Wedding Superstitions

When we were planning our wedding, we were surprised at all the superstitions we came across.

They were all essentially the same: If you don't do this or that or if such and such happens, then you will not have a happy marriage.

Here are a few examples of popular wedding superstitions...

1. On our wedding day we had a guest complaining that we should not have scheduled our ceremony for the noon hour because apparently it is bad luck to get married while the minute hand is falling. Instead, you should say your vows when the minute hand on the clock is going upwards. This makes you work together in your married life together.
2. Another superstition is that if it rains on your wedding day then you will shed many tears during your married life.
3. Alternatively, rain on your wedding day may mean that you will be blessed with many children. ...Do you think the many children and many tears are connected somehow? just kidding.
4. We have also heard it said that if dress is ripped on your wedding day then your marriage will end in death. Sounds horrible but shouldn't that be the goal?
5. It is supposed to be a bad omen if the newlywed wife stumbles as she walks into the house - that is why she is carried over the threshold.
6. It is recommended that a bride put a penny in her shoe to ensure wealth in her marriage.
7. It is popularly considered bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding ceremony.
8. Another superstitious belief is that it is good luck for the bride to get married in white.

Whether superstitious or not, we find that many brides have an unspoken expectation that if their wedding day is perfect then they can expect a perfect marriage.

Like the above superstitions, it is silly to think that your wedding day has to be perfect in order to enjoy a perfect marriage.

Of course, you should want your wedding day to go well. But don't put so much pressure on your wedding day.

If only it were as simple as having one good day to make all the future days of your marriage go well too. The truth is that you will have to put a conscious effort and energy into each and every successful day of your marriage.

As you plan your wedding and even on your wedding day, don't assume that your wedding planning efforts and perfect ceremony and reception are giving you a perfect marriage. Your preoccupation with wedding planning may be hard on your relationship. Make sure that you are finding quality time for one another and that you haven't lost sight of the one thing that will give you a happy marriage: Loving Commitment to the Successs of Your Relationship.

Wedding Speech Tips

We were recently contacted by a young woman who was FREAKING OUT!!!

She had been asked by her cousin to be the made of honor at her cousin's upcoming wedding. This was great but the idea of giving a toast in front of everyone had her really worried.

We want to share a few tips to help you or anyone in your wedding party who wants to give a great wedding speech without their knees knocking.

Before writing the speech, you should do some brainstorming:

• How do you know the bride, groom, or the couple?
• What makes your relationship with them special?
• How would you describe them? What adjectives come to mind?
• How has their love for one another changed them?
• What advice would you give them?
• What particularly amusing anecdotes or favorite memories can you share that illustrate what kind of people they are? (Note: This is NOT a good time to embarrass them!)

• Writing the speech won't be such a big deal if you break it down. There are three parts to a good wedding speech.

  • Opening
    This is when you get the audience's attention, introduce yourself, and tell how you know the bride or groom.
  • Middle
    This is when you tell a short story or your thoughts about the bride, groom, or couple. Keep it uplifting, humorous, and constructive. As long as you say nice things you will have nothing to regret later.
  • Closing
    This is when you offer your congratulations and well-wishes. Make sure they are heart-felt and enthusiastic. This is a great time to propose a toast!

  • Here is some good news: A short speech is BETTER than a long speech. Don't wear out the wedding guests' attention span with a long speech. Try to keep the whole speech 1-3 minutes long.

    Avoid the temptation to make a splash with an embarrassing, off-color, or X-rated story or joke. Keep it clean and don't say anything that can embarrass any of the guests or anyone in the wedding party.

    Take the responsibility of giving a speech seriously. Take time to prepare and practice so that you will do a great job at the wedding. Being ready will go a long way to making you less nervous.

    
    

    Giving the Speech
    

    If there is alcohol at the reception, lay off until after you give the speech. Giving a speech while tipsy and slurring is so not cool!

    As you get up to give the speech, stand up tall (Don't lean on the table or you'll look like a slouch!).

    Before you start speaking, take a look around the room and look people in the eyes. This will help you avoid the nervous speech giver's tendency to look at the floor. You want to connect with your audience. They are eager to hear what you have to say AND to support you. The audience is the speech giver's best friend so don't be afraid of them.

    Smile! Let your smile do some of the talking. Are you happy to be at this wedding? Are you happy about your part in the wedding? Smile and let everyone know!
    

    Here is the golden rule that all good speech givers follow: Speak loudly, clearly, and slowly. You will be amazed at how time slows down and nervousness can speed up your lips to the point where it is difficult for people to understand what you are saying. You should consciously remember to speak loudly, clearly, and slowly or you will end up mumbling under your breath at the speed of lightning!

    The best way to alleviate your nervousness is to take a deep (quiet) breath and keep on breathing in a proper rhythm. If you forget to breathe, then you will naturally feel light-headed and panicky. So, slow down and breathe. It's going to be okay! Like I said about time slowing down for you, you have a lot of time in what is just a second or two from the audience's perspective. So, don't be afraid to slow down and take it easy.

    It is a good idea to have an index card with just a handful of words on it to help you remember important items in your speech. The card should not tell you exact words to say during the speech. Only one word reminders of topics to be covered in the speech so you don't leave out a whole story due to a brain fart up there in front of everyone.

    That being said, your speech must come from your heart AND you want it to be obvious that it is coming from your heart. If the audience sees you staring at your index card, they'll think you are just giving a prepared speech disconnected from your actual feelings. So, don't be looking at your index card. That is only there if you absolutely need it and then only to be glanced at for that one word to trigger your memory.

    You may not be the best person at giving speeches. That's okay. You aren't in this wedding because of your speech-giving abilities! You are among family and friends. Relax. Do your best. Do it from your heart. Be prepared. And you will do great! No one expects you to be an orator. They just want to hear what's on your heart. I hope these wedding speech tips are helpful in letting you successfully share with the wedding guests and the wedding party.

    Many people have found it helpful to receive comprehensive help along with pre-written speeches and sample toasts as guides. This is a great idea to make sure you give the best wedding speech possible.

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    How did we ever plan a wedding before Pinterest? 

    Think back to the caveman days when we had to use scissors to cut pictures and ideas out of magazines to pin on a corkboard balanced randomly on any place we could find around the house, chairs, tables. Now all we need to do is hit the 'Pin It' button on anything that takes our fancy on the internet, put it on our chosen 'board' and then we can revisit it whenever we need some inspiration.

    It's an awesome tool for all things wedding, creating colour themes, decorating outdoor weddings, rustic wedding inspiration and wedding photography ideas that are unique, amazing and will give your wedding photos that WOW factor!

    At Adelaides best wedding photography studio we have started pinning blog posts so that our brides' gorgeous weddings can serve as inspiration for the many brides-to-be around the world. Share the wedding inspiration along with us and 'Re-Pin' the themes, styles, colours, photographs and ideas that you think should be given the attention it deserves!

    Think we've missed something? You can pin anything you like from Adelaide Wedding Photographer, Jade Norwood's website using your installed 'Pin It' button, selecting the picture you want to share, and adding info so that other people can find your pin in their searches.

    How much are you willing to spend on your wedding photographer?

    It's a hotly debated topic amongst friends, brides and grooms, parents to be and anyone who is looking for amazing professional wedding photographs - how much am I willing to spend?

    Recently I learnt about something called 'perceived value'; it's all about how valuable you view something to be and it might be completely different to the person next to you. In our 3 groups, we were given 3 secret scenarios and were told we had to decide what we would pay for a particular item if we had 1 million dollars at our disposal. When we reconvened the figures given for each scenario were $0, $1000 and $1m. What was the item? It was 1 litre of water.

    So why would we get such vastly different responses for the same item? Here were our scenarios;

    1. You are standing at a water tap and have just finished drinking a full glass of water when someone offers you a 1-litre bottle of water. What do you pay for it?
    2. Your car has broken down on the way to your only sisters wedding. You are 1 hour from the wedding venue, the wedding starts in 2 hours and there aren't many cars passing by on the country road. All you need is water to cool your engine - what would you pay for a 1-litre bottle?
    3. You are lost in the desert and completely parched with no food, water or help in sight. What would you pay for 1 litre of water?

    As you can see, very different scenarios where the value of a single item is perceived very differently!

    The photographs of your special event are just the same - their worth is all about how you perceive the images. For me, securing a quality photographer was more than just having good looking pictures to hang on my wall; I wanted someone who could capture the emotions of our wedding day, the love Luke and I have for each other, the details we had put into planning our wedding and the candid moments we tried to steal when we thought no one was looking. More than that, I wanted beautiful photos to share with my Grandma, Grandpa and Nanna who were too unwell to attend our wedding. I was very grateful for Jade who took time out of her schedule to send me some photos early so that I could share them with my Grandma who was diagnosed with cancer the week of my wedding and has since sadly passed. I am so happy to know that she got to see and feel like a part of our wedding day through the magic of Jade's photos.

    The Advantages of Guest Blogging

    There are numerous benefits to guest blogging, some of which I may not even mention. However, the main ones are as follows.

    • Shared traffic
    • Authoritative role
    • Increased Linkback

    It all starts with offering valuable content. This is called content strategy. By posting an excerpt as a guest, you can drive traffic back to your site. This exposure is mutual because you will use your own influence to demonstrate your authorship.

    Your authorship on what's hopefully a reputable blog will increase your authoritative clout. It's similar to the notion of being featured on the New York Times.

    Lastly, for Google's search engine optimization (SEO), good links are always welcomed. A link is a vouch for another site. The more vouches, the more relevant that content will appear. Guest posting adds links to your site, which is healthy in being found on search engines.

    How NOT to Choose Your Photographer

    Legend has it that Pablo Picasso was sketching in the park when a bold woman approached him.

    "It's you - Picasso, the great artist! Oh, you must sketch my portrait! I insist."

    So Picasso agreed to sketch her. After studying her for a moment, he used a single pencil stroke to create her portrait. He handed the woman his work of art.

    "It's perfect!" she gushed. "You managed to capture my essence with one stroke, in one moment. Thank you! How much do I owe you?"

    "Five thousand dollars," the artist replied.

    "B-b-but, what?" the woman sputtered. "How could you want so much money for this picture? It only took you a second to draw it!"

    To which Picasso responded, "Madame, it took me my entire life."

    -Ellen Rohr

    When considering your photographer, keep in mind that it is not based on how chic the studio looks nor the size of the cameras used. This is especially the case since many new cameras are mirrorless, which also means that they are more compact.

    Bigger does not mean better just as how, to Picasso, faster does not mean cheaper.

    While there is a myriad of reasons to consider, please do not be completely persuaded by the extrinsic attributes. Rank compatibility higher!

    Love weddings

    Three reasons why you should consider a wedding day first Look

    Three Reasons why you should consider a first look on your wedding day:

    1. Light

    If you are having a winter wedding or an evening ceremony, you may need to consider doing a first look. During the winter months the days are shorter means you have less light to work with. If you prefer natural light photos, a first look is a must.

    2. More Photos

    The usual wedding day timeline allows 1-1.5 hours at the most for portraits. This includes family and bridal party photos. Bride and Groom photos are usually the last to get finished which means if things are running late, the bride and groom portrait time gets taken away. Choosing a first look would mean more time for photos, even if the day is running a little behind.

    3. Calms your nerves

    Every bride and groom gets a little nervous leading up to the ceremony. It's normal to be feeling those types of emotions. After all, you are committing for life! I've had brides and grooms who were more nervous than others and once they had their first look, all those nerves went out the door. Some of my brides who weren't 100% set on a first look later raved and recommended it to other brides. You can compare it to a weight being lifted off your chest. All that pressure of seeing each other at the end of the alter is gone.

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