Have some fun at weddings...

• Smaller or larger tuxedo

A friend got married and I, being the best man, decided a humorous practical joke was in order. One of the duties of the best man is to make arrangements for the pick up and return of the groom's tuxedo.

After final fitting, rent an extra coat jacket that is either three or four sizes smaller or larger than the groom's. Explain to the tux shop what you're up to. Pick up the groom's fitted coat, switch with the extra rented coat, and deliver to the groom only when it becomes time to actually get dressed.

The friend of mine wore a 42 long, but the one I provided was a 38 short. Talk about some serious fun! Don't reveal that you know anything as long as possible.

• Write on the bottom of shoes

Someone once took a large black ink marker and wrote "Help" on the bottom of the groom's left shoe and "Me" on the bottom of the right shoe. So when he knelt down for his vows, the entire congregation saw it. Of course, this will only work if he must kneel with back to congregation (i.e. Catholic wedding). Make sure you get it so that it is readable with the shoes side by side, left to right, toes toward the floor. Do this far enough in advance so that the paint is dry before the groom wears the shoes to avoid damaging carpets.

Besides "Help Me", other possible message to write on the soles are (with varying degrees of cruelness): Left Shoe (I'm With) Right Shoe (Stupid [pointing arrowhead]); Left Shoe (Quick, Call 911!) Right Shoe (Never Mind, I'm Doomed!)

• Cheap plastic rings

A groom buys the engagement ring at a jewelry store. As the groom enters the room, we "have been talking about" the news that says the jewelry store he just went to is being investigated for selling plastic diamonds to unknowledgeable customers. This didn't work too well but maybe if you have better actors in your group it would.

• I'll just call my lawyer about this

Another on that I have seen pulled is to have someone speak out at the time the minister asks, "If anyone has good reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace."

They had a pregnant lady stand up and say, "Oh, never mind! I'll just call my lawyer!" It rattled the groom's mother so much that she fainted.

• A secret pregnant lover

At the rehearsal dinner for my boss' daughter and son-in-law-to-be, a loud eight-months pregnant teenage girl suddenly appeared at the back of the room screaming ten minutes worth of curses that would befall the groom if he didn't marry the pregnant girl like he promised. It was set up by the boss' wife, and I am told that the groom very nearly burst into tears protesting his innocence.

• One way ticket across the country

A groom's friends decided to throw his bachelor party the day before the wedding, and as often happens on these occasions, by the end of the evening, everyone was completely drunk, and none more so than the guest of honor, who promptly passed out in a corner of the room.

When he woke up, he found himself sitting in an airline seat with no wallet or money or anything on him except a one way ticket to San Francisco. He was worried sick until he finally arrived at San Francisco from New Jersey, where he found a ticket at the courtesy counter back to New Jersey. It seems that one of his prospective in-laws worked for an airline and had some comp airfare to use.

The groom got back to New Jersey barely four hours before the ceremony, and was barely able to stay awake long enough to say "I do".

• Do you already have a child?

During the wedding ceremony, when the minister/preacher/priest comes to the part about, "If anyone has any reason why these two people should not marry, speak up now or forever hold your peace..." have this four-to-six year old boy running up the aisle yelling, "Daddy, daddy." I understand from a friend who played this joke on a relative that it took almost an hour to get the wedding started again.

• Balloons

Obtain access to their getaway car. Fill with balloons. A few extra helium balloons in the trunk with their luggage is a nice touch.

• Add some peanuts

If you can get access to their luggage after they have packed, add styra foam peanuts in whatever nooks and crannies are left.

• Impossible to drive away

Jack up the car, put blocks under the axle, then lower the car onto the blocks. When the newlyweds try to make their getaway, watch them rev...and rev...and rev.

• Brake wired to the horn

The best man at my friends wedding rigged the horn to sound every time the brake was pressed, they drove half way down the road until they realized what was going on and had to return to fix it.

• I deserve to be married

For a small fee, you can get an agency to have a pregnant "ex-girlfriend" appear at the service, in a wedding gown, claiming the groom-to-be the father of her child and demanding *she* should be the one to be married. The one I saw even had a bunch of dead flowers with her!

• Who has the ring?

When the groom asks the best man for the ring, he turns and nervously says he doesn't have it, who then turns to the next groomsman and asks the same question, and so on until the last person turns and grabs a giant box of Cracker Jacks that contained the wedding ring.

The whole church was rolling as the best man and his co-horts had the last laugh. It was truely classic.

• Laughing gas in balloons

At a friend's wedding, the bridal party filled their car with balloons--all filled with laughing gas. They put them everywhere, under seats, in the glove box, etc. They popped the balloons, and everyone was relaxed and laughing. But balloons were popping all during the trip of their honeymoon. They said they enjoyed the trick.

We hope you had fun with this

Cheers Peter Bruce Photo & team bELLE

There married,tell family later...

Destination Wedding Website

. . .

You’ve made the big and great decision to do a destination wedding, you want Peter Bruce photo to come and shoot it, and you now face the task of making sure that people from around the globe meet up in one location for your special day. Meanwhile, you want to be free to enjoy one of the most joyous events of your life. Admittedly, it can be a difficult balance to strike, but there is help. A well designed wedding website can facilitate good communication, something any wedding planner will tell you is a critical ingredient to ensuring the success of and simplifying the planning for your destination wedding. Your guests need to know all the necessary information about your wedding so they know where to go and how to get there. At the same time, feedback from your guests can give you the information you need to plan an event everyone will enjoy. An informative and interactive wedding website can help open the lines of communication between you and your guests and thus make the event more enjoyable for everyone.

To get the full benefits from your destination wedding website, you’ll need to take what are some common features in wedding websites and adapt them to accommodate the special needs presented by your destination wedding. Here are some features to look for and some tips on how to use them to their full potential.

An online RSVP can be a handy tool for any destination wedding; for a destination wedding, however, it can really be put to work. A creatively designed RSVP gives your guests a convenient way to give you their vital information as well as their input on your wedding plans (if you want it!). In addition to asking for the typical information, you might consider additional entries such as flight information and arrival date, hotel where the guests would like to stay, any special requests they might have for activities and anything else pertinent to your wedding plans. Arrange to have the results sent to your wedding email address and you’ll have all this useful information stored away in one place for future reference.

Since it’s likely that some can not make it to your wedding, two common website features take on an even greater importance for your wedding website. First, a guest book allows all your friends and family to send well wishes across the miles. Their messages can be sent to your email and/or posted on the site for all to enjoy. After the wedding, these messages can be saved and treasured as part of your wedding memories. Second, having links to your online gift registries provides your friends and family a quick and convenient way to send gifts whether they can make it to the wedding or not. Obviously, this is a deal for them and for you!

Last but certainly not least come the critical information pages that provide the meat and potatoes of your site. Some important things to detail for your guests include local information such as maps and directions; local information (airports, ground transportation, etc.); restaurants and local activities to keep them well fed and entertained; local weather links and wedding specifics. In providing this information on your site you will have created a handy reference for your guests and a simple way for you and your family to avoid having to repeat information. Be sure to include any other information or deals you’ve arranged for your guests such as airline deals, hotel deals, rental car arrangements, and anything that you feel would be of use to your wedding guests. If you’re planning pre and post-wedding activities a wedding itinerary may also be a useful edition to your site.

Finally, let’s take a look at some good tips for making the most of your wedding website. If possible, it’s best to announce your web address with your “save the date” cards. This gets your web address to everyone who needs it and clues your guests in on your plans to communicate with them via your site. By no means does this mean that you have to have your website completed by that time. Having at least one working page with a welcome message and a note on the how you plan to use the site is sufficient. The important factor is that your guests know to check your site for updates and changes . This alone can save you hours of phone calls and other correspondence. You might even consider creating a mailing list for guests who would like to be contacted via email when your site is updated. This point leads us to our final necessity for a successful destination wedding website: flexibility, and lots of it! Since wedding plans evolve over time, you will need a website designer that is willing to update your site as information comes in and as it changes. Make sure you understand your designer’s policies before committing to any one company. A cheaper site may not end up so cheap after you’ve made 8 changes at $15 per update. You might consider making an advance agreement for a certain number of updates at a price you’ve agreed upon in advance.

Ready to start simplifying your destination wedding with a wedding website? Yes or no, you’ll do well to remember the cardinal rule of weddings if things get too overwhelming, too involved, or just plain too much, you can always elope! Rest assured that no matter how you choose to wed your website won’t be wasted. Should you cut the guest list to two, you can always use your site to display your photos and tell everyone about the wedding they missed!

We hope this helps with your get away wedding, please let us know

Best Peter Bruce & team bELLE

They said it in "ghosts busters" print is dead...

YOU CAN BREAK TRADITION WHERE YOU SEE FIT...

Wedding blogs are the new bridal magazines (and of course ours is the best right). Ask any newlywed. The Internet is swimming,drowning with posts on do-it-yourself favors, centerpieces, place cards and invitations. Looking for a rustic bouquet wrapped in twine and dried anise? Your dream arrangement is only a Google search away. Clever brides and grooms showcasing highly personalized soirees have planted wild ideas in my head and loosened the reigns on what I perceived as an industry fraught with “rules.”

Cheers Peter Bruce photo & team bELLE

Girl love...

Clean one liners for your wedding speech

We thought you may like somethings to laugh about

• At the cocktail party, one woman said to another, 'Aren't you wearing your wedding ring on the wrong finger?' The other replied, 'Yes, I am, I married the wrong man

• After a quarrel, a wife said to her husband, 'You know, I was a fool when I married you.' The husband replied, 'Yes, dear, but I was in love and didn't notice.'

• A man inserted an 'ad' in the classifieds: 'Wife wanted' . Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: 'You can have mine.'

• When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.

• Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience.

• I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her first name was Always.

• Losing a wife can be hard. In my case, it was almost impossible.

• I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months - I don't like to interrupt her.

• Just think, if it weren't for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.

• My girlfriend told me I should be more affectionate. So I got two girlfriends.

• A husband said to his wife, 'No, I don't hate your relatives. In fact, I like your mother-in-law better than I like mine.'

• A man meets a genie. The genie tells him he can have whatever he wants, provided that his mother-in-law gets double. The man thinks for a moment and then says, 'OK, give me a million dollars and beat me half to death.'

• How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done free.

• A man said his credit card was stolen but he decided not to report it because the thief was spending less than his wife did.

• The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once.

Let us know what you think...
Cheers Peter Bruce Photo & team bELLE

The best advice for the best man...

The best mans toast can make or break a wedding and you want to make, also make people cry.This Best Man speech idea list from Peter Bruce Photo & team bELLE helps you to prepare roasting the groom, the thank you's, the toast proposals, and other Best Man speech ideas.

1. Thank the groom for his speech and for asking you to be best man.

2. Compliment the bride and her looks on behalf of the maids of honor or bridesmaids and the other helpers.

3. Toast to the parents of the bridal couple.

After the ceremonial opening it's time for a teasing best man speech idea:

4. Mention some funny incidents or averted disasters of this ceremonial wedding day.

5. Tell about your relationship to the groom.

• How did the two of you met?
• How has your friendship developed?
• How you came to be best mates?

6. Come up with some jokes about his years of study, job skills, hobbies and achievements. But avoid nasty or rude best man speech ideas. Don't go too far. For example don't mention his escapades with other women in the past.

• Show photos of embarrassing moments for the groom and tell the story.
• Looking for a prop, an old toy, sports wear, a school award, and so on, can also result in a good best man speech idea.

7. Tell teasing anecdotes how the bride and groom have met.

• How did he tell you about his new love, what did he exactly say?
• How has he changed?
• Did he behave differently?

8. What is your perspective on the growing relationship between bride and groom? Give some heart felt comments about the happy couple.

9. Give some words of advice and your Best Man ideas about love and marriage. Be somewhat sincere and emotional now.

10. Propose a toast to the bride and groom. Congratulate or bless them, and express your best wishes to the bride and groom, wish them a long and happy life.

We hope this helps you out,pass it on and please let us know

Best Peter Bruce & team bELLE

You go boy...

Tossing of the Garter

Today, the tradition of the wedding garter is tame in comparison to Paris France of the 14th century. In the USA the bride wears two garters; one as a keepsake garter and the other for the throw away.

Both garters are worn on the right leg just above the knee.

Before the removal of the garter, the bride first throws her bouquet to the single women at the wedding.

The groom removes the throw away garter from the brides leg, hopefully he removes it with his teeth , but more appropriately nowadays he uses his hands. He does this while the bride is sat in a chair on the dance floor.

After the garter has been taken off, he then throws it to the single male guests. The male guest then takes the garter and places it on the leg of the single female guest who has caught the bouquet.

Those that catch either item are said to be the next to marry. In some instances, it is said that they will marry each other.

The keepsake garter is removed later in private during the honeymoon night.

Numerous wedding garter traditions have been obtained over the years that still seem to become rules of etiquette today. Take a look at a few that are still popular and some that have long since been forgotten.

The garter tradition originated back to about the 14th century. In parts of Europe the guests of the couple believed having a piece of the bride’s clothing was thought to bring good luck. They would actually destroy the brides dress by ripping off pieces of fabric. Obviously, this tradition did not sit well with the bride, so she began throwing various items to the guests – the garter being one of them. It became customary for the bride to toss the garter to the men. But this also caused a great problem for the bride….sometimes the men would get drunk, become impatient and try to remove the garter ahead of time. Therefore, the custom derived at having the groom remove and toss the garter to the men. With this change, the bride began to toss the bridal dress to the unwed girls who were eligible for marriage.

Another interesting custom dated back to the ancient times where the wedding garter represented the virginal girdle. When the groom removed the garter from the bride, this represented the bride’s relinquishment of her virginity. WOW

An Old English custom was while the bride & groom were in their bridal chamber, the wedding guests would sneak into the chamber picking up discarded stockings and throwing them at the couple. Whoever flung a stocking that hung on the bride or groom’s nose, would be the next to marry.

“ Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and a Silver Sixpence in her Shoe”

Did you ever wonder where the custom “Something Blue” comes from?

Well wearing something blue dates way back to biblical times when the color blue was considered to represent purity, faithfulness and fidelity. Back then the bride would wear a piece of blue clothing or a blue band around the bottom of her dress. The ancient Roman maidens also wore blue on the borders of their robes to symbolize their love, fidelity and modesty, while the Christians associated it with the purity of the Virgin Mary.

We hope you found this interesting and enjoy the photos,please let us know

Best Peter Bruce Photo and team bELLE

Top 25 blockbuster questions to ask a photographer...

The Top 25 of the questions from Peter Bruce Photo and video & team bELLE that you could ask your photographer

Have you ever shot a wedding at our venue location before? How did it work out?
What’s your primary style? Posed & formal, relaxed, photojournalistic, candid, traditional?
Do you shoot in color or black and white or both?
Do you use an assistant? Is there an extra charge for one?
Will you have backup equipment available? And what happens if you get ill?
Can other people take photos while you are taking photos?
What types of photos will be taken (B/W, Color, Antiques, etc..)?
How many photos come in each package? What is the breakdown per photo?
Will you accept a list of specific photos to be taken?
What attire will you and/or assistants wear?
What time will you arrive and how long will you stay?
Should the event last longer than scheduled, will you stay? Extra charge?
How long after the event will the proofs be ready?
Do you have liability insurance?
What type and how much assistance will your provide in planning an album?
Do we get the negatives or what is the charge?
Is this your recent work that I'm seeing on your website?
Do you provide a written contract and guarantee?
What are your policies regarding proofs?
Is a deposit required? If so, how much?
When is the remaining balance after deposit due?
What percentage are the taxes?Always give the photographer a tip, they have all your images
Is gratuity included in the price?
Are there any additional charges not mentioned? (i.e. travel)
What are the refunds/cancellation terms?

We hope this helps you with the hugh task of picking a photographer, and as always please let us know your feed back is important to us. And have fun at your wedding.

Best Peter Bruce & team bELLE