Special touches
Increasingly, today's brides are choosing new and creative ways to get married. In fact, October is rivaling June as the most popular month for weddings. Ever consider a Halloween-themed wedding to go along with your October date? How about saying "I do" on a beach in December? Certainly, we've all heard about couples who bungee-jump, snorkel or skydive while reciting their vows.
- Have an "outdoor" wedding in the middle of winter. Hold the affair inside a botanical garden or large atrium. Give bud vases as parting gifts. Wear fresh flowers in your hair instead of a veil, use a watering can as a centerpiece and carry a bunch of sunflowers tied with a simple ribbon.
- For animal lovers, why not include furry friends in the ceremony? Tie the ring around your pooch's neck and have him come down the aisle. Place a different ceramic animal as the centerpiece on each table. Or top your wedding cake with a pair of sculpted doves.
- For winter or holiday weddings, include traditional winter elements: velvet fabrics, flowers in rich colors, and warming drinks such as eggnog or apple cider. Fill a whimsical candy dish with brightly colored candies and place on each table. Place pine boughs around the reception. Give ornaments to each guest or as a thank you to wedding attendants.
- If your idea of a wedding is more beach than Beethoven, place votive candles in tiny tin pails filled with sand, and place around the reception. Serve colorful drinks with paper umbrellas and place a lighthouse sculpture as a centerpiece at each table. Hire a reggae band for the reception, and give leis to all your guests as they enter the wedding site.
- Even the most traditional of weddings can have a creative flair. Release butterflies instead of throwing rice, birdseed or rose petals. Place heart-shaped soaps in the bathroom at the reception.
