Rainbow Weddings » Married Abroad

The 10/10/10 Phenomenon

Sue — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:58:29 +0000

The 10th of October 2010 was deemed to be very lucky! So much it seemed that The Registrar’s opened their doors on a Sunday! Many couples chose this day to be their Special day and were married last weekend. There were a reported 3,000 weddings on the 10th in the UK, 65,000 in the US and millions all over the world as a whole. I am in Las Vegas and I saw my first Bride and Groom at 8:40 in the hotel Lobby after their wedding! They were not the first of the day – in the Bellagio their Wedding Chapels were all fully booked all day. We lost count of the happy couples we saw on that day alone.

When we went out of the Hotel and drove down The Strip the Brides were everywhere! Some in traditional Bridal gowns complete with all the trimmings, veil, tiara flowers and bridesmaids. Others a simpler white dress, but all excited and looking very happy.

I visited several wedding chapels on the Strip and a couple of drive throughs! The limos were queuing to get in! I saw three Brides having photos taken in a small courtyard at the same time, how the Guests managed not to be in all the pictures is a small miracle!

Another couple made their vows on the pavement outside, in front of the Bellagio fountains – very pretty but I’m surprised that they could hear each other over the noise of the music and water cannons!

All in all they had a wonderful day – and after all that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

What can I do about decoration if I’m planning my wedding abroad?

Sue — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:38:03 +0000

If you are planning to have your wedding abroad then no doubt you have thought about how you will make the venue unique to you. Just because your special day will be overseas, it does not mean that you cannot get involved I the venue decoration. Obviously, you will need to check with your venue beforehand but in the past we have been asked to produce decorations for a number of exotic weddings.

Our first challenge for export was in March 2006, when Donna made contact and asked for help in setting up her new Wedding business in a hotel in Dominica – an up and coming Island in the Caribbean.

She was one of the first customers to use the newly opened Wedding Showroom. She was able to choose ranges of decorations to be shipped out to Dominica to transform the reception rooms and the rooftop overlooking the sea, where couples were to take their Wedding Vows. To my surprise I was also asked to advise on the decoration of the new Bridal suite- What a challenge! The goods were chosen, made to order and packed ready to be shipped to Dominica.

Early 2007 we were again asked to design a wedding for export. This was to be a beach front wedding in Tobago. The Bride chose her colours: – Lime green, turquoise and white. We handmade her bows using her three colours and sent reels of matching ribbon to wrap around the Palm trees and the little fences on the beach. We sent design ideas for her bridal flowers and also for the reception. Large white flowers framed with bright green foliage and trimmed with Turquoise and lime green ribbons, were the order of the day. The Flower girls carried small wicker baskets trimmed in co-ordinating ribbons and filled with white petals.

The tables were laid with white linen, chair covers and lime and Turquoise sashes, whilst white favour boxes tied with lime and turquoise ribbons and sparking silver heart metallic table confetti completed this vibrant design.

The goods were packed in export cartons and shipped to Trinidad eight weeks before the Wedding day. The freight was shipped on to Tobago from Trinidad and all arrived safely and in time. The Wedding was fresh and contemporary – By all accounts it was Fabulous!

Obviously this is just an example but we just wanted to let you all know that you can still get very involved in the decoration of you special day even if it is in far away lands!

Weddings – The American Way

Sue — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:44:21 +0000

I have just arrived back from the USA, after visiting suppliers and specialist bridal shops in Florida. Weddings are huge there, with some couples spending $80,000.00 on their Big Day! £40,000.00 is a lot to spend on a medium-size wedding, but services are generally more expensive than they are here in the UK.

There are some beautiful places to marry; especially outside in Florida (the weather lends itself better over there!). One venue which we have used is Cypress Gardens – it has an old colonial style house as its backdrop, with a beautiful white canopy/gazebo by the lake, which is licensed for marriages.

Another favourite is the Disney Grand Floridian and Spa, on the lagoon in Walt Disney World. There are several areas to be married on this site, but none quite as special as the White Wedding Chapel. Here you can arrive in a Cinderella style glass coach and live the fairytale for a day. Yes it is very expensive, but beautiful, if you like that sort of thing.

Las Vegas is still very popular, you can just ‘pop in’ and be married in a Wedding Chapel. I have heard that there is also a “Drive through Wedding Service”; however I didn’t manage to find it! The hotels are typically licensed too – some couples get married on the steps of a bridge in St Mark’s Square, in the middle of the Venetian Hotel! Not my idea of romance – but it was very popular, I saw three couples there in one day!

Perhaps the most popular destinations for weddings abroad though are the Caribbean islands. Here and other beach type resorts are still the number one choice for my clients, and it’s easy to see why. They boast beautiful romantic destinations, entwined in a wonderful honeymoon and generally they are reasonably priced – what more could you ask for?