Wedding Gowns & Bridal Gowns

There are so many wedding venue options to choose from today – you have hotels, gardens, events halls, restaurants, and yachts, to name a few. How does one go about the venue search without getting burned out after a few weeks of wedding planning?

The trick to finding the right wedding venue is to determine what you want in a venue before you start looking for one. Would you like to exchange your wedding vows as the sun sets over the ocean? Then don’t include venues that don’t offer a waterfront view. Have you always wanted to hold your wedding reception at a chic hotel? Then list down the swankiest hotels in your area and limit yourself to checking these out.

If you are undecided about what you want in a wedding venue, sample a couple of locations and styles. You don’t have to actually visit these places yourself; do a Google search for wedding venues in your area, or ask friends to recommend you an ideal place for a wedding reception.

Whatever wedding venue you decide to rent out for your big day, don’t convince yourself to like the place. Make sure that it feels right from the first time you set foot in it. Be honest with the venue contact about what you think of the place; if it’s not what you’re looking for, let them know. That way, you don’t waste their time and they won’t waste yours by following up with phone calls.

Photo credit

Being “bohemian” means not only being carefree and enjoying life to the fullest; it also means being a peaceful, loving person with an adventurous spirit. This is why the bohemians of the 1960’s began this counter-culture based on non-conformity, the rejection of consumerism, and embracing the beauty of life and all its potentials.

Having a bohemian wedding means more than just decorating the place with antiques and vintage elements. You need to truly believe in the core of the bohemian ideology – create in order to please yourself instead of creating in order to impress. Take note that the biggest style quotient of the era is that nobody attempted to be stylish or tried hard to stand out. All that matters to bohemians is that they dress according to what they like. In the 1960’s, people stayed away from everything artificial and embraced nature; you can wear your long hair down and wear flowers instead of a tiara, and go for a lacy or floral-printed wedding dress. Your bohemian wedding dress can be a mixture of these hippie themes, art deco elements, and vintage styles.

You can incorporate the same ideas into setting the atmosphere for your bohemian wedding. Consider a garden or an old-fashioned restaurant for your wedding reception, and use exotic scarves and beads to decorate the place. The bohemian era liked to experiment with a lot of strong colors, so you might want to pick floral arrangements in bold hues. You can even take the bohemian wedding theme up a notch by asking your guests to come in bohemian skirts. Have your bridesmaids wear long, flowing floral dresses. The males can come in tie-dyed or batik shirts and drawstring pants.

No matter how you choose to go about it, a bohemian wedding would spice up your wedding celebration and make great memories you’ll cherish forever.

Photo credit

Although we live in an island, beach weddings are not common because Catholic law requires weddings to take place in a Catholic Church. But if you’re really dead set on getting married by the ocean, beach weddings in Boracay are fairly easy to arrange these days. They require a far more planning and budgeting than a Church wedding in the city, but I think exchanging vows as the sun sets over the sea makes it all worth it.

The first thing you should do is keep the guest list short. Even if money is not an issue, fewer guests makes the logistics of flying everyone to Boracay and finding accommodations for them a lot easier. Book your tickets through a travel agent since they offer discounts for large parties. They probably also have hotel packages as well. If not, most beachfront hotels in Boracay like Microtel offer wedding packages, and are flexible about bookings and reservations. Overall, a wedding in Boracay with forty guests should cost you at least Php 400,000.

Wedding suppliers usually charge more for destination weddings, and you might have to also pay for their plane fare and hotel accommodations. Try to find a supplier that won’t charge an arm and a leg for out of town trips. Better yet, ask around for a reliable wedding supplier in Boracay and consider hiring their services.

Finally, remember that it’s never too early to start planning your wedding, especially if it will be held out of town. Start making plans six months before the date and make sure your reservations have been made weeks before the event.

Photo credit

In the Philippines, our strong kinship ties with extended family makes large, elaborate weddings fairly common. Not only do engaged couples have to worry about not offending a distant great-aunt by forgetting to send a wedding invite – coworkers, neighbors, and former classmates are also considered in the guest list. The problem with large weddings is that the couple might find themselves still paying for it months after the event. It is also difficult to mingle and spend time with your guests with so many of them in attendance.

Small weddings are becoming more acceptable these days and if you’re the type who enjoys more intimate and personal events, then this might be the best type of wedding for you. Small weddings don’t necessarily mean informal; it does not even have to be cheap. It simply means inviting less guests, which will definitely cost you a lot less than if you were to hold a wedding party for a larger number.

With fewer guests to attend to, the bride and groom can dedicate more of their energy and creativity into specific aspects of the wedding – especially if money is not an issue. Small weddings will give the couple an opportunity to spend a lot on a few guests than spend conservatively on many. For instance, if you’ve always wanted to get married by the seaside, holding a small wedding at Boracay will be more feasible if you invite only close family members and friends. A shorter guest list will also give you the chance to spend time talking to the people who you genuinely care about and want to be with on this special day.

Remember, before anything else, weddings are a celebration of love. Inviting only a few friends and family members who have meaningful relationships with you will make the event more memorable and intimate than a large wedding.

Photo credit

Chocolate fountains are a favorite dessert at every buffet I go to. Who doesn’t enjoy dunking fruits, cakes, and marshmallows into a rich fountain of creamy milk chocolate? Make your guests happy during your wedding reception and include a chocolate fountain in the dessert table.

Generally speaking, chocolate fountains use milk chocolate but you can also get a second fountain for a different type of chocolate. You can even add a flavor like caramel, hazelnut, or strawberry so your guests can have more choices. As for the dippers, there’s a huge variety of treats you can dip into the fountain. Besides cookie bits, marshmallows, you can also include healthier alternatives like strawberries, apples, and banana slices.

The chocolate fountain can also work as your buffet or dessert table’s centerpiece. Have your caterer arrange the dippers artistically around the fountain.

You can rent chocolate fountains from sulit.ph, or ask your wedding caterer if they provide fountains.