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Wedding

5 Awesome Wedding Ideas

So you popped the question, and she, or he, said yes! Hurrah! Now the fun begins. After you’ve decided to get married, it’s time to plan the kind of wedding you want. These days there are loads of awesome wedding ideas around. You don’t have to go for the classic anymore if you don’t want to. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with it, probably the majority of couples still marry in this style. However, there are so many other special occasions days to choose from now that it makes sense to group together some of the top ones to make your planning a bit easier and a bit more enjoyable.

The Classic Wedding

Everyone knows what a classic wedding looks like; it’s the image of a wedding that’s been used for generations. This wedding has a bride in a white dress and a groom in a tuxedo. It takes place in a church or religious location and has a reception in a nearby hotel. The reception includes a three-course meal, speeches, and a dance.

The classic wedding is suitable to couples who like a classic wedding without any surprises. Maybe the classic style suits your sensibility, or you’ve always dreamed of having classical wedding pictures that look just like the ones from your parent’s photo album. The classic wedding is also a safe concept that is well known and understood.

Organising a classic wedding, however, is no easier than organising one with a novel concept. You still need to plan well in advance and make sure all the items are ticked off your to-do list if you want the event to run smoothly. You will have to book the venues for the wedding and reception, book the honeymoon and hire the photographer, among a million other things.

The Destination Wedding

A destination wedding takes place overseas or in a different location from where the wedding couple generally lives. The destination chosen is usually iconic or meaningful to the couple in some way. These weddings are often more laid back than classical variety; they involve fewer people, less organisation, and tend to be cheaper overall.

A destination wedding would suit a couple who want to make their special day iconic and memorable. Imagine your wedding photos in a sun-soaked location or with a stunning sky in the background – no filter. Destination weddings might also suit those who want to reduce the number of guests at the event along with the cost.

There are many destination venues that deal exclusively with destination weddings. In the same way, you might try various hotels for a classical reception, perform your diligence on each organising venue. They can provide everything for you, including the venue and reception. Remember, you may have fewer guests at this event due to various traveling restrictions.

The Spiritual Wedding

For people who don’t want to go down the religious route, there are other options available these days, and no one’s judging, on earth or in heaven. A spiritual wedding is all about the truth and inner beauty of those being married on the day; it doesn’t reference conventional religions or requires participants to adhere to beliefs.

This type of wedding can take many forms. You could have a spiritual wedding in the classical style, at a special destination, or in your back garden. Since the wedding is focused around the beauty of the occasion, it can be designed with unique ideas and intentions. Personal vows can be written and space made for appreciating the connections made with guests.

If you’re interested in a spiritual wedding, or any other life occasion, contact wedding celebrant; they specialise in weddings and life occasions that don’t lean in any religious direction. If you think this is something that might suit you, consider combining the idea with another wedding type to create the ultimate personal wedding experience.

The DIY Wedding

A DIY wedding is the hipster’s choice! This is a wedding style in which the couple decides to do everything on their own. This includes the catering, reception, cake, entertainment, and even the drinks at the bar. These weddings are often low budget but high on guest inclusion; you will likely be working overtime with your friends to get things organised.

The DIY wedding is ideal for those who want to get married on a budget but still have the celebration of a big day. These weddings are often very authentic and inclusive. Expect a magical atmosphere, lots of fairy lights, and plenty of craft beer. Be warned that a DIY wedding could turn out easier said than done.

To organise your perfect DIY wedding, you will need to decide on the ideal venue. Some people use a meaningful place, such as a friend’s property. DIY weddings are usually low budget, but you may need to spend some money too, perhaps on a venue or a dress; where possible, however, it’s all about the DIY.

The Beach Wedding

Beach weddings are usually small intimate occasions in exotic locations with close friends and family groups. The ceremony takes place down at the water, and the couple often don’t wear any shoes. Attire is also suitable for the beach and for hot weather, so light, loose clothing is worn. The photographs are excellent value.

A beach wedding would suit those interested in having a memorable ceremony that’s exotic and low key, without the high cost associated with a classic wedding. A beach wedding will usually take place on an island or resort in a place with guaranteed sunshine. Due to the location aspect, only a small number of guests will generally attend.

To arrange a beach wedding, you will first have the fun of selecting the beach you want to get married on, it could be somewhere that is meaningful to you as a couple or that offers the best value for money. Normally everything is arranged for you by the venue so you have less to organise and can honeymoon at the same location.

5 Wedding Planning Tips and Tricks You Need to Know

Every couple wants their wedding day to perfect but planning such an important event can be stressful. Whether you’re hoping for a small, intimate ceremony or a large, celebratory reception, arranging a wedding can take time and planning.

Fortunately, there are ways to make the planning process easier. If you want to plan your perfect wedding with minimal hassle, take a look at these top tips now:

Plan the Guest List

Until you know roughly how many guests will be attending, you can’t make any decisions regarding the venue. While many couples start scouting out locations and venues first, it’s really your guest list you need to be focusing on. Once you’ve got an approximate number of guests, you can begin to plan the rest of your wedding.

Choosing a Venue

Selecting a wedding venue can be stressful in itself, particularly if you’re inviting people from all over the country or from overseas. An important issue that many people overlook, however, is how a proposed venue will look and function in different seasons. If you’re getting married in Winter, for example, you’ll want a Winter wedding venue that will look enchanting and remain accessible in potentially bad weather. By factoring this into your decision-making, you can ensure that your wedding venue is well-equipped to help you create the big day you’ve always dreamed of.

Ask for Recommendations

The wedding industry is growing all the time, but you’ll find that wedding professionals are often the best people to ask for recommendations. Your wedding photographer will probably know which wedding bands are the best in town, for example. Similarly, a wedding caterer may be able to recommend a florist who’s known for their reliability, style and quality. By asking wedding professionals for their recommendations, you can quickly discover who is the best in the business.

Be Organised

No matter how much time you think you’ll need to plan your wedding, you’ll probably need longer! Arranging an event requires your organisational skills to be on point, so take the time you need to get a workable system in place. Creating an email address just for wedding planning can be a good way to keep track of everything. Similarly, using a wedding calendar to remind yourselves of bookings, appointments and deposit deadlines can ensure you don’t overlook anything important.

Focus on the Most Important Elements

As your wedding day gets closer, you may find that you’ve overestimated what you’re able to achieve. Instead of trying to bake your own macarons as wedding favours, you may need to cross this off your list and focus on the most important elements of your day. If in doubt, get all of the essential parts of your day covered before you move on to the finishing touches.

Planning the Perfect Wedding

Whether you’ve spent weeks, months or years planning your wedding, be sure to enjoy the day when it arrives. With the hard work done, you can rely on your precision planning and faultless organisation to deliver a day to remember.

Platinum vs White Gold: Which is the best metal for your engagement ring?

When you start looking for a diamond engagement ring, you may be surprised to learn that yellow gold is not ideal when teamed with diamonds – unless the diamonds are fancy, brightly coloured ones that look good against the gleam of yellow or rose gold. This is because diamonds are cut to reflect light, and if mounted against yellow gold, they will reflect yellow, instead of that evocative rainbow fire that marks a diamond’s quality. You will very quickly decide that you need to make a choice between white gold and platinum, but which should you choose and why?

White Gold

White gold is something of a misnomer, but calling it ‘gold mixed with some other pale metal’ is not likely to garner it too many purchasers, even though that would be more accurate! White gold is gold mixed with, usually, one of three silver-hued metals, nickel, silver, or palladium. Because of the high content of gold, the metal is not actually ‘white’ (by which a silvery hue is actually meant). Rather, it is like a very pale-yellow gold. Like its more colourful counterpart, white gold is categorised in carats of purity, and the price is very much the same as yellow gold, itself an alloy, usually. This is because pure gold is very soft, and any jewellery made from it would be misshapen after one day of use. When rings are offered for sale as white gold and betraying no hint of yellowness, this is almost always because the ring has been plated with rhodium, a beautiful silvery element that looks very attractive. However, this plating will come off in time, perhaps giving your engagement ring time to shine moonlit silver until the wedding ceremony, after which time it will revert to the colour of pale gold! White gold tends to be a hardy metal, given durability by the addition of the other metals, so it is a good choice as an engagement ring which will be worn all the time.

Platinum

Platinum that is used in jewellery is also an alloy, albeit with a much higher purity. Most platinum only has about five percent of other metals mixed in with it, and this is why platinum costs a little more than white gold, which may have ten percent or more of other metals mixed with it. Platinum naturally has an attractive silvery shade and will not discolour over time as there is no plating to wear away. Like gold platinum is highly un-reactive, so rings made from either metal will not tarnish or discolour with day-to-day use. It is also very hard-wearing which makes it ideal for regular wear as a ring – the jewellery item that takes the most abuse, given how often we use our hands during our lives! One big advantage of platinum is that it is hypoallergenic, while one of the metals commonly used to make white gold, nickel, is a metal that more people are allergic to than any other.

So, which should you choose? It is entirely your choice. Platinum is heavier, being a denser metal, and it is more expensive. It has the advantages of being hardwearing and hypoallergenic. On the other hand, if there are no allergies involved, and cost is an important factor, then white gold is an excellent option. For more advice and help in making up your mind, there is an impartial platinum vs white gold comparison at Pricescope diamond and jewellery forum that can help you weigh up the differences between two metals that will both set your diamond off to a great effect. Happy shopping!