Depending on your culture or religion, you may have several different options when it comes to what kinds of wedding prayers will be offered during your wedding ceremony. Sometimes, the officiant offers some personal and improvised wedding prayers or a specially written wedding prayer calling for the long life and never ending love for the bride and groom.  Other wedding customs have the officiant or other person with a role in the wedding ceremony, such as a family member of the bride and groom reading wedding prayers from a special book. A couple may be able to look through the different wedding prayers available to them, such as in one of these special prayer books and choose a prayer for their marriage, or they may write their own wedding prayers and give them to the officiant to read during their wedding ceremony. Still other cultures and religions have the couple offering their own wedding prayers to the Lord for His  blessings and favor upon their new marriage. This is what my husband and I did in our wedding ceremony, and I would advise it to anyone.

Setting the Scene

My husband and I are Independent Baptists, and so doing something like this was never really dictated by our culture or religion.

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A little girl in our church the other ran up to me and excitedly told me about the wedding she was in the previous weekend. How she got to ride in the limousine with the her sister (the bride), and stand up at the front of the ceremony with the bridesmaids. It was the kind of excitement where you just want to say everything so fast that time for breathing just seems like too long to wait. She went on to tell me about how her sister had a dance floor at her wedding reception and how she got to dance with the groom and by herself, and with other children who were at the wedding. Imagining her out there jumping around with the kids made me smile, and I asked her if she did the Y.M.C.A. song. She looked confused, then thoughtful and announced that they had never played that song as a part of their wedding reception music. First it confused me, and then it made me smile. The bride must have created a “Do Not Play List” for songs that would play in her wedding.

Do I Have to Play that Song?!?

You have to admit, when most people think of having a dance floor along with a wedding dj to control their wedding reception music, most guests think of the traditional silly songs that come along with it.

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I have to admit, I’m a huge fan of the Today Show. My husband and I don’t have cable, but I’m able to watch the shows on the Internet and stay up to date with their news stories, special series, and other shows that they broadcast. If you’re not a big Today Show fan, then you probably don’t know that every year they throw a wedding for a lucky couple where America gets to vote and choose everything about the wedding. From the wedding theme to the wedding cake, the rings, honeymoon, wedding dress, and everything else is thrown for the lucky couple. This year the lucky couple got married with a trendy East meets West wedding theme. Personally, I hadn’t ever heard of this particular wedding theme before and I was eager to get online this morning and see just what kinds of decorations and extras they had added in to complete their wedding theme. So, if you’re contemplating an Asian wedding theme, an Eastern wedding theme, or even an East meets West wedding theme, here are some great decorating tips.

Flowers Make a Difference

One great way to capitalize on your wedding theme is with flowers. Flowers lend such a beauty and elegance to every situation, sure – but have you realized yet that your wedding flowers can also set the tone for what kind of wedding you’re going to have?

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Planning a dream vacation can be a difficult thing. You know that there is going to be a lot of money changing hands, and if you’ve never planned a vacation by yourself it can be overwhelming anyway. But then add the stress of planning the perfect honeymoon destination and it just seems as though your stress just got a whole lot worse. You want to plan a dream honeymoon for the both of you, but what should you do? Where should you go? If your honeymoon planning has come to a stand still, then here are some of the top honeymoon destinations that couples visit. Knowing the top honeymoon destinations can help you find feedback on certain locations, and you know that if it’s a totally popular honeymoon destination, there must be something special about these locations. So, here are the 5 top honeymoon destinations (in no particular order by the way) to help give you a kick start in planning your honeymoon.

1. Mexico

Every year hoards of couples head south of the border for a romantic wedding in Mexico. Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta, and the Riveria Maya are just a few of the great honeymoon destinations for honeymooners. This is where my husband and I went for our honeymoon, and we had a great time. The beaches were beautiful, the hotel was nice, and we were able to get a great deal on our travel and hotel so that our honeymoon didn’t bankrupt us. So if you’re after beautiful beaches and a tropical climate, one of these great locations will work great for you.

2. Hawaii

While I don’t have any facts to back this up, I believe that Hawaii is probably the most popular honeymoon destinations ever. Hawaii is known for it’s pristine beaches, waterfalls, and of course and beautiful landscaping. There are many different islands for you to choose from for your dream honeymoon such as Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Oahu and the main island. It may be best to research each island to choose the one that works best for your tastes. If you like the mainland with lots of shopping, restaurants and nightclubs, or would rather have a nearly uninhabited island with remote beaches, it’s easy to find the island that is best for you.

3. The United States

Don’t think that you have to cross the borders of the United States to find the perfect honeymoon destinations available to you! Florida and the Northeastern states have lots of locations that are known for their beautiful beaches and great food. Lake Tahoe is an excellent location for outdoorsy types of couples, with a lake and beautiful mountains. There is also the wine country in California, Las Vegas, and many other great locations for a romantic and memorable honeymoon adventure.

4. Europe

For couples with a little deeper pockets, Europe provides a host of great honeymoon destinations. From lovely and historic London to a romantic trip to Paris, Europe provides a host of beautiful sights and activities. Also popular honeymoon destinations in Europe are Venice, Rome, Tuscany, the Greek Islands, and many of the surrounding countries that may be of interest to you.

5. The Caribbean

Kind of makes you want to sing a pirate song or something, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just me. The Caribbean has many great honeymoon destinations to choose from that are really popular with honeymooners as well. In the Caribbean you’ll find Jamaica, the Bahamas, the US Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and much much more! The Caribbean is known for it’s fantastic landscapes, it’s culture, and of course the beaches!

The most important thing to do when choosing from the many different honeymoon destinations that are available to you is to get a firm fix on what kinds of things you want to do for your honeymoon, such as relaxing on the beach, shopping, sightseeing, etc. Then, you also need to get a firm fix on what kind of budget you are looking at. Knowing these two factors will help you to plan the perfect honeymoon from the many different honeymoon destinations that you have to choose from. Happy planning!

There are lots of people out there, in my family especially, who will swear up and down that cupcakes actually taste better than regular larger sized cakes. Personally, I don’t know if they taste better or not, or if it’s just a mental thing about having your own little cake – but I guess it doesn’t matter too much. When my cousin got married a few years ago and wanted a cupcake wedding cake for his groom’s cake, our family wasn’t really surprised at all. It had been my first time seeing a cupcake wedding cake, and it actually went over pretty well. Turns out, that a few years ago, you really didn’t see bakeries offering cupcake wedding cakes as part of their portfolio. That’s because brides just weren’t interested in having cupcake wedding cakes, else they didn’t know that they could be done in the place of regular wedding cakes. But wouldn’t you know it, give it some time and now it seems that cupcake wedding cakes are really where it’s at right now. Here are frequently asked questions about cupcake wedding cakes to help you decide if they are right for you or not.

Why are Cupcake Wedding Cakes so Popular?

Cupcake wedding cakes are popular because they are so different than your traditional wedding cake.

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I must admit, I’m a bit of a traditionalist at heart, and I wanted to have a beautiful traditional wedding. I wanted a huge white wedding dress, my dad to walk me down the aisle, and everything that went along with it. I have to admit though, I I nearly faltered when I started planning for our wedding cakes, and what kind of cake they would be. Let me explain. I love chocolate, and I can’t plain white cake. Really, even birthday cake…if it’s not chocolate than I really don’t want a piece of it. It’s crazy, but I guess it’s a girl thing or something. So, when it came to planning our wedding cake flavors, I really didn’t want a plain white wedding cake. I wanted my husband’s groom cake instead, chocolate cake with chocolate icing and chocolate covered strawberries. My husband, by the way, hates chocolate. It’s a crazy mixed up world we live in, isn’t it? And then I wondered, ar chocolate wedding cakes for brides even possible? Turns out, the answer is YES!

Chocolate Wedding Cakes are Getting Popular

Turns out, I wasn’t the only bride craving the groom’s cake at the wedding.

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As it seems were nearly deep into the summer season already this year, we are also looking into getting into one of the most popular times of the year for weddings. There are definitely some certain perks and benefits to getting married during the warmer seasons of the year, such as outdoor wedding receptions or other summery theme, but it seems that every year new hot summer wedding trends start coming out, and are worth taking a glance at, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Personally, I didn’t really care what everyone else was doing in their weddings, I wanted a wedding that fit exactly what I had in my mind’s eye. But some brides really stay up on the different wedding trends that are popular that season so that they can have a wedding that is in style and really makes a statement and stands out from all the other wedding trends. So if that is you, then here are some great summer wedding trends for 2008.

Using Dynamic Colors

One of the great things about summer weddings is that brighter colors for your wedding don’t seem at all out of place, or gaudy. Go with some sophisticated brighter colors, but don’t go overboard on using them in your decorations or your wedding guests will have to bring sunglasses.  Instead, choose just a few places in your wedding decorations where you can use that dynamic color, such as in the centerpieces or a table runner, and use a lighter accent color for the rest of your decorations.

All-Natural Wedding Centerpieces

Another great summer wedding trend is to go for wedding centerpieces that are all natural. One popular choice has always been to use citrus as a part of your centerpieces. And while that is still a great look for your wedding tables, consider looking for some ways to update this classic centerpiece. One way to do this is to eliminate the vases for the flowers in your centerpieces, and instead use pedestals covered with thick green leaves and place your flowers on top of those. They make some truly spectacular wedding centerpieces, and there are many photo galleries that can give you some great pictures for ideas.

Choosing a Lighter Fare

There’s nothing quite like a summer cook out. While it would be unthinkable to plan a bar-b-que for several hundred people, you can find some great recipes from your caterer that are much more summery. Think of some lighter choices of meat, such as chicken or fish, and then add salads with fresh fruit, potato salad, or any other popular food that goes great with a summer cook out.

There are always lots of great summer trends that change from year to year, and you shouldn’t pick something that you hate just because it is a popular trend for that summer. If you’re looking for a totally trendy wedding and need some ideas on how to celebrate summer and make your wedding really stand out from some of the others that will be happening around the same time, then consider choosing one of these great summer wedding trends to help give you some ideas on making your summer wedding truly your own.