Bridal Bouquets – How to Make Your Own

If you are on a tight budget for your wedding, or if you just like working with flowers, you might try making your own bridal bouquet.  You may run into some problems that can be avoided by paying attention to our checklist for making a bridal bouquet.

Read more

Wedding Vows – Write Your Own

Writing your wedding vows is not something that should be rushed. This is definitely one area of your wedding planning that you will want to take some time sot think about. While you can always chose to use the traditional vows that couples have been saying for years, writing your own vows may suit you and your partner better.

Once you recite your vows, you will be man and wife. Your wedding vows are promises that you and your chosen make to each other, with your family and friends as witnesses. Make your wedding vows even more special by writing personal promises to your future spouse.

Your vows are a great place to insert your personality into your wedding ceremony. Unique wedding vows not only add a personal touch, but they also tell your partner what you hold special in a marriage. You can not only make promises about your future together, but you can also take this time to express to your future spouse why you are getting married and what they mean to you.

Traditional wedding vows go something like this:

“I [your name] take you [partner's name] to be my lawful [husband/wife], to have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, from this day forward until death do us part.”

These vows may be act as the basis for your wedding vows, that you will then embellish with phrases that express what you wish to say. However, some people find traditional wedding vows to be more formal than what they want, or may not suit your personalities and situation. If so, you will probably want to take some time to either re-write this vows, or write completely new vows.

You may need some inspiration to find the right words to say to your intended. Listen to love songs, read some poetry, or search the Internet for some ideas. Ask your closest friends for some ideas or feedback. You may want to write your wedding vows with your partner, instead of trying to surprise each other with your romantic vows at your wedding.

Your wedding is your special day, and wedding vows that touch you personally are a great way to celebrat your day. However, if writing your vows is causing stress and removing the fun from planning your wedding, don’t forget that traditional vows have worked for thousands of couples for hundreds of years!

Handmade Wedding Invitations

Like many people, you are probably on a tight wedding budget. You don’t have to sacrifice style to fit into your budget though. There are many areas where you can cut costs. Handmade wedding invitations will save you money and add an extra personal touch to your wedding.

Your partner may want to help out with making the invitations. If not, then ask your wedding attendants to help out. Make it a fun, early hen party that your younger attendants and flower girls can also attend.

If you like to scrapbook, you may already have some ideas for invitations, and the necessary supplies. If you need some ideas for designs, check out some scrapbook magazines at Barnes & Noble or your local scrapbook store. Don’t forget to browse your wedding shop’s invitation catalogs for some design ideas. If you find one you like and you can’t get a physical sample, you can always check out the company’s website and print a copy.

Many couples who choose to make their own wedding invitations like to incorporate a favorite photograph. Some ideas include a photo of you holding hands featuring the engagement ring, or a professionally done portrait of the two of you.

If you are making your wedding invitations, make sure you leave plenty of time to make the invitations, and still get them out to your guests in time for them to respond. To be on the safe side, add an extra day or two to your time line to allow for mistakes and re-dos. You may find that your chosen design is harder to make than you first thought, or you may change the design after making a few. Leave time in your wedding planning for this.

Before making the final decision on whether to make your wedding invitations or to have them commercially printed, you will want to price out the materials. In most cases, doing it yourself will be much cheaper, unless you need to purchase expensive tools. Ask the local scrapbook store if they have a cropping room with tools that you can use if you don’t have them at home. This will save money.

Handmade wedding invitations maybe the perfect alternative to high-priced commercial invitations. If you want to do it yourself, but aren’t feeling creative, check out one of the many print-it-yourself wedding invitation kits on the market. You can find these at most office supplies and stationary stores, and stores like Target and Walmart. Your local wedding store may also carry these low-price alternatives as well.