The Travelling Bride - Where wedding and honeymoon dreams become a reality.

Island Wedding Tips

Weddings on the islands have always been very popular and even though they are more expensive than those offered in South Africa, if it’s been the brides dream for years, then there are a few tips to consider when planning.

1. Always do the homework on your chosen island. Make sure that you know when the rainy season is and when the low season is because this is when specials are most likely to be advertised and can save you money.

2. Beach weddings are different to the norm and big, frilly, lacey kind of attire is not always appropriate. Remember, it’s hot and you need to be as comfortable as possible.

3. Shoes need to be chosen very carefully to avoid sinking away into the sand. Most beach brides use a string kind of shoe that ties around the ankle and toe with some pretty beading.

4. Time of day is important if you are wanting sunset photos. Sunsets happen around 6pm on most of the surrounding islands.

5. Remember that the legalities are taken care of a day or two prior to the ceremony so it is highly important to choose your date properly. Example…if you want to celebrate your wedding anniversary every year on the 14 February for romantic reasons, then you need to ensure that the signing of the documentation is done on the 14th February. The ceremony will then only take place on the 15th or even the 16th. The day that the documentation is signed, is in essence your wedding date.

6. If you are thinking of inviting guests to attend your wedding, ask your consultant about self catering chalets available on the island of choice. This would save money. Guests do not have to stay as long as the bridal couple do. Guests can stay for 3 or 4 nights.

7. When it comes to the dinner celebration….remember that most packages include breakfast and dinner so ask about a supplement charge instead of a full private dinner. Your wedding planner will go through to the wedding planner on the island of choice and make sure that if the dinner is set up perhaps in a different area, on the beach etc, there is a supplement charged and not the full price. Because dinner is included in the package and pre paid, it might be a good idea to celebrate your dinner in the restaurant that provides for dinners included in the package…this way…there should be no addditional charge at all….and you can ask that they set up a table just slightly away from the rest of the guests.

8. If you opt to having dinner in the standard dining area, ask about taking your own decor for the table along with you. You can take your own table cloths and overlays, your own matching serviettes and any little item that you would like to put onto the dining table. You could even take your own chair covers and tie backs.

9. Ask for locally grown flowers because anything else would entail flying them in from surrounding areas and this takes the price up. Locally grown flowers are so beautiful and can even be placed on the dining table afterward.

10. The islands can be pretty expensive when it comes to drinks so if you’re planning a wedding, it might be a good idea to put everyone on a fully inclusive package beforehand. This would ensure that all drinks are included and you won’t have to fork out money per drink. Important to find out about entertainment. Most of the resorts have live entertainment every evening during and after dinner. If you choose the standard dining area for dinner and then move into the area where the local entertainment has been set up for the evening, you won’t have to pay extra for entertainement and your guests will have a wonderful time, dancing until the band packs up.

Written by Marrilyn
for The Travelling Bride

Learn More

Themed weddings in South Africa

Themed weddings can be a lot of fun. At The Travelling Bride, we have experienced great joy over the years of planning these and would like to share with you some of our highlights. South Africa offers many different settings that can be used for weddings that are different to the norm but exciting and memorable. Can you picture a wedding on the top of Table Mountain, at the foot of the mighty Drakensberg mountain, on the white sandy beaches off the Natal coastline, in the middle of the Vaal river, in the heart of the bushveld surrounded by the big 5 or in the middle of the Tsitsikamma forest? The settings are simply breathtaking. Each one designed around specific needs, requirements and budgets. We believe that the wedding setting is what is remembered throughout the years afterward, so, providing a beautiful setting ensures that the wedding is remembered always. Every young girl grows up with a specific picture in her mind of her wedding day. It’s just something that all little girls dream about and as we move into the 21st century, we find that the big, traditional wedding with 500 guests, starting to fade away. Most couples and families are starting to realise what a waste of money it is to have the huge wedding, inviting people from far and wide (many not even known to either the bride or the groom). Today the focus is more on the needs of the bridal couple so we feel it important to offer “different”, beautiful and keeping it all…….affordable. I will be covering each one seperately so that I can provide you with all the tips and secrets for each wedding theme so please visit often.

Written by Marrilyn
For Travelling Bride

Learn More

The importance of an anniversary

The anniversary is a chance to take a step back and have a look at the year that has gone by and do a close-up analysis of your marriage. It gives you the chance to rekindle some of the flame that used to burn brightly. It gives you a chance to say you’re sorry about things that have gone wrong and it gives you a chance to escape the world and concentrate on one another completely for 24 hours. With modern day society being as hectic as it is, it is so easy to get lost in the everyday drama of work, meetings, children, colleagues and more. Far too many couples get “lost” along the way and the anniversary is the perfect opportunity to get things “back on track” at least once a year. It is highly important that Mr does not forget the date because too many times, it’s the male who forgets. Not on purpose, I’m sure, but it seems to be a man kind of thing. Woman very rarely forget. They might not say much and 90% of the time they sit back and wait….to see IF he is going to remember. If YOU are one who has forgotten for the past years, make a point of remembering this year. Diarise…ask your secretary to remember, put a little notice on the inside of your wallet….do what you have to do so that you do NOT forget this year. Your wife will be ever so impressed by YOU remembering….it is a message to her that you love her. So….the day just starts perfectly and it can only get better as the hours pass. Arrange something really special for the two of you. A weekend away with candle light dinners, romantic massages, rose petal baths, champagne on ice and whatever you know will really touch her heart. Make sure that you have a lovely little gift for her……soft satin sleepwear, sexy lingerie, her favourite perfume or something that you know she will love. Your anniversary will be hugely successful and love will shine brightly in your lives once again and with a little work, you could keep the shine.

Written by Marrilyn
For: The Travelling Bride

Learn More

The importance of quoting your proper bridal budget to your planner

In the Bridal travel industry, the budget is an important factor but we have seen many clients shy away from giving consultants their proper available budget for their wedding and/or honeymoon package, and after doing a bit of homework, we have found that people “think” if they give a budget that is way less than what they actually have, the consultant will be forced into finding them something in the lower budget price that they have given to her, and they will save money. This is craziness. The reason why a consultant asks a couple for the budget is so that she can determine exactly which packages to send through to a couple and which not to. Remember, the bridal agency has various packages for various destinations and these packages range from lower budget to over the top luxury. It’s no good sending a couple a honeymoon package that has a price tag of R100 000.00 to it when the couple only really have R25 000.00 for the both of them. The same…it’s no good sending quotations through that cost R10 000 per person when the couple actually have R25 000 available. There is a huge difference between hotels and resorts and price determines the level of comfort and luxury that you ultimately receive. The moment you quote your budget, a great consultant will immediately know which packages she can put forward to you. Remember…. do not ask for something in a lower price range and expect to pay the lower budget but receive inclusions for a higher one. It just does not work like that. You get what you pay for. If you only have R10 000 for the both of you for a honeymoon, rather ask your consultant for packages here at home in South Africa because you won’t need flights and immediately the package is a whole lot more affordable. Try to be realistic and you won’t get to another destination and be absolutely disappointed. If it’s luxury that you are looking for, give the consultant your budget and stipulate what inclusions you are hoping for. She will know which to put forward. All bridal agencys earn a commission from the various airlines and resorts so you are not paying for the consultant to send you the proper information and quotations. Example…if you book hotel accommodation direct with a hotel and pay R100 for it, an agency shouldn’t charge you R110 or more for the same. The agency will also charge you R100 but will get a discounted price from the hotel, paying the hotel R90 and earning R10 commission so whether you book direct or with an agency, the price to you should be the exact same. This is the same with all airlines, travel agencys, bridal agencys etc. There are advantages of going through an agency because you always have someone to turn to if things turn sour or there is a mess up or misunderstanding when you arrive at the hotel. The agency fights your rights. The agency will negotiate free bees, discounts and more inclusions in the package for you. When first approaching an agency, try to be as realistic as you possibly can and give the consultant your proper available budget for your package. The consultant will send all that she possibly can through to you based on the budget that you have given and if you have been up front, you will then receive quotations that suit you perfectly. Normally the consultant will send two or three so that you have a choice but those that she sends through will all be based on your budget so will be on a par with one another with just a few small differences. You then get to choosing exactly which suits you best.

Learn More

Traditional customs fade as we move into the 21st century.

Weddings have always been perceived to be the BRIDE’s SPECIAL day. Everything is supposed to revolve around the bride and this has been cutomary for centuries. Slowly this is beginning to change… worldwide. More and more couples are looking at the wedding day as THEIR special day and both, bride and groom are taking the show in their own, unique ways. It’s the reason why many young couples have broken away from the traditional wedding scenario and now look at what they can afford, and they spend time and energy into making the day as special and as focussed on the two of them as is possible. Gone are the days where weddings were for the entire family, sometimes having up to 200 and more guests. Young couples focus on affordability and not just that…they prefer to stick money into buying a new home, saving for their babies and future and many are still studying. Gone are the days where a couple or their parents would take a loan to cover a wedding. The custom where the brides family pay for the wedding and the grooms family pay for the drinks and flowers is also starting to fade fast. Today, young couples are taking the responsibility of paying for their own weddings, relieving the family of the financial burden. There are still fathers out there who insist on paying for their daughters wedding but it’s not common anymore. Unless dad has a hugely successful business, young couples opt to paying for their own weddings. Remember when a young man started dating a young woman in days gone by, he would always…but always pay for the dinner and the drinks. This too, is no longer common. Many couples pay for themselves and sometimes, it is quite acceptable for a young woman to foot the bill. Times are certainly changing. More and more, men and woman are becoming 100% equals and share responsibilities equally including the children. It isn’t uncommon today to find a man staying home and looking after the children whilst the woman goes out and earns. Many accept this without a problem and are not embarrassed at all. Society is slowly starting to accept it as well. It’s hard to think about and absorb some of the traditions of days gone by and because we’re living in a world where everyone is supposed to be equal now, it’s really nice to see the end of some of those long ago traditions.

Written by Marrilyn
For: Travelling Bride

Learn More