Luhya Wedding Traditions

The Luhya community mostly resides in the Western part of Kenya with a population of about three million. Known for their elaborate ceremonies, the Luhya enjoy holding big parties to celebrate occasions. Luhya weddings are very elaborate and important occasions. They are accompanied with many wedding photos and celebrations. Before one gets married, the groom will have taken bride wealth to the bride's parents as a sign of gratitude. Unlike Toronto wedding ceremonies, bride wealth is meant to cement relations between the two families.

The first step before a Luhya traditional wedding can take place is payment of the bride price. The groom is expected to take a token of appreciation to the bride's parents to show that the parents raised their daughter well. Traditionally, this token would be in the form of livestock or farm produce. This token would act as a token to show how much the man cares for his future wife and show that he can provide for his future family as well. The Luhya community is known to love chicken and these are provided in plenty for guests to eat. On the wedding day, the man would go to the bride's homestead and call out the girl's name. If the girl responds, the ceremony can then go on. In the past, guests in attendance dress in special traditional attire with paintings all over their bodies and dance the whole night. The ceremony would last for about three days. The married couple would then proceed to their new home.

Present day Luhya wedding ceremonies are more modern and include celebrating the event in a church. Dancing and singing accompany most luhya weddings. Groups of women who sing praise songs encircle the bride. The wedding party normally arrives at the church a few minutes before the ceremony starts. The ceremony is usually recorded on video and wedding photos taken. This is one attribute that both Luhya and Toronto weddings have. Once the church ceremony is over, the wedding party goes to the reception venue for wedding photos and food. Luhya weddings have plenty of traditional foods to offer as well as western cuisine. Entertainment in a luhya wedding involves singing traditional songs and dancing to their tunes. Luhya dancing is quite vigorous and is a very entertaining activity. Unlike in Toronto, Luhyas can hold their ceremonies for as long as two weeks.

A Luhya wedding is not complete without speeches. The speeches normally come after gifts are given and wedding photos are taken but before the cake is cut. The theme of most wedding speeches is usually advice to the groom and his bride on how to take care of their new family. Grooms are advised to take care of the wife and the bride is advised to cook properly for the husband. Different people who may use a lot of proverbs and sayings to drive the point home give variations of the same message.

After the main event, the bride and groom go to their new home. The wedding photos taken serve as a reminder of the wedding ceremony. They can be passed down from generation to generation and act as a teaching aid to their children on the importance of marriage and families.

The New Trend of Wedding Silk Invitation Boxes

Silk synonymous with luxury. Now silk is a good trend in the fashion world or the other. In fact, there are now designs wedding invitations with silk materials.

The times of sending a simple wedding invitation postcard to the whole family are over. More and more brides choose the exclusive way and order one of various invitation products including silk invitation boxes, silk pouches, folios and even silk envelopes.

Thai silk is one of the signature products from Thailand.
No question it suits just perfect to make exclusive wedding invitation boxes with pure Thai silk. There are no limits in creativity and extravaganza. For example embellished invitations with silk flowers or brooches with rhinestone crystals carefully ensembles on a padded silk envelope or silk pouches. My favorite is the rhinestone crystal rings with ribbon bands combined with a gatefold silk invitation box.

To plan a wedding invitation is truly a time-consuming process. Maybe because there are so many formats and possibilities the invitation box can be made in. Padded, not padded, embellished, simple, with or without flower arrangement and so on. It's all up to your time and budget.

Select the right material to meet your budget
Generally silk invitations are made with pure 100% silk or if your budget does not allow with Faux silk (artificial silk). Thai silk looks just so much more exclusive if you hold it against the light, but more and more brides choose the cheaper version of Faux silk invitations. No question, nobody wants to pay the debts of an expensive marriage until the silver wedding. Don't miss to contact me if you need support finding the right wedding favor, silk invitation box or wedding gifts.

Contact your invitation designer early to avoid delays
Thai silk invitations are hand made, so each item needs time to finish. If you place the order late, the manufacturer may not be able to manufacture high quality products. To get the best result, inquire 2 month before you actually need the invitation or wedding favor to arrive your home. This way you have around 4 weeks to discuss the design and look of your dream invitation box or silk invitation holder and the manufacturer has another 4 weeks to produce the order.

By : phie

Silky Wedding Flowers

Marriage is one of the sacred and historic events in our lives. Of course before getting married a lot of things that must be prepared and considered.

When brides choose their wedding flowers, one question they must ask themselves is: do I want real flowers, or silk?

Traditional brides always go for real flowers. Their delicate beauty can never be duplicated by artificial flowers. The mesmerizing scent of roses or lilies is a far cry from the artificially scented silk flowers. Scent is often associated with feelings or memories and a wedding is an emotional and memorable experience. And that is where real flowers score over silk ones.

Real flowers have their disadvantages, too. The main disadvantage with real flowers is their longevity. They wilt away very fast. Brides who want to preserve their wedding bouquets often settle for silk flowers. Moreover, brides who want exotic or out-of-season wedding flowers often opt for silk flowers because they are much more readily available and affordable. Silk flowers are also popular with brides who are allergic to real ones. No bride wants to be red-eyed and sneezing at her wedding.

Silk flowers have advantages and disadvantages too. Although not the traditional choice, silk is fast becoming a popular option. Silk flowers look almost as natural as real flowers and brides don’t have to worry about the availability of their preferred choice. Silk flowers are also much more affordable. Preservation of real flowers is very expensive, but not with silk. They always look as good as new.

Thus, both real and silk flowers have their positive and negative points. It depends on the bride to choose between them, according to her priorities.

By : Phie

Vintage Wedding Dresses

Vintage Wedding Dresses

I was chatting with Ann last week and she was telling me about her idea of buying a vintage wedding dress for her up and coming wedding. Now I must say that I am completely jealous of his girl because she has the waistline of the model and is as thin as they come, she’s the sort of girl that looks amazing no matter what she is wearing. It’s funny I really thought that she was more of a late this designer gown type of person but I’ll be honest she does have a load of taste and if she’s going to be a bride she’s going to decide on what she wants for first style that was sued for a perfect.

Vintage Wedding Dresses

As we got chatting she asked me if I would go along to a few stores with her so she could actually then get a second opinion from somebody who has been in too wedding dresses for years. At one stage I did own my own company that made all different types of dresses I still make them every now and again but not as much as I used to because I now have other interests. But, I guess I still have a keen eye for style is of wedding gowns and I can tell if somebody is suited to a long dress with sleeves one that may have a nice neckline or sometimes that may be off the shoulder and strapless.

I was meeting Ann on a Wednesday afternoon and she had already made a number of appointments with various bridal stores. The first or we went into had any beautiful Victorian dress that had some really unique features. To be honest it’s something I hadn’t seen before and because Ann has a beautiful tan the white dress simply looked stunning.

Exotic Muslim Weddings

Anyone who has witnessed a Muslim wedding, live or on television, would be blind not to notice how colorful and exotic it can be. If there is one word that can describe one of these events, then it would be amazing.

What makes these occasions amazing is the fact that it follows years of tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. Muslim weddings are a lot different from Christian weddings not only because of their colorful attires but also because of the customs that are followed from the start of the couple's engagement.

While a Christian wedding is seen to be a romantic union of two people in love and united by the religious ceremony, a Muslim marriage is more of a social contract between the two families involved. Most, if not all of these marriages become possible due to the dowry system, which is more like an economic transaction rather than a romantic union. Here is how a Muslim wedding is celebrated in some parts of the world.

Iran

A wedding in Iran can last up to seven days. The focal point of the ceremony and the reception is the bride's home, which undergoes a customary banquet where the food is arranged so that it faces east. Iranian Muslims use a silk table cloth for the wedding table which has been passed from one generation to another.

Pakistan

An event in Pakistan can last up to three days, with the Mehndi taking place in the house of the bride and groom. It also follows a henna ceremony with the Nikah or the signing of official papers as its highlight. After the bride's family signs the papers in the Imam's presence, the family of the groom hosts a banquet as a way of formally announcing the marriage.

Malaysia

An affair in Malaysia is quite different in the sense that the henna ceremony takes place only for the bride. The signing of the contract is made in the presence of a Syariat Court official and is made official after a small amount of money is exchanged.

Singapore

A Muslim wedding in Singapore is characterized by the kidnapping of the groom by the bride's beautician and her family. The groom is allowed to enter only after he has given a reasonable amount of money as entrance fee.

Muslim weddings are celebrated in various ways depending on what country the couples reside. But whatever the differences, they will always be exotic and interesting to the western world.

Hairstyles For Brides With Long Hair

There is an old custom that when a woman gets engaged, she should start to grow her hair. There is no doubt that having long hair will give you a lot of flexibility in choosing both your hairstyle and headpiece for your wedding. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the perfect wedding hairdo for long hair.

The first question is whether to wear your hair up or down. This will depend, in part, on just how long your hair is. Very long hair, while very pretty, also requires a lot of brushing to look neat over the course of a long day. This type of maintenance is totally impractical during a busy wedding day. If your hair is only sort of long, flowing waves can be a very romantic look.

A nice compromise is to pull some of your hair back, and let the rest be down. This is great for brides who love their long hair and want to show it off. It's also a nice idea if your fiance has always loved to see your hair long and loose. Pulling some of your hair back will also give you better options for anchoring a pretty piece of hair bridal jewelry, like a comb or delicate tiara. When your bridal hairstyle is all down, the only type of hair jewelry that tends to work is a wreath, which has pretty limited uses.

Many brides with long hair will choose to wear it up, and having it long means that it can be sculpted into all sorts of intricate hairdos. When you are thinking of an updo, it is very important to have at least one trial run with your hairstylist before the wedding. Your regular stylist might be terrific at cut and color, but not all of them excel at formal hairstyles. With long hair, you might need to seek out a stylist who specializes in working with your hair length.

Finding the right stylist is particularly important for brides whose hair is very long, like waist length or even longer. A true story: the day of my wedding, all of my bridesmaids had come to my salon to have their hair styled. One of my bridesmaids had exceptionally long hair, and when the stylist saw it, he looked at her and said, "What am I supposed to do with this?"! Fortunately, a different stylist stepped forward to take care of her, and she looked beautiful in the end, but not before a few tears were shed. It is bad enough to see this happen to a bridesmaid, but imagine if it was you on your wedding day. That is why trial runs are so critical.

Another great reason to have a practice hairstyle is to see how it feels. If you have a lot of hair, or it is thick, having it all piled on top of your head can actually give you a headache! For brides who find that to be the case, a low bun at the nape of the neck can be a more comfortable option, as can wearing the hair half down.

There are so many wonderful looks that you can create for your wedding with long hair. One very pretty style is to have a series of braids woven into a bun at the lack of your head. A classic chignon is another lovely updo for a bride. It is a great idea to go through magazines and pick out a few looks that appeal to you. Don't limit yourself to wedding magazines, either - you can often find the most chic looks at celebrity events.

Long hair will give you so many choices for your wedding. All you have to do is narrow it down to your favorite look, whether it is classic, romantic, or cutting edge. With so many wonderful options, you are sure to find a style that makes you feel absolutely beautiful.

Wedding Decoration Favors - Why Favors Are Important to Weddings

Although there is a lot that goes into planning a wedding, one of the aspects that should be given the respect and time that it deserves is the wedding decoration favors. There are a few reasons why favors should be thought out carefully. The first reason is because it shows your thanks and gratitude to your guests. They took time out of their lives to watch you begin your new life with your partner. In addition, it is the best way for your guests to remember the wedding. For the guests that are not close to the family, it might be their only reminder of the event.

Because there is so much meaning attached to favors, they should not be overlooked as something you have to get. You should want to get the best keepsakes because you want your guests to have the long lasting memory of your special day. There is a reason why you invited this group of people to your wedding in the first place. You wanted them to share in the most important day of your life. Why not give them great wedding decoration favors? One of the newest trends in keepsakes is to give useful and practical gifts. So often people end up tossing their favor because they have no use for it, so you might as well get your money's worth.

Even if you are on a limited budget, there are great ways you can get wedding favors that can be used again by your guests. One of the easiest ways to do this is to give candles. If you have a specific theme or color for your wedding, you can incorporate that into the candles. If you have a beach wedding, you can make the candles be sailboats or seashells. The point is for them to be relevant to your wedding, or at least to the couple.

In addition to giving practical keepsakes, another popular trend when it comes to wedding decoration favors is to give items that relate to the bride and groom. If you both share a hobby, then tie that hobby into the favor. If there was a specific place the two of you met, then make that be the gift. It could be a photo of the place or a memorabilia from the place. It is a cute way to remind your guests where you met.

WPP Photo of the Week!

Who doesn't love a great cake?? This was made by Angelina Tallman (Cakes by Angelina) for a wedding we did last fall on the Sacandaga Lake. This adorable seasonal cake had at least one layer that was a rich chocolate flavor (does that give away the fact that I had a piece??), was covered in a simple white buttercream frosting, and decorated with cute little fondant leaves in shades of browns and oranges. It was just as delicious as it looked! Angelina is a wonderful baker and I recommend her to a lot of my brides - and with cakes that look this cute that taste that good there's no reason not to.

Bridal Dresses

Brides wear specially designed gowns or dresses during their wedding ceremony. These are known as bridal dress and play a very important role in a wedding. It is important for the bride to select a wedding dress of a precise color, fashion and traditional importance often based on the religion and cultural background of the bride.

White has come to be known as the customary color of a wedding dress, but this was not the case in earlier times. This trend was started with the marriage of Queen Victoria to her cousin, Albert of SaxeCoburg in 1840. Her marriage is said to have had more influence on weddings than any other.

Bridal dresses are incomplete without a headpiece. A bride could choose to wear a tiara, a short headpiece, a veil covering her face or a flowing headpiece. The bridal dress may also have a train, a part of the wedding dress that trails behind the bride. This practice came into being from parallel trains worn by kings and queens. It is advisable to order a bridal dress well in advance. Once a wedding dress is selected, one must allow extra time for modifications or unexpected delays.

The range of bridal dress color choices may be perplexing. For example, eggshell, ecru, ivory, diamond white, candlelight and champagne are just a few common shades of white one can select. The cost of a wedding gown can be exorbitant, as well, and is something brides should take into account when choosing their dresses.

One of the most important purchases for a bride is her wedding attire. The gown and headpiece should match the occasion and her personality perfectly. It is important to shop for a gown that is stylish and just right for the bride. A wedding is a social event and many brides choose to take advice from a friend or family member who has previous experience with bridal dresses.

Martensson Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. Martensson were married on June 26th of this year at Saratoga National Golf Club. They came to me almost a year before their wedding and hired me on to help them with their wedding planning. Little did I - or they! - know that a few months later the groom would be offered a job in Washington DC and they would be moving out of the area. Never fear, their wedding planner is here! I decided to go into hyper speed to use the most of their time and book as many of their vendors as we could while they were still local. We got a lot done in those short months! From there it was a piece of cake to do all the rest of the planning long distance. (How did we all function before e-mail?) These two were such a fun couple and I had a blast working with them on their wedding.

They went with a purple and silver theme and kept the emphasis on casual elegance and making sure they were throwing a party that everyone would enjoy. The focus was on fun!

Special thanks to Sarah Chilson at Saratoga National for being a great onsite coordinator and partner to me and these two. These photos are from Shannon DeCelle and, as always, she did a great job capturing their moments through her lens. http://www.shannondecellephotography.com/. These guys had a fun time and a fun crew with them. Check out these great pics!

How pretty is she???

Why do guys always look so relaxed before ceremonies? Love the black and white shoes!

The Martensson's used the always fabulous David Michael Schmidt at Renaissance Floral Design to do their flowers and centerpieces. There was so much bright beautiful color!


Who doesn't love a martini luge ice sculpture?? I told you these guys were fun!

No stuffy fancy-pants cake for these guys. This three layer square cake was covered in silver circles that picked up and reflected the purple uplights located behind it. The lush purple hydrangea blooms on each tier softened it a bit and added an element of purple to the silver accents. Yum!

DJ Greg Frasier rocked it out and these guys were loving every minute of it. This is exactly how every couple should do it - place your faith in your vendors, don't sweat the details, and stay present and in the moment the whole day. Your wedding day goes by too fast so take a lesson from these guys and enjoy it!

I had so much fun working with you guys and I'm so glad to see you enjoyed your special day!!

Wedding Decoration Tips With Balloons

A balloon arch is ideal way to add up flair to your celebration or wedding. The simplest way to make this piece is to buy a pre-built wedding arch made of white metal. If in case the wedding arch is not available, you could even build an arch using strong bendable metal wire. Just be sure it is strong enough to stand on its own.

After placing the arch appropriately, just attach full balloons onto the arch using wire tires or string. Wrap the tie it up around the bottom of the balloon and then onto the arch. It is best to begin from the top and work your way down both the sides consistently to crate a wonderful look. This can also be done with multihued balloons or one shade of balloons. Balloons need to be filled with helium however. The more balloons you attach, the superior the piece would turn out.

The completed balloons arch could be used in varieties of places. Some brides prefer to place the balloons arch outside the way in to the ceremony. This permits guest to walk through the arch in addition to the bride and her attendants. Other brides prefer to use the balloons arch as a ceremonial highlight. They want to place it in the ceremony area so that they could stand under it while they are saying their vows. Lastly, many brides also feel this decoration is superior suited for the reception area and should be decorated for the after-ceremony event.

Tips for balloon arch decorations

• Make sure the hall is free before time - decorators would surely require time to setup. Some halls would have other events as well before yours, making it complex or impossible for decorators to finish their job.

• The higher the ceiling is better the look would be. Halls that have tall ceilings permit for more remarkable balloon arches and designs.

• Grand ballrooms have wide ceilings, use five balloon clusters on available tables, in its place of three. Increases the height of balloons as it makes the event more festive.

• Almost every hall puts off balloon decorators from attaching fixtures to walls or any ceilings. This might even prevent a balloon drop being rigged.

• Additional charges - Since stands, poles, bases are used to make these designs, a charge is accumulated, for setting up and then for removing. Balloon decorators would have to return to gather their materials, so a payment is almost forever charged for breakdown.

Balloon decorations for weddings are magnificent ways to add up fun and creativity. Brides could also make the decorations themselves with their family and friends. These ideas might be low-cost, but the end product surely looks beautiful!

WPP Photo of the Week

This is one of my favorite photos of all time. This is the bride and groom from a wedding in July 2008 in Saratoga. The photographer was Shannon DeCelle and she really captured the special closeness this couple shared. They were really this cute and loving the whole day, and it was really wonderful to see the care and love to have for each other. Kudos, Shannon! Wonderful shot!!

Whitney Wedding

On Sunday August 16th two very special people in my life got married - my brother, Jon, and my good friend and wedding planner, Katie. Now Katie is officially a Whitney and my sister-in-law. But I think I'll just call her "sis".

Their wedding was at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, ME. We were right on the water and the weather was outstanding the whole weekend. (Katie even planned that part perfectly! See, ladies, she really is that good!)

Katie had a very cool vision for the processional for the bridesmaids and herself. We all took a beautiful one hour sailboat cruise along the ocean and arrived to the ceremony site by boat. She even had the ceremony musician play "The Love Boat" music as the guests caught a first glimpse of us sailing up to the shore. I can't wait to see the photographer's pics of our sail and our entrance. All reports from shore said it looked amazing - I can only speak by experience on the boat which was very cool!

Beautiful ceremony by the water! I cried my eyes out!

I got to be a bridesmaid at this wedding, not a coordinator! :)

Well, almost... :)

Jon, who's been playing drums since we were kids, got to go up and play with the band for 3 songs. He rocked it out! The whole place went crazy for him. What a rock star!

I saved the best picture for last. Not that the wedding was upstaged by this event, but this was pretty big. See, Jon and the guys went golfing the morning of the wedding and they ran into someone pretty famous on the course. Yup, that's George W. Bush in the middle there, and the groom to the left of him. How many people can say they golfed with a United State President on their wedding day???

What a fun weekend! Jon and Katie - Congrats and I love you both!!

Check back in the near future because I plan to post the professional pics when they come in!

Indian Bridal Saree

India, poppular with the saree.

Almost all Indian women wear.

Saree is considered to be the most elegant traditional Indian outfit of women. Indians believe wearing saree is a part of their tradition. As t defines the beauty of a woman, women in all over the world wear it in different special occasions. It is a simple and unique garment having various beautiful designs and colors which adds to her beauty.

A Saree--sari or shari--is a strip of unstitched cloth. It extends from four to nine metres in length. It is draped over the body in different styles. But obviously, the style of wearing a saree differs from place to place. The most common style to wear a saree is to the saree to be wrapped around the waist with the other end of the drape worn over the shoulder. This garment does not cover the abdomen part of our body. A blouse also known as choli or ravika forms the upper garment over which the saree is worn by women. This blouse has short has short sleeves and a low neck. It can be decorated with mirror or embroidered to make it more fancy and attractive so that it can be worn in different special occasions like on the wedding day. The saree is worn over an underskirt or a petticoat (pavada in south and shaya in east India). It helps to hold the saree and tuck in the pleats of the saree in it. The color of the petticoat must also match the color of the saree which is essential as it affects the whole presentation of the saree. If the whole saree and blouse is mirrored and embroidered, it would be best to wear it in various occasions especially, on the wedding day.

The Bridal saree is given very importance by any Indian women. It is available in different fabrics like cotton, silk, georgette, crepe, etc. A lot of different beautiful works are done on the bridal sarees like zari, embroidery, zardosy, organza, mirror work, cut work, patch work, pearl work, kundan, kasab and sequence that more beautify the bridal saree. The Bridal saree is available basically red in color. The Bridal sarees have their own unique style, designs, works, glamour and fabrics which looks extremely beautiful and unique when worn by a bride and this also adds to her beauty.

By : Phie