Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Wedding Flowers - And Their Meaning

Many flowers have meanings attached to them. Some brides will select those which signal the required message. Here are some flowers and their messages:

Camellia You are perfection

Cherry blossoms - You are my best friend

Forget-me-nots - My love is true

Ivy - You may always trust me

Jonquils - I return your affection

Orange blossom - My love is pure

Peach blossom - I am captivated by you

Purple lilac - You are my first love

Red and white roses - We are one

Red tulip - Let everyone know I love you

Red chrysanthemum - I love you

White roses - I am worthy of your love

Ranunculus - You charm me with your beauty

Red pinks - My love is pure  


Fashionable Bouquets
Fashions vary, and there was a time when a bride, on her wedding day, carried a veritable garden. Over the years brides have walked down the aisle carrying one flower, picked in their own backyard. In an informal bush-setting some have carried cultivated blooms augmented with fluffy wattle. Instead of the exotic orchids some have used native varieties. As a symbol of the smooth and rough patches of life some combine fragile blooms against a background of cactus leaves.

Dressed wholly in white, a bride may choose to carry a matching white bouquet. If her bridesmaids, to complement their dark outfits are carrying dark flowers, she may dilute the colour of their bouquets by including some of her white blooms. A bride who feels she is looking too stark as a totally white bride adds colour by dispersing some of her attendants’ flowers in her own bouquet. In a casual setting a bride may decide to have all bouquets in one colour. If she is in white and the bridesmaids are wearing blue all bouquets may be made up predominantly in yellow.

When the bridesmaids and the groomsmen are wearing contrasting colours a bride may choose flowers which harmonise with both. If the groomsmen are in blue and the bridesmaids are in yellow, all bouquets may be made up of blue and yellow flowers. White blooms or green foliage may be added as a neutralising agent.

Those brides who have a particular interest in being provided with good wedding photographs will deliberately scatter a few coloured flowers among their predominately white flowers or add a few green leaves. Or if the bouquet is to be wholly white, to allow the camera to catch some outlines, will ask for a loosely arranged bouquet.

Brides who intend to play around with their own flower arranging choose flowers which are long-lasting.
patsysmiles.co.uk



Monday, February 20, 2017

Engagement Ring part of the Wedding Ceremony

Brides often wonder, should they wear their Engagement Ring during the Wedding Ceremony or remove it altogether for the whole Wedding Day? 

Then there’s the bride who decides not to wear the Engagement Ring during the Wedding Ceremony but place it on her finger immediately after signing the Marriage Register.

And then there’s the third option - the bride does wear her engagement ring during the Wedding Ceremony, but on the right hand instead of the left. 

And the fourth option is to make the Engagement Ring part of the Wedding Ceremony. 

Throughout the Wedding Ceremony, including the exchanging of the Wedding Rings, the Bride wears the Engagement Ring on the fourth finger of her right hand. Then just before the Celebrant declares the couple as husband and wife, he or she may say something like this:

Celebrant: 
                 John, when you first made your commitment to Mary, the Engagement Ring symbolized your intentions to your future relationship.  

Now that you have exchanged your wedding vows, please take the engagement ring from Mary’s right hand, and place it where it belongs – next to the wedding ring. 

And then the Celebrant concludes the Wedding Ceremony with the official declaration.

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Publisher Guideline and the Celebrant


Love my Publisher – especially to create programs for my Wedding, Baby Naming, Renewal of Vows and CommitmentCeremonies.

Unlike Word where you have to do a lot of manual formatting, Publisher does it for you. 
If you want to create a booklet which consists of A4 pages folded in half, here’s how I do it. 

1. Select a blank, landscape page. 

2. Go to Page Design. Drop ‘Size’ menu and select ‘Page Set Up’. 

3. Select ‘Layout Type’ which gives you the option of ‘Booklet’. And that’s all there is to it. You create a Text box on each page and continue your Ceremony from one page to the other. 

Apart from compiling and printing booklets, I use Publisher for my Marriage Celebrant official documents. This is a little bit more complex. 

In the good old days I used to use a typewriter to fill in the blank spaces. However, once I reached  the last of my ink cartridges I tossed out the typewriter and went to my computer. 

After scanning the forms, and placing them in Publisher, I eventually came up with a template of text boxes for inserting the names etc as and where required. After which I got rid of the scanned document leaving just the text boxes. Needless to say, the boxes weren't as exactly placed as they should have been, and that's when I discovered grid lines.
To find the grind layout: 

1. Go to Page Design. Drop the ‘Guides’ menu and select ‘Grid and Base Line’. Select as many lines and columns as you want. Now you can position your text boxes in straight lines - horizontally and vertically. Once you actually write the text into them, you’re able to finesse them according to the lines you’ve got. Incidentally, you don’t have to get rid of the grid lines since they are just for layout purposes and won’t print.

If you have your own challenges or suggestions on this topic, let’s hear from you.


Saturday, February 11, 2017

What happened in the Year you Married

Couples may renew their Wedding Vows for different reasons, and at different times. But the most popular time when married couples renew their wedding vows is on their Wedding Anniversary. In particular such significant anniversaries as the 5th, the 10th, the 25th and the 50th Wedding anniversary.

Because it's not a legal ceremony the couple can introduce a variety of steps into their ceremony,  making it uniquely their own. Here is the complete text of one Renewal of Wedding Vows Ceremony I've conducted.

Since we like to commemorate such significant ceremonies in a concrete way, at the end of the Ceremony I usually hand the couple a Renewal of Wedding Vows Certificate.

But apart from this commemorative Certificate, I also like to give the couple a Certificate which outlines the significant events that happened in the year they were married. When I first thought of the idea I wanted to narrow it down to what happened on the Wedding Day itself. But found it too hard, so changed it to what happened in the year instead.

One ot the things I've included - and which got a laugh when I read it out when presenting the Certificate to the couple - was the year when mini-skirts became fashionable! Another one was what horse won the Melbourne Cup that year. (You have to live in Australia to appreciate that one)




Anything special you do for your Renewal of Vows Ceremony? Share your ideas.

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

For the Ebook Writer

Excellent Book-Length Guides


Getting Started & Principles


Producing a Solid Product


Sales, Marketing, and Promotion


Getting Reviews


Tools for Creating & Formatting Ebooks

  • Scrivener: this writing software is not free, but it can export EPUB files
  • Calibre: free formatting and conversion software for ebooks
  • StreetLib: free web-based tool that can also handle distribution and sales if you want
  • Jutoh: free software for creating ebooks, paid version available with more functionality
  • PressBooks: free formatting tool (up until a point), WordPress-based
  • Apple Pages (can export EPUB files)
  • Vellum: easy-to-use software for Mac users only to produce EPUB files
  • Here’s a list of educational resources and tools if you want to learn about ebook formatting and development.

Tools for Creating Enhanced, Multimedia, or Full-Color Ebooks


Major Ebook Retailers

Note: for reviews and insight into all of these retailers and more, read the reviews at The Independent Publishing Magazine by Mick Rooney

  • Amazon. Sells 60-80% of all ebooks, more for some authors and titles.
  • Apple iBookstore. Widely considered the No. 2 ebook retailer in U.S.
  • Barnes & Noble Nook Press. Considered No. 3 ebook retailer in U.S.
  • Kobo. Gaining ground, international presence. Important for the Canadian market.

Major Ebook Distributors & Services

Note: for reviews and insight into all of these retailers and more, read the reviews at The Independent Publishing Magazine by Mick Rooney

  • Smashwords. The largest ebook distributor of self-published titles that’s been around the longest and has the widest reach.
  • Draft2Digital. Similar to Smashwords, but smaller and more customer-service focused
  • Pronoun. An ebook distributor that reaches the key players: Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and Google. They also offer data-based marketing insights and a variety of tools to help you better sell. You pay nothing upfront yet still earn 100% of net sales.
  • BookBaby. You pay for a publishing package upfront (which includes ebook formatting), then you receive 100% of net sales.

To Find Freelance Help

Usually a referral is best; ask successful authors in your genre who they recommend. Otherwise, here are a few options:


Authors Who Blog About Ebook Publishing


News & Trends About Ebook Publishing