Carolyn Burke STL Blog

Here are a few unconventional ceremony ideas to take you down the aisle with a twist. 1. Let your guests mingle over cocktails before the ceremony. 2. The couple greets the guests as they arrive at the ceremony site. 3. Face the guests when you recite your wedding vows. 4. Have your guests sit or stand in a circle around you during the ceremony. Ceremony in the Round 5. Have both parents walk you down the aisle. Dad - Bride - Mom 6. Have your husband-to-be escort you to the altar. 7. Don’t have bridesmaids or groomsmen - just the two of you. 8. Have an uneven number of attendants.     (Maybe you just want a maid of honor, but he wants three groomsmen.) 9. Have a “man of honor” instead of a maid of honor. (Your brother? A good male friend?) 10. Have the groom choose a “best woman.” (His sister? A good female friend?) 11. Don’t wear a veil. 12. Have bridesmaids carry candles instead of bouquets as they walk down the aisle. Bridesmaids H...

One of the largest parts of planning a wedding is dealing with vendors. Couples have to deal with musicians, florists, churches, caterers, seamstresses, banquet halls and more. In a perfect world, all vendors would be honest and provide the exact services you paid for, but there will be some businesses that won't perform up to standards and may even try to take advantage of you. First, don't agree to a contract that is too vague. Lack of specificity leaves room for vendors to make changes or tack on extra costs. Everything should appear on paper, including: Dates Times (including set-up and clean-up times, if applicable) Locations Prices plus taxes and gratuities Payment plan Delivery schedule Number and names of professionals Expected attire of professionals Refund and cancellation policies Any overtime fees Even if planning feels like an intimate experience with your wedding professionals, you should still insist on getting everything in writing. A resp...

I had two couples in the last week who have the same middle name. One couple shared Lynn and another share Lee. So, what's in a name?  The truth is that names are a part of every culture and that they are of enormous importance both to the people who receive names and to the societies that given them. The sense of personal identity and uniqueness that a name gives us is at the heart of why names interest us and why they are important to us as individuals and to our society as a whole. Noted from http://www.behindthename.com/   -  In spite of their importance, most people know very little about names and about the effects they have on us an on our children in everyday life. In a very real sense, we are consumers of names, and we have a need and right to know about the psychological, magical, legal, religious, and ethnic aspects of our names.