Renfrewshire Wedding Directory

Friday, 7 January 2011

Julie's Candy Carts

Renfrewshire Wedding Directory is delighted to talk to Julie of Julie's Candy Carts

A New wedding Business! Julie's Candy Cart

We are a brand new, unusual and unique, wedding business based in South Lanarkshire but are willing to offer our services to the wider area. The idea of a candy cart alongside or in place of traditional wedding favours is a new and quite rare concept in Scotland. The idea derives from the United States of America, being very popular with Brides and Grooms there.

The idea of Julie’s Candy Cart for special occasions came about when Julie decided to hire a candy cart for her own wedding. Not being able to find exactly what she was looking for, her husband-to-be suggested that he make a candy cart for their special day.

The pretty little white Edwardian type cart, with authentic antique wagon wheels, has been hand crafted. Julie carefully sets it up and dresses it according to the colour scheme of the wedding or special occasion being attended. Pretty organza bows and swags are attached to the cart and also ribbons tied to a choice of glassware, enamelware or sweetie jars, in which the sweets are displayed. There is a choice of different coloured and patterned canopy tops also. This makes Julie’s Candy Cart more personal to the happy couple’s celebration. The type of sweets can be decided after a discussion between Julie and the Bride and Groom. There are many varieties to choose from and Julie will try to source any special favourites. Have a look at the website.

www.juliescandycart.co.uk

Thursday, 6 January 2011

Money is the most desired wedding gift

Money is the most desired wedding gift

A recent poll conducted by Wedding Magazine reported that forty-five per cent of couples would prefer their guests to give them money as a wedding gift.

It has become the norm for couples to live together before marriage. As a result, most couples no longer have the need or desire to set up a gift registry with a department store in order to buy household goods such as
kitchenware and bed linen. Newlyweds are most likely to spend their money on a luxury honeymoon, home improvement or even paying back some of the cost of their wedding.

Notwithstanding the recession, couples still spend an average £20,000 on their wedding. As a result of the credit crunch, it has become much more acceptable for couples to ask for money as a wedding gift.

In other countries around the world, giving money as a wedding gift is traditional.

At Hindu weddings it is traditional to give money as a wedding gift as this symbolises prosperity. The amount should be an auspicious number ending in 1, for example, £51 or £101. This money is usually placed inside an ornate, decorative money envelope which is presented to the couple at the wedding.

At Sikh weddings, there is a ceremony called the "Sagaan" that takes place after the ceremony where guests present monetary gifts to the married couple.

In China, money is given in red envelopes (hong bao) from guests who are older than the bride and groom and in Japan, new, uncreased notes are given to the couple to the tune of 30,000 yen (approximately £210) in a festive envelope (shugi-bukuro).

The "money dance" is a Hungarian tradition where the bride leaves her shoes in the centre of the dance floor and those who dance with her drop money in the shoes or pin money to her dress. Pinning money to the bride and groom is also a popular custom in Cyprus, Greece and the Philippines.

In Poland, it is traditional for a family member of the bride to hold out an apron whilst the bride is dancing with her father. Wedding guests who throw money into the apron are then permitted to dance with the bride.

In the mid-west of the United States of America, the best man auctions the bride's garter. The best man carries a hat around the reception and the guests put dollar bills into it. Another mid-western tradition is a "wedding
reel", where the wedding guests form a queue and pay a dollar or more to dance with the newlyweds.

Admittedly, it is quite unlikely that brides and grooms across Britain will be adopting these customs any time soon. Whilst dropping money into shoes and pinning cash to brides sounds like fun, it isn't exactly very British. Fortunately, there are more sophisticated and discreet ways of receiving money as a wedding gift.

The previous taboo surrounding asking for money as wedding gift will soon be a distant memory and given the research conducted by Wedding Magazine it looks like money is fast-becoming the most desired gift for newlyweds.

Article contributed by Gillian Bell, Director of StarWeds Ltd.

Website: www.starweds.co.uk

Twitter: www.twitter.com/starweds

Facebook: www.facebook.com/starweds

Email: contact@starweds.co.uk

StarWeds is the sophisticated and hassle-free way to ask for money as a wedding gift. We provide:

· A personalised wedding website where your guests can
contribute money:
- Choice of themes
- Online guest book
- Your own blog
- Personalised web address
- Directions to your venue
- Countdown timer
- And much more

· Beautiful customised invitation inserts to tell your guests about your site.

· Your guests can contribute via quick, easy and secure payment methods on your wedding website (i.e. credit/debit card via PayPal, cheque or balance transfer).

There are no set up fees and no hidden costs...all you pay is £50. You don't have to pay any money in
advance, we simply deduct the £50 fee when you withdraw from your fund.

Our service is completely hassle-free for both the couples and the wedding guests. Guests don't need to worry about whether or not there will be a money box at the wedding, or which of the bridal party they should give their money gift to for safe keeping, they don't need to stress about sending money in the post or if sending a cheque, whether to make it out to the bride's maiden name or married name. Also from the couple's perspective, they won't need to spend all day at the bank cashing in lots of cheques and cash. We simply send one cheque with all the contributions from their guests.

Please visit http://www.starweds.co.uk/, and if you would like to view a sample of the personalised wedding website, then please visit http://www.starweds.co.uk/sample.

Friday, 10 December 2010

The Proposal

What do you need for the perfect proposal?

A plan

Every great proposal has the element of surprise and romance. Firstly, you need to be sure it's the right thing to do. You then need to decide on the location and the ring. Simple right! Don't be fulled that it's as simple as we see on the movies, it takes some planning and organisation to ensure it goes smoothly.

Set the Location

Location is often over thought, our advice would be to choose a quite intimate spot where you can have some privacy (unless you are oozing with confidence). Here are some suggestions in Renfrewshire.....

Dinner at Mar Hall

Lunch at Finlaystone Park

Hire a boat at Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park

Choose the Ring

An engagement ring is a symbol of commitment and the promise of marriage. Normally only worn by women, however, many men (including mine) also choose to wear the symbol.

Choosing the perfect ring is a very personal thing and there is no right or wrong way of doing it. Some choose to have it purchased before the proposal, whilst some enjoy choosing it together. My advice to the proposer is ensure you know your future spouses taste well as they will have to wear the ring for a very long time!

Here's some stunning examples to suit every budget.

McKay Jewellers

Argos

H Samuel

Make sure it's the right choice

The golden rule is not to feel pressured! You have to feel you and your partner are comfortable and ready to take the next step. Marriage should be for life so it is not a decision to be taken hastily.

Keep Calm (the proposer!)

Special thanks to

McKay Jewellers, Moss Street, Paisley

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Fruit Cake or Sponge Cake?

by i-craft

So many brides these day's are opting for cake creations sculpted from sponge and decorated in all sorts of shapes and sizes from chocolate towers to cupcakes and even cheeseboards.

Putting the more adventurous creations aside, the happy couple are often left with the basic choice of what the tiers of cake should consist of Sponge (various flavours) or Fruit. The initial choice and reaction by most couples is full sponge stating "I really don't like sponge", however, you are not eating the whole cake by yourself so my suggestion would be to carefully consider the type of guest you are inviting.

I attended two weddings last month both with a similar mix of guest from early 20's to elderly relatives. 1 wedding opted for a 1 tier fruit and 2 tiers sponge (Wedding A) and the other 3 tiers sponge (Wedding B). At both the wedding the cakes were delicious, however, I did spot 1 glaring difference. There was loads of sponge left at the end of Wedding B, but hardly any cake left at Wedding A!

Being the sad individual I am (and the fact I was the sober driver!!) I asked a several of people did they enjoy the cake? and the general consensus from the elder generation of Wedding B was they would like to have seen a fruit cake as they don't get it very often nowadays and it's a real treat so maybe that's could have been why they had to put so much in the bin.

Also it is worth bearing in mind that Fruit Cake keeps much longer than sponge so you could potentially get the bridal party to dish out the left overs for some special guests to take home.

I appreciate that this is only a small section of market research but I worry we are forgetting what's important at our weddings is not only to organise an event to be proud of but to treat those who are nearest and dearest to us.

For more information on cakes or to discuss alternatives please look at i-craft's website or send an e-mail

Follow i-craft on

Facebook orTwitter

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Winter Weddings

Taking some inspiration from the elements outside we have put together a mood board for inspiration if you are planning a winter wedding in 2011.

Remember, to get in touch and let us know your thoughts...

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

Wedding Favours

The tradition of Wedding favours has been around for centuries. The Italians are said to have started with giving the gift of sugared almonds. They were given to guests as a symbol of good luck and appreciation for their attendance. Traditionally each guest was gifted 5 Almonds and they are said to represent Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Longevity. In addition the number Five was used as it's an odd number and cannot be split, hopefully, like the married couple.

Nowaday's bridal couples often get worried of confused about what they should give and to whom.

Tradition of old was to give favours to a selected few special female guests, it was considered an honour if you received one, however, nowaday's we have gravitated away and it is now acceptable to give to male and female guests. The question of day only or evening guests too often arises in many of the bridal forums but really it is the choice of the happy couple on what they would like to do.

As it's St. Andrew's day we thought we would give a few Scottish suggestions to set you on your way to choosing what is right for you.