Marriage Help and Advice

Careful planning is required when you plan for a successful wedding. We have created timeline for some of the most important elements of your wedding planning process.

For 1 year before your wedding day (or anytime after your engagement)

Announcing your engagement When is the wedding date? The bride and groom should introduce the parents, if they haven’t already met Set your budget Hire the wedding planner Research possible reception sites Making a rough draft of the guest list Try joining a fitness club if you’re not a member yet. It’s going to be a lot of fun if you plan and go through your wedding but you will need to be in good shape to handle the demands of the wedding planning process. Research your bridal shower favors and wedding favors

6-9 months before

Decide on your caterer Search for your wedding gown Have you selected your wedding party? You should book a DJ or a band Sign up with a bridal gift registry Go shopping for the bridal attendant’s dresses Choosing a florist Hiring a photographer and a videographer

Tips for 4-6 months before

Finalize your wedding guest list Search for a hotel for your out of town guests Ordering your wedding invitations Buy your wedding gown Call the bakeries or cake decorators in your area to check for date availability. Make travel arrangements for your honeymoon

2-4 months before

You should order your wedding favors Shop for your wedding bands Find out about your state’s marriage license procedures Be sure you have reserved and purchased the tuxedos for the groom and groomsmen If required by your state, get a blood test Have you finalized your wedding reception menu with your caterer? Don’t forget to order your wedding cake Contact your ceremony site about your ceremony music You need to make arrangements about your reception music (DJ or band) Organize the rehearsal dinner Reserve tables and other necessary items with a party rental company

For 1-2 months before

You should run a complete test of your wedding makeup and hairdo. Invite some friends with you. Mail or deliver the wedding invitations

Tips for 1-3 weeks before

The final seating chart for the wedding reception should be completed Make sure you contact the photographer with the details of the ceremony and reception sites Provide your reception venue with a final head count based on the RSVPs received If necessary, make final adjustments to your wedding gown Facials should be booked for the bride, groom and bridesmaids Your luggage for the honeymoon should be ready by now Toasting glasses, band-aids, nail clippers, cake knife, emergency sewing kit are items that should be promptly delivered and your bridesmaid or a reliable friend could check on this.

For the last minute

Most importantly, relax. Remember that this is supposed to be a fun experience. You are about to experience one of the best days of your life. Your out-of-town guests should be welcomed. If you need help relaxing, then you should do some light physical exercise. Allow your hairstylist and makeup artist do their magic on you Keep smiling since this is your special day!

The promise the bride and the groom make to each other during the wedding ceremony is called the wedding vow. A wedding without vows is an unfamiliar sight.

In any marriage ceremony, wedding vows are essential. Modern wedding ceremonies nowadays offer the flexibility of allowing you to write and say your own vows.

If writing your own personally meaningful wedding vows is what you decide to do, then here are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Writing your own vows would mean that it’s natural for you to think of all the good reasons why you want to be with the person you are going to marry. If you write your own vows, then this makes the words you say more natural and from the heart.

If you don’t know what to say, or you don’t know how to start it, or you just want to add a few additional thoughts, then you can get ideas by reading books on the topic or performing a search on the web for free wedding vows.

You can look at a few of the sample wedding vows online and borrow some ideas or words from each to add to your own unique vows. Another thing you can do is take a particular sample and just changing a few words to suit you. You can also take a wedding vow you really like and use it as is.

Try adding a few lines of poetry if you want a touch of artistic expression to your vows.

Other things you may want to include are some of the lyrics from your favorite song. What couples often have is a song or tune that symbolizes their love for each other, sort of like the song that is danced to during the reception or after the wedding dinner.

You may consider your lifestyles, your personalities and your interests while you are thinking about what to say in your vows.

Share with each other what you have written. Both of you can bounce back ideas and revive special moments you had with each other. Doing this will be helpful in discovering what you should include in your vows. Be sure that you allow the Officiate or person who will be marring you know ahead of time that you are writing your own vows. Aside from providing a few pointers, they may also inform you about what must be included.

Here’s another thing. It can be frightening to say your wedding vows during the ceremony. You may be scared that you might mess up. You shouldn’t be. It’s okay to stumble a bit. It’s possible for you to correct yourself. If you write your own vows and practice a bit, then this will help you both gain the confidence you need to do well.

Your wedding vows would reflect you. There are so many choices available. A “wedding vow” is a set of promises you and your groom make to each other during the wedding ceremony. The western culture usually includes notions of unselfishness in their wedding vows.

An officiant and witnesses have to be present when you say your vows. The groom is usually the first one to recite his vows, followed by his bride. The order can be changed; there is no law that sets the order in which the vows said. The bride and groom can also say their vows together. Usually the couple will face each other and join hands for their vows.

Most of the wedding officiants will let you customize your vows, just make sure to discuss it before the ceremony. If you are unsure about the wordage of your vows, ask your friends, family, and the officiant for some examples they’ve used in the past.

Examine these sample vows

I, ______, take you, ______, to be my lawfully wedded husband/wife, my faithful friend, partner, and my love from this day forward. In the presence of God, family and friends, I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and bad, and in joy and sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.

I, ______, take you, ______, to be my friend, my lover, the mother (or father) of my children, and my wife (or husband). I will be yours for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, and in times of failure and success. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity.

Remember, you and your groom don’t have to say the same vows.