Oldest Bride and Longest Engagement

Some interesting facts about some oldsters getting married ^_^:

So the oldest bride ever recorded was 102 off age when she got married! Minnie Munro married a man nearly 20 years older than her in 1991. Now that's a sweet romance, proving that love has no barriers. Not even old age can stop those two from getting hitched! Cute right?

The couple with the longest engagement period was 67 years! Octavio Guillen and Adriana Martinez were engaged in Mexico at the sweat tender age of 15. For one reason or another, they kept putting off the wedding over and over and over... Finally, Guillen must have run out of excuses not to get married and they finally tied the knot at the age of 82!

2012 End of the World Wedding?

Just wondering, has anyone gotten any interesting comments about having your wedding on the day of or after the "end of the world" event? Seriously, we've all known about this supposed event our entire lives but most people don't really take it that seriously. Oh, I just found out though that most people in China didn't have a clue about this event until they saw the movie 2012. I'm not to sure if it's because the Chinese government just likes to censor everything or the Chinese are just too practical to believe in this kind of stuff.

Anyways, has anyone giving you a lot of unwanted comments about your after the end of the world wedding? I've been reading online and I was surprised at how many people were criticizing brides for having their wedding in 2012 even! I mean really? Granted, I believe that something interested will happen to this world that might compromise some of humanity, but I don't think that would happen for thousands of years later on. I mean, let's face it, the end of the world is bound to happen one day, even our sun will explode one day and it'll take Earth out with it. But again, not for a very, very long time!

Besides, people, it's someone's wedding! Stop ruining it for them. This is probably the most important day of their life up to this point. Even if the world did end this year, do you want to be responsible for destroying the last bit joy that the couple can experience before they disappear? So please be nice to those who are having their wedding this year and next year, they deserve to enjoy their own wedding!

Buffet or 3-Course Meal?

Ah, the food. It's probably what you're looking forward to the most at your reception after a long day of thanking your friends and tying the knot! However, before you get ahead of yourself, you need to decide on what to do for your reception meal. Do you want a nice buffet so that your guests have plenty to choose from, or do you want a nice 3-4 course meal to make things more elegant? That's a big decision to make isn't it? I mean, maybe you're worried that having a buffet would cause your guests to think that you're too cheap. On the flip side, you might be worried that having a course meal won't satisfy everyone's food desires. So many bride seem to be stuck on this issue, trying to please every single one of her guests as well as make a super good impression of herself. Well, guess what? It's your wedding and YOU get to decide what you want.

Seriously, most of the time your guests won't even really care what they eat! By the time the reception rolls around and it's time for food, people are starving! They're more than willing to even eat a Big Mac if that's what you served them. Honestly, they don't care. Besides, for most people, they're there for YOU. They're there to cry for you out of joy at your wedding ceremony. They really are just there for you and to make sure that you're happy. Having a meal is merely a bonus for them. They really are just there for you;) So choose whatever menu you like, whether it's a grand buffet or a classic 3-course meal, your guests will love either just as much <3

So sweetie, it's all up to you:) If you want a sit down, classic meal then go with the course meal. If you want your guests to have some more freedom in their food choices, then go ahead and have a buffet ^_^

Cute, no?

So the old saying goes "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." Finding something new is easy, it could simply be your wedding dress. To find something old and borrowed, you might enlist the help of your friends and relatives. Although, that will also be fairly easy. What's going to be the most difficult thing to find is something blue. The traditional wedding dress is normally either white or ivory. How are you going to find a way to incorporate something blue into your attire? Listed are 5 easy ways to incorporate some of that blue into your attire:

1. Temporary blue colored tattoo
2. Blue sash wrapped around the bride's bouquet
3. Blue heels (or simply shoes decorated with blue gems)
4. Small blue hair pins to decorate your hair-do
5. A simple blue gem piece of jewelry

There's actually a ton you can do to incorporate blue into your wedding outfit. You just sometimes need to think outside the box:)

                           

Cute Winter Wedding Favor

If you're planning a winter wedding, this cute little wedding favor would be the perfect thing for your guests. Slurping on a cup of hot chocolate is the perfect winter activity isn't it? Sitting in front of an open fire, cozying up in your favorite robe, and drinking out of your delicious hot mug of chocolate is the idealized American winter tradition. I mean seriously, what can be more warming than a cup of warm coco? So why not incorporate this into your wedding? It will certainly help them keep warm during the cold weather.

Give each guest a personalized mug and put a packet of hot chocolate in the mug. If you can, add some marshmallows and peppermint sticks as well. Peppermint sticks melt wonderfully in hot chocolate and also gives you that refreshing feeling:)

Pink = the new white?

Recently, there has been more than a few celebrities saying their "I do's" in not a traditional white or ivory wedding dress, but a pink dress. Reese Witherspoon married Jim Toth in 2011 in a simple  Monique Lhuillier pale pink wedding dress. Later that year, Sinead O'Connor married her 4th husband in a pink dress as well. Then, earlier this year, Rachel McAdams wore a short pink Betsy Johnson wedding dress in the movie The Vow. Seriously, since when did pink make it's way into wedding attires? I mean, doesn't the old saying goes like this: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." If any color should be making it's way into a wedding gown, it should be blue right? Where did the pink come from?

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this color and I love how it looks as a wedding dress. It's just that I'm slightly shocked by this sudden change. I grew up always dreaming of gliding down the aisle in a beautiful white gown, never even have thought that there could be any other color on that dress other than white. Although I have to admit, marrying in a pink wedding dress seems absolutely fabulous! It gives off more a Cinderella, fairytale vibe, something that all little girls have dreamed of. Absolutely adorable ^_^ Maybe I might change my mind and end up walking down the aisle myself in a beautiful pink wedding gown:)

I Almost Ruined Valentine's Day...

There comes a time in most couple’s relationships where the amount of arguments grow more and more; and the topic of the arguments become more and more, well, stupid. Yep, my own relationship reached that stage quite awhile ago and all I wanted was out. The love was gone and I was tired of the constant arguments, his insensitivity, his lack of consideration and caring-ness. Hence, Valentine’s Day came around and the arguments started once again. I hated Valentine’s Day because frankly, he told me he hated this day from the very first Valentine’s Day we had together. So this year, I was particularly mad at the fact that even though I wasn’t single, I still couldn’t fully celebrate Valentine’s Day. 

Anyway, for some reason he actually wanted to make up for all those uncelebrated Valentine’s Days and wanted to plan this huge dinner and everything. For some reason, this made me even madder, mad enough to the point where I didn’t want anything to do with my own boyfriend on V-day…Therefore, I stormed home after class and basically sulked. I knew I was being stupid, but at the time, I really didn’t care. 

I ignore calls, and looking at Facebook of other people’s Valentine’s Day made it worse. I tried to do some work, but couldn’t concentrate. Then around dinner time, there was a knock on the door and in he came with two of my favorite cans of soup, gummy bears, a six pack, a single rose in hand and a hopeful look on his face. It was so simple, but so perfect ^_^

The night turned out with us drinking the soup (and beer!) and eating the gummy bears while watching a movie (which movie, I honestly can’t remember…). It was fun, cozy, and filled with a ton of love. It was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me <3 I never admitted any of this to him, partly due to my own pride and partly due to me being ashamed of my earlier behavior; but I hope he knows ^_^

Moral of the story: when you love someone, the love is always there. When you're truly in love and are loved just as much back, it's easy to overlook that love and become blind to it. However, if you're in a long, committed relationship, remember that he loves you and will probably give the world to you if given the chance. Guys in particular have a hard time showing their feelings, it's programmed into their nature! So believe it, feel it, take it in. Love is a self-fulfilling prophesy, if you believe that you're loved, chances are you are more than loved <3

Getting a Cold Feet?

Getting cold feet on the day of your wedding is never a good feeling. You can seriously hurt both your marriage partner and yourself if things aren't handled properly. I mean, just look at Carrie and Big in Sex and the City Movie! Big had at first planned on abandoning the wedding, but he cleared his mind and knew that he wanted to marry Carrie. However, by then it was too late and Carrie had already left the venue, hating him for abandoning her and believing that he didn't love her...what a mess right? I mean, they eventually got married like a year later but not without enduring some serious broken heart pain for the both of them.

However, getting cold feet is a fairly normal thing. I mean, who wouldn't be nervous about making the decision to make spend of your life with this one person...your entire life kind of depends on whether you're making the right choice...sorry, didn't mean to scare you there. However, the point is that it's a big decision, probably the biggest decision you will ever make in your life, so it's normal to be a little nervous and/or hesitant. Seriously, it might be a little worrisome if you weren't nervous. The difference between your cold feet and a friends is that you know how to cope with it. Hence, avoiding a disaster of a wedding as well.

Remember one simple rule though: if you're worried about the little things on the day of your wedding (pet peeves, annoying habits, etc), it's probably not worth calling off the wedding. True, a lot of times it's the little things that matter, but merging you and your groom's life together is certainly not going to be easy. You have to accommodate for him and him for you. Besides, if you're already at the day of your marriage, surely you guys have already figured out most of these little things. So stop worrying! Well, maybe do worry if you guys haven't talked about any of this stuff...if that's the case, then it's a whole different story.

However, if there are bigger issues at hand, then you might want to consider breaking off the wedding. These include:

1. Physical or emotional abuse
2. Money spending habits and lifestyle: yep, a huge portion of marriages end in divorce because of money.
3. Betrayal: cheating, lying, etc.
4. Children: you want 5 and he's set on having none for example.
5. Religion: some religious conflicts are very hard to solve.
6. Drug, alcohol, gambling additions. Any unhealthy addictions really.
7. Trust: if you guys still have trust issues, you probably shouldn't get married quite yet (or even be together for that matter).

Last minute differences

Yep, I agree, not all weddings end up all lovey dovey. In fact, NPR has the scope on two couples with both have their differences. One was able to work it out as a just-about-to-be-married-couple should while the other couple just flopped. Listen/read their story and learn from their success and mistakes <3 

NPR Books Wedding Stories Worth Remembering 

Happy Marriage between Chinese Man and American Girl in China

Below is a very inspiring story of how a couple from different cultures come together in marriage. It's quite hard to merge two cultures together, especially between China and the U.S. However, this beautiful couple shows the world that it can be done and done happily. Read their story!

Chinese Man and American Woman have Rural Traditional Wedding

Candy Buffet!

I was browsing through Google on everything wedding related and I came upon this wonderful website called CandyWarehouse. Guess what? They have a section specially designed for you to build a candy buffet for any occasion!

If you're looking to add some flare and color into your wedding reception, setting up a candy buffet would be the perfect way to do so! These little treats are not only tasty, but your guests of all ages can enjoy them! Make the buffet classy and simple to match the rest of your wedding decorations or make it fun with all different shapes and colors! Either way, you can count on them to be the life of the party. Well, next to you of course!

Cutest Wedding Video

This is possibly one of the most romantic wedding videos I've ever seen <3 It's filled with so much love and joy that even I had to shed a few tears watching it ^_^ Follow the link and enjoy!

http://www.chinasmack.com/2009/videos/chinese-wedding-video-impress-netizens-spreads-online.html

The Groom's Cake

Since I just wrote about the wedding cake, I figured why not write one about the groom's cake as well? The wedding cake will most likely be all your taste in design and style so it's only fair to create a cake for your wonderful new husband suited to his taste right?

Your groom's cake can be of any design, style and flavor of his choosing. It is HIS cake after all. I have seen ones that are in the shape of a groom's favorite NASCAR car and another of a gigantic gorilla... Point is, it can be of anything, it just has to be something that your other half likes. Hence, make sure that if you're surprising him with a cake, you try your best to give him a cake that he will LOVE. Resist the temptation to build a cake that you think will go well next to your wedding cake and decor. The cake that he likes might not fit in with the rest of your wedding reception at all. That's ok! This is his big day too, and while he might not have helped with much of the wedding planning, remind yourself that this is probably going to be his ONE MOST important day of his life. So help him make it memorable too!

The Wedding Cake

Some of you bride-to-be's have every single detail of your perfect wedding cake planned out since you were a toddler. Others, like me, have no idea what we want for our wedding cake. There are so many choices, from flavors to design. So, how do we choose?

Let's start with the basics: the flavors. This is the fun part, and probably one of the only parts of planning your wedding that your groom would be interested in. Once you've chosen a baker, go through a taste test to choose out which flavors you and your groom likes the most. You don't necessarily have to choose only one flavor for your entire cake; choose a couple so that your guest will have choices as well.

After flavors comes the style of the cake. This is where things start to get a little bit tricky. Do you want a traditional tiered wedding cake? If so, how many tiers? Or, do you want a themed cake that goes along with the rest of your wedding decorations? Nowadays, cupcakes have been making a breakthrough so maybe you would want a cupcake displayed wedding cake. There are so many choices to choose from, the list is endless!

Finally, we get to the decorations. You want to pick out the design of your wedding cake to go well with the rest of your reception decor. If you're completely clueless, work with your baker on the design and style of your cake. Nevertheless, take a look at the Wedding Cake Gallery for some cake ideas, or just simply Google!

Remember, a wedding cake can cost anywhere between $100 to thousands of dollars. Plan your budget accordingly and don't underestimate the cost of a simple cake. However, let's be honest, a wedding cake doesn't have to be bought or customized from a professional baker. It's very possible to make your own just as beautiful and delicious wedding cake, for the low price of around $20. How's that for a money saver? To give you a little bit of inspiration, here's a link teaching you how to make your own beautiful wedding cake: Homemade Wedding Cake.

Planning on a Budget

To all you bride to be's out there, Congratulations! However, keep in mind that if you want to have a typical wedding with a ceremony and reception, the average wedding in the U.S. cost $30,000. This doesn't even include the cost for the couple's romantic honeymoon! Planning on a budget is incredibly important since it's so easy to go over budget. The "harmless little extra costs" do add up, and they add up very quickly! Hence, here's a couple of do's and don'ts to prevent you from going over budget:

DO: Go to your site cake baker. Most venues have excellent bakers and will work with your vision of the perfect cake. This will save you a ton of extra money than if you go to an outside baker. Why? Because at the reception, the onsite staff are responsible for cutting the cake, serving it, and cleaning the dishes--this means more work for the staff! On the other hand, the cost for a cake from the onsite baker will already cover the cost of cutting, serving the cake along with any other costs related to the cake!

DON'T: Get overly complicated and oversized wedding invitations! While the one with pop out bouquet of flowers might go perfectly with your reception designs, the postage stamp alone per card will cost you around $2. That adds up! Skip the fancy boxed up invitations and go with something that can be more easily shipped.

DO: Plan ahead and set aside extra budget for the film crew. Most video crews are booked for a certain time at a certain price and will charge you overtime by the hour. If you have ever been to any wedding before, you know that almost all weddings never start on time or end on time.

DON'T: Think that the price on the dress is the final price of the dress. Every woman is beautifully shaped in her own way. This translated in terms of wedding dresses is that most of the time, the dress will need to be altered to fit the bride perfect. A simple hemming of the dress may cost up to $100. We'll let you use your imaginations as to what a full bodice alteration may cost.

DO: Forget about tradition and have both the bride side and the groom's side of the family chip in for the wedding! This is not the 1900's anymore where a beautiful 3 tiered wedding cake could only cost $10. A simple wedding cake can take you up into the hundreds nowadays.

DO: Just have fun! Girl, this is your wedding we're talking about! While it's important to stick to your budget, don't over stress over something if it's priced slightly higher than you had planned for. Remember, you only have this one most important day of your life (well, some of us have more than that), so make the best out of your situation and just smile!

Here's a link that's really helpful in calculating and planning out your budget: Budget Calculator

To find elegant and affordable wedding and bridesmaids gowns, follow this link: Lucky Dresses
They have beautiful dresses of all different colors and styles, most for under $400!