Real Wedding Wednesday - Sejal & James

I am so excited to bring you the very first 'Real Wedding Wednesday'

This is a new addition to our weekly blog, showcasing real weddings we have catered and event managed for.

Our first couple is a very special couple indeed, let me introduce you to Sejal and James.

Sejal describes herself and James as polar opposites "he is a windsurfer, Dorset born and bred and works outdoors as a builder. I grew up in SW London, work in an office and the most active thing I do is try and get to the gym!"

So how did they meet? 

"James and I met via www.match.com in 2007. Both of us went on there ironically as we had come out of long term relationships and wanted to find someone to settle down with.

 When you go out about about with friends you don't always necessary meet the type of person you want to go out with.

 James sent me a 'poke' via match.com and we got talking on email and on the phone for a few weeks first. It was strange using this medium to meet someone as you get the time to talk to someone, listen to what they sound like i.e. their accent etc and by emailing you find out about ones humour and also their poor spelling like James! I remember when I first spoke to him I thought he sounded like a farmer!

 I moved to Bristol in 2001 to study for my degree and met James in 2007 so by then I hadn't really developed such a strong west country accent. James is Dorset born and bred so has a strong accent".

The First Date

"Our first date consisted of drinks, dinner, talking and more talking. After this we started seeing eachother more often and 5 years later, we got married!".

The Suppliers

Venue:

The civil ceremony and reception both took place at the stunning Hampton Court House. The House is a place of dreams. Set in 7 acres of 18th Century gardens, it is a hidden secret. The picturesque gardens feature everything from palm trees and a lake to rabbits and swans! It is not surprising that Sejal and James chose such a beautiful setting for their wedding day.

http://hchevents.com/venues/wedding/

Cake:

The funny story behind the cake is that Sejal ordered cupcakes from the M&S Wedding cake website, however they were mistakenly ordered for the week after her wedding! 

Sejal's father saved the day as he managed to order some cupcakes from the Cavan bakery, they were delivered from the East Molesey branch to the Teddington branch for them to be collected. The cupcake tower consisted of an assortment of 5 different flavoured cupcakes, don't they look delicious?

Make Up:

I am sure you will agree that Sejal looked absolutely stunning and her make up was flawless on the day. Her look was created by Rajnee Dhooharika (rajnee.moonfruit.com)

Photographer:

The day was captured by professional photographer Emma Smart, who also happens to be Sejal's friend from University. Have a look at her amazing work by following the link below: http://smartography.com/

The Feedback

Dear All

I wanted to say a huge thank you for making the biggest day of my life so far so enjoyable. I planned my wedding myself and it was pretty stressful, but I am so pleased we hired Preeti Catering. The company is professional from the outset-you have a great website, the tasting session my family attended was extensive and informative and Nas/Navin you have the patience of saints!

Navin throughout all the communication leading up to the day you were polite, reliable, helpful and above all else helped take away any potential stress for me in the planning aspects. As caterers I wasn't aware just how much Preeti Catering would be able to help on the day. The design of the menu cards were fantastic, the layout of the tables beautiful and the food quality was excellent

Nas-Appreciate we only met on the day but from the start you were fantastic. You are a real asset to the company, you kept me calm and kept James on the ball, knew exactly what was happening and when and the team on the day were excellent. I couldn't get over how hard you all worked. You are very approachable, good at thinking of solutions to any potential queries on the day and you run a tight ship!

110% without hesitation my wedding day was a success because of the whole team at Preeti Catering from the Chefs, Waiting Staff, Events Manager, Planning leading up to the day etc.

What you do is so important, you help make the biggest day in peoples lives go smoothly along with the venue Events Manager-you absolutely nailed it. I think you all work extremely well with Di too.

Warm Regards

Mrs Sejal Hampson 

I hope you enjoyed reading about Sejal & James' wedding day and are looking forward to many more 'Real Wedding Wednesdays'! 

x Preeti x

Make Me Pretty Monday - 10 Tips For Healthy Hair

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, todays blog is a very special one indeed, especially for brides to be that want to get their hair looking healthy and shiny in preparation for their big day!! 

I have 10 tips to share with you which will help make your hair healthier and stronger and therefore looking fabulous! 

Tip 1
A well balanced diet is a great start for healthy hair, if you are healthy on the inside you will definitely be glowing on the outside. Eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, brown rice, beans and pulses will keep your hair happy (how many of you are going to eat rajmah and brown rice for dinner now after reading this? :) ..)

Tip 2
Massaging your scalp just for a few mins every day will make a big difference, not only will this stimulate circulation, it will also help to prevent dandruff.

Tip 3
Look after your hair by ensuring you do not brush it unnecessarily or excessively. Just to give you an idea, shoulder length hair is on average approx 2 years old, so look after it!!

Tip 4
Wash your hair in warm water, as HOT water stimulates oil production and can cause greasiness... no-one wants freshly washed greasy hair!

Tip 5
Trim your hair regularly. Hairdressers usually recommend a trim every 6-8 weeks, make this a routine and you will have healthy, split end free hair.

Tip 6
Use a good heat protectant spray or balm before styling your hair with straighteners or curlers. This creates a barrier to protect your hair from damage.

Tip 7
Avoid over cleaning your hair, washing your hair every day removes the hairs essential oils. 

Tip 8
During winter, use a deep conditioner on your hair on a weekly basis, this will replace moisture which is lost when moving from cold to warm environments .

Tip 9
Find time to relax and de-stress because negative emotions and stress can cause scalp conditions and hair loss.

Tip 10
Listen to your mums and use oils!! Almond oil is great for healthy, strong, shiny hair and it is also said to be good for hair loss. In hindsight I certainly wish I let my mum put oil in my hair when I was a child, who knows how healthy my hair would have been today!

I hope you enjoyed reading these tips and I hope they help, as always give them a go and let me know how you get on. I am definitely inspired to put some almond oil in my hair tonight :)

Thank you for reading 

x Preeti x

FACTUAL FRIDAY: The Bridal Bouquet

Have you ever wondered what the meaning is behind the throwing of the bouquet and the bridal bouquet in general? Keep reading to find out all about it!


The Tradition:

There are many different old wives tales and myths regarding the meaning behind the bridal bouquet, some saying that flowers give couples fertility and everlasting love and others believe that carrying the bouquet will prevent bad luck and evil eyes. Either way it is the perfect accessory for a bride and I think no bride should be without one!


The Throwing of the bouquet:

Tossing the bouquet is a tradition that actually stems from England believe it or not. Traditionally, women used to try to tear pieces of the bride's dress and flowers in the hope to obtain some of her good luck. To make an escape from the crowd, the bride would toss her bouquet and run away!. At weddings today, the bouquet is tossed to single women with the belief that whoever catches the bouquet will be the next to marry.

In my opinion, the tossing of the bouquet tradition has changed for the best, just the thought of people tearing a beautiful wedding dress upsets me!!!

Alternative ideas:

- If your bouquet is too beautiful to throw, keep it and have a cheaper version made for the tossing of the bouquet.   There are some great bouquets available made from silk flowers rather than fresh flowers which are a lot cheaper and can also double up as a nice keepsake for the lucky lady who catches it!

- A popular custom in Finland is for the bride to be blindfolded with the unmarried women forming a circle around her. Whilst music plays in the background, the bride turns in one direction and the anxious ladies walk around her in the opposite direction with their arms linked. Everyone stops when the music stops and the bride walks towards the person directly in front of her to hand them her bouquet. I can imagine ladies trying to shift places when the music stops, so this would be a very fun alternative!

x Preeti x

Make Me Pretty Monday

Good evening everyone!

Apologies for the late post but I have had back to back meetings all day and I like to personally write this blog (I am not a cheat!) ...  :)

So today I am writing about the 'Magic In A Bottle' that is Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. 

Being a self confessed beauty junkie I have read so much about this product and had been meaning to try it, not only because of the great reviews I had read, but also, being a huge fan of other Kiehl's products means I had no hesitation in trying this out. Keep reading for my detailed review:

Product description in Kiehl's own words:

This readily absorbed elixir helps the skin to recover radiance by morning, with skin feeling smoother and softer. Enriched with Squalane, Evening Primrose Oil, Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Essential Oils including Lavender, our formula provides a boost of intensive moisture to dehydrated skin. The formula instantly penetrates the skin surface to help replenish it with moisture. Our concentrate is designed to work at night; with skin hydrated, supple and soft, rest assured you can say goodnight to a tired-looking complexion. 

Packaging:

The product is packaged in a recyclable glass bottle, with a very useful dropper attached to the lid, which helps ensure you can control the amount used, drop by drop. This is a great idea as it is recommended that you only use about 3 drops per application, so this enables great control of measurements.

Application:

The oil is very easy to apply, just place a few drops onto your fingers and pat into your skin, you will notice that the product does not leave your face looking oily as it quickly absorbs into your skin.

Texture: 

The 'concentrate' is oil based, so I was expecting it to be greasy, however I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually a very light oil which felt weightless when applied to the skin. 

Scent:

I personally love the scent, it smells of lavender which is a perfect scent for the evening 

Affects:

I apply this product to my skin every night following the instructions above (as recommended to me when I bought the product) and I am surprised to say, every morning I wake up to hydrated skin. My face looks more radiant and smooth when I wake up since using this as part of my daily routine. I absolutely love this product and what makes it that little bit better, is that it lasts so long!

I have tried numerous night creams and have always been left feeling disappointed and also very stupid for giving in to the hype and wasting money on them, so when I tried this I made sure I picked up a sample first so that i could try before I buy and I would recommend you do the same if you are curious about this product. Pick up a sample, give it a go and let me know what you think!

x Preeti x

FACTUAL FRIDAY: The Meaning Behind 'Shraadh'

Today's post is for you couples out there who are confused about the annual Hindu tradition that is Shraadh (also known as Pitra Paksha). I am sure you will have heard of it as we are currently in the  Shraadh period at the moment.

Shraadh lasts for around a fortnight and although it dictates when not to get married, most couples I meet don't seem to know the meaning behind it!

Well that is until today! Hopefully once you have read this post you will understand why your parents are so adament that you do not get married during this period. For those of you who are already in your wedding planning stages, you have probably been told to put your plans on hold, not pay any deposits to suppliers and not have any meetings during this period.

Don't worry, your parents are not making this tradition up because they want a break from talking about your wedding! :) 

Shraadh is a period of time which is dedicated to the 'departed souls'.  By remembering your loved ones who have passed away and by carrying out rituals, it is believed that you will receive their blessings. Hence, during this time all auspicious events such as weddings are put on hold. Most people also do not invest money during this period.

I hope this helps to explain the meaning behind Shraadh and give some understanding to the relevance of this tradition in our culture.

x Preeti x

Make Me Pretty Monday

I am spoiling you girly girls with another beauty post! Today is all about make up wipes!! Those little life savers which remove make up easily and efficiently are not necessarily the best option for keeping your skin clean and healthy.

Since researching this I made a change to my skincare routine and rather than using make up wipes to remove my make up at the end of a hard day, I take the the longer but better option of using an actual facial cleanser. This ensures every trace of make up is removed and your face is fully cleansed and able to breathe!

I have been doing this for two weeks now and have noticed a change in my skin already! my skin is much softer and clearer, so this change although difficult, was really worth it.

I have still kept my wipes just incase I am feeling lazy, but I haven't reached out for them just yet :)

Why don't you give this a go and let me know if it helps you?

x Preeti x