Some of the advantages to having a winter wedding include the cost. Winter is considered the “off-season” for weddings, making the cost of certain items go down. Some of the items on that list usually include the wedding location and reception hall, both of which you will be more likely to book for your desired date. Since there are fewer weddings, your date is less likely to already be booked. Another advantage to having a winter wedding is the fact that more of your family and friends may be able to attend.

One of the first decisions to make when you are planning your winter wedding is the theme. Do you want to have a general winter theme or something more specific and special? One of the most common themes is the winter wonderland theme. The winter wonderland theme is exactly what it sounds like, whimsical and majestic. Think yards of fabric (organza or tulle) draped on the ceiling and cake table. Twinkle lights lighting the room and gorgeous center pieces. Most often the colors used for this theme are white and silver, or white and pale blue. If you are really adventurous you can use all of the colors together.

Once you have decided on your theme, you need to decide on your floral arrangements. Some of the flowers that work well with winter themes are white tulips, hydrangeas, and orchids. White flowers combined with bright green foliage look beautiful.

Wedding party attire is also a big decision. With a winter theme brides may want to wear satin gloves, a faux fur wrap, or even a tiara. Think princess, and you get the idea. You can make your bridal attire as lavish and fairytale like as you wish. Once you have decided on the bridal attire, next you need to think of the other members of the wedding party. Silvers and light blues look beautiful on both bridesmaids as well as vests on the men.

Wedding favors can be especially fun with a winter themed wedding. There are so many options available. You may want to go with something as simple as a beautiful ornament, or something a little more involved like a wintery snowflake inspired candle holder. Anything that will make you think of winter is a great choice.

Whatever winter theme you may decide to go with, winter weddings are beautiful. Not only are they fun and romantic, but they also give you a great excuse to find a sunny tropical destination for the honeymoon. Using a little creativity can give you a wedding you will remember for a lifetime.

Shop Elegant and Affordable Winter Wedding Accessories

Do: Invite the women in your life to whom you feel most close. Usually only local friends are invited to a bridal shower, unless they are in the wedding party or close female relatives. Although guests will travel from far and wide to attend the wedding itself, it is not generally the same for bridal showers.

Don’t: Invite anyone to the bridal shower who will not be invited to the wedding. This is one of the worst possible types of shower faux pas. It is incredibly rude to send the message that a person is welcome to come and bring a gift for the bride, but that she is not considered to be important enough to also witness the wedding and join in the celebration at the reception. It is either an invitation to both, or to neither.

Do: Give the bride a thoughtful gift that you think she will cherish, whether or not it is from her bridal registry. Think of the registry as a great place to start, but definitely not the only possibility. Since the people at a bridal shower should be the closest friends and family of the bride, the chances are that they know her tastes, and would be able to pick out a unique gift that she will appreciate.

Don’t: Give the bride a gift that is a “gag” gift, too personal, or in questionable taste. A beautifully embroidered white silk nightgown which she can wear on her wedding night could be nice (if you know her size and taste in such things), but a really racy set of red lingerie is really just too intimate. If the bride would be embarrassed to open the box in front of her grandmother, it is too risque. Gifts such as wedding jewelry can be among the most special a bride receives at her shower, but only if the person giving it knows for certain that it is the particular wedding jewelry the bride has been wishing for to complement her bridal gown. Don’t guess; if the jewelry does not go with her gown, the bride is put in the awkward position of having to wear something that is not right or not wearing it and hurting your feelings.

Do: Designate a guest at the bridal shower (ideally one with very nice handwriting) to make a record of the gifts as they are opened. She should note the type of gift, from whom it was received, and any other special information. The bride can then use this list to write her thank you notes after the bridal shower.

Don’t: Pass around envelopes for guests to address to themselves for thank you notes. This is an alarming trend in some circles, and it is an insult to the guests. Presumably the bride and hostess know where the guests live, since they managed to send them shower invitations. What’s next, asking the guests to write the thank you notes themselves?

Some of the other things that happen at a bridal shower are more a matter of local custom than etiquette. In some families, games are played, in others they are not. Bridal showers may be formal or informal, all female or co-ed, depending on what works for the particular bride and host. None of those choices will change the good natured fun of a thoughtfully planned bridal shower.

About the Author Bridget Mora

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaid gifts and wedding jewelry at http://silverlandjewelry.com/. All jewelry orders over $99 receive complimentary shipping, so visit us today!

Bridal Shower Favor Ideas

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One thing that is oven overlooked is that one of the primary goals of etiquette is to make life as pleasant and sociable for everyone. The whole reason behind having a set of manners is to give our society a set of agreed upon guidelines to help us act in a way that will make our daily interactions with others easy and enjoyable. To put it another way, if we did not have etiquette, everyone would have to make up their own rules as they went along, which would mean that their intentions would be unclear to everyone else. It is like visiting a foreign country with different customs; you are likely to offend people inadvertently if you are not familiar with their set of manners.

What etiquette is not is a tool to put other people down. The idea is not to be able to “catch” someone in the act of using the wrong fork, but rather to help the diners know which fork to use for which course. Once learned, basic social manners quickly become second nature, which makes life much easier. So how does this apply to wedding etiquette? For starters, it means that wedding etiquette should never be used to put someone down or humiliate them. An example of this would be the mother in law who critiques the bride’s bridal attire by saying that everyone knows that only pearls are proper for weddings. Not only would she be mistaken (crystal bridal jewelry is always appropriate too), but by trying to correct another person’s etiquette, she is showing her own lack of manners.

There certainly may be instances during the course of planning a wedding where the bride or her mother realizes that someone else is committing a breach of etiquette. The trick, then, is to graciously get them to change their plans without being rude and telling them flat out that they have no understanding of what is polite or correct. A lot of this depends on your relationship with that person. Let’s say that the bride has mentioned to her mother that she plans to include her bridal registry information on the wedding invitation. Now her mother knows that this is a horrible faux pas that will be sure to offend some of the guests. And yet, if she were to blurt out, “How rude! Don’t you know anything about proper wedding etiquette?”, that she would be breaking the rule of etiquette which says that etiquette should not be used as a club to beat a person down.

But to take no action would be to allow her daughter to do something offensive and in poor taste. The polite way to inform another of their breach of etiquette is with extreme tact and gentleness: “Darling, I am sure that it is very common these days to print the registry information on wedding invitations, but some of your older relatives will find it in poor taste. Why don’t you just put the registry details on your wedding website and I will make sure to spread the word to anyone who asks?”

Etiquette does provide kind ways to help others out of their social miscues with grace and tact. It also says that there are times (like when someone drinks the water from the finger bowl) that the best thing to do is simply to overlook an etiquette accident. Taking care to treat your family and friends with kindness is far more important than always being “correct”, which is a great lesson for everyone involved in planning a wedding.

About the Author Laura Firenze

Laura is interested in wedding planning and wedding trends including jewelry,receptions and gifts. Bridal jewelry which is handcrafted with luminous freshwater pearls or sparkling Swarovski crystals is always in good taste.

For more on wedding etiquette visit:

Plan Weddings Now for wedding guest etiquette tips.
New and Blue for rehearsal dinner attire ideas.
Utah Weddings for receiving line etiquette tips.

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Personalized Photo Album. This is one of the best gifts you can buy them. Most couples spend thousands of dollars getting the best professional photographs they’ll ever have taken in their lives at their weddings. What better way to enjoy them than in a special photo album. But that’s not the only use for a photo album they’ll have. Remember they are often taking a special honeymoon to an exotic destination, a place where they will take many photographs. This photo album could be the one they use for wedding photos or for the honeymoon. Or get them two photo albums – one for each!

Gift Certificate/Card to a Restaurant. This a perfect gift to get a newlywed couple. Many newlywed couples find that their relationship changes, that they just don’t go out on “dates” the way they used to. Your gift certificate to a restaurant is an easy way to enjoy an evening out without the added expense to the family budget. Pick a restaurant that is near their home so they don’t have to think or plan extra hard about going out. You may be surprised, but this is often one of the bride and groom’s most favorite gifts.

Cookbooks. A cookbook is an ideal gift to get a newlywed. So is a subscription to a cooking magazine. Even if the bride or groom have been living on their own for some time, getting married often means adjusting your cooking styles. A cookbook offers some ideas and suggestions to make new meals together and find great family favorite meals. You could be creating family traditional meals by giving this cookbook!

Genealogical Research. This is a fun gift to give a newly wed couple. You can find professional genealogists and online services. Many brides and grooms are curious to learn more not only about the family they’ve married into, but about their own birth families after they have married. Learning genealogy is a wonderful gift. Especially if they have children or are planning a family. This is something they will treasure as they learn about new and old family relatives.

Gas Card. While this doesn’t sound like a very exciting gift, most bride and grooms would be thrilled to see a gas card as a gift. Gas is a regular expense – and weddings are expensive. Your gas card would offer great convenience and could make the difference between taking a quick family getaway for the weekend – or not being able to do it. Most major gas stations offer gas cards.

About the Author

By Jill Renee, President of DanforthDiamond.com, a leading authority on diamond engagement rings and fine jewelry and writes about wedding planning. Danforth Diamond provides wisdom and advice to help you choose the right ring at the right price. Visit DanforthDiamond.com or call 877.404.RING

Visit A Practical Wedding for interesting discussions on having a practical wedding and married life.

Practical Wedding Gifts Ideas

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Your nieces and nephews can have a place in your wedding ceremony no matter what their age. The most common role for young children is ring bearer or flower girl. Do not feel as though you have to choose between your nieces and nephews if you have a large family. While too many bridesmaids can end up being a bit silly looking, a large group of children in your bridal party will inspire many smiles and “awwwws”. Some brides who have a very large group of young relations to include in their wedding will decide to have only a maid of honor and best man for the groom, forgoing the rest of the bridesmaids in favor of having a wedding party comprised of all of their nieces and nephews.

The most common role for young children is ring bearer or flower girl. This tends to work the best for children who are between the ages of three and eight years old. The flower girl (or girls) can either carry a small bouquet of flowers or a basket of petals to toss (if permitted by your venue). They are usually dressed in sweet little dresses with patent leather shoes and possibly wear a floral wreath in their hair. The bride should plan on giving flower girl gifts to the little ones. Traditional flower girl gifts include silver lockets or very dainty pearl pendants.

The ring bearer theoretically carries the wedding bands down the aisle to the altar (I say theoretically because the rings on the pillow are often fakes). If you had two little boys and wanted each to be a ring bearer, they could each carry a small pillow, one with the bride’s wedding band, and one with the groom’s ring (or the facsimiles). When you have a larger number of nephews, they can be pages. This works best when the wedding is a large and formal affair. Pages traditionally help to carry the bride’s train. It is very sweet when the bridal gown features a grand cathedral length train, but would be rather impractical for a little sweep train. In that case, simply have the young men dress all alike and walk down the aisle in a group. Even without a specific task, your nephews can still be a part of the fun.

Older nieces and nephews can be invited to participate in the wedding as junior bridesmaids or groomsmen. This is a bridge position for a child who is too old to be a flower girl or ring bearer, but too young to be a full fledged bridesmaid or groomsmen. The typical age range for junior attendants is around nine to fourteen. Once they are about fifteen or sixteen years old, they are ready to be regular bridesmaids or groomsmen. The junior bridesmaids will wear dresses which are similar in style to the bridesmaids’ dresses, only a more demure and age appropriate. Since mens’ formal wear varies so little, the junior groomsmen can wear the same type of suits as the groomsmen, or they can wear a jacket and trousers instead of a full suit.

Even tiny children can play a role in your wedding as long as you don’t expect things to go perfectly. There is nothing more adorable than a very young niece or nephew riding down the aisle in a fancy wagon or sleigh pulled by an older sibling. I have even seen babies pushed down the aisle in flower bedecked strollers! It is wonderful fun to include as many of your nieces and nephews in your wedding as you like.

About the Author Bridget Mora

Look to Bridget for advice on planning your wedding. Check out how we can help with your bridesmaids jewelry and flower girl gifts at SilverlandJewelry.com.

Gift Ideas for Nieces and Nephews in Your Wedding

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1. Ruffled shares 15 gorgeous wedding dresses for under $500!
2. Etiquette Expert Talley Sue Hohlfeld answers the question “Must engagement-party guests be invited to the wedding?”.
3. Expert make up artist D.D. Nickel shares makeup tips for your wedding day.
4. Learn how to properly cut a wedding cake at the Austin Wedding Blog.
5. Photgrapher Michelle Hayes shares a charming, fun Rollerskating Wedding.
6. Wedding Music Unveiled shares information and a free checklist that busy couples should use before letting their Musician choose their wedding music.
7. Ajalon Printing and Design share lovely Invitations for Nature Lovers.
8. The Wedding Diva’s share gorgeous vintage-inspired birdcage veils.
9. If you’re having a vintage themed wedding and looking for a cool way to include some retro correspondence into your wedding plans, Globetrotting Bride shares a clever idea.
10. Something for the guys- The Man-gagement Ring. What an awesome way to show he’s taken!

Have a stress-free wedding planning week!

Here are four unique wedding picture frames that will be sure to make every wedding picture look fabulous.

Wedding Collage Frames:
Collage frames are an excellent way to display multiple wedding pictures in a single frame. These could be formal wedding portraits, candid pictures or your favorite silly picture from a disposable camera.

With wedding collage frames, you can also customize your wedding collage by using a mat. You can have guests write special messages, or write your vows, special poems or meaningful notes on your picture frame mat. You can either buy a collage frame with a mat for a personalized or casual look or select a more formal looking collage frame with framed openings.

Wedding Scrapbook Frames:
If you love creating scrapbook pages, you’ll love displaying your favorite wedding scrapbook pages in a beautiful scrapbook frame. Scrapbook wedding frames allow you to create a wedding keepsake that can protect and display your beautiful wedding memories. You can add a host of wedding keepsakes to these frames, including wedding cake napkins, vows, invitations, and much more.

There are endless options in which to create and design a scrapbook wedding photo frame and you will be able to unleash your creativity and artistic ability while sharing these memories with the people you love.

Engraved Picture Frames:
An engraved wedding frame is perhaps the most simple and best choice for a wedding gift. The three most common wedding frames for engraving are silver plated frames, pewter frames and sterling silver picture frames.

Keep in mind that when considering engraving wedding frames, the frame should be of high quality so it can be enjoyed for years to come. If you use an inexpensive metal frame or one that’s not designed for engraving it will usually result in a poor quality engraving and not give you the look you want. Only engrave a wedding frame if it’s a high quality precious metal like pewter, silver plate or sterling silver that will be kept as a wedding keepsake or family heirloom.

Wedding Shadow Boxes:
Every wedding has a lot of special keepsakes and mementos that are kept to help remember the day. From the invitations to the napkins, the figures on top of the wedding cake, and the bride’s veil, there are more than pictures that can be combined to make a wonderful and heartfelt wall display in a wedding shadow box frame.

Wedding shadowboxes are great for brides who want to capture their special day and keep their wedding mementos safe for years to come. Too often, wedding items become damaged in boxes and are never seen or appreciated. Wedding shadow box frames solve both of these problems beautifully.

By framing wedding pictures and mementos, every bride can cherish her special day and keep her memories beautifully displayed and protected for decades to come.

Autumn Lockwood is a writer for YourPictureFrames.com and is passionate about picture frames, hiking and photography. Your Picture Frames offers a large selection of unique, quality picture frames with free design assistance to help you find the perfect picture frame quickly and easily. If you’re looking for quality wedding frames as a gift or for your own wedding pictures call us toll free at 1-800-780-0699 or visit us at => YourPictureFrames.com

Visit Lazy Bride for a cute flower frame idea you can use at your wedding reception.

Wedding Picture Frame and Wedding Picture Guest Book Ideas

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1. Create inspired arrangements of cacti and succulents instead of using cut flowers.
Does the world really need another bridal bouquet of roses and peonies? We think not! Especially since eighty percent of cut flowers are imported all the way from South America, where they’re grown with harmful pesticides. Cacti and succulent arrangements are a unique, stylish, and eco-friendly alternative. If you’re DIY-inclined, you can create your own succulent centerpieces weeks before the wedding – they require minimal care and watering. And afterwards, you can replant them in your garden, where they’ll take root and grow alongside the marriage. Awwwww!

2. Serve delicious local, organic, sustainable foods.
Organic/sustainable food isn’t just good for the Earth – it actually tastes better too! Treat your guests to real foods that are healthy, pesticide-free and locally grown. Search online for a caterer who offers organic menu options. If you don’t find one in your area, get creative: We know one Massachusetts bride who convinced four different vendors from her local farmer’s market to cater her wedding with fresh salads and veggie dishes, locally raised roasted chicken, farm-fresh fruits and home-baked pies! Even if you don’t go totally organic, limit the number of meat items on your menu, and choose sustainably farmed, low-mercury fish and seafood.

3. Have a super-sweet hometown wedding.
The number one cause of gargantuan carbon footprints for weddings? Travel! Whether your guests arrive by car or by plane, the miles they rack up en route to your big day can add up quickly. A typical destination wedding causes 50 tons of carbon dioxide (eek!) to be emitted into the atmosphere. Choosing an event location near where most of your guests live will help cut down on their travel. And you can reduce your impact even further by buying carbon offsets to create a zero carbon wedding. Who says you need an exotic locale to make your dream day special? Create a stylish hometown wedding that incorporates unique elements from you or your fiancee’s childhood.

4. Choose a vintage engagement ring and post-consumer gold wedding bands.
There is already enough gold in the world to satisfy the demands of the jewelry industry for the next 50 years. Meanwhile, both gold and diamond mining (even of “conflict-free” diamonds) continue to poison the environment and global water supply with waste and toxins like cyanide and mercury. You can be part of the “elegant solution” by choosing a vintage engagement ring. Vintage and used engagement rings are often priced more reasonably than the new rings sold in retail stores, and come in a dazzling array of styles. And when it comes time to choose wedding bands, look for rings made from post-consumer white, yellow and rose gold.

5. Buy a gently used wedding dress, recycled bridesmaids dresses, or preowned bridal shoes.
The secondary market for wedding items is booming! Smart brides who don’t want to sacrifice style and luxury are finding gently used wedding dresses online for half their retail price. And wedding recycling doesn’t just save you money – it also reduces your wedding’s environmental impact. By buying gently used wedding items, you’ll avoid the consumption of natural resources and carbon emissions associated with the manufacture and transport of new items. And you can even sell your used wedding dress, bridesmaids dresses and accessories again after the wedding!

About the Author Tracy Dinunzio

To buy or sell a gently used wedding dress, gently used bridesmaids dresses, vintage engagement ring or used wedding ring for free – absolutely no commissions or fees – visit http://www.RecycledBride.com

Visit Green Weddings for ideas on fabulous eco-friendly dinnerware.

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No conversation about wedding flowers would be complete without mention of roses. They are the most popular flower for weddings, and make wonderful additions to all of your floral arrangements for the ceremony and the reception. Roses can range in color from a cool and elegant lilac to a brighter passionate purple. The roses in the purple and lilac family also tend to be among the most fragrant. The various shades intermix very nicely for bouquets and centerpieces with a nice depth of purple color.

Tulips are another very popular wedding flower that can be found in purple. Whether your preference is the classic Dutch tulip or the baroque parrot tulip, purple tulips are fantastic for a wedding from the winter months into the summer. For the most drama, choose tulips in a dark inky purple that borders on black. They would be a sophisticated accent for an evening wedding, and pair nicely with other striking accessories, such as wedding jewelry that is handmade from dark purple crystals.

If your style is old fashioned or vintage, you will have some lovely purple wedding flowers from which to choose. One of the prettiest is the charming look of a big bouquet of ruffly sweetpeas. You couldn’t find a more delightful bouquet for a spring wedding. Another wonderful flower with a vintage flair is stocks, which comes in several shades of purple. Multiple blossoms grow along one tall stem, making stocks an excellent addition to centerpieces or ceremony arrangements, much in the same way that florists use gladioli for height.

Some brides love sophisticated and glamorous wedding details, from their handmade wedding jewelry to their letterpress wedding invitations to their unique and stylish bouquets. If this sounds like you, then you will adore the look of exotic orchids. Phalaenopsis orchids come in a rich medium purple, and unique Vanda orchids are a dark purple with white accents. Either looks fantastic in a dramatic flowing bouquet, and used in the centerpieces as well. Another great option is purple mini calla lilies. They work beautifully for bouquets with a single type of flower, and the small size of mini callas also makes them a natural addition to mixed flower wedding centerpieces and bouquets.

Speaking of small, one of the most darling purple wedding flowers is muscari, which is also called grape hyacinth, due to the fact that it resembles a small bunch of purple grapes. Muscari can be used to add texture and variety to wedding arrangements that feature a range of purple flowers. It is also a lovely choice for creating flower girl wreaths and bouquets for a spring wedding.

There are still more gorgeous purple flowers! Bright anemones add cheer and color to winter weddings, while foxgloves and pansies are charming for spring weddings. Whatever the style of your wedding, and whatever the season, purple flowers can add immense style and beauty.

About the Author Laura Firenze

Laura is interested in wedding planning and wedding trends including jewelry,receptions and gifts. Handmade wedding jewelry has always been one of the most important parts of the bridal ensemble.

Purple Wedding Flowers Photo by WeddingsbyColor.com

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First the short answer: No. It is not necessary to include “and guest” on every wedding invitation. Your wedding is really about sharing a special moment in your life with those that are nearest and dearest to you. Strangers whom you have never met are really not a part of that equation. Many brides and grooms would prefer not to invite their guests to bring along their own guests, but are afraid that it would be somehow rude to draw a line about who may come to their own wedding. Fear not; etiquette is on your side on this one. It is absolutely acceptable not to put “and guest” on the wedding invitations of single friends and relatives.

The key to pulling this off with a minimum of hurt feelings is to know where the line is and to stick with it in an evenhanded manner. In other words, it would not be fair to allow some single guests to bring dates but not others. It is along the lines of a wedding’s policy on children: you either have them, or you don’t. Period. This way even if your guests do not like your decision, they will at least see that it is fair and consistent.

Bear in mind that not all unmarried people are single (it should go without saying that a married couple would always be invited as a pair). The guests whom you invite to your wedding are at least in theory special people in your life; before mailing out invitations, take the time to do a little research into their romantic status. An unmarried couple who live together should definitely be invited as a pair, just like a husband and wife. It is definitely a nice gesture to also invite partners in long term relationships, even they do not live together. The names of those partners should appear on the wedding invitation. In other words, they are wanted and invited, not random “plus ones”.

All of this sounds great in practice, until you start getting calls from your single friends asking if they can bring someone along to your wedding. Then what? Hold firm in your decision and apply it evenly. One easy out is to simply say that you cannot afford any extra guests or that you are at the max capacity for your venue. Those are pretty hard statements for anyone to question.

You might also point out to your unattached guests that a wedding can be a great place to meet someone new. Love is in the air, and everyone is dressed their best. The single ladies will be decked out in their prettiest dresses and most glamorous accessories, like Swarovski crystal bracelets. The single men will be looking sharp in their handsome suits. A few spins around the dance floor, Swarovski crystal bracelets sparkling in the light, some shared laughs, who knows…the next great love could be the one that blossomed at your wedding. Now isn’t that better than trying to scrounge up a last-minute wedding date who doesn’t know anyone and would probably prefer to stay home? With that argument in hand, you may just convince your single friends that you are doing them a favor by skipping the “and guest”!

About the Author Laura Firenze

Finding the whole process of weddings and all the planning that goes into one fascinating, Laura writes about many of the considerations that brides have to deal with. Make any outfit more fabulous with stacks of sparkling Swarovski crystal bracelets.

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