I Do Directory News

Wedding Cakes

30 Nov 2011 at 11:04

posted by: Brinley

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Of course the traditional wedding cake is a rich fruit cake covered in white or cream icing. Traditionally three tiers as one was saved for the christening of the couple’s first child. Today creative licence and imagination can create almost an artistic master piece, where you can really show your guests something about your personality as a couple.

From deliciously rich chocolate cake to healthy carrot cake. Why not have a different cake for each tier!

wedding cakes

Visit our Caterers- Wedding Cakes section to discover some of the variations of suppliers in your region. You can visit their websites and most will have a gallery page so you can start to get ideas for the type of wedding cake you would

Deciding on a Honeymoon

27 Nov 2011 at 13:45

posted by: Brinley

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Having difficulty deciding on what type of honeymoon you want and where you want to go? Most couples admit that choosing there honeymoon is one of the most important holiday choices of your life and with so many fantastic destinations on offer, sometimes this can be quite daunting!

The main question is ‘Were you we start’? Take a look at our guide below which hopefully provide you with the answers to all of your questions. If you have any further questions just pick up the phone and talk to our experienced reservations team. Many of them have been through what you are going through now and know how important this decision is – they also have first hand knowledge of all the destinations and resorts we offer.
When should you start thinking about your honeymoon?

We would suggest that you book your honeymoon as soon as you have your wedding date to avoid disappointment due to lack of availability, especially if you are getting married during our summer months or during school holidays as these are very popular times to travel. What type of honeymoon do you want?

This is the time to decide what you want to do on honeymoon. Do you want to spend your time lying on a white sandy beach with sounds of the ocean lapping against the beach or do you want to be active and spend your time exploring the bushveld on a safari?

The most important factor to take into consideration is making a choice that is right for both of you, one of you may want to relax on the beach and the other may want to take in cultural visits or go mountain biking – choose something that offers a little bit of both worlds – with so many choices you are sure to find something to meet both your needs.

If your idea of a perfect honeymoon is to explore cultural sights and famous landmarks there are plenty of choices for you. You may already know that you want to take a cable car up Table Mountain, or explore the beautiful ‘old town’ in the city of Muscat, the Mosque in Abu Dhabi, explore tropical waterfalls in Mauritius or see some of the most beautiful islands in the world in the Seychelles.

How to pick your wedding flowers

16 Nov 2011 at 09:02

posted by: Brinley

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What colours you have chosen for the wedding, the flowers can help to blend in and tie everything together. Do you have a favourite flower that you would like to be prominent, something that holds meaning for you? Consider what if any foliage you would like to include, as a contrast to show off the flowers.

Wedding Flowers

There are many different types of floral arrangements.

Do you want to have flowers in the church or wedding ceremony venue and table decorations for the wedding breakfast and evening party? Button holes for the key members of the bridal party. There are lots of florists who will have their own creative input and interpretation to give you lots of ideas, especially those who are experienced and have produced flowers for lots of weddings.

Ranging from the traditional to the more contemporary styles of bridal bouquet.

Wedding Flowers suppliers on I Do Directory

Wedding Dresses and Bridal Gowns

12 Nov 2011 at 13:29

posted by: Brinley

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What are the things to consider when looking for the dress that you will feel not only comfortable in, but like a princess in on your wedding day? What style of wedding are you planning, traditional white dress or themed medieval? Once you have decided on the style then you can look for the dress.

The best way is to simply get out there and enjoy looking around. Have a look around a few different shops to see what you think you will like.

Remember it is surprising how different a bridal gown can look on the hanger to how it looks on you. So try on some different shapes, colours and styles of wedding dress, this will start to give you an idea of what you do and don’t like and you will start to build a picture of what you want. Most brides will know when they have found the right dress, so persevere and don’t settle until you are happy that you have the right one.

Bridal Dresses

Here are some other points to consider…

Colour of the dress, to suit your skin tone.
Shape of dress, including; neckline, size of skirt, sleeves and how long a train.
The type of fabric.
Do you like lots of detail or have a preference for more simple and elegant styles.
Do you want to purchase a new wedding dress; consider hiring a dress for the day, buying second hand or having one tailor made?

There will be lots of traditional bridal dress boutiques out there and some specialist bridal gown suppliers for those that would like something a little different.
Take a look through our Bride – Dresses section for different wedding dress shops in your region.

Wedding Planning – Where to Start

26 Oct 2011 at 13:56

posted by: Brinley

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If you are a stickler for tradition then etiquette requires your fiance to ask your parents for your hand in marriage. For those who don’t care for traditional etiquette or are offended by the idea then we recommend that you restrain yourself from group texting and emailing all your contacts the news.

Without question your parents should be the first to know about your impending nuptials. Don’t let them hear about it from the receptionist at work congratulating them. If either of you have children, then tell the kids before you tell other people. Families merging together can be a stressful thought regardless of how well they get along, even for the youngest of kids.

We don’t recommend you bring up budgets, costs and who pays for what just yet. Give you parents time to breath and take in the good news. (If they consider and news to be bad and your true love to be a true dud then consider eloping now)

After telling each others parents, now is the time for them to meet and get to know each other if they don’t already. You’ll know whose parents should initiate contact. If you aren’t sure then let tradition decide and suggest that the groom’s parents to call the bride’s.

WARNING! This is a very exciting time where emotions run high, don’t start making promises about wearing Auntie Myrle’s wedding dress and don’t let your enthusiasm lend itself to enlisting 58 people for the bridal party. Give yourself a cooling off period to gather your thoughts and consider who you want involved in your wedding.

I Do Wedding Directory article

What type of honeymoon do you want?

21 Oct 2011 at 15:29

posted by: Brinley

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This is fantastic for those wanting complete privacy. This is something that will take time to travel to and most are at the higher end of the budget so whether you are dreaming of a small remote island in the Seychelles, a country retreat in Africa or a tranquil hideaway in the Middle East you will not be disappointed with our range properties for couples wanting indulgent seclusion.
Exploration and Adventure

These types of honeymoons are great for couples who are very active and want to see more than just a beach. So whether you are thinking of an safari in Africa, exploring the beautiful Garden Route, trekking around Le Morne Peninsula, learning to sail or Kite Surf in Mauritius, exploring various islands in the Seychelles or experiencing the thrills of a 4×4 dune drive in the Middle East you are sure to find one of our destinations to suit you!
Fly and Flop

This is an extremely popular choice for honeymooners. So if all you want to do is get on a plane, arrive at your destination, transfer to your luxurious accommodation, check in, and lie on the beach with a cocktail then all our destinations have resorts that will suit your needs. Just a quick piece of advice – with most honeymoons lasting 14 nights it is a long time to lie on the beach – we would recommend choosing something that offers a variety of activities for both of you whether it be a massage or a sporting activity!
Sightseeing.

Tranquil Hideaways

The Uniqueness of the I Do Wedding Directory

15 Oct 2011 at 20:53

posted by: Brinley

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In this wonderful age of the web and its integration into the very core of our lives it is very difficult for a new concept to gain a foothold in peoples minds and to become accepted. The main reason for this is because the web provides us with a view of pretty much everything. We have an ocean of information, opportunities, interactions and choices at out fingertips and it is because of this that we have to skim the web and take only the creamy bits we want or need.

So when I began I Do Directory I was well aware of the enormity of the task I was undertaking, that is to break into an already saturated wedding directory market but also do it with an entirely new business model.

The idea for I Do Directory came about because the various pricing models offered by the major Wedding Directories were complicated and entirely price driven or a frenzy of competing banners in which all listings got lost. I wanted to create a directory that was both cost effective for wedding businesses as well as beneficial for the brides & grooms searching for companies who would help them make their wedding day special.

Finding the right balance between these two factors was something of a balancing act to begin with primarily on the pricing model side as flat fees, which is what we started with, just didn’t work, primarily because Google AdWords has taught businesses to value click through’s which particularly effected new business listings on I Do Directory.Basically a new listing is not going to be able to compete on position with an existing listing that already has a high number of votes and rankings. Initially I tried to offset this discrepancy by offering all new listings the 1st year free and in so doing providing them with the time necessary to build up their ranking position. Unfortunately this on its own wasn’t enough and the even playing field of “everyone pay the same and let the customer decide who is best” simply was rejected by wedding companies who wanted value for money.

The present incarnation of the business model is one that I believe maintains the original principal of letting bride & grooms judging who should be ranked highest on I Do Directory based on the services and products they provided. At the same time the 1st year free model is also in place to help new wedding companies to try out I Do Directory and enable them to see first hand the results it provides. After this time wedding companies then pay “per referral” which is something I am glad to say our customers are much happier with as it gives them measurable value for money.

Whats next? Well there are few tweaks I would like to implement on the website that are going to help show off listings better and then I want to revamp the special offers sections to make them more flexible and readily accessible. I would also like to offer a link exchange programme for Wedding comapnies within the I Do Directory structure that simply indicates to other wedding businesses with listings that your are willing to exchange links. Finally the front page is going to be used as a showcase for businesess who have something unique to offer.

With all this ahead I am really looking forward to the forthcoming years and to watch the I Do Directory grow and I hope you will too.

Cheers
Brinley