Far Flung Weddings

Having your wedding abroad in some beautiful exotic location could be one of your dreams. But will it work for you?

There are several practical questions that may throw cold water over this lovely dream, but if the answer to most of them is ‘Yes’ then it could well work out well for you.

Do you want a small intimate wedding?
Flying a hundred guests out to a beautiful and remote tropical island for your wedding is only going to work if you are seriously loaded and have your own private jet or helicopter. The logistics of getting a number of guests to the right place at the right time is far easier if you are only inviting a handful of your closest family and friends.

Can your family and friends afford the time and money to travel?
It’s a lovely idea to invite friends and family to a wedding in a beautiful far-off place, and even lovelier if they can turn it into a well-deserved holiday. But if your parents or best friends can’t afford the tickets or have a hectic work schedule and can’t get time off, you might find several important people missing from your special celebration.

Are your family and friends already living in different places around the world?
If you have a brother in Australia, a sister in the US, friends in South Africa and parents in the UK it could be a great idea to pick a destination somewhere in the world that they can all fly to fairly easily. Meeting up for a family reunion and wedding in Bali could actually become a practical and economical solution rather than an extravagant gesture.

Are you happy for your wedding to be a simple affair without all the traditional extras?
Organising a wedding at home is complex enough, but organising a wedding long distance when you will only be arriving at the destination and meeting your suppliers  a few days before is much easier when you keep things as simple as possible. Concentrate on a simple ceremony, good food and wine and a beautiful location. Forget about wedding favours, elaborate decor and all the frills and furbelows.

So now go ahead and plan your wedding abroad,  but make sure you give everyone plenty of notice to book time off work, organise tickets and so on.

What To Ask Potential Wedding Planners

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 Are you dreaming of a big wedding, something special, individual, stylish and distinctive? You are probably going to need a professional wedding planner to make your dreams come true and it’s best to choose your wedding planner at the very beginning of the planning process... yes before you’ve even set the date! This way she (or he, but wedding planners do have a tendency to be she’s!) can help you form your own style and theme for every detail and give you the very best value for money.

While it may seem a little daunting to be entrusting everything to a stranger, bear in mind that she won’t be a stranger for long. By the wedding day itself, she’ll feel more like a best friend. So choosing a wedding planner is an important first step in a vital relationship. While it is important to choose someone that you click with, it is also essential to know that the wedding planner you choose is experienced and professional. You also need to establish the business nitty gritty right from the start, so that you can relax and enjoy the process.

Here is a great list of questions to ask when interviewing potential wedding planners. It covers all the obvious questions as well as many not so obvious. It should put you well on the road to choosing the right wedding planner for you.

To find wedding planners in your area, ask friends who married recently for referrals, check out your local wedding directory online, look at weddings featured on some of the best wedding blogs. In South Africa check out the listings on SAWeddings for a selection of wedding planners, wedding coordinators and events organisers. Make a shortlist of those that you think suit your style and get interviewing!

What is ‘Day Of’ Wedding Planning?

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When you hear the phrase ‘day of’ wedding planning or wedding coordination, all it means is booking a professional for the day of your wedding to coordinate  everything and make sure it runs smoothly.

In this case you will have done all the planning, choosing and booking of the suppliers for the wedding. You will have negotiated contracts and put the whole thing together. But on the big day you want to be able to relax and forget about the details, so you hand over to a wedding planner just for the day itself.

This is a good option if you have a limited budget, know exactly what you want and are confident that you will have enough time and organizational skills to do the planning yourself. You can’t expect the day of wedding planner to magically fill in gaping holes in your arrangements or to transform mediocre caterers into gastronomic wonders, so you have to be sure of putting a strong team together and thinking of everything before you hand over.

Usually you will meet with your wedding coordinator about a month before the wedding and go through all the arrangements. You will hand over all the details, including contact numbers of all the suppliers and service providers. During this meeting you will also be able to make sure that nothing has been overlooked and then make any last minute arrangements necessary.

Your wedding planner will then coordinate everything on the day, make sure that things go smoothly, field any emergencies and generally oversee things, so that you can relax and let go of the planning role.

If you are looking for wedding planners in South Africa who offer this service, check out the directory at SA Weddings as a starting point.

Co-ordinating the wedding flowers – the practical planning

So you’ve chosen your wedding flowers, matched the colours exactly to your overall scheme, planned bouquets and buttonholes as well as the table centrepieces and church arrangements. Can you cross wedding flowers off your to do list?

Well there are still as few practical considerations to plan:

You florist will need access to the ceremony and reception venues early in the day to install all the flower arrangements you have discussed. You will need to check with both venues whether there will be any other events booked in before your wedding. What time will your florist be able to have access. Where will the keys be available from. Make sure that the florist has contact numbers for both venues, so he or she can double check arrangements before ht day. This will save you any last minute hassles.

What time on the day will you need your bouquets and buttonholes delivered? Will there be a photography shoot before the ceremony? In which case you will need them early enough for that. Don’t ask for them too early however, especially in summer. As soon as they are sitting around exposed to heat and sunlight they are in danger of wilting, so guesstimate the timing right, in consultation with your florist.

And one last thing: you may well have the bouquets sitting in cool water to keep them fresh before the ceremony. Remember to dry the stems thoroughly before they are handed out to the bridesmaids and the bride. The last thing you want is for dresses to have water drip marks all down them just before you walk down the aisle!

Tossing the Bouquet - Wedding Flowers Planning

Traditional has it that the bride tosses her bouquet before the end of the wedding and the girl who catches it will be the next to marry. Whether or not you believe in the old superstitions, it’s a fun thing to do making for great photos too, as all your girlfriends leap to be the ones to grab the bouquet.

Maybe though you’ve got plans for preserving your bouquet, as a permanent memento? Or perhaps you just want to enjoy it a little longer without it getting thrown and spoilt? Very often, if you order a grand and complex bouquet your florist will be happy to make a smaller and simpler tossing bouquet at a small extra charge, using the same types of flowers, just fewer in number and with less of the expensive blooms and more fillers. THen you can happily toss this one into the crowd and hang on to your special bridal bouquet.

Another idea would be to have a few extra loose blooms ordered with the bouquet and throw out several single stem roses for example so that all your girlfriends get the chance to catch one. It may not be as traditional, but why not create some new modern traditions!

Wedding decor – some of the things you need to consider

The wedding decor at any wedding forms part of the whole ambiance of this special day, which is why it is so important for most brides and grooms to get their choice of decor just right. When it comes to sorting out your decor there are a number of things that you need to consider. This includes:

Chair covers and table linen: You want your table to look as perfect as possible for your wedding and one way to do this is to choose beautiful fabrics and vibrant colors to really bring the table to life. You can then match your accessories such as flowers, crockery, and serviettes with the rest of the color scheme for your table.

Backdrop: Having the right backdrop for your room can add a really dramatic effect. Again, you can choose from a range of fabulous textures and sumptuous colors to really enhance your theme and color scheme.

Centrepieces: You need a dramatic and eye-catching centrepiece for any wedding table or room and there are plenty of options open to you. Whether you opt for a crystal centrepiece or a floral one, or even if you go for something even more dramatic such as an ice sculpture, you will find that the right centrepiece sets off the rest of your wedding decor perfectly.

Wedding Cakes for Every Season

Many couples who are arranging their wedding are keen to keep things as seasonal as possible when it comes to the decor, the flowers, the food, and even their wedding cakes. Having a seasonal wedding cake means that you can really get a theme going for your wedding.

A cake that fits in with the season in which you are getting married will look great on the table, particularly if your decor and flowers are also seasonal. You can make everything about your cake seasonal, from the colors that you decide upon to the ingredients that you use.

Spring weddings: Pinks, pastel colors, loads of pretty ribbon, and floral decorations make a great choice for a spring wedding cake. If you want something light and airy to reflect the season you could opt for a light sponge cake with pastel icing and decorations for a splash of spring color.

Summer weddings: For a summer wedding a light sponge rather than a heavy fruit cake is also a good idea, although it is best to avoid buttercream and whipped cream if it is hot, as this could melt and ruin the look of the cake. Other than this, you can get really creative with these summer wedding cakes, adding some beautiful floral arrangements and colorful toppers.

Autumn wedding: If you are getting married in the autumn then a rich fruit cake is the order of the day, with plenty of brown and orange colors to reflect the season. You can opt for seasonal ingredients such as pumpkin or go for a carrot cake for the perfect color and richness.

Winter weddings: A winter wedding means that you can go to town with your wedding cake, choosing a rich fruit cake with plenty of frosting on top, silver decorations, silver and metallic blue ribbons, and sparkly toppers – basically anything that make it sparkle and gives it a frosted winter look to fit in with the rest of your seasonal decor and flowers.