Save the Date

So we have a theme, we have a date... hopefully :) but because planning started quite early and its too soon to send out invites, we still want our guests, especially overseas guests, to start the planning process to be able to attend the wedding, so what the next step?

Elegant Save the Dates, such as the one I sent out for my wedding, are a great way to let guests know about the upcoming wedding without having to give too much information away. With my ones, I had my invitation designer follow the theme we were working on for the invites on to the Save the Dates for continuity. This is an elegant way of letting guests have a sneak peak at the theme for the wedding.

The Save the Dates are mounted on a board and I went hunting for matching envelopes and decided to post these off about 7 months before the wedding. I was reminded by a very good friend, my Maid of Honour in fact, that there is nothing more special than receiving a wedding invitation in the post :)

    

Happy planning!

G

Toasting in Style

While traveling through Australia last year I visited a quaint little town called Margaret River where I came across the "Wild Hibiscus Flowers". This syrupy jar of loveliness has approximately 11 edible flowers per jar, that, once placed into a champagne flute, add a little touch of charm to the Toast.

All you will need to do is add the bud into a champagne flute with a dash of the pinky sweet syrup, top with some of your favorite Champagne and watch in amazement as the millions of little bubbles stream off the bud, gradually opening the flower into a gorgeous crown shape at the bottom of the glass.

And once all the toasting is through and the champagne glass empty, the alcohol soaked bud makes for a great treat in the end. With its raspberry and rhubarb flavour and delicately sweet syrup complimenting the champagne perfectly, this little charm is certain to be the talk of your event.

Drop me a mail for any order enquiries!

Happy planning :)
G

Canapé Delight - Strawberry Salmon Sushi

A fantastic touch to any event, especially one that will run several hours is the Canapé.

Once the welcome drink has been decided on, entertainment lined up (I'm making use of my Quartet Band) and a relaxed environement picked out at your venue, the last and most important thing left to choose is the menu.

Having attended an exciting Sushi Cooking Class at the Pick n Pay Good Food Studio, I decided that a wonderful element to the variety of canapés being served would be a yummy Strawberry Salmon Canape. The recipe was so easy and the explosion of flavour so fantastic that I felt it necessary to share.

Strawberry Salmon Sushi

Packet of smoked salmon

Already prepared sushi rice

Kiri cream cheese

Sushi mayonaise

Strawberry jam (this made the sushi much sweeter)

Neatly roll a bit of rice (about the size of your thumb) and half a Kiri cheese block, cut up two or three times, into neatly stripped salmon to form a bit size roll.

Top the salmon roll with the sushi mayonaise followed by a neat dollop of strawberry jam.

This is a gorgeous alternative to a sweet dish when serving canapes.

Enjoy!

G

Get in to the Mood

So you are now ready to get into gear, the budget has been thought out and now the fun starts. 

There are many elements that make an event amazing - flowers, decor, entertainment, dresses, favours, and so much more. The confusing bit is trying to figure out how to tie everything together to work cohesively. The event must have flow and all elements need to come together to to create an overall ambiance that leaves that lasting memory for your guests.

The bests place to start is a Mood Board. Once you have decided on colour get on to the internet and start researching images on all those fun elements that need to come together to make the perfect event. I suggest referring to a colour wheel as a starting point - what is the colour you want to carry through your event and what is the complimentary colour on the wheel that you can bring in to the elements to add that extra punch.

Have a look at the mood boards I created for my weddings. I selected Purple as the primary colour for my Greek Wedding and Cerise for my Indian Wedding. When I referred to the colour wheel, Green fell into the comfortable complimentary colour on the wheel for Purple and Yellow for the Cerise. I hit the ground running from there and created a mood board that would guide my decisions on all decor elements from there on.

 

Happy planning!

G

Event Kick Off

The most difficult task with planning an event, especially if it is not something you do all the time, is the starting point. Where is the best pace to start putting all your ideas, wants and needs so that it makes sense, is workable and can be carried through the entire event planning process...? 

Well let me tell you, the best place to start is a Budget. Not only will this document provide you with an idea of all you will need to have available for any event, but it will also act as your To Do List that you can check off as you go. For my wedding, the budget was the worst part because really how does one keep track of something you want everything of? It wasn't easy and I didn't have the answers as to how much I should keep aside for weird things like "Wild Hibiscus Flowers for the champagne glasses" or "A Quartet to play music while I walk down the isle" or really all those finer points that make the difference between a Year-end function and My Wedding...

So I did some research and got a hold of some event planners that were kind enough to email me a budget... one that I nearly fell off my chair over but needless to say it was a start. So with Kate Middleton's budget in hand ;) I added extra columns and proceeded to just "discount" the figures until I reached a final amount that suited my... well ego really. Items on the budget that seemed too over the top I deleted figures, but not description, in case there was some money left over. 

Over the months I got more into things and eventually ended up with a personalized budget/to do list with actual figures from suppliers and an actual amount that I needed to have available to throw the perfect event.

If you need a hand, drop me a mail and lets see if I can get you started!

Happy planning...

G

And then there were two...

As with most 'bloggers', I figured I would use this platform to provide all those brides to be, moms of tots and party planners with some great information that I come across as I plan not only two fantastic weddings coming up in November but also those fabulous kiddies parties my family loves to host!

With event planning in the blood, both that of mine and the members of my family, you are bound to find all the tips, trick and trades needed to throw the party of the year. From the best cakes, entertainers, and planners to invites, favours and so much more.

Hope you love the read!

G