Wedding Planning Basics and Wedding Ceremonies
From Nina Callaway, former About.com Guide
- Wedding Ceremonies
- Getting Started With Wedding Planning
- Get Organized - Wedding Planning Tools and Worksheets
- Marriage Proposals and Engagements
- Wedding Invitations
- Wedding Dresses and Tuxedos
- Wedding Budgets and Money Saving Tips
- Wedding Readings
- Wedding Vows
- Organizing Your Wedding Party
- Wedding Guest Lists and Other Guest Info
- Vow Renewals, Second Weddings, and Getting Remarried
- Destination Weddings and Honeymoons
Wedding Ceremonies
Here's everything you'll need to know about a wedding ceremony, from processional to recessional.
- Sample Wedding Ceremony & Order of Service
- Wedding Ceremony Music
- How to Find an Officiant or Minister for your Wedding Ceremony
- The Wedding Processional - The Order in Which You'll Walk up the Aisle
- Unity Candles and Other Unity Ceremonies
- Wedding Readings
- Wedding Vows
- Commitment Ceremonies and LGBT Weddings
Getting Started With Wedding Planning
Congratulations! You're about to embark on two amazing adventures - the first, of course, being your life as a wedded couple and the second being the exciting, yet often overwhelming process of wedding planning. This will probably be the biggest and most involved party or ritual either of you have ever put together. Before you get overwhelmed, take a deep breath, then do these ten things.
- The First 10 Steps of Wedding Planning
- Newly Engaged Wedding Planning Questionnaire
- What is a Wedding?
- My Top Wedding Planning Advice
- Getting Legally Married - Marriage Licenses & Name Change Documents
Get Organized - Wedding Planning Tools and Worksheets
After a newly engaged couple has finished celebrating and announcing, the first thing to do is to get organized. A good wedding planner will help you figure out month-by-month what you need to accomplish, and manage your finances so that you won't find yourself completely overwhelmed only weeks before the big day.
- Your Wedding Checklist - Essential Wedding Tasks Month by Month
- Easy Wedding Budget Worksheet
- Marriage Licenses
- Do You Need a Wedding Planner?
- Your Wedding Guestlist - First Steps
- How Many Wedding Guests Should You Invite?
Marriage Proposals and Engagements
Planning a marriage proposal? Or just like reading about engagements? Here's everything you need to know - from dos and don'ts, to engagement ring buying advice, to readers' own stories of their engagements.
- Marriage Proposal Ideas
- Marriage Proposal Dos and Don'ts
- How to Buy an Engagement Ring
- Top 10 Rules on Shopping for an Engagement Ring
- Asking Parents for Their Blessing
- Valentine's Day Marriage Proposal Ideas
- Making Your Engagement Special
- Announcing Your Engagement
- Throwing an Engagement Party
Wedding Invitations
The wedding invitation is the first thing your guests will know about your big day, and likely something they will hold onto afterward as a memento. Here's how to make sure your wedding invitation excites and informs your wedding guests, and a guide to the correct wedding invitation etiquette.
- Basic Wedding Invitation Wording--Guide to Writing Wedding Invitations
- Sample Wedding Invitation Wording for Non-Traditional Weddings
- Wording Especially for Divorced or Blended Families
- Frequently Asked Questions about Wedding Invitations
- Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Invitations
- A Guide to Printing Invitations - Letterpress, Thermography, Engraved, Offset
Wedding Dresses and Tuxedos
Looking fantastic on your big day is essential - here's how to find the best wedding dresses, tuxedos, beauty advice and more.
- Wedding Dress Shopping Tips
- Warm Winter Wedding Dress Accessories
- Buying a Vintage Wedding Dress
- How Much Does a Wedding Dress Cost?
- Wedding Dress Designers
- Buying a Plus-Size Wedding Dress
- Vera Wang Wedding Dress Collection
- Groom's Tuxedos, Suits, and Style
- Groom's Wedding Accessories - Ties, Cufflinks, Shoes and More
Wedding Budgets and Money Saving Tips
Your wedding budget is one of the most important guides you'll need when planning your wedding. Here are the checklists and advice necessary to get an accurate and useful wedding budget. Then, get that wedding budget under control, with tips and ideas on how to save money on your wedding.
- How to Create a Wedding Budget
- Easy Wedding Budget Worksheet
- Who Pays? Figuring Out Who Will Pay for a Wedding
- Top 10 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding
Wedding Readings
The wedding readings you choose for your ceremony help express your views on love and marriage. Will you choose something traditional, or modern and unique? Something romantic or funny? Here's a library of wedding readings to help you choose.
Wedding Vows
If you take the time to write your own wedding vows, you'll remember them for the rest of your life. But you don't have to start from scratch! Here is a huge directory of sample vows to pick and choose from.
- Big List of Sample Wedding Vows
- Traditional Wedding Vows
- Non-traditional Wedding Vows
- Write Your Own Wedding Vows in 6 Easy Steps
- Romantic Vows
- Funny Wedding Vows
- Ring Ceremony Vows
- The Etiquette of Renewing Wedding Vows
- Sample Vows for a Vow Renewal Ceremony
Organizing Your Wedding Party
They're your sisters, brothers, and closest friends. Your wedding party are not only the people who you'll count on to help you with planning, but also the people you want by your side when you walk down the aisle and say your vows. But who should be in your wedding party? And how do you keep in touch and keep them organized?
- Bridesmaid Basics
- Groomsmen and Usher Basics
- How Large Should Your Wedding Party Be?
- Why Your Wedding Party Should Be Smaller Than You Think
- Including Children in Your Wedding
Wedding Guest Lists and Other Guest Info
In the first month of your engagement, one of your biggest tasks will be deciding how many wedding guests you can invite, and starting to figure out who is on your guest list.
- Making a Wedding Guest List -- The First Steps
- How to Estimate How Many Wedding Guests Will Attend
- What to Do About Uninvited Guests?
- Making Your Guests a Meaningful Part of Your Wedding Ceremony
Vow Renewals, Second Weddings, and Getting Remarried
Sometimes love is sweeter the second time around - even when it means falling in love again with the same person! If you're renewing your vows or getting married again, the rules are slightly different.
- Second Weddings - Getting Remarried in Style
- Vow Renewal Ceremonies
- Wedding Vows for a Vow Renewal Ceremony
- Including Children in Your Wedding
Destination Weddings and Honeymoons
If you've got the travel bug, a wedding is a great excuse to see the rest of the world. Love should always take you to new places, so why not start with a destination wedding or a honeymoon?