dress wedding

This fall many brides are deciding to go off the beaten path and eschew the spring and summer wedding for the more unconventional fall nuptials. There are many exciting choices this offers that would not be normally available during other times of the year. You are now able to use bolder colors and bring a new atmosphere of warmth and energy only this time of the year can provide. The fall season is one of transitions so why not celebrate the biggest transition of all during this season. Here are some great ideas and suggestions to help you as you plan your fall wedding whether it is outdoors or indoors.

First think about the location where you are holding the wedding. If you are in an outdoor location you will need to make sure that environment is comfortable. This can be a challenge especially in the cooler months. To deal with the cold, use patio heaters strategically placed around the seats and altar. If you are holding the event indoors check that central heating is not an issue and if it is, make the necessary arrangements. Also when choosing a location for an outdoor fall ceremony try to find a place that serves as a great seasonal backdrop. Great choices are a public park or golf course. Since this theme has to do with nature find the best examples nature in the fall to be setting for your exchanging of vows.

The next thing to focus on is the decorations for the ceremony. For an outdoor wedding the location plays a major part in this aspect. The rest of the decorations you use for seating and the altar should center on the scenery. You can take a page from outdoor weddings in warmer months. Use seasonal arrangements of flowers and foliage in arches near the altar or location where you will exchange vows. You can also decorate the seats of those attending them by having them painted in fall colors and decorated with seasonal motifs. Then of course there are the aisle markers. You can do a lot of different things. You can use small bouquets of seasonal flowers and foliage, pumpkins, or sheaves of harvest grains. For the indoor ceremony your goal is to bring the season inside. Do this employing a lot of seasonal foliage and harvest grains to decorate the sanctuary and altar. Also go for scented candles that come in fall fragrances.

Finally there is the reception. This can also be done in doors and out. A great suggestion for an outdoor reception is to use tents for the festivities. Once again use space heaters and patio heaters to keep everyone if the weather is cool. Make it a fall picnic scene with all the attending decorations and seasonal imagery. If you choose an indoor venue you just repeat the same design cue for the indoor ceremony. Use fragrant fall foliage to decorate the walls and the entrance to the reception location.

In either an indoor or outdoor wedding reception it is important to think about table decorations and wedding favors. These are important because they help bring the theme of your wedding front and center for your guests. For the centerpieces there are several routes to go. Once again use flowers in fall hues and seasonal foliage and grasses. In making the centerpieces make sure they dominate the tables. Your guests will need space for the dinnerware. In the case of favors go fun and useful items that are customized in the colors and images of the season.

Wedding centerpieces can come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. Some people prefer flowers; others beautifully wrapped favors; and others wrought iron wedding centerpieces. There really are no hard and fast rules governing wedding centerpieces. This is why couples enjoy selecting the perfect centerpiece to reflect their personalities and their union to one another.

Flower centerpieces are a popular selection. Choose a delicate glass vase, a variety of flowers that match your wedding colors, and some colorful glass beads. River-washed rocks or granite fragments can also provide a beautiful bedding for your floral selection. Make sure you select the correct size of vase for your tables so that they are neither dwarfed by the table nor overwhelming.

Wrought iron wedding centerpieces are also a classic choice. The genteel, classic look of wrought iron will complement the decor of any traditional wedding. Favorites include candelabras or wrought iron vases and urns. Wrought iron is the perfect choice to project a feeling of seriousness and classic beauty. White or champagne-colored candles are a great choice with wrought iron - brightly colored candles can detract from the beauty of the iron.

Other wedding ideas include floating flower centerpieces. These centerpieces are clear glass bowls filled with water. Blossoms, petals, and candles can be carefully placed to float on top of the water. Guests will enjoy watching the beautiful and ever-changing look of these unusual centerpieces. As an added bonus, floating candles cast shimmering, flickering light into the room, creating an atmosphere of intimacy and warmth.

Have you considered the possibility of decorative "tree" wrought iron wedding centerpieces? These trees are great wrought iron ideas, surrounded by flower bouquets and hung with blossoms, glass ornaments, or wedding favors. Guests can select their own favor from the tree, as well as enjoy sitting next to this beautiful centerpiece.

Whether you are looking for a whimsical, unusual wedding centerpiece to showcase who you are as a couple, or you are looking for a centerpiece that possesses classic, old-fashioned beauty, there is a centerpiece out there that will be perfect for your happy day. Remember that your wedding decor is your choice and is as unique as you are.

As you search different bridal shower ideas, remember that your guests will be just as excited about the door prizes as they are about being involved in the pre-wedding celebrations. They will be anticipating with curiosity what wedding shower favors and game prizes you will be handing out. Most people will be happy to receive anything, but it is always nice to give something that will be appreciated and enjoyed. The general rule of thumb is to select bridal shower door prizes that you would want to receive yourself. Here are ten door prize ideas, both inexpensive and pricier, for bridal showers.

If you would like everyone to get a prize or bridal shower favor, then you will probably want to choose one of these inexpensive favor ideas.

Inexpensive door prizes:

Makeup, such as lipstick or kits in the same colors as your decorations. Think pink lipstick for a pink and brown party.Fun or romantic candles. If the wedding will have a beach theme, you can even get flip flop shaped candles.Soaps that fit your bridal shower theme. For example, you can get 'perfect pair' soaps for that theme.Lotions in the colors of your themePicture frames. You could even take pictures on the day to put in the frame right away.Purse hooks. Every woman needs a purse hook for restaurants or clubs, and we rarely have one.Small mirror compacts. These can be personalized as well, for very little money.Personalized candy or chocolates. Classic mint tins or favor boxes with chocolates are always popular.Personalized book marks. These can be purchased in many theme shapes.Gift cards to places such as Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks

If you are planning to just give out one large door prize, and you can afford it, then select something from the list of expensive prizes.

More expensive door prizes:

Movie tickets. A pair of movie tickets can also be combined with a dinner gift card.Restaurant gift card for a nice restaurant locally.Champagne or wine. You could also combine this with chocolate or candles for romance.Gift baskets with spa products or food. Select different lotions, bath salts and soaps; or collect gourmet wine, cheese and crackers.Spa certificates. A gift card to a spa works well if everyone is local to where the spa is located.Personalized manicure sets. Depending on what you choose, this can also be an inexpensive favor that you give to everyone.Jewelry, such as small bracelets. There are pretty silk pouches that you can put a cute bracelet or earrings in, so long as you have all girls at your shower.Plants or flowers, if everyone is local. Flowers can be placed in a pretty vase for a longer lasting keepsake.Box of gourmet chocolate. There is nothing quite like an expensive box of Belgian chocolates.Night at a bed and breakfast. This is a more expensive prize, but sure to be appreciated. You just have to make sure it is somewhere that anyone at the shower could take advantage of.

For the inexpensive bridal shower favors that you hand out to everyone, you can place them at each person's seat if you are having a sit-down meal. Alternatively, you can place them on a table for your guests to take as they walk out the door.

If you are only giving out one or two bigger prizes, there are a few ways to do it. The gifts can be a prize that someone wins as part of your bridal shower games, or you could use scratch off lottery tickets. The person who gets the highest number wins the prize. A more traditional way to win is to place numbers under every seat or plate and do a drawing at the end in which you pull a number from a basket.

A great way to make sure that everyone comes away happy is to give a small, inexpensive bridal shower favor to everyone. Then give just one or two larger prizes for winners of a game or drawing. All your guests will have something to take home as a memory of the day, no one leaves empty-handed, and there is at least one person who is ecstatic!

When you start to think creatively, there are plenty of cheap wedding cakes around. So put on your thinking cap and you won't have to fork out hundreds on expensive made-to-order cakes. Here are some ideas to get you thinking:

Try your supermarket luck

Don't be put off by the supermarkets - they have a great range of cakes that are suitable as wedding cakes. Asda and Waitrose have the best selection of plain iced cakes.

Marks and Spencer goes one step further and has a whole wedding cake service that is a snip of the price of the specialist shops - and they look amazing too. Using Marks and Spencer was actually recommended to me by a cake specialist recently!

Choose different flavoured layers

Certain types of cakes are more expensive then others as they simply require more time to make. With rich fruit cakes for example, you need to soak the fruit before you cook and then feed the cake after cooking. All the time adds up and if you're paying someone else to make it, then it can become expensive.

One way to avoid the high costs is to choose different flavours. Perhaps a fruit cake for the top tier, a chocolate for the bottom tier and a lemon drizzle in between? Mix and match for cheap wedding cakes. Speak to your cake maker to see how they can come in on budget.

Choose little cakes

You'll often find that using little cakes is cheaper as you require fewer ingredients - but you'll still get 'wow' factor. For instance, pile up fairy cakes for a stunning wedding cake. Make it even easier on your wallet by getting your friends to help and make a dozen cakes each!

Choose simple decorations

A simple way to cut your costs is to decorate the cake yourself. Simply choose plain iced cakes and then decorate with fresh flowers or fruits for the finishing touches. You can match the flowers to those in your bouquet. Both my best friend and I went down this route for our cheap wedding cakes.

Wedding cake gift

Why not ask for your cake as a gift? Maybe you have a friend or relative who's a whiz in the kitchen and would be able to make your cake for you? They'll be pleased as punch they've contributed to your day in such as special way.

The altar area of the ceremony venue is important for a variety of reasons. For one, this is where the couple would stay during most part of the ceremony. Most parts of the wedding rites will be held here such as the kissing of the bride, exchanging of vows, wearing of the rings, and even the family pictures afterwards. More importantly, this is also a sacred place of worship. Needless to say, the altar area is also the focal point of the venue.

For these reasons, it is necessary to have gorgeous and eye-catching altar decorations to make the wedding event more beautiful. If you read on to these great ideas for altar decoration, you will find out that decorating the altar is not as difficult as you think.

Altar Decoration Idea # 1 Potted Plants that Double as Favors

Fill the altar area with a couple of large potted flowering plants as decoration around the altar area. These potted plants can be given afterwards as favors to guests or as a token of gratitude for people who helped organize your wedding.

Altar Decoration Idea # 2 Light the Altar with Candles

A pair of beautiful unity candles decorated with flowers is ideal to place on the sides of the altar. Candelabras with long taper candles, ribbons and tulle are also another option. Moreover, you can fill the altar with dozens of votive or tea light candles and place them on the tables and floors of the altar area.

Altar Decoration Idea # 3 Scenery Backdrops and Gazebos for Outdoor Venues

If you are going to hold your wedding in a garden, the altar area can be a gazebo adorned with volumes of white tulle, satin ribbons, and garlands of flowers. For the backdrop, have a beautiful lake, ocean, or landscape scenery to make the altar more stunning.

Altar Decoration Idea # 4 The Fabulous Lattice Arch

An alternative to the gazebo is a white lattice arch (that can be used for indoors as well) that are designed with white tulle, veil netting, and lush of greeneries. Another option would be to make a gorgeous arch made of flowers or balloons.

Altar Decoration Idea # 5 Flowers, Flowers, and Flowers

Flower decoration options can be floral balls, wicker baskets filled with rose bouquets, dried flower wreaths, silk flowers, fresh flowers, and garlands. Also a wonderful way to decorate the altar with flowers is to scatter rose petals around the area for a more romantic feel.

Altar Decoration Idea # 6 Lush of Greens

Aside from flowers, it would also be nice to have lush of greeneries in the altar area. For example, you can two large green topiaries and place them on either side of the altar. These topiaries can be adorned with tulle bows, flowers, balloons, raffia, and ribbons.

The altar will serve more than just a backdrop to your wedding. More importantly, this is a sacred place where you and your partner would make a vow to spend the rest of your lives together for better or for worse so it is only right that you decorate it beautifully.

The wedding colors convey emotion, mood, and tone. We tend to use our favorite wedding color combination without knowing the real meaning of wedding colors. Each wedding color has a good and bad image. In choosing the wedding colors, it is important to highlight the good image of the wedding color.

The cool colors convey calming effect, while the warm colors create excitement. The neutral colors convey unification, or unity. The cool colors of wedding are blue, green, turquoise, and Silver. The warm colors are red, pink, yellow, gold, and orange. The neutral colors are brown, beige, ivory, gray, black, and white.

Black depicts formal, modern, sexy, and sophisticated. It is a color that is always in fashion. It never goes out of style. Black is usually paired with white. Black is the color of highest formality of wedding. With black, you feel elegant, powerful, and sophisticated. Black works well with lighter colors such as yellow, white, blue, red, blue, and green. Black will stand out in photographs. On the contrary, black is also a symbol of evil, darkness, and death.

Blue calls for calmness, tranquility, truthfulness, nobleness, and faithfulness. In all the culture, blue has the lowest amount of bad images. Blue is often use in ribbons to symbolize winners. Blue is recommended and versatile. Anyone can not go wrong. We often see blue in wedding flowers, and dress. The only bad image of blue is depression, loneliness, and sadness.

Brown makes you feel comfortable, warm, and cozy. It is a color of the wood, earth, and stone. The guests will be obliged to stay longer. Brown also stimulates appetite. The only bad image is that it is sometimes dull. However, the brown brings character to the location.

Green represents wealth, money, nature, environment, fertility, growth, re-birth, victory, healing, abundant, and renewable. Green is the color of garden weddings and green weddings. The green tells of new life and beginning after the wedding. Oftentimes, we use green to show the awareness to be eco-friendly, or environment friendly. The bad image of green is greed, jealousy, and envy.

Orange stands for energy, sun, warmth and comfortable. It is often used in fall wedding ideas. The guests will feel at ease. Think of fall leaves, pumpkin, sun, sunset as wedding themes.

Pink symbolizes the femininity, admiration, love, pretty, spring, gentleness, harmony, fidelity, and sensuality. It is an innocent, sweet, and soft color. Pink is usually use in wedding dress, wedding invitations, and wedding flowers. The only bad image is breast cancer awareness in which most people will not consider as bad image.

Purple shows nobility, royalty, luxury, authority, creativity, inspiration, and spirituality. It is a mysterious and intriguing color. The darker shades of purple represent sensuality, while the lighter shades of purple represent romance and delicate. The bad image of purple is a symbol of mourning widow in Thailand.

Red creates excitement as red raises blood pressure. Red also symbolizes love, passion, sex, and power. Hence, we like to give red roses to show a strong affection of love. Red means good luck in China, while red means purity in India. Life, vitality, celebrations, and gifts are associated with red. The negative images about red are blood, war, danger, fire, and anger.

White is one of the neutral colors which are common in wedding dress, flowers, and attire. White is also associated with purity, innocence, cleanliness, and virtue. Think of snow, winter, and peace as wedding themes. Today, it symbolizes crisp, clean, and luxurious. On the other hand, the white is a symbol of death for eastern countries and ghost for western countries. The caskets are usually covered in white, while the ghosts are usually visualized in floating white sheet.

Yellow is a happy, joyful, cheerful, and hopeful color. Because it is close to the color gold, it is sometimes a symbol of wealth. Think of sunshine and summer as wedding themes. The yellow in wedding dress, wedding candles, and wedding flowers indicate a happy moment. For Japanese, it is a symbol of royalty and courage. The bad image of yellow is emergency, cowardice, deceit, and hazard. In Egypt, the yellow means death, grief, and mourning.

Are you ready to sink your teeth into a wedding day confection? Not many guests leave the reception before the cake is cut! Your delicious and decorative wedding cake is a tradition that will be featured in your many photographs for years to come. Therefore, add your own personal style when choosing your perfect wedding cake.

Choosing Your Cake

Traditionally, the wedding cake had to be a tiered, white cake with white icing. Nowadays, just about anything goes! Today there are hundreds of cakes that you can choose from, in a variety of shapes, colors and styles. You can order a cake customized to match your own unique taste and have just about any design and flavor under the sun.

When you are ready to start looking for the perfect wedding cake, these are the basics to take into consideration:

Size & Shape: The size of the cake will depend on the number of guests that you are expecting. If you are planning to save some cake for guests unable to attend, keep this in mind while determining the exact number of people. The traditional and still popular shape is round or square. However, nowadays you can use your imagination and choose from any unique shape for your cake. Keep in mind that a round or square cake will most likely serve more guests and is quickly and easily cut.

Design: A creative baker will help you design your own cake. Your choices here are endless. Look through wedding magazines and the baker's cake sample pictures to find a wedding cake design that dazzles you. Modern cakes can be decorated to match the bride's lace pattern on her gown or even the flowers in her bouquet. A particular theme from your wedding can be used to design the cake around that theme. Just realize that the more intricate the cake, the more expensive it will be.

Flavor: While it is essential that your cake appeal to your visual senses, it is even more important that it taste moist and delicious! Contemporary cakes come in a multitude of yummy varieties from chocolate or vanilla, to fancy carrot, cheese, banana, fruit or mousse fillings. If you are tempted by different flavors, you can have a multi-flavored cake with different tiers in different flavors.Icing: The icing on the cake is traditionally white or ivory. A more contemporary approach is to match your icing to your wedding colors. Anything goes from dark chocolate icing, to pale pastels or bright colors.

Wedding Cake Etiquette

Here is cake etiquette tips for you to know:

o The cake is displayed on a beautifully decorated table, which goes in front of the main table without blocking the guests' view of the bride and groom. A decorated knife is usually placed at the table.

o The cake is cut after the reception lunch or dinner has been served.

o The cutting of the cake is announced prior to the cutting.

o The right hand of the groom goes over the right hand of the bride, while they cut the wedding cake together. The first slice is fed by the groom to his bride, after which the bride serves her new husband.

o The cake is then taken away by a family member, friend or the catering staff to be cut. The cutting is not done in front of the guests.

o The cake is then served with coffee or tea. Know that once the cake is served and eaten, your guests will start to leave.

What to Ask the Baker

Selecting the right baker to create your wedding cake is important. A wedding cake is a work of art. Here are some helpful questions to ask your baker to make sure that you get exactly what you are looking for:

Ask to see their portfolio: Ask the baker to show you pictures of wedding cakes that they have previously made. This will help you to determine if you like the baker's style and creativity.Ask about custom designed cakes: Find out if the baker will custom design a cake from your specific idea or picture. Also ask if they charge an extra fee for this service.

Ask for a tasting: Ask the baker to offer you a tasting before you order your cake. Many bakers will let you taste the various cakes, frosting and fillings used for wedding cakes.

Delivery and set-up: Ask the baker if they deliver and set up the cake. Your caterer will not be happy if he or she has to set up a cake that has not been ordered by them.

Additional charges: Ask the bakers if they are going to charge you any kind of deposit for items such as cake tops, pillars, or columns, which will have to be used and returned to them. Inquire about costs if you fail to return the items. Also inquire if there is an additional charge for setting up the cake.

Ordering the cake: Bakers often require you to place your order at least a couple of months in advance. This gives them enough time to devote to making your cake. Once you settle on a particular baker, put down everything in writing and have them confirm it so that there is no room for any confusion later on. Make sure the order clearly states what kind of wedding cake you have chosen. If it is going to be a shaped cake, write down the exact shape or design that you have requested. List down how many tiers the cake is going to be made of. If you wish to store the top tier of the cake for your first anniversary, remember not to count its pieces for serving your guests. Also specify what flavor each separate tier should be of. The wedding cake order should include a little description of the decorations that you have decided on. Specify which cake topper will go on the cake. List the time, date and location of the wedding reception. Lastly, specify the exact cost of the entire cake, including any additional charges. If any deposit is given, write down the amount of the deposit as well as the remaining balance.

Do you know these Wedding Cake Traditions?

The wedding cake was originally made of many little wheat cakes. These were broken over the head of the new bride. This tradition was meant to bestow fertility and good luck to the new bride for her married life. Fortunately for the bride, this tradition is no longer practiced. The cutting of the cake was once cut only by the bride and was symbolic of her upcoming loss of virginity. In modern times this tradition of cutting the cake includes the groom as well. Cutting the cake and sharing the first bite with each other symbolizes the couple's promise to share their new life together.

The top tier of the wedding cake was traditionally kept and used at the christening of the couple's first child. But today, this tradition has been modified and the top tier is saved to be used at the couple's first anniversary.

Another cake tradition is if an unmarried person sleeps with a piece of a wedding cake under their pillow, they will dream of their future spouse that night. This is one custom that is sure to excite the single guests at your wedding!