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Sweet Tables

There is more to nuptial desserts than wedding cake. A sweet table is everything to all dessert lovers—and a good choice for couples who can’t agree on a cake.

Your own mini-dessert buffet might include dozens of different finger pastries and is commonly seen at Old World-style Greek, Italian and Polish weddings. This option gives guests a chance to sample an array of tarts, cakes, confections and flavors. Include some fruit and sugarless treats for guests on restricted diets.

While a sweet table doesn’t replace your wedding cake, you may opt for a smaller version. Guests will want to save room for sampling, lingering near the table as they mull over their choices.

Living happily ever after

Living happily ever after
Enjoying your engagement and life after “I do”

Even more important than planning your perfect wedding day is the time you spend with your partner. At some point during your engagement, you’ll need to discuss the fundamental marriage subjects with your partner, such as children, your finances, your living situations, your goals in life, your career objectives, and any other topics that might influence your relationship down the road. That said, you should also take a break from planning your wedding and your future together and spend time doing romantic things as a couple. You should share your engagement with your partner, so take advantage of the moment and start creating fun and special memories right away.

When it comes to planning your perfect wedding day, know that you don’t have to make all the arrangements on your own. Enlisting the help of wedding experts, such as your officiant and a wedding coordinator, will keep you grounded and organized, not to mention free for date nights!

During the aptly named “honeymoon phase” of your marriage, you and your spouse will most likely be glowing with love and excitement, but much like the compromises and tough decisions you’ll have to make when planning your wedding, you’ll have to prepare yourselves for the times ahead that won’t always be as romantic and fanciful as your honeymoon. If you arm yourselves with the best tools and advice possible, you’ll have an infinitely better chance at sustaining a successful marriage.

Discuss premarital counseling options with your officiant, your family, and your married friends. Having a good support system during the months leading up to your wedding will help you learn and practice healthy communication skills, as well as what works best in your relationship. The health of your marriage is more important than the flavor of your cake, the bouquet toss, or your first dance song, so remember to keep things in perspective.

MARRIAGE COUNSELING
MYTH-BUSTERS

MYTH: You will always have a perfect marriage.

BUST: There’s a reason fairytales often end with a wedding: marriage doesn’t always look like a neatly wrapped package with a pretty pink bow on top. Like anything worth pursuing in life, marriage can require work and extra attention. You may not always be happy with your spouse, you may not always be in a perfect mood, and you may not always laugh and dance and sing like characters in a Disney movie. But, you can stay in love through thick and thin, you can be joyful and grateful even in rockier times, you can find humor in darkness and music in silence, and you can write your own love story, one far more beautiful and real than anything Walt could come up with.

MYTH: If you don’t have a perfect marriage, you will get divorced.

BUST: Let’s get one thing straight: no marriage is perfect, nor should it be. You didn’t fall in love with your partner because they were “perfect.” You fell in love because
you were perfect for each other. In fact, you probably love things about your partner others might consider imperfections. What makes your beloved so lovable is they’re human. Think of marriage in the same light. If your marriage isn’t “perfect,” then it’s probably real. When you need to lean on each other, when you have the occasional fight, when you go through tough times together, your love evolves and strengthens, fusing you together into a solid team. Likewise, any so-called imperfections of your
marriage will only make the good parts shine brighter (you know, ‘the darkness that lets us see the light’).

Going to the chapel

While it may not be a traditional house of worship, an old-fashioned or even a Vegas-styled chapel may offer a more pleasant setting than the courthouse

If you’d prefer a small, intimate gathering for your ceremony, or if you’re just trying to make the most of a limited budget, you may want to consider hosting your wedding at a local chapel rather than at a traditional church. While it may not be a traditional house of worship, an old-fashioned or even a Vegas-styled chapel
may offer a more pleasant setting than the courthouse.

The main benefit of hosting your ceremony at a chapel rather than at a church is that you’ll have options. Couples who don’t belong to a particular faith or congregation may want to hold their ceremony in a church-like venue without the religious regulations of a parish. Most chapels offer more flexibility when it comes to structuring your ceremony, and most will permit you to invite your own officiant to perform your ceremony.

While many churches are becoming more flexible with their restrictions, allowing couples who are not members of their parish to hold their wedding ceremonies in their facilities, often times this permission comes with
an added fee. The upside to a chapel ceremony is that you won’t have to compromise your beliefs, your traditions, or your budget if you and your partner do not share the same religion or denomination.

If you and your partner are considering a chapel for your ceremony site, you should also consider the logistics. You don’t want your guests getting lost on the back roads of cornfield country, and you may not want to ask guests to travel more than 30 minutes to the reception site, so be sure to consider the location of your chapel carefully. The layout of the chapel should provide a clear view of the alter for all of your guests. You should choose your changing rooms carefully so that none of your wedding party members get lost within the chapel (this mostly applies to young ring bearers and flower girls). Some chapels may have restrictions on flash photography and music, some may have time constraints, and some may require you to use certain programs. If you are in any way uncomfortable with a chapel’s restrictions, you have every right to look elsewhere.

Ceremony Sequence

Seating guests. Pre-ceremonial music is played as the ushers seat the guests, begining about 15 minutes before the ceremony.
Seating parents. After guests are seated, the groom’s parents are escorted to their seats. The bride’s mother is the last to be seated. The bride’s father waits with the bride.

Looking for an alternative aisle for your wedding? We break down non-traditional aisle ideas by season

Winter

Snowflakes on a white runner and synthetic glittery snow bring the magic of a winter wonderland indoors. While the seasons most beautiful flowers such as holly leaves or berries, evergreen, and poinsettias bring the warmth of nature to your winter wedding.

Fall

Golden, ruby, or tangerine leaves (real or artificial) look wonderful against a white traditional runner while adding a pop of color. You could have a florist create a unique design or monogram out of in season flowers such as China berry, juniper, and sunflowers. Another unique idea would be to line a white runner with pumpkins of any size to highlight one of fall’s most popular vegetables. Pumpkins would also look great on a Halloween wedding.

Spring/Summer

By lining the aisle with miniature potted plants adds a dash of color and the happiness of spring. Your florist could also create a unique design with daisies, poppies, peonies, lilac, cherry blossom, tulips or the flower of your boutique.

Want a universal and classic look? Try lining the aisle with white candles either by themselves or in lanterns. To make the look your own use colored candles to match your colors or theme.

Ceremony & Marriage

Your wedding day. It is truly the most important day in your life. You have chosen to share your life with another and no matter the style of celebration you have chosen, be it large or small, formal or casual, the ceremony is always the key part of every wedding day.