Learn about various cosmetic brands when selecting makeup for your wedding day in this free video clip for women of color.
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Archive for September, 2008
We are planning a wedding. I want to spend around 5,000. I still want it to look beautiul. Any tips? Where can I get an affordable dress etc?
Well this is my field - so here are my best tips for a very tight budget:
Afternoon tea receptions are really lovely, and cost MUCH less than an evening reception. And in fact, I have heard people say that was their favorite type to attend (no sitting for hours, bored). Brunch receptions are also great, but you have to wake up so early.
An outside ceremony where guests stand (the hiring of chairs and decor add up fast, and u can let nature be it’s own decor if it’s a lovely setting)
Don’t have bridesmaids (or just have one) as it all adds up (flowers, hair & makeup)
Get inspired for your stationary and make them yourselves.
Buy wholesale blooms (flower markets or at a flower farm - find in yellow pages) and have a friend/family member bunch/arrange them.
Use more than just flowers for reception centerpieces - apples, etc can be poked onto sticks and arranged with flowers to fill them out, and give a modern look, while saving you heaps!
As for your dress, I don’t know where you live, but I have heard horror stories about buying from the web!
Below are great sites for inspiration and info …
What is your once in a life-time decision on the eve of your marriage, except the selection of your life-partner? It is your wedding gown!
Many other important items such as wedding ring, wedding jewelry make the day special for you but the wedding dress that envelops your entire body is the most important thing. It gives you the appearance of an angel from the celestial world—that will be remembered, appreciated and quoted by all those guests who were present on the occasion.
No doubt, you have a fairly good knowledge about the wedding gowns. But when you actually go to finalize the purchase for your own wedding gown, you will be amazed and taken aback by the vast number of designs, the range of styles, shapes and colors available.
Do not have any pre-notions about your wedding gown. Go to the market with an open mind. The fashion market and the textile designs and qualities are changing so fast that the one of the most surprised and confused persons to take any decision on the wedding dress would turn out to be you.
Doesn’t matter! It is a life-time opportunity! You are going to be bride, the VVIP of that auspicious day. The entire stock, the designs of the wedding gowns present at the store, are your slaves today. You can see and examine anything and everything. You are the monarch of all that you survey at the departmental store. Have patience. Select carefully, very, very carefully indeed!
No shopkeeper worth his profession would persuade you to take a hurried decision as far as selection of the wedding gown is concerned. He understands your difficulty and internal feelings!
Don’t underestimate yourself. Think, you are the number one model of your country. Try various combinations and do all possible experiments. Match and experiment with your hair style particularly. Make generous use of the mirror in front of you.
Before you venture upon the adventure of the bridal shopping, you need to make a detailed and emphatic study of articles and photographs of some of the bridal magazines. Of course, your friends, some of them married would give you generous doses of advice! Understand the difference between the genuine and counterfeit advice and finally take your decision. Let it be your decision- no decision under pressure from any quarter.
The dress-specialists, with the first look at your figure and personality are able to make out what would be ideal for you. Listen to their advice but let the decision be yours. This is an opportunity for you to learn from him. But this is also the special opportunity to learn from your expectations. He may be right in his measurements, but you are not wrong in your dreams.
Feelings of anxiety and concern are completely normal prior to a wedding. One or both members of the couple may experience the cold feet phenomenon that overshadows them and causes them to become concerned over their upcoming wedding. Usually this feeling is not a cause for concern and it passes naturally on its own as your realize that you are more excited than anxious but the following are a few tips for helping to work through your cold feet issues.
The first tip for dealing with cold feet is simply to relax and realize that this happens to a lot of people in your situation. This is important because many people will get caught up in believing that these feelings mean that they shouldn’t go through with their wedding. Realizing that your feelings are completely naturally will help to waylay these fears.
After you calm down, get out a piece of paper and pen and just start listing all of your anxiety. This is particular helpful because you may have a great deal of trouble doing this which is significant because it helps you to realize that you don’t really have anything to worry about. The other scenario is that you may find that you have a long list of fears and may be amused to find that none of them are really logical. Sometimes seeing your concerns listed on paper helps to alleviate them.
Another tip for dealing with cold feet is to talk to your partner about your feelings. Many people are hesitant to this because they are embarrassed about their feelings but talking to your loved one can really help in this situation. Chances are that they know you better than anyone and can assist you working through these things. They may even confess similar feelings which helps you to realize that cold feet are completely natural.
If you feel that talking to your partner will further exacerbate the problem consider talking to a close friend instead. Just talking about your anxiety can help to relieve the tension. Once you verbalize your fears you are likely to find that they begin to dissipate and you start to relax and look forward to your upcoming wedding.
Another tip for dealing with cold feet is to talk to a friend who has recently married to get their perspective on married life. They will be able to tell you how well things are going for them which should ease your fears about the transition to married life. They will also be able to assure you that they had similar feelings of anxiety and that there is no cause for concern.
Making two lists; one of your fears and one of your reasons for marrying your partner, can help to alleviate cold feet. Once you make this list you will most likely see that the reasons that you want to get married far outweigh your fears. Sometimes just seeing this on paper is very beneficial to eliminating cold feet.
Writing a love letter to your partner can be another way to combat the feelings of cold feet. This process gives you a chance to ponder all the reasons why you love your partner. Expressing your feelings in a love letter can refocus your attention on what you love most about your partner and make you realize that the small things you are worrying about are really inconsequential.
Going through old photos of you and your partner can also help to ease the anxiety of cold fit. Looking through pictures from your courtship is a great way to remind you of all the fun times you and your partner have had together and will help you realize that there are still lots of fun times together in store for the two of you.
Spending some time away from the planning process is another way to help alleviate cold feet. Wedding anxiety is often spurred on by other problems such as the stresses of the wedding planning. This stress can put you on edge and make problems seem bigger than they really are. Take a trip to spa or spend an afternoon participating in an activity you enjoy to take your mind off of all the details that are still remaining for a little while.
Finally, if after examining the reason for your cold feet, you come to realize that there are serious issues at hand it is advisable to postpone the wedding until these issues can be resolved. If your concerns are valid and your relationship is potentially harmful either physically or emotionally you may need to seek professional help. Issues such as abuse, addiction and betrayal can be reasons to cancel a wedding and discontinue the relationship.
Cold feet of feelings of anxiety over your impending wedding are perfectly normal. Many brides and grooms have these feelings and in most cases they are completely harmless. It is, however, important to trust your instincts and if there is something seriously wrong with your relationship, it may be wise to cancel the wedding.
If you enjoy tulips and building a tulip garden that will make your spring morning fresh and delightful, consider these tips for successful tulip planting. One of the most important aspects of building a tulip garden involves using the correct soil, and cultivating the ground for proper growth.
In order to find out what the latest tulip planting trends are you may want to attend various tulip festivals which usually happen in spring of the year. One of the most popular of those festivals is the Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan. You can also view miles and miles of tulips when you visit the state of Washington and tour the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Photos of tulips from these festivals are available online, and you can sign up to hear more about these particular events. You will also want to consult tulip planting experts for further help on how to create your money making tulip operation.
These helpful tulip garden design tips can help you create flower beds as attractive one of your favorite well-known flower gardens. You have quite a few different types of tulips to choose from to plant in your garden. If you design your tulip garden carefully enough you can use it as a promotional tool to attract buyers of tulips and act as if you have your own tulip festival in your backyard.
Tulips are much different from perennials in terms of planting. Tulips prefer a sandy-based soil that is well-drained. Tulip bulbs will not grow well in solid saturated with water that is extremely wet. Additional tips for planting tulips to build a healthy garden are included in this article.
In order to establish proper drainage in your tulip garden, plant tulip bulbs on slightly raised ground. This will shunt excess water away from the bulbs and prevent rotting. You may also consider designing a system that drains excess water from the tulip bed. If you wish to build a flat-bedded tulip garden, make sure to add a peat moss along or compost mixture to the soil, and mix together with the ground soil thoroughly. If the soil in your garden is not sandy enough for tulip bulbs, consider adding some sand and mixing it well with the soil.
Check with your local garden supply dealer for exact details about the proper proportion of sand to the soil in your area.
When planting tulips bulbs, make sure to plant the pointed end up. The best time to plant is when the ground is 60 degrees or colder. The prime planting time for tulips is after November first, so that the bulbs will incubate properly and develop a solid root structure, which is what they need. Then, in early to late spring, depending upon which species of tulips you plant, tulips will sprout and blossom in order to grow to their maximum length.
Another way to make sure your tulips remain cool during the winter months is to plant them in a lightly shaded area, but making sure you plant them in areas that will provide the tulips with enough light for growth. Make sure that you insert the bulbs far enough into the ground. Usually they are planted approximately 6 inches below ground although jumbo tulips can be buried as deep as 9 inches.
If you live in a warmer climate you will have to chill them in a cooler below 60 degrees for the same length of time that you would if you were going to plant them right away. If it has not rained in your area before you plant your flower beds you will want to make sure that water them until the soil is moist.
You can use similar techniques to attract customers to your tulip shop as you would if you had any other business. One of the most useful tools of attracting customers is to have a professional-looking appearance with samples of your items for sale displayed. This is true no matter what kind of business you run, and is true for creating an atmosphere which will encourage customers to purchase fresh tulips from you. It takes planting the right garden design and choosing the right tulips to make this happen.
One of the most popular types of tulips is the numerous varieties of single tulips. Examples of different-colored single tulips include the bold red Kingsblood tulip, which appears to represent both royalty and victory. You can also find other varieties of red tulips to plant in your garden of which the brightness of the red helps define any garden. These are called the Red Parade or the Hollandia tulip. Another popular color for tulip planting would be the white tulip, which would be ideal for a wedding ceremony. One example of a single-blooming white tulip is called the Maureen Tulip. You can also find single tulip flowers which are purple, magenta, orange, and royal purple. These types of tulips are known to be very pleasing to most customers’ eyes, and are sold in many professional flower shops.
You can also build an attractive garden using double-blooming varieties of tulips such as the Peach Melba, Cool Crystal, or Royal Acres tulip. Along with that, you can plant those that have fringed edges on the petals, or ones that have long curly petals (parrot style tulips). When you plant your garden you can craft it any way you like, but if you want to sell your tulips, you will want to arrange your garden design in a way that will make customers want to buy from you.
Some useful garden planting tips are to make sure that you plant flowers that will bloom at same or similar times. Not only that, but you will want to place them in organized formations. One of the most popular tulip garden design patterns is to plant square or rectangle patches that contain several rows of evenly-rowed tulips of the same color. Other tulip gardens are designed in a way in which small clusters of tulips of different colors and types will grow and bloom together. In order for these gardens to grow properly you will want to make sure to plant them only a few inches apart.
The food service industry generally encompasses the places, institutions, and companies responsible for any meal eaten away from home. This industry includes restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering operations, and many other formats. Major foodservice providers include Compass Group, Sodexho, Aramark, and the Crown Group.
The companies that supply foodservice operators are called foodservice distributors. Foodservice hard goods like ovens and refrigerators are often sold by large buying groups.
Some companies manufacture products in both consumer and foodservice versions. The consumer version usually comes in individual-sized packages with elaborate label design for retail sale. The foodservice version is packaged in a much larger industrial size and often lacks the colorful label designs of the consumer version.
Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site. A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart designed for the purpose. Mobile catering is common at outdoor events (such as concerts), workplaces, and downtown business districts.
An event caterer serves food with wait staff at dining tables or sets up a self-serve buffet. The food may be prepared on site or shipped in but often some combination depending on the menu and facilities at the site. The event caterer staff is responsible not only for preparing the food but also setting up the dining area and waiting tables. This service is typically provided at banquets, conventions, and weddings. Any event where all the attendees are provided with food and drinks or sometimes only hors d’oeuvres is often called a catered event.
A catering company or specialist is expected to know not just food preparation, but how to make it attractive. A wedding requires working with the entire theme or color scheme of the wedding.
Much catering is sold on a per-person basis, where adding additional people is a flat price per person. Keeping the cost of the food and supplies below this is required to make a profit on the catering.
Industrial catering includes providing food for airline passengers, schools, prisons and other institutional settings. It can include contract management of client foodservice facilities. Airlines often have divisions or hire third parties to provide food for passengers. Food on airlines has dropped in frequency of flights it’s offered on. Today a drink and snack item are common on shorter flights. Airline food is often seen as bad by the people who eat it.
A waiter is a male who “waits” on tables, often at a restaurant or a bar. A female who “waits” on tables is often called a waitress. The gender-neutral server and collective waitstaff can also be used.
Waiting tables is one of the most common occupations in the U.S. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that, as of May 2005, there are over 2.2 million persons employed as waiters and waitresses in the U.S.
Waiters’ duties include preparing tables for a meal, taking customers’ orders and serving drinks and food in a restaurant. Depending on the restaurant, other less common duties may be required, such as singing birthday songs to customers who are celebrating a birthday. A theme restaurant may even require waiters to dance (e.g. Joe’s Crab Shack). There are now event caterers that outsource waiter/s/esess to events and specific functions.
“Silver Service” waiters are specially trained to serve at banquets or high-end restaurants. They follow specific rules of service and it is a skilled job. They generally wear black and white with a long, white apron (extending from the waist to ankle).
The head waiter or waitress is in charge of the staff of waiters and/or waitresses, and is also responsible for assigning seating. This person can also be referred to as the ma?tre d’h?tel. Some restaurants employ busboys or busgirls to assist the waiters and/or waitresses.
In the United States and some other Western countries, it is customary to tip a waiter or waitress after a meal. In the U.S., waiters and waitresses, like other “tipped” employees, can be paid a lower minimum wage than other occupations. For example, waiters and waitresses in Georgia are generally paid around $2.13 an hour.
In contrast, waiters and waitresses in many East Asian countries refuse tips, which are sometimes even considered an insult. Many cultures in the region believe that leaving a tip implies that the waiter or waitress is not being paid enough by his or her employer.
A cocktail waitress is a type of server who specializes in bringing drinks to patrons of bars, casinos, comedy clubs, live music venues and other drinking establishments. Casinos traditionally dress their cocktail waitresses in fancy outfits with very short skirts, while less flashy establishments require waitstaff attire. A tip of $1/drink is customary.
A bartender serves beverages behind a bar in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. This usually includes alcoholic beverages of some kind, such as beer (both draft and bottled), wine, and/or cocktails, as well as soft drinks or other non-alcoholic beverages.
In addition to their core beverage-serving responsibility, bartenders also:
-take payment from customers (and sometimes the waiters or waitresses);
-maintain the liquor, garnishes, glassware, and other supplies or inventory for the bar (though some establishments have barbacks which help with these duties);
-serve food to customers sitting at the bar.
-In establishments where cocktails are served, bartenders are expected to be able to properly mix hundreds to thousands of different drinks.
A cook is a person employed to prepare food for consumption, whether in a restaurant or institution, for a caterer or in domestic service. A fully qualified, experienced cook is sometimes referred to as a chef (French ‘chief’), although within the professional kitchen, the term chef is reserved only for the executive chef or chef de cuisine (French ‘kitchen chief’, i.e. kitchen master). A short order cook is a cook who prepares fast, easily-assembled meals to order, often working in a diner or cafe.
Cooks may learn their trade through apprenticeship, particularly in smaller establishments and staffed households, often starting as a kitchen boy, but that lowest rank, as the name indicates traditionally filled by minors, doesn’t have to lead to a cook’s career. The top restaurants nowadays hire from the graduates of professional cooking courses at culinary schools; these almost always involve some form of apprenticeship as well. In general, most restaurants have a hierarchy of cooking staff.
So you’re finally getting married? Congratulations! This should be one of the happiest days in your life. But to be honest - it’s also going to be one of the most costly days in your life. If you haven’t figured it out yet - weddings are expensive. The cost of a wedding can very from $5000 to even $100,000 and more, if you’re really rich and willing to put in that kind of money. The average wedding in the US, though, costs about $20,000 (for around 150 guests). A hefty sum, especially for a couple that is young in most cases, and doesn’t really have that kind of money to spend.
So, is there anything we can do to lower the costs of a wedding?
The truth is that there is a lot we can do to lower the cost of a wedding. Let’s cover a few of the areas in which we can do that, and in many cases reduce the price in thousands of dollars.
So here’s out list of tips. Take a look and see if you can borrow these ideas and use them:
Tip no.1: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?
Tip no.2: Have the wedding done off-season. Most of the weddings are done in April-August. So why not get married in September?
Tip no.3: If possible, try to have the wedding in the late afternoon instead of the evening. The reception halls are less expensive in the afternoon, and since the reception is a big part of your expense, the savings will be notable.
Tip no.4: Choose a week day instead of a weekend day. The days of the week are less expensive than the weekends.
Tip no.5: The location of the wedding can be very significant in terms of price. Maybe you can do the wedding in a city nearby which is less expensive.
Tip no.6: The wedding dress - remember, it’s only worn once, so spending thousands of dollars on it is not the most reasonable thing to do (but many of us do it anyway…). Try a creative solution that costs less. One idea is to order a wedding dress online and make alteration. In many cases this will cost much less.
Tip no.7: Make the wedding favors yourself. It can be fun, creative and less expensive.
Tip no.8: Enlist your friends to help. Do you have a friend who knows how to photograph? Do you know someone who can design your invitations? Does the bride have a friend who can do her makeup and hair?
The main idea in trying to cut down wedding costs is to be creative. Try to think of ideas that will help you reduce the costs. Who knows - maybe you’ll save enough to use that money for a house down payment!
Wedding cake is a central element of most wedding receptions. A beautiful wedding cake can make a huge impact on the overall elegance of the reception. Unfortunately, wedding cakes can be among the most important accessories of your wedding reception.
You should have a budget for your wedding cake and stick to it. It is much better to start looking for your cake after you have set you budget. The most expensive part of a cake is the decoration. Therefore, an inexpensive cake can taste just as good as an expensive one. You don’t have to compromise taste when you opt for a lower budget wedding cake.
Many wedding cakes have different filling for each layer. The variety gives you and your guests more variety to choose from. There is no limit to the variety of different fillings available for cakes. Your cake professional should be able to offer many different flavors and textures for your cake. Fresh flowers and other exciting decorations are not at all unusual anymore.
Wedding cake price is normally charged by how many guest it will serve. If you have a wedding with 150 guests, you need a cake that will serve 150. The minimum cost per slice is about $2.00 but can go up to about $12.00 per slice and it doesn’t stop there. A standard three-tier cake will feed about 150 people. So at $2.00 per slice that’s $300.00 and at $12.00 per slice that’s $1,800.00. Now, you see how wedding cakes can get so expensive.
Don’t make a decision about who to hire before you meet at least three pastry chefs. Even if you really like the first or second professional, do yourself a favor, interview at least three. See the quality of work at their business locations, and ask to see pictures. Taste the cake varieties, and take some friends with you to make it more fun.
Ask for references, and follow up. Once you have hired the person to do your wedding cake put everything in writing. A written contract is an absolute must. It protects you and the vendor. Make sure you include all the details about date and time of delivery, flavors, serving size, etc.
The Affordable but Comfortable Tropical Honeymoon: Tip List
1. Schedule your departure day two days after the wedding to give you ample time for rest after the activities and the celebrations. If you must travel immediately, remember to leave in the middle of the day and not the early morning so you’ll get a good night’s sleep.
2. Ask your travel Agent for Honeymoon Packages, these usually offer the best destinations for honeymooners, not to mention discounts and freebies.
3. Never, ever overbook day trips, you’re not just traveling, you’re with your new Spouse, better save up some energy for the night’s fireworks.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, ask about certain perks, events.
5. In addition to the above, don’t be afraid to request extra stuff, like a big bathtub, a double bed, or a romantic view.
6. Don’t forget to bring your marriage Certificate along with you, especially if the name of the bride is already under her husband’s name.
7. Pack your camera and lots of film; you won’t want to miss anything. You might also want to pack a disposable underwater camera and extra batteries, these are absurdly pricey in tourist spots, and you wouldn’t want to overspend.
8. Mention to anyone, especially in the café or in the tour boat, that you’re on your honeymoon, yes this may sound a bit embarrassing, but some restaurants give extras like free drinks or gifts for honeymooners. This also works for birthday celebrants.
10. If you want an active honeymoon, research and prepare for water sports; the tropics are a great place, to learn them, always remember to consult hubby before you try one though.
11. Stock up on sun protection. The higher the SPF the better, as you’ll probably be spending whole days out in the sun; you wouldn’t want to get skin cancer after just two weeks of marriage.
12. Some travel agencies include island hopping trips, these are great ways to explore, and enjoy. This is especially good because you’ll get a change in scenery, and won’t easily get bored, especially if you have an extended honeymoon.
13. Even if your valuables are inside your hotel room, keep them under lock, and if you decide to bring them with you, always watch out for stray pickpockets.
14. Bring with you a stock of candles and massage oils that you can place inside your hotel room for that romantic evening after touring and swimming.
And finally, have some fun, relax and enjoy youself.
There are several types of tables to choose from for your wedding reception.
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