One of the first things that you will have to fix once you have decided to get married is to choose the exact wedding date. June, December, and January may be some of the most popular months to wed but nothing stops you from tying the knot at any other time of the year. What are some of the things you must look into before you choose that all important date which you will remember and celebrate for the rest of your life?

1. Activities to be handled:
Choose a date that will allow you ample time to take care of all the things that go with arranging a wedding. Although it is still possible to have a decent, simple wedding with one to two months’ preparation, allowing for more time to prepare everything will definitely lessen your stress level. Six months’ preparation is workable while preparing a year before the wedding is ideal. This will ensure, more or less, that you will be able to book the venues that you prefer and will be able to choose the best and most cost-efficient suppliers.

2. Budget:
How large or how flexible is your budget for your wedding? If you have saved a relatively substantial amount for your wedding, then you have the choice of scheduling your wedding during peak periods during the year when hotel rates or even restaurant rates may be higher. Scheduling your wedding during typical vacation times, for example, may allow more of your friends and relatives to attend, unless they are away on a trip themselves. If you are pressed for funds, choosing a working day for your wedding will probably allow you to save on some costs and limit the number of guests who will actually attend the ceremonies and the party.

3. Weather:
Depending on where in the world you live, expected weather conditions should be considered in deciding when you actually tie the knot. If you live in a country where there are rainy seasons, then you may want to steer clear of those months, particularly if you would like a garden wedding. If you live in a place where there are super cold winters, then you may want to schedule your wedding in spring when the weather is kinder, particularly if you have guests coming from elsewhere and who may not be used to cold weather.

4. What the old folks say:
Depending on the culture you grew up in, there will be tons of sayings that the old folks may have in terms of choosing your wedding date. Listening to what they have to say does not necessarily mean you actually believe these sayings but may be a way to promote peace and harmony in the family. For example, choose a date when the moon is growing larger than smaller. (This is said to bring good luck.) Or avoid getting married on a Tuesday or a Friday to keep away from a sorrowful life. Or you should have your full names and birthdays checked, as well as those of your parents’, by a numerologist so she can tell you what the luckiest day to wed is.

It is really up to you to choose the final date for your wedding, all the above sayings notwithstanding. Should you decide to deviate from what the old folks say though, just make sure you have the stomach and patience for some “I told you so” which may come up in the future. After all, how your marriage turns out after your wedding is more a function of what you as a couple do rather than what your chosen wedding date says about you.

So, what are you waiting for? Whip out your calendar and choose that all-important date, having your interests and best intentions in mind. You do not really need to wait for Christmas.

Alicia Barcelon is a fortysomething wedding planner who has seen and organized too many weddings except her own. She is currently on sabbatical as she focuses on other personal and professional interests while searching for “Mr. Right Away Dear”, whom she believes may be just right across the room or right across the ocean. She is still willing to assist readers though with wedding inquiries, questions, and needs, as she may refer you to her

If you have ever been cheated on, chances are you are down with the signs of a potential cheater. After all, you don’t want to be that victim again in a relationship. If you haven’t ever been cheated on however, you may not know what to look for when trying to determine whether your date is a potential cheater or not. One of the best things to do is find out if your date has cheated on people in the past. Unless they were young, there is no excuse for past cheating. Knowing the answer to that question will tell you a lot about the person.

Another thing that might clue you in on a potential cheater is if they seem very secretive about their phone or their home. If they are seeing other people, they will not want you to leave anything in their home and will not likely want you to touch their phone at all. If your date acts erratic when you even glance at their phone, you might have a potential cheater on your hands.

Potential cheaters are often flirty people. If your date seems overly flirty to servers, movie theatre attendants, or even your friends, he or she may be a potential cheater. Just use your best investigation skills and your gut instinct to help you determine whether or not your date is right for you. If you can’t trust them, there is no reason to date them at all!

Peter Portero is an expert in getting men with women abroad online. Check out the

There are many benefits to having your wedding, renewal of vows, baby naming or other ceremony at home. The obvious ones are that there is no venue hire, you don’t have to work around other bookings, you are not restricted as far as access for setting up, nor hurried to finish up and get out at a set time. In addition, you are on familiar territory, and all your normal domestic facilities are conveniently to hand.

But a ceremony at home can also turn into a chaotic mess, and there can be health and safety issues if you don’t follow a few simple guidelines which will ensure you avoid the pitfalls:

Right Sizing

Before you make a single other decision, you need to work out what the maximum number of people (not just guests) your home can accommodate. And this all comes down to one simple thing – people divided by toilets. The average person goes to the toilet once every three hours. The average toilet to guests ratio that venues work on is that you need one toilet for every 70 people. But that is presuming that toilets visits are spread evenly, which is never the case. Particularly if people have traveled some distance, you could get a queue before the ceremony starts, and then another peak some 2-3 hours later. If there will be children, senior citizens, or pregnant women on your guest list you can expect more frequent comfort stops will be required. In my experience, for a home ceremony, no more than 35 people per toilet is workable.

Regardless of the number of toilets available, however, the maximum number of guests that can be accommodated to ensure a successful ceremony is dictated by the maximum number of people that can be accommodated by the inside room or covered space that you would use in case of bad weather.

Arrival and introduction of guests

If you are planning on making an entrance, delegate someone to meet and greet guests as they arrive. If there are to be a large number of guests, it may be appropriate to delegate this task to several people.

Ensure that someone is delegated to meet and greet your celebrant and that there is a quiet space available so the celebrant can brief participants if there hasn’t been a rehearsal or participants haven’t been able to make the rehearsal.

The Ceremony Space

There are three things to consider when deciding where in your home or garden to hold the ceremony

The Space Layout is important – your guests should be close enough to where you and the celebrant will be standing to form an intimate grouping and ensure that everyone hears and sees the ceremony. There needs to be an attractive backdrop, and guests should not be squinting into the sun. Backlit photographs will mean that most of them will show the ceremony participants in silhouette, and the full detail of the ceremony won’t be captured. The layout needs to be in place before the guests arrive.

Noise Houses and gardens can be quite noisy places. Outside ceremonies are subject to all manner of external noise disturbances such as aircraft, animals, lawnmowers etc. If holding your ceremony during the day time, you might consider asking your neighbors to not use their lawnmowers or power tools for the period of the ceremony (allow a little leeway either side). If noise is likely to disturb the ceremony, it may be more appropriate to hold the ceremony indoors, but noise can also be a problem indoors. While you might have become so accustomed to your noisy air conditioner or fridge the video camera is going to pick it all up if the ceremony space is too close to the noise source.

Weather Consider both hot and inclement weather. There should be a suitable space either inside or under cover in case bad weather prevents holding the ceremony outside. Severe sunburn can occur in a very short time, and heat and sun can cause dehydration in children and older guests, particularly at the hottest time of the day so it is best to position everyone in the shade for a daytime ceremony. To guard against dehydration think about making sure everyone has water or other non-alcoholic liquid as they arrive.

Animals and Children

Any domestic animals that could interfere with the ceremony, or become unsettled by the guests, should be shut away or put in the kennels for the day.

Small children can find it difficult to be quiet and listen to the ceremony. If there are to be large numbers of small children attending you may find it useful to delegate someone to take care of them away from the ceremony space. Provision of play leaders or even a jumping castle has been very successful in my experience, but something as simple as a child-friendly video and a ‘sitter’ works well too.

Health and Safety

There are some basic safety rules that should be followed:

Entrances and exits to the property and to the ceremony space should be clear and safe to use. Garden ponds and pools are a potential hazard for young children and thus access to them should be made safe. Any sort of construction in your garden, whether temporary, such as a hired marquee, or permanent, such as a deck or gazebo, should be well erected, properly secured and safe. Outside electrical equipment, for example sound equipment, must be safe. There should be no trailing leads, wires or cables. Leads and cables should be kept well away from walkway areas, and firmly taped down.Insurance

For your own piece of mind make sure that your domestic insurance policy covers third party liability for visitors.

Jennifer Cram is a sought after Civil Marriage, Naming & General Celebrant based in Brisbane Queensland Australia where she specialises in performing one of a kind Couture Marriage Ceremonies, Naming Ceremonies as Beautiful as your Baby, Unforgettable Commitment Ceremonies, The Heart Moves on Divorce and End-of-Relationship Ceremonies, and a range of other ceremonies. For more information about her ceremonies visit her website jennifercram.com jennifercram.com

Copyright © 2006 Jennifer Cram. You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

As a blushing bride, it is a popular custom performed at many beautiful and classic weddings that is, the throwing the hand tied wedding bouquet. It is a tradition that you, the blushing bride can choose to do before or after your ceremony. Some brides choose to toss their hand tied wedding bouquet before the reception so she and her new husband can leave the wedding reception whenever they want without the pressure of having to throw the hand tied wedding bouquet right before they leave.

The throwing of the hand tied wedding bouquet states that the single woman who catches the hand tied wedding bouquet will be the next single woman to get married. This custom extends to the fact that the single man who catches the garter, is also to wed soon, and possibly to the single woman who caught the hand tied wedding bouquet at the same wedding. It is very exciting.

Even if there is no proof of the single woman’s fate, throwing the hand tied wedding bouquet is an entertaining event for all the guests, and the lucky lady always gets to take home a one-of-a-kind hand tied wedding bouquet as a symbol for the event’s memory.

The custom of throwing the hand tied wedding bouquet began with the faith that good luck herbs were located inside the beautiful hand tied wedding bouquet. So that the bride could offer her good fortune on to her wedding guests, the bride would toss her bouquet to one fortunate single female during the wedding reception. These days, which faith remains unbroken and it is recommended that a bride who plans to toss the hand tied wedding bouquet, should have a small, matching hand tied bridal bouquet created in particular for this practice so that she can keep her original hand tied wedding bouquet.

When throwing the hand tied wedding bouquet the bride should consider a few things. First, if there is a particular person that she wishes to present her hand tied wedding bouquet to, she should let her friend know in advance perhaps before the wedding. This way, it is set-up nicely and performed beautifully when the hand tied wedding bouquet is tossed out.

Secondly, a different yet exciting alternative to throwing the hand tied wedding bouquet is a pretend toss before a real one. In this case, the bride would select a female guest who she wishes to catch the hand tied wedding bouquet and seek her with the hand tied wedding bouquet. She would throw it directly to her.

Bonnie Ray is the owner of mysilkweddingflowers.com my silk wedding flowers, the website with silk wedding flowers pictures, information and resources.