If you know how to apply simple secrets to get affordable wedding favors, you will enjoy it and be gentle on the wedding budget. If originality and resourcefulness are some of your stronger traits, you can easily make some striking yet elegant, affordable wedding favors yourself. People tend to attach great admiration to the effort that is put into hand made favors, as it tends to portray the value and gratitude you have for their attendance.

If you mention affordable wedding favors people tend to think that you are referring to some sort of cheap novelty just to keep the etiquette watchers at bay. This happens to be a complete mistaken belief! The difference between cheap and affordable are established by the quality, time, thought and effort one put in the choice or manufacturing of the wedding favors.

Apart from the originality hand made favors portray, you will be able to save a reasonable amount of money as well. A modern, stylish example of an affordable wedding favor is a compact disc loaded with the wedding couple’s favorite songs, presented in a cover with an interesting collection of pictures of the couple with the wedding date and their names included.

Regrettably, we all are not equal when it relates to creative skills in order to make hand made favors for your wedding. Fortunately, there are many ways to kill this uncreative cat preventing you from finding affordable wedding favors.

A highly appreciated wedding favor will always be candy. Apart from the various sorts of candy you can choose from, is it economical and all ages find pleasure in it, no matter how big or small. Chocolates are popular wedding favors and available in any shape of flavor you can think of. Though all may love chocolate favors, an economic alternative will be peppermints wrapped up in fancy bundles according to your wedding theme.

When you like to follow tradition, sugar-coated almonds are another good alternative. Unlike back when your mother got married, you can choose from a wide range of pastel colors plus gold, silver or even bronze colored almonds.

Before you decide on what affordable wedding favors to use, make a point to remember that wedding favors are a mere token of your special day and that memorable weddings consist out of much more than the favors you present and how it is presented. Don’t forget to give some thought as to how guests will receive the actual fabors.

The Wedding Editor

Guide to prenuptual agreements

A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage or civil union by the people intending to marry. The content of a prenuptial agreement can vary widely, but commonly includes provisions for division of property and spousal support in the event of divorce or breakup of marriage.

prenuptial agreements set out before marriage how the wealth and assets of both parties will be split in the event that the relationship goes down the toilet.

Many countries, including Canada (Quebec), France, Italy, and Germany, have matrimonial regimes, in addition to, or some cases, in lieu of prenuptial agreements.

As of 2007, England and Wales do not enforce prenuptial agreements, but agreements may be upheld at the judge’s discretion. These countries also do not have a provision for marital regimes.  But this is all changing.  There has been a “sea change”

The Crossley case  in the UK now highlights the fact that premarital agreements are being recognised in the English courts and, if properly constituted, are difficult to wriggle out of.  In the past prenups were perhaps entered into in the hope, rather than belief, that they would be binding. Now they offer real protection.

Courts “are looking closely at prenuptial agreements and want good reasons — such as children or significant changes in a person’s circumstances — to depart from them”.

So who should go for a prenup? They are suitable for a wide range of people, including:-

• second-time rounders, in their forties and fifties, who want to provide fully for children of the first marriage and protect their own assets (sometimes against gold-digging former husbands when they meet someone wealthy)
• professionals, young City entrepreneurs in their twenties making money through work, skill and some luck 
• business men and women used to binding agreements in their working lives
• international clients used to prenups in their home jurisdiction
• gay and lesbian clients who may have cohabited for years and now enter civil partnerships
• and those not necessarily “mega-wealthy” who favours “self-determination” and taking control of how financial issues might be resolved on divorce.

So if prenups are such a good insurance policy, why not make them legally binding? 

With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, Hollywood stars are not inclined to risk it all on what might be a very short and misguided marriage followed by a very expensive divorce.

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes signed a £22 million prenuptial agreement before they married. The decision for a ‘prenup’ was hardly a surprise as Cruise’s failure to sign a similar deal with ex-wife Nicole Kidman was cited as the main reason behind a very messy and protracted divorce.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas; Liz Taylor and Larry Fortensky, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner are just a few of the A-list couples who have demanded prenuptial contracts.

So before you get married get up to date legal advice from a specialist family lawyer.  Get it all sorted and nailed down before last minute stress sets in. 

Most foreign couples getting married in France need to have a civil ceremony in their home country first and then their religious ceremony in France as the legal requirements for a civil wedding in France are exhaustive - 6 months (not 40 days as it was before thank you Sarkosy) residency requirement with proof of address and they now check it too.  Most guests at a french destination wedding do not even know that the ceremony is not a civil ceremony.  Sorting out a  pre-nup agreement before you leave home does not detract from a fairytale wedding in France.  If you are not mega wealthy you way want to consider a french wedding package at a romantic castle that will not break the bank.

father of the bride speeches

When it comes time to let go of your little girl by giving her away at the altar, there is no doubt that it is a pivotal time for the whole family. It is also the day when father of the bride speeches will come into play as the wedding reception proceeds.

Father of the bride speeches can be a very difficult task to try and approach. Often, emotions are very strong and it is hard to even consider giving a wedding speech in front of a large group of people, especially if you are not accustomed to speaking in public.

Some simple advice about starting to write father of the bride speeches is to start keeping a notepad handy. This will help to facilitate getting your various emotions onto paper so that you can begin to sort through them. Take moments to observe your daughter whenever possible and make a note of what you see and how you feel.

The notes can be something as simple and ordinary as washing the dishes or playing with her siblings. In fact, it is often the everyday actions and the feelings surrounding them that can be the most poignant part of father of the bride speeches. Simply recounting the pride and happiness you felt in watching your daughter perform everyday routines can be very touching.

The reason it is important to jot down these notes is that when it is time to sit down and write the speech, sometimes your mind will draw a blank. Having even a few pages of notes will be helpful at this point and if it is a theme wedding, this can also help to direct your thoughts as you prepare your wedding speech as the father of the bride.

When it is time to sit down and compose father of the bride speeches, there are some fundamental things that are almost always good to include. First off, adding a little something about your daughter as she was when she was young always adds a bit of charm and depth to the speech. This also gives people a glimpse of the bride as a youngster. This could be a short story about her if it’s fitting. Just remember that your purpose is to uplift and not to embarrass her on this special day.

Another idea, if there is not a story that you want to share in the wedding speech, is to include what she excelled in at school, her favorite teacher, class, sport and why, or even things from her first time in the work force. These little insights from her youth can be a nice way to point out some of her unique characteristics and also to help her new in-laws learn more about her.

Another component of many father of the bride speeches, is to talk a little bit about how their daughter was before meeting her groom. For example, was she more shy, not as confident, not as well-grounded, or given to a lot of ups and downs? You can then contrast that with how she has been since their relationship progressed more seriously. When this has been perfected and written with kindness, it can be the part of the wedding speech that gives people the most insight about the couple.

These suggestions are the basis for putting together thoughtful father of the bride speeches. Overall, the wedding speech from the father of the bride should be between 800 and 1,000 words and should take less than ten minutes to deliver. Anything longer than that may put people to sleep! Be sure to practice your speech out loud as often as possible before the big day.

Trash the Wedding Dress and Bring Your Hubbie

Choosing the right clothes for the groom is just as important as choosing the dress and choosing your wedding castle venue.  You need to give more thought to this if you have a destination wedding venue as your vision of wedding attire at your destination might not be appropriate or climate friendly.

Without question a well tailored suit or tuxedo is the most popular choice for every type of wedding except the most casual.

Not all tuxedos are the same, and choosing one that will flatter the groom is vital. To help you choose, see our tips below for bringing a style for the men together and for choosing the right style of suit for different body types.

Tuxedo or Not?
While it remains the most popular choice for most weddings, a formal tuxedo can look out of place in some situations. Many destination weddings take place on the beach or in outdoor locations where this kind of formality may not be suitable.

For such weddings, lighter coloured fabrics, light grey or perhaps even cream or white, in cool crease-resistant fabrics look great. However the shapes that work still depend on the groom’s physique and are the same whether or not the clothes are formal.

Coordinating the Men
For formal weddings, the male members of the wedding party should dress in a similar style to the groom, but not identically.

A deservedly popular approach is for the groom to wear a neutral coloured tie, cummerbund or vest/waistcoat while the groomsmen wear the same style tuxedo or suit but use accessories (buttonholes, ties, cummerbunds) in colours that coordinate with the bridesmaids dresses.

Choosing Right Suit
This depends on your groom’s frame. The guidelines below will help you to choose the best suit for him.

Short & Stocky Grooms
Shoulder pads make the waist look smaller, as does a deep V neckline. Avoid pleated trousers and cummerbunds which just make you look round!

Dark grey is a better color choice than black.

Short & Slim Grooms
Tailoring is key, especially choose a very well crafted jacket, 2 or 3 button works best. Pleated trousers are good and if a cummerbund is chosen it should not be deep and one in a complimentary shade works best.

Black or very dark suits are best avoided, white is good for summer weddings or any paler shade of grey.

Tall & Slim Grooms
These lucky grooms can carry off fashionable 5 button jackets or double breasted suits with ease. Higher necklines emphasise a long upper body and can look wonderful.

If you are on the thin side, add shoulder pads and a cummerbund in a contrasting colour to add upper body definition.

Tall & Broad Grooms
Go for a shawl collar and a deep V, it will make your upper body look longer. Trousers with a subtle stripe are slimming and help avoid a blocky look and darker suits are often the best choice.

Avoid a cummerbund at all costs.

Remember to find appropriate shoes to compliment his suit.  Ask your destination wedding planner if it is possible to hire shoes.  They do not hire shoes for weddings in France for instance so all the men in your party have to bring and shine their own.

Other things for your groom to consider are a hair cut, a shave without any slices.

Bleach those teeth nice and white a month before your big day.  Have eye drops to make sure his eyes twinkle on the day. 

Very importantly do not let him have his bachelor party the night before your wedding.   Have a great day at your wedding castle venue.

And if you do a trash the dress photoshoot bring your hubbie along.

How to wear a wedding tiara

When you have selected your destination wedding venue, wedding dress then you need to select your wedding jewellery.  They key to your choice of wedding jewellery is really “the dress”!.

It is important not to go overboard. If every piece of jewellery you wear is stunning, then they will all fight for attention and in the process divert attention away from you - the bride!

Most people build up a “look” or theme around one particular piece of their wedding day outfit. It might take a while to settle on a theme, and it may change several times before the big day, but at some point you will probably see a gorgeous pair of shoes, or an adorable bouquet of flowers that inspires the rest of your outfit, or even the whole wedding. Whatever your inspiration, it’s a good idea to try and get each piece of the outfit to sit harmoniously with everything else.

First of all, you need to fix the budget for the shopping as mentioned before. This would help you to narrow down your search for the right kind of wedding jewelry. Wedding jewelry can get really expensive; therefore it is a better bet to fix upon a certain amount. It would help you to make a better and a faster mode of selection as well.

You do not always have to spend an exorbitant amount on wedding jewelry. Browse through your mother’s jewelry box and wear a family heirloom.

Balance is the key -

Buy for the Future
Pearls, gold, diamonds and other precious stones are expensive but timeless and if carefully chosen can be thought of not an expense but an investment !

Stick to Your Own Style
If your normal style is funky and modern, you are not going to feel particularly comfortable on your wedding day with conservative jewels.

Wedding jewellery is generally fashioned out of crystals, pearls, diamante or a combination of the three, and is available in a vast array of styles and designs. As most brides wear dresses that involve either small or no straps, they choose to wear a bridal necklace, adding a little sparkle to their otherwise bare neck.

That said, I am not convinced that tongue and nose studs are a particularly good look for a bride!

If you are going for a theme at your wedding like baroque for a castle wedding keep your jewellery style sympathetic to this style - Whether it be design or colour.

Introduce Colour
While traditionally bridal jewellery is pearl or diamond, silver or gold, there is nothing at all to stop you from introducing more drama by choosing jewellery with some colour.  Pearls look great at a castle wedding.

It is particularly effective to subtly pick up the colours of your bridesmaids dresses with an accent colour in your jewellery. Here are some suggestions:

A gentle taupe introduces soft colour. Shades like this work great with cream coloured wedding dresses or dresses with an antique style.

You need to consider your wedding dress and the hair style that you want to go with it before you can think about your wedding jewellery.  Think about your venue too.  An up do and heavy jewels would look silly on a beach.

Another consideration is to buy well made jewellery as you will want it to be passed down to your daughter and hopefully your grand-daughter as a family heirloom. 

Baroque Castle | Baroque Chateau

A style that is becoming very popular and extending beyond the dress to an overall theme, Baroque-fashioned weddings are one of the latest trends to inspire brides this season and there is no setting more perfect than a fairytale french wedding venue.

In the 17th century Baroque fashion dominated the French court of Louis XIV. Today baroque style is making a comeback in wedding dress style. The new Baroque fashions boast luxurious and extravagant materials that are elaborately detailed and embellished with crystals, metallics, and fine ribbons and fabrics.

The Baroque-inspired fashion of today’s wedding dresses, have intricate bodices and pristine yet full gowns, some of which come complete with overskirts in the fashion of Marie Antoinette.  Wedding Corset styles are very popular.The best thing about corsets is that you do not need to worry about achieving a specific size for your wedding day. 

On the other hand if your method of dealing with wedding strss is to take solace in a tin of biscuits and you put on a few pounds, there is plenty of extra space in a wedding dress designed with a corset top.

Also wedding corsets open up a whole load of wedding photography possibilities.  You must instruct your wedding photographer to take a photo of you getting laced up.  Sepia tones particularly lend themselves to this style of photo and if you have the french wedding venue with chaise longue, mirrored armoires, cherubs and chandeliers, these add that special touch and continu that romantic baroque theme. 

Think royalty, think luxurious, think rich; whether in ornamentation, decor, fabrics, wedding accessories, favors or invitation and stationary design. Add some detail and sparkle to your ceremony decor with crystals and metallic ribbons, for church pews or chair decor accessories. As an idea for a baroque-inspired centrepiece, think candelabras dripping with crystals in silver, or platinum, and continue your theme with a silver and chrome-plated cake serving set.

For a venue, nothing says baroque more than a renaissance  castle wedding venue in France rich with velvet drapes, a ballroom-styled reception room complete with grand chandeliers suspended from the ceiling with light reflected in infinity mirrors and antique chaise longue lining the dance floor.

  Brocade is a popular fabric for the baroque bride and brocade velvet is a good choice for a winter bride. 

For food think rich and sumptuous. 

A bride’s wedding day is supposed to make her feel like a queen for a day.

french wedding chateau

A destination wedding can be a fulfillment of a fantasy like a castle wedding in a wedding chateau.   One of the most exciting things to happen in a person’s life is the wedding.

Planning for a destination wedding will take a lot of work and could be very demanding but the rewards can be worth it. Destination weddings have an unquestionable wow factor.  Your guests get to have a holiday and attend your castle wedding.

Wedding Chateau Venues

The first destination wedding factor to consider is who can attend the wedding location.

Out of town weddings are preferred by couples as a way to lessen the number of guests at the events. Sometimes, when the budget is concerned the destination wedding etiquette is to set aside money for accommodations and transportation for the immediate members of the family and entourage.  You might need to heavily subsidize or simply pay for some travel costs of a close poor relative. 

Destination weddings are usually attended by only a few children usually being immediate relatives.

Guests can turn the out of town wedding into a mini-vacation just by spending their time together at the venue. Do some research.  It is handy if the wedding couple have a wedding website so you can familiarise yourself with the location and possible sight-seeing and cultural activities on offer. 

Just like a wedding at home, family play a big part and help out as much as possible.

Wedding Castle Receptions

When selecting a destination wedding venue accessibility, price and what is included in a package will all factor in your decision. 

· Accessibility – the venue and chapel or wedding location should be near the reception area. This is a destination wedding etiquette in consideration for the family and guests who need to freshen up before the reception.

· Package – some venues offer attractive wedding packages with discounts because of the group booking. Others may include the transportation.

· Price – destination weddings can still be costly, especially if there is a theme involved. But they are typically much cheaper than a wedding in England or America.

You want to have everything sorted before the big day.  As a guideline for your destination wedding:

· Check if your wedding location requires other legal documents to process the wedding. This should be handled by an experienced wedding planner especially if there is a different language involved and you are not fluent yourself.  The last thing you want is not to be able to have your ceremony for some legal technicality.

· Is there a minimum residency requirement?  With a castle wedding most destination wedding couples get married at home in a civil wedding and have a religious or humanist wedding ceremony in a spectacular wedding venue like a luxury chateau or castle.

· Book everything in advance. Making the proper reservations for the hotel, flowers, gowns, music.

We strongly advise you to carry your wedding dress on to the plane when travelling to your destination wedding so there is no risk of it going astray.. A reputable bridal salon can pack your wedding dress for transit.

Ask for it to be wrapped in plastic so that it’s waterproof. bring in a clean towel and ask the bridal salon to  roll the dress around the towel. Insist tahat it not be hard-pressed and folded. This way there are minimum creases in the gown and it is ready to wear when it arrives at it’s destination. Never put a bridal gown in the cargo hold of a plane because you may lose it.
 
Do not iron your wedding dress yourself or you could get stains on it.At your destination wedding venue, get them to professionally press or steam yor wedding dress. 
 

horse and carriage wedding

Saying “I do” in a french wedding chateau is as fashionable as carrying the latest Louis Vuitton handbag for Hollywood celebrities today.Katie Price AKA Jordan apparently made it fashionable.

French Wedding Horse and Carriage
 
Anyone, especially non-celebrities can rent a french wedding chateau venue and get married in France and have a fairytale castle wedding of their dreams.  For the true fairy tale princess wedding, a horse drawn carriage is an essential. Cinderella, you shall get to the wedding.  

Some advice on selecting a horse and carriage for your castle wedding.

- a pair of horses makes more of a wow statement.  Also this offers you a back up if one of the horses at the last minute is lame and not able to pull the carriage.  This is of course provided the horses are of such a size to be able to pull the carriage singly.  Ask the carriage providers if both horses work in pairs and drive singly as well.Enquire whether they have both single and pairs harnesses.

- how big is the carriage.  Is it big enough for you and your wedding dress.  Carriages for smaller horses are smaller inside as well.  A carriage pulled by a pair of horses over 16 hand high is roomy and makes a great impression.  You will not feel squeezed and your wedding dress will not get all crushed. 

- think about the weather.  Does the carriage you are considering have a canopy or a glass cover.  You should ask for a Victorian carriage or a Landau for this very reason

- Ask how the carriage is going to be decorated - at the very least you should get a pair of brass lanterns and flowers. Do the horses wear plumes? Ask what colour schemes they can offer or if you can provide flowers of your colour scheme.  Because of the movement and wind, companies usually use silk flowers.  If you want additional colour real flowers can be added for your static photos. 

- Do the pair of horses match - colour, height, blaze and socks and stepping action.A pair of matching black or bay or brown horses will look much more impressive than an unmatched pairs.  Ask to see a video if at all possible.  Long white socks and blazes look stunning and are very popular.    Ask if the horses mains will be braided or flowing.  It is just my opinion but I think that Friesians albeit looking very majestic also look very funereal and over-bearing being all black with no socks or blaze to lift their appearance.  I think they are best selected for funeral processions and not weddings.

- If you are going to have a video think about the stepping action of the horses.  Horses bred with some hackney blood have a lovely knee-high stepping action which looks incredible.  Dutch bred gelderlander horses usually have some hackney blood in them for that high stepping action.  It seems a shame to go to the expense of a horse and carriage and then not have a horse that looks the part - fine and elegant.  Cobs and cart horses are more suited for pulling gypsy caravans and look more rustic.  The Dutch really know their carriage horses.  It is a national past-time.  They run the KWPN register of the most prestigous warmblood horses in the world.

- Ask what attire the driver and groom (not your man - the one holding the horses) will wear.

- Think about the distance that you need to travel.Horse drawn carriages do not travel great distances. It is time consuming and hard on the horses.You certainly do not want to spend dall of your wedding day travelling from your home to the church and then to the reception venue. 

- Think about safety.  Unfortunately in some countries wedding carriage drivers are not regulated and you get some cowboys.  Check that the harness looks symmetrical.  I have seen wedding carriage business promotion material with a horse harnessed to a carriage with the shafts being set at different heights.  I have seen carriages for shetlands hitched to a cob.  Not only does it look ridiculous but it is down right dangerous. Check that they have insurance.  Ask if the carriage has hydraulic breaks.  

Interest in the Odescalchi Castle has soared since Tom and Katie held their wedding there. Skibo Castle has a waiting list with hopeful brides paying a $40,000 initiation fee prior to a wedding booking.  Eva Longoria and Tony Park’s wedding on the auspicious 7th July 2007 at Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte has only fueled the trend. When a celebrity wedding in an exotic location makes headlines people see it and want to copy it.

However, a destination wedding at a luxury wedding castle attended by 30-40 people might run to $10,000-20,000 a day, not including airfare. 

At our french castle our horses and carriage are offered to  our wedding clients with compliments for their fairytale wedding. 

Your unique wedding ring is one of the most important parts of the ceremony. Designing a wedding on your own can be a recipe for disaster if you don’t know where to begin! Don’t worry though, wedding rings are generally fairly easy to design.

Before beginning, make sure you decide on a budget. This is vitally important as it’s very difficult to start design your wedding ring when you don’t have an idea of how much you can spend. If you want a jeweller to create a unique ring for you it will probably cost more because of the extra labour cost, so make sure you take that into account.

Your wedding ring must match or complement the engagement ring. Often, choosing the same colour metal as the engagement ring is the best option. If you go for a simple band then this makes it easy to design a ring, but if you want a more complicated design with diamonds or other gems then you must make sure they don’t clash with the engagement ring as they’ll be worn on the same finger.

The next step is to decide which gems you’d like. This is often where the cost will be increased greatly! If you’re going for diamond then you’ll have to decide what carat you want. Most women would like a single carat diamond, but it can save money getting a half carat.

Finally, always make sure that your partner likes the design before sending it the made. This will avoid disappointment on the day, and even if your partner doesn’t like it often a few simple changes made with their advice can make all the difference. While it can be nice to give them a surprise ring, it isn’t always the most sensible idea!

Flowers are the best way to mirror your love and pleasure. In their own unique way, flowers not just suggest the note of love nut also express the reminder of success. various people say that flowers speak the language of love. According to countless, flowers speak the beautiful dialect of love. No matter the possibility or the episode, flowers can be offered to any one anytime. The appeal of flowers if not just controlled to a few people but by every person on earth. Almost all person on the earth sends flowers to their near and cherished ones for several special occasion and incident. Flowers are a flawless gift for incident like the Father’s day, Mother’s day, Nuptials ceremony, Birth anniversary, Marriage anniversary, Thanksgiving Day, Valentine’s day, Rose day and countless  such possibility. Your friends and relatives sense very pleased when you give them flowers.

You are able to present flowers into several variety and preparation. The sort and arrangements of flowers must harmonize the requirements of the reason or episode. You can send an mixture of things with the aid of the flowers, even by not chatting anything. You do not have to suppose much before offering flowers to your appreciated and dear ones. Apart from the loveliness of the flowers, their perfume is also very appealing. Thus the prettiness and the fragrance of these beautiful flowers often excite various people simply by their sight.

The most opportune way of sending flowers is to give it through the online shops. The most planned flower shop on the World Wide Web is theBuy Flowers Online. Thus, through the buy flowers online flower shop, you can achieve at your dwellings the time to peace and also at the same time choose the several sorts and breed of flowers that you wish to give to your treasured ones. There are diverse flowers that are only got in a specific season. These flowers growing in the specific seasons only are famous as the seasonal flowers. presenting the seasonal flowers to your treasured ones can be a very good idea to make any nuptial ceremony or occasion unique. It would be right if you gift the soft shaded flowers during the summer season and the bright shaded flowers during the winters. If you want to bestow flowers to a person for any miscellaneous incident, then you must gift the flowers of the recipient’s likeness and fondness. generally alluring colored flowers are more liked by people. You can present alluring shaded flowers for opportunity like Graduation, New born child, anniversary etc. However amidst the numerous varieties of flowers, the alluring sunflowers and roses of variant shades are most best preferred by people. The Rose flowers are the mostly offered flower across the universe. The red roses are generally given on the wedding anniversaries and Valentine’s Day.

So, now offer fresh wishes to your cherished ones reasonably and in a matter of a few minutes through the facilitate of the Buy Flowers Online shop.