12 ways to extend the life of your wedding flowers

Carefully choosing your flower varieties and with a little after wedding day care, you can extend the life of your flowers, giving you more lasting reminders of the enjoyment you experienced on your wedding day.

Your florist with their wealth of experience and knowledge will be able to assist you in your decisions, and offer expert advice regarding the latest trends, and ideas for complimentary arrangements, so make your florist your new best friend.

The suggestions following will help you keep your flowers fresher allowing you to display your flowers for as long as possible.

12 tips to increase the life of your flowers:

1. Use flowers that are in season for your wedding day bouquets, and other floral arrangements.
Importing flowers increases the time between their harvesting and the display of them, which will reduce their life span; (It should also be noted that out of season flowers increases the price of the flowers, which may put a strain on your budget).

2. Choose flowers suitable to the outside temperature at the time of the year of your marriage, for example, orchids tend to deteriorate quickly in cold temperatures, while sunflowers fair well in a hot climates.

3. There are some varieties of cut flowers which last longer than others e.g. carnations tend to last longer than roses. If it is important to you for your flowers to last as long as possible consider this and choose your flowers wisely. Your florist will be able to point you in the right direction.

4. Keeping the flowers in a cool spot, (between 18 to 22 degrees Celsius), and away from extremes in temperature, will extend their life. The cooler the room the longer your flowers will last, however flowers subjected to very low temperatures causes them to become susceptible to damage. Never put your flowers in a freezer.

5. Air conditioning will cause flowers to dry out quickly so pay particular attention to keeping up the water supply for arrangements in this environment.

6. Keep the flowers away from drafts (e.g. heating or cooling vents, direct drafts, tops of appliances etc); will slow the ageing of the flowers keeping them bright and fresh for longer.

7. Keeping the flowers out of direct sunlight, which has the same effect on flowers as exposure to drafts, creating longevity.

8. Cutting the stems of the flowers on an angle with sharp scissors allows for the maximum exposure to the clean water aiding absorption.

9. The removal of any bruised or discoloured leaves or petals, and also leaves that are below the waterline of the vase, discourages the growth of bacteria. Damaged flowers or leaves which are soaking in vase water, speeds up the damage to the flowers as the bacteria encourages the break down the flower cells.

10. Choose a clean vase and fill with fresh water for your floral arrangements. The addition of flower food, or sugar to the water provide some nutrients to the plants to extend their shelf life.

11. Consider the vase you use, as glass or plastic vases do not react with flowers, however using a metal vase could reduce the life span of your flowers, as it reacts with some of the chemicals.

12. If you re-cut the flowers stems and change water every 2-3 days you will give yourself the maximum amount of flower life.

With a little care you flowers will look fresh and bright for longer lasting enjoyment.

A florist like The Flower Shed is your best friend when it comes to choosing your flowers, offering advice for your wedding day arrangement choices, and the after care for your flowers.

For assistance with your floral arrangement options, advice, friendly service, and value for money contact The Flower Shed.
Website: http://www.theflowershed.com.au/catalog/shipping.php

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Budget breakdown

If you have never organised a large event before, where do you start?

After the decision to marry your loved one is made, one of the big decisions is how much money you have or are willing to spend on your wedding.With non traditional families, families scattered across different countries or states, changes in social attitudes, blended families, cost of living increases etc; some traditions associated with weddings may no longer apply for you.

So two of the big decisions are:

1. how much money you have, or want to spend on your wedding? and
2. who will pay?

Will you be paying for your interstate/overseas relatives to join you?
Would you rather have an intimate wedding and concentrate on your house repayments?
Is a grand fairytale wedding important to you?
Does your family want to help out?

Each couple will have their own ideas, dreams, and thoughts relating to these questions, with compromises negotiated as you head towards your wedding day; and which ever way you decide you the reality is that you will need to stick to a budget.

This is what I'll concentrate on here, so to get you started listed below are some items common for most weddings and a percentage of a budget usually allowed for them.

30% - The highest cost for most weddings is the reception so allow approximately 30% of your budget for this.

15% - should be allowed for clothing (wedding dress, suits, shoes, lingerie, accessories)

11% - Photography (photos, video, albums) is usually the next investment so you can record you day

10% - Honeymoon costs including animal minding services (venue, transport, pet kennel fees)

Allow 5% of your overall budget for each of the following:

Rings (purchase, engraving, ring pillows)

Flowers (bouquets, table center piece arrangements, venue decorations, corsages)

Entertainment (bands, dj, sound systems, roving entertainers)

4% - Stationery (save the date, invitations, RSVP, thank you notes)

3% - Ceremony (venue, marriage license, celebrant fees)

3% - Gifts (attendants, parents in law)

2% - Grooming (hair, makeup, spa treatments)

2% - Transport (wedding cars, guest shuttles)

5% - Incidentals (build in a fail safe for emergencies), I've deliberately left this last and is a really good idea to allow a little extra in case of last minute items.

For the items you are not going to use you will save that percentage of your budget or it can be added to things important to you.

To make things easy for you a free downloadable budget planner, will help you plan and keep a record of your costs.

Fill in the yellow sections and the spreadsheet works out your available budget for you, and how much you have already spend.Other ideas for planing your wedding on a budget and keeping you costs under control.

Happy planning.

Weddings without children.

Weddings without children.

So you have made the decision to have a children free wedding, how do you let the parents know?

4 Ways to help you let the parents know they only are invited:

1. List the names of those invited on invitations.

2. On the back of the invitations write a short note stating only those invited can attend.

3. Offer to put the parents of all children in touch with each other in case they decide to use a
communal babysitter.

4. Give the parents a call and explain your decision and who is invited.

All of these helps get the message across without too much distress, and parents will know where they stand in relation to bringing their children.

Remember its your day to shine and your decision should not carry any guilt, or cause offense to anyone.

If someone is not understanding reaffirm your decision and let then know the reason why, and stick to your choice.

Wedding service providers in your area.

Good luck with your wedding plans.

Children welcome, now what?

Weddings with children.

Inviting children opens up your wedding for fun and mischief. The key is keeping the children occupied and entertained on your wedding day.

Suggestions on helping keep the children entertained are:

Consider including some entertainment in a goodie bag or at their table which is appropriate for the children's age group for example drawing kits, bubble maker's, board game, computer games, story book, balloons.

You could organise entertainment such as a magician, clown, balloon animal display.

A comunal babysitter or one of the parents could surpervise thinkg like karaoke singing, dance contests, treasure hunts, ball games, pinatas, or face painting.

If the children are younger and need constant supervision seat them their parents, while older children can be seated at their own table ready with goodie bags and entertainment items.

Make sure children are fed quickly and early, and consider using a special menu for fussy eaters which will keep the children, the parents, and yourself happy.

Ideas for wedding entertainment can be found here.

Good luck with your wedding plans.

Guest Lists - do you include the children?

Weddings with or without children.

This is one of the first and sometimes most stressful decisions for brides to be when organising
your wedding, and for others the answer is simple; Do you invite children?

Bored, sick, or tantrum throwing children can run amok and caused damage, drown out wedding vow's, interrupt speeches, and distract guests etc, while some of the best candid and spontaneous snapshots involve capturing glimpses of a childs view of the world evoking truly sentimental moments and tug at the heart strings of all attending or create a sense of fun.

Which ever way you choose make sure the parents know and understand your choices so you don't end up with any unexpected guests on the day; the a last minute run around can cause havoc with caterers, venues room, food, and budgets; or parents knowing their children have been catered for and warmly welcomed on arrival.

4 ways to help you choose.

Firstly consider your wishes and to be honest with yourself, do you want children attending your wedding?
At this stage, leave out how other people might feel, your fear of offending someone, and any guilt you may associate with your decision. Leave out traditions and family and peer pressure. Answer the question honestly, Do you want children at your wedding?

Secondly look at the style of your wedding is it appropriate for children?
For a cocktail party starting late at night, perhaps not; perhaps yes for a wedding at the beach
or a garden or park setting.

Thirdly will there be other children there, and how many?
Can the children entertain themselves or do they need more supervision?

Fourthly consider your budget, can you afford it or is your budget over stretched already?

Whichever way you choose to go will be entirely your discretion.

Remember it is your wedding, your moment to shine and have the wedding of your dreams, so children or no children, it's your choice, and which ever way you decide, make sure it's very clear to the parents.

see related articles:

Children not welcome, 4 ways to let the parents down gently.

Children welcome, now what?

Wedding entertainment providers.

Good luck with your wedding plans.

Deciding on your wedding dress

Firstly ask yourself if you want to own or lease your wedding dress.

There are infinite possibilities and all depend on your budget and what you want.
You have the options to buy new or pre loved gowns, hire you dress, make your dress, or wear a family heirloom.

If you decide to own your dress, will you or your talented friends make your dress or have it made by a dressmaker?

Will you buy a new off the rack gown, or a pre-loved dress?
Do you have an heirloom dress passed down for generations, which will need alterations?

Secondly consider the season:

What is the usual temperature for your venue on your wedding date?
For cooler temperatures consider having a matching jacket or wrap made, or a lighter material if the usual temperature is closer to a heat wave.

Thirdly:
Do you want to use your dress again for other special occasions?
Consider the style and colour and its suitability for other events; and how easily can your dress be altered after your wedding.

What looks stunning on you?
It's your day, select a gown that looks magnificent and which makes you feel glamorous.

Are you hoping to be pregnant?
Allow room for a baby with your planning.

Are you toning up in time to your wedding?
Dressmaker's will make the last and final alterations two weeks prior to your wedding. After this you will need to maintain your measurements. So allow or put this in your fitness program.

For dress makers and bridal shops in your area click here.

Enjoy your wedding planning.

When deciding when and where to get married:

Do you see your dream wedding with yourself rugged up in a long white jacket with knee high boots, overlooking snow fields; or is your ideal wedding sand beneath your feet with the sound of water crashing on the beach at sunset? As you know in an Australian summer the snow fields will be green, and your jacket will be handy if you choose a beach wedding in winter.

So talk through how you see your dream wedding? Imagine it and consider the following:

The location and time of year where you want to get married; is it usually hot, or cold, does the wet season, or the dry season effect your plans, is the area prone to cyclones or heat waves?

Are your choosing a time when your wedding will be the most expensive? For example school holidays will usually result in high demand for travel and accommodation and companies can command top prices.

Have you chosen a weekend during the peak wedding season which may lead to a scarcity of products and services? Would a week day wedding help reduce your costs and ensure you have the companies you desire working on giving you the wedding of your desires.

Have you left yourself enough time for organising all the wedding arrangements, and budgeting to pay for them? For a wedding planner guide click here, for a budget template click here.

Will your guests be able to budget and save to travel to your wedding? Especially overseas guests wanting to attend.

Happy wedding planning.