Luhya Wedding Traditions

The Luhya community mostly resides in the Western part of Kenya with a population of about three million. Known for their elaborate ceremonies, the Luhya enjoy holding big parties to celebrate occasions. Luhya weddings are very elaborate and important occasions. They are accompanied with many wedding photos and celebrations. Before one gets married, the groom will have taken bride wealth to the bride's parents as a sign of gratitude. Unlike Toronto wedding ceremonies, bride wealth is meant to cement relations between the two families.

The first step before a Luhya traditional wedding can take place is payment of the bride price. The groom is expected to take a token of appreciation to the bride's parents to show that the parents raised their daughter well. Traditionally, this token would be in the form of livestock or farm produce. This token would act as a token to show how much the man cares for his future wife and show that he can provide for his future family as well. The Luhya community is known to love chicken and these are provided in plenty for guests to eat. On the wedding day, the man would go to the bride's homestead and call out the girl's name. If the girl responds, the ceremony can then go on. In the past, guests in attendance dress in special traditional attire with paintings all over their bodies and dance the whole night. The ceremony would last for about three days. The married couple would then proceed to their new home.

Present day Luhya wedding ceremonies are more modern and include celebrating the event in a church. Dancing and singing accompany most luhya weddings. Groups of women who sing praise songs encircle the bride. The wedding party normally arrives at the church a few minutes before the ceremony starts. The ceremony is usually recorded on video and wedding photos taken. This is one attribute that both Luhya and Toronto weddings have. Once the church ceremony is over, the wedding party goes to the reception venue for wedding photos and food. Luhya weddings have plenty of traditional foods to offer as well as western cuisine. Entertainment in a luhya wedding involves singing traditional songs and dancing to their tunes. Luhya dancing is quite vigorous and is a very entertaining activity. Unlike in Toronto, Luhyas can hold their ceremonies for as long as two weeks.

A Luhya wedding is not complete without speeches. The speeches normally come after gifts are given and wedding photos are taken but before the cake is cut. The theme of most wedding speeches is usually advice to the groom and his bride on how to take care of their new family. Grooms are advised to take care of the wife and the bride is advised to cook properly for the husband. Different people who may use a lot of proverbs and sayings to drive the point home give variations of the same message.

After the main event, the bride and groom go to their new home. The wedding photos taken serve as a reminder of the wedding ceremony. They can be passed down from generation to generation and act as a teaching aid to their children on the importance of marriage and families.

The New Trend of Wedding Silk Invitation Boxes

Silk synonymous with luxury. Now silk is a good trend in the fashion world or the other. In fact, there are now designs wedding invitations with silk materials.

The times of sending a simple wedding invitation postcard to the whole family are over. More and more brides choose the exclusive way and order one of various invitation products including silk invitation boxes, silk pouches, folios and even silk envelopes.

Thai silk is one of the signature products from Thailand.
No question it suits just perfect to make exclusive wedding invitation boxes with pure Thai silk. There are no limits in creativity and extravaganza. For example embellished invitations with silk flowers or brooches with rhinestone crystals carefully ensembles on a padded silk envelope or silk pouches. My favorite is the rhinestone crystal rings with ribbon bands combined with a gatefold silk invitation box.

To plan a wedding invitation is truly a time-consuming process. Maybe because there are so many formats and possibilities the invitation box can be made in. Padded, not padded, embellished, simple, with or without flower arrangement and so on. It's all up to your time and budget.

Select the right material to meet your budget
Generally silk invitations are made with pure 100% silk or if your budget does not allow with Faux silk (artificial silk). Thai silk looks just so much more exclusive if you hold it against the light, but more and more brides choose the cheaper version of Faux silk invitations. No question, nobody wants to pay the debts of an expensive marriage until the silver wedding. Don't miss to contact me if you need support finding the right wedding favor, silk invitation box or wedding gifts.

Contact your invitation designer early to avoid delays
Thai silk invitations are hand made, so each item needs time to finish. If you place the order late, the manufacturer may not be able to manufacture high quality products. To get the best result, inquire 2 month before you actually need the invitation or wedding favor to arrive your home. This way you have around 4 weeks to discuss the design and look of your dream invitation box or silk invitation holder and the manufacturer has another 4 weeks to produce the order.

By : phie

Silky Wedding Flowers

Marriage is one of the sacred and historic events in our lives. Of course before getting married a lot of things that must be prepared and considered.

When brides choose their wedding flowers, one question they must ask themselves is: do I want real flowers, or silk?

Traditional brides always go for real flowers. Their delicate beauty can never be duplicated by artificial flowers. The mesmerizing scent of roses or lilies is a far cry from the artificially scented silk flowers. Scent is often associated with feelings or memories and a wedding is an emotional and memorable experience. And that is where real flowers score over silk ones.

Real flowers have their disadvantages, too. The main disadvantage with real flowers is their longevity. They wilt away very fast. Brides who want to preserve their wedding bouquets often settle for silk flowers. Moreover, brides who want exotic or out-of-season wedding flowers often opt for silk flowers because they are much more readily available and affordable. Silk flowers are also popular with brides who are allergic to real ones. No bride wants to be red-eyed and sneezing at her wedding.

Silk flowers have advantages and disadvantages too. Although not the traditional choice, silk is fast becoming a popular option. Silk flowers look almost as natural as real flowers and brides don’t have to worry about the availability of their preferred choice. Silk flowers are also much more affordable. Preservation of real flowers is very expensive, but not with silk. They always look as good as new.

Thus, both real and silk flowers have their positive and negative points. It depends on the bride to choose between them, according to her priorities.

By : Phie

Exotic Muslim Weddings

Anyone who has witnessed a Muslim wedding, live or on television, would be blind not to notice how colorful and exotic it can be. If there is one word that can describe one of these events, then it would be amazing.

What makes these occasions amazing is the fact that it follows years of tradition that has been passed from generation to generation. Muslim weddings are a lot different from Christian weddings not only because of their colorful attires but also because of the customs that are followed from the start of the couple's engagement.

While a Christian wedding is seen to be a romantic union of two people in love and united by the religious ceremony, a Muslim marriage is more of a social contract between the two families involved. Most, if not all of these marriages become possible due to the dowry system, which is more like an economic transaction rather than a romantic union. Here is how a Muslim wedding is celebrated in some parts of the world.

Iran

A wedding in Iran can last up to seven days. The focal point of the ceremony and the reception is the bride's home, which undergoes a customary banquet where the food is arranged so that it faces east. Iranian Muslims use a silk table cloth for the wedding table which has been passed from one generation to another.

Pakistan

An event in Pakistan can last up to three days, with the Mehndi taking place in the house of the bride and groom. It also follows a henna ceremony with the Nikah or the signing of official papers as its highlight. After the bride's family signs the papers in the Imam's presence, the family of the groom hosts a banquet as a way of formally announcing the marriage.

Malaysia

An affair in Malaysia is quite different in the sense that the henna ceremony takes place only for the bride. The signing of the contract is made in the presence of a Syariat Court official and is made official after a small amount of money is exchanged.

Singapore

A Muslim wedding in Singapore is characterized by the kidnapping of the groom by the bride's beautician and her family. The groom is allowed to enter only after he has given a reasonable amount of money as entrance fee.

Muslim weddings are celebrated in various ways depending on what country the couples reside. But whatever the differences, they will always be exotic and interesting to the western world.

Hairstyles For Brides With Long Hair

There is an old custom that when a woman gets engaged, she should start to grow her hair. There is no doubt that having long hair will give you a lot of flexibility in choosing both your hairstyle and headpiece for your wedding. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing the perfect wedding hairdo for long hair.

The first question is whether to wear your hair up or down. This will depend, in part, on just how long your hair is. Very long hair, while very pretty, also requires a lot of brushing to look neat over the course of a long day. This type of maintenance is totally impractical during a busy wedding day. If your hair is only sort of long, flowing waves can be a very romantic look.

A nice compromise is to pull some of your hair back, and let the rest be down. This is great for brides who love their long hair and want to show it off. It's also a nice idea if your fiance has always loved to see your hair long and loose. Pulling some of your hair back will also give you better options for anchoring a pretty piece of hair bridal jewelry, like a comb or delicate tiara. When your bridal hairstyle is all down, the only type of hair jewelry that tends to work is a wreath, which has pretty limited uses.

Many brides with long hair will choose to wear it up, and having it long means that it can be sculpted into all sorts of intricate hairdos. When you are thinking of an updo, it is very important to have at least one trial run with your hairstylist before the wedding. Your regular stylist might be terrific at cut and color, but not all of them excel at formal hairstyles. With long hair, you might need to seek out a stylist who specializes in working with your hair length.

Finding the right stylist is particularly important for brides whose hair is very long, like waist length or even longer. A true story: the day of my wedding, all of my bridesmaids had come to my salon to have their hair styled. One of my bridesmaids had exceptionally long hair, and when the stylist saw it, he looked at her and said, "What am I supposed to do with this?"! Fortunately, a different stylist stepped forward to take care of her, and she looked beautiful in the end, but not before a few tears were shed. It is bad enough to see this happen to a bridesmaid, but imagine if it was you on your wedding day. That is why trial runs are so critical.

Another great reason to have a practice hairstyle is to see how it feels. If you have a lot of hair, or it is thick, having it all piled on top of your head can actually give you a headache! For brides who find that to be the case, a low bun at the nape of the neck can be a more comfortable option, as can wearing the hair half down.

There are so many wonderful looks that you can create for your wedding with long hair. One very pretty style is to have a series of braids woven into a bun at the lack of your head. A classic chignon is another lovely updo for a bride. It is a great idea to go through magazines and pick out a few looks that appeal to you. Don't limit yourself to wedding magazines, either - you can often find the most chic looks at celebrity events.

Long hair will give you so many choices for your wedding. All you have to do is narrow it down to your favorite look, whether it is classic, romantic, or cutting edge. With so many wonderful options, you are sure to find a style that makes you feel absolutely beautiful.

Wedding Decoration Favors - Why Favors Are Important to Weddings

Although there is a lot that goes into planning a wedding, one of the aspects that should be given the respect and time that it deserves is the wedding decoration favors. There are a few reasons why favors should be thought out carefully. The first reason is because it shows your thanks and gratitude to your guests. They took time out of their lives to watch you begin your new life with your partner. In addition, it is the best way for your guests to remember the wedding. For the guests that are not close to the family, it might be their only reminder of the event.

Because there is so much meaning attached to favors, they should not be overlooked as something you have to get. You should want to get the best keepsakes because you want your guests to have the long lasting memory of your special day. There is a reason why you invited this group of people to your wedding in the first place. You wanted them to share in the most important day of your life. Why not give them great wedding decoration favors? One of the newest trends in keepsakes is to give useful and practical gifts. So often people end up tossing their favor because they have no use for it, so you might as well get your money's worth.

Even if you are on a limited budget, there are great ways you can get wedding favors that can be used again by your guests. One of the easiest ways to do this is to give candles. If you have a specific theme or color for your wedding, you can incorporate that into the candles. If you have a beach wedding, you can make the candles be sailboats or seashells. The point is for them to be relevant to your wedding, or at least to the couple.

In addition to giving practical keepsakes, another popular trend when it comes to wedding decoration favors is to give items that relate to the bride and groom. If you both share a hobby, then tie that hobby into the favor. If there was a specific place the two of you met, then make that be the gift. It could be a photo of the place or a memorabilia from the place. It is a cute way to remind your guests where you met.

Fantastic 4 Continued...

With Finn's fascination of all things super hero...we knew it was time to gather all the super heros for one big day of action packed fun! Finn and his daddy delivered invitations in manilla envelopes marked "TOP SECRET" and addressed to each of the kids superhero name. Some of those in attendance were:

The unsinkable Carson Brown

The Incrdible Hulk "Hoggan" Boys

The Kent "Clark" kids

Wonder Boy "Boles"

The high flying daredevil (this was for Finn's uncle Blake, who is a pilot and may be his #1 hero)

Cat Girl and Wolverine (as to elude to Finn's cat loving aunt Tracy and very hairy uncle Micah)

oh...and my personal favorite...Fat Man and Robin (for Finn's Grandpa and Nanny) among many others. We had a good laugh putting these together.

To set the scene we took some of the many cardboard boxes from our garage and painted them gray. We then took black and yellow paint samples we had gathered from Home Depot and attached them to the boxes to create lights on our buildings. It was a simple and cheap way to create a cartoon city! Grandpa then ran his custom made slip n' slide under the tower of buildings.

Some Super Heroes came flying in with their capes, but for those that didn't we had a super solution....

Upon arrival each each of the kids grabbed a bag and decorated their own superhero mask made from felt. We also took standard kitchen trash bags and cinched them to create capes in which the kids could decorate (many thanks to Aunt Tracy for coming up with that one!). It was so fun to watch the kids running around the yard all dressed up.

Luckily Finn's Aunt Kindsday got a hold of him that day to play dress up. They gathered everything that they could from his room...and then Kindsay fashioned a SUPER "S" from our left over felt. I think he looked SUPER cute. Undies over the p.j.'s always a good look.

My little Milla had fun getting into costume too. She is always all about the accessories.

Each place setting held a water gun and that day each SUPER Hero got to be "Faster than a speeding bullet"....

and....

This led to knocking over buildings in sheer delight...

and a serious SUPER Hero stand off in a battle of tug-o-war on the slip in slide.

Their strength amazed us all! :)

They were also able to leap tall buildings in a single bound but decided it was more fun to knock them down.

Like every Super Hero they also had to conquer their weaknesses. We had a kryptonite hunt where the kids gathered all the sparkly green rocks we had spray painted days earlier and hid. They had to be carefully contained in the kryptonite case but the kids did it with the greatest of ease.

They also had to survive the rope swing and the custom made slide into the pool that grandpa built.

as well as THE VOLCANO! Finn is currently AS equally obsessed with Volcanoes as Super Heros... so we knew that if we could find a way to incorporate one into the party we would make his day. Finn and his daddy spent time constructing the project and painting the volcano in the garage and by party time it was ready to explode.

The kids all gathered around and waited for the diet coke and mento erruption. It was big smiles, squeels and excitement from them! ...followed by a "let's do that again" daddy!

The day finished up with presents and Finn's very own capes! He actually got two which he puts to very good use. He is always wearing one of them wherever he goes.

Lastly, what is a birthday without a cake? The Sweet Cheeks girls delivered big time for me on this one. I was so excited to see what they would come up with and they took the inspiration and ran with it! They made all of finn's cake dreams come true!! ...He could not stop talking about his cake or nibbling on it prior to candle time. :) Many thanks to everyone over there for being so awesome!!

Many more wishes to come until next year!