Easy peasy

A gift registry is a bit like a simple Dummies Guide to wedding gift shopping – your guests will no longer have to worry about whether or not you need an extra vase of if these fluffy towels will match your bathroom décor. If this isn’t easy enough, many large stores now offer online shopping so your guests won’t even have to leave the house – it’s almost too easy!

‘Cause you’re worth it

The idea is to choose quality items you wouldn’t ordinarily buy for yourself – pick your favourite bone china rather than the clunky BBQ set you would normally make do with; or a higher quality appliance that will last longer than the ‘bargain’ your darling bought 6 months ago and is already on the blink.

Be bold with your choices and don’t worry about selecting items that are a little on the pricey side – guests will often chip in and buy the more expensive items together. You might even catch someone in a very generous mood. Now is your opportunity to revamp your house and convert your tired old kitchen into an entertainer’s dream – from pizza and DVD nights to stylish dinner parties.

Flash pans

Now that you’re a master in gift registries – it’s time to go shopping!

Pots and pans have come a long way in the last few years with high-tech gizmos galore, so throw away Mum’s old hand-me downs and line your cupboards with top-of-the-range cookware. Entertaining with flashy tools is not only fun but can also cut food preparation time down so you can spend more time sipping wine and nibbling on cheese and bickies with your guests.

Basic instinct

Every kitchen cupboard will need a couple of frying pans, a stockpot with a lid, two or three saucepans with lids, mixing bowls, a large roasting pan and a baking dish. It is always nice to have a cake tin, cooling rack and cookie cutters too. With these basics there will be no more blaming your tools, you are sure to be able to cook up a storm.

Serving success

Now dinner is cooked, it’s time to set the table. With all your recent nesting you’re sure to have a house full of beautiful things – you want to make sure you continue the good impression when you serve your guests dinner.

For the backyard barby, earthenware, stoneware and pottery are the perfect solutions, but for a swish dinner party you’ll need fine china, bone china or porcelain.

When listing your dinner set, ensure that you put down at least 8-12 place settings. You don’t want to find out that your prized dinner set has been discontinued when ‘someone’ has smashed a couple of plates.

Home stretch

When you are let loose in your chosen store with you hubby-to-be, remember the key word is quality. Take this opportunity to create an entertaining wonderland that you will be proud of for years and years to come. With today’s creative designers, there is a an abundance of styles and shapes to suit everyone’s taste, so go for gold and above all have fun!

BONUS BITS

Here are a few hints to help you create your dream wish list:

• Organise your list 4-6 months prior to the wedding – some like to get in early.
• Some like to get in late – continually add things to the list so they aren’t left with a potato peeler and serviette holder.
• List more gifts than you have guests to ensure a large variety of suit all budgets and tastes.
• Be specific about colour, make and model of the item you want – you may not share your great aunt’s taste in linen.

Learning the lingo

FINE CHINA/PORCELAIN: This is top-notch in the hierarchy of china – it is long lasting and personifies elegance.

BONE CHINA: As the name suggests bone china is less delicate than fine china. Its chip-proof strength comes form the additive bone ash, which creates the brilliant white look.

EARTHENWARE: Chunky in comparison to the finer china, this ceramic set is ideal for everyday use.

STONEWARE: A pinch of ground stone is added to the clay to create this robust, microwave and dishwasher proof crockery.

Maybe you met on the internet, maybe your even got engaged over the internet – and now you’re using it to plan your wedding? More couples are turning to the internet to help them plan their big day, and the wealth of information on offer is one of the main reasons.

The number of people using the internet to plan their weddings is increasing in number by the day. When we want information about anything at all we go straight to a computer, and wedding planning is no different.

One of the popular free wedding websites www.nzbride.co.nz  has an easy-to-use format that puts everything you may need to know in categories so people can easily access exactly the information that they want without any tricky navigation or confusing headers to battle through on the way.

From the site they can then approach various vendors about their needs and even get very specific to avoid wading through too much information yet again.

If someone is searching for a wedding venue, they can narrow the search down to coastal venues, outdoor venues, specific-size venues… it’s not like using the Yellow Pages where you have to try everyone until you get exactly what you need.

The wedding website also includes a discussion forum where you can ask the wedding pros questions and get even more specific about your hopes and desires for the perfect day.

Another of New Zealand’s best wedding websites is  www.nzweddingplanner.co.nz, it has a Bridal Club which you join for free and it gives you regular updates on the website, its services and activities in your area. By registering, you also have the chance to win Your Essential Wedding Software, which is created locally with you in mind, and you get your own wedding home page to share news and information with your family and friends as you begin the official countdown to your wedding.

photo credit: joannacortez38

Donna has been a wedding planner in New Zealand and internationally for over five years, and has the website www.weddingheaven.com, which she runs from Christchurch.

When asked what she thinks users mainly want to know when they access a wedding site, she doesn’t hesitate in saying, ‘Everything, and why not? That is what the internet is all about – instant information.’ She has two websites that cater to quite different markets. The site www.weddingsnewzealand.com is for couples requiring a wedding planner to organise their wedding for them. This site gives them ideas about venues, wedding photography, and information on marriage licences, among other functions.

The other site, Wedding Heaven (www.weddingheaven.co.nz), is designed for couples who want to organise their own wedding, but need ideas on venues, stationery, accommodation and vehicles etc.

Personal wedding websites are a great source of information – I do not know where we would be today without them.

Using international wedding websites is best when you want inspiration or to better understand wedding etiquette – it is not really practical for booking wedding catering or flowers. You can, however, search for the perfect designer wedding dresses, international designer or a specific pair of wedding shoes, but there is always a risk that you will be disappointed with the final product. Or feel cheated, given the price you pay for it.

Buying over the internet is fraught with danger as you are dealing with individuals rather than large organisations, and you have little recourse if your dress supplier is on the other side of the world.

But overseas websites do cover everything you might need to know about getting hitched and the stresses involved, such as religious issues, making your children feel welcome and how to tackle planning a second wedding for one or both partners. They also have tips on reception planning, creative wedding themes, attendants’ duties and speeches.

Some websites even have helpful downloadable spreadsheets to help you with the often large sums associated with a wedding.

Wedding planning websites can make putting plans in place for your big day much easier and perhaps even more creative too, so set aside some valuable time to go forth and surf!

Changing Trends in Wedding and Engagement Rings

Wedding bands have become more diverse over the decades – diamond wedding rings are still popular, but rings with other precious gemstones, or no gems at all, are gaining in popularity. Many women are choosing to have their birthstone or a stone consisting of their favorite color, fitted into their engagement rings. For some brides, this is purely an aesthetic choice; for others, it’s a conscious moral decision to not financially support diamonds mined by children and other mistreated workers.

Some couples have taken the trends toward more unique wedding rings even farther, and have gotten wedding band tattoos instead of or in addition to their physical wedding bands. Sometimes the tattoos look similar to an actual ring, other times the tattoo involves the wedding date or their betrothed’s name.

New Styles in Wedding Dresses

One of the most prominent aspects of the entire wedding is what the bride is wearing. Like wedding rings, once traditional styles have branched off into many assorted varieties. Wedding dresses can be found in almost any style of dress, long or short, extremely conservative or daring and risque. Color wedding dresses are available in muted tones like ivory and pastels, but also in bright hues and even in black.

Some aspects of a modern wedding may shock more conservative attendees at the wedding, but it is important to remember that this is the bride and groom’s big day, not theirs. If a neon green wedding gown and matching wedding ring tattoos are what it takes to make the couple’s wedding day perfect, then so be it.

Selecting a wedding dress depends on your personal style, and the only style rules you must obey are fit, cut and type of gown. It’s important that your dress fits you properly, is cut well and that you can ‘carry’ the type of gown you are wearing. If you adhere to these simple points, any gown will epitomise your own particular style.

Style is all about the person wearing the dress. It’s not about how you look or what size you are – if you’ve got confidence, you’ve got style.

photo credit: hmerinomx

If you want a dress with classic style, it’s best to avoid trends and fads that will define the dress as from a certain year or decade. Simple and elegant gowns don’t date and will look as timeless in 20 years as they do today. And a stylish gown is not necessarily an expensive gown – it’s the way you wear it that counts.

Diamonds epitomise sophistication and style. Platinum and white gold are the quintessential metals of style, particularly for engagement and wedding bands. And while it may seem that platinum is the metal of the moment, it has actually been popular for centuries. Yellow gold is also a popular choice, although the cool look of white metal is timeless in its appeal.

The classic six-prong ‘Tiffany’ solitaire ring is a great example of timeless style. Launched in 1870, this design continues to be Tiffany’s best-selling ring over 100 years later, confirming that simplicity and elegance leads to enduring popularity.

Your wedding ring will continue to look stylish only if it is maintained regularly. Platinum should be professionally polished yearly for it to retain its lustre finish and avoid turning grey. Similarly, white gold should be rhodium plated every two years.

Looking fresh and healthy will beat even the best make-up application, so start looking after yourself early. Eat a balanced diet and avoid fatty and sugary foods. Look after your skin by starting a cleansing regime at least six months before your wedding day and invest in a series of facials. Begin an exercise program and aim to lose any excess weight sensibly over a reasonable amount of time. Cut and polish finger and toenails regularly, as there’s nothing more unstylish than unsightly nails. And invest time and money in having professionals style your hair and apply your wedding make-up.

Your wedding reception is the highlight to a stylish wedding and the venue you choose sets the scene. The location, the view, the décor and the atmosphere all contribute to how stylish your reception will be, so look for a venue that meets your requirements. The basics such as walls, flooring, chairs and tables must be scrutinised carefully before you book, as it can be extremely difficult and costly to decorate a room if the essentials are or ideal in the first place.

If you can’t find a venue that suits your requirements, you do have options. A marquee is a great alternative as you can set up your reception area in the location you want and decorate it to suit your tastes if you are willing to spend time and money, you can transform a space into anything your desire. Remember to ensure that the marquee is adequately heated and to have enough seating and toilet facilities.

photo credit: Skelekitten

If you want a stunning wedding that will be left ingrained on the memories of your guests, perhaps think about a reception venue with a difference like a catamaran or yacht – it’s a great way to have an intimate, private party with an ever-changing view. If the catamaran or yacht is not really your style then why not ask your reception venue if they can tailor a menu that benefits your theme and style. If you choose to have an elegant, sophisticated affair then consider creating an elaborate degustation menu. Or, for a wedding by the sea, incorporate some fancy fish and chips into your menu. You could even decorate the tables with goldfish in their bowls!

The food and alcohol you serve at your reception is a most important style factor and is not the place to skimp or cut corners. This doesn’t mean you have to choose the most expensive item on the menu – it simply means that quality should be considered over quantity. With a few clever selections, you can maintain a high standard without blowing the budget.

Good service is the epitome of style and can really make or break your reception. Hire outstanding professional waiting staff to ensure your guests receive speedy and polished service and your reception runs like clockwork. You’ll be amazed at the difference quality staff can make.

While wedding flowers may seem like an easy place to trim dollars from your budget, avoid this if you can, as flowers literally transform a room from an ordinary venue into a truly spectacular space.

Stylish wedding cakes not only look fantastic and taste superb but should be placed on a decorated reception table. As there are many different wedding cake styles to choose from, make sure yours suits the theme of your wedding and is big enough for each guest to take a slice home or to enjoy a piece for dessert. And a wedding cake smothered in fresh flowers is a stunning alternative to sugar-dough icing.

photo credit: Corey Ann

Another alternative to the traditional wedding cake is to have several identical small wedding cakes placed in the centre of each guests table so that there isn’t one main wedding cake but as many wedding cakes as there are tables. These cakes look and taste delicious and can replace floral table centres.

Your reception music should include a mix of musical eras and cater to various age groups. A cool jazz group or a lively swing band can be great, but have some subtle, relaxing music for when the evening winds down.

Bomboniere is a stylish memento of your wedding day for guests – chocolates are a delicious, stylish and relatively inexpensive bomboniere gift, as re miniature bottles of wine and miniature cakes.

There are a few basic style pointers that will lead you in the right directions, the most important being that quality should prevail over quantity, even if it means paring down your guest list. And do not compromise your style. If your budget is limited simply do a few things but do them well.

Yes, the Internet is a fantastic research tool, so if you’re planning a wedding it’s a must as one of your key planning tools. Good wedding sites can provide you with the tools to plan your wedding from start to finish. Man sites offer personalised supplier directories covering everyone from photographers to florists, a wedding calendar so nothing is left to the last minute and a budget calculator to help keep you on track.

What are the advantages of using the Internet for wedding plans?

There’s so much to organise when you’re planning a wedding, so let your mouse do the walking (clicking), saving you time and headaches. By using the various planning tools available you can keep track of what needs doing and stay in control. Moreover, there’s plenty of valuable information and guidance. Read about how other couples tied the knot and what they went through, review the tips and advice or find honeymoon specials for your dream holiday.

Are some wedding services or products easier to source online than others?

Not really – the Internet is a great source of information for all wedding services and products. Certain products and services you may even be comfortable booking online, such as honeymoons, bonbonniere, stationery, cars and bridal registries. Others you may prefer to visit personally after initial research on the Internet.

photo credit: Igor ™

What arrangements could be made entirely over the Internet?

A bridal registry, whether for gifts or so guests can contribute to your honeymoon, can be set up entirely on the Internet.

How do I get started using the Internet for my wedding plans?

Begin by sourcing wedding websites from magazines, by using an Internet search engine or as recommended by friends. Once you have found a few, review them thoroughly and determine which are best suited to your needs. Then save these sites in your ‘favorites’ folder in your Internet browser to ensure easy access.

What are the advantages of choosing a reception venue that offers set wedding packages?

A set wedding package is convenient, easy and a quick way to organise a wedding. The couple don’t need to spend hours trying to source different products – all the legwork has been done for them. All the bride and groom need to do is select the menu and perhaps the centrepieces and chair covers they like.

Choosing all inclusive wedding packages also gives the bride and groom peace of mind that they will be using tried and tested products and services. For example, most wedding venues have selected suppliers for their packages whose products and services are of a quality consistent with the high standards you would expect.

But doesn’t a set wedding package place constraints on the couple?

Not at all. Quality venues provide different packages to suit different needs. After all, not everyone wants everything in a package; some couples prefer to do certain things themselves. Flexibility within a package is essential. You could even start with a small wedding package which includes a basic wedding menu and build up from that.

What should a couple look for in a wedding package?

Couples should look at what each individual package offers, whether the package offers value for money, and the quality of the items offered in the package. For example, many cheap wedding packages offer table centrepieces but it’s important to find out if there is flexibility in the types of flowers you can have or if there is one standard arrangement for all weddings. If beverages are included, be sure to taste the wines offered so that you know they are of a quality acceptable to you. It’s also a good idea to check if there is choice in the menu and whether the menu can be adapted to suit your tastes.

What is the best way to compare the packages of different venues?

The best way is to make sure you understand exactly what each is offering. Also, look at the pros and cons of each venue and make sure that you are comparing packages of a similar style and standard of venue.

One of the best ideas today to share your affection and gratitude to your love ones on this very special day of yours is to give them elegant and unique wedding invitations. Yes, beautiful wedding invitations are not just simple papers wrapped in a fancy wedding invitation box. They are the gesture of your love, affection, and appreciation to people especially for your closest friends and family.

There are many beautiful designs of wedding invitation boxes such as embellished ones, silk ones, and many other simple but elegant cards inside a lovely pouch. These wedding keepsakes will definitely capture your magical moment in your wedding day and keep them alive for a very long time. These elegant cards and their lovely boxes will allow your cherished loved ones to remember you and your special day. Then as you aged, these little things will mean so much to you and to your loved ones. You will have a memento of your wedding day or a family member or closest friend’s wedding day. A unique wedding invitation is definitely a good keepsake that can be displayed above your fireplace, in your display cabinet next to your other family mementos, or kept with your family albums to safety.

Whether you chose the simple wedding invitation boxes, you will surely capture the moment of magic, gratitude, and romance while you walk down the aisle. You can even handmade your wedding invitations to make them have a very personal touch from you. Nevertheless, you can have them custom made to your wedding invitation design. The results are just the same: they can be such precious memoirs for the years to come.

1. Hire a chamber quartet for your wedding instead of getting a DJ or using a playlist.  This gives a charming and very personal feel to a wedding celebration.  If you are worried you wouldn’t be able to afford it, let go of those fears.  There are many ways to arrange a chamber quartet.   You could ask the local high schools, the local youth orchestra or university orchestra or music department.  Teenagers and university students will often be of a very high standard of music and be very willing to play at your wedding, sometimes only for the exposure, not just money (but you should definitely give them a thank-you gift even if they insist on no payment).  But you certainly wouldn’t need to be looking at professional musician hire fees.  If you get a youth quartet or soforth to play, they will generally be very willing to accomodate you and of course, unlike professional musicians, students are likely to have more time to sit down and negotiate with you what you’re after at your particular wedding.  It’ s a great experience for them, too.

2. Use personalised chocolates to name everyone’s places at the tables for reception.  Instead of just using cards; because if you use personalised chocolate it will give everyone something to do with their hands, break the ice a bit before the food gets to the table and start the conversation rolling at each table; almost everyone loved chocolate and nowadays you can get very elegant, professional and lovely-looking personalised chocolates made up, usually online, saving you the time of one less thing to pick up from the city during your wedding planning.

3.  Have your wedding ceremony at a wildlife preserve, nature reserve or natural protected area.  You’ll have a beautiful setting, you are unlikely to need to pay any fees to use the area, and you will have the natural beauty of the area and the birds, water, trees etc around you making it a very unique place for wedding photographs.  Afterwards, you can have a leisurely drive back through the countryside to wherever you have decided to hold the reception; probably a countryside or beachside resaturant.  Everyone will appreciate the peace and unaffected backdrop to your wedding ceremony, which after all should not have to compete with a busy or stressful setting; ultimately the wedding is about you and your loved one.

But not everyone has the money to make their wedding as lavish as they’d like. Despite what you see on TV and in magazines, most people have limited wedding budgets. So, if money can be saved on any aspect of the big event, it can make a difference. If your parents are paying for the wedding; they’ll definitely appreciate it if you save them some money. And if you’re paying for it yourself, then any savings will really hit home. After all, no one wants to begin their marriage by being seriously in debt!

Thankfully, you don’t have to sacrifice the integrity of your wedding day just to save money. With the help of some judicious shopping and following the suggestions below, you can have a terrific wedding or commitment ceremony at  a price that won’t make you wish you had eloped:

Make your own wedding invitations
In years gone by, you would have been laughed at (or pitied) if you wanted to make your own wedding invitations. But nowadays handmade wedding invitations are actually quite chic. Not really a crafty person? Don’t worry. There are an array of free printable wedding invitations that you can download and produce on your home printer. If you want to keep them simple, you can just print and mail them. But if you’re feeling more creative, you can decorate them with purchased three-dimensional embellishments, ribbons, vellum and other extras. As long as you keep them looking clean and classy, just about any style is fair game.

Make your own wedding favors
Try giving your guests something handmade, instead of pricey store-bought wedding favors. Free wedding scrapbook paper can be used to make elegant origami paper sculptures, which will be guaranteed to be one-of-a-kind. If you’ve never made origami sculptures before, don’t worry. There are many wonderful origami templates available for no charge on the web. Make sure you begin well before the wedding, though, since it will probably take a while to generate enough sculptures. To accelerate the process, get your bridesmaids and family in on the act.

If origami wedding favors don’t suit your style, you can use the wedding scrapbook paper and a gratis envelope template available on the Internet to make custom packages for Jordan almonds or even bird seed for your guests to toss as you depart the church or wherever you’re holding the wedding.

If you’re creative, I’m sure you can find many other techniques to cut corners that won’t diminish the ambiance of your special day. In fact, if you decide to “go handmade,” chances are you’ll only add to the charm of your wedding. The Internet is full of money-saving ideas and projects for wedding ceremonies and receptions, so some online research done beforehand can save you quite a bit. that way, when your family is established decades from now, you’ll be able to tell your kids that your wedding was both cost-effective and fashionable.

Wellington-based celebrant Lizzy officiated at 85 weddings in 2009 and is well on her way to topping that figure this year. She estimates that about 30% of the weddings she performs each year are second-time weddings, which reflects the national figure of 36% – a number that has remained stable for the past decade. Figures from Statistics New Zealand show that in 2009 the number of remarriages was 7500 out of a total of 21,000 registered marriages. By comparison, 4400 marriages (16%) in 1971 involved remarriage of one or both partners.

In addition to officiating at many second-time marriages, Lizzy recently got married for the second time herself. While her first wedding was comparatively casual, she says her second was even more informal and comfortable.

‘The first time, I got married at my parents’ house and I wore white,’ she says. ‘The second time, I married in black. Even though my first wedding was casual and informal, the second time around you have that freedom to indulge what you want and you’re really doing it for yourselves.’

When she married again, Lizzy and Tom – her partner of 13 years invited very close family members (their adult daughters, siblings and parents), and all her dearest friends.

‘We had one rule,’ she says. ‘Everyone who was invited was part of our future, as well as our past. It was so relaxed and comfortable. The room was so full of love.’

It’s a sentiment shared by many couples marrying for the second time. Where, at their first wedding, they felt obliged to do things a certain way, inviting great aunts and uncles, and business associates of their parents they barely knew, the second time around, the celebration is usually a much more intimate one. Couples marrying again are generally more mature, both in years and outlook, and Lizzy says that the vast majority know what’s important to them now.

As a celebrant, Lizzy has seen hundreds of weddings and she intentionally set out to make hers different from them all.

‘I had 28 flower girls – the youngest was 42 and the oldest 63 – and I gave each of them one red gerbera to hold. I walked in with my daughter.’

Her advice to second-timers is simple;

‘Do what you want, always. If there are any wishes you’d love to indulge, just do it. And, most of all, have fun.’