World’s Most Expensive Wedding
According to the Guinness World Records book, the Bride with the distinction of having had the most expensive wedding in the world was Vanisha Mittal. The Groom was Amit Bhatia. Their wedding cost $ 78 Million Dollars and occurred in France, on June 22, 2004 at Vaux le Vicomte, a 17th-century French chateau on the final day of a six-day celebration.
Invitations for the Hindu nuptials were 20 pages thick, encased in silver, and contained jade necklaces or diamond watches for close family friends. The industrialist chartered 12 Boeing jets to fly 1,500 guests from India to the festivities in France that ranged from the Tuileries Gardens in Paris to the Palace of Versailles. Fireworks filled the skies and ‘Bollywood’ stars mixed with the guests who consumed five thousand bottles of Mouton-Rothschild 1986.
Vanisha Mittal Bhatia has a masters degree in South Asian studies and sits on the board of Mittal Steel, owned by her father Lakshmi Mittal, who is estimated by Forbes to be worth $51 billion.
Text by Norma-Jean Alt
Something Old, Something New
Wedding Superstitions 101
Rain on your wedding day: you’ll shed many tears during your married life, or your marriage will grow stronger, just as plants need rain to grow, or you will have many children, or good luck.
Sunny weather: symbolizes warmth and comfort
Encountering a nun or monk on your way to a wedding: foretells a life of barrenness and poverty
Veil: in Roman times, the use of a veil was thought to disguise the bride so evil spirits couldn’t attack – became popular in Britain in eighteen hundreds – now often associated with modesty and chastity
Something old: bride may wear some heritage jewellery as a tribute to her family or even her mother’s or grandmother’s wedding gown, or signifying that friends will remain true
Something new: most often the wedding gown is new – symbolizing a successful marriage
Something borrowed: – can be anything – (maybe a lace handkerchief?) – to remind you that we all depend on the support of family and friends, particularly in time of need
Something blue: symbolizes your loyalty and devotion to each other – bride’s garter may be blue
Throwing garter: in France, ‘pieces of the bride’ were considered lucky so she threw her garter to guests – in other areas, the groom’s toss of the garter to single friends may indicate the next to wed
Throwing bouquet: single women rival to catch bride’s bouquet or alternate one provided just for this – to see who will marry next
Throwing rice, grains, flower petals or confetti: rice is thought to feed evil spirits, thus diverting their attention from the bridal couple; or bestowing prosperity and fertility
Tin cans attached to the wedding car: to make noise to scare away evil spirits
Groom carrying his bride over threshold: so she doesn’t stumble – a bad omen; also symbolizing Anglo Saxon custom of groom stealing his bride and carrying her away.
The 7 Benefits of Using A Day-Of Wedding Coordinator
Your “BIG day” is around the corner. Although you’ve attended to every detail involved in planning your wedding prior to the event… what’s your strategy for the day-of your wedding? Will you be carring the flowers? Or, will you be laden down with a cell phone, clipboard, an itinerary… to ensure the seamless execution of one of themost important days of your life?
Today’s Winnipeg bride onlyneeds to carry her bouquet and have a “Day-of” Winnipeg Wedding Coordinator take care of everything else.
7 Benefits of Using A Day-Of Wedding Coordinator
1. Affordable
2. Helps at the rehearsal.
3. Assists with timelines.
4. Ensures a stress-free event.
5. Handles unexpected developments.
6. Offers cost saving tips to maximize budget.
7. Provides vendor coordination.
Meet with a few coordinators, find one within your budget that both of you like and remember, the coordinator is working for you… not for the hotel or hall.
Text by Norma-Jean Alt
Different Focus for Second Time Brides
The first time you marry, you’re so intent on making your wedding day perfect that you often don’t have any fun. When Tamara Thomson, owner of It’s My Pleasure, married for the second time on October 14, 2006, she and her husband, Rob, put the focus on sharing their joy with friends and family.
The couple married at the community centre in Dugald where they live. They kept it simple. The hall was decorated in fall colours. They wrote their own vows and their friend performed the service. They also included her daughters, Brooke and Annastazia, then 12 and 6, in the wedding ceremony.
After the ceremony, the guests played a game of Trivia – with prizes – testing the guests’ knowledge of the bride and groom. The wedding meal was catered by the people in their community.
“We had a lot of fun,” she says. “We were so happy that everyone was there to celebrate with us.”
Text by Myron Love
Romantic Valentine’s Day Proposal Ideas
From time immemorial, Valentine’s Day has been associated with love and lovers. This most romantic holiday of the year is, not surprisingly, one of the most popular days of the year to propose. Up to 10% of marriage proposals are made on Valentine’s Day.
There are countless ways to “pop” the question on Valentine’s Day in a most romantic way. If so inclined, you might want to make a big public splash. If you go to the theatre on Valentine’s Day, what can be more
romantic than arranging to propose on stage during a play or musical that has a wedding or love theme. The stage manager will most likely be very happy to assist in planning something theatrical and memorable.
If you live in an area where outdoor activities in February are comfortable, get tickets to an outdoor event on Valentine’s Day and, as the sun begins to set, have the MC announce that you would like to know if the woman you love would like to be your wife… If you live in a cooler climate do the same thing at an indoor event.
If you tend to eschew public displays, there are numerous ways to create intimate Valentine’s Day moments for romantic proposals. You could recreate your first date or that special moment when you told each other “I love you” for the first time.
Make reservations for the same restaurant or make a picnic of the foods and wines you had that day. Then get down on one knee and pop the question. Or arrange to take your Valentine to the most romantic spot nearby, take a moment to drink in the scenery, speak romantic words and propose.
Upscale or favourite restaurants are nice romantic venues for a Valentine’s Day supper and a marriage proposal. Perhaps you could arrange for the words “Will you marry me” to be written into the dessert plates.
Or you can pre-arrange with a waiter to unfurl a banner with the magic words on it after dessert.
Hiding the ring and having her discover it is the kind of romantic gesture that can seal the deal. You could bury the ring in the sand – should you happen to arrange to be on vacation at a warm resort on Valentine’s Day – and dig it up while sitting there enjoying the sunset on the beach.
If your love is literarily-inclined, give your intended a book of romantic love poems for Valentine’s Day with an engagement ring inside.
Or you can keep your marriage proposal simple. A quiet Valentine’s Day get away, snuggling in front of a warm fire… You on one knee telling her how much she means to you and that you want her to be in your life forever as your wife… now, that’s romantic!
The bottom line is that proposing doesn’t have to be elaborate to be romantic. There may be millions of couples getting engaged on Valentine’s Day, but every one is special and when you propose, it should be a Valreflection of who you are as a couple.
Text by Myron Love
10 tips for making the most of your bridal show experience!
As you prepare for the upcoming Winnipeg wedding shows and Manitoba wedding shows, it is important to be prepared. A bridal show can be a very stressful experience but a prepared bride will find it to be a wonderful experience full of inspiration, ideas, great contests and special deals. Here are ten tips to help you make the most out of your bridal show experience.
- Make Time! Don’t make your bridal show visit a rushed one. A good show will include plenty of exhibits and a lot of traffic. You may need to wait in line to register, to speak with your preferred vendors, etc. You will also want to have time to take in the fashion shows and other interactive portions of the show. Plan to spend at least 3-4 hours at the show so that you can take your time and relax.
- Bring your fiancé! Most grooms don’t like bridal shows, but a lot of bridal shows now offer a grooms area for the guys. Many vendors will offer special show-only discounts and having your fiancé on hand will be useful when you are making decisions at the show.
- Bring a pen and notebook! While many of the vendors will have handouts you can take with, you will probably see many things you want to take notes on though-out the show.
- Bring your camera, or a camera phone! Exhibitors will have prepared samples for display and you may find the perfect bouquet or wedding cake at the show. Bring your camera to capture your finds so that you can recall them later on. Remember to ask permission before photographing any vendor’s work.
- Bring a day planner or calendar so that you can keep a record of appointments you set up with vendors at the show.
- Start with the right question! To save yourself time, approach each potential vendor with this question: “Are you available for “your wedding date”?” This will save you from wasting time dealing with vendors who aren’t available on your wedding date.
- Bring along color swatches. If you’ve picked any of your items yet (linens, gowns, etc) you will want to have the colors on hand to compare.
- Dress comfortably and wear good shoes. A good shoe means a lot of walking and nothing ruins a show as quickly as sore feet.
- Bring a friend, perhaps your maid of honor. Having another person to discuss ideas with is not only helpful, it’s also just more fun.
- Arrive early for the fashion shows. These are the highlight of every bridal show, and seating is often limited. Arrive early to ensure that you get a good seat for the show.
Bridal shows are a perfect opportunity to get a great deal of your planning done in a short amount of time. You can find new ideas, meet and book vendors, enter contests and find some spectacular savings as long as you come prepared.
Unexpected Glitch on Your Wedding Day
Insurance is not something that is usually associated with weddings. However, living in a imperfect world, occasionally something can go wrong. Perhaps the photographer loses the pictures. Or, as happened in Winnipeg last year, your chosen venue goes out of business before your wedding. Instead of having to pay double or write off the losses, you can now buy protection with a Wedding Gaurd insurance policy.
“We are pleased to be able to offer the Wedding Guard policy,” says Nicole Leclair, a broker with BSI Insurance Brokers.
The premium for a Wedding Guard policy is $100.
Coverage is up to $4,000 for cancellation expenses (where the bride and groom have prepaid); up to $2,500 for retakes of wedding photos; up to $2,500 for damage to or loss of wedding attire (including the groomsmen and bridesmaids); up to $5,000 for loss of or damage to wedding presents; and up to $2,000 for non-refundable honeymoon arrangements (should the honeymoon have to be postponed or cancelled).
A seperate Party Alcohol Liability (PAL) insurance policy covers socials and can be included with the wedding package.
PAL premiums of $170 provide up to $1 million in liquor liability coverage.
The policy covers functions with between 100 and 500 guests.
You pay more or less for larger or smaller functions.
The bride and groom may also want to consider travel insurance for their honeymoon should your baggage go missing, somebody gets sick or the honeymoon has to be interrupted for any reason.
Marriage License in Manitoba
All the planning and effort that goes into preparing for your wedding day goes to waste if you don’t take a moment to make sure you make it legal. These means you need a marriage certificate. In Manitoba, you may purchase a marriage license as much as 3 months before the wedding but it must be purchased at least 24 hours before so don’t leave it to the last minute.
In order to receive a marriage license, both individuals must go in together and provide proof that they are 18 or older. Vital Statistics lists four options for proof of age:
- birth certificate
- citizen certificate
- passport
- Canada Immigration documents
Individuals who are divorced are required to present a Certificate of Divorce or Decree Absolute. Widowed individuals must provide a death certificate or newspaper clipping.
You can purchase marriage licenses at the following locations:
L.A. Collection, 325 Portage Ave., Winnipeg
Mona Lisa Florist, 1724 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg
Gold-N-Memories, Clearspring Mall, Steinbach
Let’s Celebrate Rentals, 193 Brandt Street, Steinbach
Ask A Wedding Planner
Q: My wedding is six months away. My maid of honour thinks I should mail out my invitations now to give people lots of time to plan. When should invitations be sent out?
A: The general rule is to mail the out-of province invitations 12 weeks before the wedding and the remaining invitations 8 weeks before the wedding. Six months is much too early to be mailing out invitations. If you want to give people enough time to plan, try sending out save the date cards. It is a great way to give your guests the heads up so they can plan accordingly without sending formal invitations.
Q: We are having difficulty fitting everything into our budget and thought having a cash bar would help compensate for some of the expenses. My mother does not approve with this and says it is not appropriate. Is she right?
A: Mother knows best! She is absolutely right. That would be the same thing as inviting someone to your home and expecting them to pay for their own beverages. You should invite the number of people that your budget allows for so you can treat every guest properly. Try offering a limited bar with a choice of a few mixed drinks. Or have a cocktail and heuer dourves reception instead of a large sit down meal. Regardless, these are your guests, and you are asking them to join you in celebrating your wedding with you. Not to pay for part of the expenses!
Q: My fiancé and I have been living together for several years and have accumulated all of our household items. Is it all right to put on the invitation that we would prefer our guests give us cash instead of gifts?
A: Although this is very common for today’s couples, the answer is no. There should be no mention of gifts or cash (also known as presentation) on the invitation. The best way to do this is through word of mouth. Let your family and close friends know, and if guests would like to inquire, they can call your parents, your sister, or a close friend and ask what you would prefer. Guests today actually prefer to give cash as it is easier. So you will probably get cash regardless, without insulting someone by telling them to give you money!
Text By Tammy Ouellet
