# Choose who you invite carefully, don’t just invite people to make up numbers. This will reduce the environmental impact from traveling, invitations, and food and drink preparation.
# When you want to know how much carbon emission does your wedding have, you can use a carbon calculator. You can then try to offset that by contributing the equivalent amount to organizations like Zero Carbon Weddings or CarbonFund.org.
# Encourage their guests to carpool when going to the venue.
# Make use of local artisans where possible.
# Hire a photographer who uses recycled paper for his photos and albums.
# If you have to use disposable items (like plates and cups) try to use of organic-based disposable items like corn based plastic and sugar cane plates.
# Try not to choose an isolated venue so guests don’t have to travel far.
# Try to have your wedding at a central location near public transport.
# It would be better if the venue is an outdoor location to avoid using lights.
# If you are having the reception at night time, if possible, try using candels for table lights, as not only is this romantic but it will also be memorable for everyone involved.

People rarely travel to a location out of state to hold a wedding without at least spending a decent amount of time in the area to enjoy the rich culture and great attractions that the area has to offer, either before or after the wedding ceremony. Charleston, South Carolina is a superb choice for a wedding destination as it offers rich history, an incredibly diverse culture, and a wide variety of activities and attractions to explore before you return home. Many people who travel to Charleston, South Carolina end up staying longer than planned to experience everything that the city has to offer. Because Charleston was once a colonial city, it has a rich history and a large number of museums and special attractions to mark all of the history that this great little city has experienced.

If you or your significant other are interested in culture or history, traveling to Charleston, South Carolina could prove to be the best way to create your dream wedding. This large, beautiful city is well stocked with beautiful historical churches with steeples that stretch into the skyline. If you are looking for an old fashioned church wedding, Charleston is one of the best possible wedding destinations for you. Charleston also offers a rich colonial history, and a large number of great attractions for anyone interested in learning more about the great history of our country. If you are looking for an old-fashioned church wedding in a colonial historic church, a beautiful park wedding in a historical city, or simply a place to learn about America’s great history, then Charleston, South Carolina is the wedding destination for you!

York, South Carolina Wedding Video from James Player on Vimeo.

Courtesy of Player Wedding Films

Did you ever wonder why the age old wedding customs still breathe fresh in every wedding? Do you know the reason behind it? It is fun to look at how wedding traditions all started. Here are some interesting wedding facts. Trace the reason behind the customs like wedding ring, bouquet of flowers, the white glooming veil and many more.

Wedding Gowns – The symbol of purity

History dates white wedding gowns back to 1840, when Queen Victoria made white the bridal colur of choice when she wed Prince Albert. However in 17th century, red color was a favorite in Europe. Other colors were worn for symbolic reasons, for instance blue meant constancy and green meant youth. As years passed, white was worn as a symbol of purity.
In ancient Poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride’s bouquet kept her temper sweet.

Veil- The symbol of mystique and romance

It is believed that originally, the veil was worn to show modesty and were worn at the ceremony as a symbol of her promise to obey her husband. The veil dates back to ancient Rome, when it was flame-yellow, always worn over the face, and called a flammeum.

The bouquet of flowers – The disguised blessings

Imagine walking down the aisle with garlic, herbs and grains. Well! If it wasn’t replaced with a bunch of beautiful flowers, we would still have the same tradition. It was believed that garlic, was supposed to ward off evil spirits and the herbs or grains were to insure a fruitful union. After few decades the tradition was replaced with flowers to symbolize fertility and eternal love. In ancient Poland, it was believed that sprinkling sugar on the bride’s bouquet kept her temper sweet.

The Wedding Ring- Make your way towards my heart

Wedding ring is usually worn on the fourth finger of the left hand. It relates to traditions supposedly dating to classical times, that the finger contains the “vein of love”. By wearing rings on the fourth finger of their left hands, a married couple symbolically declare their eternal love for each other.
However in countries like Germany, Greece, some parts of India, Russia, Poland, Columbia, Spain and Venezuela, it’s worn in the right hand. A traditional reason to wear the wedding ring on the right hand stems from Roman custom. According to them, the Latin word for left is “sinister”, which in addition to this sense also has the same senses as the English word. The Latin word for right is “dexter”, a word that evolved into “dexterity”. Hence, the left hand had a negative connotation and the right a good one.
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Wedding Cake - Symbolizes fertility or abundance

Ancient Romans broke a cake over the brides head to symbolize fertility or abundance. Some other cultures dropped wheat, flour or cake on the bride’s head, and then ate the crumbs for good luck. As the years rolled by with some varied addition and deletion of customs the tiered wedding cake was born.

The first kiss of union

The kiss that is given by the bride to the groom at the end of the wedding ceremony originates from the earliest times when the couple would actually make love for the first time in midst of the onlookers with praise. It was believed the first kiss that they shared would make couples exchange spirits with their breath and even part of their souls.

Small dot of Vermilion – a symbol of wedlock

Married Indian women place a red dot on their foreheads, between their eyes. It is practiced since times innumerable. In ancient times, a groom used to apply a spot of his blood on his bride’s forehead, in recognition of wedlock! Today, the groom applies a small dot of vermilion, a powdered red lead, to the bride’s forehead and welcomes her as his partner for life. It is applied for the first time to a woman during the marriage ceremony.

Honeymoon- A hideout for lovemaking

Honeymoon- the prelude to married life, is much sought by the newly wedded couples. However in the ancient days it all started with a captive lovemaking. The first weddings comprised of a groom taking his bride by capture. He would take her somewhere hidden away so her relatives and villagers couldn’t find them. There they stayed for one moon phase and drank mead, a wine make from honey, to make them more amorous. Thus, the word “honeymoon” was born. There are many such stories about this mysterious phase, above being the most popular.

Throwing rice - symbolizes fruitfulness and prosperity

The custom of throwing rice, originated with the ancient Hindus and Chinese culture. In these cultures, tossing it after the ceremony was believed to bestow fertility upon the bride and groom.

Tie tin cans to drive evil away

The tradition of tying tin cans to the back of the newlywed’s vehicle originated as a device, which would produce noise to scare away evil spirits, while they make their way of blissful lovemaking.

Most South Carolina couples are showered with congratulations when they announce their engagement, and compliments usually abound on the day of the wedding. But every now and then the couple may encounter a remark that’s off-putting, to say the least. Whether it’s a jab about wedding expenses or an assertion that the marriage won’t last, some people can be truly tactless when it comes to wedding talk. We asked local South Carolina couples to share the rudest remarks they’ve heard wedding guests make.

“My father-in-law (who has been married five times) shook my husband’s (his son’s) hand as he passed through our receiving line and said, ‘I hope you enjoy being married to a flight attendant more than I did!’”

“We had a distant family member ask if my fiance had enough friends to serve as groomsmen and ushers. He volunteered to fill in if not.”

“The priest who married my grandparents said their marriage wouldn’t last a year. More than 50 years later they are still happily married.”

“I went to a wedding recently where one of the bridesmaids spent the entire night talking trash about the bride and her family. She kept saying how the bride’s dad looked awful and was obviously an alcoholic, and her sister (the maid of honor) had a bad boob job.”

“I was at a wedding where, at the altar, the justice of the peace said, ‘Time for the solemn vows,’ and then said under her breath, ‘…even though we all know they’re not so solemn.’”

“My girlfriend got married to a wonderfully sweet man a few months ago, and at the wedding reception, one of the women got so drunk that she said, very loudly, ‘Well, the good news about the groom being so hideous is that they should have gorgeous children! Looks always skip a generation!’”

“My fiance’s great aunt said, ‘How dare you!’ for picking her birthday for our wedding day. She then asked if we would move it, or if we would at least acknowledge it was her birthday and do something special for her — that was the first time I met her!”

“Someone said, ‘We can’t make it to the wedding because of high gas prices.’”

“I have a friend who married a man 15 years her senior. This apparently made no sense to the priest, who made many inappropriate comments during his homily, such as, ‘A good wife adds 10 years to her husband’s life. Let’s hope she adds 20 to 30.’”

“I was told by my bridesmaid that I shouldn’t be having my bridal shower in a place that I couldn’t afford for my wedding.”

“There was a guest who got angry at the servers for not getting one of each of the three flavors of cake, and they went to the bride to fix the problem. When the bride responded with, ‘There is only enough for everyone to have one piece of cake,’ the guest stormed out. Just think: A friendship ruined over a piece of cake!”

“At my wedding there was a woman (the mother of one of our out-of-town guests) who nabbed me at the reception and proceeded to tell me all about her son’s wedding. She said, ‘You look very nice, but my daughter-in-law was undoubtedly the most beautiful bride ever…and I’ve never seen a couple more in love than my son and daughter-in-law.’”

“My fiance and I were registering for gifts when he saw an old friend’s mother. He introduced me as his fiancee and told her our plans of getting married in June. The first thing out of her mouth was, ‘Oh, is this good news?’ Who says that?”

“At my friend’s second wedding (her first one ended in divorce), a guest said to the bride (with the groom present and other guests within earshot), ‘Well I hope you thanked your parents. I can’t believe they gave you another lavish reception considering your first marriage didn’t work out.’”

“At a friend’s wedding, the mother-in-law saw her soon-to-be daughter-in-law in her ivory, strapless, embroidered lace wedding dress for the first time just before the ceremony. Her reaction? ‘Is that your wedding dress?’”

Once upon a time in Preston Residential College lived Joseph Steward and Sara Sullivan.

They didn’t know it yet, but one day they would come back to the place where they first met to get married.

On Nov. 7, Stewart and Sullivan married at the Rutledge Chapel at USC in a garnet and black, Preston-themed wedding.

“We met in our freshman year of 2003, but we didn’t start dating until 2004. We have been together ever since,” Sullivan said.

According to the couple’s Web site, they got engaged on Dec. 23, 2008 while opening presents.

With so many options of places to get married, Steward and Sullivan chose USC as the backdrop to their special day.

“This is where we met. This place is home for us. I remember them trying to chase us out of the building for breaks because we didn’t want to leave,” Steward said. “It all sort of made sense.”

Keeping with the theme of the wedding, the couple also had Preston Emeritus Professor Hal French officiate the ceremony.

French says that Sullivan and Steward asked him about a year ago to marry them and he was very happy to do it.

“That had to be one of my favorite parts of the ceremony. We met Dr. French on move in day as he was helping students. We knew him very well,” Sullivan said. “I remember when they were here at Preston. I really liked them. I have performed many weddings, but the most interesting ones are the weddings of former students,” French said.

The ceremony was attended by some current Preston students as faculty. Christine Peters, the Preston business manager, attended the wedding along with Jim Stivers, Preston College Principal.

“It was so nice to see everyone,” Peters said. “It was like old times. It was a Preston family gathering.”

The couple also honored their Preston background with a special 3-D groom’s cake of Preston College.

“I saw the cake. It did look like Preston. They got the colors of the building right,” French said.

With the University holding a special place in the couple’s memories, Steward believes that attending USC was an exceptional experience.

“If I had the chance to go back to USC I would go back in a heartbeat. I would take advantage of my time there more,” Steward said.

Steward and Sullivan both live in Columbia. Steward works as the assistant food and beverage director at the Hilton Garden Inn and Sullivan is a claims adjuster at Nationwide Insurance.

Hopefully, they will both live happily ever after.

Thanks to dailygamecock.com.

Is chocolate brown still the new black? Are brides really planning to wear two dresses? These are some of the many burning questions this year’s brides and grooms are asking.

Trend 1: Making Split Decisions

Can’t decide between a princess ball gown and a sexy mini? Wear both! In 2010, brides will make their guests do a double take by switching up their looks between the ceremony and reception with their gowns and hairstyles — like an elegant updo for when you recite your vows and switching to natural cascading curls to party. And it’s not just the bride that’s getting a makeover between acts. Couples are also changing up their palettes with a progression of color throughout the day. Guests arrive to a clean, all-white ceremony, experience a hint of pale hues during the cocktail hour, and then step into an explosion of rich color for the reception.

Trend 2: The Gray Area

Steel gray will replace chocolate brown as the accent color. We absolutely love this soft yet deep hue teamed with butter yellow, bright aqua, rich eggplant, or pale pink. It’s so versatile! Introduce the color in your stationery, either in the typeface or paper, and then gradually build it into your reception space by way of slate gray table accents and pewter-toned bridesmaid dresses with a contrasting sash.

Trend 3: A Return to White

In recent years, white has taken a backseat to bold hues like hot pink, orange, and purple. The classic color (or lack thereof) is poised to make a huge comeback in a fresh, modern way. Think tall, glistening glass vases overflowing with crisp arrangements of white phalaenopsis orchids and clouds of soft baby’s breath. Also, picture sparkling white cakes covered from top to bottom in miniature fondant blossoms. Palette partner: Rose-colored metallics will add a big dose of sophisticated glamour.

Trend 4: Lush and Luxe

Size does matter. Event designers and brides alike are teaming up to create showstopping floral arrangements, such as those seen during the days of Marie Antoinette. This move toward French opulence means more petals, blossoms, candles — even feathers! — as centerpieces go from simple and low to towering and lush. Gilded place settings, brocade linens, and hand-painted invitations complete the elaborate look.

Trend 5: Sample Stations

Self-proclaimed foodies will love this trend: tasting bars for every whim. Sure to be popular, wine and cheese stations are not only delicious, they can be educational as well. We know one couple who hired a professional sommelier to provide pairing pointers. Our favorite is the champagne bar. Just pick your favorite bottles of bubbly and don’t forget the mixers, such as Chambord, Midori, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice. Guests will have so much fun making their own signature cocktails.

Trend 6: Vintage Visions

From dresses to rings, brides are revisiting the past for style inspiration. For wedding gowns, that means delicate fabrics like chiffon and tiers of tulle, along with bygone embellishments such as beaded straps, keyhole halters, and lace sleeves. For rings, the hot style for ‘10 is something vintage. Whether it’s simply an antique-style band or a real antique (think your great-grandmother’s diamond), what’s old is definitely new again.

Trend 7: Guests Make the Call

Need help picking that first dance song? Have your guests vote on it. With wedding websites adding more features like blogs, polls, and quizzes, it’s easier than ever to involve your loved ones in the planning and decision making. Blogs are also great for reaching out to your bridesmaids and getting feedback on dress colors, flower options, and decor ideas. We love the idea of setting up wedding polls on your website and asking your guests to vote for their favorite cake flavor, entree choices, or dance music.

More Hot Trends

Green Weddings: Couples continue to be earth-conscious in 2010, from buying conflict-free diamond rings and recycled gold wedding bands to serving locally grown, free-range fare and donning bio-friendly wedding dresses made of 100 percent silk and cottons. They’re also honeymooning at eco-resorts and gathering friends for charitable showers at soup kitchens and local park events.

Honeymoon Hopping: By now, it’s no secret: Brides and grooms are going big this year for their weddings, and that includes the honeymoon too. Newlyweds are jetting off to not one, but two or three different destinations to celebrate their union. And they’re traveling further than ever before. The hot spots: South Pacific jaunts to Tahiti and Bora Bora; Mediterranean getaways to Sicily and the Greek Isles; and African expeditions to Zambia, Botswana, and Johannesburg.

Home-Spun Weddings: For the utmost in personalization, couples are choosing to wed in their own or their parents’ backyard. While it may be harder to plan than a ballroom wedding (you’ll need to bring in your own caterer, tent, decor, etc.), your day will be truly one-of-a-kind.

Cover Bands: You heard it here first. Cover bands are in demand for 2010. From ’80s cover bands to other genres such as classic rock, swing orchestras, or Latin ensembles, it’s all about specialized live music to keep guests on their feet.

Okay so you have survived the holidays with your waistline…somewhat…intact. I’m sure that your wedding day is creeping up on you, but have no fear, there are millions of people who vow to lose weight every new year, so you’ve got plenty of company. First things first, ladies, check out your BMI (Body Mass Index), mine is 25.09, just over the being considered overweight. So here are some of my ideas, to lose those pesky extra pounds.


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