Wedding Help

As promised, here is the second article in my series about outdoor wedding ideas. In Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Part 1, I discussed lots of aspects to consider when it comes out your outdoor wedding ideas. From outdoor wedding ideas on choosing a location for your ceremony and wedding reception, to tips on planning outdoor weddings with a garden or beach theme, a lot of my readers found some really useful information and ideas that they could use when planning their outdoor wedding. Many brides have already found the perfect location for their outdoor wedding, and just need ideas and tips on how to decorate their outdoor wedding. Or perhaps, you’re a bride and the type of wedding you were planning doesn’t go along with the outdoor wedding themes that I talked about in my first article. Whatever the case, here are more great outdoor wedding ideas that you can use to help make your outdoor wedding fit your dream.

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Planning a Cowboy Wedding 

Cowboy weddings are a popular choice for brides planning their outdoor weddings. I know here in Texas we have a lot of them, but they are also popular in other southern and western states as well. A great place to have an outdoor cowboy wedding is to look at nearby ranches, farms, or just a large field that you can use. You don’t have to go real western for your wedding ceremony if you don’t want to, and keep your decorations really simple, limited to some fresh cut flowers and candles if you like. If you are wanting a more western wedding ceremony, you could designate someone to pass out colored bandannas at the door and invite your guests to put them on for the ceremony. You could have your groom and groomsmen wear western shirts, jeans, and boots for a more rustic look. For more outdoor wedding ideas for a cowboy wedding, check out my other articles: Cowboy Wedding Ideas, and Themed Table Centerpieces.Â

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Simple and Elegant

In my opinion, this is the most romantic way to have an outdoor wedding. You really don’t have to go all out and use a lot of decorations when planning an outdoor wedding, as nature itself, and the outdoor wedding location you have chosen will be nearly all that you need. To create an elegant outdoor wedding ceremony, you may want to rent an arch, and then weave some flowers or greenery into the top section. Or, if an arch won’t work for your outdoor wedding location, then use pillars and place flower arrangements on them. Lean a trellis against any unsightly areas and weave greenery and lights through the holes, or just use lights for a twinkly effect. You don’t need to go overboard with your outdoor wedding decorations as nature will provide nearly all the decorations you’ll need.

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - A Sunset Wedding

Many brides choose a time for their outdoor wedding ceremony where the sun will be setting on the horizon. This makes for a very romantic ceremony with love and beauty all around. For this kind of wedding, you probably won’t need to use an arch or other kind of flowers, as once the sun goes down no one will be able to see them. Instead, use small twinkly lights to help cast a romantic glow for your guests, as well as provide some light. I talk about using lights a lot in outdoor weddings, and really you just can’t go wrong with them. Light small tea lights in candle holders along rails, hang some clear Christmas lights, or even string up some lanterns. A very popular idea for outdoor weddings is to string fishing line between two high points in either your wedding ceremony or your wedding location and hang a string of lights or lanterns. Trust me, the effect is beautiful.

There are so many different outdoor wedding ideas that you can use to help make your wedding a dream come true. Remember not to go overboard with decorating your outdoor wedding, as it can overshadow the natural beauty of your outdoor wedding location. Nature itself will lend itself to being your best wedding decoration. As always, if you need more ideas on a particular subject of outdoor weddings, please write and let me know, or if you have something you did and would like to share, please leave a comment.

Tags: outdoor cowboy wedding, outdoor wedding, outdoor wedding ideas, Outdoor Weddings

It’s another worst nightmare of brides on their wedding day. What if you get sick a few days before, or even on the wedding day? You want to be able to enjoy your wedding day, and being sick and feeling miserable will not be a fun way to remember your wedding day. Illness on your wedding day can make you miserable, so you’ll need to find a way to hedge off any illnesses that could arise before your big day. Perhaps what prompted this post is the fact that I’ve been sick for the past week, and haven’t felt like doing anything, which is totally unlike me. And I thought back to last year when I was planning my wedding, and thought that if I had felt this bad last year, my wedding planning would have been much more difficult. So, maybe you’re planning your wedding and you feel terrible, or know that you get sick around a particular time of the year and your wedding is in that time of year, then you’ll need to be proactive when it comes to staying healthy on your wedding day.

Avoid Illness on Your Wedding Day

If you know that you typically get sick, or suffer from allergies at a particular time of the year, and know that your wedding will be right in that time frame, then be proactive when it comes to fighting it off. Do whatever you need to do to make sure that you don’t get sick. Be sure to take your vitamins, and take any pills you need to when you start feeling the symptoms coming on. The earlier that you battle it and take care of the problem, the faster you can ward off getting sick. Also, sometimes just the stress of planning a wedding, and the nights where you don’t get much sleep because you’re working or just plain nervous can actually lower your immune system. This can mean you get sick easier, which is something you don’t want! So be sure to drink plenty of fluids, get lots of rest, and don’t skip meals!

Deal with Illness on Your Wedding Day

Sometimes you just can’t avoid it. If you do happen to get sick, then start looking for solutions as soon as possible. Talk to your local pharmacist and find out what you can take to either heal you up fast, or at least to find something that will take away most of your symptoms and help you to still have a wonderful day despite dealing with illness on your wedding day. If need be, then go and see your family doctor and get a prescription for any medication you might need to help you.

Don’t worry, even if you do have to deal with illness on your wedding day, that doesn’t mean that you’re going to have a terrible wedding day. Find something you can do to lessen the symptoms, and be proactive in making sure that you won’t have to deal with them on your wedding and honeymoon. It’s not difficult with the right information and back up plans just in case.

Tags: illness on wedding day, illness on your wedding, wedding day illness

If you are like most people out there, then when you are planning your wedding, you need to stay within some sort of wedding budget. Not everyone has an extra $15 grand (or more!) laying around that can be used just to plan the perfect wedding, with the best of everything, and everything just how you want it. The reality of it all is, that nearly every couple planning a wedding is having to stay very conscious of their wedding budget to make sure they don’t wind up with debt problems after the wedding. Each couples wedding budget is different, and some have larger wedding budgets than others, but just because you have a lower wedding budget doesn’t mean that your wedding has to look cheap. Perhaps your wedding budget is a sum your parents are going to help you out with, and then a certain amount of money that you and your fiance are going to use towards the wedding, or perhaps your wedding budget is being funded completely by you. Whatever the case, you’ll need to learn how to show smart, and bargain, so that you can have the wedding of your dreams and still stay within your wedding budget.

Keeping Track of your Wedding Budget

I can’t stress the importance of keeping close tabs on your wedding budget. As I girl, I know how fast expenses can add up while you’re shopping, you go out for a few items and end up spending much more than you had planned. Hence why my husband tags along when I go grocery shopping. But, back to the subject, it’s important to special attention to what you’ve spent, what you still have left to buy, and about how much money you have to spend for each thing. Perhaps the best way to do this is to start a wedding book, and include receipts, coupons, vendor names and phone numbers, and much more. Also, if you have knowledge of Excel spreadsheets, you may want to create some spreadsheets with guest lists, gift lists from showers, and other useful information. Using this method to keep track to your expenses in regard to your wedding budget can require a lot of organization and computer knowledge.

Get Help with Your Wedding Budget

If you have a friend or family who is good with organization and keeping track of money, then you could enlist their help on getting yourself set up. But this may not be available to every couple. In that case, you may want to look for some kind of wedding book or wedding software which can help you keep track of everything having to do with your wedding and your wedding budget. Check out card stores for different planners that you can buy and use, or look on the Internet for other help with your wedding budget. There is one great tool that I found on the Internet, I purchased it and it really does have a lot of great information.

I can’t tell you the importance of keeping close tabs on your wedding budget. The last thing you want when starting your new marriage is to have money problems and extra unexpected debt from the wedding. Not only that, but if you run out of money in your wedding budget while you are still buying things for the wedding, you could run into lots of different problems, creating unneeded stress on you!

Tags: Wedding Budget, Wedding Planning, wedding software

If you have made up your mind that you want to have an outdoor wedding, then there must be all kinds of thoughts and other outdoor wedding ideas running through your mind right now. The truth is, there are lots of different ways to have your outdoor wedding, and you’ll need to discover the right one for you so that you can have the wedding day you’ve always dreamed of. Outdoor weddings, when done correctly and when nature cooperates, can provide a beautiful and romantic ceremony for you and your guests. Not only that, but outdoor weddings tend to be more intimate, casual and charming. But in order to accomplish this, you’ll need to have lots of outdoor wedding ideas, and work out a combination that works perfectly both for you, and the location of your outdoor wedding ceremony. If you’re lacking in outdoor wedding ideas for planning your big day, then here are some great tips and ideas to get you started for different kinds of outdoor weddings.

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Choosing a Location

One of the most important aspects to planning an outdoor wedding is choosing the location to have your outdoor wedding. All of your outdoor wedding ideas should be based off of a location where you want your outdoor wedding to take place. There are many different options for outdoor weddings. Consider where it is you live, and what kinds of options you have available to you there. For example, if you live near the coast, then an outdoor beach wedding may be perfect for you. If you live near the mountains, then perhaps a wedding location that provides an excellent view. You can also choose a beautiful flower garden, a historic landmark, a farm or ranch, or even to have your outdoor wedding in your own backyard. You have so many options for this, and all of your wedding ideas should be based off of your location and outdoor wedding theme (if you choose to have one).

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Planning a Garden Themed Wedding

There are lots of outdoor wedding ideas for garden themed weddings that you can use. Outdoor wedding ideas for a garden party themed wedding can include hanging beautiful glass butterflies or wind chimes from low tree branches, and lots of flowers for decorations. Carry some freshly cut flowers as your bouquet, or just wear the flowers in your hair. Then, at the end, have your guests release live butterflies to help make it truly a dream come true. If your wedding is being held in the evening, then wrap white Christmas lights around the trunks of some large trees, or hang candle holders from low tree branches with thick white ribbon. Another outdoor wedding idea is to hang fishing line across some high points of your location and string lights or lanterns. This will not only help create a lovely romantic glow, but it will also provide light for the festivities.

Outdoor Wedding Ideas - Planning a Beach Wedding

Another popular location for outdoor weddings is to have a beach wedding. Outdoor wedding ideas for beaches can be beautiful and tropical all at the same time. Use long torches and stick them in the ground for lights as well as for decoration. Pass out a real or fake lei or other flowered goody for each guest as they enter the wedding ceremony. Then, instead of using a unity candle, have a sand ceremony. You can read more about these in my previous article, Alternatives to the Unity Candle.

There are lots of different outdoor wedding ideas that you can use to help make your wedding day a dream come true. There are so many ideas, that I could never fit them all into one article, so it’s going to have to be split up. Just remember that it is never too early to start planning outdoor wedding ideas that you would like to see in your outdoor wedding. Keep checking back for more great outdoor wedding ideas, and if you have anything you’d like to add, or saw something that you thought worked out great, or didn’t, then please write and let me know.

Tags: outdoor wedding, outdoor wedding ideas, Outdoor Weddings

Our rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun. My husband’s parents wanted it to be something nice since they were paying for it, and a few months before the wedding they came up to help us choose a location. We went from restaurant to restaurant, looking at their party rooms and asking about costs to rent the room and the cost of food for everyone in attendance until we finally settled on a location and put down a deposit on a room. Our final decision was a popular steakhouse that was only about twenty minutes away from our church and where everyone would be staying for the wedding. The room was really beautiful, it had large natural stone with giant fireplaces and paintings, very western theme. We put the deposit on the room, and then his parents left to go back home.

In the weeks leading up to the wedding, we called several times to make sure they still had us on the list for that night, and to verify the times that his mom and sisters could come in and decorate the meeting room for our rehearsal dinner. Calling several times was a great idea as we wanted to make sure they didn’t forget that we were coming. We chose a menu plan for the group which allowed everyone their choice of steaks and sides with salad and dessert, and we were ready to go.

As I mentioned before in my article, Rehearsal Dinner Invitations, I chose not to send out rehearsal dinner invitations, and we ended up having a large group of people at our rehearsal dinner. But then again, we had two pastors and their families, a piano player and her husband, the family doing the special music, and then all of our groomsmen and bridesmaids with their significant others. Not only that, but one of my bridesmaids had her family come in from another country to attend our wedding, and we invited them to the rehearsal dinner as well. We had quite a crowd.

My mother-in-law did an excellent job decorating for the rehearsal dinner, and everything was just beautiful. The rehearsal dinner tables were long rectangles, and she had covered them with white tablecloths and then added personalized candle holders along the tables with some sweet smelling candles that were peach colored, scattered confetti along the tables, and had greenery in a lot of different places as well. It really helped to transform the room into a perfect rehearsal dinner.

My fiance and I passed out the gifts that we had for our wedding party and our parents, all of which went over really well. Our families are very close even spending time together at holidays, and we had an excellent time at our rehearsal dinner. It was a great time to be able to sit back and relax and enjoy the entire family being together again, instead of stressing about the wedding. I’ve written this article basically to say, have fun at your rehearsal dinner, and don’t let stress ruin all of the fun you could be having on your wedding day. For more great ideas on rehearsal dinner options, check out my article on Rehearsal Dinner Ideas.

Tags: Rehearsal Dinner, rehearsal dinner decorations, rehearsal dinner invitations