The soft sigh of wonder

The gasp of complete surprise

The sounds of your breathing at night, as you look into my eyes…

The tinkling laughter in the morning

The soft cry in the night

The beatings of your heart, as you realize that this feels just right…

The sounds of love are all around us; whether it’s the sigh of your significant other, or the sounds of your children playing. It’s the everyday sounds you hear, and the sounds that you yourself make. But there is one sound of love that will always stay with you. It’s the question on every couples mind. “What should our song be?”

Well that is a very good question. I’ve personally helped with a few weddings, and this is one

of the biggies that the brides I’ve worked with stress over. And you know what? It’s completely understandable. Have you ever searched for a love song online? You get well over 2 million choices!

So which one is right for us? Well it really depends. What are you going to use the song for? If you’re going to use if for your first dance (for those traditional brides), then I suggest something that has a good steady rhythm that’s easy to follow, and a romantic message to show how special that moment is for you two . A few good suggestions for this would be: I Swear by John Michael Montgomery, From This Moment On by Shania Twain and Brian White, I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden, The Rose by Betty Midler, and I Only Have Eyes for You by The Flamingos.

If you were going to use it as an entrance song or something of that nature, then I would suggest a song that describes your relationship. Is your relationship silly and goofy? Or is it deep and romantic? Are you old fashioned and timeless? Or are you spontaneous and passionate? Choose a song that really describes you as a couple; if it’s a destination wedding, choose a song that relates to that. It’s a fun way to start the party. Personally I’ve heard everything from The Thong Song, to You Are My Sunshine. It really is up to you.

No matter what song you pick to be the one you and your significant other share for many years to come, the enchanting ambient sounds from wind chimes can always sprinkle an extra layer of magic on your day. Hand-crafted and fully customizable chimes to fit your day and song are a popular item available here at the Wedding Department no matter what type of theme. Let us help you share your special day with all your guests by allowing them to take a memory home with them. Remember, the sounds of chimes can be considered magical, so every time the chimes are caressed by the wind, and the sounds of twinkling is heard, the magic that shrouded your special day will be invoked again.

Although some physiologists will tell you that the heart is the organ that pumps blood through your body and love is all in your brain, you know, chemistry, dopamine’s, serotonin, mating processes, continuance of the species and all that stuff.

But wait,  according to studies done at the Heart Math Institute of Boulder Creek CA the electromagnetic energy of the heart increases significantly when people consciously feel love or care while in physical contact or even if they’re in close proximity.

From the beginning of time emotions of love have been related to the heart.
The ancients thought of the heart as the origin of human emotion and where their soul resided.

The Roman’s thought that if Cupid’s arrow pierced one’s heart, he or she would fall deeply in love.

To give your heart means to give of yourself completely, your whole being.
To those in love there is no stronger or more important symbol than the heart.

The heart wedding favors are a perfect way to express your love and share it with your guests.

When planing an event it is obvious that knowing exactly how many people plan attend will make things easier and less expensive.
They can be as simple as a hand dashed note or very elegant with numerous parts and envelopes.

Advance notice will tell you how many favors to have on hand. It also will tell you how many chairs, tables and the amount of food to have.

But in order to gather this information there needs to be a rhyme and reason to the invitations.
A simple invitation for an informal gathering where you will be serving simple snacks, or punch and pie needs only to be a single folded notice with a short greeting on the front of the card and details such as time and address on the inside.
Simple cards such as these can be found in most of the marts as well as stationary and book stores.
They usually can be purchased in packs of 10 or 25 or so and come complete with envelopes.

If you want to try your hand you may find making this type of card is not that difficult and with all the programs for computers it can be down right simple.
Just pick up some envelops and fancy paper at the stationary store and you are in business.

On the other hand invitations for a more formal affair would likely include an outer envelope with the invitation and the R.S.V.P information.

R.S.V.P. is an abbreviation for the French expressions “ripondez s’il vous plant”, which translates to “please respond” in english.

It has been reported that more and more people are not responding to invitations and it probably is due to one or all of these 3 reasons.
1. People have become rude and do not want to bother replying.
2. People do not understand that R.S.V.P means respond even if you are not coming.
3. People are just keeping the stamp.
Personally we thing people are keeping the stamps but the real reason probably is people do not understand that they should respond even if they are not planning to attend.

One useful tactic that is getting more and more attention is save the date.  It seems like folks have less time to spend on more events so the idea is to let them know far in advance that you are planning a party, and that they would do well to put it on the calender so that when the invitation comes they can R.S.V.P right away.

Save the dates can be as simple as a card or include a favor of some kind.
We have had customers buy ornaments and wind chimes for save the date gifts.

At any rate you can help to avoid as much confusion as possible by including the choices, we will attend, and we will not attend.

If you do not have the time or inclination to make your own favors you will need to enlist the talent of others.
Your local quick printer, wedding planner or party store should have a source for invitation and this is a good place to start.
You can view and hold a number of invitations to judge size, weight and texture of the paper and colors not to mention fonts.

This is to commemorate our first wedding favor order in 1997 for heart wind chimes.

The sand dollar is a favorite for any spring or summer event, especially those with beach themes.

We began making the sand dollar ornament about 2002.  At that time we were only making the fall leaf ornament and sure enough we received a request from a customer for a beach theme favor.  The sand dollar was a natural choice and an instant hit.

As a matter of fact we now make more of them than we do the fall leaf ornament, the previous leader.

And now we also have a sea shell ornament, again a request from a customer.

So keep those fresh ideas coming.

For those who do not remember a card box is a container used to receive and hold the cards that guests bring to the party, some or best wishes but many also contain money.

Not everyone uses a card box.  Some use a large plate or silver platter but more and more brides are turning to the box as a secure choice.

A simple card box could be constructed from a 12 inch square cardboard carton covered with white butcher paper.  This type of box could be stenciled or decoupaged with clipped pictures of flowers or other images that matched the wedding theme.

Glue on some silk maple leaves or the real thing for a fall theme wedding.  Other materials could include tulle, pieces of lace, fabric that matches the brides maids dresses and so on.

For a football theme wedding take a football shaped balloon and make a paper mache box.  Use strips of newspaper torn about 2 inches wide and soaked in wallpaper paste. Put on one layer at a time until the paper is about 1/4 inch thick.  Then paint the “box” to match the colors of the football including the stitches.

For a beach theme box use braided rope for a border and glue sand and shells to the outside.

If the bride and groom are traveling for a honeymoon clip travel brochures and paste the names of far off cities to the outside.  Better yet get an old suit case from the second hand store and cut a slot in the side.  Decorate the suite case with names of exotic travel destinations.

Place the box near a register book so that the guests can sign their names when they leave a card.

Put on your thinking cap and you will be able to come up with some good ideas in no time.  A hand crafted card box can add to the atmosphere of the party and provide a safe secure place for all the monetary gifts.