Reception - Your Wedding Weather

New from The Weather Channel, the leading weather forecast provider for the world.

My Wedding Weather

Related link: Reception - When is the best time to have an outdoor wedding in Melbourne?

Reception - Top 10 wedding budget tips

Here are i-Wedding's top 10 tips for keeping your wedding budget low.

1. Buy your dress and your bridesmaid's dresses from the same shop. Usually the store owner will be more inclined to give you a discount if you buy everything from him/her. If possible, also buy your jewellery and shoes from the same store.
   
2. Consider eliminating the following from your cake: fruit fillings, fondant icing, sugar flowers that are handmade, deep colors (use pastel colours instead), shapes that are not standard. These items add to the cost of the cake.


3. Only meet with vendors that can provide the service within your budget. Let them know upfront your budget so they can provide options that are within the budget.
4. Shop around. And don't be afraid to ask for a discount. I know a bride who got a $200 discount off her $800 gown because she asked for a discount.
   
5. Minimise the variety of appetizers. People won't notice if there are 2 or 20 different appetizers!
   
6. Be sure to also consider accessories, such as veil, gloves, shoes, jewellery, purse, lingerie, and alterations, when setting the budget for your wedding attire.
   
7. Beads or sequins on a dress will up the cost substantially. Get a plain dress and ask a relative or friend who is a seamstress to sew them on. Or, just do it yourself.
   
8. If you're on a tight budget, limit the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen at your wedding.
   
9. Check the internet for online stores. Online stores usually sell items at a lower price due to much lower overhead costs.
   
10. Consider using some green plants as decoration instead of filling the reception or ceremony location with flowers.

For an idea on how much to spend on each part of your wedding, try this Interactive Wedding Budget Planner. You just type in your total budget and it will automatically calculate your budget for each section of your wedding.

Bomboniere - The tradition behind and the future of giving bomboniere

Giving bomboniere to your wedding guests is a sweet way to say “Thank you” for their presence and generous gifts, and to convery good wishes, appreciation and friendship.

Traditionally, five sugared almonds, representing health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life for the newlyweds, are given to remind us that life is both bitter and sweet.

Today, bomboniere comes in many forms. To keep with traditions, some couples prefer to give the 5 sugared almonds but presented in a modern innovative way. Some may choose to add their own personal touch by giving chocolate hearts, jellybeans or lollies instead of the almonds.

More and more couples are inclined to break away from this sugared almond tradition by giving their guests gifts that reflect their personality. The golf enthusiasts may present golf-themed picture frames. The nature lovers may want to offer their guests lovely flower candles. Some couples even give their own personal message and meaning, for example candles may mean “you light up my life” or bears can convey the message “I love you beary much!”.

There are no hard and fast rules on bomboniere. Just remember to let your creative juices flow and add your own personal touch to your wedding!

As written on i-Weddings

Reception - When is the best time to have an outdoor wedding in Melbourne?

When is the best time of the year to have your wedding? This question is especially important if you’re having any part of your wedding, be it the ceremony, the reception or the photo-taking session, outdoors.

I’ve compiled some useful climate information on Melbourne from the Bureau of Meteorology to help you decide.

Rain obviously is the main deciding factor.

Month	Average Rainfall (mm)	Average Number of Raindays	Average probability of rain on any day
Jan	48.2	8.3	26.8%
Feb	47.0	7.4	26.4%
Mar	50.6	9.3	30.0%
Apr	58.2	11.5	38.3%
May	56.6	14.0	45.2%
Jun	49.8	14.2	47.3%
Jul	47.9	15.1	48.7%
Aug	50.3	15.6	50.3%
Sept	58.7	14.8	49.3%
Oct	67.4	14.3	46.1%
Nov	59.3	11.8	39.3%
Dec	59.1	10.5	33.9%

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

Temperature is also an important factor. On top of being sunny, being comfortable at your own wedding without sweltering in 40-degree heat is important.

Month	Average Daily Maximum Temperature	Average number of days where maximum temperature is more or equal to 40 degrees Celcius	Average number of days where maximum temperature is more or equal to 35 degrees Celcius	Average number of days where maximum temperature is more or equal to 30 degrees Celcius
Jan	25.8 degC	0.7	3.6	7.8
Feb	25.8 degC	0.3	2.7	6.9
Mar	23.8 degC	0.1	0.9	4.9
Apr	20.2 degC	0	0	0.5
May	16.6 degC	0	0	0
Jun	14.0 degC	0	0	0
Jul	13.4 degC	0	0	0
Aug	14.9 degC	0	0	0
Sept	17.2 degC	0	0	0
Oct	19.6 degC	0	0	0.8
Nov	21.8 degC	0	0.5	3.0
Dec	24.1 degC	0.2	1.9	5.8

Source: Bureau of Meteorology

Do leave a comment if you need help interpreting the information, or if you would like me to provide weather information on other cities, whether in or out of Australia.

For more precise information closer to your wedding date, check out the Bureau of Meteorology for 7-day forecasts or The Weather Channel for 10-day forecasts.

Invitations - Fresh idea for wedding invitations

Instead of using the normal ole' boring card and envelope, why not try a new fresh angle to invite your friends and familiy to your big day - The E-vite. Put together a video montage and send it through email or by CD.

You can be as creative as possible. Some ideas to put on this invitation video:

• video footage of the proposal
• pictures of the bride- and groom-to-be
• use your favourite song(s)
• video footage of your friends' and family's reaction to the proposal
• a sneak preview of the venue, food, decoration, colour theme etc
• video footage of your wedding planning progress

The possibilities are endless. You can even DIY the video invitation with the Windows Movie Maker program that comes with the later versions of Microsoft Windows.

So let your creative juices flow!

Some ideas to get you started:

You can even make a different one for family and a different for friends!

Fashion - Melbourne Bride Wedding Expo Fashion Show

Latest videos on YouTube from the latest Melbourne Bride Wedding Expo fashion show. Get ideas for your wedding dress from the latest designs from:

1. Mariana Hardwick



2. Baccini and Hill



3. Angela Marcuccio



4. Annette of Melbourne



5. Gulderen Silvasli



6. Luci de Bella

The Origin of i-Weddings

The idea to start a company formed when I was planning my own wedding two years ago. I was looking around for bomboniere and wedding favours for my guests.

I was still working in Asia but my fiancé was working in Perth. On one of my visits to Perth, I looked around for these bomboniere. I thought since they are the norm in Perth, they will be abundantly available.

To my horror, I was faced with very limited choices within my budget. And I wanted to be different. I mean who doesn’t? I found every store I went to had almost identical bomboniere to the previous on I went to.

I was disappointed.

After my wedding, I thought that introducing a bold new range of bomboniere and wedding gifts to the Australian market will be a good business idea. The aim was to provide more choices to brides in Australia who are looking to express their individuality.

That was more than one year ago. Since then I’ve had so many happy couples telling me how refreshing it is to see such unique bomboniere available in Australia.