The Sad But Momentous Day for the Father of the Bride!

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For the father of the bride, the wedding day is typically a day of mixed emotions. On one hand, there is pride and joy at the fact that his beloved daughter is getting married to someone she loves. At the same time, it is mixed with the sadness that comes with the realization that his daughter has grown up and is no longer daddy's little girl.

One of the most important things that the father of the bride does on the wedding day is to give away the bride. As per custom, once the congregation has been seated, the bride is escorted down the aisle by her father while the groom waits for them at the altar. This tradition is rich with emotional undertones. The father who has looked after his daughter is now symbolically handing over the care of his daughter to the new man in her life.

Of course, there are many who feel that this custom is no longer relevant today when most women have a career and are no longer under the care of their parents and are unlikely to be under the care of their husbands. On the flip side, the sight of the father of the bride escorting his daughter down the aisle to the uplifting notes of "Here comes the Bride" still resonates with many of us and captures the transition into marriage beautifully. Ultimately, whether this custom is included in the ceremony or not must be decided by the father of the bride and the bride herself.

Once the wedding ceremony is over, the father and mother of the bride leave for the reception venue. Since they are the hosts of the reception, it is important that they arrive there ahead of the guests so that they can welcome the guests as they come in. During the reception the father of the bride will be called on by the Best Man to make a speech and propose a toast. Once the reception is over, the father of the bride is expected to stay until the end of the party to help with any final bills or to make last-minute arrangements.

The level of involvement of the father of the bride in the wedding planning and preparation depends on the decision of the bride and groom and their parents. Sometimes the wedding is held in the house of the bride's parents - at such times, it is natural that the father of the bride ends up deeply involved in almost every step of the wedding preparation.

At other times, and especially if the wedding is being held far away from the bride's parental home, the involvement of the father of the bride in the wedding preparations may be minimal. However, keep in mind that most fathers would love to be involved in their daughter's weddings in some way or the other so do ask them for their help whenever it is needed.

Traditionally, the father of the bride also shoulders the cost of the reception. However, this trend is changing, partly due to the fact that both the bride and the groom are earning members and partly because of the rising costs of a reception party. The accepted practice nowadays is for the cost of the wedding and the reception to be jointly borne by the parents of the bride, the parents of the groom and the couple themselves. However, if the father of the bride offers to foot the bill, the gracious thing to do would be to accept the offer.

Whatever you as the couple choose regarding the costs of the whole event, remember the day is for celebration and significant day for the father of the bride. It is a day where he relinquishes his daughter to a another man and where the groom resumes the responsibility of caring for her. The father of the bride will be sad on one side but will know that his daughter will always be daddy's little girl no matter what.

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Planning an Outdoor Wedding? Make Sure to Have Bride & Groom Sunglasses

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An outdoor wedding may not be so uncommon these days, but it is still one that takes a lot of planning and preparation. Weather conditions are sometimes unpredictable, and there's no telling if on a pleasantly cloudy day, the sun would suddenly burst out of the clouds and bombard the contingency! To be safe, have protective gear ready, especially for the newlyweds. Keep bride & groom sunglasses handy, for example.

Sunglasses are staple protective wear for people who plan to spend a long time outdoors. And wedding ceremonies may take long even if they're held in open locations, such as natural forests and private beaches. Wide open locations may be especially troublesome to the eyes, producing glare that would cause significant discomfort, not to mention potential health problems you would NOT want to deal with during a happy event. Bride & groom sunglasses would be your first line of defence in keeping the most important people in the ceremony happy and safe!

If you have the budget and the time, invest on sunglasses for all the guests. Cheap sunglasses may be good enough, if your primary objective is to shield their eyes from the sun's harmful rays, so you would not have to spend too much on this particular accessory. You won't have to worry since many sunglasses fit different face types, as long as all the faces you have to take into consideration are adult ones. But since it's a wedding, you could expect children to make an appearance, so have a stock of protective eyewear for children handy.

What are other accessories and equipment that you should have handy for outdoor weddings? Well, keeping a canopy tent would be a good idea. If the wedding will be held in a location where the weather is particularly unpredictable, you may find that your entire guest list needs a roof over its head all of a sudden - perhaps due to the bright sunlight, or of the rainfall. Arches and gazebos may be more common than tents in weddings, but having a tent handy would not be too bad. You can avoid purchasing or renting eyesore tents by getting something like a canopy tent, which has removable canvas walls.

The bride and groom may express some fear that having their guests sunglasses will ruin family photos, candid shots and the like. If this is the case, they may opt to buy more stylish sunglasses, so that photos aren't ruined by clunky eyewear obscuring half of their guests' faces! And of course, if we're going to talk style, the bride & groom sunglasses have to be the most elegant and attention-catching ones in the room. Even if they won't get to wear them, you must make sure that the ones that are handy are not at all cheap and awkward-looking! Designer sunglasses would make for an excellent gift. A matching set of limited edition sunglasses could be a wedding memorabilia that a loving couple could treasure for a lifetime.

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