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You’ve decided on getting married overseas, now you need to decide what destination. Somewhere close perhaps, like Rarotonga, Tahiti, Vanuatu or our closest South Pacific neighbour, beautiful Fiji? Perhaps you are thinking further afield with places such as Thailand, Hawaii, the stunning Maldives or the mythological Greek Islands holding favour.Have you ever thought about getting married on a cruiseship? What a great way to cater for all your guests, be they young or old or in between, and enjoy your wedding and honeymoon at the same time.When you hear the term cruise you might think of hundreds of people and big exotic sailing hotels. Whilst you can get married on these opulent ships; (even Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, Victoria and Queen Mary 2 now offer wedding packages) there are smaller, more intimate cruise ships that offer the most romantic weddings possible.Two of the more notable ones that operate in our part of the world are in Fiji - Blue Lagoon Cruises and…

Small weddings are definitely coming back in vogue, and it’s easy to understand why. A small wedding costs less and gives the couple an opportunity to spend quality time with a few select guests. Even though your guest list is small, your wedding is no less important than the typical 100-person affair. Speaking as a celebrant, intimate wedding ceremonies are my absolute favourite. There’s a real sense of joy throughout the room, and the couple work hard to make every guest feel special.Are you planning an intimate wedding? Here are my top tips:

1. Choose an all-in-one venue

One of the reasons couples choose an intimate wedding is so they can spend more time enjoying the company of their guests (instead of running around making small talk and getting photographs). So eliminate other time-sucks by choosing a venue where you can perform the ceremony and host the reception. You could even choose a venue such as a hotel or lodge where guests could stay over, further eliminating…

With all the decisions that need to be made for your wedding – from the colour of the tablecloths to the first dance song – have you given any thought to the design of your wedding rings – the rings you’ll wear for the rest of your lives?Most couples will visit a jewellery shop together and choose a design they can live with. But if you want something a bit more personal, a bit more interesting, a bit more you, then why not design your own wedding rings?My husband designed our wedding rings as a surprise for me. I didn’t see the ring until he placed it on my finger at the wedding! Now, every time I look at that ring, not only am I reminded of my vows, but I also remember how he took the time to dream up something that perfectly, uniquely represented us.Are you thinking about designing your own ring? Have a look at our step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Look at Inspiration

Look at – and try on – lots of different types of rings to help you figure out what you like…

After you say “I do” and party the night away with your new partner, you might be left wondering what to do with your wedding dress. For most women, their wedding dress is the most expensive item of clothing they’ve ever purchased, and it’s also the dress guaranteed to get the least amount of wear.If you’re unlikely to wear your wedding dress again, what do you do with it? Here are a few ideas:

Sell on to another bride

To me, this is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your wedding dress. You got so much joy out of it, why not pass it on to another bride so she can enjoy it too? Plus, you get to recoup some of the cost of purchasing your dress – why not put it toward a deposit on a house or a holiday with your new partner?Try putting your dress up on sites like Ebay or TradeMe, or even specialised wedding dress sale sites – you might be surprised who is interested!

Sell on to a shop

If you’re not having any luck selling your dress on sites like eBay or…

For many women, wedding dress shopping will be one of the most enjoyable experiences of wedding planning. Even if you’re not into fashion, it can be a great way to spend a lovely day out with your mum, sister or BFF, exploring the local boutiques and enjoying a fab lunch.But sometimes dress shopping can be a stressful or negative experience. And that sucks. So I’ve compiled this guide of tips and ideas to help you have an enjoyable shopping experience and find that ideal dress.

Choose the Right Dress Shopping Buddies

Shopping for a wedding dress is meant to be a special experience. Many ladies bring along a friend or relative to enjoy the experience with. But make sure you’re choosing the right wedding dress shopping buddy. Choose someone who will give you an honest, reliable and kind opinion. Leave your passive-aggressive friend or loud-mouthed sister at home. You want someone who will look at a perfectly lovely dress and say, “That’s a gorgeous dress, but it just isn’t…

The bridal party is truly an important part of a couple’s most momentous day, so it’s only natural to want their gifts to reflect this special moment in time. Brides can celebrate their bridesmaids’ friendship and role in the wedding by choosing meaningful gifts that convey all the wonderful sentiments she feels.  The following gifts will allow the bride to show her gratitude to her bridesmaids and commemorate one of the happiest days of her life!

Lockets

A silver or gold locket in the shape of a heart, book, or even circle is not only a treasure any woman will value, it allows for the bride to share a tiny picture and even engrave a special quote or phrase.  Since bridesmaids share in so many special days leading up to the wedding, perhaps the locket might contain a moment of friendship—a snapshot with the bride.  The engraving may feature the wedding’s date and a quotation about friendship or love.  Even a simply engraved “thank you” will make the locket…

The lead up to your wedding can be manic - planning, stress, excitement and nerves are just a few of the emotions going on before your big day.Unfortunately the stress can show up in your skin, which isn’t exactly the glowing skin you were wanting for your big day!Here are my top tips for getting your skin ready:Don’t leave things until the last minute - This will only stress you out and you may get advise from the wrong people. Plan ahead!Find a good therapist - Good ones get booked up months in advance.  Especially for weddings during the summer months.  You want to be visiting your beauty therapist several months leading up to your wedding. This way you trust them and they will help sort out any little (or big) skin issuesAt home routine - I can’t stress this enough, it’s one thing to be going to your therapist, but then coming home and using products that are substandard is not a good idea.  Invest (and it is an investment into your skin) in a recommended…

Gone are the days of the over-stuffed wedding binder and the mountains of cuts outs from wedding magazines. Now, brides and their entourage are using the Internet for the majority of their wedding planning. And why not? It’s paperless (good for the environment) and easy to carry around all your inspiration on your device of choice.Pinterest is one of the best tools ever invented for wedding planning. It allows you to collect all your inspiration images in one place, to snap and store images on the go, and to share with friends and family in other parts of the world. So what exactly IS Pinterest, and how can you use it for wedding planning?

What Is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social sharing app that acts like a virtual pinboard. You can “pin” images from anywhere online onto your Pinterest page, and organise the images into themed “boards”. You can publish the boards or make them secret. And you can also browse the boards of other pinners (Pinterest users), like and comment…

Sating the hunger and quenching the thirst of your wedding guests will account for approximately 50% of your total wedding budget. If you’re looking to save money on your wedding, the food and drink budget is a good place to begin.Often the best way to save money on the wedding meal is to change up the traditional format of a wedding. The further away from the “evening sit-down dinner and open bar” formula you move, the more chances there are for you to have savings.Here are some of our favourite ideas for saving on your wedding food and drinks budget.

1. Change the time

Instead of serving dinner, why not consider a lunch, afternoon tea or even breakfast reception? Catering prices will be much cheaper, so will venue hire, and you won’t have to worry about providing an endless open bar, as most people won’t be drinking as much as they might in the evening.See my article on planning a tea party wedding reception for more ideas on food for afternoon weddings.

2.…

Wedding planning can be extremely stressful, and can make even the sanest bride go bananas over bunting and antsy about aisle runners. But if you’re spending all your time comparing your wedding to others – maybe your sister’s, or your cousin’s, or a wedding in a magazine – and wondering how you’ll ever measure up, it’s time for a reminder that your wedding is not a competition.Did you hear me? Your wedding is not a competition.It can be hard to remember this when you’re bombarded with images of “perfect” weddings at every turn: in magazines, in movies, and now, through wedding blogs and sites like Pinterest.And on every blog and every magazine, you see the same comments over and over again – “how can I do this? How can I be more like this? This wedding is the MOST amazing, the MOST beautiful, the MOST original!” How often do you think, “I want my wedding to be the best wedding anyone has ever attended.” Do you catch yourself saying, “I want guests to remember MY…