These are a few ideas to start you thinking about the "style"
of wedding you would like to have. Today’s bride and
groom have so many possibilities to choose from that a list
of where and how to have your wedding would be endless;
but realistically, it comes down to time and money. To start,
you will need to choose an overall wedding style, such as
formal, semi-formal or informal; traditional , modern or
non-conformist; indoor or outdoor, etc.
Paint a picture in your mind of how you would like the
ceremony and reception to appear. By looking through magazines
and books, you can clip and collect ideas to show to your
vendors. Create an image of just how you want your flowers
arranged, food displayed, reception decorated, music to
sound and gown to look.
The style you select for your wedding will influence all
of your decisions from this point forward, from the facilities
you book and the vendors you work with, to the size of your
guest list, even your choice of bridal gown.
Will Your Wedding Be Formal, Semiformal or Informal?
You may be married formally, semiformally or informally
whether in church, at home, in a hotel or outdoors. The
wedding gown you choose to wear and the attire worn by the
men are the main determining factors in establishing the
degree of formality.
Formal weddings have a greater degree of elaborateness,
though they may be simple in the ceremony. The formal wedding
is typically followed by a reception, dinner or dance. There
are many degrees of formality ranging from the ultra-formal
wedding to the semiformal, preferred by some brides because
it often poses the least problem concerning the attire the
men will wear.
The Informal wedding can embody great charm and affords
tremendous latitude in choice of time, place, wedding dress
and ceremonial detail. The "Dressed Up" Informal
white or pastel wedding can be impressively beautiful and
is ideal for the bride who does not want all the fanfare
but still wants a real wedding. It costs very little more
than a strictly informal wedding and can be followed by
a little luncheon, supper or a small celebration at which
only punch, sandwiches and wedding cake are served.
The Informal wedding, while never as costly as the Formal,
must still be just as perfect in concept and smooth in performance.
No detail is of so little importance that the bride can
afford to be casual about it, even though her wedding may
be informal in the extreme.
In choosing whether to have a Formal or Informal wedding,
the bride must first decide what kind of wedding gown she
wants to wear. If she wants a Formal wedding gown, than
she can have either a Formal or Semiformal wedding, depending
on whether she wants the men to wear tuxedos or suits. When
the bride chooses an informal wedding gown, the groom usually
wears a suit, with only two attendants who also wear informal
wear.
