WEDDING NOTES™ - Consider the Music

Your wedding day should ring with the music you like best!  Think about the memorable opportunities presented by events at your wedding.  Think about how you will remember them because of the music that was playing when they happened.  Most wedding days go by in a flash and too many couples say they can't believe it's over.  Picking the right music for the right event will help to focus attention on it and make it a fond memory for you.

Ceremony music is generally traditional if not dictated by the rules of the church where it's being held.  You'll have soft music playing prior to the processional, then the processional with music for the wedding party and something special for the bride's entrance.  Musical selections during the ceremony are usually done as part of the ritual or because a piece of music is special to the couple.  The recessional is joyful and celebratory.

Music for your reception is less restrictive.  You get to choose the theme, the tone, the tunes and the action.  It is your personal choice (as a couple).  Whether you prefer the classics, or country or big band or Broadway show tunes or rock and roll, this is your night.  The best part of this is choosing the music that matters to you for the key events at your reception.  Choose your favorite songs for the following:

• ·         your grand entrance
• ·         your first dance as a couple
• ·         the father-daughter dance
• ·         the mother-son dance
• ·         the cake-cutting ceremony
• ·         the bouquet toss
• ·         the garter toss
• ·         your last dance
• ·         any unique dance like a money dance, a feature dance with the winners of the bouquet and garter toss

Be sure you provide a play list for the musicians or DJ working your wedding.  Make sure that they have a script of what to play when and entrust that list to a close friend or the master of ceremonies at your wedding.  It's fine to think of your guests and their music choices.  Select some pieces that will insure that everyone who wants to gets a chance to dance.  But you will remember your reception with joy if events were held while music you love played.

WEDDING NOTES™ - A Second Use

One busy consultant has discovered a second use for the wonderful invitations sent to guests.  Lots of thought and emotion has gone into their selection, addressing and mailing.  They set the tone for the couple's pending wedding.  But the truth is, most guests don't save the invitations past the wedding date.  It is sad to think of the majority of them ending up in the trash.

She encourages brides to think about a special design of the invitation that makes them useful by a charity that can repurpose them.  If the invitation is designed with a gorgeous photograph or piece of art on the cover withno text on the back of that design, the invitation can be given new life as all-occasion greeting cards by the children at St. Jude's Ranch.

The children at St. Jude's Ranch raise money by transforming the cards.  Include a small note in the invitation envelope encouraging guests to either send the invitation on to St. Jude's Ranch or urge guests to bring the invitation to the ceremony or reception where there will be a special box to receive them.

Enlist a friend or relative to be in charge of gathering the invitations (not the envelopes or other inserts) and after your wedding, putting them all into a flat rate postal box and mailing the box off to St. Jude's.  If you like the idea, just remember that you'll need to think of the second use when you are creating the initial design.

The address to which the cards should be sent is:

St. Jude's Ranch for Children

100 St. Jude's Street

Boulder City, NV 89005

WEDDING NOTES™ - Wedding Day Accessories

The wedding gown is clearly the star of the day.  You spent a good deal of time choosing it and can't wait to wear it on your big day.  How you accessorize that gown is important to consider.  Your bridal consultant will have helped you select the proper undergarments, the best shoes and the right veil or headpieces to complete the look, but there are other areas to consider.

• Jewelry is important but unless you are wearing "the family jewels", don't be tempted to over accessorize the gown with what one consultant has called "glaring distractions that draw unwanted attention”.  Jewelry worn on your wedding day should be simple and delicate.  The best advice is not to be upstaged by your own jewelry.  If you have a piece of heirloom jewelry wear it and let it be your "something old".

• Gloves for the wedding party are staging a comeback and are being worn in more and more weddings.  Fortunately, there are many choices available.  The formality of the wedding gown and the time of day of the event have governed the length of the glove.  Wrist length gloves and usually worn in the morning or afternoon events while elbow length gloves usually are chosen for evening weddings.  Over the elbow style have traditionally been worn only at ultra formal events.  But today's bride really only has one key guideline to consider.  As long as the top of the glove doesn't overlap the sleeve of the gown, it's ok.  Today's strapless bridal gowns frequently are accessorized with over the elbow length gloves.
  
  In addition to various lengths, brides can choose from fingerless gloves or pre-slit gloves which make the ring ceremony much easier to manage.

• Glasses can present a problem for some brides and grooms who wear them on a daily basis.  Photographers sometimes ask them to remove the glasses for photos to eliminate glare.  If one also has contacts and wears them regularly, there is no problem.  Wear contacts for the wedding.  But don't just buy contacts for the ceremony if one is not used to them.  Instead, consider your glasses as part of your wedding day look.  Perhaps considering "wedding day" glasses can be part of your wedding trousseau and a gently rounded frame with very thin ear pieces will help the veil and headpieces fit more securely.  Consider antiglare lenses.  If you wear glasses every day, you want to look like yourself in your wedding photos.

WEDDING NOTES™ - The Label in Your Wedding Gown

In an effort to make sure that brides get what they pay for when they buy their wedding gown, the Federal Trade Commission has established guidelines that federal law requires on wearing apparel.

Jodie Bernstein, Director of FTC"s Bureau of Consumer Protection has said that the "emergence of discount ordering services - either through toll-free telephone numbers or the Internet - has spurred some retailers to remove disclosure labels from their gowns.  It is not against the law to remove manufacturers' labels and replace them with a store's own labels, but it is illegal to sell or show a gown that doesn’t have the required information at all."  The required information must be on every garment offered for sale, including wedding gowns.

This is what is mandated:

• *The identity of the manufacturer, distributor or retailer, either by name or by registered identification number (RN).

• *The garment's fiber content.

• *Federal law requires that clothes carry a label that identifies the country of origin.

• *All garments must carry permanently affixed care labels telling consumers how to clean and care for them.

Well established bridal salons stand behind the gowns they carry and meet all FTC requirements.  Full service stores stand behind all of the merchandise they carry and display with pride.

For copies of this policy go to the FTC web site at http://www.ftc.gov and request copies of "Wedding Gown Labels:Unveiling the Requirements"

WEDDING NOTES™ - Fit for the Groom

Make sure that the groom and his wedding party are sized and fit for their formal wear by someone who knows the correct look.  Most formal wear experts will tell you that tuxedos fit somewhat differently than the jackets and trousers men wear on a daily basis.

• *Tuxedo pants tend to fit looser than the pants men wear daily.  That fact makes most men think the trousers are too big and they lobby for a smaller size.  But tux pants have a looser fit on purpose.  It keeps the pleats flat and the pockets from bulging open.  They don't fit like everyday jeans!

• *Tuxedo shirts should fit well at the neck - no gaping and no restrictive tightness.  A perfect fit lays comfortably at the neck.  The shirtsleeves should edge just past the wrist and no more than one inch of cuff should show beneath the sleeve of the jacket.

• *Pant legs should rest gently across the top of the shoes.  Too frequently, tux pants are not properly hemmed and either touch the floor in the back or display too much sock.

• *A properly fitted jacket will not show strain at the seams nor will there be pulling across the shoulders.  The jacket will button comfortably without gaping.

• * The cummerbund should fit comfortably at the waistline and should not slip or slide out of place.

• *If there is a vest as part of the package, it should button or close comfortably around the shirt without puckering the shirt of sagging front or back.

Alerting the groom/groomsmen to these fit variations before the wedding party is fitted, will help insure that they look their best on your big day.

WEDDING NOTES™ - Degree of Formality

One of the most important early decisions you can make is how formal you want your wedding to be.  That degree of formality will drive many of your wedding day choices and the information you share with guests.  Here are the traditional explanations of dress for the various levels of formality.

*White tieis the most formal.  For man, that means a black tailcoat with matching full-dress trousers, a white waistcoat, a white shirt with a stiff wing collar worn with a white bow tie, white button-on suspenders and pearl shirt studs.  For women it means a full length gown, fine jewelry, elegant shoes, styled hair and well done make up.  Know that if you choose this level of style for your wedding, most guests will have to incur the expense of renting formalwear.  It should be stated on the invitation.

*Black tie means you expect a formal elegant dress on guests.  Men should wear a black dinner jacket with matching trousers without cuffs, a black cummerbund or waistcoat, a white shirt with a black bow tie.  For women it means an elegant gown - either cocktail or calf length for a daytime wedding or full length for an evening wedding.  If you expect this level of formality, be sure to state it on the invitation.

*Other designations - Semi formal, Cocktail, Informal, Dressy Casual or Casual are the usual other choices and in many areas leave guests unsure at to what it means.

"Semi formal dress means that men may wear dark suits and ties with dress shoes and women may choose either cocktail or full length dresses with tasteful jewelry, evening shoes and handbags.

Cocktail means dress or business suits with ties for men, and a cocktail length dress for women.

Informal means that men may wear a suit or a sport coat, with or without a tie, and women can wear any nice, shorter length dress with appropriate accessories.

Dressy casual is one of those terms that is hard to pin down, but most folks agree that it mean a sport coat with contrasting slacks for men and a nice dress or pantsuit for women.

Casual means a shirt and slacks for men, and a skirt or pants with a blouse or casual dress for women.