Archive for October, 2011

You may find yourself or bridesmaids thinking this very question on the journey leading up to your wedding day. If you do your own make-up every day or for a special occasion, why do you need to pay someone else to do it for your wedding day?

One thing that all brides have in common is that they want to look their absolute best on their wedding day, as all eyes (and camera lenses) will be on them on them. A lot of thought and budget goes into the dress, shoes, jewellery and photographer to capture how beautiful you look, but sometimes one of the important parts of looking stunning – your face – is left at the bottom of that list.

Having applied the make-up for countless brides over 11 years, there are quite a few reasons why having your make-up applied by a professional on your wedding day should be high on your list, which I’ll take you through…

Flash photography
A camera flash can have quite an affect on how make-up looks – what you thought was a natural look changes into a no make-up at all look. Make-up artists know how much to apply and use specialised make-up which has enough pigment in to show up in photos. It’s an art to ensure you have enough make-up on so that your features are defined in photos but also look stunning in person.

Knowing which foundations and skin products to use is also important when it comes to being photographed. Moisturisers, foundations and powders with an SPF and other several specific ingredients create a white ghostly effect on your face when flash photography is used – so your face will not match your body colour. Not a good look for the wedding album! Also, mineralised powder products look great in person, but make the skin look shiny in photos. Make-up artists will have a variety of foundations they use for different skin types and finishes, in several shades. I believe that skin should look as flawless as possible on your wedding day and custom blend the foundation for each bride to get the perfect shade.

It’s important to be aware that light reflective products (under eye concealer pens or powder) can reflect a white tone – think ‘I’ve been in the sun and worn ski goggles look’. So it’s best not to use these, unless it’s for specific highlighting and contouring.

Looking your absolute best
Many of us get stuck in a rut when it comes to make-up and use the same colours, products and techniques every time we do our make-up. It’s hard for us to be objective about ourselves and are often our own worst critic.

A professional make-up artist looks at you with a fresh, artistic eye and knows exactly what colours and techniques are needed to enhance your best features. Make-up artists are trained to look at your face shape, feature proportions and are also skilled in camouflage or other techniques to minimize any flaws.

A good make-up artist will ask about your own make-up style and create a look that ties in with that, enhancing it with some new ideas. You still want to look like you on your wedding day, just a more stunning, radiant, polished version. Having a trial is important so you can try out different looks and be totally confident in how you’re going to look on your special day.

Making it last
Your make-up needs to last throughout your day and reception – yes, you’re going to have to touch up your lips, but you don’t want to waste time in the middle of your day, touching up your foundation or eyeshadow.

Good make-up artists have plenty of techniques and products to ensure make-up lasts through the nuptials and energetic evening dancing. The last thing you want is to have a would-be-perfect photo spoilt by your face looking shiny, eyeshadow creased or eye liner smudged!

A multitude of high quality products are used for bridal make-up including specialised skincare, skin primers, eyeshadow primers, highlighters, photographic friendly make-up and setting sprays, not forgetting the professional brushes and tools used to apply these. These items play an essential role in helping your make-up to last as long as possible as well as you looking your best. Paying for a make-up artist may seem an expense initially, but purchasing all of these items yourself would cost a king’s ransom.

Minimising stress
The morning of your wedding can be a rather stressful time, with everyone buzzing around and hammering questions at you – I’ve been witness to many a tricky situation in those precious few hours before the big event. Most brides get the jitters on their special day (myself included) and it’s hard to do your own make-up with a churning stomach and shaky hand.

Having your make-up done gives you some time, escaping the mayhem, to relax and focus on yourself. Professional wedding make-up artists are used to working to a schedule and ensure that the bride and bridal party are made-up in plenty of time. I like to ensure there’s more than enough time built into the order of events to make a final touch up and check over any exposed skin such as the bride’s neck, shoulders and back to camouflage any blemishes and set them before the dress is put on.

In conclusion, long after the preparations, wedding vows, first married kiss, first dance, cutting the cake and throwing the bouquet, your photos will remain. Those photos will remind you of everything wonderful about your special day and will be looked at for years to come. You want to be proud to show them off and know without a shadow of a doubt, you looked your absolute best.

Post by Celina Keywood

www.makeupbycelina.co.uk

That’s the prediction for 2012. From what I’ve noticed during my years in the wedding biz, themes never really fell off the radar screen. What might be happening is that brides are starting to realize that choosing a meaningful theme makes wedding planning easier for one simple reason…

Focus. A theme allows you to narrow your choices. You know specifically what to look for in wedding invitations, the venue, attire, décor, menu and favours, and you’ll find an abundance of options for most any theme imaginable.

Choosing a Theme
Your theme should be meaningful to both of you in some way. If you’re wine aficionados, consider a theme like “A Night of Wine and Wonder”. Here are few other theme ideas to get your creative juices flowing: An Evening in Paris, Fairy Tale, Hawaiian Luau, Vintage, The Roaring Twenties, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Winter Wonderland, Camelot, Starry Night, Rustic, Steampunk.

Working the Theme
Let’s work through “A Night of Wine and Wonder” to see how everything comes together quickly and easily.

• Invitations

A search on the Internet will lead you to a plethora of printers who offer wine-themed wedding invitations that feature a designs like a border of grape vines, clusters of grapes, or two champagne-filled glasses toasting. Word your invitation to include your theme:
You are cordially invited to A Night of Wine and Wonder to celebrate the marriage of.

• Venue

These days, many wineries have event venues, making them the ideal place to host a wine-themed wedding. Some winery event spaces are so charming, you’ll save big on décor! If you’re marrying in warmer weather, you might even consider holding the wedding outdoors, where guests will have gorgeous views of grapevine-covered hillsides.

• Décor

A carefully chosen winery will provide the ideal ambiance. For a seated dinner, keep things simple with a silver wine bucket surrounded by clusters of grapes for centerpieces on the tables. Fill each bucket with ice and a bottle of fine wine wrapped in a large, fabric napkin. Buffet tables will look lovely with a scattering of grape clusters tied with ribbons that match your colour scheme.

• Menu

Feast on whatever your heart desires the night you wed. Work with the event designer at the winery to choose the perfect wine for every course, so your guests get a sampling of several different wines.

• Favours

There’s no dearth of wine-themed favours! Bottle stoppers come in a variety of designs and make the perfect wedding favour! If you’re looking for something a little different, yet still practical and theme-related, treat your guests to a stainless-steel spreader with a wine-cork handle. Lovely!

Whatever your theme, you’ll discover this simple wedding-planning trick makes the entire process less daunting and entirely delightful!

Susan Hawkins is a writer for Kate Aspen UK, retailers of the very finest in wedding favours, bridal shower favours, hen favours, personalised wedding favours, wine favours, baby shower favors and bridesmaid gifts.

After attending more than a few weddings myself, I have definitely heard my share of wedding speeches; some have been simple and sweet, others sad or sentimental and some have completely been obnoxious. However, nothing compares to someone directly quoting Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers; if you have seen the movie then you know exactly what I am talking about.

There are no set guidelines on how to give wedding speeches or the right words to say for that matter; however if you have been asked to give a toast at a wedding, take it seriously. You should be honored to have been chosen to give a wedding toast at the reception. The bride and groom have both agreed that you are the right person for the job, and with good reason. You know either one or both of them more intimately than others.

Remember that in order to give a memorable wedding speech it needs to come directly from the heart and it needs to be original. And it holds true for all the wedding speeches – no matter if you are talking about best man speeches or father of the bride speeches this is the most basic rule you need to follow all the time. This is an important job so take some time to write out what you want to say to the newlyweds ahead of time. Your speech should not me more than three to five minutes long, keep it short and sweet or short and funny, whatever suits you best. Come prepared to the reception and do not try to wing it, the last thing you want to do is embarrass yourself. You want the newlyweds to remember the words you are saying not how horribly you messed up. Keep in mind, who is listening to your speech at all times, you do not want to divulge any personal information that is not appropriate or might embarrass the couple in front of other friends and family in any way.

Although it is not necessary for you to face the guest at the weeding reception, you do however need to briefly introduce yourself, as not everyone in attendance will know you are. Share a special moment that stands out in your mind about the bride and groom, and make it a point to speak to the bride and groom directly. They will forever remember the words you speak that day; and it also helps if you get stage fright, focusing on them will calm those nerves. As newlyweds they need all the advice they can get, so if you have some special insight on what makes either one tick or special quirks that only you know share it with them; they will definitely thank you for it, it is the little things that make a marriage prosperous.

Another thing, be yourself and do not be afraid to be funny or sentimental; remember there is a reason why they chose you, and again please refrain from quoting movies that are obnoxious. Although quoting Vince Vaughn might be funny, I am sure the couple would prefer something more original. In closing, while proposing a toast in their honor, you would want to wish the newlyweds the best of luck on their honeymoon and a lot of happiness on this new journey they are about to embark on; your support means the world to them.

So, that’s pretty much all you need to know concerning how to go about wedding speeches. No matter if you need to give a best man speech or a father of the bride speech, the basic format remains almost the same for all wedding speeches. However, depending on the nature of the speech, the speaker might have to improvise a bit. For example, best man speeches are anticipated to be hilarious while father of the bride speeches are mostly sentimental. Again, there are no hard and fast rules – it all depends on the speaker’s as well as the the couple’s personality and and may be the tradition and cultural aspect of a wedding at the same time.

When it comes to sending out wedding invitations for your guests you have a few options. You can either hand make them yourself, you can order in bulk and fill them in by hand, or you can chose the middle ground and hire someone to make handmade wedding invitations for you that can take all of your wedding themes and ideas into consideration and come up with a great bespoke card for your wedding, a company like Pink Shoes Art can do this for you and come up with ideas or work with your own ideas.

Sending out a personalised wedding invitation says so much more about you as a couple and about the kind of wedding you are having. You can have great personal touches added to the card and it really stands out from the usual stock cards you get sent for most wedding invitations. What you want to do is make your big day stick in people’s memories so why not take the best opportunity to do this when they first hear about your wedding in the post.

If you order some extra bits and accessories you can also make sure the card is tailored to who it is being sent out to. Just stick some extra touches on to each persons card and it will really stand out. A good card designer will also work with you to make sure your handmade card is tailored to you as a couple and the theme of your wedding. Little touches and features on cards can turn them from drab copies of each other into great memorable unique items that people will really treasure and appreciate.

Handmade and hand drawn cards are different to what you expect to be receive when you are being invited to a wedding and its a great way to get people talking about your wedding and remember it rather than just sticking the invitation on the pile. A personalised card is also going to make a great keepsake and is something your guests will probably want to keep forever rather than throw away.

Modern day marriages usually consist of a couple that have been living together for sometime, and more frequently people find themselves in the situation where they already have everything they need at home, leaving the traditional wedding gift list behind.

Not so many years ago, the bride would leave their parents home to start her new life in a new property with her new husband, of course these days that rarely seems to happen. Rising house prices meant that individuals try to get on the property ladder at the first available opportunity, often leaving newly-weds with at least one property well before they get married. The fact that people have fully furnished homes has meant that the days of a full wedding gift list being drawn up has seen a reduction, but that is not always the case, people still compile wedding gift lists and request items that they need at home to start their newly married lives together.

Quite often these days couples are no longer asking for gifts, and prefer to suggest that guests offer a cash gift or vouchers instead, some people are uneasy about requesting their guests do this, as it seems like an invite is only forthcoming if you bring your wallet.

The wedding gift market is still thriving though, with large department stores like Debenhams and John Lewis offering gift list services, where guests can login online and see what the couple would like. Items like a toaster or a kettle are still popular gifts, along with plenty of other kitchenware.

If you’re attending a wedding of someone rather close to you, a cheque in an envelope seems a little impersonal, so maybe consider a small personal gift for the newlyweds as well as a token cheque towards whatever they are saving for.

It’s worth remembering that couples starting out in married still have the same financial strains today as they did 20 or 30 years ago, the difference is that they may of already achieved a significant amount of things with their own home already, so buying a new iron or trouser press may not be a high priority for them, where as a cash collection from guests can be clubbed together to buy a more significant item they can view for years to come and remember that their wedding guests bought that for them.

Whatever you decide for your wedding, whether you opt for a traditional wedding gift list, or a less romantic request for cash, your guests will be just happy to of received an invitation to your special day.

Outside of the UK, Sri Lanka is the most popular place for a British couple to tie the knot. The British based legal system; good value hotels and warm hospitality of the locals make it a popular favourite – even through the long war years which are now thankfully over.  The stunning beaches make it at op destination for Sri Lanka honeymoon tours.

Hotels for weddings in Sri Lanka

The majority of weddings take place in Sri Lanka Holidays beach hotels on the west coast of Sri Lanka.  Places like the Taj Exotica in Bentota and the Royal Palms in Beruwela offer great value weddings for a couple on their own – or with a large group of friends. There is a slight element of the production line to the weddings – some of the hotels host a day during the season with the elephant wheeled out again and again to transport the happy couple back to the hotel room. There is a limited amount of personalisation the can take place constrained as these hotels are by time pressures. Still, I imagine it suits some people very well.

Villa weddings in Sri Lanka

My advice for anyone planning a wedding in Sri Lanka would be to look at the options of taking over a villa or small boutique hotels in its entirety. I should know – my wife and I got married at a villa called The Hideaway back in 2006. With the villa to yourself you get all the personalisation and all the service you could want (all the villas are fully staffed) and none of the pressures of having to be considerate of other guests. After all, from the other guest’s perspectives – is there anything worse than not being invited to a party? Have a look at villas such as Kingsley’s Pearl or Southpoint Villa on Sri Lanka’s southern coastline.

Wedding in Boutique Hotels  Sri Lanka

If you have lots of guests and would like to all stay together – what better way than taking over all the rooms in the hotel and ensuring the wedding of your dreams. Small hotels such as Kandy House, Aditya or Tea Trails would offer the most sumptuous amazing wedding imaginable. I even know of weddings which have taken place in the romantic outdoors at the amazing eco resort – The Mudhouse.

Beach or inland?

When people think of a tropical they usually think of the beach and of course, there is very little to beat the romance of a wedding on a plan fringed beach as the sun sets in the west. However, Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country and the beautiful tropical colours, the tea covered hills or the steaming jungle, can all make unusual and quirky locations for a wedding.

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, and the Dingy Bride’s cookbook hopes to prove that proverb.

With 100 mouth watering recipes, the 155 page cookbook has a wide selection of American and Latin dishes, covering everything from breakfast to dinner.

The book claims to create romantic cooking ideas that bring the two of you together.

Sounds intriguing ? Take a look at here for further details – The Dingy Bride’s Cookbook