The Grooms Cake

Grooms are usually not the focus of attention in the wedding planning process, one of our previous posts “Grooms Guide to wedding planning’ featured the tasks that a groom can do in assistance with wedding planning. But there is one more thing that the Groom can do and that is designing and planning his ‘Groom Cake’.

The groom cake is a cake that is often times a reflection of the groom’s quirkiness. This cake is usually decorated around the theme of things that represent him. They usually feature classic ‘guy stuff’, such as, football, the steelpan, a cricket bat or their dream car.

Most wedding don’t feature a Grooms cake. And often times I am left wondering ‘why not?’ 

The answers are usually: “It would take the attention of the main cake”, or “there wasn’t any plans of having one”.

This cake is a way for the groom to express himself on his wedding day.

Although, the concept of the groom’s cake originated in Southern America, it has been growing popular around the world lately. The contrast of the formal wedding cake to the groom’s cake is the fact that this cake is one that usually make people laugh and is different from the Traditional Fruit Cake in Trinidad.

This cake can either be red velvet, chocolate or sponge if it’s the personal preference of the groom.

So grooms, here is one wedding cake that you will have the pleasure in designing and planning for. This is one of the truly awesome moments in your wedding celebration that that is totally a representation of yourself.

With this cake you can, in your own way, have a uniquely remember-able wedding.  It would not only be remembered for how beautiful the bride looked, the decorations, the wedding party, the wedding cake or even the food, the simple sight of ‘your cake’ that is not too common place in a wedding, could somehow add to the festivities and laughter that would make your wedding truly a joyous occasion.

Honeymoon: Tips for Planning

Honeymoon planning is just as important as the wedding planning. For those who don’t know the 'Honeymoon' is referred to as the ‘indefinite period of tenderness and pleasure experienced by a newlywed couple. This honeymoon is usually highly anticipated by the bride and groom as it is the first vacation they take together to celebrate their newly married status before settling down to normal life together.

These honeymoons could be either simple or extravagant as it depends on the budget that you have. Therefore, in planning your honeymoon, here are some helpful tips to remember to make the most of this experience

Budget: you have to know how much you are willing to spend to plan your vacation to suit it.

Travel Agent: decide if you want to use a travel agent. The travel agent will be able to find reasonable fees and do most of the leg work for you.

Book your Hotel: if you have already decided on where you want to go and it suits your budget, you can book the hotel and reserve a space for yourselves. Most hotels have a honeymoon special, so make sure to inquire about their specials

Book your Flight: this is obviously for the persons who would be 'flying out' for their honeymoon. Booking your flight in advance is one way to not go through any undue stress.

Pack: make a mental list of the things you would carry on your trip and put them aside for easy access.

Passports and Visas: if you are travelling to regions that require visas and passports make sure that they are in order from an early date or at least six months in advance.

Plan Activities: maybe you may have a bucket list of the things you want to do, so plan a schedule of all the places you want to visit, the times you want to be there for and how long you plan on visiting each site. These places may need bookings or tour guides so ensure that you get a spot by booking early.

Reconfirm: since most of these planning activities will be done a couple months in advance of your actual honeymoon, it is best that you always reconfirm all booking and schedules with the hotel, flight agencies, site visits with the weeks and months prior to your honeymoon. Some advisable times to reconfirm are, one month prior, one week prior and two to three days prior to your arrive. This is in the event that any last minute changes have to be made, either by you or the various agencies. 

It is always good to be prepared.

Grooms Guide to Wedding Planning

On the subject of Wedding Planning we have been focusing mostly on the Brides, but Grooms, you play a big part in the planning stages as well. It is the both of your wedding anyway. So, you can get your hands ‘dirty’ with the planning too.

Here’s what you can do:

Food: I mean you like to eat so, when you add your perspective it would be vastly different from the Brides ‘female food’.

Music: Who does not like a good party! Sometimes it seems to me that most guys always have that particular friend who can DJ at any party and is always available. Grooms, if you don’t have such a friend, this is one enjoyable task for you to tackle. You could always improvise and request the type of music you want and make accommodations for a special song to surprise your bride. It’s really romantic when you do this!

Honeymoon: It’s always appreciated when you make your bride feels extra special, so planning the perfect honeymoon vacation is a great way to begin your married life. Whether it is on the beach, a wooden cabin or a theme park, you would know what would be enjoyed by the both of you the most. So, a good place to start searching is the Magdalena Grand Hotel in Tobago or the Carlton Savannah in Port-of-Spain. if this does not suit you fancy you can always expand our search to cater to your needs.

Tuxedos: A suit or a tuxedo, a Wingtip shoe or Oxfords, bow tie or Tie, three piece or two piece suit. There are so many choices to be made concerning what you will wear on that day, so deliberate carefully, your future pictures and reflective moments will be around for a long time. But remember that you should not sacrifice all your comfort for the big day. 

Groomsmen: You can choose 'your boys', you know the ones who have been with you through thick and think, and the ones who you kick back and relax with. It will be good to include your brother and one of hers too. it's considered good etiquette considering you will soon be family!.

The Ring: the ring that you choose to propose with is the most important thing for you to do. The same effort and deliberation you put into talking politics, gaming or buying a television set, you need to do the same here. Choose wisely!

The Bridezilla Syndrome

Picture this, ever since you were young you dreamt of the perfect wedding. In your dreams there was the perfect guy, the perfect decorations, the perfect venue, the perfect bridesmaids and groomsmen. In your dream, everything was perfect.

Newsflash…. Perfection is not achieved by dreams, it is achieved through hard work and determination and effectively communicating your vision without getting everyone in your wedding party so annoyed that they wished they never agreed to be an attendant or help out in the first place.

The Bridezilla Syndrome. Simply put, it means a soon-to-be bride who throws all niceties to the wind and browbeats everyone in their way to get what they want.

Ladies, we all want a picture perfect wedding, we all want it to be magical, but, seriously you don’t need to make everyone hate you just so that you can get what you want.

So when you feel your inner Bridezilla/Godzilla coming out remember these tips: 

Don’t take it out on you fiancé or anyone around you.

Do take a break, take a walk to clears your head (walking and thinking to yourself can bring things into perspective)

Do remember that the people around you are willing to help. Ask for it!

Don’t assume that people would magically know what you want

Do draw them a design or show them a picture of what you want

Don’t be self-centred (yes it’s your day, but it’s a day that you share with people closest to you, so, don’t alienate them)

Don’t micro-manage

Do delegate tasks, nobody said you have to do it all on your own.

What will be frightening is the fact that you would let yourself become outraged for a minute detail on your wedding day that you absolutely ruin the day, for, not only yourself but for all your guests.

On this day screaming is prohibited unless it’s squeals of delight that you share with those around you because a particular moment or event in your wedding comes off unexpectedly delightful or the realization that the coordination and compilation of preparation is so perfect that screaming in glee is the only way to let out that emotion. Truthfully, this is the only time screams should be heard.

So calm yourself bride who is turning into a Bridezilla. This is not how you want to be remembered.

Smile, be happy.

Why Choose a Wedding Planner

So you got engaged! Your excitement level is high and you want to shout to the high heavens and everyone that you know and tell them that the love of your life is going to be your husband or wife. So you start planning and getting ideas of how you want your big day to finally play out.

You are looking for dresses, tuxedos, shoes, venues, decoration…. everything! And while you are looking at everything you run into a problem.Where do you start! You don’t know because you are bombarded with so much information. There is so much different things that you can do. added to this, all your friends who are sharing in your excitement keeps on drawing your attention to so many lovely ideas, that pretty soon, the fun of planning your wedding is not there anymore.

But don’t be despondent, you can always hire a wedding planner when it gets too overwhelming for you.

Most of the times when a person hires a Wedding Planner their reasoning is “I have never planned a wedding before, I don’t know what to do!”  Truthfully, there is no shame in admitting short comings in yourself.

So here are some reasons why you should hire a wedding planner:

1: They can plan the entire wedding celebration for you, or, they can acquiescent to your requests and form their plans around your vision of your wedding.

2. It is less stressful than doing it on your own. A wedding planner would already know the best places and the best deals and service providers who can delivery special requests or on a short notice.

3. Wedding planning is their speciality, it’s their career, so, they have the skills needed to get the job done in a timely and creative fashion.

4. It is less time consuming for you because there is someone who is willing to do the big tasks so that you can go into your wedding day without worrying that you left an important planning task undone.