Before the Wedding

You've probably heard of the wedding planning checklist, but face it...those long lists of duties can be a bit overwhelming when you've only just gotten engaged. Not every item on every list will be pertinent to your particular experience. You may not need to have shoes dyed or hire a wedding videographer, for example. But there are some responsibilities that you'll have to face up to eventually, so you may as well get started ASAP!

Here are some of the main duties you'll need to take care of before tying that knot:

• Share the news of your engagement with your family and friends.
  
• Place an engagement announcement in your local paper.
• Pick out your engagement ring with your fiancé.
• Think about and envision the kind of wedding you have always wanted.
  
• Start a file for all your wedding-planning paperwork. Separate folders are a must.
• Decide on a budget, keeping in mind that the average wedding today is estimated to cost around $20,000.
• Select your wedding dress and accessories.
• Set the time and date of your wedding.
  
• Begin making your preliminary guest list.
• Choose your attendants.
• Select and reserve the location for your ceremony and reception.
• Confirm the availability and book your wedding photographer and videographer.
• Meet with your officiant (Justice of the Peace, Minister, Judge, etc.) to discuss the structure and content of your ceremony.
• Schedule premarital counseling, if required by your state or faith.
• Interview wedding caterers and wedding cake bakers.
  
• Confirm the availability and book a wedding disc jockey for your reception
• Sign the necessary contracts and pay pending deposits.
• Discuss honeymoon destinations.
• Decide on liability insurance for your wedding reception.

When you're ready to start planning your wedding, have a look at a wedding planning timeline to see when you should be doing what. Many vendors get booked far in advance and some items (like the dress) take forever to ship, which means that you need to be aware of how far along you are in the process. If you give yourself plenty of time to do everything you have to do, you'll be fine so don't stress out about it. The more relaxed you are, the more you'll enjoy all of the shopping and organizing!



A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
http://www.amusicplus.com/

Look Your Best In Front of the Camera

It's easy to look good on your wedding day. Think about it -- when was the last time you saw an ugly bride or groom? All that happiness makes brides radiant and grooms handsome, whether or not they look like Hollywood idols in real life. That doesn't mean, of course, that you can't employ some tricks to ensure that you shine in your wedding photos. Considering that those may be your only visual record of your special day, it's important to look your best!

Here are some tips we've collected over the years that have helped up help brides and grooms make the most of their day-of photo sessions:

• When it comes to doing your wedding make-up, don't fall victim to the saying "more is better". Use the same shades of make-up that you normally wear and don't make any radical changes to your looks before the wedding.

• Consider using a professional make-up artist. They are trained to understand camera lighting and angles, and how to accentuate your BEST features and minimize others. However, always do a "test run" before the wedding day!

• Make sure that you bring along a small make-up bag to freshen up during the day. All you need is some translucent or pressed powder to absorb any shine and some lipstick. If you're outside taking pictures, bring along some blotting paper which works great to absorb moisture without rubbing off your make-up.

• Full length photographs capture all the beauty and magnificence of the wedding dress, wedding attire and beautiful scenery or backdrops. Close-up or half length (above the waist) photographs better capture facial expressions and reveal more emotions. It's a good idea to get a mix of both types of shots.

• Particularly if you are taking pictures before the ceremony, remember to relax in front of the camera. If you're feeling nervous or anxious, this can show in the camera by your facial expression, your posture and smile.

• On your wedding day, you're going to be in front of the camera and you're going to be smiling! Take a break every so often and change your expression and move/exercise the muscles around your mouth. If you don't, your facial expressions in your photographs may look strained.

• When taking your wedding portraits, sometimes it's better to choose a simple background (with nice, soft lighting) rather than an elaborate one. A busy looking backdrop can take away from the picture and distract from the focal point -- which is the bride and groom.

• When your photographer is taking candid pictures during the reception, don't look at the camera! The beauty of a candid shot is capturing the magic and emotion of a particular moment when people in the photograph are interacting with each other.

A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
http://www.amusicplus.com/

Wedding DJs Keep It Moving

Your wedding DJ will do more than just spin tunes as your wedding guests dance the night away. He or she will set the tone for the entire event, because it's the wedding DJ who orchestrates the shifts in mood and tone using music. Whether you like swing, funk, or contemporary pop, the order of your wedding music can make or break your reception. The wedding DJ chooses songs that compliment the events taking place at the wedding and help keep the party flowing.

Here are some suggestions we think make a wedding reception perfect based on our years of experience.

For the Grand Entrance
The guests are assembled at the wedding reception venue and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the newly married couple. When the wedding DJ announces the arrival of the bride and groom at the wedding reception, there's electricity in the air. Your wedding disc jockey can help you choose a song that's dramatic or fun, like:

Bittersweet Symphony, The Verve
Celebration, Kool and the Gang
Let's Get it Started, the Black Eyes Peas

For Cutting the Cake
When the wedding disc jockey announces the cake cutting, he can play a traditional song or something more tongue-in-cheek. Some fun choices include:

How Sweet it Is, James Taylor
Pour Some Sugar on Me, Def Leppard
The Sweetest Thing, U2

For Throwing the Bouquet
When the single ladies gather to catch the bouquet, it's all about having fun. Not all couples opt for the bouquet throwing (or the garter toss, for that matter), but for those that do, the following songs fit nicely:

It's Raining Men, Weather Girls
Girls, Girls, Girls, Motley Crue
Hey Ladies, Beastie Boys

Tossing the Garter
Not all brides wear a garter and some find this ritual a tad offensive, but some brides take part in this ritual just so the groom can remove it and toss it to the single male guests. If you choose to have a garter toss during your wedding reception, some fun songs to play include:

You Can Leave Your Hat On, Joe Cocker
The Stripper, David Rose Orchestra
She's Got Legs, ZZ Top

For the Last Dance and Your Exit
All good things must come to an end, including your reception. You can let the wedding DJ wind down with a slow song or end on an energetic note. Popular last dance songs include:

Last Dance, Donna Summer
We are Family, Sister Sledge
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life), Green Day

You may or may not take part in all of these events depending on the tone of your wedding reception, but you'll be able to relax and enjoy yourself knowing that your wedding DJ is keeping the party moving and playing the right soundtrack to your important day. Isn't it worth it knowing you have one less thing to worry about?


A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
http://www.amusicplus.com/

Engagement Rings

Presumably, if you're reading this, you already have an engagement ring on your finger...or maybe not. Quite a number of people commit to marry one another without ever exchanging any rings at all, though wedding rings are a common part of the marriage ceremony. How do we know? We DJs see it all!

If you do have a ring, it's probably your pride and joy, lighting up your days with its sparkle. But do you know the history of the engagement ring?

In all cultures, traditions of engagement, betrothal and other forms of the commitment to marry extend back thousands of years. Whether it was an arranged marriage or a marriage of choice, the engagement provided time for the communities' (not to mention the families') reaction and counsel. Engagement periods also offered everyone involved with the wedding plenty of opportunities to prepare and plan for the ceremony and reception.

Historians do not have a clear idea of when the engagement ring became a standard gift to symbolize the promise to wed. What is certain is that the exchange of rings in the marriage ceremony predates the giving of an engagement ring and that the customs related to engagement itself also existed long before the engagement ring became the most prevalent gift to give.

Traditionally, the seriousness of marriage was marked by the exchange of household wealth. The bride's family was expected to provide a dowry. The groom's family, in exchange, usually paid a somewhat lesser bride price. Note that in some cultures, only one or the other was given. The engagement ring may be a custom that is distantly related to this payment of a bride price, similar to the custom of the bride's family paying for the expenses of the wedding -- derived from that of providing a dowry.

Historical records in Europe show that future grooms from wealthy aristocracy gave engagement rings to their beloveds beginning in the 1400s. This coincides with the rise of Courtly Love, where the wealthy and privileged classes were more free to romanticize marriage, beyond its practical economic, political, and social purposes. Until then, marriages were typically arranged to suit the needs of both families involved, whether their concerns were economic or political. You might not even get to meet your spouse-to-be before the wedding day!

Kind of puts your ring -- and all of the privileges that go along with it - into perspective.


A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
http://www.amusicplus.com/

Buying A Wedding Gown

On a small budget? Pressed for time? Hate shopping? There are many places other than the traditional bridal salon where you can buy the perfect wedding dress. Whether you're driven by frugality, a disdain for wedding shop attendants, or the simple need to do things quickly, there are plenty of alternative ways to buy a wedding gown. Try:

Bridal Warehouses
These facilities offer dresses that you can purchase off-the-rack for prices that tend to be much cheaper than bridal salons. Many of these stores carry designer gowns that were either bridal shop samples or overstocks. The advantage to these stores is that there is no ordering, no waiting and no worrying about whether your dress will come in on time.

Mail Order (or Online) Discounters
You can save 20-30% off the retail price of most major designer gowns. All you need is the name of the designer, the style number of the dress and your measurements. The dress is then mailed to your home. The downside is that you have to take care of alternations and pressing yourself.

Sample Sales
Many salons have annual or semi-annual events where they sell those sample gowns that have recently expired. While probably not as cheap as the preceding two choices, you can still save a ton of money.

Seamstress or Tailor
He or she will be able to create a dress designed entirely for you. While this isn't always the cheapest option, it is definitely something to look into, especially if you prefer simpler wedding gowns. Before deciding on your seamstress, check references!

Rent or Borrow
If you don't mind not owning your wedding dress, you can always borrow it from someone. Before doing this , check and see what the owner's policy is on making alterations to fit your body frame.

As surprising as it may seem, you CAN find the perfect wedding gown without having to hoof it to the nearest bridal salon. Trust us, we know! We've asked more than one bride where she bought her dress, and we've been astounded at the answers we've received time and again!


A Music Plus
Denver's Wedding Entertainment Specialists
Disc Jockeys, Live Wedding Bands, Event Entertainment Specialists
http://www.amusicplus.com/