If you want to escape the crowds yet plan an unforgettable honeymoon which combines both adventure and relaxation then there are plenty of opportunities out there. Below are just a few examples that will placate even the most adventurous newly-weds!

Angkor Wat: Cambodia

Nestled in thick jungle, the magnificent temple complex of Angkor Wat truly taxes on the superlatives. This sprawling complex of Hindu sculptures, towers and temples is one of the world’s most remarkable sites and usually sits at the top of many adventurers’ “must see” lists. The nearby city of Siem Reap offers a variety of dazzling and extravagant hotels which means that you can unwind and relax in luxury after a rewarding day of sight-seeing.

Machu Picchu & Galapagos Cruise: Peru & Ecuador

The imposing fifteen century Inca temple of Machu Picchu stands as one of the most revered archaeological sites in the world. Nestled between two towering peaks, the lost city of Machu Picchu has astounded visitors for decades and is the ideal destination for honeymooners looking for something really special. Many tours and agencies also include a trip to the Galapagos Islands, often described as Mother Nature’s greatest showcase; a stunning chain of volcanic islands inhabited by some of the world’s most unusual and incredible creatures. On a typical day you can swim with sea lions or dolphins, walk along the beach next to marine iguanas or encounter the famed giant tortoises.

The Pyramids and Cairo: Egypt

No adventurer can hold their head high without visiting remarkable Egypt. Delve into the thousand year old secrets of this ancient land and take a journey through lost cities, royal tombs and temples. Honeymooners can explore the narrow alleyways and bustling bazaars of Cairo, lined with craft merchants, spices, silks and silver and gold.

So, before you jump head first into a full scale expedition, why not spend your time together hiking or sea kayaking in some of the most beautiful locations in the globe or go off the beaten path and enjoy lots of dramatic panoramic views without giving up all the comforts of home.

If you’re in the midst of planning a wedding and would like some help booking your honeymoon, speak to The Ultimate Travel Company who can create a bespoke, luxury honeymoon to suit you and your partner’s taste.

If your waist is well-defined and your shoulders and hips are the same width, you have an hourglass figure. If you have this body type, consider yourself lucky—your figure is the closest thing to a perfect body because it is the most proportioned among all other figures. Being well-proportioned has one main perk: you can wear almost any style. Your choice of style all depends on what you want to emphasize. For instance, if you like to show off your feminine curves, you can go for a sheath or mermaid silhouette. If you want to direct attention to your impressive waist, you can pick a gown with a corset or any fitted bodice. If you love your shoulders, flaunt them in a wedding dress with a portrait or V neckline.

Are you smaller on top but heavier on the bottom? For pear-shaped women like you, the dress you pick should not draw attention to the bottom half of your body. The best choice for you is an A-line princess cut wedding gown because it shows off your small waist while hiding your wide hips and thighs. To make your upper body more proportional to your bottom half, you may also opt for an off-shoulder neckline. If you want embellishments or added details to your gown, place them on the top half and keep the bottom plain.

Do you have slim arms and legs and is a bit more rounded in the torso and abdomen? This means you are apple-shaped. Like pear-shaped women, you have to stick to wedding gown options with A-line skirts because it accentuates the waist and widens at the bottom. The bodice of your wedding dress must also have added texture such as lace details or rouching to draw attention to your bust area. When it comes to choosing necklines, choose a deep V neck because it has a slenderizing effect.

If you are one of those women who do not have curves to show off, what you have is a boyish figure. Just because you do not have curves like the pear-shaped and apple-shaped does not mean you cannot look feminine on your special day. You can create the illusion of curves by selecting a bias cut wedding dress with a sheath silhouette. Another option for you is the ball gown style—the full floor-length dress will address the problem of your straight hips while accentuating your slender waist. Feel free to also add details to the top of the dress to make the bust area fuller.

Citations:

• Note: The image that appears in the article is lifted from outerinner.com

The article was written by Fiona who owns Frox of Falkirk a shop in central Scotland selling Mother Of the Groom Outfits and Mother of The Bride Outfits from many international designers. The shop has an extensive range of outfits to choose from.

DO’S

Wedding Favors. Wedding favors can take a big chunk out of your wedding budget. However, you can save some bucks by making your own wedding favors. It is also a generous way to show to your guests how grateful you are to them. While sweet treats are the safest choice to go for, there are other non-edible favors you can do yourself. You can choose to personalize the packaging using ribbons or add labels and tags that go with your wedding’s motif. When doing your wedding favors, make sure to give yourself plenty of time so that you will not have to worry about assembling them on the same day of your wedding. You can also enlist the help of your friends or family to do the favors with you.

Ceremony decors. Making your own wedding decorations is both cost-efficient and effective means to achieve your desired look for your special day. You can simply create baskets filled with your favorite blossoms and hang them around. Or, you can opt for scented candles and use them as accents on the available space.

Invitations. There are numerous websites that provide stylish invites that you can copy right off your computer. To save cash, purchase specialty papers and print your chosen invitation design. Or, if you have the skills, create several wedding invitation templates and choose the one that you prefer. Print it out and send the invites to your friends.

Makeup. Every bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day. If you cannot afford to hire a professional makeup artist, but you have the skills to put on your makeup, then there is no reason for you not to. Grab a few basics like foundation, blush, eye shadow, power and lipstick and highlight your best features. As much as possible, do a trial run with your makeup, so that on your wedding day you will appear picture-perfect.

DON’TS

Photos. Your wedding photos are among the few items that will remind you of your wedding. While your relatives can take the position of your wedding photographer, this is not the nicest option to go for. Having a professional photographer on your special day will ensure that you will have high quality prints that you will not regret looking at for the years to come.

Cake. It is probably cost-efficient to do the cake yourself. However, if you do not have the baking skills, your cake’s taste may take a disastrous point. With that said, just leave everything to the hands of the pros.

Catering. Catering to a large crowd is not an easy task and the pros can attest to that. Even if you know how to make the best dishes, you will not have enough time to prepare for hundreds of people. Hence, leave the catering part to the caterers who are trained to prepare and serve sumptuous meals to guests.

Music. Although you would want your favorite tunes to be played during your wedding reception, you have to understand that not all of your music choices will be liked by everyone. So, you would want to hire a team of music pros and let them do the music for you.

Coordinate the whole wedding yourself. As a bride, it is your task to look on every detail of your wedding. However, if you have already attended to them, do not go the lengths of taking charge on the wedding day itself. Why? Because it is likely that you will not find the time to enjoy and be the center of attention of your special day. Employing the services of a professional wedding coordinator even just for the day is a good decision that you will not regret, as doing so will help ensure that everything will go on perfectly even if you are not looking after them.

Citations:

• Note: Image found in the article was taken from weddingbycolor.com

Written by Fiona Wilson who owns Frox of Falkirk a boutique based in central Scotland selling Mother Of the Groom Outfits and Mother of The Bride Outfits from designers from all over the world. The shop has a beautiful range of outfits to choose from.

Takumi Hashimoto and Azumi Matsuzawa celebrated their first wedding anniversary on the world’s steepest rollercoaster Photo: Reuters

Theme park sweethearts Takumi Hashimoto and Azumi Matsuzawa, took the plunge on the top of the world’s steepest rollercoaster as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary on Sunday.

The Takabisha, is located in Yamanashi Prefecture at the base of Mount Fuji.

The couple tied the knot last year on April 1st, but Hashimoto did not properly propose, something he admits he should have done a long time ago.

The 31-year-old said: “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity and today I will do it there.”

So, as the couple reached the ascent to the highest point of the roller coaster, Hashimoto shouted:

“Azumi! I apologize for making you wait so long for me to pop the question, but will you marry me?”

Unsurprisingly, Azumi replied, “Yes, I will!”

Then the couple shot down the drop screaming as family and friends shouted and clapped from below.

The Takabisha holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the steepest roller coaster drop Credit: Reuters

The Takabisha holds the Guinness Book of World Records for steepest roller coaster drop with an angle of 121 degrees at the beginning of the 160 second ride and reaches speeds of up to 100 km/h.

Source: http://www.itv.com/news/2012-04-02/romance-is-a-rollercoaster-ride-for-japanese-couple/

Uber-competitive bridezillas will no doubt be jealous of this wedding wonder.

A world-record-busting two-mile wedding-gown train was unveiled in Romania on Tuesday.

To show off the gown, 17-year-old Romanian model Emma Dumitrescu took a ride in a hot air balloon as part of a promotion in the capital city of Bucharest, with the dress’ 1.85-mile-long train flowing dramatically under her.

The gown, certified as the longest bridal train in history by the Guinness World Records, was designed by a local designer, Andree Salon fashion house.

The dress more than doubled the previous record of under a mile, which was held by a designer from the Netherlands

Dumitrescu rides in a hot air balloon to show off the world’s longest wedding dress train measures 1.86-mile-long. (Vadim Ghirda/AP)
(picture credited to nydailynews.com)

The record was tinged with the taste of a sweet political victory for Romania, since the Netherlands campaigned against that country’s inclusion in the European Union’s visa-free travel zone, according to The Associated Press.

“If the Netherlands does not allow us into Europe, we’ll take them out of the world records book,” said Alin Caraman, an organizer of the wedding promotion.

The dress took 10 seamstresses nearly 100 days to make and cost close to $8,000 in materials alone, the AP reported.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/fashion/2-mile-long-wedding-gown-train-breaks-world-record-article-1.1048048#ixzz1poDvOwJ7

Just like clothing and jewelry for weddings, the best summer wedding cakes are light and uncomplicated. Avoid heavy flavors like spice or pumpkin cheesecake for a warm weather wedding confection. Vanilla and citrus based cakes are more appropriate for the summer season. For a really tasty and refreshing cake, consider a key lime flavor. It would be perfect for a high summer wedding. It could be frosted with either a vanilla buttercream icing or one with shaved coconut in it. Just be sure to keep any wedding cake with buttercream or whipped cream frosting cool and shaded so the frosting does not melt.

Another light citrusy cake flavor is lemon chiffon. Doesn’t that just sound refreshing? Give it some depth of flavor by layering the lemon chiffon cake with a thin layer of seedless raspberry jam and buttercream. Sugared gum paste Meyer lemons would be a wonderful decoration for this kind of cake. They will look bright and summery, while also giving a hint of the flavor under the frosting. This cake would be very summery and crisp done with square tiers covered in fondant. It would also be nice to wrap a striped grosgrain ribbon around the base of each tier for a whimsical touch.

If you are going with a beach theme for everything from your decorations to your wedding jewelry, consider a coconut rum wedding cake. It will definitely capture the spirit of your beach theme beautifully. This cake is made by drizzling coconut rum over a coconut chiffon cake and layering it with coconut buttercream frosting. Sounds heavenly! You could decorate the cake with frosting seashells or use gorgeous tropical flowers. Purple and magenta orchids or hibiscus blossoms would be stunning decorations on a coconut rum cake.

For a casual summer wedding in the country, you just couldn’t do better than a strawberry shortcake flavored wedding cake. Soft white vanilla cake is stacked with fresh sliced strawberries and dollops of freshly whipped cream. The result is a delicious cake that absolutely screams summer. A strawberry shortcake cake is good for couples are aren’t that into traditional wedding cakes and fancy decorations. Display it on a red gingham tablecloth for a fun accent to the colors of the cake.

Finally, consider an elegant pink champagne cake for a summertime reception. Think of it as a more summery version of the popular red velvet cake. A pink champagne cake will be especially pretty if you frost it in white buttercream. White chocolate icing would also be a great option. When the cake is cut, the pretty pastel hue will be revealed. Serve it with glasses of champagne for toasting the newlyweds. It will be the perfect sweet ending to your summer wedding!

Bridget Mora loves weddings, etiquette, wedding jewelry, and of course cake! She writes about these topics and more for Silverland Jewelry.

Plain Bands

If you want a simple, traditionally masculine style, plain bands are the way to go. Their only difference from wedding bands is the fact that they are made quite a bit wider, and thus looks like regular decorative jewelry.

Carved Bands

Carved designs add a personal touch as well as additional decoration. These designs range from simple etchings to elaborate rope designs symbolizing eternity, as well as religious symbols like crosses or the Star of David.

Two-Tone Bands

Combining two metals to create a two-tone ring is also a popular option, as these types of bands can be worn with pretty much anything without the risk of clashing. These metals can be anything from yellow and white gold, silver, to black tungsten and even titanium.

Diamond Rings

Diamonds are the gem of choice when talking about engagement, but in the case of men’s engagement rings, the stones are usually smaller accent pieces instead of being the focus. They can be studded around the band, spaced equally, or solitaire, embedded into the metal.

As you may have noticed, men’s engagement rings are reflective of the difference in men’s and women’s style. Although at times there are certain exceptions, like pieces which are meant to stand out (signet rings, college rings etc.), Men’s accessories are generally subdued, rarely flashy, but is still able to call attention without being loud. This might be suggestive of the characteristics of an ideal man; deep, reserved and unwavering. Also, these pieces need to go well with the usual articles of clothing men wear. Suits and tuxedos almost never deviate from the classic look, hence the need for accessories which would go well with dark colors and straight lines.

Erica Yu works as a sales assistant at Brilliance Online Diamonds. During my free time she likes to writecreative fiction, as well as contribute articles and stories to her favorite blogs and sites.

Hot for 2012

Delivering beautiful style in a simple package, a quontom dress is undoubtedly the hottest dress on the market for Spring 2012.  Women are guaranteed to look amazing at all times in a stylish dress from renowned designers quontom.  These dresses have turned the way fashion views dresses on its head during the past year.  Designed specifically to make the wearer look dazzling, there are a wide range of these dresses available this Spring.  Containing a “secret ingredient” to enhance your curves and give your figure a quick touch up where required, these dresses have to be worn to be believed.  Whatever the occasion and whatever your tastes, there are stunning quonton dresses available for everyone.

Urban is hot

The well-known cast of hit TV show “The Only Way Is Essex” are famous for sporting a quontom dress and always look beautiful when photographed out on the town.  Amy Childs and Lauren Pope embody the essence of what a quontom dress is all about and showcase the look of the dress perfectly.  A wide range of celebrities clamour over the latest quontom designs which makes these dresses a must have, aspirational addition to any woman’s wardrobe.

Famous for looking great and literally glowing under nightclub lights, quontom will continue to make waves throughout the fashion world in 2012 and become a must have for urban ladies throughout the year.

The same but different

It’s never a great experience when you hit a club and you see someone who has the same dress on as you.  This situation becomes even more awkward when you can’t explain to your friends why you suddenly wish to leave given your fear of humiliation.  Women across the country can ensure they’re always ahead of the fashion game with a beautiful quontom dress.

Classy elegance

A quontom dress is a nod towards all of the key trends for fashion in Spring 2012 and beyond into the rest of the year.  Whatever the occasion and whatever your style, there is sure to be a dazzling quonton dress which delivers the look you want.  The best thing about a quontom’s dress is while they are superb garments, they are also an excellent price meaning this brilliant fashion movement is open to a wide range of people whatever their fashion budget.

There is no reason not to own a quontom dress.  Get on board the urban revival sweeping the nation and get one in your wardrobe this spring.

Discover the best quantum dresses at J-Bees. J-Bees are an international retailer offering Urban and Street Wear from the world’s largest fashion labels.

1. It is unique and most of the people are never received this kind of wedding gift from their friends and relatives wedding throughout their life.

2. The wedding favor is very special and it can be give away to the couple’s special guests who were willing to come from far away location to join their wedding ceremony and dinner.

3. It can acts as a token of appreciation. Don’t get me wrong as most of the special guest that invited by you will be your best friends and close relatives. This unique wedding gift can be a symbol to demonstrate that the bride is actually loves cooking . First impression should tackle them down because you are not only married to your husband but also you need to mix with his whole family.

4. It is very useful. Each house has its salt in the kitchen for the need of cooking. Thus I believe they will use this salt and pepper shaker in the kitchen and not simply put this wedding gift idle without using it.

5. If you guests do not use this salt and pepper shaker in the kitchen, at least they can place somewhere in their house as decoration.

6. It looks very cute. Most of the people will admit that this wedding gift is very cute and if they are not, then it must be something wrong with their eyes, . Sure they are not going to throw this cute salt and pepper shaker into the trash.

7. Your invited guests will remember the wedding gift that you present to them for very long time because the shape of the gift is well symbolizes the look of the bride & groom.

8. Even though the size of this salt and pepper shaker look small and not made of gold or diamond, but it seems unique for many couples because of the exclusive rhinestone design that come with this item.

The wedding dress

This is usually the first thing a bride thinks of when she starts to plan her wedding as many have thought about themselves in their wedding dresses since they were little girls. You want to feel special in your dress but that doesn’t necessarily mean throwing money at it. Wearing a dress that has some sort of personal touch can make the entire day feel truly special. With that in mind, consider wearing your mother’s or even grandmother’s dress – vintage styles are very in this season, especially those with a drop waist. However, in the likely event that those dresses are damaged or discoloured with age or simply don’t fit, you could use the fabric to create your own dress, a bolero or a cape. If your mother’s dress contains lace you could use that as detail on your dress. Alternatively, think creatively and weave parts of the fabric around floral arrangements or utilise undamaged fabric to make the flower girl dress.

The colour scheme

The colour scheme is what brings all the different elements of the wedding together so it’s important that you’re happy with it and the most obvious way to make it personal is to choose your favourite colour or that of your husband-to-be. The time of year might also play a part in the decision – a spring or summer wedding might involve pastels or brights whereas deep, rich colours might better suit an autumn or winter wedding. Your venue can also have a deciding factor. You don’t want your wedding party to match the decor but if there is a central element, such as a skylight with stained glass or beds of flowers in a particular colour, it’s nice to pick out those colours in the stationary, floral arrangements, and as accent colours in the bridesmaids dresses and groomsmen’s ties. It’s all in the detail!

The cake

You can be really creative and truly personal with the wedding cake. Whether you opt for the traditional tiered cake or go for something totally different is entirely up to you but whatever you do you can make it personal. These days wedding cakes come in all shapes and sizes so don’t think there is a set rule. Arrange cupcakes on a pretty cake stand, choose a fun and quirky cake with a personal theme, or forget cake altogether and plump for a ‘cheese cake’ created from different cheeses. If you decide to stick to tradition and order a three-tiered cake there are still many ways to personalise it. Choose your favourite flavours, ask a talented close family member or friend to make it for you, or order custom-made toppers of your husband-to-be and yourself.

Emily Buckley has been to her fair share of weddings and now writes about them, specialising in reviewing wedding venues such as the Burswood Entertainment Complex in Perth, Western Australia.