WEDDING NOTES™ - Aisle Style

Here are some tips for defining the aisle you will walk down at your wedding.

If you are marrying in a church, be sure that the aisle cloth you’ve chosen is made of sturdy fabric and has weights to hold it down at both ends. Do not use a paper runner. They are difficult to walk on – especially in heels and they make noise. Better to have a bare aisle. Many florists now have colored aisle runners so you could follow a color plan although white or crème are still the favorite choices.

Remind the ushers who will be positioning the aisle cloth that this is part of the ceremony setting. Their behavior and demeanor while rolling out the cloth and securing it is a significant part of the pre ceremony activities. It needs to be done with dignity and care.

If your ceremony is taking place at a location that does not have an aisle, it is possible to create one. Lanterns or potted plants, torches, flags or pennants, columns and stanchions with velvet ropes can add dramatic impact while defining your passageway.

Usually, tall decorative elements create a formal look while shorter items are appropriate for a more informal wedding.

Whatever aisle you have fashioned, walk down it with dignity. This is not a 20 yard dash! Take your escort’s arm, stand up straight, head held high and walk toward the most important moment in your life.

WEDDING NOTES™ - The All White Wedding

We know that white is a powerful color when it stands alone.  There is truly nothing more beautiful than an all white wedding.

Once the symbol of purity and the virgin bride, white has expanded to be the symbol of happiness as well and is often worn by second or third time brides.

When a bride chooses to have an all white wedding, the theme can be carried out in every aspect of the event.  In addition to wearing apparel, all flowers, ribbons, and candles can be in white as can the chair and table covers and pew decorations.

For a winter white wedding, the attendants can carry white fir muffs while the bride is cozy or dramatic in a fir trimmed cape.  For the summer wedding, wispy sheer white fabrics with minimal trim create an illusion of cool comfort.

An all white wedding cake decorated with snowflakes in the winter, white doves or seashells in the summer, perfectly symbolize a lifetime of magic.

The groom and his attendants have a full range of choices in all white formalwear available from most of the major designers.

Both mothers can also elect to wear white ensembles with color coordinating accents.  

We can take you from concept to reality and leave your guests with a sense of drama generated by an all white event.

WEDDING NOTES™ – Reception Ideas

Why not add a kissing ball to your reception fun?  Using a large foam ball, cover it with flowers, slip a 72” ribbon through it and refrigerate it until the reception.  Hang the ball in a convenient spot at the reception.  Anytime the couple or guests walk beneath it, a kiss is a must.

Instead of having guests tapping their glasses to compel the couple to kiss, place a set of ceramic bells at each table or give them to members of the wedding party.  Attach a note to each bell that reads, “When the bell chimes, it’s kissing time”.  That is much softer and nicer than the clanging of knives against glassware.

Be sure to have instant cameras at each table for fun-filled moments that might not be captured otherwise.

For a special moment, select the couple that has been married the longest and present this “bride” with your bridal bouquet or a special arrangement.  That is much more fun than “tossing” your flowers.

While flowers are the usual choice table centerpieces at the reception, consider the impact of a room full of balloons.  They are relatively inexpensive and provide a festive party atmosphere.  Keep the color scheme to a maximum of three colors and either scatter the helium- filled balloons throughout the room or cluster them in smaller bunches as table centerpieces.  Just remember to make their strings long enough hat they don’t block the views at the tables.

Photographs in varying sizes and in a variety of frame make wonderful centerpieces.  Photos of the couple at varying ages, photos of members of the wedding party at various ages and family photos, make conversation starters and are a thoughtful way to make everyone a part of the occasion.

WEDDING NOTES™ – Some Memorable Quotes

Looking for copy for your web site or Twitter posts?  Consider including some quotes on friendship,  love and marriage offered by some famous commentators.

“Men always want to be a woman’s first love and women want to be a man’s last romance.”  Oscar Wilde

“If a man really loves a woman, of course he wouldn’t marry her for the world if he were not absolutely sure that he was the best person she could possibly marry.”  Geoffrey Chaucer

“A successful marriage is an edifice that must be rebuilt every day.”  Andre Maurois

“To love anyone deeply gives you strength.  Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.” Lao Tzu

“If you would love, love and be lovable.”  Benjamin Franklin

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.”   Rose Kennedy

“If you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you haven’t really learned anything.”  Muhammad Ali

“Familiar acts are beautiful through love.”  Percy Bysshe Shelley

“For talk six times with the same single lady, and you may get the wedding dresses ready.”  Lord Byron

“I chose my wife, as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface, but such qualities as would wear well.” Oliver Goldsmith

Source:  The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, 3^rd Edition