Orange Wedding Inspiration

This inspiration board is bursting with the colour orange! This will always ensure you get the colourful wedding you always wanted. It can be used in any season and the ideas are endless.

(Photo credits: The Knot, Brides.com)

Vendors: A Guide to Contracts

I couldn't find the right photo to go with today's post. But I can't do a post without a photo. Here is one of my favourite type of shots ... a shoe shot ... with the wedding bands.

One thing is a given, every time you hire a photographer, caterer, florist, or hairdresser; book a chapel, church, or venue; or order something from a dress shop, dressmaker, or formal wear store, you must get your agreement in writing. Until you put down a deposit, there is no contract, and you have no guarantees. Read everything in your contracts and receipts, and be sure to document every single wedding arrangement you make.

1. Flexibility
You might want to think about a alternative arrangement, should your beach or garden wedding be threatened by rain or a thunderstorm, so if you want to ensure that a covered venue is available, write that into the contract.

2. Refunds
Every contract should include a refund policy that discusses what refund you will receive, if any, if you cancel and what penalty the vendor will pay if they cancel.

3. Details To Be Confirmed
You made some decisions but haven't finalized details. You can make a contract when you book the service and include a general amount or maximum cost for services, but add a sentence that says details will be confirmed in writing by a certain date.

4. What Goes Into The Contract
In every contract, stipulate the
(a) Day of the week
(b) Date of the wedding
(c) Time the vendor should arrive
(d) Day and date an item should be delivered

When dealing with vendors that are providing a service on the wedding day itself, make sure the contract includes the name and number of the person the vendor should call if anything goes wrong or gets delayed.

5. Receipts
When you order something, such as a dress, a suit, invitations, or favors, the contract can be as brief as a store receipt. It should still include:
(a) The wedding date
(b) Style (eg. a number, a detailed description, or the full invitation text)
(c) Date item will be picked up
(d) Price and payment schedule
(e) Detail of what the price includes (such as alterations, accessories, delivery, and envelopes)

Real Wedding: Los Angeles Style

We're starting off the week by looking into a LA style wedding by Dave Richards, a wedding and portrait photographer from South Carolina.

Designer dress, gorgeous shoes, a very in-love couple and the venue decorated in rich shades of purple. It is just beautiful!

Wedding Cakes: Cake flavour and recipe revealed

Earlier this year I attended a friend's wedding here in the Cape Winelands. Getting a slice of the wedding cake as dessert is nothing new these days. But how surprised I was to find out that the flavour of this cake was nothing else than the very delicious poppy seed flavour. I have never really came across a wedding cake in this flavour. I only recently found out that the mother-of-the-bride was the baker of the very delicious cake. Therefore I must share this recipe with you. Whether you want to consider this flavour for your wedding cake or just to bake something different at ... have a piece on me!

Ingredients:

· About 250ml butter or margarine, at room temperature
· 625ml all-purpose flour
· 125ml poppy seed
· 250ml buttermilk
· 10ml almond extract
· 4 large eggs, separated
· 500ml sugar
· 5ml baking powder
· 5ml baking soda
· 2,5ml salt
· 15ml ground cinnamon

Preparation
1. Butter and flour-dust a 10-inch decorative tube pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix poppy seed, buttermilk, and almond extract.
3. In a deep bowl, beat egg whites with a mixer on high until foamy. Continue beating and gradually add 62,5 ml sugar. Beat until whites hold stiff, shiny peaks.
4. In another bowl, using unwashed beaters, beat 250ml butter and 375ml sugar on high speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat until well blended. Stir in poppy seed mixture.
5. Mix 625ml flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. Add dry ingredients to batter; beat slowly to blend. Mix at medium speed.
7. Fold in beaten whites until blended.
8. Mix 62,5 ml sugar and cinnamon. Pour half the batter into pan. Sprinkle with half the cinnamon mixture. Add remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining cinnamon mixture. Holding a knife vertically, draw blade through batter around tube.
9. Bake in 180°C oven just until cake springs back when lightly pressed in center, 60 -75 minutes.
10. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert cake onto a plate. Serve warm or cool. Or decorate as desired.

(Photo & recipe credit: Kitchen Parade)

Maid of Honor: What are her duties?

Question:
What exactly are the responsibilities of the maid of honor?

Answer:
She is primarily responsible for:
• Planning one or more showers for the bride, with the help of the other bridesmaids and/or the bride's mother, sisters, etc.
• Helping the bride choose her dress and shopping for bridesmaid dresses.
• Making sure the bridesmaids all go for their dress fittings and get everything they need for the big day.
• Lending an ear when the bride wants to/needs to vent, whether it be about her mother-in-law to-be or the fact that the napkins don't exactly match the tablecloths.
• Generally keeping the bride sane during wedding planning.
• Making sure the bridesmaids know where they need to be and at what time on the big day.
• At the ceremony, standing next to the bride while she exchanges vows and holding her bouquet during the ring part of things.
• The Maid Of Honour may also hold onto the groom's wedding band for the bride (although the best man has traditionally taken care of both bands).
• At the reception, she's often announced along with the best man.
• She may dance with the best man during or after the couple's first dance.

(Source: The Knot; Photo credit: Eric Uys)

Wedding Cakes: Some Useful Tips

The more informed you are about cakes, the better the decisions you will make. So, do you know everything there is to know about wedding cakes?

1. Taste the Cake

Be sure to make an appointment with the bakery so that they can be prepared for cake tastings. Have you list ready with and review portfolios. This is an excellent opportunity to meet bakers and fully understand the range of their abilities.
If you're using fresh flowers, check with your florist that they have not been sprayed with pesticides. And make sure that the flowers needed for the cake are included in the quote.

2. Select a Style
Deal with the cake after all decisions about dress style and reception decor have been made. These elements can serve as a guideline for the design and structure of your wedding cake. The cake should be part of the wedding.

3. Size It Up
Ask your wedding cake supplier to give you advise on how many tiers will serve a certain amount of guests.

4. Price
Wedding cake prices can start from R500 to what you want and what you are willing to pay. The more complicated the cake, the higher the price. You'll pay for the cake designer's labour. The most inexpensive option is fresh fruits or flowers. In some instances, it can be applied by your florist for a minimal fee.

5. Find Ways to Save
Order a small cake that's decorated to perfection but can only feed a handful plus several sheet cakes of the same flavor to actually feed the guests. Tiers, handmade sugar flowers, and specially molded shapes are expensive. Garnish with seasonal flowers and fruit for an elegant effect. If you'll have a dessert table in addition to the cake, consider a cake sized for half your guests. Servings will be smaller and the fee will shrink too.

6. Consider The Season
If you're having an outdoor wedding in a hot climate, stay away from whipped cream, meringue, and buttercream - they melt. Ask your supplier for alternative options.

7. Mini cakes
The idea of a mini cake is that each guest gets his or her own. But it can be costly. Each cake require its own decoration which normally is very time consuming.

8. Display at the Reception
Designate a cake table that allows the most elegant presentation possible. A round table is perfect for round cakes. A linear cake design may call for a rectangular table. Have fun dressing up the cake table.

9. Arrange Delivery Details
Cake delivery takes coordination. Complex cakes may not necessarily be delivered in final form. Allow time and space for final set-up at the reception. Refrigeration may also be required in warmer climate.

10. After the Wedding
Avoid freezing any cake. Treat yourself to a fresh cake in the same flavor for whatever occassion you want the cake you had on your wedding. It will taste far better than the one you freezed. If you must stick to tradition, wrap the cake in plastic wrap, then bag it in an airtight bag. Aluminum foil might not protect against freezer burn as well as plastic wrap because it's not an airtight.

(Photo credit: Unknow)

For Fun: Guess the flavour of this cake

Let's do this for fun ...

or maybe something up for grabs (we can work on that):

~ Guess the flavour of this cake ~

Email your answer to info@theweddingmall.co.za

Recipe to be reveled Friday 20 November 2009.

Wedding Gifts: 4 Rules of Wedding Gift Giving

At every wedding you attend as a wedding guest, you're inevitably faced with the question: What should I give?

Our top rules for giving wedding gifts they're guaranteed to love.

> Buy From Their Registry
Don't get too creative. What is on the registry, is what they need. Find out where the couple is registered. Many stores make shopping more convenient by allowing guests to access registries online, or you can just head to the store to purchase in person. The couple set up the registry for a reason, and if you stick to it, you can't possibly buy a gift they won't like!

> Kitchen, Entertaining, Bed, and Bath Gifts - A Must
Unlike years past, today's couples want modern twists on the traditional wedding gifts, even though some of the most popular gifts still comes from the kitchen, dinning, bedding, and bath departments.

Give them gifts that'll create a spa-like, hotel environment every morning when they wake up.
In terms of entertaining, consider giving a set dishes and stainless ware that can multitask - and either be dressed up for dinner with the boss or dressed down for a braai.

Many couples use their wedding as an excuse to upgrade their kitchen with new appliances. Give state-of-the-art kitchen gear, gadgets, and cookware that look as good on the counter as they do when in use.

> Give a Big Group Gift
Big price tag items purchased by a group of their friends works well. It might be items the couple would most likely never be able to afford on their own. If the couple has registered for an item that's out of range for just one person to afford, ask some other guests to chip in with you. It's also a great idea for the bridal party to band together and buy the couple the item of their dreams.

> Buy it Within Two Months
With the convenience of online buying and shipping, there's little excuse for a delay in delivering the wedding gift. Try to send your gift within two months of the wedding if you weren't able to bring it to the wedding.

(Photo credit & source : The Knot)

Making Sense Of Scents

A personal fragrance should be a extension of your style, but how do you hit the beauty counter and find the right one for you? First, get the facts. Second, start spraying! Enlist your mom or a friend to come with you - to double the available body surface for testing - and follow your nose to pick up a fragrance you like. Here are some helpful hints for making sense of scents.

Fragrance Glossary

Perfume (a.k.a. parfum): The most potent and usually the most expensive product in the fragrance family. It has a higher concentration of oil, so a little goes a long way -- the smell lasts very long and you won't run out on a bottle as quickly.

Eau de Parfum: It's not quite a perfume, but it goes that bit extra than the Eau de Toilette (see below) and Eau de Cologne (see below).

Eau de Toilette and Eau de Cologne: A bit weaker and more watered down than perfume. Eau de toilette and eau de cologne are usually available in convenient spray bottles. While the bottles may be larger and priced similarly to smaller versions containing the same scent, the bigger bottles are less concentrated, so you're not necessarily getting more for your money.

Body Splash: Has the lowest concentration of scented oil and disappears into the skin, offering a lighter scent.

(Photo credit: Protograph; Source: The Knot)

Colour Palette - Aqua Inspiration

One usually are a bit sceptic when it comes to this bright aqua colour scheme for a wedding. Although it works best for a beach wedding, there is really no rule stating that it can't be used for a summer garden wedding, or whatever type of wedding you have in mind.

Coloured wedding shoes are really nothing new. They make memorable shoe shots! (I am addicted to great shoe shots ...) Personalized items like a fan for those hot garden ceremonies, the church program with a hint of colour and bottled lemonade (or whatever you guests would like) as table placements, make great wedding favours. A cocktail to get the party started ... need I say more?! Out with the plain white marzipan covered wedding cakes and in with something colourful. And do serve your wedding cake as dessert to your guests. It can't be stored forever. Blue hydrangea ball bouquets for the bridesmaids, or if you prefer, for yourself.

(Photo credits: The Knot)

Rain boots - Necessity or photo prop

Having one of these pairs for your wedding day might not be a necessity. But they sure make good props for your photos! In Cape Town, South Africa, we're suppose to have some sunny weather already. But for the past two days it has been pouring ... like in winter. It is cold and very wet!! So you can never be to sure to have a sunny wedding day.

These cuties you can order online from DLL Rainwear. Be sure to order them in time for your wedding. I was not to sure where in South Africa where one would buy a pair of these. Be sure to visit The Stellenbosch Fresh Food Market at the Historic Oude Libertas. The stall Scaptique has the prettiest pairs. Visit the market on Saterdays from 9am - 2pm and have yours custom made today.

(Photo credits: DLL Rainwear)

Paperless Wedding Stationary

In the modern era we live in it was inevitable that the digital invitation would make its debut. The idea works well for those less formal affairs like a birthday party, or braai. But whether one wants to send out an e-Vite for a wedding ... is really up to you. Maybe if you are one of those people looking for ways to reduce their carbon-footprint, this might be a solution. But other than that, the e-Vite won't really score high popularity points.

Paperless Post offer these designed wedding invitations that look like the real thing. Their website are well designed to let you custom design your invitation, deliver it to your guest's email inboxes and track their replies.

This service is only available to members. When you sign up, you receive 25 free 'stamps' and for only $5.00 you get an additional 40 'stamps'.

(Photo credit: Paperless Post)

Welcome to The Wedding Mall

Today is the official launch day for The Wedding Mall ! After months of planning, designing and hard work we are officially live.

This is where we want to share everything wedding related to brides-to-be. Even if you are already married, you can share in the joy of those who are awaiting their 'big day'.

Share your ideas, tips and inspiration through our submissions page, read our blog, sign up for our newsletter, subscribe to our RSS feeds, join our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter or contact us if you are interested in advertising with us.

May this be the first of many happy days!

(Photo credit: Beach Bum Photography)