Blissful Bay Weddings

A number of people have asked me about “Save the Date” wedding invitations.  What are they?  When should we send them?  Do they replace a normal wedding invitation?  And what should be included in a “Save the Date” wedding invitation?

Since this is such a common inquiry, AND I happen to be creating one right now for one of my wedding clients, I thought I’d take 5 minutes to shed some light on the wedding “Save the Date”.

Save the Date!

Simply, a “Save the Date” wedding invitation just lets your guests know your wedding date in advance; actual wedding invitations follow later and are sent closer to the wedding date.  They are also usually less formal than the wedding invitation.

“Save the Dates” are fantastic for out-of-town guests as it allows them advance preparation should they need to plan and travel to your wedding.  “Save the Dates” can be sent out about 3-5 months before the wedding day, however, many choose to send out their “Save the Dates” as soon as they know when their wedding date will be.

There are a number of “Save the Date” ideas:

• Postcards
• Electronic Calendar Appointments; for example, Outlook or Google Calendars
• Paper copies
• Magnets or Stickers -  Vistaprint is a great website that allows you to create and design your own prints on magnets & postcards – check them out – I have used them myself & they are totally affordable!
• Photos
• Online invitations such Facebook Events; You Tube; Smilebox; & Evite – I totally appreciate the convinence of using FREE online media as they are instant to recipients and great for recording RSVP’s of your guests.  I have used all of the above to create event invitations and they are very successful!
• Stay on Theme – where possible.  If you know where you are getting married and what colours or themes you plan on executing for your wedding day, it is a great idea to stick with that for your “Save the Date” invites, as they are usually the first visual aid to your preparations that will be distributed.  Examples I have heard of for themed weddings are: Invitations written on Jandels for Beach Weddings; Printed CD cover invitations that are sent with a music CD of the couples favourite songs … ideas are endless & what a fun & unique way to let people know you are getting married.

What information should be included in your Save the Date invitations?  Remembering that you will still be sending out official Wedding invites, there is no need to include more than what you may know at the time you send them out.  Many people do not know for sure where their wedding venue will be at this time, so adding the location is impossible.  Feel free to add as much information as you like – but below are the usual basics you would include:

• Couples names
• Wedding Date
• Location (if known)
• Link to your Wedding Website – if you have one.  A wedding website is a fantastic idea as you can keep updating it with your wedding details.  Guests that use the internet can also be kept informed of all your preparations and the finer details of your wedding by referring to your website.  The Knot has free wedding websites available if you become a member (also free) – go on, check them out!
• Any other details that you would like to include that you feel apply to your wedding day; however, DO NOT include a Gift Registry with your Save the Date invite as it is not really appropriate considering bringing a gift is usually not compulsary.

So there you have it!  Your “Save the Date” wedding invitation!  Easy peasy!

Jacqui

Last month I had the pleasure of attending a mid-week After 5’s Mini Wedding Expo event hosted by Salon One – The Cove in Tauranga.

This ‘cutting-edge’ Salon boasts a team of 9 super-friendly, experienced Hair & Beauty Therapists.

Their services cater beautifully to the modern bride, groom & bridal party; with Salon One being a one-stop shop for all you wedding beauty needs.  You will be amazed at the services & packages that can be tailor-made to your budget & requirements of your special day.  Their services include:

• Hair removal
• Eye Treatments
• Make-up
• Spray Tanning
• Paraffin
• Hands
• Eye Lash Extensions
• GO30 nails
• Feet
• Massage
• Facials
• Cosmetic Tattooing
• IPL
• Teeth Whitening

What I thought was particularly cool is that, your bridal experience with Salon One can begin as early as your Hen’s night.  You can get your girls together to enjoy a fun evening of wedding hair & make-up trials whilst sipping on wine, enjoying a few nibbles & having a few laughs with the Salon One Team.

After 5’s mini-wedding expo

The evening started at 5.30pm and I was greeted by the lovely Ang, Salon One’s Owner who kindly showed me to an office where I could relieve myself of hauling my monstrous handbag/bag of tricks.  She continued to show me around the surprisingly large premises of the Salon.  I was then introduced to Salon One’s wonderful new manager Chris Hamilton.  Chris spoke to me of her experience, which is not short of extensive; her 30 years in Hair & Beauty included time catering to the beauty needs of brides & grooms on the romantic Destinations Wedding Island of Vanuatu.  She also shared with me her desire to cater more to clients planning a wedding in the Bay of Plenty & Salon One plans on organising another Mini Wedding Expo later in the year to offer prospective brides & grooms the opportunity to see for themselves the extensive range of services & packages the salon has to offer.

While perusing the Salon & donning a glass of white wine offered to me on my arrival, I was impressed with the Space the Salon utilises.  Salon One is large enough to host a Hair-dressing Salon, adjoining Make-up Salon & additional rooms for massage & treatments known as the Beauty Rooms.  The Beauty rooms have adjoining doors that can be opened up to create one large room; very handy for a bridal party wanting to indulge simultaneously for a massage. 

The clean & modern internal surroundings of the Salon are aesthetically pleasing, with its high mono-pitched ceiling; black, white & chrome coloured furniture & fittings; and plentiful glass windows & doors.  This corner Salon situated at right end of Fraser Cove, Tauranga is definately a touch of class while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere at the same time.  I imagined the laughs and fun times that can be had here with a bustling crowd.  True to my estimations, once the crowds arrived for the mini-wedding expo, I was not left disappointed.

The crowds easily reached up to about 30 people including staff at any one time comfortably.  Guests got to enjoy the evening activities with wine & nibbles (catered by Lemongrass Catering Company); and availing themselves of a pampering by hair & beauty technicians.  As I walked through the Salon, I watched on intently as professional hair technicians busied themselves with ‘hair-ups’ & styling, whipping up stunning hair designs for both long & short hair in a matter of minutes.  Make-up artist Sam transformed guests with the range of Jane Iredale make-up cosmetics sold at the Salon.  Lucky guests also received massages & treatments in the Beauty Room.   And, if you are one that prefers to watch your technician mix hair colours, then you will be most pleased that this Salon hosts a large ‘kitchen’ area viewable for these preparations.

Check out the evening out for yourself:

 But this is certainly not where it ends.  The delicious nibbles made available to the punters that evening were provided by personal chef & caterer Belinda Lombard of Lemongrass Catering Company limited.  Specialising as a personal chef & caterer for corporate functions, weddings, themed events, cake decorating & adult & children’s parties; Belinda provided an array of truly tasty & delicious finger food to tantalise our tongues.  Belinda has spent 18 years as a Chef, with 15 years of experience overseas & 5 years in New Zealand.  And although she is a busy mum of 2 pre-school children, she still runs her business successfully & ensures she cooks great dishes for the family.

 Belinda provided delectable morsels for our tasting pleasure which was a superb introduction to what remarkable menu’s she could provide for your wedding reception. 

Lemongrass Catering Company Picture Board:

1. King Prawn & Chorizo Skewers with Paprika and Lime Aioli
2. B.L.T Pesto Stacks
3. Belinda Lombard
4. Whitebait & Prawn Fritters with Tartar Dressing & Pink Peppercorns
5. Thai Pork San Choy in Cucumber Cups
6. Belinda cooks!
7. Haloumi Cheese with Tomato Chutney on Sour Dough Crosini
8. Lemongrass Catering Promo Info

In summary – the food catered by Lemongrass Catering Company was delicious, timely & well presented.  It was such a pleasure meeting with Belinda & I can guarantee that she will leave you & your guests very happy customers.

 I also had the pleasure of meeting a few of our lovely local Wedding Industry Vendors

Left to right: Debbie Maguigan ‘Brides on Devonport’ – 2 years experience in Bridal Wear Design; Aaron Lang ‘Aaron Lang Photography’ – 10 years photography experience;  Christine Grant – Registered Marriage Celebrant with 9 years experience. 

 And last but not least, were the fantastic wee goodie bags packed with a variety of hair, face & nail products; chocolates & discount vouchers – kindly provided by Salon One that we all got to take home with us at the end of the evening – Who doesn’t love taking home some wee freebies that we can play around with at home?

So if you haven’t yet shortlisted your Hair & Makeup specialists & are still considering a Caterer; I tell you now, you will not go wrong leaving these aspects of your Wedding Day to Salon One & Lemongrass Catering Company.