When purchasing any type of insurance, many of us wonder whether we are wasting our money for something that's not likely to happen. 

This article does not intend to persuade you one way or the other. I believe most weddings go as planed, but let me tell you, some do not. The question is.... do you want to take the risk, or have that piece of mind that everything or at least part of it, can be looked after if something out of our control occurs.

WHAT IF? This is not to be negative or positive. Things do happen in different ways to what we expect and vary from region to region, season, professional services, etc.
While working in this industry some of the most common things we have heard directly from Australian clients are: 

-Floods of the venue and surroundings. The wedding was postponed 2 months. Many of the vendors have to be re booked as the previous ones were not all available for that day. They had 2 months to basically reorganise the wedding.
-Limousine's crash.
-Cancellation of the wedding for family illness.
-Celebrant sickness.
​-Wishing Well money stolen.
-Vendors business closed down with no advise or deposits return.
-Guests insured with glass or falling over.

The average Australian wedding costing over $40,000, and about 18 months planning. There is lots of time, money and emotions involved. Most brides repeat  the word "perfect" often, when you ask them how they envision their day. Many professionals work hard to make those dreams reality, but sometimes scenarios are unforeseeable.

There are many insurance suppliers that are specialized in weddings and events risk coverage. The insurance can be purchased up to 18 months prior to your wedding in most cases, and can have different levels of coverage according to your needs and budget. It'd be wise to research some information from a professional insurance and decide after.

One of the aspects I like about wedding insurance is that you can choose what level of coverage you want. Different policies can cover anything from wedding cancellation and re scheduling, to attire, vendors cancellation, rings lost or stolen, marquee and decoration damage, public liability etc.

These guys, www.dreamweddinginsurance.com are wedding insurance leaders in Australia, they even offer insurance online at  in just a few steps from $200. Give them a call, have a talk, be informed. If your wedding is overseas, please check what is the coverage offered by the venue and discuss with your insurance provider how you can add your own.

We insure our house, our health, our car., our trips... sometimes our pets. Your wedding is one of the biggest events in your life, Wouldn't you like to be well-informed about it?

How did I come with this blog idea? Every time I check out Pinterest I come out wanting to get married again, redecorate my house and lose 5 kilos all in 5 minutes. When I browse weddings, like probably most of you, I get this high of inspiration but later it makes me wonder what is feasible and affordable for today's brides in this fantasy visual world. Well, the good news is that today I did find these decoration ideas which seem real, gorgeous! affordable (at least in Australia) and full of romanticism and intimacy. A feeling many of my brides want to achieve when planning their dream weddings. In this last decade, the decoration in wedding ceremonies has taken an incredible and positive turn in terms of presentation and beauty. Today couples have the opportunity to say "yes" under precious arches or pergolas, coordinated with rustic, beach, bohemian or traditional wedding themes, with fabrics falling softly, hanging lights or lamps and a lot of other variables with a romanticism and absolute atmosphere. A personalized and magical way to start the celebration.​

nother option is "do it yourself". Well, this decision is personal and if you think you have the skills, the time, the design and the materials, why not?. If you decide to do it this way, do it with a lot of time to spare. DIY can be tempting but it can also be tricky and more often than not, it will make you spend more money than you thought you would. Actually, I'm not trying to discourage you. If you are a DIY and skilled couple, you may end up with a wonderful project. Worst case, if you are not happy with your result, you can decide, to rent one instead.
 
​We have also seen an intermediate option in some places like Ikea offering a basic but beautiful artificial flower decorated pergola with an affordable price. Nothing wrong with that, if that is what your budget allows. 

In terms of variety, we keep getting surprised by the creativity, beauty, romanticism and uniqueness that these settings have given to weddings. We remember at first, the arches were made with tree trunks and veils, some petals and candles. Then, the trend slowly walked through the old wood doors decorated with a rustic or vintage effect, some adding chandeliers and rugs.​ ​ Later with the bohemian chic fashion, we began to see garlands of leaves and flowers and wreaths, with a spiking effect for the ceremony photos.

And what about these gorgeous trend displaying welcome wedding signs in acrylic? You gotta love those! decorated with fabric behind or wreaths and keeping at home forever after the wedding.

How much does it usually cost to get your envelopes printed?​
We could not speak for everyone of course, and by the time you read this article prices could have changed. Price can be per envelope: $1.20 to $1.500 to print each or in our case, we charge per lot or per order, no matter how big or small it is. At the moment our address printing price is $29 per lot, so if you order for example 60 invitations, the cost of printing each envelope is just under $0.50
​Check out our guest name personalisation service here

And last but not least, please remember to check your spelling and typos!
You are not likely to add the word "wedding invitation" to your invitation, however you may add those words in your wedding web site, texts following up with your guests, or on your wedding sign "welcome to the wedding of"
CORRECT SPELLING
Stationery. NOT stationaries or stationery
Wedding: NOT Weeding or Wesding
Wedding Party: NOT wedding parte
Etiquette. NOT ettiquette.
Accommodation. NOT Acommodation. USA Brides: Accommodations in plural.

Hope you liked this article!

​After a challenging 2020 wedding season, the wedding industry is now feeling very confident about the wide possibilities to celebrate. Being located on the Gold Coast, and with 50km of sandy gorgeous beaches very close by, what can I say?  We LOVE beach weddings! Australia has most of their main cities near the beach, making this a dream theme. We make 1000's of beach wedding invitations every year for Australia and the USA so I thought to cover this theme and the relevant info you should consider when organising a beach wedding. Got ideas that you want to share? PLEASE share them in the comment box below!

Beach Wedding Locations
If it`s possible try and book a private beach then you can have your wedding ceremony, and reception all day and night. If it is not, make a list of potential sites, and visit each one.

Ask questions during your visits, such as:

• Can I choose any beach or does each celebrant offer her services on a particular beach?
• Do I have an alternative plan if it rains? How do I communicate the plan to my guests?
• Will my wedding be private from views? Will my wedding be the only event on that day?
• Do you have rooms or hotels nearby? Doe the hotel have a private backyard where I can get married?
• Do I need council permission?

Make sure the location you choose has the amenities and facilities you desire.

Bridal Attire
There are 1000's of beach wedding styles that are suitable to wear outdoors,  without dragging sand all over it. Many brides opt to have two designs: one for the beach ceremony and a more elegant or formal one for the reception.

TIP/ IDEA: An idea that can help guests to be comfortable with their attire is to buy heaps of thongs and present them in a basket or wooden box. This allows people get changed during the wedding. High heels on the sand can be really uncomfortable and getting sand in your shoes is not much fun. Bare foot attire is also an option you could offer.​

​If you don't like beach elements crafted on your invitations: Choose the design you want, and have a ribbon or paper band in aqua or beach colours or sandy twine, mesh and raffia, which are simple and warm beachy elements.

You can also use the 'message in a bottle' idea for favours with thank you messages to your guests or even as wedding programs rolled in bottles. We do not usually recommend these for invitations  Use place cards that won't blow away - names printed on shells or sandollars with a texter to keep the theme going. ​                                      Check our beach invitation collection here

Flowers
The Hawaiian style flowers have a very relax beach style, also frangipani, hibiscus or any tropical flower. Enquire with your florist at your wedding destination to put together bouquets with shells attached to them.
​Catering
A seafood spread would be ideal for beach wedding meals: Prawn cocktail, lobster and fresh local sea food. A lot of caterers (especially abroad) will be able to make exotic sea food dishes. A signature drink is a fun, classy addition to you beach wedding, perhaps in aqua colour to complement the scenery.

Cake
Some people like having a unique shape, like a sandcastle, palm trees, seahorse, giant clam, starfish or anything that will really personalise your wedding cake. Others rather a traditional cake with a touch of ribbon in your wedding colours, usually aqua, coral or pastels.

IDEA: milk chocolate shell decorations scattered across the tables or placed in a basket. Only if weather is not too warm! 

Favors
You could make or buy glass bottles with a message inside as mentioned before. Another special touch to make your beach event stand out is to get glass tubes and fill with messages or lollies.

We have seen fantastic and practical favour ideas such as: sunglasses in every single seat with the wedding date printed on the side and the couple names engraved. Great favours ready to be used if you forgot your own.

Also paper umbrellas, engraved with the couples names and ready to be opened for use during the ceremony and to take home.

Check our beach invitation collection here

Photo Credits:
Signage: Christopher Nolan Photography
Chairs: Style me Pretty