Weddings – From “Yes” to “I do!”
Weddings
From “Yes” to “I do!”
You want to ask your beloved for her hand in marriage. How are you going to do it? We trust she will say yes but where do you go from there and what should one take into account when planning a wedding?
The first step for you is to decide whether you want to surprise her or discuss it with her beforehand. If you want to surprise your bride to be, then you’ll have to do some clever investigating beforehand and do it in such a way that she does not suspect anything!
She said Yes and what now? We’ll, the next step is to decide on the ring of course, the symbol of your bond.
She said Yes and what now?
The Ring
The ring has to suit the girl. If she is aware of your pending proposal then it is best to discuss the ring with her and decide on a budget and then go do some homework.
This is something she will wear for a very long time so do your research properly. Try different jewellers and see what they have to offer. If the designer is on the premises they may even offer to do a draft design.
If you want to go the route of total surprise then perhaps get her best friend to assist you in making the right decision. A popular trend nowadays is for men to propose with just a diamond and then let her choose the setting afterwards.
If you are stuck for ideas on how to pop the question then look for some suggestions in our Wedding Proposals article.
Guys – don’t feel bad but from now on you will find that you have very little to say in the final decisions. Don’t fight it – just go with it!
The Date
The time of year and time of day that you want to get married are the two factors that will have the biggest influence on your arrangements. Would you like an elegant spring wedding in a garden with dinner and dancing outside or do you want an informal and intimate affair. These are some of the elements which need to be taken into account when deciding on a date. Ensure that your chosen function venue and the church is available for those dates and that both of you would be able to take some leave if necessary to help with the arrangements. Make sure that you both have sufficient leave available for your honeymoon.
Careful planning is essential.
The Venue
The venue will help to set the mood of your reception. Quite a few wedding venues offer chapel facilities on the premises nowadays. Venues are often booked up months in advance so finding a suitable venue is certainly one of your first priorities.
When considering a venue you have to weigh up the following:
– Do you want your wedding and the reception at the same venue?
– Do you want an indoor or outdoor wedding?
– How many people will be attending?
– Which other activities or entertainment would you like to have?
– Will the catering be done on site or will you have to arrange your own caterers?
– Are there overnight facilities or could you stay over close by?
– If your bride wants to get dressed at the venue make sure what time she can check in so that she can schedule her make-up and hair appointments accordingly.
Even better try to find a stylist that will be able to travel so that your bride can walk down the aisle feeling fresh as daisy.
Once you have a short list of venues then you could start making appointments to visit them to hear and see what they can offer. Most wedding venues will have a wedding coordinator who could be a great source of ideas and maybe give you some ideas to help make your special day even better than you imagined.
Your hostess for the day must have a schedule of the wedding proceedings and of deliveries you will be expecting.
There are fantastic wedding venues in the Paarl area.
Take a look at some options in our Paarl Wedding Venues article.
The Theme
Whether you decide on a simple colour scheme or whether you will have a full blown theme orientated wedding, this will contribute to the tone and atmosphere of the evening.
If you are a bit nervous of matching napkins to your shoes then go for neutral colours with a few splashes of colour accents to liven it up.
Keep everyone concerned informed of your colour scheme. A good idea is to have a folder with your colour samples and décor ideas in it.
Find out from the caterers or the venue what they will supply regarding tableware so that you will know what else to arrange. To ensure the flowers will look good on the tables you have to arrange with your florist to deliver on the morning of the wedding.
The Dress
The wedding dress will have to fit in with the theme. Various options are available. From having a dress made up, hiring a dress or if there is a dress that has been handed down for generations, you can just have it altered to fit you like a glove. The dress could be the showstopper of your fairy tale wedding and will be talked about long afterwards.
The Food
Cocktail party, sit down dinner, buffet or a picnic. The choices are just endless.
This is your day, so even though you have to cater for varied tastes it is important that the type of food you both love is part of the menu.
Most venues offer onsite catering, but a wide range of outside caterers could also be considered especially if you are doing a more unconventional setting like the beach for example. You can even have the different courses at different parts of the venue. For example you could have Canapés outside and then have the main meal as a sit down dinner and for a refreshing ending to your meal you could have ice cream in cones outside next to the pool.
The Cake
Wedding cakes have become a requisite at every wedding. Previously there was always a traditional white cake. This scenario has totally changed. These traditional white cakes have evolved into cakes of various shapes, colours, patterns, and flavours. Today wedding cakes range from cupcakes to cakes made completely out of stacked cheese often savoury instead of sweet.
The Invitations
She said yes, your date has been set and your planning is in motion.
Your special day is going to be shared by all those who are dear and near to your heart. The invitations must be sent not later than two months in advance. You can even send out a “keep this date” notice in advance to make sure everyone would be able to attend. This is especially important if you are planning to get married during the holidays.
Designers will be able to do a package deal for you who will include your reminder notes, invitations, menus, name cards and thank you notes.
There are websites available that can offer pre packed wedding invitations sets with many different designs to choose from where you can just select and click through your order.
Photographer
Your photographer will capture memories of your special day. This could be done with photographs or video or both.
Ensure that you know what is included in your package and discuss beforehand where you would like to have photos taken. You can have everything documented from the moment your day starts until you leave the wedding party to go on your honeymoon or you can get a photographer just for a few hours. Packages will usually include digital photos on a disc with some prints or you can get a package which even includes printed photo albums.
A videographer can also have a pod cast set up so that those who cannot attend will be able to share your special day via a video link.
Take a look at different wedding photo albums which are offered online and also view examples of the work a photographer has done if what they offer is what you would like. For more advice on how to choose the perfect photographer click here.
Music and entertainment
There are many options available. You could hire a traditional wedding band or arrange for a lively DJ or simply have some soft music in the background. You could hire a jukebox with your favourite music preloaded to keep up with the mood of the evening.
The Honeymoon
Beach destinations are still at the top of honeymooner’s lists.
The time you have available for your honeymoon will determine where you could go. Do you want a relaxing, quiet holiday or would you want to explore and see the sights. The choice is yours as there are many options. If the destination is a surprise, make sure a friend assists with the packing of the right clothing for the destination. A bikini or shorts at a ski resort will just not work.
This is very likely your first trip together so make it special and something both of you will enjoy and remember for a long time.
We hope your special day is all you ever thought it would be and you have a lifetime of memories still to, create, share and live.
For more information please see our website https://showme.co.za/paarl/ or email us at paarl@showme.co.za