P.s.

I AM ENGAGED!!!!!

Let’s get wasted

Alcohol oh dear alcohol, what should we do with you? As you already understood the goal of this blog is to give you the true insights of a wedding, but the true purpose of my writings is to save money!

Most couples want to have alcohol at their wedding; however there is a large spectrum of options.

Here they are:

1.       Serve champagne at the beginning, wine during, and cognac and other digestives at the end (simple and elegant)

2. You could have an open bar that serves everything at any time (Very BCBG)

3. You could design 3-4 signature cocktails or punches for the beginning and then just continue with wine and sweet Muscat for dessert. (Very French/ vintage atmosphere)

Few tips for big impacts:

-          Add some red fruits in some champagne. Wow effect guaranteed.

-          Replace real brut champagne for simple champagne, most of people do not perceive the difference.

-          Give cool personalized names to you cocktails.

-          Chose for young selections, less costs.

-          Chose for regional wines, guests will appreciate it and the costs are reduced.

-          No money for cocktails chose for a selection of fruit punches. It’s only rum and the beautiful bowls and fruits are always appreciated.

love, ohhh very in love

Lio

Wedding cake or no wedding cake, this is the question.

Here is the deal; there was a time where wedding cakes were included in the price of the catering. However, every good thing comes to an end. Now you will have to order a cake on your own. Price: app. 500$.

I love cakes but there is a catch. If you are ordering a cake and then you will serve it as your main dessert, great! BUT, if your attention or to cut this ridiculous little piece and then let it rot in one of the corners of the hall I say No. As every epicurean this action is perceived as a sin. No cake should be left uneaten. The cake IS the dessert. So you might say, that not everybody likes chocolate or vanilla cake. Where there a solution: if you have a 5 layer cake pick out 3 different flavors.

In certain cultures, like the Jewish community, the cake ceremony is not something very popular. In this you should be brave. If you want a cake, buy the damn cake and SERVE it. You could always add some mignardise or cascade of red fruits in the center of the table to be sure to please your guest.

Love,

Lio

So this is included….?!

Caterer:” this is the price per head”

You: “and everything is included”

Caterer:”yes mam EVERYTHING is included”.

 Question: do you see the red banner saying “ trouble” because seriously I see them from here!

Here is what is normally included in the price:

*Food, soft drinks, one waiter for every 2 table (when no buffet) hall, cleaning.

What’s not included:

* Taxes, alcohol, barman, extra waiters so that you guest won’t be served with a 20 minutes interval between each table, parking, lights, sound, decorations,flowers, extra hours if you don’t want to end you wedding at 12, extra money if you want to set up the decorations for the hall early, master of ceremony, canopy, chairs cover, chairs for the ceremony, wedding cake….

Sorry dear readers, but I have to burst your bubble, a wedding is freake’ expensive! I guess you will install a no shopping policy for the next 6 month… well at least you will try! And hey, it’s the attentions that count.

Love,

Lio

first things first

Now that the excitement has passed let’s get serious! grab your Mr. right, get into any type of transportation and check out what could be the perfect location. In most cases the right thing to do will set a meeting with the owner of the hall that will give you a tour of his property. And here is the catch: every owner will tell you what you want to hear. Please girls, don’t be fooled!!! It doesn’t matter how hard you want to believe him, no one can fit 200 people on 15. The best thing to do is to actually visit the hall during an event.

Here are 3 valuable reasons to do so:

-          Girls love to review weddings and day stuff like “on my wedding this will never happen…”. and let’s face we are still human beings, so it is much easier for us to do so if we do not know or care about the bride.

-          appetizers, and let’s say that free food in this hard times of savings is always welcome

-          This is the only way to differentiate between real promises and real bullshit!

the 6 first steps

So the engagement is done and the families have met, now you are wondering what are the first steps that you should take in order to get it started….

6 first steps :

1.       Officially announce your engagement, make sure that people are aware that you are not misses single anymore. This is actually the fun part. For the Facebook fanatics this step includes changing you relationship status to “engaged to….”

2.       The second step would be to decide of a month or a season in which you would like to celebrate the big day. Try to be as specific as you can. If you have family abroad this step should be done 4 month before the wedding to give them time to organize themselves and to book cheap tickets. In most cases these 4 months will be used by the guest to find a very well constructed excuse not to spend their entire “vacation budget” on your wedding….

3.       The next step consists of creating a budget. You and Mr. Right should sit down and see if you have the same notions of a nice wedding. Statistically speaking, this is not the case…. For him a nice wedding consists of guests dancing and eating kebabs while for you it’s Moët champagne and goose liver or nothing.

4.       Try to browse the internet and create a list of your top 10 halls or gardens. Don’t limit yourself to 3 picks…. You might get very disappointed. When you create this list I beg you to stay REALISTIC. If your budget is limited you have to face the fact that you won’t be able to marry in a private island with the royal family as your guest speakers….

5.       The next step consists of choosing your maid of honor and your bridesmaid! It’s very easy….. be a b***! If you don’t speak to them at least twice a week they probably will not be that committed to your wedding.

6.       Start buying those awesome wedding magazine. You should purchase the most regional magazine you can find for some very useful addresses BUT…. There is a golden rule in magazine shopping: even if you live in Saudi Arabia you should always buy the Martha Stewart seasonal wedding magazine. It will soon become your muse!

Love,

Lio

The engagement

This is the night when you change your status of sister to the amazing status of « sister of the bride ». My sister has been dating her fiancé for more than a year. However, the shock was major. As a good stereotypical woman the first thing I did was crying!

An hour later I was at her place to give a look to the most important detail of this night: the ring!!!!!

In most cases your role would be to support and encourage the general hysteria… and damn I am pretty good in doing that.

On this night I realized how terribly men and woman are different. I will illustrate it in a few points:

1.       Once a guy proposes he feels like his job is done

2.       When a woman accepts a proposal she DIRECTLY starts working. When I say directly I mean that most woman start working on her wedding before she even has a fiancé ( this starts approximately at the age of 6, oh yes baby)

The next step is calling the concerned parents and deciding what kind of engagements is going to take place. Isn’t that a treat…..

Love,

Lio