A wedding is a joyous occasion, and an occasion when gifts are exchanged among many different people. Guests and bridal party members give gifts to the bride and groom. The bridal couple gives gifts to the wedding party and to the bride’s mother. Some couples do not give a gift to the mother of the groom. It is entirely proper to do so, however, and will go far toward alleviating feelings that the mother of the groom is in the background.

Unique gifts for the mother of the groom may be purchased, but the most unique gift a bridal couple can give her is personal attention. Only you can show that you have time for her on your special occasion. Before you get too caught up in the day, plan a heart-felt gift that only you can give.

The French custom of the groom walking his mother down the aisle is a lovely, unique gift that she will always remember. The bride and her father walk the aisle together. Give similar attention to the mother of the groom.

Order a lovely bouquet of her favorite flowers to be delivered the morning “after” your wedding. She will appreciate your thoughtfulness. Be sure it includes a sincere thank you for her part in the wedding.

In addition to your personal touch, give her a unique gift you have purchased. We’ve gathered a few ideas here to help you.

Unique Gifts for Mother of the Groom – Sentimental

Since the mother of the groom will usually cry at the wedding, give her a unique gift that is sentimental, and that she can cherish forever. A dainty handkerchief in linen and lace can be embroidered with the words, “Mother of the Groom” to make it uniquely hers.

A necklace with a tiny bouquet of silver forget-me-not flowers is another unique gift. Its gentle message is that she will not be forgotten, even though her son is married and starting his own family.

Visit the CafePress store online, and create a unique gift featuring Mom’s favorite photo of the couple, or simply a gift bearing your wedding date and names. Use your imagination to style a mug with the words “Mother-of-the-groom” and a photo of Mom.

Your personalized keepsake is always a unique gift. Write a poem, or choose one that expresses your feelings. Add your names, and have it etched on a scalloped block of clear Lucite with a display stand.

Unique Gifts for Mother of the Groom – Stylish

If the mother of the groom is a business woman, and regularly carries business cards, a unique gift might be a personalized business card case. Have it engraved with the initials, MOG. Few people will understand the initials, but she will think of you every time she uses it.

Purchase a decorative crystal bud vase and have it engraved for a unique gift. You might put her initial in flowing script near the top, with your names and wedding date at the bottom.

For a mother of the groom who always has a key in her hand, give her a heart locket key chain. Be sure the heart locket is large enough for an engraved message such as “Our hearts are always with you.” Put your photo inside, and you have a unique gift that no one else could give.

Unique Gifts for Mother of the Groom – Amusing

If the groom’s mother has a sense of humor and enjoys a good play on words, you might give her a lovely make-up set for “groom”-ing. Ornate, silver-tone make-up brushes in a black satin case would make a unique gift. A silver compact, engraved with her name, would also be fitting, either with the brushes or alone.

A medal of honor might also be appreciated as a unique gift for the mother of the groom. The Bridal People website offers an amusing medal of honor to be awarded the mother of the groom for surviving the wedding. Hanging from a ribbon, their medallion weaves together the initials M.O.G., and spells out Mother of the Groom in small letters across the top.

Tip: Unique gifts for the mother of the groom, or for anyone, are usually a result of coupling your imagination with your knowledge of the gift recipient.

©2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about unique gifts at distinctivegiftsandcards.com distinctivegiftsandcards.com. Anna has posted additional information on that site about wedding gifts. If you would like to learn the etiquette on sending wedding gifts, visit Anna now.

The wedding service has a specific order according to the Church of England. There is the processional, the positions at the altar and the seating of the family and guests, followed by the recessional. Unless family tradition and customs states otherwise, this is the most popular of wedding services to follow.

In the wedding service processional, the groom stands at the front of the church, with his best man to his left. The priest leads the party, followed by the bride’s father and the bride to her father’s right. Directly behind the bride and father is the maid or matron of honour, followed by any bridesmaids henceforth.

The priest takes his place in front of the altar. Facing the priest is the Bride’s father who stands beside the bride. The maid or matron of honour stands behind the father and bride. To the right of the bride is the groom, and his best man to the right of him.

Seating plan of guests:

Bride’s mother

Groom’s mother and father

Bride’s Grandparents

Groom’s Grandparents

Bride’s relatives

Groom’s relatives

Bride’s special guests

Groom’s special guests

Bride’s friends

Groom’s friends

The recessional occurs when the wedding party leaves the church. The order in which they leave is as follows: The groom and bride walk down the aisle first, followed by the best man on the left and the maid or matron of honour beside him. Than follows the usher or other groomsman, on the left with the other bridesmaid beside him. Lastly, follows the bride’s father on the left with the groom’s mother beside him.

Ken and Deidre Bissonette are successful authors and publishers for weddings and gifts. weddingdresses-gifts-flowers.com weddingdresses-gifts-flowers.com

Once the plans for getting married are set in motion, there are many different tasks that come before, during, and after uniting as one. Family and friends, who may have not been able to attend the momentous occasion of matrimony, should be alerted so they can share in the good news.

Although wedding announcements are completely optional, it is a thoughtful gesture to for those who did not experience the wedding festivities or didn’t know that the couple had eloped. The typical wedding announcement should be mailed off immediately following the wedding, and some even ship off notification on the same day. To make sure you cover all of the bases regarding wedding announcements, following some of the suggestions below may help:

To start the easy journey of sending out wedding announcements, the first thing to do is create a list of all the individuals that should receive one. Next, make a tentative outline of what to place on the cards. Important details, such as full married names, your parents’ names and the marriage date are essential. Some individuals decide to add additional information, such as the location of wedding and time.

When approaching the creation of wedding announcements, you should keep in mind that this is the time to tell people about one of the most special days in your life. Wedding announcements also serve as a way to share your new address and married name with the people you care about. You should also know that when sending this type of announcement, you may receive some sort of gift or congratulations card, which is completely optional, but recipients of the announcement should be given your new address.

After you have the approximate number of announcements you will need, a visit to a small print shop, card store, or the stationery section of a Staples or Wal-Mart will allow you to place an order for custom-printed announcements.

When custom-made wedding announcements are not in the budget, stationery shops and card shops provide prepackaged cards that allow you to handwrite information within provided spaces. For a box of about eight to ten cards, you might be looking to pay around $5 to $10 unless you comparison-shop and locate a great bargain. Another alternative is to design your own wedding announcement using computer software at home and take the final product to a Kinko’s or other print service.

When ordering your announcements through a shop, you should expect to pay about $150 for 50 cards. Prices for this type of order will vary according to the quality of paper, selected design, and extra features you settle on. Unless you pay a little extra to put a rush on the job, wedding announcements are usually ready in about two weeks or more, depending on the extravagance of the order. Upon receipt of your order, you should save a copy of one to insert within a scrapbook. Wedding announcements also make great framed mementos that attractively hang on the wall for all to see.

For more information about plan-the-perfect-wedding.info wedding announcements visit plan-the-perfect-wedding.info, a website that specializes in helping you with wedding planning, wedding favors and plan-the-perfect-wedding.info/Wedding_Rings.html choosing wedding rings information.

Every couple wants wonderful photos of their wedding day that capture the celebration, details, romance and beauty.
Here are a few tips for a successful photo session:

1. Hire a professional qualified wedding photographer. Don’t be tempted to hire “Uncle Harry” to do your wedding photos. Focus on quality wedding photography. At the end in won’t matter how much you save or spend if you end up with bad photos or no photos at all.

2. Take the time to select the best wedding photographer that you can have. Make sure that you are in agreement regarding the style of photography.

3. Don’t give your wedding photographer a long list of must have photos that you printed from the Internet. You will only hinder the photographer’s creativity and the capture of true spontaneous photographs. Hire a photographer with a style that you like and then give him or her artistic freedom to capture your wedding day photography.

4. If you are going to have a ceremony outdoors please plan it away from the harsh sun. Shaded areas and afternoon sunlight are best.

5. Try to have an engagement session with the same photographer that will photograph your wedding. It will allow you to interact with the photographer before your wedding day and will help the photographer evaluate your best angles.

6. Plan enough time for your photographic session. Even if the wedding photographer is good he or she won’t be able to give you wonderful photos in just five minutes.

7. Take your time to do your hair and make up and to take care of all the details so you look good and fresh. The wedding day is not the time to try new makeup or a new hair look. If possible hire a professional hair and makeup artist and have a trial session before the wedding.

8. Plan your photo session for afternoon or evening light unless it is an overcast day. The light will be better and you will end up with beautiful photos. Contrary to popular belief midday sunny time is the worst time to take photos.

9. Please don’t forget to rest well the day before the wedding and eat and stay hydrated during the day. If you are tired, thirsty or hungry it will show up in your photos.

10. Don’t make photography of groups the entire focus of your wedding day. A few group photos are ok to record the friends and relatives at the wedding. There is nothing more boring that a wedding album full of group photos.

11. Be yourself. The goal of the wedding photographer is to capture the true you. If the photos are nice but show a fake person you won’t be happy.

12. Have fun and treat the photographer like a human being. Enjoy your day, smile a lot and relax.

Juan Carlos Torres is a very respected and awarded wedding photographer in Oregon. He has a Masters Degree in Remote Sensing with a strong background in digital image processing and photography. He is a member of the several professional photographer organizations including the Professional Photographers of America, the Professional Photographers of Oregon, the Wedding Photojournalist Association, and the Oregon Wedding Photo Guild. His wedding photographs are unique and very artistic and have been featured in national and international magazines. For a sample of his works please visit
willamettephoto.com Portland Oregon Wedding Photographer and
juancarlosphoto.com Eugene Oregon Wedding Photographer
For a discussion on wedding photography see our Blog at
willamettephoto.com/portland-wedding-photographer/ Oregon Wedding Photographer