Recently, more and more couples opt for an unplugged wedding. It means that they ask their guests to refrain from taking pictures and recording videos with their gadgets during the wedding ceremony. There is only a professional wedding photographer (or a whole team of them) who records everything. The reason for an unplugged wedding is the huge number of phones, tablets, and cameras people use today, and in every photo, all you see is phones and tablets everywhere instead of faces. If you want to have beautiful professionally-made wedding photos, ban smartphones at least for the official part of the marriage ceremony. Your guests will have their turn during the wedding party.

Spring is plentiful in flowers, so it’s only logical to use a lot of florals to decorate your wedding. If you choose seasonal and regional flowers, you’ll be able to save a decent sum. For example, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, lilacs, orchids, poppies, dahlias, etc. Add some other natural materials (burlap, candles, natural wood, patterned linen) and ideas to make your wedding eco-friendly and stylish. There is a wide choice of options as to how to use cheap seasonal florals to add extra charm – hanging flower arrangements, garlands of flowers, a flower wall, etc.

In Bulgaria, couples often prefer Christian marriage ceremony. One of the wedding rituals is the crowning of the bride and groom. They both are crowned with a special crown provided by the church – it symbolizes Jesus’s crown of thorns. During the ceremony, the best man (called “koumbaro” in Bulgaria) exchanges these crowns 3 times on the couple’s heads.

If you’re planning a winter wedding, you have to make sure your wedding photos will be great. How to look beautiful, without a red nose or wet hair? How to make your wedding appear a fairy-tale and not a miserable and cold event? A lot of brides dream about a fabulous winter wedding with light snow and magnificent white landscapes around – but don’t count on that too much. It might as well be gray and drizzly or windy and cold to the bones. So, think about your wedding photos location in advance, maybe discuss it with the photographer (they can give you tips from their experience). Have a plan B location – for instance, make indoor photos in an elegantly decorated room or on the balcony or near the fireplace or somewhere else you will feel comfortable and won’t look wet and cold.

There are many different variations of a wedding unity ceremony – with sand, wine, candles, ribbons, and even peanut butter & jelly. But this one is the most useful for our environment and it can be really charming. Just think about it: you can pot a plant as a symbol of your new family; it will grow along with your relationship. This wedding ritual is very trendy these days. If you’re not a fan of potted plants, plant a tree instead.

In Brazil, it is traditional to make pairs of bridesmaids and groomsmen, unlike in most other countries, where bridesmaids flock into one group and groomsmen into another group. Brazilian bridesmaids and groomsmen are matched in a pair (either they are a couple already or the bride and groom pair them just for this ceremony). Usually, there are 3 couples of bridesmaids + groomsmen from the bride’s side and 3 from the groom’s – 12 people in total.

A lot of wedding venues offer an all-inclusive service – it’s in their best interest to sell you as many services as possible. And if you’re ready to spend a fortune on your big day, that’s fine. It’s always much easier when someone’s organizing the event for you. But if you have a limited wedding budget, don’t use such offers. You can save money forgoing some of the wedding services, rituals, and expensive décor. And smart planning can reduce your expenses twice.

This is the longest and most ornate wedding veil. The cathedral veil is always longer than the dress. If a wedding gown has a train, the veil should be longer than this train. The most comfortable and practical length is about 2-3 meters (appr. 6.5-10 feet). But, of course, there are cathedral veils 5 m or 16 feet long. Usually, the veil matches the bridal dress in color or is a shade lighter. A cathedral veil always looks regal and fancy, so make sure it fits with everything else (wedding dress, location, wedding décor, groom’s attire, etc).

The wedding invitation suite, basically, consists of a wedding invitation and its envelope, a reply card, also with an envelope, and a guest info card (or details card). The guest info card contains information about the wedding – map of the city, wedding website, info about transportation, wedding theme of outfits, etc. This is a standard set of elements. You can either buy a ready-made wedding invitation suite or order a custom-made one, but you’ll have to pay extra in this case. Though, if you feel the need to add any other items into your wedding invitation suite, go for it.

Some wedding venues or wedding locations have noise restrictions, for example, loud noises and music are prohibited after 9-10 p.m. Though, it doesn’t mean that you have to get your party over early because of that. Here is a magnificent and fun idea – a silent disco. Everybody on the dance floor wears wireless headphones and the DJ plays music for them. With the headphones off, you don’t hear a thing, but wear them and voila! you’re in the middle of a mad party. This new trend is a lifesaver for party-goers who want to dance through the night. And each guest can regulate the loudness or rest from the noise whenever he or she likes.

How to do all the wedding prep in time and with minimum stress? Here is a useful tip for you: if you’ve made a decision, don’t go back. You’ll have a great temptation to re-arrange something that you’ve already decided on, but don’t do it. Especially when you have limited time for your wedding planning. This task is solved, move to the next one. Otherwise, you’ll never finish your wedding prep because there are always fresh ideas popping, which seem more interesting or fitting. But they can lead to more and more changes and just take up your time.