Summer Wedding Workshop

Bonjour mes amis,

We have a very exciting announcement to round out the year!

In 2011 The Little White Wedding Company will be introducing a series of Wedding Workshops to our calendar of events!

Held seasonally, with each workshop featuring 3-4 fantastic suppliers and a different reception venue, these workshops are the perfect place for brides-to-be to gather some inside knowledge about the various aspects of wedding planning and be inspired by the work of our showcased suppliers and table settings.

We know that not every bride has the budget or the desire to employ the services of a wedding planner but it's always nice to have a helping hand along the way - this alone was the inspiration behind our Wedding Workshops.

Our Summer 2011 Wedding Workshop will kick off the program with Moda Events Portside jumping on board as the host venue. Studio Impressions, The Powder Room, Wedding Films by Net Productions and The Butterfly Lounge will all be on hand to inspire brides-to-be.

The details...
When: Sunday, 06 February 2011
11am-1pm
Where: Moda Events Portside
Level 2, Portside Wharf
39 Hercules Street, Hamilton
Cost: $20pp (includes refreshments, a glass of bubbly and a goody bag)

To register email your name, phone number and number of guests to info@thelittlewhiteweddingco.com.au.

Click here to view the official invitation.

xx

Photographs courtesy of:
Studio Impressions

A Bride's Diary: Katie & Mark

Hi all,

You will know by now that it has been longer than I intended since I last wrote. Between a hectic month or so at work and a couple of weekends away, I have not found any spare moments to dedicate to blogging. I think this means my original promise has technically been broken, but Victoria has forgiven me, so hopefully you can too. I shall endeavour to blog my little heart out from this point forward.

Since the last time I wrote, a few key pieces of the wedding planning cloth have been stitched together. So I thought I would chat a little bit about them here...

The big one - the date!

Well, wasn't this a toughie! We started thinking about the big date a few weeks after we got engaged. Our friends and family were not going to let us ponder on it for too long - it seemed they were becoming impatient.

We started out thinking of the obvious stuff - what will the weather and temperature be like? Particularly important aspects given the frequency with which I faint in temperatures over 30 degrees. So we were thinking September-ish or May-ish. Also, we didn't really want to wait a particularly long time, so we were hoping we could get May 2011 to work for us. That would be just over a year to get everything organised - an achievable goal we thought.

But with both family and very close friends currently resident many thousands of miles of ocean and earth away, this was always going to be a rather troublesome aspect of the planning process. Trying to schedule our wedding between an overseas trip for another family wedding, and the return of our closest friends to Australia, was proving difficult and rather emotional at times. So I decided to bow out of the date choosing process altogether.

Now this might seem crazy, and at first I had only mentioned it in jest in a moment of frustration, but it turned out to be pure genius. I couldn't manage to keep my emotions out of it, so the best option was to keep me out of it all together. So my mother, sister and fiance sat down for a cuppa and picked a date. All I asked for was a 10 days cooling-off period, just to check there weren't going to be any crucial clashes. I suppose it might all seem very business-like, but it worked, so I'm backing my decision!

And 03 September 2011 it is.

The pros - plenty of time to plan and unless it is unseasonally hot there is unlikely to be any fainting. The cons - none really, we're getting married after all, and that's pretty awesome.

I should say though, that if I hadn't been so uncharacteristically irrational about the date for the first six months of the engagement, we might have been married by now! So a few top tips for you if I may:

1. Keep the practical aspects front and centre.

2. Make a list of people you absolutely can't live without on your wedding day - and make it SHORT - you can't possibly please everyone.

3. Know when to let go of an impractical date, or when to let someone else just decide for you.

Now onto the photographer, florist, stationer, venue...I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Until next time...

Katie

Flowers for the Superstitious Bride

Bonjour mes amis,

Whether you've adopted them or not, superstitions have long been a part of weddings. It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before she walks down the aisle; For good luck the bride should have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue; The "single lady" (hello Beyonce reference!) who catches the bride's bouquet will be the next to wed.

The list goes on...

Being surrounded by beautiful blooms in Spring I've been thinking about flowers much more than usual so to further fuel the superstitious fire, here's a few popular flowers and their meanings.

Tulip - love & passion

arrangement by Always Fabulous Flowers

Sweet Peas - pleasure

arrangement by Always Fabulous Flowers

Rose - love, joy & beauty

arrangement by Palais Floral

Roses - love, joy & beauty

arrangement by Always Fabulous Flowers

Peony - bashful with a spirit of ambition & determination

arrangement by Always Fabulous Flowers

Orchid - love & beauty

arrangement by Palais Floral

Lavender - devotion

photography courtesy of Palais Floral

Chrysanthemum - wealth, abundance & truth

arrangement by Always Fabulous Flowers

Anemone - unfading love

arrangement by Palais Floral

Beware, some flowers aren't as sweet as they may appear. Some to be cautious of are:

Striped Carnation - refusal

Red Poppy -consolation

Choose wisely...

Victoria x

Photographs courtesy of:

Always Fabulous Flowers - www.allfabflowers.com.au

Palais Floral - www.palaisfloral.com

Introducing...A Party Pack

Bonjour mes amis

Two fabulous women - Nikki Buckland of Paper Scissors Rock Stationery and Anna Matjasec from Invite With Style have joined forces to bring you a stress free and stylish tool to help you create the perfect party.

By combining their formidable creativity and talent for sourcing the loveliest and most original party accessories from across the globe, A Party Pack can help ease the hosting duties whether it be for an engagement party, high tea or baby shower. "A Party Pack makes hosting a stylish party as easy as opening a gift box! Each gorgeous A Party Pack box is filled with chic essentials to create a beautiful party."

For more information about A Party Pack visit the website - www.apartypack.com.au

Victoria x

Photographs courtesy of:

A Party Pack - www.apartypack.com.au

It's a Date!

Bonjour mes amis,

As some of you know, my sister happily accepted a proposal earlier this year. Since then we've been trying to decide when the wedding should be held. some say May, some say September and some don't have an opinion. We've reasoned with family commitments, budget, optimal weather conditions and a whole range of other factors.

Anyone who's engaged or is close to someone that has just been proposed to know that setting a date is sometimes not the easiest task on the planning checklist.

To help you decide when to hold the most romantic date of your life, here's a list of things for you to consider.

Weather - no one wants to be rained out on their wedding day so take the time of year into consideration. Look at the previous year's rain fall and temperatures for that time of year and use that as a guide. Key word: guide.

Family Commitments - once you have settled on a time of year, check with those who are close to you to ensure they don't have any existing commitments for that time. You don't want your best friend or sister to be in the middle of an overseas trip!

Budget - If you have a lot of spare change lying around this won't bother you but if you are budget conscious have a discussion with those contributing to the wedding and decide when would be a realistic time for it to be held. You want to avoid starting your marriage in debt!

Availability - If you need to book a venue for your ceremony and/or reception you may need to be flexible with your date depending on their availability. This of course also depends on your desire to hold your wedding on a particular date or at a particular venue. Know your priorities from the beginning.

Public Holidays - There are two side to this factor. If you choose to get married on a public holiday you will most likely encounter extra fees from your suppliers. If however, you get married over a long weekend (but not on the public holiday) you'll miss out on those extra fees and be able to extend the celebration without having to worry about work schedules.

There are of course a couple of "issues" that may arise when trying to set a date:

Difficult Friends/Relatives - When it comes to your wedding those close to you are always going to have an opinion...about EVERYTHING! Stay focused on the factors that are important to you and follow your instincts. It's your wedding so you need to be happy with the final decision.

Pleasing Everybody - This is never going to happen so forget about it...RIGHT NOW! The average wedding has approximately 120 guests. That's 120 individual schedules that you'd have to coordinate! If your invitations go out on time it will give your guests plenty of time to clear their diaries.

Try not to let these factors dominate your decision making. As I said before it's your wedding and you and your fiance need to be the ones happy with the final decision.

My one final tip: Follow your instincts; we have them for a reason!

Victoria x

Photograph courtesy of:

Ruby & Scarlett - www.rubyandscarlett.com.au

A Column by ME!

Bonjour mes amis,

This week ends on a very exciting note.

I can finally share with you all some news that I've been bursting to announce to the world.

When the next edition of Discerning Bride is published there will be a little something by moi! A great (if I may say so myself) little column.

The distribution of this issue is still a little way off so I'll be sure to keep you posted.


Have a great weekend!

Victoria x
http://www.discerningbride.com.au

The new POLKA DOT BRIDE!

Bonjour mes amis

Recently, Ms Polka and her fabulous team relaunched her hugely popular website - Polka Dot Bride.

A favourite for not only brides but us industry insiders, I'm sure Polka Dot Bride will continue to grow and inspire us all! Complete with blogs dedicated to wedding wisdom, honeymoon's, DIY projects and more it's a must stop destination for all brides-to-be.

Congratulations again to the amazing team at Polka Dot Bride, I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us.

Much love

Victoria x

Introducing...In The Booth

Bonjour mes amis,

Kate and Steve recently introduced themselves and their fantastic product to me, and well, it just wouldn’t be fair for me to keep it to myself!

In The Booth, are professional photobooths unique in design and unlike anything else in the photobooth market.

So you can get to know Kate and Steve, and In The Booth a little better I asked them for a little more information as well as some fabulous photo’s of course...

…look out for my personal favourite…a hint - top hat!

How long has your business been operating and was the focus always on weddings?

In The Booth began trading in April 2009. Weddings are a huge part of our clientele – the booth is the ultimate party starter and breaks the ice at the reception in no time! Engagement parties, special birthdays and corporate events are also very popular.

What sets your booths apart from other suppliers?

When the idea first came to us about starting a photo booth company, we quickly realised the imported ‘shopping centre’ style of booths available on the market weren’t what we were after. Their lack of space for guests and low image quality didn’t meet the high standards we required. After two years of engineering and development, we have our own Australian made booths in production. Our booths give your guests the uncompromising solution of a hard-walled, enclosed photo booth that comfortably fits six to eight people (and often many more!). We are the only company capable of capturing a three-quarter body shot as opposed to the passport style ‘head and shoulders’ shots. We are also the only photo booth company in Australia to offer video messaging in our booths! Your guests can leave a fifteen second video message which is supplied to you on DVD with your photo files after your event.

What's your favourite wedding moment so far?

Our favourite moment is more of a favourite story. We recently had a booth at a wedding where the groom hadn’t been so keen on having a photo booth at the reception. It was his fiancée’s idea and he had gone along with it reluctantly throughout the booking process. We received a phone call after their honeymoon and the groom had called especially to tell us that his wife had proven him wrong and that he would never argue with one of her ideas again! He said the booth was the best decision by far they had made for their wedding; everyone had a fantastic time and all the guests were still raving about it. We love a booth convert!

What would you recommend to brides so they can maximize their guests In the Booth experience?

We don’t supply props with our booth as a rule because we like your booth experience to be original – you don’t want hundreds of photos of everyone in the same silly hat! Instead we recommend ‘interactive’ props like a whiteboard where guests are made to use their imagination. Amazing, creative images come out of our booths when your guests have to think outside the square!

What backgrounds are available? Can these be personalised?

We have a range of backdrops to choose from to customise your booth experience. If you have a particular fabric you would like to use, we can provide a custom backdrop for an additional fee.

Victoria x

Photographs courtesy of:
In The Booth – http://www.inthebooth.com.au

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Bonjour mes amis,

Who at one point or another hasn’t thought to herself (while at a stylish event of course!) “I wish I’d worn more comfortable shoes” or “My feet are killing me!” Weddings are no exception and being a day long occasion these cries can be heard by the bridal party and guests alike.

Colin Cowie’s recent Wedding Note “Novocaine For My Feet” summed it up perfectly and provided some great advice that I couldn’t have said better myself. So to ensure your feet are looked after and you can dance the night away put these tips into practice:

1. Have a backup plan. Buy two pairs of shoes for your wedding. One in your usual size and one a half-size larger. This will provide you with a comfortable alternative if your feet swell from standing for long periods of time.

2. Get to know your shoes. In the lead up to your wedding wear them around the house for 15-20 minutes every day. This will help break them in and prevent you from suffering those dreaded new shoe blisters.

Victoria x

Photographs courtesy of:
Feather + Stone – http://www.featherandstone.com.au

Music to Your Ears

Bonjour mes amis,

I remember that the last time I left a restaurant in a bit of a state was because the music was so loud I could barely think let alone have a conversation with my dinner guest. Finding the right performer or music for your big day may feel like a big task in itself, and you’d be right! It can be a challenge to find music that not only you and your partner love but your guests will also enjoy.

If you’ve got an idea or an expectation of how you'd like the music to be played or when be sure to provide your band, performers or wedding planner (whichever route you’ve taken – remember with modern technology you can also have complete control of this if you choose to use your iPod) with this information. No one can read your mind and chances are whoever you hire is not there to make a rock and roll comeback…at least you hope they’re not! They are there to provide the soundtrack to your wedding day and if you get it right add a little extra romance and excitement to the occasion. Also, consider that they are most likely seasoned professionals and can offer useful advice on stage placement, or suitable times for music to be played.

This brings me nicely to the next step…your playlist. Do you play your favourite song, or that piece of music that brings back happy memories? Do you go all out and entertain your guests and create the perfect atmosphere? The answer is, all of the above. You have to remember, this is YOUR wedding so it is YOU that has to be happy. Play your favourite tunes. Mix it up with some soft dinner music so guests can carry on conversations while savouring their delicious meals. Have a great band or choose great music that your guests will appreciate and help create your desired atmosphere. You know your guests better than any one else involved in your wedding so follow your instincts. For example, if you have some rowdy guests who believe downing a bottle of scotch is the ultimate sign of masculinity then a harpist isn’t going to stand a chance. I suppose at the end of the day you really have to consider why something is called a cliché. Generally, it’s because it just works. I’m most definitely not saying that you shouldn’t dare to be different, I’m all for thinking outside the square – what I’m saying is think things through to ensure it will be the perfect fit to the wedding you have spent endless hours planning.

Fun fact: It has been researched that a marriage may not be so successful if the bride danced down the aisle to the ever so famous Steps song Tragedy. Remember, there is a difference between cringe-worthy and clichéd.

Hot Tip: Check with your venue if there are any noise restrictions so you don't receive any complaints or are surprised with a request to turn the volume down. This is particularly important to keep in mind when booking live performers.

Victoria & Amber x

Photographs courtesy of:

Ben Clark Photography - http://www.benclarkphotography.com.au

Flavour of the Month

Bonjour mes amis,

Cake is something that’s very close to my heart. Yes, you read correctly, cake means a lot to me. I trace it back to my beautiful mother’s delectable cupcakes (and every other cake she’s made for that matter), which have been a favourite of mine since I was a young girl. It’s not wonder then that accompanying my clients to their cake tastings has to be one of my favourite parts of planning a wedding. While it’s not too helpful in the hips and waist department I just can’t resist popping in those gorgeous samples so they can melt in my mouth, making my taste buds dance in the process!

Just like everything else in the world of weddings there are trends in wedding cakes which are constantly evolving so to help you on your way I've provided you with a look at what’s hot right now!

Gold/Silver Leaf
I absolutely love gold and silver leaf! For those of you not familiar with it, edible Gold and Silver Leaf is gold or silver that has been beaten into extremely thin sheets. There are some varieties which are non-toxic and can be used to decorate food or beverages.

I absolutely love the look of macaroons that have been roughly coated with this product but for even more of a wow factor ask your cake designer to dedicate an entire tier to a gold leaf design.

Well-renowned cake designer Faye Cahill of Faye Cahill Cake Design first started using this product in early 2007. “The cake decorator’s imitation gold that we use looks too heavy over large areas, and I wanted something with a rich and glamorous look to compliment dark tones. The first design I created with it was the "love birds" cake which continues to be a popular design, and we often do variations on it to compliment individual wedding schemes.”

I asked Faye why she thought the gold/silver leaf attracts brides…here’s what she had to say. “I think the unique look appeals- it is something that is not seen often on wedding cakes, and also it catches the light beautifully. If the room features candelabras or tea lights, the gold and silver looks amazing. Couples want to give their guests a special experience on their wedding day, and it doesn't get more decadent than eating 24 carat gold leaf or real silver.”

Of course all of you discerning brides will also want to know what’s hot when it comes to cake trends so I’d be a fool not to ask! While Faye believes that couples still want to have a little fun with their cake design she’s noticed that the tide has turned away from the really cartoonish and crazy designs. “We are seeing a return to classic and beautiful styles with lace and flowers dominating. The all white look is definitely making a comeback, and many of my brides choose to display their cakes on a classic American style plateau. For more dramatic looks painted and stenciled designs are popular, often based on the invitation stationery.”

Macaroons
Macaroons are a great new take on the traditional wedding cake. I’ve personally tried to create these delights myself but while they taste fantastic I haven’t quite mastered the piping technique so I thought for some more reliable information it would be best to turn to an expert in the field, Nadine Ingram from Cookie Couture who is in her 4th year of business and still going strong!

Nadine puts this innovative approach to wedding cakes down to the macaroon’s colour and form as it’s the perfect sculptural element for a wedding cake. “In terms of flavour a lot of macaroons can have quite a fragrant quality which is perfect when paired with the flowers on a cake. Aside from all of this, macaroons make such a delightful accompaniment to cake. A lot of guests don't even get to the cake, but who could resist a petit macaroon?”

Macaroons can also be more cost effective than a traditional wedding cake depending on your requirements and vision. “Often when using macaroons there is just as much 'support' required to hold the cake up as a traditional cake, to ensure the delicate macaroons are not crushed. I usually suggest creating a beautiful cake that is going to hold up for 8 hours rather than having macaroons dropping around your guests stilettos! Remember you can always have extra macaroons and cake in the kitchen to ensure the guests don't go hungry. They will never know they weren't part of the cake on display.” Being in the wedding industry whenever I admire such detailed and exquisite items I always wonder how much blood, sweat and tears (so to speak) went into their creation but Nadine has quickly put me at ease by professing her love for making macaroons. “I do always say though that you should never let a macaroon see you are scared. They are extremely difficult to make and even though I have been making them since I was at Le Gavroche in London (15 years ago) I am still learning from them.” Fabulous Packaging
Some couples choose to present their guests with a slice of their wedding cake or a small individual cake or cupcake, beautifully wrapped as their bonbonniere. There are plenty of ways to wrap your choice of bonbon…for individual cakes or cupcakes that are iced to perfection, clear boxes can be purchased so your guests can admire the artwork of your cake designer. My personal favourite though are natural boxes with creative adornments which can hold complete cakes or disguise individual slices of your wedding cake. If you pick up the current edition of Bride-to-Be Wedding Cakes and flick to page 18 you’ll see a great selection of examples of how you can give your cake boxes that extra punch. Remember there are no set rules for your wedding so if you would prefer to use these for your lolly buffet go right ahead!!

Cupcake Wrappers
If you’re a fan of cupcakes consider dressing them up a bit. There’s a great range of detailed cupcake wrappers available through Pink Frosting for you to choose from and you’ll find that even with plain icing they completely transform the traditional cupcakes into stylish and inviting treats.

Regardless of whether you choose to go with a fabulous wedding cake such as those featured by cake designer extraordinaire Faye Cahill or some mouth-watering petit treats like those by Cookie Couture I wish you good luck and advise you draw out the tasting process :)

Victoria x

Images courtesy of:

Faye Cahill Cake Design – http://www.fayecahill.com.au

Cookie Couture – http://www.cookiecouture.com.au

Pink Frosting – http://www.pinkfrosting.com.au