First and foremost, treat yourself like the princess you are. Indulge yourself. You only get to wear a wedding gown once in a lifetime the one time you can have all the attention a real princess deserves. You are special and you deserve the ultimate princess feeling.

A Fashionable Entrance:

Drama’s essential to a fantasy wedding, so plot out your high points. Find a way to make a grand entrance at the ceremony or reception: a spiral staircase and or a trumpeter. Outfit your guests with beautiful paper cones they can use to shower you with rose petals as you leave the church (another popular choice is confetti).

Travel from church to reception venue via horse-drawn carriage…For the true fairy tale princess wedding, a horse drawn carriage is essential. Let the Samantha Royal Victorian carriage make your big day one you that will forever be etched in your memories. As seen on the My Dream Wedding show, Phidilia talks of the experience, “for once I felt like a princess” she says.

The Cinderella gown

A ballroom type silhouette gown is befitting for a princess. A snugly fitting bodice with a full skirt gives that air of a fair princess. But even when the gown is an A-line with a sleeker silhouette, fairytale brides usually go for a substantial veil, floor-length or longer. The train must extend a few feet than the normal. No princess walks into church without a long train cascading down the isle behind her. The train, both a cathedral and semi-cathedral train are most suitable for a princess bride. A train exudes class and elegance both of which are associated with the elite and affluent class.

The cathedral veil

A princess must be swathed with yards and yards of rich material flowing gracefully behind her. This gives the bride that romantic, dreamy look. A princess bride must be swathed with yards and yards of tulle. This gives the bride that romantic dreamy look. The hair is often a half or full up do, but formally styled, dripping with romantic ringlets. A tiara is a must have and it must be sparkly to catch the camera lights to give that dazzling effect. It should be matched with equally dazzling jeweler. And if you want the full-out princess look, straight from the pages of an oversize storybook? Add opera-length gloves, a tiara and a sparkly rhinestone choker

Roses for a Rose:

Flowers for fairytale weddings tend to lean on the traditional side. Occasionally you’ll see exotic orchids, but mostly what fairytale brides prefer (in bouquets, especially) are classical choices like scented roses, lilies If carrying a hand-tied bouquet, she might have crystal bouquet picks, or choose the larger cascading style. Plenty of flowers are key for pulling off the fairytale look, but don’t overlook the important of candles for setting the mood. Keep them simple, but group large masses together for maximum effect. Floating candles in clear cylinders offer More of a visual punch than regular votive.

A Royal Repast:

Fortunately for your guests, Cinderella food means elegant ‘comfort food’: cream sauces, poached mushrooms and wine. Consider Oysters Rockefeller, and a roast beef carving station. For a touch of the country squire, serve crispy roast duck or Cornish game hens, and plenty of champagne. The hair is often a half or full up do, but formally styled, dripping with romantic ringlets. A tiara is a must have and it must be sparkly to catch the camera lights to give that dazzling effect. It should be matched with equally dazzling jewelry. And if you want the full-out princess look, straight from the pages of an oversized storybook? Add opera-length gloves, a tiara and a sparkly rhinestone choker

The Sweet Strains of Love:

A bit of intimate floor music will really set the mood. Take the time to learn a romantic waltz with your Prince Charming and throw in a few stylistic surprises, so all eyes stay glued to you through your first dance. Also see about booking string quartet, at least during the ceremony or Later on, ask the DJ to queue up a few romantic ballads like from the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack albums plus other soundtracks with tunes worth a spin:

Dressing The Royal Retinue:

Bridesmaids, as often as not, are wearing something with at least at a touch of pink! A string of pearls makes a treasured gift for each of your girls. But what about the men? Grooms find it hard to look past the usual black tux, which fortunately looks stunning next to a princess bride. But a white tuxedo has a bit more fairytale flavor, and it’s well worth considering. After all, no man one wants to look like a fashion victim, but Euro collections and rays offer some elegant choices that just might put to rest any Prince Charming qualms about style faux pas.

The Honour Of Your Presence Is Requested…

Just because you’re having a fairytale wedding doesn’t mean your invites need to sport castles, but they should be something special. Just choose an elegant, timeless font and style (letterpress is always a gorgeous option). Or go custom: you can never go wrong with beautiful ribbon to wrap up a made-just-for-you pocket fold design, with a few quality rhinestones placed by hand.

Setting the Scene:

Pink fairytale ballroom weddings starts with draping, and lots of it: draped walls, head tables, cake tables, sweetheart tables, you name it. Luxurious linens are the name of the game. In addition, this theme pretty much determines where you’ll hold the reception: a ballroom or a marque. (Unless, that is, you’re lucky enough to be able to book an actual castle or Manor house (Egerton Castle).Fortunately, a good ballroom will do some of the decorating work for you: look for regal curtains, dramatic molding and sparkly chandeliers. A fairytale wedding is not the place for humble, easy total across centerpieces. Here, you need the drama that only height and heft can provide.

Only height and heft provide. Go for towering eiffel vases filled with dramatic fantasy floral arrangements, leggy topiaries, or tall clear cylinders wrapped in satin ribbon and filled with floating candles. Other ingredients in your toolbox: lots of silver (candelabras, silver cake plateaus), plenty of pinks, classical symbols (swan or double-swan ice sculptures are perfect here), and pearl or rhinestone accents as brooches or bouquet ornaments.

Also: sparkling monogrammed cake toppers, whimsical “I DO” letters for the cake table, and buckets and buckets of rose petals. Plus, every princess bride needs a really cute card box. A giant Storybook guest book would be a cute.

Lastly, behave like a princess. Your behavior must match your glorious gown. Make sure you are easy-going, polite, charming, well mannered, dignified and graceful from the word go to the end of the wedding day. That is the hallmark of a true Princess.

What do you do when you fall in love with more than one dress? Finding ‘the one’ can be difficult and an emotional time for the bride. But when a bride finds more than one dress and can’t often, the answer is to buy them all. To pull off just one wedding look requires a lot of and planning and work in terms of styling the gown, imagine how much work would go into effortlessly pulling off more than one look? This means double the budget and extra work.

Most fashion forward brides are choosing to wear more than one gown for each part of the ceremony, the vow exchanging ceremony, the wedding reception and the evening party. Sounds like a lot, but for some brides who just can’t decide on which dress to pick, this is a fun trend to try, of course if money is not an obstacle. Every bride’s wedding day is special to them so why not make it even more special and have some fun while at it, by having more than one gown?

Carol Gakuo Khisia wanted to be that exceptional bride so she went ahead and purchased four gowns for her wedding day. Carol had four dresses, two for the daytime and two for the evening. She wanted something decent for the church ceremony, so she wore a one shoulder, ruffled tulle skirt gown.

For the afternoon reception, she wore a strapless ball gown with an embellished bodice. For the evening reception she wore two dresses of the same design but different colours.

“I keep telling my friends, after a couple of years, after we are married; my husband will just be coming home to find me in the dress. Just to remind him how amazing I was on our wedding day” says Carol.

Rhoda wore three different dresses for the morning ceremony, afternoon reception and evening party. The first dress was a ball gown with ruffles, the second was a simple mermaid gown which was lighter than the first one; perfect for her to loosen up and be able to dance freely.

The after party dress was a black puffed up skirt with red body suit tucked inside, inspired by Jessica Parker from sex and the city.

Joy wore two dresses for her big day. The morning ceremony dress was a ball gown that made her feel and look like a princess, which is what she wanted

and for the afternoon reception, she had on a simple mermaid gown with a raffled bottom. She was able to pull off a special dance for the guests at the reception and the dress was no hindrance.

The wedding day is a one-time event that most girls dream of from a very young age and there are moments, as we grow up and begin to appreciate certain things, we personalize these moments and to have a deeper meaning. Coupled with the festivities of the big day which often include song, dance and immense joy, there are those profound and emotional moments that mark a special step in life. For our bride Ruth as seen on my dream wedding, there were particular moments that carried the day and were all profound and with deep meaning.

Morning of the wedding: This is the time when there is a beehive of activities as the bride and bridesmaids get ready for the big day. The aunties and relatives stream in and the song and dance begins. This is the time that it dawns on most brides that they are actually getting married. The mother of the bride gives a word of advice to her daughter and after a prayer; it is time to get married.
Drive to the venue: For Ruth, she wanted her dad to drive her to the church but her aunties were not for it because according to traditions the groom’s family should pick the bride and take her to the church. His words “I will drive you to church,and then I will walk you down the aisle.” This is also a very emotional and mixed feeling for the father of the bride since he has to give away his daughter to another man.
Walk down the aisle: This is an emotional moment for the bride, as everything finally comes to this moment. Many things go through the bride’s mind as she walks down the aisle. From seeing your friends all gathered waiting to witness your union to the man of your dreams standing in wait for you at the altar; “I look up and I see Nelson and that whole set up, I can’t contain it” (she breaks down while walking down the aisle) she says.
The vows: These are the promises you make to each other and to God in front of family and friends. You apply these vows day to day in your marriage and live by every word. Some couples choose to say personalized vows but realize that after saying them, they actually forget them even though they meant every word at that moment. The standard vows can be incorporated to ensure that you don’t forget the promise you made and that you are accountable.

The kiss: In history, this part was considered as what sealed the deal. But over the years, this has changed since some brides are embarrassed of kissing in front of parents, grandparents and children. Some will choose to hug instead, while others chose not to do it. Ruth was dreading this moment and was hoping that after the vows, the priest would tell them to sit down, but this was not the case. She could hardly look up. She thought of her parents’ presence the grandparents and the little kids.
Father daughter dance: This was the most profound moment of the day. One of the things Ruth wanted to do on her wedding day was dance with her father. “For me, it was because my father established a thin line between being a father and a friend growing up” says Ruth.
First night: The first night is supposed to be a magical time full of soft light, lace, lingerie and sex that feels different somehow now that you’re married, so how different is it for the first night? For Ruth, the first night was really special. She says, “There is a reason why sex is built for marriage and not outside and I understood that, that night.”

Culture is the combination of values and traditions that distinguish different communities. The richness in the beliefs and values is part of our diversity and individuality. It is very important in our society as it represents the traditions that were put in place by our fore fathers. This ensures we have a sense of belonging and ownership and it is important that we maintain and carry forward our culture through to the next generations to ensure the community has a sense of belonging.

Though with times having changed and many people embracing the western culture, some brides are still opting to have a little element of their culture in their white wedding to symbolize important beliefs, traditions and values.

You can include the accessories traditionally worn in wedding ceremonies and pair them with your wedding dress and have similar elements on your bridesmaid’s dresses, groomsmen and the groom’s attire. You can also add little traditional elements in the décor and incorporated traditional songs and dance that were performed during wedding ceremonies in ancient times.

When you get that wedding invitation card, the first thing you think about is what you will wear to the event. You also have the obligation to be absolutely stylish, comfortable and most importantly, not out-do the bride.

We all love to look exceptionally good and a fabulous pair of heels is essential to instantly turn a simple look into an exquisitely gorgeous one. However, it is hard to imagine ruining your pair of heels in one day because you wore them to a garden wedding. Worry not! There is a solution to keep your heels on the ground and not in the grass with this heel tip designed to prevent sinking and or slippage.

This is the perfect idea, not only for guests but also for you and your bridesmaids as it will provide comfort and prevent you from worrying about your shoes. Try these new heel protectors which come in several colours to match your shoes for a stress free strut.

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When a man in uniform decides to get married, there are certain protocols that have to be observed.
So what happens when the church comes into play and certain regulations have to be integrated? The Catholic Church has a set of requirements for the members one of which is that a couple must wed in the church for it to be considered sacred. This was the reason Sarah and Lieutenant colonel Thomas had to do a church wedding after twenty years of marriage and four children later.
Besides the Catholic regulations, the military itself has requirements to be followed during ceremonies.
“As a military officer, one has to declare to their immediate boss if you are married or not married” says Thomas.
The norm usually is the groom’s family goes to the bride’s house to beg for her. In a military wedding however, the groom’s colleagues arrive at the bride’s house chanting celebratory songs, storm in and carry the bride away to a waiting car.
After the church service, the couple has to enter the signature archway of sabers held up by honor guards. It is significant that before completing the symbolic safe passage into marriage, the last two members of the honor guards block their journey, while one of the guards gives their newlywed colleague a ceremonial swat on the rear and a warm welcome to whatever branch of service the bride has married into.

The rainy season is here and lately the weather has been quiet unpredictable.

Don’t we all love garden weddings! Natural elements come to play, providing a serene backdrop that blends in earthiness and provides a feeling of openness. Garden weddings do however have drawbacks, especially during the rainy seasons. Brides and guests who prefer to show up in stylish high heels often have a hard time walking on wet grounds. So for the sole reason of comfort and preserving those gorgeous shoes, rent some marquee flooring and stunt with no worries.

From wooden floors to carpet flooring with an underlay to plastic flooring, there is an option for every ground condition.

This flooring idea is perfect for creating an indoor feel to an outdoor venue and with a wide range of floor types to choose from; whatever the vision, it will be brought to life. From wooden floors to carpet flooring with an underlay to plastic flooring, there is an option for every ground condition.

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E-mail: Info@sunflowertents.com