English Corpus

Irish traditions are rich and full of both whimsy and sentiment. This is especially true when it comes to weddings and marriage. The Irish symbolize beautifully the real meaning of marriage with their wedding rings. Celtic engagement rings and wedding bands have a style all their own, but still lend themselves to adding your own personal touches. An antique gold ring with the telltale woven pattern is the perfect symbol of the blending of two lives.

Designing Your Celtic Engagement Rings

Once you’ve decided you love the tradition of the Irish wedding ring, you can design your own engagement ring and wedding bands to incorporate those styles.

First you begin with the precious metal that will hold the pattern and any gemstones. Rings can be fashioned out of gold, silver, or platinum. Jewelers will tell you what material best suits the stones you may be setting within the ring. Platinum for example is the perfect material for setting a high quality diamond since it will not discolour or yellow the stone as gold may.

Next the metal is moulded into the traditional woven Celtic pattern. Even an antique Celtic ring can be remade to suit the new couple’s preferences. It can be carefully resized as to not lose the pattern and it can have personal gemstones added to it.

Rings can be made in many different widths too. For example, if you have a one carat diamond, you will probably want a wider band than a carat diamond would hold. That is true especially if you want to show off the intertwined pattern and not have it hidden by the stone.

Adding gems to a Celtic style ring gives you many design options. You can intersperse small stones throughout the crosses on the weaving or add one centre stone. The stone can be part of the engagement ring with a solitaire placed there, and then have either a plain Celtic band or one with several coordinating stones. The design possibilities are endless.

Making Your Ring a Part of the Wedding Ceremony

It is customary in many Jewish, Christian or non denominational wedding services to exchange rings. To further highlight the reason you chose a celtic engagement ring, you can include a brief message of its meaning on your invitation.

The meaning of the intertwined or woven pattern is symbolic of the blending and joining of two lives into one never ending circle. You can further enhance this message through the music you choose for your ceremony.

Irish or not, using Celtic engagement rings and Irish music will make any wedding ceremony and reception special. This is a day to always remember and the rings you wear will be a part of that memory long after the champagne is gone and the guests have returned home. Keep the feelings you have on that day a part of everyday with the symbolic ring style.

Clinton Maxwell is writer/webmaster at http://www.engagement-rings-tips.com which is an internet site for information. Clinton is featuring jewelry and articles on affordable rings.

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Do you ever wonder how to discover unique best friend gifts and refresh or recharge your companionship? Chums are not always best friends and as much as you tell them how much you care, every now and then it really is smart to give a best friend unique gift to your object of friendship just to reveal, “You are worth a little extra.”

Do you ever need to have your batteries “re-loaded”, or you may need a boost to your self-worth. You might be facing a very scary situation–like turning another year younger with a BIG zero behind the digit–and need a steady and solid presence.

How about having a strong shoulders to vent your troubles to and get feedback, but only if it is required. On a more enjoyable note, you may want to take a fun filled vacation and spend countless hours talking, watching the birds and catching up on the day. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to find–and then hold on to–a beautiful mind, the one that fits these needs, plus much more!

If you not sleep-walking, we’re talking about best friends! It is all so important to recognize and value one of the best unique gifts on our earth–best friends! They are truly invaluable and can save you literally hundreds of dollars in doctor’s bills. Once identified, this person can serve as “consultant” on everything from children, betrothed, religion and social topics.

Now, it is also worthwhile to realize that these best friends are a valuable tool and resource, and not to be taken for naught. You have a responsibility to guard and protect them.

Make sure to respect not only their efforts, but also their point of view when you ask for their opinion. Treat your best friends like the precious stone they are, and guarantee their protection. After all, it’s hard to discover and keep good friends–much less best friends.

Finding a great best friend gift is always a good idea. Best friends are great to talk with into the dark hours of the night. Just a text message away your best friend is an outstanding resource to call upon. It is like they say, “A best friend does not bail you out of jail, they are sitting on the chair in the cell next to you.” Click Here for all your “best friend gift ideas”.

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Tradition has it that speeches are made at weddings. If you have been asked to make the wedding speech, your mind may be whirling with the awesome prospect of getting up in front of a group of strangers and giving what may be your first speech ever!

You may be the best man, the bridesmaid, the matron of honour or the father of the bridge - fear not, many have gone through this and survived to tell the tale. There is a great tradition of what to say and many have trodden this path before you. Sadly, a few have gone in unexperienced and unprepared and been disappointed with the outcome.

There are many excellent resources to help with the writing of a wedding speech, you can buy books with pre-written speeches in a bookshop or even download an Ebook if you’ve really left it to the last minute. If this is the first time you’ve made a speech, you should consider buying one of these books to help you.

Here’s a few hints & tips:

What NOT to do:

make jokes about the bride
make jokes about the bridesmaids or the brides mother
drink too much before you speak
go on much longer than 15-20 minutes!

What you MUST do:

prepare
include at least one anecdote about the bridegroom
write down some notes
smile & enjoy yourself!

Remember, the wedding day is one that will be remembered for years to come - your part in it is only small, but nevertheless important. Prepare well, take advice and your wedding speech will go well and be appreciated by all.

For further ideas on your wedding speech, visit Wedding Speeches.

This article was submitted by Jen Carter, compiler of the Wedding Poems book.

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Wedding items often left to the last minute are the shoes. This can be a major mistake as some styles can be difficult to find. Let’s not even talk about the size and fit!

Things to keep in mind is that the shoes you choose should be both great looking and comfortable. Keep in mind that there’s a lot of walking and standing to be done at your wedding. Hobbling is definitely not elegant and will definitely jar with your perfect image.

For the grooms, the choice is more restricted compared to the women. A good choice would be patent leather shoes or low-cut ones. They will look both elegant and smart with your suit.

For the brides, keep your dress in mind when you choose. A simple gown would call for a simple shoe, while a more elaborate gown would allow for a more embellished shoe. There are a whole lot of designs to choose from. Would boots or slingbacks look better with your dress? How about a pair of pumps?

Another thing to keep in mind is the heel of the shoe. You might look great in really high heels but how will you feel after almost two hours in them, carrying a ton of weight in your gown and train? You might end up in pain which is not a good way to celebrate your special day. Maybe an elegant pair of wedding slippers after a pedicure will do the trick, and the pampering feels great.

No matter what kind of shoes you choose, it’s always a great idea to break them in before the big day. Wear them for at least a week to really get used to them and have them form properly to your foot. This way there’ll be no blisters marring your special day.

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