Wedding Ideas That Make Planning Fun

Have you ever considered installing a trapeze in your house? Not to practice for the circus, but to manage all the humans in your house without getting trampled by them, without getting vomited on, without stepping on the stuff they've left in the middle of the walkway, and all of that. It would also provide a great vantage point from which you could direct the operations.

As you swing through the house, hanging by your legs, you could simultaneously bark orders through a megaphone, reach down and clean up a sippy cup spill, catch a glimpse of your two year old as he takes a hammer to your cell phone, and stop your four year old from heading out the door that you forgot to lock. On the swing back through, you could grab a can of soda, watch .385 seconds of your favorite show, and catch a nice breeze in the process. Is that efficient or what?

What does this long lost dream of a frazzled father have to do with your wedding? Quite a lot, I would say. Hang with me here (no trapeze pun intended) for a second, and you could learn a thing or two for your reception.

This dream about having a trapeze in the house is the result of being the father of three boys - ages 4, 2, and one week! I'm no expert at child rearing, but as the oldest of seven children, an uncle, and a father, there are a few things I've picked up along the way that will help you manage these little animals (mammals?) when they show up at your reception. I'll be general here, so it will be easy to adapt the ideas to your reception and your circumstances.

1. First and foremost - children and weddings do mix. Marriage and weddings are all about sharing and families and fun. But there are things you can do to help them and their parents have a better time. Doing those things will help your other guests have a good time and make for lots of good pictures as well. These are just suggestions. Adapt them, ignore them, or change them as your situation requires.

2. Sit families near tables with other families. The kids naturally break the ice, they have more in common, and they're more likely to be patient with kids than guests that don't have children.

3. Make a small area where kids can dance that's not on the main dance floor. Many times, kids run all over the dance floor in their excitement, leading to accidents. Adults, not wanting to get into a collision with a running child, may be less likely to dance as well. A designated area for them where they're still near the action but not in the middle of it, is a great solution. Not only will they avoid colliding with somebody's drunken third cousin twice removed, but they will be a star attraction for the adults that want to take pictures, laugh, and have fun.

4. Along those same lines, consider making an activity area or table for kids. Anything from board games, to drawing (make sure to use washable crayons, ink, or chalk for the sake of their clothing and your damage deposit at the reception hall), to snacks and treats could go here. You know your crowd best - so outfit it accordingly.

5. Have extra napkins or moist towelettes around the area where the kids will be.

6. As always, adult supervision is the rule so…Keep any children's area away from doors, breakable stuff, and buffet areas. And make it comfortable for adults to sit there and watch - a little table and chairs would be perfect.

7. Finally, just make them feel welcome. Families that have kids are almost always nervous about causing problems for those that don't have any. They feel the weight of stares and eyeballs that are almost always focused on them as they deal with the curve balls that kids send their way. Simple words of encouragement make a world of difference to a parent struggling to keep kids from interrupting someone else's good time.

One more note, welcoming kids to your wedding and in life in general shows that your are a gracious, kind, good hearted, and humble person. Rejecting them may be a sign that your heart is made of the hardest of stone. So relax, go with the flow, and if it gets too tough….consider a trapeze.

August 8, 2006 - Making a Difference With the Details in Fall and Winter Wedding Themes

With summer slowly heading out the door, brides with fall and winter weddings are gearing up for the final stretch before their wedding days. So what can you do to add a little something extra to a fall or winter wedding?

Since the focus here is on the details, we'll stick to those. For a lot of people, scent has a lot to do with their memories of good times in fall and winter. From the soothing comfort of a burning fireplace to the aroma of spices and the perfect pumpkin pie, there is something about the scents of fall and winter that brings a smile to almost everyone's face.

For whatever reason, scents bring back good memories of great times at chilly football games, family gatherings, and nights by the fire. So make use of that by incorporating some scents that get your guests in a good mood from the beginning. There are lots of different ways to do it. Some brides add a little scent to certain stationery items. You can go the extra distance with your votive candles by making sure they throw a scent that adds to the atmosphere. Hint: try one out before you buy a lot of them because it's not always easy to tell how strong the scent will actually be when the candle burns.

Your menu selections or buffet items at your reception could be matched to the season for a natural fall wedding theme scent. Drinks can do it, too. From apple cider to flavored teas or coffees, it's easy to create an aroma for the season. Throw in the right candy swizzle sticks and your job will be complete.

Let your imagination take it from there. Using the scent of the season is an easy way to get and keep your guests in the frame of mind that enjoys the best of fall, winter, and most of all - your wedding day.

August 13, 2006 - Fall Wedding Ideas for the Bride That Doesn't Miss the Details

Well, kids are going back to school around here so fall must not be too far away. Fall is a great time to have a wedding because it's not too hot, not too cold, the bugs are on the way out, and the weather's still pretty good in most places.

As the season approaches, you'll need some fall wedding ideas to tie everything together. So, we'll point you to a few pages we have on the subject. For tips on coming up with autumn wedding ideas that go beyond decorations to create a great atmosphere, see our fall wedding ideas page.

If you're looking for some wedding favors or decorations that might go with an autum wedding theme, then try our autumn favors store page.

Coffee and tea favors always go well with the season so take a look at our coffee and tea favors store page.

The real key to making a difference with the details in a fall wedding theme is to use the senses. In other words, try to make something that will appeal to your guests' idea of autumn in terms of things they can see, smell, taste, hear, or touch. Using those elements together will help to create an atmosphere where your guests can't help but notice the underlying theme. They'll enjoy it more and your event will be more memorable because you didn't miss the details.

No matter what you do, enjoy the rest of summer. Fall and your wedding day will be here soon enough.

August 22, 2006 - Finding Wedding Ideas by Seeing Things From a Different Angle

Have you ever noticed that a lot of people that come up with great ideas don't seem to think like the rest of us? Not just in weddings, but in the world in general. It's almost as if these people see things differently than we do, or at least they see things from a different angle.

Seeing things from a different point of view is exactly what we stress around here when it comes to finding great wedding ideas. But how do you do that? We'll talk about that in the next few entries, starting today. But before we get too deep, let's consider the big picture first. Incidently, that will lead us into our first step in seeing things from a different angle.

Other than the fact that you and your fiancé are getting married, what is the wedding ceremony and reception about? Is it about matching decorations, themes, food, cakes, location, colors? No, but don't feel bad if your mind traveled down that line of thinking. That's what a lot of people would say, but we're about to see things from a different angle.

Other than that minor issue of you getting married (yes, I'm kidding), the wedding ceremony and reception is about people - other people. The ceremony is for you to publicly declare your love and accountability to all the people that witness your promise. It's also for your guests - to help them get accustomed to your new position in life and to allow them to share the common bonds of life experience, marriage, family, and love.

The reception is for them to share in your joy, to show love and affection, to reminisce, and to simply enjoy.

So with that in mind, let's see things from a different angle for a minute. Before doing anything, let's forget about decorations and themes and consider who will be there.

Will you have any elderly guests? How about children? Are your guests nearby or far away? Is there anyone that might need extra help getting there or getting around?

Few of us probably have any idea about what it takes to help an elderly guest feel welcome, at ease, and included in an event usually made for much younger people. But that's a detail we can work on that many others wouldn't.

If you're young and just getting married, you might have no idea how hard it is for a family with really young kids to keep it together, stay out of the way of others, and (if they're lucky) have fun. But that's a detail we can consider, too. And if you make it easy for the parents and kids to have fun, the parents will never forget you. It means that much ( I should know - my kids are 1 month, 2 years, and 4 years old).

Already, you're beginning to see things from a different angle. By thinking of your wedding and reception from the guests' point of view, you'll be coming up with wedding ideas that almost no one else does. And you can still have all the little touches and decorations that you've dreamed of. But, this way, everyone will be comfortable enough to notice and enjoy how considerate and detailed you are. We'll get into more specifics over the next several entries. But this is enough homework for today, so think a little bit about those guests and check back soon for more.

August 27, 2006 - Wedding Ideas - Seeing Things from A Different Angle and the Big Picture

Before I go on about making a difference with the details by seeing things from a different angle, there's a "big picture" element to consider. We touched on it in the last entry but there's a little more.

If you're like most people and you read enough bridal magazines, you end up with a lot of great ideas and a little bit of an inferiority complex. This is because there is always a feature story about some couple that did something that much more incredible than the next. If you had your wedding in a campground by a tent, you'll read about someone who had one in a million dollar RV. If you had your wedding by the beach, you'll read about someone who rented their own private island. If you had a seven thousand dollar dress, you'll read about some bride who had two dresses, one custom made over a weekend in the Napa Valley with a famous designer, and a second three thousand dollar casual dress - for the after party, of course.

There's always someone with more expensive locations, more custom decorations, older wine, more extravagant honeymoons, and let's not forget the staples of all these elegant affairs - floating balls of flowers that cost more than your entire wedding, something with a reduction sauce, compote, cracked something or other, fennel, and some sort of other treat custom made for the couple by some up and coming chef from some restaurant with one word for a name - perhaps with an exclamation mark after it.

Throw in custom attire for the bridal party from a big name designer, an after party that costs more than the average American's annual salary, and a "generous" donation by the bride and groom to some group less fortunate, and you'll be having the wedding that the magazines will be fawning over.

No matter how wealthy you are and no matter what your budget, someone will outdo you. Don't blame the magazines. We can hardly expect them to cover the reception at the local lodge, gushing over the richness of the buffet style mashed potatoes and checkered napkins. The truth is…you can learn a couple of really good lessons from all this coverage of extravagant weddings.

The first is this. When it comes to the things of weddings - decorations, locations, food, and all of that - no one will ever have the perfect wedding for everyone else to see. So don't try. Have the perfect wedding for you, your fiancé, and your family and friends. In life, keeping up with the neighbors ironically leads to more dissatisfaction and more debt. Somehow, it's easy to forget this during wedding planning because it is a once in a lifetime thing you've dreamed of forever. And it's not anyone's fault. We're all wired to want more than we can have. To the best of my knowledge, no one has ever been satisfied with things. So just keep reminding yourself of that and you'll be okay.

The second thing we can learn from these extravagant affairs is…you don't have to have tons of money to have cool ideas. A lot of the things that you'll see in the magazines that describe fancy weddings are pretty unique. That's one of the reasons that they make good press. But, you're not trying to outdo anyone. So, you don't have the burden of having to explain your totally unique thing made by this totally unique designer with the rarest of ingredients/materials. You can just pick the things that you like in terms of style or presentation and incorporate elements of them in your own planning. For example, you don't have to have the latest designer dress. But you can look for less expensive dresses that incorporate elements of a new style. The same goes with everything from foods to decorations to events.

Last of all, the big picture is about people. Every time you feel frustrated, financially squeezed, or at a loss for ideas, just remember that this is about people that you love and that love you. They just want to be with you on that day in a way that everyone can have a good time together. If you're feeling like your guests will be judging you on budget, you can easily save a few bucks by simply not inviting those types of guests.