For prices and further information please contact Bronwyn on : 03-324-3125 (chch toll free)
or email us: bronwyn(at)abcatering.co.nz
Due to the huge quantities of spam we are receiving our email address is not listed as a simple link.
Simply remove the (at) and replace it with @ and this address will function correctly.
Thank-you for your paitience with this.
or email us: bronwyn(at)abcatering.co.nz
Due to the huge quantities of spam we are receiving our email address is not listed as a simple link.
Simply remove the (at) and replace it with @ and this address will function correctly.
Thank-you for your paitience with this.
Feel free to Phone Bronwyn
anytime on:
chch 03-324-3125
anytime on:
chch 03-324-3125
Remember to re-confirm all your bookings 2-4 weeks prior to your wedding if you have not recently been in contact with your service suppliers. It would be terrible to discover that they had double booked or forgotton. We once catered for a wedding where this was not done and the celebrant spent the day in his garden instead......
Congratulations, you have just become engaged! When the smoke clears a little you find yourself wondering "how in the world do I plan a wedding?!" Well, this article will attempt to ease your worries a little, and get you started on organising yourself to tackle this task.
For some people the first task is to run, not walk, to a wedding co-ordinator. What is a wedding co-ordinator? In short, a wedding co-ordinator can do some of the work of planning your wedding, and/or she/he can work with you to do much of the planning and arrange for many or all of the services you will need for your special day. Co-ordinators services and fees are wide ranging but not generally cheap and that's an entirely different article! For now, let's concentrate on what has to be done and you can decide who is going to do it...
There are a small number of decisions (5) that should be made at the very start of the planning process because many other choices will rest upon them. The tricky part is that sometimes they are so interwoven that it is difficult to know which one decision to make first! But here they are, and I suggest you just make in-roads and things will begin to fall into place
Major Decisions (stage 1)
Style and Formality: You must think very early in the process about what style of wedding you want, and how formal or informal an affair it will be. In terms of style, do you long for a quaint country wedding or a sophisticated society bash? This decision sets a tone for the entire wedding, and all decisions will be related to this choice. In particular, the type of invitation you send will convey something to your guests about the style of your wedding, and thus, the way they should dress for the occasion. You will be making decisions about your own (and your attendant's) attire soon as well, and these features should all reflect the same style and level of formality. The level of formality is related (in terms of "official" etiquette that is) to the time of day of your wedding and reception. For example, a very formal wedding is not usually held in the middle of the day.
Type of Reception: You should decide what type of food service and overall "feeling" you are looking for at your reception. Will the reception be indoors or outdoors or both? Are you thinking about a sit-down meal, a buffet, or a cocktail reception on the terrace? Do you foresee yourself and your guests dancing, enjoying the bar and sitting down to a five course dinner, or do you imagine volleyball and croquet on the lawn, with a barbecue and a keg of beer? These preferences dictate the type of setting you will choose for your reception and may place certain limitations on the reception facility.
Number of Guests: You will need to have some idea of how many in order to determine a rough budget, and to look at facilities and catering in the near future you will need to have a basic idea of how many guests (you can start by narrowing it down to small, medium or large). You also need to determine how you will divide up the guest list in terms of how many guests each "host" can invite. One way is to determine the maximum number of people you can invite, and then decide how many people each person can invite. In some cases, each set of parents may invite one-third, and the bride and groom invite one-third. Or perhaps one-third each for the bride and the groom, and the parents can invite the rest. The best advice-decide on a total number and get agreement from everyone that they will stick to it! (Otherwise, you will probably see the total number inching up and up, as people keep thinking of "just one more person" to invite!)
Budget: Talk with the families to determine who will pay for what. For a traditional division of expenses, check out the "Who Pays For What?" article on www.weddinggarden.com, and adjust according to your own and your families' bank accounts and values. If one set of parents are paying for most expenses it may make the most sense to ask them to tell you how much they are willing and able to spend overall. This allows the bride & groom to make a budget and allocate the money as they see fit, rather than requesting a dollar amount for each line item. This takes some of the emotional content out of the process. Barring this, at least have a target amount that you want to spend. If you find expenses are overshooting this, adjust accordingly.
Time of Year: What seasonal special features are you looking for? Would you like your ceremony in a garden with lots of flowers in bloom? Do the crisp air and colours of the autumn spell romance for you? Or are you more entranced by a candlelit ceremony with bridesmaids dressed in red velvet? Plan accordingly and know that some seasonal features are highly sought-after, which means planning further in advance. Think about the amount of time you need for planning your wedding, and work towards your desired season/time leaving yourself enough time to plan or adjust your expectations for a shorter time frame if needed.
There! Those are the "biggies"! When you have made these decisions, congratulate yourselves (heck, it calls for an outright celebration!), and then move on to the Next Decisions, and finally, The Details.
Next Decisions (stage 2)
These are the decisions that depend upon the "Major Decisions", and are important in shaping your wedding. Try not to get too overwhelmed, and just take them one at a time. Sometimes obtaining a scrapbook or similar into which all information is assimilated to choose from can be a good way to keep track of decisions made and those still to be made. It will help you to keep track of where you are at and help you not to loose track of what is to be done.
Ceremony and Reception Locations-Book these in keeping with the style and formality decisions you made in the earlier stage. Wait until you have found places that you are sure about before setting a definite date and informing people.
Date and Time-Work with both families to narrow this down to a final date and time. This can be emotionally charged-bear in mind that you probably will not be able to accommodate every friend and relative in setting your date. Just try to make it work for yourselves and immediate family, and perhaps special friends if you are planning to ask them to be attendants. Once your date is firm, inform friends and relatives who have to travel from any distance, so that they can begin making their travel plans.
Officiant-This could be a clergy person, or Justice of the Peace, although in some instances there are other options, for example a ships captain. Many churches require you to use their officiant.
Attendants-Decide how many attendants you want. Sometimes people try to have an even number of men and women, but this is becoming more flexible. The important thing is to have the people in your wedding who are special to you (if possible, try to avoid including people out of obligation, just because you were in their wedding. Additionally, try to avoid having "difficult people"-you want things to go smoothly, your attendants should be supporting you, not draining energy from you!)
Attire-The bride should find her dress first and then work on selecting bridesmaid attire. Decided on whether to hire, have made or purchase. A wedding gown may take 6 months or more to make or order. The bridesmaids gowns should take less. The groom and his attendants can probably get their tuxes (or whatever) hired all at the same time and this should be done 4 to 6 months before the wedding.
Invitation selection-You can go to a printer, stationery store or bridal accessories shop to find a huge selection of invitations from which to choose (or you can have them hand lettered, or even print them yourself with a high quality computer printer) You should expect to mail the invitations 6-10 weeks prior to the wedding and you should plan plenty of time to have them printed (or whatever you choose) and delivered to you. Remember that you have to hand address all of them, so give yourself enough time for this as well. (People sometimes enlist help from their friends/bridesmaids for this job). Remember to make or order some sort of response card to mail with the invitations for guests to mail back informing you of whether or not they plan to attend and don't forget to give them somewhere to put their name or you will have fun determining who it came from!.
Develop guest list-This obviously goes hand-in-hand with the above task. Given the time frame needed for the invitations, you'll need to have your guest list complete by 10-12 weeks before the wedding day. Start with a number limit that you feel comfortable with, and make an "A list"then "B list" and "C list" (parents can do the same with their list, or simply give you a list of the people they want to invite, and you can negotiate as you go along). The "A list" is those people who will unquestionably be invited, the "B" is for people that you would really like to be there, but could "cut" if absolutely necessary, and "C" might be for co-workers, acquaintances, etc, whom you could leave off the final list if you exceed your target number. Typically, you can expect about 80-90 percent of invitees to actually attend your wedding, but if there's a "Murphy's Law of weddings", it may apply here, and you may have a higher percentage of attendees, so plan accordingly. You may choose to issue invitations to your "B" & "C" list guests as others decline invitations.
Reception Menu Ideas/Style-Now is the time to narrow down your thoughts about what kind of food, and overall style you want for your reception. In the first decision stage, you may have decided on an informal wedding, now it's time to think about whether that means cake and punch, a cocktail party or a pig-roast and hoe-down! Finances can certainly come into play in this decision-it's time to begin talking with service providers to get a feel for costs of various types of food service (sit-down with service, buffet, stations, etc). Start thinking about anything special you want in terms of a wedding cake, as well.
Service Providers (Caterer, Photographer, Florist, Musicians, Videographer, Transportation, etc) -Use websites like this one, local wedding directories, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, and even the phone book to get names and phone numbers of providers of the various wedding services, and begin to contact vendors. You will want to personally meet any vendor that you are considering hiring, and in most cases you will make an appointment to meet them at their place of business. In general, it is probably a good idea to meet with more than one vendor for each type of service, to get a sense of what different options you have, but remember to book these early to avoid missing out on your preferred supplier. It is not always necessary to have decided on the service to be supplied immediately. These decisions can often be revisited later on when you are feeling more settled about what you actually want.
Honeymoon Destination & Plans-On top of everything else you are doing, you have to think about planning your honeymoon! Traditionally, this is the groom's responsibility, but you should divide tasks in whatever way works best for your situation. You will need to think about transportation to and from your destination, and lodging and food for while you are there. Make sure you can both get the time off from your jobs.
Wedding Rings-You don't need these too far ahead, but give yourselves time to find what you want if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. Make sure to have them far enough ahead of time that any necessary adjustments (sizing, engraving) can be made in plenty of time for the wedding day.
Equipment Rental-If you are having a marquee wedding, or a wedding in any place other than a fully equipped facility, you may need to rent anything from the tent and portable toilets, to tables & chairs and a dance floor. If your wedding is in a high demand season, you will need to make arrangements for these rentals well ahead of time, as many rental companies have only enough chairs for one or two large functions at a time. Do not forget to think about any rental items you may need for the ceremony, such as candelabra or trellises or archways.
Rehearsal Dinner-Traditionally, this is the domain of the parents of the groom. It is generally an opportunity for the wedding party and close family members to celebrate in a more intimate setting (it usually follows the rehearsal, where you iron out the details of the ceremony). It is often the scene of some toasts to the future of the bride and groom and is the time when the couple may give their thank-you gifts to their attendants. Some people opt for a casual gathering, perhaps a barbecue at someone's home, while others book a private space in a restaurant. Some families also invite any extended family or out-of-town guests who have already arrived for the wedding. However girls, word of advice, let someone else organize it!
Details (stage 3)
Colour Scheme-bridesmaid's attire, table linens, flower colours, ceremony site and reception decorations (balloons, garlands, etc)
Bridal Bouquets - colour, style, variety of flowers
Wedding Cake - traditional? Non traditional? Flavour & decorating styles...
Ceremony-readings, special features, musical choices ushers (a general guideline is one usher for 50 guests)
Wedding day schedule-order of events, timing
Reception music selections or musicians
Floral arrangements for the church and reception venues
Final decisions on food and beverage-Find out when your caterer needs a final head count.
Marriage License-usually obtained from the Post Shop in the town where the couple resides or where the marriage will be performed.
Beauty and Personal Accessories Reception and Ceremony Accessories- guest book, cake knife, candles, linens, etc.
This article has been inserted courtesy of www.weddinggarden.com, and has been modified slightly for New Zealand circumstances
For some people the first task is to run, not walk, to a wedding co-ordinator. What is a wedding co-ordinator? In short, a wedding co-ordinator can do some of the work of planning your wedding, and/or she/he can work with you to do much of the planning and arrange for many or all of the services you will need for your special day. Co-ordinators services and fees are wide ranging but not generally cheap and that's an entirely different article! For now, let's concentrate on what has to be done and you can decide who is going to do it...
There are a small number of decisions (5) that should be made at the very start of the planning process because many other choices will rest upon them. The tricky part is that sometimes they are so interwoven that it is difficult to know which one decision to make first! But here they are, and I suggest you just make in-roads and things will begin to fall into place
Major Decisions (stage 1)
Style and Formality: You must think very early in the process about what style of wedding you want, and how formal or informal an affair it will be. In terms of style, do you long for a quaint country wedding or a sophisticated society bash? This decision sets a tone for the entire wedding, and all decisions will be related to this choice. In particular, the type of invitation you send will convey something to your guests about the style of your wedding, and thus, the way they should dress for the occasion. You will be making decisions about your own (and your attendant's) attire soon as well, and these features should all reflect the same style and level of formality. The level of formality is related (in terms of "official" etiquette that is) to the time of day of your wedding and reception. For example, a very formal wedding is not usually held in the middle of the day.
Type of Reception: You should decide what type of food service and overall "feeling" you are looking for at your reception. Will the reception be indoors or outdoors or both? Are you thinking about a sit-down meal, a buffet, or a cocktail reception on the terrace? Do you foresee yourself and your guests dancing, enjoying the bar and sitting down to a five course dinner, or do you imagine volleyball and croquet on the lawn, with a barbecue and a keg of beer? These preferences dictate the type of setting you will choose for your reception and may place certain limitations on the reception facility.
Number of Guests: You will need to have some idea of how many in order to determine a rough budget, and to look at facilities and catering in the near future you will need to have a basic idea of how many guests (you can start by narrowing it down to small, medium or large). You also need to determine how you will divide up the guest list in terms of how many guests each "host" can invite. One way is to determine the maximum number of people you can invite, and then decide how many people each person can invite. In some cases, each set of parents may invite one-third, and the bride and groom invite one-third. Or perhaps one-third each for the bride and the groom, and the parents can invite the rest. The best advice-decide on a total number and get agreement from everyone that they will stick to it! (Otherwise, you will probably see the total number inching up and up, as people keep thinking of "just one more person" to invite!)
Budget: Talk with the families to determine who will pay for what. For a traditional division of expenses, check out the "Who Pays For What?" article on www.weddinggarden.com, and adjust according to your own and your families' bank accounts and values. If one set of parents are paying for most expenses it may make the most sense to ask them to tell you how much they are willing and able to spend overall. This allows the bride & groom to make a budget and allocate the money as they see fit, rather than requesting a dollar amount for each line item. This takes some of the emotional content out of the process. Barring this, at least have a target amount that you want to spend. If you find expenses are overshooting this, adjust accordingly.
Time of Year: What seasonal special features are you looking for? Would you like your ceremony in a garden with lots of flowers in bloom? Do the crisp air and colours of the autumn spell romance for you? Or are you more entranced by a candlelit ceremony with bridesmaids dressed in red velvet? Plan accordingly and know that some seasonal features are highly sought-after, which means planning further in advance. Think about the amount of time you need for planning your wedding, and work towards your desired season/time leaving yourself enough time to plan or adjust your expectations for a shorter time frame if needed.
There! Those are the "biggies"! When you have made these decisions, congratulate yourselves (heck, it calls for an outright celebration!), and then move on to the Next Decisions, and finally, The Details.
Next Decisions (stage 2)
These are the decisions that depend upon the "Major Decisions", and are important in shaping your wedding. Try not to get too overwhelmed, and just take them one at a time. Sometimes obtaining a scrapbook or similar into which all information is assimilated to choose from can be a good way to keep track of decisions made and those still to be made. It will help you to keep track of where you are at and help you not to loose track of what is to be done.
Ceremony and Reception Locations-Book these in keeping with the style and formality decisions you made in the earlier stage. Wait until you have found places that you are sure about before setting a definite date and informing people.
Date and Time-Work with both families to narrow this down to a final date and time. This can be emotionally charged-bear in mind that you probably will not be able to accommodate every friend and relative in setting your date. Just try to make it work for yourselves and immediate family, and perhaps special friends if you are planning to ask them to be attendants. Once your date is firm, inform friends and relatives who have to travel from any distance, so that they can begin making their travel plans.
Officiant-This could be a clergy person, or Justice of the Peace, although in some instances there are other options, for example a ships captain. Many churches require you to use their officiant.
Attendants-Decide how many attendants you want. Sometimes people try to have an even number of men and women, but this is becoming more flexible. The important thing is to have the people in your wedding who are special to you (if possible, try to avoid including people out of obligation, just because you were in their wedding. Additionally, try to avoid having "difficult people"-you want things to go smoothly, your attendants should be supporting you, not draining energy from you!)
Attire-The bride should find her dress first and then work on selecting bridesmaid attire. Decided on whether to hire, have made or purchase. A wedding gown may take 6 months or more to make or order. The bridesmaids gowns should take less. The groom and his attendants can probably get their tuxes (or whatever) hired all at the same time and this should be done 4 to 6 months before the wedding.
Invitation selection-You can go to a printer, stationery store or bridal accessories shop to find a huge selection of invitations from which to choose (or you can have them hand lettered, or even print them yourself with a high quality computer printer) You should expect to mail the invitations 6-10 weeks prior to the wedding and you should plan plenty of time to have them printed (or whatever you choose) and delivered to you. Remember that you have to hand address all of them, so give yourself enough time for this as well. (People sometimes enlist help from their friends/bridesmaids for this job). Remember to make or order some sort of response card to mail with the invitations for guests to mail back informing you of whether or not they plan to attend and don't forget to give them somewhere to put their name or you will have fun determining who it came from!.
Develop guest list-This obviously goes hand-in-hand with the above task. Given the time frame needed for the invitations, you'll need to have your guest list complete by 10-12 weeks before the wedding day. Start with a number limit that you feel comfortable with, and make an "A list"then "B list" and "C list" (parents can do the same with their list, or simply give you a list of the people they want to invite, and you can negotiate as you go along). The "A list" is those people who will unquestionably be invited, the "B" is for people that you would really like to be there, but could "cut" if absolutely necessary, and "C" might be for co-workers, acquaintances, etc, whom you could leave off the final list if you exceed your target number. Typically, you can expect about 80-90 percent of invitees to actually attend your wedding, but if there's a "Murphy's Law of weddings", it may apply here, and you may have a higher percentage of attendees, so plan accordingly. You may choose to issue invitations to your "B" & "C" list guests as others decline invitations.
Reception Menu Ideas/Style-Now is the time to narrow down your thoughts about what kind of food, and overall style you want for your reception. In the first decision stage, you may have decided on an informal wedding, now it's time to think about whether that means cake and punch, a cocktail party or a pig-roast and hoe-down! Finances can certainly come into play in this decision-it's time to begin talking with service providers to get a feel for costs of various types of food service (sit-down with service, buffet, stations, etc). Start thinking about anything special you want in terms of a wedding cake, as well.
Service Providers (Caterer, Photographer, Florist, Musicians, Videographer, Transportation, etc) -Use websites like this one, local wedding directories, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, and even the phone book to get names and phone numbers of providers of the various wedding services, and begin to contact vendors. You will want to personally meet any vendor that you are considering hiring, and in most cases you will make an appointment to meet them at their place of business. In general, it is probably a good idea to meet with more than one vendor for each type of service, to get a sense of what different options you have, but remember to book these early to avoid missing out on your preferred supplier. It is not always necessary to have decided on the service to be supplied immediately. These decisions can often be revisited later on when you are feeling more settled about what you actually want.
Honeymoon Destination & Plans-On top of everything else you are doing, you have to think about planning your honeymoon! Traditionally, this is the groom's responsibility, but you should divide tasks in whatever way works best for your situation. You will need to think about transportation to and from your destination, and lodging and food for while you are there. Make sure you can both get the time off from your jobs.
Wedding Rings-You don't need these too far ahead, but give yourselves time to find what you want if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. Make sure to have them far enough ahead of time that any necessary adjustments (sizing, engraving) can be made in plenty of time for the wedding day.
Equipment Rental-If you are having a marquee wedding, or a wedding in any place other than a fully equipped facility, you may need to rent anything from the tent and portable toilets, to tables & chairs and a dance floor. If your wedding is in a high demand season, you will need to make arrangements for these rentals well ahead of time, as many rental companies have only enough chairs for one or two large functions at a time. Do not forget to think about any rental items you may need for the ceremony, such as candelabra or trellises or archways.
Rehearsal Dinner-Traditionally, this is the domain of the parents of the groom. It is generally an opportunity for the wedding party and close family members to celebrate in a more intimate setting (it usually follows the rehearsal, where you iron out the details of the ceremony). It is often the scene of some toasts to the future of the bride and groom and is the time when the couple may give their thank-you gifts to their attendants. Some people opt for a casual gathering, perhaps a barbecue at someone's home, while others book a private space in a restaurant. Some families also invite any extended family or out-of-town guests who have already arrived for the wedding. However girls, word of advice, let someone else organize it!
Details (stage 3)
Colour Scheme-bridesmaid's attire, table linens, flower colours, ceremony site and reception decorations (balloons, garlands, etc)
Bridal Bouquets - colour, style, variety of flowers
Wedding Cake - traditional? Non traditional? Flavour & decorating styles...
Ceremony-readings, special features, musical choices ushers (a general guideline is one usher for 50 guests)
Wedding day schedule-order of events, timing
Reception music selections or musicians
Floral arrangements for the church and reception venues
Final decisions on food and beverage-Find out when your caterer needs a final head count.
Marriage License-usually obtained from the Post Shop in the town where the couple resides or where the marriage will be performed.
Beauty and Personal Accessories Reception and Ceremony Accessories- guest book, cake knife, candles, linens, etc.
This article has been inserted courtesy of www.weddinggarden.com, and has been modified slightly for New Zealand circumstances
Help... Where do I begin?
