Archive for October, 2009

Make Your Wedding Day Even More Special By Writing Your Own Vows

The trend these days is to have a wedding celebration that reflects the personalities of the two people involved. To this end, you may want to consider including vows that you have written yourself as part of the wedding ceremony. While the traditional vows may be beautifully written, that does not necessarily mean that they are the right ones for the two of you.

The first thing to think about is what you really want to say in your vows. While the deep affection you and your beloved have for each other is the reason you are entering into the honorable estate of holy matrimony, you might also want to include such concepts as friendship, hope, peace, respect, kindness, patience, loyalty, and a shared future.

You might also want to include a passage about welcoming your new spouse into your family and becoming a part of theirs. Your desire to have a family of your own might be a part of the thoughts you express to each other as well.

Look at some sample vows for inspiration. The librarian at your local public library should be able to suggest some books for this purpose. If you are working with a wedding planner, he or she may be able to suggest some good sources of information as well.

Reciting your vows is not like an exercise in public speaking in that it needs to last for a certain amount of minutes or have a specific word count. Use as many or as few words as you need to express the promises you are making to your spouse. This is your day and no one is going to think it amiss if your vows are wordy and flowing or brief and to the point.

To that end, some couples find it helpful to try to write their vows together, while others would feel more comfortable working individually. This is also a case where no one solution is inherently better than the other; people just need to determine what would work best for them.

If you like the wording contained in traditional pre-written vows but want to add your own personal touch, ask the officiate you have chosen whether you can have a combination of the two at your wedding ceremony. In this way, you are not breaking with tradition by including the standard vows, but you are making the celebration of your wedding a more individual one by adding whatever thoughts you want to share with your chosen one and guests.

If your goal is to have a wedding that is truly a reflection of your personalities, then writing your own vows is one way of ensuring that your wedding day will be as unique as the devotion the two of you feel for each other.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach Florida. Find more about this as well as wedding invitations at http://www.wedding-planning-plus.com

Article Source: ArticleSpan

Let’s Look At Some Wedding Toast Activities

Giving a toast is a responsibility that puts fear in the speaking hearts of most members of a wedding party. While it’s not ordinarily something that is particularly long or involved. Its public speaking (which doesn’t sit well with many souls) and really puts souls on the spot.

If you are planning a wedding and know that most members of this wedding party are hams who won’t mind the whole "public speaking" thing, then through all means keep the toasts traditional with dad, the best man and others taking their expected turns at the microphone.

But if you’re looking for something different, either since you hope to save putting souls on the spot, or you simply want to do something different and fun, read on.

First, you can certainly take the whole toast thing off the agenda whenever you wish. There are no rules requiring a toast at any wedding. Weddings should be unparalleled events and reflect the personalities of the bride and groom.

But if you desire to do something a little different, there are options. You can go the video route, which asks souls to essentially make a toast on camera and then the video is given to the bride and groom later. This isn’t a particularly unparalleled idea, but it executes solve the issue of not wanting to put souls on the spot and still gives everyone a chance to say something special to the bride and groom.

When your guest list includes many outgoing individuals then consider "pass the microphone". This can work in various ways. You can either be silly with it, or deadly serious. Most souls like silly. Say dad takes the microphone first. His last name ends with T (so, let’s say dad’s last name is Smith). He must detect someone whose first name begins with a T (Tom? Tony? Tina? Theresa?) And pass the microphone to that person, who then gives a toast.

This method of giving toasts does put individuals on the spot (certainly before the fun begins you can warn them so if they are really uncomfortable, they can escape to the restroom or bar) but it can also be a lot of fun. Getting people whenever they least expect it and then asking them to remember something funny or meaningful about the bride and groom can result in interesting, funny and truthful results.

You might also decide that one person at each table be necessitated to give a toast. Number the tables and at several intervals, have the MC or DJ call a number, which will want guests at that table to decide amongst themselves who will give the toast at that table. Certainly, more than one person can when they like, but there will probably be at least one ham at each table that will enjoy standing up and toasting the newlyweds.

Say you have plenty of public speakers in the group, and finding willing toast participants will not be a problem. But you think the subject matter might be. There’s an easy solution to this problem. You can provide open-ended topics for the toast speakers. Say you are providing an "open mike" toast arrangement, where anyone can request the microphone and offer a toast. The DJ, MC or someone else in the wedding party (perhaps the maid of honour or best man) can offer the speaker a surprise topic, which might be pulled from a champagne flute or drawn out of the floral arrangement on the head table. There might be slips of paper to choose, or just one sheet of paper with several ideas.

The speaker might choose to finish this sentence, "I remember if (groom’s name here) was a little boy, he always …" or answer this question, "When was (insert bride’s name here) at her silliest? Tell us the story". You might have to give each speaker a minute or two to collect their thoughts, but you’re sure to have some interesting stories, some unique anecdotes and some different perspectives on the bride and groom.

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor For further reading please check out: Chinese Wedding Games

Article Source: ArticleSpan

The Wedding Toast From the Father of the Bride – Easy Tips on Being Funny While Still Being Classy

Both the best man and maid of honor speeches are certainly important, but in the end, no moment at the reception or words of advice are more revered than the comments made in the wedding toast from the father of the bride. It is the definitive moment where – as many people believe – the father truly gives away his daughter.

But to make a grandiose moment less pressure-filled for the speaker, it’s always good advice to offer a few jokes to lighten the collective mood. Although that sounds easy, it’s not terribly simple. It is here where one needs to have a firm grasp of what proper toast etiquette is.

When delivering a wedding toast from the father of the bride, it is vitally important not to offend or overly embarrass anyone. The best man’s speech is usually meant to be the most "rowdy" of the bunch, while the wedding toast from the father of the bride is more formal in nature.

With that said, what is appropriate for the father to joke about? According to toast etiquette, a wedding toast from the father of the bride can poke fun at the following:

* his family in general; such as lighthearted comments about how dysfunctional the family may be or "weird", funny things you’ve done together. Do not poke fun at the groom’s family.
* the bride; especially stories from her upbringing or how she acted after meeting her future husband (if it makes for a nice story). Do not, however, under any circumstances embarrass her. Never mention ex-boyfriends or "flings".
* the groom; these can make for the best jokes of all, but remember to keep the mood light. Stories of when you first met the groom often times make for an excellent chance to be comical in the wedding toast from the father of the bride!

But now that you know what not to say and do, where do you turn for ideas and concepts you can use in constructing your speech? What are other nuggets of information regarding toast etiquette that you need to know? Where can you find definitive lists of what you need to say, whom you need to thank, and helpful tips in how to deliver your speech?

The answers to these questions can be found by visiting the link in the author area today. At this fantastic site — which is fully devoted to the wedding toast – you will be able to read reviews and see what the internet’s best sites have to offer so you can make an informed decision on which one best suits your needs. Get on your way to having that jaw-dropping wedding toast from the father of the bride in no time!

Gus Miller is an expert on the art of public speaking and specifically, the wedding toast. Gus has had the pleasure of giving many toasts throughout his life in every setting imaginable. Find how you can deliver a fantastic wedding toast by clicking herenow.

Article Source: ArticleSpan