Songs in Your Wedding

We mentioned this on our last podcast but choosing music for your ceremony can really add something special.

Both Jordan and I have our favorites in weddings we've done (like Forever by Ben Harper or classic At Last as processional songs) and some, um, non-favorites (Teenage Dream as the recessional song!) but it's YOUR day and the best thing is just when a couple picks a song that is meaningful to you or that fits the mood of your ceremony. I love it when the guests tear up, or applaud or have some kind of response once the song is played.

In the past couple of years we have heard a few songs a LOT (namely, Jason Mraz' I'm Yours, the ukelele version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/ Wonderful World, and, as recessional songs Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling, and Beautiful Day). Nothing wrong with this, they are good songs and usually do the job. But if you're looking to make your wedding stand out you might want to challenge the norms to pick something different.

So, this bring me to my prediction. I am betting a big wedding ceremony song for 2012 will be Jason Mraz "I Won't Give Up". I heard it on the radio yesterday and automatically thought it would be a great song for weddings!

Most wedding ceremonies require you to choose 4 songs:
Processional (bridesmaids, Maid of Honor, flower girl and ring bearer)
Bride's song
Song during signing
Recessional (walking back out- hopefully something fun and upbeat!)

Most important thing is that you pick something that is special, personal or meaningful to you!

Snow Wedding

Mark and Natasha had wanted to do a simple but sweet ceremony in January, followed by a beautiful destination wedding later in Mexico. So they gathered a dozen or so close friends to share in the moment and we planned to meet at a park outside.

When I originally booked the wedding I thought we should choose a park with some coverage as I assumed it would be a West-Coast style rainy day. So imagine my surprise to wake up yesterday morning to a half foot of snow on the ground!

We decided to brave the snow and stick with the outdoor theme and Mark and Natasha exchanged vows in a beautiful, peaceful snowy park. What's better than a wedding followed by a snowball fight!

I have done a lot of outdoor weddings, but this is my first standing in snow. Got to say, quite lovely!

PopMarriage Podcast #4

Hey! Check out our fourth PopMarriage podcast!

We talk about our favorite wedding signing stories (including the best man who kissed the bride) and offer some tips for great wedding music. Then we talk about how to vacation together, and how we nearly divorced on our honeymoon while searching for an Olive Garden. Plus we ponder the news that Facebook is cited as a reason in one-third of UK divorces. And we sing a little Katy Perry.

It's up on our iTunes feed(search for JJ Weddings), non-iTuners can also get it here:

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Brooch Bouquet

(Image from www.thegrrl.com)

I always love it when I see new things in weddings and I heard about this idea of a brooch bouquet. I haven't actually seen one yet in a wedding I've done, but when I Googled it a bunch of images came up.

The idea is that the bride (and groom, wedding party, family, etc) collect a bunch of beautiful, shiny and sparkly brooches. People get them at antique stores, from family/ friends, second hand store etc. Then they are made into a bouquet and carried instead of traditional flowers.

I mentioned this on the latest installment of our PODCAST #4 we recorded last night and I wanted to let you know what I was talking about.

Pretty, right?

PopMarriage Podcast #3 - Christmas Edition

Merry Christmas! It's a happy holiday edition of the PopMarriage podcast, featuring Jenn and Jordan talking about their favorite Christmas season weddings, offering advice on carving out your own traditions as a couple, and laughing about best and worst Christmas gifts, great movies, and if Santa is, just maybe, a woman.

(Also available on iTunes by searching PopMarriage!)

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Very Merry Wedding

Gorgeous site here at White Album Chapel as I'm about to marry Chad and Camilla!

PopMarriage Podcast #2

Hey! Check out our second PopMarriage podcast!

We talk about our favorite nervous brides (including one who lost her lunch) and how to manage those wedding butterflies. Then it's on to a discussion on polygamy, some marriage advice (Tell each other what you need), and finally a discussion of our favourite TV married couples.

It should be up on our iTunes feed soon (search for JJ Weddings), but in case you can't wait, here it is:

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PopMarriage #1: The Jenn and Jordan Podcast

So Jenny and I are trying our hand at podcasting, and are proud to show off the debut of PopMarriage. It's 40 minutes of talking about funny wedding stories, what makes a great ceremony, plus some marriage advice on surviving change, and a debate on Mexico's plan to offer two year marriage contracts. And an autoposy on the Kim Kardashian 72-day marriage odyssey. Hope you enjoy it!





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Tahitian Touches

It's an unusually lovely day out there for November!

Today I had the pleasure of marrying Sean and Jeri-Lyn at Milner Chapel. They are having a really sweet family wedding and then heading off on an amazing Honeymoon in Tahiti, and they incorporated that into their wedding with some beautiful exotic flowers and a steel drum player.

Destination Weddings

One thing we tend to see more and more often, especially during the chilly Vancouver winters, is couples taking off to gorgeous beaches like Mexico for a destination wedding.

These weddings are gorgeous and tons of fun however we have heard from many couples that filing the paperwork can be difficult. So we have expanded our services to help couples having a destination wedding. If you don't want to go through registering in another country and doing the blood tests and whatnot we can help you by performing your marriage here.

It should be noted that we totally value and understand that your 'real' wedding (and anniversary) is that beautiful wedding away and we don't want to take anything away from that. However, the date your license is signed is your 'legal' wedding date, they can't be back/ forward dated.

We can do a couple of things, either before you leave or after you return from the wedding:
1. We can meet the couple, along with 2 witnesses and sign the paperwork. It's easy and quick, we'll just meet up at a coffee shop, have a chat and sign the license.
2. We can do a simple but meaningful 'vow exchange' for the couple and close friends and family. We can do this at your home or a park. We'd have you choose your vows (and ring vows if you want to exchange rings). Even if you're just looking for something simple I think there are some ways to make it very personal and special for the couple without being really drawn out or over the top or taking anything away from real wedding in Mexico. We've done quite few intimate weddings for couples who get married out of Canada. So I am confident we could help create something that you would be comfortable and meaningful! We would do planning for this over email.

If you're interested in this service (or booking us for your wedding here in the Lower Mainland!) please email us- weddings@jordanbateman.com