Monday, December 14, 2015

Wedding Flowers

When it comes to fresh flowers for weddings locally, we are not without varieties. From different types of roses, tulips, gerberas,lillies, gladiolis, varieties of ferns, snap dragons, carnations, and the list goes on and on.                  

The constant changing weather patterns of rains, sun and cold affect finding certain varieties of fresh flowers in particular season. One thing is sure though, irrespective of the changes, there is always fresh flowers available to use in weddings. Flowers play an important part in wedding décor and whether used little or much, flowers can still make a difference to your event. There is one habit that stands out amongst many local brides and that's to pay wedding vendors at the last minute. This can work against you if specific flowers are needed for your wedding. It helps to ask the florist early enough about the availability of your preferred flowers during your intended month of the wedding.A rule of the thumb is: its never too early to start planning your wedding flowers. What determines the appropriate flowers to use for your wedding would be the budget you are working with, the floral designs you want to achieve, your bouquets, centre pieces and basically the overall theme for the wedding. This article is a first series of 3 that I will be considering on wedding flowers.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Bridal shower

I was to do this article on monday but that was not to be. I was called up by a prospective client who turned out to be a con artist. Good thing i caught onto their scheme before its too late.  A future article will deal with fraudsters and how to handle them.
image from web

 Today i would like to consider bridal showers. Recently on a page i follow on Facebook there was the question of who should host it and an increasing demand on bridal shower planners in Nairobi has made me write this article.  Someone mention the sister of the bride, another the bestmaid while still someone else felt that its the mother of the bride. 
Irrespective  of who does it, its a wedding tradition  that many keep at it.
 Image from web


 A commom feature of the bridal showers in Nairobi is alot of advise being given to the bride on the life ahead of her and alot of gift showered on her. The ladies gathered also sometimes get to play games together.  The event can be themed and usually the bride isnt aware it's organised for her until the material day when she is surprised into it. There are brides whose shower is all inclusive of gifts for the whole  house while some also get to have a bridal kitchen party where they get all the appliances and kitchenware that they will need for their kitchen once married. Last year i remember  being invited into a bridal shower that the organiser split the ladies into groups. Every group had been assigned a different part of the house: living room, kitchen, bedroom  and bathroom.  I was assigned to the names under the kitchen list and we had to pick an item to buy and bring to the shower from the list as a gift to the bride. Her idea was to ensure that no one bought the same gifts also that we could only get what the bride needed for her house and not what she already had. I  didn't attend due to reasons beyond me but would have wished to see how the event turned out. Besides that list, she provided us with one that had food items we would consume for the ocassion. That way it would be less burdensome to the host.
Image from web


 Deciding who foots the bills, what is done and how to get the bride to the event all require forethought. The  success of the event irrespective  of the amount used or activities planned relies on how well its organized. Just as there are budget weddings  there are also bridal showers that run on a tight budget. The organiser has to be aware that most of the guests on the bridal shower locally are already either bridesmaids to the wedding, a family member or someone with a role to play come the wedding.  If they feel they already are spending so much on the wedding, the idea might not be so welcomed if they spend more than thet are willing to do so. Here  is the scenario : if this person was called up to raise cash for the wedding as a committee member, she also took  the bride home during the customary families meet up before the wedding, is a bridesmaid and has to spend on her outfit, makeup, shoes and accessories for the wedding then they might just be feeling that they are planning their big day and not helping a friend out. If thats the case make the burden less on them.



 During bridal showers the bride gets to spend time with ladies who are close to her or the groom it can be fun and affordable to everyone involved.