Category Archives: Wedding Tips

Menu Selection

Chicken and beef are the most popular selections for a large event although there are many main dishes to choose from. Ask your caterer for their specialty.

If you have a special type of food you would like to serve at your reception, select a caterer who specializes in preparing it.

Things to consider: Assign someone to work with the caterer especially on the Dday to ensure everything is done according to your wishes.

Caterers have various ways in which they compute for the charges. Most base their costs per head count. You will be asked to pay a deposit of which the remaining money is likely to be due just weeks before the event. Some caterers will ask for 90 percent when you confirm the final head count.

Tips to save money: Depending on how certain you are on the number of your guest that are likely to show up, give just 85 to 95 percent of your final guest count to your caterer. This way if all your guests do come, your caterer should have enough food for all of them and at the same time if some do not show up, you will
not have to pay for so many unused plates. If you give a complete count of your guests to the caterer and some guests do not show up, you will still have to pay for their plates. This is especially true with sit in receptions, in which case the facility or caterer will charge extra for each additional guest.

To regulate the amount of food consumed in a buffet meal style, have the catering staff serve the food onto guests’ plates rather than allowing guests to serve them. Select food that is not too time-consuming to prepare, or food that does not have expensive ingredients.

Working with your caterer

If your reception is going to be in a venue that provides food e.g. a hotel or restaurant, all you will need to do is select a meal to serve your guests from a predetermined menu. You can also customize your own menu should you want to. Incase your reception is going to be in a venue that does not provide food, you will need to hire an outside caterer who will be responsible for preparing, cooking, and serving the food and cleaning up after the event.

The caterer can also be responsible for beverages but this is entirely up to you. Book your caterer in advance especially if your wedding is going to be in the busy season. Ask to see the caterers portfolio including pictures of previous work so that you see how the caterer presents their work, ask for references and be sure to counter check on them or better still visit an event they are catering. Make sure your caterer is fully self-supported with catering equipment. A competent caterer will prepare much of the food in his/her own kitchen and should provide an adequate staff of cooks, servers and bartenders.

Before signing a contract, make sure you are clear on all the services the caterer will provide. Your contract should clearly state the amount and type of food and beverages that will be served, the way in which they will be served, the number of servers who will be available, the cost per item or person, and the rental items the caterer will provide such as tables, chairs and tableware.

Decorating the Main Alter

The flowers for the main altar are usually grand and elaborate as they not only serve the purpose of decorating but also direct the visual attention of the guests- toward the front of the church or ceremony venue and to the bridal couple. They should be high enough to be seen from the back.

If your ceremony is not in a place of worship, you can decorate an arch, gazebo, or any other suitable structures to act as the altar with flowers or greenery. In the Hindu religion, the ceremony, takes place in a Mandap, which is a canopy, placed at the altar and covered with greens and fresh flowers.

Things To Consider: When choosing floral accents and decorations for main altar, consider the size and style of the building, the style of the wedding, the cost, and the regulations of the particular site. Some ceremony sites like churches are built with such architectural splendour that is ornate enough and you don’t need to too much or extra flowers. In some cases you may just need to add a few dramatic showpieces that will complement the existing décor.

Beauty and Grooming

On Issue 20, 2013

Best suited to a glamorous and fun bride who loves color and isn’t afraid to experiment. This look is all about the loud lip. To wear a bright lip color, skin must be completely spotless with a touch of highlighter used along the top of the cheekbones for added radiance.

To set your lip color, always use lip liner to shade in the whole lip area beforehand, as this will keep it put and prevent it from bleeding. Blush should complement the lipstick shade. So if you are wearing a fuchsia lip, be sure to pick a soft pink blush.

Finally, a soft smoky eye and high head wrap for a bright African look that is also timeless

How Your Ex Feels About Your Wedding

By Lillian Gaitho

Four years ago, I was agonizing a break up, of course while in your twenties you have a few of those, some of which you later realize were God sent – they paved way to a better you, and better tidings. But there always is that one person whose memories never really fade and especially when they pop up an engaged status on Face book! In a moment the days long gone come flowing back, and you can’t help wondering if dating you actually allowed them to marry someone else! You actually feel betrayed, how could someone you knew very well, and trusted so deep bend a knee for a stranger who (hopefully) will never measure up to what you two used to be! Well, that’s until they drop a save the date to your postal address! The world almost crumbles under your feet.
Take for instance Jayden, not even the veil of Ex Lovers turned platonic friends could conceal the immense treacherous feeling that engulfed him the morning that luminous clad rider dropped by his office with a turquoise package in red ribbons; Rachael was getting married, and yes, he was honorably invited to share in the joy of her connubial launch. The first instinct was to push the card further down the stack of files gathering dust by the office shelves, but that only reminded him of Rachael’s meticulous ways. That windowsill never knew dust until the lass deserted. Pretending to have never received the card would be a spineless act too.

Then without notice, the shock hastily morphed into an endless stream of sickening analysis threatening to blow off his already tortured brain; why the hell did she invite him anyway? Was it a prove to him that finally, she had found someone who’d proven more worth than the douche bag that was him, or did she silently pray that he would ask her not to do it and whisk her away just as the priest adjusted his robes to the task? Did she even really want him there? Why was the card clearly indicated as accommodating two guests? Was this a trap for him to make a fool of his self as the ever over- zealous Rachael measured his Fi against herself? Should he ‘honor’ the invite?

The extraordinary thing about receiving an invite from a former lover is, regardless of how you ended up things, whether you were tossed into the dumper or you pulled the red card does not matter; The unexplainable feeling of loss and defeat is evident even to the most unceremonious departures. The smitten will clearly hold no sexual claims on the ‘assailant’ having given up rights on each other long before they parted ways. When you go through the life circles and circus with someone holding on to you, you create intense memories that form the unique memory pad of your relationship. Others may hear about them, like the day you made a total clown of yourself at the karaoke night, or the day she burnt the fruitcake while trying to impress your mom! But no one will relate to the memories like you do, you even creatively develop a vocabulary only known to you. All this and more and any other sneaky thoughts you might have been toying with after your drunken stupors comes to an immediate close. From being a friend, lover and soul mate, they plaster on your memories the unappealing title of ‘this person I used to go out with’

So, after days of situation-analysis and post invite stratagem you finally decide to play loose with your past, break the nostalgic yoke and grace the event. Feeling noble and honorable, you even pass by the gift registry and peruse through their supposedly joint likes. Then something hits you: what role will you be playing at her wedding, how are you going to face her/his parents. Are they actually happy that its not you joining their family tree; after all they never even did much to camouflage their dislike for your old truck! How are you going to cope with all the stares and the silent whispers among the clueless guests, and good heavens, what if the devil, in all his wickedness tempts your mind into doing something silly, like raising your hands when the priest asks for any objecting parties? Bottom line, will you survive the event? Your new found solace in you being the best thing she never had begins to hit perilous lows. But you decide to go anyway.
Psyche seems to be your new mantra until you get that wicked stare from the grooms men gathered in a corner of the garden set up that inauspiciously reminds you of her meticulous way. They look at you and break into some mischievous Monalisa half-smile. For a moment, your knees buckle, could she have made a public joke of how you used to make weird noises in the height of your love making, what if they know, Jesus save your tortured soul! Is there really a comfortable stage in courtship when you can break wind and burp without the fear of a bitter kiss and tell ex?
As interesting as it sounds, most people confess to attaining closure as soon as they witness their former flame finally tie the knot with the newcomer. You pass your congratulation talk and chat away after her/his first dance, that is if new titleholder does not throw the dessert forks your way! At last, all the quivering departs your heart, and slowly it dawns to you why you and him/her could never have gone past the weekend visits. They are better off being someone else’s problem or passion!