Wedding Favors

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July 16, 2010

Evolution Of Wedding Favors

Wedding favors are little gifts, tokens or trinkets which are given to the guests of the newly wed couple after the wedding ceremony or during the wedding reception. They are often tokens that extend a sense of gratitude for the presence of the guests during the wedding day.

The giving of wedding favors is a very old tradition. It is widely believed that the first ever practice of giving wedding favors were done by old European aristocrats, nobles, and members of the elite and upper class. At first they called a wedding favor a bonbonniere, which is Italian for favors.

Way back, bonbonnieres were often characterized by a small box, the size of a trinket or jewel box that was created from porcelain, crystals, and rarely with the addition of priceless gems and stones. These boxes were often in a form of sugar, sugar cubes, and other fragile confections. This was intended to mean wealth and royalty. The rationale for this was because, way back, then, sugar was expensive and a product difficult to find. And only the wealthy, nobles, and the elites had access and could afford it during that time. However, over time, as sugar became a basic commodity and more common, couples belonging to lower classes were able to afford it. Hence, the tradition of distributing wedding favors and other priceless gifts of gratitude was spread to the populace, to couples of either upper or lower class.

But due to the passage of time as sugar became a basic commodity and more usual, couples not belonging to the upper classes were able to have access to it. Thus, the tradition of giving a wedding favor and other special gifts of gratitude was spread to the people, to couples belonging to either upper or lower class.

Sugar coated almonds known as confetti was soon introduced in the thirteenth century. Over time confetti then evolved into sugared almonds, and then became known as the modern day wedding favors that were distributed in weddings today. It was tradition to have five Jordan almonds to be presented in a confection box or to be wrapped in beautiful fabric. Each almond is meant to represent wealth, health, fertility, longevity, and happiness. One reason why almonds were used, aside from being a bit expensive, was because that the bitterness of the almond and the sweet candy coating represent the bittersweet union of marriage.

It was part of the tradition to bear five Jordan almonds to be offered in a confection box or to be wrapped in a fine fabric. Each almond signifies wealth, health, longevity and long lasting joy. One fundamental reason why almonds were used, apart from being a bit expensive, was because its bitterness and sweetness of candy coat symbolizes the perfect mix of marriage.

Today, gifts to wedding guests are more popularly called as wedding favors and the distribution of these tokens of gratitude to guests is a long tradition shared by different cultures across countries around the globe.

These are just to name a few. There are more types of wedding favors out there, especially in today’s modern world.

Weddings are such joyous occasion that everyone participating in the wedding entourage are excited to experience its preparation. You can begin with wedding favors that will display a stunning effect on this big day. Or you may want to try groomsmen gifts.

Filed under Weddings by Benedict Perez

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July 7, 2010

The Caveman’s Ball

The very first wedding was between two cave people who decided that there should be a ceremony and reception. The thinking was that the village (the first ever) always celebrated before and after a hunt. They boogied down deep into the night when the monsoon season ended and they celebrated the birth of the children, so why not celebrate when two cave people decided to move into their first cave and share a life together? Grog wanted to give the guests wedding presents because when they announced the ritual, to be held by the tribe’s holy man; everyone looked at them as if they were crazy and refused to come to the event claiming they had to wash each other’s hair and was way behind in picking bugs off each other.

This is how the very first wedding planner came to be. Winnie’s brother, Rock Stonehead suggested they give gifts to the tribe members who would show up. The problem was what to give. Trog was smart though, and he knew that when lightning struck the beach, the heating of the sand made glass, so he gathered up a bunch of it and picked up some of the shiny rocks that they had found while shopping for a good cave to spend their lives in. Therefore, each guest received glass-wedding favors and the tribe elders received crystal-wedding favors.

Trog and Winnie had a beautiful ceremony under a great tree that provided plenty of shade for the guests. Of course, they had to because the tribe’s holy man was not convinced that moving out of the trees was a good idea and still made his home there. The couple got married but they put their wedding rings through their nose instead of on their fingers. This is because they were still dragging knuckles and the rings kept falling off in the rocks and dirt. Many years later, one of trog and Winnies descendents started the tradition of putting the wedding ring on the finger because they had a cold and did not want to get snot on the ring. They placed it on the finger since their arms had shortened and no longer scraped the ground.

At Trog and Winnies wedding party, now known as a reception, the first thing they did after bandaging their heads was to create music. They had to bandage their heads because they did not have rice to throw back then so they threw sticks and rocks. The first wedding band was formed as the guests started to get bored and were dancing but there was no music. A friend of Trog was tapping on a log when everyone realized it sounded pretty good. After that, several of the tribe was joining in on the fun by beating the trees with the bones of the animals they had for supper the night before. Soon, the reception was really swinging.

Another tradition that was born on that first wedding was the kissing of the bride. Before this, they just went around licking each other’s faces. But Winnie, who loved to eat wild berries was about to open her mouth to speak when Trog went to give her their first lick as a married couple and stuck his tongue in her mouth quite by accident. It tasted so good that soon, everyone was eating berries and “kissing” each other.

The best part was when the couple finally got tired and the fire had burned so low that they could barely see. Trog took his new bride to their new cave to consummate their marriage. Unfortunately, there was no such thing as full disclosure so the cave estate agent that sold Trog and Winnie the cave did not tell them that there was still a saber-toothed tiger living in it and they were both eaten during the night.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for Glass wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Filed under Weddings by Aaron Hu

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June 19, 2010

Wedding Planner Interviews

Besides knowing the difference between Asian wedding favors and garden wedding favors, a good wedding planner should be a wealth of knowledge and should know how to plan every detail of your wedding. Unfortunately, there are only a few ways to tell if your wedding planner really knows his or her stuff until he actually starts planning your wedding. Here are four quick things to look for when interviewing your wedding planners that will tell you more about them without asking the related questions.

If your wedding planner shows up for the interview half an hour late, odds are, they are not as organized as they claim to be. While this particular clue is not a dead giveaway to their capabilities, it is certainly a good step in the wrong direction. If they have a legitimate sounding excuse, it is only fair to continue the interview in earnest but keep that red flag in the back of your mind as you go. Take a moment and think about the excuse that they give you for being late. If they say that they were stuck in traffic at ten in the morning, it is more likely they slept in as the morning rush is usually over by nine, since that is the start time for the majority of the working world. That is unless, of course, everyone in your city was late for work on that day, like your candidate.

Wedding planners are supposed to be well-organized and clear thinking individuals who know how to dress up a wedding. If your wedding planner candidate has a green shirt with blue pants and a green and orange sock on one foot and a black one on the other there are three possibilities. First, they are blind and they left their driving Seeing Eye dog in the car. Second, their second job as a clown starts after the interview. (and the purple tie is in their pocket) or they are not very well coordinated and have no business planning a wedding, especially a themed wedding and especially your wedding. Maybe they could plan one for Ringling Bros.

A great wedding planner will have a laptop computer with photos of their previous jobs and if not, a full notebook with a portfolio and several references to show you. They will have documentation of their previous weddings and may even provide video that shows off their prowess and coordination cunning. If your wedding planning candidate shows up with a 3×5 in. memo book and asks to borrow a pen, he or she is probably not the right wedding planner for you.

There is one way to spot a wedding planner and instantly know the difference between a good wedding planner and a great wedding planner from the moment that you open your door. He or she will have a tangible wave of confidence emanating from them, a big smile on their face, a firm handshake, a laptop under one arm and a planner bulging with references and photos under the other. They will smell good, look better and will be someone with whom you will feel an instant friendship. There will be a twinkle in their eyes and a sparkle when they smile. Knowledge of wedding planning will ooze from them and they will turn to the 42 hopeful brides to be that are following them and tell them they will have to wait their turn. When this person shows up at your door, please, give them my number. My sister just got engaged.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for Asian wedding favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Party Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Filed under Weddings by Aaron Hu

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June 16, 2010

Money Saving Tips For Your Wedding Food Budget

Ask most people what they remember about a wedding that they have attended and nine times out of ten, the answer will be the food. The difference, they would tell you, between a good wedding and a bad wedding is the food. Frozen pizza and a bowl full of chips is great for a sleep over but for a wedding reception, even a small one, fresh vegetables, appetizers, and a good hot meal is almost a must. Here are a few ideas for that tight wedding budget.

Try a wedding reception buffet with a couple of meat choices and tons of hot vegetables to save a little bit of dough. Even offering just one baked meat such as chicken is fine as long as there are plenty of side choices to go with it. Chicken is inexpensive and can be doubled as two selections since it can be prepared so many ways. Chicken can be fried, baked, broiled, or even served in a casserole and still be considered a main course.

A very large chunk of your wedding planning budget is spent on the food that you serve to your guests. Coffee and tea wedding favors are a nice touch but you might also offer and edible, like chocolate wedding favors that your guests can nibble on if so desired. Think about having just the wedding cake as the desert option. It cost less to go bigger on the wedding cake than it does to serve a completely separate dessert. Make sure to get a rich cake and go thick on the icing for an even bigger savings.

If you are serving wine at your wedding, keep in mind that many people have particular tastes when it comes to wine. To help save money by not letting that expensive wine go to waste, check into serving blended wines. They are less expensive to purchase and they appeal to a wider range of tastes. For the kids, a big bowl of punch or several pitchers of fruity cool-aide will hit the spot and quench those mighty thirsts. Serve beer instead of wine for an even bigger savings.

The heartier the appetizers, the less food you have to worry about serving and if you serve a meat based appetizer, in many cases, you will not need to serve a hot meal. Chicken egg rolls with a complete spread of fresh dipping vegetables always makes a nice meal in itself so long as you offer plenty of it and have several dipping choices to pick from. Chicken wings can be prepared several ways and are less expensive than almost any other choice.

No matter what you decide to serve at your wedding trough, remember to go heavy on the appetizers and lighter on the meats. The more fresh vegetables you can serve before the meal the better. The trick is to make those layouts look tempting and offer sweet and sour dipping for them to cover a wider variety of taste buds. The final secret to saving money on your wedding day budget is to hold the wedding and reception as early in the day as possible. The later it is or the longer the ceremony, the hungrier your guests will be when it comes time to chow down. Serving milk and plenty of sweet bread options will also help to fill those bellies quickly. Put out several styles of breads including fruited breads and bunt type sweet cakes to get them to eat before the meal is served.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for Coffee and Tea Wedding Favors, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Wedding Party Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Filed under Weddings by Aaron Hu

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June 13, 2010

The Secret To Being A Beautiful Bride

The bride is supposed to be perfect on her wedding day. Sometimes this can be quite challenging what with all the stress and long days and nights leading up to the big day. If you want to look great on the day of your wedding, follow these five fail-safe tips and you cannot go wrong.

What Are You Staring At? The first thing a bride must do to look great is to make sure she handles all aspects of her big day, including what the bridesmaids will wear and how they will appear when standing next to her. What is the point of looking your best when the bridesmaids all look even greater? How can you overcome five natural beauties that look elegant and sexy standing next to you in your white gown hidden behind a veil? It is simple. Choose you bridesmaids from amongst the ugliest and plumpest friends you have. Make sure you pick out the dresses and put them into something either purple or bright yellow. (Or both!) This way, it will look like you are standing next to five big canaries or five plump grapes that are half way to raison.

Super Size Me (Can I Have Fries with That?) Everyone knows that the quickest way to a super-sized zit right in the middle of your forehead and/or the very tip of your nose is stress and a trip to a fast food burger joint. Two days before the wedding, take your bridesmaids out to lunch at one of these burger joints and insist that you hold an eating contest. If you have picked out bridesmaids according to the paragraph above, you should have no trouble getting them to eat as much free food as possible. (Remember not to eat any of this yourself) A super-sized portion of greasy French fries with double the bacon, double the processed beef patty, and extra imitation processed cheese (made from oil) will do wonders for your bridesmaid’s complexion and make you look fantastic with all that clear skin.

An Affair to Disremember Make sure that your wedding guests all receive wedding gifts such as photo album favors and wedding cameras fully loaded and with extra rolls in the gift bag. Include a note saying that you want as many pictures of you with your BFF bridesmaids as possible. (You do love them so) Hang out with your raisonette wedding party as much and as often as possible whenever there are cameras pointing your way.

The Bag Lady Sings the Blues The night before your wedding, after sleeping for eight hours during the afternoon, invite all your chubby chums to a bachelorette party. You spring for the drinks but it is important that you pull your waitress off to the side and slip her a fifty dollar bill with instructions to bring your table a round of shots every five minutes until someone passes out and then bring them every three minutes. Tell her to make yours water. On your wedding day, there will be so many bags under their bloodshot eyes that you could transport the leftovers from the buffet table in them.

The End Is Near Do you want to look as graceful as a gazelle? When no one is around, slip into the dressing room and replace those bridesmaids’ six-inch high heel shoes you picked out with a size too small for them and replace the anti-acne clinique with petroleum jelly. At the alter, while they stumble around next to you with their make-up slowly oozing down their chubby little faces, you will be, without any doubt, the most beautiful bride anyone can ever remember.

Aaron Hu has authored on an extensive range of topics related to the wedding industry. If you are looking for wedding cameras, E-WeddingFavors.com has the biggest selection available. You will also find Bridal Shower Favors and much more, all at very affordable prices.

Filed under Weddings by Aaron Hu

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