Wedding Bells

It Takes Two

All work and no play makes for one stressful schedule. Spice up your planning process with a fun activity the two of you can share. By Natalia Ksiazek

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After your engagement, it won’t take long before you find yourself completely engulfed in wedding planning. There are invites to be sent, a reception hall to be booked and a million other special details to be taken care of. You’re likely to find yourself in prep overload. But wedding planning should be a fun journey the two of you can take together, so before you find yourself up to your ears in invites, here are a few special activities that you can incorporate into your planning process. Not only will these activities give you that extra bonding time you need during this busy period, they’ll also help you prepare for the big day.

Two to Tango
There’s a new trend hitting the dance floor. Couples are choosing to add pizzazz to the traditional first dance by letting loose to their favourite song or recreating onscreen routines (think Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing). In fact, the trend has become so popular that dance studios everywhere are offering special packages for couples looking to personalize their two-step. At Toronto’s Superfly Dance Fitness (superflydancefitness.com), to-be-weds can take advantage of the Superfly Wedding Package, a first-dance choreography, which includes three one-hour lessons on the routine of their choice. Worried about your fiancé’s two left feet? “It’s less about getting the moves right and more about the experience,” says owner Sophie Luxton. In fact, when it’s all danced and done, Luxton says most couples want to keep going. For a dance studio in your area, go to the Canadian Dance Link at themediaweb.com/links.htm.

Language of Love
Planning an exotic destination wedding? Want to impress your fiancé’s family from overseas? Sign yourselves up for a language lesson. After deciding to hold a destination wedding in Cuba, Weddingbells’ online editor Jami Moran signed her and her fiancé up for private Spanish lessons. “It’s so much more fun than I ever thought it would be,” says Moran. “We actually feel like we’re really learning the language, and it’s just nice to have an hour a week all to ourselves. It’s like a date night.” Likewise, Desperate Housewives’ star Eva Longoria announced earlier this year that she was taking French lessons so that she could better understand her fiancé Tony Parker’s native language. Longoria and Parker married in France, Parker’s homeland, in July. 

Bon Appétit!
As the saying goes: “The best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Whether you’re a gourmet chef or consider microwave dinners your specialty, taking a cooking class pre-wedding is a great way to get in the groove before moving into your new nest. Cooking classes offer a fun and interactive setting that allows you to work together to prepare a gourmet meal. At the end of every class, the two of you can sit down and enjoy a romantic meal of your own creation. Classes can focus on everything from ethnic cuisine to cooking techniques for healthy eating, so you’ll never run out of delicious meal ideas. If you’re looking for something a little spicier, consider an aphrodisiac food class – it’ll teach you how to incorporate sensual ingredients into your dishes to tantalize your taste buds.