Presentation by Rebecca and Hannah
Tag: love
Engagement Proposal: Candlelight Dinner on Bali Beach
Inspiration
During my research about different marriage proposals, I have fallen immediately in lovely with the idea of an engagement proposal on the beach. Because I am a big fan of Bali and it`s location in the Indian ocean, I have combined these both things with each other and have created an unforgettable marriage proposal.
Who? (with who?)
The guy named Alexander (aged 28) is German and the girl named Yumi (aged 26) is Balinese.
Alex works in a successful event design company in Hamburg, Germany. According to his passed bachelor degree in tourism & event management he has travelled through Asia during several months. His favourite spot was the island Bali (Indonesia). Thus he has spent the last weeks up to his home flight there.
Yumi has balinese roots and has lived up to her 8th year together with her family on Bali. Today Yumi lives in the capital of Germany, Berlin, and has successfully concluded her study in an graphic & design university. On account of her wanderlust Yumi tries to fly at least once a year to Indonesia to see her family & relatives.
4 years ago Alex and Yumi were apart of each other on vacation on Bali. On their return flight to Germany both sat side by side in the airplane. Like the destiny so wanted the both have got into conversation and were likeable to themselves from the outset. Experiences have been exchanged, the boy and the girl joked a lot and exchanged after the 12-hour flight, finally, also the mobile phone numbers. After several dates they fell in love and spent their vacations on Bali – also this year.
What?
After a 4-year relationship Alex would like to make a marriage proposal to Yumi.
When?
Alex and Yumi are on their second common vacation on Bali, the island which has brought them together.
Where?
Bali owns some of the nicest beaches worldwide. Where, if not there? With a surprise dinner with candlelight the big moment has come.
Why?
Alex and Yumi are for several years firmly together and still in love thus like on the first day. Alex knows that his respect with Yumi cannot be nicer and he would like to spend the rest of his life with her side by side. He knows how much Yumi loves her family and her native country, so he has decided to propose marriage to her – after preserved blessing of her father here on Bali.
How?
After a romantic dinner on a lonesome beach the both decide on a relaxed walk along the beach. By candles distributed everywhere on the beach the atmosphere is magic. After a few minutes the both come to a way lined up from candles which leads up on a rock. On top Yumi recognizes a heart laid from shells with a ring being arranged in the sand. At the same moment Alex gets on his knees and asks Yumi whether she would like to become his wife.
After the expected „YES!“ both let the evening end – happy under the stars.
Key Elements
The key elements can be found in the sea of candles and the togetherness on the beach. Because the island has a symbolic value of the couple, is reflected here the uniqueness and memorability of the idea.
Other Memorable Engagement Proposals:
Text by Jennifer Steinweg
Engagement Concept: Jar of Love
Engagement Concept:
Research Findings:
After doing all my research I found that for most couples the more intimate and meaningful the proposal the happier their marriage. For most proposals that I read about the guy in the relationship would always look for the element of surprise. Many of the websites I visit has a section designated to unique ways to surprise your future bride. Due to this research I made sure to include meaning and surprise in the proposal. With my research in mind I feel that this engagement concept will work for every couple.
Who?
Richard and Deborah has been together for 3 years they meet through mutual friends. Both are young professionals therefore they do not have a lot of money. They have many things in common like cooking, hiking, and skiing. They have been living together for 1 year now. Richard knows she is the one for him and wants to save up the money to buy her the perfect engagement ring.
Where?
For this style of engagement the guy could easily plan a party however if not and instead he desired a more intimate setting he could ask in their house with a romantic dinner planned. Nevertheless, with the current plan Richard will plan a small party in a location close to their house, preferably a roof-top terrace or back garden. There everyone will be ready to watch the proposal and celebrate their engagement.
When?
Right before they sit down for her favourite meal and enjoy a small celebration with close friends and family. Exactly 125 days after Valentines Day, which would be mid-June.
Why?
By waiting for 125 days before asking the guy has time to accumulate the extra funds needed to purchase the best possible engagement ring. With a daily love note Deborah knows just how much she means to him. Also due to the fact that she received the note in February she then knows just how long the guy has wanted to ask her and spend the rest of his life with her. 
How?
Valentine’s Day comes around where the guy decides to give his girlfriend a jar filled with 124 reasons why he loves her, the last note will say:
“For the last reason why I love you go to the roof…”
When he gives her the jar they both agree that she will open and read the note at 17:00 every day until she gets to the last note. On that night the guy will prepare her favourite meal and plan a romantic night. At 17:00 while she is reading the note he will be upstairs with all the people she loves the most waiting on one knee to ask her to marry him. After she accepts his proposal there will be a dinner party.
Useful Websites for further research or ideas:
Text by Katherine Cloud
Wedding Theme : Barns
I always liked small weddings, not very fancy (but still classy) and I like when it is natural and simple. So I came up easily with a barn wedding concept. It has to be kind of rustic but keeping in mind that it is an actual wedding so it has to be magical, beautiful. What I like about wedding in barns is that is very intimism, personalize, warm and it says something about the couple, it reflects who they are and what the like. Here you can find some ideas and inspiration about barns weddings.
The venue
The ideal venue will be a barn who has been restored and who is now dedicated to events like weddings.
The venue I found perfect for this theme is Santa Lucia Preserve in California, Carmel. The place is just gorgeous, surrounded by giant trees and if offers a lot of possible decoration. It perfectly feet with my barns wedding theme and it is not too rustic, it is the perfect balance between nature and chic.
The ceremony can also be planned in the same place, and it is just beautiful and magic, right in the forest for one of the important moments of the day.
Invitation
In my opinion the invitations has to reflect the wedding theme: the colour, the typeface, the style has to link with the barn wedding. I suggest brown ton with some touch of colour to make the invitation colourful.
Flowers and decoration
For the flower I think that it is a good idea if they look like they just been collected from a forest. They have to symbolize the nature and concord with the barn who has been chosen. I would recommend some very simple with flower with colourful flowers.
For the decoration I think the best is to insist on the lights to give a very romantic and magical atmosphere. I think there is no debate a barn isn’t the most beautiful place it have a wedding but once it is arranged I think that miracle can be made and this why decoration is very important.
There is some good ideas :
Wedding attire
For the groom I will not recommend jean as I saw on Internet. The groom should be not wearing a black and white suits but more simple and discrete colour with one or two flower on his vest. Grey or beige are colour to be considered.
About the bride I will recommend a very simple dress, a little tight with some lace. Lace is always very chic and classy and it does a lot in a wedding dress more than a filmy dress.
Food, Beverage & Wedding Cake
For the beverage obviously champagne and white wine to give to the atmosphere something fancy. But for the food I would pick some basic ingredient such as chicken and French fries to keep in mind the wedding theme but cook it in a way that it something gastronomic and fancy.
To stay in the barn theme I would also propose some lemonade and fresh juice. And a few beers but keeping in mind that it’s a wedding and it has to be classy.
The wedding cake would be simple but beautiful and with a lot of sugar.
Music & Entertainment
If the couple can have a country music band it would be the best during the diner or between the diner and the ‘party time’. It would really fit with the entire atmosphere.
This is a few suggestions for the music during the wedding:
- The Lumineers – Hey Ho
- Jack Johnson – Better Together
- Of Monster & Men – Little Talks
- Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
- Goethe – Somebody I Used To Know
- Paolo Nutini – Jenny Don’t Be Hasty
- Blondie – Heart of Glasses
- The Stereophonics –
- Neon Trees – Everybody Talks
- Beyonce – Halo
- Jason Mraz – I’m Yours
- Maroon 5 – Sugar
I will also recommend a photo booth, generally people are happy to bring some memories pictures from a wedding day.
Transportation
Depends on the couple it can be an old car, horses or a tractor.
Text by Constance Hamard
Proposal Concept: The Great Gatsby
Inspiration:
When someone asks me: “If you could go back in time, to which era would you like to go?”, my answer is always the 1920’s. I really like the dresses, the dances and the music in that time. I am also a fan of the movie The Great Gatsby in 2013. The Soundtrack is awesome and also the whole outfits are beautiful and fit perfectly in the twenties.
After deciding to do a wedding with the movie as a theme I also liked the idea of doing a proposal with that influence as well. And what could be better than using the movie Theater when the film is released.
Who? (with who?)
Henry (28) is a graphic designer who lives together with his long term girlfriend in the near of Hannover, Germany. Henry and Grace met 6 years ago at the hands of common friends. They noticed directly, that they have the same interests and opinions. Grace (27) works as a decorator and always has an eye for the details and small things in life.
What?
Henry is going to propose to Grace at the Cinema.
When?
Both are huge fans of the 1920’s and go to the cinema to see the new movie of the classic the Great Gatsby.
Where?
The ASTOR Grand Cinema in Hannover, Germany.
Why?
The couple is very enthusiastic about the era of the 1920’s. When the film The Great Gatsby hits the theaters both are excited to see the movie, which takes place in the twenties. Henry wants to propose to Grace for a long time and was always wanting for the right moment. Now seems to be perfect because it united the passion of them and the idea is promising to be an unforgettable moment in both of their life.
How?
Days before the cinema showing Henry reserves seats for the movie. The unusual of the cinema is that you can order your drinks and snack and a waiter will bring your orders to the seats. Henry already talked to the staff of the cinema and let them in on his plans about the proposal.
After the advertisements and just bevor the movie begins a waiter enters the cinema hall and brings two glasses of champagne along with some popcorn. One popcorn back is empty and inside of it is a ring case hidden. When the waiter comes with the tablet and Grace picks the back up, sees the ring and then Henry will get up and down on his knee to ask her, if she wants to spend the rest of her life with him and marry him. Meanwhile they have the whole attention of the other guest and when she says yes other waiters through confetti. Subsequently everyone takes back their seats and Henry and Grace can watch the movie as the start of a long life together.
Text by Sophia Jürgens
Engagement Concept: Above the Clouds
SKY DIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA
Inspiration
I was searching for a special way of proposing to your beloved person. I came across the idea of doing sky diving.
Who?
Anna is 25 years old and from England. She works in a marketing company in London. She loves travelling and exploring countries.
John is 26 years old and from Manchester, England. He works successfully in a company handling renewable energy. Before he started studying he worked for half a year in South Africa as a tour guide. He is really open-minded and loves adventures.
John and Anna met when they were on a Safari in South Africa. John was the English tour guide and Anna was one of the participants. As they were both from England, they started a conversation. Anna was also really interested in the animals and the nature they have seen. As they got along very well and both of them did not have any plans for the night, they went out for dinner. They talked and laughed the whole night. Anna had to leave in 3 days, but they spent all the days left together and John showed her around the area. John was supposed to stay in South Africa for another 3 months. They stayed in contact all the time and when he came back, they started to date. This was 5 years ago, now they live happily together.
When?
For their 5th anniversary in summer.
Where?
Anna and John were flying back to the place they met, South Africa.
How?
John surprised Anna with sky diving, which she always dreamed of doing. Although both of them are absolute adventure lovers, she has never done it before.
So Anna was already really excited about the sky diving and she did not even know what was waiting for her after landing. On the ground there was a sign saying: ’Anna, will you marry me?’, which she could already see when she was approaching the ground.
John will be the first one to land, so that he is able to propose properly when Anna arrives.
All this is documented as a video by the instructors, who of course knew about the proposal so that Anna will land at the spot where the sign is.
Afterwards they will celebrate their engagement by having a pick-nick in a lonely place of South Africa’s nature accompanied by a beautiful sunset.
http://www.heiratsantrag.ch/RomantischeIdeen/Ungewoehnlich/Heiratsantrag-beim-Fallschirmsprung-doc_4
Text by Nina Pieper
Wedding Theme: Bella Italia
BELLA ITALIA:
A wedding with the topic Bella Italia is perfect for Italy lovers or a couple which is in another way related or fascinated by the country. Italian mentality is well known for its passion, importance of family and love. So why not marrying in such a country?
The whole marriage should contain Italian elements such as red wine, antipasti or an Italian live band. The decoration includes flowers and candles in natural colours combined with other natural elements. Also the outfits of the bride, the groom and the bridesmaids are inspired by these colours.
The whole marriage is supposed to convey the Italian lifestyle, which means an atmosphere of lightness and passion. This is especially reflected by the wedding venue and the fact that the whole party takes place outside in the garden of the hotel with a breath taking view on the Tuscany country side.
Invitation cards:
The invitation cards are simple but still elegant and suitable to the topic of natural colours and elements.
Venue:
The wedding will take place in the country side of the Italian region Tuscany.
The exact place is called Asciano a hill town in the province of Siena. Asciano provides a medieval character and is surrounded by a beautiful countryside with pure nature. To capture the nature at its most beautiful time the wedding is supposed to take place in summer (june or august).
The wedding ceremony itself will take place in the Sant Agata Church in Asciano. An English speaking priest is also available.
If you are not catholic it is also possible to marry in the beautiful town halls of Pienza, San Giovanni d’Asso or in the Hotel Casa Bianca itself.
Pienza:
San Giovanni d’Asso:
Hotel Casa Bianca:
The tuscan style of the hotel and the belonging garden are perfect for an italian summer wedding.
Wedding attire bride:
The dress is supposed to be playful but at the same time quite simple. Here are some suggestions:
Hairstyling:
I imagine the hairstyling of the bride as easy looking and with a use of natural elements and colours. Flowers in the hair which can be also find in the decoration of the venue, would create a nice image.
Make up:
Of course the makeup depends on every persons taste, but I would prefer it to be quite restrained, so that the dress is in focus. Especially for the lips I’d suggest a light colour, as you will see below.
Wedding attire groom:
Me personally, I prefer a dark suit, which is why I chose the following suits. The left one is more fitting the topic of nature and natural colours, but I also think the suit with the bow tie is chic and suitable for an Italian wedding.
Bridesmaids:
For the bridesmaids I would suggest light colours which can be found in the decoration aswell. The dresses should not be more spectacular than the wedding dress.
Different colours but the same cut of the dress or the other way around make people recognize who are the bridesmaids, but it still ensures that the bridesmaids are seen as individual supporters of the bride.
Food:
As it is an Italian wedding antipasti can’t be missed. Olives, scampi, bruschetta, parmesan,…
An Italian food lover needs to have a proper dessert. In the following you will find tiramisu, ice cream and much more. Of course the ice cream will be served by a real Italian iceman.
Beverage:
On a hot summer day the wedding guests need a refreshment. What could be better than an ice cold drink?
To welcome the guests there will be prosecco or a fresh raspberry tea offered.
For dinner the couple and their guests will enjoy a local wine. Of course there are also other drinks offered.
After dinner there will be the possibility to drink a coffee, an espresso or/and a Limon cello.
Homemade Italian cream sodas:
Wedding cake:
Italian wedding cake inspired by the region the wedding takes place, Tuscany. The berry cake is a typical Italian wedding cake, although it does not look like a typical wedding cake.
Decoration:
This picture reflects exactly the atmosphere I would like to create. Slight and frisky.
A little gift for the wedding guests.
The floral decoration is supposed to be with natural colours such as green, rosé, beige, cream and white. Most of the flowers are roses, which are especially suitable for a wedding, as they are the flowers of love.
Music:
The actors are dressed as waiters and first serve the dinner as the other waiters do and slowly they start to act strangely and become crazy waiters. They are experienced artists in theatre, music and entertainment. Their show consists of a mix of songs, comedy, juggling, acrobatics and numbers with fire. It’s a great surprise for every wedding guest!
Set List:
New York New York – Frank Sinatra
Diana – Neil Sedaka
Mack The Knife – Frank Sinatra
Come Fly With Me – Micheal Buble
Soul Man – Blues Brothers
Just A Gigolo – David Lee Roth
Someone Like You – Adele
Respect – Aretha Franklin
Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin
L-O-V-E – Natalie Cole
There will be an Italian live band, which will attune the guests on the evening program. They will also accompany the wedding dance.
The wedding dance:
After 23 o’ clock, there will be a DJ, which will play any kind of music.
Entertainment:
The wine tasting can be done during the whole day. There will be an expert provided, who gives you advice on your choice of wine.
The cigars on the cigar bar can be enjoyed throughout the whole day.
The photo booth can be used during the whole day. Especially in the evening there will be created great memories of your wedding.
The lights will ascend to the sky before the DJ starts to play.
Transportation:
The couple will go to the church with an old car, such as an old beetle. Back to the Hotel the bride and groom will take a Vespa or a Piaggo Ape.
Text by Nina Pieper
Intercultural pink and gold wedding
My wedding, which was held in the summer of 2012 was planned around pale pink and gold color scheme as well as little details that made the day look like us. We had guests coming both from Finland and USA so we wanted to bring both of the traditions to our wedding day.
I had always known my wedding colors would be pale pink and gold. Those two colors just blended together so perfectly and had that romantic feel that I was looking for. Me being from Finland and my husband being American we wanted to bring both of our cultures and main traditions to our big day.
SAVE THE DATE
First thing we wanted to do before starting to plan anything was to order save the date cards. This was important because we had guests coming from different countries and we wanted to make sure everyone could book the day in advance. This turned out to be a great idea, since everyone that we invited could make it to celebrate our big day with us.
INVITATIONS
The invitations were sent out about 2 months prior to our wedding. Everyone knew the day already so we weren’t in a hurry with the invitations. I’m not much of a DIY’er but we managed to do our invitation cards by ourselves. Not just to save money but also to add little personal touch to them.
DRESS
We started the planning process from my wedding dress as well as the bridesmaid’s dresses. I knew I wanted all the girls to have the same dress, but they could do their hair and pick their shoes and accessories all to their own taste and personality. We ended up going with pale pink dresses, and I found the perfect shoes to match the girls’ pretty dresses. I also found a sash to tie around my waist to perfectly match the color theme. Boys wanted to look sharp but still not overdressed, so we went with regular black suits with cute little bowties and suspenders to finish the look. I wanted the dress to match my personality, and the simple dress with little ruffles on the bottom felt like a perfect match for me.
LOCATION
When picking out the location my main concerns were to find a place where all the guests could sit together in a same space. Easier said than done. Helsinki was full of beautiful old mansions and restaurants but many of them were divided into multiple separate spaces. I wanted to feel the intimacy of the place and all the guests to be able to be part of every moment of the celebration.
My other requirement was to be able to spend some time outside and see the beautiful Finnish nature. After all we had many guests coming from overseas and were visiting Finland for the first time. We ended up choosing restaurant Keilaranta in Espoo because of the space and the view it had.
CHURCH
This leads me to picking out our church which we wanted something little different and the rock church in Kamppi was the perfect location for that. It had a unique feel to it and the foreign guests could get a great experience at the same time. When we walked out the church people were blowing bubbles on us, which I thought would be a nice change to regular rice.
FOOD
The catering was arranged through the venue, but we got to pick our favorite dishes. We had about 7 different starters, main course and of course the cake. Addition to that we had a candy buffet that guests could snack throughout the night. After partying hard all night, we offered midnight snack. American style hot dogs as well as cookies and milk. Everyone enjoyed the food, and no one had to go home hungry. What comes to the wedding cake, a simple yet delicious cake is what we chose to go with. The food was more of a Finnish style food and then we tried to incorporate some American elements with the midnight snack.
FLOWERS
My ultimate favorite flower is peony. I had always know that peony would be the flower at my wedding or I did until I met the florist who sadly informed me that peonies are only available in the beginning of the summer. Our wedding being held at the end of July that was not a option for us. I started researching and found hydrangeas and carnations and at the end I was very happy with them. They were again very simple, coordinated with the theme and looked absolutely beautiful.
DECORATION
I am less is more kind of person. I love looking at peoples weddings with tall flower centrepieces and different coloured lights but my taste is more settled, more Finnish I guess. I had minimal decoration at the venue. I had little flower arrangements in all the tables as well as few candles. The entrance had a big gold frame to lead the guests to their seats and the dinner area had few lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The candy buffet was also a nice element to the decoration. All of these of course followed the color theme of the wedding.
MUSIC, PROGRAM AND ENTERTAINMENT
I wanted the wedding to most of all to be fun, relaxed and enjoyable. Lots of dancing, good food and mingling. I’m not a big fan of lots of entertainment and games at weddings so we didn’t plan much of that. We had a fun wedding with lots of dance, couple speeches and a magician that my dad surprised us with. We had a DJ playing slower songs during the dinner and dance music all the way until 3am. It was a big party and I think everyone really enjoyed themselves and had a good time. We had few american and Finnish traditions such as the cake cutting, first dance and stealing the bride. In Finland the grooms men usually steal the bride and the groom has to do some task in order to get his bride back. My husband had to sing a Finnish song, and it was hilarious since he doesn’t speak a word of Finnish.
OTHER LITTLE DETAILS
I love the saying “It’s all in the details”, and I tried to incorporate few little things to make the day memorable for us and for the guests. We ordered American style cookies from our friend in the US and used those as thank you gifts for the guests. Also the candy buffet was pretty new thing then, and us both being BIG sweet tooths, we definately wanted to have the buffet part of the reception. Over all the theme came through just as I imagined and my wedding day was perfect and most importantly looked like us.
Text by Riikka Williams
All pictures by Mikael Halmeenmäki
Sound of strings
Triolins are a music trio from Helsinki who formed themselves after studying at Sibelius Academy. Triolins, also know individually as Camilla, Emmi and Sanna, state that they incorporate ‘open-minded attitudes of music, regardless of genre, and fire to create music that moves.’ The trio combines beautiful harmonies with violins and piano to create a fantastic and engagingly elegant sound, perfect for creating a truly and beautifully romantic atmosphere at your wedding!
Check out Triolins out and be sure to follow them on their social media.
Triolins Links:
You can also contact Triolins at: triolins@gmail.com
We are so excited and privileged to have partnered with them for our Wedding Fair in Helsinki on 15th May! Why not come along and see them perform live during the event?
WeDo! Wedding Fair 2015. Together We Are One!
Text by Rebecca
Suvi Tanssi – For the Love of Dance
Suvi Koponen is a dancer and lives in Helsinki. She works in the field of dance and physical education. Dancing has been a part of her life for the last 25 years. The experience in the national team dance competition in Finland was her inspiration to establish a professional dancing studio. Suvi Koponen teaches, among other things, the following types of dance: Latin Dance, Dance Classes, Bailatino, Body Care & Stretching and Couple Dance. Besides Suvi Koponen is a personal trainer and helps people who would like to get an improved physical feeling.
A lot of couples take teaching lessons for their upcoming wedding. With the help of Suvi Koponen every couple is able to have a romantic and harmonic wedding dance.
We are happy to welcome Suvi Tanssi with a special wedding dance workshop at our wedding fair on 15th of May!
Tervetuloa!
Source: Suvi Tanssi
Text by Jennifer Steinweg
We Do Dream Weddings! 
