Every detail of your wedding, beginning with your wedding invites, should be tailored to emulate your own personal preferences and individual styles. These days’ couples aren’t afraid to express themselves and ensure that their wedding is uniquely customised to their tastes.

Along with your husband to be you should have already decided on the location and type of service or ceremony that will take place, based on your preferences as a couple.

Your invitations should actually be considered a prelude to your wedding day, and as such ought to be indicative of your characters and styles.

Modern wedding invitations are available in a huge variety of assorted styles, sizes, colours and themes and as a result it shouldn’t be too difficult to present a unique reflection of you as a couple.

Although some couples still prefer more traditional styles, the available options are almost unlimited.

When deliberating your choice of invitation your should take into account a number of factors, for example will your wedding day be a formal church affair or have you opted for a casual outdoor ceremony? Do you intend your day to follow a particular religious or cultural direction or have you decided on a specific wedding theme?

If you are looking for inspiration, contemplate using custom or even hand made wedding invitations on which you can incorporate an intimate line of poetry or a selection of lyrics from your chosen wedding song for your first dance as man and wife.

A pair of co-workers have literally walked down the ‘aisle’ in the Sainsbury’s Supermarket where they both work and first met in Dundee.

The bride, a 42 year old checkout operator and the groom, a 32 year old shelf stacker who has been employed by Sainsbury’s for the past 12 years, met at the store 3 years ago. The groom proposed in 2006 after a short romance and after the couple were granted permission from CEO Justin King, plans for the supermarket ceremony ensued.

The bride walked down aisle 25 - seasonal goods, to the sounds of Big Girl (You are beautiful) by Mika and exchanged their vows in front of a gathering of Saturday afternoon shoppers next to the shops floral display.

The couple also wrote their own unique vow, in which the groom pledged not to disturb his new wife when she was snoring and to take care of her assortment of fuzzy wigs.

The bride promised to brush up on her culinary skills and pledged her intention of cooking her new husband something other than beans on toast, in addition to vowing to purchase no more than a single pair of shoes in any one month.

After signing the wedding register to the sounds of the Birdie Song, the newly weds went on a short tour of the supermarket.

The service was also transmitted live over the internet by Dundee City Councils web-cast civil ceremonies services.

Walking elegantly on your wedding day is dependent on a number of factors including the design of your gown, the width of the skirt, and the ease at which you are able to comfortably walk in the height of your heels. Unfortunately there is no magical technique that will ensure that you walk stylishly and gracefully on your big day, however there are certain factors that may help you to achieve a reasonably comfortable wedding day walk.

If you are not accustomed to walking in high heels choose a relatively low heel that you are able to walk in comfortably and easily. Where possible you should try to make sure that your feet are at least a little accustomed to wearing your wedding shoes as you will likely be wearing them for many hours on the day. Try walking around the house in them in the weeks before the wedding. If you don’t ever wear heels of any height or if you anticipate that you might do a lot of dancing or if heels are simply not a comfortable choice for you, consider flat sandals or ballet slippers.

Having your wedding gown hemmed to the correct height from the floor will allow you a small amount of additional room for an imperfect postures. When your hem is measured at the bridal boutique, the seamstress should force you to stand upright with your weight on both legs, and look directly ahead. You should pay particular attention to these instructions and endeavor to conform to her requests in order to achieve the most accurate hem. However, when you are wearing the dress on your wedding day, remember that the hem was cut whilst you were standing straight, correctly postured whilst looking ahead. Whenever you look down, the hem will dip slightly in front which could cause you to step on your skirt as you walk. Attempt to elevate the skirt of your dress gracefully with your hands whenever you are required to look down to walk up and down steps etc.

Some couples believe that entering into marriage without considerable preparation is like opening a business without any form of planning. It is a sad but very real fact that up to 50% of marriages result in divorce, with even less being truly contented long term. Of course engaged couples and newly weds don’t ever imagine that they will one day be contributing to these figures, but, unfortunately relying on love and luck alone to ensure the success of your marriage is not always enough.

It is believed that pre-marital counselling can minimize the risk of a marriage breaking down by around 30% and can result in achieving a considerably happier married life. Marriage research studies have also shown that it can also help lessen the stress of the pre-wedding run up.

Contrary to popular belief Pre-marital counselling is not therapy. It is a form of education originating from the idea that it is essential to continue to fortify your relationship and to be prepared to react constructively to the future trials and disagreements that the majority of couples inevitably encounter throughout their married life.

Typically couples who do obtain pre-marital counselling receive it from their religious guide. This advice can vary in content but often covers expectations, communication advice and recommendations for resolving conflicts. These sessions can also vary in quantity, from simply one or sometimes two sessions to a complete succession of meetings. Non-religious, professional qualified counselors can also supply expert pre-marital counselling and advice.

The addition of traditional wedding customs to your wedding day can be an entertaining and amusing way of acknowledging the historical value of marriage in today’s’ modern society.

There are a great number of the rituals and customs which are still prevalent today. There are also many varied explanations as to the origins of these traditions, some of which date back centuries. In addition there are those customs whose roots are not fully established and are thought to have taken root from antiquated superstitions.

Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue…

The diction of this common rhyme which refers to the bride accessories is thought to be Victorian in origin. The ‘old’ something is considered to represent wearing links to a brides family history, traditionally a piece of family jewellery. The wearing of something ‘new’ symbolizes success for the bride in her new life as a wife and something ‘borrowed’ usually refers to an item on loan that has previously been adorned by a joyous bride at her own wedding, this is traditionally an item of clothing or again jewellery, perhaps ear-rings or a necklace.

Wearing something blue however is believed to date back to the biblical era when the colour blue was deemed to embody integrity and commitment. With the passing of time this has altered from wearing blue items of clothing or a blue trim around the edge of the wedding gown, to the present day when the bride will often wear a blue-edged garter.

A silver sixpence in her shoe…

Positioning a silver sixpence inside of the bride’s left shoe is a representation of affluence and prosperity. This is not just thought to impart financial riches on the new bride, but a fortune of contentment and satisfaction during the course of the marriage.