Picking A Perfect Wedding Ring
March 31, 2008
Traditionally, a wedding band was worn on the ring finger of the left hand because it was believed that the vein in that finger went straight to the heart. A wedding ring is a piece of jewelry which will be worn everyday of your life to signify your love and fidelity to your significant other. That being said, you want to ensure you choose the perfect ring, which can be difficult for someone who is inexperienced in this area. Luckily we can help you through the steps of finding the perfect wedding ring for the special person in your life.The first thing to consider is the kind of metal you want for your wedding rings. Most wedding rings are found in yellow gold, white gold or platinum. These forms of metal vary in price and most likely this decision will be quite easy since most women already know what kind of ring they want.
The next step is choosing the stone for the ring. You will need to decide which kind of stone you want as well as the shape of the stone. Diamonds are still the most popular choice when it comes to stones for wedding rings however colored stones such as emeralds, rubies and sapphires are becoming more and more popular.
The last step is to find a reputable jeweler who you will be comfortable purchasing such an expensive piece of jewelry from. Perhaps it is best to use a jeweler who one of your friends or family members have already used and would recommend for you because of such great results.
If you are like most couples who are marrying, you will likely choose a diamond wedding ring. If you are doing so, you may want to keep the four C’s in mind while doing so. The four C’s are the diamond’s color, cut, clarity and carat weight.
1. Color - Diamonds are available in number of colors and shades including white, yellow, green, blue and pink. The color range starts at D and moves through the alphabet towards Z. The scale moves from white to yellow as it makes its way through the alphabet.
2. Cut - The cut of the diamond is what gives the diamond personality. Diamonds which are cut well will be bright and sparkly, however diamonds that are cut poorly may end up looking dull and boring. Choosing and making sure the cut is perfect is a crucial step in the overall outcome of your wedding ring.
3. Clarity - An inclusion in a diamond is an imperfection inside the stone which will greatly affect the overall worth of the ring. The size, color and position of the inclusions in your ring affect the clarity of the diamond. You want to ensure the diamond has good clarity.
4. Carat Weight - A carat is divided into 100 equal parts (also known as points). Therefore a one carat diamond equals 100 points; half carat equals 50 and so on. When the diamonds are loose (before they are mounted on the ring), the weight is easy to determine, however, after the diamond has been mounted only a gemologist can determine the weight of the diamond(s).
Take your time when choosing a wedding ring for yourself or for your significant other. A wedding ring is a sign of your everlasting love to one another and is something that will be cherished for the rest of your lives.
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Choosing Wedding Location & Reception Location
March 31, 2008
The perfect wedding day has been pictured in your mind and dreams almost your entire lifetime. If you’re like most, you may already have a vivid picture of how you want your wedding and reception to look even down to the last detail such as which flowers are going to be included in your flower arrangements and decor. But did your daydreams and imaginings include where you want to the sacred event to take place and where you are going to celebrate your union with family and friends?If not, there are a few things to keep in mind when selecting the perfect spot to hold your wedding and reception: budget, amount of guests, theme and type of wedding, and whether or not you want your ceremony and reception at the same location.
Let’s start with the budget first. By keeping in mind your budget throughout the whole decision making process, you can prevent heartache in the end. Suppose you found the perfect dream wedding spot only to learn that you could not possibly afford to hold your wedding there? Likely if you chose to have your ceremony in any other spot it would pale in comparison and be a disappointment when compared with the one you couldn’t swing.
On the other hand, what if you threw caution to the wind and indulged in the more expensive site? In this case, you might become bitter about your wedding day when the bills start to pile up or when you have to forgo your honeymoon to cover the costs. These two scenarios illustrate why it is very important to evaluate the cost before investigating any particular wedding or reception site. If it’s over your budget, don’t even look at it.
Your theme and type of wedding are also very important when choosing the perfect spot for your wedding nuptials. If you are having an informal country wedding, it would not make much sense to book an elaborate reception hall. A better choice may be to have an outdoor reception on a farm complete with a bonfire, country band, and wagon rides for the little ones.
If you’re just looking for a little inspiration and a list of great wedding sites to investigate, your local chamber of commerce can supply you with sites, historical and modern, that can be rented for functions such as weddings. This may be a great help when you’re trying to find a spot for your wedding that is unique and truly reflects your personality.
Remember, it’s your wedding and your dreams. Do not give in to family pressure or be tempted to take the first place that comes along. Do your homework and you will be guaranteed to realize the wedding of your dreams.
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Choosing Your Wedding Videographer
March 31, 2008
Where do I start?I receive numerous inquiries requesting information. First, I understand that the average person is gathering information to try and make an educated decision that is right for them. I’m sure many people only know what they’ve read in numerous wedding magazine articles about wedding videography and photography. I’ve read most of these articles and they range from generic to sheer nonsense- especially those articles with the checklist of important questions to ask a videographer. What one has to understand is that the person writing the article is not an expert on wedding videography. Until they were hired to write an article about wedding videography or photography to fill the spaces between advertisers looking for business, they probably knew little more than anyone else
on the subject. So, in short, take what you read as a starting point and go from there.
The first question many people ask - What is the cost for a wedding video?
The short answer is, most good videographers will start at around $2,000.00. Unfortunately the wedding industry is full of people with the “get rich quick” attitude that brides are a captive audience. This ranges from the person who went out and bought some video equipment along with some videos and books on how to make money shooting wedding videos to those “wedding companies” who make a lot of money booking scores of budget conscious brides with great prices, “one stop shopping” with photos, video, and a DJ! A significant portion of the wedding industry is marketing to a predictable consumer mentality. They realize a significant number of people will shop only by price, regardless of value, esthetic quality, and long term enjoyment they would have gotten by choosing someone who’s life depends on the quality of their work.
For those who tend to be more discriminate and place a little more value on quality, you will have some decisions to make an you’ll be glad you did. The reality is, if you’ve looked carefully at finding the right photographer, you probably won’t be impressed with the plethora of people offering the cheap wedding videos.
Cost and Value:
Unfortunately, objectivity and art are not as easy as choosing between Wal-Mart and Kmart to buy a DVD player or some other exact same item. In many cases, your investment to hire a really good videographer is almost intangible when comparing the talent, expertise, and investment in time required to produce a video that’s worth watching and in some cases, the costs will be very comparable. One can’t begin to compare the end result of the stereotypical wedding video and photo companies cashing in on the “Wedding Industry” and those a truly talented videographers and photographers who love their work and work hard to provide couples with something beyond the ordinary.
A full time videographer, who’s life depends on the quality of their work will be able to provide much more value in the finished video. The budget videographers who book scores of brides at “great prices” absolutely can’t afford to invest anywhere near the required amount of editing time and detail to create a video that compares with what I, and other talented videographers will provide.
Doing anything above the all-too-common, mediocre wedding and event videography requires a real skill, a creative eye, excellent editing capabilities, and talent. You don’t study and watch videos to be a talented videographer or photographer. It’s like the musician playing a concert in front of a couple hundred people - either you have it or you don’t!
Shooting the video is only the beginning of the process
Creating a finished product that is cinemagraphic, emotional, romantic, and yet relaxed is an art and consideration should be placed on its long term value. You wouldn’t hire a band that can’t play.
Style - the most important question
As you investigate the more talented videographers it will become evident the the individual personality of the videographer, the quality of their work, and their editing style will be a major part in your decision process. The more talented videographers will have a wider range of style.
When I create a video for a client, I consider the person, the venue, and their event as a whole as part of my editing style. Each person is different. By working with a more limited number of weddings per year, I can afford to be objective in setting the mode for the video
Generally, my work is more of a detailed cinematic documentary. Most of the events are “in real time”.
To produce a video that tells a story in real life requires a full time job just in editing. The video must have life and it must provide a full overview of the event. I like to shoot in a relaxed photojournalistic style.
This allows me ample footage to create a dramatic video with precise detail, and still keep the storyline moving. I also offer “short form” contemporary style videos, that are focused on a more romantic style. Many clients like to have both the documentary style along with the 15 minute romantic highlight video to share with friends. Unfortunately, I see just about everyone now uses “documentary” and “photojournalism” buzz words in their advertising. Hopefully, they aren’t just throwing out words people want to hear and really understand the concept!
Spectacular audio quality
Audio quality is the most overlooked and often the most noticeable shortcoming in wedding video. Your videographer should be able to provide at least four wireless microphones for any event. Concentrate on listening for more than the vows. Demand to hear examples of readers, instrumentalists, vocalists, and string quartets. Your wedding will be a beautiful experience. Don’t allow on-camera microphones to record your event. Make sure your videographer understands the principles of acquiring good audio for your video.
Natural, Comfortable, Relaxed
I like to refer to myself as a photojournalist with a video camera. When you think about it, this is the key to how I get great footage. When we think of the “Life Magazine Photos”, we think of drama, good composition, and telling the story as seen through the lens.
Molesting the Guests
This also means that I do not “molest guests” at weddings… Frankly, my clients certainly don’t want me sticking a bright light and a microphone in their guests’ faces and asking them to “say something to the bride and groom”, having them to do interviews, or having the bride and groom pretend they are doing “this or that” for the video. Too many people including myself and my wife have “been there, done that” with this type of videographer at a wedding. Frankly there are much better things to do with a video camera and my talent would be wasted chasing people around doing interviews.
People look their best when they are acting naturally. By staying in the background, yet always there, I tend to go relatively unnoticed, but still get great footage. I am a minimalist when it comes to lighting and attracting attention. Most of my work relies only on ambient room lighting. Many photographers I work with have even commented on my ability to get great candid shots. These are the shots that really make a great video, people in real life, being who they really are. Most people are not actors, everyone looks best when you let them be themselves.
Good Camera Skills
This is the key to being a good videographer. To have a good video, you really have to display excellent camera skills and composition. This is the primary key to having a video that is dynamic, exciting, and realistic. My professional background consists of music, photojournalism, industrial photography, and television production. Now well into my second decade specializing in wedding, event, and corporate videography , you can be assured that I come with both the necessary experience and the appropriate background.
The internet and Bridal Magazines are literally full of new faces doing wedding video every year. However, their ads would make it look like they’ve been doing wedding videography for years. In case you’re wondering, there are numerous images taken directly from tape on this site that are over ten years old!
Anyone who buys a camera and takes out an ad in a wedding magazine instantly considers themselves a wedding videographer. The same holds true for some photographers and other companies in the wedding industry that buy video equipment and hire weekend people to shoot video. Anyone can pick up a camera and point it and take a video. Unfortunately, the end results often look like it too!. Don’t be fooled by dazzling special effects and computer animation. Many people tout these capabilities in their advertising, but all of the effects usually seen in wedding video are usually just a substitute for good editing and the ability to build a story line.
State of the art equipment
I come to a job prepared for just about anything. This includes multiple cameras, an extra broadcast lens and 8 professional wireless microphone systems for capturing audio from all sources at both the ceremony and reception. I have the availability to record at least 6 channels of independent audio simultaneously.
I use the Sony DSR-390L, a completely digital camera shooting on the larger DVCAM digital format. It features three newly designed 1/2 in., 410,000-element Power HAD CCD imaging devices that provide an unbelievable picture quality with an unprecedented lowlight sensitivity of 0.4 lux minimum illumination - in other words, the camera will see in the dark. The major advantages I offer with this latest camera is that in many situations, absolutely no additional lighting other than normal room light is required. The camera sees what we see! This is a significant advantage when trying to maintain a low sense of visibility around guests.
By processing video signal data at three levels - brightness, hue, and saturation - the TruEye process assists in the reproduction of natural skin tones and basically sees what the human eye sees at any given light level.
Several fellow videographers in the area are using the Sony DSR-300, a fantastic camera also. It has the larger imaging devices, same audio capabilities and uses the larger DVCAM tape. Basically the only differences are minor and the new cameras will have a slight edge in low light performance.
Some videographers will use the Sony DSR 250 which is one in a class of stripped down cameras offered by most of the manufacturers geared specifically for the “wedding event market”. This camera still offers a significant improvement over the older SVHS video cameras, but it only has small 1/3″ imaging devices resulting in much less resolution and poor low light performance when compared to cameras with larger imaging devices.
The highest majority of typical wedding videographers use the smaller, much less expensive “handycam” style of video cameras. While these cameras do a nice job for their size and relatively low cost, they have very small 1/4″ CCD imaging devices, offering relatively poor low light performance and less image quality. Other serious limitations are the lack of a professional lens, the ability to adjust exposures, and limited audio functions. These cameras do have their place. For situations where there is plenty of light, like a garden wedding or daylight situations, the picture is pretty good and their smaller size makes them easier to use over longer periods of time. I keep one in my collection to use when ever I feel that the lighting conditions and shooting situation is just right.
All editing is done on professional Media-100 systems and over 500 gigabytes of disk storage. This system allows editing at very high data rates for optimum picture quality. Don’t let computer editing be confused with the idea of special effects and animations. I do not do the stereotypical wedding video with pictures popping out of hearts and tacky special effects. My work is clean and dramatic.
Video is mastered to DVD and backups are kept for a limited time on full sized DVCAM digital tape. We can still provide VHS to those clients who require it, but the cost of DVD players today can be well under $100.00 so it makes no sense to use tape.
Unless you choose wisely, your wedding video could be a haunting disappointment.
Remember, your videographer will be with you throughout your wedding day! Choose someone you feel confident will interact well with both you and your guests. You will find that your photo album and video will compliment each other. You should arrange to reserve your photographer and videographer as soon as you secure your reception site. Some dates can be in reservation over a year in advance. Seek out the highest quality and hire the best photographer and videographer that you can afford.
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Picking A Videographer
March 31, 2008
In , one that would be working on my wedding, I’d be most concerned with one thing, experience. The person behind the camera would have to prove to me that he’s not practicing his craft on my special day, that he knows what he’s doing and is capable of being creative as well as detail oriented. Many amateur videographers or those that are trying to get into the business start out by working on weddings, and like in most things, you learn from your mistakes. Unfortunately they make mistakes on somebody’s wedding day, a day that unlike TV and movies, cannot be recreated.But, it is easy to avoid the pitfall of using an inexperienced videographer or one that will do a less than desirable job. Don’t hire someone without speaking with him/her first, knowing their background and seeing a sample of their work. It is also advisable to ask others you trust about who did their wedding videography and if it came out the way they wanted.
Many couples outsource a wedding company that specializes in making wedding videos, and these companies have a list of videographers that they feel comfortable using. Even though a wedding company will use a videographer it doesn’t mean that person is going to do a good job on your wedding, it just means they know how to use a camera, which is a good start. Really the most important part of choosing is to make sure you trust the videographer, that you like him. You should talk with him and make sure you get one that is experienced, detail oriented and one that likes what he does. It might cost a little more but at least you’ll get something that in the end should make you very happy.
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Party Gift Ideas On The Cheap
March 31, 2008
Thanking your wedding party with special gifts is a favored tradition. Depending on the size of your wedding party it can be an expensive one as well. With so much money spent on the wedding ceremony and the reception, this can often be an aspect of the ceremony that you can have a hard time in deciding upon because it can be difficult to find inexpensive, original and thoughtful items that will be good enough to express your appreciation to your wedding party.Here are some great and unique gift ideas that are not expensive:
· Personalized shot glasses
· Personalized candles
· Personally engraved items such as ornaments, plaques etc.
· Personalized musical CD recordings commemorating the ceremony and reception music such as bride and groom’s songs etc.
· Specially labeled wine bottles commemorating your special day
· A personalized picture frame of the wedding of the wedding party
· Make your own wine and give a bottle to each guest
· Make beaded bracelets with you and your couples initials on them and the date of your wedding
These are just some ideas, but you get the general thoughts on this matter. Of course, there are literally millions of gift ideas that you could choose from or create with your own hands.
All you have to do is think about how you would like to say thanks, and what you can afford to do. Here are some other suggestions to help your with your creative ideas.
Personalized bottle stopper
Personalized magnets
Personalized mini chocolates
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Make Sure To Videotape Your Wedding
March 31, 2008
Today professional videographers have become as natural a part of the wedding as the photographer. Because your wedding day goes by so quickly, recording all of the activities on video will preserve the precious moments for you and your family to enjoy for years to come.Unlike photographs, a video camera records sounds, action and more of the overall atmosphere of the event. Rather than focusing on just a few people like photographs, video can easily record a little bit of all of your guests.
The typical wedding video package costs anywhere between $500 and $1500, depending on the quality of the equipment, the number of hours of coverage, the number of cameras, the amount of editing, and other factors. As always, remember what’s most important to you, determine what you can afford, and go from there.
Recording Your Wedding on a Tight Budget
If you don’t have money in the budget for a professional videographer, you have other options. You could ask a close friend or family member with a video camera to record your wedding. Of course don’t expect the same quality and coverage that you would get from a professional videographer. Remember, is an awful lot to ask friend or family member to tape the bulk of the wedding day. So, the best way to ensure that your most precious moments get recorded is to make a list. Pick out only a handful of moments that you definitely want on tape, such as the bride walking down the aisle, exchanging vows and rings during the ceremony, the best man’s toast, the bride and groom’s first dance, etc. Then anything extra that gets on film is a bonus, but you have the important stuff covered.
Special Touches for the Video
A nice touch for your wedding video is to have your videographer or a friend wielding a video camera pull your guests aside throughout the night to record a personal message to the bride and groom. This is something that a friend did for us at our wedding, and it was absolutely wonderful to watch. This is a lovely way to record all of your friends and family who attended your wedding and adds a personal touch to the video.
Another nice idea for the wedding video is to record a short message from the bride and groom to each other. Arrange for the videographer to meet with the bride and groom separately right before the wedding ceremony. Each can talk to the camera as if they were talking to their soon-to-be other half. These messages truly capture all of the love and emotion of the couple on their wedding day. And they are so much fun to watch after the wedding and many years down the road!
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Marriage & Debts
March 31, 2008
Are you a credit card junkie? Credit card debt can often be a big, deep, dark secret for someone preparing for marriage. It’s an uncomfortable subject to talk about. Do you bring it up before or after he slips the engagement ring on your finger (or before you slip it onto hers)? Or do you wait until after all the marriage preparations are in place?If there are large differences in your assets and liabilities, it may not be such a hot idea to get a joint bank account. Furthermore, you may want to sign a prenuptial agreement just to be clear about what came before your marriage, and what came after.
How you plan your wedding budget will largely determine how you approach money management as a married couple, in the long term. Wedding costs, by themselves can run up quite a tab. If you are noticing conflicts in the early stages of your joint money management, then get some financial marriage advice or premarital counseling.
Couple counseling can be just as much a part of a healthy marriage as family or financial planning is. It’s a way of ensuring solid communication skills from the get go; and that’s important when debts and assets are about to be split right down the middle.
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Themes For Bridal Showers
March 31, 2008
It is the maid of honor’s duty to organize the bridal shower and to ensure that the party is everything the bride expected. The best way to ensure that everyone will have fun is to create a theme around the bridal shower in which everyone can participate in. The following is a list of fun and exciting themes for bridal showers. Choose the one that suits the bride the best:1. Lingerie Bridal Shower - The lingerie theme has become more and more popular in recent years. This type of shower is typically for a younger bride who will be comfortable with the risqué nature of a lingerie bridal shower. Each guest, in lieu of bringing a traditional wedding shower gift, will bring a piece of lingerie for the bride. The groom will reap the benefits of a lingerie shower as well. Chances are the gifts will be put to great use on the honeymoon.
2. Gourmet Bridal Shower - A gourmet bridal shower is perfect for brides who love to cook and sample different kinds of food. Instead of serving traditional snacks like cheese and crackers, ask each guest to bring a gourmet-related dish. Sending out invitations in the shape of foods or hand deliver invitations in an apron to add a little extra pizzazz to your shower.
3. Around-the-Clock Bridal Shower - This is a relatively new bridal shower theme. It requires each guest to bring a gift that the bride and groom can use at a specific point throughout the day. For example, on one person’s invitation it might read 3pm; while on another’s it may read 1am. The gifts are distributed clockwise according to the hours each guest is assigned.
4. Room-of-the-House Bridal Shower - Similar to the “around-the-clock” theme listed above; this theme requires each guest to bring a gift in relation to a specific room in the house. One guest might be assigned the kitchen; while another might receive the bedroom. Each guest would have to choose their gift pertaining to the room on the invitation.
5. Stock the Bar - This theme requires each guest to bring wine, beer, spirits or liquor; which the couple can use to stock their bar at home. You may want to assign each guest a different kind of liquor to ensure that the couple doesn’t end up with 10 bottles of tequila!
The bridal shower theme you choose will have a great impact on the success of your bridal shower. Make sure the theme is suitable for the personality of the bride; otherwise she may be disappointed with the outcome. Also take into consideration the types of gifts the couple could most use. If they already have a stocked bar, a “stock-the-bar” shower won’t be a helpful theme. The outcome of this shower may determine whether or not you’re ever asked to throw another one. But remember, above all, have fun!
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Hot Table Favor Trends
March 31, 2008
Choosing the right gift to show your appreciation for your wedding guests can be a challenging task. You want the gift to be appropriate, meaningful and tasteful. But most of all you want it to reflect your personality and flair.One thing is now certain in today’s modern day weddings, when it comes to table favors anything goes. Your choices can now range from soap favors, box favors, tulle favors, candle and glass favors. You could choose from personalized boxes containing mints, truffles, potpourri and different fruit. Let’s not forget the famed bridal coffee packs and tea bags, or the fortune cookies with special messages enclosed.
But the latest hot trend in wedding table favors is - printed chocolates. They have gained such popularity because of their versatility as decorative, tasteful and unforgettable personalized gifts.
Anne-Marie Tremblay, President of Cacao Design, says “our printed fine chocolates have become a very popular choice with couples looking to give a sentimental and unique table favor for their wedding guests.”
Her Montreal-based firm is the only manufacturing company in North America to specialize in printed chocolates. Available in white, dark or milk Belgium chocolate the designer, high-quality products can be imprinted with the couples’ names, initials, special messages or unique custom designs. A wide choice of colors and wrappings are available to match the custom color scheme and image you desire.
A delight to the palate and the eyes these high-quality chocolates become a delicious personalized reminder of a beautiful evening.
“It was fun to watch the reaction of our guests as they discovered our initials and thank you message on the chocolates,” said Marie François, who chose decorative boxes of printed chocolates as table favors for her wedding guests last July. “We received a lot of great comments from our guests who had never seen anything like that before. I really wanted to give something personal and unique.”
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Becoming One Financially
March 31, 2008
When we think of marriage, most of us like to be romantic about it. Marriage brings images of engagement rings and a big white triple-layer cake. Nobody wants to talk about money management, prenuptial and other financial matters.However, statistics show that the top reason for divorce is disagreeing about money. Don’t get carried away by the sheer romance of getting married. Discuss your financial concerns before you walk down the aisle.
Prenuptial agreements
These legally-binding contracts will save you quite a heartache in the event of a divorce.
But who is ever considering divorce at the time of marriage? It may seem unromantic, and certainly, most of the time it may be unnecessary. However, if you stand to inherit a very large sum of money, if you have a trust fund, or if you own a business, a prenuptial can help you keep what is rightfully yours.
Set a reasonable wedding budget
With the average American wedding costing over $19,000, it makes sense to look into some affordable alternatives. Keeping it small and holding the ceremony and reception in a park or other scenic public place are just two examples of ways that you can save a ton.
Be ready for tax-season
If both spouses work, by law, they both must be taxed at the same rate as that of the highest income-earning spouse. Married couples will be happy to hear, however that the marriage tax penalty is being phased out over the next few years.
Merge your money
Legally, a married couple has joint-ownership of everything. Regardless, a husband and wife will often open a joint bank account to make household expenses easier to track.
Discussing the financial details of marriage one-step-at-a-time can help ease the both of you into a fruitful and harmonious new life together.
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