Five most important steps to a Wonderful Wedding by Cindi silhouettes

Five most important steps to a Wonderful Wedding by Cindi silhouettes

Get Engaged, Get ready, Get set, Go, Stay Focused on Love!

Silhouette artist Cindi's Five Key Wedding steps to Forever Bliss!

1.        Get Engaged!  Have you ever looked at the best wedding magazines such as Premier Bride, The Knot Magazine, Wedding Style, Get Married, Martha Stewart Wedding, or Inside Wedding, and tried to come up with a unique wedding idea for your special day?  So many people dream of their wedding day, and start planning it even before they have met their mate.  This article is not for the dreamer, it is for someone planning an actual wedding.  After, you and your special someone has decided to wed, it is important to find an agreeable date, a judge or clergy, a cantor or special wedding singer, photographer, and book the venue (even if it a secret elopement). The venue can be a destination, a place of worship, a ranch, a restaurant, hotel, home, country club, ranch or farm.  You have to figure out "your bride and groom signature."  Let's call it " the bliss theme."  Decide if you want a wedding videographer, this can be very expensive, and you need to put this in your budget. Men, you have plenty of time, to figure out the honeymoon, and it is your responsibility to pay for that, the ring (bride should buy you a groom's ring), and the rehearsal dinner.  Don't worry, the wedding can often cost more than all that.  Bridezillas- contain your inner diva, don't start acting like a brat already! Remember always during the next steps, why you love the person you will marry, keep that on your mind 24/7.

2.        Get Ready!  Pick your theme-- creative theme ideas are: vintage, classic, modern, rustic, over-the-top, elegant, or storybook.  Themes can be a fruit, a season, or even your favorite book, or classic silhouettes!  One unique blogger used the season, winter, as her theme. Not only did her wedding party wear gloves and warm furry hats they served hot chocolate, warm apple cider, with a home-made cake being placed on logs, and  crafty pine-cone candles as party favors.  Bands are tricky, they are either too loud, or a bit off key. You can find your entertainment on-line at wedding sites such as Gigmasters or The Knot.  Please go listen to your band in person, or your DJ or wedding singer.  You can't rely on the CD, you need to really check them out! This second wedding detail includes thinking about linens on the table, chair covers, and your over-all color scheme, which your bridal party should also wear. If you want to do a black and white theme with a splash of color, check out silhouettesbycindiblogspot and Cindi Rose's wedding wonderful video on Bing, YouTube, and AOL. Any museum that allows you to have a wedding there, is a fabulous place to do a wedding, and that can be your theme, and you are donating to their venue, to preserve a tradition, or body of work.  You should also take time to pick and ask friends to be in your wedding party, and let them plan any special showers for you, at their price point, and your relatives may want to give an engagement shower, or perhaps your parents.  Older, brides and grooms, you can give your own engagement party, should you chose to, or skip this part, just shouting on top of the mountain, "I am getting hitched, I am in love, I am in love, I am in love!"

3.   Get Set!  Find the cake or cakes!  Normally there is a chocolate one for the groom,  almond, carrot, or raspberry cream for the bride.  Often the bridal party is told to place their bouquets around the cake!  Some elect to do one cake with each layer being a different flavor, but normally chocolate is one of them.  Your theme can top the cake!  You can look -on-line for a special cake topper, or put something that has to do with your favorite activities or a keepsake.  At this early stage in many cases a wedding planner is enlisted. It can cost ten to twenty thousand dollars or more, depending on how involved you want him/her to be.  But they have researched venues, meals, gifts, timing, dresses, events, social etiquette, staging, bands, music, florists. . .   If you have an incredible career, you may want them to do their job, so you can focus on your job and your honey and the nuptials, which should be personal.   Wedding planners take you to the best and most reliable sources for your cakes, flowers, stationery, dress, tux, music, extra entertainment, stores to register, clergy. . . in the order they feel is "the order!"  Musically, you have many choices:  a friend with a great voice can be "your" singer as you walk the aisle. You may want a band, DJ, or your own music mix.  It is YOUR day! They have their staff (at $50 per hour) and free interns standing around and trouble shooting at your wedding, and making sure the announcements are made-- first dance, throwing the bouquet, eating the cake, leaving for honeymoon. . .  It is costly.  I did not have this, I had a bridesmaid do this at my wedding, she also happened to work in a wedding shop. Bridal shops and your favorite city magazines such as Aspen Peak, H Magazine, Dallas, or New York Times Weddings have the best tips.  You can get more ideas on SilhouettesbyCindi.com, The Knot, the O List, or GigMasters.  Your wedding should reflect your love, and your hearts.  It should be personal.

4          Go! Think about stationery.  You can go to many lovely venues that specialize in this such as Events, Bering's, Tanglewood Gifts in Houston, Swoozies in Denver and Atlanta.  In New York City favorite invites have come from: Greenwich Letterpress, Cuisine & Foxy & Winston, Kate's, Blacker and Kooby, or any on-line stationery company, Zazzle being the most reasonable and fastest.  Some of the wedding stationery must haves are the announcement, wedding invitation, wedding program, menu cards, place cards, table cards, thank-you notes for before and after the wedding (can the same with the bride and groom facing in real artist (not computer generated those are trite, not real, actually not attractive) silhouette.  You can also get creative in your invites, my favorite invitations are scrolls, or large boxes, with unique invites inside them, hand-delivered, perhaps with confetti, or rose petals (from Michael's or Hobby Lobby).

               Figure your look, examine the local bridal magazines, consult with several hair designers, imagine if you want a make-up artist such as Edward Sanchez or Michael DeMarse, if you live in Houston or Austin.  Think about bouquets, do you want them woodsy, creative, old-fashioned, what flowers are in season, what is your color scheme? Join some fun wedding sites, and share your ideas with others, see what is something, old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. You can even make your own wedding blog, with all the information of where you are registered, the history of your romance, and other special tidbits you may want to share.

5. Stay Focused!  Most important is your vows.  This can be a surprise to your fiancée' you can each write them and recite them to one another while your friends and family witness the sacred moment.  Print your vows and frame them in 5 x 7 frames as gifts to your guests.   Planning a marriage ceremony can be stressful, but remember the union is about love and commitment, don't do anything to jeopardize your relationship.