Putting yourself out there...

These days there is no need for your out of town guests to feel left out of your wedding experience. Just put your wedding info on a wedding website and spread the word! There are quite a few places you can go to get this started, and as with anything, there are some you pay for and some that are free. Here are a few:

Venue and Menu

Finding the right venue for your wedding reception can be a mission. You need to consider the theme and feel of your dream day and then find a venue that will match and enhance that.

Here are some questions to ask when considering a venue (also a list of venues in and around JHB/PTA):

Traditionally married?

There are so many traditions that are associated with weddings and most of us follow them blindly without knowing the origin of most of them. So I decided to do some research and see if I can clarify the origins of at least some of these traditions.

Something old, something new....



The original rhyme goes: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in your shoe.

Something old represented a link with the bride's family and her old life.

Something new represented success and good luck in her new life.

Something borrowed, preferably from a happily married woman, was supposed to bring the same good luck and happiness to the bride

Something blue stems from the times when the colour blue represented purity and fidelity.

The silver sixpence in the bride's shoe was to ensure health, happiness and prosperity for the new wife.

I don't know if I will specifically do any of these on the wedding day. The 'something new' won't be so difficult, but not sure about the rest!

Music for special moments

So tonight we are meeting with our DJ and we have to choose the impact songs/music for the wedding. The entrance at the ceremony, the first dance song, music while cutting the cake etc etc. I know which song will be our fist dance song but about the rest I am still unsure. It also doesn't help that GV and my tastes in music are like chalk and cheese! I am a slower, softer, more mellow, lyrics-are-important type of girl. He is a the-louder-the-better, damn-the-lyrics, get-me-dancing type of guy. Can you see where we might have a problem? LOL! Luckily there are some inspiration available on the web:

You are invited!

So, our invitations are finished and we have already hand delivered 5 of them! The ones that need to be posted will go out tomorrow and the rest hand delivered over the next week or so! I am excited as this almost feels like proof that the wedding is real!!! I made each and every one of the invites and I feel very proud. I think they came out nicely and that they convey the feel and theme of our wedding. Now the wait for the RSVP's start.....

Here are a couple of pics of the process:

If music be the food of love; play on...

In the words of Shakespeare:

If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
That strain again! it had a dying fall:
O! it came o’er my ear like the sweet sound
That breathes upon a bank of violets,
Stealing and giving odour.
(Twelfth Night, 1.1.1-7)

Yes, we are talking music at the wedding! Whether you are hiring a DJ, a string quartet or having a live band play, music lends an air of festivity to the event. The music at a wedding (or any party for that matter) can make or break the event. You know you have been at one of those weddings where the grooms brother's band was the main entertainment and, uhm, well, not so entertaining...

Blooms galore!

Flowers and weddings are synonymous, right? You expect to see masses of blooms in the chapel or church and macnificent centrepieces of fragrant blooms at a traditional wedding. But do you know the price tag that comes with that?

A new take on wedding cakes

I saw this idea for a wedding ‘cheese’ in a bridal magazine a while back. While cutting the cheese is a bit different than cutting the cake, I do think it is a wonderful alternative to the traditional wedding cake. We have decided to go this route and we will be cutting and serving the cheese directly after the ceremony for the guests to snack on while we have some photos taken. Three types of cheese rounds (in our colours, of course!), will be stacked on top of each other and decorated with flowers and rafia. With the cheese we will be serving crackers, fruit and preserves, as well as a nice red wine to compliment the cheese. Here are some pictures of how you can dress up a cheese!

The wedding dress!

Every girl gets excited when thinking about her wedding dress. It has to be that way - you will (hopefully) only get to wear one once in your life and it will be the last dress you wear as a single girl...

Wedding planning for busy people...

Over the last few months we have met with photographers, officiates, florists, musicians and DJ's. All but 2 of these providers were not willing to meet us after hours or on weekends. Which begs the question: how do busy working people plan their weddings? Do they take time off work each time they need to meet with a provider? Or do they only do business with those providers that can see them after hours or on weekends?

There would seem to be a market for wedding planners in this busy day and age. Someone who will shortlist providers according to the couple's needs, meet with those providers and then report back to the couple. But it still appears as if most couples prefer to do things on their own. Whether that is because they want all the control or because they think wedding planners are expensive to hire, is a question I would like to have answered. I will do some research and report back...