Friday, 21 August 2015

10 Top Tips for a Surprise Wedding

An Unexpected Occasion

“Surprise! Weddings”

Less of the fuss and more of the fun!



Tips for Planning a Surprise Wedding

10 Top Tips

So often I hear of the stress and fall outs during the planning of a full on all bells and whistles wedding but there are other options to those wanting to make a public commitment as a loving couple but with less fuss and expectation.

Of course there are plenty of pit falls which I can advise you on but the overall effect is becoming more popular internationally. There are two types of surprise weddings, one where you invite everyone to an event and drop it on them when they arrive and the other is to have the event privately while on your holiday and hold a party for your family and close friends after the event to announce and share your story.

Here is some top advice to consider when planning your surprise wedding: 

1.       Depending on which surprise you’re planning you might want to consider telling a few of your more important people; parents, grandparents. They may want to help with a few things to off load the pressure. This is also advisable as you need to remember that these people in your life have also been looking forwards to your big day and will appreciate your consideration and be more understanding of your decision.
2.       Deciding on an alternative event such as this will mean that other traditions will be missed, such as hen and bucks parties but you can build new traditions, as there is always time for another party after the event with a slide show and memorabilia of the day.
3.       If you’re getting married secretly overseas, you might want to consider dried, silk or flax flowers and a dress for all occasions, this way they can be bought back out and enjoyed again at the after party.
4.       Your family and friends might be suspicious, so it’s important to consider giving your event a theme or title, for example: A garden party to celebrate your five year anniversary of knowing each other. If you’re planning to invite people to the event, again giving a theme will encourage a dress code in keeping with the real theme and reason for your day.
5.       Invites and/or save the date: if you have guests coming long distance or even international guests you will need to give them plenty of warning, in those cases it could be a cause to tell them the truth as they are less likely to cross the water for a tea party. “mums the word of course!”
6.       Bridesmaids and Best Men will need to be in on the job of course, unless you’re really brave and surprise them too on the day.  It’s helpful to have a few key people in on the occasion, as you will appreciate some support at set-up.
7.       The announcement: Whether you’re eloping or inviting guests to your event secretly you will need to think about how you will make the big reveal, always consider those who may feel denied the opportunity to have been engaged in the planning. One would hope that everyone will be simply delighted with the whole idea but a quiet word in their ear at an opportune moment will release you of all obligation, as they will know you considered their feelings.
8.       Social media: with on line announcements being so easily expressed on site, you might want to consider a chalk board or little notelets asking guests when they arrive and the beans are spilt not to share anything on social media until after the event.
9.       Gifts: obviously its tradition to give a gift at your wedding but with a surprise this is something you will deny your family and friends to choose to do, however a wishing well could be a nice alternative and help to pay some of the credit cards bills off.
10.   Find a Celebrant who will be happy to be in the secrete with you and help create your surprise and anticipation, there are few rules to your ceremony so you can build in your thanks to those who helped create the surprise, explain why you chose to create your event the way you did, which will answer many questions quietly nestled in some minds.


Wednesday, 19 August 2015

A Perfect Beach Bride



I specialise in beach weddings. However, our weddings are more than just a beach. Our ceremonies are held in some of the most beautiful National Park in New Zealand, with our beach weddings predominantly in The Abel Tasman National park at the top of the south island.

Each wedding brings different ideas, dreams and challenges. One thing I often have to think about and bring to the attention of my couples is the difference between a beach wedding and a traditional wedding.

For example, Girls of this generation have grown up dreaming of their big day and imagining their snow white fairy tale wedding dress. However, times have changed and the ability to be married in all sorts of unusual locations is at our finger tips.

Gone are the days that tied you down to spending your huge savings on one day, guided by tradition and family expectations. Today you can be married on your private Island, integrating it into your Honeymoon destination and combining the serenity of your special day with your perfect holiday location.

Travelling to your ideal place can bring its own problems with transporting your special dress. The traditional dress isn’t always the perfect design and like the wedding venue has evolved, so has the dress. I recently did a wedding on Paradise Beach and the bride had selected the perfect wedding dress for her location. She was able to really relax and be free to climb the rocks for the perfect photo shot, prance about on the beach and still look totally stunning. This made me realise that it would be a great idea to provide other brides with inspiration for the perfect all-round dress.


 The Dress: Select a dress that doesn’t drag on the floor. The dress with a long train will soak up the water and collect beach debris.


Consider a wrap-around dress that can easily be taken off if you wish to wear your swim suit and enjoy the water for your first wedded swim.

The Veil: Try not to have a veil that is too large, it will blow out of control on the boat or in the summer breeze and easily gets caught on the boat and in the bush.
Shawl or Jacket: Always bring something to cover your shoulders to protect you from the sun and keep you warm in the afternoon cool breeze.


Shoes: it’s easy to think you want some healed diamond studded shoes but you will kick them off in minutes and it’s unlikely you’ll have an occasion to wear them again. You would be better off saving your money, painting your toes with the sparkle and feeling the sensation of the sand between your toes. If you don’t want to have your feet naked, jandles (Flip flops) now come in very attractive varieties, which makes it more likely they will be brought out of the wardrobe again. See the not so good and better examples.


Hair: you need to really think about the style for your hair and if you want to wear it up, find a hair dresser who is perfect at her job in fixing your hair enough that it will hold against the elements. If you do want to relax and swim, your hair may suffer due to the activities. You might decide to choose to have your hair down, or in a hair brace that can be easily removed and reset. Like the before and after example below

 

At the end of the day it’s your day and your dream to be lived. But if you want some individual advice from a person who spends most of her time down on the beach, please give Terri and the team a no-obligation call:
0064 (0) 275268771


Introduction to the founder of The Dream Maker.
 

Terri, known as the Dream Maker lives and breathes the fresh air in the Abel Tasman, Nelson and Golden Bay region and has a wealth of knowledge and contacts to seamlessly bring your special event together.
Terri’s passion is working outside of the box and believes all her clients are V.I.P’s and gives something unique for each occasion.
Specialising in boutique events she has provided the perfect package for many overseas couples, offering pioneering opportunities and bringing together the whole experience and building wonderful and relaxing Honeymoon experience.
To get the best call Terri for a non-obligation chat or e-mail her with your questions, she is more than happy to communicate ideas.
Terri and her team is looking forwards to hearing from you.


Please visit our website:
  www.thedreammaker.co.nz