I was losin’ it as I read through some of the more “colorful” options, but I couldn’t help but applaud the sheer genius of others!  Every wedding day has potential to get Army and be all that it can be; so, why not see what others did for greatness and make it your own?  Below are some of my favorite responses to emerge from ourmarriage.com, but please feel free to add to this list by leaving your unique idea here!  I always love hearing from you :)

Whenever we would go to a wedding we always are wondering who the people in the bridal party are and what is their relation to the bride and groom.  So at our wedding, in the program we listed each person in our wedding party with a little paragraph on how we know this person and a little fun tidbit and or why they are special to us.  It was nice for them to read and gave our guests a special insight of our friends and family and didn’t leave them guessing who was who!

I wanted to do something different for the centerpieces at my reception tables, so I decided to make my own candles. I used the dried flower petals that I had been saving from all of the flowers my fiancée had given me from the time we started dating. I thought that they were a true testament of how our relationship had grown, there were the first flowers he had ever given me, I love you, I’m Sorry, Get Well, thinking of You, Valentine’s Day, and anniversary flowers, all the way up to the purple roses he gave me when he asked me to marry him. They turned out beautifully and everyone loved them!

I wanted a good picture of my dad walking me down the aisle. Instead a picture of our “backs”, we took a few steps, stopped, turned around and the photographer got a great picture of our faces.  It’s the most cherished picture of me and my dad.

I’ve noticed at wedding receptions that the younger guests are usually bored.  So, for my wedding reception, I had a special “children’s table” set up.  There were balloons tied to every chair and “busy packets” at every place setting.  The busy packets contained coloring books and crayons, small puzzles, activity books and blank paper.  The kids were all together so they didn’t have to listen to boring grown up conversation and they had things to keep them busy.  We made a point of visiting the table several times during the reception.  It was a party for them and a great celebration for us! 

[Our guests] are requested to bring along a small Christmas ornament (1/per family) from their personal collections. The purpose of this is to remember all of our friends who came to our wedding. We will hang up all the little ornaments they gave to us on our tree at Christmas.

My fiancée and I absolutely hate the idea of the garter and bouquet toss.  So we have decided to do a variation on the theme. Instead of tossing the bouquet, we are going to give a single flower to every single women at the reception.  The flower will be a duplicate of one of the flowers in my bouquet.  The flower will have a poem pinned to it as well as wishes for love, success and health.  There is no reason that only one girl should have all of the fun, this way every single women is given well wishes.

This isn’t my idea – I was at a wedding the other weekend where this was done and I thought it was very nice! During the ceremony a photographer and a videographer photographed and videoe’d the wedding, as usual. At the reception, which took place right after the wedding (cocktails in between right outside the large room for the reception in between wedding and reception), a presentation was shown on a screen via projector. The presentation started out with photos and such of the bride starting with baby photos and ending with a recent photo. Then the same was done with the groom. They then showed the engagement photo. But then this is where the very nice thing took place: they then showed photos and video footage from their wedding which must have been at the most only an hour and a half earlier – most likely less!! It was a great surprise to all the guests, and it was super because the selected clips from during the ceremony after the procession were taken from a view that showed the bride and groom’s faces so we all got to see the important parts of the wedding from a view nobody gets to see otherwise! It was a fantastic presentation, set to music and all, too, of course. I recommend this idea!!

Instead of rice, bubbles, or anything else that people throw at the bride and groom. The wedding party should burn sparklers when the bride and groom are having their first dance. The lights are dim and the moment is so special, and sparklers are such a different touch. Or, you can get all the guests to burn one when they are leaving at the end. Whatever works.

We are asking our guest to send us their favorite recipes with their RSVP’s. We are then going to make cookbooks to give to our guest as favors. It’s really inexpensive and it’s nice to have a cookbook with both our families’ recipes. You can have the cookbook go with your theme or colors. We are binding ours together with cover coordinating with our invitations.

Photo Courtesy of banquetevent.com

Who doesn’t love a romantic comedy?  Even my Mister has to admit despite all the ”man laws” telling him not to… that romantic comedies are the ultimate in “feel good” fun!  I like to compare being a bride to being like a little kid on Christmas Eve… the anticipation is half the fun! 

I say relish in watching movies and letting people ooh and aww over you.  After all, you’re only a bride once!  And watching romantic comedies will easily help you stay in that wedding spirit and maybe even give you some ideas!  Below are 15 of romantic comedy’s finest plotted around (drum roll please)… WEDDINGS!  Enjoy!

1.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Okay, seriously, this one’s the BEST!  Humorously combining the outrageous nature of bringing two families together as well as the joy true love can bring, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a movie that is fun for all!

2.  The Wedding Planner

A college favorite, this special treat was a go-to feature for my best friend (waddd up, Bre!) and me our freshman year of college.  Men can love it because of Jennifer Lopez; while us ladies can feast on some serious man candy in Matthew McConaughey.  Delight!

3.  Father of the Bride (Parts 1 + 2)

This is one movie that I could watch from beginning to end, over and over again and never get tired of it.  From the goofball characters to the heart-tugging plot, this is one wedding movie that will never go out of style!

4.  The Princess Bride

And speaking of classics, this is one of the greatest!  I can remember seeing this film as a kid and laughing my head off… but what was even more wonderful was watching it again as an adult and repeating the laughter all over again.  The funny thing is, as I know my humor has changed through the years, I know I wasn’t laughing at the same things.  There’s no way I could’ve understood all the funny parts :)

5.  Sex in the City: The Movie

Fair warning, you have to get through some serious rough patches before you can get to the happy ending, but like all good things in life, it just takes time.  Be sure to watch this one with girlfriends!

6.  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Anyone care for a sing-a-long?  Is so, look no further than this Oscar winning classic!  Set in rural Oregon in 1850, this feature film has it all!  From singing and dancing to adventure and comedy, you’ll be glad to watch this one again and again!

7.  American Wedding

If raunchy humor doesn’t bother you, then you should most def check out this treat!  As the third film in the American Pie series, this crazed wedding film may contain a bit more bawdy one liners, but it still deals with the concerns that stress every bride… and who can’t appreciate that?

8.  My Best Friend’s Wedding

Love love love this one!  I know it’s hard for some to see Julia Roberts lose, but what person can’t relate to the tagline of the film: Julianne fell in love with her best friend the he decided to marry someone else??  I mean, come on!  We all want what we can’t have!

9.  Mamma Mia! 

Here we go again!!  My My!  (Yeah, yeah… don’t act like you don’t sing it every time you hear it too!  Hehe!)  For cereal, while I can’t help but LOOOVE musicals, I will say that anyone who’s not a fan of ABBA should probably stay away from this treat… everyone else… join in the chorus!

10.  Muriel’s Wedding

Talk about bridal insanity!  This kitschy number has more plot twists, dips and funness than you’ll know what to do with!  So, sit back, relax and enjoy! 

11.  Funny Face

Okay, I’ll admit it… I love love love Audrey Hepburn!  Arguably one of the most pristine faces ever to grave the silver screen, this drop dead gorgeous lady is ahhhhmazing in Funny Face!  Not only is it a love story for the ages, but part of the movie is set in Paris!!  Ooh la la!  Za City of Lights!

12.  Bride Wars

While this is not your typical fall in love / happy ending romantic comedy, it does focus on one of the greatest bonds a bride will ever have… the one to her maid of honor!  So, grab your BFF and enjoy!

13.  The Quiet Man

What can I say?  I’m a sucker for old movies… and this one is no different!  This double Oscar winner features two of Western’s favorite people: John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.  The chemistry these two have is undeniable, and anyone on looking is sure to enjoy it!

14.  27 Dresses

Yep, yet another classic tale of a “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” getting her shot at love… and who could ever resist an underdog story?? 

15.  Monsoon Wedding

I still can’t believe the first time I saw this movie, I was still in high school.  Siiiighhhh, memories.  This super fun film has all the ingredients for greatness with an overbearing father, obsessed wedding planner, a bride with a secret and families coming together from across the world… love it!

Brit's got the Golden Ticket, and so could you! (Photo Courtesy of thehollywoodgossip.com)

I don’t even care how big of a nerd my sheer and utter excitement for the following news makes me… because the minute my friend (holllllerrr, Linds!) told me about this new contest, I was instantaneously stoked!  And we’re not talking semi / half-way-there stoked.  We’re talking full on, LA luvin’, surfboard floppin’, missing member of Laguna Beach stoked!  (Haha, who remembers how many times that ‘cast’ said it??  Classic.)

Anyhoot… according to reports from USA Today, the Nestle-owned Wonka candy brand is bringing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to life and resurrecting real life ‘Golden Tickets!!!!’… Pause for effect… Can you even believs it!?!?  Talk about the world’s biggest OMG evs!  We all have the chance to frolic about with our grandpas singing, “We’ve got the golden ticket! (Ho!)  We’ve got the golden tiiiiiiicket!”

Now, before you start to ask what any of my girlish excitement and Wonka bars have to do with adult weddings and dieting brides, I should probably inform you all of the prizes.  Ten grand prize, Golden Ticket winners will really feel blessed when they (+3 of their nearest and dearest) receive a trip around the world, including $12,500 spending money!!!  I mean, seriously, make the +3 a +1 and talk about the honeymoon of a lifetime… not to mention the story of a lifetime…

“Where did you go on your honeymoon?”

“Oh you know.” (shrugs soldiers)  “Anywhere this bad boy… (whips out golden ticket from back pocket) could take me!”

(Flabbergasted)

“Which basically means a trip around the world… boo yeah!”

Yep, sounds like perfection.  So, who cares if you have to gain a couple pounds in chocolate to gain the honeymoon of a lifetime??  In the end – as long as you win, that is – it would TOTALLY be worth it!  Heck, even if you don’t win, you’re still eating chocolate; so, technically, it’s a win/win all around!

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family

It’s no secret that I love my family… inexplicably loyal, loving and all kinds of uncanny, my family is the number one reason I am who I am.  And while I know the love I have for them is nothing new in theory, I also know our makeup is unlike any other.  Like all families, ours is unique, and as the saying for one of my fave fast food spot’s (Arby’s!) goes, “different is good.”

So, I consider it to be one of America’s finest qualities that different… is exactly what we got!  This is especially the case when it comes to families!  There is just about every type of family you can imagine… your family, my family, his family, her family, big family, small family (whoo! I feel like Dr. Seuss!)… you get the point.  There’s no such thing as “the norm” when it comes to defining a family. 

A few summers back, the Mister and I attended a wedding for a second-time’s-a-charm couple in Illinois, and while some couples choose to downscale their second wedding, Samantha and Todd did it up to the nines!  Love love loved their day, but I especially love love loved the way they made their marriage about their entire family and not just themselves.  They wanted to make sure their children – both from previous marriages – understood the importance of their role and the true significance of being a single family unit… not just a couple with step kids.

During the ceremony, they actually used our 4pc. Sand Ceremony Unity Set, and it worked out beautifully!  While traditionally speaking, the unity candle is directed by a couple lighting a central pillar using tapers pre-lit by their mothers, the unity sand ceremony let’s others join in the fun!  Hooty hoot! 

They were able to let their children pour in their favorite colored sand into their engraved, center vase.  By pouring all the grains in together, it became the ultimate symbol of “what God has combined, let nothing divide”… cause Lord knows nobody would want to separate all those grains!

Congrats and love to all families – regardless of their flavors!  Because at the end of the day, we all have potential to be the perfect blend :)

Molly Malaney + Jason Mesnick during "The Bachelor" (Photo Courtesy of tvfanatic.com)

Perhaps the play-on-words title doesn’t quite work, but nonetheless, it’s staying…

Whether you like them or not, Jason Mesnick (33) and Molly Malaney (25) are officially hitched, reported People.com.  Saying their “I do’s” in a well ta-do ceremony fit for celeb reality’s finest, the world’s most controversial couple to come out of the The Bachelor celebrated their nuptials in front of family and friends during a ‘private’ ceremony this past February 27, 2010.

Sure to be a love that will stand the test of time (rolls eyes accordingly), Jason and Molly weren’t always the perfect couple.  In fact, they weren’t a couple at all… ahhh, yes, the referenced controversy ensues.  For those of you not familiar with The Bachelor, let me give you the nickel tour of what was one of television’s most epic love triangles.  In this rendition, the part of “Boy” will be played by Jason, and the part of ”Second Runner Up Girl” will be Molly.

Boy meets 25 Girls.  25 Girls compete for Boy’s love.  Boy eliminates 24 Girls in hope to find his one, true love.  Boys finds One True Love.  Boy proposes to OTL (One True Love).  Boy takes OTL to reunion show.  Tells OTL she’s really not, and transfers said title to Second Runner Up Girl.  SRUG accepts.  Months later Boy proposes – again.  This time to Revised OTL in New Zealand.  They get married and live happily ever after… at least for now. 

It’s your classic bait ‘n’ switch / whoops-sa-daisy scenario - surely devised by TV executives and acted out by “real” people.  I mean, truly, this is a marketing dream come true for most, especially now that it has ended with wedding bells chiming loudly… for all to hear… on their station (ABC)… Monday, March 8 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET).  

While I can’t help but be bit a bit skeptical, the hope-full romantic in me – alas! – takes over, and I’m still secretly rooting for them… yep, I just can’t help myself.  Plus, it would be for shame to have Molly’s $45,000 Monique Lhuillier gown and American Idol’s  Jason Castro’s rendition of “Over the Rainbow” go to waste… not to mention the time released, white doves, fresh orchids, Neil Lane jewelry and Casablanca lillies!!  Psssshhhh, and my papa thought I was an expensive bride – hehe!

So, cheers… to many, MANY years of happiness and love!