The issue of children and weddings is a difficult one and comes up quite often. Some couples don’t want any children present at their wedding, others want to invite children but only family members and others say the more kids the merrier. No matter what you decide there are lots of ways to include children (yours or others) in the wedding day as well as keep them entertained.

Flower girl and ring bearer

There is of course the traditional flower girl and ring bearer roles that children can take on. Most of the time these roles are filled by children aged three to seven however exceptions can be made and you can have younger or older as you see fit.

Kids corner

Set up a corner table at the reception where kids can go and play. This isn’t where they will eat just where they can mingle while some of the activities such as the first dance and so forth go on. Have coloring books, toys, puzzles and more available to keep the kids amused.

Program distribution

Ask some kids to be the ones to pass out the programs for the wedding. It’s a simple task and will make the kids feel important as they have something to do that they are responsible for.

Sign-in book

Ask a child in your life to attend to the guest book and ask people to sign-in. They’ll get to see everyone who comes and will be talked by lots of folks making them feel extra special just like you.

Photography

Give some of the kids disposable cameras and ask them to take pictures throughout the day. You may end up with a lot of pointless photos but then again you could be surprised. Sometimes kids are very in tune with things and will take the task seriously giving you some shockingly nice moments on film.

Bubbles

Have the kids blow bubbles as you and your spouse walk back down the aisle or when you enter for the reception. The kids can also be in charge of handing out bottles of bubbles to other guests.

Your wedding is a momentous occasion and one that you will likely want lots of photos of to look back on and remember. There are tons of wedding photographers with different styles, ideas, and packages they offer. All of these choices can be very confusing especially when they then throw in the “extra options” and you look at the prices wondering what you can afford and what’s most important to you. Besides just basic photos there are lots of options and not all of them require a photographer. Here are some options for what you can do with photos for your wedding both to remember the day as well as add to your special day.

Photo booth

Rent a photo booth and have it at your reception for you and your guests to use. You’ll be able to take silly photos and it’s also a form of entertainment for your guests. They’ll love having a souvenir to take home. In fact you can have a strip of photos from the photo booth be their favor. You can also have it set up so guests enter the booth when they arrive, take a photo strip and place it in the guest book when they sign in so you have a photo of them from the day along with their signature and message.

Photo montage

Get photos of you and your spouse to be through the years and put together a photo montage to show at the wedding. You can start with pictures of each of you growing up and then you as a couple. Set it to music and project it on a big screen at the reception. If you have extra special footage of say the proposal or another moment you can insert this as well.

Disposable cameras

Set disposable cameras out on all the tables with a note asking guests to take pictures of the entire day. You can do this instead of a professional photographer to save some money but know that you’ll likely end up with a lot of silly, unusable photos as well. However you can also catch some fun moments a photographer might miss.

Polaroid guest book

Have someone take a Polaroid of each person as they arrive. Then tape the Polaroid in the guest book and have them sign beside it and write their message. This makes for a unique and fun guest book that is just a little out of the ordinary and helps you remember all the details of the day.

Online wedding photobook

Give everyone a card at the wedding with a website where you’ll be posting your wedding photos. Invite others to share any photos they take on the site as well. This way you can collect all the photos from the day because you never know what great photo someone else might have taken that you just have to get a print made of to put on your wall. It’s also fun for the guests because they get to relive your day as well and see all the various elements they might have missed such as your posed wedding party and couple’s photos.

Lots of people are very concerned about the environment now and have changed their lifestyles to fit a new thought process which seeks to preserve resources and promote sustainability. This “green” living has spread even into the wedding industry and couples are looking for ways to make their special day more eco-friendly. Celebrities like Alicia Silverstone have taken to the movement and proudly promote that their special day was eco-friendly. If you want to make some changes to your day to show off your style but in an environmentally friendly way here are some ideas.

Organic cotton linens

Make sure all the linens you use for the day are organic. This means the tablecloths, napkins, and any other linens you might use for decoration.

Recycled paper invitations and e-vites

Show that you love the trees and purchase recycled paper invitations. This way you know they are being reused through the recycling process. Or better yet don’t use any paper at all. Instead send out e-vites or email invitations. Sure these are less formal but you’ll help save some trees as well as money spent on the invitations themselves and postage.

Dinner from local farmers and growers

Serve a meal made of food grown and raised entirely by local farmers and ranchers. You’ll be supporting your local economy and serving delicious fresh food which your guests will really appreciate.

Light with soy candles

Soy candles are longer lasting and cleaner in the burning process than regular candles. Plus candlelight is eco-friendly because it doesn’t require any energy to light a space. Using soy candles to light the tables is green as well as romantic and very appropriate for weddings.

Plants as centerpieces

Use potted planted or vegetables and herbs as centerpieces. Send these home with guests or take them home and plant in your own garden to start you own supply. These can be reused and

Favors

Skip the favors and donate to charity instead. Let your guests know that you did this so they aren’t expecting a favor as many folks do. Use recycled paper to inform them of this and have the DJ make an announcement so everyone is aware of what is going on and what charity the couple decided to donate to.

One of the latest trends in recent years is the at home wedding. These were once quite popular and very much the norm as they are cost effective, personal and very easy to host. The comeback of the at home wedding is probably in response to a weakening economy and turn against commercialism as weddings have become such a huge industry built up on “things” that many people are very against the whole concept of a “wedding” but still want to get “married.” There is absolutely nothing wrong with either concept, it’s a matter of personal preference as well as budget. Here are some things to consider when planning an at home wedding.

Size

The size of your home or the home and property of a relative will largely determine the size of your guest list. If the house doesn’t have a fairly sizable backyard it’s unlikely you’ll be able to accommodate one hundred people however if you have a good acre of land or more you may be able to do so. Be realistic with the space you have and plan accordingly. You might consider having the ceremony inside as well if you don’t plan on inviting too many guests.

Style

If the wedding is held at your home then you already have some style set in place, your style as a couple (if you live together before marriage). Decide on how you can decorate the space to accommodate your style and keep the house in tact. Since it’s your home or that of someone close to you it’s especially important everything remains well kept as it’s unacceptable for furniture to be ruined or things stapled in the walls which you might be able to get away with at another venue. Figure out how you can decorate ahead of time without harming the existing space and in such a way that clean up is minimal.

Food

Are you going to cook all the food (or family members) or have the event catered? There are advantages and disadvantages to each so you have to decide what works for you. If you and your family cook the food you can likely save a good deal of money as you’ll be able to control what you spend based on what’s served and where it’s purchased. However you’ll also have the burden of getting all that food made as well as everything else done and prepared for your big day. It can be a lot of stress if you’re ill prepared or your planning falls through. Catering can ease the stress of having to deal with food however it is more expensive. But if there’s a special restaurant you love this can also be very personal and just the thing you need to make the party that much better.

Set Up and Clean Up

The advantage is you can take as long as you would like to set everything up if it’s at your home. That means you can begin hanging decorations and arranging tables long before the actual day if you so choose. You can also take your time cleaning up but remember, you do have to clean up and it will be you (and your helpers) doing the work not some hired employees at a venue.

There are lots of great things about having an at home wedding that make it well worth the time and energy to plan. Whatever you decide you should just make sure it makes you happy and will be what you want to look back on and smile about years from now.

Nowadays everyone is looking for a sponsor to fund their trips, adventures, events, products and education. So why not a wedding? Weddings are typically quite expensive so it make sense that a couple would need and want help paying for the day of their dreams. Thus sponsored weddings have begun to become more common. Some people sell advertising space in their programs, hang banners with a corporate or company logo on it or have specific products available which their sponsors supply such as the food, decorations or even serving ware.

So what does the sponsor get out of it? The sponsor gets free advertising which is always appealing. This is perfect for weddings that will get some press, have photos displayed in magazines or will be talked about online. Some couples even win competitions or contests to have their weddings planned for them or to receive help from vendors for their services. These are the types of couples companies love to sponsor as they know their product or service will be seen and recognized which has the potential to lead to increased sales and product recognition in the market.

With weddings being decided on myspace and face book and thus getting national coverage it only makes sense to sponsor some weddings for small and large companies. If the wedding happens to be a well known couple in a smaller town then little businesses and boutiques can gain a lot of exposure from sponsoring a wedding and donating their services or products. Other people are selling spots in their wedding on ebay or other online auction sites. This is great for those who have always wanted to be a part of someone’s wedding day but never got a chance. This is also good for companies who can get a representative into the wedding and promote their products.

Sponsored weddings may seem unusual to some folks but really it’s just a smart investment for companies and a great way to save some cash for couples who don’t mind making a few adjustments and alterations for their big day.

Sometimes you have someone in your life that you want to be a part of your wedding but not necessarily as a bridesmaid or groomsmen. Perhaps you already have numerous attendants or you don’t want too many. Or maybe they’re close to you but not that close and you simply don’t feel it’s right to ask them to be your attendants. Whatever your reasoning there are still lots of positions and roles you can ask them to fulfill so they’re still a part of the wedding and feel included. Here are some ideas of things you can have these special people do.

Ceremony readings

Ask someone to read a special passage from the Bible, a poem or something else nice during the ceremony. This individual is usually introduced by the person officiating and then they come up, do their reading and sit down. It’s a pleasant moment for everyone involved and they feel like they’ve gotten to do something special for your big day.

Ceremony releases

If you want to release something at the end of your ceremony as a symbol of two families or two people joining together as one ask your sibling, cousin or friend to do it. Popular releases are butterflies and doves. Both look beautiful as they fly off into the air and make for a truly fantastic photo moment.

Guest book attendant

You need someone to help guests as they arrive either to show them where to go, ask them to sign the guest book or hand out place cards so they know which table to sit at. This person should be very friendly and hopefully knows a good deal of the people attending as they will have to interact with the guests.

Sing a song during the reception

If you have a great singer in the family or your group of friends you might ask them to sing a song during the reception or even the ceremony. Make sure you discuss what song they will be singing ahead of time though so it’s appropriate and isn’t duplicated with something you’ve already pre-selected for another aspect of the day.

Hand out programs

If you’re having programs at the ceremony you need at least one person (two is usually better) to hand out programs. This person will be responsible for giving the guests a program and helping point them in the right direction to the seating if needed.

So you put together a budget and you think you’re completely set. Except, well you forgot a couple things. Sure you included the cost of the band, the photographer, the invitations, and so on. But what about the postage? The cake cutting fee? The gratuities? While one thing here or there might not be a big deal they all add up quickly and soon you could find yourself in a mess of trouble financially. These are some common hidden wedding costs that you should be aware of when planning your wedding so you won’t be caught with a big bill later on and no way to pay for it.

Postage

It’s amazing how quickly it adds up but just think about all those forty-something cent stamps. You have stamps on the save the dates, on the invitations, on the RSVP envelopes, and the thank you cards. If you send out one hundred invitations you’re looking at a couple hundred dollars in postage when all is said and done.

Cake cutting fees

Lots of reception venues charge a per slice cake cutting fee. Check with your reception coordinator on whether this is applicable or not. If they do charge a fee see what you can do to have it reduced or eliminated by serving it yourself (a member of the wedding party) or something else because at two dollars a slice or so that makes for one expensive cake service.

Dress alterations

If the dress needs any alterations or changes you’ll be paying for them. Factor this into the cost of the dress itself. So when shopping for your attire think about more than the dress, but also the alterations, jewelry, shoes, undergarments, and hair accessories.

Corking fees

Many venues charge bottle corking fees for serving alcohol. If you site does see if there’s a way around that or if you can at least get a fee reduction such as one flat fee regardless of how many bottles of wine or champagne they end up opening.

Thank you gifts

It’s always nice to give the members of your wedding party as well as the parents a thank you gift for their participation in the wedding and help throughout the process. This can be anything from a homemade photo album to some personalized barware and gift cards. Whatever you decide suddenly there’s another bill.

Marriage license

Yes, you actually have to pay for your marriage license. When you go down to apply for it with your documentation you will have to write a check so be prepared.

Tips

Gratuities for the vendors, limo driver and others involved in the wedding day process are not required but some people do expect them so decide ahead of time what you plan on doing regarding the tipping situation.

Wedding stationary

While you may have included the cost of invitations and save the dates in your budget you likely forgot about thank you cards. You absolutely must send out thank you cards, it’s impolite not to. So add in some more money for those.

Planning a wedding is a huge task to undertake and it’s possible to make a ton of mistakes, especially with so many different details to make decisions about. Everyone makes some kind of error no matter how hard they try not to, these are the most common mistakes brides and grooms make. Read them over and educate yourself so you too won’t make these same mistakes.

Going over budget

Be realistic with your budget from the beginning because going over budget is all too common and too easy to do. You don’t need top of the line things for every aspect, you can still have a beautiful wedding while making some compromises and cutbacks. It’s not worth starting a marriage off in debt for going over budget. Think long term.

Inviting too many people

The more people you invite the more the wedding will cost, period. Your brother’s best friend’s sister may be nice but it doesn’t mean you have to invite her. Only invite those people who really matter to you and should be there to see you get married. It’s alright not to invite everyone you know.

Forgetting about the marriage license

Look into the laws in your area and make sure you know when you can get your marriage license and how long it’s valid. Get it too soon and it won’t be good on the day of your wedding. Too late and it may be on a waiting period.

Crash diets

Lots of brides buy a wedding gown a size or two too small in hopes of losing weight by the date of the wedding then end up doing some terrible crash diet. If you want to lose weight start early and make it a healthy gradual weight loss.

Doing it all yourself

Don’t try to do everything yourself, you’ll lose your mind. It’s alright to ask for help and if you have a some good friend or a supportive family they’ll be there for you every step of the way.

Procrastinating

Waiting until the last minute to get things done is common. Start planning early so you can take your time and make the best decisions possible.

Hiring friends

A lot of people hire friends as vendors. This often doesn’t work out because they don’t get the same quality of the service as they had wanted and likely would have received if they had hired someone else.

Getting caught up in the silly details

Don’t get so caught up in the details that you lose focus of what the wedding is all about, you marrying the person of your dreams and starting a life together. This is what is important.

As maid of honor the bride is very dependent upon you. She has a lot on her plate to make her big day just like the fairytale one she’s dreamed about since she was a little girl. As her best friend you’ll be wearing more than a formal dress, in fact you’ll be wearing multiple hats because accepting the role of maid of honor means a lot more than just showing up the day of the wedding. A maid of honor has numerous duties, here’s a look at some of those.

Throw bridal shower

The maid of honor is responsible for throwing the bride a bridal shower. She may receive help from the mother of the bride, bridesmaids or other family members and friends but the major planning is all up to her. This is a very important party for the bride so the maid of honor should really spend a good deal of time planning it to make it incredible. It’s a day she’ll remember forever, think of things you would want at yours when you make the arrangements.

Shopping with the bride

The maid of honor will do a lot of shopping with the bride to find bridesmaid dresses, pick out flowers, interview vendors and such. Help her make decisions but don’t be too pushy about anything.

Helping with little tasks

The maid of honor needs to be available to help the bride with simple little tasks like putting together favors, creating the seating chart and so forth. It’s part of your job.

Arrange bachelorette party

Plan the bachelorette party with the other bridesmaids. Make sure it’s something that the bride would like and she won’t feel out of place.

Support system

Planning a wedding is extremely stressful. The bride may have some meltdowns from time to time when things don’t go the way she hopes or someone mettles into her business and tells her how to do things. The maid of honor has to be her support system and help her see the silver lining. You may not want to do this but remember, she needs you. Be there for her when she needs you most.

Take wedding dress to cleaners

The bride will be off on her honeymoon and you have one more task, take her dress to the cleaners so it can be pressed and put away for preservation purposes.

Help with post wedding arrangements

Thing that may need to be done when the couple leaves for their honeymoon such as take the presents back to their home or drop off items and pay certain bills should be handled by the maid of honor and best man. It’s a shared responsibility that must be discussed ahead of time to ensure everything is taken care of.

It used to be that as far as wedding gifts were concerned, you got what you got and that was it. Nowadays couples register for gifts so they don’t end up with five toasters and purple towels that don’t quite match their newly painted brown bathroom. It makes life simpler for everyone involved really. The couple gets what they need and want while taking the guesswork out of things for guests. All they have to do is look over the list and select something they would like to purchase. Gift giving has never been so easy. The difficulty lies with the couple in deciding what to register for. This can be a lot harder than it seems. There are tons of choices and numerous item that can make up a home so it’s tough to figure out where to start with it all. Here are some tips on how and what to register for.

Start early

Don’t wait until the last minute right before your invitations are in the mailbox to register. Start early. Try to do your registering a couple weeks before the invites hit the mail so you can take your time and make adjustments as needed. You can always add items and change things later but you want the majority of the registries to be complete by the time guests receive their invitations.

Choose a couple stores

Pick a few different places to register at. Make sure at least one store is a major retailer that is located all over the country so it will be convenient for guests to go shopping. You don’t want it to be a hassle for them. Most places allow you to shop online but not everyone wants to do this, has access or knows how.

Decide on colours and themes

Think about your major living spaces; master bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room and so forth. Choose colours and/or themes for each room so the items you select can coordinate with these and if guests do buy things not on your registry hopefully they’ll at least follow your colour scheme or theme.

Get a “suggested items” list

Print out a “suggested items” list if the store has one. This will give you some ideas of things to register for or the most commonly registered for items. A lot of the time there are things on there you wouldn’t have remembered but you do really need or it would be nice to have at least.

Really think about china

Lots of couple register for china but really think about it before you do. China is very expensive and you want to be sure you’ll actually use it, especially since it’s rare to receive a complete set as a gift and you may have to end up purchasing the missing pieces you didn’t receive to have even numbers.

The “two to three times” rule

There’s a rule that says you should register for two to three times as many presents as the number of guests invited. This gives guests a choice of numerous items instead of pigeon-holing them into buying something they don’t particularly care for.

Find out about return policies

Ask about the store’s return policy so you’ll know ahead of time what you need to return an item. Every store is different so it’s best to ask even if you’ve heard one thing or another. Also, ask if they have a registry completion program where you receive a discount on all the items still remaining on your registry.