How to Deliver a Great Wedding Speech Like a Pro

Giving a wedding speech is one of the most dreaded assignments most people avoid. But it should be an honor to be asked to take part of that special moment of such a memorable occasion. If you know how to deliver a great wedding speech then this should not be a problem. Here are some tips of doing it.

Call attention at the opening –a great wedding speech is one which people listen to and the most important time to catch people's attention is during the opening. Introduce yourself first – who you are in the couple's life and why in the world they gave you the honor to talk at their wedding. You may begin with a joke, an anecdote, or a memorable experience with the bride and groom. To deliver a great wedding speech you may start with anything that could catch the audience's attention so that they can focus on you as the speaker.

Look at your audience – to command the respect of your audience, look at them in the eye. You can call their attention by glancing at them, or panning through them to signal that you are about to deliver a great wedding speech in front of them. Smile! The audience would not want to listen to a snobbish-looking person.

Be quick but concise – the key to good communication is brevity. People have very short attention spans these days and you should be able to deliver a great wedding speech into that short time. When telling stories, get straight to the point and avoid making redundant explanations. Deliver your message right after the story. This way, you would be able to communicate everything and make yourself understood effectively.

Return the attention to the couple at closing – most wedding speeches end with your wishes for the couple and the toast. You can end it in different ways but the important thing is you return the spotlight to them, after all this is their moment. You should not hog all the attention to yourself, but you should not pass the limelight too son just to get over with your speech.

Practice makes awesome speeches – to deliver a great wedding speech, it is important to rehearse your speech five to seven times before the wedding. Practice in front of the mirror or a friend so that you can easily be corrected for mishaps. Write down just the keywords of your speech in an index card and practice saying your speech again for two or three times, taking cues from the card. On the morning of the wedding practice your speech again, this time without the cue card, and see yourself go with it in a breeze.

Stand firm to calm those knees – if you have shaky knees, you may lean to a table for support and stability but never, ever sit down to deliver a great wedding speech. By standing, you are commanding the guests for their attention, and at the same time you are showing the couple your respect.

Grasp to calm those hands –if you have shaky hands, you can calm them down by holding on to something, a hanky or the wine glass perhaps – just so your hands are busy doing something to keep it distracted. Once you start to deliver a great wedding speech, your hand could easily forget its urge to keep shaking.

Speeches should not be scary. If you know how to deliver a great wedding speech, you need not to fear weddings anymore.

Why Fixing Your Defects Will Skyrocket Your Success with Women

Okay, I get this type of letter all the time…

A lot of my readers send me emails which talk about their physical defects and how they're preventing them from meeting and attracting women.

For instance, many guys feel they're too bald or overweight to attract a woman. In fact these men OBSESS over these *flaws* so much that they become paralyzed with fear when talking to a woman.

So let me set the record straight on this...

First off, you CAN attract women no matter what you look like.

I've seen some of the UGLIEST and FATTEST guys attract women just by having an interesting personality.

And you can do the same!

BUT...

There are times when you feel like a physical characteristic is holding you back. My advice is to fix what you can and ACCEPT the things you can't control.

For instance, say you're a short person. Because your height is something you CAN'T fix, you know there is nothing you can do to become taller. So instead of worrying about being short, learn to develop your flirting skills to the point where your height WON'T MATTER.

On the other hand, if you have a physical defect which you can control, make every attempt to change it.

For instance if you're overweight, try losing a few pounds. Or if you're going bald, try to shave your head and cultivate a unique look. (It's worked for Bruce Willis and Jason Statham).

Just remember that no matter you look like, your success with women is not dictated by your looks or defects. If you can learn to attract women through your personality, then you'll get past the physical flaws that you think are holding you back.

Tips for Free Wedding Stuff!

What could be better than cheap? It has to be free wedding stuff!

Follow these tips and you could save yourself a fortune on your wedding.

Shop Loyalty Cards

We all have them, in my case they should be called dis-loyalty cards as I have most of the major shop loyalty cards. Have a look at where you can spend your reward points, with a number of cards you can swap your points for luxury hotel stays or spa treatments or even money off at department stores. You could save these up and use them for your honeymoon or as presents for your bridesmaids and at no cost to you.

If you have a company car or use a lot of petrol then sign up to a loyalty card that rewards you with what you like, it's like shopping for the honeymoon reward card! You do need to make sure you stay loyal otherwise you won't be able to maximise the rewards.

Hotel Loyalty Cards

Most of the hotel chains have a loyalty scheme, look at their company websites for details. Before you book your wedding at a hotel definately look at what their loyalty scheme could offer you, as it is unlikely that they will promote a reward scheme with a wedding booking. You may need to join the loyalty scheme before you book to take advantage of it. Just think how many points you would earn on a £4000+ reception! You could then redeem the points for your honeymoon or for accommodation for your guests.

Remember to keep an eye on the small print!

If you or your partner have to travel a lot for business this is a great way of gaining points without you having to spend a penny. Airmiles or hotel points are all useful for your wedding planning.

Competitions

I know it may feel like a long shot but look to enter competitions to win holidays or your dream wedding. Some service providers run competitions for discounted photographs or flowers, they do this to increase traffic to their site and build their database and you could be the lucky one! Somebody has to win them.

Why Planning Out Your Night Will Help You Sleep with More Women

Imagine this situation…

You're talking with a woman and you've done everything right. You've built attraction, she's into you and you're receiving all the signs that she wants to make things intimate. In fact, you're sure she wants to go home with you.

The problem is you are 45 minutes from your home. So all the time you've spent on attracting her will lead to nothing.

Now unless you can talk her into going to her place or to a hotel room, you'll probably lose out on an opportunity to "close the deal" that night.

To prevent this from happening, you should ALWAYS plan out the logistics for the night.

In other words, if you know you're going to be far away from your house, plan on ONLY setting up dates or getting a woman's phone number. Thus your goal is to build attraction and set up future encounters.

On the other hand, if you go to places near your home, then you have a lot of possibilities. You could either plan on setting up future dates or you could work to bring women back to your home.

Furthermore if you want to bring women back to your home, you should plan on setting things up for a seductive environment. So you need to clean your house and set up the right kind of mood in your bedroom. Then when you meet a woman, you have a place where you can "continue your conversation".

By planning out your evening and knowing what you're trying to achieve, you'll make it easy to achieve your outcomes.

So always think about your location and how to it will affect your pick-up techniques.

Instantly Captivate a Woman's Attention With Your Storytelling

If you're like other guys, there will be moments in a conversation where you can't think of anything to say.

What sucks is you could be talking to a great woman, then your mind suddenly goes blank and you can't have anything to talk about.

Once this happens, you can say goodbye to any chance you have to attract this woman.

The good news is there is a way to completely CAPTIVATE her attention during a conversation. All you have to do is utilize the power of storytelling.

It's human nature to LOVE STORIES.

Think about it…

There have been times when you've been completely captivated by a person because he or she was able to tell a really interesting story.

And you can do the same!

By telling her entertaining stories, with you as the central character, you'll completely captivate her attention.

In order to tell a good story you have to first think of different incidents and scenarios which a woman will find both interesting and entertaining.

Then practice telling these stories around people.

The important thing is to get to the point where you can tell this story as a reflex.

Now you might think is you should use a different story every time you talk to a new woman.

But that's not what you should do…

If you have a good enough story, learn to tell it to every new woman you meet.

Although you might know the story by heart, it'll be entertaining to any new woman you've just met. This is especially true when you know the story cold.

For instance one story I often use when I meet a woman is about the time I was running and almost got hit by Bruce Springsteen when he was driving his car.

I craft the story in a humorous way with him giving me the finger and my reaction. Since this happened MANY years ago, I've had a lot of experience telling it and making it really entertaining.

YOU can also entertain women with your stories. Just sit down and craft a bunch of interesting stories. The only requirement for these stories is to create ones which focus on you displaying masculine, yet funny characteristics.

Keep working on these stories till you know them cold. Then practice telling them every time you meet a woman.

I promise if you learn this technique, you can easily approach a woman and instantly captivate her attention.

Wedding Traditions In Other Cultures

In the United States, we have several wedding traditions that may look odd to someone who is not accustomed to them. Removing the garter could be considered crude by many cultures, and throwing the boutique would probably look very strange as well, and this is not even considering our practice of decorating the newlyweds' vehicle, oftentimes with aluminum cans dragging behind. While these practices may be seen as quaint to people from other cultures, they have good intentions and are the customs we are used to. Many people choose to include aspects of weddings from other cultures into their own weddings. Although these African wedding practices are normal in their culture, they would be considered extremely odd in other parts of the world.

Dowry is a very common wedding tradition in many parts of Africa. A dowry is basically a negotiated gift that the groom gives to the bride's family. Although the amount of dowry can be determined a number of ways, it is very common for the dowry to connected to the bride's overall desirability, as far as beauty, education, class, etc. In some cases, especially with arranged marriages, this can get out of hand and monetary value can determine who a girl gets married to.

There are several African ceremonial traditions that would be considered outlandish in many parts of the world. One African tribe has a number of "good luck" practices that would be considered anything but that in most places. As part of the marriage, the bride must gather all of her possessions and set off for the groom's home on foot, sometimes walking very far. To bless the marriage with good luck, the bride's father will spit on her before she begins her journey. When she arrives at the groom's home, the women of his family, once again as a good luck charm, will yell insults at the bride.

The honeymoon can also be very different in African cultures. In one tribe, a woman elder gives the bride pointers on how to please her husband and will hide under the bed to ensure everything goes smoothly. Other tribes do not consider the marriage final on the wedding day. Marriage may not be official until two children are born. Some tribes have "temporary marriages" in which the bride receives a salary and has no rights to inheritance.

Although you may feel stressed planning for your wedding, or even the prospect of getting married, you can be glad that many of our wedding traditions are relatively tame. You can rest assured that there should be no excessive walking involved, no one being spit on, hopefully no insults from your new in-laws, nobody under the bed during your honeymoon, as well as knowing that your marriage is complete on the day of the wedding. Even though women will always compare wedding rings, it is preferable to bragging about their family getting a dowry of "a used car, a riding lawn mower, Rocky DVD box set, and a gift certificate to Red Lobster."

Wedding Planning Checklist

The wedding planning checklist is a list of essentials to the wedding. The checklist will ensure that wedding planner will not miss any essentials to the wedding. With checklist, the wedding plans will most likely go as plan.

The wedding planning checklist will absolutely help for anybody. Especially, you are planning your own wedding. Since you may not have the some knowledge and expertise of the professional wedding planner, the checklist will give you an idea what needs to be done.

From one essentials to the next essential on the list, the wedding planner shops for the best deals. It is perfect when you are planning a wedding on a small budget. Here is the list of essentials on the wedding planning checklist.

Ceremony Fees

The wedding planner meets the officiating for the wedding. The wedding officiating is the one who weds the bride and groom. Also, the wedding officiating charges a fee to wed the couple. The wedding officiating is also the witness on the signing of marriage license in which the bride and groom may pay a fee as well. In the wedding ceremony, musicians play the songs that the bride and groom choose. The musicians charge a fee for playing the songs too.

Reception

After the wedding ceremony, the guests celebrate on the venue for the wedding reception. Here, the wedding planner finalizes the food and beverages, entertainment, wedding cake, and decorations. The entertainment may include bands, musicians, singers, and DJ.

Dress and Attire

Make sure the size fits on wedding dress and attire. The bride, maid of honor and bridesmaids need to finalize the wedding dress, undergarments, shoes, accessories, dress, jewelry, gloves, and hosiery. The bestman and groomsmen needs the correct size for suits, tuxedos, ties, cuff links, blazers, ribbon, shoes, and suspenders.

Rings

The engagement rings tell the seriousness of the intention. The bride and groom will no longer look for another partner. The wedding rings are part of the wedding ceremony. The groom puts the ring on the bride. Then, the bride puts the ring on the groom.

Flowers

The wedding flowers complement the already elegant wedding dress with bouquets, hairclips, and corsages. The wedding flowers also decorate the wedding venue and reception. Many bride and groom use wedding flowers as the main centerpiece on the wedding reception. The wedding flower petals that are thrown on the aisle by the flower girl also prepare the fairy tale entrance for the bride.

Photography

The photographer and cameraman will capture the lovely wedding. The guests especially the sponsors may want a copy of the wedding photo album and video. The wedding planner finds a perfect place to take pictures and video like beautiful garden, sandy beaches, and great architecture.

Transportation

Usually, a limousine separately drives the bride and groom to the wedding venue. The limousine may include the maid of honor, bridesmaids, parents, bestman, groomsmen, and sponsors. However, the wedding planner can get creative like horse drawn rides, and vintage cars.

Stationary

The ushers make the guests sign the guestbook at wedding reception. Also, the bride and groom may want to send invitation, and thank you cards.

Favors

The wedding favors are a nice keepsake for attending the wedding. The bride and groom may give the guests wedding favors. The wedding favors come in many shapes and sizes. For example, the chocolates, candles, key chains, wood fans, miniature armchair, miniature sandals, glass figurines, crystals, dried flower petals, potpourri, and candle holders.

The Wedding Guest List

In wedding preparations, budget and space allocation is yet another point for consideration. While couples would normally have a hard time determining who to invite, chances are they would have to whittle down the guest list to accommodate the feasible amount needed to grace the special occasion of holy matrimony between the two.

Determining the list of guests to grace the wedding would usually be a matter of priority. Depending on the type of celebration, relatives will always be the first consideration or even the priority of the bride and groom. Friends would follow and then colleagues and acquaintances as long as the allocation for accommodating the said guests allow.

It has been a common issue that people planning their wedding tend to overdo it a little and tend to invite people who are not that important in their lives. It is a natural reaction! Relatives for example may extend beyond close kindred. It may seem harsh, but sometimes decisions have to be made to limit the number of true relatives not only because of the costs involved but also because you would naturally wish only those that would treasure the occasion to be present. It is a fact that while some of the extended relatives may be in the wedding guest list, not all of them may share the same spirit as the bride and groom.

Wedding guests can go as far as over a 100. It depends on how large the celebration is expected to be. For some, budget restrictions force them to trim down the wedding guest list, sometimes even finding the need for a RSVP to do the proper head count of expected wedding guests who will actually come. Wedding invitations to be printed and disseminated also rely heavily on the wedding guest list. An allocated wedding invitation printing is needed to properly stay within budget and avoid spoilage.

Assumptions that special wedding guests such as the principal and secondary sponsors would bring along a partner or their families should be expected. For one, it is quite unethical to state to these people that they are not allowed to bring anyone because of budget constraints. This may offend them and may put them in a difficult position since not all people would understand the situation or the decision - especially if they were chosen and asked to be sponsors for the event.

There are also people who would invite special personalities as well like officials, celebrities and icons to grace the occasion. This has been a practice for couples since such would be an honor to have such well-known and famous personalities on hand during the wedding ceremony and celebration. The reason behind such is usually for bragging rights and of course being identified with them for future use, just in case the need to seek advice and help in the future may be necessary.

Easy as it may seem to strike off certain names from the guest list, it is hard to explain in the end why they were not invited. But given the short time to prepare and work on budgets for wedding celebrations, couples would evidently be left with no alternative in such cases where they are pressed for time to go through with their holy union.

Where Do You Find A Great Cheap Wedding Idea?

Inspiration for a cheap wedding idea can come from anywhere, look at wedding magazines, TV, talking with friends and relatives.

Firstly make sure you have written your budget, knowing how much you have to spend is a great way to focus on what are essentials to you on your wedding day.

Now forget the budget and think about your ideal wedding, what would the theme be? Where would you get married? What would your dress and flowers look like? What mood do you want; relaxed, informal, traditional or unique?

When you have all your ideas together now look at the budget again, don't panic or get depressed this is where you get clever and inspired for a cheap wedding idea.

Just because this is your wedding you do not need to pay a premium for everything, some retailers will charge more because it is a wedding rather than a celebration, that's just annoying!

Cheap wedding reception ideas are to look at holding your reception during the week, most venues charge less for a Friday than on a Saturday or think about the time of year and avoid the wedding season of the summer months, definately try to avoid dates like Valentines day as the cost for everything will be high. Especially the flowers!

Compare prices for the food at your venue, mix up set menus if you don't want what they are offering. Look at having a buffet for your wedding breakfast and to save money for the dessert you can use your wedding cake.

Wine and Champagne is an expensive cost, most venues say to budget half a bottle of wine per person but you know your guests and order accordingly. A good sparkling wine can be a great alternative to Champagne. Also ask if the venue has a corkage charge, this means that you bring your own wine and pay a cost per bottle. It may work out cheaper, especially if you have managed a trip to France or know someone with a trade card for one of the big drinks stores.

Think about the venue, would it be possible to have a marquee in you or your parent's garden? I went to one wedding where the mother of the bride lived next door to a farm and they managed to have the marquee in the farmer's field.

Keeping your wedding simple and stylish will keep the costs down, avoid the temptation to invite everybody you or your parents have ever met. Just make sure you have all the people that are important to you on your wedding day.

Hawaii Wedding Packages

If you're planning a garden or beach wedding in Hawaii, then this article will cover what a basic Hawaii wedding package includes, how much it costs, and why you'll need a wedding planner to get the job done.

My wife and I were married in Hawaii in July, 2004. I'm a professional writer living in Hawaii, and my wife is a professional Hawaii wedding planner. So we know what you must be going through if you are planning to have your wedding in Hawaii.

Hawaii is expensive sure, but there are wedding packages for every price range. One of the cheapest is your basic beach wedding that can be had for as little as $395. That includes a priest, processing of your marriage license, photos by a professional photographer burned onto a CD, two fresh orchid leis, a wedding planner-coordinator at your wedding to hold your hand, and you can choose any park or beach to hold your traditional Hawaiian wedding ceremony.

I bet you thought it would cost more, didn't you!

Of course, you can embellish your wedding with numerous add-ons, and I recommend that you do. You will certainly want to get a bouquet for the bride, a wedding cake, a limousine, and chairs for any guests you invite. These amenities can all be had for less than you think.

You may also choose to have a palm arch wrapped in flowers and ferns, and some tiki torches, or a carpet of rose pedals leading to your chapel in the sand. My wife and I chose to have a harpist during our ceremony, a white stretch limousine to take us to our wedding, a rose pedal shower after we were married, and many more embellishments.

The more amenities you add to your Hawaii wedding ceremony the more spectacular your wedding, and the higher your bill, obviously. Even the things leading up to your wedding ceremony are going to increase your overall expense to get married in Hawaii. You will have to budget for air fare, hotel, hair and make-up for the bride, a wedding dress and tux, rings, invitations. The list goes on.

But it's still very affordable to have your destination wedding in Hawaii. There are wedding packages available for couples getting married offered at most hotels that you can also take advantage of. Packages that include champagne, a car, buffet breakfast, and so forth which you can get as part of your hotel package.

To give you a better idea of what your Hawaii wedding package will cost, strictly speaking, I will give you the actual numbers of what my wedding ceremony cost, as follows:

Basic Wedding $ 475

Hair and Make-up $ 175

Limousine $ 95

Bride's Bouquet $ 95

Bride's Maid Bouquet $ 60

Photography $ 425

Musician $ 175

10 Flower Lei $ 100

10 Chairs $ 150

Rose Pedal Shower $ 90

2-Tier Wedding Cake $ 225



The TOTAL for this was $2065 and it was worth every penny. Did I mention that this also included our wedding planner and she was also on site during the wedding? In fact, getting a wedding planner is a must, because your planner will be the one who puts together your custom wedding package.

What's more, if you don't live in Hawaii, you'll need a wedding planner to coordinate all the wedding vendors and make all the reservations and arrangements. In fact, the cost of your wedding package includes your wedding planner, but that's a different story, and you can read about it in one of my other many articles about planning your wedding in Hawaii.

You really have a number of wedding packages to choose from when you get married in Hawaii. From the simple barefoot beach wedding to a more extravagant garden or beach wedding, to a full-on spare no expense wedding package offered by some of the five star hotels. Just remember, there's a Hawaii wedding package available for every budget in paradise.

What A Wedding Planner Can Do

A wedding planner can add significantly to the cost of a wedding. But they can also provide you with an extremely valuable service. They will take the weight off of your shoulders and take the strain of the preparations. This means that you can concentrate on other things and leave the important tasks to the wedding provider.

Looking at their advertisements, the weddings service providers can assist in:

Budgeting: Their experience and contacts enable them to offer valuable advice on the kind of wedding possible for any budget. It is true that you have to pay for their services but you can also avoid costly mistakes.

Finding a church or venue of the wedding if it will no be held in a church: You will get information on alternate churches or venues if your chosen ones are not available.

Reception: This may include the cake and drinks depending on the agreement. The wedding service provider can provide possible choices that are within your budget. You may ask for advice on the seating arrangement

Wedding attire for the bride, groom, or the whole entourage: They can guide clients to possible sources of made-to-order or off the rack wedding attires, shoes and other accessories within the specified budget.

Flowers and decorations: You may ask to see the decors of their other clients to get some ideas.

Photographer and videographer: They can recommend you to the reputable but affordable ones who will make sure you will be able to keep for posterity the highlights of your wedding.

Also:
Choosing Invitations, Favors, Music, Gifts

Buying the ring if you do not know where

Wedding entourage composition

Honeymoon, if you can't decide on the preferred place

Other small but valuable items which makes a wedding complete

Even the best planned affairs can have some last minute, unexpected glitches but with a wedding services provider, you have somebody to attend to them while you and your relatives and friends enjoy the occasion.