When a close friend or family member decides to get married, there’s a good chance you may be asked to be in their wedding as a bridesmaid or a groomsman. If it’s a best friend or a close sibling getting hitched, you may be asked to stand next to them as a maid of honor or a best man. In either situation, this is an important responsibility. Members of a bridal or wedding party are expected to contribute time, treasure and talents to the nuptials of a happy couple, and there are some things you should know before committing.
Opting Out Of A Wedding
Before going further, you should understand that being in a wedding party will likely put significant demands on your time and funds, especially as the big day rolls around. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and say yes. However, you should know that you can always say no, and you should do so if you have any doubts about being able to fulfill the role, especially as a maid of honor or best man. If you need time to consider and more details about what is expected of you, it’s best to say something now and not later.
Planning Events
As a bridesmaid or groomsman, you’re expected to be part of a support system for the couple to be wed. This can mean everything from helping to plan events such as a bachelor or bachelorette party to coordinating actual details of the big day. As a part of the bridal party, you’re there to attend to the couple’s needs, which can include helping them stay calm and collected. One classic Canadian event that you may be expected to help organize and plan is a stag and doe party, which serves as a fundraiser to pay for costs associated with the new couple’s life together, including expenses from the ceremony and honeymoon.
Spending Money
Members of a wedding party are often expected to contribute personal funds to help cover various costs. Perhaps the most common expenses arise from wedding fashions. Bridesmaids are often expected to pay for their dresses according to the bride’s preferences. Similarly, groomsmen are usually responsible for renting a tuxedo or purchasing clothes and accessories for the big day. There are a number of expenses that you should take into account if you commit to participating in the ceremony:
Attire, including accessories and shoes
Gifts for the couple at various events
Costs for bachelor/bachelorette events, stag and doe parties, engagement gatherings, bridal showers, etc.
Travel expenses or fees for a destination or remote celebration
You shouldn’t go into debt or experience financial strain from being in the wedding party, so it’s important to ask questions up front before committing.
Helping the Couple Look Their Best
A bride or a groom will look to members of the bridal party to help them get suited and booted for the ceremony. This may include something as simple as helping someone fasten buttons or zippers that are hard to reach or helping tie a bow tie. Get familiar with that YouTube tutorial as soon as possible! Do you know your way around a makeup palette or a set of clippers? The happy couple may have need of special skills that you possess when it comes to putting the finishing touches on their appearance. Again, expectations and requests should be made known well in advance.
Many people consider it an honor to be asked to serve in a wedding, especially as a member of the bridal party. Recognize that you have an important role to fulfill, and if you’re not prepared to make the commitment required, say something right away. The last thing you want to do is leave a loved one hanging and add to the stress of the special day.
Canada has many beautiful locations for a wedding, from historic churches to national parks. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate your wedding while remembering Canada’s heritage, here are a few places you may want to look into.
Métis Crossing As a Wedding Site
The Métis Crossing Cultural Centre in Alberta loves to celebrate family and love. There’s no requirement to be Métis. You can hold your wedding and stay at the lodge, which overlooks the North Saskatchewan River. Guests can enjoy some of the cultural experiences to better understand the Métis. The Cultural Gathering Centre has rustic beams and natural light, so it needs minimal decorations.
Quaaout Lodge & Spa at Talking Rock Golf Resort
The Quaaout Lodge is located in Chase, British Columbia. It sits beside Little Shuswap Lake, so you can have a lakeside wedding. Your guests will enjoy the hospitality of the Little Shuswap Lake Band, which owns the lodge. The resort is open all year long, with appropriate activities for all seasons. The environment is kept in pristine condition, and it’s considered a photographer’s delight. Your wedding pictures will be amazing.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park As a Wedding Site
This national park in Nova Scotia offers two different backdrops, the sea and the mountains. You’ll need a Nova Scotia marriage license, but the scenery will make up for any bureaucratic inconvenience. The park features several locations that are suitable for ceremonies. Trout Brook has a small picnic shelter and a wood stove. It’s the perfect setting for an intimate wedding. Have your wedding party hike up the Skyline Trail to a cliff that overlooks the Gulf of St. Lawrence. You may even have some wildlife join you as you say your vows.
Batoche National Historic Wedding Site
Located in Saskatchewan, Batoche is about an hour north of Saskatoon. The site is only open from May to October for visitors, but it’s a lovely location with heritage buildings that are the perfect place for a simple wedding in a romantic place surrounded by history and nature. Guests can enjoy the museum before the wedding to learn more about the Métis and the First Nations.
Fort Malden National Historic Site
Get a glimpse into what life was like in the 19th century at this historical site along the banks of the Detroit River in Ontario. Visitor services are offered May to October. The site welcomes weddings and has many facilities that can be used to host an unforgettable wedding. Your guests will have plenty of places to explore while visiting the area. Amherstburg is a great town with wineries, restaurants and entertainment to keep everyone from getting bored.
Manoir-Papineau National Historic Site
Louis-Joseph Papineau was a historical figure who failed in his rebellion but ultimately led Canada to a responsible government. This beautiful manor house is one of the sites that remembers his legacy. It features many rooms and outbuildings suitable for weddings. The gardens and lawns are lovely places for pictures. Papineau was one of the original Francophone patriots.
The Forks National Historic Site
This site is a National Historic Site of Canada because it has been witness to many events in Canada’s history. Its geographical location at the juncture of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers make it a beautiful location to host a wedding. The amphitheatre can hold up to 120 chairs, but there are other spaces in the nine-acre park.
These locations bring history and nature to your wedding, making it a special celebration for you and your guests. Make sure to check with the facility’s management about wedding guidelines. Unfortunately, Parks Canada, which runs many of these venues, does not allow confetti or rose petals to be thrown at the ceremony. You may have to give up some of your traditions to get heritage.
Though putting together a wedding can be a challenging process, plenty of couples take on the task each year. Naturally, the volume of people tying the knot also makes it easy to understand which issues are most common during the planning process. If you’re currently gathering details for your nuptials, then you may find it useful to review some information surrounding the more common pitfalls you could encounter. The time leading up to your event is going to be hectic, and preliminary considerations can make a world of difference.
Guest List Mistakes
Picking who should be invited to your wedding is a decision that comes down to two people: your partner and you. If you’re allowing anyone else control over this, then you increase the likelihood of running into some serious annoyances later. In the past, it was commonplace for couples to allow older relatives or anyone helping to pay for the wedding to invite a few people to the event. Nowadays, this is not exactly a common tradition. Since weddings cost a lot of money, inviting people you don’t know can put a damper on your joy.
While you might bump heads with your significant other over which guests to invite, you both have equal claim to the list. Though there’s no easy way to handle relatives who are demanding to invite guests of their own, you want to address this issue as early as possible to avoid more complicated problems later.
Entertainment That Fits the Venue
None of the decisions you make in relation to your wedding should exist in a vacuum. While you don’t need to make sure that every detail matches, there are some areas where overlap is key. Your entertainment, for example, should be selected based around things like the acoustics of your venue. If your ceremony will take place outside in an open space, then having a solo acoustic guitarist provide all the music is a great way to guarantee no one hears a single note.
Similarly, you shouldn’t spend a lot of money on a complicated sound system for a DJ if you haven’t checked local noise ordinances. A backyard wedding in the suburbs can easily become a target for the police should enough neighbors call to complain about the celebrations. However, looking over all of the details early allows you the flexibility of picking entertainment that perfectly fits the space where you’ll be getting married.
Major Assumptions With Major Mistakes
Making assumptions about anything while you plan for your wedding is another easy way to find yourself in hot water. For example, many couples create a guest list with the assumption that many people won’t actually be able to attend. Though it is true that you’ll likely have people decline an invitation, you don’t want to build any plans off that assumption. Inviting 200 people and assuming only 150 will come can play out poorly if you find all 200 guests have responded that they’ll be there. Always base decisions on what you know, not what you assume.
The Legal Aspect
This might seem like common sense, but plenty of couples forget to figure out the legal side of marriage in advance. What’s unfortunate about this is that a marriage is not actually binding if any of the legal steps are missed or neglected. To ensure that you’re following the protocol, review the local regulations surrounding marriage. Typically, this will only involve a simple action like determining what paperwork needs to be completed and turned in before the ceremony.
While there’s no way to avoid every possible problem as you plan a wedding, there are a number of mistakes of which to steer clear. Looking over the basics will provide the knowledge needed to make the best choices for your big day.
Honeymoon While it might not get as much attention as the wedding itself, the honeymoon tends to be where the real fun waits for the happy couple. Since you’re probably spending a good chunk of change on getting married, you want to try and save on your travel expenses without sacrificing any of your enjoyment. Though it might be a difficult line to walk, it is far from impossible. Adhere to these smart travel tips and learn how you can maximize your budget while exploring the world as newlyweds.
Book The Honeymoon as Early as Possible
This is not a secret tip so much as it is a rule of thumb to live by, but you absolutely should book early when planning your honeymoon. Most people know this, especially those who tend to travel on any kind of routine basis. The longer you wait to secure your seat on a flight, the more likely it is that the cost of that trip is going to double or triple. Plan early and you will be able to take advantage of the most affordable flights available.
Don’t Feel You Must Schedule Around Your Wedding
The traditional idea of the honeymoon is that it takes place pretty soon after the wedding reception comes to a close. While most couples don’t rush off to the airport as soon as their guests leave the venue, a majority will depart within a day or so of their nuptials. However, there is absolutely no rule saying that you need to follow this path. In fact, there are plenty of scenarios where delaying your trip can save you a nice chunk of change.
If you’re getting married during the summer and plan on honeymooning in a popular vacation spot, then you’ll be paying incredibly high prices at every turn. Delaying your trip by a few months allows you the luxury of visiting this location during a time of year when the crowds are thinning out and prices are returning to a sensible place. Plus, pushing off the honeymoon gives you something fun to look forward to as you enter your first months of marriage.
Review Your Credit Cards and Benefit Programs Booking Your Honeymoon
With so many expenses to take care of with your wedding, you can benefit by putting your honeymoon budget on a credit card. In fact, opening a line of credit specifically for your trip is a great way to travel without feeling concerned about bringing the right amount of cash. Review your options with different cards and benefit programs, as there’s a good chance every purchase you make while abroad can land you points that you can apply toward more exciting perks down the line.
Create Your Own Plan
Visiting a new place can be as exciting as it is scary. In order to feel safe while traveling, many couples will purchase packages that help them experience the local environment from a distance. While this might be fine in some respects, it can also be a bit more expensive. While you don’t need to throw caution to the wind entirely, you can still experience your destination in a more authentic way with some work. Put in the research, and you’ll start to devise a plan so you enjoy your trip in a way that reflects your interests.
Cover Your Bases Back Home
Finally, don’t forget the expenses that are created when you need to leave home for a short period of time. From putting the pets in the care of someone you trust to having a neighbor take in the mail and water the plants, there are some small tasks that can cost you a little bit of money. Again, planning early can help you find the best rates on all of these services.
Your honeymoon is a chance to get away and have an adventure with your new spouse. By creating a budget-conscious plan, you can get more out of your experience.
When a friend or family member asks you to be actively involved in his or her wedding, it can be a big honor. However, it isn’t all fun and games. Members of the wedding party are responsible for a number of key duties. Beyond the basic responsibilities delegated to the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the couple may also look to these individuals to help with everything from contacting vendors to purchasing decor. If you want to rise to the occasion, then there are a handful of points to keep in mind at all times.
Keep a Positive Attitude
Planning a wedding is very stressful. You are likely going to encounter times when the couple of honor act out of character. Whether the bride snaps and causes a scene while shopping for dresses or the groom keeps adding more and more demands to the list of tasks you’re responsible for, you need to do your best to keep the right mindset through it all. Staying positive and helpful is going to be the absolute best way to respond to anything that the couple throws your way.
This does not mean, of course, you should be a punching bag or a doormat. Be reasonable with how much you allow the couple to get away with. A small outburst is one thing. A continued bad attitude from the couple is something else and should be addressed.
Learn To Listen
When times get tense, most people simply need to vent their frustrations. Statistics show that couples tend to fight the most when planning for big events like weddings. What’s worse, the couple doesn’t always know how to divert this negative energy away from the relationship. As a member of the wedding party, you need to be there whenever the bride or groom is in a position where some steam needs to be let off. Helping in this way can do a lot when it comes to keeping the peace during stressful moments.
Not only do you need to listen when the bride or groom requires a shoulder to lean on, you also have to hear each request made of you. Since you are responsible for tasks like putting together the bachelor or bachelorette party, you need to listen to what your friend is asking in terms of this event. If he or she says no exotic dancers for the party, then you really want to respect the wishes and not go with what you’d prefer.
Offer Inspiration
Most members of the wedding party are selected pretty quickly after the engagement is announced. This means that you’re going to be involved in some of the preliminary decisions related to the event. If your friend is trying to come up with the right theme for the wedding, then you can do wonders by providing inspiration on decorations. Similarly, you can offer suggestions on caterers, venues, and other vendors that the couple will require as they plan.
Keep Track
The couple is going to have a ton of different things to think about at any given time. As a member of the wedding party, offer to keep track of certain details. For example, you may want to keep track all of the various gifts that are given to the couple. This will make their lives a lot easier when it comes time to send out thank-you notes down the line. Try to determine how you can be most useful and apply yourself however possible.
From providing a shoulder to lean on when times are tough to taking care of sorting out some of the finer details of the event, being a member of the wedding party can include a ton of different responsibilities. By staying open and ready for anything, you can rise to the challenge and come through for your friends.
Even when there is love the road to your wedding is a long and involved one. From the planning process to all of the little celebrations leading up to the main event, you may find yourself focused on a lot of external factors instead of your significant other. At the end of the day, a wedding is about you and your partner. If you feel like you’re thinking about every aspect of the event except for your spouse-to-be, it can be useful to take a step back and think about different ways to show your appreciation.
Though not a hard rule, it is customary for couples to exchange gifts before they tie the knot. If you want to show your gratitude, giving a present might be exactly the solution you’ve been after.
Love Vs. Money Concerns
At a time when you’re draining your bank account to secure vendors and get invitations in the mail, you may not feel like you have a lot of room in your budget for more purchases. Thankfully, a gift for your betrothed doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it should actually be as cost-effective as possible so you don’t feel any guilt over the decision. This is a chance to think outside the box. What would your partner appreciate most? Is there something that your significant other needs?
A creative gift could also be a good option to explore. Plenty of couples exchange handmade or presents of personal significance during their earliest years together. As time goes by, it becomes more likely that they will start to purchase more standard gifts. By making something yourself, you can recall those first days when you were dating and every gesture seemed to brighten the world.
On the Same Page
Another good point to keep in mind is being on the same page. Getting something for your significant other without providing any notice can easily create tension. No one likes the guilt that comes along with getting a gift and not having anything to offer in return. Though it can take the surprise element out of the equation, asking if your partner wants to exchange gifts first is the best way to limit the odds of any awkwardness arising.
Time Together
A gift doesn’t always need to be a physical item. In fact, the best presents are usually experiences. Since most of your free time lately has likely been tied up with planning your nuptials, a perfect gift to consider is a bit of time together. When was the last time you went out on a date? Now might be a perfect opportunity to hit the town, especially if you want to have children soon after tying the knot. Whether you go out to a restaurant, watch movies at home, or take a small road trip, there are many fun options.
Little Gifts of Love
One final way to approach this idea is by thinking about how you can make your partner’s daily life a bit easier. Gifts of love are the ones that show you care and pay attention. If your significant other struggles to get up in the morning before consuming coffee, wake earlier and make a fresh pot. Pick up the slack with household chores or errands and lessen the load a bit. Whatever you think will bring a smile to his or her face is a great option to pursue.
Though you’re likely receiving many presents on the road to your wedding day, exchanging gifts with your partner can be a fun and simple way to remember the whole reason for the event. Consider the many ways you can go about this decision and discover a perfect option to show your partner you care.
Alanis Morissette notwithstanding, rain on your wedding day isn’t actually ironic. However, it could be a sign of things to come. Here’s more info on that and other common wedding practices, traditions and superstitions.
Rain on Your Wedding Day
There are two schools of thought when it comes to rainy wedding–day lore. The first holds that the rain is an auspicious sign of fertility, growth and cleansing. On the other hand, some cultures believe that the rain represents all the tears the bride is going to cry during the marriage. This could be especially problematic when the couple marrying are both brides!
And a Sixpence in Your Shoe
You’re probably familiar with the bride needing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” on her wedding day. But you may not know that the rhyme actually ends with “and a sixpence in her shoe.”
Keeping a penny in your shoe will bring your marriage prosperity. Let’s be progressive and let the groom keep a penny in his shoe, too — the brides often have enough to contend with in the shoe department.
Getting Married on the Right Day
An old Celtic poem says of your prospective wedding day, “Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, and Saturday no luck at all.”
Weeknight weddings are becoming more popular, as more guests may have weekend plans of their own. If you can’t swing a Wednesday, definitely aim for Monday or Tuesday just to be on the safe side.
There Goes the Bride
You’re probably familiar with the tradition of the groom carrying the bride across the threshold of their home, but you may not know the origins of that custom. It was once believed that if the bride tripped over the threshold, the marriage would be visited by nothing but bad luck. The groom carrying the bride eliminates that possibility.
Wearing a White Dress
The bride’s choice of a white dress is believed by some to be a symbol of purity and innocence. However, the origins come from an old verse about the results of wearing different colors of dress.
“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in gray, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen. Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”
The Bride Unveiled
In the ancient Greek and Roman cultures, it was believed that evil spirits and jealous witches would cast curses and hexes on the unsuspecting bride to try to steal away her happiness. The veil was worn to prevent those curses and hexes from landing.
In other cultures, though, the veil served another purpose. In arranged marriages, where the bride and groom had never met, the parents of the newlyweds-to-be wanted to keep the bride’s face hidden until the last possible moment to prevent the groom from rejecting his new wife.
Wearing Waterproof Mascara
When a bride or groom cries during their wedding, it’s often viewed as an auspicious sign. They’re believed to be shedding all the tears they have so that their marriage will have none.
Whether or not you believe in wedding-day superstitions is largely irrelevant. You know that your marriage will be what you both make of it, regardless of rain, pennies, weekend weddings, falling down, wearing a different colored dress, donning a veil or tears.
While many couples may wait until Valentine’s Day to have a romantic wedding where love is in the air, there’s another February holiday that’s just as sentimental, and we’re not talking about Groundhog Day. As loveable as Wiarton Willie is, we have another holiday in mind.
When Is It Celebrated?
Celebrated by Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on February first or second, Imbolc is the Feast of the Goddess Brigid (or Brigit, Brig or Bree), one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the deities of ancient Ireland. Imbolc celebrates that the promise of Yule has been kept — the light is returning after the longest night of the year. Some Pagans celebrate Imbolc as a midwinter festival; for others, it’s the first day of spring.
What Does Imbolc Mean?
Imbolc means “in the belly” or “in the milk,” referencing the many pregnant animals that give birth in the spring. In Greek mythology, it’s when Persephone lights her lamp in Hades and begins her journey back to the Earth; she’ll arrive in spring.
Who Is Brigid?
Brigid is the goddess of poets, healers, and smithcrafters, such as blacksmiths and coppersmiths. Poets all but embody love; the 40 million Valentine’s cards sent in Canada certainly attest to that. Poets know that a word after a word after a word is power, both to hurt and to conjure magic out of thin air. But healers and smithcrafters? How do they fit into the loving feelings of Imbolc?
Healers bring forth life and fight to protect it against all ills. What could be more loving than that? If not for healers, your beloved might not even be there for you. If he or she ever battled for life, you have a healer to thank for your loved one’s presence in your life, and vice versa. Ancient Celts would see Brigid in deep wells and dark ponds; she knew the power of the water from pools in healing and the water of the womb in producing life.
What Customs Are Part of an Imbolc Wedding?
In times gone by, couples would marry at the blacksmith’s forge, as Brigid is the goddess of blacksmiths in particular. The fire of the forge represents light, heat, and life. Couples would bind their hearts and symbolize that bind by handfasting: tying a cord around their joined hands. Pagans the world around still practice handfasting.
In olden days, brides would often carry a horseshoe in their bridal bouquet to symbolize Brigid’s presence at the forge. It would be decorated with red and white ribbons — Brigid’s colors of blood and milk, birth and life, snow and sun.
In modern times, the colors of red and white are often associated with Valentine’s Day. Red symbolizes love, lust, excitement and passion. Thus, hearts are most commonly depicted in red, or in pink, mixing the two colors together. White represents reverence, peace, good and marriage, hence the tradition in the Western world of wearing a white wedding dress.
An Imbolc wedding would see the altar decorated with red and white candles, even homemade ice candles representing the snow and sun together; horseshoes representing the forge; a bowl of water to represent the wells Brigid was often seen in; new plants; a book of poetry; the first flowers of spring, such as hyacinths, daffodils and snowdrops; and healing herbs scattered about.
The couple being married could wear robes of red or white and crowns of flowers to honor the Goddess Brigid. The cord binding their hands would be red, as the color of love.
If you want a romantic winter wedding, consider Imbolc as the date for your ceremony. May the Goddess Brigid bless your union, your hearth and your home, and see you prosper as your family grows through the years. So mote it be.
Over the last few years, international travel has proven more challenging than ever before. This is predominantly due to the restrictions created by the spread of the novel coronavirus. Thankfully, the problems that caused such disruptions are slowly becoming worries of the past. This means it is once again possible to take trips to locations all over the world. For couples about to be married, it has meant that honeymooning is no longer an activity that is confined to local or domestic excursions.
Planning your dream honeymoon takes thought. Use these suggestions to narrow your search and find a destination that truly excites and delights.
What Springs to Mind?
If you’re starting without any specific ideas for your honeymoon, then you can easily begin your journey by thinking about places you have always wanted to see. This might be a childhood desire to see a location that has always captured your interest. Or you may want to use this trip as the chance to visit an ancestral homeland or to simply lounge around on a dazzling beach the whole time. By starting with the places that immediately come to mind, you can make the rest of the process much easier.
What Does Your Budget Look Like?
Naturally, having a vision of where you would like to go is not enough to get you there. Typically, the biggest obstacle you will face with your honeymoon is your budget. If you don’t have enough money for a certain spot, then it is best to look elsewhere. However, you shouldn’t discount any possible locations until you know what you can afford to spend. Couples tend to plan their excursions for right after their nuptials, though this is far from the only way to make arrangements.
If you have your heart set on a certain place, then you can likely make it work with a few financial tweaks here and there. One great option to think over is asking your guests for honeymoon donations instead of gifts. The cash you receive from your event will provide a nice boon for your trip, adding to what you have saved yourself and increasing the odds that your first choice can become a reality.
Why Pick Just One Spot?
When planning your honeymoon, you may think about your destination as a singular location. However, there’s no rule forcing you to pick just one place. Romance is an adventure, and this is your opportunity to seize the moment and make your trip into one that is truly memorable. Why go to Paris when you can also add London, Barcelona, and Berlin to the itinerary? The world is more interconnected than many realize, and travel between some nations is incredibly easy. Add some more stops to your honeymoon and maximize the experience. Also, visiting a few places on a package deal is a way to save money and see the world at the same time.
Who Can Help You?
The internet is a wonderful resource, but a lot of what you come across online is going to be promotional. Hotels, resorts, and businesses want you to visit, meaning there are countless blog posts touting the advantages of certain destinations in order to get you to make specific arrangements for accommodations. Instead of relying on what internet searches can offer, see if anyone you know can assist. Well-traveled friends and family will have lots of suggestions to offer, and many will be useful to your plans.
Since it is now possible to travel the world freely once more, you might as well think big when planning your honeymoon. You should have no problem finding a place that adds to the story of your romance.
The decision to get engaged is an important one. Marriage is a huge commitment, and planning a large event like a wedding is a very involved process that can run you a small fortune. Naturally, you might have a ton of questions after you’ve made the decision to get married. From appreciating this next stage in your life to putting the planning wheels in motion, there are a handful of points you want to hit sooner rather than later. Review these suggestions and gain more insight on how to move forward.
Enjoy the Magic of the Moment
The first and most important step after getting engaged is to stop and take stock of the decision. You’re bound to feel a lot of strong emotions after choosing to spend the rest of your life with your significant other. Giving yourself the freedom to experience your feelings can be the best way to process your decision and get excited about all that is in store. Be sure to celebrate with your partner in some capacity. Whether you go out to dinner or break open some champagne at home, mark the occasion however you can.
Decide When To Tell Others
Perhaps the most important decision is determining when to break the news of the engagement to the people you care about. The trouble with this is that once you start informing people, everyone is going to know. People tend to let things slip even when they are excellent at keeping secrets. This means you don’t want to just tell one or two people and let everyone else know later. Sit down with your partner and decide when you’d like to make the information public and how you want to go about telling everyone.
In the age of social media, you can cover all your bases at once with a “we’re engaged!” post on Facebook or Instagram. However, this shouldn’t be the way important people in your life like your parents find out. Call those who you want to tell directly, then put the information online for everyone else.
Give Yourself Room To Dream
Part of the excitement of getting engaged is dreaming about what you want your big day to look like. Unfortunately, plenty of couples rush right from engagement to planning, giving themselves very little time to play around with far-flung or creative ideas. If you really want to figure out what your perfect day looks and feels like, dream. Even if you dream outside of the realm of possibility, you’ll still gain perspective on what you want from your nuptials.
Discuss Finances
Though not as fun as some of the suggestions on this list, one of the earlier conversations to have after getting engaged is how much money you want to spend on the wedding. While you don’t need to set the budget until you’ve got a few other details arranged, this preliminary discussion can provide you with the general parameters of your event. If you know you want to spend X amount of money from the start, then you’ll have an easier time staying within the confines of your budget.
Look at Some Options
Finally, look at some options when it comes to venues and vendors. Again, there is no need to set anything in stone during the preliminary stages of planning. Still, reviewing different businesses can get you excited about your options and give you more perspective on what to expect.
Once you’re ready to get married, there are a ton of decisions to consider before you can walk down the aisle. However, basking in the joy of the moment and figuring out some early points can make the rest of the process a lot easier.
When a close friend or family member decides to get married, there’s a good chance you may be asked to be in their wedding as a bridesmaid or a groomsman. If it’s a best friend or a close sibling getting hitched, you may be asked to stand next to them as a maid of honor or a best man. In either situation, this is an important responsibility. Members of a bridal or wedding party are expected to contribute time, treasure and talents to the nuptials of a happy couple, and there are some things you should know before committing.
Opting Out Of A Wedding
Before going further, you should understand that being in a wedding party will likely put significant demands on your time and funds, especially as the big day rolls around. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and say yes. However, you should know that you can always say no, and you should do so if you have any doubts about being able to fulfill the role, especially as a maid of honor or best man. If you need time to consider and more details about what is expected of you, it’s best to say something now and not later.
Planning Events
As a bridesmaid or groomsman, you’re expected to be part of a support system for the couple to be wed. This can mean everything from helping to plan events such as a bachelor or bachelorette party to coordinating actual details of the big day. As a part of the bridal party, you’re there to attend to the couple’s needs, which can include helping them stay calm and collected. One classic Canadian event that you may be expected to help organize and plan is a stag and doe party, which serves as a fundraiser to pay for costs associated with the new couple’s life together, including expenses from the ceremony and honeymoon.
Spending Money
Members of a wedding party are often expected to contribute personal funds to help cover various costs. Perhaps the most common expenses arise from wedding fashions. Bridesmaids are often expected to pay for their dresses according to the bride’s preferences. Similarly, groomsmen are usually responsible for renting a tuxedo or purchasing clothes and accessories for the big day. There are a number of expenses that you should take into account if you commit to participating in the ceremony:
Attire, including accessories and shoes
Gifts for the couple at various events
Costs for bachelor/bachelorette events, stag and doe parties, engagement gatherings, bridal showers, etc.
Travel expenses or fees for a destination or remote celebration
You shouldn’t go into debt or experience financial strain from being in the wedding party, so it’s important to ask questions up front before committing.
Helping the Couple Look Their Best
A bride or a groom will look to members of the bridal party to help them get suited and booted for the ceremony. This may include something as simple as helping someone fasten buttons or zippers that are hard to reach or helping tie a bow tie. Get familiar with that YouTube tutorial as soon as possible! Do you know your way around a makeup palette or a set of clippers? The happy couple may have need of special skills that you possess when it comes to putting the finishing touches on their appearance. Again, expectations and requests should be made known well in advance.
Many people consider it an honor to be asked to serve in a wedding, especially as a member of the bridal party. Recognize that you have an important role to fulfill, and if you’re not prepared to make the commitment required, say something right away. The last thing you want to do is leave a loved one hanging and add to the stress of the special day.
Canada has many beautiful locations for a wedding, from historic churches to national parks. If you’re looking for a place to celebrate your wedding while remembering Canada’s heritage, here are a few places you may want to look into.
Métis Crossing As a Wedding Site
The Métis Crossing Cultural Centre in Alberta loves to celebrate family and love. There’s no requirement to be Métis. You can hold your wedding and stay at the lodge, which overlooks the North Saskatchewan River. Guests can enjoy some of the cultural experiences to better understand the Métis. The Cultural Gathering Centre has rustic beams and natural light, so it needs minimal decorations.
Quaaout Lodge & Spa at Talking Rock Golf Resort
The Quaaout Lodge is located in Chase, British Columbia. It sits beside Little Shuswap Lake, so you can have a lakeside wedding. Your guests will enjoy the hospitality of the Little Shuswap Lake Band, which owns the lodge. The resort is open all year long, with appropriate activities for all seasons. The environment is kept in pristine condition, and it’s considered a photographer’s delight. Your wedding pictures will be amazing.
Cape Breton Highlands National Park As a Wedding Site
This national park in Nova Scotia offers two different backdrops, the sea and the mountains. You’ll need a Nova Scotia marriage license, but the scenery will make up for any bureaucratic inconvenience. The park features several locations that are suitable for ceremonies. Trout Brook has a small picnic shelter and a wood stove. It’s the perfect setting for an intimate wedding. Have your wedding party hike up the Skyline Trail to a cliff that overlooks the Gulf of St. Lawrence. You may even have some wildlife join you as you say your vows.
Batoche National Historic Wedding Site
Located in Saskatchewan, Batoche is about an hour north of Saskatoon. The site is only open from May to October for visitors, but it’s a lovely location with heritage buildings that are the perfect place for a simple wedding in a romantic place surrounded by history and nature. Guests can enjoy the museum before the wedding to learn more about the Métis and the First Nations.
Fort Malden National Historic Site
Get a glimpse into what life was like in the 19th century at this historical site along the banks of the Detroit River in Ontario. Visitor services are offered May to October. The site welcomes weddings and has many facilities that can be used to host an unforgettable wedding. Your guests will have plenty of places to explore while visiting the area. Amherstburg is a great town with wineries, restaurants and entertainment to keep everyone from getting bored.
Manoir-Papineau National Historic Site
Louis-Joseph Papineau was a historical figure who failed in his rebellion but ultimately led Canada to a responsible government. This beautiful manor house is one of the sites that remembers his legacy. It features many rooms and outbuildings suitable for weddings. The gardens and lawns are lovely places for pictures. Papineau was one of the original Francophone patriots.
The Forks National Historic Site
This site is a National Historic Site of Canada because it has been witness to many events in Canada’s history. Its geographical location at the juncture of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers make it a beautiful location to host a wedding. The amphitheatre can hold up to 120 chairs, but there are other spaces in the nine-acre park.
These locations bring history and nature to your wedding, making it a special celebration for you and your guests. Make sure to check with the facility’s management about wedding guidelines. Unfortunately, Parks Canada, which runs many of these venues, does not allow confetti or rose petals to be thrown at the ceremony. You may have to give up some of your traditions to get heritage.
Though putting together a wedding can be a challenging process, plenty of couples take on the task each year. Naturally, the volume of people tying the knot also makes it easy to understand which issues are most common during the planning process. If you’re currently gathering details for your nuptials, then you may find it useful to review some information surrounding the more common pitfalls you could encounter. The time leading up to your event is going to be hectic, and preliminary considerations can make a world of difference.
Guest List Mistakes
Picking who should be invited to your wedding is a decision that comes down to two people: your partner and you. If you’re allowing anyone else control over this, then you increase the likelihood of running into some serious annoyances later. In the past, it was commonplace for couples to allow older relatives or anyone helping to pay for the wedding to invite a few people to the event. Nowadays, this is not exactly a common tradition. Since weddings cost a lot of money, inviting people you don’t know can put a damper on your joy.
While you might bump heads with your significant other over which guests to invite, you both have equal claim to the list. Though there’s no easy way to handle relatives who are demanding to invite guests of their own, you want to address this issue as early as possible to avoid more complicated problems later.
Entertainment That Fits the Venue
None of the decisions you make in relation to your wedding should exist in a vacuum. While you don’t need to make sure that every detail matches, there are some areas where overlap is key. Your entertainment, for example, should be selected based around things like the acoustics of your venue. If your ceremony will take place outside in an open space, then having a solo acoustic guitarist provide all the music is a great way to guarantee no one hears a single note.
Similarly, you shouldn’t spend a lot of money on a complicated sound system for a DJ if you haven’t checked local noise ordinances. A backyard wedding in the suburbs can easily become a target for the police should enough neighbors call to complain about the celebrations. However, looking over all of the details early allows you the flexibility of picking entertainment that perfectly fits the space where you’ll be getting married.
Major Assumptions With Major Mistakes
Making assumptions about anything while you plan for your wedding is another easy way to find yourself in hot water. For example, many couples create a guest list with the assumption that many people won’t actually be able to attend. Though it is true that you’ll likely have people decline an invitation, you don’t want to build any plans off that assumption. Inviting 200 people and assuming only 150 will come can play out poorly if you find all 200 guests have responded that they’ll be there. Always base decisions on what you know, not what you assume.
The Legal Aspect
This might seem like common sense, but plenty of couples forget to figure out the legal side of marriage in advance. What’s unfortunate about this is that a marriage is not actually binding if any of the legal steps are missed or neglected. To ensure that you’re following the protocol, review the local regulations surrounding marriage. Typically, this will only involve a simple action like determining what paperwork needs to be completed and turned in before the ceremony.
While there’s no way to avoid every possible problem as you plan a wedding, there are a number of mistakes of which to steer clear. Looking over the basics will provide the knowledge needed to make the best choices for your big day.
Honeymoon While it might not get as much attention as the wedding itself, the honeymoon tends to be where the real fun waits for the happy couple. Since you’re probably spending a good chunk of change on getting married, you want to try and save on your travel expenses without sacrificing any of your enjoyment. Though it might be a difficult line to walk, it is far from impossible. Adhere to these smart travel tips and learn how you can maximize your budget while exploring the world as newlyweds.
Book The Honeymoon as Early as Possible
This is not a secret tip so much as it is a rule of thumb to live by, but you absolutely should book early when planning your honeymoon. Most people know this, especially those who tend to travel on any kind of routine basis. The longer you wait to secure your seat on a flight, the more likely it is that the cost of that trip is going to double or triple. Plan early and you will be able to take advantage of the most affordable flights available.
Don’t Feel You Must Schedule Around Your Wedding
The traditional idea of the honeymoon is that it takes place pretty soon after the wedding reception comes to a close. While most couples don’t rush off to the airport as soon as their guests leave the venue, a majority will depart within a day or so of their nuptials. However, there is absolutely no rule saying that you need to follow this path. In fact, there are plenty of scenarios where delaying your trip can save you a nice chunk of change.
If you’re getting married during the summer and plan on honeymooning in a popular vacation spot, then you’ll be paying incredibly high prices at every turn. Delaying your trip by a few months allows you the luxury of visiting this location during a time of year when the crowds are thinning out and prices are returning to a sensible place. Plus, pushing off the honeymoon gives you something fun to look forward to as you enter your first months of marriage.
Review Your Credit Cards and Benefit Programs Booking Your Honeymoon
With so many expenses to take care of with your wedding, you can benefit by putting your honeymoon budget on a credit card. In fact, opening a line of credit specifically for your trip is a great way to travel without feeling concerned about bringing the right amount of cash. Review your options with different cards and benefit programs, as there’s a good chance every purchase you make while abroad can land you points that you can apply toward more exciting perks down the line.
Create Your Own Plan
Visiting a new place can be as exciting as it is scary. In order to feel safe while traveling, many couples will purchase packages that help them experience the local environment from a distance. While this might be fine in some respects, it can also be a bit more expensive. While you don’t need to throw caution to the wind entirely, you can still experience your destination in a more authentic way with some work. Put in the research, and you’ll start to devise a plan so you enjoy your trip in a way that reflects your interests.
Cover Your Bases Back Home
Finally, don’t forget the expenses that are created when you need to leave home for a short period of time. From putting the pets in the care of someone you trust to having a neighbor take in the mail and water the plants, there are some small tasks that can cost you a little bit of money. Again, planning early can help you find the best rates on all of these services.
Your honeymoon is a chance to get away and have an adventure with your new spouse. By creating a budget-conscious plan, you can get more out of your experience.
When a friend or family member asks you to be actively involved in his or her wedding, it can be a big honor. However, it isn’t all fun and games. Members of the wedding party are responsible for a number of key duties. Beyond the basic responsibilities delegated to the bridesmaids and groomsmen, the couple may also look to these individuals to help with everything from contacting vendors to purchasing decor. If you want to rise to the occasion, then there are a handful of points to keep in mind at all times.
Keep a Positive Attitude
Planning a wedding is very stressful. You are likely going to encounter times when the couple of honor act out of character. Whether the bride snaps and causes a scene while shopping for dresses or the groom keeps adding more and more demands to the list of tasks you’re responsible for, you need to do your best to keep the right mindset through it all. Staying positive and helpful is going to be the absolute best way to respond to anything that the couple throws your way.
This does not mean, of course, you should be a punching bag or a doormat. Be reasonable with how much you allow the couple to get away with. A small outburst is one thing. A continued bad attitude from the couple is something else and should be addressed.
Learn To Listen
When times get tense, most people simply need to vent their frustrations. Statistics show that couples tend to fight the most when planning for big events like weddings. What’s worse, the couple doesn’t always know how to divert this negative energy away from the relationship. As a member of the wedding party, you need to be there whenever the bride or groom is in a position where some steam needs to be let off. Helping in this way can do a lot when it comes to keeping the peace during stressful moments.
Not only do you need to listen when the bride or groom requires a shoulder to lean on, you also have to hear each request made of you. Since you are responsible for tasks like putting together the bachelor or bachelorette party, you need to listen to what your friend is asking in terms of this event. If he or she says no exotic dancers for the party, then you really want to respect the wishes and not go with what you’d prefer.
Offer Inspiration
Most members of the wedding party are selected pretty quickly after the engagement is announced. This means that you’re going to be involved in some of the preliminary decisions related to the event. If your friend is trying to come up with the right theme for the wedding, then you can do wonders by providing inspiration on decorations. Similarly, you can offer suggestions on caterers, venues, and other vendors that the couple will require as they plan.
Keep Track
The couple is going to have a ton of different things to think about at any given time. As a member of the wedding party, offer to keep track of certain details. For example, you may want to keep track all of the various gifts that are given to the couple. This will make their lives a lot easier when it comes time to send out thank-you notes down the line. Try to determine how you can be most useful and apply yourself however possible.
From providing a shoulder to lean on when times are tough to taking care of sorting out some of the finer details of the event, being a member of the wedding party can include a ton of different responsibilities. By staying open and ready for anything, you can rise to the challenge and come through for your friends.
Even when there is love the road to your wedding is a long and involved one. From the planning process to all of the little celebrations leading up to the main event, you may find yourself focused on a lot of external factors instead of your significant other. At the end of the day, a wedding is about you and your partner. If you feel like you’re thinking about every aspect of the event except for your spouse-to-be, it can be useful to take a step back and think about different ways to show your appreciation.
Though not a hard rule, it is customary for couples to exchange gifts before they tie the knot. If you want to show your gratitude, giving a present might be exactly the solution you’ve been after.
Love Vs. Money Concerns
At a time when you’re draining your bank account to secure vendors and get invitations in the mail, you may not feel like you have a lot of room in your budget for more purchases. Thankfully, a gift for your betrothed doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, it should actually be as cost-effective as possible so you don’t feel any guilt over the decision. This is a chance to think outside the box. What would your partner appreciate most? Is there something that your significant other needs?
A creative gift could also be a good option to explore. Plenty of couples exchange handmade or presents of personal significance during their earliest years together. As time goes by, it becomes more likely that they will start to purchase more standard gifts. By making something yourself, you can recall those first days when you were dating and every gesture seemed to brighten the world.
On the Same Page
Another good point to keep in mind is being on the same page. Getting something for your significant other without providing any notice can easily create tension. No one likes the guilt that comes along with getting a gift and not having anything to offer in return. Though it can take the surprise element out of the equation, asking if your partner wants to exchange gifts first is the best way to limit the odds of any awkwardness arising.
Time Together
A gift doesn’t always need to be a physical item. In fact, the best presents are usually experiences. Since most of your free time lately has likely been tied up with planning your nuptials, a perfect gift to consider is a bit of time together. When was the last time you went out on a date? Now might be a perfect opportunity to hit the town, especially if you want to have children soon after tying the knot. Whether you go out to a restaurant, watch movies at home, or take a small road trip, there are many fun options.
Little Gifts of Love
One final way to approach this idea is by thinking about how you can make your partner’s daily life a bit easier. Gifts of love are the ones that show you care and pay attention. If your significant other struggles to get up in the morning before consuming coffee, wake earlier and make a fresh pot. Pick up the slack with household chores or errands and lessen the load a bit. Whatever you think will bring a smile to his or her face is a great option to pursue.
Though you’re likely receiving many presents on the road to your wedding day, exchanging gifts with your partner can be a fun and simple way to remember the whole reason for the event. Consider the many ways you can go about this decision and discover a perfect option to show your partner you care.
Alanis Morissette notwithstanding, rain on your wedding day isn’t actually ironic. However, it could be a sign of things to come. Here’s more info on that and other common wedding practices, traditions and superstitions.
Rain on Your Wedding Day
There are two schools of thought when it comes to rainy wedding–day lore. The first holds that the rain is an auspicious sign of fertility, growth and cleansing. On the other hand, some cultures believe that the rain represents all the tears the bride is going to cry during the marriage. This could be especially problematic when the couple marrying are both brides!
And a Sixpence in Your Shoe
You’re probably familiar with the bride needing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue” on her wedding day. But you may not know that the rhyme actually ends with “and a sixpence in her shoe.”
Keeping a penny in your shoe will bring your marriage prosperity. Let’s be progressive and let the groom keep a penny in his shoe, too — the brides often have enough to contend with in the shoe department.
Getting Married on the Right Day
An old Celtic poem says of your prospective wedding day, “Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all, Thursday for losses, Friday for crosses, and Saturday no luck at all.”
Weeknight weddings are becoming more popular, as more guests may have weekend plans of their own. If you can’t swing a Wednesday, definitely aim for Monday or Tuesday just to be on the safe side.
There Goes the Bride
You’re probably familiar with the tradition of the groom carrying the bride across the threshold of their home, but you may not know the origins of that custom. It was once believed that if the bride tripped over the threshold, the marriage would be visited by nothing but bad luck. The groom carrying the bride eliminates that possibility.
Wearing a White Dress
The bride’s choice of a white dress is believed by some to be a symbol of purity and innocence. However, the origins come from an old verse about the results of wearing different colors of dress.
“Married in white, you will have chosen all right. Married in gray, you will go far away. Married in black, you will wish yourself back. Married in red, you’ll wish yourself dead. Married in blue, you will always be true. Married in pearl, you’ll live in a whirl. Married in green, ashamed to be seen. Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow. Married in brown, you’ll live out of town. Married in pink, your spirits will sink.”
The Bride Unveiled
In the ancient Greek and Roman cultures, it was believed that evil spirits and jealous witches would cast curses and hexes on the unsuspecting bride to try to steal away her happiness. The veil was worn to prevent those curses and hexes from landing.
In other cultures, though, the veil served another purpose. In arranged marriages, where the bride and groom had never met, the parents of the newlyweds-to-be wanted to keep the bride’s face hidden until the last possible moment to prevent the groom from rejecting his new wife.
Wearing Waterproof Mascara
When a bride or groom cries during their wedding, it’s often viewed as an auspicious sign. They’re believed to be shedding all the tears they have so that their marriage will have none.
Whether or not you believe in wedding-day superstitions is largely irrelevant. You know that your marriage will be what you both make of it, regardless of rain, pennies, weekend weddings, falling down, wearing a different colored dress, donning a veil or tears.
While many couples may wait until Valentine’s Day to have a romantic wedding where love is in the air, there’s another February holiday that’s just as sentimental, and we’re not talking about Groundhog Day. As loveable as Wiarton Willie is, we have another holiday in mind.
When Is It Celebrated?
Celebrated by Pagans in the Northern Hemisphere on February first or second, Imbolc is the Feast of the Goddess Brigid (or Brigit, Brig or Bree), one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the deities of ancient Ireland. Imbolc celebrates that the promise of Yule has been kept — the light is returning after the longest night of the year. Some Pagans celebrate Imbolc as a midwinter festival; for others, it’s the first day of spring.
What Does Imbolc Mean?
Imbolc means “in the belly” or “in the milk,” referencing the many pregnant animals that give birth in the spring. In Greek mythology, it’s when Persephone lights her lamp in Hades and begins her journey back to the Earth; she’ll arrive in spring.
Who Is Brigid?
Brigid is the goddess of poets, healers, and smithcrafters, such as blacksmiths and coppersmiths. Poets all but embody love; the 40 million Valentine’s cards sent in Canada certainly attest to that. Poets know that a word after a word after a word is power, both to hurt and to conjure magic out of thin air. But healers and smithcrafters? How do they fit into the loving feelings of Imbolc?
Healers bring forth life and fight to protect it against all ills. What could be more loving than that? If not for healers, your beloved might not even be there for you. If he or she ever battled for life, you have a healer to thank for your loved one’s presence in your life, and vice versa. Ancient Celts would see Brigid in deep wells and dark ponds; she knew the power of the water from pools in healing and the water of the womb in producing life.
What Customs Are Part of an Imbolc Wedding?
In times gone by, couples would marry at the blacksmith’s forge, as Brigid is the goddess of blacksmiths in particular. The fire of the forge represents light, heat, and life. Couples would bind their hearts and symbolize that bind by handfasting: tying a cord around their joined hands. Pagans the world around still practice handfasting.
In olden days, brides would often carry a horseshoe in their bridal bouquet to symbolize Brigid’s presence at the forge. It would be decorated with red and white ribbons — Brigid’s colors of blood and milk, birth and life, snow and sun.
In modern times, the colors of red and white are often associated with Valentine’s Day. Red symbolizes love, lust, excitement and passion. Thus, hearts are most commonly depicted in red, or in pink, mixing the two colors together. White represents reverence, peace, good and marriage, hence the tradition in the Western world of wearing a white wedding dress.
An Imbolc wedding would see the altar decorated with red and white candles, even homemade ice candles representing the snow and sun together; horseshoes representing the forge; a bowl of water to represent the wells Brigid was often seen in; new plants; a book of poetry; the first flowers of spring, such as hyacinths, daffodils and snowdrops; and healing herbs scattered about.
The couple being married could wear robes of red or white and crowns of flowers to honor the Goddess Brigid. The cord binding their hands would be red, as the color of love.
If you want a romantic winter wedding, consider Imbolc as the date for your ceremony. May the Goddess Brigid bless your union, your hearth and your home, and see you prosper as your family grows through the years. So mote it be.
Over the last few years, international travel has proven more challenging than ever before. This is predominantly due to the restrictions created by the spread of the novel coronavirus. Thankfully, the problems that caused such disruptions are slowly becoming worries of the past. This means it is once again possible to take trips to locations all over the world. For couples about to be married, it has meant that honeymooning is no longer an activity that is confined to local or domestic excursions.
Planning your dream honeymoon takes thought. Use these suggestions to narrow your search and find a destination that truly excites and delights.
What Springs to Mind?
If you’re starting without any specific ideas for your honeymoon, then you can easily begin your journey by thinking about places you have always wanted to see. This might be a childhood desire to see a location that has always captured your interest. Or you may want to use this trip as the chance to visit an ancestral homeland or to simply lounge around on a dazzling beach the whole time. By starting with the places that immediately come to mind, you can make the rest of the process much easier.
What Does Your Budget Look Like?
Naturally, having a vision of where you would like to go is not enough to get you there. Typically, the biggest obstacle you will face with your honeymoon is your budget. If you don’t have enough money for a certain spot, then it is best to look elsewhere. However, you shouldn’t discount any possible locations until you know what you can afford to spend. Couples tend to plan their excursions for right after their nuptials, though this is far from the only way to make arrangements.
If you have your heart set on a certain place, then you can likely make it work with a few financial tweaks here and there. One great option to think over is asking your guests for honeymoon donations instead of gifts. The cash you receive from your event will provide a nice boon for your trip, adding to what you have saved yourself and increasing the odds that your first choice can become a reality.
Why Pick Just One Spot?
When planning your honeymoon, you may think about your destination as a singular location. However, there’s no rule forcing you to pick just one place. Romance is an adventure, and this is your opportunity to seize the moment and make your trip into one that is truly memorable. Why go to Paris when you can also add London, Barcelona, and Berlin to the itinerary? The world is more interconnected than many realize, and travel between some nations is incredibly easy. Add some more stops to your honeymoon and maximize the experience. Also, visiting a few places on a package deal is a way to save money and see the world at the same time.
Who Can Help You?
The internet is a wonderful resource, but a lot of what you come across online is going to be promotional. Hotels, resorts, and businesses want you to visit, meaning there are countless blog posts touting the advantages of certain destinations in order to get you to make specific arrangements for accommodations. Instead of relying on what internet searches can offer, see if anyone you know can assist. Well-traveled friends and family will have lots of suggestions to offer, and many will be useful to your plans.
Since it is now possible to travel the world freely once more, you might as well think big when planning your honeymoon. You should have no problem finding a place that adds to the story of your romance.
The decision to get engaged is an important one. Marriage is a huge commitment, and planning a large event like a wedding is a very involved process that can run you a small fortune. Naturally, you might have a ton of questions after you’ve made the decision to get married. From appreciating this next stage in your life to putting the planning wheels in motion, there are a handful of points you want to hit sooner rather than later. Review these suggestions and gain more insight on how to move forward.
Enjoy the Magic of the Moment
The first and most important step after getting engaged is to stop and take stock of the decision. You’re bound to feel a lot of strong emotions after choosing to spend the rest of your life with your significant other. Giving yourself the freedom to experience your feelings can be the best way to process your decision and get excited about all that is in store. Be sure to celebrate with your partner in some capacity. Whether you go out to dinner or break open some champagne at home, mark the occasion however you can.
Decide When To Tell Others
Perhaps the most important decision is determining when to break the news of the engagement to the people you care about. The trouble with this is that once you start informing people, everyone is going to know. People tend to let things slip even when they are excellent at keeping secrets. This means you don’t want to just tell one or two people and let everyone else know later. Sit down with your partner and decide when you’d like to make the information public and how you want to go about telling everyone.
In the age of social media, you can cover all your bases at once with a “we’re engaged!” post on Facebook or Instagram. However, this shouldn’t be the way important people in your life like your parents find out. Call those who you want to tell directly, then put the information online for everyone else.
Give Yourself Room To Dream
Part of the excitement of getting engaged is dreaming about what you want your big day to look like. Unfortunately, plenty of couples rush right from engagement to planning, giving themselves very little time to play around with far-flung or creative ideas. If you really want to figure out what your perfect day looks and feels like, dream. Even if you dream outside of the realm of possibility, you’ll still gain perspective on what you want from your nuptials.
Discuss Finances
Though not as fun as some of the suggestions on this list, one of the earlier conversations to have after getting engaged is how much money you want to spend on the wedding. While you don’t need to set the budget until you’ve got a few other details arranged, this preliminary discussion can provide you with the general parameters of your event. If you know you want to spend X amount of money from the start, then you’ll have an easier time staying within the confines of your budget.
Look at Some Options
Finally, look at some options when it comes to venues and vendors. Again, there is no need to set anything in stone during the preliminary stages of planning. Still, reviewing different businesses can get you excited about your options and give you more perspective on what to expect.
Once you’re ready to get married, there are a ton of decisions to consider before you can walk down the aisle. However, basking in the joy of the moment and figuring out some early points can make the rest of the process a lot easier.
