Wedding Music that Will Get Your Guests Dancing.

By Nina Callaway, About.com Guide

Suggestions for Wedding Music - - Ensure A Full Dance Floor and Fun Times

I think the best weddings have romantic and beautiful ceremonies, and receptions that feel like great all-out parties. Wedding music is perhaps the most important element of making your guests go home saying, "Man, that was a fun wedding." If you want to ensure that your guests are dancing and having fun all night long, here are my tips for great wedding music.

• Variety is Key in Wedding Music

  What appeals to your high school friends is not going to be exactly the same as what appeals to your business colleagues. So mix things up and play some of each. If you do it right, the guests who come to the floor for KC & the Sunshine Band will stick around for Beyonce.
  
  

• Know Your Audience

  In some circles, line dances like "Electric Slide" are hugely popular. Amongst my friends, it would go over like a lead balloon – that's why I have it on my personal Do Not Play List. On the other hand, my family has a soft spot for "Copacabana", so even though it's cheesy, it might just be played. Bottom line, you know your friends and family better than any DJ or bandleader. If there's a song that will really get your guests dancing, or keep them from dancing, don't hesitate to make that known.
  
  

• Ask Your Guests About Their Favorite Wedding Music

  On your reply card, ask guests to name a song that will be sure to get them up and dancing. It will help guests get excited for dancing, and ensure that the wedding music appeals to a wide variety of people.
  
  

• Taking Care of Older Guests

  Sure, you want your friends to have a good time, but don't ignore Grandma and Grandpa. Older guests will tend to be among the first to leave, so tailor your music selections accordingly. Towards the beginning of your reception, play more 40's, 50's and 60's hits, mixed with current selections. In the last hour, you can stick to current music. Some oldies that appeal to many generations: Elvis – "Teddy Bear" or "Hound Dog", Supremes – "You Can't Hurry Love", Jerry Lee Lewis – "Great Balls of Fire."
  
  

• Get the Dancing Started a Little Early

  Traditionally, dancing wouldn't start until after the cake is served. But today's brides and grooms want to have more lively and fun wedding receptions. So they're kicking off the dancing shortly after the main course is served. In fact, at one of the more fun wedding receptions I've ever been to, the dancing started as soon as the bride and groom were announced. (The only time the dancing stopped was for the toasts!)
  
  

• Stack the Dance Floor

  Hey, you're the bride (or groom). You get to boss the bridal party around, at least a little bit. Careful scientific observation tells me that guests are more apt to dance when there are already people dancing. So tell the bridal party that part of their job is to dance, and to ask other people to dance. Plus, the pictures of your 20-something-year-old roommate dancing with your 80-something-year-old great uncle will be
• 
  

The Theme Dream:
Having the Theme Wedding of Your Dream

It is a good idea to select a theme for your wedding before embarking on the journey of making wedding plans. By having a theme in mind, you will find it easier to make decisions when it comes to making your bookings for your gowns, location and other wedding items.

A well-planned theme wedding also gives you the pleasure of knowing your guests will attend a memorable wedding, where everything has been well thought out & executed for their maximum enjoyment. Your "es-theme" will rise knowing your guests will leave your wedding with sweet memories of how personal & different your wedding was. A theme wedding also offers a good reflection of you & your partners personalities as you incorporate your likes & hobbies into the scheme of themes.... and what better time to do this than at the start of your lives together.

We offer you some suggestions of easy-to-implement themes but do not stop here. Let your imagination run wild as you put together a wedding that is meaningful to you and enjoyable for your guests. Talk to a reputable Wedding Consultant if you need help with the "how-to’s", the "where-to’s" and the "how-much?"

TIPS

Having a Theme Wedding will require good planning. Here are some of the things to look out for:

Food. While selecting a menu that suits your theme, be sensitive to the needs of ALL your guests. There may be racial, age-group &/or religious considerations.

Location. Be sure to decide if you want to have an indoor or outdoor wedding. Have an estimate of the number of guests you will be having on-hand before booking a site.

Decoration. Get help from friends or hire a Professional.

Outfits. Inform your designer of the theme you are having and listen to his/her suggestions. Do remember to wear only something you can be move around comfortably in.

Favours. Something in line with the wedding theme so guests have something to take home with them.

Guests. Choose a theme your guests will be comfortable with. You may not be able to please everyone but be sure to have something appropriate. If your theme involves guest participation, give them ample time to get involved. If not, surprise them!

The Fairy Tale

Here is where you can live your Prince Charming & Cinderella fantasy (complete with evil stepmother-in-law!!!)

Food : Serve food that’s fanciful & dreamy. Have each course served amidst dry ice to conjure up the magical.

Location : With the wave of a magic wand & preferably with the help of a professional wedding decorator, any function room can be transformed into your palace.

Decor : Think ice carvings. Get a professional decorator wedding to create the image of being in the enchanted kingdom.

Outfits : Big princess ball-gown, (magic wand to be included). Groom must wear a tuxedo.

Guests : Persuade your guests to arrive in costumes. Get key people in your wedding party to go all out with their garb!

Romantic Candlelight

Tell them he/she lights up your life. Light up the candles....lots of them. Create an ambience of romance.

Say It With Flowers

Your love in full bloom, reflected in your choice of buds. Select a flower and work with that. How about combining different flowers in a similar colour. A client once chose 3 different flowers - Tulips, Iris & Matthiola as her wedding flowers because the first letters of the flowers spelt out her husband Tim’s name.

Flowers can be used to decorate the church, the reception area, the home and even the food display. The same flower(s) can be used in the bouquets and the car decoration. As a thank you to your guests for attending your wedding, how about presenting them with a stalk of your favourite flower.

By: Cindee Yeo
A Love Affair Wedding Concepts
Website: www.love-affair.com

Summer Wedding Ideas

The Setting for Your Summer Wedding

Summer weddings are ripe for an outdoor setting such as a beach, a garden, or a beautiful yard. Take advantage of the long days with an afternoon wedding, or highlight the glorious sunsets by saying your vows as the sun goes down behind you. Use fresh fruits and vegetables to decorate -- perhaps including clementines and kumquats in your flower arrangements, or simply filling a large vase with bright yellow lemons. Bring light to an evening wedding with torches and strings of lanterns in the trees. An extra-summery idea is to use gingham tablecloths with a few sunflowers in metal watering cans as centerpieces.

Summer Wedding Flowers

You can't go wrong with an abundance of flowers at a summer wedding. There are so many varieties in season, you may have a tough time narrowing your choices down! Fill the scene with bright and cheerful flowers such as roses, sunflowers, red and yellow calla lilies, dahlias, gerber daisies, cosmos, mums, and zinnias. Bright purple dendrobium orchids are much less expensive during the summer months, so you can feel like a queen without the budget of one.

An alternative idea is an airy summer look with mostly white and light colored flowers such as roses, stephanotis, white phlox, elegant white calla lilies, huge and fragrant casa blanca lilies, hydrangea, snowball mums, and daisies (also known as Shasta daisies).

Food for Your Summer Wedding

Celebrate the bounty of the season by filling your menu with fresh fruits such as watermelon, and berries, and fresh vegetables such as corn, dipped in a chocolate or ranch fountain. Or as an additional dessert, offer refreshing granitas and sorbets.

Article By Nina Callaway, About.com Guide

The Cake

• Be a kid again with tiers of light and fluffy vanilla icing
• 
  
• Have a light touch with fresh berries topped around the cake.
• 
  
• Serve big bowls of strawberry's.
• 
  
• Cool off with gelato.
• 
  
• Be bold and go with a mad hatter cake.
• 
  
• Or just be elegant with a white fondant cake, with delicate intricate designs, sitting atop a flowing fountain.
  

Wedding Color Trends

Purple Wedding Decorations

April 1, 2010 By Charissaatweddingcolors.net

Purple is one of the most popular colors for 2010 weddings. What better way to enjoy the rich tones of this elegant color than by using it to decorate your wedding reception? These are some great ideas for purple wedding decorations.

Coral Wedding Accents

June 4, 2010 By Charissaatweddingcolors.net

Fashion trend watchers agree: coral is one of the hottest colors this year. Not as bold as bright orange, yet more sophisticated than pastel pink, coral is a fresh and upbeat hue to include in a spring or summer wedding.

Wedding Color Trends

May 24, 2010 By Charissaweddingcolors.net

White and ivory wedding dresses truly are a classic. Each year however, brides become more and more experimental. Last year’s wedding color trends included more subtle and neutral tones. Colors like black and white, brown, and shades of greens and white were the hottest wedding color trends in 2008.

---

Wedding colors how to choose?

I found this fascinating article over at theknot.com and I thought I'd share. It's an informative article that gives you tips and tricks on how to choose your wedding colors. Choosing your wedding colors can sometimes be stressful. Especially picking colors that compliment each other well. Over the next couple weeks I will be blogging about different ways to find the perfect colors that match your style.

Wedding Style: 15 Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Colors

Color: it's the unifying feature for most of your wedding details. So it's no surprise that choosing the right wedding color theme for your celebration may seem overwhelming. But the truth is, it's easier than you think. The key to creating a stylish and successful wedding color combo is understanding the relationship between colors -- and no, you don't need a degree from art school to absorb the ideas. Just find a starting place (your favorite hue, your forest green setting), then work from there. Here's how.

Set Your Eyes On Your Site

When deciding on a wedding color palette, play up the prominent colors of your site or setting. For instance, if your wedding is by the sea, the natural choice is blue. And, if you're marrying at a country club with navy and maroon oriental carpets, lime green and hot pink details won't work.

Get Inspired By the Season

Let Mother Nature be your guide -- they say she never makes a mistake. Pink may work year-round, but light pastels and barely there hues like buff can look washed out for a fall or winter wedding. In the summer, reserve dark colors like burgundy only for accents.

Do Your Research

Become aware of color combination's that you like, whether browsing art galleries or flipping through a stack of home or fashion or interior design magazines for the must-have colors for the new season.

Scout It Out

To choose an exact hue, visit a fabric store or neighborhood paint shop and collect swatches or chips of colors you might want to use. This will help you get specific, so that when you decide on green you'll know if it's lime green, Kelly green, sage green, or forest green.

Choose a Dominant Hue

Pick one general color first -- say, blue -- and then start thinking about shades and tints (aqua, robin's egg, navy) or other colors to accent it with.

Play with Paint Websites

From seeing colors in action (by virtual room painting) to recommendations for popular color combos, paint companies know a lot about color. Visit sites like Behr.com, Glidden.com, and Sherwin-Williams.com. BenjaminMoore.com even has an interactive color wheel.

Pair Wisely

Stick to wedding colors of the same intensity, such as lavender and baby blue rather than royal blue with light brown.

Set the Mood

Figure out what emotions you want your celebration to evoke. A peaceful, Zen-like retreat? A regal, romantic affair? A jumping, high-energy party? For instance, a vibrant summer yellow mixed with chocolate-brown (think sunflowers and bees) is perfect for a country-chic wedding -- add gold to the mix, and the combination becomes more reminiscent of regal France.

Get It On Paper

Spend time looking for wedding stationary in color combos that inspire you and express your style and fit with the feel of the reception -- rich violets, oranges, and teals for a Mediterranean or Near East flair, or pink and green for a preppy summer affair.

Vary It Up

Can't settle on one scheme? If your wedding takes place in multiple rooms, each can have its own palette. But choose one consistent color to keep it from looking like a kaleidoscope.

Take Flower Notes

The most obvious way to add color is with your wedding flowers. But first, get familiar with the different types of flowers -- especially your favorites -- and the colors they come in. If you want an all-blue wedding, your petal picks will be more limited than if you went with a red celebration.

Don't Forget Your Linens

Look through party rental catalogs for colorful cloths like napkins and overlays that you love. Use them on guest, cake and buffet tables, underneath the escort cards, and more. Or, focus on the table accessories. Maybe a beloved china pattern could set the palette for your reception tables. Colored glassware is also huge right now and can be rented. Do most of your glasses in clear, and select one or two to be blue, pink, or green -- you get the idea.

Light It Up

Lighting can make or break a space. Talk to your event designer or lighting expert about colors you can use to wash bare white walls (especially important for loft spaces). Pink and amber tints will soften the room without overpowering it. Blue is tricky, but can work well if you're looking to showcase cool crisp angles.

Drive Home Color

Don't forget about the impact of repetition -- trimming doorways, tables, centerpieces, and the bar with the same simple ribbon in your signature hue will give more oomph than one large, ornate display in the same color.

Consider All of Your Elements.

The last, but most important, thing to remember when making your final choice: Not all colors are easy to wear, and you've got bridesmaids to dress.

-- written by Amy Keith

Here is a link to the original article

Theknot.com

St. George Wedding Planner, Caterer, Flower Arrangement, Cake and Dress Designer

As a St. George Wedding Planner I get so excited catering and decorating all the new and different styles of weddings. In this past year I have done, Vintage, Trendy, Seasonal, Traditional, Themed and many more. Each one catered to the Bride to be, each one uniquely different. I am looking forward to this coming year, and all the new styles and trends that will be popping up.