally, you don’t have to have a theme if you don’t want to, it’s all up to you! It’s your day and you should do it your way.

 

How to make a good wedding speech

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1. Strip it down.

There’s an unfortunate temptation in a short speech to try to cram everything you have to say into a short time. Instead of trying to make the time to fit the speech, however, recognize that you have to make your remarks fit the time allotted and to get all the key points you want to say.

  1. Plan and rehearse.

This applies whether you have five days notice before your speech or 30 seconds. If you’re surprised to be called on to speak, your wedding planning might consist only of conjuring up your three main points while someone else is trying to get everyone’s attention and introduce you, but that’s better than nothing. Ideally, you want to plan everything you’re going to say, rehearse in front of other people, and rewrite over and over.

3. Cut yourself off.

In the history of the entire world, we don’t think anyone has ever said, “I wish that speech had been longer.” So keep track of time, and by all means don’t ramble. If you’ve run out of time to make a major point.

4. Use milestones

For a five minute speech, you want to organize in roughly one-minute intervals, and you want to offer milestones to the audience at the top of each minute. You get one minute for your introduction, during which you explain what you plan to say.

  1. Show. Don’t tell.

For a short speech, show the audience–a couple of photos, a prop, anything that gives the audience’s eyes something to focus on. Raise your glass and propose a toast, rather than just making an announcement. It can be a little bit corny, granted, but it’s much more memorable.

6. Make it personal

You do not need to bare your soul, but in almost every short speech there is an opportunity to connect on a personal level with your audience. Don’t be afraid to allow emotion to enter into your voice if appropriate. If the news is good (and it should be at a wedding), say you’re happy and proud.

  1. Speak up

All of your preparation, cutting, organizing, and emotion goes for nothing if people can’t hear you. If you have good audio equipment, use it. If not, at least start out by asking whether people can hear your voice. One trick: Ask the audience to raise their hands if they can hear you well. If you see a patch of people somewhere without their hands up, you know there’s an issue you need to address.

 

Best Man tradition

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The tradition of a best man has its origin with the Germanic Goths, when it was customary and preferable for a man to marry a woman from within his own community. When women came into short supply “locally,” eligible bachelors would have to seek out and capture a bride from a neighboring community.

As you might guess, this was not a one-person operation, and so the future bridegroom would be accompanied by a male companion who would help with the wedding planning. Our custom of the best man is a throwback to that two-man, strong-armed tactic, for, of course the future groom would select only the best man he knew to come along for such an important task.

The role of the best man evolved. By 200 A.D. his task was still more than just safeguarding the wedding ring. There remained a real threat that the bride’s family would attempt to forcibly obtain her return, so the best man remained at the groom’s side throughout the marriage ceremony, alert and well-armed.

He continued his duties after the ceremony by standing guard as sentry outside the newlywed’s home. Much of this is German folklore, but is not without written documentation and physical artifacts. We have records that indicate that beneath the altars of many churches of early peoples (the Huns, Goths, Visigoths, and Vandals) there lay an arsenal of clubs, knives, and spears. The indication is that these were there to protect the groom from possible attack by the bride’s family in an attempt to recapture her.

 

Wedding Dress History

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While contemporary weddings are often a symbol of love and commitment between the bride and the groom, for most of history, weddings were more like a business deal in which two families joined forces for a beneficial arrangement or alliance. Wedding dresses, then, were chosen to present the bride’s family in the best light, especially in terms of wealth and social status.

For most of history, brides rarely purchased a dress specifically for their wedding day. The bride would typically wear her finest dress to the ceremony, even if it was a dark color. In fact, many brides wore black during this time.

Only a few colours were avoided, such as green, which was then considered unlucky. Blue was a popular choice as it represented purity, piety and a connection to the Virgin Mary, plus the dark colour easily hid stains and imperfections and could be worn again.

Though examples of brides wearing white can be traced back as early as 1406, the 1840 marriage of England’s Queen Victoria to her cousin Prince Albert is considered the seminal white-wearing occasion.

Since white was a hard colour to obtain and preserve, only wealthier women could afford such a dress. Still, white dresses worn during the 1800s were a far cry from eggshell, as at that time people lacked the necessary means to bleach fabrics.

The white-dress trend grew scarce during the Great Depression, when times were hard and it was difficult for most people to spend money on a gown they would never wear again.

Instead, brides returned to the tradition of wearing their best outfit, which was usually a darker colour instead of white. Following an economic boom in the second half of the 20th century, white became a popular colour once more, as evidenced by the weddings of Grace Kelly, Princess Diana and other iconic women who married during this time.

These days, brides can choose from millions of colours, styles and fabrics for their walk down the aisle. While shape and style vary drastically from bride to bride, traditional white and light-coloured dresses are still most popular, as many today view white not so much as a symbol of wealth but rather one of purity and virtue.

Unlike the many trends and traditions tied to wedding dresses, for most of history, the groom’s only requirement has been to dress in a way that matches the bride’s dress.

 

Remembering your nearest and dearest

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When planning a wedding, of course it’ll be the happiest day of your life, with the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with, surrounded by the people you love the most. But during this special day you’re allowed to feel a little bit sad, as you remember your nearest and dearest who can’t share the celebrations with you.

there are lots of more subtle but equally poignant ways to remember loved ones who have passed away…

Dedicate a reading

Why not have a close family member dedicate a special reading to lost loved ones? Personally, we like this poem by an unknown author…

If Roses Grow in Heaven

If Roses grow in Heaven,

Lord please pick a bunch for me,

Place them in my Mother’s arms

And tell her they’re from me.

Tell her I love her and miss her,

And when she turns to smile,

Place a kiss upon her cheek

And hold her for awhile.

Because remembering her is easy,

I do it every day,

But there’s an ache within my heart

Because I am missing her today

This poem is good for anyone else who you want to remember on your big day…

Someone is missing

Let this candle be a loving reminder

that someone is missing today,

Someone our hearts still hold on to,

As we travel along life’s way.

Someone who made life so special,

for all those who gather here,

Someone who won’t be forgotten,

But cherished from year to year.

And now as we pause to remember,

Let us all fondly recall,

how dearly each of us loved him,

and oh… how he loved us all!

Hopefully this has given you some ideas and inspiration. Hugs to you if you’re missing someone close today.

What to eat

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When planning a wedding, what you eat could make the difference between a stressed bride and a happy bride! Here is a list of top foods and nutrient packed ingredients with the properties that will revive your glow, boost your energy and promote a settled and happy stomach!

Watermelon

Watermelon is low in calories and it consists mostly of water and the anti-bloating potassium. If you wish to try another melon opt for cantaloupe. Eat slices of melon as a snack or slice it into cubes and add it to a salad to fully de-bloat.

Bananas

Perfect if you had any salty food the night before – the high levels of potassium found in bananas will counteract with the sodium, making any bloating completely disappear. Additionally, the minerals found in bananas will keep the overall levels of minerals in your body replenished, meaning that you won’t get muscle cramps or experience numbness in your legs, which is essential during your wedding day!

 

Avocado

In the run-up to your wedding day, try adding slices of avocado to your salads, or your morning slice of toast. A known superfood, avocados are full of vitamins C and E, which work together to give your immunity a boost, as well as leaving your skin and hair looking healthy.

Tangerines

Tangerines are a great source of vitamin A and C, which not only help your skin battle acne, but also speed up the rebuilding process of your skin. Fine lines and wrinkles are much easier to manage with plenty of vitamin A, as it has wonderful anti-aging properties, while vitamin C helps you produce collagen, which keeps the skin supple.

Eggs

A perfect wedding day breakfast staple! Eggs are full of protein which will leave you feeling full without causing any bloating. Eggs are also rich in sulphur, which is not only good for your liver, but also great for increasing collagen and keratin production, which are responsible for healthy hair. Additionally, eggs have a diuretic effect, which will further reduce any bloating.

 

Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes contain 65% of the minimum necessary daily amount of Vitamin C and have a very low glycemic index of 17. The best way to benefit from sweet potatoes is to keep the skin as it possesses healing potential with its high levels of vitamin A, beta-carotene and high potassium content. The body converts beta-carotene into active vitamin A, which is important to maintain healthy skin, hair and teeth.

 

Salmon

Wild salmon is another great staple to add to your pre-wedding diet. Rich in omega-3, it keeps your skin looking healthy, as well as well moisturised. Additionally, the vitamin D found in salmon will help keep your bones and teeth strong in the run-up to the wedding.

 

Blueberries

Blueberries have been labelled a superfood due to their high levels of polyphenols, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory compounds that positively impact the nervous system and brain function, helping to combat memory loss and improve your mood, keeping you calm and happy.

 

Green Tea

In the run-up to your wedding day, you might feel like you need all the coffee you can get, but try and steer clear of it as it can stain your teeth. Instead, drink some green tea. The tea will provide you with the energy you need and the amino acids in it will help you feel less stressed and more resilient under pressure, giving you a feeling of purposeful calm

 

Movie style first dance

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When planning a wedding choosing first dance songs is a great way to have some fun and get intimate with your new spouse on your wedding day.

If you’re a film fan why not choose a favourite big screen when planning your big day dance – read on and show your guests how you’re not making it up on the spot…

  • Everything I do (I do it for you)
  • Bryan Adams – Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves
  • I will always love you
  • Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard
  • I don’t wanna miss a thing
  • Aerosmith – Armageddon
  • Take my breath away
  • Berlin – Top Gun
  • Love is all around
  • Wet Wet Wet – Four Weddings and a Funeral
  • Iris
  • Goo Goo Dolls – City Of Angels
  • We have all the time in the world
  • Louis Armstrong – James Bond
  • Nothing at all
  • Ronan Keating – Notting Hill
  • Time of my life
  • Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes – Dirty Dancing
  • Rule the world
  • Take That – Stardust
  • Kiss me
  • Sixpence None The Richer – She’s All That
  • Unchained melody
  • The Righteous Brothers – Ghost

Dancing in front of everyone you know is nerve-wracking enough, but it’s even worse with two left feet! Get to grips with your hips with a dance class!

Share the love

If you’ve had enough of being centre stage, get your family to share your first dance with you.

Ditch the heels

You’ve been walking on stilts all day without falling over and now is not the time! Get your mitts on some back-up flats!

Your day, your way!

If all else fails, just don’t do it! It’s your day, your rules – who would dare question the bride?!