Wedding Planning for the Bride on the Go

iPhone applications amaze me. I’ve now discovered a great new one for wedding planning – who knew?

iWedding is a wedding planner to help you arrange one of the most important days of your life. Keeping track of the many tasks and all that information used to lead to stacks of paper, but not anymore. iWedding uses many of the powerful features built into your iPod Touch or iPhone to help with the organisation of the big day and keeps all the vital information at your fingertips.

Check out the features:

(v1.51)

Home Screen

• Countdown to your Wedding Day
• Top 5 of the To-do List
• Quick Notes
• Photo Browser

My Wedding

• Guest List Planning – All day and Just the Evening, including Invitations, RSVP and Meal Choice.
• Integration with Contacts/Address Book – Giving direct access to Telephone, Email and Address information.
• Guests / businesses can be added without needing a new contact – i.e. as just a name.
• Guests can be added in multiples.
• Recording of extensive information including times, dates, deposits, total costs for many categories including: venues, flowers, transport, catering, favors, honeymoon and even add photo and images of
• a To-do List (a guide which can be expanded with custom To-dos and the pre-installed to-dos can also be deleted).
• Seating Arrangements (up to 40 tables).
• Summaries of most sections available On Screen, as a customized Email or by Export to Web.
• Export your summary data to an iWedding Online account – viewable in any web browser. This allows you to share the summary info with your fiancee. – iWedding Online for iPhone and iPod Touch.
• Only use the Menu categories in Wedding, Reception and Honeymoon (delete the sections you dont want)

Budget

• Spending Summary – Automagically calculated from each sections details (but can be expanded with custom expenditure if necessary).
• Budget Assistant (showing percentage of budget spent compared against a budget guide).

Inspiration and Ideas

• Businesses can demonstrate their Dresses, Venues, Cakes and any other services with direct link to their website.
• Gift Registry and Wedding Music Ideas.

News

• RSS News Reader for iWedding News and we have included suggestions from our favorite wedding news feeds.

Plus:

• Same sex couples now supported.
• Colour of title and toolbars is customizable.
• Uses many Apple features such as ‘Swipe to Delete’ to remove guests / businesses, delete todo items and remove sections.

4/5 for the details.

Download the app using iTunes or go to http://www.iweddingapp.com/ for more information!

DIY Wedding Cupcake Recipes

Having a cupcake tower for your wedding as opposed to a traditional cake has, of the last year or so, moved away from being kooky and different, and has now become quite the norm. The American cupcake influence has now fully infilrated the British wedding market, so now the aim is to go bigger and better to make your cupcakes stand out.

So here are a few interesting recipes to show off on your wedding day:

Banoffee Cupcakes

by Cherrapeno

60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
70g light soft brown sugar
1 large egg
1 ripe banana, mashed
115g self-raising flour
50g chewy toffees, chopped

To decorate:
180ml double cream, whipped
3-4 tablespoons dulce de leche
1 banana, sliced
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar if caramelising the bananas

Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Beat in the egg and fold in the mashed banana.

Sift the flour into the mixture and fold in. Gently fold in the chopped toffees.

Spoon the mixture into well greased muffin tins, or tins lined with cupcake cases.

Bake for about 16-18 minutes, until risen and springy to the touch. Mini cupcakes will take less time to cook, keep your eye on them.

Remove from tins and cool on a wire rack.

To decorate, pipe or spoon the whipped cream on the top of the cakes, top with slices of banana and drizzle with the dulce de leche.

If caramelising the banana, sprinkle some caster sugar on the slices and melt the sugar with a blowtorch or a hot grill. Leave to cool before using – the sugar should be crispy.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream

by The Sweet Suite

makes about 28 cupcakes

* 4 cups peeled and finely grated carrots
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
* 1/3 cup buttermilk
* 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use (or 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
* 1/2 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
* 1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and finely chopped
* 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together carrots, eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla seeds, and coconut, pineapple and nuts if desired. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Stir flour mixture into carrot mixture until well combined.
2. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until testers inserted into centers come out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks, 10 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely. Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen for up to 2 months in airtight containers.
3. Frost cupcakes with dulce de leche or cream cheese frosting. Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature, and sprinkle with toasted coconut (press gently to adhere) before serving.

Dulce de Leche Buttercream Frosting

from The Pastry Queen
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
3 Tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup prepared dulce de leche
Cream together softened butter and powdered sugar on low using an electric mixer. Add cream and vanilla and beat on medium speed until smooth and no lumps appear. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the prepared dulce de leche and beat to incorporate. Frost cooled cupcakes using a knife or a pastry bag and tip. Top with toasted coconut.

Strawberry and Mini Cupcake Kebabs (by far the best look yet)

by The Spunky Coconut

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of water

1/8 tsp xanthan gum

(I whipped the water and xanthan gum together with an electric mixer in a separate bowl)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 tbsp coconut flour, sifted

I greased my mini muffin tray and filled each half way with the batter, and baked them at 325 degrees, for about 12 minutes.

Let them cool in the mini muffin tray before taking them out. (I made the mistake of dumping a few out when they were hot from the oven, and they lost their shape.)

I piped on some Sunbutter Frosting:

1/2 cup sunbutter

1/4 cup almond butter

1/4 cup honey

pinch of sea salt

Beat with electric mixer. Add:

1 tsp of coconut flour, sifted

Beat again.

Pipe on top.

Most Amazing Wedding Processional

This video is the most inspirational, funny and fantastic wedding processional I can imagine. After about ten viewings I still get goosebumps at the end.

If you have the manpower and they’re up for it, it’s a definite must.

Wedding Day Disasters Averted

Sorry guys, not been able to post a heck of a lot in the past few months, been inundated with new couples wanting advice and co-ordination!

I thought I’d creep back in with a few emergency tips for any on the day disasters. So here’s a handful on wedding day attire to get started.

Stains on the Dress

• If its dirt, coffee or tea you dont need to use anything else except soap and water. Dont wipe or rub as you’ll just spread the mess. Dab it. If the stain is still there, try dabbing it with a solution of vinegar and water.
• Everybody knows this one – For a red wine stain, dab the spot with white wine (there should be plenty of it, its a wedding), but remember to dab it with water once the stain is gone.
• For make up stains, which are the devil, try and get hold of (or already have handily prepared) some chalk. The chalk should absorb, or at least cover up the mark. Or you dont have chalk to hand, baking soda, talcum powder or baby powder is not as absorbent, but might just about do the trick!
• For lipstick, try rubbing vasoline on the mark, which should dissolve it. If not, go back to the old chalk standby and cover it up!

Repairing the Groom’s Attire

• Perhaps the groom celebrated a little too hard the night before with a final ‘single man’ six-pack and kebab. And perhaps the groom’s waistband has paid the price. If its really not possible to borrow from another groomsman, try making a chain of two or three safety pins to secure the two sides of the waistband together. A cummerbund should hide the fix. An emergency cummerbund can be made with the art of napkins, I’m assured…
• An ill fitting jacket will be less obvious if it is left unbuttoned.

Summer Loving

This seasons fashion trends are peppered with florals of all patterns and designs, and just make you feel warm and sunny looking at them. These bright colours are being reflected in more and more summer wedding themes, as you’ll find from these moodboards from around the web.

 

These colours are so bold and vibrant and could really make a summer garden wedding fantastic. Make an impact by using these colours as highlights in table settings, decor, grooms attire, or even your bridal dress and accessories!

Carry on the tropical colours through to your drinks selection – design a cocktail with your wedding colours in mind and serve them before the reception dinner.

Try to match warm tropical colours with natural pale colours to balance it out, so that your reception colours dont look to ‘gaudy’ or messy. Always try to stick to a palette of either warm or cool colours – warm colours being bright pinks and reds, oranges and yellows, and cool colours being bright blues, greens and purples.

Moodboards thanks to Flickr and Fashion Era.

Feature: Phill Anstice Photography

 

A few weeks ago, by a stroke of absolute luck, I discovered a wedding photography company belonging to a lovely man in Wales called Phill Anstice. He specialises in informal reportage photography – which I personally feel can produce some of the most amazing and touching wedding photos.

Take a look at just a sample of his work…

Even though Phill is based in Wales, he will travel to wherever your venue may be, as long as his travel and accomodation is accounted for. One of the best things about Phill’s photography is how reasonable the packages are in price. There are four price plans – ranging from £695 to £1150 – and with every single one of them you get to keep ALL of the images on disk (it is your wedding after all) and this is inclusive of the package, unlike many London photographers who will charge for this. Check out the website for more details on the prices – www.phillanstice.com

I highly recommend. x

Pimp Your Dessert Buffet: Nostalgic Wedding Snacks

A friend of mine found this site last year and took on the giant party ring for another friend of ours as a surprise – needless to say it went down a treat – no pun intended (seriously that was so accidental).

For the sweet-toothed, nostalgic (and brave) bride and groom, this might be the perfect idea to get guests talking at your wedding reception. Imagine serving up a buffet of giant snacks like the party ring or the battenburg cake.

Only thing is, I wouldn’t recommend trying to make them yourself – give the recipe to a professional or a friend you know can bake, so they can test it first!

If you did want to ‘pimp’ your dessert buffet, have a look at a lot of the tried and tested recipes on the website, Pimp That Snack! I’m desperate to attempt the giant creme egg…but I can’t see how I’d get it into a wedding buffet without over-ordering on napkins…