FD:Fine Design Weddings

Writing Your Own Wedding Vows

You want to write your own wedding vows, but you are not sure where to start. Make sure to not get overwhelmed or intimidated. Writing your vows should begin and end with how you feel, not what you think others will want to hear, strictly feelings. If you are creating your own wedding ceremony style and you want to write your own vows, here are a few questions to consider in creating the vows you want to make.

• When and where did you first meet?
• What was the state of your life before the two of you met?
• At what point did you realize you were in love? Describe the feeling.
• What inspires you about your loved one?
• What life goals and dreams do you share?
• What have you learned from each other?
• What qualities make your love unique? What qualities will keep it strong?
• What do you most look forward to about life with this person?
• What are some special moments in your relationship?

Reading the vows you have written yourself during your wedding ceremony can be one of the most romantic things you will ever do. It’s the kind of thing that really helps you create your own personal wedding style. Writing your own vows is a kind of personal touch that cannot be replicated by any standard vows.

Is It Time for My Wedding Yet? Count Down to the Special Day !

You have planed for this day since you were a little girl. You thought you knew every detail by heart-well here is a time line to make sure you won't forget anything!


9-12 Months Prior

• Determine who will officiate at the ceremony.
• Select a wedding date and time.
• Announce your engagement in the local paper. If both you and your fiancé grew up in different towns, do both papers!
• Determine how many guests may attend.
• Determine the type of wedding you want (size, formality, style, color scheme).
• Select and order the bridesmaid dress.
• Establish a "rough" budget.
• Select and secure a photographer.
• Select a caterer if not already provided by the reception.
• Select and secure your reception location.
• Select and secure your ceremony location.
• Select and secure your DJ / MC.
• Begin choosing your wedding cake baker, videographer, and florist. Sign necessary contracts.
• Pick out engagement ring with fiancé.

6-9 Months Prior

• Start compiling the guest list (ask your families to do the same).
• Select the bridesmaids and groomsmen for your wedding party.
• Shop for the wedding dress, headpiece, veil, and accessories.
• Start planning for honeymoon.
• Register with a bridal registry. Did you know, placed like Bed Bath & Beyond let you register online, from the comfort of your own home?! 

4-6 Months Prior

• Check requirements for blood test and marriage license in your state.
• Shop for wedding rings.
• Select and order the invitations and thank yous.
• Complete the guest lists.
• Send your save the dates, so guess can prepare; especially if it is a destination wedding!
• Send your engagement announcement to the newspaper(s).
• Help the mothers in selecting their dresses.
• Select and order the men's attire.
• Finalize honeymoon details and make the necessary reservations. Make sure if you do not have enough time prior to the honeymoon to change your name, that all reservations are made in your maiden name!

2-4 Months Prior

• Confirm the menu and catering details with the caterer.
• Prepare any maps and directions for the ceremony and reception.
• Select your wedding rings.
• Buy a wedding guest book.
• Set the dates and times with the officiant for the rehearsal.
• Plan the bridesmaid luncheon and any other parties, such as shower and the bachelorette party.
• Get your programs for the ceremony together.
• Finalize the florist details, photographer, videographer, DJ/MC, etc.
• Arrange the necessary accommodations for out-of-town guests.
• Plan a rehearsal dinner, time and place.
• Confirm the wedding cake details with the baker.
  

6-8 Weeks Prior

• Mail invitations and announcements.
• Set appointment with photographer for your formal bridal portrait.
• Select gifts for all your bridesmaid and groomsmen.
• Set appointments with any hairdressers and/or makeup artists.
• Hire the limousine or other forms of transportation for the wedding.
  

4-6 Weeks Prior

• Decide what your menu is going to be for the reception. Estimate the expected number of guests.
• Buy a gift for the groom.
• Schedule a final fitting for your gown.
• Pick up your wedding rings.
• Purchase (borrow) all wedding accessories such as the ringbearer pillow, toasting glasses, garter, candles, etc.
• Confirm florist details and delivery times.
• Plan the seating for the reception as well as other details for the ceremony and reception. Start writing placement cards.
• Make sure all bridesmaid dresses have been fitted.
• Buy a gift for the parents.
  

2 Weeks Prior

• Set up final consultation with your DJ/MC.
• Make arrangements to have your wedding gifts moved home after the ceremony.
• Handle business and legal details such as name changes, address changes, etc.
• Reconfirm your guests' accommodations.
• Make sure all clothing and accessories for you and the bridal party are ready.
• Get your marriage license and any blood tests which are needed.
  

Week Prior

• Review any seating details with the ushers.
• Make sure all wedding attire fits.
• Finalize the seating arrangements.
• Reconfirm your honeymoon reservations. Ensure you have any necessary plane tickets.
• Start packing for your honeymoon.
• Call any guests who have not responded yet.
• Finish all the place cards for the reception.
• Review all the final details with your photographer, videographer, etc.
• Give a final head count to the caterer.
• Delegate responsibilities to reliable individuals on your wedding day.
  

Day Prior

• Get a mani/pedi or massage to relax yourself.
• Stay with your family the night before and go to sleep early.
• Review and rehearse all the details of your participants.

Wedding Day

• Make sure the best man and maid/matron of honor sign the wedding certificate.
• Allow yourself plenty of time to get dressed.
• Enjoy your wonderful wedding and cherish each and every moment!!!
• Be sure to eat properly.

Happy Wedding Day from FDWeddings.com!

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What are the makings of a Perfect Match?

Sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you come up with a Prince. Such was the case with Daneen, my daughter. She had dated on and off, some serious, some not so serious, but no one clicked.

 

Then she met Garett on Match.com. They went out on a date and yet again, nothing! Then something happened, divine intervention perhaps? Daneen had tickets to an Ohio State football game. The Ohio State, you know, the one no one ever turns down free tickets to see play. So why had her original date called and said he couldn't make the game?  Now what she to do with only an hour until she had to leave for Columbus? She could take her Dad or Brother, both would love to go; but she didn't want to go with them.

 

So, Daneen got out her little black book.... well, actually her cell phone and thought who to call. Perhaps she would give that nice guy from Vermont a call. The one who had been nice but, there just hadn't been that spark a week ago on their date. Oh well, why not she thought! A call to Garett and free tickets to the OSU game sealed both their fates. They had so much fun at the game! They talked, found out they had the same values and so much more. He was quiet, like her Dad. She was talkative, like his Mom. It just felt right!

 

Within 3 months of dating they had decided...the big one, lets get married. Now, how to put on a wedding in a few short months? It's already January and they were going to get married in May! Daneen, had lots of experience with weddings since she was the Bridal buyer for FactoryDirectCraft.com, but this just wasn't any wedding, this was HER wedding; the one that was her happily ever after.

 

With help from her friends and family, myself and of course her experience it all came together. The perfect place (on the beach in Naples Florida), the perfect day (May 4th, her Grandfather's Birthday), and the perfect guy, Garett, the nice guy from Vermont. What more could a girl want?!

 

Thanks  to Match.com and a guy turning down OSU tickets, Daneen finally found her prince (no more frog kissing)

FactoryDirectCraft.com  has a variety of craft supply's for all your crafting needs

 Questions? Give us a call 1-800-252-5223 M-Sat 9-6 est

Wedding Facts & Figures

Here are some great wedding facts that can be used for trivia at bridal showers!

Average Age

In 2000, the average bride was 24 years old and the average groom was 28.

Bridesmaids Curse

Thrice a bridesmaid, never a bride is an old charm that can be broken by being a bridesmaid seven times.

Dressing Matters

The tradition of bridesmaids dressing the same as each other and in similar style to the bride comes from ancient days when it was believed that evil spirits have a more difficult time distinguishing which one is the bride and putting a hex on her.

Engagement Length

The average engagement period is 16 months, which is up from 11 months in 1990.

Engagement Rings

The practice of giving or exchanging engagement rings began in 1477 when Roman Emperor, Maximilian I, gave Mary of Burgandy a diamond ring as an engagement present. 74% of all brides receive a diamond engagement ring. Of those, 60% are involved in picking out their ring, while 3% actually pick it themselves.

Formal or Casual

80% of brides plan formal weddings.

It's Popular to be Unlucky

According to English folklore, Saturday, the most popular American choice, is the unluckiest day to marry!

Number of U.S. Weddings

The number of marriages in the U.S. has averaged 2.25 - 2.4 million every year for the past 20 years.

Wedding Costs

The average wedding in the United States costs between $20,000 to $25,000.

Wedding Costs - 2nd Time Around

The average second wedding costs $12,000, but couples spend nearly double first time couples on their honeymoons.

Wedding Guests

In the United States, an average of 189 guests attend each wedding.

Wedding Industry

Weddings comprise a $25.3 Billion dollar industry.

Wedding Location

In the United States, 85% of all weddings take place within a church or synagogue.

Wedding Month

August is the top month for weddings, with an average of 10.2% taking place. June comes in a close second with 9.9%.

Wedding Planning

37% of all brides plan their weddings for 7 to 12 months.

Oldest Bridal Tradition

The veil dates back to ancient Rome, when it was flame-yellow, always worn over the face, and called a flammeum.

Remarriage

For the past 20 years, 2.25 to 2.40 million weddings have taken place each year in the United States:1/3 of them are remarriages.

Second Weddings

In almost half of U.S. weddings either the bride or groom has been married previously.

Something Blue

In the rhyme 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue', "blue" is symbolic of the blood of royalty, since both the bride and the groom were once considered to be "royal" on their wedding day.

The Wedding Party

The most frequent number of bridesmaids is 4 (including the maid of honor). 62% of weddings have a flower girl, while 56% have a ring bearer.

Wearing a Wedding Ring

The reason that the engagement ring and wedding band is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand is because the ancient Egyptians thought that the "vein of love' ran from this finger directly to the heart.

Wearing White

Queen Victoria made white the bridal color of choice when she wore it to wed Prince Albert in 1840.

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Follow Factory Direct Wedding on Twitter and Receive Special Offers Daily

Be sure to follow FDWeddings.com on our Twitter name FacDirectCraft.
We Twitter discount offers throughout each day. These special offers are only valid with the Twitter codes you receive. Take a look at our Twitter and feel free to "tweet" us!

History & Symbolism of the Wedding Unity Candle

The lighting of a Unity Candle is a newer addition to wedding ceremonies, most popular in the US. The unity candle ceremony uses two taper candles with a large pillar candle (called the "unity candle") in the center. At the beginning of the wedding ceremony, a representative from each family (usually the mothers of the bride and groom) light the two taper candles. Later in the ceremony, the bride and groom use the two taper candles to light the large pillar (unity) candle together.

The light of the unity candle symbolizes the joining together of the two families, and their love for the bride and groom. More often it is to symbolize the union of two individuals, becoming one in commitment. Generally, the two tapers are left burning and replaced in their holders (because each family's love for their own will continue). However, in some ceremonies they may blow out their individual candles, to represent that family member moving on and starting their own.

The origin of the unity candle is unclear. Some have suggested that it is at least 30-40 years old. Others say there may be some evidence to suggest it goes back to at least the 1930s, if not earlier.

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Tweet with Factory Direct Wedding on Twitter AND 500 New Items!

Hello everyone! We have just joined Twitter, so if you are on there, or curious...come Tweet with us. We are under the name FacDirectCraft:
By TwitterIcon.com

Also, do not forget that we have TONS of new items coming in daily, and have put over 500 new items on our website, so make sure to check them all out! We have some great new wedding items, such as the White Silk Rose Heart Wreath, for Chair backs or the
Cinderella Slipper Placecard Holder Favor Kit

New items are being put on daily, so check back often!

Have a great weekend and see you on Twitter,
www.fdweddings.com

Spring Wedding Favor/Place Card Holder

Looking for a cute and unique spring wedding favor?! These adorable placecards can be used as your favor and your placecard! Give your guest something to plant and remember your special day forever!!

Item# VL3081
"You are Seeded at Table" Seed Packet Placecards
This kit contains enough seed packets for 50 guests place cards. Throw an eco-friendly event without sacrificing style by giving your guests a packet of plantable placecard favors. The packets serve a dual purpose. They act as both the table placecard and a wedding favor. A seed packet wedding favor is the perfect symbol of growing a new life together.

Price is for seed packet placecards only. Holder not included.

Beach Wedding Favor Idea-Sand & Seashell Bottle

These bottle favors are perfect for your beach themed wedding! Make it an interactive favor or have them ready made for your guest.

Item# 5141 Mini Round Bottle with Cork (or any of our other glass bottles with corks)
Picot ribbon of your wedding color(s) for the bow

To make these prior to the wedding: Fill bottle with band or bath salts 3/4 full then add small shells. Attach a card with name of Bride and Groom then the date or one of our premade tags.

Make during the ceremony: Have the bottles under the seat of each guest and before you walk back down, ask them all to scoop up some sand and put them in the bottles, so they can take a piece of "paradise" with them as a memento.

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Legend of the Wedding Dove

Legend holds that if Doves appear on your wedding day, a happy home shall prevail. Doves mate for life, and, for centuries, have symbolized peace, love and fidelity.

So why not add some doves to your wedding?! Add a beautiful white feathered dove to your floral arrangements, or adorning your kissing bells with a meaningful saying tag blessed with doves? Our favorite idea is the dove cookie cutter as a favor. Make a tag and tie it on with a saying such as "Flying off together for life" or "Cookie-ing up a life time of happiness." These favors are sure to be loved by all and each time they use them, they will think of your wedding.

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