This page is chockfull of links to our appearances in the press or in Caribbean magazines. It also features some of our articles from our wedding column which runs every Sunday in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper!

2007 January - Highlights of the 1st Annual TW Tea Party

2006 June - The Story of How We Came to be ...

2007 June - Caribbean Belle Magazine’s Wedding Keepsake Issue

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What Goes into a Slice of Wedded Bliss?
Copyright January 2008: Simone Sant-Ghuran, Manager / Founder, Trinidad Weddings

With the recent increase in the price of flour, many brides are now lamenting that their cakes are going to be even more expensive than they had initially budgeted.

However, flour isn’t all that makes a wedding cake. Costs add up in many other ways as well. To say the least, wedding cakes are labour-intensive. They require advance preparation, since they are often made in stages, on separate days.

The first stage or “prep work,” for fruit-based cakes involves purchasing currants, raisins, cherries, sultanas, almonds, mixed citrus peel and prunes, then grinding them and soaking them in Caribbean rum and cherry brandy or sherry. Some cake bakers also add a couple dashes of bitters to the liquid. This mixture is left to marinate in large glass jars for several weeks or even months, for a more intense flavour.

After the fruit and nut mixture has “soaked” for long enough, it’s the baker’s time to do the ‘browning,“ which is made by placing brown sugar in a heated pot, stirring it until it liquefies and carefully ensuring the sugar doesn’t burn. When the liquid turns dark and is near burning point, hot water is gradually added. Once cooled, the browning is poured into a container to be used on baking day.

After the cake has been baked using butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla extract, baking powder and ground cinnamon, it is laced with more rum over the top, which not only preserves it but of course, gives it its signature scent and flavour. Once cooled, the cakes are covered in a thick, marzipan (almond paste) layer and then a generous coating of royal or fondant icing.

With this much preparation involved, it’s easy to see why professionals can take up to one or two months working on just one cake, with most of that time devoted to the decoration of it. Flowers or other décor items on cakes are made either from royal icing sugar and egg whites or for a more realistic and pliable effect, from gum paste - a combination of gelatin and glucose syrup. Some cake artists hand-paint flowers with brushes and special types of food colouring. Another effect is to apply “petal dust” to flowers achieve either a shimmer or a matte finish. Other cake artists, may colour their icing before they mould their flowers.

So, you see with all the effort involved, it’s no wonder that cakes cost a pretty penny. However, can maximise the use of your wedding cake. Here are some ways:

1. Make it a focal point of your reception décor, by surrounding it with foliage and fountains or placing it on a large mirrored platter surrounded by candle light.
2. Let your cake tell your courtship story. I’ve seen cakes with lines of poetry inscribed on them and those with airbrushed, black and white photos of the couple during their dating time. You can even personalise your cake by having your designer pipe a line from your favourite song on it.
3. Serve your cake as part of your dessert, instead of letting it sit like a monument for the entire wedding!

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The Top 5 Things That Go Wrong at Weddings!
Copyright December 2007: Simone Sant-Ghuran, Manager / Founder, Trinidad Weddings

You know what Murphy’s Law say...”Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Well, with weddings this seems to be the case more often than not! The truth is that there is no perfect wedding. There will always be flaws, whether guests notice them or not. Ironically, the harshest critics of the wedding day are the bride and groom, since they tend to have the highest expectations!

After conversing with the many brides and grooms who visit www.trinidadweddings.com, I’ve narrowed down the top five things that tend to go wrong at most weddings.

The Food: Sad to say, I’ve been to weddings where some menu items ran out quite early during the reception or where dessert was given to the few who managed to make it to the dessert buffet early. Neither scenario augers well for your guests! To avoid this, get an experienced caterer and don’t be afraid to over-cater a little. Food will not go to waste; family members or wedding vendors can have some to take home or excess can be given to charity. These choices are both infinitely better than having starving guests, who will no doubt tell all and sundry that the food ran out! Remember that everyone at your wedding, even for years to come, will remember the food!

The Photographer / Videographer: Your photographer or videographer is not only capturing the moments of the day but really, they are preserving memories that will be viewed by generations to come. That’s a heavy responsibility; so be sure to select a photographer and/or videographer who has an impressive portfolio of work to match your budget. Also, be sure to have pre-wedding day meetings with them to ensure that they are aware of the moments they should record for you. Additionally, please insist on their punctuality and respect them as well by being punctual yourself!

The Venue: I’m sure you’ve heard a few horror stories about wedding venues – too many functions going on at the venue at the same time, nearby loud noises or adjacent road work that are distracting to your guests, poor washroom or kitchen facilities, poor lighting or ventilation and so much more… Your reception venue is arguably the centre focus of your big day; apart from you and your groom of course! It's where you and your guests will spend the most time. Choosing a good venue is imperative for many reasons: the comfort of your guests, its suitability for photos and for your own peace of mind.

The Bride’s Makeup: There are a multitude of problems that arise here: from the make-up artist not showing up, the bride not being pleased at the final result or make-up that is not suited for bridal photography. It’s important to get professionally applied makeup on your wedding day since the results will be preserved for posterity in your photos and video. This is not something I would recommend that you do yourself unless you are professionally trained in makeup artistry! Going on makeup trials before-hand is a must and also, be sure to look at yourself in bright daylight and not only under the makeup studio’s lights.

The DJ: Music can mean the difference between a swinging shindig or a snooze-fest, that’s why ensuring that your DJ can entertain your crowd in a professional way, is critical. I once went to a wedding where the DJ kept announcing his name and why his DJ company was the best to hire! Please couples, tactfully advise your DJ that your wedding is not an advertising medium for him/her and that his good quality music should be enough advertisement in itself! And don’t forget to mention to your DJ that he/she should be appropriately attired for your event.

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