Usually children are the focal point and delight of any marriage. But this is not to say that they are particularly suited to weddings. Often a wedding is an adult occasion - which can create many problems.

When all of your arrangements have been made: the location, cars and entertainment booked, and an exotic honeymoon on the horizon, don't ignore a subject that could possibly tarnish the wedding - children , or more bluntly or, rather, whether they should attend.

Certainly, inviting children may cause problems. Let's be honest about this. To the average small child, weddings are an utter utter bore. They have to spend hour after hour hanging around in unfamiliar smart clothes. A church service is not exactly designed as children's entertainment (after all, even some of the adult visitors find it a trifle boring…) The events of the day which are often the very opposite of their usual routine at home hardly fit in with their routine. Their demands for attention are ignored because people are too busy with the wedding formalities - or meeting people they haven't seen in years.

All this makes children very receptive to the general air of excitement around them - and this is when high spirits can take over.

With all the tons of advice published about wedding arrangements, you will find little or nothing about how to deal with the children.

You have three choices.

1. You could introduce a 'no children' rule, at your wedding without guilt.

Some wedding horror stories include a wedding where the top table was completely demolished, cake and all, by children careering around and pulling at the tablecloth … During the speeches, they ran up and down the hall around the tables, squealing and shrieking. … Occasionally a guest - not a parent - tried to stop them. They thought that was part of the game - and got worse …None of their parents made a move to stop them. Nobody could hear a word.

Unfortunately you can not guarantee parents will be responsible and keep control of their children. You may be one of a handful of unfortunate couples who "offend" some people by imposing a "no children" rule at their wedding. But do not fret as it is usually only the parents of totally unruly children that are offended. But stand fast and remember it is your day not theirs. True friends will go along with whatever you choose to make the day a happy one.

To promote better understanding, you couldring up to explain your decision, rather than merely adding a bald statement to the invitation.

Do not feel bad, lots of parents would prefer to go to a wedding with a babysitter at home looking after their precious children. Lots of children are at weddings, because relatives think that the little ones are expected to attend, not because the parents want them to be there cramping their style and quashing their enjoyment of an adult celebration.

2. You could allow children at your wedding but remember this is not a kiddies birthday party so if possible keep their numbers as low as possible.

Remember that at a wedding, the responsibility has to be on the parent of the child to make sure that a child's behaviour does not cause worry and distress to anyone at the wedding.

So, here are some helpful suggestions which might be useful to distribute to parents -if you can do so diplomatically…

* Parents should decide beforehand, who will be the one to take a fretful son or daughter out of the church.
* Ask parents with small children to sit near the back of the church if possible so that you can leave with a minimum of fuss.
* Parents should take small, quiet toys or books into the church for young child to play with.
* Little packets of raisins can be eaten without making a mess and too much sound and will fill another 10 minutes.
* Ask someone to make sure that parents with children where the toilets are before the service starts.
* Appoint a guest a special usher to assist parents at the church service - this person should help the parents with children to an appropriate place towards the back of the churh, explain where the toilets are and hand out little kiddy welcome packs to help pass the time during the service
* For the reception dinner, make sure that there are child friendly meals for all children. Not all kids like foie gras or salmon with asparagus. Ask the caterers what child's meals they offer and make sure that parents are given the options.
* If parents have a child who is a particularly fastidious faddy eater, then sugest that they take along a sandwich for him to have at the reception.
* An excited hungry child is much worse than just an excited child
* Make sure that parents are told if punch is alcoholic so that young kids are given strict instructs and do not get paralytic and have to be rushed to hospital
* Enquirewhether there is a place where kids can run off steam and all of their excitement
* Is there a tranquil spot available so that young children can have their usual afternoon [/spin]sleep|nap[/spin].
* Young children simply are not capable of sitting and listening to long speeches so if they are not asleep parents should be expected to take turns to entertain them or walk around with them
* if a child becomes tired and over-excited it is time for the parents to leave or to hand the tired little angel over to a resident babysitter

3. You could invite only a handful of children and limit children to only close relatives. Hopefully you know these children well and will have some idea how they will behave and how responsible their parents will be. Often children just attend the church service and are handed to a babysitter for the reception. This is a great compromise. The kiddies can be there for some group family photographs and not possibly mar the evening celebration.

At our wedding chateau we can have a creche set up for you so you can enjoy your chateau wedding without interruption. You can have your castle wedding with or without children.

In every part of the world, ladies dream of weddings. More often than not, they succeed in getting one. Thus, for every nation or country, in every culture, there are weddings. So the wedding etiquette book is the one good offering to help out these ladies.

Weddings have become inevitable events in modern society. But, it is clear and apparent that weddings have become, in a sense, a way of lifestyle. It can be attributed to the Western influence.

Wedding traditions have become universalized, be it for Americans, Europeans, Asians, or any race. The word universalized simply implies that there has been some reverence to same customs and traditions of those cultures.

Thus, we have wedding etiquettes. Wedding etiquettes can vary from one country to another. But the variations are only slight and minimal. Moreover, the ethics and etiquettes in weddings are all but the same.

Due to the fact that attending weddings or joining weddings has become inevitable in the new era, every one is getting keen at knowing about some gestures which are always considered not likely at the wedding events.

Most of the brides or grooms, find themselves quite nervous. It is a bit hard for them especially the wedding jitters. Even the wedding customs can make them anxious.

Thus, the best way to help the soon-to-be-wed couple is to educate them about certain wedding etiquettes. A good wedding etiquette book should be of great help.

As the wedding etiquettes learning centers have become quite embarrassing, awkward and deviating at the same time, people should look for alternatives. If people can spend some time looking for the best wedding etiquette books they can easily how to manage a wedding and just enjoy the party.

If you have been invited to a party that was organized to celebrate the final few days of freedom for the bride-to-be, it is a long-established custom that you give some kind of gift. However, unique bridal shower gifts are not generally the simplest type of merchandise to shop for. It might be difficult to solve the problem of just what an appropriate gift could be, and even if you think of a few great ideas, trying to actually locate what you want might even be a more difficult problem. But don't worry, once you have an idea of what is appropriate, you should have no problem shopping for that perfect bridal shower gift or gift set even without the use of a wedding registry.

The initial assignment that you have is to try and decide precisely what it is that you want to buy for her. Although wedding presents are given to the bride-to-be, that doesn’t imply that you shouldn’t be considering the groom too. A gift which is intended to be for both the bride and groom will usually be appreciated even more so than a present which is designed purely for the bride. Home decorations like wedding frames, dinnerware sets, kitchen appliances and even a bottle of fine wine would be a few great examples.

Where to Look for the Ultimate Wedding Gift

Bridal shower presents can be found most anyplace you may look, but there are commonly two major locations where they can be found. There are shops which deal specifically in wedding supplies and gifts. These shops focus on gifts which are proven as long time best selling gifts. The items you will find at these wedding and gift specialty shops include tea sets for two, honeymoon luxury deals and much of other excellent choices.

However, don’t overlook the more traditional stores when you are looking for wedding presents. Depending on what it is you are looking for, you could just stumble upon the ideal gift in one of these kinds of stores. You can even consider buying an assortment of items from different shops and creating your own special gift basket of some type, as these can make stunning wedding presents.

Purchase Online or at a Brick and Mortar Store?

Once you have come to a decision upon what type of bridal shower gift you would like to buy, you need to determine where you will go to buy it. A number of items can be bought for wildly different prices, and it is worth looking online as well as in traditional stores, as you may often receive a better buy by doing an online search.

When you locate something you like and made the decision to buy it on the web, do a search for coupon codes for that specific online store too. If you do this, you can on occasion discover a coupon for free postage or a certain percentage off your total order. This might save you even more money. So, make certain that you know just what you want to buy and shop around prior to buying the wedding presents that you like the best.

Whether a wedding ceremony is the simplest or the most extravagant of all, it is not complete without speeches from the newly-wed couple, the parents, principal sponsors, and even relatives and closest friends. It is at this point and time in the wedding celebration where laughter as well as tears of joy and mixed feelings about the affair is displayed.

Many years back, a wedding speech was reserved mostly for the fathers of the bride and groom to give and to the groom himself. A bride delivering a speech on her wedding day was very unusual. Gender sensitivity was not yet as strongly practiced then as it is today.

There are a variety of wedding speeches which have gained prominence. Some of these speeches have even been written in books to serve as references for the present generation. In Egypt, these speeches were attributed to the gods in the form of offerings and blessings. On the other hand, in Europe, it is the fathers who usually do the talking during the wedding reception.

Times are really changing and people are now, little by little, getting away from tradition. Modifications are being made to be in tune with the present times. It is very common now for the maid of honor to deliver her speech. Part of this evolution also is the content of speeches. It used to be that speeches were once more inclined to giving blessings, wishes for good luck, good health and more kids and so on. Modern speeches inject humor, drama, and many tales which usually exposes the personalities of the bride and groom as well as their respective families.

Generally a wedding speech tells of the feelings of the speaker towards the newly-weds. The speaker himself usually writes it or asks somebody to write down his feelings for him. There are a lot of styles, tips and approaches to wedding speeches and they can be found in reference books on how to effectively deliver this kind of speech. The following guidelines have proven to aid first-timers:

1. Be familiar with the place. This includes checking the area where you will speak. Acknowledge the person who introduces you. Greeting the attendees/audience will
establish rapport with them.
2. Avoid negative thoughts about your capacity to deliver this speech successfully. And always SMILE.
3. Stand with confidence and try to connect with your audience. Look at them one at a time for 5 to 7 seconds. Do not address them as a whole. Establish eye contact. Eye contact in this process helps the audience to feel important, and they realize what you are about to say is important also. This will give you confidence.
4. Speak from your notes or memory, if possible. The main point is, you want to say your message from the heart and do it naturally so that is it heartfelt.
5. Just be yourself. Don’t be afraid to use your sense of humor.

Wedding Expense Etiquette - Who Pays for What?

First and foremost, there are no rules governing who pays for wedding expenses. Traditionally, the bride’s family covers the cost of most wedding expenses; however, this obligation depends on the individual situation. With more couples getting married later in life, they are often able to cover some or all of the wedding expenses. Ideally, this subject should be discussed with both families to determine a solution that works for all parties involved.

Following is a list of wedding expenses traditionally covered by the bride, the groom, their families and their attendants:

The Bride

• Wedding ring for the groom
• Wedding gift for the groom
• Bridal Attendant gifts
• Stationery, such as Thank You notes
• Medical exam and blood test
• Accommodations for out-of-town attendants

The Groom

• Engagement and Wedding rings for the bride
• Wedding gift for the bride
• Best Man and Usher gifts
• Groom's wedding attire
• Bride's bouquet and corsage
• Mothers' corsages
• Boutonnieres for attendants and fathers
• Gloves, ties and ascots for attendants
• Medical exam and blood test
• Marriage license
• Clergyman's fee
• Limousine service
• Honeymoon expenses

The Bride's Family

• Engagement party (optional)
• Wedding breakfast
• The cost of the ceremony including the church fee, reception site, photographer, food, beverages, entertainment, rental items, floral items and the wedding cake
• Canopy, carpet kneeling bench, candelabras, etc.
• Bride's wedding gown, headpiece and accessories
• Wedding gift for the couple
• Wedding invitations, announcements and mailing costs
• Wedding programs
• Bridesmaid bouquets
• Grandmother corsages
• Transportation for bridal party from bride's home to the site of ceremony
• Bridesmaids' luncheon
• Photography (groom's parents may pay for the pictures they would like)
• Personal wedding attire

The Groom's Family

• Rehearsal dinner party
• Groom’s cake
• Personal wedding attire
• Travel and accommodations for groom's family
• Wedding gift for the bride and groom
• Any general expenses they may wish to contribute

The Wedding Party, Ushers & Other Attendants

• Formal wear for themselves
• Personal travel expenses
• Wedding gift for bride and groom
• Showers given by maid of honor or bridesmaids
• Bachelor party given by best man or ushers

The Bride and Groom

• Gifts of appreciation for parents or others who helped with the wedding
• Expenses of items desired which have exceeded original budget allocations

To reiterate, there are no rules governing who pays for wedding expenses. This listing is to serve as an example of who traditionally pays for wedding expenses.

Hilary Basile is a writer for http://www.myguidesusa.com. At MyGuidesUSA.com, you will find valuable tips and resources for handling life’s major events. Whether you’re planning a wedding, buying your first home, anxiously awaiting the birth of a child, contending with a divorce, searching for a new job, or planning for your retirement, you’ll find answers to your questions at MyGuidesUSA.com. Find wedding planning tips and resources at http://www.myguidesusa.com/weddings

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