switching sides at the wedding ceremony
all images: amy shepherd photography
So here is something crazy to consider, because you KNOW we like to shake things up.
You know at the ceremony (if facing the altar), the Christian and non-religious tradition is to have the Bride’s family and friends on the left side and the Groom’s respective family and friends on the right side.
At one of our weddings at the beautiful West Baden hotel, something happen seconds before the families walked down the aisle. There was some confusion and gathering of a large processional. So when the mother of the bride and father of the groom were escorted, they accidently went to the “wrong sides”. The bride’s mother was sitting on the right side (front row) and the groom’s father was sitting on the left side (front row). However, like tradition, the bride stood at the “altar” on the left and the groom stood on the right.
Standing in the back, immediately I saw this and thought, DOH! I still had a ring dog and three wiggly flower girls and ring bearer to contain.
Oh well, that is how weddings go. No such thing as perfection … just roll with it.
But wait, as the ceremony began I realized, this mishap is kinda brilliant. You see, the bride’s mom can now watch her baby’s face during the ceremony instead of seeing the back of her head. The same for the groom’s dad.
There are many speculations as to how this tradition started with having the bride on the left and groom on the right. My feeling it really comes from the right side traditionally being reserved for men as it is considered a position of privilege and power, (think Jesus is “seated” at the right side of God”. ) Perhaps that is why in Jewish ceremonies it is opposite.
I suggest, for keeping the tradition, but for the families, switching it up. Who cares where the parent’s sit? For us, the most important part is being part of the ceremony, the emotion and enjoying it. And as a mother, I would rather watch my son’s face while he takes his vows (15 years from now) than watch his new wife. Call me crazy.
What do you think? Love for you to weigh in … if you’re getting married, will you consider this shake up of this tradition?
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marriage tips for grooms…
I’ve been married for 19 years. N I N E T E E N Y E A R S!
Considering my husband initially asked me to marry him in my parent’s bathroom, he’s lucky I’m still around.
So when I came along this little gem (thanks Rayna Ortwein with Always Planned), I had to share. Growing up with all brothers, I know that men like to get advice from other men.
image credit: Dan Pearce from danoah.com
Please take a moment to read Dan Pearce’s blog post: 16 Ways I Blew My Marriage.
It’s honest, refreshing and great advice for everyone (NOT JUST THE GUYS)! Because you should be taking advice from people who have successful marriages and people who unfortunately, have not.
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vote for your favorite couple to win!
VOTING HAS ENDED. NO MORE VOTES WILL BE COUNTED.
We’d like to thank all of the beautiful brides and groovy grooms that submitted their entries to win a wedding day management service. It was difficult to narrow down the top three entries, but we did it. We wish everyone a fabulous wedding day.
Here are the top three entries. It’s now time for YOU, (dear reader, friends and family), to vote. For your convenience, we have put the poll at the top of this page, but we encourage you to read through each story below and see the couples. Remember to spread the word … you’ll want to copy this link when spreading the news so people can vote easily.
Voting Period: Contest concludes Monday, December 19, 2011 by 12:00am
There is one vote per computer. So you have to spread the word! This is a FLASH based poll program, so it may not show up on some smart phones.
Here are your finalists:
photo credit: stewartography
Brittany Gibbs + Jeremy Alexander
Wedding Date: April 28, 2012
Hi everyone! My name is Brittany Gibbs and I am going to marry the man I love, Jeremy Alexander, next April. We met almost 4 ½ years ago. I was a server at Buffalo Wild Wings when he and his buddies came in and were seated in my section. It was my third day on the job and I was awful! Luckily, they were nice. His friends bugged the two of us to death about how we should exchange phone numbers. Eventually, I gave in…..and I’m so glad I did! We were engaged on January 7, 2011 with over a year to plan the wedding. We are getting married in beautiful New Harmony and plan on a small, intimate wedding.
I have been so excited planning the wedding; event planning has always seemed like so much fun and so glamorous! But it has not been exactly what I thought it would be like. Jeremy and I are paying for the wedding and being fairly recent college graduates; you can imagine how difficult budgeting has been. Unfortunately, we are not been able to have family to help us, either financially or with the planning details. We really would appreciate the assistance from a wedding planner to help us solidify our ideas and of course, trust with our special day. We’ve never done this before or have a lot of experience. Since we are fairly new to Evansville, we would really appreciate your vote.
photo credit: jeffrey boyd
Katelyn Clevidence + Andrew Crowe
Wedding Date: July 29, 2012
Once upon a time there lived a princess who fell in love… with her dad. Sounds strange, but at three years old I fell in love with my daddy. Every night my dad would read to me the story of Cinderella. My dad was a firefighter and would spend three days at the station at a time, on those nights he would call and tell me the story of my favorite princess over the phone.
Now, Cinderella is marrying her Prince, Andrew Phillip Crowe. Andrew is the Prince my daddy prayed about for the past twenty-one years! In 2009, it was at the first night of a freshmen bible study on campus when our eyes met. As an icebreaker everyone was paired off randomly to play a game, ironically called “Meet Your New Best Friend”. As you probably guessed… Andrew and I were paired up to be each other’s ‘new best friends’, as corny as it sounds, it apparently worked because from the moment we began asking each other questions and revealing our hearts to each other piece by piece something amazing happened… Cinderella fell in love. Our friendship grew rapidly over the next couple weeks because we knew that God was at work in our hearts for something HUGE. Our entire relationship has been entirely grounded on God.
Our wedding is going to be fun and youthful, just like our love. Our life will begin together in New Harmony and more than anything we would like a day of coordinator to take the load off of our parents. Our parents and especially my daddy have been looking forward to this day from the moment they first held us. We want our gift for them to be this… that they can sit back, relax and watch Cinderella marry her Prince Charming.
photo credit: alex morgan
Cathy Gilbert + Marcus Chandler
Wedding Date: October 6, 2012
Hello! I am Cathy Gilbert and I will be marrying Marcus Chandler my high school sweetheart next October. We have been together for 13 years and have a 12 year old son together. I think we met by chance. The chance that Marcus had enough guts to invite me swimming on one hot summer day. I had been eying this cute boy since we had moved to Princeton. Of course I couldn’t talk to him. He was HOT! So to my surprise on day a few weeks before school started there was a knock on my door. I open the door and there he stood!!! Marcus invited me swimming that evening. I went in and begged my parents to let me go. (This was my shot) They said YES. The rest is history. Who knew we would be where we are today.
We were engaged this past July and to my surprise Marcus and our son Blake sure are good at keeping a secret. The pair of them went shopping and picked the ring. He snuck the ring all the way to Florida on vacation with us. Where he took me out on the beach for a moon lit walk and proposal. It is a day I will never forget. We are planning to be married on the overlook deck above the African Safari at the Mesker Park Zoo. We are so looking forward to a unique wedding. Now that I have started planning I realize there is so many details. I feel that our relationship is very special and I want our day to be just as special. We still have to choose a vendors, make invites, and about a million other things. It would be so amazing to have the help of pros to make sure our day is special and goes smoothly.
So that’s it friends! Three amazing weddings, all unique. Who are you going to vote for? The winner is up to YOU!
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how to do your first dance at your wedding
The first dance is something that all your guests look forward to. It’s a sweet moment and the first time you will dance as husband and wife.
Many couples are taking dance lessons to make their first dance extra special. Then there is our clients, Priya and Rob who were married, 10.10.10.
Priya Milani is an accomplished and retired ballet dancer and Rob, well he’s no slacker in the dancing department (but let’s face it, he has to work hard to keep up with Priya).
Their beautiful infused Indian & Italian wedding will be highlighted later, but for now, please enjoy their beautiful first dance. As Rob’s father told me, the judges of Dancing with the Stars would have given them a: 10 10 10 !!!
Read More »pretty engagement photos
We believe it should be a priority to get to know your photographer by investing in the engagement photos. It helps all of you relax and get to know each other (especially when many people have anxiety about having a camera in their face). Once you trust each other, the wedding day is a breeze.
For your visual fun, check out our clients Whitney + Tyson who are tying the knot on August 7th later this year. We also are doing the design and decor and cannot wait for their wedding day.
incredible photographer: Equinox Photography
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