Tuesday, June 16, 2009

More wedding freebies

The Guide to Romantic Harbourside Weddings in The Rocks and Darling Harbour has all the information you need on indoor and outdoor locations, places for your ceremony, intimate or large reception venues and picture perfect spots for stunning wedding photos that feature the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as backdrops.

The guide features original jewellers, personalised wedding candles, and unique lollies with personal messages for your guests. There's even a few suggestions for handmade original gifts that make a wonderful thank you for bridesmaids and groomsmen.

And because no wedding is complete without a boys' and girls' night out there's also a few fun suggestions on how to get the most out of your pre-marriage celebrations.

If you can imagine yourself enjoying a romantic harbourside wedding, The Guide to Romantic Harbourside Weddings in The Rocks and Darling Harbour can help make it a reality.

Start with this guide. It was put together especially with you in mind for your free copy fill in your information here

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The Wedding Guide of New South Wales is packed with information on wedding professionals - it's the easiest way to choose your suppliers.

Simply fill out this form and They will send you your free magazine - the complete guide to the perfect wedding! (For NSW brides only)


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A free personal wedding website that you can edit and send to friends and family . . . keep everyone up to date on all the happenings of your wedding . . .

You can upload photos, there's a great countdown to your wedding and even a guest book for visitors to leave messages.

ALL FREE !! Simply follow the instructions here to make i-do.com.au your homepage and get your free wedding website.


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View a copy of the latest Wedding Style guide magazine free online. Its jam packed full of wonderful wedding ideas. To view, simply click here


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Get ready for some exciting new Bridal Tools to help and assist in your wedding planning!

The Wedding Shows research and development team have been working with brides and grooms to help better understand your needs and develop a new benchmark in a Bridal tool set!

Be the first to receive these new innovative planning tools!

Register Now to be the first to receive these innovative Bridal tools upon release for FREE and the chance to Win your very own Dream Honeymoon and remember by becoming a wedding show member you will receive:

1. The latest on NEW wedding show programs coming your way!
2. Up and coming information on COMPETITIONS!
3. Special offers and wedding supplier discounts exclusive only to our members
4. The Wedding Show Newsletters and much more!


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Travel Registry, Australia's only free, do-it-yourself honeymoon wedding registry. Honeymoon registries are a reasonably new thing in Australia, with many couples already living together before they tie the knot. Traditional bridal registries are somewhat useless for a lot of couples in this situation, because they already have their homes decked out with all the things they need. With this in mind, why not offer your guests the chance to contribute to your honeymoon?
It's so simple. Once you have signed up for free, they will build you a registry website that you can tell your guests about in your wedding invitations. You will get access to create an itemised, categorised honeymoon registry, in which you can include all aspects of your honeymoon, such as accommodation, flights, dinners, cocktails on the beach - whatever! Guests visit your registry website and they can elect to buy whichever gift(s) they like by sending you the money. They can pay you by cheque or bank transfer - these details will be provided to them when they choose which gift(s) to buy.



Monday, June 15, 2009

Cocktails

If you are planning on catering your own wedding, try these yummy cocktails!





Cosmopolitans


Ingredients (serves 6)

  • 1 cup (250ml) Grand Marnier (or orange liqueur)
  • 1/2 cup (125ml) chilled vodka
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) chilled cranberry juice
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
  • Ice cubes, to serve
  • Lime wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Combine the Grand Marnier, vodka, cranberry juice and lime juice in a jug. Place ice cubes in martini glasses and pour over the cosmopolitan mixture. Serve immediately with lime wedges, if desired.


Chilli mojito


Preparation Time

5 minutes

Cooking Time

5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

  • 170g (3/4 cup) white sugar
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 2 egg whites
  • 16 fresh mint sprigs
  • 160ml (2/3 cup) lime cordial
  • 2 limes, coarsely chopped
  • 24 ice cubes
  • 320ml white rum
  • Soda water, to serve
  • 2 long fresh red chillies (optional), halved, deseeded, thinly sliced

Method

  1. Place the sugar and chilli flakes in a mortar and pound with a pestle until finely crushed. (Alternatively, use a coffee or spice grinder.) Transfer to a small plate.
  2. Use a fork to whisk the egg whites in a bowl until frothy. Dip the rim of 1 serving glass into the egg white, then into the chilli mixture to coat. Repeat with the remaining serving glasses. Set aside until set.
  3. Divide the mint, cordial and lime among the glasses. Use the end of a rolling pin to gently pound until coarsely crushed. Divide the ice cubes and rum among the glasses. Top with soda water. Add a slice of chilli to each glass, if desired, to serve.

Notes & tips

  • Time plan tip: Make this recipe just before serving.



Blue lagoon


Ingredients (serves 8)

  • 1L (4 cups) bought pineapple juice
  • 500ml (2 cups) chilled lemonade
  • 250ml (1 cup) blue curacao
  • 250ml (1 cup) dry gin
  • Fresh pineapple wedges, to garnish

Method

  1. Place the pineapple juice in a shallow metal container. Cover with foil and place in the freezer for 4 hours or until just set.
  2. Roughly break up the frozen pineapple juice with a metal spoon and quickly transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a large jug. Add the lemonade and stir until just combined.
  3. Pour the blue curacao and gin among 8 serving glasses. Pour over the pineapple mixture. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and serve immediately.

Notes & tips

  • Allow 4 hours freezing time.
  • Blue curacao, a rum-based liqueur with a subtle bitter-orange flavour, is the base for this cocktail.



Berry punch

Makes

4 litres

Ingredients

  • 125g blueberries
  • 125g raspberries
  • 250g strawberries, hulled, sliced
  • 1.5 litres raspberry and cranberry juice, chilled
  • 1 cup vodka
  • 1 lime
  • 1.25 litres lemonade, chilled
  • ice cubes, to serve

Method

  1. Place blueberries, raspberries and strawberries in a large bowl. Add juice and vodka. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to allow flavours to develop.
  2. Thinly slice lime. Cut slices into small wedges. Stir through punch. Add lemonade and ice. Serve.



Watermelon mai tai

Preparation Time

5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 8)

  • 500g peeled watermelon, chopped
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) Golden Circle pineapple juice
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) white rum
  • 60ml (1/4 cup) triple sec liqueur
  • 1 tsp grenadine
  • Crushed ice, to serve

Method

  1. Place the watermelon, pineapple juice, rum, liqueur and grenadine in the jug of a blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Divide the ice among serving glasses. Pour over watermelon mixture to serve.

Notes & tips

  • Note: Make this recipe just before serving.
  • Tip: To make this drink suitable for designated drivers, omit alcohol and increase the pineapple juice to 1 cup.




Frozen cosmopolitan

Ingredients (serves 12)

  • 2 cups chilled sugar syrup
  • 6 large limes, juiced
  • 2 cups classic cranberry juice
  • 2 cups vodka

Method

  1. Pour sugar syrup into a 3-litre container. Strain 1 cup lime juice into a jug. Add lime juice, cranberry juice and vodka to syrup. Mix well. Cover and freeze overnight.
  2. Stir frozen cosmopolitan to combine. Spoon into glasses. Serve immediately.



Passionfruit Champagne cocktails


Preparation Time

5 minutes

Ingredients (serves 6)

  • 375ml (1 1/2 cups) passionfruit pulp
  • 125ml (1/2 cup) brandy
  • 1 x 750ml btl chilled Champagne or sparkling white wine

Method

  1. Spoon the passionfruit pulp among twelve 30ml ice-cube trays. Place in the freezer for 4 hours or until firm.
  2. Pour the brandy among serving glasses. Top with Champagne or sparkling wine and passionfruit ice cubes. Serve immediately.


Thursday, June 11, 2009

Create your own wedding ring with Amazon

Now you can choose your engagement and wedding rings right at the comfort of your home with Amazon. You get to choose exactly what you want — size, shape, setting, color — without the pressure and awkwardness of having a salesman hovering over you. And because there are no overhead costs, buying over Amazon saves you money could be spending on your other wedding needs.


Try it for yourself:

Open up Amazon's Create Your Own Ring page, and the first thing you'll encounter is a set of sliding bars to help you narrow your choices and select your diamond. Start by picking your diamond shape. Then you can further refine your search by adjusting the sliders to set a range for price, carat weight, cut, color, and clarity. You can click "see results" at any point in the process to view all the diamonds that match your criteria.

Once you've found and selected the diamond you want, you will move on to choose the setting. Here, you can narrow your choices to a particular style of setting or a specific metal type. The images will show you how your diamond will look mounted in the setting.

After you've chosen the setting that appeals to you, all that remains is to select the ring size, and then-you're ready to order!

Black and White Damask Wedding