Wedding Traditions - Jumping the Broom

Every Bride dreams of creating her own traditions when she gets married, but there is one tradition that is celebrated in many ceremonies, jumping the broom. Have you ever wondered the significance of this tradition? If you are thinking of incorporating jumping the broom into your ceremony please read the below:

The "Jumping the Broom" is a ceremony in which the bride and groom, either at the ceremony or at the reception, signify their entrance into a new life and their creation of a new family by symbolically "sweeping away" their former single lives, former problems and concerns, and jumping over the broom to enter upon a new adventure as wife and husband.

Jumping the broom or in some cases jumping over an imaginary line is an African ritual, or tradition still being practiced in some parts of West Africa. Jumping the broom is not associated with slavery. Enslaved Africans, as an affirmation of their cultural heritage practiced it during slavery in North America.

This "leap" into a new life (marriage as wife and husband is performed in the presence of families and friends. You can be as creative as you want when planning for this special ceremony.

The broom has both symbolic and spiritual importance in the African culture. The ritual itself was created by our ancestors during slavery. Because slaves could not legally marry, they created their own rituals to honor their unions. Some say broom jumping comes from an African tribal marriage ritual of placing sticks on the ground representing the couple's new home.

The straws of the broom represent family; the handle represents the Almighty; the ribbon represents the tie that binds the couple together.

A fully decorated broom can be purchased at ethnic stores, online, or a regular household broom will suffice. If you decide to use your own broom and decorate it yourself, be sure it coordinates with your wedding colors. Using your own broom can also be a great bonding activity for the bridesmaids, perhaps the night, or week before the wedding.

The history of Jumping the Broom was found on: http://www.celebrateintimateweddings.com/ceremonybroom.htm

Perfect Wedding Guide Bridal Show

Heavens Touch will be participating in the Perfect Wedding Guides Bridal Show on 9/18/2011 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center located at 100 CNN Center, Atlanta, GA.

If you or someone you know is getting married tell them about the Bridal Show and make sure to tell them to stop by our booth.

Below is additional information about the Bridal Show....hope to see you there!

visit our site at www.heavenstouchevents.com.

Follow Heavens Touch on FaceBook

Heavens Touch has a new FaceBook page.....follow us on our Heavens Touch (Wedding & Event Planner)page. Check us out and, click "LIKE" and "SHARE" us on your page with your family and friends.

Thanks

Lavett

Recent Bridal Show

Heavens Touch participated in the 2nd annual Bridal Show hosted by the Pilot's Club of Sweetwater in Douglasville. It was both fun and exciting to meet with the blushing Bride's as they shared the details of their special day. We received a lot of great leads from the show and hope that we are able to work with the Bride's to "Help Make Their Day A Special One".

Here are some photos from the show.

Fall is in the air! Weddings are exciting any time of the year, but Fall is one of the most romantic times to get married. The rich colors of the leaves and the crisp, cool breeze is the perfect time to say "I DO".

If you need assistance planning your Fall Wedding give Heavens Touch a call. Book our Full Wedding Package and received a Complimentary 3-Tier Wedding Cake.

Heavens Touch is in the business of "Making Your Day a Special One".

www.heavenstouchevents.com (678) 368.2176

Bridal Expo

Heavens Touch participated in it's first ever Bridal Show last Saturday! It was fun & exciting....we met Brides that were in different stages of planning. There were a few potential new clients, which we are happy about. Our booth was nicely decorated in red & white with a mini candy bar. Brides & Vendors alike thought that the candy bar was a nice touch.

We look forward to participating in many more Bridal Shows! I can't wait until the next one.

Bridal Expo - Douglasville

Heavens Touch will be participating in the 1st Annual Pilot's Club of Sweetwater Bridal Show on Saturday, February 27th from 10 -2.

Come out and visit us and support the great cause that the Pilot Club is sponsoring. They are raising funds to supply much needed helmets to children that have brain disorders or injuries.

We hope to see you at The Center @ Arbor Connection on the 27th.

The Wedding Budget - Part 1

Now that you have hired Heavens Touch as your Wedding Planner, where should you start?

Before you start to crunch the numbers you should set your priorities. What are some the most important elements of your wedding that you can't live without? Knowing this ahead of time will give you a much clearer idea of how to allocate your money.

First things first, what type of wedding do you want? Planning a small intimate affair with close family and friends v/s planning a large extravagant celebration will definitely matter when creating your budget. Next you will want to consider the number of guest. Research shows that the average cost per person can run between $50-100 (food & alcohol). So think long and hard before creating your guest list. This should be a joint effort between the Bride, Groom and both sets of parents if they will be contributing.

Let's start looking at some of the common elements of a wedding and decide if these are areas where you want to splurge, scale back on or do away with altogether. In this weeks blog we'll look at a couple of things to consider to get you started:

The Reception
What type of reception are you planning? A formal dinner, a buffet dinner, a cocktail reception or brunch.

Let's define these types of receptions:

*Formal Dinner - This type of reception typically occurs between the hours of 6 pm and 9 pm with wait staff serving guest for each course.
*Buffet Dinner - Guest will serve themselves from a buffet bar and return to their seats to dine.
*Cocktail Reception - This is a classy way for a Bride and Groom that are budget-conscious to throw a reception. Cocktail Receptions do not include dinner and typically occur between 6 pm and 7:30 pm in the evening.
*Brunch Reception - Typically takes place between 9 am and 10 am, directly after a morning wedding. Brunch can be served as a buffet or seated meal.

Number of Attendants
Attendants are your Maid of Honor, Bridesmaids, Best Man, Groomsmen, Flower Girl & Ring Bearer. Although traditionally attendants are expected to pay for their own attire, having a large wedding party can affect your budget. There are expenses that the Bride & Groom will incur...the rehearsal dinner, bridal party gifts & bridal luncheon are cost that you may have to cover. So, when thinking of people you would want to share your special day with you may want to consider people that are closest to you. Your sister, brother or best friend will be honored when you ask them.

Meet me back here next week for Part 2 of The Wedding Budget.

New Year = New Brides

As the year ends and a new one begins, I am sure that there will be a lot of proposals at the strike of 12 midnight as we enter into 2010. It always makes me happy to hear of someone getting engaged. After the tears have dried and the announcements made, it is time to plan your special day. It can be exciting, overwhelming & stressful, but the end result will definitely be rewarding.

After you have had time to soak in the fact that you are engaged you're probably wondering WHAT NEXT... Getting started is really simple, put together a list of professional wedding planners in your area to contact. Go online and browse through the your local wedding websites or check around with some of your friends who have been recently married.

When contacting the planners you are interested in it is important to make sure that you have a budget in mind. This will be helpful when discussing the details with your new best friend - the Wedding Planner. The person you chose should understand your vision and make you feel comfortable.

So if you are recently engaged and need a Wedding Planner and you are planning your nuptials in the Atlanta, GA area, give Heavens Touch a call, we would be honored to assist you in making your day a special one.

Visit our website at www.heavenstouchevents.com