10 Great Wedding Ideas for 2007

Tired of the same old wedding ideas? So are we! Here are just a few of the 1,001 smart ideas you can find in our book, Weddings with Style.

1. For a Christmas wedding, attach tiny costume ruby jewels throughout your veil. This is something you could do yourself as these jewels are available at most craft and fabric stores.

2. For a summer or beach wedding, create more of an ambiance by using coconut-scented candles at the ceremony and reception.

3. Go for a sophisticated black and white theme and have your groomsmen wear white shirts, white ties and white jackets with black pants and match your bridal party with a dress that has a white bodice and a black skirt. This is really elegant for an evening wedding.

4. For your bridesmaids' procession down the aisle, have a classical guitar playing "You're Beautiful" by James Blunt. This recent hit song already starts with a classical guitar so it will be familiar to your guests and the impact will be stunning.

5. Create special decorative envelopes for monetary gifts and leave a few by the money box for those guests who may have forgotten a card. This way if they are giving you cash, they can write their name on the envelope so you know who it is from.

6. At the reception, set up a limbo bar. If your guests can limbo under it, the bride and groom must kiss. Be sure to play appropriate limbo music for each attempt and have your master of ceremonies adjust the height based on the age of the guest. It will get your guests in the spirit for the party to follow.

7. Traditionally most people have the head table as a long table at the front of the room. Consider making it a round table, right in the center of the room with your guests' tables surrounding it in a circle. This allows you to be more in the middle of the festivities and closer to your guests.

8. For a fall wedding, an easy, inexpensive centerpiece for your guest tables is to place an orange pillar candle in the middle of a large glass hurricane vase, and then fill the vase about half way up the candle with pecans in their shell (pecans have a beautiful brown glossy shell).

9. Keep desserts tuned to the time of year - a pumpkin flavored dessert for the fall, a gingerbread or candy cane dessert for Christmas, a chocolate flavored dessert for spring, and a berry or citrus flavored dessert for summer.

10. When the master of ceremonies introduces the bride and groom at the reception, instead of simply entering the room and proceeding to the head table, instead, head directly to the dance floor for your first dance. This is a much better time for it as opposed to after dinner when most guests have left their tables.

Have a wonderful wedding!