Wedding Day Pictures - Look Your BEST!

Ladies... these are the pictures you will show off for the rest of your lives, so make it good!

Your photographer will guide you into certain poses, but sometimes, when it's not natural, it just doesn't work.

Find a photographer you are comfortable with and have fun with him/her.

Here are a few other tips to remember so you look relaxed, pretty and taut!

• Push your face towards the camera. Pretend you're a turtle, sticking your head out of the shell. This tightens the skn under the chin, reducing double chins and making you look young and fresh. Practice, practice, practice!
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• Hands are a concern for everybody. What to do with them? Forget about it and focus on your face. Just let them hang at your sides, but fingers slightly curled and not straight. Rotate hands so thumbs are towards the camera instead of the back of your hands. For guys... a slightly more relaxed look is to hook your thumbs into your pockets or into your belt. You can also put your hand in your pocket, but leave the thumb out and pointing down instead of across your waist.

• Smile with your EYES! This is the most important place to smile. Without the eyes smiling, you just have a plastered-on grin. Stiff and uncomfortable.

• Have a great 'camera smile'. Martha Stewart does this by raising her eyebrows a touch and smiling with lips apart, which brings the cheeks up. A slightly surprised and very HAPPY look. Practice!!!

I stress again and again... PRACTICE YOUR POSING!

Ever notice that celebrities often have the same pose in different pictures?

The reason for that is that they practice and learn the best poses for their figures and personalities.

Tape your favourite photo of yourself to a mirror and mimic the pose from that picture every time you are in front of it.

Start posing and practicing, brides-to-be and grooms-to-be.... These pictures are for your lifetime!

White Weddings Ideas

White Weddings. Classic, elegant, fresh and beautiful.

Simple and such a timeless and gorgeous look.

Who doesn't love a beautiful cake. White on white cakes with delicate or dramatic touches keeps your cake elegant and stunning.

Who says your wedding party cannot wear white as well. A simple sash or any color added to your bridesmaid's dresses keeps you the special lady of the day, but keeps your all-white color scheme.

White centerpieces can be white flowers or white branches. Dress up with crystals to glam it up.

White feathers give a modern and fun twist to a white wedding.

All-white candy bar! Cones of candy, Clear containers displaying white smorgasborg of sweet goodness!

Keep it classy and creative. White is timeless and instant elegance.

Happy White Wedding!

Rita Wong

www.ritawongevents.com

514.816.7482

Jewish Wedding Customs - Fun and Special

If you know me, you know that I have planned many weddings and a huge bulk of these have been Jewish weddings.

I love the customs for the closeness of family and respect for the practices and beliefs of the Jewish people.

I even incorporated the hora and the walk halfway down the aisle with my mom and uncle, who walked for my father.

I share with you these customs, so you can have a glimpse of what these customs mean and you will appreciate the meaning as I so do.

Blessing the Challah:

Before anyone eats a morsel of food, there is a blessing made, called the HAMOTZI, over the challah bread, which is a braided egg bread. It is a thank you and appreciation of what is brought to the people. This blessing is made by the couple's parents, a rabbi, or an honored guest.

Hora

No Jewish wedding is complete without hoisting the bride and groom, and sometimes the parents on chairs. It is a circle dance, where the strong men carry the bride and groom on chairs, derived from the tradition of carrying royalty on chairs. It is lovely to have parents be honored in this fun dance, as everyone is dancing and singing to Hava Nagila or Simon Tov, Mazel Tov!

Mitzvah Dances

A mitzvah is a good deed, but it is also considered at some weddings an obligation to entertain the bride and groom. At traditional weddings, the couple is seated on chairs and guests dance before them with masks, silly costumes and fun props.

Mezinke

This is a very nice tradition, honoring the parents.

It is one of the concluding dances of the evening that honor parents who have married off the last child of the family. So, if you are the last to be married, your parents are seated in the middle of the dance floor, and a crown of flowers are placed on your parents' heads while friends and family dance around them, kissing them as they pass in front of them.

These are just a few of the traditions that the Jewish people practice, but are 3 of the most significant. If you have never been to a Jewish wedding, get an invite! :) The Jewish people really know how to create a beautiful and warm SIMCHA (celebration)!

Wish them "Mazel Tov" and have a blast!!!!

Pretty Favor Ideas!

Thank your guests with a beautiful favor.

What is inside the favor box is indeed important, but the perfect packaging makes a world of difference. After all, PRESENTATION is everything. Just the nice package itself will please all your guests. Here are a few ideas for your wedding or any event favors:

For a destination wedding, somewhere hot and balmy... palm tree favor boxes...

For a bridal shower, or beach theme wedding or event, pretty and colorful slipper...

Asian-themed weddings are complete with Chinese take-out-boxes...

Lovely and simple linen favor boxes, in any color to match your color scheme, with satin ribbon can hold chocolates, candy, jewles... any small gift!

For Green Weddings, organic and recycled materials, woven favor boxes:

For the princess bride at her Fairy-Tale wedding, Cinderella carriages...

Make your favor box do double duty, as being a seating card as well...

For baby shower favors, in pink or blue...

Contact Rita to get these gorgeous boxes.

info@ritawongevents.com

514.816.7482

Important Tips for INVITATIONS

The invitation is a very important part of your wedding or event planning, as this will set the tone for what is to come. Therefore, the presentation is vital, but so is content.

Here are a few tips to guide you in creating the perfect invite:

1) Because the invitation is the first part of the event the guest will see, make it GOOD. It should be memorable and give the invitee an idea of what tone the party will take. So, if your event will be a high energy, FUN party, make it loud, make it colorful and make it stand out. Black-tie? Make it classy and make it elegant.

2) Don't be shy to put an RSVP deadline. This is important information for you, as you need to plan your seating arrangements, order seating cards, prepare favors and confirm numbers with suppliers.

3) If you want children included, you may write out their names on the invitation, or simply, indicate, "(Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and Family". If you prefer an adult party only, do not indicate "and family" and you may even include "Adults Only" or, as I did for a client of mine, "Sweet dreams to the little ones".

4) If the invitee is welcome to invite a guest, indicate the "and Guest". For example, Mr. Stephen Wilcox and Guest". Don't want the guest, leave it "Mr. Stephen Wilcox".

5) Make arrangements to have your invitations mailed out at least 4-6 weeks before you want them to be sent out. This will allow sufficient time for them to get to you and for you to prepare to be sent out. So, if your scheduled time is to have he in the ail by February 15, order them between January 1st - 15th. You should mail out invites 6 weeks prior to date and 8 weeks prior for people not in the same city or country. (RSVP should be at least 3 weeks to 2 weeks prior)

6) Triple-check your invitations and borrow another set of eyes to look for any spelling mistakes & check content... Do this for the invitation, the response card, the envelope....

Good Luck and Congratulations!

For more wedding and event planning tips:

www.ritawongevents.com

514.816.7482

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010!

Just a quick HELLO and wishes for a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I have a feeling... 2010 is going to be HUGE, so love it up and keep going and going and just enjoy the ride! I know I will!

All the best wishes for a very happy, healthy, successful and LUCKY new year!

Rita Wong xxx

Advice for Grooms : The Perfect Wedding Day!

Yes, it's her big day... but HIS too!

Advice is often given out to the bride on how to prepare and get through a very big and sometimes nervous day... but let's not forget her CO-STAR... the GROOM.

Just as the bride has many things to remember and to do, the groom has just a very significant role as well. Some believe that all the groom has to do is just shows up, but, he has a very big role in ensuring the bride's happiness, which in turn, will ensure a perfect day for both!

Empathize with the bride, grooms, and be there for her and you will have a flawless wedding day.

Here are some tips...

1) Be a gentleman. All eyes are on you. Be diplomatic, charming & keep your cool, no matter

what happens!

2) Be romantic. Never miss the opportunity to be romantic with your bride. This will not only please her and make her day that much more memorable, but it will calm her down as well. There is always time for quick kiss, some sweet words, smiles and hugs.

3) SMILE! As I said, all eyes are on you, so make sure you smile, smile, smile... and not just for pictures. Let everyone know (especially your bride), that you are the happiest man in the world.

4) When the mother-of-the-bride enters: Greet her warmly, tell her how beautiful she looks and how much you are looking forward to the day. Escort her to her seat, if possible, but if time does not permit, make sure an usher does so. Same for her father, if applicable.

5) When the BRIDE enters: This is the most important entrance. Smile at her warmly. This will relax her and make her very happy. This is the most important smile that she is looking for. This ensures her that you love her and that you are in this together. Help her make it down that aisle. When she reaches the altar, whisper to her how stunning she looks and how much you love her.

6) Be confidant. At the ceremony, be as relaxed and confidant as you can. Looking happy and

relaxed will make the bride calm and happy as well.

7) Overcome nerves. Just imagining yourself as self-assured, confidant and charming will put you in the right frame of mind and it will show. Act and be in control and that nothing can phase you!

8) After the ceremony: tell her how happy you are that she is your wife and of course, tell her over and over again how much you love her!

Rita Wong

514.816.7482

www.ritawongevents.com