rings - WedZtyle

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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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

Part 1

Diamonds ARE a girls best friends especially if it is given to her on a bended knee, with a beautiful backdrop and with four little words attched to it…”WILL YOU MARRY ME?”

I was engaged in the early 90s at a very young age. There was no bending of the knee at a beautiful location and no ring… yes your read correctly, NO RING. Being young I didn’t question it. The weekend after, my future husband took me to a jewerler who was going to make my engagement ring. I was so nervous, as I knew what ring I wanted as I had seen it in a magazine and hoped he could create it for me.

We sat patiently with his wife, making small talk. Finally after 10 mins her husband emerged from the back room. He introduced himself to me and asked me to hold out my hand. Opening my hand he carefully placed three small beautiful diamonds into it and they spakled like shiny stars. I was mesmorised by how beautiful these little diamonds were. This when my love affair for diamonds began.

Diamonds are unique. A few factors need to be considered when choosing the right diamond. Dimonds have what they call a grading chart that is proportional to the price of the diamond. The industry standard when grading diamonds are based on the four C’s, Carot Weight, Cut, Colour and Clarity.

Cut:

Diamond_Shapes2

The cut of the diamond is a personal prefence. The common choice of shapes are illustrated in the above image. The most popular diamonds in the last decade are the round, emerald and cushion shaped diamonds. The round shape dominates 75% of the market. I had chosen the round shape as for me it was a classic shape and timeless.

Carat Weight:

carat-chart

The Carot Weight of a diamond is sold on the unit weight not on the size of the carat which most of us think. The larger the carat the more you will pay. This is because the diamond becomes more rare as the size increases. This is what makes the diamond unique. The above chart illustrates the typical sizing for diamonds.

Colour:

diamondcolor2

Diamonds come in a variety of colours. They are graded on a scale of D (colourless) through to Z (light colour) The above image shows the grade in the diamond and the yellow tint they have. Most jewellers recommend to aim F/G range because if you put the ring under a constant light, you will be able to see the yellow in the diamond.

Clarity:

diamond-clarity

Diamonds are formed deep within the earth and under extreme heat and pressure. They all contain small imperfections inside the diamond. The diamonds are graded by their clarity form flawless (extremely rare) to included ( visible to the naked eye). Unless you have millions to spend on a flawless diamond, most people purchase VS1-VS2 or SI1 SI2. The naked eye cannot pick up the slight inclusions. Unless someone is walking around with a mini microscope in their pocket, it is a perfect diamond clarity to choose.

TIPS:

Here are some tips when purchasing the right diamond. Ladies do not be afraid to let you man know what you want. It is your ring and I think you should have a say in it. Just make sure you do not pay for your own ring like I did…. yep I still cannot explain that one.

Do not get hung up on having such a huge carat. Yes we all say it ‘I want over a carat diamond when I get married’. When choosing the carat weight, make sure that the diamond has the correct clarity and colour. This makes the diamond appear larger than what it is.

Do not focus on the imperfection. All diamonds will have slight inculsions unless you are lucky enough to receive a flawless diamond. This is what makes them unique and individual.

The setting of the diamond is just as important. Make sure you choose a reputable jeweller who specialises in setting diamonds.

Lastly, do your homework before you purchase your ring. The last thing you want is to be sitting in bed reading a book while admiring your ring at different angles when suddenly you see a massive crack in it. Yep that also happened to me, but don’t worry I made the jeweller reset my ring with a bigger diamond, better colour and clarity VS1 F. Teaches the jeweller to accuse me of craking it while washing dishes and hitting the diamond on the stainless steel bench. It was obvious that he cracked the diamond while setting the ring hence why you need to pick a reuptable jeweller.

So ladies enjoy this moment of choosing the right ring for you. We are derserve to have the very best.

Just Engaged? Tips On Planning A Stress-free Wedding

Are Diamonds Really a Girls Best Friend?