I Would Buy Me a Man Instantly! Just Show Me the Market Place

I have heard the question ‘are you married?’ more than the birthday wishes I receive annually. At first, I used to sheepishly answer ‘no oooo, not yet’, then I continued to ‘very soon’. After a while, I started claiming it by fire by force, claiming that the man is on his way to meet me. All these haven’t changed the fact that some years down the line, I am still not married.

I have been in relationships that were good and some bad. The good ones happened when I was much younger and not ready to settle down; but the bad ones have taught me the lesson of a lifetime. My last one got me dishing out my money on a regular basis. All he had to do was come up with some story of being unable to carry out some projects due to some financial incapability. I was earning twice as much as he earned, would take a cab to and from his place on weekends. Sweet Lover Boy would just stand by the cab and wave me bye when he was leaving. I would cook his favourite dishes too; all he had to do was say what he wanted to eat. All these were with my very hard earned Naira. I never missed a moment to surprise him – buying gifts, calling him hourly- all because I wanted a ring on my finger.

It eventually collapsed after I met his mum. Because, seemingly for no reason, she did not like me and found me not worthy of her son. It was too late to count my losses. How can I forget? He even lost his job mid-way into our 8 months relationship and yes, the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31 would have had to contest with me if she had a face. I was fending for both son and mother. Lover boy would always complain of B if he got A and complain about D when I made sure he eventually got B.

Before you start saying ‘maybe, you are not good looking’, I dare say that if it was beauty that kept a man, then Prince Charles would never have left Diana. I am 5’7 and pretty. However, the men I have met after my ‘tales in hell’ relationship are either married or about to get married. That is not a life I would want for myself. Before you also say maybe you gave too much away by cooking his meals or being generous or sympathetic, I say to you ‘how can you please the world’?

The guy I dated before Sweet Lover Boy got me something new every time we met, took me to places I had only dreamed of, but I never got him anything. At a point, he felt I was stingy. I never called with my airtime despite his purchases of same for me. When we eventually broke up, he told me to my face that I did not love him. In retrospect, I loved him, but I was with the mindset that giving a man anything would cheapen the reason of their existence. It hurt me when we broke up and then I resolved to give and give and give and give in my next relationship.

Almost all of my friends and colleagues are married, and from the look of things, it seems like a good place to be in. The ‘my husband’, ‘my wife’ tales are good to listen to sometimes. To love and be loved is the sweetest thing that could ever happen to anyone. I desire that. In the meantime, I am where I am, fasting and praying for this man.

Like couples long for a child and ache at the sight of toys or children parties, I long for an engagement ring and to splatter my wedding pictures on Facebook (whether high profile or not), I long to gist others about ‘my husband did this or said this’ (whether true or not).

Until he comes, I am here, focusing on other things, moving my life forward, being a better person every day. Technology has a bank for sperm or eggs for couples experiencing infertility, sadly, there isn’t any for men.

So, friends and colleagues, church members and distant relatives, until you show me the market where to buy one from, please stop asking me if I am married.

A Colourful Kenyan & Nigerian Wedding in California!

Today in collaboration with Munaluchi Bride Magazine, we present the romantic ceremony of a Kenyan accountant Mima Ndonye and a Nigerian business analyst Blessing Ugbo in California.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Mima and Blessing met through a mutual friend and instantly got comfortable with each other. In February, Blessing proposed to Mima and the journey to organizing their intimate day begun.

On the wedding day, Mima was a picture perfect bride in a strapless lace dress by Allure Bridals. Opting for curly locks, she styled her wedding frock with a statement neck piece, a pearl bracelet and gold Jimmy Choo sandals. Her bridesmaids wore one shoulder purple dresses.

Blessing was dapper in his black tuxedo, a black bow tie, black shoes and purple boutonniere.

With shades of purple, gold and ivory incorporated throughout the wedding, the ceremony blended their east and west African cultures.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bride: Mima Ndonye – Kenyan – Accountant
Groom: Blessing Ugbo – Nigerian – Business Analyst
Wedding Date: April 20, 2013
Location: First Presbyterian Church of Santa Ana, California, USA
Photography: D Park Photography

The Wedding Details
From the bride;
Proposal
We first met at a social event in the fall of 2011 and were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. That night we chatted for a while and knew that we would like to see each other, and perhaps get to know each other some more. So before we parted ways, we exchanged phone numbers and agreed to keep in touch.

He proposed in February in 2012. I was busy in the kitchen on one of his visits to my place. He sneaked behind me and said my name and when I turned he was on bended knee…with a ring in his hand.

Culture
Shades of purple, gold, and ivory were my theme colours and were incorporated throughout the wedding. From the bridal gown, to the bridesmaid dresses, to the table linens and the centerpieces my sister designed, it all came together to give an elegant and classy style.

The ceremony was a culmination of East and West African culture, the traditional song and dance by women ushering in the bride and groom to the reception and presenting the new couple to the community

What Happens After the Fab Wedding? Liz & Yomi Black share their Experience after 1 year on the Marriage Trail

We love weddings but we love beautiful marriages even more. When we featured Liz and Yomi Black’s wedding we loved the beauty of the event. What’s even more beautiful is the fact that one year after their marriage their love still blossoms strong.

The first year of marriage can be a rocky road! From adjusting to living together, learning to tolerate each other’s quirks and vices and let’s not forget the big F – finances! In a world where we see a lot of young couples throwing in the towel, we’re very happy to celebrate two people who have chosen to stay true to what they believe in and themselves. In our chat with Liz and Yomi Black; the couple shares what makes them tick, what they discovered about marriage, how they resolve tension points and what keeps them going strong.

What do you know about him/her that you didn’t know before you got married?
LIZ: Hmmn, Yomi is spoilt, he can’t eat the same food more than 2 times in a week.
YOMI: I didn’t know the extent of her happiness, I see her glow.

What would you say is the high point of your marriage so far?
LIZ: Everyday has been fantastic, however, getting better at communicating with each other, seeing our projects come to life, learning how to be better business partners, and respecting each other is very fulfilling for me.
YOMI: I know this will sound cliché, but Lizzy is right…the journey is the reward.

What did you do for Valentine’s Day this year?
LIZ: We were to travel but Yomi’s work with VHS didn’t let us go, so we basically had dinner at our favourite Chinese Restaurant, exchanged gifts, and loved each other.
YOMI: hahaha at “loved each other”.

How do you deal with particularly difficult challenges you face together or individually?
LIZ: It depends on the type of challenge, but usually because of our friendship, we talk to lengths about things, sometimes we pray about them, sometimes we get into arguments about things, but at the end we either sacrifice, negotiate, or equally agree on decisions.
YOMI: Being best friends helps a lot, we already talk about almost everything, so we face most challenges together. Beside two heads are better than one. We also understand that above all, we love each other.

How do you spice things up?
LIZ: We travel. We take ourselves out on dates. Yomi makes Stir-Fry Noodles for us, especially in the mornings (best I’ve eaten ever). We love watching movies, at home and at the cinema. We visit and hang-out with friends and family. We also play competitive games against each other. I always lose, but not at Ludo
YOMI: Lizzy always buys me gifts, she is the generous one.

As a couple in the eye of the media, how do you keep up with that?
LIZ: We don’t really see ourselves like that, however, we try to be ourselves no matter what, being happy with ourselves, focusing on the relationships that are important to us, our businesses and career paths.
Lately, we received serious heat from people online, which only explains one thing- humans beings will always be human beings. I will still buy my roasted corn on the road, go to the market to buy food stuff, nothing changes.
YOMI: I am not going to act surprised , because it happens is this line of business, personally I am comfortable in my skin. I can’t shout.

How do you handle your newly adopted family members?
LIZ: First of all we are from different backgrounds – I am a mix of Scottish/Lebanese/Hausa while Yomi is a full Yoruba man so you can imagine, nevertheless my relationship with my husband’s family is a lot better than before we got married, and it keeps getting better. Being married to a family with all women only one son.
YOMI: Lizzy is the first born, she has the finest siblings ever, and I mean that literally. Anyway, they make it so easy to love them.

Do you pick out what he/she wears?
LIZ: 70% of the time, I select what Yomi wears and sometimes we argue about it. Yomi likes to be free casual and comfortable most of the time, He is a strong choleric, so he hardly cares about his appearance, he’s always focused on his work or the task at hand, so I have to hide some old clothes that he won’t let go off, beg him to comb his hair or end up combing it for him at times, sometimes I literally stand at the door not letting him go out till he changes something he’s wearing. He’s my big baby.
YOMI: Everyday, Lizzy comes to me with two options of what to wear, and also goes with the one I don’t pick, Besides she always looks good, so I don’t mind.

Do you have a say in hair styles/hair cut?
LIZ: Yes I have a say sometimes, because he likes me coming with him to the barber’s shop, and he also has the way he likes my hair to look: either I carry my natural or fix really short weaves. He doesn’t care much for big hair do which I like.
YOMI: l only have a say when it’s a short hair style and also, she never keeps her natural hair for as long as I want.

What are the added perks of marriage that you feel you just found after you got married?
LIZ: A new different kind of respect from Yomi and vice-versa, and from people. We’re closer and more intimate, we spend so much time together every day. We can’t help but feel a special Grace of God now that we’re married. Now I can easily play ”good cop/bad cop”. Other married couples will understand. Generally I am happier now, more at peace, knowing that every day and night I have someone who cares for me and has my back no matter what.
YOMI: In Nigeria , when you are married, other people take you seriously. Had I known, I would have married since.

“Nobody told me this about marriage” – Share a few of these:
LIZ: Well I’m glad we attended one of the best pre-marital class at Family Worship Centre, Abuja, so they basically enlightened us on several challenges that married couples have, hence, nothing has really startled me.
YOMI: Nobody told me that I would never get tired of constantly fighting for love and keep asking her to marry me over and over again. I love it though.

How have you guys been able to deal with the issue of finances?
LIZ: Well… from what we have been taught and also what has worked for us so far in the issue of finances is the knowledge that the lack of money or the abundance of money can cause problems in a marriage, therefore understanding finances is very vital. We have made plans and semi-rules to work by so as to avoid unnecessary conflict. We made a list of what we use money for, such as:
– Savings
– Rent
– House Bills
– Car Maintenance
– Feeding
– Home Maintenance
– Family & Friends
– Leisure
– Travelling
– Projects/ Business
– Personal Effects
– Miscellaneous

Since Yomi is the bread-winner and makes more money than I do therefore he has the responsibility of taking care of major bills, like rent, house bills, travelling, etc. While I take care of Home maintenance, Feeding, Leisure and personal effects. Then in the case of family & friends, we have a set out amount of money we agreed to allocate to them every month( Except there is a major issue). As for projects and business, because we are business partners, the business account takes care of all matters relating to that.

Finances in marriage is a very wide and deep subject, we won’t be able to explain everything, but basically, this is the summary. The most important things are trust, being transparent about money, everyone comes clean about how much they make or have, agree on who is responsible for what, and save together. This does not restrict you, it only guides, so even if I can’t take care of my own bills for a period, Yomi helps out and maybe vice-versa.

Is there a unified family fund? If so, who manages the funds?
LIZ: Apart from our individual accounts and business accounts, we have a joint account where we save for the future and we are both signatories to the account. As for personal accounts, we both know each others passwords and pins. This helps put one in check, not over spend, or waste money on frivolous things. We aren’t saying we can’t be spontaneous or spend as we like, but it cautions us and because we are no more single, being married means responsibility and accountability.

Best part of being married to…
LIZ: The best part of being married to Yomi is knowing that you have someone who is strong as a rock to rely on, Yomi loves me unconditionally, I feel it everywhere, every time. He makes me laugh a lot, most nights we stay up laughing till our tummies hurt or sometimes I start losing my breath. Yomi is very mature and understanding, he knows how to communicate and handle me especially when I start throwing tantrums for no reason (Hormone things). He respects and encourages me, and very supportive. (He’s not at all perfect, but his positive side weighs far more) Yomi is a good human example of how Christ loves the Church and how men are to love their wives.
YOMI: That is a tough question. I think it will be the part of her that understands and tolerates me. Lizzy might not be nice to you, but she is super nice and lovely to me.. Every time she makes me feel good, like a sort of high.

Do you have arguments? How do you resolve them?
LIZ: Yes of course we have arguments, serious ones o, and sometimes it lasts the whole day and a few times it drags to the next day. However, over time we learnt to deal with it, knowing that the major issue was with how we both communicate, so now we hardly have arguments. We learnt that when the other person does something you don’t like or something that hurt you, your first reaction shouldn’t be outburst of accusations, it should be silence, then go somewhere to calm down (if the heat is too much) if not control yourself and express yourself to the other person from the perspective of how you feel, for example; If Yomi does something I don’t like, I will say- “Baby I know you love me and I do too, however, when you said bla bla or did bla bla..It hurt my feelings, it made me feel bla bla… I know you didn’t mean to, but I just thought you should know”.
Once you talk from the perspective of your feelings and how what happened affected your feelings, no one can argue with that-not accusations. (Yeah so something Like that, it may sound ridiculous but it works, the other party doesn’t get as defensive)- That is the sandwich approach taught by Pastor Sarah Omakwu (Bread with butter then ”Beef” in the middle and bread with butter again).
YOMI: We wanna argue die? I know most people think that Lizzy is fragile because she looks innocent. Joker! The truth is, she is a bull inside. Luckily I know how to handle her most times.*wink*

Advice to young couples planning to make the leap.
LIZ: My advice to couples planning to get married will be:
– Please marry your best friend, someone you are not afraid to be yourself with 80% of the time.(No such thing as 100%)
– Marry for the right reasons and only when you are sure you are ready.
– Know who you are and find yourself before becoming one with another person. Have your own dreams, vision and goals.
– Let both parties come clean about their expectations of what a married life is to them before getting married.
– Be ready to not always have your way, but also not to become a doormat.
– Marry someone that respects you( woman/man).
– Choose someone that you like being around, and be sure that you can enjoy their company for long periods of time.
YOMI: Marry your friend. Don’t let family, prophets or people make a choice for you, have your own convictions and be led by the Spirit.

Fun things you do together
LIZ: For fun we like to be in each other’s company and just talk about any and everything, play cards, Ludo, video games, go swimming, or to the beach to just get refreshed by nature, watch movies, mimic ourselves, take walks in the evening etc…
YOMI: Lizzy forgot to add that every Saturday morning we eat Amala and special Yoruba soup. We took her Mom there too when she came visiting and she loved it.

Do you have “Me Time” in your Marriage? If yes, what do you do during the time.
LIZ: Yes sometimes we have the “Me Time”. Those times I’m usually oil painting, or reading a book, or doing one of those girlie things.
YOMI: I wake up super early every day, so I am able to have some time for myself before Lizzy wakes up, I do most of my creative thinking then and work which is great for me.

Fun facts you discovered about marriage
LIZ: – You learn how to be disciplined and responsible with money.
– The intimacy is great, and it only gets better (If you work at it).
– Once you get married, you realise you begin to have other married couples as friends and hangout and talk about marriage stuff…which is fun, because you begin to share experiences and learn from each other.
– In marriage you learn something new about your partner every day, no matter how insignificant it is.
– You have a spiritual partner, praying together is important and it has a romantic touch to it.
– You start completing each other’s sentences, taking the words right out of their mouths, talking like the other person.
YOMI: I’m still discovering so much…The person becomes your super best friend , and you feel a deep feeling of care that you have never felt for anyone else, and you are so soaked into her that you start to annoy your homies. Also in-laws can be the perfect alibi.

Steps for Succeeding as Newlyweds

Newlyweds can expect a certain number of ups and downs during their first year of marriage. Below are some steps to take to make it through the first year of your lives together, happy and intact.

Plan for the marriage, not just the wedding.
You’ve probably spent many hours deciding what kind of china you want to register for, the flowers you want to use and the type of cake you want to eat, but there’s more at stake than just the wedding day. If you haven’t already, decide who will take which responsibilities once you are actually married. Discuss the division of labor within the marriage and around the house. Negotiate things like how you’re going to spend your time. Talk about having kids. Discuss finances. Talk about long-term planning and goals and what each of you wants the other to support. Come up with a plan that you can both be excited about.

Have reasonable expectations.
Courtship and marriage are not always the same. Falling in love is not the same thing as being in love. There’s an adjustment when you merge two lives together. It’s give and take. Embrace the change and know that it takes work. You are both responsible for contributing to the success of the marriage.

Create a strong foundation.
Marriage is a partnership. Commit to each other and to your marriage from day one, and work on your relationship every day. Wake up every morning and ask yourself, “What can I do today to make my spouse’s life better?” Deal with your spouse in a way that protects and enhances his/her self-esteem. Let your spouse know that you are proud of him/her. Instead of badgering, inspire your spouse to be the partner you want to be with. Build a partnership of love, mutual support and commitment to each other. Have balance and make time for each other. Don’t be too absorbed in work or other activities that take you outside of the house. Make sure you are spending enough quality time with your spouse and family.

Communicate at a mature level.
Be honest with yourselves about what you need in your relationship. When there are problems, go back to the beginning and start over; remember the reasons you started your relationship in the first place. Talk with each other and decide how you are going to get your relationship back on track. Instead of just complaining, be specific about what it is that you want. No one’s a mind reader, so don’t expect your spouse to be able to figure out how you’re feeling.

“You don’t ever solve a relationship problem by turning away from your partner,”. Turn toward each other to fix what’s wrong, don’t look outside the marriage. Any time you turn away from your partner to fulfill your needs instead of toward him/her, it’s a betrayal. Want to know if some behavior is cheating? If you wouldn’t do it with your spouse right next to you, it’s cheating. If you’ve cheated, rebuild trust by generating a new history that is not marked with infidelity and deception. Sit down with your partner and negotiate a new plan. Discuss each of your needs in your marriage. And if you agree to something, have enough emotional integrity to stick to your promises. If you know you can’t stick to it, don’t agree to it.

Learn to fight fair.
The number one predictor of divorce is how you end a fight. Learn How to Fight Fair to keep your marriage healthy.

Ask yourself: How much fun are you to live with?
You either contribute to your relationship, or you contaminate it. Go into your relationship with a spirit of acceptance, not criticism. If all you ever do is nit-pick, nag and criticize, you’ll create a parent/child relationship, rather than one of love, laughter and mutual respect. People generate the results they think they deserve. If all you ever put out is negativity and pessimism, that’s all you’ll get in return.

Be patient and be willing to make sacrifices.
“When you grow up, you realize that you don’t get to do everything you want to do whenever you want to do it. You have to make sacrifices,” Dr. Phil explains. If there are financial problems, you must be willing to forgo some of the things you are used to, so that you can get out of debt and start saving for your future and the future of your children. Find happiness among yourselves and your children. Value things you can create within your lifestyle and budget.

Above all put God first and always.!

Tips and Inspirations About Wedding Invitations

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The wedding invitation is the first impression your guests get about your wedding. It is not only a means of announcing your wedding but is also informs your guest as to what to expect at the ceremony.

Although there are are no rights or wrongs about the invitations you choose, I will like to give you a few tips when it comes to making this decision.

The number of invitations to send. This obviously will depend on the number of guests you are inviting. Know your guest and find out how many singles and couples you are inviting. A couple should only be sent one invitation. So for a guest of about 180, you might only need about 100 – 140 invitations.
Send your invitations early. Give your guest ample notification of your big day. Ideally you should sent them 4 – 2 months and make your RSVP date between four and six weeks. This helps you know exactly how many guests are going to show up..
Always have a couple of extra invitations just in case you forgot someone earlier on.
Consider your budget. Before deciding whether you should opt for a mass production card or a custom one, you should consider your budget. While having a custom designed card will make your invitations more unique, it will cost you much more. So if money is an object, you might consider stock cards or even an e-invite.
The Envelope. Your invitation size will also depend on the type of envelope you will use. If you are panning on having custom envelopes to go with the invitation, then size or shape wouldn’t matter. But if you will be buying envelopes off the shelve, then you should have invitations that will fit such envelopes.

Types of Invitations

Wedding invitations are very different from those packets of invitations that you may have picked up for your last birthday. Wedding invitations not only let others know about your wedding, but they give an important preview as to the style of the event. Wedding invitations come in a few basic varieties, each of which says something different about the wedding. The typical invitation is a small, somewhat plain card with basic information included. An increasingly large number of couples are making use of photo cards, which show off the happy couple. There are also cards that are similar to typical greeting cards and those which are decorated more completely. All of them have their strong points, and many of them work for very specific situations.

Important Factors to Consider When Choosing A Wedding Invitation

Choosing invitations can be incredibly scary. There are many things to keep in mind, and making the wrong choice can result in hurt feelings and wasted money. Some of the most important factors to keep in mind include:

Names included on the invitation. This does not simply mean making sure that the names are correct, but also making a decision of what names to include. Parents are typically included on the invitation, but this might not be feasible for those with multiple step-parents or awkward relations.
Important wedding location information. A mistake on the address or the time might require reprints, which can be expensive
Wedding style. The last thing you want is an invitation that gives the wrong impression of the wedding, so try to find something matches your wedding’s style.
Additions to Your Invitation

Every item in a wedding tends to require an accessory or two. Wedding invitations, of course, are no different. If you want to keep a coherent theme throughout the wedding, you might want to consider a few of the basic stationary types that tend to accompany the invitations themselves. There are many extra items which you might want to consider, but the three most important are the envelopes, the RSVP card and the “save the date” announcement.

As long as you do a bit of forward planning, your wedding invitations will turn out well. Make sure to choose invitations that fit your ceremony, and always keep the important points in mind. If you can do this, you can get the invitations out and move on to the rest of the planning process.

How to Get Healthy, Glowing Skin (Men).!

Want to have beautiful skin without sifting through your sister’s magazines, or asking your mom? Here’s how and its quite simple.

1) Use sun protection. You’ve probably heard it plenty of times before, but prevention is easier than the cure. Wear sunscreen, a hat, sensible clothes now, to avoid poor skin when you’re older

2) Wash your face and body every day. Wash your face once when you wake up and once at night before you go to bed. Use a gentle soap that’s different from the bar soap you use in the shower (they’re too harsh for your face). Wash your body at least once a day.

3) Use acne medication. This applies for any guy who gets blemishes, severe or no, who wants them gone. A lot of people have found success in products that have salicylic acid and/or benzoyl peroxide. A good routine is using a good soap that has at least two percent salicylic acid and then a topical lotion like Oxy 10 that has five to ten percent benzoyl peroxide. Start by using it just in the morning and work up to twice a day on your face, shoulders, back, and wherever else you tend to break out.

4) Moisturize. When looking for a face moisturizer, make sure it says noncomedogenic somewhere on the package or bottle. This means it will not block your pores and cause break outs. For skin you are not worried about getting blemishes on, regular lotion is fine. For knees and elbows, body butter is preferred.

5) Exfoliate. At least once a week, lather up a loofah or scrub and slough off the dead skin cells to reveal smoother, softer skin. For your body, every other day exfoliation is doable. For your face, try to keep exfoliation to two times at the most. Make sure you moisturize after you exfoliate.

6) Eat well. Fruits, veggies, you know the drill. Meat is very important, you can still have your steak, but don’t go overboard. Try to follow the food pyramid. Also, a multi vitamin at the end of the day is a great idea.

7) Exercise. Play footy, cricket, netball, whatever! Go for a walk or a bike ride. Do it for 30 minutes a day.

8) Drink water. at least 8 glasses a day of water. You need to keep your body hydrated

Stay up yo date right here with our daily useful tips.!

How to Look Naturally Beautiful

You don’t have to have a whole lot of makeup to look beautiful. Every girls dream is to feel and look naturally beautiful, to make themselves confident. Read on!

1) Eat healthy. Eat healthier foods like fish and fresh fruits and vegetables. You can still eat other foods but lower on the intake of fat, sugar, and calories. Some foods have empty calories. Avoid them as much as possible. Try not to eat too much junk food such as potato chips, pizza, cookies, cakes, etc.

2) Consume healthy liquids: Make sure to take in plenty, i.e. 4-5 liters, of cool water (of course lessening the daily intake of alcohol is a huge help in getting that natural look). Water flushes away the toxins and gives your skin that natural glow. Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks.

3) Exfoliate your skin to waken it up and give you a healthy glow. Only exfoliate your skin once or twice a week, though. Over exfoliating can make you more prone to breakouts.

(Here Exfoliation involves the removal of the oldest dead skin cells on the skin’s outermost surface, and has been used for many years to help maintain healthy skin).

4) Smile. You’ll reveal a new you. Avoid drinking Pepsi,Coke etc.They stain your teeth giving your smile a yellow look.Brush brush brush! always remember to brush your teeth

5) Moisturize your skin daily. This will keep your skin soft and will also keep your skin beautiful as you get older.

(Contd tomorrow)

Adding Floral Decoration to Escort Card Tables

A new area now requiring floral decoration is the escort card table. Traditionally, seating plans at weddings took the form of a framed mount on an easel, and this was an area that we were rarely asked to decorate. Increasingly, couples are choosing to make a feature of their table plans in a variety of ways, and the escort card table gives us plenty of scope for creativity.

Escort cards differ from traditional table plans in that each guest is given their own card which states where they will be seated. How the cards are displayed can vary enormously, and this is where we come in!

Escort card styles work really well when there is enough room for your guests to be able to walk around the table. A silver vase filled with glittering twigs works beautifully for a winter wedding, whilst for a summer celebration, a large birdcage dressed with oversized peony blooms and scented herbs makes a delightful talking point, and a whimsical feature.

For a more lavish affair, a carpet of blooms in the form of vibrant carnations, makes a wonderful focal point (and in this case was later used to display wedding favours).

In a marquee setting which needs colour, why not choose a vibrant and fun style to display your cards with brightly coloured gerbera.

The possibilities are endless, so let your imagination run wild and have some fun!

101 Best Wedding Budget Tips – (Cake Tips)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

41). If you like fruit fillings, think seasonal. Strawberries can cost three times as much when served out of season. If your baker charges more for multiple cake flavors, limit yourself to your favorite.

42. The baker may instead calculate the price by averaging the cost of different flavors, so plan carefully. If you have the most expensive flavor on the bottom layer (the biggest), it will cost more.

43. Traditionally, couples save the cake’s top layer to share on their first anniversary. If you and your fiancé don’t think you’ll be ready to dig in, forgo the extra layer and save some dough.

44. Have a dessert buffet. Mini pastries and other tiny sweets are crowd-pleasers. Save money by having only a small cake for your cake cutting.

45. The cheesecake option can be a boon because it costs less. Arrange the cheesecakes on pedestals of varying heights—it will resemble tiers—and offer sauces, such as chocolate and kiwi.

46. At the cocktail hour save costs by hand passing pricier appetizers, like shrimp, scallops or other seafood items. When guests self serve, they usually consume 40 percent more.

47. Have a lunch or an afternoon tea reception instead of a sit-down dinner. Guests tend to drink less during the day, so you’ll save on liquor costs.

48. If you prefer an evening reception, but still want to stick to a budget, consider a desserts-only reception. Specify on the invitation that you will be serving desserts, so that guests don’t expect a full meal. Offer a delicious array of sweets: pastries, pies, mousses and a dramatic flaming treat like Bananas Foster. To accompany, serve champagne or prosecco and specialty coffees and teas.

49. Another increasingly popular choice is the cocktail party reception. Good Event planners notes that you’ll save thousands on food and decorations; after all, you can forgo big floral arrangements for your tables and adorn small cocktail tables with candles and modest bunches of blooms. Hand pass hors d’oeuvres like mini hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches and mini quiches. finger fruits and salads.

50. Consider a chic wine-tasting reception. Guests can sample from an array of small dishes at food stations, each matched with a special wine. Printed cards can explain the pairing.

Join us again tomorrow. !