Does Your Wedding Require a Wedding Program?

Posted in ABCs of Wedding Planning, The Bridal Party, Weddings by socialbfly

photo credit: invitationcrush.com

Though optional, a wedding program can provide the perfect way to highlight and thank friends and family who contributed to the big day. Couples who are short on time or money may wish to forego this option, but remember that a simple wedding program doesn’t need to use many resources and many times, can be a simple DIY project for a member of the bridal party. If you’re unsure of whether or not you should include it as part of your wedding stationery, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I having a religious or traditional wedding, with many guests who are of another faith or culture?
Am I having a large wedding, where guests are unlikely to know the bridal party?
Am I having a particularly long ceremony where guests will want to be prepared to wait a while?
Do I have many people to thank for their contributions to our wedding day?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then I would most likely recommend providing a wedding program for your guests.

There is no “one size fits all” template for creating your wedding program but typically, the cover or header will include the date and/or names of the couple. It may also include the location and time of the ceremony, a picture, or design element.

Next, you’ll want to outline the Order of Events for your ceremony in the order they will include. This includes processional music, greeting, readings, prayers, exchange of vows, ring ceremony, unity candle ceremony, pronouncement of marriage, recessional music, and any other ceremony music.

You may also want to use your wedding program to explain the meaning of traditions or rituals used in your ceremony; acknowledge loved ones who are in spirit, highlight the bridal party; or ask for audience participation in certain parts of the ceremony. Remember, you can customize your program to your desires so get creative – add a quote, throw in a fun fact! – and make it your own!

15Jun2011

Summer Read: Committed – A Love Story

Posted in Weddings by socialbfly

Book description [as posted on Amazon.com]:

At the end of her bestselling memoir Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth Gilbert fell in love with Felipe, a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenship who’d been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling in America, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but also swore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married. (Both were survivors of previous bad divorces. Enough said.) But providence intervened one day in the form of the United States government, which-after unexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing-gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipe would never be allowed to enter the country again. Having been effectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriage by delving into this topic completely, trying with all her might to discover through historical research, interviews, and much personal reflection what this stubbornly enduring old institution actually is. Told with Gilbert’s trademark wit, intelligence and compassion, Committed attempts to “turn on all the lights” when it comes to matrimony, frankly examining questions of compatibility, infatuation, fidelity, family tradition, social expectations, divorce risks and humbling responsibilities. Gilbert’s memoir is ultimately a clear-eyed celebration of love with all the complexity and consequence that real love, in the real world, actually entails.

What I expected:

A self-congratulatory memoir of how Elizabeth and Felipe overcame months of immigration hurdles and setbacks along their journey to attaining happy ever after (in the United States).

What I got instead:

A memoir, thoughtfully written to help frame a cultural study of marriage. It’s a magpie of information, a thoughtful analysis of courtships, families, and relationships across numerous eras and cultures, and a story that may veer dangerously close to the edge of boring at times but is never smug or superior.

My advice:

Committed isn’t for the reader that is hoping to lose herself in a compelling love story, but is a definite MUST READ if you are interested in learning about marriage – what it is and is not, why it doesn’t always work – and are prepared to carefully examine your own assumptions and ideologies about this beautifully shifting concept.

8May2010

Hello world!

Posted in Socialbfly About Town by socialbfly

(That was the default title WordPress assigned to our first blog and it worked…so we’re sticking with it.)

Hello World and welcome to our little piece of the blogosphere. Behind the Veil…Beyond the Vows is the new official blog for Socialbfly and in case this is the first time you’re hearing of us, Socialbfly is a special events and lifestyle marketing boutique geared to enhancing every aspect of our clients lives through three unique and trendsetting studios:

The Imaging Studio provides assistance to individuals and businesses looking to alter, enhance, or maintain any and all aspects of their lives. We work with a sassy lineup of indie stylists, motivational speakers, and designers to provide personal services, seminars and workshops that successfully enhance our clients’ definition of love, life, look and luxury
The Publicity Boutique specializes in providing premier marketing and publicity services for businesses, brands, and personalities anchored in arts, entertainment and womens health and beauty
The Event Design Studio is actually comprised of 4 Boutiques geared to our most popular client types: Charities and Small Businesses, Children, Girlfriends and Blushing Brides-to-be

We also host an annual calendar of events throughout NJ, and the surrounding areas, that are used to raise funds and awareness about charitable causes. Stay tuned because the “Behind the Veil…Beyond the Vows Bridal Expo” is in the works and we’d love to see you there.

For much more information on our services visit our website, http://www.socialbfly.com. In the meantime, stick around and see what the fuss is about as we explore all of the ins and outs of the wedding experience and beyond (Yes, there is life after marriage…lol). They’ll be a lot of housekeeping taking place in the weeks ahead so pardon our dust but we promise to keep you entertained in the meantime. We’ll be launching with a 26 week series on the ABCs of Wedding Planning very shortly as well as profiling our first feature vendor so make sure you don’t stay gone long.

Hello World! We’re Here!!!

Cheers!