Quick Guide to Wedding Catering: Part One

Quick Guide to Wedding Catering: Part One
By Amy Spade

After watching the happy couple exchange vows and begin their married life together, your guests will be hungry. Many of the guests may have scaled back on eating in order to look good for pictures or just because they were so busy during the day.

So feed them right.

Different needs

When youre putting together such a large assortment of people, there are bound to be those that have certain ways or preferences of eating. You may find that there are vegetarians or those that can not eat dairy. You might have a diabetic in the crowd or some other health restriction.

Do you have to make arrangements for everyone?

You should certainly try to have options for any sort of eating arrangement. In the case of those that dont eat meat, you might want to have a cheese lasagne available or other pasta dish. This is becoming widely popular to have two options anyways, so why not offer them?

Another way to cope with varied needs is to serve dinner in a buffet style. This allows each person to pick only what they want or what they can eat.

How to find good food

A lot of wedding caterers rely on word of mouth (no pun intended) to get their services recognized. If you can, talk to other people that have gotten married in your town to see who they recommend. Of course, you will still want to see them for yourself, but this list can be a great starting point.

Another way to find good catering is to talk to the reception hall coordinators. Many times they will either require the use of a particular caterer or they have a list of those that they recommend.

Of course, you will want to schedule an appointment with all of the catering candidates in order to do a taste test of their menu options. At that point, you can pick what you think your guests will enjoy.

A good meal is a great way to send your thanks to your guests for coming to your wedding. This is the part that shouldnt be skimped on for any reason. Of course, that doesnt mean that you cant find moderately priced options.

Try your favourite restaurant, for example. If theyre able to cater, then you may be able to get a better deal because youre buying food in bulk.

Having a friend who is a cook is even betterso long as they dont mind working through the wedding.

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course Your Special Day from Start to Finish now by clicking this link now

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A Few Wedding Invitation Ideas To Make Your Wedding Distinctive

A Few Wedding Invitation Ideas To Make Your Wedding Distinctive
By Donald Saunders

As we move into the twenty-first century we are leaving behind many of the traditions of the twentieth century, including many of the customs associated with the white wedding. Couples are seeking to personalize every aspect of their wedding today and to create a truly unique event wherever possible. It's no surprise therefore to find that couples are increasingly looking for new wedding invitation ideas.

It is already commonplace for many couples to dispense with the services of a professional printer and to purchase blank wedding stationery, either from their local supplier or through the Internet, and to produce their own wedding invitations using a home computer. This allows couples to stick with the traditional form of invitation but to save considerably on the cost. But what about those couples who are looking for a different way of inviting their guests altogether?

Well, to be honest nowadays you're really only limited by your imagination and just about anything you can think of can be used by way of a wedding invitation. Some couples are even choosing to send out email invitations. This is fine as long as all of your guests have access to a computer and regularly use email but, for most people, this is a quick and easy but perhaps not ideal solution.

The secret if you want something that is both personal and different is to stick with a printed or written (or perhaps even video or audio) invitation that can be sent through the regular postal service and to look for something special that you can send your guests which will give them the details that they need and provide them with a memento of the occasion.

One idea would be to use boxed invitations. These are essentially oversized invitations send in a box which allows you to include a range of items including bows and ribbons, photographs and even fresh flowers from your garden. This can certainly provide a stunning invitation but will also be expensive.

Another idea might be to use handmade paper for your invitations, possibly with dried flowers pressed into it. These delicate papers which are readily available today can be hand or flat printed to produce a very beautiful invitation.

To really make your invitations personal you could send each guest a personal video invitation. This is not as difficult or expensive as it sounds today and many home computers today have everything you need to record your message and burn it onto a CD ready for posting.

These are just a few of the many wedding invitation ideas that you will be able to generate with just a little bit of thought, but they will hopefully point you in the right direction.

For more wedding invitation ideas please visit Talking Weddings today.

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A Family Wedding A What? Part I Planning and the Ceremony

A Family Wedding - A What? Part I - Planning and the Ceremony
By Nily Glaser

A wedding is always exciting. A lot of planning and preparation go into action so that the wedding will be memorable meaningful and as one-of-a-kind as the marrying couple. Yet, each couple has consideration unique to them.

There are couples where both partners marry for the first time.

There are couples where one or both partners have been married before but have no children.

There are couples where one or both partners have been married before and have children.

And there are December couples who often have children and grandchildren.

This article is dedicated to couples that will have a lended family once they are married. That is, children will have a new parent and possibly new siblings.

Many, though not all marrying or re-marrying couples are looking for ways to integrate the children into the wedding ceremony and - or reception in such a way that it will become a Family Wedding.

Some people wonder; Why should a wedding not be dedicated to the bride and groom alone?Why should it not be Their Day?

There are two main reasons.

Children need reassurance. They need to know that they are welcome and wanted by both parents and new siblings.

Most parents WANT their children to be an integral part of the wedding and celebration.

We at A-wedding Day are often asked to suggest ways to involve the children in their parent(s) wedding.

The following are ideas, implementation of which depends on the ages and abilities of the children and the degree of involvement the marrying couple wishes to dedicate to them.

Children must always feel that they are IMPORTANT especially now, when their parent is marrying a new life partner.

LET'S BEGIN WITH PLANNING AND PREPARATION.

Children who are old enough should be asked to put on their thinking caps and help with the wedding planning and preparations. Their input should always be taken into consideration and if possible acted upon.

Children can make recommendations ranging from wedding themes to color schemes. They can suggest decorations, favors and centerpieces and help make them. Some parents even let the children help address envelops and - or stuff them. Of course children of driving age can run errands as well. It is not uncommon for parents of older children to have sons lead the bride and daughters lead the groom to the altar. It is also very important to make a big fuss over shopping for the children's wedding attire and special accessories, making it an exciting family affair.

WE'LL CONTINUE WITH THE CEREMONY

First come the obvious. If the children or grandchildren are not grown ups, they should be given the duties of a Flower Child and Ring Bearer.

Before they assume these duties however, if they are old enough, children could be in charge of having the guests sign the guest book and in charge of escorting guests to their seats.

During the ceremony, after the bride and groom exchange vows, they may integrate vows dedicated especially to the children.

Children who are old and responsible enough, should participate in the Unity Candle ceremony. Here there are a few options.If only one or two children are involved, they should be given their own tapers and join the bride and groom in lighting the pillar candle.However, if more than two children are involved, they should receive their own tapers but rather than light the pillar candle, light their tapers from it.

Only if they choose to do so on their own, the candle lighting ceremony is a perfect opportunity for children who are old enough to congratulate the bride and groom and acknowledge the new family union.

Right after the Family Unity Candle ceremony, is the best time for the new husband and wife to give each of the children a piece of jewelry. Whether it is a 3 bands, personalized, engraved sterling silver Family Unity Ring, a Family Unity pendant (exclusive to A-wedding Day, or some other keepsake item, it should be followed by a BIG welcome hug.

Some engraving ideas for the 3 in 1 ring could be:

Band 1: Child's name

Band 2: With Love

Band 3: Wedding Date.

IMPORTANT NOTE!

The bride and groom exchange vows. It is also customary for brides and grooms to present special vows - promises to the children. BUTNEVER request that a child will present wedding vows to the adults.

A special article dedicated to this will follow soon

The reception offers as many opportunities for involving the children as there is imagination. There are also the obvious toasts, dances, special responsibilities and tasks. An article dedicated to involving the children in the reception will follow soon too.

Nily Glaser, the CEO of A-wedding Day at: www.a-weddingday.com is a retired school principal. Her vast experience with every possible family situation and her concern for the self esteem and well being of children, helped her become an expert. Not only does she write important articles, Nily Glaser has presented workshops for wedding professionals all over the USA. Nily Glaser pays special attention to enlighten families as well as wedding professionals on the topics of blending families incorporating children in and creating family weddings.

A-wedding Day is a very popular Wedding Articles, Resource and Information Center and a Discount Shopping Mall for wedding gifts, supplies and bridal accessories including the Wedding Accessories By Nily line. A-wedding Day specializes in personalized gifts and bridal accessories, Family Weddings and Wedding themes.

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A Destination Wedding in Bali Part 3 Choosing a Venue

A Destination Wedding in Bali Part 3 Choosing a Venue
By Colin Hall

Deciding on the type of wedding you want is the first step in choosing the most appropriate venue. A small intimate ceremony with a handful of guests would be difficult to achieve in a sprawling 5 star resort but would be perfect for a small boutique hotel or a private villa.

So, the first thing to do is decide what sort of wedding you would like. Will it be small and intimate or grand and elegant? Will it be formal or casual? How many guests will be there? Once you have decided on the type of wedding its time to think about location. Do you want the wedding on the beach? Do you want a church wedding? Would you like to be married in the picturesque rice fields? Just a word of caution regarding weddings on the beach. It is possible to get married on the beach but all beaches on Bali are public and it can be very difficult to maintain the privacy and security of the ceremony. It is quite possible that local sightseers will crowd round and the hawkers will even try to sell things to your guests. A better solution is to have the wedding ceremony in the grounds of a hotel or villa close to the beach and then have some photographs taken on the beach.

For large weddings there are many international hotels that can accommodate your wedding and your guests and there are often group discounts on rooms available. For smaller weddings there are many fabulous private villas that offer really good value for money. The added benefit of hiring a private villa is that you can celebrate late into the night without disturbing anyone else.

There are so many choices and options available that it can be a bit daunting trying to sort through them all. This is another reason why it is better to hire a wedding organiser who can guide and advise you on the best location for your dream wedding in paradise.

Colin Hall
Bali, May 2006

Colin Hall is British and a resident of Bali. He recommends that couples intending to get married in Bali should visit http://www.romanticbaliweddings.com for first class information and service.

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A Destination Wedding in Bali Part 2 Legal Requirements

A Destination Wedding in Bali Part 2 - Legal Requirements
By Colin Hall

A lot of people think it is too difficult to have a legal wedding in Bali and so just have a religious blessing or a renewal of vows ceremony, but it is possible to be married legally in Bali.

All couples who marry in Indonesia must declare a religion. Atheism and Agnosticism are not recognised and the Civil Registry office can record marriages of couples of Islam, Buddhist, Hindu, Christian-Catholic and Christian-Protestant faiths. Marriage partners must have the same religion, otherwise one partner must make a written declaration of a change of religion.

A Christian, Buddhist or Hindu wedding is usually performed in a church or temple ceremony first. After the religious ceremony, every non-Islamic marriage must be recorded with the Civil Registry. Without the registration of the Civil Registry these marriages are not legal. Recording by Civil Registry officials can be performed directly at the religious ceremony for an additional fee.

Couples will also need to provide to the Civil Registry a Notice of Intention to Marry and also a Letter of No Impediment which is obtained from the consular representatives. To obtain these documents there are different requirements for each nationality and personal situation (divorced, widowed, etc) of the couple.

Two witnesses over the age of 18 are required. They cannot be family members of the bride and groom and they must show the originals and present photocopies of their passports. Civil Registry employees can also act as witnesses. Marriage certificates are issued immediately and a sworn translation of the certificate should be obtained for use in the couples home country.

The legal requirements and the process can be daunting to a foreigner trying to manage their wedding from a distance and therefore it is recommended that the couple find a competent wedding planner or consultant who will take care of all the paperwork for them. The wedding planner can also help with all aspects of the wedding arrangements making it easy and stress free to have a romantic wedding in Bali.

Colin Hall
Bali, May 2006

Colin Hall is British and a resident of Bali. He writes on various subjects pertaining to expat life in SE Asia. Colin recommends that couples intending to get married in Bali should contact Kelly at http://www.romanticbaliweddings.com for first class information and service.

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A Chocolate Fountain For your Wedding Reception

A Chocolate Fountain For your Wedding Reception
By Natalie Aranda

Everyone likes chocolate. When you are planning your wedding reception and are thinking of adding something special that will delight and please your guests, one good suggestion is a chocolate fountain. The chocolate fountain is usually a stainless steel fountain arranged in several tiers that have a decreasing diameter as they rise upward. Melted chocolate is placed in the bottom of the fountain and rises through the center of the fountain via a corkscrew type device and cascades in a solid sheet of chocolate down over the tiers.

The fountain acts as a giant fondue and a wide variety of treats can be placed along side the fountain and guests can use wooden skewers to dip the treats into the chocolate flow. The chocolate flows over and around the treat and coats the treat. Since the chocolate is kept in a melted state by an internal heater, when the food is removed from the fountain flow, the chocolate will harden slightly leaving a thin coating. Then the snack is ready to eat.

Fruits of any kind and other snacks like pretzels and marshmallows make excellent choices for the snacks. Cookies and rice crispy treats are also good suggestions. Just about anything that tastes good with chocolate is acceptable except for crumbly type cakes that will break up in the fountain flow.

Units may be rented and most rental companies provide set up and clean up service. Most do not provide the additional food as wedding caterers usually are providing this and will be glad to add fountain snacks to the food package. It may be possible that you are a lover of Hershey Chocolate or Ghiradelli Chocolate, and you may even prefer Lindt chocolates, and you can certainly add them to your wedding food array. The chocolate fountain will provide their own chocolate though, so you do not have to worry about melting down a thousand Hershey chocolate bars to fill the fountain.

The chocolate used in the fountain usually comes in twenty five pound packages which will be enough for up to four hundred guests. The chocolate is a high quality type which contains between 32-39% cocoa butter. This type provides better flow characteristics which makes it better for use in the fountain. If you are a chocolate lover, and most of us are, a chocolate fountain can be a unique and exciting centerpiece for your wedding reception table.

Natalie Aranda writes about family. The fountain acts as a giant fondue and a wide variety of treats can be placed along side the fountain and guests can use wooden skewers to dip the treats into the chocolate flow. It may be possible that you are a lover of Hershey Chocolate or Ghiradelli Chocolate, and you may even prefer Lindt chocolates, and you can certainly add them to your wedding food array. The chocolate fountain will provide their own chocolate though, so you do not have to worry about melting down a thousand Hershey chocolate bars to fill the fountain.

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8 Tips For Saving At Least $3000 On Your Wedding Budget

8 Tips For Saving At Least $3000 On Your Wedding Budget
By Jane Ling

So you're finally getting married? Congratulations! This should be one of the happiest days in your life. But to be honest - it's also going to be one of the most costly days in your life. If you haven't figured it out yet - weddings are expensive. The cost of a wedding can very from $5000 to even $100,000 and more, if you're really rich and willing to put in that kind of money. The average wedding in the US, though, costs about $20,000 (for around 150 guests). A hefty sum, especially for a couple that is young in most cases, and doesn't really have that kind of money to spend.

So, is there anything we can do to lower the costs of a wedding?

The truth is that there is a lot we can do to lower the cost of a wedding. Let's cover a few of the areas in which we can do that, and in many cases reduce the price in thousands of dollars.

So here's out list of tips. Take a look and see if you can borrow these ideas and use them:

Tip no.1: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?

Tip no.2: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?

Tip no.3: If possible, try to have the wedding in the late afternoon instead of the evening. The reception halls are less expensive in the afternoon, and since the reception is a big part of your expense, the savings will be notable.

Tip no.4: Choose a week day instead of a weekend day. The days of the week are less expensive than the weekends.

Tip no.5: The location of the wedding can be very significant in terms of price. Maybe you can do the wedding in a city nearby which is less expensive.

Tip no.6: The wedding dress - remember, it's only worn once, so spending thousands of dollars on it is not the most reasonable thing to do (but many of us do it anyway). Try a creative solution that costs less. One idea is to order a wedding dress online and make alteration. In many cases this will cost much less.

Tip no.7: Make the wedding favors yourself. It can be fun, creative and less expensive.

Tip no.8: Enlist your friends to help. Do you have a friend who knows how to photograph? Do you know someone who can design your invitations? Does the bride have a friend who can do her makeup and hair?

The main idea in trying to cut down wedding costs is to be creative. Try to think of ideas that will help you reduce the costs. Who knows - maybe you'll save enough to use that money for a house down payment!

Jane Ling is the owner and operator of a wedding planning website http://www.wedding-planning-101.info. Visit and learn more about wedding tips, wedding vows and more

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Wedding Shoes: Ensure You Have The Right Image!

Wedding Shoes: Ensure You Have The Right Image!
By Lesley-Ann Graham

Wedding items often left to the last minute are the shoes. This can be a major mistake as some styles can be difficult to find. Let's not even talk about the size and fit!

Things to keep in mind is that the shoes you choose should be both great looking and comfortable. Keep in mind that there's a lot of walking and standing to be done at your wedding. Hobbling is definitely not elegant and will definitely jar with your perfect image.

For the grooms, the choice is more restricted compared to the women. A good choice would be patent leather shoes or low-cut ones. They will look both elegant and smart with your suit.

For the brides, keep your dress in mind when you choose. A simple gown would call for a simple shoe, while a more elaborate gown would allow for a more embellished shoe. There are a whole lot of designs to choose from. Would boots or slingbacks look better with your dress? How about a pair of pumps?

Another thing to keep in mind is the heel of the shoe. You might look great in really high heels but how will you feel after almost two hours in them, carrying a ton of weight in your gown and train? You might end up in pain which is not a good way to celebrate your special day. Maybe an elegant pair of wedding slippers after a pedicure will do the trick, and the pampering feels great.

No matter what kind of shoes you choose, it's always a great idea to break them in before the big day. Wear them for at least a week to really get used to them and have them form properly to your foot. This way there'll be no blisters marring your special day.

Lesley-Ann Graham runs WeddingTrix.com - a valuable wedding planning resource with articles, tips and advice to help you plan your perfect wedding. Visit Lesley-Ann's wedding shop for some of the best wedding bargains on the Internet!

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