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Posts Tagged ‘WEDDINGS’

The Beginning of the Wedding

In most cases the wedding guests will wait with the groom outside the church until the bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go into the church early to secure a good seat). In the Summer, when most weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged back to back, so the guests attending a marriage will often stand around with those who have just attended the previous wedding are ready to leave. Wedding dress commentators among the crowd will get to consider and discuss at least two brides and maybe even a third as they leave the church – bargain! Meanwhile, the groom waits for the bride at the entrance to the church, often holding her floral bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside together followed by the guests. There is no separation of the guests into guests of the bride and guests of the groom – everyone sits together and in the case of small churches, many people prefer to stand in a spot where they can get a good view of the proceedings.

Service of Betrothal

The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage. The exchanging of rings is the focus of the Service of Betrothal. The priest blesses the rings by holding them in his right hand and making the sign of the cross over the heads of the bride and groom. The rings are then placed on the third fingers of their right hands. The “Koumbaro”, the couple’s religious sponsor, then swaps the rings over between the bride and groom’s fingers, three times. A number of rituals in the ceremony are repeated three times and this symbolises the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage

This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are said and then as they come to an end, the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom. Their hands remain joined until the end of the wedding ceremony, which symbolises the couple’s union.

The Crowning

The bride and groom are crowned with thin crowns, or “stefana”, which are joined by a white ribbon and have been blessed by the priest. The crowns symbolise the glory and honour that is being bestowed on them by God, and the the ribbon symbolises their unity. The “Koumbaro” then exchanges the crowns between the heads of the couple, three times.

The Common Cup

The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel, which tells of the marriage of Cana at Galilee. It was at this wedding that Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine, which was then given to the married couple. Wine is given to the couple and they each drink from it three times.

The Ceremonial Walk

The priest the leads the couple, who are still wearing their “stefana”, three times around the altar on their first steps as a married couple. The “Koumbaro” follows close behind the couple holding the stefana place. At this point the couple (and anyone standing nearby) is usually showered with rice, which was earlier handed out to the wedding guests. The priest will often make use of the bible he is holding to give himself some protection!

The Removal of the Crowns

When the Ceremonial Walk has ended, the priest blesses the couple, the crowns are removed and he then separates their previously joined hands with the bible, reminding them that only God can break the union which they have just entered into.

Wedding traditions

Unfortunately, a lot of the information available on Greek Orthodox wedding traditions is a little outdated and contains generalisations that give the impression that certain traditions are followed by everyone who gets married. Some of these traditions are set out below.

- The baking of bread and cakes containing coins.

- Rolling a baby on the marital bed to encourage fertility.

- The throwing of money onto the marital bed.

- The pinning of money onto the bride (and sometimes also the groom) at the wedding reception.

Although these rituals are seen as traditional, fewer and fewer young people marrying today are following them, because they are seen as old-fashioned. Many people do not wish to put their guests through the ordeal of other people being able to see how much money they pin on the bride, for example. Although money is still a very common, as well as practical, wedding present it is often given to the couple before the wedding day or to a third person at the wedding reception, for safe-keeping. Greeks living in the more remote parts of Greece and abroad, who will naturally feel more strongly about doing things the traditional way, are more likely to follow these traditions than those living in Athens, for example. Like weddings in many places, Greek weddings are changing. At the time of writing, there is a growing fashion to go and get married on an island and I recently heard someone say that he was looking into getting married in a ski resort. He was wisely advised by a friend: “You had better first ask the priest if he wants to perform a marriage up a mountain”!

Wedding is a big business. So make sure that you utilize every avenue, including postcard design, to let the word out about you.

What’s your specialty? The designs for your cards will rely a lot on this aspect. But be careful though. Here are some reminders that you must think about when conceptualizing your postcard design.

1. Watch out for your competitors’ cards.

You don’t want to be caught in the midst of business competition. If your design will be painfully close to that of the other businesses like yours, it might take a toll on you. People will be reminded of the other companies. This way, you are doing them a great favor by advertising their brand.

But you are not helping yourself. So make sure that your design is uniquely yours. Create a pool of creative team to do this stuff. Or you can just avail the services of the best printing company that can come up with your requirements.

2. Focus on people’s emotions.

Have you ever browsed through other people’s wedding albums? What are the parts that you like the most? Is it the picture of the bouquet? Or is it the bride’s beautiful smile when she was holding that same bouquet?

What will interest you more? Are you going to be hooked with the photo of the wedding cake? Or you would be more interested with the happy faces of the couple while they were slicing their wedding cake?

Of course, you would like to see the emotions more than the technicalities of the event. This is a wedding. This is one of the most emotional moments for most people. So do the same for your cards. Focus on the emotions. And you are assured that people will not only look at your cards. They will see what you are trying to say.

3. Break free from the tradition.

People are already used to what they see on weddings. They know that there are a lot of laces, the doves, the cake. The aim of your postcards is not only to remind them of what wedding is all about. You are selling them ideas. So create something different that will entice them to break free from what is usual.

Through your cards, suggest ways for them to create a unique wedding. You can tell them how they can celebrate the day with a style. Or you can focus on how they can make the occasion memorable for everyone.

Memorable. Special. One of a kind. These are just some words wherein you can base your ideas from. Capitalize on the thought that weddings celebrate special unions of people who are full of love. Those people are looking forward to the days ahead as couples.

For sure, you will not run out of what to include on your postcard design. Celebrate the day with them while giving them suggestions of how they can make such occasion apart from the usual. Give your biz a boost by presenting the old items like new.

You’ve set the reception, find the perfect dress, invitation lists, and uniforms for families and relatives. So what next? What kind of flower would you use? You’ll pay for what kind of flowers? As we know that the real interest rate is very expensive. First you must consider the type of your wedding, whether traditional, if yes then there are many types of flowers you can consider. What would you decorated with flowers?Buttonhole? Corsage? Or even a cake wedding.

You also have to think about time, since the original flowers bloom naturally only at certain times of the year, although the import you can get it. Colors should also be considered for any kind of flower you choose in accordance with the uniform dress and other committees.

There are many types of flowers that you can choose from a variety of tulip colors and shapes, always cheerful and bright look, especially when placed for decorating the table. Roses full of joy because it has many colors and you will get an additional bonus for the aromatic fragrance.

Other options from the types of flowers that you can use the silk flowers that look so real that no one knew the difference with real flowers, these flowers have a variety of sizes, shapes, and colors while not having the smell.

The price of flowers is not much different from the original flower arrangement but with a lot of you saw in the store you may be able to cut expenses by buying several types of different shops. Excess use of this flower is that you can choose and

ordered flowers before the wedding day without any problems such interest will wither.

With this kind of flowers you can choose whatever type of flowers you like it because it does not know the flower season is not like real flowers. You can use it to decorate the table and wedding cake because it does not damage the flowers, marks, and leave the powder. Additional benefits of using this type of flower is that you can save after the wedding as a hit-happy memories of your day.

You can use dried flowers can be sown at the option of a table or in the place of marriage. So, whatever your choice, and there are many options share a mixture of flowers available for you.

People get married year round but as June approaches there is a certain “buzz” going on and big plans are in the works. Weddings require lots of arranging, shopping, baking, wardrobe fittings, wedding rehearsals, photographs, music rehearsals, reception, honeymoon, and the list goes on. What will be the biggest moment in a young couple’s lifetime is about to happen and there can never be enough preparation.

 

Moments of a lifetime

 

From the moment the proposal is made, and accepted, there is a flurry of planning in the works. Young women wait for this time to come and usually have strong opinions as to how they want it to play out. They see themselves in a long flowing white gown and veil, with bridesmaids surrounding them in pastel colors, many flowers, and their father walking them down to meet that handsome young man who wants to devote the rest of his life to making her life complete.

 

Plans and parties

 

The main reason for long engagements seems to involve the wedding planning. It takes at least a year to put all those details in order and get it all organized. From the moment she says yes, the bride to be must make hundreds of decisions. Her mother will help but a bride will want to personalize her special day according to her taste.

 

Let’s look at just a few of those decisions:

 

1) A first consideration must be the parents’ budget. Weddings today can cost one hundred thousand dollars or more. Start with a realistic figure, and then pare it down to meet with today’s economic situation.

 

2) Choose a theme. Some popular wedding themes include fairy tale, Victorian, tropical, garden, Hollywood, Las Vegas. From this can come ideas for the invitations, decorations, and food to be served.

 

3) The DRESS! Wedding gowns can be a few hundred to many thousands of dollars depending on the designer. When shopping for that special gown keep in mind this may be the only time this dress is ever worn. And try to keep within the budget.

 

4) Planning the reception may be based around the theme chosen. Whether to have it catered or privately served, which wines or other liquors, what type of food and how much, will there be a band or orchestra? Where is the reception to be held? What time will it begin and end? So many questions to be worked out.

 

5) One or more photographers must be hired to capture those precious moments that will never be repeated. This person need not be a professional as long as they know which photos are vital for the wedding book. From presenting the pairs rings side by side, her walking down the aisle with dad, groom raising her veil and then kissing her, a first dance at the reception, cutting the wedding cake (and her feeding him a piece), the car as it drives away from the reception. These and many other shots are those that bring out many happy memories when viewed years later.

 

They drive off into the sunset for a romantic honeymoon

 

Although it will seem like a long way off when a long engagement is planned, it will soon be time for the big day and with careful planning, there will be many happy memories to share.

How many times have you been to a formulaic wedding where the prime interest is the three course dinner and the beauty of the bride?

Boring.

I went to a wedding with my girlfriend a few months ago.  It was a very lavish affair held at a hotel outside of the city. The wedding ceremony was held in a separate wing of the hotel and then we moved to the large reception room for dinner.

We ate salmon entrée, followed by Filet Mignon and finally wedding cake for desert.

After which point we did a toast, heard speeches, and then drunkenly squashed ourselves onto the few tiles of dance floor to dance along to the DJ’d hip hop and pop music.

After this seven hour bonanza of watching, waiting, photos, toasting, drinking, and eating, I felt ready to go home and left with little feeling of having celebrated a personal event but rather something more akin to attending a soulless Darling Harbour affair.

I know that the family must’ve spent at least 30k to ‘entertain’ us that day.

I couldn’t help feeling sympathy for all their hard earned efforts when both my girl and I agreed that it was ‘nothing special’.

So, I know this sounds crazy – but my curiosity has led me to do a little research on the matter and here is what I have come up with. Also, maybe then I won’t feel like I’ve lost another 7 hours of my life merely waiting around and getting drunk.

Here are some ideas on how to have a bit of fun with the ‘best day of your life’.

Have a Goth Wedding – it doesn’t have to be tacky to be badass.

Find an interesting location for the wedding: historic places, old cemeteries, a stone archway

Think cheap and international – New Orleans, Bulgaria, Hungary, Transylvania, the Czech Republic – all these places offer loads of alternative history and culture without the big dollars

Check out the gorgeous dress (above) worn by a Goth sweetheart in New Orleans. All class if you ask me.

Have a Farm Wedding /Wedding in the Vineyards

Go for a road trip with your honey and scout out small boutique farms and wineries that have an entrepreneurial edge.

Sure they’ll be happy to drag out the trestle tables to host your pagan feast!

Go on a Cruise

This is more expensive but very memorable.

For those living in Sydney, ever noticed that gorgeous wooden ship tooling around the harbor? The Bounty and the James Cook both rent out their ships for private weddings. For an extra fee you can even sleep overnight with the crew on hammocks and watch the stars o’erhead at the end of the event.

Host an Australian Wedding

We’re in Oz, let’s play it up.

How ’bout a horse ride to a treebark camp in the Outback?

The brilliant stars unwashed by the city lights should wow your guests and initiate many to the oft-forgotten joys of this wild homeland.

Get married Barefoot on the Beach

Ahh, yes, remember that?

And the fine white sand of Australian beaches, I must attest, is much more lovely  than that of Hawaii.

Go to Noosa with a wedding package or if you’re not into wedding receptions, find a master of ceremonies and hit a private beach on your own.

Lastly, don’t forget the joys of dancing!

Make sure to book or build a great BIG dance floor and a brilliant live band to really make your lads and lasses happy.