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I’ve written quite a bit about destination weddings in the past, mainly because Groomasaurus Gal and I had one in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. But a friend of mine brought up a good point the other day in that you don’t have to travel outside the U.S. to have a destination wedding. We’ve got lots of wonderful destinations right here in the good ol’ US of A, and plus with the economy still in pretty poor shape, I’m sure U.S. vendors would appreciate the business.

So I’m making a shameless pitch for having a wedding right here in my home state, Colorado. I live in Denver, and it truly is the best of both worlds. We have a great and thriving city (which also has a surprisingly number of excellent restaurants … only a notch below SF or NY, in my opinion, and those are world-class dining cities) and we are merely footsteps away from America’s playground … the Rocky Mountains. The sky is blue here over 300 days a year (and for a transplanted Midwesterner, that’s a better drug than you can get in any pharmacy or on any streetcorner) and the people are amazingly friendly. You see, Denver is a city of transplants and everyone who is here knows what it’s like to be new. So we’re always willing to bring new friends into our circle and reach out to new arrivals to make them feel welcome.

Anyways, there are so many places in Colorado to get married that I don’t know where to start. And you can either have a ski-slope wintertime wedding or a warm and sunny summer mountain wedding (I actually prefer Colorado in the summer, where there are so many things to do … hike, bike, camp, etc.). The ski towns like Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Vail and Crested Butte in the summer are great places for a wedding, as they have the venues and services to accommodate lots of guests and dining. And there are many quieter but just as beautiful towns like Salida or Glenwood Springs (which has a huge historic hot springs and a few classic hotels) that would serve you very well for a wedding. And then there’s destination hotels like the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, which is an entire little city unto itself.

But enough of my talking … here are some photos taken by my friend (and excellent wedding photographer) Katie Girtman from Studio Kiva of some breathtaking Colorado weddings. Katie shoots both wedding as well as commercially (I run a marketing/branding firm, and she’s done several shoots for us, all with great results). She’s the consummate professional, and if you’re looking for a wedding photographer who knows her stuff and will go above and beyond for you, she’s the one to hire. If you want more information on getting married in the mountains here, you should contact Katie or our friends over at Petal & Bean, who are both wedding planners and florists (I don’t see how they do it all, but everything they touch looks magical and ends up wonderful).

All photography courtesy of Katie Girtman of Studio Kiva.

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I’ve been busy browsing around the Web these days, and here are some great wedding sites I happened upon recenly:

OmniBride.com – You’ve tried Google and Bing in your searches for cool wedding stuff, so now try OmniBride. It’s a search portal specifically for wedding-related sites, and it’s a great way to find lots of sites in every category – from bridal shopping sites to wedding information sites to cool wedding planning tools.

The Wedding Chat Blog – A great new blog created especially for the chic bride. Lots of great topics and ideas, so put it on your blogroll and visit back often.

Beach Wedding Planning – If you are considering a sunny-beach wedding (and take it from one who had a beach wedding … it is totally worth it, and often destination weddings are cheaper than the ones you have in your hometown), this web site is a must to check out. It has helpful article on everything you should consider when planning your beach destination wedding as well as a place to check out all the possible beach wedding locations available in this hemisphere.

God Awful Wedding Crap – This blog is howl-out-loud-funny with posts on all the weird, wacky and sometimes scary wedding stuff and trends out there (for example, today’s post has a bride who commissioned a wedding cake that looks like her … can you say “narcissist”).

If you have any great sites to add to this list, just let me know…

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We continue to feature guest bloggers this month, and today’s guest is Amy Patel from Planning Elegance, a California-based wedding coordination company. I would like to thank Amy and her team for their valued advice for any groomasaurus-to-be. And make sure to stop by their wedding advice blog for more great tips and guidance on everything wedding related.

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Everyone involved in the planning process tends to act like the wedding is all about the bride and sometimes, we may forget about the groom. Often times we, as wedding planners, may not even meet the groom until the wedding day! Here are wedding duties that the MAN in the relationship, the soon-to-be-hubby: THE GROOM – this is what you should be handling throughout the wedding planning process.

The Bar and Beverages
The bar is the most common thing that brides will put their beaus in charge of for the wedding. Generally, the groom handles how much of their budget can handle the bar, what types of alcohol should be available, and how the bar payments will be handled. Hey guys, here’s some bar advice on how to handle this responsibility for your wedding reception. Don’t forget to have fun doing this – if there’s a theme to your wedding, maybe you can have some signature drinks. If you’re a tequila man, then see if your venue can offer a tequila bar, this will definitely add some heat to the reception. There’s also the option of a separate beer and wine station, or a full whiskey bar!

If you are having a non-alcoholic wedding – you can play around with what we call “Mocktails”. Your guests don’t have to stick to just plain old Sprite, Coke, and water – they can have apple cider, virgin cocktails/”mocktails”, smoothies, tropical juices, rootbeer floats…be creative! Guests enjoy creative and tasteful drinks and there are vendors that you can even hire for a fresh fruit smoothie bar or to create ice cream and beverage concoctions.

You can also make the the drinking options more interesting with an ice bar, martini luge, tray-passed drinks by servers, or different colored drinks for different tables. Colors are the best and most affordable way to play around with wedding beverages and create a cool and classy atmosphere for your wedding reception. Spruce up the look by using interesting glasses, cute little umbrellas, fresh garnishes like oranges and cherries, even colored ice!

The Gift Registry
Okay, so you got dragged along with your beautiful fiancee through Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Crate & Barrel registering for kitchen and living room items – you just don’t care if you go with eggshell white or ivory colored sheets for your bedroom! So now it’s your turn! There are some great registries for the groom out there and you should register at more than one store to provide your guests with options. Best Buy is a great place for your wedding registry if you’re into electronics, music, movies, home theater, or video games. An original idea would be to add on your wedding website what your favorite sports team is, then your friends can all pitch in to try to get season tickets for you and your beau – best wedding gift ever for sports fans everywhere. Then there’s the all-too-popular The Man Registry! This site has all types of great gifts that men will love and things that are classy enough to give as wedding presents. Have fun with this because your wedding gifts are a great enjoyment after a long wedding day and night – look forward to opening up that George Forman Grill, that plasma screen TV, or the autographed baseball you’ve been dying for!

The Wedding Band
So maybe you’re not so keen on the jewelry and even though you may not want to wear a ring, at least you can pick your own style out. There are many different styles and metals of wedding bands that you can choose from. Generally, these rings aren’t too showy and have the same pattern all the way around the band. It can have one or two indented lines, grooves, have a hammered pattern, or be plain. Different metals have different colors and properties. There is yellow or white gold, which are both great quality and can be made to fit any size finger.

Platinum is great because it’s heavy weight can make you feel like a man, but it’s a bit on the expensive end. Sterling silver is nice and affordable, however it is for a man that likes a shiny ring. Titanium and palladium are popular choices because of their colors and they are very light weight. While tungsten is great because it has a very dark, unique color. Any types of diamonds or gems are also available in wedding bands, discuss with you jeweler the qualities your want in a wedding band. If you are thinking about having a diamond, make sure you learn about how to select the right diamond for you so that you don’t break your budget. Decide on a budget or at least a price range – depending on the style, metal, stones, and design that you are looking for, you may even be able to custom-design your ring for an affordable price.

The Honeymoon
You can plan the honeymoon. While your beau is planning the wedding details and forgetting about the honeymoon, you can book the flight(s), accommodations, food, and activities. This is a great thing for the groom today because he can enjoy searching through websites for great deals and places to go. You shouldn’t plan the entire honeymoon without inquiring with your wife-to-be, get some tips on planning the honeymoon and ask your bride-to-be’s advice on where she wants to go and what she wants to do. You can book and plan all the details, which most women will find very romantic.

To all the grooms out there that think they have been forgotten: there are things for you to do and ways to contribute that you can enjoy. Signature drink taste testing, running around Best Buy with the registry gun, choosing metals for your wedding band, and looking up places to go snorkling and sky diving for your honeymoon can be your contributions to make your wedding unique and memorable. Congratulations – you are officially a groomasaurus!!

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When Groomasaurus Gal first asked me my opinion of some pictures she had clipped out of magazines of wedding floral arrangements, I looked at her earnestly and uttered this profound statement: “Uh, I dunno.”

I would imagine that most guys have the same reaction to floral arrangements. Nothing in life has prepared most of us to have an opinion on floral arrangements: what is fitting, what to look for, what they should cost. Many of us have bought flowers for women on more than a few occasions, but on those occasions usually we just stop by a local florist and ask them something like, “So I’m in the doghouse and I need to get out before I freeze from all the icy stares I’m getting from my girlfriend/fiancee/wife. Do you have a floral arrangement that can help with something like this?” To which the florist smiles and then shows us a fabulous arrangement that helps turn the tide (as well as a litany of apologies) and put us in our significant other’s good graces.

With that said, here are a few tips I learned when shopping for flowers for your wedding:

1. Have your wedding colors already picked out – It helps to know what colors your wedding part attire (such as bridesmaids’ dresses and groom’s and groomsmen’s attire) and decor (including table runners and skirts, favors, etc.) will be so that your florist can match those items.

2. Browse around the Internet for ideas – There are tons and tons of wedding flower pictures on all sorts of wedding-related sites and blogs, and these are great places to start to get an idea of what is possible (for example, here’s a great place to get ideas for bridal bouquets).

3. Decide what kind of arrangements you want – Traditionally, the bride has a bouquet and the groom has a boutonniere, but you can also add bridesmaid bouquets; groomsmen boutonnieres; corsages for mothers, grandmothers and other women of importance; boutonnieres for fathers, grandfathers and other men of importance; ceremony arrangements; and finally reception arrangements and centerpieces. You need to decide how much you want and what role flowers will play in your decor.

4. Consider your favorite types of flowers – Some people have certain types of flowers that they just love, or they have certain flowers that they associate with points in their relationships (like you gave your fiancee a rose on your first date), and you may want to consider adding these special flower species to your mix. Remember that some types of flowers may not be in season when your wedding occurs and that out-of-season flowers are often more expensive.

5. Visit a few local florists – Once you have a good idea of your colors, styles and types of arrangements, you should pay a visit to some local florists and have them show you their sample books. This will give you a good idea of their capabilities as well as the choices you have.

6. Narrow your florist list and ask for quotes – Revisit those florists who seem to be a good fit and who you think can meet your needs and ask them for a quote. Remember to include any special requests (such as special delivery needs as well as any floral preservation services you would like).

7. Follow up regularly with your chosen florist – A few weeks prior to your wedding, you should follow up with your florist to confirm your order as well as delivery times, etc.

8. Consider a way to “recycle” your flowers – When your wedding is over, what will you do with your flowers? Many couples have their bridal bouquet and groom’s boutonniere dried and preserved, but what will you do with the rest of your flowers. One option is to give them all away to your guests by telling them to take home the floral centerpieces. Another is to donate them to a local church. Whatever you decide, try to think about finding a better place for your beautiful wedding flowers than a dumpster.

Those are some good initial tips, and another great place to start researching your wedding flowers and finding great local floral vendors is the Flower Shop Network. This site not only has great advice for researching and buying flowers (for example, there’s a page that provides wedding flower tips for the budget-minded bride), but it also offers a wide number of profiles for florists in your local area. The same people also have a site called Wedding & Party Network that offers great insights into wedding flowers as well as many other wedding areas, and it is another excellent place to check out for wedding ideas, inspiration and vendors.

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Today we have another great guest blog post … this one from Matt Campbell over at Wedding Museum … thanks, Matt.

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Grooms selecting music for their wedding reception sounds easy. Play the music the bride and groom like. If it were only that simple. We encourage bridal couples to select music that means something to them for their special dances. However, we still have a few guidelines to follow when selecting songs for a wedding reception.

Do not play music with explicit lyrics. Don’t assume this is the case. Verify music entertainers have all radio edit versions of songs to be played at your wedding receptions that contain explicit lyrics in their original releases.

Do not play songs that reference death. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. Who will not think of the lives lost on the Titanic when this song is played? Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton. This song was written by Eric in memory of his son.

Do not play songs that reference suicide. Examples include Don’t Close Your Eyes by Kix and Jumper by Third Eye Blind.

Grooms, be sure you discuss with your bride-to-be about the type of music to be played as background/dinner music. Options for background music include jazz, classical and pop. The music entertainer needs to know so they can prepare the correct style of background music. Classical music would not be appropriate for a country theme reception.

Do not play music that is suggestive or offensive. Songs that may be considered offensive that are mainstream include My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas, Wild Thing by Tone-Loc and I Touch Myself by the Divinyls.

Songs to add to a do not play list at a wedding reception may include songs that refer to the stressful wedding planning process. Stressful wedding planning songs include I’m In a Hurry by Alabama and Rush Rush by Paula Abdul.

Please add stalking songs to your do not play list. Stalking songs include Every Breath You Take by the Police and Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell.

You must decide if both of you would like group dances to be played at your reception. Some people do not like such dances as they consider them goofy and/or well overplayed at wedding receptions. Group songs include the Macarena by the Los Del Rio, Y.M.C.A. by the Village People and Hokey Pokey by Ray Anthony.

Many people feel the money/dollar dance is inappropriate at a wedding reception. The reasoning is because guests are expected to bring a present and to ask for more money in the dollar dance is greedy. However, others feel it is a great way to have multiple one on one conversions with many guests.

You must consider if you would like songs played that have an extended playing time. The standard song is about three minutes. The following songs are in excess of seven minutes each. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, Paradise by the Dashboard Lights by Meatloaf and American Pie by Don McLean.

Finally, please consider adding songs to your do not play list that are just plain in bad taste. Song titles considered to be in bad taste include Love Stinks – J. Geils Band, You Give Love a Bad Name – Bon Jovi, My Best Friend’s Girl – The Cars, Jessie’s Girl – Rick Springfield, Should I Stay or Should I Go – The Clash, Mother-In-Law – Ernie K-Doe, Suspicious Minds – Elvis Presley, To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before – Julio Iglesias, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – U2, She Hates Me – Puddle of Mudd, Everything About You – Ugly Kid Joe. For a complete list of all of our suggested songs not to play at weddings, please follow the previous link.

About the Author – Matt Campbell is the owner of WeddingMuseum.com. WeddingMuseum.com offers online wedding planning and wedding website museum. One of the most helpful features of WeddingMuseum.com is our song suggestions and advice for a wedding ceremonies and receptions.

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Here’s a guest blog post about online wedding photo galleries from our friends over at A4DeskPro, who offer a really cool tool for creating your own wedding websites and photo galleries

When a couple get married, they will hire wedding photographers and other photography professionals to take photos on the wedding day. Most people agree that it is essential to share the most memorable moments with your families and friends, such as exchanging rings with the partner, the kiss of the bride and grooms, how the couples are played in wedding games section, etc. In addition to capturing the moments on wedding days, it is also common to show the wedding portraits, photos of the couples growing up, how to propose marriage as well as vacation and honeymoon snaps as they are also the key components to good memory.

Photo sharing is the process of transferring digital photos online, hence enabling users to share photos publicly for Internet users to view. This functionality is offered by both the website and application like wedding photo gallery program to upload and display photos. But what is the best option to share your wedding photos via the Internet? Send the photos as email attachments to the recipients? The attachment sizes are usually limited to 10mb, so is it enough for sending a large amount of wedding photos? Absolutely not. How about using the online photo sharing sites? Or using ready-made photo gallery templates for your website?

Online photo sharing websites such as Photobucket, Snapfish and Flickr are the prime examples of image hosting and sharing. In order to share photos online, the first step is to register an account, followed by clicking the image to upload, and then the images can be accessed by anyone on the Internet.

However, once you have published your images to the photo sharing websites, you’ve little control over your photos. For instance, your wedding photos will be removed without prior notice if the photo itself doesn’t follow the rules of the site, and even worse, all photos will be gone once the website is closed down or the subscription expires. More than that, there is a limit to the number of photos you can have, plus the ads on some free account are very annoying. Another restriction is the incapability of altering the way of how the photos are displayed. Usually the photo sharing websites force you to use the same gallery with identical look and feel, which is not very appropriate for those who would like to have a nice photo frame to display fabulous wedding photos.

Considering the disadvantages of using email attachment and photo sharing websites, photo gallery program seems a great way to go since the gallery can be hosted anywhere, and there is no limit on the number of images uploaded. Many wedding gallery programs are now available in the market for you to choose from. For example, A4Desk Flash photo gallery program is an easy-to-use photo gallery builder for your websites. It supports major image formats including JPG, JPEG, GIF and BMP. Extremely easy to use and no HTML knowledge is required! The photo gallery program features 12 layout templates, ranging from the simpliest thumbnail gallery to the sophisticated flash slideshow template, with the whole folder hierarchy for user navigation. It allows users to add rich-text descriptions to your photos using HTML tags or simply plain text, resize the gallery to a more web-friendly dimension and insert wonderful background music to deliver rich multimedia experiences. You can preview the photo gallery embedded inside the web browser instantly to see how it looks like, then upload files to the website using the built-in FTP tool for people to view your digital photos online. Or you can burn the gallery into a CD for physical distribution.

Apart from the wedding gallery program, there are also other software which is helpful for your wedding plan:

* My Wedding Workbook is an online wedding software, it lets couples store and manage all their wedding details online easily.

* A4DeskPro website builder features a number of flash templates with stunning animation effect, a perfect tool for you to build a wedding website.

* A4Desk Flash Video Player can play the video clip of the wedding day, showing the highlights and the best of your wedding day. It is an ideal way to refresh your memory all the time.

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(Note: Today’s guest blogger is Jean over at JustCuffLinks.com, and Jean wants to tell you a bit about the value of cufflinks. I myself have a whole bunch of great antique cufflinks that I inherited from my grandfather, and french cuffs with cufflinks is a classy touch on any outfit. )

We all know, and probably have received, all the usual groomsmen gifts: personalized mugs and shot glasses, the keychain that we’ll never use, or even the money clip for all those non-existant bills in my pocket. Sure, you appreciate that you’re getting a gift and who doesn’t love receiving one, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could for once get a guy-gift you’ll actually use?

That’s where Cufflinks come in. We know not every guy wears a shirt with French cuffs to accommodate a pair of cufflinks, but if the guys in your wedding party do, please put down that personalized tape measure and order them one of one of these awesome pairs of cufflinks. JustCuffLinks.com have literally 100,000 pairs of new and Vintage Cufflinks on their site. A great groomsmen gift idea would be to take a look at the site and choose a different set of cufflinks for each guy’s personality in your wedding party.

See? Wasn’t too hard to just say no to boring groomsmen gifts, and go with one they can actually use (and like!).

(Thanks, Jean, for giving us pause to consider a classic gift.)

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I just got an email from Jacqueline over at Cosabella, that distinguished maker of fine Italian lingerie (and whose models certainly give Victoria’s Secret models a run for their money … not that I pay attention to such things), and they have a new online registry for brides to choose lingerie for their wedding night and honeymoon. You can get to it by clicking here: http://shop.cosabella.com/shopcosabella_bridal_reg.html

I don’t know about you, but I would certainly encourage my bride to register anywhere that involves lacy, frilly underthings … and again, not that I endorse or condone that type of behavior

One of the many very fine offerings from Cosabella

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