Wedding Favor Reflections knows that money is getting tight everywhere ~ even for brides.  That’s what prompted us to hold a February special where we lowered the price on every single Kate Aspen favor to the lowest price available anywhere.  It has been an overwhelming success! 

Once we realized how many brides would still like to continue the tradition of handing out quality favors at their wedding, but need a little help with the cost, we decided that we’re through with monthly sales.  Instead, we’re going to take a different approach….

Starting March 1st we’re permanently lowering the prices on all of our Kate Aspen favors to the very lowest prices available online! 

The best part is that this price reduction doesn’t just include our wedding favors; it also includes all baby shower favors, anniversary favors, birthday favors, baptism favors, girls night out favors and breast cancer awareness favors.  In fact, every single Kate Aspen favor has had its price lowered.  Add these low prices to the fact that we don’t ‘pad’ our shipping costs, and now anyone who wants to throw a shower or party can do so with confidence that they’re getting the very best prices available when they shop with Wedding Favor Reflections!

Most couples will take into consideration a few special days before setting their wedding date.  Family birthdays and anniversaries are a couple examples.  Trying not to incorporate too many special days into one month is a legitimate courtesy.  In our family alone, June consists of 4 anniversaries, 3 birthdays and Father’s Day.  This makes June almost as expensive a month as December.

To avoid this potential problem is not always easy, however, you can try to lessen the load for everyone involved if you take into consideration not only holidays already in existence, but ones that you may be celebrating in the future.  For example, no one thinks about Mother’s Day or Father’s Day when they’re first married, but a couple years down the road and they may become quite important.  If you plan a beautiful early May wedding, your future anniversaries may end up competing with Mother’s Day.  Normally, one of these holidays end up getting lost in the celebration of the other. 

Bring up the topic of the Smokies to a group of people and chances are you’ll get vacation stories about Dolly-Wood, souvenir shops, scores of restaurants and an overall tourist-type atmosphere.  But there is so much more to the Smoky Mountains. 

My husband and I started an annual tradition many years ago of renting a cabin in the Smoky Mountains and doing all of the touristy things.  It was fun, but it tended to ‘get old’ after a while.  Then, several years ago, we discovered the joy of hiking.  Ever since then we spend most of our week in the mountains exploring new trails and seeing what these beautiful mountains have to offer.  The Great Smoky Mountain National Park is filled with history and beauty that would take a lifetime to appreciate.  The Park holds over 1,000 miles of hiking trails and we plan to hike every one of them.

This incredible place makes it the perfect honeymoon spot.  Hike during the day, go out for a romantic dinner and still have plenty of time to relax with a bottle of champagne in your two-person jacuzzi tub in the evening.  Rent a cabin with an outdoor hot tub and the view is breath-taking at night, especially if you happen to be enjoying a lovely snowfall at the same time. 

No matter what season you choose for your wedding and honeymoon, the Smoky Mountains are absolutely beautiful and you will soon find yourself captivated by your surroundings.

Ever wonder why the bride traditionally stands on the left side of the groom during the wedding ceremony?  Long ago it was not unusual for kidnapping attempts to be made on a bride-to-be.  The bride, therefore, would stand on the left side of the groom in order for him to keep his sword arm free in case he needed to protect his bride.

Typically, the groom recruited the aid of one of the best warriors in his tribe to help him in just such an emergency.  This was the beginning of today’s best man.  Although it is still a special honor to be chosen for this position, the job description is far less life threatening (unless, of course, the best man loses the rings)!

It is a great temptation to choose a wedding date that will coincide with a holiday.  It may make it easier for your guests to be able to attend your wedding if they have a three-day weekend to work with, especially if they’re from out of town.  The extra day will give them a little extra travel time without taking an additional day off from work.

However, there is a down side to this idea too.  Many airlines have blackout dates for special pricing during holidays, making it more expensive for out of town guests to fly.  The price of gas normally goes up during peak travel times as well.  Hotels book up more quickly and rates can increase. 

The cost increases will more than likely also affect how much you have to spend on the wedding itself.  Most services, including reception halls, valet parking, flowers, and DJ’s will charge more during this time.  No one likes to work during holidays, so if they absolutely have to, they’ll more than likely make it worth their while by charging more.

Another area you may want to consider would be your future anniversaries.  It may be very romantic to be married on February 14th, but you will always pay premium prices for flowers and hotels every year thereafter.   

There are several beliefs stemming from long ago that made carrying the bride across the threshold such an enduring tradition.  One goes along with the common idea that newlyweds, especially brides, were easy targets for evil spirits.  In order to protect the vulnerable bride from these evil spirits, barriers were placed between the bride and the ground, thus making it impossible for these spirits to reach her.  Just as the bridal aisle runner blocked the evil spirits, by picking his bride up off of the ground as they entered their home, the groom also protected his bride from attack.

It was also considered to be bad luck for the bride to trip as she entered her home for the first time.  Carrying the bride over the threshold seemed to prevent the possibility of this occurring. 

Another belief stems from the fact that it was considered unlady-like for a bride to be too willing to enter her husband’s home.  By stopping at the front door and refusing to enter, the groom had to carry his bride inside, this keeping her modest character in tact.

Beyond the ‘Bride’s family on the left ~ Groom’s family on the right’ seating standard, there are a couple additional rules that should be followed in order to maintain total adherence to the wedding ceremony seating etiquette. 

Parents are always seated in the front row, with siblings in the second row and grandparents in the third row.  Additional close relatives and close friends then begin to be seated in the fourth row.  If you have very special friends or relatives that you would like to be seated within the first few rows, you may specify ‘in the ribbons’ on their invitation.  This signifies to your guest that they are allowed to sit in the rows that have been sectioned off with ribbons.

If your parents are divorced, the seating becomes a little more complicated depending on whether your parents have remained amicable after their divorce.  Typically, the mother has the honor of sitting in the first row.  Your father may sit in the second row if your parents still get along.  However, if ill feelings exist, it may be wise to seat your father a few rows back.  If either of them have remarried, their spouses should sit beside them.

Guests should always be seated in the order they arrive.  Any guests that arrive just before the ceremony begins will find no groomsman to escort them to their seat.  In this case, they should seat themselves quietly in the back of the church.  The mothers of the bride and groom are always seated last, just before the ceremony begins.

This beloved tradition dates back to early Rome where it was customary to seal a contract with a kiss.  This made the contract legal and binding.  This apparently was such an important part of the wedding ceremony, that without it, the wedding would be considered null and void.

The wedding kiss was also believed to impart a portion of one’s soul into the other; an exchange of each other’s spirits.  This is a wonderful picture of the two becoming one.  It is sad that time tends to loose the symbolic beauty of many of our traditions and today we view the first kiss as husband and wife only as a sign of affection for one another. 

Photo coasters are a unique gift idea that you can customize to fit any celebration.  In a previous blog, I discussed using photo coasters to create a beautiful anniversary gift by framing pictures of special times in a couples’ life together.  Using that same idea, we can incorporate the use of photo coasters for nearly any special event.

If you’re looking for a bridal shower gift, consider using photo coasters and framing pictures that detail the ‘getting-to-know-each-other’ stages of the bride and groom that let to their engagement.

You can give your special Sweet Sixteen this same gift, marking the special times in her young life.  A few ideas can be a baptism, first date, parties, concerts, etc.

Your mother-to-be will love a framed ultrasound picture.  You can also frame pictures of the special mommy, but leave several coasters empty so they can be filled later with pictures of the baby. 

The best part of giving photo coasters is that they make such a practical gift.  They can be used daily, or even put away as part of a trousseau. 

Centerpieces are the focal point of your bridal shower table.  Keep the size of the table in mind when creating your centerpiece.  You’ll want to make it proportional to the table.  It shouldn’t take up so much room that it makes the table look too crowded, and it shouldn’t be so small that it gets lost among the food items. 

Color can really make a centerpiece ‘pop’ out.  Work in the bride’s wedding colors, or if this is a theme bridal shower, such as a kitchen shower, you can work with the colors the bride has chosen for her kitchen.

Making a centerpiece out of food such as fruit can be a wonderful way to have your centerpiece serve ‘double duty’.  There are specialty stores that make wonderful fruit creations that would work well as a centerpiece, but if you’re handy, you can also find a picture and recreate it yourself.

Consider letting your bridal shower favors double as your centerpiece.  Favor boxes can be stacked in order to resemble a wedding cake.  Decorate the sides with silk rosebuds and ribbons and place a tiny ‘cake topper’ on top to complete the look. 

Purchase a small lace umbrella or parasol, turn it upside down in the center of the table and fill with flowers or all of your wrapped favors.  Decorate the parasol with streaming ribbons, and you’ve got a beautiful centerpiece that your guests will remember long after the shower is over.