Hawaii Great Place for Weddings

Hawaii is a great place for a wedding. The islands exude romance and natural beauty, and after the ceremony, you’re already on your honeymoon. And the members of your wedding party will most likely be delighted, since you’ve given them the perfect excuse for their own island vacation.

More than 20,000 marriages are performed annually on the islands, mostly on Oahu; nearly half are for couples from somewhere else. The booming wedding business has spawned more than 70 companies that can help you organize a long-distance event and stage an unforgettable wedding, Hawaiian style or your style. However, you can also plan your own island wedding, even from afar, and not spend a fortune doing it.

See also Florida beach weddings

Do It Yourself Weddings Gain Steam

When Renée Falcone and Sal DiNino started planning their July wedding earlier this year, they decided quickly against a lavish and grand affair.

They’d be paying for much of the event themselves and needed to keep things simple and on budget. But more than that, in these times when nearly everyone they know is trying to cut back amid rising costs, how could they ask people to dig a little deeper for fancy bridesmaids’ dresses and tuxedos?

“Everything is so expensive nowadays, right down to the marriage license and the rings,” says Falcone, 37, host of “Celebrity Access” on WHCN-FM (105.9). “At this age, maybe we just have more wisdom about what’s important and what’s not. So everywhere we could cut a corner, everything we could do ourselves, we did.”

http://www.courant.com/features/hc-recessionweddings.artjun13,0,6613856.story

See also cheap wedding dresses

Olympic Weddings All the Rage in China

BEIJING, June 13 — A large number of Shenzhen residents are calling to book marriage registration slots Aug. 8, the opening day of the Beijing Olympic Games, the city’s civil affairs bureau said Wednesday.     

    Apart from the Olympic connection, couples want to get married Aug. 8 as the numbers 8 and 6 are considered lucky for Chinese, the Daily Sunshine said Thursday. Chinese people believe Aug. 8 this year is composed of three “eights,” which will bring them happiness and fortune.     

    All six district marriage registration offices in Shenzhen have reported accepting far more bookings for registration slots Aug. 8 than the maximum allowed, the report said.     

    “The date of Aug. 8, 2008 is also the eighth day of the seventh month in Chinese lunar calendar. It is an auspicious day that comes once in many years. It will be very lucky to get married on that special day,” a woman surnamed Luo said, who was delighted that her booking had been accepted.     

    But an Internet user who identified himself as Xianzhaohui was not so lucky as Luo. He claimed in an article posted on sznews.com.cn that he could not book a slot online even after trying for two hours.     

    “It took me two hours to access the booking system at 2 a.m. June 8,” he said. “But I was told no more bookings were being accepted. I was very upset.”     

    An official with the municipal civil affairs bureau pleaded for more understanding from the public as regulations state the daily booking quota cannot exceed 60 couples a day.    

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/13/content_8360560.htm

At Home Weddings Need Extra Thought

The promise of saying vows in an intimate setting and under springtime foliage can be a dreamy inspiration for brides-to-be, but for homeowners hosting a wedding in their back yard it can turn into a nightmare.

“The logistics of it can certainly be challenging,” said Sofia Linn, the wedding sales manager for A Legendary Event, an event, design and catering company in Atlanta, Georgia.

“I would definitely say there are some hidden surprises,” she said, “sometimes [clients] don’t realize how involved it can be.”

Whereas rented spaces often have tables, chairs and bar services included in the cost to rent, at-home weddings need to budget for those kinds of amenities separately, Linn said.

And then there are the bathrooms.

Jiwon McCartney, the managing director of Allure Event & Meeting Productions, a boutique event and meeting planning company said, “Everybody thinks, ‘well, we have plenty of bathrooms.’”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/homestyle/06/13/outdoor.wedding/

Beach Weddings in the Caymans

They are getting bigger, more elaborate, are recession–proof and are likely to bring their visitors back as repeat guests. No wonder Cayman is saying “I do” to destination weddings.

And although the number of visitor weddings taking place in these islands has not grown in the past year, there seems to be an across the board increase in the size of weddings and in wedding spending in general.

The Department of Tourism, which has focused heavily on marketing the romance market in the past few years, is pleased with the results.

Director of Tourism Pilar Bush said, “The DoT is very excited to hear from wedding industry private partners in all segments of the business that they have experienced an across the board rise in numbers of guests attending weddings, as well as increase in average spending per wedding as destination weddings are getting larger and larger…”

http://www.caycompass.com/cgi-bin/CFPnews.cgi?ID=1030508

More on beach weddings

New Line of Upscale Bridal Shoes

The upscale Benjamin Adams line of bridal shoes joins the Wedding Party Shoes range of offerings. From the 1950’s inspired Mansfield peep-toe slingback to the chic round toe of the Blondell pump, brides are sure to find perfect wedding shoes among the 16 new styles available.

Benjamin Adams shoes are handcrafted by Paradox London using the finest dyeable white or ivory duchesse silk, exquisite Swarovski crystals, soft kid leather lining and the highest quality leather soles. Most styles are available in sizes 6 – 9 1/2. Seymour, a closed-toe slingback with elegant silk pleating, is available up to size 10, and Powell, a low-heeled closed-toe shoe adorned with spectacular cup sequins, is available through size 11. Heel heights range from 1 1/4-inch for the Powell to the 4-inch platform peep-toe pump, Scarlet. The price range for the 2008 line of Benjamin Adams shoes is $169 to $599 for the luxurious Lopez, a closed-toe slingback covered with Swarovski crystals.
http://eworldwire.com/pressreleases/18575

If you are looking for less expensive bridal shoes. go to cheap bridal shoes and wedding flip flops

 

Choosing a Bridal Bouquet

Which flowers to choose? What shape? And what colours? Questions about the bridal bouquet can seem overwhelming at first, but they can be easily resolved with a little thought and the help of a competent florist.

If you haven’t already, your fist task is to choose the colour scheme for your wedding.

You can then include a few flowers of this hue into your bouquet. There may be a vast choice of flowers in each colour. Remember that white is always in style. If you bring your florist a fabric sample for your bridesmaids’ dresses, it will be easier to harmonize all the colours.

http://miramichileader.canadaeast.com/leisure/article/300269

Related article on bridal bouquets: fall bridal bouquets

Las Vegas Weddings Aren’t for the Fainthearted

Las Vegas. For some, that city’s name conjures up pictures of glitz, glamour and gambling, while others think of it only in terms of debauchery, revelry and sin.

My husband and I recently returned from Las Vegas, where we attended a “destination wedding.” We had vacationed in Vegas six years ago, but were at the south end of “The Strip,” which had left us somewhat isolated. This time, we were more centrally located on Las Vegas Boulevard, just across the street from Caesar’s Palace, where the wedding festivities were held.

http://www.journal-advocate.com/news/2008/jun/03/seeing-it-all-vegas/

See also Las Vegas Wedding Package Deals

Charlie Sheen’s Non Traditional Wedding Vows

You have to be secure in your relationship to do it this way - good for them!

Eschewing the tired “to have and to hold,” the bride and groom, who tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on May 30, each penned their own vows that were both sweet and a little strange and had their guests roaring with laughter.

The groom kicked it off with promises to “organize less and listen more,” “quit breaking a hug too soon,” and “mute the ball game when Brooke says, this is a matter of life and death,” among others.
http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/7152

See also personalized free wedding vows

Forget bridal gifts, say ‘I do’ to a down payment fund

 

A wedding-day cash infusion can make it easier to put a down payment on a home. With home prices appreciating rapidly in much of the country, lots of couples need all the help they can get.

There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one’s wedding guests for money?

“It’s not rude to request money as a wedding gift,” says Peggy Post, author of “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette.” “However, it’s extremely important to ask politely.”

If you seek down payment money, get the word out through family and friends, recommends Post, who is Emily Post’s great-granddaughter-in-law. Just don’t ask for money in the same envelope as a wedding invitation.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08112/870915-355.stm

See also do it yourself wedding invitations