Oh, I’d say so. In fact, I think I’d be a little more than exhilarated at this airborne wedding, whether I was the bride or one of the guests, strapped into a seat with nothing but atmosphere under my behind.

Hanging from that cord are thrill seekers Sandra Eens and Jeroen Kippers – they said their vows 150 feet in the air then leaped off their nuptial platform in their wedding finery before sharing an upside-down kiss as a married couple. Who made it possible? A company called Marriage In the Sky, that’s who.

For around $14,000, they’ll take you, your spouse-to-be, your officiant, two witnesses, a photographer, and 20 wedding guests into the air for a wedding in the ether. Apparently, the company operates all over the world – basically, anywhere that is flat and accessible to a truck and a crane. If a ceremony in the heavens sounds like your dream wedding (more power to you) Marriage in the Sky can assist you in finding a venue that will accommodate their equipment.

(via)

One of the easiest ways to personalize your wedding ceremony – other than writing your own custom wedding vows – is including rituals in the event. For some, that might mean finding and then lighting the perfect unity candles. For others, it can mean planting a tree together. The wedding ceremony rituals you incorporate into your big day should be up to you, not me, but that’s not going to stop me from telling you about my new favorite: the wedding ring warming ceremony.

In the wedding ring warming ceremony, the rings go from being gifts the halves of a couple give each other to being a sort of gift that everyone present gives to the marrying pair. At some point in the event, usually before the ceremony officially begins, the officiant announces that wedding rings will be passed from guest to guest so that each can share love, support, wisdom, and a prayer for the couple through a quiet blessing before the rings are exchanged.

Once the rings have been held by each guest at the ceremony, the officiant takes them back and says something like: “Now warmed and blessed by those who love you the most, these rings will both show the world that you are one and carry the eternal good wishes and love of all who were present here today.”

Alternately, some couples will tie their rings on a ribbon and hang them on a sign at the ceremony entrance – guarded by a pair of well-chosen friends or relatives. The sign and the guardians explain to wedding guests making their entrances that they should pause and bless the rings before taking their seats. This less formal ring warming works well at larger weddings where guest lists of 100 or more people make passing the rings around during the wedding ceremony itself impossible.

And for couples who simply aren’t comfortable having a bunch of people touch their wedding rings, it’s fine to ditch the ‘warming’ but leave the ‘good vibes’ – the officiant can hold up the rings and ask everyone present to join him or her in blessing the wedding bands.

Either way, hands-on or hands-off, I like wedding rituals that give brides and grooms a way of including relatives and friends in the ceremony. After all, you can’t make everyone a bridesmaid or a groomsmen, and how many readers can one wedding have, anyway? Are you taking steps to include loved ones in your wedding?

When people talk about weddings, they tend to use words like beautiful and moving and elegant. But when was the last time you heard someone’s wedding described as fun? Mine was fun but it could have been more fun – the kids all got to go swimming, but we didn’t end up renting a bounce house like we talked about. And there would have been plenty of room for carnival games… wait, what? Carnival games? Or maybe even a Ferris wheel!

I’m serious – the wedding ceremony is more often than not a semi-somber affair, but there is no reason that a wedding reception can’t be all about playtime and getting a little crazy. For those brides and grooms with the space, a carnival wedding – not just a carnival themed wedding, if you see the difference – is one unusual option that is almost sure to please.

So how exactly do you pull off a carnival wedding? First, you need the space, preferably a nice big outdoor space that’s both flat and private. Wouldn’t want passersby to see the carnival and stop in! (Unless, of course, you do.) Then you need to find a party rental company that specializes in carnival rides and games. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a town or organization to rent this kind of stuff. Finally, you need to make sure that it’s actually all right for you to set up a mini-carnival in that flat, private, outdoor space you found.

(via Jamie Hammond Photography, a Seattle wedding photographer)

Depending on how complex you make your carnival wedding – will there be prizes? rides? refreshment stands galore? can you DIY any part of it with help from friends? – this is one reception that can get pretty expensive. But it definitely makes for one heck of good time and the kind of wedding that your loved ones will invariably describe as fun… probably for years to come, because how exactly do you top a carnival wedding, anyway? I don’t think it’s possible, at least not in the fun department.

What are you doing to make your wedding reception extra fun for guests both young and old?

Since it’s almost Christmastime – can you believe it? – I thought it was high time to post a new giveaway as a treat to you lovely ladies and gents! This go around, I got in touch with Lulu.com since I know from experience that their custom photo books are attractive, sturdy, and easy to make. I know some wedding photographers include hardbound books in their packages, but not all do, and of course, a photo book from Lulu.com doesn’t have to be wedding-themed!

How about a book of your engagement portraits, or a book that highlights special moments from your relationship up until now? Or a photo book full of vacation memories? The possibilities are endless! And the prices are reasonable, too. With Christmas right around the corner, this can be the perfect time to start thinking about a project for the new year, and if you’re the winner of this latest giveaway, it won’t cost you a cent.

Win It!
The lovely people at Lulu.com are offering one lucky Manolo for the Brides reader a chance to win one of their beautiful 8.5″ x 8.5″ square hardcover 20-page photo books! To enter, visit Lulu.com and then leave a comment here telling me what you’d include in your custom photo book you’d make if you win. Me? I’d be torn between making a wedding book for myself and The Beard and making a ‘my first two years’ book for La Paloma.

For additional entries, do any of the following (and leave a comment for each additional entry):

1. As always, you can score one additional entry when you add Manolo for the Brides to your blogroll, or let us know we’re already on your blogroll so we can link back to you

2. Score two additional entries when you like both Lulu.com and Manolo for the Brides on Facebook

3. And you can pick up a whopping three additional entries when you tweet this giveaway or post about it on your own blog!

This giveaway will end at 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, December 17, and the winner – chosen via your friend and mine, the trusty random number generator – will be announced the following Monday. Good luck!

Considering a candlelit wedding ceremony or reception? Don’t set your heart on it until you’ve done a little digging. It turns out that insurance regulations, fire codes, and even cleanup concerns can get in the way of having those tiny tea lights at every table. So it’s not uncommon for brides- and grooms-to-be to book that perfect venue only to find out that their candlelit dreams are being dashed by practicalities. Open flames? No way. And some venues will even balk at the notion of candles under or inside glass.

Who doesn’t allow candles at wedding receptions? Many museums, for one, along with libraries full of those burnable books. Barns, especially working ones, may say no when candles come up in conversation. Historic buildings, particularly those made out of wood, may have candle or flame restrictions. And a wedding venue can simply decide not to allow fire as ceremony or reception decor for any reason at all. Some have had issues with the smoke alarms and sprinklers. Others would prefer not to have to deal with wax. And still others are zoned in such a way as to make having open flames (even tea lights) on site illegal.

(more…)

Now, your eyes do not deceive you. What you see above is an inflatable church.

You know, last month some neighbors of ours held a birthday party for their son who was turning ten. They had a bouncy castle on the front lawn. Several of us adults discussed how cool it would be to have a bouncy castle rated for adult weights… and then I discovered Airy Architecture.

Okay, I probably wouldn’t have a bouncing ceremony, but if you’ve got a sizable plot of land to put it in and a sense of humor, this might not be a bad idea.

Not wild about the church version? That’s okay, they have other options available. I’m loving this inflatable pavilion called the Air Forest:

Okay, so it’s not for everybody, but there’s a little piece of me that’s in love with adult bouncy castles, and it’s making me smile to think someone is doing this.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone outside of the realm of busybody biddies who has a problem with colored wedding dresses, but I’m loathe to believe that they’re overtaking white wedding dresses in terms of popularity. When, after all, was the last time you attended a wedding where the bride wore purple and the bridesmaids were in white (like in this pretty picture from Simply Bloom Photography)? But frankly, I LOVE the idea. Why not take the usual wedding color template and mix it up a little? It’s not like anyone at the wedding will have trouble identifying the bride!

Would you consider wearing a colored gown and dressing your bridesmaids in white?