Do you need a wedding toast? Click here now. Giving a toast is a responsibility that puts fear in the speaking hearts of most members of a wedding party. While it’s not usually something that is particularly long or involved, it’s public speaking (which doesn’t sit well with many people) and really puts people on the spot. If you are planning a wedding and know that most members of this wedding party are hams who won’t mind the whole “public speaking” thing, then by all means keep the toasts traditional with dad, the best man and others taking their expected turns at the microphone. Find a professional and personal wedding toast, click here. But if you’re looking for something different, either because you want to save putting people on the spot, or you simply want to do something different and fun, read on. First, you can certainly take the whole toast thing off the agenda if you wish. There are no rules requiring a toast at any wedding. Weddings should be unique events and reflect the personalities of the bride and groom. But if you want to do something a little different, there are options. You can go the video route, which asks people to essentially make a toast on camera and then the video is given to the bride and groom later. This isn’t a particularly unique idea, but it does solve the issue of not wanting to put people on the spot and still gives everyone a chance to say something special to the bride and groom. If your guest list includes many outgoing people then consider “pass the microphone”. This can work in several ways. You can either be silly with it, or deadly serious. Most people like silly. Say dad takes the microphone first. His last name ends with T (so, let’s say dad’s last name is Smith). He must find someone whose first name begins with a T (Tom? Tony? Tina? Theresa?) and pass the microphone to that person, who then gives a toast. This method of giving toasts does put people on the spot (certainly before the fun begins you can warn them so if they are really uncomfortable, they can escape to the restroom or bar) but it can also be a lot of fun. Getting people when they least expect it and then asking them to remember something funny or meaningful about the bride and groom can result in interesting, funny and truthful results. You might also decide that one person at each table be required to give a toast. Number the tables and at various intervals, have the MC or DJ call a number, which will require guests at that table to decide amongst themselves who will give the toast at that table. Certainly, more than one person can if they like, but there will likely be at least one ham at each table who will enjoy standing up and toasting the newlyweds. Say you have plenty of public speakers in the group, and finding willing toast participants won’t be a problem. But you think the subject matter might be. There’s an easy solution to this problem. You can provide open-ended topics for the toast speakers. Say you are providing an “open mike” toast arrangement, where anyone can request the microphone and offer a toast. The DJ, MC or someone else in the wedding party (perhaps the maid of honor or best man) can offer the speaker a surprise topic, which might be pulled from a champagne flute or drawn out of the floral arrangement on the head table. There might be slips of paper to choose, or just one sheet of paper with several ideas. The speaker might choose to finish this sentence, “I remember when (groom’s name here) was a little boy, he always …” or answer this question, “When was (insert bride’s name here) at her silliest? Tell us the story”. You might have to give each speaker a minute or two to collect their thoughts, but you’re sure to have some interesting stories, some unique anecdotes and some different perspectives on the bride and groom.

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Upon arrival at the wedding reception, many guests head for the cake table so they can admire the cake. Some time later, the bride and groom come along for a picture opportunity and the grand cutting of the cake. Then everyone enjoys cake and it’s gone. Believe it or not, there are many more activities that can make the wedding cake more about fun and less about tradition. Of course, watching the bride and groom push cake into each other’s mouths is a long-enjoyed tradition, but there are many more fun - and less messy - activities to consider as well. One new option that’s gaining popularity is to have cupcakes instead of a cake. This is a method that is usually more affordable than having a cake and it can be a lot of fun. Cupcakes are decorated in alignment with the wedding theme, just as a cake is, but the cupcakes are instead arranged on tiered cake plates and displayed on a cake table until it’s time to eat them. The cupcakes can be simply handed out on plates to each wedding guest. Now, what’s fun about using cupcakes instead of a whole wedding cake is you can save money, certainly, as many reception halls and caterers charge a per slice fee to cut and serve the wedding cake, but you can also build activities into the cupcake presentation. For example, the cupcakes that are for the bride and groom can have a different decoration than the ones for the guests. As an extra touch, you can have the baker include a special prize in one or several cupcakes. A small charm or tiny toy can be baked into the cupcake. Whoever gets the charm wins a special prize. These prizes can range from a gift basket or gift certificate to a restaurant to a dance with the bride or groom. Some brides like to use a Southern tradition and have charms baked into the wedding cake. Similar to the idea above for cupcakes, this involves baking small charms or tiny toys (but usually charms) into the cake. Those who get one of the charms are said to have good luck. You might even consider having charm bracelet charms baked into the cake, which are then made into a charm bracelet for the bride. Not everyone enjoys cake. How about an activity for those who won’t be eating cake? They can be required to do the "Macarena" or the chicken dance during the time when everyone else is eating cake. If they manage to do the dance continuously while the other guests enjoy cake, they win a prize. Or they simply get to sit down, as now they are tired! In keeping with the dance during cake theme, how about a requirement that in order to get cake, a guest must perform an impromptu dance first? Or there could be trivia questions about the bride and groom or about popular culture. Guests must correctly answer the questions before getting their cake. There could be competitions among tables or individuals for most questions answered correctly. Many people believe that once the cake is cut, they are free to leave if they wish. Since cake cutting usually comes after the meal and after dancing and other traditional celebration activities, many people take the opportunity to leave the party after the cake is cut and enjoyed. If the bride and groom want their guests to stay after the cake is eaten, it is worth some extra effort to build some activities into the cake-cutting event so people will stick around longer. This can be as simple as telling people not to leave, or can be more subtle and fun. For example, each person could receive a slip of paper with his or her cake. These slips of paper could be prepared ahead and provided to the catering company with instructions that one folded strip of paper be placed on each plate with the cake. The paper might give an agenda for the rest of the evening or might ask its recipient to perform a little dance, to head over to give the groom or bride a kiss, or might ask them to take the flower girl out on the dance floor for a spin. The unknown will keep all the guests guessing and provide some entertainment as the instructions are carried out.

There are so many little details to worry about when planning a wedding some might get forgotten. One tiny detail that often gets overlooked is how to keep guests entertained before the wedding reception "officially" begins. There is no requirement that brides entertain their guests at all. After all, they have already attended your wedding ceremony (which was surely engaging and entertaining, right?) and they will soon get music, food and drink. What more could they want? It turns out, a lot. While the bride and groom are off having pictures taken, the guests are left to their own devices, chatting with other guests and wondering when the buffet will open. In that light, it’s worth at least considering some pre-reception options for keeping wedding guests entertained until the reception begins. Here are a few options, some tradition, some not so, but still fun. First, you can do the traditional thing and provide guests with drinks and perhaps some light snacks. If the wedding is in the summertime, how about providing lemonade and iced tea? Or if it’s the winter, coffee and hot tea or even hot cocoa depending on the style of your wedding. Providing a light snack isn’t a bad idea, either, and that can be some appetizer-type food or just nuts, especially if the meal will be heavy. Now, if you want to stray from tradition, there are many options. Some brides opt for entertaining the guests in the truest sense of the word. Clowns, anyone? How about live music? If you want to venture into the fun and funky, consult the party planning pages of a local children’s or parent’s magazine. Here, you can find people who will entertain your children at their birthday parties, but many of them will happily take on wedding jobs. You can hire a clown to make balloon animals for the kids (and adults) in attendance, or to juggle a few things. Some clowns are true entertainers and will happily get the crowd involved by fetching items out of women’s purses and juggling them. Other non-traditional options for entertaining your guests include hiring a band to play music beforehand. If you plan to have classical music at your wedding, you can have a band come and play covers of current pop songs, or you can simply have your hired band arrive a bit early to entertain guests waiting for the full reception to begin. If there are many children at the wedding, it’s not too expensive to hire a children’s band to sing and entertain the children for a bit. Then if the kids are a bit bored at the reception, they’ll still have the memory of the earlier entertainment with them. In addition, while the children are being entertained, the adults can have a chance to chat and they will surely thank the bride for thinking of them in that way. Some other options for entertaining your restless crowd before the festivities begin are to include them in the reception before it begins. This is a great time to ask people to sign the guest book and write something meaningful, since they will have more time than they would usually have as they file into the reception hall. If the reception and the wedding ceremony take place in the same location, but the bride and groom are off having pictures taken, it may not seem as if there’s this dilemma of how to keep the guests entertained, but there in fact, is. In this case, you can have servers circulate with appetizer trays or you can do something more elaborate, such as some of the suggestions above. One popular option doesn’t involve entertaining the guests at all. Say the wedding is being held at a historic house or mansion. During the lull before the reception, guests can be given a tour of the property. If the wedding and reception are both being held at the couple’s new home, a tour of the property might be in order (assuming the guest list is fairly small).

If you are having your wedding reception out of doors, that opens the door for many activities that would be hard to pull off indoors. You can plan games and activities based on the outdoor theme and carry that theme indoors if part of the reception is inside as well. Depending on where the reception will be held, you can plan many activities based on the setting. Whether it is the park or on a farm, there are a myriad of activities you can plan. Let’s start with some basics based on popular wedding locations. One fun game for a winery wedding is a blindfolded wine tasting game. If the bride and groom are wine drinkers, this might not a game the bride and groom should be a part of, but instead guests and wedding party members. Blindfold perhaps a half dozen volunteers and have them do a blind taste test (provide something to clean the palate between sips). The volunteers should guess which wine is the pinot noir, which is the Cabernet, and so on. A bottle of wine is the obvious prize for the winner of this game. Say you are having a reception at a country club on a golf course. It’s possible your theme will include golf elements, so why not include golf in some reception activities or games? You certainly could head to the golf course for a "hole in one" contest, or have a driving contest to see which guest has the best stroke. As a simple, "who gets the centerpiece game", you could have people guess how many golf balls there are in the floral centerpiece (which could decorate a plain large glass vase filled with flowers). Similarly, there could be a large vase or other clear container filled with golf balls at the reception somewhere and guests could guess how many golf balls are in the vase. A silly game could be made on the dance floor by asking everyone to include their best golf swing into their dancing for one particular song. Now, if your reception and ceremony are both to be held outdoors and guests will be milling outdoors, think about games or activities that can take place outdoors and still keep to your level of formality or informality. For example, if the reception is being held at a park, perhaps guests might enjoy a "walk down memory lane". Prior to the reception, someone can use potted plants or arbors to create a little private lane, which guests can walk through. Along the path, guests will find pictures of the bride and groom at various stages in their lives. There should be a place for guests to record their thoughts and memories along the way as well. If your wedding and reception are fairly casual, you can always tell guests ahead of time to prepare for a ball game or some other fun outdoor activity. Women can bring a pair of sneakers. Just imagine the fun photos you’ll get out of a rousing game of football or baseball played by women in dresses and sneakers and men in suits and sneakers! You can provide a challenge activity involving barefoot dancing in the grass or a Frisbee toss in the backyard. Is there a pool in the yard where the reception will be held? Why not have a swimming activity for after the whole of the reception is done?

Not all brides and grooms want to exclude children from their wedding. Many are happy to welcome children into their wedding both as members of the wedding party and as guests. Having children at a wedding, however, poses a myriad of problems. Do you leave the children to their own devices and hope they behave and don’t get in the way? Do you provide a room with childcare so they are "present" but not too much under foot? Perhaps the best solution is a simple mix of both, with a smattering of fun built in. First of all, if children are invited to the wedding, take into consideration the ages of the children. Babies will have to stay with mom and/or dad, for a variety of reasons. So planning to have all the children in another room might not be feasible. But if the children are toddlers up to about age 12, you can provide a separate room for them with childcare and a make a number of activities available to them. If the children will be in a separate room at the reception, you can provide a coloring table, perhaps a TV with an appropriate movie ready to roll, and some board games. That could probably be enough for the duration of the wedding reception. Be aware of a few things: there should be a ratio of at least 1 adult for every 5 children if the children are toddlers, or 1 adult to every 10 children if the kids are older. Don’t expect the kids to take up the activities on their own, but rather tell the childcare provider to get the kids involved in the activities by doing them him or herself. What if the children will be part of the reception festivities? What activities can be geared specifically to children at the reception? There are plenty of things you can do, really. You can certainly plan a coloring table at the back of the reception hall or room. There, you can provide loads of paper, coloring books, markers and crayons. Paints are not recommended, for obvious reasons, and moms will thank you if you remember to supply the kids with washable markers and crayons only. The art table can be more than just coloring, however. Buy a huge bag of pipe cleaners. Kids can amuse themselves for long periods of time, making animals, odd figures and the like. Make sure you have at least 20 or more pipe cleaners for each child, however, as children can go through these quickly. Think about "clean" clay, the new products that don’t stick to anything and don’t leave a trace on furniture. With a few different colors, kids can create a variety of figures, faces or forms. Many brides like to plan more formally for their small guests. There are several options if this is the route you want to take. One popular option is to have paid entertainment on hand just for the children. This can take place in a separate room or toward the back of the reception room or hall if it’s large and the guest list is big. You can hire a clown or a balloon artist. You can have someone braid the children’s hair and provide temporary tattoos. If there is a separate room available, you can even hire a children’s musician to come and entertain the kids. The options are endless. If no plans are made for the children, but they arrive at the wedding expecting entertainment, you’ll have to make some plans. One option is a "child only" dance, which allows only the children on the dance floor. This is not only cute to watch, and could be entertaining as well, but it will bring a smile to the face of every grandma and grandpa present.

If you are planning a wedding and plan to have a unity candle as part of the ceremony, you might want to think outside the box. Traditionally, the unity candle involves three candles. The bride has one, the groom the other, and their two lighted candles light the third candle. This is done to represent the coming together of the two people to make one unit. In some alternate methods, family members are invited to participate in the unity candle lighting, often the mothers of the bride and groom, or other close members of the family. Each family then lights a candle, and together they light the unity candle to symbolize of the coming together of the families. Now, there are a few twists you can add to this fairly conventional aspect of a wedding ceremony. You can provide each guest with an unlit candle when they arrive at the ceremony. After the couple lights the unity candle, they can ask the guests to move to the front of the church (or wherever the ceremony is being held) and light their candles with the lighted unity candle. This can take a bit of time and might be best with a smaller guest list. But it is a meaningful way to not only get your guests involved in the ceremony itself, but also symbolize the union of family and friends with the marriage. If there is a large guest list and it would be a prohibitive waste of time to do a candle lighting involving everyone at the ceremony, some brides and grooms like to bring the unity candle to the reception. Light the candle again and provide each guest with a small votive candle (the candle holder will be on the tables at individual table settings). As guests come into the reception area or hall, they can light their votive and take it to their table to place into the votive holder. This small votive candle can double as a wedding favor, particularly if you decorate or enhance a plain votive candle holder in some way to coordinate with your wedding. Of course, you can forget having a unity candle at the ceremony altogether. Many brides these days are trying to reduce the length of the ceremony and spend more time planning the reception. In that light, some choose to do away with a unity candle altogether. You can certainly do this, or you can cut it out of the ceremony and make it part of the reception. To do this, you can use the votive candle option suggested above, or you can simply incorporate the unity candle lighting into the reception activities themselves. For example, you might choose a quiet moment in the reception to have a lighting of the unity candle. It might be during a short prayer prior to the serving of the meal, or right before the cake is cut. In this case, the unity candle can then be used as decoration on the cake table. As the bride and groom cut the cake and pieces are served to guests, the candle can also serve as a reminder of the couple’s new bond and that the bond is shared with all the guests as well. Although having a unity candle at the wedding or reception isn’t necessary, it is certainly an option that many brides and grooms opt to include. But it’s important to remember that as with so much surrounding wedding planning there are ways to make it unique and interesting and special to the couple getting married.

Dancing is an essential component at most wedding receptions. We look forward to the couple’s "first dance" and the bride’s special dance with her father. It’s also a place to get loose and funky, if you’re a guest or a member of the wedding party. But what if the wedding planners decided to add some fun and surprise to the dance floor by adding fun activities there? This doesn’t mean a rousing version of the "Bunny Hop", which, while maybe essential, is hardly unique. There are, however, many fun games and activities you can add to your dance floor activities that are sure to be a hit. Try a fun game of the "chicken dance". Ok, so that doesn’t sound too original. But if most of your guests are just sitting at their tables, watching a few brave couples dancing, or just finishing their meals, you might want to get everyone up and having fun. Try this game. The DJ announces a number. Everyone looks under his or her chair, where there is a number. Depending on the number of guests at the wedding, there might be only numbers "1" and "2" or more, up to 5. So, say the DJ announces number "4". Each person checks under their chair to see what their number is. These numbers can be written simply on a piece of masking tape and affixed to the underside of the chairs when the reception is being set up. Each "4" in this scenario will head to the dance floor to do the chicken dance with the other "4s". Not only does this get people out of their chairs and on to the dance floor, they get to know other wedding reception guests they might not otherwise know. One dance floor activity that’s gaining popularity is to bring in a dance teacher for the wedding reception. As a kind of pre-dance activity, the teacher will quickly walk people through their paces on the dance floor, perhaps teaching a bit of the waltz or, for something completely different, a little bit of the tango, before the music officially begins and dancing commences. Having a dance teacher do a bit of teaching not only livens up the reception right from the start, but it gets people out on the dance floor who might otherwise be too self-conscious normally to get out there and let it all hang out. And practically speaking, it will likely make the wedding guests feel more confident in their skills before the "official" dancing begins. Another fun activity to get everyone on the dance floor, including even the most reticent, is something you can refer to as the "snowball" dance. This is a good way to jump start the dancing at the beginning of the evening. Here’s how the "snowball" dance works. The wedding party, bride and groom included, will head to the dance floor for a fun dance. The music for this dance should be fast, something with a disco beat or a fast song that most people have at least a passing familiarity with. After a bit of wedding party dancing, the music stops. The female members of the wedding party move into the crowd and bring back one male each. The male members of the wedding party do the same, but they bring in female guests. The dancing then begins again. This is repeated until all the guests are dancing. It’s truly a snowball effect!

There are so many styles of wedding gown to choose from, which makes it difficult when deciding which type of gown is for you. What type of bride are you? Vintage couture, Romantic plush, or Simple elegance, what ever you fall under there is a gown out there to suit your style. Vintage Gowns Vintage gowns come in many styles from the medieval princess look, The Charleston swing era, or the Bohemian gypsy girl gown. The medieval dress is very popular usually designed around the Old English look in mind with wide bottomed sleeves and a high-banded waist, think Maid Merion and Princess Gwenevere. There are some very traditional gowns to choose from with the rich golden earthy colors with embroidered Basques and detailed designs. You can also take this style back to the 21st century with clean crisp simple white gown with a high waist and beautiful chiffon wide bottom sleeves. Another fashionable era that is being transmitted into the modern wedding gown is the sexy Charleston era of the roaring 20s. These styles are very flattering to the bride with the slighter physique. The Design is looser at the waist and tighter around the hips showing plenty of skin around the chest, back and arms. The Hemline is typically Asymmetric with floating fabrics creating an illusion of long and short. Another beautiful option for the more daring bride would be a cloche hat, with the hair pulled back from the face the hat is tight around the head, embroidered beads around the face and forehead accentuates the eyes, a very pretty alternative to the traditional veil very Coco Chanel. For those brides that are thinking more along the lines of Boho, laid back beauty the gypsy girl styles would be very alluring. Romany Romance pretty, flirty, and feminine, these wedding gowns ooze free spirit and gypsy chic. Think floating skirts with chiffon and lace. A more simplistic slightly beaded gown with chiffon wrapped around the head bandana style with long a floating tail would be a chic alternative to a veil. This style is for the more adventurous bride with confidence and style to carry off the look. Romantic or fairytale gowns These are the wedding gowns you dream of as a little girl. Valintino comes to mind when picturing a fairytale gown, full of romance and glamor. If you want to be a fairytale bride you will have a wonderful selection to choose from, no bridal store would be without a romantic, plush bridal gown. Plenty of lace corsets and big tulle skirts are a staple of this type of gown with luxurious fabric and lots of it. Its not a big mystery as to why these gowns are popular among todayâ

The wedding band has been worn as a symbol of marriage for many centuries. Few people know that it was not always a silver or gold wedding band that was worn, the earliest wedding bands were made of the stem from a plant. The Egyptians are credited with creating and wearing the first wedding band and this was cut out from the stem of a plant. The circular shape of the Eyptian wedding band was supposed to represent, never ending love. The Romans gave the same meaning to their wedding bands, but gave it to their lady with the aim of staking their ‘claim’ or ‘ownership’ to her. Wedding bands gained popularity in ancient Asia too and in the Middle East, puzzle ring wedding bands were worn by ladies to prove faithfulness to their husband. A puzzle wedding band is actually made up of many rings that, when worn correctly fit together to form a band ring. A lady who wore a wedding band showed to the world, that she was married and would be faithful to her husband. If she ever took the ring off her finger, it would be very difficult for her to get the puzzle rings correctly together again and the husband would know that his wife had been unfaithful. In colonial America, jewelry was considered to have no moral value and was largely prohibited. Ladies wore thimbles as engagement or promise rings, after marriage the bottom portion of the thimble was taken off leaving just the top portion on the finger. This looked quite like a wedding band and the tradition carried on for many years. Marriage is a solemn commitment between two individuals to stay together in good times and bad. The wedding band has gradually evolved from the original plant stem and people today wear wedding bands made from precious metals like gold, silver and platinum. Extravagant wedding bands studded with precious gemstones and diamonds are now quite common. You could wear a simple wedding band made from gold or silver or go for a stunning diamond set wedding band, but the meaning and significance of your wedding band will remain the same. It requires an earnest commitment from the husband and wife to make a marriage work and the relationship flourish, a wedding band is a symbol of marriage and just one part of the institution of marriage. Wedding Band, Gold Options: The gold option for wedding bands would include the consideration of 14k or 18k gold for your wedding band. Another aspect would be the selection of yellow or white gold for the ring and also include the option for a two tone wedding band that combines white and yellow gold in the same ring. The main difference between 14k and 18k gold is the gold content in the two, 14k gold has around 58% pure gold and 42% of an alloy of other metals. 18K gold has 75% of pure gold and 25% of other metal alloys. From this comparison it would appear that, 18k gold with a higher content of pure gold would always be better for making jewelry. However the important fact is that 14k gold is much harder than 18k gold and hardness is important in many jewels. For example, in the case of men’s wedding bands or large rings and even wedding bands with many gemstones or diamonds, good hardness is required to make the wedding band sturdy and also keep the gemstones and diamonds firmly mounted. The choice of a 14k wedding band or an 18k wedding band would depend on the size of the ring, the frequency with which the wedding band would be worn, the number of gems and diamonds in the ring and also the conditions in which the ring would be worn. The choice of a white gold wedding band or a wedding band in yellow gold would largely depend on personal likes and dislikes. Both yellow and white gold wedding bands will have the same degree of hardness. There is one important consideration when choosing the gold color for your wedding band, a dark colored gemstone would appear even darker when set in white gold. This is because of the stark color contrast between the white gold and the dark colored gemstone. The two tone wedding band offers an interesting option especially in cases where plain wedding bands are made without gemstones or diamonds. You can choose to have a white gold wedding band with only the edges made in yellow gold or vice versa. Even simple diamond wedding bands can be made with the two tone gold option to add a touch of elegance to the ring. Choosing The Finishing For Your Wedding Band: The finishing of wedding bands can change the overall look and feel of your ring. There are three main types of finishing used in rings. The first type is the high polish finish which is also the most common. The second type is a dull or brushed finish that is produced by a process referred to as ’sand blasting’. White gold wedding bands with diamonds are quite often made with the dull finish, as this gives the ring a sophisticated and expensive look. It is also possible to combine finish types in the same wedding band. For example, a two tone wedding band could have the entire ring in a dull finish leaving just the edges with a high polish look. The third type of finish is not very common and provides a hammered look to the wedding band. The outside of the ring is created with an uneven surface and is more suited for a man wedding band. Gemstone Wedding Bands: Wedding bands with gemstones are getting to be quite popular and the design selections are huge. However, you need to select the right type of gemstone depending on the design of your wedding band. A large gemstone wedding band will make it necessary to create a large band width for the ring and this might not be to your liking. You can also increase the meaning and significance of a wedding band by setting a birthstone in the ring. Some gemstones need special care when jewelry is worn or stored so make sure that your jeweler keeps you well informed. Another important thing about a gem stone wedding band is the way the gem stone is set in the ring. Prong type of settings tend to stick in pockets and other places, this causes the gemstone to loosen as the prongs gradually open up. Thin prongs can also poke or scratch delicate skin. A good option for setting the gemstone in your gem stone wedding band is to border the entire gemstone with gold. If the design of your wedding band requires the gem stone to be set using prongs, ensure that the prongs are sturdy and do not include any sharp edges. Diamond Wedding Band: Wedding bands with diamonds can be made with a diamond as the main stone of the ring or with diamonds as the side stones. Diamonds are quite expensive especially in larger sizes and this causes the price tag of a diamond wedding band to be quite stiff. There is one important aspect that you should know before buying diamond wedding bands and that is about the appearance of the diamonds. Cheap quality diamonds are available but look awful, these diamonds will be opaque and have a powdery look. When you think of a diamond wedding band you will imagine the glitter and glamor of diamonds on your finger, so make sure that the diamonds in the ring will look gorgeous at least to the naked eye. Such diamonds will not be the best quality but a wedding band with these would look awesome and yet not cost you a fortune. Most jewelers will not want to tell you this as, all they wait want is to push the best diamond at a massive price and reap huge profit margins from a single sale! Diamond wedding bands are generally made in white gold and combined with a dull finish look simply stunning. Round diamonds are the most common shape and wedding bands with round diamonds are therefore very popular. Next is the square or princess cut diamond that is a good choice for a diamond wedding band. Fancy shaped diamonds include heart shape diamonds, pear shaped diamonds and even trillion shaped diamonds. A wedding band with a fancy shape diamond would carry a premium price tag as fancy shaped diamonds are quite rare and therefore quite expensive. Most diamonds that we talk of are white diamonds which are actually colorless. You will however notice that quite a few diamond wedding bands have diamonds that are yellow, blue, green or a few other colors. For colored diamonds you have two options, the first option is to use natural colored diamonds which are terribly expensive. The next option is more affordable as, white diamonds are treated to enhance and change color and then available as colored diamonds. You should remember that a diamond that is color enhanced has the same hardness as compared to a naturally white diamond. Colored diamonds are a good choice for wedding bands where diamonds are used as side stones to add accent to the center gem stone. For example, a blue sapphire wedding band could have a prominent blue sapphire in the center with small blue diamonds on either side. Wedding Band Pair: Since marriage is a commitment of two individuals staying together for the rest of their lives, a pair of wedding bands symbolizes the feeling of togetherness and unity. A wedding band pair is basically two wedding bands with a similar design, one for the bride and the other for the bridegroom. The difference between the rings could be just the size of the wedding band or a difference in gemstones set in the pair of wedding bands. In general, it is expected that, the men’s wedding band would have a slightly wider band width as compared to the wedding band worn by the lady. In cases where a wedding band pair is made with birthstones, each ring could have the birthstone of the person wearing the ring. It is now becoming a popular trend to wear wedding band pairs where, the husband and wife exchange their birthstone in each others rings. These rings can be worn as white gold wedding band pairs or as as a pair of wedding bands in yellow gold. Wedding Bands and Long Term Durability: This is perhaps the most important issue concerning wedding bands, it is also the issue that is down played the most by sellers and jewelers. As a symbol of life long commitment for two individuals to live together forever, a wedding band should be strong and long lasting. This would mean that wedding bands would be made with good gold weight, good design and gemstones that are durable and well mounted. As expected, buyers are impressed by the design of wedding bands and the price tag! Sellers are aware of this and flood markets with merchandise that is light and flimsy and bearing a ‘friendly’ price tag. The main point to understand is that these low priced wedding bands are cheap only in the short term. In the long run, you will end up paying expensive repairs and modification costs and this will add up to the final cost of owning the wedding band. In some cases, low gold weight could also mean badly mounted gemstones and diamonds, this could result in the stones dropping off! For stones like diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and even tanzanite, the cost of gemstone could easily exceed the value of the gold in your wedding band. Replacing such a stone would burn ! a deep hole in your wallet. Custom Wedding Band: It is not very difficult to find ready made wedding bands as most jewelers would stock a selection of these rings. However, given the meaning and significance of a wedding band, most buyers would like to have a wedding band that is personalized to their liking and preference. You might come across a wedding band with a stunning design, but the gemstone might not be what you wanted. The gemstone that you prefer may be set in a wedding band that has a lousy design! A custom wedding band can be made with a design of your choice and include the gemstone or diamond that you need. The gold color, ring size, finish type can all be handled as you please. Another important thing to note is that, most ready made wedding bands would be made with the intention of attracting mass markets. This also means that they will compromise on gold weight and also gemstone quality in order to keep the price tag attractive. For a ring that is as important as a wedding band, you will be better off ordering a custom wedding band where you are not expected to compromise on anything.

If you’re hosting a bridal shower, there are literally hundreds of games to choose from. Some are silly, some are serious, but all are about having some fun with the bride before she’s married. Here’s a sampling. One fun game really puts the bride on the spot with regard to her knowledge of her husband-to-be’s life. Prior to the party, have someone ask the groom a series of questions, such as where he was born, what his favorite food is, things like that. Then at the bridal shower, put the bride on the spot by asking her the answers to the questions. See how many she can get right (hopefully at least half!). If she does well, give the girl a prize; she deserves one. One all-time favorite game is toilet paper wedding dresses. This game involves separating the guests into teams consisting of at least 2 people and no more than 5. Give each team a roll or toilet paper (or 2) and have them fashion a wedding dress out of the toilet paper. One of the team members will volunteer as the model. Provide them with a "dress up trunk" filled with jewelry and shoes. They must make the dress out of the toilet paper, but they can accessorize with the provided jewelry, shoes, gloves and hats. Place a time limit on this (5 minutes is adequate) and have the bride vote on the best dress. Be sure to provide prizes for the winning team! Another fun game that’s always a hit is making the bride get dressed while blindfolded. Tell the bride she is to pretend she’s on her honeymoon and the power has gone off. She must prepare for her wedding night in complete darkness. Provide her with a suitcase filled with items and then blindfold her. She must get dressed in a certain period of time (2 minutes is adequate) while completely blindfolded and with no help from the guests. Include some silly items like oversized sunglasses, garden gloves or a flannel nightgown just to make it fun. This is a photo opportunity, so be sure someone is waiting to record the end result! Another fun game puts the shower guests more on the sport than the bride. In this game, everyone puts their purses in the center of the room. Create a list of items commonly found in a purse and assign a point value and create a list of less common items and give them a higher point value. So you might give lipstick 2 points, a tampon 3 points, and sunglasses 5 points. But a granola bar could be 10 points and a staple remover, 15 points. Then go through the purses awarding points and give the person with the highest number of points (and therefore, the most items and probably highest number of unusual items) a prize. Before the shower, create bingo cards for this shower bingo game. In the squares, put pictures of items you think the bride will receive at the shower. So, boxes might include things like lingerie, towels and the like. As the bride opens gifts, have people mark off that item on their bingo card. If nobody gets a "bingo" give a prize to the person who marked off the most number of items. This next game is a derivation of a popular game that’s often played at bachelorette parties and involves a stripper. This is the clean version. About 30 minutes into the party, have the bride leave the room and pass out pieces of paper. Have everyone write on the paper everything they can remember about the bride’s outfit, hair, etc. How many rings is she wearing? What color is her blouse? Is she wearing open or closed toed shoes? Once everyone is done recording their observations, the bride comes back into the room and a prize is awarded to the person with the best observation skills.