Are you considering a Niagara Falls wedding?

Some call it the “Las Vegas of the North”. Others simply call it a blast. Niagara Falls is the honeymoon capital of the world and is also quickly becoming Canada’s wedding capital.

 The Niagara Falls, the area’s main attraction, is one of the wonders of the world, but there’s a lot more to this region than this popular destination.

There are historic parks, countless entertainment venues, a casino and a technicolour downtown that is both kitschy and captivating.

Just minutes outside of Niagara Falls, is Niagara-on-the-Lake, a splendid town known for its orchards, vineyards and theatre. Countless charming inns and bed and breakfasts are located in the area. Niagara on the Lake weddings are perfect for couples who want a small wedding that is unique and away from city life.

Whether you love the neon energy of busy Niagara Falls or the beauty of its nearby wine region, there’s no doubt a Niagara Falls wedding can be fabulous!

Venues For Having a Niagara Falls Wedding

Embassy Suites Hotel Niagara Falls – This hotel, located in Niagara Falls, gives you the chance to get married 40-storeys above the Niagara Falls, with a spectacular view of the famous natural wonder. The hotel has numerous wedding packages to choose from and has wedding specialists on staff to help plan your wedding.

Venues For Niagara-on-the-Lake Weddings

Vineland Estates Winery Weddings – This vineyard, which is located in pastoral Jordan just outside of Niagara-on-the-Lake, is a gorgeous setting to say your “I do’s.” Acres of grapevines on rolling hills make this a sight to behold. The winery has a gourmet restaurant, as well as a beautiful stone building called the Carriage House that can be rented for intimate weddings. The Carriage House offers a stunning, panoramic view of the vineyard.

The Prince of Wales Hotel – The Prince of Wales can accommodate gatherings from eight to 80. Wedding packages at the Prince of Wales include consultations with a wedding specialist, romantic guest room for the bride and groom, all table dressing, banqueting space, and personalized menu–all within the elegance of this historical Victorian hotel.

Château des Charmes – This vineyard offers you an elegant venue for your reception. Weddings held in the vineyard’s marquis-covered courtyard which overlooks the St. David’s Bench Vineyard, as well as inside a choice of elegant rooms on site.

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Maybe you are looking for the perfect photographer for your wedding day, or maybe you have already found one. Either way, this wedding photography advice from brides who have been there could help you avoid some major (or minor) wedding photography disasters.

Wedding Photography Advice

I would take pictures in front of the house. I would take more pictures with my friends.
Amanda

The only thing I would change is I would have taken a few more specific pictures.
Therese

The only thing that I wish I had done, but did not do was get a picture of my mom, my grandmother and me. That was supposed to happen before the wedding, but we ran out of time and after the wedding, I was so tired and hungry I chose not to do it. Big mistake.
Mellinda

There is only one thing I would change. I would make a list of the pictures I wanted the photographer to take. Because my in-laws are divorced and remarried, there are some combinations that are missing.
Carla

I would …have someone watch to make sure my little nephews didn’t grab all the disposable cameras and use up every roll on their parents’ stomachs!
Jane

Wedding Videography Advice

The camcorder didn’t work due to the high dew factor on the beach so (my parents) didn’t even get to see the ceremony on video … If I had to do it over again, I’d get a better camcorder.
Paula

I would have tried harder to save for a video. We didn’t quite have the money so we didn’t have a video. I wish now that we did.
Jennifer

I would have paid to have a videographer. It was left in a family member’s hands and we ended up with no video of the day! Very disappointing!
MaggieSave

Getting hitched aboard a ship in a warm part of the world? Here are some ideas for a cruise ship theme wedding.

Stationery – Use seashells, palm trees, water, boat or sun motifs for your invitations. Create scroll invitations and place theme inside a bottle for ‘message in a bottle’ invitations.

Flowers/Centerpieces/Décor – Using sand and shells when decorating will help set the theme. Candles in sand filled mason jars, for instance, will look great on the tables.

Colors – Use bright, tropical colors, or stick with crisp linen shades. Or go with the nautical colors blue and white.

Food – Serve seafood and fish. Chocolate seashells added to your wedding cake are a nice touch. A wedding cake in the shape of a ship would also be a whimsical touch to add to the cruise ship theme.

Favors – Give guests small, galvanized beach pails filled with Hershey’s kisses, saltwater taffy, or votive candles. Luggage tags with a cruise ship theme are also a nice touch. There are also personalized mint favor tins with cruise ship themes available online.

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Leigh Wyryha is scared out of her wits. Why? She’s getting married.

Even though her wedding is still six months away, Wyryha is filled with anxiety about her big day. It’s not that she fears she’s marrying the wrong man; her fears have nothing to do with marriage itself. For her, it’s all about the wedding.

“I’m absolutely terrified to walk down the aisle,” says the 26-year old Okanagan bride-to-be.

Wyryha has always been shy and uncomfortable being the centre of attention. In fact, she skipped her own high school graduation because she couldn’t fathom the thought of being in front of a crowd.

“I had 23 family members waiting for me to come out and when they called my name I never came out,” she says.

She fears she might do the same thing at her wedding.

Wyryha is far from alone. Considering that shyness affects half of the population and that 13 percent of the population has an extreme form of social anxiety called social phobia, it’s safe to say that there are many brides (and grooms) who agonize over the fact that they have to be the centre of attention for their wedding day.

For shy types a wedding can be excruciating. Not only is there the agony of being in the spotlight for several hours, there’s usually public speaking involved. For brides like Wyryha, the thought of having to give a speech is enough to call the whole thing off.

“My fiancé and I have already talked about this and he has agreed to do all the speeches. I told him from day one I wouldn’t have the wedding if I had to do speeches,” she says.

Wyryha has already trashed her initial plan to have a big wedding, partly because she doesn’t want to face a large crowd. Instead, she’s opted for a destination wedding in Las Vegas with 30 people, which she says is still too many guests.

“I hate the idea of everyone looking at me and only me. It makes me sick to my stomach,” she says, adding that Pepto-Bismol tablets, Imodium and a bottle of water will be key components in her emergency ‘bridal bag.’

Calgary’s Tracy Reid, 23, who is getting married in July, is another bride-to-be who is not exactly anticipating her nuptials with unabated joy and exhilaration.

Her biggest fear is that she will do something embarrassing on her wedding day.

“I’ve spent so much time and money making sure everything is perfect, but the thing that scares me the most is being the centre of attention. I’m worried about walking down the aisle and tripping on my dress, and not being able to get up,” she says.

She’s talked about her feelings with her husband-to-be. Thankfully, she says, he understands because “he’s shy too.”

Reid says she tries to keep her anxiety at bay by focusing on the true meaning of her wedding.

“I keep thinking to myself it’s one day … Who cares if I trip on my dress, stumble during my speech, or even fall when dancing? It’s meant to be a happy day, it’s for us, and if something bad happens at least at the end of the day we will be married,” she says.

What’s a bride or groom to do when anxiety is overshadowing the joy of planning a wedding?

Whether it’s mild butterflies, or full fledged panic, Erika Hilliard, a Vancouver-based clinical social worker and author of Living Fully with Shyness and Social Anxiety says there are several helpful techniques that will help to banish these bad feelings.

According to Hilliard, one of the most important things a bride or groom-to-be can do is to start planning early.

“Don’t procrastinate. Get as much possible done so you will have a few days of down time. If you have everything prepared in advanced you can decrease the stress level,” she says.

Just recently, a client of Hilliard’s who is getting married in November, expressed concern about her upcoming wedding. Even though the bride-to-be had every little detail pinned down months before the big day, she was still concerned about one thing:

“The only thing she worried about was walking down the aisle … This woman is a confident, competent professional and the prospect of having all eyes on her was daunting,” she says.

Hilliard says brides that are anxious about their weddings can benefit greatly from a technique called grounding.

Essentially, grounding is physical awareness. It’s immersing oneself in the present moment by becoming mindful of physical sensations, much like meditation, says Hilliard. Ideally, it should be practiced weeks, even months before the wedding.

During a typical grounding session with Hilliard, a client would be seated. She would be asked to feel the sensation of her feet. How do they feel in her shoes? How do they feel resting on the floor? How does her back feel pressed against the chair? How do her hands feel resting on her thighs? Finally, she’s asked to feel the sensation of her breathing and to be conscious of where her out-breath stops and her in-breath begins.

“When you are focusing on the present sensation, you don’t worry about anything else, like what your guests think of you,” she says. “This is a place of power and composure.”

When the big day finally arrives, brides can take what they have practiced with them down the aisle.

“If you are walking down the aisle, feel the sensation of every footstep,” she says, once again pointing out that present moment awareness will bring a sense of calm.

According to Hilliard, grounding is a “wonderful tool for any type of stressful situation.”

Hilliard says another helpful technique to decrease pre-wedding anxiety is visualization.

“Imagine a time past the anticipated wedding. Imagine you are on your honeymoon and you are relaxing with your spouse… You’re talking with each other about how wonderfully the wedding went,” she says.

Like grounding, visualization should start weeks, or months before the wedding.

Another technique that will help reduce anxiety is what Hilliard calls “welcoming people with your eyes.”

“If you are avoiding eye contact at your wedding it creates tension because you are not feeling part of the moment, you are putting yourself away in a corner,” she says. “I tell people to practice welcoming others silently with the warmth of their eyes weeks before the wedding. When your wedding day comes and you walk down the aisle, meet people’s eyes with a silent “I welcome you.”

What about the dreaded public speaking?

Hilliard says a bride or groom should not feel obligated to give a speech. However, she says that saying a few works is always a nice touch.

“Just don’t make a big deal about it. Don’t call it a speech,” she says.

And one more thing: don’t get hung up on perfection.

“I think people need to be prepared that not everything is going to go perfect. If something unexpected happens, {like tripping on your wedding gown} you need to go with it and laugh it off as best you can,” she says. “Don’t let anything spoil your day.”

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For her first wedding, Pat eloped. Although her second marriage would also involve travel – it would be worlds apart from her first.

Pat and Chris, who both had a fondness for cruises, thought there was no better place to have a wedding than on a boat. They both loved the idea of a destination wedding and chose a Royal Caribbean cruise ship to say their “I do’s.”

“We wanted an adventure that was truly “us.” I didn’t want a cookie cutter wedding … I wanted to have time to visit and enjoy every guest,” says Pat, who adds that family and friends reacted with excitement to the news of the cruise ship wedding.

Along with 32 guests, the 40-something couple, who reside in Dallas, Texas, hopped aboard The Royal Caribbean’s Monarch of the Seas in Fort Lauderdale Florida for a 5-day wedding journey, which took them to Key West and Cozumel.

The ceremony was held in the ship’s lounge while the ship was docked. Windows overlooking the port on both sides gave a wonderful view of the ocean, says Pat. Chris’s 21-year old son acted as his dad’s best man, while his 14-year old daughter served as Pat’s maid of honor.

After the service, pictures were taken, and a four-course luncheon reception – complete with linens and crystal, was held in one of the ship’s dining rooms.

“It was a wonderful, delightful time,” says Pat.

Because the ship offered a package deal, the couple says planning was virtually stress-free. In fact, Pat estimates it took only 80 hours of planning – and that includes addressing the invitations.

Pat says that for her the best thing about having a wedding on a boat, aside from the lack of stress, was that she and Chris didn’t have to run from place to place on their wedding day. Instead, they could spend time with their friends and family.

Her advice to other couples considering a wedding on a cruise ship?

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” she says. “And invite everyone you want to be there. People will really come, as long as you give them plenty of notice.”

Cruise ship weddings are becoming increasingly popular – not just for second weddings. According to travel industry experts, more and more couples marrying for the first time are having cruise ship weddings.

Why are they so popular? One of the reasons is that they are generally less expensive than more traditional weddings. A couple can have a cruise ship wedding for less than $1,000, however the average cost is around $7,000 (and that’s with 100 guests). Also, they are relatively easy to plan, especially if you hire a wedding coordinator specializing in cruise ship weddings. Cruise lines are making the most of this growing trend by actively promoting cruise weddings. Most have all-inclusive packages to make your life easy that include everything from an onboard photographer to wedding flowers. Couples who want more customized packages can forgo the packages and create their own event.

Usually the ceremony at a cruise ship wedding takes place in port (the only cruise ship line that allows captains to marry couples at sea is Princess Cruises). Because each port will have different legal requirements for weddings, it’s important to hire someone who can help you meet all of the requirements. Guests can hop on board for the ceremony and reception, and then say their goodbyes when the ship departs. However, many are opting to stay aboard.

One word of caution: if you’re a control freak you might want to steer clear of this option. Generally a wedding planner will be handling most of the details for you, which might not be for everyone.

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