Doing research into all the aspects of a wedding while contemplating
your own lets you learn some rather unusual things. For example, I
never fully understood how the tradition of removing wedding garters
came to be. Historically, there was a belief that obtaining a garter
would bring good luck to the unmarried men. There was often a large
rush of men who would attempt to be the first to catch the
garter. This was obviously a unruly situation and the dress of often
destroyed as a result. Thankfully the removing of the garter is
reserved for the groom in this era. I’m quite grateful for that now
that I know what used to happen.

I wanted to include a personalized glass to go along with the wine wedding favors. After getting a few quotes for glass etching, I decided to undertake the project myself. How hard could it be? It turns out, quite hard. It wasn’t until I’d gone through two bottles of etching cream that I realized you’re supposed to create a stencil of your design. I’d been trying to do everything free hand. No wonder my attempts were disastrous! Now, the whole project may have ended up costing more than it would have to get the glasses done professionally, but, as I pointed out to my fiancé, I now have a new skill to draw upon.

“How much longer do we have to stand like this?” I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.
“I have no idea,” Bill said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Hey you! Quite fidgeting. You must stay perfectly still, if I’m to capture your essence.”
That last one would be Jean Claude. Bill and I are posing for our wedding cake toppers. We decided we wanted a realistic representation of ourselves on top of our wedding cake. Jean Claude came highly recommended. What we weren’t told, was what a stickler he is. We’ve been standing up here for four hours now, while he’s perfected his masterpiece.

It was a clever touch, using fish bowls as wedding centerpieces. The bride and groom are both marine biologists, and this was a tasteful way to bring their profession into the ceremony. I wondered what would happen with all the fish afterwards. Would they make their way to porcelain heaven? Oh wait, it looks like my question is about to be answered. Apparently all the kids at the reception get to take home one of the goldfish as a parting gift. I’m sure their parents are thrilled about that. It may be Flush Land after all for some. I guess someone didn’t think this idea through.

Seeing my little girl dressed up like a princess brought tears to my eyes. She was so perfect! From the flower tiara on top of her perfectly coiffed blond curls to the ivory colored satin ballet slippers, every part of her was exquisite. I could see only one dilemma in this situation. How long could these three little flower girls remain in this intricately planned attire. I know my child, and we had only a very short period of time before she would revert back to the Cinderella pumpkin stage. I monitored them closely, constantly following behind their every move to make certain nothing fell out of place. The call was made for them to enter the chapel, I grabbed the flower girl baskets, placed them in their tiny hands and gently pushed them towards the entrance door. The adoration by the wedding guests was audible and I was proud of myself for getting them this far!

My name’s Pepper Anne, but everyone calls me Pepper. I was teased a lot growing up, but I’ve never resented my parents. I like my name. And as fate would have it, I met my match in Sol (whose name happens to translate to Salt from Bulgarian). On our first date, we joked that at our wedding we could give out salt and pepper shakers as unique wedding favors. It was a Wednesday night, but we stayed out until 2 A.M., eventually closing the bar down. I knew it was love within the first twenty minutes of meeting him. I had visions of us with a whole brood of children – Sage, Rosemary, and Paprika.

I have a friend who is just obsessed with invitations. He makes the
grandest, expensive, whacky, amusing and extravagant invitations I
will ever see. He once made wedding invitations for this couple who
were having a smaller wedding but were willing to spend a lot of money
on it. He hired about 20 quartets to go to each person’s workplace and
sing the wedding invite to them personally. Another time he was
commissioned to make invitations for a birthday party for a two year
old. He created singing Spongebob Squarepants cards that told a story
of how to get to the boy’s house. He is a genius!

I wanted to give beautifully hand-crafted, chocolate covered maraschino cherries out as wedding favors; Alex wanted to give out packs of Tic Tacs. As a compromise we decided to go with elegant tins filled with heart shaped mints. I was even able to sneak in the words “Mint to Be” on the tins, over much protest. What better time to be overly cheesy than on your wedding day?
To say that Alex and I don’t always see eye to eye would be an understatement. We’ve had some rousing good fights. But we always patch things up. I can honestly say we’ve never gone to bed angry.

The unity candle ceremony is a very popular unity theme used by many couples today. It first became popular during a television wedding on a soap opera and quickly spread through the nation. It is easy to understand why since it is so beautiful and serene. The lighting of the two taper candles and the couple then ceremoniously igniting the central candle representing the union of two into one is a perfect visualization. Most denominations accept this addition to the traditional wedding ceremony with the exception of the Catholic denomination. They request that it be done separate from the actual wedding. When this is the instance, many couples perform the unity ceremony during their reception.

Not sure on how you want to present your wedding favors? It can be the most simple gift for your wedding guests but when packaged correctly it becomes a well loved treasure. Wedding favor containers come in dozens of varieties of materials such as paper, plastic, cloth or just about anything else your heart desires. If your packaging is decorative enough you can use them to decorate your reception tables or use the containers as place card holders. Their uses are limitless. Make them personal by using your own wedding theme colors and individually designed notes of appreciation to your family and friends. Remember, presentation is everything! Choose the right container, wrap a ribbon around it and attach your note. One, two, three your favors are done!