Unusual Wedding Dresses to Make Your Wedding Day Truly Special

A bride is remembered for her wedding dress. Everyone wants to know what you will wear on your wedding day—and you want to make sure you look great, elegant, and sophisticated on that once in a lifetime event. Many brides go for the traditional white wedding dress, but nowadays, it is okay to deviate from that norm and put on a dress that is off-white or even a striking color like red or black. To make your wedding day more special, consider going for a hue that reflects your personality.

What Makes an Unusual Wedding Dress?

An unusual wedding dress can be unique or strange, or a combination of both. Sometimes, it can be made of materials not traditionally used on wedding dresses. It is not the traditional white wedding dress, but it is still beautiful and makes you the center of attention.

Find Your Style Inspiration

Looking at online wedding dress catalogs and bridal shops should help you get ideas on what style and color you might want to wear. Pop culture, public figures, and celebrities may inspire you, too. It might also be good to look at wedding attire of brides from other countries such as in Japan, South Korea, India, and China. In the end, it is all about your preference, imagination, and creativity that should make you stand out and more memorable as the bride. After all, your wedding day is your big day.

Seek a Good Designer

To work with a good designer and dressmaker should help you come up with a unique and unusual wedding dress that can make you stand out. A good designer can interpret your personality and make dress express that. You can seek a good wedding dress designer near you online or use a wedding planning app.

Top Ten Tips to Plan Your Wedding Registry

Wedding gifts are among the most exciting parts of a wedding and gift registries are heaven-sent, making life a lot easier for both the couple and their close friends and loved ones. Here are some useful tips you can use when planning your wedding registry:

• Register! Many couples make the mistake of not registering for gifts and end up with things they already have or ones that they will never use or use once and forget about later. Having a registry helps you make sure that the gifts you will receive are exactly what you need and make it easier for your friends and loved ones to shop for gifts that you will definitely enjoy.

• Register at your favorite stores. Most stores now have their own registry, including online-only stores.

• Register for things that you need first and things you like last. This way, you can cover all the basics.

• Don't register for a gift unless you intend to use and keep it. Guests always want to give you things that you can enjoy and keep. Don't pick a gift out only to return it later.

• Go at an off-peak hour to make your wedding registry experience less stressful. Many stores even allow you to shop online for even more convenience.

• Give yourself time to look around so you can see all your options and pick the best gifts to start you off in your journey as a couple.

• Don't limit your registering time to a single day. Spread it out over a few days so you can have a fresh set of eyes every time you visit the store.

• Register as a couple. You may not share the exact same taste in all things, but registering for gifts is the best time to start meshing your styles together.

• Don't check the list before the shower. Save the excitement for when you receive the gifts and open them together.

• Lastly, show appreciation for what you have received by sending out thank you cards.

How to Select a Wedding Limo Service Provider Online

Finding a great limo service for your wedding can be tricky, especially if you are doing it online without recommendations from your friends. With so many types of wedding limousines and cars to choose from, and the long list of rental companies with online tools to make booking easy, how do you pick the right service provider? Here are some tips.

1. Licenses and Associations: Every wedding limousine service should have proper licenses; most reputable rental companies also belong to professional associations. Check if the service provider has had any complaints in the Better Business Bureau.

2. Years in Business: This is extremely important. Veteran wedding limo providers are better than the newer ones because they know what they do and see (and solve) all issues. Note that some newer companies are operated by drivers and managers with many years of experience in the limousine rental industry, so they should be good candidates, too.

3. Insurance: Commercial vehicle insurance is crucial. Wedding town Cars are typically required to $750,000 in liability coverage at a minimum. Vehicles and cars that carry eight passengers (or more) need at least 1.5 million.

4. Quality of the Fleet: The bigger the size of the fleet, the more choices you have in terms of what type of wedding limo service you can rent. But bigger is not necessarily better. Smaller wedding car rental companies often provide more personalized service.

5. Hours of Operation: Not all companies can provide 24/7 services, but they should at least have an overnight emergency number. You want a limousine service that is always accessible.

6. Driver Screening: The Company should only hire chauffeurs that pass all tests, including physical exams and drug tests. Good rental companies follow all the state mandates and run criminal background checks on their drivers.

How Premarital Counseling Can Benefit Couples Planning to Get Married

Premarital counseling can greatly benefit couples planning to take the next step-marriage. Also known as premarital preparation, this counseling is not the same as ‘therapy’. It’s often a lighthearted educational session that helps couples learn skills they may need in building a healthy, happy, and lasting married life.

If you are getting married soon, it definitely makes sense to attend a premarital counseling program. After all, more than half (50%+) of all marriages fail. But premarital counseling has been shown to help to reduce the incidence divorce by as much as a whopping 30%. For this reason alone, premarital counseling is worth going to.

A typical program covers seven relationship skills and areas of knowledge that help couples lay the foundation and maintain a successful, loving, and happy marriage. Premarital counseling sessions address these following seven areas:

•    Compatibility
•    Long-term goals
•    Expectations
•    Communication
•    Personalities (including families of origin)
•    Conflict resolution
•    Intimacy and sexuality

The biggest benefit of premarital counseling is that it allows couples to concretely identify and talk about their fears, beliefs, values, desires, needs, dreams, and other such issues they may have previously avoided or even denied. During a session, the couple is encouraged to talk about matters they never discussed before.

Premarital counseling is necessary in building a stronger foundation for a marriage, before it even takes place. It helps the couple anticipate and prepare for the possible conflicts and challenges that may arise.

The best time to go to attend a premarital counseling program is one year to six months before the planned date of the wedding. The earlier, the better. This way, any negative habits or unhealthy relationship patterns can be addressed well before the wedding, and well become established and hard to break.

How to Plan the Wedding Day Perfectly With Professional Wedding Planners

Hiring a wedding planner is a practical move if you are getting married soon. A wedding planner can handle the details and issues that need to be addressed, making planning your dream wedding and making it a reality a little less stressful. Wedding planners can also help you work within your budget and ensure that you do not go overboard. Many brides actually end up saving money by hiring professional wedding planner.

An expert can keep your wedding plans organized and ensured that it is followed to the last detail. It is important to find someone you and your future spouse can trust—someone you feel comfortable with. Teamwork is the name of the game. You need to listen to your planner and he/she needs to listen to you. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Early on in the planning process, a wedding planner will typically establish a timeline that you can follow to make sure that everything is settled before your big day. Work according to that timeline and review it with your wedding planner from time to time, so you know what must be done and what has already been accomplished.
• Create a realistic budget. Your budget must meet all the important aspects to make your big day more special and memorable.
• Do not be afraid to ask your wedding planner to haggle and negotiate prices or discounts with different vendors. Wedding planners have connections with caterers, wedding photographers, wedding venues, and much more, so they can help you negotiate and obtain competitive rates.
• Never be embarrassed to ask for the opinion of your wedding planner, whether it is for choosing a menu from your caterer, the wedding cake, or the flower arrangement for your wedding.

Don’t know how to find a wedding planner near you? Use a wedding planning app. The best ones allow you to narrow down your search according to your requirements.

Go Beyond the Mainstream Wedding Invitations and Opt For the Coolest Picks

Wedding invitations can build the excitement, create hype, and make guests look forward to your big day. You can use them to show off your interest and style as a couple. If you are not afraid to go step out the ordinary, then make your wedding invitation as creative as possible—and anything but plain.

Your imagination is the only limit when it comes to creating cool and unique wedding invitations. Anything is possible with the help of creative wedding invitation makers. You can find them through a wedding planning website or a wedding planner app. Be sure to check out samples of their work before you sign up. Do not be afraid to discuss options and be clear about the costs.

You can let your imagination run wild and use unusual materials to make your ideal wedding invitation pop. Here are some ideas:

• Have your wedding details printed on a balloon. Send it deflated and allow your recipient to blow or inflate it themselves to see the complete details.
• Film yourself and your partner inviting friends and family to your wedding. Edit the videos, send them out in a file format that is readable across most computers, smartphones, and tablets.
• Challenge your guests by sending out a puzzle that can make your invitation more fun and intriguing. This could help them remember important information, too.
• Try plane ticket-like designs that can make your guests feel as if they are traveling to another country or destination to attend your wedding. You do not necessarily need to have a destination wedding to use this idea.

One last tip: Review the invitation at least 5 times before sending it out to print. Make sure that there are no design, grammar, or spelling blunders. You might offend guests and members of your entourage if you misspell their names.

Ways to Choose an Ideal Wedding Invitation Card

Your invitations tell your guests what your wedding will be like—whether it will be formal, casual, or offbeat. Invitations also let your guests know the theme, motif, and what to expect from your big day. To set the right tone for your big day, you need to choose high-quality invitations that are true to your theme. Here are a few factors to consider.

Style: Formal wedding invitations have always been printed on white, ivory, or ecru cards. The rule is to follow the color of your bridal gown. The text must be engraved with dark gray or black ink. Formal weddings still follow those principles, but you have the choice to deviate from the tradition. There are plenty of styles to choose from nowadays. You are sure to find something to suit your taste, budget, and your wedding's level of formality. Textured paper, recycled paper, a photograph, and invitations with embedded flowers are just some of the many ideas you can toy with.

The wedding venue: The place where your wedding will take place should influence the design of your wedding invitation card. Will you be celebrating on a beach, or in a lake cottage, perhaps? Consider using earthy materials like burlap.

Check out wedding invitation makers and suppliers: Find companies and suppliers that specialize in creating wedding invitations. Search for them online using wedding planning directories, or via a wedding planning app that lets you access a selection of wedding invitation makers in your area. Get in touch with the companies that you like. Obtain quotes and look at samples of their wedding invitations, so you can compare them and make an informed decision.

Lettering: Formal wedding invitations are commonly engraved—but that type of printing can be expensive. Another option is thermography, which achieves the same look and feel. Calligraphy adds a personal touch and it is best for a small guest list. Calligraphed, embossed, and engraved invitations are often expensive, but professional wedding invitation card makers can provide you with exclusive designs and other options that can suit your budget.

Steps To Set a Reasonable Wedding Budget

Before you even buy a dress or book a venue, it is important that you should set a budget for your wedding. The budget will determine how big or small, or how extravagant or simple the ceremony and reception should be. It can also influence the type and size of catering, venue, wedding dress, flower arrangement, and other such elements. Setting a reasonable budget for your wedding can help make the planning process simpler and hassle-free—and will also prevent financial problems later on. Here are the steps to achieving a reasonable wedding budget:

Ask yourself: How much money can you contribute? Know the amount of money that you can contribute to the wedding yourself. The money could come from your disposable savings or what your parents are willing to give you. You can also decide to set aside a specific amount of money every pay day leading up to the event. Be realistic.

Discuss it with your partner: Your wedding is not just for you. You also need to let your partner know about the plans. Talk to your future spouse about the budget and ask if he can contribute. Ask your family members, too. Traditionally, the bride's family has to pay for the wedding expenses, but you do not need to follow that rule nowadays. More brides and grooms are paying for their weddings themselves.

Create your guest list: Draft your guest list early. It will be easier to set a budget when you know how many people are coming to your wedding. From there, you can estimate the amount of money needed to cover the venue, bridesmaids' dresses, tuxedo rental, catering, and others.

Make a list of wedding-related expenses and purchases: Not sure what you need? Go online and use a wedding planning website or a wedding planning app for wedding budget. One of the best wedding planning directories can provide you with suggestions and lists that you can refer to. Be sure to take into consideration expenses related to the wedding license and the gratuities for your caterer, photographer, and wedding planner.