There is an old German tradition, that when a girl was born in Germany they would plant a number of trees in her honor.  When it was time for that little girl to marry, they would cut down the trees and sell them, and the money was used for her dowry. 

A “dowry” was a gift of money value that was given to the groom’s family from the bride’s family at the time of their marriage.  It was to be a contribution to the couple’s household.    

If you don’t care about the type of bouquet you have and don’t mind if they are not real flowers why not choose silk flowers.  They will last forever and will probably be cheaper. 

If your wedding meant alot to you, then your bouquet will be something that you will want to keep forever.  You may want to talk to someone who can preserve your bouquet, so that it can be kept in the same way you had it on your wedding day.

If you don’t mind throwing your bouquet.  You can do the tradition throwing of the bouquet to single women at your wedding, or have a smaller bouquet similar to yours made up to throw. 

If your bouquet is large enough, maybe you could give a flower to each of your female guests wishing them a lifetime of happiness.  Or you could give the entire bouquet to a female figure that has touched your life like your mother, a sister, or your grandmother.  

Look for your white shoes in the summer, when all shoe stores are filled with different types of white shoes.  You will have a wide assortment and if you’re lucky, you might even get them on sale.

There is nothing written in stone that says you have to buy your bridemaid’s dresses at a bridal shop.  So shop around, there are lots of places like Fairweathers, Suzy Shier and even The Bay or Sears that has a nice selection.

A trend these days is for the bride to have her bridemaids purchase their own dress.  The only decision the bride makes is the color, it is her wedding.  Having the girls choose their own dresses allows them to be comfortable in the dress and allows them to choose something they can afford.

Fact:The A-line dress is the most popular cut for bridemaid’s dresses, as it flatters all sizes.  

A bridal couple should made the time to interview a number of photographers.  The photographer that your friend may recommend, may not capture the moment the way you want.

Some things that I looked for when selecting my wedding photographer were;

1) Does the photographer capture the emotions of the day?

2) Does he have creative poses?   Or a variety of poses?      

3) During the interview, did he take the time to find out details of our wedding?  For example our photographer, wanted to know all the names of our attendants and how my husband and I knew them.  Were they a brother, sister, cousin or friend?  That way, he knew which moments would be the best the capture.  He took a beautiful picture of my sisters, who were bridemaids in my wedding, giving me a last hug before we walked down the aisle.  A truly priceless photo!   

4) Do the pictures have good clarity and color?

5) Do you like the photographer’s personality?  Will he make your guests feel comfortable? 

6) Ask to see other work he has recently done, sample wedding albums and set of proofs, that way you get a sense of what the different wedding price packages include .  

7) Get everything in a written agreement.  Items that should be included are, time duration, location and any overtime costs if that were to happen. 

Give the photographer addresses to any place that you want photos taken ie.  bride’s house, groom’s house, ceremony location, additional location for group photos, reception.  List any poses you want taken, this way it is not overlooked. 

Ask if you can substitute one item for another and a set package.  When my husband and I were finalizing our wedding album, our package came with a enlargement with dimensions 20 x 24 or something crazy like that.  My husband and I decided we wanting more pictures in our album and have a smaller enlargement for ourselves.  Our photographer had no problem with it.

Hope this helps!!

I have seen different ways in which you can acknowledge your parents during your wedding ceremony and reception.

It is a beautiful idea to acknowledge the parents.  To let them know that you appreciate and love them for all their unconditional love and support they have given you throughout your life. 

Some ideas are;

1) Include the parents in the ceremony processional.  Have the groom walk up the aisle with his parents.  The bride can be given away by both her mother and father.

2) When the bride reaches the parent’s seats at the wedding ceremony, she can take two flowers from her bouquet and give one to her mother and one to her mother-in-law.  

3) Writing a special thank-you to your parents, for all your guests to read in your ceremony program. 

4) The traditional father of the bride and bride dance, and mother of the groom and groom dance.  

5) Prepare a toast to the parents and then present them with flowers or another gift at the reception.