Wedding Dance

Your first dance together as husband and wife will be a memory of a lifetime. It is quite a tradition and should be fun.

By the time it comes to dancing at the reception people are ready to let their hair down and enjoy themselves.

It is an opportunity for the newly married couple to show their love for each other and surprise or entertain their guests with a slow waltz or a beautiful choreographed dance routine.

The dance and music you choose should be a reflection of you both as a couple.

Here is a fabulous video of Ryan and Frankie having their first dance and having LOTS of fun!

Growing in popularity is for the wedding party to perform a routine together after the bride and groom have performed their first dance. This idea can even add to the fun of preparing for the wedding with routine visits to the dance studio.

Tradition says the bride and groom dance together first and then the parents follow. The father of the bride will dance with his daughter and the groom dances with his mother.

Then the groom's father dances with the bride and the groom dances with his new mother-in-law.

This tradition came about as a way of showing the new mix of the two families.

The first dance is usually performed after the main course is served and ideally, directly after the cutting of the cake.

If you are performing a set routine for your wedding dance you will not want your guests joining you on the dance floor so an announcement by your MC is a good idea! Something like the following:

“ Ladies and gentlemen I would now like to welcome the bride and groom to the dance floor to perform their first dance as a married couple.  I would ask all guests to keep the dance floor clear until our couple have finished their first dance together. I would also suggest you get your cameras and tissues ready as I know they have planned a beautiful routine that is sure to capture your hearts."

When it’s all said and done though, it’s your wedding day so you can always start your own tradition and have a great time!

Theme Inspiration

Picking the theme for your reception comes down to personal choice. Let it be a reflection of you as a couple. Most reception venues are happy to work with you on your theme and ideas.

You could choose your theme based on:

• Your gown design. You fell in love with your gown and the elegance or colour of it inspires your theme.
• Your wedding stationery design. You sent out those wedding invitations months ago and just love their design!
• The location of the reception! e.g. your venue is by the seaside, on a farm or in a beautiful garden!
• The season you are being married in. Winter weddings can be spectacular!
• Your favourite flower/s that are in season!
• Your favourite colours!
• a reflection of your personalities (e.g you both think it would be fun to have a gothic, pirate, or medieval wedding)
• pure elegance.

There is no right or wrong... just what is right for you and your partner!

Whatever you do bringing a bit of DIY to your wedding can help you feel more involved and appreciated on the day. Something that is handmade is more likely to be remembered by your guests long after the big day. You can have a lot of fun along the way with DIY by organising get-togethers with your friends to create the decorations too! 

DIY Idea:

When no colour at all is allowed to creep in, jet black teamed with snowbally white makes a powerful impact. The clarity of the effect is breathtaking.

Patterns appear clear and sharp in monochrome. Here black and white shows a fun side with playful dots, stripes and floral paper napkin holder.

Download the floral paper here and trim into bands any size you like. Wrap around rolled napkins and secure with double-sided tape.

Download Template
You will require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view these pdfs. This is available free of charge from www.adobe.com

Flower Paper Template

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Real Wedding Inspiration!

Wedding Style Guide has put together some images from past Real Weddings for your inspiration.

Alexis Hemphill and Steven Elsea by Elizabeth Messina

Amy Moss and Mark Mandel by Jonathan Ong

Astrid Ramsden and Steven Harrison by McKay Photography

We would love to hear about your theme! You can leave a comment below or click here to upload images so we can share with all our readers what you did for your theme!

Are you prepared to break with tradition for your wedding?

It is your wedding! Or is it? Sometimes it can feel like everyone but you has a say about what is going to happen on your day.

                “You can’t do that! That is not what a wedding is about!”
                “You have to do it this way. We’ve always done that in our family!”
                “Where did you think that idea up from?”
                “Our family always does it this way!”

Parents of many brides and grooms want to put their five cents worth into the planning of your wedding. Family and friends may mean well with their ideas and contributions of “ideal” wedding plans but this can lead to arguments and upset.

Renaissance Wedding

At the beginning of all the planning you had a picture of how you saw the day falling into place. You want your wedding to be different. Perhaps a unique theme, change the vows, sing modern songs or have a complete break from traditional wedding music. You and your partner have been to plenty of other weddings and you don’t want to have just another beautiful but traditional wedding day.

This decision leads you into unchartered water. How will your family and friends react to your  idea? They know you are rule breakers with modern views and all you want is a day that reflects who you are as a couple.

Gothic Wedding Theme

Gothic Wedding Cake

In ancient times the bride was given to the groom’s family! The white dress signified virginity, the cake was a symbol of fertility and the bridesmaids dressed like the bride to confuse evil spirits ! The groom stood on the right of the bride so he could use his right hand to grab his sword to fend off enemies who wanted to steal his bride!

Western Wedding

Then in Victorian times we introduced bouquets of flowers for the bride. The bouquet was made from scented flowers or herbs to held to hide the smell  of an unclean society or to ward off all those evil spirits!

We carry on these traditions, mostly without even knowing why. We aren’t tied to these traditions for any of these old reasons anymore but so it continues!  Our parents did it so their expectations are that you should have a great church wedding, white dress and wonderful sit down dinner!

Western Wedding Cake

These days you can have many different themes that can be amazing fun for you and your guests. Just maybe not considered to be a great idea by your parents! Remember that it is your party and it is your wedding day. This is a day that you will remember for the rest of your life. Share with your grandchildren and demonstrates your personality to them and everyone on the day.

You can have fun being different! Be prepared for some arguments but don’t let it stop you being quirky and different! Go for it and make your day extra special!

Extreme Weddings @ Ayers Rock, Central Australia

Summer Wedding Hint

Hands up who organised a Summer Wedding? In Adelaide we are heading towards five days of HOT weather with 40 degrees Celsius on Sunday (100 degrees Fahrenheit) so we at Wedding Style Guide thought it was time for a Summer Wedding Hint for your man!

The groom’s job is to look gorgeous, fresh, unflustered and perfect in every photo all day but Summer has ways of bringing even the coolest customer undone. 

Guys tend to just grab the jacket and go. But when it’s off to be married on a summer’s day, when the thermometer hits record highs, you can’t rely on getting through the most important day of your life without planning for the heat.

To look good you must be comfortable. Choose a light fabric for your suit, don’t be caught in a winter-weight weave. If wearing a vest, make sure it has a satin back which will be more suitable.

You could even choose a vest that looks good WITH the jacket off! 

Check out the suit without the jacket. In extreme heat and later when dancing, the jacket will probably be removed; the pants have to look flattering.

It’s not a regular day, most grooms are nervous and nerves can lead to more sweating than usual. Add in the heat factor and a perspiration condition can really kick in. Carry a crisp, white cotton handkerchief to wipe a glistening brow and damp hands. Tissues can disintegrate quickly and leave you without the help you need. There will be a lot of handshaking, your hands should be wiped dry, nobody likes to touch a clammy paw.

It’s a long, long day with many potential grooming pitfalls like the shirt getting soaked with sweat early in the day or red wine being spilled down the front later in the evening. It’s all happened before; a wet shirt is not a good look. Hot feet perspiring and starting to smell as if they were in a pair of gym sneakers is embarrassing. Perspiration can be a nightmare on hair, making it fall flat. It’s wise to have wardrobe and grooming quick fixes on hand to make sure you look your best and the photographs show a great looking groom, not a damp one.

Pack a smart looking bag and include all the emergency grooming odds and ends that will end up saving the day by making you feel fresh and look crisp.

Include:

• a spare pair of socks
• hanky
• a spare shirt on a coathanger, so it doesn’t get creased,
• deodorant,
• hair product,
• shoe cleaner,
• breath freshener.
• If a five o’clock shadow tends to appear at 3pm, throw in the shaver and some aftershave. Don’t use a new aftershave for the first time on your wedding day, it won’t smell like you and it could cause an allergy and skin rash.

You may not need to turn to these reserves, but if you do; it will be a lifesaver. Pop the hold-all into the boot of a car of someone you know will be there until the end.

Being one of the two stars on the wedding day is a bit like running a marathon, look after yourself from the start with a good breakfast. This will help get you through the day and give energy to battle the heat.

Reassess the wedding day’s morning activities.

A game of golf with mates might sound like a great idea, but if it’s 40 degrees, you might exhaust yourself and not feel 100% for the wedding itself. Heat stroke is a real possibility. Take it easy on the morning of your wedding.

Have bottles of water handy all day, don’t become dehydrated, or you mightn’t feel on top of the world. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated, so drink lots of water.

Most of all have a great day
and keep your cool!

Stand Up or Sit Down Reception?

Bridal couples are looking for the best of both worlds!

We are a sociable bunch these days and the traditional sit down reception can restrict your friends really mingling and enjoying your wedding. Have you ever thought about having a caterer offer a roving entrée, seated main, followed by a roving dessert?

This idea could be perfect for food-loving couples who can’t make their mind up between a sit-down and cocktail-style reception. It is a great idea and could mean a lot more fun for your family and friends at your wedding.

The key to this experience for your guests would be the delivery of a variety of dishes to sample, as this can become a part of the fun. It can add to the social air as your guests discuss the delicious food they are being served. A roving selection of fine canapés and drinks gives you time to greet your guests and relax before being seated for the main course.

A new, modern way to approach your reception, capitalising on the social aspect of a cocktail style reception, with the traditional twist of a sit down main added in for good measure. A good caterer can deliver guests a larger array of food options with this style and your guests will love you for it.

But let’s face it at the end of a long day of socialising your guests will also be relieved to sit down, relax and tuck into a main meal. So what about a roving dessert? When the drinks are flowing and the guests are getting merry, nothing should stand in the way of the dance floor – not even the dessert!

Opting for a roving dessert during the most social time of the evening is the perfect way to get the party started. A selection of canapé style desserts will allow your guests to get up on the dance floor and back into the groove of the day.

Having a stand up and sit down reception could give you and your guests the best of both worlds.

You can read more about this option in an article from Forte Catering & Events, an award-winning, Sydney-based caterer, on our website.