HomeWedding Planner 2005

Wedding Planner 2005

A special section from the Lawrence Journal-World

See our new advertisements »

Finding Your Fabulous -- and Flattering -- Gown
Friday, February 20, 2004
The date has been set and the wedding planning is in high gear. You've reserved the church, hired the photographer and chosen a color scheme.

One major item is still left on your to-do list, though: selecting your dress.

Food For Thought
Friday, February 20, 2004
It's not a big secret that planning a wedding is expensive. It's not uncommon to hear figures in the tens of thousands of dollars when you hear people talking about wedding costs. Setting a wedding budget early is absolutely necessary, especially when it comes to the food.

Friends or Fashion Foes?
Friday, February 20, 2004
You've invited your nearest and dearest to stand up with you on your wedding day, to be there with you for the most important moment of your life. It's enough to bring tears to their eyes.

But, wait -- those aren't tears of joy.

Grooms: Stay Out of the Way!
Friday, February 20, 2004
If the saying holds true, then every dog does indeed have his day, but every prospective groom should understand that your wedding day belongs to your bride. You're a dog destined for a day spent smiling, accepting congratulatory shows of affection from friends and relatives, and basically just doing what you're told.

Help Abounds
Friday, February 20, 2004
Just in case you need a little help planning your big day, you'll be relieved to know there's plenty of it available. Check out these bride-tested books and Web sites for just about anything you'll need to know.

Memorable Ideas for the bride-to-be
Friday, February 20, 2004

Oh No! Say It Ain't So!
Friday, February 20, 2004
Your gown is perfect; your bouquet is an unparalleled work of art; and the man who swept you off your feet is waiting for you at the end of the aisle.

Do As We Say, Not As We Did
Friday, February 20, 2004
You're engaged; you're planning a wedding; you're completely overwhelmed.

Never fear, the experts are here. The best advisors are those who've been there -- brides who have been through a wedding and come through smelling like a rose. They know the ins, the outs, the tricks, the treats. And all of them have ideas about what they would have done differently.

Destination: Matrimony
Friday, February 20, 2004
Maybe you've always dreamed of getting married on the beach of an island in the Caribbean, feeling the sand under your toes as you say your vows. Or maybe your dream wedding takes place in a Tuscan vineyard in Italy, or a tiny hillside church in New Zealand.

Avoiding a Family Feud
Friday, February 20, 2004
As little girls, we dreamed of our wedding days. As young adults, we began surreptitiously glancing at bridal magazines, stockpiling them under our beds the way our male counterparts do with other magazines. And then it happens -- Prince Charming proposes. For the next few days, your smile is so constant that your friends start to wonder if you've gone the Botox route.

Encore brides -- and grooms
Friday, February 20, 2004
The first time may not have been a charm, but that doesn't mean the second or third won't be. These days, it's not uncommon for weddings to include at least one person who is exchanging vows for the second time.

What's in a Wedding?
Friday, February 20, 2004
Just as every bride is unique, so are the many traditions of cultures and countries from Timbuktu to Toledo. White may be de rigueur for American brides, but those in India wouldn't consider wearing it to their weddings. Your cousin from Iowa may have shown up in a limo, but a bride in the Czech Republic traditionally is escorted -- on foot -- to the ceremony by a throng of her friends and family members.

Picture Perfect
Friday, February 20, 2004
Photographers are hired to capture moments in time that tell a couple's story. And choosing a photographer is one of the happy couple's biggest decisions -- the photographs will tell the story long after the last dance has been danced and the last toast toasted.

With This Vow
Friday, February 20, 2004
"I, Blushing Bride, take you, Wonderful Groom, to be my honey-man until one of us croaks."

Doesn't quite have a ring (pun intended) to it, does it?

What Memories Are Made of
Friday, February 20, 2004
Finding those special touches to make their wedding day more memorable is something most brides put a lot of thought into. It is one of the most important days in a person's life, so of course it should be unforgettable.

Will there be a release of white doves as the couple walks down the aisle as man and wife? Or would having the couple's song played during the ceremony be just the thing memories are made of?

Wedding Stress Management 101
Friday, February 20, 2004
Planning a wedding? Unless you have spent your life thus far working in an emergency room, you probably are not equipped to handle the pressure with as much grace as you might like.

Nurse or not, after your 87th conversation with your future mother-in-law about whether to use antique white or winter white tablecloths, you may feel like drawing blood.

What's in a Wedding?
Friday, February 20, 2004
Just as every bride is unique, so are the many traditions of cultures and countries from Timbuktu to Toledo. White may be de rigueur for American brides, but those in India wouldn't consider wearing it to their weddings. Your cousin from Iowa may have shown up in a limo, but a bride in the Czech Republic traditionally is escorted -- on foot -- to the ceremony by a throng of her friends and family members.

No matter what your ethnicity, you may find meaning in a tradition from another culture. It isn't uncommon anymore for an American to incorporate the African broom-jumping tradition into her ceremony or for a Christian to stomp a glass in the Jewish tradition.