Top Tips For Choosing Your Wedding Cake

Top Tips For Choosing Your Wedding Cake - No wedding is complete without a wedding cake, from cutting the cake with you new spouse, the gasps of wonder from your guests to the tradition of saving the top tier for you’re first born, no wedding is complete without a cake.

With costs running into hundreds of pounds you need to make sure your cake compliments your wedding and colour scheme, here are our top tips from The Cherry Blossom Bakery suppliers of wedding cake Doncaster.

• Calculate how many guests you need to serve (including guests that can’t make it but who you would like to send a slice of cake to)
• How many tiers would you like? Are you having a big white wedding, where a tiered cake would be complimentary or are you having a laid back contemporary day which would suit a modern single tier cake or even a cup cake tower?
• Will the cake be the main dessert, be part of a dessert table or an accompaniment to coffee?
• Take time to find the perfect baker. We are well known for wedding cake Doncaster with lots of recommendations; ask your friends and other suppliers such as your venue or dress boutique or florist for their recommendations.
• Research your perfect cake, search the internet, bridal magazines, and use your theme and colour scheme as a starting point for your cake, when you visit your baker take all your research with you.
• Make sure you visit your baker and view their past work, and most importantly a good baker will encourage you to taste their cake.
• Get any agreement in writing including deposit paid and agreed timescales.
• Check that delivery, cake stand and set up is included, if not make sure you get a quote and budget for these extra costs.
As a final tip make sure you order your cake at least 8 weeks before your wedding date, but remember the best bakers often get booked up months in advance. For more ideas for your wedding cake take a look at our blog or our wedding cake gallery.

Things To Consider When Planning Your Catering For Your Wedding

Even when you have the venue sorted, the location decided, the dresses and suits in progress and the guest list almost completed, you still have to think about food and drink for the day.

Whenever you get lots of different people together for any occasion, you know that trying to offer them all something to eat and drink that they will all like is an unthankful task, but you still have to try. With different needs, requirements, desires and requests, you sometimes just have to try to do the best for everyone and simply hope for the best.

Below, we take a look at some of the things you really must consider when choosing the food for your wedding day.

Dietary Needs – Medical conditions can often decide what the sufferer is allowed to eat and drink, so it is vital that you find out if any of your guests have medical problems that affect their diet, including diabetes and various other conditions.

Allergies – Food allergies seem to be getting more and more common over the past few years, with the number of people allergic to nuts and dairy based products increasing rapidly. Make sure that you offer alternatives to people that suffer with these types of food allergies and try to make sure that all of your guests are aware if the food contains nuts before they sit down to eat, just in case they forgot to inform you.

Cost – As with all weddings, you will have a budget and its crucial you stick to it, because there will be loads of things that you could have but would leave you feeling a bit depressed after your wedding day when you look at your bank statement. Try to work out how many people are definitely coming and then decide on a price per head to feed them all, because this way you will know what is feasible and what is going to be outside of what you can realistically afford.

Variation – From 5 course sit down meals through to a buffet where people help themselves, there are so many choices and options which are often dictated by the persons budget and also the style or choice they are looking for. Some people have themed weddings in terms of food, with Chinese Buffets or American type offerings just to make the day a bit different, but you really do need to decide what you fancy and then see which venue will be prepared to offer it.

Type Of Service – Some venues will make you use their own catering facilities, menu and staff, whereas some venues will pretty much let you choose your food and how you want the meal to be served. You need to decide whether you want the meal to be served or if you are looking for a self service buffet type of occasion, which have definitely become more and more popular as the rough economic climate has taken hold.

Once you have decided what you want you can then go to your various choices of venues and explain to them your requirements. If you have pretty flexible requirements then you will have more choice, as some of the venues you pick you will be restricted to what they want you to have rather than what you want to have.

How to Remember Your Wedding Day

You spend months planning it. You've talked about it to anyone who will listen for hours on end. But after the big event, how do you remember your wedding day? How do you treasure every intimate detail of the day which, more than any other day of your life, was so carefully prepared for?

The fact is, memories are powerful. When you say 'I do', you're making a lifetime commitment. It won't always be easy to keep those vows, but your memory is a powerful tool in helping you remember why it's worth it. Every memory you build with your spouse is another beautiful thread in the tapestry of your lives, weaving you closer together. The more threads, the harder it is to break them apart. Valuing memories together shows how much you value your relationship.

So how can you find ways of remembering your wedding day together, so that each year of your marriage celebrates your love and strengthens it?

1. Your wedding album. There's something so very special about a wedding album. I remember as a child, the thrill of excitement whenever my Mum pulled down a black box and brought out the off-white, silken album. I loved the patterned texture of the cover and the rustle of tissue paper, the sheen of the photographs and the thickness of the paper.

They probably only had about twenty photos in there, but each one was a unique moment in time. A February wedding with unexpected snow; the garden photos revealed the white frosting on the lawn. The digital age means that most couples receive many more images of their day, and reportage style photo journalism means that even more of those one-off moments are captured forever.

I think it's great that couples can have CD of pictures, but don't miss out on a professional album as well. In the future, when you want to look through photos together and be swept off to that romantic and beautiful day you shared together, being huddled over a screen or amidst the glare of Facebook isn't going to create the right atmosphere! Get an album, and don't cut corners. Make sure it's perfect.

2. Video the ceremony. Now, I have to admit I was sceptical about this. When we got married, there were much-loved relatives who couldn't be there and that was the sole reason we arranged for our service to be filmed. But we have watched our wedding DVD every year at least once - and we're coming up to our fifth anniversary this year. It's surprising how much you forget... and how much that recording helps you to remember!

3. Use a famous poem or reading. I'm all for a bit of Shakespeare ('Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments...') and the apostle Paul's description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 ('Love is patient, love is kind...It does not keep a record of wrongs') always challenges and inspires me. If you use something well known, you're likely to come across it again and again and again... and every time, it will remind you of your special day.

4. Write a diary entry on the first day of your honeymoon, recording absolutely every detail you can possibly remember from your wedding. It's great to both write your own account, but work together so that you make sure you remember as many details as possible. It may seem that your day was so wonderful it's impossible to forget, but the memories will fade unless you preserve them while they're still strong in your mind.

5. Renew your vows regularly. I'm not talking about hiring a church and having a second wedding (though this kind of formal occasion can work well for a milestone anniversary), but just you and your spouse, repeating your vows to each other and expressing verbally that you still love each other and you're still committed for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. As time goes by, your vows take on new meanings with all that you've shared together. Repeating them is a great way to say 'I love you' in a deep, rich way, and also sparks a reminiscence of your day which you can delight in nostalgically.

Cut Your Budget, Start From F&B

Cut Your Budget, Start From F&B - Replace the wedding cake with a stack of cup cake or a party is not the end of the week, are a few tips that you can possibly use to cut wedding costs. Here are tips to minimize the cost of starting from the Food & Beverages.

 

• Use a champagne toast at the wedding ceremony just for the couple alone. Guests can use any available drinks in their glasses. 
• Choose a small wedding cake for the cake ceremony. 
• Serving food in a buffet form is more efficient than sitting dinner. 
• Consider choosing fish and chicken instead of lobster or steak. 
• Use of food ingredients such as lobster or shrimp as an hors d'ouevres, rather than a main meal. 
• Plan a cocktail-style party outside of meal times, for example, starting at 13:30 or 14:00 and finished around 17:00, so you only need to provide snacks, rather than a full buffet. 
• Limit your selection of alcoholic beverages, wine and beer is enough to satisfy guests. 
• Be sure to get a price guarantee of Caterers, if at any time of the rise in food prices does not change the price agreed upon in accordance with the agreement. 
• Piles of bias into the cake snacks unique ideas wedding cake substitute.

Couture Wedding Gowns: Worth Their Weight in Gold

Couture Wedding Gowns: Worth Their Weight in Gold - Many brides will tell you that they would opt for couture wedding gowns if their budgets would allow, but they just cost too much! But that's simply not always the case - "too much", after all, is simply a matter of perspective. Sure, made-to-order dresses may be priced higher than their off-the-rack counterparts, but not always, especially if the off-the-rack option has a designer's name attached to it.

These days, there are many talented creators of couture wedding gowns that may not quite be as famous as the ones we see in the high-fashion magazines, but whose works are well-designed, well-made, and most of all, flattering, fashionable and as perfect as any bride could want! What's more, the benefits of having couture wedding gowns far outweighs the additional cost over ready to wear bridal dresses. Not only do these practical advantages valuable in terms of money, but the benefits in terms of time, confidence and emotions can be priceless.

Fit and Form

While ready-to-wear wedding dresses do come in various styles and sizes, the fact remains that no two brides are alike. Not only do body sizes or measurements differ, so do personalities. Even more importantly, not everyone is built to manufacturers' standards. In fact, many brides who have top or bottom heavy figures have a hard time finding clothes that fit in regular sizes. Couture wedding gowns, on the other hand, measured specifically to flatter the body may end up cheaper than a ready-made dress that will need added cost to altar.

Exactly The Way You Want

Admit it; there's an exact style of dress you already have in mind for the wedding of your dreams. And chances are, you probably won't be finding it on the rack in a shop. After all, it does exist only in your mind! With a one-off dress, the dream can be a reality. A couturier can help you get the exact style you're looking for, help you express your individuality and personal style and make sure that what you're wearing is all "you".

One of A Kind

Couture wedding gowns are unique, so you can be sure that the dress you'll be wearing is the only one of its kind. How much more special will your nuptial be knowing that the way you look is all your own (and your designer's!) creation - nobody else will ever be seen in the same dress. Consider spending that little extra on your dream dress - you will definitely find it worth the cost!

Looking for couture wedding gowns? Tatiana Porembova is one of the leading wedding dress designers in London and her work spans a range of styles and influences. Based in Richmond, she creates beautiful couture wedding gowns and bridesmaids outfits to provide the perfect garments for the perfect day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6994708

Ideas for Planning a Beach Wedding Theme

Ideas for Planning a Beach Wedding Theme - Are you planning a beach wedding theme for your upcoming wedding? Not sure how to plan your wedding around this theme?

You don't have to get married on the beach to create a beautiful beach wedding theme. My nephew was married in Buffalo, NY in June. Not exactly a city with white sandy beaches but this was our hometown. He and his fiance had been living in California but married where the family was. He and his bride loved the beach so they tied a beach theme into their wedding even in the midst of downtown Buffalo. You can do this too!

When we arrived at the reception, every chair had a Hawaiian lei draped over one corner. The wedding cake had palm trees and beach scenes as you can see in the photo. Snow was also incorporated because they also love the mountains and snow (being in California you can be at the beach one day and in the mountains the next!) My sister, mother of the groom, had made this creation to match the bride and grooms styles. My sister was a professional cake decorator. You should be able to share your likes with your decorator and see what ideas they can come up with for your cake.

The flowers that you use to decorate your reception site can be tropical and your wedding favors can be beach themed or tropical to go along with your cake and create the right image for your theme. Your favors can incorporate palm tree designs, flip-flops, tropical flowers, shells, beach chairs, mini beach buckets with candies or simply create favors in the beach themed colors you may be using like aqua, sand color, white, etc.
So, when planning a beach wedding theme these are the things you want to focus on to help create your theme.

First of all, do you want to create a beach wedding theme at the wedding ceremony or just at the reception? Decide how much you want to incorporate it and then consider these things:

1. What is your theme? You have decided on beach wedding theme but do you want to focus on shell designs, flip-flops theme, tropical or a mixture? It is best to limit the theme to one or two main ideas.

2. Consider your flower types - tropical, palm branch greens, daisies for your bouquets and reception decorations. Talk to your florist about your theme.

3. Reception Decorations - table decorations, centerpieces, any hanging decorations. Will you be decorating your own reception venue? Check out the internet or your local party supply stores to see what you can find. Maybe you want a lighthouse beach theme. Search for things that focus on this area. If shells are what you have in mind, look for real shells to display around your cake table, head table and other areas in the reception area. Tie in tropical flowers and ferns or potted palm trees.

4. Wedding Favors - stick to the same theme you are using for your decorations. Don't veer off from the shell theme or whatever you decide on. Keep your theme consistent.

5. Attendants Gifts - you may even want to theme the gifts for your attendants to help give them lasting memories of your wedding
If you follow these basic ideas when planning a beach wedding theme and remember to relax and have fun your day should be perfect!

This article is brought to you by Beth Brawn, creator of www.perfect-wedding-ideas.com You can visit her website for many more beach theme wedding ideas.

Second Hand or Factory Outlet For Cheap Wedding Dresses

Second Hand or Factory Outlet For Cheap Wedding Dresses - We all like to save money and pick up at a bargain. From saving a few pounds at the local supermarket on a buy one get one free off, to hitting the end of season sales at your favorite department store or several thousand pounds off a shiny new car you've been saving up for. When you are planning your wedding it is likely that you and your partner are working to a fairly strict budget. Saving money where you can, getting discounts and special package deals is a priority as weddings don't come cheap!

Bridal wear can be an expensive purchase, especially when you factor in all the accessories you will need such as your lingerie, shoes, jewellery and headwear (tiaras, veils, fascinators). If you are looking to purchase a wedding gown cheaply you might think your options are limited to buying a second hand pre-loved dress from an auction site online. Maybe you've considered hunting down a vintage gown in your local charity shops or attending a sample wedding dress sale from a bridal boutique.

These are all options but your choice will be limited. Purchasing your dress this way may mean you have to settle for one they have in stock rather than making sure it is the dress of your dreams. You will then have the costs to have it dry cleaned and fitting costs which can prove pricey. This can be particularly true of vintage wedding gowns as not only were women's figures a different shape back then, they often received a lot of help from corsetry!

If you have seen some wedding dresses available to purchase on the internet at extremely low prices from the far east then think very wisely. Having heard many sad stories from devastated brides who have bought their gowns this way it appears they often are simply not worth the risk. The wedding gowns they ordered arrived damaged, the incorrect colour, the wrong style, and faulty. It is rare they resemble anything like the picture shown and are often a counterfeit copy.

As these companies have no refund or return policy these brides to be are left heartbroken without a dress and a dent in the wedding budget. Buying a wedding dress online is also a risk as you have no idea what it is going to look like on you. Different bodies look very different in wedding dresses and you have no idea if you're actually going to like it. Either way before you know it that bargain of a wedding dress has doubled if not tripled in price.

Another alternative way of purchasing a discount dress is to visit a factory outlet stocked with a vast array of wedding dresses. These warehouse type stores offer a huge selection of cheap wedding dresses at very competitive prices. Many of the gowns are brand new and have come direct from the manufacturer or designer. They could be a discontinued line, excess stock or a cancelled order. That dream gown of yours could even be a unique one off wedding dress design that only you and you alone will get to wear!