What are wedding announcements? Thank goodness for them since they help make those who you weren’t able to invite part of your wedding. There were so many uninvited guests who generously gave my husband and I gifts and I wanted to do something for them (besides sending them a thank you) and everyone else who couldn’t make it to the wedding or who weren’t invited.

Here’s the 411 on wedding announcements. They were traditionally sent by parents and usually up to a year after the wedding. Today couples also send them. Announcements are kind of like the announcements you see in the newspaper except you are sending it to specific family and friends. You shouldn’t expect a gift but of course if you receive one make sure you send a thank you.

They are perfect for us because we had a small wedding and it also works if you had a big wedding but still had a lot of people you couldn’t invite. They’re also great professionally to alert business associates and colleagues to the change in your last name.

Wedding Paper Divas has a wedding announcement I think I might send.

Sweet Matrimony

Although I haven’t gotten all my pictures yet, I did get a sneak preview. And because I wanted to give those who couldn’t make it a wedding picture, I was overjoyed that Wedding Paper Divas has a line of photo cards to select from. Since then, I’ve been playing around with all of their beautiful, modern photo cards to see which one I might send. The fun part of it is that you can customize any photo card, not just the thank you ones. The card that I ended up choosing, however, surprised me. Because the picture I chose had so much details on it, I found that a simple card worked best and decided on the Contemporary Solid Thank You Cards: Willow. Here is the result.

A big trend this season is including scents as an important part of your wedding day. You’ve got your other senses covered such as the look and feel of your wedding but how about smell? My friend, for example, gave me a bottle of perfume to be worn on my wedding day. Why might you ask? Well scientists learned that scents trigger emotional memories and using scents could effect the mood of the wedding as well as help the bride and groom and their guests remember the day. This way whenever I spray on a spritz of Orange Blossom, I’ll be reminded of my wedding day.

Besides your normal scents from floral centerpieces, fragrant candles, or flowers that can be placed on guests’ tables, there is a company that can custom create various aromas to add texture to your wedding. One company called Scentevents has created a scent machine that can recreate a variety of aromas such as flowers, wedding cake, chocolate or champagne and scent areas up to 2,000 square feet. Talk about having a sweet wedding!

One of the most personal weddings I’ve ever been to was one of my friends who really made it her own. She took her mother’s wedding dress and had it altered and designed to suit her. And even though her wedding was 6 years ago, I still remember seeing her and her husband drive away in a cool, vintage car.

For our wedding, we decided not to do anything special about our transportation. Since we had no wedding party and our ceremony and reception was at the same site, I just road to the ceremony with my friends and my mom. My husband drove to the site himself. While it seemed practical and economical for us to do so, I still think having a sweet vehicle like theirs adds a little romance and excitement to the day.

If you want to echo this classic, vintage style, choose invitations consistent with this theme. The results will be a seamless look that begins with invitations and ends with your wedding day.

When I began thinking about the whole wedding planning process, I knew that I wanted to have a wedding website. Especially since the majority of our guests were making a big trip to get here, I thought it would be nice to provide them with detailed information about our special day. There was a ton of websites out there to choose from but my fiance and I were looking for something specific. We wanted a site that allowed us to play music and show pictures and of course one that wasn’t extremely expensive. We finally settled on a site called MyMemoryPage.com.

Because we paid for the service up to a year, I had the idea of transforming our wedding website into a thank you website for guests. That way those who didn’t attend could get a sneak peek of our wedding through photos and the music that was played.

Months later, I heard about another website called Mywedding.com. I wish I heard about it before because while I love our website, this one allows you to coordinate Wedding Paper Divas invitations with their fabulous website layouts and it’s free! Here’s an example of what I mean.

I know I’ve written about orange before but it is the color of the season. And this wedding season, it’s making an appearance in everything from the flowers to the bridesmaids dresses. Orange is even making a splash in the fashion industry coloring up one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie this season. Take a look at some of their line which would be absolutely divine for an orange wedding!

One year of site searching, flower finding, invitations, dresses and planning is finally coming to an end. And what a year it’s been! Hard to believe but my wedding is this week. In the last few weeks, I’ve had to overcome the worst-a two week cold, sleepless nights from an obnoxious upstairs neighbor and ant bites from an outdoor wedding leaving marks where my wedding dress won’t cover. But with all of that, I’ve stayed sane and believe that all of the stress, worries and late nights will be well worth it very soon. Good luck to all you brides out there whose wedding is also close approaching. I will be signing off for a little while but will be back to let you guys know all the details of my wedding day!

If you’re like me and are getting married away from the majority of your family and friends, this post may be of interest to you. Whether you’ve decided to do a destination wedding or just know of people who want to attend your wedding but can’t be physically present, a wedcast may be the next best thing. Wedcasts are live, video broadcast over the Internet which allows friends and family to watch your wedding as it is happening. How exciting is that?

I started thinking about this when several of my friends called to regretfully tell us that they could not attend our wedding but wish they could see it live. I did a web search and learned that there are hotels in Hawaii and at other destinations and companies who do this.

How does it work? Companies take a videographer’s footage and stream it live on the Internet. Most couples use this to let friends and family view their wedding in real time whereas there are some that also get married or hold commitment ceremonies virtually.

Who does it? There are both hotels and companies specifically focused on wedcast that do this. From one in Vegas to a company called Live Internet Weddings in Hawaii, there are hotels and resorts, and new businesses sprouting up to cater to the not present guest. I found one that solely deals with wedcasts. http://www.wedcast.tv/

Other options? Getting a live stream of your wedding may be a little pricey for some. Another option would be to get married via a webcam.

Used for practical purposes in Medieval times, chandeliers have taken on a whole new meaning as a popular decorative piece. Most recently, as Diva blogger Lea has previously mentioned, chandeliers have also invaded the wedding scene and has become in its own right a sole wedding theme. Not only decorating and adding glamour and beauty to historical mansions like my wedding site seen in the picture below, but chandeliers are now being moved outdoors for a look that is simply to die for.

Chandeliers bring a feeling of grandiosity and luxury to any room and because of this they are also finding its way onto wedding stationery. If you love the look of chandeliers and want to add this to your wedding, take a look at Wedding Paper Divas’s glamorous Chandelier Rehearsal Dinner Invitations in Almond. They can be easily made into Wedding Invitations.

In the eighties, a white wedding referred to a popular Billy Idol song. Today it signifies a popular color choice for couples look for a chic, modern theme. Why save white only for your dress? White goes with everything and when used consistently adds light and fresh style to your wedding.

Adding a hint of gold or silver transforms a refreshingly white wedding into an elegant affair. Here’s a few invitation design options for couples wanting a white theme.