DJs and Bands are the life of the party, when everyone is getting tired they can keep you dancing on the dance floor.  You want to definitely put time into choosing which DJ or Band’s style fits your wedding, and always let them know your expectations for them during the reception.

While you want a DJ who will be able to help direct your reception, at the wedding ceremony you might also want live music, but the costs will start climbing when you are hiring more than one band/DJ.  Harps, Violins, Cellos and Pianos will all create beautiful music for the day of your wedding, but how do you hire within your budget?

You don’t need to think past your hometown high school.  Yes, where you spent 4 years of your life – can finally give back to you.  Schedule a meeting with the orchestra director and explain to him what type of music you desire for your ceremony and ask to hire some of the senior students for an hour on the weekend.  The kids will love the experience, and you will be surprised how professional they will treat the situation.

If you are a more ‘hands on’ bride and get nervous about kids playing at your wedding, give them enough time to practice and then schedule with them to hear it for yourself about a week out.

I think this is a great idea to help you save money and incorporate your old high school into your wedding.  Your guests will enjoy the youth participation and be impressed at how beautifully they play!

Serve your martini’s in style with a Martini Luge at your wedding.  Have your guests hold their glass at the bottom of the luge, while the bartender prepares their next drink and sends it down a ‘chiller’ ride through the martini luge.

Use a chic monogram or up-lighting to highlight the luge for your guests, making everyone notice it right when they walk in.  Consider having a special martini recipe, one created just for you and your husband using your favorite drinks.  Or make it a true martini bar offering a variety of flavors, fun names and garnishes—your guests will love creating their own martini.

What is your favorite Martini that you would send through the luge?

Source: Krystal Kleer Ice, Luge Doctor, NadeauIce

If cake isn’t your thing…and the candy bar is old news to you…I suggest creating a chocolate fountain for your guests and decorating it with delicious desserts to dip in the chocolate!

This is a great station to offer your guests and let them take their choice of dessert.  Get creative with what you dip in the chocolate from a variety of fruits, to different types of cakes or anything you can dream up!  I encourage you to have one out-of-the-box signature dessert to dip into the flowing chocolate.

I love the contrast with the two white and dark chocolates, give your guests a choice of flavors! Put all of the brides favorite foods next to the white chocolate fountain and the grooms favorite desserts next to the regular chocolate fountain!

Light up the evening with a delicious chocolate fountain centerpiece!

But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take.If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation. It takes a lifetime to learn another person. When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.

From The Irrational Season
By Madeleine L’Engle

If you think planning one wedding is stressful, imagine planning and executing three weddings within 24 months of each other!  A good friend of mine is blessed with four girls in her family, three of which have found the men of their dreams and are all walking down the aisle within a very short time of each other.  When you are marrying off three daughters, it truly becomes a job. Your free time is filled with flowers, dresses and photographers.  To add some humor to their situation, they created business cards for their dad, stating his new profession, Father of the Bride.

Each card has a cute new saying on the back and crosses out one more “bride”.  I especially love how much thought was put into these…even a small detail such as the website on the card is different.  It starts out as poorhouse.com…changes to poorerhouse.com…and the third one is listed as flatbroke.com.  I cant wait until their youngest gets married and creates the final business card.

This is such a unique way to poke fun at the “wedding business” they have at their home.  You can tell this family has fun together and the father is proud of his daughters as they walk down the aisle!  I love to see families find their own ways of overcoming the stresses of weddings and joining together to simply have fun and celebrate the new marriages being formed.

How did your family add humor in your day with the details?

As you decide the exact wording for your wedding invitations, do not be so quick to overlook the font style.  Simple details such as changing the front to lowercase can create a much more modern feel and change the style of the invitations. This change in font gives your invitation a not so formal feel and tells your guests to expect a fun modern wedding.

I suggest finding a font or two to call your own, and carry it throughout the save the dates, invitations, programs etc.  This will keep a consistent feel with all the paper for your wedding.  Looking back over all of it, you will love the way the lowercase flows together.  Also combining lowercase print and script will add a unique look that your friends probably weren’t expecting!

There are so many talented wedding designers that specialize in fonts and finding one that fits your personality as a couple.  I highly recommend working closely with one to create invitations that you will be proud to send out as a sneak preview to your wedding.

How did you differentiate your font on your invitations?

Sources: MaidaVale, Gourmet Invitations, Mark Simonson Studio

To surprise your bride to be, even if you are not a musician, why not learn to play a simple love song for your bride.  Whether you want to debut at the ceremony as a special song, or during the reception when the atmosphere is a bit more laid back, your bride will be glowing when she sees you step up to play.

Brides spend at least a full year planning their big day, and they usually have memorized every detail of their wedding day.  What would your bride say if you told her to add a special song into the program but refused to tell her who was singing it or what song?

Your nerves will be running high so keep it simple.  Pick a song that is easy to play either on piano or guitar, whichever you are most comfortable with.  Finally, this suggestion isn’t only for grooms that have taken voice lessons.  My mind drifts off to memories of The Wedding Singer, when Adam Sandler sings “I Wanna Grow Old With You” on the plane at the end of the movie.  His voice was not the next American Idol but you could tell his song was full of love, it made everyone laugh a bit but they all got the point!

Be Confident…Smile big…and Sing from your Heart!

Have you ever had a groom sing at his own wedding? What song did he sing?

Source:  David Purslow Photography

On your wedding day you want to stand out and look your best…you are spending good money on photographers and videographers to capture memories that will last a lifetime.  I agree with not over-doing it on make -up, and wanting to look like YOU on your day, but I also am a firm believer that fake eyelashes—applied correctly—can make your eyes glisten!

If you are one of the many who hear fake eyelashes and think “way too dramatic,” I would challenge you to give them a try.  Have your make-up artist practice putting them on and take before and after pictures of yourself with and with out the added length to your lashes.  I guarantee you will be able to tell a difference and for the better!

I want to hear your opinions! Did you lengthen your eyelashes  on your wedding day with fake eyelashes?

When I suggest serving a memorable meal at your wedding I am not talking about breaking the bank in top of the line steaks and hosting nine courses.  I love when couples serve meals that have history along with them. An example of a Memorable Meal – Bubbly Bride style would be: thinking back to when you first met and went on your first date, or the delicious food you ate the night you got engaged!

I remember 6 years ago my first date with my husband was spent at a local Chinese restaurant in the area.  Although Chinese food might not be a typical meal served at a wedding, it will mean so much more once you let your guests know why they are eating that certain meal.  I would offer egg drop soup, fried rice and a yummy chicken dish!

Maybe you were engaged after a laid back evening in your apartment with simply ordering pizza and a movie.  A way to tie this meal into your wedding, is offering midnight snacks of your special pizza.  I suggest you or your groom take a minute to tell a short story about your experience why this meal is personalized for your friends and family.  Your guests will be able to tell that you put thought into the event and will be grateful that you shared a part of your life with them!

How did you customize the menu to make it a memorable event for your guests?

Source: Ambrosia, Marco Polo

Imagine with me:

You are one of the first to arrive at a friend’s wedding.  The usher offers his arm to you and asks you: bride or groom side…You kindly say you are with the bride and he walks you to the fifth row!

Do you slide down to the end of the aisle for the next guests, or do you kindly let new guests climb over you and move to the end of the aisle, so you are guaranteed the best seat in the house.  That is what I thought…I don’t blame you, you deserve to get one of the best seats…you were the first to arrive!

An easy way to solve the seating dilemma when it comes to your guests arrival is to rope off the center aisle with fashionable ribbons or have your florist add an arrangement.  With the middle aisle blocked the ushers will simply seat each guest from the outside, and the first to arrive will move towards the center of the aisle and receive the best seats!

Did you seat your guests from the outside? Let us know how it worked out?

Source: RJT Pictures, Luxurious Wedding Etiquette