Author: Olga Pomeransky

Olga is manager at Best for Bride since 2005. Currently Best for Bride operates 4 bridal stores in Canada (Toronto, Etobicoke, Hamilton and Barrie). Best for Bride sells wedding, bridesmaids, mob dresses and more. https://www.bestforbride.com/
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5 Ways to Make Your Reception More Fun

ringtoss

Receptions are always a fun thing to attend, but there are ways that you can make them even more fun and interactive, allowing your guests to get to know one another if they don’t already, give them a chance to move about the hall or yard and spend some time having fun before sitting down for dinner.

Wedding Mad Libs

Wedding Mad Libs (or Wed-Libs) have been a huge hit recently. Many sites online are offering free templates that you can print off and leave at every place sitting with a pen or pencil for your guests to fill out. Not only are these a great way for your guests to share stories about the bride and groom at the table, but you can keep them and read them afterwards as well.

Ring Toss

Having an outdoor wedding? Have friends and family challenge one another to a ring toss! All you need is a wooden crate, some bottles you can paint with your wedding colors, and some embroidery hoops decorated with ribbon and you have a fun and simple game for everyone of all ages to play.

Oversized Boardgames

These can be played outdoors and indoors if you have the room. You can rent all kinds of games like Connect Four, Jenga, Checkers and even Scrabble from many local game companies that also rent them out for stag and does. When you are putting a stag and doe together, see if they’ll give you a better price for renting more than once.

bingo

Wedding Bingo

Another great icebreaker! Get a blank Bingo card and fill it in with conversation starters like “has known the groom more than 5 years” or “was born in June”. Place them at every person’s seat so everyone can start some conversation and have some fun! (And don’t forget to let them know to yell out BINGO!)

The Kissing Game

Don’t want people clinking their spoons against their glasses to make you kiss every ten seconds? Offer the Kissing Game, where you fill a fishbowl with suggestions like “Sing your favourite song” or “get your table to play duck-duck-goose with you”. They have to perform the task successfully or forfeit and try again later. If they are successful, the bride and groom kiss.

Don’t forget to check out Best for Bride as your one stop shop for everything you need for your special day. From dresses to invitation, we’ve got you covered.

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Wedding Etiquette Tips for the Bride and Groom

Outdoor wedding reception

Your wedding will be the most memorable day of your life and you and your family and friends will want to look back on it with fondness, never bad occurrences because of ill-mannered brides and grooms. Your wedding day can also be very stressful, but if you keep these tips in mind on your special day, your guests will remember everything happily and not still talk about the time that the groom was giving a speech after having one too many or how the bride didn’t say hello to certain people.

Visit with Each Guest

There’s no doubt that during the reception there will be lots going on, but don’t forget to visit every table and take a couple of minutes to speak with everyone. They’re just as happy to be there as you are to have them there, so make sure all of your guests feel like they’ve been acknowledged by both the bride and groom and don’t forget to thank them for coming to share your special day.

Mingle as a Couple

It’s easy to want to break off from your new husband or wife and hang out with your friends at the bar, but make sure you make time to talk to your guests as a couple. You just got married, and plenty of people will want to come and congratulate you; it’s just easier when you are both together.

Be Mindful of Your Alcohol Consumption

There’s always someone that gets too drunk and ends up embarrassing themselves; you don’t want that to be you, especially on your wedding night! Make sure you pace yourselves because there is likely to be lots of toasts with champagne, wine at the tables and friends and family wanting to have a celebratory drink with you.

Remember Your Bridal Party

They’ve likely spent money on suits, dresses, shoes, accessories, makeup and more (the average bridesmaid spends $600!), make sure that you get a nice thank you present for your bridesmaids and groomsmen. Make sure you budget and plan ahead for this; this isn’t a spot to save your money. Make sure they not only know how important they are to your special day, but how thankful you are. Need some tips on finding the best bridesmaids gifts? This article will help you!

Don’t forget to check out Best for Bride as your one stop shop for everything you need for your special day. From dresses to invitation, we’ve got you covered.

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From Disaster to Dream: Why Hiring the Right Makeup Artist is Crucial – A True Story

Please Note: The following has been written by a guest blogger.

A makeup artist may be one of the last things that a bride thinks of, but it’s no less important a choice than a hairstylist or even a florist. It takes research to find the artist that will be the right fit for you and who will make you look exactly how you want to look and not caked in makeup. Another important thing to consider is a trial – during the trial, your makeup artist can look at photos of what kind of makeup you are looking for and will do an application. From there you can judge how you’d like to change the look, or if you like it how it is. Also, you may discover you have sensitivities to some products that you didn’t know you had.

I cannot stress the importance of a trial enough. Why? Because I didn’t have one for my wedding, it left me in tears on the most important day of my life, and I would never want another bride to go through the same thing.

Back then I didn’t know what I know now. No one told me that I needed a makeup trial and I would never have even thought of it. This was before the mobile makeup for brides became so popular, and also before I had even given any kind of thought to becoming a certified makeup artist (that came a couple years later).

Don't let this be you on your wedding day.
Don’t let this be you on your wedding day.

When the hairstylist and makeup artist showed up at my home, the first thing I noticed was the disorganized way the makeup artist was transporting her materials. In her small train case, it was clear eyeshadows had been broken and not cleaned up. She proceeded with my makeup application and I found out then I was very sensitive to foundation formulas. So sensitive that I had an allergic reaction. In fact, the makeup was so bad, I looked like a raccoon with black lining my eyes and spread across my eyelids, despite asking for a ‘natural look with gold and brown tones’.

Now I look back on my wedding photos and while I love them, the redness from the allergic reaction is still there. I don’t love the photos any less, but it did make me realize the error in my ways. Years later when I became a certified artist, I realized that this girl had probably been nothing more than someone with a lot of makeup.

Don’t make the same mistake I did, ladies. Bite the bullet, pay for the trial (or at the very least make sure the artist is using products you are familiar with) and make sure you get exactly what you want on your wedding day.

For more useful tips and tricks for the bride-to-be, make sure you check out Best for Bride Blog where you will find everything you are looking for to help you with your wedding.

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Hiring the Right Wedding Photographer

The first thing most newly engaged brides do (other than tell everyone they’re going to get married) is go to pick out their dress and decide what their bridesmaids are going to wear. However, as important as the dresses and the location of the ceremony are, there’s one thing that’s often overlooked as a very important aspect of the wedding day: the photographer.

Having a photographer at your wedding isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity and it’s just as important as the rings and the dress. It can also be just as hard to choose a wedding photographer as it is the aforementioned items.

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Photography by Marc Daniel Photography; used with permission.

The best practice is to first use Google. While friends recommendations are nice, they can also be bias, so you need to make sure that you are doing plenty of research. Reading about your photographer is great, but meeting them in person over coffee is even better. You might not think that a photographer’s personality has anything to do with the way that they take photos, but that’s not true. You and your photographer should have the same idea of what kind of photos you want, and some examples from wedding magazines or blogs can help show what you are looking for to your potential photographer.

Don’t forget to take a good long look at their portfolios. You don’t want to have your photos not taken well or over-edited in post processing. Many photographers, if they haven’t gone to school to hone their craft (and they don’t need to in order to produce brilliant results), have trained with other photographers or have years of experience. A wedding is not the ideal time to hire an amateur photographer just to save some money.

Never be afraid to ask questions. By asking questions, this ensures that there won’t be any surprises on your wedding day. Types of questions can include whether or not they bring an assistant, their photography style and equipment they use. While the last one is not particularly important, if you want to know, don’t hesitate to ask. More ideas for questions you can ask them can be found here.

Most importantly of all, if you are booking a photographer and they have a contract (most professionals do) make sure you read it thoroughly and ask any questions in case you don’t understand. Signing the contract and paying a deposit will reserve your photographer for your date: don’t be stuck looking for one last minute.

For more tips and tricks for the bride to be, don’t forget to check out Best for Bride’s blog for everything you are looking for.