When a couple gets married, as much as it’s about them, their relationship and their future, it’s also the coming together of two families.
There are customary or traditional roles for the parents of the couple in a wedding ceremony and including siblings is becoming more common as well.
But when the couple getting married already have children, either from a previous relationship or before they get married, it stands to reason that they’re included and recognised during the wedding ceremony too.
While the sand ceremony or ritual is wonderfully inclusive and symbolic, it has been DONE (and done and done again!).
So we need some new, relevant and maybe less kitch (?) ways to include children (and sometimes other family members too) in a wedding ceremony and I think these 8 ideas are unique and fun.
When it comes time to plan what is (likely to be) the biggest and most public celebration of your relationship, you want to make sure it will be a party to remember.
And it’s this ideal, wanting to make your wedding special because you don’t want to have any regrets, that can contribute to your decision making becoming clouded. Spending can easily get out of control, the expectations of family and friends can feel oppressive and then the overwhelm starts to set in.
Bingo bango; a happier engaged couple enjoying more of their wedding planning experience!
An 'unplugged wedding' happens when a couple getting married have made a decision that they would prefer that their wedding guests don't take photos and/or upload them to social media.
There are many variations on this, from having an unplugged ceremony only, when guests are encouraged to put their phones and cameras away until after the marriage certificate has been signed, to a strict 'no photo policy' for the entire wedding celebration, to a complete 'social media blackout' until the following day or when the bride or groom have a chance to announce their marriage themselves.
There are times when the couple gets it right and the kids (and therefore their parents) have a ball and are an awesome source of fun and laughter at weddings. Just imagine a little page boy busting some moves on the dance floor or a sweet flower girl raiding the dessert table before she should; super cute!
It's the sitting still quietly for (what seems for them) a lifetime during a ceremony or waiting to have photos taken that usually doesn't end well.
We've seen the good and the bad (and the disastrous!) and want to make sure that you are armed with the best tips and tricks to get the kiddies onside for your big day.
Rose gold as a core colour for weddings started to become very popular a couple of years ago and there are several excellent reasons why it's not going anywhere in 2017..
Some brides and grooms shriek with dismay when I let them know that, for their 100 guests to actually hear them, they will need to speak into a mic during their ceremony; "oh, I HATE the sound of my voice!"
Apart from having a mildly sadistic streak (haha!), there are 3 other excellent reasons why making the effort to use a mic will make your ceremony so much more enjoyable for everyone involved.
In my job I hear both the glowing and the snide comments whispered by wedding guests. And although you don’t want your wedding day to be an anxious rollercoaster-ride-of-people-pleasing-pain, if you didn’t care about your family and friends, you would have had your ceremony at the registry office, yes?
You know the saying 'happy wife, happy life'? Well, in wedding circles, it can easily be translated to 'happy guests, happy wedding' - although it doesn't sound as great because it doesn't rhyme..
But, if you can plan ahead and follow the 3 golden rules of winery weddings, it is much more likely that your guests will remember your special day for all the right reasons.
Your parents have stuck by you through all your awkward phases.
Including your desperate pleas for a horse when you were 8 ("of course I will feed it every day, Dad!"),
your emo phase at 14 (black was the new black)
and your unhealthy obsession with a really dodgy local band when you were 21 (don't deny it, you know it's true).
And if your siblings are anything like mine, they would have mocked and teased you mercilessly through the aforementioned phases.
But here you are, planning your wedding and you really want to acknowledge and include them in your big day.
Sure, your dad can walk you down the aisle, but what other ways can you include your family in your wedding?
There are 3 core ways you can include them; practically, in a supportive function or by honouring them and the special relationship you share.
One of the most uplifting, and yet sometimes subconscious, first impressions a guest has of a wedding ceremony is conveyed via the music they're greeted with. The palpable sense of occasion and celebration that a live string quartet (duo/trio) creates can be both emotional and calming.
Enter Amicus Strings; a professional Adelaide-based string quartet founded in 1996 by Carolyn Lam. I've worked with the girls at several wedding ceremonies over the years and have always admired their professionalism and polished performances.
Carolyn and I sat down for a chat and pulled together the top 5 things you need to know before you book a string quartet for your wedding.
Last week in Part 1 we touched on how modern elopements, when you personalise the 'when and where' and embrace the wonderful and unique couple that you are, can be a freeing and fun alternative to a traditional wedding.
But it does bring up the stickier topic; how on earth do we go about it? The logistics of the ceremony itself are a piece of cake, next to the potential for hurt feelings, regret and guilt that can accompany the aftermath of an elopement.
For example, what are you going to tell your friends and family before you elope - are you going to lie to them? How are they going to feel about that? How do you plan to announce the news after you're married, so as not to alienate the people that you care about?
Part 1 - How to Get Started
Over the past few years, I've noticed a growing trend in the number of couples not interested in the big white wedding and everything that goes with it (including the cost, planning pressures and family expectations). There are also many brides and grooms who are simply less than thrilled about the idea of being the centre of attention on their special day. But what are the alternatives?
