Common Wedding Day Superstitions

Filed Under (Weddings) by Amy Nutt on 05-09-2008

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by Amy Nutt

Your wedding day is special and it`s a one of a kind experience, which is probably why a lot of superstitions have grown up around this momentous event. Most of them have to do with the bride, perhaps because of the huge amount of pressure on the bride to have the perfect wedding day.

Here are a few of the wedding superstitions that have developed over the years:

The Bridal Shower

Everything the bride says while opening presents will come back to her on her Toronto wedding night. It could be good to be careful with this one . . . you never know! Having the same phrases repeated on the wedding night could be a good or bad thing, depending.

For good luck, the first gift opened should be the first gift used. There are a few superstitions surrounding the gifts given at a bridal shower, such as the giver of the third present opened will have a baby.

The Dress

The whole wedding outfit must not be tried on until the actual day of the wedding. This common superstition is due to the fact that it was thought to bring bad luck on the bride. If she put on all her wedding garb before the wedding . . . she might not be married after all!

Green, yellow, pink and red wedding dresses are considered bad form. According to an old marriage rhyme, these four colors of wedding dresses would bring assorted miseries on the married couple`s life and they wouldn`t be happy.

It`s bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her dress on their wedding day. This is a pretty strong superstition that most people follow to this day.

The Church

Seeing a pig run across the road on the way to the church. This is considered to be very bad news for the wedding party and could foretell a cancelled wedding or a terrible marriage. Interestingly, meeting a black cat on your wedding day actually signifies good luck.

Meeting a monk or a nun outside the church. According to this superstition, you are doomed to a marriage of barrenness and will be dependent on charity if you run across a nun or a monk on your way to the church.

Wed on a Saturday for no luck at all. While you may not get bad luck by tying the knot on a Saturday, you won`t have good luck either, so you may want to try Monday (health) or Wednesday (best of all), instead.

The Ceremony

Dropping the ring means the marriage won`t last. While this traditionally applies to the groom`s clumsy fingers, it`s been turned into a uni-sex superstition.

A penny in the bride`s shoe will bring wealth to the marriage. This is the often skipped part of the old “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” adage.

Marrying when the hands on the clock are on their way down is bad luck. It`s considered far better to marry between the half hour and the hour, when the hands are moving back up. Otherwise, your marriage will always be going downhill.

The Wedding Night

The first person to fall asleep on the wedding night will also be the first to die. This is a superstition that obviously has no basis in fact, but it is still remarked upon . . . usually by the person who fell asleep last!

It`s not likely that any of these superstitions is based on truth, but they are definitely interesting to learn about. Many of them are still alive and well to this day and are still respected by most brides. While they may not be true, Toronto weddings superstitions certainly show no signs of going away just yet.

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Tips on Decorating your Own Wedding Cake

Filed Under (Weddings) by Ken Morris on 04-09-2008

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by Ken Morris

Cakes can be very expensive, particularly if you pay somebody to make it for you. If you want to save some money, then one option is to make the cake yourself. Decorating your own wedding cake will save you quite a lot of money and also allow you to be much more creative. You can try pretty much whatever you want on your own cake, whereas it might be very difficult to explain to someone you don’t know exactly what needs to be done. Wedding cake decorating is considered as a very difficult and specialist job which few people should attempt, however most people are more than capable of decorating their own wedding cake.

Don’t get Carried Away!

You shouldn’t try to attempt too much otherwise you might end up becoming unstuck. Think about what you are capable doing and stick with that. If you’re not sure whether you could do everything then get a professional in to help you. The look of your wedding cake will not make it taste more sweet or different in anyway, it just changes the appearance. You could have a fairly simple cake, simple things are often very elegant.

Most people would be better off by buying a cake from their local cake shop and then doing the cake decorating by yourself. This means you don’t have to worry about making a nice round cake, you just have to decorate it however you like. If you baked and decorated your cake you could end up with a strange shaped cake! You will find many different types of frosting are available these make it much easier for you to decorate cakes and make them elegant while using cheap items. You can even get replicas of your wedding and engagement rings for decoration.

When you are deciding how to decorate your cake it is important to have all of the necessary tools for the job. You need piping bags in different sizes, angled spatulas, and turn tables. You must also make sure you have enough time available to decorate your cake. It’s no good setting aside ten minutes to decorate your wedding cake, this is nowhere near long enough. Wedding cake design can be very time consuming.

It’s essential that you have enough time in order to do your cake decoration otherwise you could end up rushing the job and ending up with something that looks like it’s been run over! You don’t want to be stressed when decorating your cake, you want to have fun and let the creativity flow naturally! If possible it’s a good idea to have a trial decorating practice so that you know exactly what you are supposed to be doing, you don’t want to waste expensive cakes for the actual day!

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The Make-up Essentials for Every Bride to be:

Filed Under (Weddings) by Ariane Poole on 03-09-2008

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by Ariane Poole

Your make-up doesn’t need to be heavier than usual for the photos. You just need the right techniques and the right products to look picture appropriate.

Foundation: - Primer is a must. The right primer will keep your make-up on longer, your face shine free and even diminish the appearance of fine lines and large pores. - Even if you don’t wear a foundation it’s a good idea to use a light weight one to even cranky your complexion, photos and videos tend to show every little thing. The Mineral Tint Foundation is light weight and feels like a second skin. - Don’t be tempted to apply a darker foundation to get a healthy glow it will look awful, opt for an all over false tan instead.

Concealer: - The Concealer Palette is a must!! for dark circles or blemishes apply after foundation or tinted moisturiser for the best results.

Powder: - In photos too much shine looks sweaty, even if you want a dewy look keep your t-zone mat. Pokingly sweep a little Universal Yellow Powder over your t-zone.

Eyes: - Waterproof mascara is a must!!! what ever the situation. - Curl your lashes. This will instantly open up yours eyes and make them appear larger. The Heated Eye Lash Curl works wonderfully on even the shortest/straightest lashes.

Cheeks: - Try a cream or cream to powder blusher for a healthy flush of colour. Velvet Blush in Whisper or Sunset will do just that.

- For a long lasting n submissively and its at variance formula means that when you sweep Zen or Rose Glow powder blush over the cream you will manage a stunning long lasting blush.

Lips: - apply a lip base initially to keep lipstick or gloss on longer and to help prevent feathering. Use the Natural Lip Pencil and any of the Lip Shines. Or fill lips in with the liner end of the Lip & Liner Duo then add colour from the jerky end of the duo for long lasting lushes lips.

Body: - Try a scented body lotion mixed with either the Shimmer Tint in Bronze or the Skin Illuminator in Champagne to give your body a stunning red carpet sheen.

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Anti-Ageing Make-up

Filed Under (Weddings) by Ray James on 26-08-2008

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by Ariane Poole

As we get older our body, hair and of course facial look changes. So it’s not unusual to discover that the make-up which looked great in our teens, 20’s & 30’s is now not quite as flattering as it should be. The time has come to up date and modernise your look. How you apply your make-up and the colours you choose can be just as effective at turning back the clock as some of the expensive get older-defying make-up products. Do not despair, you won’t look like some ancient teenager dabbling in the latest trends, there are some fantastic products on the market designed specially for the more mature woman.

SKIN: As we get older it is a fact that the tone, texture and elasticity of our skin changes. This is particularly noticeable on our faces with the appearance of wrinkles, an over all dullness to our complexion and a less defined jawline. But all of these can be either corrected or hidden with the aid of Primers! Primers are the initially line of defence in our anti-ageing battle. If you only choose one new product I would urge you to opt for a primer. These act as below bases to illuminate, brighten and tighten the skin. They are used neath the foundation to smooth, firm and plump up the skin, like a mini face lift with no painful surgery. Perfect of all they can be used on their own or down below your favourite existing foundation. A great tip is to mix them with your foundation to give it an anti-ageing lift.

Now on to foundations, here the choices are plentiful. You may have noticed that your skin isn’t looking as flawless as you might like. It may be slightly dryer, uneven in colour and the fine lines aren’t quite so fine. Fear not, in the past couple of years there really have been some incredible developments in foundations to address these problems. The new foundation are not only light weight, sheer yet covering but also contain light reflecting properties to make the skin look glowing, dewy and more youthful. It does this by reflecting light away from the lines making them appear less visible. Always test for the right colour on your jaw line, the one that disappears is the right one. Don’t be tempted to add colour to your face by using foundation. This is the blushers job. Don’t trowel foundation on either instead apply with a founfation brush. These give a beautiful no make-up look to the skin.

After applying foundation you are now ready for concealer, this way you need less. Here again there are wonderful ones which are sheer, light reflecting and covering but best of all won’t accentuate those fine lines. The type of texture to look for is one which is creamy yet matte so you needn’t use powder below the eyes. If it is too creamy / oily it will settle into the fine lines making them look worse. Choose a light reflective one which help soften fine lines. Give your face a lift by dabbing a little concealer on the very outer corner of your eyes. Leave powder until the end by that time your make-up will have settled and you may not even need any, as it can be ageing. If you must use it get one that is light reflective.

EYES: Brows - Brows are so very important at any ages but even more so as we get older and are perhaps thinking of maybe wearing less eye make-up. As we get older eyebrows can look sparse and as with hair, brows too can lose their colour. Use a brow powder and an angled brush or a powder brow pencil to softly define your brows. Trim those long ones and tame unruly ones with brow gel.

Eyes - The browns and neutral colours which looked great in the past may now be making you tired. If this is so I suggest trying some of the beautiful deep rich purples, plums and lilacs with a blue / cool neath tone. Not only do these enhance any eye colour but the incredibly improved formulas will makes the whites of your eyes look whiter. If this is abit too bold try charcoal or navy instead. Shimmers or Mattes ? Don’t think that if you are over a certain get older that you can’t wear soft shimmery shadows it really depends on the condition of your eyes. If the skin is rather crepey then shimmery shadows can highlight this, so on this area stick with a more matte shadow. But you could still use a shimmer one just under the arch to the brow and it would look great. Too much matte shadow can make the eyes look dull/drab - tired and older they are. Mattes and Shimmers can be mixed on the eye to create depth and light to the eye area making them truly stand out. Creme to Powder formulations are great because they are crease resistant and have just the right amount of wearable shimmer. Lining the eyes for definition is a must. Try dipping a liner brush into water then into your favourite eyeshadow. Also opt for a black or blue/black mascara rather than brown no matter what your hair colour.

CHEEKS: Cheeks tend to appear less prominent as we age. To give your face a youthfull glow I suggest choosing a creme to powder blush. These are easy to apply and best of all they are sheer so look so natural. I recommend staying away from ones which are too browny or taupey they tend to make the face look rather lacking in colour. Also avoid really pale pastel shades as they can look chalky. Instead try warm apricots, peach or rosy hues. These really flatter the face. You may find that you have to place your blush slightly higher than you used to. Smile then pop a flush of colour on the apples of your cheeks and smooth out towards your ear.

LIPS : As we get older it is a sad fact that our lips do get thinner, lose pigment and develop fine lines. Luckily help is at hand. To prevent lip colour from feathering and keep it on longer try a lip base. These go on bare lips before lip colour and they really work. It is a sad fact as we get older our lips become thinner and more lined. To get the illusion of fuller lips without the surgery brush a light reflective concealer around the outside of lips and blend into the lips now line lips with a lip coloured ( nude) lip pencil just slightly outside your own lip line. You should always use a nude lip pencil no matter what your chosen lip colour is , that way as the colour fades (and even the long lasting ones eventually do) you won’t be left with that ugly clowns mouth. When choosing a colour here too avoid any drab colours, also if your lip colour is too matte it can look hard / ageing. Go for satiny, creamy, moisturising textures and if you’ve used a lip base even try some of the fabulous new glosses (they’re not as sticky as they used to be).

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Makeup for the bride

Filed Under (Weddings) by Ray James on 25-08-2008

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by Ariane Poole

They want hints and tips specifically on the make-up for Debbie - the 20 something bride getting married in a barn - and Louise - 40 something getting married in Italy. Any tips on what you did - mention your products here! - and any do’s and don’ts for brides of the same age/getting married in the same kind of location. When doing bridal make-up it is essential to take many things in to account. The bride’s age and own personal look, the dress, time of year getting married, time of wedding and the location. All of these play an important part of creating the best make-up for the bride.

For Debbie - She is young and wants to keep her look fresh. She is getting married in a barn so the whole feeling of the make-up is very natural. First of all i applied amoisturiser which had a slight tint, Debbie doesn’t wear much make-up so I didn’t want her to feel too made up. Then to hide her high colouring I used my Ariane Poole London Concealer Palette just dabbed in the areas that needed it.

Debbie’s eyes were kept soft with just a sweep of Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Fawn on the lids and I smudged Ariane Poole London Brown Suede Powder Pencil along the base of the top lashes for definition. Ariane Poole London Waterproof Mascara was applied to top and bottom lashes. I wanted to keep that country fresh look for Debbie so instead of powder blush I used a lip & cheek stain. I popped it on to the apples of her cheeks and blended it with my finger tips. I used the same product to give Debbie’s lips a long lasting flush of colour, then glazed them with Paparazzi Lip Glaze, a soft sheer gold lip gloss. I finish off with a light dusting of Universal Yellow Powder just on the t-zone so the she would radiant not sweaty for her photos. The over all effect was fresh, natural and beautiful.

Louise is 40 something and getting married in Italy. She wanted a sexy, sophisticated film star look. First I primed Louise’s skin with Laura Mericer Primer, this helps make -up last longer. this is especially good if you are getting married in a warm climate. Then I used Lancome Photogenic Foundation for dry skin and Ariane Poole London Mini Concealer Palette to even out her complexion.

I shaped Louis’s brows using the Chanel Brow kit (??correct name) I chose the Ariane Poole London Champagne & Caviar Collection for Louise because she is travelling, it contains all she’ll need in the way of color cosmetics. Louise wanted smoky eyes so I applied an eye base all over the eyes. Then smoothed the Caviar shade from the C & C Collection all over her lid and just half way along the base of her lower lashes for a soft smoky look. I used the Champagne shade to accent down below the arch of her brows and along the tops of her cheek bones. For an extra touch of glamour I lined the base of her top lashes with the Black & Silver Glitter Pencil and added a few individual false lashes. I finished off with Chanel Waterproof mascara in black

I sculpted Louise’s cheeks with Cinnaberry Blush applied just below her cheek bones then on the apples. Louise really wanted to look polished. With her colouring in mind I chose on a soft red for her lips. I lined with a natural coloured lip liner then filled them in with Cranberry Crush Lip Stick. I suggested to Louise that she take some Clinique Shine Absorbing Sheets with on the day to de-shine her t-zone rather than using powder.

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How To Manage A Perfect Wedding Etiquette For Your Wedding

Filed Under (Weddings) by Victor Pius .E on 25-08-2008

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by Victor Pius .E

Wedding etiquette has been explained in a variety of books for many years, and these books are not just for snooty socialites at their sometimes gaudy weddings. A wedding is a complicated event to arrange for all concerned but it should run smoothly and by using wedding etiquette, this is normally the result.

The bride and groom know each other well because they have probably dated for a good period of time before the ceremony but friends and family that they invite to this special occasion probably do not know each other that well. When large groups of people gather for an event such as this, problems can occur; this can normally be prevented if wedding etiquette rules are followed.

The bride and groom have not been in hundreds of weddings before, but the people who write books on wedding etiquette have usually attended thousands of weddings. These books are able to predict with a certain degree of accuracy what situations can and will occur and how best to deal with them.

Planning is the key issue and using these books as guides for their wedding day, many couples avoid the potential pitfalls. When you have attended a number of weddings, it is quite clear to see who has studied wedding etiquette before they arranged their wedding day.

Wedding etiquette guide covers many different aspect of wedding planning that should make bride and groom more comfortable at their wedding because they start with the wedding invitations and guest list. None of us should expect to be experts in something we may never have done before so it is good to get advice from a guide which will point you in the right direction and make sure nothing is overlooked.

You will find ideas on who you should and should not invite including information on seating plans for the ceremony and the reception. The etiquette is important because it will help with an organization so no one will be slighted or insulted in the course of a very hectic time.

As there are so many things to organize before the wedding day it is easy to make mistakes but a good guide will keep you on course. Every wedding should be unique or it will not be memorable but it also needs to be organized and this is how the wedding etiquette guide will help. Planning is everything and a wedding that is planned well causes less stress and a more enjoyable day.

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