Walter e Serena

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admin — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 10:31:08 +0000

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Our Amaizing Wedding Story

admin — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 12:47:49 +0000

Primary school teacher Sadhbh and carpenter and joiner Rob, who are both from Celbridge, Co Kildare, met at a local GAA disco when they were both 14 and have been together ever since. They left Ireland in 2011 for Sydney, Australia where they got engaged in 2015.

“We went to a wine region north of Sydney called Hunter Valley,” Sadhbh says. “Its a beautiful place, and the scenery and pace of life are a welcome change from Sydney . . . I know we were together over 13 years at that stage but I didn’t see it coming as I had done most of the organising of the trip myself.”
The couple decided to come home to get married in Co Kerry.

“We chose Killarney as we haven’t lived in Ireland for a few years and were toying with the idea of a destination wedding, so we thought, ‘why not a destination wedding in Ireland?’,” says Sadhbh.
With long-distance wedding planning help from their parents – John and Brenda O’Shaughnessy and Philip and Margaret McKay – Sadhbh and Rob were married by Fr Paddy Hennessy, a former teacher of the groom, at Prince of Peace Church in Fossa on September 30th, 2016.

Wedding Traditions: Cake Cutting Ceremony

admin — Mon, 01 Sep 2014 16:39:51 +0000

At it's core, virtually every wedding is a compilation of cultural traditions intended to bring blessings to the newlywed couple and symbolize their love for one another. Although there are many things that are incorporated simply because "it's what you do" it is important to know why we are attached to some of our wedding customs.

The cake cutting ceremony is easily one of the most popular traditions, and perhaps the most anticipated event at any wedding reception. As one of the last activities leading up to the send-off, the cutting of cake is a tradition that embodies matrimonial commitment and allows the bride groom to share a final treat with their guests.

The cake cutting ceremony

The presence of a cake at the reception, let alone the symbolic cake cutting ceremony, originates from a Roman tradition in which the groom would break bread over his bride's head and share the crumbs with their guests as a sign of sustenance and good fortune.

Over time, breaking bread evolved into cutting cake although the symbolism remains. As the bride and groom stand together, they begin one of their firsts acts as a married couple. The bride holds the knife and the groom places his hand gently over hers as a symbol of support and guidance. They then move together to cut and remove the cake slices. Next, the couple take turns feeding each other. The groom goes first to show his commitment to provide for his bride who feeds her new husband as a symbol of her commitment to nourish him. Once the bride and groom have fed each other, they then share their wedding cake with their guests as a gesture of good luck and affection.

There are several superstitions that surround the cake cutting ceremony as well. One modern superstition points to a correlation between the size of the slices of cake that the bride and groom cut to the number of children that they will have. Another older superstition says that if unmarried female guests take their slice of cake home and sleep with it under their pillow, they will dream of their husband that night - though it is likely that not many participate in this one.

In addition to serving as a symbol of commitment and good fortune, the cake cutting ceremony serves as a great photo opportunity and marks the time in the evening at which it is deemed appropriate for guests to choose to make their departure.

Bigger & better – inspirational

admin — Sat, 22 Mar 2014 20:56:53 +0000

Wedding Ideas relaunches with exciting new look from the January 2017 issue, on sale 21st December 2016

Wedding Ideas magazine is to relaunch with a sparkling new look from its January 2017 issue, on sale 21st December 2016. The fun and fabulous magazine will feature numerous exciting improvements including an increase in size from A5 to A4 coffee-table format.

Quality and engaging editorial has been the hallmark of Wedding Ideas for more than a decade. Now under the banner of The Chelsea Magazine Company, PPA Independent Publishing Company of the Year, Wedding Ideas has received a magical makeover giving it a more sophisticated, more beautiful look.

Wedding Ideas will be twice as big as before

From the January issue, Wedding Ideas will be twice as big as before – and better than ever, too! Packed with real weddings and brilliant ideas for a bride’s big day, every issue will be both inspirational and aspirational – designed to help Britain’s brides plan for their very special occasion!

Wedding Ideas is already Britain’s biggest bridal brand

Wedding Ideas is already Britain’s biggest bridal brand with over 60,000 readers and a million monthly visitors to its groundbreaking website. Both magazine and website are filled with more ideas and inspiration than any other bridal title, making it the preferred resource for Britain’s brides-to-be.

Wedding Ideas will also be more widely available

Besides its lavish new A4 format and improved paper quality, Wedding Ideas will also be more widely available than ever before at supermarkets, newsagents and leading bridal boutiques. Whether they’re choosing a dress for themselves or their bridesmaids, a wedding venue or honeymoon inspiration, Britain’s 250,000 brides now have an even bigger, better and more exciting magazine to enjoy as they settle down to plan their oh-so-special day!

8 Of The Best Bits For Wedding Ideas

admin — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 21:52:48 +0000

For the annual Bridal designers showcase, Harrogate Bridal Show 2016 – Wedding Ideas joined bridal retailers and the biggest names in bridal to celebrate their brand new collection launches for 2017! Over two days (Monday and Tuesday) we met with our nearest and dearest in the Industry to preview for our readers the best to come for 2017 for our brides-to-be. We have to tell you… it’s going to be an incredible year!

New concepts, fabrics and cuts will dazzle the market with new limits and colour influences from the catwalk and what we know our British brides to love already! One of the things we noticed when talking to the designers themselves was how much the industry works to improve upon gowns inspired by what brides really want and by extension then what their sisters and friends want too. Also practicality! – We were lucky enough to chat with head designer at Justin Alexander, Tony Mental who expressed real forward thinking in terms of functionality in developed dress linings for benefit of shape and equally comfort. Whether a structured or a streamlined dress, gowns are desired to look flawless and feel every bit as good to wear.

Here we share with you the BEST bits from the Harrogate Bridal show including dresses, designers and award winners of 2016 – all from the eyes of Wedding Ideas! Watch this space for brand new collections to be revealed soon…

1

Dazzled by demetrios

Demetrios definitely did not disapoint with beautifully beaded and embroidery-clad gowns for the ultimate princess dress! Detachable, extending and cascading trains featured heavily in the new collections to take the bride from ceremony to reception with two equally elegant options from a fuller skirt to one that is fit for the dance floor!

2

And the winner is…

In celebration of the huge Harrogate event, the Bridal Buyer Awards also took place during the evening of the second day at Harrogate! The girls at Wedding Ideas didn’t take a lot of persuasion to rise to the occasion of this annual glam event while Boutiques, designers and names also put on their best dresses for a sociable evening of networking, champagne and smart dinner before the year’s awards and winners were revealed! We were thrilled to see the likes of Tony Mental, Justin Alexander, Sassi Holford and Watters take home prestigious awards for their work and devotion to the Industry. Huge Congrats!

3

Wedding dress of the year 2016

Each year a finalist panel of the best dress designs of the closing year are put on display for the public at Harrogate and are imminently judged for the awards! Without surprise, Watters stole the show with a romantic sweetheart style with simple tulle skirt and daintily beaded, sparkling bodice!

4

Introducing rebecca ingram – Maggie Sottero

Maggie Sottero were proud to present a brand new collection addition their name, Rebecca Ingram – 30 new dress designs inspired by flowing streamlined shapes with soft romantic underlaying and subtle detailing. A particular favourite from the collection envisaged a chic spaghetti strap style – Marjorie – with dainty cross over back detail and gently pleating chiffon skirt. Watch this space for more of the Rebecca Ingram collection on Wedding Ideas coming soon!

5

Catherine Parry collection signatures – 1711 and 1713

Catherine Parry showcased the new collection for 2017 with their signature dress for the year 1711 adheres to a minimalist finish in a satin opal fabric, where it’s shape and dramatic skirt take centre stage for design. This dress features a slightly shorter skirt length from the front and descending to the back. An off-the-shoulder neck over neat bodice and impressive seam of satin buttons make sure the bride will wow from every angle. We have to agree Catherine Parry…It’s a fav for us too.

6

Justin Alexander trending report

Head designer Tony Mental took us through the design process that makes Justin Alexander so successful and how flawless gowns are continually produced with a specific bride in mind at the forefront of each collection. Each collection boasting a whole spectrum of materials,details, shapes and finishes allowing all types of brides to find something totally functional and beautiful. Tony reported, simpler finishes and satin fabrics with glam vintage hollywood shapes are featuring frequently in bridal fashion as we move into 2017 for that desired chic and glam yet understated and effortless look.

7

Enzoani are back and black!

We were pleasantly surprised to see Enzoani model the only black wedding dress in the show. Featuring petit structuring into a neat full length skirt with a subtle sweetheart neckline and feathery lace detailing – a gown that wore totally elegantly! Brides, what do you think?

8

A brand new name for shoes by pink paradox

Ladies, we know you can never have enough shoes or shoe choices and Pink Paradox’s’ new name Judith Leiber made a delightful appearance alongside our Pink bridal classics. One of their higher end collections to go into all major department stores, the collection offers a range of elegant and very cosmopolitan shapes and heels heights. Glitz and glitter feature tastefully in many of the designs often available in ivory or silver, navy or black and rosy pink. From a vintage 1920’s peep-toe to stilettos, courts and ankle strap styles for the party bride!

Grown Man Wears Fanny Pack to Serve as a Flower Girl

admin — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:55:11 +0000

Pin this to your wedding Pinterest board immediately. A Dayton, Ohio man has recently gone viral for his unconventional take on wedding party tradition when he acted as the flower girl for his friends' wedding.

Instead of flower petals and a basket, Jake Clark, got utilitarian with it, strapped three fanny packs to his waist, and went to town distributing leaves during his friends, Dan and Amanda's, wedding.

He crowdsourced

@WeddingNews

Clark said over email that he had volunteered to be the flower girl in several other friends' weddings throughout the years, though Dan and Amanda were the only ones who took him up on his offer. Clark had known the couple for four years, and said there were random jokes about his flower girl duties throughout the couple's two-year engagement. Clark had believed the comments to be nothing more than jokes, but three weeks prior to the nuptials, Clark realized the couple actually wanted him to be their flower girl.

At that point, Clark joked that he started a rigorous flower man training program: choosing the right fanny packs, doing stretches, upping his cardio for endurance, and practicing his flower throwing abilities.

Just kidding, he actually came up with the idea of using fanny packs last minute. An hour before the rehearsal dinner, he posted on Facebook that he was looking to borrow fanny packs. Between his Facebook friends jumping in and some vintage fanny packs from his girlfriend's grandma, he ended up with six fanny packs total, and he would've used them all, had they not limited his dance moves. "Besides, I was able to get my hands on a unicorn fanny pack, so I knew I was set." he explained.

While he had originally been down to throw traditional flower petals into the air, after some bridesmaids suggested the fallen leaves instead, Clark brought the idea to the bride, who was all for it.

When asked if he had prior experience as a ringbearer or other member of the wedding party before, Clark said it was his first time. He's a natural!

2 Things I Wish I Knew Before Having a Destination Wedding

admin — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 18:01:52 +0000

Only bridechillas allowed.

I might be biased, but destination weddings are the absolute best. Sure, you can expect to receive fewer gifts than your friends who got married locally (plane tickets aren't cheap), but who cares about gifts when you married the person of your dreams and get to celebrate it with Mai Tais in freaking paradise?! Here's what you should know if you decide to wed away from home.

1. Destination weddings are for bridechillas only.

@Wedding

Control freaks/type-As/people who had their weddings planned out before they met their fiancé, hear me when I say you don't want a destination wedding. Disaster is inevitable. You will forget to pack something v. important and leave it at home. You will try on a dress you had tailored and realize it doesn’t fit right — and not be able to find a tailor on your remote island to fix it. Someone’s flight will be delayed or canceled. A checked bag will get lost. I can assure you, something out of your control will happen! This is the case for any wedding but especially when you're dealing with weather you might not be used to, an area you may be unfamiliar with, and the stresses of traveling. So yeah, chill brides only.

2. You won't be able to invite everyone you want

@Wedding

You can't have a destination wedding without embracing the fact that some of your favorite people won't be able to swing it due to the expense or the time off or whatever the reason. But a surprising number of people will make it out, and you'll have the best time with them. If it's important to you that every person you've ever met and your dog be in your bridal party, keep your location within driving distance. But in the end, the only two people who matter for being there are you and your soon-to-be spouse.

Don’t Ask Your Girlfriend’s Dad if You Can Marry Her

admin — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:03:47 +0000

It's not a sign of respect. It's a deeply sexist practice.

It’s the final days of August, which means summer wedding season is finally winding down, and we’ll have a few months of respite before the holiday engagement season – and the attendant ring-on-hand selfies that flood your Facebook feed -- kicks in. In the months before they propose to their partners, men across America will be popping a different question – to their future fiancé’s father, asking for his blessing to marry his daughter.

They shouldn’t.

According to a 2015 survey from TheKnot.com of what appear to be overwhelmingly heterosexual couples, more than three-quarters of men ask for permission from their partner’s father or parents before they propose. By contrast, only 58 percent of brides say they knew a proposal was coming, but just weren’t sure when – for 40 percent, it was a complete surprise. In other words, more men talk to their girlfriend’s father about a plan to marry than talk about marriage, in serious and relatively immediate terms, to the woman they actually want to marry.

Challenging conventional

@WeddingNews

Challenging conventional wedding traditions may be low on the list of feminist priorities, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to take a hard look at the rituals and norms we hold dear, or participate in without much thought. Gender equality isn’t just about getting laws on the books; it’s about changing a culture that situates men as dominant and women as subordinate. And some of the most stubborn and more literal incarnations of a sexist culture come along with weddings – which is why, uncomfortable though it may be, those of us who want a more egalitarian society must take a hard look at how wedding rituals undermine that goal. There’s a lot about American marriage traditions that are sexist, and a lot of sexism that gets rewritten as romance. But perhaps second only to women overwhelmingly folding their names and identities into their husbands when they marry is men asking their girlfriend’s father for permission to marry her. Which is why those of us in feminist relationships should reject that norm – or at least understand that by partaking in it, we’re reinforcing a deeply sexist practice.

The most popular arguments in favor of ask-dad-first seem to be tradition and respect. So let’s tackle each. It is indeed traditional to ask a woman’s father if you can marry her, because traditionally, marriage was a property transfer – with you, the bride, as the property. The legal landscape of marriage has blessedly changed, and no longer does marriage mean that “husband and wife are one, [and] the one is the husband,” as it was under the law of coverture, when women gave up nearly all of their individual rights upon marriage. In those bad old days, a married woman (or married girl, as the case often was) couldn’t own property or refuse sex, or have any separate legal existence from her husband; women were barred from voting in part because the husband was a wife’s legal representative. Happy that the laws around marriage and women have been overhauled so you can be a married woman and an individual with a full set of rights? Thank a feminist. But why romanticize the asking-permission tradition that came out of such backward laws?

“Respect,” the answer goes. But respect for whom – and at who’s expense? In a marriage, you should respect your partner first and foremost. And respecting a woman means not treating her like property, a stereotype instead of an individual, or an appendage to yourself – which means not expecting she take your name, not expecting she’ll do more of the at-home work because she’s the woman, and not asking her father if it’s OK to marry her. There are few things that demonstrate less respect for an adult woman than asking her dad if she’s allowed to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. In an attempt to “respect” a woman’s father, you’re disrespecting her.

Of course, a lot of heterosexual couples do a kind of hybrid between tradition and modernity – they have a series of conversations about marriage and make the mutual decision to wed, and then the future groom has a conversation with his future wife’s father. This is obviously less egregious than a man talking to his partner’s father before ever seriously discussing marriage plans with her, and then springing a surprise proposal on her (please, every woman reading this, if your boyfriend does this, run away as fast as you can – major life decisions are not best made by surprise, and being forced to utter a split second yes/no to marriage is not romantic; it’s a sign you’re too immature to get married).

Prepare to Be Awestruck By The Most Stunning Destination Weddings You’ll See All Year

admin — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 23:35:16 +0000

It's safe to say Junebug's 2017 Best Destination Wedding contest winners will give you travel inspo for days.

Because the only thing more jealousy-inducing than a great set of travel photos is travel photos where two soulmates are staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Here, the 50 best contest winning photos that will surely leave you and your Pinterest board shooketh forevermore.

1. Santorini, Greece

That view! That love! Can't relate, but still appreciate it!

2. Bow Lake, Alberta, Canada

Those mountains are like something from a Poland Spring label, and I mean that in the best way possible!

3. Yosemite National Park, United States

Which Lord of the Rings book is this shire from?

4. Milan, Italy by Aisha Khan of Ama Photography & Cinema

Allorrrrrrrra!

5. Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona, United States

Sometimes nature is just so amazing you can't do anything but take it in.

Don’t Make Me Spend My Holiday Weekend at Your Wedding

admin — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 18:03:03 +0000

Holiday weekends: They're filled with many dreams — dreams of all the errands you'll finally get done, how many lazy hours of Netflix you'll catch up on, and exactly how much Seamless a human can have delivered over a 72-hour period. They're truly bursting with possibilities.

But an evil force threatens the serenity of those weekends as we know it and it's the dreaded holiday-weekend wedding. Oh, yes. There are couples among us who would have you believe that paying through the nose to spend your precious mini-vacation doing the hustle with their uncle Larry is something a person actually wants to do. And guess what, if you don't want to do that, you're a bad friend who never really cared about them to begin with.

It's time for some hard truths.

@Wedding

Holiday-weekend weddings are very, very bad. They can sap your bank account and your sanity even more so than regular weddings, require way too many joint activities with strangers, and are often impossible to attend. I love you, and I want to be there for your big day, but I also have very few holiday weekends a year, and I don't want to use one of them for your wedding.

First of all, it's generally much more expensive to travel over a holiday weekend than other times of the year. When you factor in the already exorbitant cost of flying, the added bucks can put potential guests in a financially perilous position. And it's not just air travel — hotels and rental cars can cost more too. I really want to come to your wedding but I also really want to pay rent.

And traveling over a holiday weekend comes not just with added financial costs, but stress as well. Airports are crowded, rental-car places are overburdened, and don't even get me started on hotel check-in. I once attended a Memorial Day weekend wedding in Vegas and the check-in line at the Bellagio literally snaked out the door. Into the Vegas heat! I think I cried, but I'm not sure if it was tears or sweat. I know it's kind of a goofy thing to complain about — first world problems and all that — but the woman who finally checked us into our room said the previous weekend was a breeze. Empty counters as far as the eye could see! Penny slots for the taking! Craps tables teeming with opportunities!

But nope. I was stuck in the seventh layer of Vegas hell between a bachelor party filled with men exclusively wearing backwards baseball caps. For what team? I don't know. Probably Satan's.

And then there are the forced activities of holiday-weekend weddings. I know people think it's so awesome that you're spending your holiday with them so they want to make sure it's action-packed. That's nice but I don't want to spend three straight days with a bunch of people who are mostly strangers. Those packed itineraries make the long weekend akin to summer camp from hell. I once had to kayak down a murky river in the sweltering September heat with a groomsman I didn't know — for three godforsaken hours. Do you understand how terrifying kayaks are and how much I hate them? I fell into the water twice and as soon as we got back, I had to head straight to a necklace-making tent for the next fucking activity. I left that wedding with about 50 mosquito bites and a bunch of ruined swamp clothes.

My long weekend could've been spent staycationing in my apartment with my beloved dog and my even more beloved air conditioning, which brings me to my next point: One of the best ways to spend a holiday weekend is slipping into your pajamas Friday night and not peeling them off until Tuesday morning. Add in a steady diet of Netflix and candy, and it's the perfect way to bliss out for an uninterrupted stretch of "you" time. You know how normal weekends never feel like they contain enough downtime? That's what three-day weekends are for.

On the flip side, lots of us have long-standing holiday weekend obligations that are nearly impossible to get out of. Memorial Day with mom in Maine and Labor Day at the lake are familial traditions that are generally considered too taboo to break. I might really want to come to your wedding but it might also fall during a completely untenable time.

And that old chestnut of "The people who really love you will show up no matter what!" is totally unfair. I might really love a person and want to see them get hitched but I often have preexisting holiday-weekend plans with other people whom I also love. That puts me in a tough position. You still need to do what's right for you but don't discount my love just because I have a non-refundable Airbnb booked in Hawaii for that weekend. (This is a true story, BTW. I chose Hawaii and wish I could say I was 100 percent great with my decision, but I was also a little sad because I missed the wedding of a great friend from high school. Luckily, another buddy was able to Skype me in for the ceremony so I still got to cry when I saw her walk down the aisle.)

ll this is to say, again, I love you very much — but I don't want to go to your holiday-weekend wedding. I'm pretty sure many other people don't either, so do us all a favor and plan it for one of the many weekends that isn't a government holiday. Or don't! Whatever! It's your life, and my opinion doesn't really matter, and you are obviously totally fine with people talking shit behind your back about how inconsiderate you are.