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The e-Wedding Planner

Planning a wedding without a clear direction can be stressful. Couples either hire a wedding planner which can be pricy (the average fee to hire a wedding planner is approximately 20% of the total budget of the wedding) or wing it. And those who ‘wing’ end up with a mess and blow their budget out.

There has a big shift within the wedding industry with many couples choosing to plan their own weddings and opting not to hire wedding planners. Depending on the size of the wedding and budget, couples planning their own weddings look for inspiration through socials such as Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook wedding groups.

I recently received an email from an accredited online course offering a course on wedding planning. Curiosity took the best of me, and I enquired. Having been in the wedding industry since 1997 (showing my age), primarily designing and decorating wedding cakes, the content I received indicated that not much has changed. However, I did notice that couples were being less traditional and adopting for ‘something different’. I will not shock you with the price asked!!! Wedztyle.com

When designing my wedding cakes, there were so many questions I would ask the couples to understand their vision and ensure that the wedding cake tied into the theme perfectly. Wedding Planning is no different. It is bringing that vision to life and offering the best experience on that special day. And of course, it needs to cost-effective.

Not to take away the value that a wedding planner brings, we have created an e-wedding planner so that couples have a clear and focused guide without the hefty price tag. The wedding planner ebook can be used together with your wedding planner or on its own.

The e-wedding planner provides a methodology on how to plan a wedding. It gives useful tips across all aspects such as vendor selection, destination weddings, wedding dress selection. The list goes on. And of course, it contains budget tables under each section; keeping couples on track. wedztyle.com

Our e-wedding planner is instantly accessible and available for download on all devices such as iPhone, iPad and kindles. Once downloaded, it can be used immediately. It is like having a digital wedding planner at your fingertips. But at your convenience.

Another key advantage of our e-wedding planner is that we like to inform our Wedztyle community of changing trends. All updates made are free of charge. Yes, you heard that correctly. No hidden costs. The price you pay, is all you pay.

Give it a go and download your copy. We welcome all feedback, good and bad. Simply head to our website to purchase your copy at Wedztyle.com

 

Just Engaged? Tips On Planning A Stress-free Wedding

 

Congratulations your getting married! After the engagement shock has worn off, it is time to start making some serious decisions in achieving your dream wedding. Most brides know the type of wedding they want whilst other do not. Then there is knowing what is on trend.

Wedztyle have done some research for you on what is currently trending and will share some tips that can make planning your special day as stress free as possible.

 

Set The Date

Setting the date is not a easy task. There are many factors that needs to be considered. What type of wedding do you want? A spring or summer wedding? Is there a special date you have in mind. Are there any conflicting dates such as another friends wedding, or a special event. Are family coming over from overseas, are they able to travel on that date.  The list is endless. Sending out save the date cards are a great way of letting your guests know in advance that you have set the date and that the formal invitations will follow.

 

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Create A Wedding Checklist

Weddings are a big event for anyone to plan. Setting a solid checklist will allow you to organise everything by setting firm dates and deadlines not only for yourself, but also for your family and bridal party. It will also act as a guide of prioritising what is important, what is not. A wedding checklist gives you complete control over your wedding. We recommend creating one main checklist outlining what needs to be done within a 12 month timeline, along with a checklist for the actual wedding day. Too many checklists will cause confusion and unnecessary stress for yourself and the people around you.

wedding checklist image 2

 

Choosing Your Style And Location

Before you book your venue, try on a wedding dress, you must decide what type of style and vibe you want to create for your day. We all have an idea of what type of wedding we want and visualising your day will help you in deciding.  Have you always visualised yourself walking barefoot on a beach, in a beautiful garden or in an old church? Do you want it to be a traditional wedding, a vintage wedding or rustic wedding? A large or small wedding with only close family and friends. Is it going to be a destination wedding, and if so what type? What we love are vision boards. These allow you to take some inspiration from different weddings, and help you create your perfect day; not to mention staying on budget.

 

Images supplies by Dreamingtree //www.facebook.com/dreamingtree.oz

 

Set a Budget

Setting a budget is one of the most important part of planning any event especially a wedding. The average Australian wedding costs $40,000.00. Keeping to your budget will allow you to still have your dream wedding without making you broke. A budget checklist that you can cross reference against your wedding checklist will keep you as close to your budget as possible.

budget image

 

 

Choose Your Wedding Party

How many bridesmaids are too many? How big of a wedding party do you really need? It all depends of the type of wedding your having, and the budget that you have allocated. The trend these days is for bridesmaids to contribute to their shoes and dress, while the bride will pay for the makeup and hair on the day. If your thinking of providing everything for your bridesmaids then this needs to be factored into your budget.  Costs can creep up quite easily so you need to stay on track!!

Another trend is for bridesmaids not to wear the identical dresses but keeping to the same or similar colour scheme. This allows your bridesmaids to wear dresses that suits their body shape. The groomsmen can wear the same suits with the matching colour scheme running through the ties or the cravats.

Bride:bridesmaides

Image copied from Pinterest, coolbridedress.com

 

 

Create Your Guest List

Depending on your cultural background, the size of your guest list will vary from wedding to wedding. I am from a European background therefore I had to invite people that I personally didn’t know. All these people were friends of my parents and in laws. Times have changed. Creating your guest list requires quite a bit of thinking. We all don’t want to offend people, but sometimes we have no choice. We recommend by firstly deciding on a preliminary number of guests you want to invite. Then begin your invite list with immediate family members, followed by your closest friends. From here, then you can play around with the invitees. Be firm with your guest list, the more people you have the more you will go over your budget. This might mean cutting things out of your wedding or compromising on the things you really want.

 

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Image supplied dreamingtree www.facebook.com/dreamingtree.oz

 

Book a Venue

Choosing the venue is an important step. The venue is an important part of your wedding as it ties into your wedding theme. Most couples will book the venue before the church/wedding ceremony site as sometimes the most popular venues are booked 12-18 months in advance. What to look for in a venue:

1. Do they cater for the amount of guest I have?

2. Do they have the correct facilities for my guests?

3. Do they supply an events manager to help you with your vision?

4. Cost per person?

5. Is the food and alcohol a set price or are they seperate?

6. Do they cater for all dietary requirements?

dreamtree 11

Image supplied by Dreamingtree www.facebook.com./dreamingtree.oz

 

Choose Your Suppliers

When choosing your suppliers, make sure you have everything written down, especially pricing that has been negotiated between the parties. I have heard of some horror stories of the wedding cake was completely different to what was ordered, or the photographs were not what you had asked for. These are our tips when choosing a supplier:

1. Make sure you have everything written down and signed by both parties. Include some images of what you want and give them a copy.

2. Communications with your suppliers is key, as this will ensure everyone is on the same page and there is no room for misunderstanding.

3. When ordering your cake/ food, make sure they are able to cater for anyone with dietary requirements. Supply a clear list of your guest with dietary requirements and were they will be seated to the venue.

4. Take photos of your hair and make-up trails to make sure your happy with what you have chosen. This will also help your hairdresser and makeup artist remember what was discussed. Any changes, document them. Trial two weeks prior your wedding.

5. Make sure that you have your final wedding dress fitting approx two weeks before the wedding. This will allow for any changes and most importantly if the dress requires dry cleaning.

6. Contact all your suppliers one month and two weeks prior your wedding to confirm everything is track and if changes need to be made this is the time to do it. Give all your suppliers a running sheet of the day so they know what is required from them on the day.

fay cake

Image Supplied by Cakes By Fay K https://www.facebook.com/Cakes-By-Fay-K-187902414572836/

 

Feature imaged copied from Pinterest etsy.com 

The Quest for “Straighter” Hair

I have thick curly frizzy hair. For those who have similar hair to me, you will know how difficult it is to maintain. For years, I tried effortlessly to tame my hair, even taking an iron to it. It would take me an hour to straighten my hair yet it never looked smooth, always frizzy. And humid weather was my worst enemy.

Back in 2002, I was elated to learn that a product existed to permanently straighten hair. Known as Japanese Straightening, aka Thermal Ionic Hair Straightening. The product thermally restructures the hair from curly to permanently straight. The thermal ionic system actually flattens the hair cuticle layer to produce permanently straight hair. The hair remains straight until it is cut off.

conair-one-n-only-thermal-ionic-permanent-hair-straightener-202
Thermal Ionic

Amazing results, my hair was dead straight with no frizz. I remember when I first got it done, I was ecstatic. My hair behaved as if I was born with straight hair. However, I could not curl it or add any body to it. The curl was gone. As my hair grew, the roots were curly even though the length of my hair was straight. This meant that I had to continuously straighten the roots which I did once a year.

The draw back with this treatment is that it is a very lengthy process, even when you get the regrowth done. As the hairdresser has to meticulously iron an inch of hair at a time, it can take anywhere between 4 to 6 hours and the cost ranges from $450 to $650. Although, I liked my hair straight, I wanted body in it. I also got tired of spending 4.5 hours in the salon only to straighten 4 inches of hair along with the inconvenience of not being able to tie or pin it up or wash it for 72 hours. And the not to mention the cost of getting this procedure done.

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Thermal Ionic Before and After Treatment

It was time for a change. Being a creature of habit, it took me awhile to grasp the concept of a Brazilian Keratin Straightening Treatment. Basically, it is a semi-permanent hair straightening method where they infuse liquid keratin and a preservative solution into the hair with a hair iron. It considerably relaxes the curl and eliminates frizz. Over a period of 3-6 months, the hair goes back to its original way.

I took the plunge a few months back. The hairdresser used Alfaparf Lisse design express formula. I was very skeptical of the results. It used a mousse type application and the processes was different to what I was used to. With the Thermal ionic, after thermally reconstructing the hair using an iron, a neutralizer is added to permanently lock the hair in a pin straight look. With the Brazilian treatment, once the product is ironed into your hair, it is done. It takes less time and a quarter of the cost.

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Alfaparf Lisse Keratin Therapy
With much apprehension, I washed my hair and hoped for the best. It was a different outcome to the thermal ionic straightening process. My hair was not dead straight but my curl definitely relaxed and the frizz disappeared. My hair had a nice shine through and it felt soft and conditioned. The advantages for me is that with the Brazilian treatment, my hair has body in it. And there is no curly regrowth, easy to straighten and no frizz.

The disadvantage for me is that because it is not straight I actually now have to take to the hair dryer and iron to straighten my hair. Whereas with the other treatment, no iron was required until the regrowth appeared.

LisseDesign_model
Alfaparf Lisse – Before and After Treatment

The jury is still out on this one for me. Not sure which method of straightening treatment I prefer as the outcomes are completely different. For now, I will continue with the Brazilian Keratin Treatment as I like that I can add body and movement to my hair yet still be able to easily manage my curls.

In conclusion, for those who are skeptical like I was or considering this, my advice will be choose the treatment type that best suits your needs. Choosing the right hairdresser will also determine the result you get so don’t be afraid to ask questions.

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