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Recap Week of March 3, 2014|Invitations, Photography,& Toasts

Your engagement should be the happiest time of your life. While planning your wedding, you have many wonderful choices to make that will influence your special day. We discussed what you should know about photography, invitations and toasts.

Did you know that most couples forget about the toast until the week before the wedding? It’s something that not only needs to be planned; but needs to be delivered with savvy and heartfelt wishes.

Planning Your Bridal & Wedding Photography

Wedding Toasts|Here’s to the Bride & Groom

Visit online: http://www.mikekovaliv.com

Mike Kovaliv Photography

Invite or Evite?

Photo: See You There Custom Invitations

Invite or Evite?

Today’s couples continue to put their personalized touches on their special day by incorporating meaningful and new ideas. This season we have been hearing a lot about technology and weddings.

Plugged or unplugged during the ceremony? Webcasting your ceremony, posting your status to Facebook from the altar and power charging stations at receptions are all the talk, when planning a wedding today.

One of the hottest topics being discussed between couples is another computer- related option that is highly controversial; whether to invite or evite when it comes to your wedding invitations.

Your invitation sets the stage for your guests in regard to the tone and formality of the day. The 2014 couple is talking about emailing their invitations in lieu of using the traditional post.

In the past, a mailed invitation was always a welcome addition to the letterbox. With its fancy penmanship, it signified a special event; one that was specially planned for and one that was different from just a normal party. It is important to differentiate between this day and others when you make your decision to go paper or paperless. Why treat your wedding like an ordinary day, when in fact it is SPECIAL? Why eliminate that well- thought out paper announcement that presides your wedding day?

Email can also be a dicey proposition if someone isn’t expecting your invitation. If their inbox gets filtered or their ISP provider has increasingly stronger firewalls and your message goes into SPAM, how will they ever know that you wanted them to share the day with them? Your well- intentioned invitation may well go unnoticed and undelivered.

Photo: See You There Invitations

Another downside of email invites is trying to track the RSVP; it works fine when you have up to 30 guests, but try tracking up to 300 people, each with their own details, menu preferences and sometimes a warm greeting to accompany it. It is a fact that invitees are slow to return traditional RSVP cards in your time frame- try investing your time and energy trying to track them down via online on your computer.

One might say that postage will just add another cost to your wedding expenses, but it’s still nice to receive snail mail. It makes it much easier on everyone to receive your great news when it comes to them directly because paper is tactile. There are moms, dads, grandparents, siblings and friends who a) may not have a computer or use email regularly and b) some who would sentimentally keep your treasure, just because it’s you!!

Wedding Toasts|Here’s to the Bride & Groom!

Toasts are usually offered at times of celebration and this practice is as old as weddings. They are said to date back to 450 AD in Saxony. Toasts are feelings put into words and shared with everyone. It is the ending of the formal part of the day and the beginning of the party.They are something that most are nervous about delivering and are also one of the last things that are thought about prior to the wedding day. It is a time of sentiment and congratulations and should be prepared for.

They are offered to the couple in the form of good health and good luck for many years to come. Tea, water and coffee are the only beverages that were not used, as they were considered bad luck and an insult to most people. Clinking the glasses was said to ward off evil spirits that may be around the bride and groom.

In days gone by, pieces of toasted bread or croutons were placed in the bottom of the glass to provide nourishment for the bride and groom. Toasts are an important part of the reception memories and are usually presented with both dignity and with a little humour.

The toast may be made by a friend of the bride’s family, the master of ceremonies or more typically, the best man who stands and taps his glass. The best man usually tells a short story of how the couple first met or a humorous tasteful anecdote about the groom and the bride. He then makes a wish for their happiness and everyone (except the bride and groom) raises their glasses and toasts the couple.

“Ladies and Gentlemen: It is an honour and a privilege for me to propose a toast to the bride and groom. I have known (groom’s name) for many years. (Relate short story from childhood or perhaps, college days.) I remember well when he first met (bride’s name), suddenly lost interest in (our previous activities). But seriously, (groom) is a great guy and has found a wonderful person to marry. (Relate an amusing story about the bride, some of her accomplishments, or compliment her). (Groom) is a lucky man!

“Ladies and Gentleman, please rise, with glasses full, and join me in wishing the bride and groom much success and happiness. To the bride and groom!’

Groom’s Response: “Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of my wife and myself, thank you for the gracious toast to our health and happiness. We appreciate your kind words and good wishes. I am indeed a lucky man to have found (bride) to be my wife (partner) to be my wife, and to have all of you here today to share our joy and happiness.

There are many people to whom we wish to express our thanks and gratitude. It is difficult to know where to begin. But, I must mention our best man (name); our maid of honour (name), and our wedding party. You have helped us so much. Thanks for everything! “We are particularly grateful to the (clergy or officiator) for his/her guidance and inspiration. Thank you. I also want to express my gratitude to my parents for guiding me through the years. I wish to express heartfelt thanks to my ‘new parents’ for their help, and especially for having given me my lovely bride. (Partner) I return the toast to all of you.”

Toasts can be made by anyone at the wedding. This is the time to let those who have had a significant impact on either the bride or groom how much they mean to them.

When the bride delivers a bride speech, she should share her feelings with friends and family and let her warm words shine through to all the guests.

Toasts may then follow from the bride’s honour attendant and then the bride and groom’s parents. The couple then follows with special toasts to their parents, to their attendants and finally to each other, usually with the groom speaking first. They may then intertwine their arms and drink from their toasting glasses or goblets.

The amount of champagne or wine needed for the toast is calculated as follows:

A 26 oz. (magnum) of champagne will serve approximately 8 glasses. So for 100 guests, you will need a case of 12 per toast. Today’s couples can also be found toasting with beer.

Some toasts heard around the world are:

French: Salut

Hispanic: Salud, Dinero y Amor

British: Cheers

Italian: A la Salute

Hebrew: L’Chayim

Chinese: Nien Mien Ju E

Scottish: Lang May Your Lum Reek

Marriage is good for men, according to the American Council of Life Insurance. Their statistics show that husbands are healthier, wealthier and more industrious than bachelors.

Planning your Bridal & Wedding Photography

Your wedding photography is an important detail of your planning process. There are many important questions to ask when you speak to potential photographers.

You may want to book an engagement session soon after you get proposed. Depending on the size and date of your wedding day, you may want to have Save-the-Date cards made and sent out well before your invitations.

You’ll want to know how many photos will be taken and how much the cost will be. Depending on how much time and images you want, the packages can vary in price. If you want complete coverage of both the ceremony and the reception if is more expensive than just a few hours of each.

You and your partner will have a list of photos that you both want captured during the day. Your photographer should be just fine with your specific requests for some family members, friends and special moments.

It’s always a good idea to ask your potential photographer if they have ever shot at the ceremony or reception venue you will be using. They will know what to expect in terms of lighting, protocol etc. If not, you should ensure that they “check out” the sites prior to your day to familiarize themselves with the setting.

You’ll want to ask if your photographer will be choosing your pictures or if you will have the opportunity to go through a portion of the unedited pictures together. Ask about this upfront when you are discussing their pricing packages.

Also, it’s always important to ask who will be shooting your wedding day; will it be the photographer you are meeting with or someone else. You’ll also want to know what happens if your photographer takes ill and is unable to work that day. The other pertinent question to ask is weather-related- is there a Plan B if the weather is inclement? Will there be places to take the pictures, does he have umbrellas- what will you need if the weather, by chance chooses not to cooperate.

Recap of the Week of February 24- Planning Without Stress, Candlelight Ceremonies, Headpieces, Exotic Destinations & Honeymoons

We spoke to a lot of brides last week and weddings are not only having the final touches put on them for this spring, summer and fall, but there is a lot of planning going on for the 2015 season, too!

Here at the Wedding Guide Windsor|Essex County, we follow brides and what they are doing and would love to hear from you. All the special details are important and we’d love to hear about them!

With so many wonderful ideas to choose from there is a perfect wedding day out there for everyone.

This year highlights are sparkle and bling, black and white and elements of metallic gold and silver.

Follow our Facebook page, as well as our blog for all the latest in weddings. We promise it.

Cast A Romantic Glow with a Candlelight Ceremony