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Wedding Technology: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Emails and texts often replace letters and personal conversations. How has technology impacted weddings? Technology can be helpful to the couple as they plan their big day, but some traditions should not be replaced by a technological alternative. Which tech trends are appropriate for a wedding?

Wedding Planning

The process of wedding planning is where tech really shines. There  are several ways that couples can use technology to make the wedding planning process more efficient and even fun. Create a Pinterest board and start pinning wedding ideas early in the process. As you make decisions about wedding decor, dresses, cakes, and other wedding details, you can edit the Pinterest board to reflect your choices. You can share the board with certain people or keep it private.

Do you have relatives who offer way too much advice on what the wedding should be like? Add them to a Pinterest board, not necessarily the one you are using to narrow your choices. When the imposing relatives give advice, ask them to pin it on the board. You may find something you like. If not, at least the relatives feel that their voice was heard.

Google Docs can be helpful for wedding planning. A document can be created with a To Do list or wedding planning ideas. The document can be shared with others you trust to help you complete the To Do list or provide feedback on ideas.

Invitations

While a Facebook Invite might be appropriate for a picnic or birthday party, it is not acceptable for a wedding. The social media butterflies may feel inclined to forgo the traditional invitations for a quick Facebook Event listing, but this impersonal, one-size-fits-all option is not the best choice for weddings. The traditional invitations are one way to introduce the wedding to your guests.

Traditional wedding invitations show the couple’s style and personality. The social media invite for weddings is so impersonal that guests are bound to feel cheated. Receiving invites to a wedding by any computer tech method such as social media, email, or text comes across as lazy and cheap.

Wedding Attendance

As a general rule, internet tech does not belong at the wedding ceremony. Brides and grooms should not be texting or tweeting during the ceremony. Believe it or not, those things have happened! There are some cases when internet technology has assisted in the big day. When a beloved relative such as a parent is too ill to attend the ceremony, the relative can still attend with the help of Skype and a laptop or tablet.

Sharing Wedding Photos

The internet is great for sharing photos or video of the wedding. Instead of adding this to the seemingly never-ending list of responsibilities, consider asking a friend or relative to take on the job of posting the photos to a wedding blog, Facebook, or other photo-sharing option.

Technology has its place in day-to-day life. Some use of wedding technology is helpful. We use technology to learn about wedding trends and to coordinate the wedding planning with friends and relatives. When deciding whether or not to use technology to replace a tradition, consider if the tech alternative will improve the wedding or if guests may be offended by its use. Will the technology enhance the personality and flair of the big day or come across as impersonal?

For more tips about wedding planning and the use of wedding technology, please see this article about Planning a Wedding like a Professional which includes a tip about wedding planning software.

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Planning Your Wedding Food Service

Food is becoming an increasingly important part of any wedding reception. Let’s face it, there are people out there who will judge your wedding by the quality of the food you serve, whether they should or not. The good news is that there are so many options when it comes to serving great food to your wedding guests. You are no longer confined by tradition to a sit down, plated meal consisting of gourmet dishes if that is not what you are looking for.

These days farmer’s markets have become a big deal. Many restaurants now work with local farmers markets to get their produce, dairy products and more. You can choose to have your wedding catered by a restaurant that does get their ingredients from farmer’s markets. Not only will this make it more likely the ingredients used in your wedding dishes will be fresh you will also be helping to give back to the community by supporting the agriculture in your area. When you serve farmer’s market meals at your wedding you can capture the mood using wildflowers in mason jars to serve as centerpieces and/or wedding favors and by choosing rustic décor for your reception.

It’s becoming increasingly common these days to turn your wedding reception into a “serve yourself” kind of event. Self-serve stations can be used for the dinner itself or to provide your guests with something of an interactive dessert bar. It’s a great way to give your guests the opportunity to create their own ice cream sundae or banana split. You can even use it to allow guests to prepare their own wedding favors. One way to do this is to offer different types of popcorn or candy that your guests can mix together to take home.

Even wedding cakes are undergoing a makeover for 2015. This trend started in 2014 and will continue into next year’s weddings. Wedding cakes are becoming more detailed as many brides are choosing to take an aspect of their dress, like diamonds or lace and recreate the look and feel of the materials on their cake. You could instead choose to tie your wedding cake in with your invitations or even with the décor you have chosen for your special day.

Wedding refreshments are about more than just food; the drinks you serve your guests are just as important. Sticking to the old standby drinks is yesterday’s news. Today’s brides and grooms are having signature drinks created for themselves. The drinks created just for you and your groom should in some way reflect something about your relationship. For example, if you two met at a coffee shop, have a drink created for your wedding that uses coffee flavored liquor. The possibilities for creating unique drinks are limitless. Some brides are even choosing to have mixed drinks served that are the color of their bridesmaids’ dresses.

For more ideas on how to plan every aspect of your wedding, visit Best For Bride.com.

 

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Delicious DIY Wedding Favours

When thinking about your wedding, many brides and grooms don’t think much about the wedding favours. While beautiful wedding favours can be purchased, it will always mean a lot more if wedding guests know that the couple made the favours with love and with them in mind. Even better is to give them a favour that they can take home and use instead of letting it sit on the shelf and gather dust. That said, where would someone start when it comes to making favours? Here are some easy ideas.

Cake Pops

These are the big new thing at parties, baby showers and weddings. You can make them yourself with cake mix and frosting, as well as some decorative items like sprinkles. You can make them your wedding colors, or you can decorate them like little bride and grooms. A delicious treat for every wedding guest!

Herb Plant

The plant that can keep on giving. You can decorate a clay pot that the herbs will grow in and this would be a great addition to anyone’s kitchen. You can even add a name stake into the plant and it can double as a place tag. If you have a lot of people coming in from out of town though, make sure you take into consideration the transportation of the plant.

Olive Oil

Gather bottles, olive oil, corks and some herbs and you can make your own olive oil. Guests will love this and it’s something practical that they can use. A week or two before your wedding, add your selected herbs to the bottle so that it has time to add flavour to the oil. Make sure to add a custom label on the bottle with your names and the date of your wedding for an added touch.

Chocolate Spoon

All you’ll need is bakers chocolate, plastic spoons, bags and ribbon. Melt the chocolate and dip the spoon in it; place on wax paper to cool. Once cool, package the spoon and tie with a ribbon that represents your wedding colors. Make sure to also add a tag with your names and wedding date. You can also package the spoon with two mini marshmallows and a package of hot chocolate for a hot drink treat.

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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Tip On How To Combat Wedding Nerves

As the closer your wedding day gets, so do the wedding day jitters. Some girls are so nervous about their big day and everything being perfect that they make themselves break out in hives or some kind of rash! Obviously, this only freaks them out more and intensifies the situation, but it doesn’t have to get that far. It’s totally normal to get nervous before your wedding day, but the important this is not to let your anxiousness interfere with you life, especially on the days leading up to the big day.

According to a survey done by a site called Fearcourse.com, about 71% of brides-to-be will get nervous anticipating their wedding day. That goes up to 92% of brides totally freaking out the day of their wedding or the night before, while 66% said that all that anxiousness really hindered their ability to enjoy the day. Don’t let this happen to you! Here are some tips on how to combat your wedding nerves.

1. Practice breathing techniques

If you’ve been super nervous to the point where you think you might have a panic attack, learn to a few breathing techniques so that you calm yourself down. If you take yoga classes, you most likely already know these breathing techniques and now’s the perfect time to use them. By taking in deep, long breathes, you’ll be able to shake off nerves and calm yourself down so that you don’t get so worked up.

2. Be confident

Via Flickr
Via Flickr

If you’re worried or stressed about something going wrong at your wedding, you’ll probably work yourself up even more. So instead of stressing over something you have no control over, be positive and confident instead. Think positive thoughts about how beautiful you wedding will be and how everything will go exactly as planned an you’ll automatically feel much calmer and at peace. To help you be more confident in your big day, visualize it in your head. Make sure you see yourself happy and calm and you’ll believe that everything will be okay in a matter of moments.

3. Get a massage the day before

To help you calm down even more, book a massage with your bridesmaids the day before and you’ll feel all that tension melt away. It’s also a great bridesmaid gift for your best girls!

4. Go for a walk the morning of your wedding

via Flickr
via Flickr

You’re most likely not going to be able to sleep that night so you’ll probably be up super early anticipating the day ahead. Before everything starts to happen, go for a brisk walk in the morning so that you collect your thoughts and feel at ease. You’ll feel calmer and ready to face the most wonderful day in your life when you get back!

About Best for Bride

We understand how stressful it can be planning a wedding and want to help every bride that enters our shop! Since Best for Bride ia a one-stop bridal shop, you’ll find everything you need for your big day – from bridal gowns to bridesmaid dresses and even florists and invites. Let us help you plan the perfect wedding!