2018 Wedding Season is finally over

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It has been a long hot summer here in Paphos,  our Cyprus weddings are over for another year and we are looking forward to Christmas.  It has been a busy year for us, we have formally launched our sister business Best Wedding Banners with our new website www.bestweddingbanners.com  We have been making table stationery and wedding favours for our couples for a number of years but have now formalised the process and made these services available to other wedding planners and also brides that haven’t booked their wedding with us.  We offer a wide range of professionally designed welcome roller banners, welcome signs, personalised aisle runners, table plans, place cards, menus and table numbers, not to mention some fabulous wedding favours to complete the decoration of your wedding venue.

We have also purchased a Magic Mirror photobooth, so you will be able to book this for your wedding in 2019 – this adds a bit of fun to the reception and really keeps the children amused too.  Keep your eye out for the launch of our new website Magicmirrorpaphos

You may ask, what do wedding planners do in the winter when there aren’t any weddings happening?  Well the answer is that we do an awful lot!  We still have lots of brides enquiries to answer, and of course planning is continuing for all weddings booked in 2019.  Alongside this we are updating brochures and developing new ones, keeping our Social Media program on Facebook and Instagram going, looking for new venues, talking to new suppliers and a host of other less interesting things – accounts, Vat returns, tax returns and all the boring jobs that go with running a small business!  We also try to squeeze in a holiday amongst all this activity – we are the lucky people who only get to go on holiday in the winter!

We are also looking forward (I think?) to finally seeing the Channel 4 TV series about wedding planners that we took part in during 2017 – we have been told it is to be called ‘Sun, Sea & Brides to Be’ and will be aired in January 2019.

Trends That Are Perfect For Beach Weddings

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If you’re going to be tying the knot at a stunning beach ceremony in Cyprus this summer, you’ll no doubt be in the final stages of planning for your big day.

A recent article for Viva Glam Magazine highlighted some top wedding trends for this summer, and we think a few of them are just perfect for the more relaxed atmosphere you find at Cyprus beach weddings.

For brides, there has been a definite shift towards comfort over sexiness, the news provider noted. That means swapping stilettos in favour of flat shoes and making other subtle changes to ensure you’re comfortable for your big day.

If you’re getting married on a beach, stilettos are far from practical, and with this trend growing it means more and more brides will be able to find the perfect shoes to wear for their wedding.

Men aren’t left out either – another top trend is for grooms to wear an outfit without a tie. In warmer weather this will certainly be preferable and again it fits in well with the relaxed vibes of a beach wedding.

Other bridal wear trends to watch out for include capes as an alternative to veils and backdrop necklaces, which are the perfect accessory to pair with a backless dress.

All of these more casual or quirky trends lend themselves well to weddings in alternative venues. A growing number of couples are choosing to tie the knot in outdoor ceremonies, Cosmopolitan pointed out earlier this year, so it’s unlikely that these trends will be going anywhere soon.

What Desserts Will You Serve At A Cyprus Wedding?

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When you’re planning your Cyprus wedding you’ll have a host of things to choose, just like any wedding ceremony in the UK. Although you may have the venue and date organised, you’ll still need to consider decor, guest lists and food.

If you’re tying the knot overseas you’re already breaking with tradition and this might be a theme that runs through the rest of your special day. In fact, many couples are turning their backs on what’s considered traditional at weddings in favour of something that better represents their personalities.

And it doesn’t have to be any different when it comes to the food you serve on your big day – and specifically the desserts. While a wedding cake might be typical, that doesn’t mean you need to have one for your beach wedding.

In fact, a recent post by Style Caster shared some of the top wedding dessert trends – a couple of which could be ideal for nuptials overseas.

One is the rise of ice cream cones, with guests able to choose their own toppings for their cool and refreshing sweet treat.

Another of the trends identified by the website was rose-inspired treats, and these could be a particularly good choice in Cyprus. Rose water is used to flavour desserts in Cyprus, as well as elsewhere in the Mediterranean, so you could introduce a local twist to your wedding food with this flavour.

Mahalebi is a traditional Cypriot dessert that’s served with chilled rose water and sugar, or a rose cordial syrup poured over the top, food blog Kopiaste revealed.

Wedding Floral Trends for 2018

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One concern you might have before you think about weddings in Paphos is what your flowers will be like, but working with our organisers we’re sure to deliver something to fit your brief. And, according to these new wedding floral trends for 2018 from the Metro, the type of flowers used isn’t so much key as the way they’re styled.

 

Fragrant bouquets

Don’t just think about your flowers visually – scent is becoming an ever more important part of the big day. The scent you choose will have strong memories attached, always reminding you of this most special of days. Don’t just limit it to flowers too – aromatic herbs are becoming more popular in bouquets too, like rustic rosemary and thyme.

 

Feathers

Incorporating other materials in a bouquet and boutonnière can be a nice way to add some character to your wedding flowers. The likes of pheasant feathers have a beautiful rustic look that will compliment a neutral bouquet.

 

Dried flowers

While you may not want a bouquet made entirely of dried flowers, among fresh ones, they can add texture and interest. It would suit a bohemian-style Greek wedding perfectly, and what’s better, if there’s a certain flower you want to include symbolically in your wedding abroad, drying them out first makes transporting them a lot easier.

 

Natural look

A less rigidly constructed, ‘natural’ look of bouquet has been a popular trend of late. Pick wild-style flowers and foliage in asymmetric bouquets to achieve the look, embracing olive branches and eucalyptus for a less intense green hue.

Top Tips For Arranging A Stunning Beach Wedding

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If you’ve decided that Cyprus beach weddings are the way to go, you’ll most likely be planning for sunny and warm weather, stunning surroundings and an intimate ceremony.

One of the challenges with organising a beach wedding is getting the balance right between the decor and the surroundings, as well as ensuring that your bridal party and your guests are prepared for the more informal surroundings.

A host of luxury wedding experts recently offered some of their top advice on how to organise the perfect beach wedding to Town & Country Magazine. Decor is one of the hardest things to get right, they note, but there are a few simple tricks to ensure you don’t over do things.

Decorative accents, such as custom chair covers or quirky outdoor lights, can make your wedding unique without being too intrusive to the stunning natural surroundings. In fact, one of the top tips is to make sure that your decor doesn’t compete with the beach, but instead that it compliments it.

Choosing the likes of “ghost chairs and light and airy florals” are among the best ways to do this, according to the owners of Rockrose Floral in the US.

When it comes to how you dress your bridal party, Brian Leahy, owner of Brian Leahy Photography, said that you can go all out with colour if you want. “Bright reds, greens, and corals contrast incredibly well with the sand, ocean and blue skies,” he stated.

Given that colourful bridal gowns are coming into fashion, this could be a great option for anyone who wants to introduce some vibrant shades to their big day.

Guests Spend Over £300 Per Wedding

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There is much publicity about how expensive organising a wedding can be for the bride and groom. However, little is reported about how much guests end up shelling out on their friend or relative’s special day.

Well, according to recent research from American Express, they are likely to spend an average of £303 on each wedding this year, with 32 per cent attending at least one nuptial in 2018.

In fact, UK adults are likely to go to three weddings over the next few months, which means they will be spending nearly £1,000 on gifts, hotels, travel, outfits, hen or stag dos, hair and beauty.

Maggie Boyle, director at American Express, said: “There are few greater honours than being asked to celebrate a couple’s wedding day, whether you’re part of the bridal party or a guest.”

She went on to say: “However, the costs can still mount up, especially if the invitations are arriving thick and fast.”

Ushers and bridesmaids spend the most on their loved one’s Big Day, shelling out £553 and £462 respectively.

While hen and stag dos can end up costing a lot, as well as travel and accommodation, guests are also using a lot of their spare cash on the wedding gift, with an average spend of £57 for each couple.

One way to avoid your friends spending a lot on your special day is by arranging a wedding package in Cyprus. You could either keep your guest list extremely small to avoid many loved ones having to pay for flights, or you could book a package that provides food and accommodation for some of your invitees.

Wedding Dress Trends To Watch This Year

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If you’re going to be tying the knot to the love of your life on a sun-kissed beach in Cyprus this summer, you may still be looking for the perfect outfit to wear to your wedding.

As the bride, there are a host of options out there – but we think some of the new trends emerging in bridal wear are ideal for Cyprus beach weddings.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, celebrity designer Mark Zunino gave his top picks of wedding dress trends for the coming year. Among them is dresses that feature a detachable overskirt.

The idea being that you can walk down the aisle in a ballgown, but remove the puffy skirt once the official ceremony is over to dance the night away with your friends and family (and new husband) in something a little more comfortable. If you’re having your wedding at the beach, this could help you tick the formal and relaxed boxes in one go.

Another top trend to watch is that of patterned wedding dresses, which work particularly well in non-traditional settings.

Zunino’s top tip is to keep the print delicate and have it on a white or pale background, so that you still keep the bridal feel.

Colour in bridal wear is growing in popularity too, with more and more brides picking pink or blush coloured gowns.

We also highlighted some of the top trends for bridesmaid outfits recently, which include the growing popularity of black bridesmaid dresses, and a shift away from dresses to separate skirts and tops.

Outdoor Weddings Growing In Popularity

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When you look back at the weddings our parents had and compare them to the ceremonies and celebrations being held today, it’s easy to see that things have changed when it comes to tying the knot.

One trend that seems to be growing in popularity is having outdoor weddings. A recent article for Cosmopolitan noted that millennials are increasingly interested in civil ceremonies, rather than religious ones, and that alternative and outdoor locations are rising in popularity.

However, there are some nods to tradition in these more modern services, wedding stylist at Ashdown and Bee Melissa Murray told the publication.

“For outside ceremonies, lots of couples will have a custom arch or altar for their ceremony – whether it’s a curved arch, or a square, or something more unusual – to frame that magical moment in the same way,” she stated.

Of course, in the UK you can’t guarantee you’ll have the weather for an outdoor ceremony, so if you want to make sure that you really can tie the knot under the open sky, you might want to look into wedding packages in Cyprus.

The island has many associations with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and is a beautiful location for a wedding. There are also a range of options when it comes to where you can have your ceremony, from one of the isle’s traditional churches, to a stunning beach or even at one of Cyprus’ forts.

Other more unusual places you can have your wedding service on Cyprus include the Ethnographic Museum, which has a gorgeous private courtyard, and at The Hamam, which has been beautifully restored and even boasts its own small waterfall.

Perfect Colour Schemes For Summer Weddings

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If you’ve organised a Cyprus wedding package, you’re almost guaranteed sunshine and warm weather when you head off to the island in the Mediterranean for your nuptials. That means you can treat it like you would a summer wedding in the UK in terms of the style you go for.

Choosing the right colour scheme to suit you and the setting is all part of the fun – and one publication recently offered some tips on how to get the right vibe for your summer wedding.

InStyle picked out some colour combinations to suit a few different types of summer nuptials, including a ceremony hosted at a beach.

Beach weddings, according to Chertoff, trend expert at WeddingWire, give you the chance to opt for bright and bold colours. Navy is a classic and one that goes well with a nautical theme, but consider adding pink for a pop of colour.

“We love bright pinks and corals coupled with yellows, neutrals and, of course, lots of greenery,” she told the website.

In fact, last month we noted that pink is becoming an increasingly popular colour for wedding dresses, which could be the perfect choice if you’re planning to have a beach wedding in Cyprus this year.

While a beach ceremony is the obvious choice if you’ve got your heart set on tying the knot in Cyprus, there are other options. You could go for a vineyard theme – another trend highlighted by InStyle – with a vibrant colour scheme of bright purples alongside green shades.

Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Shun Tradition With Wedding Cake Plans

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The upcoming Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is likely to inspire lots of couples when it comes to planning their own nuptials. So with the latest news that the happy pair is shunning tradition with their wedding cake choice and favouring a sponge cake instead of a fruit one, will this encourage you to do the same?

East London baker Claire Ptak has announced on Twitter that she will be the official maker of the couple’s wedding cake, reported the Daily Mail.

The owner of the trendy Violet Bakery in Hackney who hails from America, much like Markle, was not the obvious choice for the royal couple.

Indeed, when it came to the nuptials between Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, they chose an extravagant eight-tiered fruitcake, decorated with over 900 sugar paste flowers and white and cream icing.

However, it is thought that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not serve fruitcake on May 19th, and may instead opt for lemon and elderflower sponge, which will suit their spring wedding better.

While Ptak was not the traditional option for the royal wedding, Markle might have favoured her not only because is she a fellow American, but the actress once interviewed the baker for her lifestyle blog TheTig.com.

Whatever the reason, it is not easy breaking with tradition – particularly if relatives have strong opinions when it comes to your Big Day.

If you are planning a wedding in Cyprus, you have the choice of opting for a traditional fruitcake or something totally alternative, such as cheesecake. Of course, you could embrace local customs and serve a typical Cypriot wedding cake instead.

Loukoumia tou Gamou is the most common wedding cake found in Cyprus, but instead of being cut in front of all your guests, they are small treats handed out after the ceremony.

Folded in cellophane paper, these are made with semolina, filled with almonds or pistachios, sugar and cinnamon and glazed with citrus or rose blossom water and covered with icing sugar.