The holiday season is fast approaching and what better time to get something for free?  Here at Wedding Treasure Chest, we are in the giving mood and are giving away one Wedding Server Set to a Wedding Supplies Blog reader!  It’s time to come out of the woodwork and introduce yourself to our community here.    One lucky commenter will win a Wedding Cake Server of his or her choice!

Show the BLING with this unique Wedding Server Set

This unique wedding server set may be engraved with the event date and name

You may choose our flashy “Bling” Wedding Server Set… or perhaps our more understated Dotted Wedding Server Set.  At Wedding Treasure Chest we have over THIRTY Wedding Servers to choose from.  So, there is a Wedding Server Set for every taste.  Having a fall wedding?  How about our Autumn Flair Server Set?  A seaside wedding is in your future?  We have a server set for that… Seaside Jewel Server Set.

To win our free Wedding Server Set, all you have to do is post a comment to this post and tell us your wedding date!  It’s that simple!  We welcome any and all comments you have a about our site, our products, or your wedding!  The winner will be chosen at random on October 25, 2011.  After you make your post, head on over to Wedding Treasure Chest and check out our Wedding Collections which are on sale now until October 31, 2011.  Place an order for a Wedding Collection and if you’re our winner, you’ll be receiving something extra in your package!

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Weddings with a touch of ancestry really show the roots of the couple they are celebrating.

Green Wedding Shoes had a recent post about a Texas Mexican Inspired wedding that not only showcased the delicacies and customs of the area, but also displayed how C-O-L-O-R can really bring life into the celebration.

Colorful Texas Wedding

At Wedding Treasure Chest we have many items that will showcase the heritage of the couple, such as our Asian line which includes a Cherry Blossom Pillow and an Asian Cake Topper, (and a lot more!)  but that also add bursts of color to your wedding day!

A unique way of adding color to a wedding day is through jewelry.  Wedding Treasure Chest carries a large variety of Unique Wedding Jewelry.  Imagine our “Caribbean Fantasy” on a bride marrying on St. Thomas in a simple white wedding gown… or our “Country Fields” Pendant Collection on this fall’s bridesmaids wearing cocoa brown!

Caribbean Fantasy

This Unique Wedding Jewelry can only be found here, at Wedding Treasure Chest, where we supply all of your wedding supplies!

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Why buy your wedding supplies piece meal when you can get matching items in a wedding collection?

It can be tiresome getting all of your wedding suppies and wedding reception accessories. To save some time and money, you may want to consider a wedding ensemble?  Wedding ensembles are all inclusive sets that feature all the beautiful pieces you need, packaged together in one bundle.  Because accessories are bundled together, ensembles will save you time and money.  They are ideal for one stop shopping and cost less than if you purchased all the items separately!

Ensembles, also called wedding collections,  are available in many different styles, colors, and themes.  They include matching items like the wedding guest book, ring bearer pillow, flower girl basket, and unity candle.  Ensembles are a convenient, cost-effective way to make your wedding complete.

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Wedding collections tie it all together

I think it’s only fitting that we should bring our weddings around the world back to the U.S.A. bridesmaids with broomsticks and Dracula doing the officiating, there are so many great directions you could go in to pull off a fabulous Halloween themed wedding bash.

Orange, black and purple are easy and appropriate colors to factor in to your color scheme.  Wedding collections could consist of very fun and creative pieces.  For instance, your wedding unity candles could be creepy candelabras decorated with spider webs and a few black roses. It would be very easy to keep the toasting flutes and cake server set to the theme by decorating them with fabric paint or ribbons. Have the ring bearer carry a pumpkin ring bearer pillow or a coffin shaped box. I could go on and on.

Some other unique ideas are to create interesting table numbers.  Numbered cards with ghost story trivia on the back, or real pumpkins with numbers carved in them are a great way to direct guests to their seats.  Have a creepy wedding march, serve Pumpkin Martinis and Bloody Marys as the signature drink.  Send guests home with bloody wedding favors from Dracula’s personal vintage.  Bottles of sparkling cider or red wine with customized labels would be perfect.

You could even have a dress up wedding or a masquerade ball.  Have everyone dress up, the wedding party, guests and even the minister, if he or she is willing. 

At the reception serve a spooking wedding cake.  Cake decorators today can create a spooktacular masterpiece like a haunted house on a spooky hill, or something as simple as a black cake with spiders, cob webs and a creepy wedding topper..

At the reception, you must play Halloween favorites like the Monster Mash and Thrilled.  Of course, nothing says Halloween better than candy.  Have an extensive dessert bar with fall favorites like caramel apples, mini pumpkin tarts, and candy corn.  You could even add some whimsy items like wax fangs and lips and gummy eyeballs. Use pumpkin baskets or cauldrons for the candy table and fogging machines and skulls decorations at each bar.

Whatever you choose, your Halloween nuptials are sure to be a real scream and fondly remembered by all those in attendance.  Happy Halloween!!

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Wedding Around the World – Philippines

A traditional Filipino wedding consists of many sponsors who are not only present to witness the union of the couple but also to participate in the ceremony. These sponsors symbolize guidance and support and are chosen as a group of individuals that the couple can contact for advice in a time of need.  While some of the sponsors have a “silent” participation in the ceremony, the veil sponsors and cord sponsors have the primary roles.

The Candle Ceremony is first and last. The candle sponsors, who are often times the parents of the couple, proceed to the altar where each pair lights one of the two long-stemmed wedding candles beside the unity candle. These candles symbolize God’s presence in the union

Towards the end of the ceremony, at a signal from the Priest/Minister, the Bride and Groom approach the candles.  This is when they light the unity candle with the candles that were lit by both sets of parents. This symbolizes the union of these two families through the love and lifelong bond of their children.

The Unity Candle is saved and kept by the couple, to be lit on each wedding anniversary, as a reminder of this first day when they gave their promise to each other.

Wedding candles like these are used during the candle ceremony

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Generally couples feel extremely honored by the presence of those who attend their wedding.  This couldn’t hold more, true than in the Indonesian culture.  As a matter of fact, the bride and groom will send an invitation to anyone and everyone they know, even if they are a mere acquaintance or simply visiting the area for a short time.  Although most acquaintances won’t show up, there could still be hundreds if not thousands of guests in attendance.  They especially like having some foreigners there.  Guests not native to Indonesia are believed to be very prestigious.  Believe it or not, a majority of the guests are only invited to the wedding reception, not the wedding.  Imagine feeding and entertaining thousands!!!

The wedding ceremony itself, which can last for several days, is reserved for close friends and family only.  Rituals followed during the wedding ceremony vary from region to region.  A bathing ceremony is one traditional custom.  One ritual involves the gathering of the families so that the groom and his relatives can give presents to the bride’s family.  Another special custom is the kneeling ceremony.  During this event, the couple kneels in front of their parents in order to receive blessings.  While kneeling, they ask their parents’ forgiveness for any wrongdoings they may have done in the past.  During the formal ceremony, a religious rite is given based on the couple’s religious belief.  According to local law, couples from different religious backgrounds are not allowed to marry unless one changes his or her religion.   

Getting back to the reception…. the dress code will depend on the time of day and location of the event.  For a more casual affair, men will wear a long sleeved batik shirt and women a casual dress or slacks and shirt.  For a more formal, evening event, it is appropriate for men to wear a suit.  Indonesian women usually wear regional outfits in bright colors and adorned with their finest gold jewelry. 

Indonesian weddings are viewed as very special occasions.  If you happen to be around and available, Indonesian couples will feel very blessed that you took the time out of your busy schedule to show up, even if it’s only for a few minutes.

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Capture the spirit of the season you marry in

Winter time weddings usually breed winter themed weddings, including location, (probably indoors), decorations and possibly your selection of a favor. I went to a December wedding once where the couple gave each female guest two ornate glass Christmas ornaments. I suspect they were pricy because they were in boxes from an upscale department store. I certainly understand the relevancy here, but if the majority of your guests don’t celebrate Christmas, (and you are aware of this fact), then I’d suggest something else; something more appropriate for the general public.

Spring weddings tend to lend themselves to a few more options than winter weddings. Depending on the month, you can have a portion or all of wedding reception outdoors. You’ll have a variety of flowers to choose from. You can find lots of wedding supplies geared towards the spring months, including holidays like St. Patrick’s Day. You may also get a better turn out of out of town guests. People are less averse to traveling if in climate weather isn’t an issue.

Daytime or nighttime weddings are both good choices in the summer. I would suggest lighter colors and lighter weight dresses for the bridesmaids. People will get antsy quickly if they have to spend an hour on formal pictures outside in a black gown in the middle of August! If your reception is going to be outside, make sure the tables are under tents or that there is some form of shade. If it’s going to be indoors, make sure the reception hall has air conditioning.

Fall and harvest type themes speak volumes in the fall months. If you’re into the yellows, oranges and browns, then fall is the right season for you. It should be relatively easy to provide an elegant setting or whatever setting you want with the changing of leaf colors. Corn stalks and scarecrows are great if they’re utilized in the proper setting. If your wedding is early enough in the fall season, you may be able to have cocktail hour outside.

No matter what month you pick to marry in, just try to make sure that you are in sync with the season. You can certainly do what you want to do, but if your hearts’ desire is to have a clambake for the food, I’d stick with the summer months. It might seem a little odd to eat steamers and lobster in many places in January. Of course you could always have a destination wedding to the Caribbean or some other exotic place where it’s pretty much always summer.  Ah, but that’s a whole separate topic!

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Let the unity candle light the way to your marriage

The internet has really opened up a lot of creative options for today’s wedding planner.  The traditional wedding has been adapted in many forms thanks to the ideas and ease of research on the internet.  Take the lighting of the unity candle, for example.  There was a time when this tradition was automatically part of the ceremony.  Lighting these three candles, in the presence of the guests at the ceremony, symbolizes the unity of the couple from individuals, into one.

In today’s world, this tradition still goes on, in many different formats.  For a more formal unity candle lighting, with a slight twist, you may want to involve the parents or families of the couple.  This would not only symbolize the union of the wedding couple but also the joining of the two families.  If you’d like to involve your guests, you can provide an unlit candle to each guest as they arrive.  After the couple lights the unity candle, they can have the guests come forward to light their candles off of the newly lit unity candle.  This involves the guests in your ceremony and represents their support of the marriage.  Doing this can be time consuming, not to mention a little dangerous.  It may be something to consider with a smaller guest list or toward the end of the ceremony as guests are leaving.  The candles can also serve as a keepsake for the guests.

 Another less traditional idea is to incorporate the unity candle lighting into the reception.  This would be a great way to tie in centerpieces and or favors.  Upon arriving at the reception, the couple could light the unity candle, then go around to each table and light a pre-set votive centerpiece.  It’s a great ice breaker, a way to say hello to your guests, a way to incorporate a special tradition and an easy centerpiece idea.   Although this tradition is not new nor is it necessary, there are certainly ways to make it a unique and special part of your wedding day.

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Why buy individual pieces when you can get a beautiful wedding ensemble?

Have you become overwhelmed with the thought of everything that’s entailed in planning the perfect wedding? Or maybe you’re having a short engagement and you’re pressed for time to make your wedding plans. No bride wants to rush through her wedding day, but there’s so much to plan and so much to do. How do you do it all and end up with results that make you happy?

                One thing to consider amidst the chaos is consolidation. I don’t mean to skip over things you want or to cut down your wish list of the days’ events; I mean do as much as possible with one stop shopping. Most function halls and hotels offer package deals which are meant to save you both time and money. They save you time because you’ll get to work with one person who’ll help you plan the entire reception, (probably a wedding or special event planner), and this person works directly for the function establishment. Often times this package will also include flowers for the place where the marriage ceremony will take place, so this can save you money!

                Another way to save money on your reception is to buy your accessories together. Things not included in a reception package deal are some of the items that make a wedding special, a reception memorable and create life-long treasures. Items such as ring bearer pillows, cake knives and toasting flutes can be found in a wedding collection. If you plan to purchase these types of items anyway, consider purchasing a wedding collection. The one stop shopping will save you time for sure. Wedding collections are readily available with different pieces and in many colors to compliment your chosen bridal colors.

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