The Toast…
Wedding toasts were originally a French custom. Bread was placed in a wine glass and passed around to the guests. The first person to reach the bread was expected to enjoy good luck. Traditionally, toasts are given by the following three males of great importance: the father of the bride, the groom, and the best man. The order of these toasts varies culturally, and today can be determined by the bride and groom themselves, together with their families. Anyone may propose a toast at the ceremony. Most people proposing a toast will want to have time to prepare and rehearse their speeches, so the persons giving the toasts should be approached well before the wedding day. The groom and father of the bride usually give very thoughtful and emotional speeches, while the best man often chooses to be rather comical, and perhaps not always tasteful. If this is of concern, discuss this beforehand to prevent any embarrassment. Speeches should be short, sincere, and discriminating. Humour, in good taste, is priceless!
An important aspect of the toast, are the Bride and Groom’s toasting glasses, a keepsake that will last a lifetime. Often engraved with their initials, names, and/or wedding date, the Bride and Groom can toast to all occasions for year’s to come.
Wedding Favors: from your heart to their taste buds…
Wedding favors are special gifts you give to your wedding guests as a sign of your appreciation of their attendance at your wedding. What better gift to give than one straight from your heart to their taste buds, fabulous cookies.
Particular favorites amongst bridal couples include: tiered wedding cake shaped cookies, with the wedding particulars listed in icing on the second tier. Cookies shaped like presents, and the perennial favorite of intertwined hearts bearing the names of the bride and groom. For an all time easy favorite, take a look at the Italian Wedding Cookie recipe below (aka: Mexican Wedding Cookie, Russian Tea Cakes, or Butterballs)
For a new unique twist on an old idea, you can create fortune cookie-shaped cookies made from regular cookie dough but in the shape of the Asian treat filled with your own fortunes or personalized wedding details.
The best part of giving wedding cookies as your favor of choice is the ability to package those favors in a number of unique, creative, fun and elegant ways. As many varieties of cookies as there are, there are double that in the way of favor boxes, tins, jars and bags, fashioned to hold those cookies.
Italian Wedding Cookies
PREP TIME: 45 min
COOK TIME: 15 min
READY IN: 1 hr 20 min
Original recipe yield 80 cookies
INGREDIENTS
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground almonds
- 4 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for rolling
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
- Cream butter or margarine in a bowl, gradually add confectioners’ sugar and salt. Beat until light and fluffy. Add almonds and vanilla. Blend in flour gradually and mix well.
- Shape into balls (or crescents) using about 1 teaspoon for each cookie. Place on ungreased cookie sheets, and bake for 15-20 min. Do not brown. Cool slightly, then roll in the extra confectioners’ sugar.
Weddingstar Trapunta Chest Wishing Well
The Elegant Italian Chest Wishing Wells are the perfect addition to your wedding ceremony. These wells are the newest tradition to collect envelopes, cards and monetary gifts presented at bridal showers or wedding receptions. Wishing Wells are the perfect way to collect cash or money gifts in place of a “Bride’s Dance”. These Italian Chest Boxes make beautiful “Wishing Wells” and can also be used as keepsake boxes for your cherished memorabilia.
Weddingstar Trapunta Chest Wishing Well at Bellacroft
Weddingstar Water Activated Diamond Light
Your wedding is something that you will remember for the rest of your life. These diamond-looking under water lights are an incredible decorating tool that will help illuminate those cherished moments. With three LED bulbs per diamond light, the amount of illumination is amazing. These have been specifically designed for use in clear glass containers and will light up upon contact with the water. Special weighting will ensure that the light remains submerged at the bottom. Try placing them at the bottom of your flower vases or underneath floating candles as center pieces. Lights will burn continuously for 40+ hours with an exceptional brilliance for the first 20 hours.
The Unity Sand Ceremony – How it works
The Unity Sand Ceremony is a novel alternative for the popular “unity candle ceremony” incorporated into many of today’s weddings. The essence is to symbolize the union of “two into one”. This sand version is not only beautiful and interesting but also more appropriate for an outdoor setting. With the addition of fresh flowers, these distinctive vases will make an intriguing addition to a home’s decor.
1. The Groom will commence by pouring a portion of the black sand into the central glass vase.
2. The Bride will follow by pouring a portion of the white sand also into the central vase creating a layered effect.
3. To complete the ceremony, the Groom and Bride simultaneously pour the balance of their sand into the central container. To make this process a little easier, create a funnel using decorative paper. Personalize the funnel by including names, date or even poetry that holds a special meaning for the Bride and Groom. (The central vase can be engraved with the Bride and Groom’s monogram). The co-mingling of the colored sand represent the joining of the Bride and Groom.
Consult with your wedding officiate in order to customize the readings and sentiments that will accompany this ceremony.
4. Following the wedding, the two outside vases can be used to display fresh flowers while the central vase will remain a cherished keepsake of your wedding day.
THE FAMILY SAND CEREMONY
The Sand Unity Ceremony has become a very popular option. With the addition of these coordinating Miniature Nesting Vases and contrasting colors of sand, now children can be invited to take part. The mixing of the various sand colors is a fitting way to symbolize the new Blended Family that will result from this union. Although there are no set guidelines for this ceremony, generally the sand is poured into the central vase in the following order:
1. Father
2. Mother
3. Children
4. Father & Mother together.
Readings and sentiments can be customized as desired.
Weddingstar Heart Shaped Unity Sand Ceremony Vase Set
*Featured Item* The heart unity sand ceremony is another way to make a sand ceremony even more meaningful. By adding a third vase you are able to add another symbolic element to this event. Incorporate your priest, child or have the third vase represent your shared spiritual beliefs. The engraveable central bottle, with glass stopper, creates a beautiful reminder that will preserve the moment for years to come. This 6 piece set includes a heart shaped bottle with glass stopper, 2 large heart vases, 1 small heart vase and 1 metal display stand. Sand in your choice of color sold separately.
Don’t forget to use coupon code BRIDALGIFT for a free gift with any purchase over $75, perfect keepsakes for your flower girl and ring bearer!
Entertaining Younger Wedding Guests
For your younger wedding guests, once the excitement of wearing new clothes and being the centre of attention wears off, the rest of your wedding will be a drag for them. As young children become bored and restless, their behavior starts to become disruptive. A situation that, in turn, makes it hard for the parents to relax and have a good time themselves.
One thing the Bride and Groom can do to help plan for this situation is to provide a wedding activity pack. These can be purchased as pre-made packs or do-it-yourself. Consisting of small books full of word puzzles, mazes, coloring pages, crayons and more, these activity packs go a long way to ensure that all of your guests, both young and old alike remember your wedding with fondness. If there are enough children attending the wedding to allow for a children’s only table, decorating the table with child friendly and visually pleasing centerpieces as well as covering the table in paper for coloring and doodling can create a more interesting environment for children.
If the wedding is located in a hotel, some brides have elected to hire a child sitter to entertain children in a separate room away from the adults. The room is filled with crafts, video games, television and DVD player as well as snacks and beverages suited to a younger audience. While a welcome break for parents, it also acts as a welcomed timeout from the wedding for the kids and allows them to chow down on pizza or other kid friendly food instead of having to put on their best manners and sit still in their formal duds. Once the dancing starts, kids can be invited back to join the rest of the guests and party the night away.
